Audrey had wanted to spend Monday night in front of the TV, watching whatever mindless movie she could find on basic cable. Everyone else was beginning to tense up, as finals began to loom around the corner. But for tonight, she hoped she’d be able to forget all that.
That plan was thwarted as soon as there was a knock at the door. Audrey uncurled herself from her position on the couch and answered the banging.
It was Jen, hands on her hips, anxious for reasons that weren’t connected to final exams. Ever since Audrey and Jen had been snooping a few days ago and just happened to hear every word Joey and Keith said from his bedroom, there had been this added strain. While Joey had relayed a few harshly conveyed details to Audrey, nobody else was talking.
“I wanted to talk to Keith.”
Audrey laughed. “Good luck with that one.” She pointed to his bedroom and was about to settle back on the couch when she abruptly changed her mind. “I’m going to annoy Joey at the library. That girl needs her mind off the book.” She glanced down, remembering she hadn’t changed out of her school clothes yet. “Yeah, I can leave.”
“It’s getting cold,” Jen warned her. Audrey waved her off as she grabbed her coat and shoes.
Jen knocked on his door. No reply. She tried again. Still no answer. She cautiously opened the door.
Keith was sitting Indian-style on the bed, his back to her. Assorted notes and textbooks were strewn around. He was humming along to whatever was playing from the headphones of his portable CD player and tapping his pen to the notebook.
Jen said, “Hello,” but he was unable to hear her. Carefully, she walked further into the room to better observe the situation. He was wearing a t-shirt that was initially white but had been mixed in the laundry with someone’s red shirt (Audrey had screwed up both of the guys’ clothes the one time she’d offered) and plaid boxers – probably initially intending to head right to bed but got sidetracked. She had momentarily forgotten, in their attempts to have a real relationship, that she had been physically attracted to him first and had originally wanted nothing more than that from him.
If he actually realized she was there, Jen wondered if she’d even be able to form sentences. Then the rational side of her realized he was actually in the more embarrassing position. So when he stopped humming, she walked around the bed and applauded, cat-calling, “Way to go!”
Keith jerked his head up, ready to throw a comeback at Audrey. When he saw it was Jen, he lowered the headphones from his ears to his neck. “Hadn’t meant for the impromptu show,” he muttered, looking away from her.
“It’s okay. What were you singing?”
He knew about Jen’s snobbery when it came to musicians, the effect of doing reviews for the school newspaper. So this admission would be rather painful. “Brendan made this mix CD one time when he was pissed off at me. In light of recent events I dug it out.”
“Why are you avoiding the question? It can’t be that bad.”
“’My Own Prison’ by Creed?” Keith had to chuckle as to the absurdity of the confession, then replied defensively, “I admit that song isn’t too bad, actually rather catchy, but I can already see an attack coming after this.”
Jen’s mouth dropped, then began laughing, sputtering out, “Damn, Brendan must have hated you then.”
“Yeah.” Keith closed the books, careful not to lose his place, shifting them over to the floor. He sat back on the bed and set a place for her. “What brings you here?”
Jen didn’t sit down, not just yet. “I should tell you that Audrey and I were eavesdropping on your conversation with Joey.”
“Lovely,” he muttered dryly.
“Do everyone a favor and don’t talk about stuff you don’t understand. You weren’t there when Pacey and Joey broke up and it was unnecessary to throw it back in her face.”
He fretted with the books. “Believe it or not, even I know I crossed the line with that comment.” Apologizing to Jen was one thing – he had no intention of letting Joey know he erred. She’d said some cruel things, plus there was no need to have her gloating. They had done just fine living together and despising each other’s presence at the same time so there was no need to change.
“Well, that’s good to hear.” She settled next to him on the bed. “So, even though I’m angry with you using Pacey’s name that way, I’m not too angry. Joey can hold her own…”
Keith rubbed the spot on his back where Joey left her mark. “She certainly can.”
Jen smirked, knowing full well he deserved that, then finished, “…and it was nice to see you sticking up for Brendan.”
