Assumptions

by Melanie Codina

  “Oh, I like this woman,” Mari said in awe as we headed out. We made our way down and through the parking lot in silence, Jonathan holding my hand, and Mari holding on to the opposite arm while leaning her head on my shoulder. It’s just something we did. Jonathan made a sound that drew my attention to him. He was smiling while we walked. Squeezing his hand in a silent question, he looked at me, smile still in place. He raised his eyebrows, so I asked, “What?”

  “Nothing.” He paused then turned his attention in front of him. “You two are cute. Reminds me of the relationship between my mom and Allie.”

  “Is that a good thing?” I knew he adored his aunt, and that he was close to his mom, but did a guy want to date a girl who reminded him of his mom. Gross.

  “Yes, it’s a good thing,” he said, squeezing my hand. “They’re very close. Even when I was little, I could see the connection between them. You and Mari seem to have one like that, too, so it’s a very good thing.”

  “Oh, okay,” I said softly as I absorbed his answer. “It doesn’t take a genius to figure out which one of us is like Allie.”

  He gave me a look with wide eyes and a smirk, slightly nodding, as he opened both the passenger side doors for Mari and me. When he closed her door he whispered to me, “I fear what could happen if Mari and Allie ever came together and combined their powers for evil.”

  Quietly laughing, I gave him a quick kiss before getting in the car. It didn’t take us long to get there and when we walked in, it wasn’t hard to find our friends. They tended to sit at the table true sports fans ignored—the ones that were positioned immediately below the large screen TV’s and gave you a neck cramp when trying to watch. According to Mari it was the best seat in the house since all the men there would be looking that direction. It was genius, really.

  Mari grabbed her seat, and I moved toward the one they always saved for me. It was the one with my back to the rest of the restaurant, which allowed me to actually see the game. Jonathan grabbed the other empty chair and slid it around to squeeze in next to mine. After a hello to everyone, he sat. “I think I might need some physical therapy on my neck after this.”

  I smiled. “Good thing you know someone who can help you with that.”

  Angie and Brenda volunteered to rub his neck, too. This pulled a laugh from him, “Thanks ladies, but I’m more of a ‘one physical therapist’ kind of guy.” I laughed, someone sighed, and one or two of my friends aawww’d. My friends were clearly charmed. Sidling up to him, I settled in to enjoy spending time with my guy and my girls.

  Jonathan excused himself with a kiss to my temple before heading to the men’s room. Yes, I watched him leave, because that’s what love sick fools did apparently. Then I silently chastised myself. Love sick was not my thing. I had rules to stop crap like that from happening. Then again, I seemed to be breaking all sorts of rules for Jonathan. This made me smile. Jonathan made me smile. I loved how much fun we had, whether together or apart. Seriously, what was wrong with me.

  “What the hell are you smiling at over there, Lee? You can’t be drunk yet.” Mari called out from across the table.

  “I could totally be drunk already.” I refuted. This was when the waiter chose to bring me the beer I ordered. Rolling my eyes, I ignored Mari’s harassing look and added, “Shut up, Mari.”

  Directing my attention to anywhere but Mari, I grabbed Jonathan’s phone from the table. Intent on adding annoying reminders for him to think about me. He did it to my phone, so it was only fair that I harass him the same way, right.

  I was laughing at something Angie said, but let the conversation around me fade as I looked at Jonathan’s phone. His phone required a password? That was a new development, I thought as anxiety and concern filled my gut.

  “Why would he put a password on his phone?” I muttered under my breath.

  “You say something, Lee?” Brenda asked next to me.

  Looking up from the phone, I shook my head, “No, I didn’t say anything.”

  “Okay.” Brenda shrugged and turned her attention back to whatever Angie was talking about.

  Setting the phone back down, I tried to stop my brain from spinning with all the possibilities as to why there was a password on Jonathan’s phone. It didn’t work. I couldn’t stop the concerning, worst-case-scenario images that popped in my head. My heart rate sped up as I contemplated what to do about this shitty development.

