𝙵𝙾𝚁𝙶𝙴𝚃 𝙷𝙴𝚁࿐ ྂ ᴊᴇꜰꜰ ʙᴜᴄᴋʟᴇʏ

ᴇʟᴇᴠᴇɴ

FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS,
Polly and Jeff were seldom without one another, yet they were still a confusing and unofficial item.

Although Jeff had found little gigs to play, he had received an interesting phone call from a Herb Cohen.

Herb Cohen was his fathers old manager, who had offered to help Jeff record a demo.

Which was great, possibly even better than great. Except it would be recorded in LA. The place he had so happily left behind, where he had absolutely no desire to be.

His passion of music would always overrule whatever concerns he had, so Jeff had agreed to fly out to the west coast in September.

But he hadn't told Polly. He didn't know how long he'd be in California for, and knew that the news would be harmful to the new beginnings of their relationship.

He had almost two months, so he'd make them count.

The better half of June was spent with hookups, seeing bands play in the nearby dives, and doing whatever they pleased. It was a breath of fresh air to prior months.

Although Jeff would keep the label-less nature of their relationship, he wanted nothing more than to be Polly's someone, officially. But if she wasn't ready and didn't want that, he would still happily be with her in any way he could.

At the beginning of July, Polly received a phone call from her sister. A mainly good-natured one, bearing nothing but the usual advice Madilyn sought.

Jeff had been in her living room, playing guitar as Polly talked excitedly with her about whatever fifteen-year-old moments Mads had lamented to her.

Nearing the end of the call, Polly looked up from the telephone wire she twirled around her finger and to Jeff, "that's Jeff," she said pausing, "he's my boyfriend."

Following her remark, Jeff was broken out of his concentration and mouthed the word back to her, "boyfriend?"

Polly covered the phone so Mads wouldn't hear, "yeah?"

He nodded, much more excited than he let on. She nodded back with a soft smile and continued with the conversation.

In the small moment, everything Jeff had been wishing for was granted.

He hadn't forgotten about his promise to Herb, for the future cassette coming September. But, he pushed it to the back of his mind while he lived peacefully in the moments his relationship brought.

༻✦༺

Jeff stared at Polly, not believing that the woman in front of him draped only in his thin bedsheet was his. Her hair was messy and makeup smudged, and she'd laugh if she saw her appearance, but all Jeff saw was her beauty, the beauty apart from the curves of her body and the sculpting of her face.

When he was lost in thought, it only made the idea of leaving harder. And of course, he wouldn't be gone forever- but it could be months.

He still hadn't told Polly, figuring it'd be best if she didn't know until later.

Jeff lit a cigarette, sitting up on the edge of his bed as he blew the smoke away, watching it curl through the dimly lit room.

He snuffed the cigarette out, realizing it no longer settled his nerves. He turned back to Polly, kissing her forehead before closing his eyes.

The window above Jeff's bed let the warm summer air in, and lightly ruffled his hair as he awoke much too early. He crept down the hall, careful not to wake Polly or Brooke.