He shrugged, looking away from her. “Somebody had to do it.”
She moved closer and brushed his hair back. “You don’t have to always be the protector.”
Keith turned to her, confused by the statement. “Is this about Brendan or you?”
“Either, though I suppose more to do with us. You said that being a protector was a positive. Well, the thing is, I don’t need that.”
“Because you’re a feminist who believes she can handle everything?”
“Well, there’s that,” surprised that she would normally be pissed off by the macho posturing routine, and that wasn’t the point this time. “What I meant was, you don’t have to be able to handle everything. I realize you’ve had to be self-reliant for quite awhile. I don’t see you as the type who’d want to let others in if there was something wrong.”
“There’s nothing wrong,” he insisted, not sure what this was about.
“I said if, Keith. I wasn’t trying to accuse you of anything. Just…wanted the offer to be there because I suspect you wouldn’t necessary come to me otherwise.”
“If that moment should arise, you’ll be there,” agreeing more so she’d drop the subject. “Got it.”
“Okay then.” She glanced his way slyly, then turned away. There was that feeling again, there simply not enough distance between them for her to avoid what she felt.
She hadn’t realized how long the silence and the looks had been until he asked in exasperation, “What?”
“Nothing.” At Keith’s raised eyebrow and pointed stare, she felt the need to explain. “It’s just…” There was that problem with words that she feared earlier. Now was certainly not the time to have that happen. Jen scooted closer and captured him in a searing kiss, pushing her tongue against his mouth until he allowed her entry. She broke away just long enough to whisper against his lips, “I want you so bad,” then resumed the kiss.
He tried to answer but she wasn’t interested in stopping. So the reply was rather broken-up. “I thought…we were striving…not to repeat…past mistakes.”
“You’re not interested?” Jen pulled away and began unbuttoning her shirt, revealing a black bra.
“No, no, believe me I am. I just don’t want to mess this up.”
She could see, despite his insistence to the contrary, that he was caving in, so she teased, “The performance?” resting her hand on his arm and trailing her fingers upward.
“No. Us.” He looked at her fingers, then up to her face. Here was the most beautiful woman ever right there and her eyes read that she wanted him so bad. It was pointless to hold back, especially since he craved that too. “It doesn’t matter.” He cupped her cheek in his hand and went back to kissing her.
* * * * *
“So this is what this place looks like at night?” Audrey observed as she followed Joey through the English department building. Joey had been in the library studying before being so rudely interrupted.
Joey replied, “We lived on campus for two years!”
“I know but this is an academic building,” Audrey pouted. “Foreign territory.”
Joey complained, “Remind me why you’re following me?”
“Because Jen’s talking to Keith and I so didn’t want to be there during that. I may want them to be together but that doesn’t mean I want to hear all about it, if you know what I mean.”
“Well, I certainly don’t want that imagery,” Joey shuddered.
“You know, this place is actually kind of scary at night. I can’t imagine why you’d wait for a bus in this deserted place. It’s really not safe.” She scrunched her nose as a strange-looking guy passed them.
“What do you suggest?”
“Find someone with a car. Now, if we head to our old dorm, I’m sure we can get a pity ride from some guy.”
“Oh yeah, that’s safe,” Joey rolled her eyes. She looked around the campus until her eyes set on one of the tech buildings and got an idea. “Or, we can go to the computer lab and wait,” checking her watch, “until the place closes.”
Audrey raised an eyebrow. “To get the geeky stragglers? Do they even have cars?”
Joey laughed. “I meant we wait for Brendan to finish his shift.”
“That works as well,” Audrey muttered, then asked seriously, “Have you talked to him yet?”
“About what? I’m supposed to take seriously something Keith said?”
“There were reasons Keith waited for you. It didn’t come out of nowhere. I brought Brendan home that night and he was rather hostile.” She didn’t really want to have this discussion with Joey, not when the person she should talk to was only a few turns away. Once they set foot in the building, she exclaimed proudly, “So now I’m officially among the technologically advanced.”
