Knowing Me, Knowing You
By Jaden
I tossed and turned for most of the night, so when the phone interrupted any semblance of sleep I was trying to get, I couldn't help but offer a grumpy, "What do you want?"
"Gee Janna, is that how you always answer the phone in the morning?" Aaryns' cheerful voice rang through.
"I haven't had a very good nights sleep," I growled, my feelings of distrust returning full force.
"Poor baby, why don't you go back to bed and try to get a bit more rest. Call me when you get up, OK?"
"Are you sure you're going to be around?" I asked, the bitchiness in my tone making me flinch.
She seemed to not notice, and if she did, she wasn't bothered by it, for all she said was, "Talk to you later, Janna."
I hung up and felt crappier than before.
Later on that day, I could no longer ignore Aaryn, as I had been trying so hard to do. I mean, if she didn't know what was bothering me, it isn't like she knew I was avoiding her to begin with. Sort of defeated the purpose, you know?
So I decided to call her.
She made me laugh, and offered to cook me dinner. When I accepted, I even convinced myself that I only agreed to go so that I could find out the truth, and not because I was dying to see her.
Aaryn answered the door in a pair of cut off denim shorts, a white tank top, and a red apron that covered her torso. She looked adorable, and I am sure the appraisal in my eyes did not go unnoticed by her. Traitorous eyes.
"Smells good," I said when I walked in, the thought of a home cooked meal making my belly rumble.
"Glad you think so," she said as she led us into the kitchen, "Do me a favor and set the table, Janna."
I did as I was told, and Aaryn brought out the tastiest looking baked chicken I had ever seen. I sat down and prepared myself to be a glutton.
There were veggies and mashed potatoes, and even biscuits to go with. I was about to dig in with abandoned glee, when she sat across from me and said , "Janna, I have a confession to make."
I tried not to choke on the food I had just stuffed into my mouth, and I eyed her suspiciously, until she broke out in laughter.
"Jesus, you look like you're about to cry."
And honestly, that is exactly how I felt. I wanted to cry.
Was she about to tell me that she had been out with someone else? Was she going to tell me she wanted to just be friends? How was I supposed to keep myself from running out of there, from showing her how she had made me feel?
So lost in my own thoughts, I didn't hear what she said the first time. She must have seen the blank look on my face, and so she repeated herself.
"I had the food delivered, honey, I didn't cook it."
After managing to make my heart start to beat again, I just smiled and kept eating.
Bloody hell. This woman was going to be the death of me.
After dinner, we decided to settle onto the couch, and though I willed myself not to want to be too close to her, it didn't work. She sat against one side of the sofa, while putting her legs in my lap.
" So how did moving go?" I asked.
"We actually got done a lot quicker than I thought we would. My friend Lulu.."
"Lulu," I interrupted, "Who in the hell names their kid Lulu?"
"It's Louise, you creep, " she teased, " that's her nickname."
"Oh, thank god for that."
"Moving on," she said loudly, "My friend Lulu was with her boyfriend for 4 years and she finally had the guts to leave his sorry ass. He was just bad for her, and I am just glad she's getting on with her life."
"Good for her, " I offered, intently watching Aaryn as she ran her fingers through her hair.
"Anyways, we set her up at her new place, and she seems to be doing OK, in spite of all the bull. We'll have to all go out one night, I'd like for you to meet her."
"Yea, that would be cool," I said as I nonchalantly began to rub Aaryn's bare feet.
"Hey, you're good at that, don't stop."
God, how I wanted to hear her say that to me while we...
I snapped out of it in time to hear her ask me what I had done last night.
"Well, Karen got tickets to the Lion King, so we went and saw that."
"No way, I went last night too," Aaryn exclaimed.
I must have let out the hugest sigh of relief, and I felt myself really smile for the first time all day.
"Really, how did you end up there?"
"Well, after we finished with Lulu, my friend Rex asked me if I wanted to go. I guess his sister had gotten the tickets, and she couldn't make it after all, so he asked me. I tried to call you once I was done helping, to see if maybe we could hang out, but you never answered, so I decided I might as well get out."
"Aaryn?"
"Yea?"
I debated with myself for all of two seconds before the words came out of my mouth.
"I have a confession of my own to make."
"What's that?" She asked, a playful gleam in her eyes.
"I saw you last night, with him."
She seemed startled at first, then asked, "Why didn't you say anything to me?"
"I didn't know who he was, I didn't know if you wanted me to see you together or not."
"What do you mean, Janna?" She asked, sitting up and removing her legs from my lap.
"Look Aaryn, I'm not entirely sure what it is we're doing here. We have no commitment, I thought that maybe you and he were, you know..."
"No, I don't know. Why don't you say it, Janna," she said, her eyes growing in intensity.
"I thought you guys might have been out on a date or something," I said.
"First of all," she began counting off fingers, " I would like to think that we are getting to know one another with a plan on some kind of relationship. A committed relationship, mind you, meaning that while we are getting to know one another, I am not going to be accepting dates from other people."
I wondered how much redder her face was going to get before she really exploded.
"Secondly, I cannot believe that you would even think that of me to begin with. I know that we haven't spent a lot of time together, but I'd like to think that you have a higher opinion than that of me."
I nodded my head mutely, hoping my downcast eyes and general puppy dog expression was working its magic on her.
"And third, don't even try to make me feel sorry for you with those faces you're making. Now I know why you acted all cranky with me on the phone. I am the wronged party here, not you."
"You are absolutely right," I sheepishly admitted.
"Good girl," she took a moment from her rant and patted my head, "And fourth, the next time you come to some obviously wrong conclusion, all you have to do is ask me. I'll be sure to set you on the right path. Got it?" She asked, her arms folded across her chest.
"Got it. Hey Aaryn?"
"What?" She asked, our eyes meeting for the first time since she had begun her tirade.
"You're beautiful when you're angry," I grinned.
She straddled my lap, and pulled my face close enough that our noses were touching, "Just shut up and kiss me," she said.
I made a mental note to get her riled up as often as possible.