The Girl in Apartment 1203

by Paige Parsons

  "One, two, three!" Jack counted like he expected her to blow out the candles. The lid was whipped off and set beside them and, once again, Jack found himself in awe with his mouth watering.

  "Tiramisu cupcakes from Baicoli? Oh, now, I'm looking at an extra two hours tomorrow."

  "I did good?"

  "You did great! I feel guilty getting all of this special treatment for just coming home from a business trip."

  "A too long trip. I really started working on this to take up time from missing you."

  They enjoyed their cupcakes and catching up a bit more before Jack excused himself to call Michael while Keila started the rest of her clean up. By the time she finished and sent pictures of everything to Brianna, Jack still hadn't come out of his office. She was getting a bit squirrely, but barging into his office was a major no-no. Jack didn't mix business with pleasure, and she wasn't a little kid who couldn't wait to get her daddy's attention. There was the mail to go through. Since he got the bills, he also got a lot of her catalogs. Flipping through those would at least keep her hands busy. Her mind was reeling. She had worked herself up to take her relationship with Jack to a new place, but the longer she was left with her thoughts and out of the relaxing mood she'd created with her dinner, the more doubts crept into her head. Maybe she needed to leave well enough alone and let things stay status quo with Jack. She knew why he wouldn't move things along, and Keila was pretty confident that she couldn't give him the answers he wanted. Like, when would she tell her mother and grams about him? Would she risk their wrath for him? Could she risk their relationship for one with Jack?

  Curled up on the couch, she pulled the throw from the back cushions and never even realized it when she dozed off. The next thing she was aware of was the warmth of sunlight on the side of her face and a much heavier blanket. Jack.

  The thought of Jack taking the time to tuck her in with a warmer blanket was so sweet, it made Keila burrow down deep, pull the covers over her head, and inhale the leftover scent of him still lingering on the fabric. Then realization slipped in. She was still on the couch and she was there alone. Trying to put the negative thoughts out of her mind was difficult. She knew it was pointless to stew over something that was already done and that she couldn't do anything about, in the moment, anyway. It was just getting increasingly sad for her to know that things might not ever be what she hoped for, what she hadn't known she would want all those months ago. Being tucked in was sweet and she was grateful, but being honest with herself, she knew she would have felt better being tucked up against Jack in his big bed.

  Tossing and turning on the couch wasn't getting her anywhere, and it was clear that Keila wasn't getting back to sleep. It was obvious to her that Jack wasn't suffering in the same way. To be fair, he was coming off of a long trip overseas, so being pissed that he was "sleeping-in" at barely seven in the morning was unreasonable. She wasn't in the mood to be reasonable. Her head was totally rational and working absolutely against her heart. Finally, surrendering to her state of awakeness, Keila got up as quietly as she could and went back to her own apartment.

  Flopping on her own couch, she considered calling or texting Brianna. This was a serious talk-me-off-the-ledge moment. Then she remembered that waking up Brianna could go seriously wrong. Keila knew she would get one of three responses: an expletive laced greeting, a get over it and deal with it reaction, or a threat to interfere in the worst way possible, if Keila wouldn't talk to him and face their issues head on. It turned out that wanting to talk to her sister wasn't what she wanted to do after all.

  It wasn't like she was going to clean. And cooking anything else, after last night, was of no interest, so Keila decided to change into some workout clothes and go for a run. Running seemed almost as daunting as cleaning as far as distractions went. She could've gone into the office, but as an intern, that might look weird. Free labor didn't usually work weekends. So, she laced up her sneakers and stuffed her phone and keys into the new-old-school fanny pack Brianna told her was all the rage and back in style. She hadn't believed that ridiculousness, but bought it anyway. Who knew it would come in handy.

