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“Why are you so opposed to dating now?” Aria asked. “I mean, you dated in college.”
“Not really. I mean, sure, I might have gone on a date here or there, but I certainly wasn’t dating seriously. None of the guys I went out with were interested in a long-term relationship, and neither was I.”
“But these guys are nice,” Aria said. “Okay, I get that it would take a special sort of woman to put up with Jackson, but Wade and Will are both really great guys.”
Janessa figured there was no one harder to convince that she was happy being single than a person who was blissfully happy in their relationship.
“Yep. They are great guys, but don’t you think that if something was going to develop between me and one of them, it would have happened already? I mean, I’ve known them all for years.”
“Emotions can change,” Aria said with a shrug.
“Well, you’ll be the first to know if they do.”
When Aria clapped her hands and cheered, Janessa rolled her eyes and shoved her friend’s arm, making her slump over against the pillows. Aria laughed as she straightened up again.
“Why aren’t you trying to set Charli up with these guys?” Janessa asked.
“You’re my best friend,” Aria said. “I want you to have first crack.”
“Feel free to move on to Charli now.”
“I think I’ll just stop with you. I still haven’t been able to figure out how Charli feels about men in general.”
“She’s not too keen on any who aren’t family or close friends,” Janessa said. “She got burned pretty badly by Layla’s dad. The chances of her giving any guy a shot are… pretty low.”
“Especially Jackson, I would imagine.”
Janessa laughed. “Yeah.EspeciallyJackson.”
“You know, I never imagined I’d find someone who would love me like Gareth does,” Aria said. “Or that I could love the way I love him. I just want everyone to feel the same.”
“I get that,” Janessa said. “But I’m not going to force anything. What happened with you and Gareth flowed naturally. I think that’s the best way for a relationship to develop.”
“I know, but I’m not convinced you’d really give any guy a shot.”
“Maybe I’m just waiting for the right guy.” Or maybe she really didn’t have an interest in getting that close to a guy right then.
“Well, as long as you keep an open mind and an open heart.”
“As open as I can.”
Aria leaned against Janessa’s shoulder. “I’m glad that Jay and Misha seem to be working things out.”
It had been over a month since Jay and Misha had gotten back together. Though it had seemed unlikely Jay would get his act together, he’d finally wised up. Janessa just hoped, for Misha and Peyton’s sake, that he didn’t mess up again.
Because as far as Janessa was concerned, he’d messed up big time. Not in the past, like Jay had thought, but in how he’d reacted to the news that he had a son and that he needed to take custody of him.
“Are you okay with Denise cleaning for us?” Aria asked, changing subjects so quickly it took Janessa a second to switch gears.
Janessa hadn’t been sure, at first, how she felt about Misha’s mom cleaning the house. It seemed that having someone clean for them made them lazy. However, Misha had told them that her mom enjoyed doing housework, and that she’d like to do it for them since she had plenty of time to spare.
She, Charli, and Aria had always taken care of their own personal spaces, then rotated cleaning the shared areas. After some discussion, they’d decided that was what they felt most comfortable offering Denise, especially since all three of them were working full-time.
So Denise would come in each Monday—which was Misha’s day off, so she didn’t need her mom to watch Ciara—to clean the shared spaces of the house. It made them feel slightly less lazy if they were still responsible for their own bedrooms and bathrooms, then they’d split the cost of having Denise clean the rest of the house.
“I think it’s a win-win situation, if what Misha says is true,” Janessa said. “It doesn’t sound like Denise needs the money, so I doubt she’d do something she hated if she didn’t have to.”
“I don’t mind the housework, but I must admit, it will be nice to not have to worry about anything other than my bedroom and bathroom.”
