Keith woke up that morning, in desperate need of aspirin. He turned over to get out of bed and saw Jen sitting on a chair, wearing Joey’s sweats. “Why are you here?” his voice hoarse from last night.
Jen had dozed off but snapped awake upon hearing his voice. “I had something I needed to say to you.”
He buried his head in the pillow, grumbling, “Didn’t you get the message last night?”
She made a show of being surprised. “So you remember? And here I thought you’d blame that on being drunk and your lousy memory.”
Keith knew he wouldn’t be able to handle this discussion unless he was fully awake. He rolled out of bed and headed for the door. “Give me five minutes. This sounds like it’ll need my complete attention. Want a cup of coffee?” Jen nodded as she followed him to the kitchen.
Audrey was sitting at the counter, eating cereal. She watched them, at the same time fascinated and really not wanting to know what happened. It was tense, whatever occurred. Jen sat across from Audrey while Keith grabbed two mugs and poured from the freshly brewed pot.
He headed to the refrigerator to grab the container of milk, pouring into one mug. “Black with two sugars, right?”
Jen replied, “Yeah,” amazed that he remembered the way she liked her coffee. He spooned the sugar into the other mug.
When Keith turned back around, seeing both ladies sitting there, he wondered if they were planning to gang up on him. It wouldn’t have surprised him in the slightest. He set the mug in front of Jen and, rather than immediately start them up, chose to lean against the cabinet instead. As far away from them while still in the same room.
Jen wished Audrey weren’t there at that moment. She’d made the decision that, if Keith and Audrey really were a couple, she wouldn’t do anything to ruin him in Audrey’s mind. This was strictly between the two of them.
Keith noticed the spotless living room. “How did the place get so clean so quickly? Was Joey doing this as soon as she returned from her walk?”
“I think Scott’s responsible for that. But, since you brought up Joey, I have a cool story for you two. Joey is not in her room.” Audrey grinned. “In fact, I haven’t seen her since Pacey showed up. For that matter, when I went to Jack’s, Pacey was nowhere to be found.”
Jen shook her head. “I know what you’re thinking and that didn’t happen. She was sitting outside the apartment alone hours later. I ran into Pacey on the dock and she told him she was unavailable.”
Audrey let out a squeak, shocked Joey would dare do that. “That is so wrong. She’s as single as could be. Why would she do such a thing?”
“This guy did a number on her,” Keith offered as explanation. “Maybe seeing him again triggered bad memories.”
Jen snapped, “Because we all know you’re the expert.” Audrey would have supported Jen but she didn’t actually know Pacey, only the stories.
“Do you have a better answer?” he challenged, wanting Jen to stay on the topic.
Audrey thought about another possibility. She turned in the direction of the bedrooms - the guys’ rooms, which were further from the kitchen than the ladies', to be exact. She stood up, walking that way. “There’s something strange going on here and, if I’m right, I’m absolutely grossed out.”
When Audrey stopped in front of Brendan’s room, Keith laughed, barely able to sputter out, “You’re more likely to find her in my room than his!”
As a reply, Audrey swung the door open. She gestured for them to join her, the suspicion confirmed. Joey and Brendan in bed together.
“I’m lost,” Jen replied shaking her head in amazement. “I thought this was about Pacey.”
Audrey called out, “Good morning, Joey.”
“Hey.” Joey struggled to open her eyes. She felt an arm on her, immediately knowing their secret was out, yet not caring in the slightest. When she finally saw the crowd gathered around the door, she complained, “What’s the point of this?”
“They wouldn’t believe me,” Audrey griped.
“I still don’t,” Keith added, thinking this was an alternate universe.
Joey nudged Brendan, whispering in his ear, “Wake up.” Brendan mumbled something in his sleep, otherwise not reacting.
“Allow me,” Keith offered. He cleared his throat before declaring, “Star Wars is the most overrated movie ever.”
“You’re full of shit, Stafford.” Brendan woke up, about to go off into a rant, when he saw everyone else. “Good morning,” a little embarrassed by the crowd. He settled back on the pillow, keeping his eyes in Joey‘s direction.
Joey sighed. “It was fun while it lasted.” She sat up in bed, crossing her arms over her chest. “Seriously, are you three so desperate for gossip that you have to bother us?”
While Audrey and Keith didn’t know what to say to that, Jen had to laugh. “I love how you turned this into our problem.”
Pleased at least one of them had a sense of humor, Joey chuckled. “Thank you. It’s a gift of mine, shifting blame to someone else.”
