Not Quite the Opposites (camren)

25 - Selfish

The smile I saw graze Jette's lips when I opened the door was different. It shined with nothing but unadulterated bliss unlike the menacing smirk I had grown accustomed to. Her entire aura was different; it was light and just, for the lack of a better word, happy. I could honestly say she looked a lot younger. If I had not known her prior to seeing her that day, I would never even think that she is often slack-jawed and her eyes would only be half opened due to her seemingly endless drunken state. The blonde was sober for once.

Jette and her choice of clothing stood out against the still heavy and gray clouds. The colors of her clothes, her light hair and fair skin exaggerated the contrast. She wore a red crew neck sweater paired with jean shorts while her right hand held onto a bright yellow umbrella. They weren't her typical short shorts. I was genuinely surprised to find them down to her mid-thigh. The sweater compared to her usual tank top took me aback.

Clearly, my girlfriend had restored something in her in the weeks that they spent together while I was in immaculate agony.

Jette's smile, along with the rest of her face, dropped when she made out my image. My presence was both unexpected and unfavorable. She inspected my clothes which only intensified her frown. I saw her cringe when she heard Camila's choice of words; calling me "love" didn't sound too appealing to her as it was to me. I was on cloud nine and floating with the butterflies that were recently restored to life in my stomach.

When Camila kissed me, it looked like Jette was physically hurting. There was a noticeable tension in her brows and firmly pressed lips while her glossed eyes could not be ignored. The blonde quickly blinked tears away, mustering her usual flamboyant demeanor which nobody saw as a positive. However, nothing could mask the pain in her shaky, hushed voice which was impeccably uncharacteristic.

"Jette." Camila breathed as her eyes widened, tilting her head slightly. Apart from the utter shock with the unexpected visitor, there was an apparent hesitancy in the brunette's face, uncertain as to how she was going to deal with the situation. Her hands carelessly dropped to her sides but her left seemed to instinctively search for my right hand, intertwining our fingers behind my back.

"Hey." Jette mumbled with a slight twitch of the lips, a split second of a sad smile.

I had no idea if what I was about to do was the smartest given the whole mangled mess. But I found myself saying, "I'll leave you two alone." I momentarily flashed the blonde a tight lip smile before I set my free hand on Camila's left wrist as I moved my head close to hers; lips hovering her ear. "I love you. I wish I could kiss you right now."

Camila guided me as she swiveled so her back was facing Jette. She grinned, winking at me before mouthing, "I love you, too."

"Come in." I heard Camila say as soon as I took the first couple of steps away from them. It was soon followed by light footsteps and the creaking of their front door which muffled the soft pitter-patter of the rain outside. "What brings you here?"

"I don't know." Jette retorted in the same timid tone. "You told me you will be alone for the holidays. I thought maybe you wanted want to hang out."

"Uh...well, do you...maybe want to join Lauren and I?" Camila was quite uncertain with her invitation which was expected with our history.

I never honestly thought I would hear both girls speak in friendly tones in ordinary conversations. It seemed impossible given the Monday I found Camila yelling at the blonde. It wasn't even just the contemptuous tone that laced her voice; it was the content of that heated argument. I didn't even recognize her face. But then again, it's Camila and that girl has the biggest of hearts.

"I don't think that's such a good idea." Jette retorted.

"Not, it's okay."

I was sitting in the kitchen when their conversation progressed, munching on the hot popcorn that I had retrieved from the microwave. Camila's house is not built to keep secrets. Hushed voices in the common areas bounce through the walls and at that time, it wasn't such a bad thing. It was great for spying on my girlfriend.