Hotbox (24 page)

“
What’s up
sugar and spice
?” a male voice answered.

“I need to go pee and my boyfriend thinks I’m incapable. Can you tell him it’s okay?”

I
rolled my eyes
.

The voice returned with a soft laugh. “She’s plenty capable. In fact, I wouldn’t try to stop her from doing something she’s set on doing
; you might get hurt in the process
.”

Jayden looked at me with a
triumphant
smile
. “See?”

I raised my hands in defeat. “Okay.”

“But I could always have him come and help me. His name is
Trae
. He’s very cute.”

“
Don’t bother.
What
do you need me to do?”

“Just make sure I don’t topple over when I stand. My head
feels
a little…
heavy
.”

She swung her legs toward me and put her feet on the floor. I could tell she was in pain by the way she moved as she
carefully
stood.

“Don’t worry, I have a decent hospital gown,” she smiled. “They make ‘em cover both ends these days.”

“Bummer,” I replied.

With a
quiet
laugh she slowly walked herself to the bathroom. I walked with her until she closed the door.

“I’m turning the water on so you can’t hear me pee,” she announced from behind the door. Sure enough, the water turned on.

I smiled to myself
, thankful that nothing kept her sense of humor down. I
wandered
to the window to look outside
, noting that it had stopped raining and the sun was beginning to shine again
.
I
wondered
where her dad was
,
and if he was going to come back.

Jayden came out of the bathroom a minute later
,
so I
met her
to help if she needed it.

“While you’re up,” she smiled, “
and I’m up…” She slid her arms around
my waist
and laid her face against me
. “
Mmm
, t
his is where I’ve wanted to be.”

I was hesitant to return the embrace. “Uh, is it okay to touch you? I mean…I don’t want to hurt you…”

She lightly laughed. “It’s perfectly fine. Just don’t squeeze me,” she added quickly.

“Okay,” I smiled. As I held her I again thought about how life would be if I ever lost her. I loved her more than anything, and as my longing to be with her grew, a fe
eling of desperation settled in
as well. 

At the same time, her father entered the room and glared at me.

“She shouldn’t be up,” he said crossly.

“Oh, relax
Dad
. Ty made me get
permission
first. I had to tell the whole world I needed to take a leak.”

I didn’t wait for his reaction. I pretended he wasn’t even in the room and helped her onto the bed, covering her legs with the blanket. She reached for some water and took a long
drink. Everyone was quiet
until Joe was the first to speak.

“Chris is here to see Jayden,” he said to me. “I think it’s best if you aren’t here.”

“Dad! You’re being rude.”

“No, it’s fine,” I told her. I stood up and kissed her on the forehead. “Just give me a call; I’ll be close.”

She winced as she reached for my arm
.
“Ty, please don’t leave. I don’t want you to go.”

“Just for a few minutes
, okay?
I won’t go far.”

I walked across the room and opened the door, shutting it behind me
. B
ut
I was
still able to hear Jayden say,
“That was totally uncalled for!
”

I headed down the hall and saw Chris sitting in a chair in the waiting area. He looked up at me and stared, maybe waiting for me to say something. But I had nothing to say to him and just gestured that the coast was clear for him to go see his
dream
girl.

I took the elevator downstairs and found myself in the cafeteria. I was hungry and it was the
perfect way to pass the time. But i
t couldn’t have been more than
five
minutes before Jayden was already calling me.

“We have the room to ourselves,” she said in a teasing voice. “Wanna come sleep with me again?”

I laughed at the remark, but I was more concerned about
why
the room was empty. I could only conclude that
she
was upset with her father and Chris, and had sent them both away. It didn’t matter if I did what they asked or not, I would still be the one for them to blame.
If she did tell them to leave, I decided it was better to give enough time for them to clear the building. I didn’t want to be confronted by either one of them, so I told Jayden I was just getting something to eat and I would be back up in a few minutes.

“Do you want anything while I’m down here?” I asked her.
“
I know you get room service
but
…”

“
Nah, I’m not really
hu
ngry. B
ut
if you happen to get a
fruit
smoothie I might consider sharing it with you.”
             
I chuckled and replied, “Okay, that sounds like a plan.”

Once I’d returned to her room and a few minutes of small talk had gone by
,
I asked, “So why did you send them away?”

She looked at me and sighed. “Because my father is being a jerk, and Chris is being an ass.”

I thought about that for a second. “What’s the difference between a jerk and an ass?”

She scoffed with a little smile. “They’re the same, but I don’t think I’m allowed to call my dad an ass.”

I laughed and shook my
head at her. “
What am I gonna do with you?”

She laughed as well and said, “I don’t know, but why don’t you start by finally giving me a kiss
on the lips
? I taste like
pineapple
.”

