I Almost Killed My Crush's Mom

Chapter 18:: Burn Baby Burn

Chapter 18// Burn Baby Burn

I stand at the doorstep of the familiar house, and for the first time in what feels like forever: I feel nervous.

I can’t say what it is that’s making me nervous. I’m comfortable with Jesse to the point that I act 150% weird around him, Jennifer is one of my favorite women, and from what I met of Steve at the garage- he was kind to me, if a little serious. I personally think the reason that I’m so nervous is that I’m dealing with all three of them together for the first time when knowing the secrets of their household. I know that Steve cheated on Jennifer on more than one occasion, and I know that Jesse can’t bear to hurt his mom by telling her the truth. Sitting down with all of them at the dinner table and pretending to act normally, after hearing that bombshell…well it’s a little intimidating to say the least. What if something slips out? What do I say to all of them?

Of course, all of that could be completely wrong, and my nerves could just be down to my awkwardness in social situations.

I press the doorbell, shuffling anxiously in my boots. Without Tammy to guide me this time, I decided my outfit on my own. I went for my best skinny jeans, some boots and a pretty collared top, hoping beyond hope that my outfit wouldn’t seem either too dressy or too casual for dinner. My hair is curled again, and tied up into an artsy tendril bun. Hopefully with a few cans of hairspray (exaggeration, don’t worry) it’ll actually stay in place for more than a couple of hours. I take a deep breath as somebody approaches the clouded glass of the front door. A second later, Jesse swings it open. “Are you a vegetarian?” He asks me breathlessly. His hair is straight and sticking out in odd directions, and it’s honestly the hottest thing I’ve seen in my entire life.

“No I’m not,” I assure him, before awkwardly gesturing for the door. “Is it okay if I come in now?”

Jesse face palms. “Yeah of course, sorry!” He opens the door widely for me and as I step into the warm house, his eyes run over my outfit. “Um, you look great,” Jesse winces at his wording, scratching the back of his head. Did he just? My eyes widen and I can feel the heat rising to my cheeks. Oh I think he did. He just said he thinks I look GREAT. A positive adjective!

“Thanks,” I reply nonchalantly, although my heart is beating like a jackhammer.

“Welcome,” Jesse shrugs it off nonchalantly, “Now come on. Hurry your pretty little ass up- our dinner is almost ready.” I nod, dismissing the fact that he just used a SECOND POSITIVE ADJECTIVE and slip off my boots. I feel the air around me, thick and heavy, and it’s strange that a house that’s grown so familiar to me these past weeks, can become intimidating just by one stupid little fact. Jennifer’s husband cheated on her. I glance up at Jesse nervously, but he’s not paying attention to me, he’s focusing on a noise coming from the kitchen instead.

I clear my throat. “About what you mentioned earlier-“

Jesse’s head turns so quickly to me that I’m afraid he might have given himself an injury. “It never happened, okay? Everything is normal.” He looks pointedly at me. “Just pretend I never told you, Lois.” I find myself nodding, but my stomach still clenches uncomfortably at the situation I’m about to face. I only found out today that Jesse’s Dad cheated on his wife- how am I supposed to act normally? I swallow, and attempt to smile at Jesse. He smirks back down at me.

“I think you need to be a little more convincing, Reynolds. You look like a mouse about to head into a cat’s den,” His eyes twinkle playfully, and I can tell he’s referring back to the many times I have faked the existence of a cat or dog to prevent from embarrassing myself. It kind of backfires- I end up embarrassing myself even more. I roll my eyes at Jesse and naturally, a grin bursts onto my face. Jesse nods approvingly. “Much better. Now just smile like that through the entire dinner, and it might actually appear like you can stand my Dad’s cooking.”