by Adam Kunz
Jared turns to face me as I pass by, almost as if he wants to talk. He fails to speak right away when I stop to give him my full attention. I can sense he wants to say something, but for some reason, he’s hesitating and the words just aren’t coming out.
When he finally opens his mouth to talk, his focus abruptly switches to behind me as we hear an exasperated grumble. “Hey, let me help you with that,” he calls out to Tee, who is struggling to open the fridge while his hands are full.
I’m left feeling confused, and practically naked, while watching Jared move past me.
Well, that was interesting, to say the least.
Entering my room, I shut the door and begin to disrobe. Putting on the outfit I had laid out on the bed, I think back to the awkward exchange I just had with Jared in the kitchen. That thought is quickly followed by a rush of happiness over seeing Brent again.
A light knock sounds at my door. “Be down in a minute,” I say, thinking it’s just Nia or Emma wanting to pry more about Brent.
“Hey, Laney, it’s me,” Tee says through the door.
I reach out for the handle and turn to pull it open. I’m met by an uncertain look on Tee’s face. “What’s up? Is something wrong?”
“No ... I just wanted to ask your opinion about something. Can I come in?”
“Sure,” I reply, sliding to the side so he can move into the room. He takes a seat on the bed and pulls out a small red box from his jacket pocket. He holds it between his hands, treating the box like it’s fragile, and could shatter at any moment. A pensive look is now covering his face as he stares at the item resting in his palms.
“Can you maybe close the door? I don’t really want anyone else to hear this,” he says with a nervous smile.
I’ve never seen Tee like this before. It must be something serious.
After shutting the door, I join him on the edge of the bed. He hasn’t taken his eyes off the little box in his hands and it dawns on me what it is.
“Oh my God, you’re going to ask Nia to marry you, aren’t you?” I squeal in an excited whisper.
He nods his head with a huge grin filling his face. “I figured that with you being one of our closest friends, you’d want to be one of the first to know. I also wanted to get your opinion on the ring I picked out,” he says, holding out the small red box for me to take. He lets out a small laugh. “I’m terrible at this stuff.”
“I’m sure whatever you chose will be wonderful, Tee,” I reply. When I open it, my heart melts, and I imagine how Nia is going to react when she receives this. The white gold band has a beautiful princess cut diamond at the center of it and is surrounded by several other round diamonds.
Nia is going to flip.
“Oh my God, Tee. This ring is beautiful. I think Nia will be speechless for the first time in her whole life,” I say, closing the box and handing it back to him.
“You really think so?”
“Uh, yeah. How much did this set you back?”
“I saved up for a while to buy it. I actually bought it two years ago though, right after our one-year anniversary. I knew back then that she was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. If she could put up with me for an entire year, I just had to make her my wife,” he explains, and I can tell he’s head over heels in love with Nia. The passion in his words is refreshing. It’s nice to hear a guy talk like this about his girl. It makes me feel like there’s hope for all of us.
“Well, Nia’s a very lucky lady.”
“Thanks, Laney, that means a lot,” he says before pulling me in for a quick hug.
“The game is Truth or Dare,” Noah slurs out, placing an empty peppermint schnapps bottle in the middle of the circle we’re sitting in. “I think you all know the rules. Spin the bottle, and if it lands on you, you have to pick your poison. Who’d like to be the first victim?”
Nia reaches out her hand and grasps the bottle. “I guess I’ll start this bitch off,” she declares. She spins the bottle and it goes round and round for what seems like an eternity.
“Damn, girl,” Noah exclaims. “Nice spin.”
“It’s all in the wrist,” she laughs while pointing to hers.
The bottle finally stops on Jared. He looks at me and a smirk fills his bright green eyes. It’s weird ... after the little run-in with Brent today, Jared’s been kind of distant, and now he’s smiling at me.
Maybe he doesn’t like me enough to really care about my history with Brent. Maybe I am just a quick lay to him like his legions of girlfriends.