  Do I ask him about it and risk looking like that crazy girlfriend who scrolls through her boyfriend’s phone when it’s unattended? Did I really want to be that girl? Fuck. No. I can’t stand that girl and I’ve vowed never to be her. Even if I could admit, I understood her a little better now.

  Jonathan dropped into the seat next to me, startling me. Guilt washed over me, like I’d been intentionally snooping. Which was ridiculous, because I wasn’t. The thought brought me clarity. There was no reason not to ask him about it, I just needed to make sure I did it in a way that didn’t make me sound crazy and needy. Yeah, because that wasn’t difficult.

  Something was bothering Leeann. I had no idea what it was, and she wasn’t offering it freely when I asked. If there was anything I’d learned from the women in my life, the words I’m fine, were code for something is very wrong. So after close to two hours of friend time, and one awkwardly quiet ride back to her apartment, I was determined to figure out what was up.

  When the three of us walked in, Leeann quietly excused herself and retreated to the bathroom. Looking over, I asked an equally confused Mari, “You have any idea what’s going on?”

  “Not a clue. But I expect a full report from you when you figure it out,” she said, making her way toward her room. Before she disappeared she added, “And I expect to be informed if noise-cancelling headphones are needed.”

  I laughed. “You got it.”

  Leeann was still in the bathroom when I entered her room, so I decided to make myself comfortable. When she came out some time later, she avoided eye contact with me as she scurried around her room. She paid attention to everything but me, picking up laundry and straightening up the surface of her dresser. Next she sat on the floor in front of her closet and started organizing her shoes. All things that allowed her to look anywhere but at me. I slid quietly to the floor, before crawling over to her; she’d avoided me long enough.

  When she jumped at my touch, I fought the irritation over her reaction. She knew I was in the room, and there was no reason for her to be surprised like that. But then she put more distance between us, and I couldn’t hide my irritation any longer.

  “Oh no you don’t,” I grumbled as I wrapped my arm around her waist, halting her retreat by pulling her against me. “I’m not sure what’s going on, but I wish you’d make this easier on both of us and just tell me.”

  “Nothing’s wrong, Jonathan, I just have stuff to do,” she said in a very unconvincing tone.

  I heaved a dramatic sigh. “Okay, hard way it is then.”

  Before she could react, I had her on her back, my body pinning hers while my arms held hers extended over her head. The look of surprise on her face made me grin. It was a grin that apparently brought her emotions to the surface. “What are you doing? Get off me, Jonathan!”

  She practically growled while squirming beneath me. I had to admit, it was kinda hot. I hadn’t seen angry Leeann before. “I’m not getting off until you tell me what’s going on in that head of yours.”

  When she didn’t tease me for my choice of words, I knew for sure she was angry. Any other time I’d have said “getting off,” she’d have had a sarcastic comment. This was definitely not a good sign.

  She huffed adorably and glared up at me, looking crazy sexy. I watched as indecision crossed her face just before she let out a long breath and said, “You have a password on your phone.”

  Her eyes darted from one spot to another, never settling on my face until I responded with confusion, “Okay…”

  When her eyes found mine, she scowled at me. “You didn�
��t have one before you went back to school.”

  Even though she was putting up a good front, I could hear the vulnerability in her voice. My hands let go of hers and came down to cradle her face. Coaxing her to look at me, I let my thumbs caress her cheekbones. “Baby, would you like to know my password?”

  Still not looking at me, she said, “No.” Her voice was pouty, so I knew she was full of shit.

  “How ‘bout this one. Would you like to know why I have a password on my phone?”

  Her eyes found mine before flitting away. Bingo!

  “No.”

  Quickly, I pressed my lips against hers and said, “Too bad, I’m telling you.”

  She scowled again, but I ignored her and pressed on. “I put the password on my phone the first day I was up at school for a few very good reasons.” Her eyes found mine, interest flaring in them.

  “Tell me something, baby, does Mari go through your phone when you aren’t looking?”

