Jason was up at the crack of dawn. Always. When he rolled over, pushing the button to light up his phone’s screen, he shot up. He couldn’t believe it. For the first time in his working memory, he had slept in until eleven. Fumbling around in the blanket to get out of it, he groaned inwardly. There’s always so much to do in the morning! As he finally freed himself, he sighed and folded the blanket. It was going to be a long day.
Jason pivoted, blanket in his arms, to put the spare blanket away in the hall closet. He frowned, meeting the sleepy gaze of the girl he’d rescued last night. She was in his bedroom doorway, one arm crossed over her chest, her eyes cast down to the floor. He tilted his head, watching her for a minute. It seemed like something was bothering her; something more than a hangover. After a few seconds, her head jerked up, meeting his gaze with steady hazel eyes.
“I’m not sure how I got here… But I guess you brought me, so… thanks. Uh,” she paused, tightening her grip on her opposite arm. “I’m Kenna.”
He grinned, walking toward her with the blanket. Her gaze didn’t waver; though he could see her visibly tense. A few feet from where she stood, he stopped and opened the closet, tucking the blanket back to where it belonged. “I ran into you in the park, literally. You were slurring your words, and I would have felt bad if anything happened to you. We met then, but I’m Jason,” he said, turning to face her. He closed the closet, passing her to go into his room and change.
Kenna yawned, relaxing after hearing him explain how she got there. It was nice to know that some people were decent enough to take care of the drunken girls of the world. She ran a hand through her disheveled hair, closing her eyes. Something about the day made her antsy. Opening her eyes, the brunette moved across the room to look out the picture window. Grey skies… Probably shouldn’t get drunk today. If I end up wandering down to the park I’ll get soaked, she thought, tugging quietly at her sleeves.
Kenna didn’t hear him come out of his bedroom. The thought made Jason smile as he stalked over to her. “So,” he started, chuckling when she jumped to face him. “Since I rescued you from the possible dangers of the park at midnight, will you go to coffee with me?”
“Only if you let me treat. It’s the least I can do since you did save me,” she conceded, smiling politely. Coffee was a great idea. It would not only help wake her up, it might help the ache in her head. “Is there any chance that we can swing by my place so I can change my clothes first?”
“Of course not, I’d rather have a clean date than one that looks like she just got out of bed,” he laughed. It sounded almost choked, like he didn’t want to laugh.
Rather than ask about it, she smiled a bit more, nodding. They simultaneously moved toward the door, unspeaking as they put on their shoes and headed out. When they got to the street, she blinked a few times. “Oh, we’re closer than I thought,” the woman murmured to herself, turning right and moving up the street, confidant that he would follow. It was only a ten minute walk to her apartment; a second story one-bedroom in a gaudy pink house. It wasn’t huge, but it was good enough for her. It was a simple lay out, through the door was the living room, which had a small island connecting it to a small kitchen, then a short hallway to an average size bedroom and attached full bathroom. There was almost no decoration to signal that a female lived there, other than the few girly coats or shoes near the door.
Gesturing to the couch, she turned to look at him, “Please, sit. I’ll be out in a minute.”
Jason obliged, not bothering to take his shoes off. If it wasn’t going to be long, there was no need. He reclined on the couch, a brown, microfiber sectional that took up nearly the whole room. A tv hung on the wall, and on the coffee table stood a lone picture. He leaned over, picking it up to inspect. It showed Kenna, slung over the shoulders of a tall man with dark brown eyes and black hair; possibly on a campus quad in the autumn. One of her hands was held toward the camera, showing off a shining engagement ring. This must have been right after the proposal. They look happy. Where’s the ring, now? He set the picture down, leaning back once more and mulling over his thoughts.
It was only a few minutes before Kenna emerged, wearing a pair of dark jeans and a red knit hoodie that went down to her mid-thigh. Under it was a white spaghetti strap tank top. Her long hair was swept up into a high ponytail. She had put on some light make up, a silvery eyeshadow, some black eye liner and mascara. It looked nice.
