J-Fred

Ch. 3: A Sprained Ankle

Over the many times that Alice goes over to Amanda's house to discuss the wedding photos, they begin to develop a friendship. They begin to hang out more so as friends rather than for business. On one Sunday night, Alice and Amanda are hanging around in the living room with some wine when Matthias enters.

"Are you ready to go to my parents' house, Amanda?" he asks as he enters the room. Every Sunday, they all got together and had dinner.

Amanda turns to Alice and exclaims, "You should come with us! You're a friend; why not? It will be fun?"

Alice immediately gets uncomfortable. She shakes her head as she stands up. "Oh no, I have an early morning tomorrow, I can't."

"We won't stay up all night--the kids will be there!" Amanda explains. 

Alice continues backing up. "Yeah, but I don't have anything fancy to wear...and I think we should stay business, not friends."

Amanda frowns. "It's all casual. And besides, I thought we were more than just working together."

"Stop making excuses and come with us," Matthias sighs.

 Eventually, Alice agrees to join them. She is still hesitant, but she reassures herself that it will be light and fun. As the three of them walk up to the door of the nice house after the short drive, Alice takes deep breaths and steels herself. 

"Hello everyone, this is Alice, my friend and business customer," Amanda announces once they have walked in. Alice offers a weak smile. She sits down uncomfortably on a the couch in between Bryan and Matthias's mother. 

"So, are you getting married, Alice?" the mom asks. 

She shakes her head. "I wish, but it's my friend who's getting married.

Suddenly, Arianna and Isabella run into the room with J-Fred chasing them from behind like a giant monster. They leap up onto the couch and hide behind their dad Bryan. J-Fred races over and scoops them up into his arms as they laugh and scream. That brings a slight smile to Alice's face.

As she drinks more alcohol, Alice begins to warm up more. She laughs along with everyone else until her sides hurt and tells jokes of her own. But when they all sit down for dinner, she gets stuck in between J-Fred and his dad. She is immediately back to being uncomfortable again. Her heart races any time J-Fred's arm brushes up against her as he reaches for a dish or when he talks. On top of that, the dad constantly turns to her to make cheesy jokes. Every once and a while, J-Fred would turn to his dad and sigh, "Dad, lay off her." That would just make Alice get even more nervous. It is almost as if he is defending her.

The girls soon get impatient. "I want to go outside to the hot tub!" Arianna whines.

"I want to go outside," Isabella exclaims as she shifts uncomfortably in her chair. 

"But we're still eating," Sarah, their mom, explains.

"I can take them outside...if you want. I'm finished eating," Alice offers. Sarah agrees and thanks her, and Alice hurries outside with the two girls. She is glad to be out of that room and out into the cool night air. 

She sits and stares up at the stars in the sky as the girls play around in the hot tub. At one point, Isabella accidentally throws her toy Elsa toy out towards the pool. Alice gets up to get it, but thanks to her wonderful luck, she slips on the pool water and twists her ankle as she falls flat onto her back. "Are you okay?" Arianna squeaks in her high-pitched voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine..." Alice calls out as she attempts to stand. The moment she places any weight on her ankle, spikes of pain go shooting up her leg. She falls back into a sitting position again. She tries again, but it is no use to walk. The ankle is already swelling.

Arianna hops out of the hot tub and rushes over. "What happened?" she asks.

"I, um, slipped from the pool water. I'm okay though, I'm just having a bit of trouble...standing up," Alice explains.

"I'll go tell Daddy!" Arianna exclaims as she turns and rushes back inside before Alice can protest. She is making the worst first impression ever. 

On top of everything, J-Fred walks out the door several seconds later with Arianna beside him. She just had to go and fetch the worst person for the situation. He walks over with a smile as Alice's face turns bright red. "Looks like we should have had someone watching you instead of the girls," he jokes. "Let's look at your ankle now."

He surprises her as he crouches down and slides his arms behind her back and under her legs. She instinctively wraps her arms around his neck. And with that, he carries her back inside. Her head bounces against his chest with every step he takes, and she can hear faintly his heartbeat. All she can think about is his strong arms wrapped around her. She tries her best not to look up at him; that could only make things worse.

J-Fred brings her inside with everyone staring at her. However, he walks right past them all and takes her into the bedroom. Her heart is racing so hard that she is afraid he can hear it. He sets her down gently on the bed and goes to fetch some bandage wrap. "Let's see the damage," he sighs as he sits down beside her. He takes her leg in his soft hands and examines her ankle. "Looks like you just sprained it," he tells her with a cheerful smile. She tries her best to return the smile, but it ends up looking rather creepy. 

Still gently, he wraps up her ankle with the bandages. When he is finishes, Alice says weakly, "Thank you for that." It is all she can manage to say.

Again, he flashes her his genuine, kind smile. "No problem. Let's go join the others again." He stands and offer his hand to her. She takes it, but after one step, she stumbles and has to clutch him to stay standing. He grabs her arm and wraps it around his shoulders for stability. Alice just takes deep breaths and hobbles along, pressed up against him the whole time.

Matthias, Amanda, and Alice leave soon after. Alice bids farewell to them all, and then thanks J-Fred once more. She has calmed down a bit since being in his arms. "Thanks again, Joey," she sighs.

"Hey, any time that I can have a pretty girl in my arms, I'll take it," he answers.

Alice's mind spins. He is actually flirting with her. She cannot believe it. She blushes, and without saying another word to him, she scurries off with Amanda and Matthias.

Alice stays silent most of the car ride back. She just stares out the window, reminiscing about her crazy night.

"So," Matthias asks, "what'd you think of your first dinner with us all?"

"It was...interesting," is all she replies.