How strange, that was what Jen had been thinking regarding Joey’s talk with Pacey. Jen had wanted to confront Joey about that, but it seemed less important now that there really was another guy in the picture. “Seriously, how long has this been?”
“A few weeks,” Joey replied.
Audrey nodded, then realized exactly what that meant. “Have you been in her room some nights?” Not even waiting for a reply, she shuddered. “Never mind, I don’t want that identified.” She walked out of the room, shaking her head.
Brendan said to Joey, “We have traumatized Audrey. How will we ever live with that guilt?”
Joey bit her lip to keep from laughing, yanking the pillow out from under his head and hitting him with it. Brendan rose up, finally, grabbing the pillow from Joey’s hands. Joey replied innocently, “I have no idea what she’s talking about.”
Jen played along. “Of course you wouldn’t.” Turning to Keith, she remarked, “You’ve been awfully quiet.”
“I’m stuck on how the prude and the geek ended up in the same bed. I don‘t even want to think about the activities involved.” Jen gave Keith a dirty look, instantly remembering what she had to do once everything quieted down today, and walked out of the room.
Joey inquired, “What was that about?”
“As soon as I find out, I’ll tell you.” Keith looked out into the kitchen, then back to the bedroom. “Can you do me a favor and take Audrey out? I’m sure she’s dying to bombard you with questions.”
“Not wanting one to hear the other?” Joey smirked.
“Audrey doesn’t need to be caught in the middle.” At Joey’s look, Keith mumbled under his breath, “Even more than she already is.”
“Fine. Ruin my morning just so you can continue to string them both along.”
Keith knew that wasn‘t even close to what went wrong but this wasn‘t the time to get into that discussion. Audrey would probably tell Joey anyway. “If it’ll make you feel any better, Jen will probably kill me before you return.”
She broke into a smile. “Then by all means, I’ll give Audrey what she wants.” Joey got out of bed, passing by Keith as she headed for the kitchen.
* * * * *
“It’s not worth thinking about,” Pacey insisted, dealing with Jack’s questions regarding Joey. “I am not making a move on someone with a boyfriend.” Pacey was heading to work, with Jack following him before starting his running for the day.
“Are you sure she meant it?” Jack feeling the need to ask what Jen ducked earlier.
“As far as I’m concerned, she meant it. The message was clear.” Pacey didn’t want to entertain the idea that Joey didn't mean it.
Jack shrugged, allowing the subject to drop. “There’s a rumor that you’re staying in Boston, regardless of that.”
“Well, I’m taking cooking lessons, maybe work in a restaurant eventually. So you’ll have a roommate a little bit longer than you thought.”
“What a pity,” Jack joked.
They saw Joey and Audrey walking a block away. Pacey pretended not to notice her laughing away with her friend.
“Audrey came over to the apartment after the party,” Jack commented. He rolled his eyes before continuing, “She’s threatening to unleash her decorating skills on our place.”
That captured Pacey’s attention. He could tell from the way Jack said it that Audrey decorating wasn’t a good thing. “I haven’t formally met Audrey! Why would she want to inflict that on me?”
“You forget. Joey’s been using Audrey as a soundboard for the past two years. She feels like she already knows you.”
Pacey hadn’t considered that possibility. He inquired, “What does she have in mind?”
“It can’t be good,” Jack insisted. “Be thankful that I rejected her offer flat. But now that it sounds like you may be around for awhile, I guess you‘ll have to have some say as well.”
Pacey watched as Joey playfully shoved Audrey. “I’m staying. There are still some things that need to be done here. Friendships to repair, homes to settle into, changes to be make.”
* * * * *
Jen sat on the couch, watching Keith in the kitchen finishing the cup of coffee from before. She informed him, “You are just delaying the inevitable.”
Keith replied, “If I were delaying, I wouldn’t have suggested for Joey to let Audrey get her way.”
Jen conceded that as true, though not sure why he’d do that. “Okay, maybe. But you’re wary of being alone with me.” She pointed to the bedrooms behind her. “Otherwise, Brendan would be with them.”
“He’s taking a shower, not that it matters since he has nothing to do with this. Audrey is directly connected.”
“That’s right, because she’s your girlfriend at the moment. Unless that kiss was your way of saying that you want me, which wouldn‘t surprise me at all.”
Keith set the mug down in the sink. “There’s no way to say anything to that.”
