Cassandra pulled away from JC and stood up, her back to him.
“Where are you going?” He asked.
“Nowhere. I need to show you something.” She responded softly. “ I want you to look at my back.”
“What?” He had a puzzled look on his face.
She turned back to face him. “If you don’t want to, that’s okay.”
He stood up, towering over her petite frame. “I don’t mind. Turn around.” He knew this was leading somewhere, though he wasn’t sure where.
She turned her back to him again and he noticed the rise and fall of her shoulders as she drew a deep, steadying breath and then slowly released it.
“Okay,” he started. “You have a very nice back.”
Looking back over her shoulder, she smiled weakly. “No silly, that’s not what I mean. You have to look at my actual back. Raise up my shirt and look at it. It will explain the real reason I was in the hospital.”
“Do I know you well enough for this?” He joked quietly.
Her response was a raised eyebrow. Then, after a moment, she turned back to face him. “You’re right, JC. This is totally silly. Never mind. Let’s sit down and watch our movie.”
As she went to move past him, his right arm snaked out and caught her by the waist.
“Whoa, girl! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make light of the situation. Please, show me what it is you want me to see.” His blue eyes were sincere and sad.
Her eyes searched his face, hesitating to continue any further. A realization came over her. This whole ordeal could ruin this newfound friendship. At that moment, Cassandra knew she didn’t want to jeopardize the friendship. For whatever unknown reason, JC was very important to her. It was at that moment she decided to stop trying to reveal her unspoken misfortune to him.
She forced a smile to her lips and her dark eyes met his alluring blue eyes.
“Gotcha!” She grinned.
“What?” His brow creased with confusion.
“Gotcha!” She replied again. “I was just kidding. You thought I was serious, didn’t you?”
His confusion began to turn to anger. “What in the hell are you talking about? What’s with the ‘just kidding’ crap?”
Cassandra placed a hand on JC’s forearm. “Oh, come on! You didn’t think I was serious, did you? Come on, let’s watch the movie. Why don’t you put it in the DVD player?”
With a sharp movement, JC pulled away from her. “I don’t think I like your sense of humor, Cassandra.” There was anger in his eyes.
“It was a joke.” She shrugged.
“It was a damn poor joke!” He snapped back. “You know, I think I’d better get going.” He turned toward the door.
Cassandra turned, incredulous that he was so angry. “JC wait! Where are you going?”
“Home! I think I’ve overstayed my welcome.”
“I don’t believe this. You’re going home because I made a bad joke?”
“Something like that.” His hand was on the doorknob.
Cassandra came up behind him and put her hand on his shoulder. “JC, please don’t leave.”
Her touch had a calming effect and JC felt his anger subside. He slowly turned and looked down into two dark pools that were her eyes. He rested his hands on her shoulders and lowered his forehead to rest on hers.
“I really have to Cassandra. Your bad joke aside; I have an early day tomorrow. I need to get home and get a few things done. In case you’ve forgotten, I haven’t been home since we left the hospital.”
“I know that. I just don’t want you to leave angry.”
“I’m not.” He finally smiled. “I don’t like what you did, but that’s really not why I’m leaving. I’ve got some business to take care of.” He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, afraid that if he allowed his lips to touch hers, he might not leave at all.
“Okay, if you’re sure. But please don’t be angry. I really didn’t mean anything by it. I know it was bad judgement on my part.”
“Look, babe, if there’s anything you need to tell me, I’m all ears. But don’t mess with my mind. Absolutely no mind games! Understood?”
“Better than you think.” She practically whispered as he pulled away from her.
“Great. I’ll see you later. You get some rest. I’ll call you soon.”
“But I didn’t give you my number.”
“I have my ways. Now,” he kissed her forehead again. “I’ve really got to be going. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, JC.”
Standing in the middle of the living room, Cassandra listened as JC’s car pulled out of her driveway. She turned and walked solemnly down the hallway to her bedroom. She dropped on the edge of the bed and lowered her head into her hands. Sobs racked her body for nearly thirty minutes. Finally, spent and exhausted, she crawled up on the bed, curled into a ball and fell asleep.
At about that time, JC arrived at his friend Justin’s house.
“Hey, dude! What’s happening?” The blonde curly headed friend asked ushering JC in.
Reaching up, scratching the back of his head, JC looked at him helplessly. He had no answer for his friend.
“Jace, what’s going on, man?”
“I honestly don’t know.” It was a simple reply.
“Let’s sit down. You can fill me in.”
The two men headed toward the living room. Justin sat down in the armchair facing the black leather sofa that JC dropped down on. For a few moments the two just looked at each other.
“Come on, Jace. What the hell is going on? Problems with Suzie?”
JC rubbed his hands over his face and then gave his friend a stunned look.
“Damn! I haven’t even called her yet.”
“Haven’t called her? JC, she’s been ringing my phone off the hook all day. Why haven’t you called her?”