  Her scowl lessened as she answered, “Yes, all the time.”

  I nodded. “Well, that first night up there, you teased me with something about sending me sexy pictures so I wouldn’t forget about you, which was a dumbass comment in the first place, but it got my attention. Robby saw my reaction and I told him what you said. Then he made a comment about stealing my phone to see them, and I’d never wanted to punch my best friend so fucking hard.”

  Her expression softened completely and the tension left her body. “But I didn’t send you any. I was only teasing.”

  I let one hand wander up to move her hair out of her face as I answered, “True, but worried that if you did, and someone else saw it? Let’s just say I wouldn’t be responsible for my actions.”

  It was true. I had no desire to share her with anyone else. Not her pictures she might send me. Not her words. They were all mine.

  Hands, soft and warm found my waist and stroked up and down, almost reassuring me when that was what I was trying to do for her.

  “So you weren’t trying to keep me out … you were trying to keep Robby out?” she asked with a little more of her usual confidence.

  “Robby and any of the other guys. I don’t want to share you with any of them,” I admitted with a smile.

  Her hand moved to rub my back. “That’s kind of sweet, baby, but I wouldn’t send you those kind of pics.”

  “I know, but when I thought about it, I didn’t even want them to see your texts. Those are mine, not theirs. Right now our relationship exists through texts and phone conversations, and I wasn’t cool with sharing them … with anyone.”

  She took on a sad expression as she admitted, “God, I’m such a bitch. I can’t believe I acted like that girl.” Her distaste with herself was obvious.

  Rolling us so she was on top, her hair fell around us before she swooped it over one shoulder and looked down at me. Laughing, I told her, “I’m not sure what you mean by that girl, but next time just ask me. I won’t lie to you, Leeann.”

  “Okay,” she said with the first real smile I’d seen in hours.

  Gripping her hips, I answered with a smile of my own. “Great! Now that that’s fixed, I do believe a proper send-off is in order, don’t you?”

  She laughed. “Oh really. What did you have in mind, soccer player?”

  Pretending to reach in my pocket for my phone, I teased, “Hang on, I’ve got a list. Just another reason to have a password.”

  She knocked the phone out of my hands and kissed me good and hard before whispering, “I’m pretty sure I can handle it.”

  And handle it she did.

  I stepped off the elevator just as Mari was leaving the apartment. “Hey, Mari. Wait up.”

  She looked over her shoulder, surprise etched on her face. “Hey. I thought you weren’t supposed to be here until tomorrow morning?”

  Not wanting to appear too whipped, I went for nonchalance and shrugged. “I was able to make it happen tonight, so I did.” Stepping up next to her, I smiled and asked, “My girl home?”

  Mari nodded her head. “Yeah. I tried to lure her out with the promise of beer and pizza, but she said something about the two of you watching a game together … on TV?”

  I admitted with a smile, “All part of the ruse to get her to stay home while I drove my ass down here.”

  “Sometimes I can’t tell if you guys are adorable or just weird,” Mari stated matter-of-factly.

  Again, I shrugged. “I know which one of us is adorable. But don’t worry, I won’t tell Leeann you called her weird. It’ll be our little secret.” I added a wink at the end just to make her laugh. She snorted instead while still standing in front of the door. Continuing to block my entrance. And I wanted inside … badly.

  “So … you heading out for the night?” I asked, hoping we had the apartment to ourselves for a few hours. She just gave me a knowing look.

  “I’m meeting the girls for a few drinks, thank God. I prefer not being in the same building when round one happens. A single girl can only handle so much,” Mari admitted.

  I smiled big like any cocky guy would. “Make sure you mention to all your girlfriends that there is always more than one round, okay?”

  Shoving and scolding me at the same time, she replied, “Don’t be an arrogant ass about it.”

  “What?” I asked, laughing low, not wanting Leeann to hear us out in the hall. “You’re the one who said round one. That means you know there is at least a round two.”