  Keila ran for all of twenty minutes before she was sweating and regretting her choices. Ugh, she was sweaty and chilly at the same time and her side was cramping. One thing was for sure; her mind, for those twenty minutes, was off of her situation with Jack. She was so consumed with hating her run that she had forgotten her hurt over being left on the couch. After walking around the little lake in the park across from the building, Keila switched gears and went in the exact opposite direction of a healthy outlet. She need coffee and a serious hit of sugar.

  If the first cronut doesn't soothe you, then you definitely need another one. That's what Keila was saying to herself as she made her way back into the building two hours later, licking her lips and tasting the lingering sugar glaze from the corners of her mouth.

  "Hey, Ted! How's the morning going?" Keila greeted the weekend doorman in the lobby.

  "Keila, you're up and out early. Getting in some early exercise?"

  "Exercise-ish. Like exercise light, really light. Honestly, it turned more into a pastry run. Hey, I got a couple of spares. Would you like one?"

  "Won't that boyfriend of yours mind you sharing sweets with another handsome older gentleman?"

  "Aw, are you trying to flirt with me, Ted? What would Mrs. Sears think? Besides, Jack and I are neighbors and friends, and that's all. Plus, there's still one in here for him. I won't tell if you won't."

  "I won't. Give it here. You're too sweet to me, Keila."

  Keila left the sweet older man practically drooling over his newly acquired treat and checked her mailbox. She rarely checked it more than a few times a week. It wasn't a priority. That could now be added to her list of screw ups. Almost losing a nail as she pried her mail from the narrow cylinder box confirmed that more than twice a week was necessary. Hearing the elevator ding, Keila dashed from around the corner and pretty much dove through the closing doors. As she watched the numbers climb, she was less convinced that her dash and dive may have been the wrong move.

  Her next dash was to apartment 1203. Keila didn't even want to look at Jack's door. She wasn't ready to see or talk to him just yet. All of the mail got dumped on the kitchen counter, along with the sole remaining cronut. Looking at it with a bit of lust in her heart, Keila thought better and moved it down the counter to a space not directly in front of her. Getting fat wasn't the solution to anything. If Jack did flat out reject her, she had to be marketable, and her tortuous twenty minutes reminded her that exercise, for any reason, wasn't really her thing. Whether she liked it or not, tackling the stack of mail in front of her was about to become her thing. It was probably a lot of junk. Since her utility cut-off incident, her bills were on autopilot and her credit card went to Jack.

  The thick envelope was what caught her eye first. It couldn't be, not now. Not when she was so ready to commit to and be with Jack forever. This was why she shouldn't be left alone for too long. Her gut told her to talk to Brianna about it, but she knew what her pseudo sister would say. Of course, it was also the kind of thing she normally ran by Jack, but that hadn't happened, either. Even the thought of broaching the subject with her mother and grams was daunting, so Keila had moved secretly to try something far reaching.

  Sitting on the floor in front of her couch, in silence, Keila checked the time again. It was almost nine, and since Jack hadn't reached out, she assumed he must still be sleeping. She took a long sip of her flavored fizzy water and picked up the envelope from the American Graduate School in Paris. Paris, France. The city had been magical. Every one of her senses was heightened in the decadent environment. The food, the sights, the sounds, and the people all created an energy that was palpable from the moment she first exited the airport. Jack had timed an evening arrival intentionally. He believed the first introduction to Paris should happen at night. It was a city that was beautiful by day but mesmerizing at night. Keila remembere
d driving around for an hour before they finally checked into their hotel. Nothing had made her take notice so quickly, except Jack.

  They wouldn't send her a rejection in such a thick envelope. Surely, not even the French would be that cruel. Part of her anticipated the acceptance and even wanted it, clearly, or she wouldn't have applied, but there was another part that understood, once she opened it, she would be forced to make a decision. Jack thought she had a hard time deciding between her family's rejection and a life with him. Now, it would be choosing between a life on her own in Paris or a life with him. The latter was definitely harder than the former. What a disappointment that would be to her mother and grams. She would miss them, if they made her choose, but to lose Jack would be devastating. Their time together was immeasurable.

