Manage Me

My head was killing me when I peeled my eyes open the next morning. I groaned, pulling the sheets up over my head. I didn’t remember making it to my bed, but I was thankful that I had ended up here. I curled to the side and silently prayed I would be able to fall back asleep. The mattress sunk slightly and I felt the blanket being moved away. Cursing, I tried to grab it back, but it was nowhere to be found. I grumbled and forced my eyes open. Alex was staring down at me, frowning. I grimaced. He was the last person I wanted to see right now. He wordlessly handed me a tall glass of water and some Asprin. I quickly swallowed the pills down.

“Jack…what happened?” I didn’t answer, opting to just flop back down on the bed instead. “Look, Cass told me about Katie.” My eyes popped open at the mention of her name. Alex gave me a look that was partly sympathetic and partly guilty. “I’m sorry, bro. If I knew you liked her I wouldn’t have ever tried to get with her. Bros before hoes, bitch.” He said with a smile.

“Katie isn’t a hoe, Lex.” I snapped.

“I know, Jack, I wasn’t actually saying that she was. But seriously, I’m not gonna ruin our friendship over a girl. You like her, so go for it.”

I opened my mouth to respond but a loud clatter came from downstairs. It sounded a million times louder than it actually was. Alex made a face and I stared at him.

“What the fuck is going on downstairs?” I asked irritably.

“Uhhh, how much do you remember of last night?”

I thought for a second. I remembered Katie leaving. After that it was all a little fuzzy but I did remember getting wasted and being pissed off. And I remembered Cass and Rian coming over.

“I got really drunk and then Cass and Ri showed up.”

“Well…you kinda trashed your house again…” He said awkwardly.

I groaned, placing my head in my hands. Now that Alex mentioned it, images began popping into my brain. The beer cans on the floor, the food that I bought just to throw around, the puke in the bathroom and the clothes in the pool.

Real mature, Jack.

“So downstairs…?”

“Cass, Ri, Zack and Matt are taking care of some things.” He sounded uncomfortable and I automatically knew he was lying.

“Alex…” I warned. He shifted but kept his mouth shut.

I sighed and threw the blankets off. I stumbled out of the bed. Alex watched me anxiously, but didn’t make a move to stop me. I didn’t even bother getting dressed. Pretty much everybody here had already seen me naked and I had gotten rid of all of my clean clothing last night anyway. I made my way out of my room and cautiously picked my way down the stairs. There was clothing everywhere and a few beer cans as well. I noticed there was some staining and thought about Katie scrubbing the carpet. A pang of guilt stabbed my chest. All of her hard work, gone.

The noise was growing louder, multiple voices talking over each other. I surveyed the rooms that I could see from the bottom of the staircase. There were food boxes and clothing and beer cans strewn about. I felt the same guilt pierce my chest. The majority of the noise was coming from the kitchen so I headed that way. Silence took over as soon as they saw me.

“Hey, Jack.” Cassadee smiled at me.

“Hey.” I said, staring at the ground.

“I made breakfast. And I got some orange juice.” I couldn’t help but smile at that. Cass knew I had a weak spot for orange juice when I was hungover.

“You okay, man?” Rian asked as I sat down at the counter.

“Yeah. Sorry about all of this.” I said with a frown. I had acted ridiculously again and they were cleaning up my mess and taking care of me.

“No worries, man.” Matt smiled. “We’re just glad you’re feeling better today.”

I didn’t say anything, my mouth full of food. I nearly moaned. Cass made the most delicious food ever. I noticed all of them glancing at each other every once in a while. Something was up, I knew it. I dropped my fork with a loud clatter and they all looked at me.

“Okay, what aren’t you telling me?” They all shared another uneasy look.

Cass finally opened her mouth to speak, but she was interrupted by the sound of the back door sliding open. I turned around, curious as to who would be coming in my house. Alex hadn’t mentioned anyone else being here.

“I’ve got the pool cleaned up, the clothes he threw in there are lying out in the sun.” I knew that voice. Katie. I stared at Cassadee with wide eyes. I just knew this had been her doing. “He threw grass inside the pool house.” I could imagine her screwing up her face with that cute annoyed look she got sometimes. “So I’m gonna have to take the vacuum out there.” Her voice cut off suddenly as she caught sight of me sitting in the kitchen.

“Oh, uh, hi Mr. Barakat.” She said awkwardly, rubbing her arms, her eyes darting everywhere but me.

“Katie…what are you doing here?” I noticed her look over at Cass who nodded slightly and then made her way out of the kitchen, the guys following her. Katie sat down at the chair next to mine, but pushed it back a little so we weren’t too close.

“Jack, I’m really, really sorry about yesterday.” She sighed, fiddling with her fingers. “I just kind of freaked out. Most of the time when someone hires me full time, things end up going really badly.” She squirmed around, as if the thought of her previous jobs made her uncomfortable. “But I do want the job.” She said quietly, lifting her eyes to meet mine. “If you still want me to work here that is…” She went back to fiddling with her fingers.

I stayed silent for a few moments, thinking. Of course I wanted Katie to be here. I wanted to be able to see her everyday and talk to her whenever I wanted, but I didn’t want to scare her off. I ran a hand through my hair. I heard Katie sigh and the chair squeaked as she moved off of it.

“Well, I’ll just head out then…I really am sorry, Jack.”

“Wait, no! Don’t go.” I panicked. She turned and looked at me. “The job is yours.” She burst into a huge grin.

“Thank you!”

She hugged me and I held on for just a moment longer than usual, taking the time to breath in her sweet scent. Then she seemed to realize what she had done and quickly jumped away.

“Sorry.” She replied sheepishly. I smiled at her.

“Don’t be. You give really good hugs.” She blushed, averting her gaze. “So, you’ll move into the pool house?” She nodded, giving me a small smile. “Today?”

“I don’t know about that. I’m going to have to pack up my apartment and tell my landlady that I’m moving.”

“Do it today.” I said eagerly. “I’ll go with you and help you pack.” She giggled.

“Calm down, Jack. I’m not going to change my mind overnight just because I didn’t move in today.”

“Okay.” I sighed, but sent her a smile to hide my disappointment.

“Besides, you’re not even dressed.”

I looked down and realized that she was right. I suddenly felt self-conscious. Which was silly really because she had already seen me naked. That thought alone sent my mind straight to the gutter. Katie was wearing shorts again and her ass looked damn good in them. I realized right then that I needed to get dressed and soon.

“Right, well, I’m gonna go fix that right now.”

“Good luck finding clothes.” She teased.

“I really do feel terrible about this, Katie. I’m sorry I ruined all your hard work.” Sincerity colored my words, and she looked slightly taken aback.

“It’s nothing I can’t handle.” She shrugged. “But you really should go get dressed because I think lunch is going to be here soon.”

I nodded at her. She watched me walk to the stairs. I turned and she gave me a silly salute wave thing with a grin plastered on her delicate face. I chuckled and then climbed up the stairs, practically bursting with happiness. Katie was going to move into the pool house and she didn’t completely hate me. She had even been calling me Jack and acting the way she had just a few days ago. A silly smile popped onto my face. I didn’t think today could get any better.