They traveled the maze of the building until finally hitting the computer lab. As soon as they opened the door, they heard a squeal. Lisa was sitting at the computer by Brendan’s position manning the desk. Brendan was standing behind her, both of them focused on the monitor.
“See, I told you there was a site devoted to this stuff,” Lisa said triumphantly, pointing to the screen. “This study shows that the world will come to an end in 2008.”
Brendan skimmed the contents of the page, stating skeptically, “Planet X as the cause of the end of the world? There’s only one Planet X and it’s the one involving Duck Dodgers and Marvin the Martian. Yeah, maybe those folks could accomplish that if they weren’t, you know, cartoons.”
Lisa bolted around to face him, annoyed by his quick dismissal. “You’re saying this is a stupid theory? My professor was checking out this site. It isn’t some quack that’s saying this…”
“The guy is crazy. Those chemistry professors are from another planet.”
“You are absolutely frustrating!” she wailed.
“Glad to be of service,” Brendan replied proudly.
Audrey glanced Joey’s way, wondering if she was the only one who thought both of them were clinically insane. Joey just chuckled, not sure what was going on. Audrey sighed, then interrupted their argument, “Hey Lis. Didn’t think I’d find you here.”
Lisa jumped out of her seat, stunned by her voice. Then even more so to find Joey with her. It wasn’t like Joey was dating Brendan, so why’d she suddenly feel like an affair was interrupted? “Hi,” she said timidly. “How long have you been there?”
“Long enough to wonder how we became friends,” Audrey replied, confused as to what happened to her new friend. Then she shook it off, saying to Brendan, “We were on campus, and thought to try to get a ride home.”
Brendan informed her, “I wasn’t heading straight home. Have to get dinner.”
“You’re leaving, right?” Audrey asked Lisa, who nodded in reply. “We so need to plan out your wardrobe better for your next close encounter.”
Lisa turned around to her. “What are you talking about?” She looked down at her green and blue striped turtleneck sweater, white knitted scarf, faded jeans, and brown boots. Not the most daring outfit but she had gotten Brendan to say it was cute so there should be no complaint.
“What if Keith had been with me and he saw you dressed like that?” Audrey said, thinking she was stating the obvious. “Turtlenecks just don’t do it for most guys. I know it’s a trend but I hate it. Skin is never a bad thing.” She dragged Lisa out of the lab.
Joey shook her head, musing, “I’m glad Audrey found someone else to badger. I was getting tired of the responsibility.”
“What was so wrong with her clothes? Was she supposed to look like she’s heading right for the club?”
“Something tells me Audrey wouldn’t take your fashion advice seriously,” Joey replied, taking hold of the hem of the bright yellow t-shirt peeking out from under the brown sweater he was wearing.
Brendan looked down at her hand, sure she wasn’t even aware one of her knuckles was brushing against his skin. “Right, well, I thought Lisa had better taste than Keith so it’s not like I’ve never been wrong.”
Joey smirked, “I can’t disagree with that one.” She looked around the lab, seeing nobody else still there. “Are you almost done here? I could join you for dinner since I’ve been studying for way too long.”
“Well…” He needed a reason not to agree to this.
None came to him, which is how it was now forty minutes later and they were sitting in a booth in a diner, awaiting their food.
He should have known better than to agree to let her come. Maybe it was his stomach answering the question because now that she was sitting across from him, it was nerve-wracking. He didn’t know what she knew and the anticipation was driving him crazy. That and the way she was sipping the soda from that straw.
Brendan shut his eyes for a moment, trying to clear that image from being sexual, then said, “Can you believe the year is almost over already? Only one month left.”
Joey smiled. “It is rather strange. Finals are coming too soon for comfort. I still have two books to read for Hetson’s class and a research paper to do for British Politics.”
“Why would you take a British Politics class as an elective? That’s downright sadistic!” He took a roll from the basket on the table and began buttering it. “I have no problem with learning about other countries but that is a tough class.”