“Let’s just say I’ve had other things to do.”
“What could be…” Justin cut himself off as a reality dawned on him.
“Man! That new chick! The one from the hospital, that’s it isn’t it?”
JC stood up and paced back and forth in front of the sofa. “She’s different, J. She’s not like any other girl I’ve met before. She’s unassuming, natural, almost indifferent to who I am. She treats me just like anyone else. There’s no pretense about her. I’m so totally comfortable with her. Yet…”
Justin’s brow creased as he tried to understand everything his friend was saying. “Yet, what?”
“There’s something she’s hiding. I’m not sure what it is, but she almost told me. But something stopped her.”
“Maybe the fact she doesn’t know you very well.”
“We know each other better than you think. It’s like we’ve known each forever, not just a few days. Yet, she’s got one wall I can’t break through and it has to do with her ex.”
“Is he still in the picture?”
JC stopped pacing and sat down on the sofa again. “It seems so. He was at the hospital just before we left. While we were at her house though, her sister called and said he wanted to come over. She was adamant that she didn’t want to see him. I’m not sure if it was because I was there, or if there was something else going on. J. I got jealous, man! I kind of lost my patience. That was when she acted like she had something to tell me. Then, just as quickly, she said she was joking and changed the subject.”
“What did you do?”
“The only thing I could think of, I left.”
“What?”
“Damn! I wish I hadn’t, but I felt angry, jealous and unsure. What else could I do? And why would I feel jealous?”
Justin rose to his feet and approached his friend, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Maybe because you care about her.”
“But, I’ve got Suzie. The last thing I need is a complication to that relationship. You know better than anyone, how damned possessive she is. Cassandra would make that whole situation ten times worse.”
“True.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. Pressing the buttons, he looked at Justin as he waited for the connection to be made. Then he heard her.
“Hello?” Her voice was syrupy and sing-songy. “Josh, is that you?” Thank God for caller I.D.
“Yeah, baby. It’s me. Sorry it took me so long to call.”
“That’s okay. As long as you’re alright. I was just missing you, you know. Justin said I shouldn’t come to the hospital so I’ve just been waiting.
His eyes rolled up into his head.
“I know, baby. You do that so often and so well. I really appreciate your understanding.”
“So, can I come and see you tonight?”
Drawing a deep breath, he looked at Justin. How could he tell his girlfriend he really didn’t want to see her without hurting her feelings?
“No, I don’t think so, Suzie. I’m really exhausted and I’d just like to crash tonight. How about lunch tomorrow?”
“Well, if you’re sure.” Disappointment sounded in her voice.
“Yeah. I’ll pick you up at one o’clock and we’ll go to the Hunan Palace. Okay?”
“Okay, Josh. I’ll see you then. Maybe we can talk about you moving back in. I love you.”
“Okay, bye!” JC broke the connection.
“Boy, you did it now!” Justin broke into JC’s thoughts. He had deliberately avoided her comment about any discussion of him moving back in with her.
“What?”
“I could hear her. She said ‘I love you’ and you responded with ‘okay’. Man, are you going to be in the doghouse.”
Both men laughed as they eased back into their seats.
Deciding to relax for the remainder of the evening, Justin turned on the television, grabbed the X-Box controllers and dropped on the floor, set to play video games all night. The two men sat for nearly an hour, acting like teenagers. Their game playing was cut short by a knock at the door.
“Are you expecting anyone? Geez, it’s eleven-thirty, man.” JC asked.
Pressing pause on the controller, Justin rose to his feet.
“I can’t imagine who that could be.” He opened the door. “Hey, hey L.B. What do you know?” He greeted his friend.
“Hey, dude! What’s shaking?”
Justin ushered the blonde-haired, green-eyed man inside.
“Whoa, video games! Another dull night with two-fifth’s of the most popular boy band in the United States!”
“Shut up, Lance. What the hell are you doing here?”
“I wanted to see if you guys wanted to hit the club scene. Maybe we’ll pick up a couple of hot little ladies, and basically just have a great time. Joey and Chris have already gone and should be holding a table for us.”
“Hell, yeah! That sure beats video games. Come on, C. Let’s hit it!”
JC ran his hand through his hair. He shook his head and stood up, heading for the door.
“Nah. Not tonight guys. I think I’m gonna go back and check on Cassandra. I left kind of rudely, and I want to make sure she’s okay.”
Lance looked confused. “Cassandra? Who is Cassandra? Shouldn’t you be checking on Suzie?”
“Man, if you guys are so worried about Suzie, why in the hell don’t you go take care of her?”
JC walked out, slamming the door behind him. His two friends just looked at the door dumbfounded.
“Geez, what’s biting him?” Lance asked Justin.
“Could be a little thing called ‘love’. But I don’t know for sure.” Justin responded. Clicking off the television, the two men headed out for a night of fun.