“Ooh, Jared?” Nia begins. “Truth or dare?”
“Truth,” he answers, still staring at me.
Nia takes a moment to think before asking, “Okay, okay ... I’ve wanted to ask you this for a while now. Why did you become an art model?”
“Because it was a lot easier to explain to my mom than me doing porn,” he laughs. “But in all seriousness, I needed the money. It was only supposed to be a one-time thing, but I kept getting requests, so I kept doing it.”
“I bet you did.” Colton’s snarky comment makes everyone chuckle. I’m relieved to see him joking around now, because earlier he was in a bad way. He almost didn’t come to the party and was going to stay up in his room, waiting for Trevor to call. I think the alcoholic eggnog, schnapps, and Double-Stuffed Oreos have turned everything around for the better.
Jared grabs the bottle and gives it a good twirl. It stops on me. Before I can answer truth or dare, there’s a knock at the front door and Tee jumps up to answer it.
“Sorry I’m late,” Brent announces to the whole group while removing his coat to put it on the rack by the door. I notice Jared’s demeanor change when he sees Brent walk in. “I had to check out one of the other rentals for a family coming in for Christmas next week. But you probably didn’t need to know all of that,” he laughs. I smile at his ramblings. He hasn’t changed a bit. He’s still as adorable as ever. “So, what have I missed?”
“A lot of alcohol ... and chocolate,” Emma answers.
“Oh, and we’ve just started a game of Truth or Dare. Wanna join in?” Nia asks, wriggling her eyebrows at him.
“Why not?” he replies while never taking his eyes off of me.
“Come on, Brent. Sit your hot ass next to me,” Colton says, patting the empty space next to him. Brent laughs off his remark.
“Don’t worry, he’s harmless,” I tell him with a smirk.
“Lies, fallacies, and fairy tales, Laney ... Emphasis on the fallacies,” Colton jokes, and it’s clear he’s had a little too much to drink.
Brent takes a seat by Colton, but still doesn’t remove his gaze from me.
Great, now I have both Jared and Brent staring at me. Awkward much?
“Okay, where were we?” Nia asks the group.
“Laney was about to answer the dreaded question, truth or dare,” Tee points out.
“Truth,” I respond, and Jared’s left eyebrow turns up.
He begins to stroke his chin, as if in deep thought. “Is Brent really just a friend?”
My surprised expression meets Jared’s inquisitive one before my eyes pan over to see Brent looking at me intently, both waiting for my answer.
“Damn. Straight for the jugular, huh, Jared?” Nia asks.
“Uh,” I hesitate. “It’s complicated.”
Jared nods while clenching his jaw. He dodges my stare as his eyes look over at Brent, who seems to be a little shocked by my answer, and frankly so am I.
What the hell are you doing, Laney? You and Brent are just friends. Hell, he just came back into your life today, for Christ’s sake. But I can’t ignore our past and my residual feelings.
“I think I need another drink,” Jared announces before standing to leave the circle, heading for the kitchen.
The whole group goes quiet, and I’m starting to feel uncomfortable. I feel like everyone is just staring at me and then glancing over at Brent, like they can all tell I still have feelings for him. Like I have it stamped on my
forehead or something.
Great, this is exactly what I needed after everything I’ve been through lately. So much for a relaxing weekend.
“Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea,” Brent mutters, making his way to his feet.
I look over at him and realize that my answer may have made him uneasy. Maybe he doesn’t still have feelings for me, and I just made this whole situation even more awkward for no reason.
“No, stay. You’re obviously wanted here,” Jared comments upon re-entering the living room. He looks at me immediately after his statement and then downs his drink before taking a seat.
Brent settles back into his space and flashes me an apprehensive look. In order to try and break the tension in the air, and to take the heat off of me, I spin the bottle. Of all the people for it to stop on, it lands on Brent.
“Truth or dare?” I ask him with a hint of trepidation.
“Dare,” he replies.
