Under My Skin - 12. Part II, chapter 2

- II -

It was mid-February, and the weather was unbelievably warm. It was a Saturday, and I had a day off. Usually, I would call my work and ask if anyone needed me to cover their shift or if I could do overtime, since I wanted to work as much as I possibly could because it took my mind off things. Today, however, I felt like just being lazy. I slept almost until eleven in the morning, and when I woke up, I felt like I was reborn.

After breakfast, I called Christy to see if she wanted to hang out, but she just sighed guiltily and said that she’d be with Alex all afternoon. I expected that much and told her to have fun. After I hung up the phone, I almost decided to go to the park, but then I shuddered, memories of Amber and me flooding my mind. I squeezed my eyes shut and pushed all those thoughts and images out of my head. I didn’t want to spoil this great day. To my surprise, it worked.

I thought for a little while where I wanted to go, and finally, decided on the Plaza. I liked that place, because unlike at the mall, here you didn’t feel like the only things to do were to eat or to shop. So I drove there and walked around for almost three hours, looking at art exhibitions, listening to music, and gawking at random stuff. I got sort of tired from walking around, so I decided to get myself a cup of coffee and sit by one of the round little tables underneath some funny-looking green umbrellas. I went into a coffee shop – why is it always a coffee shop? – and was fumbling in my pockets for money when I heard very familiar laughter.

I turned around, ready to wave, expecting to see both of them, and then froze when I didn’t. God’s laughter sounded really malicious right now. I started slowly walking backwards, trying to get the hell out of there before he noticed me, but of course, that would be too easy. I promptly walked into one of the displays and knocked the damn thing over. The noise was loud enough to wake someone up from coma. I closed my eyes. Great...

Alex turned his head, saw me, and turned completely white.

“Jake!” he jumped up so fast that he almost knocked the little table over.

“Hey...” I muttered and started picking up the damn display.

He quickly walked towards me and started to help. I could not look at him or at Danetta whose mouth Alex was thoroughly exploring a minute ago with his tongue. I could not look at either one of them. I was putting the display back together with so much concentration as if it would explode in my face if I stopped looking at it.

“Jake...” Alex muttered finally. “Jake, please...”

I sighed and got up. The display was back to normal. I forced myself look at him. His expression was so close to utterly pathetic that I marveled at the fact that even now, I still found him attractive, and I would do him in a heartbeat.

“Please,” he repeated pleadingly. “Don’t say anything to Christy... Please, Jake!”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. My life is never dull, is it? Full of wonder and nasty surprises. And now I had this problem on my hands that was so cliché that it was almost funny. Do you tell your best friend that her boyfriend is cheating on her again? Or do you keep your mouth shut? Jesus, why me, huh? Finally, I opened my eyes.

“I won’t,” I said in a colorless voice. “But you will.”

He blinked at that.

“Jake...” he shook his head. “This is not what it looks like...”

I stared at him. Oh, come on!! Is this a Let’s Repeat Every Single Cliché in the Book day or something?! He saw my expression and looked away.

“Right...” he muttered. “Look, Jake... Danetta is just a...” he shrugged. “She is nothing, okay? We get together occasionally, but it’s just physical... I love Christy!”

I had a strange and unpleasant desire to knock his teeth out.

“Alex,” I said quietly. “I am not going to tell Christy, but you will, get it? Because if you won’t...” I shrugged. “I don’t think I’ll be able to hide it from her for too long. She can read me like no other.”

“God...” he muttered and rubbed his forehead. “Jake, I...”

“I gotta go,” I said. “See you around.”

He was saying something else, but I just walked away. I was fuming – my entire day was ruined now, thanks to Landon and that slut Danetta. I was somewhat surprised when I didn’t feel the old familiar desire to rip off Alex’s shirt. I wanted to rip his head off instead.

When I got home, Sam was in the kitchen making lunch. His dark hair was tied in a ponytail, a cigarette clenched between his teeth. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, just his dark-blue jeans. He looked at me and took the cigarette out of his mouth. He shook ashes off its tip into a cup that was sitting nearby and squinted his eyes at me.

“What’s up?”

I looked at him gloomily and pulled a cigarette out of the pack that was sitting on the counter. I didn’t care that this was bad for me. Sam lit his lighter and I nodded a silent ‘Thank You’ at him. I took a deep drag and coughed. Then I closed my eyes and tried to calm down. Finally, I told him the entire story and he just sighed.

“Jake,” he said. “Your life is like Jerry Springer show.”

I laughed bitterly.

“Tell me about it,” I said. “What do I do, Sam?”

“I have no idea,” he said honestly. “If you tell Christy, she’ll be crushed...”

“And there is a chance that she will shoot the messenger,” I muttered and Sam nodded.

“Yeah,” he said. “But if you don’t tell her and she finds out eventually...”

“Which she will,” I said and stabbed my cigarette into the cup.

“Yeah,” he said again. “And if she finds out that you knew and never told her...”

“Ugh,” I muttered. “Catch twenty-two.”

“Yup.”

I wanted to beat my head against the wall. I probably would have if I knew that would help.

“I guess give Landon a couple of days to come clean,” Sam stabbed his cigarette in the same cup. “And if he doesn’t, then just tell her.”

I growled.

“Jesus... Sam, I can’t believe this! I mean, on one hand, I want him so bad that my head hurts, and on the other hand...” I sighed. “I want to kill him for what he is doing to Chris.”

“Yeah,” Sam agreed darkly. “Love sucks, doesn’t it?”

“Ugh...” I muttered.

Sam smiled with the corners of his mouth, and suddenly, I had an insane desire to kiss him. He looked into my eyes and turned off the stove.

Several hours later, I closed my eyes, my heart beating insanely fast. Sam’s dark hair spilled on the pillow next to my head, and I loved the smell of it.

“You hungry?” he asked.

“Uh huh,” I said without opening my eyes, and he laughed.

“Okay.”

He got up and pulled on his jeans. I watched him getting dressed and I couldn’t figure out what it was exactly that I felt. This was our second time together, and once again, I realized that I never even thought of Alex while Sam’s warm mouth was caressing my face and body. Was I finally getting over Alex Landon? God, please let it be so. I couldn’t stand being so tortured about him all the freaking time. He got so deeply under my skin that sometimes it felt like the only way to get him out of my system was a blood transfusion. Right now, however, I didn’t have a slightest stirring inside me when I thought of him.

Sam looked at me through his eyelashes, and I thought that his light eyes looked striking against his dark hair.

“What?” he asked when he saw me staring at him.

I smiled and shrugged.

“Nothing.”

“Uh huh,” he said with suspicion. “Jake, you look like you are plotting something evil.”

I laughed out loud.

“I am,” I agreed. “But after I have food... My stomach is about to growl.”

Sam grinned.

“Let’s eat then,” he said, and I got off the bed.