Page 26 of Not Your Enemy

It didn’t seem like one more week was going to be enough time, especially with me having to work during the week. Something that at one point would have made me upset but now makes me happy.

“How would you feel about sharing a room from here on out? You know, we could go ahead and pack up Jana’s room and just both stayin mine. Seems like the best strategy,” Jade stated, pushing her plate away having finished her food.

“Right, strictly for practicality and all that,” I teased her, as if I were opposed to the idea myself. It wasn’t like I wasn’t hoping to end up in her bed again tonight.

“I’m very practical, princess.” She winked at me and crossed her arms over her chest, leaning both elbows on the table.

“I guess that makes sense.” I smiled back at her, not nearly putting up as much of a fight as I should have.

We got to work on Jana’s room, first moving my belongings over to Jade’s room. Hanging my clothes in her closet, I got a thrill in thinking that all my things would start to smell like hers. Her room was cluttered, now that I was taking it in and not just focused on seducing, or being seduced by her. She had a pile of clothes on a tan recliner and a few half-empty boxes lying around. There was a blanket thrown over the back of the chair that had a tiny skull pattern.

The dresser by her bed had a couple of framed photos of her in her younger years with friends, and all the drawers were ajar. Her bathroom counter looked as if she had dumped the contents of her makeup bag out and just walked away. But, being that I was well and truly enamored with her, it all seemed charming. I enjoyed pushing things around to make a place for mine. It felt homey and real, and not like some commercialized version of things. She never tried to impress me or put on a show. That was something I liked about her a lot.

It was determined that everything in Jana’s room could be boxed up for her. No need to worry about separating things 50/50 and all that. After packing her room up and moving the boxes downstairs, we broke down her bed and then vacuumed the carpet. I needed to check with her and confirm she wanted us to sell her bed at the garage sale, but I knew she had no room forit at her place.

Jade left to pick us up some takeout, and I decided I needed to stop putting the call off. I sat on top of Jade's comforter, having just made up the bed, as I called Jana.

“Libby! I was getting worried about you!” Jana answered excitedly.

“Uh, sorry, girl, just been busy all day packing and just now able to call you back. How are you doing?” I asked quickly, trying to get the conversation off of myself.

“I’m fine, just picked up some takeout from Shea’s and am making my way to grab a bottle of wine. I actually have a lot of work to do tonight, but I still wish you could come over and keep me company.”

“That sounds fun; I wish I could too.” It wasn’t a lie. I loved hanging out with her; I just may have really wanted to spend this particular night with Jade. Thank goodness she wasn’t here at the moment because just thinking about spending another night with her had me blushing cherry red.

“So? How are things there? Are you guys making good progress?”

I updated her on where we were with everything and confirmed she was good with us selling her bed. I also explained that it was going to be more than another week, not that we were sure exactly how much longer, just that it would be.

“God, I owe you the world for this, Lib! I can’t even imagine spending that much time with Jade.”

I didn't care for her tone, but I calmed down quickly. It wasn’t fair to judge her so harshly when they had a history I wasn’t a part of. And like Jade kept reminding me, their relationship or lack thereof had nothing to do with me.

“It hasn’t been bad; she’s been so sweet, actually.” I guess I couldn’t help myself, but I was also curious how she would respond to just that simple declaration.

“Well, that’s good, I guess. But again, just be careful.” Here we go again, I thought. She could never not tell me to distant myself from Jade.

“Look, I know you don’t want to talk about it, but you’re kind of scaring me with all the be careful comments. Is there anything I should know? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I know she hurt you in the past, but that doesn’t mean she would do that to me, a stranger, right?” I was prying, hoping that she would see how she might have been unreasonable in this.

She let out a deep sigh, and I could hear the background noise settle, as if she had just parked her Lexus. “I guess not, Lib, but I just don’t trust her. She isn’t someone I want in my life, and you’re my best friend, so maybe I don’t want her in yours either. But I guess considering I sent you there, I’m glad she is nice to you. It’s complicated.” Yes, yes it was complicated. More than she even realized.

"I feel like I shouldn't be here. I'm not saying I mind being here, just that…well, you two could use this time to reconnect and work through things." My hand gripped the edge of Jade's mattress as I spoke.

"No, Lib. Your being there is absolutely for the best. It's the last place in the world I'd want to be." Her tone sounded less defensive at this point and more defeated.

“Let’s talk about something else. How is work going?” That set her off on a good ten-minute rant about her new clients. I listened as I changed into my comfy clothes and washed my face. We ended the call on a positive note, promising to talk again soon.

By the time Jade got back, I'd made my way downstairs and was enjoying a glass of wine at the bar top. I’d pulled out a glass for her, having figured she’d want to join me. Jade sat the Chinese food on thekitchen island and walked over to me, kissing my hair and pulling me against her in an all too brief hug.

“Thanks for grabbing dinner,” I stated, trying to hide how her simple touch had affected me by tipping back my glass.

“Of course,” she stated, pouring herself some wine. “I’m going to run upstairs and change real quick.”

While she was gone, I switched the food out of the to-go boxes over to plates and placed them at the dining room table. Moving our wine glasses over, I took my seat and dug in. It smelled too good to wait for her; besides, I knew she would just tease me for doing so.

“Aw, thanks. I guess we should sit at the table since it’s our third date and all. Maybe we should light some candles," she stated, walking back into the dining room.

“You and those dates—we can just eat together and it not be a date, you know.”