“Maybe I get off on having a challenge like that present.” Brendan raised an eyebrow at Joey’s choice of words, then shrugged as he took a bite out of the roll. Joey laughed at his reaction. “What is that look about?”
“I don’t know.”
Joey noticed that he’d been acting strange since they arrived here. The littlest and oddest comments were making him tense. “Alrighty then.” She took another sip of Coke, not even aware she was doing anything.
He dropped the roll on his plate. “We can’t keep avoiding the subject.”
Joey was taken by surprise. “What subject?”
“I know that Keith talked to you, probably in response to me being an idiot, but nobody seems to want to talk about it. You’re all driving me crazy. Especially you.”
She was able to stall as the waiter brought their meals to the table. Joey faked a smile to show her appreciation for the service, then stared at the plate in front of her. She could feel Brendan’s eyes on her, waiting for her to say something, anything to him. Finally, she said softly, “I didn’t mean for this to happen. It wasn’t supposed to be so complicated.”
“I’m aware,” he murmured.
“I wasn’t trying to play games. It just got really confusing really quickly. I didn’t want to believe that Pacey had a hold on me. The problem was he always did, even before I saw him at that damn party. I thought I could pursue us without that baggage but it was never really possible. Neither one of us were open to a real relationship.”
“Don’t lump me in with the way you feel.”
“Oh come on, Brendan. You cannot tell me that you were always truthful. If you were, we wouldn’t be sitting here having this discussion. I would know from you the reality. I’m not even sure I know you right now.”
“I never lied to you,” he said softly.
“Right,” Joey said doubtfully. “So you’re okay with me dating Pacey? You didn’t have the urge to punch him out?”
“Maybe I did. But it’s not like I wanted you to be with me. I could see that you were in love with him. I guess I just wished that you had ever thought of me that way. That I was at some point as important to you. I was always just your friend but hadn’t realized it until that moment at the club when I saw you dancing with Pacey.”
“I wish I could dispute that,” Joey said, saddened to hear that was the reality. “Well, I mean, you were more than a friend or else I wouldn’t have had sex with you. But I think I can say that I thought of it as the safe option.”
“It gets more and more depressing,” Brendan groaned, picking at the cole slaw in his plate with the fork.
“I was sick of getting hurt by men. From the moment we met, I’ve enjoyed your company. Usually when there’s a guy I’m interested in, it starts as more of a bickering, close-to-adversarial association and evolves into something greater. Come to think of it, there aren’t many people who start out immediately on my good side, male or female.” Joey pushed up the sleeves of her sweater, looking out the window to the quiet street. “We would talk and I could tell you were just as wary about relationships as I was. It was nice to have someone to relate with. It was a fun time.”
“It wasn’t anything else to you?”
“No, of course there was more. They just weren’t reasons to sustain it as a romance. I know that I wanted to kiss you that night after the disaster at your parents’ house. You were so dejected and I remember I wanted that feeling to disappear. That’s not a real reason, I realize that.”
“No, actually it makes sense. We never would have worked out, regardless of Pacey’s arrival.”
“Yeah.” Joey turned back to the table. “I’m really sorry about that. I never seriously thought that you’d…” Being careful as to exactly how to phrase the question everyone else had asked regarding this, she cautiously asked, “Were you in love with me?”
Brendan laughed nervously, then replied, “If there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s that I have a defective gauge when it comes to that question.”
“That’s not a real answer.” She wished he would stop trying to make this easy for her, now that she was aware that it was hurting him to say such things.
Brendan leaned back in the booth, taking a deep sigh while focusing on the bracelet on Joey’s wrist. Anything so he wouldn’t directly face her. After a minute, he finally replied, “It means that I thought I was.”
“The night on the dance floor?”
“That was a slip-up,” he said quickly, then added more thoughtfully, “I hadn’t really thought about it until afterwards.”
“But you never really wanted to tell me.”
“I must have known I wouldn’t like the answer you’d give.”
Joey gave a slight smirk. “You’re probably right.”
