London Fog | school hiatus

Ch. 8

I know. "Don't mention it. Was that all you came for?"

"Actually, I do need to talk to Jen."

"Then I'm gonna take a walk, enjoy yourselves," I excused myself, grabbing a sweater and making my way outside. It was cool for August. As I close the door behind me, I turn and bump into a wall. No, that's a person.

"I was just coming by to see you," Jay spoke.

"I was just gonna go on a walk. I guess you can tag along if you want," I offered, cocking my head to the side.

"Okay," he replied. He stuffed his hands deeper into the pockets of his hoodie and followed me down the driveway. "Where did you want to walk to?"

"I dunno, just around the neighborhood."

He looped his arm around mine and intertwined our fingers, running his thumb over the back of my hand absentmindedly.

"Did you want to talk about it?" I asked, looking up at him.

"What?"

"Whatever's bothering you. There's obviously something."

"What made you decide to come on a walk?" he avoided my question.

"Oliver came over."

"Did anything happen?"

"We talked," I said, recalling our short conversation.

"And?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

"And what?" I countered, my temper rising.

"It's Oli, no girl just talks to Oli. What did you guys do?" His eyes had a mean glint to them.

"We had raucous sex, Jay."

His grip on my hand tightened and he stopped walking, forcing me to stop as well. "That's not funny," he warned.

"Neither is how jealous you are right now because I talked to another member of the male species," I said coolly, ready for the coming fight.

His eyes widened a bit in shock and he loosened his hold on me. "Yeah," he said pensively. "Sorry."

I furrowed my brow, trying to figure out what just happened. "You'd better be."

He smiled slyly, looking down. "I want to show you someplace."

"Okay, lead the way."

"Why did you take me here?" I asked, standing in the doorway, remembering that I wasn't allowed in.

"I thought you'd like taking a look around," he mused. "You can come in. I won't hurt you."

A part of me doubted him but I crossed the threshold nonetheless. "What kind of films do you make?"

A small, excited smile swept across his face as he said, "Documentaries."

"Documentaries?" I asked, confused. He didn't strike me as the kind of guy to really enjoy observing things. Much too impatient.

"Yeah," he nodded. "Just watching things can be cool. Taking them in. The quiet of it, taking notes. 'S nice."

"Yeah?" I asked, walking over to the framed artwork on the wall. "Did you draw this?"

"No, I bought it at a flea market. Thought it tied the room together."

"It does," I complimented, still taking small steps around the room and becoming aware of my surroundings. I walked across the room, over to the couch I first met Jay on. Peering out the window, I asked, "Do you live alone?"