“Sorry Jake” she said giving him a kiss on the cheek. “That was Tom. Look, I’m a little busy now, can I call you later?”
Tom, Jake thought to himself, was Laura’s ex boyfriend. She only mentioned him a couple of times as they were reviewing their past relationships. Tom who she broke up with because he “never treated her well.” The Tom who “always put his friends first” and “only was interested in her when he was horny.” Jake got a sinking feeling in his stomach.
“Oh, . . so are you talking to him again?,” he asked feeling more and more awkward having this conversation still standing outside flowers in his hand.
“Oh Jake, you’re not jealous are you?” she said, flashing a big smile. “We’ve really never stopped talking, you know. I told you how upset he was when we broke up, and I couldn’t just drop out of his life all of the sudden! And my mom always said: ‘don’t burn any bridges, you never know what may happen.'”
Jake stood there stunned. He couldn’t believe she just said that to him as if she was telling him the weather.
“So in case you decide to get back together.” He said with a hint of sarcasm.
“Yea, I guess” she said with a far away look. Jake just studied her face, wondering what kind of person would actually say the things she just said, in such a nonchalant manor.
“Tell you what,” Laura said reaching down to take the flowers and turning her smile to Jake. “Let me take these, and how ’bout if you come over Sunday night. We’ll order pizza and watch a movie!”
“Uh .. .ok” Jake mumbled. “It’s a date!” Laura said lightly, then put one arm around Jake and kissed him fully on the mouth, pressing her body against his. “Call me Sunday afternoon!” She winked at him then left him staring once more at her closed apartment door.
“What the hell was that,” Jake muttered aloud, driving home. It sure seemed that Laura was still into her ex on some level, and all this time they were still talking? And although the prospect of finally getting into her apartment was enticing, was she just using him as a back-up plan in case things don’t work out with Tom?
The rest of the week Jake couldn’t stop thinking about what Laura said, and how it didn’t seem to cross her mind that it wasn’t the most appropriate thing to say to someone she was supposedly “dating.”
That Saturday while waiting for Becky to finish working on a few problems, his distraction must have been apparent as she kept looking up at him.
“Jake?” He looked up at her suddenly. “You OK?”
He smiled at her, touched with the concern in her eyes. “Yeah I’m fine.” She looked at him for a few seconds more before shrugging and looking down again.
“Are you sure?” She asked again, and Jake noticed that he’d been staring at his hands.
“Yeah, . . . well, nothing big, just . . girl trouble, nothing major.”
“What kinda trouble?” She quickly asked.
“This girl I’m sorta seeing,” he began, wondering why he was discussing his love life with a seventeen year old, “I’m suspecting that maybe . . .maybe she’s not such a nice person.”
Becky looked confused. “Then why are you seeing her?”