Brendan looked up at her, knowing he had to stop hiding. “I was holding back because I was afraid of what you’d really thought of me. I don’t know, I guess I’ve always been wary. You liked what you’d seen and I didn’t want to ruin that. It felt so good.” He was wistful as he thought about the way he’d acted at the club. “After we broke up, I began thinking that you thrived off the way guys fall for you. I know now that’s utterly ridiculous but I couldn’t help but think that I’d let my guard down for two seconds and that was when you had swooped in.”
“Instead of saying this to me, you blasted off to everyone else,” Joey said aloud, now able to make some sense of Audrey’s line of questioning.
“Unfortunately, yes.”
Joey folded one hand over Brendan’s. “I know this doesn’t wipe away everything that’s happened, but I’m really sorry. You’re one of the good catches and I don’t want you to think that what happened between us is anything more than an isolated occurrence.”
Brendan rolled his eyes at Joey’s attempt to make him feel better. “Okay, Jo.”
“I mean it. Seriously? Pacey’s got a quick temper, is too impulsive and can act like a first-grader when he wants something. Sometimes he needs a babysitter as much as a girlfriend.” Her smile widened when she saw him bite his lip, attempting not to grin. “Dawson lives near Hollyweird and thinks his life is a movie, complete with a sappy happily ever after ending. I won’t even delve too deep into Keith because I realize he’s your friend, but he seriously needs to figure out when to keep his mouth shut.”
He chuckled, appreciating Joey’s restraint on that subject. “Compared to that, I guess I’m the stable one.”
* * * * *
The phone kept ringing in the apartment. Jen couldn’t believe that Keith, and whoever else was home by this point, were sleeping through it. Even though she didn’t want to leave his arms, the noise was simply aggravating. She wiggled out of his grip, threw on the sweatshirt Keith had left on a chair, and went into the living room.
Thankful that nobody else could possibly be home, she picked up the phone. “Hello?”
Pacey replied, “Why hello, Lindley.”
Jen dragged the phone into Keith’s room and sat on the bed. By this time, he was waking up. “Hey Pacey. How have you been?”
“Okay. I’d ask why you’re there but I’d prefer to know if Potter’s home.”
“I’ll check.” Jen covered the receiver with her hand and shouted out, “Joey!” After waiting for a reply and receiving none, she released her hand to inform him, “Just as I suspected. She is not home.”
“You’re torturing me. You just know that I need to talk to her.”
Keith whispered, “You know she’s not here.”
Jen placed her finger to her lips, a teasing grin taunting him. She mouthed the words, “Play along.” Into the phone, she said, “Now why would I stall when I know you’re looking for a good phone sex session?”
Pacey stammered, “I wasn’t calling for that.” Even though he perfectly well knew he was, that was none of Jen’s business.
“Sure you weren’t. So Jack never heard that conversation.” Jen smirked knowingly. Keith sat up, amused by their discussion. “Well, if you don’t mind a substitute, I guess I could role play with you.”
Pacey could tell this was not something he could easily live down. “Jen Lindley, I’m not doing this with you.”
“I’ll have you know that you interrupted a rather explicit sexual dream so you owe me.” She pressed a finger to Keith’s lips, not wanting him to interrupt. The possibility of having some fun at Pacey’s expense was too tempting.
“Why are you at the apartment in the first place?” Pacey demanded.
Jen looked around Keith’s room, hoping a suitable lie would come to her. Then she spotted a DVD from his collection and knew just what could bother Pacey. “Audrey and I were watching Wild Things.” She lowered her voice, “It was rather inspiring,” staring straight at Keith as she said that. Keith teased her back by waving his index finger back and forth at her, refusing to give in so easily to this rather manipulative ploy.
“Wild Things?” Pacey gulped. “That’s the one with Neve Campbell and Denise Richards…”
“Yup,” cutting him off before he could continue that explanation. “But, see, that’s a fantasy for another time. I refuse to kiss and tell about that experience.” She could hear a gasp from Pacey’s end, even as he covered it with a cough. “Besides, the currently sleeping party shouldn’t be involved in our little escapade. Now,” she settled back on the bed, “About this dream you wrecked. I was in this pink negligee…”
“Pink?” Both Pacey and Keith replied skeptically to that one.
