P.J.: A Love Story

Pool Memories

    Johnny, wearing nothing but his white boxers, paced his large patio, and listened to the phone ring and ring. Fuck. She's seen the picture. He left a voicemail, even though he didn't think it would do any good.

    "Hey, Sky. It's me. PJ. Give me a call when you can. Okay... bye."

    He hit end and collapsed in one of his outdoor lounge chairs. Then he got a text from Jessica.

J- WTF?!

    It was around 10 am and he barely slept. She must have gotten up and realized he was gone. Back to his old ways of fucking girls and leaving in the morning. This had been going on since he and his wife separated almost 9 months ago. He'd bang fans and then take off in the morning, not looking for anything serious. He liked the attention and, of course, all the sex. The sometimes crazy, most times drunk, sex. He thought all that might change now that he was seeing Sky but things are so complicated now. He just pulled a douche move on two women he had feelings for.

    He jumped in the pool but it just reminded him of swimming with Sky. So he got out. He went inside and made coffee, racking his brain about what to tell Jessica. What to tell Sky.

    Fuck.

   

    Sky listened to the voicemail on speaker so that Mary could hear.
"Well, fuck him."
"Are you calling him back?" Mary asked.
"Fuck no!"

   After a few minutes of silence Sky decided to go lay in the sun. Her interview with Howard Stern was postponed til next week so she had nothing to do that day at all. Unless she wanted to stop by the studio.

   The sky was blue, with no clouds and she situated herself on a lounge chair. The phone rang again.
It was Johnny.

   She sent the call to voicemail.

   She was heartbroken. She was really falling for him. He did such a good job of acting like he liked me, she thought. I was probably just used to get Jessica Simpson back. Whatever. She decided to lament and mope for the day and then after that to be over it. He was just an asshole like everyone else and it's better she know now than later on.

   She glared at her phone when it announced a new voicemail. She listened to it.

   "Hey, I'm coming over." That was it.

   Sky got goosebumps and butterflies and then scolded herself. Whatever he's going to say, do NOT take him back.

   She texted Mary to tell her he was coming over. Before Mary could reply, Johnny was standing at the end of Sky's lounge chair. He looked awful. His hair was crazy, as usual, but there were dark circles under his eyes and his face was stern, not smiling as usual. He still looked delicious though, in his blue pants, black chucks, and a tshirt that had an obscure saying that was probably a private joke between him and someone else.

   "Johnny, go away." Sky put her sunglasses on and leaned back in her chair, feigning disinterest.
"PJ," he corrected. "I need to explain."
"There's nothing to explain. I get it."
"No, you don't get it." He pulled over a chair and perched on it.
      "Yes. I do. This was just a hook-up. I'm a big girl, I can handle that. But it's not what I'm looking for." She shrugged.
He looked at her sadly.
"No bad feelings or anything, but I don't really want anything to do with you...". His shoulders slouched and his face dropped even more.
"But it was a mistake," he said, eyes pleading.
"What we did?" She asked and then answered quickly, "Yes it was."
"I mean what happened with Jessica. It was a mistake..- wait" he stopped mid sentence realizing what she said, "you think what we had was a mistake?"
"Yeah." Pause. "We never should have slept together. I should have listened to my gut and just kept you as a friend."
"That's not how I feel at all."
"Isn't it?"
"NO."
Sky's heart skipped a beat.
"Sky," he said before sighing. "I care about you. A lot. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt you. What happened with Jessica was a mistake."
"What exactly happened?" Sky's face hardened, waiting to see if he had the balls to tell her.
Johnny looked down and took a breath. "We had sex."
"Okay, and what makes you think that I'm the kind of girl that tolerates that sort of thing? I know we're not together, but what makes you think I want to date someone who's openly sleeping with someone else?"
"I know you're not that girl," he said resigned.
"Okay, then." Sky's arms were folded. And she tried her hardest to stay resolved.
"I just... " he ran a hand through his hair, "I just wanted to apologize for being disrespectful and explain myself."
"And now you've done that." Sky put her sunglasses back on.
"Can I take you to dinner?" Johnny asked once he stood up.
"Why?" Sky tilted her head. This is going to be harder than I thought.
"Because I care about you and want to spend time with you."
"Don't you get it? We're done! We're not dating or seeing each other, or fucking or whatever it is you want to call 'this.'"
Johnny sighed and put his hands in his pockets and walked away.
"Bye Sky," he said quietly as he started his car and drove away.