Change My Ways

It’s the Monday before Thanksgiving, and Valerie has been calling, seemingly, non-stop, because she’s worried I won’t come back, I guess. I told her today, that I would take the soonest flight out tomorrow, but I’m having a hard time saying bye to Jackson. We’ve hung out almost every day, since we met up that day on the beach. After that night, he told me I could just stay with him for the rest of the time I was in town, so I did just that. I mostly tried to sleep in the guest bed, but there were mornings I’d find myself waking up next to him. I have such mixed feelings right now. I love Zach, still, and I really thought I wanted to be with him, but, after spending so much time with Jackson, we’ve rekindled some of the flame we had back in high school. We aren’t exactly dating, he hasn’t asked me out, but I’m okay with that, and I think he is, too. I don’t think he’s going to ask me out, anyhow, seeing as how I’m leaving tomorrow for California.

“Hey.” Jackson greets me, coming in from working. He heads straight to the bedroom, leaving the door open, as he undresses, no doubt, getting ready to take a shower. I admire his handsome body, as I do every time I see him naked. “You act like you’ve never seen me undress before.” He says to me, as he walks to the bathroom, turning on the shower. I walk down the hall, and join him in the bathroom. As he stands in front of the shower, waiting for the water to get to the right temperature, I run my hands up and down his chest. He leans forward and kisses my forehead, then gets into the shower.

“You know I’m gonna miss you right?” I ask him.

“I know you will.” He laughs.

“You’re so conceited.” I laugh.

“You don’t have to leave.”

“Oh, but I do. Valerie would never let me live it down, if I broke my promise.”

“Promise?”

“I promised her I would come back in time for Thanksgiving.”

“I see.”

“I feel bad leaving you right before a holiday.”

“I don’t really celebrate holidays anymore.”

“You could. With me.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“You could come back to Huntington Beach with me, spend Thanksgiving. You don’t have to stay as long as I’ve stayed here.”

“I don’t want to impose on your Thanksgiving with your friends.”

“You’re my friend, too. I’m sure Valerie would love to have you.”

“I’m not so sure about that. She’s never met me.”

“I’m sure she’d love you.” I laugh. “I’ll call her right now, and ask, if it would make you feel better.” I say, pulling out my phone, and dialing her number. It doesn’t take long for her to answer.

“Please tell me you’re not going to break your promise.” She answers, making me laugh.

“That’s not what I’m calling for. I was reunited with a friend, in my time down here, and I was wondering if I may bring him to Thanksgiving dinner with me…”

“He?”

“Yes. That’s what I said.”

“Is he cute?”

“Does it matter?” I laugh, again. “He’s adorable, and sweet, you’ll like him.”

“Are we talking about a man or a dog here?” She laughs. “Of course, bring him! I’d love to meet him!”

“Great. Thanks! I’ll see you Thursday!”

“See you then, lovely!” We hang up.

“It’s settled then, you can come to Thanksgiving dinner with me.” I say, directing my attention back to Jackson.

“I guess we better get me a ticket, and pack my bags, then, because I’m going to California.” He sticks his head out of the shower. “Would you like to join me?” He asks.

“I’d love to.” I say, stripping down.

-Thanksgiving Day-

“You must be Jackson.” Valerie answers the door.

“That’s me.” Jackson smiles.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Valerie.” She extends her hand to him, and he kisses it. “Such a gentleman.” She winks at me. “Please come in.” She gestures.

“Thanks for having me.” Jackson says, passing by her, as we go inside.

“No problem. Any friend of Elody, is a friend of mine.” She smiles, and closes the door behind us.

I introduce Jackson to everyone else, before we all sit down for dinner. Valerie brings out all of the food, refusing my help, and sets it on the table, as we all wait patiently. Matt carves the turkey, and we take turns passing the different dishes around the table, until everyone has what they want. Matt says Grace, and we all dig in.

“You’re a great cook, Valerie. The food was delicious.” Jackson says, as we finish eating.

“Thank you, Jackson.” She smiles at him. I help her clear the table, as everyone resides to the living area to relax.

“Did you see the way Zach was looking at Jackson over dinner?” Val asks, as we wash and put away all the dishes.

“No. Why?”

“Man, if looks could kill…” She laughs.

“That bad, huh?”

“Oh yeah. He must think you guys are dating. He’s definitely jealous.”