  “Just shut up. You might be super-sexy-soccer-guy, but you lose hotness points when you say stuff like that.” Her arms were now crossed and her eyebrows raised in question.

  I threw my hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay, I have seen the error in my ways. Now … you gonna let me in or what?”

  Mari turned back around to open the door as she chided, “You know you just saw her Monday morning, right?”

  Here we go, another person to give me shit about my apparent obsession with wanting to see Leeann. I rolled my eyes behind her back. At least it was easier to handle coming from her friends instead of mine. “Well, it’s now Thursday, and I’m itchin’ to lay my eyes on her. You can’t fault me for that.”

  She cracked the door open a little and began to move out of the way, “I know you want to lay more than your eyes on her, but that was still some sweet shit to say.”

  I stepped through the doorway and turned back toward her. Lowering my voice so Leeann wouldn’t know I was there, I confessed, “I can neither confirm nor deny your assumption, but I’ll say it was great running into you.”

  I winked before kissing her on the cheek in thanks.

  She just shook her head. “Yeah, whatever. Make sure you slap her on the ass once for me.” Laughing to myself, I closed the door quietly and set my bag down on the floor and then my keys and phone on the kitchen counter as I passed. I was entering the hallway toward the bedrooms when my phone began to ring behind me. I rushed to answer the call before Leeann heard.

  I answered as quietly as I could, “Hi babe, you about ready to watch the game?”

  She sighed into the phone, which sounded sexy, and I fought a groan as my body reacted. “I guess so, but I’m bummed we have to do it like this.”

  Smiling, I made sure to keep my voice as low as I could while hiding in her kitchen, “Me too. If it wasn’t for my practice session in the morning, you know I’d be right there with you.”

  Another sigh reached my ears, and I almost felt bad for teasing her. Almost. I liked surprising her a little too much to let it get to me.

  “I know you would. It’s just that I bought this bikini today, and I was just trying it on, and I was hoping to get your opinion on it. I can’t tell if it covers my boobs well enough.”

  Without even thinking, I was in motion. I stuttered something into the phone as pure male instinct took over at the thought of Leeann in a barely-there bikini top. Rounding the turn into her bedroom, I stopped dead in my tracks as I found Leeann standing in the middle of her room, phone to ear, othe
r hand on one hip, and the biggest smirk possible spread across her face. Oh, and she was definitely not wearing a bikini.

  “Uh, I’m going to go with not revealing enough,” I admitted.

  She disconnected our call and raised her eyebrows in question. Playfully, she rotated her hips as if she were modeling the pink yoga pants and short sleeve V-neck shirt she was wearing. Definitely not a bikini, I thought as I scowled.

  “Are you sure? Maybe I should get something that covers more,” she said, unable to keep the laughter from her voice.

  Setting my phone down on her desk, I made my way toward her, “You know, I’m pretty sure people have gone to hell for telling lies like that.”

  Leeann smiled and put both hands on her hips, waiting for me to come to her. “Oh yeah? You mean like the one you told when you said you weren’t coming down tonight?”

  “That was totally different,” I said as my hands found her waist and pulled her against me. “I was trying to surprise you, not ‘cause you physical harm.”

  She laughed and wrapped her arms around my neck and teased me, “You poor thing. Should we call a doctor?”

  With one hand, I tilted her head back for better access. “I see someone’s got a little devil in them tonight,” I said before pressing my lips securely over hers, kissing her hard and deep like I always did when we’d gone days without seeing each other. When I let her come up for air, I watched as her eyes fluttered open and slowly focused.

  She sighed. “We are only four weeks into this semester, and it feels like the longest semester ever!”

  “I know, but we can do this, baby. Besides, you have to admit, our weekends together are pretty fucking awesome.”

  She pressed another good, solid kiss against my lips. When she pulled back I got one of her sexy smiles. “Oh, I admit.”

  “Good. Now that you’ve admitted it, and you’ve got me all worked up with your trickery … I have a reputation to uphold.”

  “Is that right?” she asked with a smirk before adding, “How many rounds you going tonight?”