Back to You

Did Somebody Order Pizza?

Belly was upstairs, and I was getting some beer out of the refrigerator for the both of us when the doorbell rang. 

"Belly, pizza is here," I yelled up the stairs before heading to the front door. We had managed to work up an appetite, and I was pretty sure I would devour the whole pizza by myself if she didn't hurry up and get her butt back downstairs. 

As I opened the front door, I had the five dollars I was prepared to tip the pizza person in my hand, but it turned out it wouldn't be necessary as it was the pizza we had ordered; it just wasn't being held by a delivery boy. Not even close. 

"Did somebody order a pizza?" Jeremiah asked as he held it out in front of him.

"S***. What are you doing here?" I asked as he stood there in my doorway. He'd definitely caught me unprepared.

"You don't look happy to see me, brother," He said as he handed over the pizza and breezed in. 

"I tried to stop him." A familiar voice stated as Taylor followed him in, but with the humility he was sadly lacking.

"She did, it's true. But I am done listening to people about my life, so... here I am." Jeremiah paused a beat before continuing. "So where is she?" 

Of course, I knew what he was getting at, but his smug-ass attitude was annoying enough that I had decided he would have to work for the answers he wanted. 

"I'm not sure I know what you're getting at," I told him,  standing in front of him to keep him from entering farther into the house. If he wanted me to move, he would have to ask nicely or deck me; those were his only two choices. 

"Really? You plan on keeping up the shady s***?" Jeremiah poked his finger into my chest. "I know Belly's here, man. Ask me how I know," he prompted me. 

But I remained silent, which unfortunately didn't keep him from continuing. 

"You're gonna like this. I ran into Aubry and her boyfriend at the mall after Christmas. Image how dumb I felt asking her about being back together with you only to have this massive bodybuilder guy walk up and get in my face for 'suggesting' his girlfriend would cheat on him." 

"That sounds like an unfortunate situation," I said, still not budging. 

"So I asked myself why you would lie to me, what could you possibly be hiding, and then I remembered Junior mint," Jeremiah told me, waving his hand toward the upstairs like he was a detective who had cracked a case.

To say I was confused about what Jeremiah was getting at now would be accurate. 

"What about Junior Mint?" I asked, unable to keep my curiosity in check.

"It was right there, but I missed it." Jeremiah took the pizza from me now and placed it on the kitchen counter before facing me again.

 You look confused, so let me help you out. When I was here before, Junior Mint was on Belly's bed. But he should have been in Spain.  Just like Belly...  but she's not there either, is she, Conrad," Jeremiah said more a statement than a question because he already knew the answer. His anger building now.

"Jeremy, maybe we should go?" Taylor said. She was trying her best to de-escalate the growing situation between us.  Brave effort on her part, but it was destined to be a total failure because Jeremiah wasn't there to play nice.

"You should listen to Taylor," I said, trying my best to keep things civil with him, but sometimes I just wanted to clock him good and rattle his brain back to a nicer version of himself. 

Jeremiah was determined, though, and ignored Taylor's advice like she wasn't there. He'd come here on a mission and wasn't leaving until he'd accomplished it.