What started off as a rocky conversation about Lola and where we go from here, slowly shifted to music. Colton was a firefighter, so what could he possibly have in common with an interior designer and an actor/musician? But Jared's so fucking charismatic that he can find mutual ground with just about anyone, including Colton. Damn his fucking compassion for others!
At first I thought Jared was only trying to be cordial, but when Colton brought up Mars, Jared dove head first into the conversation, answering all of Colton's stupid questions. Sadly, I had no intention of entertaining this bullshit, but Colton clearly had other plans and never shut the fuck up. While the two of them discussed their thoughts on different bands, I got up and walked away. I went to the kitchen where I began noisily cleaning, hoping that Colton would realize he was the reason for my distress and leave. He didn't.
After washing all of the dishes from earlier, I decided to go into the bedroom, and as I re-entered the living room, I was stunned to find that they were actually drinking the hard stuff. An open bottle of tequila sat on top of my bar and the French doors leading to the balcony were wide open. Gripped with frustration, I stomped all the way to the bedroom, slamming the door closed behind me. Who the fuck does Colton think he is, coming over here and charming the pants off my man? I changed into some pajamas and crawled into bed... alone. Surely Jared would notice my absence and send Colton on his way.
While waiting, I messaged Sara, but she never replied. It's not like I can blame her, the only time I ever bother to call or text her is when I've needed someone to vent to. Made me a little sad actually. We've been friends for so long and she knew all my sordid little secrets. She's the only person I could talk to besides Josh, but I still hadn't told him everything. He had a big mouth and an even bigger opinion, if he didn't agree with my decisions. Did Jared seriously not notice my absence?
I got comfortable with my laptop, silently hoping Colton would grow bored of hanging out with Jared and go home. Unfortunately, he appeared mesmerized by the fact that Jared has celebrity status and wasn't likely to lose interest anytime soon. The loud giggling continued to come from the front of the apartment, so I shoved my earbuds in my ears and occupied myself with some YouTube videos about the worlds most haunted places. I actually lost track of time. It was easy to do with all of the skeletons coming out of my closet lately. I suppose I must have fallen asleep while they were talking about midnight ghost tours in New Orleans. The next thing I knew, I bolted upright when the earbuds were ripped from my ears as the laptop hit the floor. Blinking a few times, I stared at the screen of my phone. Holy shit!
It was nearly midnight and everything was completely silent now. Leaping out of the bed, I rushed down the hallway to find Jared stretched out on the couch, one shoe on and one blocking the French doors from closing all the way. Colton was curled up in the fetal position on the love seat. Both were out cold and the tequila bottle lay almost empty on the floor. I was stunned that Jared got drunk with this idiot of all people. He hadn't even done that with me! Shit. And he was supposed to fly out in a few hours. Great, what now? My DVD cabinet was open and some of the movies were stacked on the coffee table. Whatever!
I stalked back down the hallway into my bedroom and sat on the end of the bed. Colton can't be here when Jared leaves! I refuse to be left alone with him. Pacing back and forth, I knew I was left with only one option. I scrolled through my contacts until I came to Shannon's name, hesitating. My finger hovered over the call button, remembering my earlier conversation with Jared in the kitchen. I just didn't know what else to do.
Pressing call, I patiently waited for Shannon to answer. Relief filled me as he answered with a raspy, "hello." I could just picture him, lying there in those soft knit pajama pants I love so much.
