Author's Note: As always, thank you for all the views! To the reviewers, I appreciate you more than you know. Please know your feedback is wanted, needed and so very welcome. Enjoy the character cameo from the original text in this chapter! :-)
What is that god-awful noise and why hasn't anyone stopped it yet? It sounds like… Ugh, it sounds like my phone.
I reach out to the nightstand where I plugged it in to charge before I fell asleep. I manage to knock it to the floor which results in my swearing and rolling over to pull it up by the cord. I answer it just in time.
"Hello?" I rasp.
"Well good morning to you too sunshine!" My mother's cheery voice booms through the line like she's speaking through a megaphone.
"Unghh..." I grunt.
"So I'm guessing you were at the library pretty late last night huh? You sound fabulous."
"Sorry mom. I was out at the pool hall with Jamie and some friends. I had a couple of drinks. A couple of very strong drinks. Then I came home and crashed." I lay back down and cover my face with the blanket to block out the sunlight streaming through the window.
"Jessie, please tell me you aren't out every night partying with your brother. I know he's getting it out of his system before he starts his internship next year, but you've got to stay focused. Have you thought any more about what you might want to do once you finish up next Spring?"
I sigh. My mother means well. She just wants to see me happy. It makes her nervous that I have no idea what I want to do with my life. She has no idea that I quit my low paying administrative job at the Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital in favor of fighting a few nights a month for a much larger payout. I have a feeling my dad would be much more understanding, given the fact that he basically did the same thing to put himself through school. Unfortunately, he can't keep anything from my mom and she would be on the first plane to California if she found out. Mom is more wary of the paths I tend to choose for myself. She's got her hands full with my little brother Jared. He's fourteen and is more work to keep up with than Jamie and I were together. It's probably because there's such a large age gap between us. I'm sure being the baby plays a part too. He keeps her occupied a good bit of the time, but she still carves out half an hour once or twice a week to call and check up on us.
"Mom, I don't know what I want to do beyond next year, but I don't want you worrying about me. I'll figure it out. I always do," I say, thinking about how I figured out a way to protect myself when no one else could, and how to remain in school when I lost my scholarship. It's no lie that I know how to take care of myself if need be.
"I know baby, I know. It's hard for me, you're my little girl. Jay has everything all mapped out and I just don't want you to get overwhelmed and off track. You know I just want you to be happy," she says, echoing my earlier thoughts.
"I am happy mom. I'm enjoying college and when the time comes, I'll figure out what comes next. How's Jared?"
"Oh, please don't even get me started on your little brother! He's got two little girls named Haley and Katie following him around at school. I swear that boy is more like your father than you and James ever were."
I laugh, Oh if you only knew mom. I think about my baby brother having a girlfriend, or girlfriends. He's so young, I'm sure mom is just overreacting. Then again, if half of the stories my Aunt Mer told me about my dad are true…
"Hey, is dad around? I want to say hi," I ask.
"No sweetie, he's out with Jared at Uncle Trent's house working on his bike. He said he wants to show Jared the ropes for when he gets his first bike in a couple of years. Over my dead body! But I let him think he's calling the shots. That's how you've got to handle these men Jessie. Especially Maddox men."
I smile to myself. My mom and dad are still crazy about each other and that's nice to see. So many people I know come from divorced families, I just think it's nice to be in the same place for the holidays and have a good model for my own relationships. Assuming I ever have one.
Oh crap, speaking of relationships…Dean.
"Hey mom, I've got to run. I just remembered there was something I've got to deal with today. I'll call tomorrow night to try and catch dad ok?"
"Alright Jessie, love you."
"Love you too, mom."
I press 'End' on the phone and sit it back on the nightstand before I roll out of bed. I totally forgot Dean was still sleeping on the couch. Looking in the mirror I see a nightmare of frizzy, tangled hair and dried up streaks of black mascara. Yanking a brush through my hair with one hand, I wipe underneath my eyes with the other. Seeing that there's no hope where my hair is concerned I pull it up into a high ponytail and walk down the hall to the living room.
When I see the couch is empty, my heart sinks. He left. My somewhat happy mood has completely diminished in a matter of seconds.
I turn towards the bathroom so I can get a shower and wash off the shame of last night. That's when I hear two things simultaneously: the water, which has apparently been running, turns off and a cell phone starts ringing. I look at the end table next to the couch to see the black phone lighting up and buzzing in a circle. That's definitely not Jamie or Kelsey's phone. Which just leaves one person.
