Chapter 3
1236 Words
Jenni got home from her run, infuriated at the audacity of Shawn to not only tell her she shouldn't be out running, but to ditch her and James tonight so he could see his new girlfriend. If she was being honest with herself she wasn't that mad at him, she was hurt. She had no reason to be. He didn't like her like that. He never had. In fact, he had never given her any indication he liked her as anything more than a surrogate sister. She had held herself back from dating and cutting loose her entire life because she had always hoped that one day he would see her, truly see her, as a woman who was interested in him, but she was starting to think that was never going to happen. She was 24 and she had never even had a boyfriend. She had gone on a few dates and had boys take her to school dances but that was it. She had waited for him her whole life and for what? It wasn't just his fault either. She had never made a move, never given him any indication she was attracted to him. So why did it hurt so bad to think of him with all these other women?
She was going to put him out of her mind for the rest of the day and enjoy her night with James and Bianca even if they were going to stay in instead of going out. She decided to take a shower, grab some lunch, then read her new book until Bianca got out of work and she could come over and order take out and pick some movies for the night.
Jenni's phone rang as she was getting out of the shower, she saw that it was James and answered right away. He didn't usually call her in the middle of the day. "Hey what's up?" She answered him.
"Nothing just calling to make sure we're still on for tonight" his gruff voice answered.
"Yea, of course. I ran into Shawn this morning though and he said he couldn't make it so I figured we could just stay in tonight instead of going out."
"Yeah, I talked to him when he got to the office, he sent me a text this morning about it. But he said he could still meet us out he is going to bring Phoebe though, if that's okay with you?" His voice sounded strange as he asked. She shouldn't be surprised he had always seemed to be aware of her feelings for Shawn. He never acknowledged it with her but he rarely brought up Shawn's girlfriends when she was around.
"Of course it's fine, why wouldn't it be? That sounds great, are you coming here first?" She quickly rambled out.
"No, I'll meet you Moons at 11, Shawn put us on the VIP list so don't wait in line, go straight up to the door."
"Perfect, Bianca is coming too so we'll meet you guys there."
James groaned, "Why are you bringing her? She's the worst."
"She is definitely not the worst, she's my best friend. I don't know why you hate her so much."
"Because she is always giving me weird looks and avoiding me when I actually try to look at her."
"That's because she thinks you're a cutie patootie." Jenni laughed as she teased James.
He barked out a harsh laugh with absolutely no humor in it "Yeah right, more like she's terrified the monster is going to hurt her." For a few minutes there it was like she was teasing the old James, but now he was back to hating himself.
"You're not a monster James. I love you and I'll let you get back to work and see you tonight okay?"
"Yeah right, okay thanks. Love ya."
She hated that he saw himself like that, she wished she could make him see himself like she did, or like Bianca did. She decided that she was also going to need a nap today if they were still going out so she would get something to eat, sleep, then read until Bianca came over. Her day passed by pretty quickly. Before she knew it there was a knock and her door and Bianaca was shoving her way inside with a bag full of takeout and two bottles of wine so they could pregame.
"Hey babe, you ready to get s**t faced and put the moves on lover boy tonight?" Bianca said as she headed towards the kitchen.
"Ugh, get drunk yes put the moves on Shawn no, he's bringing his girlfriend."
"What an asshole why would he bring her to your birthday night out?"
"He wasn't even going to come because they were going on a date but I guess he changed his mind."
"Well screw him, you are going to look so f*****g hot tonight, I bet you won't even think about him. We're going to find a guy for you."
Jenni laughed, she loved her best friend and she always put her in the best mood. "Okay plan, lets eat then get ready. You better have brought a killer outfit because James will be there and he thinks you're always looking at him because of his scars. I told him it's because you think he's cute."
"Shut up, why would you do that? How am I ever going to face him now that he knows that? Oh my God I'm mortified."
"Oh stop, he didn't even believe me so you're good."
They ate and drank and talked about what they were going to wear tonight. Jenni had decided on an olive green mini dress with spaghetti straps that helped push her boobs up and her butt out. Bianca had brought black leather pants, a bejeweled bra, and a sheer black crop top to wear over it. They got ready and by the time they finished each others hair and make-up, it was time to head to Moons.
"Girl you look so f*****g hot, you ready to punch your v-card tonight or what?"
"I don't know, let's just get there and see where the night takes us. You look sexy too by the way, I can't wait to see James' face when he sees what you're wearing."
They took a cab to Moons because it was on the other side of the city. When they got there they walked right up to the door and gave their names to the bouncer who let them in. They went up to the VIP section where they found James but there was no sign of Shawn or his new girlfriend. As she had predicted, James' jaw dropped open when he caught site of Bianca. He had never seen her dressed like this. They rarely went out together since James hated it. So he had mainly seen her in sweats and other baggy clothes. He recovered quickly though and got up to come give her a hug.
"Hey baby sis, your dress is about a foot too short." He chuckled while he hugged her.
"Oh shut it I'm 24 not 14 and I like this dress. Is Shawn here yet?"
"Just got here Jenni girl." She heard from behind her. She turned to say hi to Shawn and was absolutely floored when she saw his new girlfriend Phoebe. f*****g Phoebe Granger, this was her worst f*****g nightmare.
- Writer
