Between Boyfriends (Book 1 in the Between Boyfriends Series)

Chapter 23

The serene sounds of birdsong pulled Jan from her slumber. Instead of hunting for a slingshot, Jan lay in bed, alone, and listened. She knew if she opened her eyes, the day would officially begin, and with it would come responsibility and conflict. But for another hour or two, she could lie peacefully, undisturbed by memory or dilemma.

Jan rotated onto her side and pulled her legs up into the fetal position. She snuggled into her pillow and pulled her blankie up under her chin. She wanted to feel young again, like a beloved child safe in her bed where nothing could harm her, where no problems could touch her, no worries could taunt her, and no monsters, real or imagined, could find her, safe and warm.

Eventually, she drifted back to sleep.

When she finally awoke and opened her eyes, she was surprised to discover that it was only nine o'clock. She usually slept in until noon after a night on the town. Then again, she used to sleep until noon most days before she started working for a living. Nowadays, nine was sleeping in.

Jan rolled out of bed and headed for the shower. She took longer than usual even though she had showered the night before. She had washed her hair after returning home from the club, but she still hadn't felt clean. Clubbing required at least two showers and some serious scrubbing before Jan considered herself thoroughly cleansed.

After twenty minutes of wearing out her loofah, she got out of the shower, reluctantly, and dried off. She put on some scruffy clothes and discovered two text messages waiting for her when she found her phone. One was from Shauna, thanking her again for the invitation to Deco's and confirming their Sunday appointment. Jan responded that she was definitely still on for Sunday.

The other message was from Juan. Seeing his name on her screen made her stomach cramp and churn uncomfortably. She took thirty seconds to breathe and then checked the message.

It was from last night, 12:27 AM. He must have just gotten home. The message merely said that Juan had arrived home and wanted to apologize for leaving abruptly. No mention of the kiss or her reaction. Jan felt her stomach unclench. If he wanted to pretend nothing had happened, that was fine by her. It had been bad enough bullshitting an excuse to her friends about the reason for Juan's disappearance. She wasn't suffering from the delusion that her friends believed anything she had said or would let the subject go without a full-scale investigation. One way or another, Becki and Lisa would get the truth, or at least a portion of the truth, out of her eventually. Telling them about her and Juan was one thing, but talking to Juan about it would be torture.

But first, she had work to do. Her entire apartment, including her fridge, needed to be cleaned. And, she was behind on her schoolwork. She also had an Introduction to Kinesiology and Pathology class to go to. The Juan debacle would have to wait.

It was almost nine-thirty at night when she returned home from class. The second she schlepped through the doorway of her apartment, Lisa and Becki sprang on her from behind, hurling questions like projectiles. They had been waiting for her all evening and were more than ready for some answers.

"What happened with Juan? Did you guys get in a fight?"

"Was it about another girl?"

"Do you want us to beat him up?"

"Or call his mother?"

Jan put her face in her hands. She'd had a long day and she hadn't gotten much sleep the night before.

"Come on in," she said and held the door for her interrogators. "Would you like anything to drink?"

"No, thanks," they each said and ran in.