The bathroom door opens and my heart stops beating. I know it stops, because three seconds later it starts pounding again and I can feel it in my toes, my fingers, I can hear it in my ears. I am frozen in place as Dean steps into the hall with a towel wrapped low around his waist and water beading on his chest. Those muscles I thought I felt when he was on top of me last night? Yeah they definitely weren't my imagination. Oh I am so, so very screwed.
"Sorry, I didn't want to wake you. I thought I turned it on silent."
He rushes past me to grab the phone and silence it. While his back is to me I take a moment to compose myself. I'm practically drooling. Get your shit together Jess.
When he turns back to me I'm marginally less pathetic than I was a moment ago, but I still can't keep my heart from skipping a beat when his eyes meet mine and the corner of his mouth turns up in a half smile.
"How'd you sleep?" he asks me.
"I think I should be asking you that question."
"Not gonna lie, your couch is not the most comfortable place I've crashed, but it's definitely not the worst," he continues to smile and I notice the water from his hair is slowly trickling down his forehead. Focus girl.
"There was this one time during freshman pledge week when I woke up in the bed of a truck. I think I've still got a kink in my back two years later."
"You'll definitely have to tell me the whole story some day." I cross my arms and lean against the wall of the hallway trying to seem casual.
"How about today? Do you have any plans? I was thinking we could go down to Santa Monica pier and hang out." He adjusts the towel around his waist and I lose all semblance of control over my thoughts.
"Um…" Think Jessie! He asked you a question. What was it? Plans…something about plans today. "No, I don't have any plans today."
"Well now you do," he grins at me as he reaches out to tuck an escaping tendril of hair behind my ear. "Let me get dressed so you can get ready."
He walks past me and back into the bathroom. I lean back against the wall and squeeze my eyelids together so tight that I see bursts of light. I breathe deeply in through my nose then slowly expel the breath from my mouth. Doesn't help. I still can't think about anything other than the way that towel clung to Dean's hips, and how there was nothing underneath it but him. Mind. Gutter. So not good.
"All yours." Dean walks past me and I catch a whiff of my shampoo. I have no idea why that is such a turn on, but I need to get in the shower now and turn up the cold water. Otherwise this day with him is going to just become an extension of my humiliation from last night.
I throw my clothes in a pile on the bathroom floor and step into the shower. The same shower Dean just spent several minutes in. Naked. Cold water...yes, that's what I need. I don't get through five minutes before I hear fingernails drumming on the door. It swings open then slams shut before I have the chance to say anything.
"Tell me everything!" Kelsey squeals and I hear the lid on the toilet drop so I assume she's settling in for a story.
"I don't know what you're referring to," I play dumb while I finish shaving my legs.
"Jessica Dianne Maddox, do not make me go ask that boy to give me details because you know I will."
"Ok! But there's really nothing to tell," I begin while I wash my hair. "After I puked all over, thanks for that by the way, he took me home. While he was putting me to bed I may or may not have accidentally yanked him down on to the bed with me. Nothing happened though. Oh but you were right last night, he's not gay."
"I knew it! I knew that boy had a thing for you! The whole time we were at the pizza place yesterday he couldn't take his eyes off of you. And forget about last night, you should've gotten a room together the way he was eye-fucking you."
"Nice Kels. Real nice," I say as I rinse the last of the soap off.
"Well it's true. So what now?" she asks, obviously not happy with the lack of juice in my details.
"We're going to Santa Monica pier for the day."
"Oooh, so it's your first official date?!" she claps her hands like a happy seal.
"Calm down! We're just going to hang out. He said nothing about a date. Don't get ahead of yourself. I'm sure now that he isn't keeping his little game going and making me look like an idiot, the interest will fade."
I throw back the shower curtain and reach for a towel just as I hear a throat clear and a brief knock on the bathroom door. For the second time today, my heart stops.
"Hey Jessie, Mark from Sigma is swinging by, I'm gonna head back to the house with him so I can grab my car. I'll be back to pick you up in about half an hour," Dean says from the other side of the door.
My eyes are wide and I glare at Kelsey, wondering how much of our conversation he heard. "Ok! Great! I'll be ready!"
"Oh and Jess?" he pauses before adding, "It's definitely a date."
I hear his footsteps fade, then moments later the front door shuts. Kelsey jumps up, grabs me by the shoulders and shakes me twice. "Come on, we need to make you hot!"
Trust me, I think to myself, when Dean is around that is most definitely not a challenge.