AllFreeNovel
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As the aroma fills the apartment, I grab a bowl and place it on the counter. Then enter the living room and take the remote, turning on the television. With a push of the button, I search HBO, Starz, and other movie channels for something that may entertain me.
My phone pings. It’s Keni.
Keni: What's up? I’m bored.
I text back.
Me: Movie night?
She replies immediately.
Be there in fifteen.
I send a smiley face and switch back to the regular channels to see what to watch while I wait. I retrieve the popcorn, make sure I have some snacks, and wait. Seems like that’s all I do lately is wait.
Wait for the results, wait for Jacob to get his head out of his ass, wait for my sisters to grow up, wait for my workday to end. Wait, wait, and wait!
A knock at the door has me up and crossing the hardwood floors. I turn the knob and yank the door open with a flick of the wrist. Standing outside is Jacob.
Stunned, I step back, “what are you doing here?”He raises his hands in a surrender motion.
“Dani, I just needed to see you. You don’t have to say anything. Just let me talk.” He says, and I’m not ready to hear what he has to say. Not without knowing what my test results are. Not knowing if I could offer him a future.
I stand with my hand holding the door, ready to slam it at any moment. But I don’t.
“Danielle, I have loved you for as long as I can remember. I know I fucked up. It was never supposed to happen. I have too much respect for you to have done such a thing. I guess what I am trying to say is that I’m sorry. I’m sorry I dream about you all the time, and having the liquid courage, I took advantage of the situation. I honestly thought it was just another dream until about a week later. I heard the song again, and it all came rushing back to me. I guess what I am trying to say and what is most important is: I’m sorry.”
He steps back to walk away, just as Keni and Nicki are walking up the walkway. They shimmy passed Jacob with a small wave and into the apartment. Once they are inside, I step out, “Jacob. I don’t know what to say to that. I mean, for so long, I’ve waited, and now everything is a mess. All because of one drunken night... I’m confused and lost and have other things on my mind. Just give me time to figure things out.” I reach for the door as my eyes fill with tears. “Dani, I’m sorry,” he says, turns on his heels, and walks away.
What the fuck? What the fuck am I supposed to do with the knowledge which he just rambled. He dreams about me. He’s sorry. He should never have. Like. What. The. Fuck?
I rush through the apartment and retreat to the bathroom, where I stand staring in the mirror. My blood is boiling. I can’t argue with him. I can’t confess to him. I can’t do anything until I know what’s in store for my future. I turn the faucet on and grab the washcloth. Once I clear my mind and face, I return to the living room as if our confrontation never happened.
“Hey, I didn’t know you were coming too.” I reach out and embrace Nicki with a hug. “I’m glad you came,” I kiss Keni on the cheek, “it’s hot as fuck out there.” She says, “the air is on.” I notice they placed a couple of bags of chips on the coffee table, and a case of beer and tea are in the fridge.
“So, we had an idea!” Nicki claps her hands together, and I look at Keni. She is all smiles, which makes me nervous.
“Oh yeah, what’s that?” I plop down on the couch.
“You know how Jacob has the Packard. I thought if we could borrow it, we could re-make the Warrant video for mom and dad’s anniversary. It would be funny, and you know how much they love that shit.”
Right now, with everything going on, I don’t want anything to do with Jacob. The more space between us, the easier it will be if I decide not to get involved. I shy away from the thought, but she’s right. They would totally enjoy and appreciate it if we went out of our way to make a video.
I start to giggle. “Only our parents would appreciate seeing their kids in red halter tops, daisy duke shorts, dancing half-naked on a car.” But it would be us, and it is their favorite song, I give it some thought. Keni jumps up and down “right. They would totally love that shit!” she says.
“I’ll think about it.” We have a couple of weeks before the family gathering. It should take a few days or one really long day to try and shoot the video. First, we would have to find the place and get red halter tops and booty shorts. But I think it would be doable.
“So, what are we watching?” Keni asks and plops down next to me on the couch. “I’m thinking of a thriller or something scary.” She grabs some popcorn and tosses it into her mouth.
Shaking my head, “I hate scary movies,” she laughs at me and throws the pillow, hitting my shoulder.
“What about the foreign film 365 DNI?” Nicki recommends and takes a seat in the recliner. “I hear it’s good!” Keni adds, but do I really want to watch a sex movie with my sisters?
“I just subscribed to that new streaming network, Passionflix. It’s the one where they bring books to the screen. Should we check that out?” they both groan.
Nicki rolls her eyes, “you and your damn books.” I throw the pillow in her direction and tell them, “I know, I know. But they have produced some great stories. But we can watch something else.”
I connect my phone, so it will mirror onto the wide-screen television and pull up the Prime app.
We watched a few trailers and decided on Rock of Ages. Since we started the night talking about mom and dad and the ’80s, it’s perfect. Besides, we love all the music, and I can use something upbeat.
As the movie plays, we sing along to all the oldies we were raised listening to. It was a perfect time to forget everything and enjoy the night.
By midnight the movie was over, and I was exhausted. We cleaned up the little mess that was made, and I walked them to the door. With quick kisses to the cheeks, we say goodnight.
“I’ll see you guys tomorrow at the car show. Love ya!.” I wave, watching them walk down the stairs into the courtyard and out of sight. I close the door, lock up and turn the lights off, making my way into the bedroom.
Quickly glancing at my phone to see if Dr. Gordon had called, disappointed when he hadn’t. Ugh, the wait is killing me.