“Pause the game, the fire’s out,” Noah announces and I breathe an internal sigh of relief. “We can’t have a Christmas party without a fire.”
Thank you, drunken Noah.
“Laney, you’re closest. Could you toss a couple more logs in there and get it going again, please?” Tee asks.
“Sure,” I say, and then move closer to the fireplace. “Hey, did someone forget to grab more firewood from the pile in the barn? I don’t see any over here.”
“All right, who dropped the ball on the wood?” Tee asks the room, and then a quick chuckle escapes his mouth when he realizes what he said.
“I’ll go get more,” Jared states while standing up.
“I’ll tag along too,” I say, and I’m glad to see his face lights up. I was beginning to worry that he was pissed off or something.
“Hurry back, you two, we’ve got a game to finish. And we haven’t even made a dent in the alcohol yet either,” Emma calls out to us as we’re putting on our coats.
Jared opens the front door and motions for me to move ahead of him. When I step outside, I’m immediately enveloped in a gust of frigid wind accompanied by a shower of snow flurries. I can see the barn through the swirling snow with the help of its light affixed above the doors, guiding us to it. Pulling up my hood, I prepare for the trek ahead.
Unfortunately, the temperature isn’t the only cold thing I’m facing out here. We’ve spent the entire walk to the barn without uttering a single word to each other. I keep peeking over at him and catch him glancing back every few steps, but there isn’t one line of dialogue exchanged. I want to blurt out everything on my mind, but for some reason I can’t find the words. I’m not even sure I can explain this whole situation properly right now anyway.
Reaching the door to the barn, Jared grabs the large, worn, wooden handle, and drags it open. The door groans the whole way as if it’s protesting against being moved.
“Ladies first,” he says, pointing inside and breaking the silence between us.
I send him a slight smile before entering and he reciprocates. After taking a few steps inside, I turn around, wanting desperately to talk. We practically bump heads as he grabs me by my arms to stop me from crashing into him. He releases a soft laugh, and I join in when I realize the disaster we just averted. Jared lets go before proceeding to walk over to the pile of chopped wood next to some hay bales off to our left.
“Hey, can we talk real quick?” I ask, causing him to turn back around to face me.
“Yeah.” His quick reply makes me think he really doesn’t want to.
“Look, Jared, I like you too, okay? But I wasn’t expecting to run into Brent up here, if ever again. He was one of my best friends and we had a major falling out. But I did, and possibly do, still have feelings for him. That’s why I said it’s complicated,” I explain, moving closer to him. “Last night was amazing, and I’m sorry I screwed it up. But if we had gone further than we did, this conversation would probably be going differently, and most likely not in a good way.”
A small chuckle parts his lips at my comment, and for the second time since we left the house, his stoic demeanor seems to have chipped away.
“Laney, I understand complicated past relationships. I’ve had my share of them, believe me. But I also know how they can eat away at a new relationship. I’m not sure I can pretend to not be bothered by what you two seem to have. I’ve never been a jealous person, but for some reason, I let it get the best of me tonight. I apologize for putting you on the spot like that. I was kind of a douche,” he says, his eyes showing he’s truly sorry.
“I don’t blame you for doing that. I’m actually kind of glad you did ask me about Brent because it made me face my feelings. It made me realize that maybe I’m not over him. And I’m sorry to say that, because I think you’re a really great guy-”
“It’s okay. I get it. This is one of those different times, different places scenarios,” he says while turning around to pick up a log from the pile. “And if things don’t work out with your boy, Brent, you know where to find me. I’ll be the one stripping down in Mrs. Jackson’s art class.”
I laugh as he begins to hand me a few pieces of wood. “I still want to be friends. I’ve got some major things to work through before I can invest in anything deeper than that, which is another reason why I wanted to talk with you. I’m a mess, Jared. An emotional, medicated mess, and you shouldn’t want to be with me anyway right now.”
