If We Jump

I woke up on the couch, still in my clothes from last night. I could remember the majority of what happened, but once I got home, things were disappearing. So far, all I knew after that was Evan and I got drunk. He was still passed out on the floor next to me.

I got up to get some aspirin for my head and some water. I did the best to mend my hangover and sat on the floor next to Evan.

"Hey, wake up" I shook his shoulder. He didn't even stir in his sleep. I shook his shoulder harder and realized he was clutching a glass bottle to his chest. From here it looked like tequila. I also noticed the lip gloss. There was a bit on his bottom lip and sometime the left of his mouth. Fuck. That had better not be mine.

I tried and tried to wake him up so I could figure out what was going on but soon found my actions to be pointless. He was not getting up.

I roamed into my bedroom and got a blanket to cover him with. Once that was taken care of, I got dressed for the day. I didn't have class today but I had to be at work in an hour.

Work was not fun, not that it usually was. About a year and a half ago I acquired a job as a receptionist at a veterinarian's office. Most days, I just sat at the desk bored until a client or two arrived. My job was to check people in and let the doctor know they arrived. When they were finished, I set up their next appointment and they paid their bill. It's not that I didn't like my job, it's just that it's pretty boring. There's no one to talk to except clients. It paid well though and I had flexible hours so I stayed.

I got stuck in traffic on my home for over an hour. I didn't get back till after 9. My plan for today was to lock myself in my room, blast some music, and cram for tray huge history test I had tomorrow. I walked into my room and found my phone on my bed with a note. Evan must have put it there.

Dakotah,
Went out to pick up some pizza. The guys are coming over later. Be back soon.
-Evan
P.S. I found your phone in the fridge.

In the fridge? I really need to figure out what happened. I checked my messages before calling Evan.

I had one from John and one from an unknown number. Hey Kodah, it's Stephen. Can we talk? It said. I ignored it and checked what John had to say first. His read, we all need to hang out again! What are you doing tonight?! I typed my response to him - I had to study, but I told Stephen to come over in an hour. After I sent it, I couldn't help but wonder what I had just gotten myself into.

Instead of studying, I waited impatiently, pacing in my room for Evan to come home. Stephen got here before Evan did.

I opened the door to let him inside and he gave me a small smile. "How've you been?" he asked. I hated making small talk when I knew there was something on his mind.

"I've been good. What did you want to talk about Stephen?"

"I know we had our fights, but I want us to be friends."

"I don't know about that Stephen."

"I want to tell you what really happened. I want you to forgive me. I want us to be friends. For John, if nothing else." I thought about that for a while. Maybe it'd all work out. We could be friends. You can't cheat on just a friend.

"Okay. Friends. But I don't want to know that yet." I didn't want to know what really happened. If it wasn't his fault and I was here alone with him, even after these three years, I'd probably still forgive him too much. I was able to forgive him as a friend but I wasn't ready to forgive him as a boyfriend. I don't know if I ever will be.

"Friends" he said again and held out his hand for me to shake. Before I could, the door swung open and Evan walked in with pizza and a bunch of his friends.

"Hey Dakotah" he said and kissed me on the cheek as he passed. Stephen looked just as confused as I was. We made plans to hang out with the band when I get out of class tomorrow. It was my last one of the semester.

We said goodbye and I had to talk to Evan. I found him in the kitchen. "Uhh, what happened last night?"

He smirked. "You don't remember?" he said, pretending to act shocked. I shook my head. "Nothing major. I think we made out but that's it."

“We made out..?” what the hell did I drink? He nodded and smirked.
“It was pretty good actually. But no worries, no harm done.” He smiled before going back to his friends with drinks. I sighed in relief. This was all going to be okay, I told myself. Everything will be just like normal. I glanced at the clock. 11 p.m. There goes my plan for studying. I took a quick shower before hopping into bed and set my alarm an hour early to cram for my exam in the morning.