Page 47 of Deny Me

She moved to set the cups on the counter and saw the two mugs resting by the coffee pot. “Oh look, you already have a cup out for me.”

From behind I see her head cock to the side before turning to look at me with her face screwed up in confusion. I forced a smile to my face, but my mouth flopped open like a fish as I searched my brain for a valid reason to have two mugs out.

“Oh, am I interrupting a Sunday morning sleepover.” She smiled knowingly as she let her eyes scan the apartment.

I was pretty sure I was sweating with nerves when I nodded my head dumbly. But then her eyes landed on a bag close to the door and squinted in thought before turning to look at me. “Isn’t the bag I got Jameson for Christmas last year?”

Fuck. Fuck. It was the only word flooding my mind. I smiled, but it came out more as a grimace in my panic. “What?” I squeaked out.

There was a heavy silence stretched between us when all of a sudden, the door flung open. “If these pastries don’t make you happier about lunch, then maybe me spreading you out on the table will.” The door slammed and Jameson turned to find Lu and I standing in the kitchen with matching wide eyed looks.

We all just stood frozen in a triangle as we waited for someone to make a move.

“Oh, fuck.” Jameson was the first to speak and I broke in with a high-pitched, panicked giggle. “Look, Lu. I can expla-”

“OH MY GOD!” Lu interrupted Jameson. “It’s about freaking time,” she squealed and reached for me, pulling me into a death grip of a hug.

I finally let out the breath I’d been holding since I opened the door to find Lu on the other side. Wrapping my arms around her, I look over her shoulder to find Jameson still frozen.

“You’re not mad?” I asked her.

“Of course not.”

Jameson finally relaxed a little and moved to set the paper bag on the counter.

“Well, I’m sorry. I was going to tell you. We were going to tell you today at lunch,” I said, still clinging to my friend.

She pulled back and waved the apology away. “I’ve only told you a thousand times I wouldn’t care.” She turned to Jameson. “I hope there is enough pastries in that bag for me, too. I have some questions and I could use some food while we talk.”

We moved to the table and Jameson set out the croissants in the middle before taking a seat next to me. She asked about how and where it started and we vaguely explained Jamaica. I didn’t want to go into too many details about everything that happened

“What about your mom?” Lu asked me before popping a piece of bread in her mouth.

Jameson perked up at the question, looking to me for my answer. “What about her?” I asked.

“What does she think of you in a relationship?”

“I haven’t told anyone. You’re the first to know.” I purposefully avoided the question because I didn’t want to have the conversation in front of Jameson before I had time to think about it. Truthfully, I hadn’t even considered telling my mom. It was all still so new and I didn’t find the need to tell everyone just yet. I didn’t think she would mind though. My mom had always been supportive of my decisions.

Lu picked up on my silence and must have decided to let it be. She balled up her napkin and began collecting her things to clean up. “Well, I will leave you two to your morning.” Walking over to the door she grabbed her purse and turned to me. “I’ll see you at lunch?”

“Yeah. I’ll see you then.”

She turned and opened the door. But before she walked out she turned and pinned Jameson with a stare. “Don’t hurt my friend.” I laughed until she turned to me too. “You, don’t hurt my brother.”

She didn’t leave room for a response before she walked out the door, leaving us alone with her warnings.

Jameson and I both stared at each other with amused faces, not saying anything. I finally decided to break the silence and loosen the tension of the morning. “You said something about spreading me out on the table?”

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