The Lakes

Chapter 9

       

9

She dreaded Jocelyn's visit.  She knew it was coming and she knew it would be awkward.  She hoped to ease at least her awkwardness by getting her to open up about what had happened with Jeremy.

"How was it?" she asked with a lame attempt at being nonchalant.

"Fun."  She hoped maybe that was enough information for Jocelyn to run with.

"It always is in the beginning," she said ruefully.

"Joc, sit down right now and tell me what happened with you two," she demanded.

"Where are they?" she asked looking around. 

"They're on a call with the DeWitts."

Jocelyn walked over to Chris' desk and sat down in one of the chairs.  She leaned over, her hands clasped and her arms bent and resting in front of her on the desk.  Her pink and ample lips were beautifully glossed and poking out in a humorous way.

"All right.  Jeremy came 'back' about a month ago," she said throwing up air quotes.  "I don't know how they could call it 'back' since he wasn't ever 'here' before, whatever.  He flirted with me from the second he walked in.  He took me out to lunch, that Friday he was taking me out for dinner and drinks.  That next Friday we went out again and..." she hesitated, looking around the office as if someone might hear, "we had sex."

"That's pretty quick," Chris said unable to hide the jealousy in her voice.

"Yeah, that's why I told you to be careful.  I'm not normally like that I swear.  But he can be very charming."

Chris could feel the chagrin warming her face and chest.  He was very charming indeed.  "So what happened after that?" Chris asked trying to not sound too anxious.

Well, we slept together a few more times.  One night behind my desk actually."  It took all the strength Chris could rally to not shudder.  "Then a few days later I saw him kissing my sister Phoebe."

"Phoebe, like downstairs Phoebe?" Chris asked with very wide eyes, unable to hold her astonishment inside.

"Yeah," she answered coldly.

"Phoebe's your sister?" she asked her eyes twitching.

"Yes," she said with an irritated tone.  Well, that made sense.  She thought the women around here were just like the Stepford Wives or something.  "Apparently," she continued in a harsh tone, "he'd been seeing both of us, at the same time, and neither of us knew."

"Huh," was all Chris could utter.

"Yeah," she said again very coldly, "so...be careful."

"Nothing's happened between us," she said looking directly into Jocelyn's bright green eyes.

"Yet," she said raising her brow and standing up to leave.

Try as she might Chris could not get what Jocelyn had told her out of her head.  If she wanted to she could believe in a second that Jeremy was nothing but a womanizing spoiled rich kid.  She could believe that he would charm her, sleep with her and then pretend like she didn't matter.  She could believe that he wouldn't think twice about any of that, that it was just his usual game, that she was just another girl.

The problem was she didn't want to believe that.  He didn't seem that way to her.  Maybe she was just being naïve; she had been known to be naïve in the past.  But the Jeremy she knew and was secretly falling for appeared to be a very sweet guy, a great listener, hard-working, courteous, thoughtful and grateful.