Always Us (We Were Us Series Book 2) (2 page)

I took my phone out of my back pocket and saw that I had two missed calls from Josh. I hadn’t talked to him since the day I left Riverview. Which was about two weeks ago, but daily calls from a person you don’t want to talk to make it seem like an eternity. I sighed. I wasn’t ready to talk to him. I wasn’t ready to hear him apologize. He’d left messages, but only
please call me back
and
I’m sorry, please call me.
I just wasn’t ready. He’d hurt me and I needed time. Possibly an eternity.

I quickly dialed Stefanie’s number and she picked up after three rings.

“Hey Jenn, what’s up.” Good, she was in a good mood, chipper almost.

“Hey, I’m at Target right now. Do you want to come down and do some shopping for the apartment?” I tried to match her chipperness.

“Right now,” her chipperness was gone.

“Yeah, I know its last minute, but Michelle and I were out so we stopped by.”

“You’re with Michelle?”

I shouldn’t have mentioned Michelle. Stef had initially been okay with Michelle living with us as long as Stef and I could share a room. But then when Lauren came with us too, I felt that I needed to room with Michelle because of the whole accident and coma thing. I mean, it was kind of my fault it happened, even though Michelle didn’t blame me.

“Yes,” I said slowly.

“I can’t. I have to work in like, an hour.” She sounded pissed. I wasn’t entirely sure her work excuse was valid either. Last year her parents paid all her bills as well as her tuition. I highly doubted she needed this job. But she’d stayed in Brookhaven over the summer. She usually went on some extravagant vacation with her parents. The summer before our freshman year she’d told me they’d just gotten back from a month long trip to Hawaii and she’d gone on and on about her Caribbean excursions and laying on various beaches including Mexico, Bali, California, and countless other exotic places.

“Oh, okay.” I played along. “Well, what were you thinking as far as décor then?” I asked, hoping this would turn the conversation around.

“I don’t care, whatever.” That was not the response I was hoping for.

“Come on Stef.”

“No, you and Michelle pick stuff out. I’ll be happy with whatever. You know what I like.” She seemed to say this in a positive way, but I knew I’d hurt her feelings.

“Okay. I bought you some new pillows,” I offered.

“I’ll pay you back with my next paycheck.” Her voice had gone back sour.

“No worries,” I replied. She’d never worried about money before so it was curious now that she’d taken a job and couldn’t pay me back until she got a paycheck. I almost asked but she cut me off before I could say anything.

“Okay, well, bye.”

“Bye Stef.”

I had a horrible sinking feeling. I’d definitely screwed up.

Michelle had wandered off to look at towels while I was on the phone, but I know she’d heard the whole thing because she was right back next to me when I hung up.

“What did she say?” Michelle asked.

“I think she was looking forward to shopping with me and I messed up.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, but she said to pick out whatever because I know what she likes.”

“Well great! That’s what you said.”

“But I still feel bad.”

“Don’t. Let’s go look at towels. I found some good ones.”

I followed her around the Home section. We picked out enough towels for all four of us. We found a pretty shower curtain with a silhouette of a tree and little light blue birds all over it. We kept with that color scheme and got brown and blue towels and some white hand towels. Since there were two bathrooms we doubled up on trash cans, toothbrush holders and other accessories. We swung by the kitchen wares and got some white dishes. We figured we could add a fun pattern later when Stef and Lauren could be with us. We felt that it was a good compromise. After a quick look at couch slip covers, I grabbed a dark brown one and we checked out.

Fifteen minutes later we were back at the apartment and had everything unpacked.

“Hey, guys,” Lauren said when we’d dropped the bags in the living room.

“Hey,” Michelle and I said in unison.

“Did you go shopping?”

“Yeah,” Michelle and I said together again. We both let out a little laugh.

“Oh man, I wish I’d know, I would have gone with you.” She peaked in our bags.