  All of her self-talk was nothing but mental stalling. It was time. Shaking the contents down, Keila tore the end off of the envelope. The actual letter was on top, but behind it were beautiful color brochures. It was basically a paper version of the website she had looked over at least a dozen times while making a decision about applying. There it was in black and white. If she chose to, Keila would be attending the American Graduate School in Paris. Then she saw it and almost swallowed her own tongue. They were offering her a scholarship and an internship. It was official she had died and entered college student heaven. It was surreal. She wanted to bust out in a song and dance at the same time she was trying to decide who to call first.

  Her top three choices would all have their own version of a tongue lashing ready for her. Pacing her own living room and juggling her cell phone from hand to hand, she went with the lesser of the three evils. First, she double checked her watch. Almost half past nine, even her sleepyhead sister couldn't bitch at her about the hour. There was plenty else to bitch about, but the hour wouldn't be one of them.

  She never even got a word out before Brianna made her laugh out loud with her outrageous question, "Why are you calling me instead of moaning Jack's name over and over?"

  "You're ridiculous, and Michael is right. You do need your mouth washed out with soap."

  "What? I didn't even cuss. Besides, ours is clearly a no tattling relationship. Seriously, are you good? I really didn't expect to hear from you at all today and certainly not this early. Was it awful?

  "Bri, breathe. I'm good. I'm shocked, but I'm good."

  "Oh, my God! He didn't break into the really weird stuff for your first time together, did he? I swear I will sic Michael on him right now."

  "Sissy, I need you to focus on me, please. Jack hasn't done anything, and I mean that quite literally. I did something while Jack was away. I didn't tell anyone what I was up to because it was a little hamster on a wheel idea that sort of took off running."

  "Kei, I adore you, but when you start talking like that, it makes my head hurt. Plain talk, please. What did you do?"

  "So, you know how the company I work for does a lot of international work? We have clients we negotiate and mediate for everywhere. One of their other hubs is in Paris. Now, my degree is in public relations, but I can use that in conjunction with my experience at the firm to move me closer to what I'm sure I want to do for the next ten to twenty years."

  "Do you need to commit to that long up front? Plus, I'm still not hearing what you did."

  "Local stateside exposure is one thing and an undergraduate degree will get me in the door, but actual international experience and a post grad degree is next level."

  "Okay, I am officially sitting up now. What did you do, little sister?"

  "I applied to graduate school in Paris and I got in. They gave me a scholarship, Brianna, and made me a job offer. I mean, a small stipend internship offer, but still."

  "Whoa! I mean, congratulations! I mean, this is good news, right? Does Jack know? Why wouldn't you tell him? What are you going to do?"

  "It's kind of why I called you first. I don't have any of the answers you want, except, yes, it's really good news. The program is super competitive and they picked me. What's not to be excited about?"

  "You sound about as excited as you would be about going to the dentist. If you plan on hard selling this to Jack, you need to do better with your game face—and voice—cause he's not gonna buy it. Now, what's this really about?"

  "Nothing happened. Jack was on the phone with Michael right after dinner. It must have been a long call, because I fell asleep. When I woke up, he had all but tucked me into the couch. He left me on the couch, Bri. His bedroom is a hundred and fifty feet away and he made me comfortable on the couch. I was so mad when I woke up, I had to get out of there. Like what the hell was that bullshit? I spent weeks perfecting those stupid recipes. I busted my ass making them, and his big thank you was to wrap up business with Michael. I should have hung around until he woke up just to give him a piece of my mind!"

  "Glad that wasn't your choice. Jack isn't the type of guy to take a full on rant in stride. And, just so you know, they weren't on the phone that long. You were probably more tired than you realized. I promise it couldn't have been much longer than thirty or forty minutes, tops. I love you, Kei, and I know how frustrated you are with the pace of your relationship with Jack, but until you make it clear about what you want and what you need and what you're willing to do to get it, I don't see things changing. Keila. Keila! I know you hear me."

