Just Pretend

Chapter Ten

Gwen

Jason and I take Alyssa to her house and Will shakes his head when he sees the state she's in. He takes her from us and leads her upstairs, asking Jason to close the front door after saying goodbye.

I chuckle softly as we walk around to my place and I unlock the door the moment we step in front of it. Like the perfect gentleman, Jason allows me to walk inside first. I head to the kitchen and he follows a few steps behind me.

'How come you're not drunk?' he asks and I laugh, turning to face him after flipping the kettle on, leaning against the counter.

'I had one drink,' I say and his eyebrows shoot into his hairline, his eyes turning calculating.

'I don't see the point of going out and getting drunk, when at the end of the next day you can't remember shit. Also, I don't want to throw away my name – or my dad's, for that matter,' I explain and he nods thoughtfully; considering my words.

'You'd rather remember what happened than forget?'

'Yes. Hence my choice of smoking weed, rather than getting drunk and sitting with a motherfucker of a headache the next day.' He laughs and sits down on one of the chairs at the counter opposite me, crossing his ankles.

'Take your things upstairs so long, first door on the left,' I say as the kettle clicks off and he nods before standing and retrieving his bag from where he'd dropped it in the kitchen doorway, stopping and looking back at me for a moment.

'I like your décor,' with those words he leaves the kitchen, leaving me stunned to silence. Mark tolerates my "Halloween through the Year" décor and even added a few pieces himself, but most of the statues, posters, and ornaments are mine. I've met a few people passionate enough about Halloween to keep their decorations up throughout the year.

I quickly make the coffee and take the cups into the den where I put them on the coffee table next to the back door before plopping down on the couch and kicking off my shoes. I cross one leg under me while the other protects my modesty somewhat while reaching for the chest of drawers in front of the couch.

I pull out the rolling kit stashed there, the weed from months ago still untouched by Mark, and roll up two joints. The moment I'm done I hear his footsteps on the stairs, looking up in time to need a drink; Jason wore nothing but a pair of sweats and an amused expression, causing the inside of my mouth to be filled with cotton at the sight before I swallow and stand up from the couch, holding both joints in my hand.

To avoid staring, I look down at the carpet and scowl as my eyes fall on a burnt spot with ash still in it. I roll my eyes and brush the ash away with my toe before looking back up to find Jason looking at me curiously.

'What? Did my eyeliner smudge?' I ask and he chuckles softly and shakes his head.

'No, it's not that. I would have called him if that happened to my carpet,' he says finally after a few seconds of silence and I look back down at the burnt spot before I meet his eyes again.

'That would be the worst thing I could do. And besides, there's no point in getting angry about this. He's not going to own up to the fact that it was him and he's going to blame me,' I explain when he raises his eyebrows and he scowls at the facts laid out before him.

'You can do better than him,' he says and I snort a laugh, shaking my head.

'As I said earlier, even if I survive breaking up with Mark, I'll probably be past the point of repair,' I say quietly while walking toward the stairs, pausing beside him when he opens his mouth. I reach up and put one of the joints between his lips, forcing him to shut his mouth. He scowls around it at me and I grin sweetly before heading up the stairs to change.