“We bought you pillows and towels!” I said quickly and tossed her two pillows.

“Great! I needed pillows.”

“I’m sorry we didn’t call. Michelle and I were already out so we just decided to go to Target.”

“No worries. We can go again sometime,” she smiled. “What else did you get?”

“Bedding for our room, towels, bathroom stuff,”

“Dishes!” Michelle said, cutting me off.

“Great.”

“I also got a cover for the ugly couch.” I pulled it out of the bag and tossed it on the couch.

“Why?” Lauren asked.

I assumed she knew why and would figure it out if she thought about it long enough. It held too many memories, memories of kissing Josh, touching Josh, and him touching me. My heart raced just at the thought of our nights on the couch last summer watching movies.

“I need to cover that up now.”

I ripped open the package and spread out the cover. Michelle and Lauren helped me and it was surprisingly easy.

“There,” I said. “Done.”

The ugly pea green and burnt orange flowers were covered with a plain brown but the memories were still there. At least the sight of it wouldn’t leap out at me and shock me with memories every time I walked past it.

I shook my head as Lauren and Michelle picked up more bags and started putting things away in the kitchen and bathroom. I grabbed both comforter sets and as many pillows as I could carry and headed back to my room, tossing two in Stef and Lauren’s room for Stef along the way.

I dressed both mine and Michelle’s beds and stored the old bedding in the closet. I sat on the edge of the bed debating whether or not to call Josh back. I never do, but I just had this nagging feeling that I probably should.

I looked around the room. Michelle’s bed was across from me on the opposite wall, our desk was between the beds with a view out the window. I use the term ‘desk’ loosely as it’s really a piece of wood set up on two old metal filing cabinets. We’d somehow managed to fit two desk chairs under the board and prayed it would be functional for two people, and maybe we didn’t need to work at it at the same time.

“What are you doing?” Michelle asked as she walked into our room.

“Just thinking,” I replied.

“About what?” Lauren asked. She sat in one of our desk chairs.

“This year. College. Us all living together.”

“Who would have thought that we’d end up together?” Lauren asked.

“Well, I knew Jenna and I would live together,” Michelle piped up. “I mean that in a non-rude way, by the way. She and I had plans for after high school.”

“No, I get it. We weren’t friends really, so why would you include me.” Lauren seemed totally fine with previously being left out. But to be honest, I was glad she was with us.

“I’m glad you’re here, Lauren,” I said, verbalizing my thoughts. She reached out and grabbed my hand and smiled.

“What’s going on here? A house meeting without me?” Stef walked through the door and stood with her arms folded.

“No! Michelle and I just got back from Target and put some stuff away. I tossed some pillows in your room. There are towels on the couch in the living room for you and I covered the ugly couch so it’s not so atrocious.” I was out of breath by the time I finished telling her all of that. “We can have a house meeting if you want.”

“I think house meetings would be a great idea, that way we are all on the same page about everything. It’ll cut down on arguments and stuff,” Michelle said.

“Yeah, and schedule bathroom time,” Lauren said.

“Schedule bathroom time?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I read it in a magazine. Roommates schedule bathroom time so that everyone has time to shower and stuff in the morning,” she shrugged.

“That makes sense,” I said.

“So was I going to be included in this meeting?” Stef asked again.

“We weren’t having a meeting, but since we’re all here now, we might as well,” I smiled. “I thought you had to work though.”

Stef shifted awkwardly. “I did, but now I don’t.”

“Oh. Where are you working?” I asked. She hadn’t mentioned that she had a job before.

“The campus bookstore. There was a mix up with the schedules, someone else is working.”

“I see. Are you sure it’s not going to be too much to have a job and take all those classes?” Last year she took five classes each semester. I assumed she was doing the same this year.

“No, I’m only taking three classes plus a work study with Professor Kant. I’m working evenings at the book store three nights a week and it’s usually slow so I can do my homework there if I need to. And I get a discount on the books I need for classes, so it all works out.”

