Chapter 7

Jeff was woken by the sound of the phone ringing.

"Hello?"

"Stay away." The voice said. Not this again.

"Who the hell is this?" He demanded.

"Stay away or else." The voice said and then he hung up. Jeff stared at the phone annoyed. What a way to wake up. He looked over at the clock. He still had five hours till check out and thanks to his caller, he was now wide awake. He called Matt's room, knowing that he was always up first thing in the morning.

"Hello?" A groggy voice said.

"Matt?"

"Yea, Jeff what's up?"

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to wake you up. I just figured you are usually the up before the crack of dawn."

"Sorry, late night. I decided to go down to the bar and meet up with everybody. It was good to catch up. So what's with you up this early?"

"No big deal. I got woken up by some phone call, probably a wrong number. I figured I'd go down to the gym and try to work out some issues. I called to see if you wanna join me?"

"Yea, sure. Just give me a moment to wake up. I'll meet you down there in an half an hour."

"Okay see you then." Jeff hung up the phone and went to take a shower. When he was done, he headed to the elevator. Jeff normally was not a gym rat, but he figured it couldn't hurt. He needed to do something to get his head together before his trip home and talking things out with Matt would make him sane.

Jeff stepped off the elevator and entered the gym. He looked around for Matt but he wasn't there yet; Jessica was. Jeff stood there for a moment and watched her as she ran on the treadmill. Jeff wanted to speak to her so badly. He wanted to apologize for his behavior the night before; to tell her that he was happy to see her again. He just couldn't get the nerve. She slowed down and turned the machine off. Before he knew it they were staring at each other face to face.

"Hey." Jessica said and then the silence returned.

"Hi." He eventually quipped.

"I wanted to"

"I was just" They both said at the same time.

"You first." She said.

"I was just meeting Matt down here for a workout. I didn't mean to stare."

"It's okay. It's good actually, because I wanted to talk to you, just hadn't quite gotten up the nerve, but here you are. I swear I had nothing to do with last night, and I'm sorry Shane did what he did."

"Shane did it, not you. You don't need to apologize. I acted like a jerk. I was mad at Shane not you. I'm glad you decided to return. You were really good at this and I know it was your dream."

"Thanks." They were just awkwardly staring at each other till finally Matt came in.

"Am I interrupting?" He asked quietly.

"No it's okay." Jeff said and turned his attention to Matt.

"Look at you." Matt said to Jessica. "I could have sworn that you would still be in bed after last night."

"Who me? I guess you forgot how well I can handle my liquor. I'm fine."

"Yea, well I'm still feeling it." He laughed. "So what were you guys talking about?"

"We were just catching up a bit." She smiled to Jeff. Her smile sent a pulse through Jeff. She looked at her watch. "Sorry guys but I have a plane to catch, and I don't think anyone's gonna want to sit next to me unless I clean up. So I'll see you guys in a couple of days?"

"Absolutely." Matt said. "Remember if you need anything give us a call."

"No problem." She turned to Jeff. "Bye."

"Take care." He said and with one more smile she left the room.

"Well, that was surprising." Matt said as he went to the weights.

"I came down and she was here. I apologized for last night, and I just wanted to let her know that it's okay, that I'm okay with her being here."

"Well that's good."

"Yeah, it's still weird and I mean we didn't talk about the past but I was able to speak to her at least."

"It's a start."

"I just don't know what to say to her." Jeff said.

"Give it time and let it come. You guys have a lot of history to get over, it won't happen overnight. But I'm pretty sure it will." Matt said as he started some arm presses. Jeff sat on the bench. "Any thought about Meg?"

"I'm just gonna have to face the music. I'm gonna tell her that I love her but I'm just not ready to take that step."

"Ever?"

"No, just not now. Hopefully, she'll be willing to wait."

"Jeff, do you really love her? I mean, I know you say you do, but do you love her in that way?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Meg was there when you needed her. She helped you get over Jess, gave you the support you needed, and she's been there by your side ever since. Don't get mad, but maybe Meg was just your replacement for Jess."

"She's not. This isn't about Jess. I'm not looking to hook back up with her. I'm just looking to be her friend. And as far as Meg is concerned, I do love her, for her."

"Then why don't you want to marry her? It's been three years."

"You were with Amy for much longer than that, and you guys never married."

"That was different. We were younger, we hadn't grown up yet. Besides look at how we turned out. It was better that we didn't." Matt said.

"Look at us, we're gonna end up being in our eighties, single and living with one another."

"Wait, who says I'm going to live with you." They both laughed. "You know the point of a work out is that you actually work out. You haven't done a thing since we came in."

"Work outs really aren't my style." Jeff said with a grin.

"Well you got me up, so get up. The least you can do is spot me."

"Yeah, no problem." They continued their workout. Eventually they both went back to their rooms to check out, and headed to the airport. Matt fell asleep, leaving Jeff alone with his thoughts. Part of what Matt said at the gym had bothered him. Did he really love Meg or just love that she was there? Jeff knew that he hated to be alone, but did he really stay with her just so he would have somebody there? No, he thought to himself. He had grown, he wasn't that insecure anymore. He loved Meg, and in time he'll be ready to marry her. It was a short flight and after they left the airport, Matt dropped Jeff off in front of his house. Jeff looked up at it, and with a loud sigh he headed towards the door.