Before You

Chapter 9

          My eyes open quickly. Too quickly it seems. What is that noise? I look at my cell phone lying on the bed next to me. First I check the time. It's 7:30 in the morning. Crap! I must have turned my alarm off and went back to sleep. The phone keeps ringing as I try to gain my focus. Ready for the noise to stop, I answer without looking at the number on the screen.

          "Hello?" I say urgently.

          "Hey Evy. It's Jett. I know I'm 30 minutes early, but traffic was a lot better than I anticipated."

          "Ok. I'll be out in a minute. I turned my alarm off this morning so I'm just now getting out of bed", I reply.

          "Oh okay. Is it alright if I hang out on your couch until you're ready?" he says.

          "What? No way! You can't hang out on my couch!" I respond harshly. I take a quick breath and remember that I'm supposed to be nicer to him. At least I told myself I would try to be. I roll my eyes and shake my head in unison. "Okay, fine. You can come inside, but you have to stay on my couch. No going through my things. Got it?"

          "Sure thing" is all Jett says.

          I hang up the phone and walk to my apartment door. There's a quiet knock before I reach it. Wow, he's quick. I open the door and see Jett standing in front of me. I'm a little taken back. He's wearing dark denim jeans with a black t-shirt and black Converse shoes. It's 7:30 in the morning and yet he looks so put together. I realize it's taken me longer than needed to invite him in.

          "Um, come on in. There's the couch. I have to get ready, but it won't take long" I say quickly.

          Jett nods his head and walks to the couch. "Thanks for letting me come inside." I notice his eyes shift from my face down to my shirt. Suddenly, I feel very self-conscious. I'm just wearing a t-shirt and boxer shorts. I cross my arms before me and turn in the direction of the bathroom.

          Before I can walk away from him, he asks a surprising question. "You like Linkin Park?"

          I turn back to him and look down at my shirt. It's a black form fitting t-shirt with a photo of the band covering the front. That's what he was staring at. "Um, yeah. How do you know about them?" I reply.

          "How do I know about them? I listen to them. It's one of my favorite bands," he says simply.

          "What?" a slight laugh comes out with it. I stand staring at him as if he just said a joke.

          "I said they're one of my favorite bands" he finds my eyes and smiles.

          "You don't look like someone that would listen to Linkin Park. You look like someone that would listen to... I don't know, maybe Britney Spears or something" I say jokingly.

          "Well, then I guess you shouldn't judge people. If I judged you, I would think you listened to Rob Zombie and didn't have a soul," he says as he perches his lips to one side of his mouth.

          "Maybe I don't". I turn and walk towards the bathroom to get dressed. Closing the door behind me, I take a quick breath. Why does he irritate me so much? He can't possibly know anything about Linkin Park. Maybe he's just lying. I shake my head to clear the thoughts. It doesn't matter. I need to get dressed fast. The quicker we can get started, the quicker he can leave me alone.

          By the time I enter the living room, I'm dressed with hair and makeup complete. Jett takes a quick glance at me. I'm suddenly aware that my black tank top may be too tight. I look down at myself and then back at Jett. "What?"

          "Nothing. You really don't need the makeup, you know?" he shrugs his shoulders.

          "I don't need you telling me what I do or do not need," I say frankly.

          "Geez. Is it just me that you have a problem with? Or is it men in general?" Jett snaps.

          My mouth is usually quicker to respond, but I stand there trying to find words. He is right. It's not just him. It's men in general. I never realized that I come off this way to most men. I guess it's just a natural reaction. It's a way to put them in their place, and make them realize that I don't want to get close in any sense of the word.

          "It's men in general" I say rather calmly, and look straight at him.

          "Well, okay then. At least I know it's not just me," he says with a short laugh. "I don't know about the rest of the male population, but I think I can change your mind about me. I'm a pretty likeable guy," he says with a smile.

          "Good luck with that" I say almost chipper and a little smile comes out with it. There's no way this guy is going to change my mind about men. He's full of himself if he thinks he has that much power. I grab my camera bag and purse, looking around the room to see if I'm forgetting anything.

          "Okay, let's do this. It's going to be a good day. We're about to become great friends, you and I" Jett says gesturing to me and back at him.

          "You seem very sure of yourself," I say dryly.

          "That's not true. I'm unsure about a lot of things in life. More then you would probably think. But, I'm very sure of this." Jett stands before me with a blank expression on his face. I half expected him to laugh, but nothing came out. He seems more serious than before.

          I slowly get my car keys off the kitchen counter and turn back to face him again. He's still standing before me with an unreadable expression. He does seem very sure of himself. However, he doesn't know me or the fact that I won't cave. I love a good challenge. I'm ready to put him in his place. "Okay, let's go. Show me what you've got".