“That’s a lot of information,” I said. “But good for you.

“Thanks,” she said with a half-smile.

Stef joined us in our impromptu meeting where we did, actually, come up with a bathroom schedule. We also decided that a group shopping session was in order as well as some girly bonding time so that we could all get to know each other.

I sat back and watched as Lauren and Michelle chatted about the senior year that Michelle missed and Stef listened and interjected her own anecdotes here and there. The guilt and hesitation I felt earlier was dissipating and I was looking forward to this coming year. My phone buzzed next to me, but I ignored it. Whoever it was could wait until later. I was enjoying my time with my new roommates.

CHAPTER TWO

“It’s the first day of school!” Michelle yelled. I’m certain she was up at the crack of dawn, getting ready for the day.

“Ugh,” I groaned. I was not a morning person. Last year, I stayed in bed until the last possible minute before jumping up, throwing on clean clothes and racing to class. 

“Jenna!”

“No.” I rolled away from her voice.

“You promised you’d drive me to school,” she whined. “I know you don’t have class until ten, but my first one is at eight and I can’t get there without you.”

I didn’t respond. I know I’d promised, but I really wanted to sleep. The four of us had stayed up late trying to get in a
Harry Potter
marathon, but we’d all passed out before the end of the
Order of the Phoenix
.

“Fine,” I huffed.

“I’ll take her,” Stef popped her head into our room. “I have class at eight, too.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Michelle clapped.

“Thanks, Stef. I owe you.” I rolled back over and burrowed down in my new comforter.

“Bye Jenn, see you later.”

“Bye,” I mumbled.

Before I could even shut my eyes, my dang phone rang.

“Ugh, I just want to sleep,” I said to only myself. “Hello?” I said to the phone.

“Hey Jenna! It’s Andrew.” My heart skipped a beat. I hadn’t spoken to him since I’d been back in Brookhaven. I’d meant to call him, but hadn’t found the time.

“Hey. What’s up?” I asked, still half asleep.

“I haven’t heard from you and I was just wondering how things were going,” he sounded a little sad.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been busy with moving in and stuff. And school.”

“Yeah. I hear you.”

“You didn’t even have to move anywhere.” I sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

“True, but I have a bunch of classes to register for and I’m on the waiting list for three.”

“Wow, really?”

“Yeah. I took the last two core classes I needed this summer, but for some reason they didn’t show up on my transcript as passed, so I wasn’t allowed to enroll in the Advanced Anatomy or…”

“Andrew!” I interrupted.

“Yeah?”

“You’re rambling.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay. I like listening to you, but it’s early and I don’t have class until ten,” I yawned.

“So, you’re alone in your apartment in your pajamas?”

“Possibly. Lauren might be here,” I threw the covers back. “Lauren?” I called. “Nope, no one here.”

“Good,” he said.

There was a knock at the front door that I heard in surround sound. It came from the living room and from the phone at the same time. 

“Are you here?” I asked, hurrying through the hallway.

“Open the door,” I heard Andrew say from behind the door and in my ear.

“I don’t have any pants on.” I looked down at myself. All I was wearing was a purple tank top and hot pink panties with a super hero POW printed on the back.

“So,” he said darkly.

I threw open the door to see Andrew standing there looking amazing. Dark skinny jeans sat low on his narrow hips. Pearl buttons adorned a white shirt that covered his broad chest. One arm was raised, holding him up as he leaned against the door frame. The phone was still to his ear, but he let it slip down and clicked it off when his deep, brown eyes met mine.

“Hi,” I said, still into the phone.

He ran his fingers through his unruly black hair. There had to be a better way to describe his hair. Wild. Disheveled. Unkempt. Sexy as hell. He held my gaze has he fluffed his perfect hair some more.

“Hi,” he replied with a half-smile.

“Hey.”

