“So…you two are going on a date then?”
“It’s not a date. We’re going bowling with some friends and then we’re grabbing a burger.”
“Riiiight.” I tried to ignore the implication as I looked through my suitcase for something to wear—I still hadn’t completely unpacked. Herstare like a hawk’s, she asked, “You don’t like him, though? Not just a little bit? Because he’s nice, he’s charming, he’s attractive. I mean, you know how I feel about Will, but if I was single, I’d sure as hell bite.”
“Yeah,” I admitted, “Curtis is cool, but… I don’t know. He’s just…”
“He’s not Ross, right?”
I didn’t respond, instead just plopping down beside her. I hadn’t gone out in ages and I was stressing about what to wear. The whole process was getting on my nerves so badly that I wanted to just give it up. Naya sighed and continued, “It’s normal, Jenna. You guys had a very intensive relationship. I can imagine it’s hard to turn the page.”
“It’s not really about turning the page, it’s more like we’re in totally different worlds and we can’t even beam a message to each other.”
“Does that bother you?” she asked, confused.
I didn’t know. Should it? I mean, he was supposed to be my ex-boyfriend. I wasn’t supposed to have feelings for him, good, bad, or indifferent. So why would any of this matter? Naya could tell I was getting uncomfortable, so she turned to my pile of clothing, fished out a skirt, and tried to change the subject. “You should put this on! And your black sweater with it! And some tights, obviously, so you don’t freeze.”
I wasn’t sure a skirt was the best thing for bowling, but she told me since I’d suck at it, I might as well look good. I laughed and snatched the skirt away, shoving her. She shoved me in turn, and we cracked up as we got into a pillow fight. Then the door opened, and all of a sudden, Sue was there shouting at us to stop acting like a couple of six-year-olds. I guess we’d been a little louder than we’d intended.
Naya mimicked her: “Stop acting like a couple of six-year-olds!”
“You wanna die?” Sue asked her.
“You wanna die?” Naya repeated.
Sue told us we sucked, and Naya responded, “Come on, you love us. Why don’t you grab a beer and come in here and hang out?”
“I’d rather die. Or what’s worse, I’d rather hang out with Mike, who’s actually in the living room right now,” she replied. “Thanks for the offer, though.”
Will peeked in behind her and asked, “What’s going on in here?”
As Sue stomped off, she grunted, “Nothing, they’re just reminding me of why I don’t want to have kids.”
Confused, Will stared at us, and before he could react, Naya jumped up, pulling him down onto the bed and planting a hard kiss on his cheek that left behind a big streak of one of the many lipsticks we’d tried on. He wriggled away from her, but I helped hold him down while she tickled him, kissing him all over the face and neck, until he announced, “I’m starting to understand where Sue was coming from.”
Mike walked in and exclaimed, “Have I died and gone to heaven? Don’t stop, girls, just move over and make a little room for me!”
Naya told him to get out and threw a pillow at his head.
I glanced at the clock. I only had about ten minutes left. I lay back next to Will, who was trying to wipe the lipstick off his cheeks as Naya chuckled and told him it looked good on him. “Maybe you should add makeup to your daily routine. More and more men are doing it.”
“Very funny,” he responded. She pinched his cheek, and he smiled and blew a kiss at her. They were so cheesy, they made me want to vomit. The way they looked at each other… I was probably jealous, but I didn’t want to admit that to myself. She told him I’d been trying to pick out clothes for that evening and showed him which outfit I’d settled on, and he recommended a red sweater instead of a black one. When I said, “Great, so I’ve got two stylists now,” Will told me, “Yeah, and we charge by the hour.”
“No problem,” I told him, “I worked in a gas station all year. I’m basically a millionaire. Whatever your normal rate is, I’ll double it. I mean, I loaned Ross two hundred bucks the other day, why would I leave you guys out?”
As soon as I’d said that, I knew it was a mistake. Will stared at me with aconfused expression, and Naya acted outraged. “Are you crazy? You better make sure he gives it back to you. I don’t want to have to beat it out of him.”
“What on earth possessed you to lend him money?” Will said. He sounded almost like he was accusing me of something. I nodded slowly, and he stood. Naya tried to calm him down, but he ignored her, hissing, “Jenna, don’t give him shit! If he needs money, he can go to the damn bank. Do you know how much money he’s made off that movie already? If he asked you for money, it was literally because he was too lazy or too fucked-up to go to the ATM.”
I remembered him looking for his jacket like a lunatic. Maybe he’d forgotten where his bank card was? Will stalked out, and Naya and I hurried after him. Mike jumped back when he saw us. He’d been stealing a pack of crackers from the cabinet, and he quickly hid it behind his back. Sue saw him but just sighed.
“What’s the big deal, Will?” I asked. “It’s my money, I thought I was helping.”
“Well, you weren’t!” he shouted. That scared everyone. Will never got mad. It was almost as weird as Sue smiling or sayingI love you. He didn’t seem to care, though. He leaned his elbows on the counter and hid his face in his hands. Naya stood there next to him, unsure of what to do. I kept saying I was sorry, that I’d talk to Jack, that I’d get him to pay me back, that I’d…
“Just drop it!” he growled. “I’ll take care of it. You just mind your own business.”
The front door opened and Jack walked in. He had heard the end of Will’s exclamation, and was looking at us tensely. I was fidgeting, but when I saw he was watching me, I let my arms hang loose at my sides and tried to act relaxed. But it was too late. He knew we were arguing.