“Hmm… so that’s what it takes to get him to pay attention to me.” We finish up the dishes, and putting the leftovers away, before heading to the living room.

“Where have you been these past few weeks?” Jimmy asks, from his spot on the couch, causing the attention to be turned on me.

“Busy working, you know, the usual.” I lie, and Jackson looks at me confused.

“How did you meet this great guy?” Jimmy gestures to Jackson.

“Umm… we met on the beach a few weeks ago, actually.” Surprisingly I’m not lying about this, it just wasn’t the first time we’d met.

“Well he seems pretty cool.” Jackson smiles and thanks him.

“So are you two dating?” Johnny asks the dreaded

“No.” We say simultaneously.

“We’re just friends.” Jackson says, looking over at me.

“Well if I didn’t know any better, I’d say that there’s some chemistry there.” Jimmy teases.

“You’re hilarious.” I say. I excuse myself from the room. I need a little bit of air. I walk to the back door, and open it up, going outside. I walk over to the pool, watch as the water ripples, with the warm breeze in the air.

“So you aren’t dating Jackson, huh?” I hear someone behind me, and I turn around to see Zach, walking toward me.

“No. Just friends.”

“Well, that’s good, because I was hoping that maybe you’d give me another chance…”

“Zach you haven’t talked to me in almost a month. You disappeared for days. Wouldn’t answer my calls or texts…”

“I know, and I’m sorry about that. You disappeared, too, you know. I came back, wanting to make amends, but you were nowhere to be found. I went to your work, but you weren’t there, so I know you’re lying about being busy with your job these past few weeks.”

“Does it really matter where I was, if I wasn’t working…”

“I was worried about you, Elody…”

“I was worried about you, too.”

“Well, I’m here now.”

“I went to Orange Beach.” I say, turning back to the pool. “I wanted to visit the place where I grew up. I met Jackson there.”

“You two seem to know each other well for only having met a couple of weeks ago.”

“He’s an old friend from high school.”

“Friend…”

“Boyfriend. I haven’t seen him in seven years. He saw me on the beach, we talked over dinner. We hung out a lot during my visit.”

“Oh.”

“That doesn’t mean I forgot about you. I waited for you to call, come by the apartment, anything, but you didn't.” I turn back to him.

“Please forgive me for being so awful.” He comes closer, and grabs one of my hands, holding it in his. “I’m really sorry for being so stupid. I’m sorry I didn’t answer the phone. I’m sorry for not saying sorry sooner.” He says, making me laugh a little.

“It’s fine, Zach. I’ll forgive you.”

“You don’t know how happy I am to hear you say that.” He smiles. He leans in to kiss me, but I back away slightly. He stops, and looks at me. “If you want to take things slow, I’m okay with that.” I pull my hand away from his, and start to pace back and forth. This is the hard part. I finally have Zach back, but what about Jackson? Even though we aren’t dating, I can’t just do this to him. I need to talk to him first, explain to him that I really like Zach. I really hope he understands, and doesn’t get upset. After all, he does live in Alabama, and long distance relationships aren’t really his thing, they don’t work anyway. Zach steps in front of me, cutting me off. “What’s wrong?”

“I…”

“You’re sleeping with him aren’t you?” He asks, and I look up at him.

“I don’t know why th…”

“I knew there was something going on there.” He says, turning away.

“Zach…” I say, following him. I cut him off just before he reaches the back door. He just stares at me for a second, neither of us speaks. I can’t tell what he’s thinking, and I hate it.
Suddenly, he grabs me, pinning me up against the back of the house. He kisses me, and I can’t help but to kiss him back. Time seems to slow as the kiss deepens. As we kiss, he works on undoing his pants. He picks me up, pushing my dress up in the process. He pulls my panties to the side, and eases himself into me. I moan into his mouth, as he slides in and out. He picks up the pace, and moves his mouth down to my neck. I moan lightly, trying not to draw any attention to us. I feel that familiar wonderful feeling building deep inside of me. We release at the same time, moaning as we kiss each other. He rests his forehead on mine, as we both pant, trying to catch our breath. He slides out of me, and lets me down. I readjust myself, as he does the same.

“I’ll leave you to think, now. It’s your decision… me or him.” He says, walking back into the house, leaving me alone outside.

Notes