A Selfish Moment

24 - Everett - 2:00 PM

Ana Maria nods. "Ramon, let's go," She shouts, walking back towards the kitchen and grabbing her coat that was flung over one of the counter stools.

"What? I haven't finished my coffee. Everett was going to make us sandwiches."

"We can get sandwiches across the street. Jubilee and Everett need to talk."

"But they can talk later. I need to take a nap. I have been up since five this morning. We barely slept last night."

"You slept like a bear on the plane. You snored the entire three hours. Let's go." Ana Maria sticks her hand under Ramon's arm and pulls him up from his seat. "We'll come back later, maybe in two hours?" Ana Maria asks and Jubilee nods. "We need to buy some cleaning products to clean up Sophie's apartment, and some new clothes for Sophie. Oh and I have to get the things on the list she gave me. Let's go Ramon."

Ramon grumbles something in Spanish as Ana Maria grabs his coat from the living room couch. Jubilee glances at me with a poorly suppressed grin as Sophie's parents rush out the door. Ana Maria gives Jubilee a hug, kisses her on her cheek, and whispers something to her before finally leaving.

As Jubilee walks towards the kitchen, nervously fidgeting with her fingers and keeping her eyes aimed at the ground, I hear my heart beat so loud I take deep breaths to calm myself.

She's not smiling or frowning. Is she happy Luke left? Is she upset? I can barely hide the waves of anxiety and excitement coursing through me - feelings I haven't had since high school. The dryness in my mouth makes me swallow a gallon of saliva. I resist the urge to flood her with questions, examining her as she approaches the counter.

With slow, deliberate movements, as if her mind is elsewhere, Jubilee pulls out a stool and sits down. Her shoulders rise as she crosses her arms in front of her chest and leans her elbows on the countertop. She exhales, blowing her delicious scent in my direction, causing my mouth to water.

Slow down Everett...she's got a lot of explaining to do.

I match her position at the opposite side of the counter. I'm not going to start this conversation. Jubilee has to explain her behavior this morning, her intentions at my apartment, Luke's guest appearance on this afternoon's show, and then, maybe after I unleash whatever grievances I may still have, then maybe I will allow myself to want her. Right now, I'm just plain mad.

"What's so funny?" Jubilee asks as I chuckle at my last thought. She smiles and I can't help but smile back, grandly, purely, because I've wanted to do so for the past five minutes.

"Nothing. I'm trying really hard to be mad at you, and failing miserably."

"You have every right to be mad at me." Jubilee's eyes start brimming. "I have been a complete ass. I threw you out this morning because I was scared to trust you, to rely on you, to believe you wanted to be with me - not because you felt obligated - but because you could possibly truly care about me. And when I saw you and Aryana bonding...I didn't want Aryana to wonder why you'd stop coming around, to think she may have done something to keep you away. She actually thought she was the reason Luke wasn't around, can you believe that?"

"Jubilee-"

"And I shouldn't have just let you throw me out this morning. I wasn't there to end it...I was there to try to explain myself. But then you said 'Fuck you' and I just switched to defense mode. And when you told me to leave, I remembered why I was so scared to trust you in the first place."

"I'm so sorry-"

"No, let me finish. I have to say this before I start remembering all the reasons why I shouldn't."