The Carousel

Dix

"Babe, I'll be there in a couple of days. Are you excited?" Jared asked Ondine on one of their nightly evening phone calls.

"I'm excited to graduate," she teased him, evading the question he posed.

"Babe!" Jared laughed.

"Yeah, I'm excited! Excited to see my mom, dad, Aiden, and Em J..."

"And..."

"And Ben! Ben said he's coming too!"

"Ben's coming?!" Jared's nearly yelled, his voice in a panic.

"Gotcha!" Ondine cackled in maniacal laughter.

"Oh, you just wait, Ms. Beautiful Girl. Wait 'til I get my hands on you in person!" he threated her playfully.

"I'm not scared. We're never gonna be alone. I'll make sure someone is always around to protect me from you and your threats."

"Seriously, Ames. I can't wait to see you. Don't you even miss me? Even just a tiny bit?"

"Maybe just a tiny bit," she said, not really willing to give in.

"Well, I don't miss you a tiny bit."

"You don't?" Ondine asked.

"Nope. Because I miss you a lot."

"Cheesefest!"

"Babe, it's the truth."

"So you're flying in with the rest of my family?" she said, changing the subject.

"No, I know Em J told me they're flying out tomorrow."

"Oh yeah, that's right. Did you book a hotel in the city?"

"About that..." he began sheepishly.

"What?"

"I didn't."

"What?! Jay! Where are you supposed to stay? It's graduation season, I'm sure all the hotels are fully booked now," Ondine said, chewing on her bottom lip.

"I know a place I can stay."

"Where? Don't tell me you're gonna sleep in between Aiden and Em J? Or better yet, between my parents?" she giggled.

"No. I'm gonna sleep with you," he held back a laugh as he waited for her reaction.

"What? Jay! No..."

"I know I said I was going to go to your graduation a couple of months ago, but I didn't actually get the go ahead signal until recently, so this was all very last minute. Babe, please? Can I stay with you?" he grinned to himself.

"You can sleep on the couch, I suppose," Ondine said cautiously.

"The couch. Hmmmm. Where lucky 13 happened."

"Lucky 13?"

"That's how many times I've made you orgas..."

"Jay!!!"

"Babe, I have special memories of that couch."

"Ugh, that's it. You're sleeping on the street!"

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," Jared chuckled. "You're still so easily ruffled. Relax, babe."

"Okay, maybe I was being too harsh. You can sleep in the tub," she playfully reconsidered.

"As long as I'm in the same place as you, that's fine with me," he stated simply. "But, Ames, joking aside, I really do miss you."

"Well, in two days you'll see me again."

"The two longest days of my life!"

"It's two days...two night's sleep. Then you'll be sick of my face before the weekend's over," she giggled.