That was it. The last straw. Jen exclaimed, “Do you ever give a direct answer? Ugh, I’m sick of these games.”
“That is your judgment, of which you seem to have a lot of lately.”
Jen responded in a ditzy voice, “How do you ever decide? Flip a coin to determine who will be honored by your presence?”
“No. I simply avoid the one who prefers sending death stares to articulating what’s bothering her.”
She laughed dryly. “You’re accusing me of communication problems? Unbe-fucking-lievable!”
“You’ve been ticked off since the breakfast at the café and I don’t know why. Moreover, you’ve refused to enlighten anyone. If you can’t find a way to deal with this, then don’t bother me. If I thought this was only about kissing Audrey, it would be understandable.”
“I don’t care about that,” Jen insisted.
“Sure, Jen,” he replied, less-than-convinced by the denial.
“Are you done?” she said coldly.
Keith nodded, knowing this would be about why Jen slept in his room.
Jen took a deep breath before starting, “I didn’t want to say anything last night because you claim to have a lousy memory when drunk. You admitting kissing Audrey simply proves it’s only moments when you let your guard down that are forgotten. You didn’t want to deal with what happened that night.”
Keith looked down guiltily, muttering, “Fine, you win. I wasn’t…”
Jen cut him off, “Don’t bother talking. You’re not twisting this around on me. I refuse to fall for a single word you say.” She stood up and approached the kitchen, saying in a steely voice, “More than anything, I feel sorry for you.”
Keith repeated, “You feel sorry for me?” He was completely thrown off by the comment, figuring an insult would have followed.
She strode over to his standing position. “I do. You feel the need to manipulate situations to sway others to your side. I actually thought things were working out between us. Then you had to lie your way out of it by influencing the people closest to me with bullshit stories about your upbringing. The people who actually may mean something to you are written off with snide comments.” She pointed back to the bedroom. “Such as pretty much everything you ever say about Brendan. Or daring your mom to drink herself into oblivion.”
His head was swirling from the amount of attacks she‘d thrown at him. Mission was accomplished, as far as Jen was concerned. She wanted him to have to think about what she was saying long after she left. Keith replied weakly, “You can’t claim to know everything.”
Jen talked over him, “I feel sorry for you because if stay on this course, you will end up alone. You’ll have a bunch of people surrounding you but nobody who would give a damn. The truth is that you despise sitting still because it would give you time to realize you’re a sad, pathetic excuse for a human being. That‘s what you were doing that night in the bar, drowning the truth under hard liquor…”
“I’ve got your point, Jen!” Keith shouted out. “You despise me. Fine, stop beating a dead horse.” That stopped Jen from talking. In a calmer voice, he stated, “You’ve loathed me for weeks. You don’t care that this is all excuses, that some of this…No, forget it. I’m not dignifying this shit with a reply. There is nothing keeping you here, so why don’t you go prematurely judge someone else.”
Jen took one last look into his eyes. She now knew there was nothing but ice behind that stare. “Gladly. I just needed to make everything clear.” She headed for the exit, calling out over her shoulder, “I hope you have fun with Audrey,” before swinging the door and slamming it shut.
Keith kept his gaze on the door, wondering how everything had gone as wrong as it did. While he hardly expected Jen to be thrilled with last night’s events, Keith never thought she’d twist everything around to such a conclusion. But this was the goal, ultimately. He had intended to push Jen away; maybe it was a little too successful.
“What did you do to get Jen so wound up?” Brendan entered the living room, towel in hand as he was drying his hair. He had heard the commotion but wanted nothing to do with their situation.
“Don’t start, Bren,” Keith instructed. He stuffed his hands in his pockets as he stated, “It doesn’t matter anyway. I came to a decision and Audrey was the one.”
Brendan nodded, even though he knew it wasn‘t even close to what happened. “Most of what she said wasn’t even true.”
“Irrelevant. The point is Jen is history. Ancient history. Poof, no more. Who cares if her assumptions are wrong!”
“Right, because that’s what I’m talking about,” Brendan replied sardonically. He sat at the counter and threw the towel over his shoulder. “Every word she said will eat away at you.”
“Can we drop the subject?” Keith snapped, walking past the counter toward his bedroom.
“Fine,” Brendan muttered.
Keith was about to leave when he realized something Brendan must have heard. He stopped just long enough to say, “For what it’s worth, I do wish the best for you and Joey.” Keith retreated to his room.
The door was shut when Brendan called out, “Is that your version of the kiss of death?”