Taking the last piece of wood that his arms can handle, he spins back around to look at me. “That may be, but you’re a beautiful mess. Any guy would be lucky to have you,” he replies.
“You have to say that because of the conversation we just had.”
“Actually, I probably shouldn’t say that because of the conversation we just had.”
I go quiet for a moment and just stare into his eyes, wondering if I’m making a huge mistake by not just jumping on him and going to town. Chip away his womanizing, his mile-long one-night-stand rap sheet, and his Adonis-like qualities, and you’ll find a warm soul underneath. I can’t go back on what I’ve said though, because I’d just be doing him and myself a huge disservice.
“Shall we head-” I begin to ask, but I’m interrupted by the barn door slamming shut.
We’re both startled by the sudden loud noise and a piece of wood rolls off the small pile in my arms when I react. I swear I see a person’s shadow pass by outside through the sliver-sized spaces between the boards comprising the door.
“Did you just see that?” I ask, turning to look at Jared. “I think someone’s out there.”
Please don’t be seeing things, Laney. Not now.
“I didn’t see anything. But if there is, it’s probably someone just fooling around,” he answers.
I look back at the door. “Hey, who’s there?” I shout, but there’s no reply.
“Noah, if that’s you, stop screwing around, man,” Jared calls out, but there’s still no answer.
“Maybe it was nothing. I’ve been quite paranoid lately ... an unfortunate side effect of not taking my meds.”
“Come on. Let’s get back to the house. They’re probably wondering what’s taking us so long,” he says after nudging me with his elbow.
I nod and move slowly toward the barn door.
“Are you all right?” he asks.
“Yeah, just a little spooked. I was so concentrated on wanting to have a chat with you that I didn’t realize how creepy it is out here.”
He chuckles. “I’m pretty sure most barns would be creepy at night.”
I try to push open the door with my shoulder, but it won’t budge. It appears to be locked from the outside. Jared steps up to the door when he sees I’m having issues with it. He attempts to open it, but has the same outcome. He lets the pile of logs in his arms fall to the ground so he can get a better grip on the door’s interior handle.
“Shit. It won’t budge. How the hell did the door lock?” he asks, turning around.
I shrug. Worry begins to wreak havoc on my insides. “Do y
ou think someone locked us in here? Maybe there really was someone outside earlier,” I say and feel fear sneak its way into my mind again.
“I don’t know. The wind is pretty harsh out right now. Maybe it slammed the door shut,” he replies in a dismissive tone.
“And locked the door too?”
“It’s only a piece of wood that flaps down across the space between the doors. The wood probably slid down after the door slammed,” he answers.
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” I reply, but deep down I’m not convinced.
“There’s got to be another way out of here,” Jared comments, backing away from the door. He looks up at the window above where we’re standing, which is accessible from the second-story loft of the barn. “Up there,” he says, pointing. “I’ll get outside through that window and unlock the door.” He lets out a small laugh. “If someone did do this, they’re seriously going to get it.”
“Be careful,” I call out to him as he ascends the ladder leading up to the loft. I continue to watch him make his way around the upper level as his heavy footsteps resonate throughout the barn.
“Laney.”
I hear a low male voice whisper my name. I spin around to face the front of the barn, expecting to see a person, but no one’s there.
“Laaaaney,” the deep voice whispers again, but this time it sounds like it’s coming from the side of the barn. Whipping my head to look over to my right, I still don’t see anyone.
“Jared?” I call out.
When I don’t receive an answer, dread begins to claw at me. I can’t see him up on the second floor anymore. Anxiety clutches my gut. Shouting his name a little louder this time, I hear a shuffle above me and to the left.
“I’m here,” Jared announces as he pops out from behind one of the stacks of hay bales.
“Did you just whisper my name?”
“No,” he replies and continues to move toward the hatch window.
Any relief I felt over seeing him again is completely swept out from underneath me. I quickly scan the barn when the feeling of me being watched intensifies.
“Please hurry, Jared. I’m beginning to freak out down here.”
