Chapter 18 (5/31/16)

In thanks for your patience over the last...well, I guess the entire school year, if we go back to when I was still writing Liv's story, I have a few posts planned for this week!  The story is progressing a bit slowly at this point as well, as I develop the characters and get Jenna settled, so might as well move through it with some extra posts.  This is my third post in the last week, so make sure you're all caught up, as that is highly abnormal for this blog so far :)  Enjoy!

______________________________

“You’re doing what?!” Kelly said, surprised.  We were sitting on the counter in my kitchen (because I didn’t have a table yet), eating Thai takeout and waiting for Erica. 

“Going on a date with Mike,” I repeated.  “Is that weird?  I thought it might be a little weird.”

“No,” she said quickly, shaking her head as if trying to convince herself as much as me.  “It’s just surprising, I guess.  He’s a good guy,” she continued, nodding this time.  “If a little boring.”

“Maybe boring is okay,” I replied.  “I think I’ve had enough excitement in my life lately.”

Kelly chuckled.  “Yeah, that’s true.  So are you done with Dan or what?”

Now it was my turn to laugh.  “No.  I figured that I missed out on dating around in my early 20s, so I’m going to dip my toes into the world of going out with more than one person at the same time.”

“Ooh, watch out world!  Jenna is acting like a normal, single human being!” she teased me.  I was about to respond, but was cut off by a tentative knock at the door. 

I jumped off the counter and went to the door, expecting it to be Erica.  Instead, I pulled it open and found myself face to face with the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen.  I just stood there, staring blankly at him.

“Hi,” he said, smiling a disarmingly perfect smile. 

“Hi,” I croaked, completely unable to make any more words come out.

He pushed his hand through his hair and then said, “My name is Brian.  I just wanted to introduce myself to you.  My wife and I live next door.”  He motioned to the house to the right.  “We saw your moving truck yesterday but didn’t want to come over while you were getting everything moved in.”

I had regained my faculties by now and returned his smile.  “Nice to meet you, Brian.  I’m Jenna.  Thanks for coming over to say hi!”

He grinned and leaned against the doorframe.  “We’re a pretty close neighborhood, so we’ve all been speculating about who might be moving in.”  He then pointed out the houses around me and gave me a brief summary about each house’s occupants.  “We have a really great neighborhood here,” he finished up.  “I hope you like it!”

“Thank you,” I said.  “So far I’m a little too overwhelmed with the moving process to have many thoughts, but I’m looking forward to getting settled.”

“Well, I’ll let you get back to whatever you were up to.  If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.  My wife’s name is Hannah, and we’d be happy to help you out!”

I thanked him again, and just as he was leaving, I saw Erica’s car pull up.  She parked on the street and got out, so I lingered in the doorway.  “This neighborhood is sketch, Jenna,” she said, looking around as she stepped onto the small front porch.  “Well, this part isn’t so bad, I guess.”

I rolled my eyes.  “I was actually just talking to the neighbor and he seems really nice.  He was telling me a bit about the neighborhood and it sounds kind of great, actually.”

Erica looked like she wanted to say more, but she bit her lip instead.  Then she smiled and said, “Well, the house is adorable, at least!  I can’t wait to see it!”

Kelly had been waiting for Erica’s arrival to get the full tour, so once Erica had dropped her purse on the counter, I took them through.  They both loved the master closet, of course, and overall they seemed impressed.  “I was put off by the neighborhood at first, but the house is really nice,” Erica said.  “The previous owners did a lot with it.”

“And that closet,” Kelly said wistfully.  “I want a closet like that.  Darrin can have the little closet that was originally there.  And when he pisses me off, I’ll take an air mattress into the closet and just live there for a little while.”  We laughed, but there truly was enough space for it.

Erica and Kelly stayed for a couple hours, helping me with a little organizing.  I’d actually made a lot of headway on unpacking the day before, and I already had all my clothes, kitchen stuff, and bathroom things put away.  Erica, an amazing organizer, gave me some ideas for ways to maximize the minimal space I had, and together we made a list of things I needed to pick up, and prioritized them, because there were too many for me to get all of them right away on my budget.  I realized I was being an idiot when I thought I was doing this alone. 

When we had collapsed on my couch, Erica asked, “Was it hard?”

“Was what hard?” I responded, confused.

“Moving out,” she clarified.  “I was worried about you yesterday.  I thought for sure we’d get some panicky texts by lunchtime.  When we didn’t, that just made me more worried.”

“It was, and it wasn’t,” I said.  “I had a moment when I thought I was going to lose it while I was watching the movers haul all my stuff out of Kevin’s house.  It was really surreal, and it sucked going through the house and telling them what was staying and what was going.  I wish I could have just slapped labels on things and not been there.  But as soon as they got everything inside here, I was over it.  I was so relieved to have my own space finally, and to get to decorate it and arrange it how I want.  I don’t have to walk on eggshells and tiptoe around.  I finally feel…free, I guess.”

“Not to mention that you don’t have to worry about his parents walking in on you while you’re having sex!” Kelly crowed, cracking up. 

“Or walking in on him having sex with some poor girl who has no idea what she walked into,” Erica added. 

“No kidding,” I agreed.  “It’s kind of scary being on my own for the first time ever, but it’s really exciting too.”  I’d gone from my parents’ house to the dorms to a house with 3 roommates to living with Kevin, so I’d never lived on my own before this.  This was a first.  And I was homeowner!

“And when you bang Mike, you can do it anywhere you want in the whole house!” Kelly said, grinning deviously.

“Wait, when you do what?” Erica asked, looking between us.

“Mike, my brother-in-law, asked her out after she closed on the house.  And she said yes.  She’s going out with my husband’s brother.  So that means that you get to hear all the sex details, Erica, because I am not interested in hearing about my husband’s brother’s penis!”

Erica looked slightly horrified and Kelly and I dissolved into laughter.  Erica joined us shortly, and once we had calmed down, she gave me a conspiratorial look and said, “He is pretty cute, and he has a great ass.  I’ve wondered if—“
            “Stop!” Kelly howled.  “Don’t do it!  Don’t wonder about my brother-in-law’s ass! Please!”

Now Erica and I cracked up while Kelly muttered something about “disloyal harlots” which just made us laugh harder. 

“Kelly,” I said, when I finally regained my breath.  “If you are really uncomfortable with me going out with him, I won’t.  I don’t want it to be weird for you.”

“I’m fine with it,” she assured me.  “But you know me, I’m still going to give you a hard time about it.  Probably forever.  As long as you’re fine with that, then go have fun!”  She paused, then added, “But I really don’t want to hear about his dick, seriously.”

“Deal,” I replied. 

After they left, I started to get ready for bed.  I hadn’t slept much the last two nights in my excitement for the new house, and then the strangeness of being alone in a new place.  I was exhausted and definitely ready for a good night’s sleep.