I’m pretty sure he said something to me, but my brain shut off when he smiled at me. Last year, when we spent almost every day together, he had no effect on me. None. I mean, I thought he was attractive, okay, smoking hot, but I needed him to be my friend, and he was. It wasn’t until the end of the school year, before I left for Riverview, when he asked me to live with him over the summer and that he’d miss me while I was gone that I began to think of him as something more. Or have the potential to become something more.

“You can put the phone down now,” Andrew repeated.

“Oh. Right.” I hung up the phone and tossed it on the couch.

“Can I come in?” Andrew pried. Seriously, what was my problem? Why was I suddenly falling all over myself at the sight of Andrew?

“Yes, let me go get dressed.” I let him in then realized that I had to walk past Andrew and walk down the hall in my underwear while Andrew watched.

I slowly shut the door then skipped quickly down the hall to my room, probably making my butt jiggle, furthering the embarrassment.

I quickly threw on some jeans, a bra, and a clean t-shirt, a pink one with the Superman logo on it. I swiped a brush through my hair long brown and clipped in half up. I glanced in the mirror for a second. I really should cut my hair, it was almost to my waist.

I reemerged to the living room to find Andrew lounging on the covered, ugly couch, flipping through the five channels we got on the TV with the bunny ears. It reminded me of Josh the first day he’d come over. He tried flipping through the channels at my house too. Crap. Nothing was going to make me forget him. Same couch, different cover, different guy, same situation.

“You don’t have cable,” he stated.

“Nope.” I sat down next to him.

“You like super heroes?” he asked after giving me a once over.

“Not particularly,” I responded.

“Your panties had the POW onomatopoeia on it and now you’re wearing a Superman shirt,” he pointed out.

“Wow, that’s a big word. Does your brain hurt after that?” Making fun of him was my way of diverting the embarrassing stuttering I usually spit out in these kinds of situations.

“Yeah, it does.” He patted my thigh then rested his hand there. I stared at it.

“What are you doing here?” I blurted out.

“I don’t have class until noon and I was bored. And I haven’t seen you all summer and you didn’t call me when you got back into town. You are a bad friend.” He squeezed my leg.

“I totally am,” I said, very aware of his hand.

“What if I had something exciting to tell you?”

“Do you?” I turned to him.

“No. I had a boring summer. I just took classes.” He scoffed.

“Then I don’t feel so bad.”

He gave me a little shove with his elbow.

“Ow.” I feigned pain.

“That didn’t hurt.”

“I know.”

“What’s up with you?” he asked.

If I was going to be honest with myself, I couldn’t shake Josh from my memories. All I could think about was Josh and what he would have said about my panties and the fact that he would have probably followed me the bedroom. We probably would have had sex and then I would have had to go to class and try to concentrate on history or psychology when all I’d be able to think about was history of Josh’s lips on me, or the reasons why his eyes were so blue and why they looked at me the way they did.

“Jenna,” Andrew said in a sing-song voice, waving his hand in front of my face.

“Sorry,” I shook my head.

“What are you doing tonight?”

“Going out with the girls.” I tried my hardest to shift my attention to him, but Josh and sex were swirling around in my head. I couldn’t shake the thoughts.

“Oh yeah? What are you doing?”

“Pedicures.” My answers were short and clipped because I was nervous.

“So, I can’t come then?” He actually gave me sad puppy dog eyes.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “I guess if you wanted to, you could.” His easy laugh put me at ease and I settled into the couch a little more. He did the same.

“Nah, you guys go have fun. Do girly bonding stuff,” he squeezed my leg again. His eyes lingered on mine making me blush and laugh.

“What?” I asked.

“Nothing, you’re just beautiful,” his words caught me off guard. I didn’t know how to respond. But I didn’t have to because a second later he was kissing me. The left side of his body was pressed into the right side of my body and his arm had snaked around to the small of my back and he held me to him.  I returned his kiss and hung my arms around his neck.

