You & I
Day Fifty-Eight
"Can you make any more noise?"
I looked up from the table to see Tara shuffling in my direction. She was rubbing her head and there was a frustrated frown on her face. "Sorry, did I wake you? I didn't realise you were here," I delivered my mock apology flatly and continued, "Being that it's 1.30 in the afternoon and you've only just surfaced. You look like the creature from the black lagoon. And don't you have to meet your new boss today? Brilliant idea to get drunk the night before."
Tara groaned and collapsed in a crumpled heap on the sofa. "Please God, if you must give me a lecture can we postpone it till tonight?" There was a little pleading in her voice and I found myself relenting. I got up to make her some strong coffee.
"You and Chris looked cosy last night." She piped up suddenly.
"By 'cosy' you must mean as friends, because we are friends. Just friends."
"So things are ok between the two of you now?"
I gave an easy smile. "I think everything's finally back to normal with us. We had a few beers, he made fun of the way I ate my pizza and I mocked his inability to handle spicy food." I handed Tara her coffee. "It's the first time I've been able to relax around him since his party."
"You must really like Jackson," Tara concluded with a lazy shrug.
"I do."
- I hadn't expected it to be so easy to admit to, but there it was.
There was a knock at the door. Correction - there was a succession of knock on the door. Why do the eejits in this building just let anyone in? There's a system for a reason people.
"Holy hell make it stop!" Tara groaned and pulled the throw off the back of the couch over herself to try and drown out the noise.
When I opened the door I wasn't expecting to find Jackson on the doorstep. "Hi," I kissed him and then moved aside to let him in to the apartment.
"I know you have to leave for work soon, but I need to talk to you." Jackson said. I could see he was anxious, he looked a bit pissed off actually. It was a side of him I hadn't seen before. "I'm probably overreacting," He ran a hand through his hair. I wondered if he knew he wasn't making a fat lot of sense.
"Do you want a drink or something?"
"No, no." He shook his head quickly. "I...oh hi Tara." Jackson hadn't spotted the slouched mound that was Tara until now. She grunted a noise which could just pass as a hello. Jackson lowered his voice, "Can I talk to you in private?"
Ok, this is not looking good at all.
I had this sinking feeling that I was about to get dumped. And I wasn't the least bit prepared for how it made me feel. I had never been dumped before, but then again, I had never been in a relationship that actually had the potential to go somewhere. I hadn't realized how much I actually liked Jackson until that moment my paranoid mind jumped to the conclusion he was about to bin me off.
I lead the way to my room and Jackson closed the door behind us. There were a few painful seconds of silence before I couldn't take it anymore.
"If you're breaking up with me just get it over with because-"
"Wait, what?" Jackson frowned in confusion. "I want to be with you Grace."
"So why are you being so weird?" I asked.
Jackson sighed. "I was having breakfast with Zoe before she went home and the next thing I know, Chris is there and he's accusing me of cheating on you."
"Pardon?" I was staring at him with a blank expression, while my mind tried to process what he had just told me.
"I've tried to rationalize it in my head. I can kinda see why he might reach that conclusion if he saw us saying goodbye or how I was teasing her through breakfast, but she's my sister for christs sake." He sat down on the bed. "Why didn't he just come over and give me time to introduce them, instead of completely overreacting."
"I guess if Tara was dating someone and I saw the guy looking friendly with another girl-" Jackson looked up at me. I sat down beside him. "But I wouldn't fly off the handle without actual facts."
"I know we've been through this Grace, but you're sure there's nothing between the two of you?"
"No." I said it without missing a beat, and a pang of guilt followed. He looked so downhearted and despairing that I wanted to, needed to reassure him. "Chris just cares about his friends. He would probably react the same way if you were dating Tara, but I am going to speak to him."
Actually, I'm going to kill him.
I looked up from the table to see Tara shuffling in my direction. She was rubbing her head and there was a frustrated frown on her face. "Sorry, did I wake you? I didn't realise you were here," I delivered my mock apology flatly and continued, "Being that it's 1.30 in the afternoon and you've only just surfaced. You look like the creature from the black lagoon. And don't you have to meet your new boss today? Brilliant idea to get drunk the night before."
Tara groaned and collapsed in a crumpled heap on the sofa. "Please God, if you must give me a lecture can we postpone it till tonight?" There was a little pleading in her voice and I found myself relenting. I got up to make her some strong coffee.
"You and Chris looked cosy last night." She piped up suddenly.
"By 'cosy' you must mean as friends, because we are friends. Just friends."
"So things are ok between the two of you now?"
I gave an easy smile. "I think everything's finally back to normal with us. We had a few beers, he made fun of the way I ate my pizza and I mocked his inability to handle spicy food." I handed Tara her coffee. "It's the first time I've been able to relax around him since his party."
"You must really like Jackson," Tara concluded with a lazy shrug.
"I do."
- I hadn't expected it to be so easy to admit to, but there it was.
There was a knock at the door. Correction - there was a succession of knock on the door. Why do the eejits in this building just let anyone in? There's a system for a reason people.
"Holy hell make it stop!" Tara groaned and pulled the throw off the back of the couch over herself to try and drown out the noise.
When I opened the door I wasn't expecting to find Jackson on the doorstep. "Hi," I kissed him and then moved aside to let him in to the apartment.
"I know you have to leave for work soon, but I need to talk to you." Jackson said. I could see he was anxious, he looked a bit pissed off actually. It was a side of him I hadn't seen before. "I'm probably overreacting," He ran a hand through his hair. I wondered if he knew he wasn't making a fat lot of sense.
"Do you want a drink or something?"
"No, no." He shook his head quickly. "I...oh hi Tara." Jackson hadn't spotted the slouched mound that was Tara until now. She grunted a noise which could just pass as a hello. Jackson lowered his voice, "Can I talk to you in private?"
Ok, this is not looking good at all.
I had this sinking feeling that I was about to get dumped. And I wasn't the least bit prepared for how it made me feel. I had never been dumped before, but then again, I had never been in a relationship that actually had the potential to go somewhere. I hadn't realized how much I actually liked Jackson until that moment my paranoid mind jumped to the conclusion he was about to bin me off.
I lead the way to my room and Jackson closed the door behind us. There were a few painful seconds of silence before I couldn't take it anymore.
"If you're breaking up with me just get it over with because-"
"Wait, what?" Jackson frowned in confusion. "I want to be with you Grace."
"So why are you being so weird?" I asked.
Jackson sighed. "I was having breakfast with Zoe before she went home and the next thing I know, Chris is there and he's accusing me of cheating on you."
"Pardon?" I was staring at him with a blank expression, while my mind tried to process what he had just told me.
"I've tried to rationalize it in my head. I can kinda see why he might reach that conclusion if he saw us saying goodbye or how I was teasing her through breakfast, but she's my sister for christs sake." He sat down on the bed. "Why didn't he just come over and give me time to introduce them, instead of completely overreacting."
"I guess if Tara was dating someone and I saw the guy looking friendly with another girl-" Jackson looked up at me. I sat down beside him. "But I wouldn't fly off the handle without actual facts."
"I know we've been through this Grace, but you're sure there's nothing between the two of you?"
"No." I said it without missing a beat, and a pang of guilt followed. He looked so downhearted and despairing that I wanted to, needed to reassure him. "Chris just cares about his friends. He would probably react the same way if you were dating Tara, but I am going to speak to him."
Actually, I'm going to kill him.