Falling Asleep On A Stranger

Chapter 10

Tony:

            I hated seeing her drive away, even though I shouldn’t. I checked the watch on my left wrist. 5:45 a.m. Damn, we’d talked the whole night and I hadn’t even cared to check the clock. It was amazing. I don’t think I had ever talked to anyone that much. Not even the guys. I walked back to the bus, Jenna still on my mind. I walked up the steps and in the door, quietly closing it behind me, scared to wake the guys up. As I turned around to face the couch where Jenn and I had sat for hours just a little bit earlier I noticed Jaime sitting there, grinning. “Where’d you go man? It’s almost six a.m. Have you even slept at all?” I remembered the way he talked to Jenn and had flirted with her a little bit, but it didn’t bother me as much, knowing how she felt about him. I took a seat across from him. “No. I was walking Jenn to her car.” I spoke calmly. “What? She just barely left? Damn, that must have been a long night, Tone. Does Steph know she was here?” Jaime stared at me surprised. I realized I hadn’t told him about the break up yet and I never kept girls around until morning. He knew that. “Steph and I are over. And yes she stayed here all night. After you went to bed, Vic followed and Jenn and I just stayed and talked. You have no idea how easy it is to be around her. She makes me feel ordinary, like I’m not in a famous band. To her, I’m just Tony Perry.” Jaime nodded in understanding. Thankfully, he didn’t question about Steph. “I get you Tone. She’s one hell of a girl, even if she is still underage. I’m glad you got a chance to get to know her. You liked her, huh?” He looked at me, waiting for my answer. Did I like Jenna? She was a great girl, but she was also underage. “I don’t know man. I mean she’s cool. She’s sweet and funny. She made me feel good, knew just what to say to get a smile on my face. But she’s eleven years younger than me and I think it’s inappropriate to think of her as anything more than a good friend. I really don’t know what my exact feelings for her are though.” I waited for him to answer. “I think you do like her. I can tell by the way you look at her. I haven’t seen you smile so brightly in a while, but when you see her, it’s like you’re instantly in another world, and you like it. Just remember, she’s young, so be careful. It might be good to wait until she’s legal to say anything. Take things slow because as mature as she sounds, she is still a teenager. Anyway, I really wouldn’t worry about the age difference. There are many couples with even more years apart from each other. Age is but a number my dear turtle.” Jaime leaned against the back of the couch and placed his hands behind his head, linking his fingers together. I nodded, “Yeah, you’re right. I need to be careful. I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks man.” Jaime nodded and winked.

“I do want to see her again soon though. Maybe we can all hang out later so you guys could get to know her more. I feel like Vic might not approve much of my feelings for her.” Vic was a bit more cautious about relationship stuff. He always tried to keep an eye out for us. Jaime was always up for what his heart told him, so I understood why he approved. “Don’t worry Tone. He wants the best for us all, and once he sees that she makes you happy, he’ll approve.” I nodded. Yeah, that sounded like Vic.

            “So what are you doing up so early? You barely slept like 3 hours.” I asked, getting off of the couch and walking to the kitchen area on our bus. “Well, in all honesty . . . I had to piss.” He laughed and I joined in. “When I left the restroom I noticed your bed was empty, exactly as it was when I went to bed and you were nowhere to be found so I decided to wait up for you. I guessed you wouldn’t stay out long this early without sleep.” I nodded as I began making some coffee. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m drained but I don’t think I could sleep if I wanted to. All I can do is think of her, Himes. You want some?” I lifted the coffee pot as I asked the question. “Yes please, might as well stay up with you now. And well that’s love for you man.” Love. Was I in love? How could one fall in love in just a couple of hours? I had come to the conclusion that I did like Jenn, a lot, but did I love her? Who knows . . . only time could tell.