Jen laughed at Keith’s reaction, then pushed him away. “It was a joke gift from Jack. But you know what, you’re right. This is kind of awkward. After all, it involved handcuffs and being disciplined for my sins and that simply wouldn’t interest you.”
“Um, Jen, I know that we’re both seeing other people, which in itself makes this conversation bizarre… not that this couldn’t be a turn-on…in a different situation.” He paused as he got his mind back on the proper track. “They both live in the very apartment you’re in right now…”
“The fact that the guy was Deputy Doug doesn’t help. I see your point.” Keith buried his head in the pillow, muffling his laugh.
Pacey gasped for breath, then exclaimed, “My brother? You were fantasizing about my brother?”
“How else would I get a suitable pair of handcuffs?” Jen replied as if the answer was obvious. “Geez, there has to be some logic to these S&M relationships!”
“Lindley, you’d better be careful when you leave that apartment tonight because I will kill you.” Jen hung up on him, unable to keep from laughing any longer. “That was fun,” she mused.
Keith turned to face her, rolling with laughter. “That prank was downright cruel.”
“Pacey’s used to it,” she snickered.
The phone rang again. Jen pleaded for Keith to handle it, to which he replied, “Not a chance in hell.”
Jen sighed, then picked up and said sultrily, “Do you think you can handle Round 2?”
“Round 2?” a confused and unfamiliar voice repeated. It was a lady’s voice, with a southern accent thicker than Keith’s. “I’m sorry, I guess I have the wrong number.”
Jen realized she had better immediately apologize, since it was possibly his mom. “I thought it was somebody else. Sorry about that.”
“Is Keith there? He had mentioned it’s easier to catch him at night.”
“Yeah, he’s right here. Is this his mom?” Keith was stricken by the question.
The caller sounded taken aback by the question. “No, his Aunt Sally. Though this call is actually about her.”
Jen repeated that information to him, to which he took the phone from her. “Hi…this is a surprise.” Jen didn’t know what she had said but after a minute, he said, “Can you hold on?” He turned to Jen, informing her, “This is going to take awhile.”
“I should get going anyway. Grams will worry.” She leaned over and kissed him briefly on the lips. “Good night.”
Keith watched as she gathered her belongings and headed to the bathroom. He hadn’t wanted her to leave, especially not now with what promised to be a difficult phone conversation looming. He collapsed back onto his bed, continuing to listen to his aunt.
* * * * *
Pacey called back Jen, getting a busy signal. “She must have kept the phone off the hook.” Somebody had clearly been there with her and they were both having fun at his expense.
A few minutes later, he tried again. Still busy. He was just about to give up when there was a knock. He hung up the phone, then answered the door.
“Hey Pace,” Joey greeted, adding in a kiss on the cheek. “How’s your day been?”
“Did Jen talk to you in the last five minutes about our phone escapades?” Pacey asked suspiciously.
Joey grinned as she thought back to their last conversation, then frowned. “Why would I do that? That’s strictly between you and me.” She hated to think how Jen would know that.
“No, not you and me, I meant Jen and me…never mind, that’s embarrassing enough without everyone knowing.”
Joey’s eyes widened, not sure if she wanted to have any clue after all. “No, I haven’t but this sounds like something a girlfriend should know about.” She indicated she was only teasing; after all, it was Jen.
“So what brings you here so late at night?” He wrapped his arms around Joey.
“I was studying at the library, then ate a late dinner with Brendan.”
“Oh,” Pacey replied simply. He didn’t want to pull away based on that comment, even as there was still reason to have doubts about those two.
“We had a long talk. The one we probably should have had when we broke up. I guess I hadn’t realized what was really happening. It seems that everyone else could see clearer that I could.”
