Chapter 44 (8/18/16)

“Wow, really?” I asked, rolling onto my side so I could look at him.  “What are you going to do?”

He shrugged.  “I have to interview first, so it’s not like it’s a done deal or anything.  I’m not sure.  I really don’t want to move back to Minnesota, but I don’t think I’ll ever get a job like that here.” 

“It’s cool that they even want to interview you,” I said, getting comfortable against him again.  He absently rubbed my shoulder with his thumb and nodded.

“I was pretty surprised,” he admitted.  “So we’ll see what happens, I guess.  I’m sure they have lots of other candidates too.”

I wondered briefly what, if anything, would change between us if he moved back to Minnesota.  Jamie and I had been good friends for a long time, and I was completely guilty of developing some feelings for him while we were also hooking up (before I started seeing Kevin).  I’d never told him because I knew he didn’t feel the same way and I didn’t want to screw anything up.  The timing was terrible, and then I’d met Kevin and it didn’t end up mattering. 

My tiredness from traveling eventually overruled my thoughts about Jamie and I dozed off a few minutes later.  I woke up when Jamie yawned and shifted.  I squinted at the clock and saw we’d been napping for about 40 minutes.  Groaning, I rolled away from Jamie and stretched. 

We managed to get up and I took a quick shower.  Then Jamie took me out to do a little sightseeing.  On the way home, we stopped at the grocery store and picked up a few things for the week.  I cooked dinner when we got back to his place, and then we relaxed on his couch with a couple drinks. 

I couldn’t stop yawning, and Jamie laughed.  “Are you going to sleep with me?” he asked me.

“Is that weird?” I asked, putting down my drink and looking at him.

“No, not at all,” he said immediately.  “As long as you don’t care that my alarm is going off awfully early tomorrow.”  Jamie had to work the next day, and I was going to be exploring on my own for the day.

“I’ll live,” I replied.  “Don’t forget that you’re two hours behind Minnesota time.  So ‘awfully early’ for you probably isn’t bad for me.” 

“That’s true,” he agreed.  He let me get ready for bed first and I was practically asleep by the time he climbed into bed next to me.  We used to spend the night together all the time, even before we started hooking up, so it didn’t feel weird at all. 

“Just so you know, I will take the blankets completely away from you if you try to hog them,” Jamie teased me.  I was a known blanket thief. 

“Just so you know, I will smother you in your sleep if you snore,” I shot back. 

Jamie laughed.  “I haven’t snored since I broke up with my ex,” he informed me.

“Only because you haven’t had anyone to complain about it!” I retorted. 

“I don’t even have an argument for that one,” he admitted, grinning.  “Now shut up and go to sleep.”

“Don’t boss me,” I told him, rolling onto my side, facing away from him. 

He chuckled and rolled over next to me, briefly wrapping an arm around me and kissing the back of my head.  “Goodnight babe,” he said.

“Goodnight honeybunny,” I replied, making both of us laugh.  He rolled away from me again and retreated to his side of the bed.  I yawned and got comfortable, and fell asleep relatively quickly. 

The next day I was already awake when Jamie’s alarm went off at 5.  Despite having fallen asleep fairly quickly, I hadn’t slept well.  I never did in a new place.  I got up while Jamie was in the shower and I got some coffee started.  I wouldn’t drink it, but I knew he would. 

When he came out of his room, showered and dressed, he took the cup of coffee I offered happily.  He gave me a few tips on getting around town and some recommendations of things to do and places to eat, then he took off. 

I got in the shower and got dressed.  As I was doing my makeup, my phone rang.  I looked at it and saw that it was Ryan.  I declined the call and sent a text that said, “I’m visiting a friend in Seattle at the moment.  Can I call you when I get back to MN?” Several seconds later, it rang again.  Exasperated, I stabbed at the “answer” button.  “Did you get my text?” I asked.

“Sure did, did you get my email?”  He worked hard to make it sound casual, but there was a slight edge to his voice that wasn’t normally there.

“Sure did,” I replied, trying to make my voice sound even more casual than his.

“Jenna, cut the shit,” he said, and now he did sound irritated.  “What’s going on with you?”

“Nothing, Ryan,” I replied.  “Like I said, I’m in Seattle with my friend.”

“It’s barely after 6 there,” Ryan pointed out.  “I’m sure you’re not doing anything too important at the moment.”

“You don’t get to decide if what I’m doing is important or not,” I snapped.

I heard Ryan sigh, then suck in a deep breath.  “That’s not what I meant,” he said.  “Look, I don’t know if I did something to upset you.  Are you mad that I interfered in your argument with Kevin?”

“No,” I said, “I’m not.  I swear.  Ryan, the whole evening was a little weird.  I’m glad you came with me, but I wish I had just not gone at all.  The whole pretending to be a couple thing made things weird for me.  I’m sorry I didn’t respond to your email.  I just need a little space.”

Ryan didn’t say anything for several seconds.  “Okay,” he said.  “Take as much time as you need.  Let me know if you want to do something or talk about anything when you get back.  Seattle is great, so I hope you have a nice trip.”  The words were there but they sounded empty. 

“Thanks, I’m going to try!” I replied. 

“Alright, well, talk to you later,” Ryan said.  I said goodbye and hung up.  I closed my eyes briefly before I tossed my phone aside and picked up my mascara to finish my makeup.  I wasn’t going to let this put a damper on my trip.