Andrew’s kisses were soft and light as if he was just saying hello to me. Nothing aggressive or possessive about them. His tongue passed gently over mine several times, awakening tiny butterflies in my belly.

He pulled away slowly and kept his lips close to mine in case he wanted to kiss me again. He smiled and rubbed his nose against mine causing my breath to hitch in my chest. He smiled with his eyes and kissed the side of my chin then stood up.

“Are you leaving?” I asked standing too.

“Yeah. I just wanted to see you.” He walked to the door. “Don’t ignore my phone calls anymore.”

“I won’t.” I got up and followed him. My legs were all wobbly from kissing.

“Promise?” he asked and made a point to look directly at me.

“Yes.” I only ignored Josh’s, but I didn’t say that out loud.

“Hey, I’m thinking about having a Halloween costume party,” he said as he reached the front door.

“Halloween? That’s like two months away.” I was confused by Andrew’s actions. He shows up at my house unannounced, kisses me, then, acts like it’s no big deal and changes subjects.

“Gotta get the word out early, people plan their party schedules in advance.” He twisted the door knob and opened the door a crack.

“What? That’s crazy.”

“I know.”

“So it’s a big party? Lots of people?” Was it a party where we could slip away to do more kissing like we’d just done, or was it just a few friends over for beer and games?

“Yeah, I guess. People I know though. No random kids from other schools or high schoolers or anything.”

“Sounds fun.” I guessed we could slip away for kissing and I smiled to myself.

“So you’ll come?” He ran his fingers through his hair.

“Of course.” I smiled at him this time.

“And dress up?”

“That’s debatable.” I scoffed.

“You have to.” He leaned down close to my face. He was really serious about me dressing up.

“Yeah, okay,” I whispered. I was fine when we were sitting on the couch, but his proximity to me now was causing my brain to malfunction. I’m sure I’ve forgotten how to walk and will stand in the doorway for hours after he’s left.

“Jenna?” he whispered in my ear. Warming places I didn’t know whispers could warm. “I want to be yours this year.” What was warm, was now blazing. Heat spilled down from the top of my head, over my shoulders, and down the rest of my body.

I didn’t know how to respond to that. I just stood there, inches from him. His one hand on the door knob, the other on the door frame, making himself seem larger than he already was, encompassing my entire range of vision. In this moment, he had infiltrated every part of my being.

“Okay,” I managed to squeak out.

He smiled his lopsided smile, kissed my cheek, and turned to leave. “Goodbye, Jenna.” His voice was all low and sexy. I tried to return his smile with a suggestive smile of my own, but I know it just came out goofy.

As I predicted, my brain had turned to mush. I was standing in the doorway watching nothing, letting the last of the warm September air wash over me. School had started and autumn was in the air, I could smell it. I thought of Andrew and I snuggled up under a blanket with hot tea, watching the leaves fall from the ginormous oak tree outside my apartment window while the fake fire blazed. I laughed a little at myself. It was kind of a pathetic daydream, but it was mine, Andrew was mine and I liked that.

Lauren popped up in front of me startling me out of my thoughts.

“What are you doing?” she asked when I wouldn’t move out of her way.

“Nothing,” I said. “Nothing,” I repeated and stepped aside so she could get through the door.

“I went to orientation today at the beauty school. They have a spot open so I’m going to start this semester.”

“That’s fantastic!”

“Yeah. I want to celebrate.” She threw her bag down on the couch and flopped down on it right where Andrew had been sitting.

“Who was that guy I saw in the parking lot?” She asked.

“No one,” I said too quickly.

“I wonder if he lives around here. He was hot. That hair, I just wanted to run my fingers through it.” She turned around on the couch and peered out the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of Andrew again.

“He doesn’t,” I said, again too quickly.

“How do you know,” she turned back around and sat forwards on the couch.

“He’s Andrew. I know him.”

“You know him,” She leaned in close to me, her eyes wide.