Before You

Chapter 34

I grab an apple off of the kitchen counter and try my best to take bites in between doing my hair and makeup. Jett texted me at noon today and said he was coming over. I immediately jumped out of bed and started getting dressed. It was his text that woke me up. I've been making a habit of sleeping in half of the day when I don't have to work or be in class. I take one last glance in the mirror. I have to admit; my denim jeans and hunter green top look pretty nice. I don't know why I'm more dressed up than usual. I guess I'm trying to make up for yesterday and the way I made Jett feel with all of the questions. I hear a knock at the door and rush over to it quickly. I take one deep breath and then swing the door open. Jett stands before me with a half smile.

"Come in." I say.

"Thanks." he replies.

Jett walks through the door and walks directly over to the couch, taking a seat. He seems different. Like yesterday, he's being very quiet. I feel a little awkward. I wish he would have more to say. I walk over to the couch and have a seat next to him. I need to just get this over with.

"Jett, I'm sorry. I never meant to overwhelm you with questions yesterday." I say facing him.

Jett takes a deep breath and responds. "You didn't overwhelm me. I'm sorry too. Can we just forget about it?"

I'm relieved the moment I hear him say those words. I slide over next to him and lean against his shoulder. It seems like we're having more and more of these moments. Moments full of apologies and trying to explain feelings. I guess it's normal to work through these things in relationships. I feel like I'm learning all of this for the first time. Gage and I never had discussions like this. Most of our time was spent with everyone else in our group. Thinking back on our time together, Gage put very little effort into our relationship. That always came from me.

I intertwine my fingers with Jetts. "Sounds good to me."

"So we're meeting your friends at five o'clock? Have you ever been to the restaurant we're going to?" he asks.

"No. She said the name is "Pegs Pub". Supposedly, they have really good food. It's one of Nolan's favorite places to go." I respond.

"Cool. I'm excited to meet them. It should be fun." He replies.

Jett and I decide to hang out at my apartment until time to leave. We flicker back and forth between television shows trying to find something to pass the time. Finally, we agree on Animal Planet. Today's show is about Penguins. The screen goes to a close up image of a baby Penguin and I immediately release "oohs" and "ahhs" at the cuteness. Jett laughs at my reaction and wraps his arm around me for a hug.

"You can't say those baby Penguins aren't cute." I say. "I would bring one home with me if I could."

"I bet you had a lot of animals as a kid, didn't you?" Jett asks.

"No. Actually I never had any animals." I reply. "My mother was always busy working or babysitting to pay our bills. She always made sure I focused on school and keeping my grades up. There was never any time for animals, not like we could afford one anyway."

"That's sad." He says. "Every kid deserves to have a puppy."

I slowly nod my head. "Yeah, I guess. It just wasn't in the cards for me."

Jett sits silently staring at me. I think he feels worse about it then I ever did. I never worried too much about not having an animal. I knew there were other things, more important things that needed to come first. I glance down at my watch.

"We should get going so we won't be late." I tell Jett.

Jett nods in agreement and we both gather our things to leave.