He had suspected, based on Joey’s version of the argument with Keith and his own run-in with Brendan, there was something deeper about the situation. Pacey could see now that Joey truly never saw this. “So what does he really think of this?” pointing to himself then her.
“It sucks up one side and down another?” Joey faintly smiled. “Basically, Brendan is kind of bummed but is working through the broken heart mending phase. Meanwhile, I’ll be careful not to be so touchy-feely, even though I have no idea how that started in the first place.”
Pacey corrected, “You do mean you won’t be so touchy-feely toward him, right? Because, personally, I have no problem with you being that way if I’m on the receiving end.”
Joey beamed, her brain thinking of the possibilities, then put on a stoic face as she said, “I suppose I can try to do that.” She grabbed hold of his right hand and brought it to her lips. “If that’s what you desire.”
“Well, what I really desire is you.” He moved his hand to the nape of her neck and captured her mouth in an intense kiss. Joey’s posture weakened as she allowed him to take control, wrapping her arms around his waist to keep her balance. Even though this was hardly their first kiss since they’d reunited, it felt just as fresh as the first one. “Every portion of you.”
* * * * *
Audrey woke up in the middle of the night, feeling unsettled. It was as if she weren’t alone in the room. She looked around cautiously, then saw that Keith had snuck in and was sitting on her floor.
“Damn you, Keith. Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” She took the pillow from her bed and flung it at his head.
“Sorry,” he whispered. She noticed he sounded rather panicked himself.
Audrey asked, concerned, “Are you okay?”
“I don’t know where to turn. Normally, this would seem a good excuse to head to the bar I use as a hide-out but that seems rather inappropriate given the circumstances.”
Audrey turned on her lamp so she could get a better look at him. He lowered his head to shield his eyes from the sudden light. Even so, she could see he was stressed out. He was fidgeting with his class ring, something she hadn’t even noticed he wore prior to now. She crawled out from under the covers and sat on the edge of the bed. When she arrived home, he had been on the phone. “Is it about that call?”
He didn’t immediately answer, instead standing up and heading for her dresser. Audrey may have been a good friend but it put him even more on edge having her watch over him with worry. It felt all wrong. “My mom has been in rehab for nearly a month.”
“Wow, really?” She could see he hardly thought this was good news. “I’m guessing there’s more than that.”
Keith shook his head, muttering, “It figures that I finally gave up on her and settled into a life of my own and Aunt Sally would start talking about returning home.”
“For winter break?” Audrey wished she understood his family situation better. She discovered that Jen found out, eventually. All she was sure of was that there was a father who lived in Boston and taught at Worthington while the mom was back in Georgia and she was an alcoholic. Everything else was somewhat distorted.
“That’s what she says now but both will be pushing for a permanent move. It will be very difficult to turn them down if Mom is sober. ” He turned around to face Audrey. “But there’s Jen…I really don’t want to leave her, now that we’ve finally…um, gotten together.” He glanced away briefly, slightly blushing.
Audrey realized he meant that in a physical way. She was amazed, given the brash way Keith usually talked about the opposite sex, that this wasn’t a moment he was bragging about. It must have meant something to him. “You really need to talk to her about this.”
“Could do that. Or…” Audrey groaned, prepared to hear some harebrained scheme. “You could tell her that we’ve been together since we supposedly broke up…”
Audrey burst out laughing, cutting him off. “Not a chance a hell, Stafford. Jen and I are, surprisingly, still friends. There is no way I’m going to lie to her…”
“Doesn’t have to be a lie,” he murmured, looking away from her. “If you don’t want it to be.”
Her eyes widened. He could not possibly mean to cheat on her as the way to do the break up. “I would never agree to that one. You’d be thinking of Jen the whole time. That’s why I dumped you in the first place, remember?”
“It was just a suggestion, Audrey.”
She shrieked, “Yeah, well, unsuggest it! Immediately!” Calmer, she added, “You can sleep on the floor, if that makes you feel better. However, you are talking to Jen first thing in the morning. I’ll even wake up early to make sure you are out of here before you have a chance to come up with an even stupider idea.”