  "They can hear you in bloody New Jersey. I know what you're saying. Well, once I tell him about Paris, he'll have to make a move, or I'm out."

  "That is so not what I said. That's not what I said at all. Are you crazy? You do not give a Daddy like Jack an ultimatum. Keila, whatever you're thinking, I'm begging you not to do it."

  "You said to make it clear what I was willing to do, so that's what it is. If he isn't willing to go in another direction with me, then I have to go in new one alone."

  "This is not what you want. Please just give it some time. Have a talk without the threats. You don't want to go there."

  "Well, I can't stay here. Bri, I love him. I can't stay if he doesn't love me the same way."

  The girls talked a little while longer before Keila made an excuse to get off the phone. Her mind was made up, and she wasn't going to be talked out of it.

  Six

  Jack

  Jack left her straightening up and went into his office to call Michael. He knew putting space between them was the best way to get himself under control. He wasn't going to be a caveman and drag her back to his bedroom. This was getting out of hand. Being around her was starting to be painful, physically and mentally. He knew she wanted more, but the intensity of what he wanted wouldn't allow him to jump into anything halfway. He needed Keila, mind, body, and spirit, an unbreakable connection unable to be severed by an overbearing mother and man bashing grandmother.

  He knew Michael wanted to know about the last meeting he had before heading home, but work wasn't what he needed or wanted to talk about tonight.

  "Jack. You're alive. I've been waiting on this call. I have a wife on the verge of bratting her way into a sore backside, if she doesn't stop trying to distract me. I told her I wasn't going to bed until we talked. So, how was the trip?"

  "Man, you know that meeting went smoothly. You knew it would. That's why you hopped on a plane back to that beautiful wife of yours. You left the poor single guy to hammer out the details."

  "Single and suffering by choice, brother. You don't get to play the martyr with me. So, what was tonight's safe reunion activity?"

  "You're being an ass."

  "Not intentionally, you know that. So, what's going on?"

  "She did the most amazing and thoughtful thing tonight. I get home, and I swear my entire floor smells like an Italian bistro. I was actually jealous of whomever would be eating a meal, at home, that smelled so good. I open the door, and it's coming from my place. I could actually smell the hours of hard work in that meal, and there's Keila. She's bossy and sweet and, in that moment, I can imagine her at work or at school. She let me know everything w
as under control and that I should get changed, relax, and simply enjoy. If that didn't stun me enough, when I came back out, she had set the most beautiful table and literally presented some of my favorite dishes prepared from scratch for me. The girl spent the month I was away, not hanging out with friends or partying, but practicing perfecting dishes to present them to me."

  "Sounds amazing and like everything you've wanted back in your life for years. I am not seeing a problem."

  "I reacted like a jack-ass. Instead of immediately gushing and showing her how blown away I was, I got all weird and introspective. There were so many things running through my brain to say that I ended up saying nothing at all. Right up to this very moment, I'm not sure if I recovered enough to put her mind at ease."

  "Jack, you are rarely at a loss for words. What was really going on in that head of yours?"

  "That I don't want to lose her, but I'm not sure how to keep her. Well, not on her current terms. No shadows. No stories. No lies. No subterfuge."

  "Hey, you are the one in charge. You're the Daddy. Set some rules and hold her to them."

  "You can't spank love into someone, buddy."

  "I think Brianna would disagree."

  "You know good and well that Brianna has pretty much loved you at first sight. Remember, I took your nervous, jittery-ass pre date phone call and listened to you gush about her the next day through eighteen holes. The fact that she found anything lovable about your bossy ways was the real miracle."

  "Is this you telling me how much you love me or paying me back for being an ass earlier?"

  "A little of both, maybe. Look, you put your cards on the table with Bri right away. I've held back. Now, I think if I put it all out there, she'll run so far and so fast—"