I sat on the bed next to her, careful not to bump any of her injuries. I gently ran my fingers through her hair and kissed her.

“I love you, Jayden.”

Her smile was either sleepy or content—or both—but she replied,
“I love you, too.
And
I’m sorry about my dad.”

“It’s not your fault;
don’t worry about it.”

“And if Chris has said anything to you—”

“Nah, he pretty much just avoids me.”

She sighed. “I need to ask you something
then
, and I want you to be completely honest with me.”

“Sure, w
hat is it?”

“Has my fath
er said
stuff to you—w
ithout me knowing?
You know what I mean… Has he been pretty rude to you
behind my back
?
”

Oh, great. She wanted me to be completely honest? I couldn’t see this going anywhere good and I felt like I was doomed either way.

“Your silence a
lready confirms it,” she said with a sigh. “
You didn’t look surprised at all when he said you should leave, which forces me to believe it wasn’t the first time he’s treated you like that.
I’m so sorry, Ty.” She took my hand and
before I could respond added, “Please t
ell me what he’s said to you.”

“Jayden,
it’s not
gonna
to
do any good.”

“I have a right to know what he’s said.”

“I think you should just ask him. I’m sure he would love the opportunity to share his opinions
—if he hasn’t already
. I’d rather not ‘t
attle’ on your dad.
I don’t see that improving anything.”

She looked at me with an expression of hurt. I felt horrible
,
but I really thought it wasn’t a good idea.

“Jayden, your dad doesn’t like me. I already know that. I don’t think his feelings are going to change anytime soon
,
and I’ve accepted that because of how much I love you. It bothers me, yeah, but it’s just the way things are. And this thing with Chris… I have no idea what’s going on with you two because I
try not to meddle
, but if there’s something I can do to mend your guys’ friendship, please just let me know.”

“There
’s nothing.
He’s become too much for me to handle and I can’t take it anymore. I can’t even talk any sense into him. Even Cali hasn’t been able to talk to him
lately
. She says he’s too—”

“He’s in love with you,” I had to say.

The silence in the room was powerful
, and I instantly regr
etted being so blunt about it. B
ut I was hoping we could clear the air
,
and possibly find some way to reso
lve the issue
.

Jayden watched me carefully without expression. I wasn’t sure what she was thinking, but I was pretty sure that what I said wasn’t a surprise; she was only surprised to hear me say it.

“Has someone told you that?” she asked softly.

I shrugged. “Actually Aaron mentioned it, based on how Chris behaves around you. Once you think about it, it’s kind of obvious.” After another few seconds of
silence I asked, “So
is it true?”

She look
ed down at her hands. “I don’t kn
o
w
,” she replied quietly. When I didn’t say anything, she looked at me and continued. “We dated a few times
,
but
I’ve just never seen him
beyond the whole friends thing.
I know he loves me—I
love him, too
;
he’s one of my best friends—I
’m just not sure if he’s
in
love with me. He’s never…
declared
such a thing,” she said, seeming uncomfortable. “
But I
suppose
he’s just never had a problem because I haven’t been in a serious relationship with anyone. I think I make a bet
ter friend than anything
, and that’s pretty much all that anyone get
s
from me
.
I’ve always been
afraid of…
getting used by the wrong guy, I guess,” she smiled sadly.
Then she scowled and added, “And between my dad and the guys, I can hardly have a boyfriend without them making it awkward. There’s just never been anyone worth fighting for until you.
I just thought they would see that this time and realize how happy I am with you.
”

Can a person’s heart melt? I think mine did. Is that a girly expression? I didn’t know, but I felt all warm and gooey inside, and when she smiled and looked into my eyes, I wasn’t even sure of my own name.

“Anyways,” she said, the frown returning to her perfect lips.
“
I’ve tried to be really understanding with him, but he’s just gotten so…snide.
I feel terrible that I’ve lost all
of
my patience with him
.”

It’s really hard to see someone
that’s
so happy and confident become completely insecure and self-doubting. Jayden was strong in so many ways, but she easily allowed herself to be drawn into martyrdom. She accepted blame for anything she could, even if it wasn’t her fault.

I took her hand and kissed it. “I’m sorry you’re in the middle of all this. It’s not your fault. You need to know that. Sometimes guys do stupid things because we don’t know what else to do. Chris should be able to see what he’s doing
,
and hopefully he’ll find a way to pull himself out
of it
.
He’s just trying to look out for you, and I can’t be upset with him for that.
But I’m not letting him have you,” I smiled. “Just so we’re clear.”

It felt good to see her laugh again. She sat up carefully to kiss me and said, “Well, I don’t want anyone but
you, so I think we’re good
.”

“Hope I’m not interrupting,” the male nurse
said when he walked in. H
is
identification
confirmed that he
was
Trae
.