Page 24 of Ever After

“Really? Because I have heard nothing about you.” He gives Jay a little punch on the arm. Jay laughs.

We load our stuff in the truck and start driving to Jay’s house. Jay insisted I sit in the front. The awkwardness sets in as I sit next to Alex, another stranger. No one breaks the silence as we drive through the busy streets. We go through the city until we hit a suburban area. I’ve never been here. It’s pretty nice. Although I still haven’t escaped the heat or humidity.

“So, is anyone going to talk?” Alex asks, staring straight ahead as he drives.

“What do you want to talk about?” Jays asks. The fact that he’s questioning who I am, and Jay keeps acting as if nothing is happening, makes me laugh.

“I’m a stray that Jay found in Hawaii,” I say.

“No, you’re not. She’s a friend Alex, and I wanted to show her around Texas since she has never been.”

Alex looks at Jay through the rearview mirror. I’m trying to hold in my laughter while me and Jay play around with him. Alex’s concerned voice makes me think he’s wondering if Jay kidnapped me. This little game Jay and I have going on is making this situation a lot easier to handle.

“Jay, I have known you forever and I’ve never met this friend of yours before or heard of her,” Alex says.

“I’m a long-lost friend,” I blurt out. Jay has a smirk on his face as I look back at him. This is what we’re going to do, play games, and I’m all for it.

We pull up to what I assume is Jay’s house. Jay gets our bags and he and Alex carry them in. Shock overwhelms me when I see how empty his house is. Some boxes are here and there, but there’s no decorations. It looks so bare in here. There are a few bar stools, a couch, and a TV mounted on the living room wall…but other than that, the place is pretty empty.

Jay looks over at me. “There isn’t much here since I just moved in before the trip.”

“I remember you telling me you just bought it, but I didn’t know it was empty. Now I know why you asked me to come home with you; you want me to help unpack and decorate your place.” I look over at Jay. “You’re sneaky.”

“What can I say? I don’t have many women in my life. So, you’re the one who lucked out with this job.”

Alex looks between Jay and me. “Is anyone going to tell me what is going on?” We both stay silent. Alex walks over to the fridge and grabs himself a beer, pops it open, and chugs quite a bit before setting it down. As soon as he’s finished, he looks at us again, clearly waiting for a real answer.

“Do you want something to drink?” Jay asks me.

“I’ll have a beer,” I say and look over at Alex who has made himself comfortable on the couch, still watching and waiting for an answer.

Jay hands me a beer as I take a seat on one of the bar stools. At least he has bar stools because there is no table, just a big empty space where the dining room is.

It’s about six in the evening, and my stomach growls. “Are you hungry, Jay?”

“Yes. We could barbecue something.”

“That sounds good. A home-cooked meal is what I need after all the eating out we have done.” I take a large sip of my beer, still trying not to laugh at Alex while he continues to stare at us.

“Hello? Is anyone going to tell me what the hell is going on?” Jay and I both look over at him. “Oh good. You guys can see me. I’m not a ghost. I was starting to worry.”

Jay gives me a questioning look if I’m okay with him telling him or not. “He won’t say anything,” he whispers.

I shrug my shoulders. “If you say so.”

“We met in Hawaii. Lilah was going through a rough time, and she needed more time to get away, so I invited her back to my place,” Jay explains.

He doesn’t seem to question anything after that. He seems like a pretty easy-going guy. Maybe he won’t care if he knows the truth. Jay doesn’t seem to think he will.

“We met at a bar. I accidentally stole his seat and then everything took off from there.” I smile at Alex, hoping that will calm his curiosity.

“What were you doing in Hawaii alone?” Alex asks me.

Jay interrupts. “She wasn’t alone.” He stops and his eyes go wide as if he said something wrong.

“What’s wrong if she was alone or not?” Alex must see his face.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to blurt that out,” Jay whispers to me.

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