“Ready?” she asked, slipping on her favorite pair of black and pink Vans.
“Hm. Let’s go.”
The walk was once again quiet, but for Kenna it felt a bit strained. Like something happened in that five minutes that it took her to change that changed the mood of the day. She lifted her arm over her head to block out the bright of the sun, tilting her head back to look at the sky once again. It was still dreary out. Dark clouds were rolling in, and far off she thought she could head the faint rumblings of thunder. Rain…
A loud crack of thunder resounded just as they made their destination: The Downtown Café. It was a quiet little coffee shop in the center of the Victorian themed town. You could only ever get in if it was before three in the afternoon. Kenna had never been there before. Moving past her to get in, Jason led her over to a table near the window, where they sat in uncomfortable silence.
After a minute or so, a bored looking waitress with lanky blonde hair meandered over, gnashing annoyingly on a piece of gum. “Are ya eatin’?” she asked, her voice high and nasal.
Offering a polite smile, Kenna shook her head. “I won’t be,” she glanced at Jason, who was shaking his head. “Just a black coffee for me.”
“Latte,” Jason muttered, only giving the waitress a sideways glance.
With a smack of her gum she tottered off to the counter, getting to work on his latte. Jason didn’t notice, though. He was focused on Kenna’s hands. There wasn’t a ring there. On either hand. So, was she recently out of that relationship, or was she one of those girls that didn’t wear their engagement ring in an effort to sleep around when away from their fiancée? Not that it mattered. After this awkward coffee trip, he didn’t plan on seeing her again.
“So, thanks, again, for not letting me end up in a bad situation,” she mumbled, sheepishly. Her hands were splayed out on the table, palms down, and occasionally she’d drum her fingers.
“No problem. Had to,” he sighed, closing his eyes.
She cleared her throat. His mood made it hard to want to talk to him. Pulling her arms back into her lap, Kenna leaned her forehead against the glass, watching as the torrent nearly exploded from the sky. “Well, I’ll be staying a while,” she whispered, turning her head at the sound of her mug being set before her.
Jason opened his eyes, turning them on Kenna. They were cold, closed off; it was the kind of look people gave when they didn’t trust you, and they didn’t like you, and they didn’t really care who knew. “It’s just a little water.”
She frowned, turning her head back to him. “I don’t know what happened to piss you off when I went to change, but your attitude fuckin’ sucks.” Taking a sip of her coffee, she turned back to watch the rain pelt the ground. It had darkened enough that, even though it was just a little after noon, the streetlights had all turned on. Lightning flashed, and soon hail mixed in with the rain.
Jason groaned. He didn’t want to go out in this nasty weather, either; almost as much as he didn’t want to spend extra time around her. He wasn’t going to be a rebound, and he wasn’t going to interfere in a relationship; above all, Jason only hung around with girls for sex. He didn’t need more friends.
Rolling her eyes, Kenna stood, dropping a ten dollar bill on the table. “Thanks again, so sorry to have been a bother on the coffee trip you invited me to. Enjoy,” she spat, pulling her hood over her head before heading out into the rain.
Jason frowned, watching her go. “Guess I made her uncomfortable,” he muttered. Glad that his latte was in a to-go cup, he stood and took off after her, drink in hand. “Hey, Kenna! Kenna wait!”
She heard him. She didn’t much care, though. I definitely won’t be going back to the Downtown Café, she thought as she tucked her lighter back into her pants pocket. Cigarette dangling from her mouth, Kenna strode forward in the rain, toward her new favorite dive bar. She wasn’t going to be a burden on any one. Especially not some fuckhead she hadn’t asked to help her. When a hand fell on her shoulder, she turned, glaring.
“Can’t you leave me be? I’m not going to stick around someone who’s being a royal ass. You made it very clear that you were over the coffee thing,” she growled.
Dropping his hand, Jason shrugged. Mind effectively changed on trying to play nice, he turned around, headed home. Satisfied that she would be left alone, Kenna continued on to the bar; she was more than happy to drink the day away once again. Things just kept getting shittier.
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