The Golden Boys

Chapter 8

Jeff and I ended up in his apartment and we finished what was left of our movie from the night before. Just as the credits were rolling, a very exhausted Jeff looked down at me and smiled.

"Thanks for coming tonight." His voice was barely above a whisper.

"I wouldn't have missed it," I replied, and I meant that. He leaned down and kissed me softly.

"Man," he said around a yawn. "I'm so tired. Is it okay if I just take a little nap real quick?"

I stifled a laugh. We were laying on his couch, and it was surprisingly comfortable even with both of us on it. "Sure, nap away," I told him with a grin.
Aaaand he was out.

I covered us both with the light weight blanket that was at the end of the couch. I cuddled against his chest and felt..... guilt.
But why? First, I had to admit to myself that the reason I kissed Jeff tonight was because Chris was watching. Seeing him hugging Susan had just, well, in his own words, pissed me off. Which was stupid in itself.
Just because Chris, annoyingly beautiful Chris, had waltzed into my apartment last night and said a bunch of flattering words to me, didn't mean he actually wanted to be with me, or that I owed him anything.

Plus, I was really starting to like Jeff. He was sweet, respectful, and I've always felt I could trust him. Chris, on the other hand, how could I ever trust him? Susan, witch or not, surely hadn't done anything to deserve her boyfriend flirting with a girl who just moved to town behind her back. I shook my head.

She'd be so upset if she knew, I bet. Speaking of 'upset'..... I thought of Chris' reaction at the club when he watched me kiss Jeff. He was mad enough that he literally left and didn't come back. Or at least for the rest of the time we were there...
Would just a 'flirt' react like that?
I sighed heavily.

So much confusion...
Soon I would have to really sort all this out, but for now, I listened to the soothing rise and fall of Jeff's breathing, and closed my eyes.
                              *
The sound of rain drops hitting the window woke me in the morning. When I opened my eyes the first thing

I realized was that I was still lying on the couch next to Jeff. He looked at me and grinned. "You're up," he stated. My response was closing my eyes and burying my face in his chest. "Not a morning person?" he wondered aloud. I shook my head, still face down.

"That's fine, I'm not either. And I honestly could've probably slept longer but I am terribly uncomfortable" he said. I sat up then, a little offended.

"Only because I'm ridiculously hot and my neck is stiff," Jeff explained.
And it was true for me too.

"I don't think we moved once all night. Not that there was much space to do so," I said with a smile, standing up.

Jeff stood up as well and stretched. "Well I'm not complaining" he said as he wrapped me in a hug.
I hugged him back and we stayed like that for a couple seconds, before I slowly let go.
"I'm gonna go hop in the shower," Jeff said.
"I need to do that too. Like, in my own shower," I added with a breathless laugh.
"Dang," he said, shaking his head as if disappointed. Then because he was sweet Jeff, "Just kidding! Sounds good. I'll see you after while?"

"I'm sure you will." I reached up on my toes and kissed his cheek.

After showering I felt like a new person. All that makeup from last night was horrifically smudged and gross- I felt bad for Jeff having to wake up to that.

I realized my apartment had already become cluttered, so I straightened it up as well as doing the dishes.

I pulled open the curtains so I could admire today's gloomy view. The rain had let up a little and was now a steady drizzle. Next time I was out, I might have to shop for a cozy little chair to put next to the window for when I felt like reading.
It would be the perfect spot.

I made myself a cup of coffee and sat down on the couch, turning on the TV. A few minutes later, there was a knock at my door. I opened it up to find Stone standing there with a smile.
"You're at the wrong door," I told him blankly. His face fell a little bit.
"No, I came to see you."

I raised my eyebrows. "You did?" I was still a little irritated by how Stone had acted towards me the other night when he and the other guys broke into Jeff's apartment and saw us.

He nodded and looked into my apartment. "Can I come in?"

I sighed, making room in the door way. "Sure." Stone walked in and sat down on the couch, keeping his eyes on the floor.

"So what brings you here?" I asked.

"Well," he began, sounding nervous.

"I honestly just wanted to ask your advice on a... girl issue."
Well that caught me off guard.
"Okay... what is the 'issue' exactly?"

Stone looked at me with his big brown eyes and sighed.

"So last night after you and Jeff left the club, the rest of us stayed there for a couple more hours probably. Anyway, I started hanging out with this girl... She's so cool. We had a couple drinks, just talked mostly. But the problem is, she's Jeff's ex girlfriend."

My eyebrows knit together.
"How long have they been broken up?" I asked. Stone was quick to answer. "Oh gosh it's probably been almost a year now."

"Oh, okay. Well then I don't really see what the issue is, or why you're asking me about it?"
"Well just incase things do start to go somewhere with Melanie and me, I wanted to be sure that you and Jeff were actually still a thing. Which I'm pretty sure you are," Stone said, trailing off at the end.

I considered this.

"So in other words," I said, gaining my composure.
"You just came over to make sure we were still going strong, so that you'd feel better about dating one of your best friends exes?"

Stone frowned at me. "Thanks for that, Heather. You know how to make a guy feel great."

I laughed, then sat down on the couch next to him.
"I like Jeff," I told him honestly.
"But nothing is official between us. He hasn't asked me out, nor would I expect him to- after all we've only hung out a few times!"

"Well I can't argue with the 'just hung out a few times' part, but I will tell you this, Heather. Jeff likes you a lot. He even missed a few chords during last nights show because he was trying to find you in the crowd,"
he said and then rolled his eyes.

"Really?" I asked softly. And I remembered that moment Stone was referring to, I could perfectly recall Jeff's smile when our eyes met during the show.

"Really," Stone promised. "I'm totally happy for you guys. Hey I just realized, almost all of us has somebody now. Well, except for Matt. And who knows how long Susan and Chris will last."

That caught my attention, I quickly snapped out of my reminiscence.
"Why what's going on with them?" I asked, swallowing hard.

Stone was shaking his head. "I don't know... I mean they've always had little arguments here and there. But it's like the last week or so Chris has been really annoyed anytime she comes around. Who knows." He shrugged.

"Yeah, who knows" I agreed quickly.
Stone stood up suddenly.
"Well, I'm gonna go."

I stood up, too and followed him to the door. "Already?" I asked.
"Yeah I'm sorta going to pick up Melanie after this..."

"Stone!" I accused, laughing.
He laughed too and shrugged.
"Man, You Seattle boys don't mess around." Including Chris...

"What can I say?" Stone said jokingly.
As I opened the door, Stone leaned in and gave me a quick hug. "Thanks for your input, Heather."

I smiled. "Anytime, Stone."