Tavia finished showering and dressed. She could hear Daric in the living room speaking to someone on the phone. Maybe he was ordering food, she thought. Retrieving her cell phone from the pocket of her jeans, Tavia checked her messages for any message from Jensen. Scrolling through messages and call logs proved fruitless.
Huffing, Tavia tossed the phone onto the counter. Speaking to the empty room, she said, “Of course he didn’t call or message me. Why would he? It’s not like we’re a couple or anything.”
Instantly, she was guilty for her thoughts and reaction to the lack of communication from Jensen. It was a fact that they were not a couple. Looking into the fogged mirror, Tavia wondered if she had been harboring a secret hope that Jensen wanted to be more than friends? If she felt so strongly about him, why had she gone to the apartment with Daric without trying to contact Jensen?
Pointing at her reflection, she admonished, “You’re becoming one of those women, Tavia O’Brien.”
Grabbing the complimentary hair dryer hanging by the sink, she started drying her hair without a thought to her lack of styling products. When she finished, her hair was quite frizzy and unmanageable. A man’s comb lay on the counter by her phone. She used it to force the tangles out of her hair.
Daric still spoke with someone on the phone in a low and private tone as Tavia stepped into the bedroom, listening. He’d been on the phone far too long to merely be ordering food.
While he was still occupied, Tavia sat quietly on the edge of the bed with her cell phone in her hands. Unsure whether to bother Jensen with even a quick text or not, she finally settled on messaging Pepper.
She and Pepper had been friends since junior high and they told each other everything. Pepper would know what she should do about Jensen, if anything. After all, Daric was most likely only a passing fling. Nothing about him screamed long-term relationship material.
Nothing except his confession that he’d wanted to ask her out for a long time, but anyone could say that to anyone else. That wasn’t a blip on the radar of long-term. And, from the tone of his voice and its inflections, Tavia thought he must be speaking to another woman. A girlfriend or wife, perhaps; though she doubted he was married.
Tavia and Pepper exchanged several messages in the next few minutes. Pepper thought it was only right for Tavia to text Jensen immediately to let him know she was okay, at the very least. She’d known Jensen for a long while and they’d had their disagreements and tiffs before, always getting over them quickly and forgiving each other completely. Tavia’s mother had asked two Thanksgivings prior when they were going to tie the knot. Jensen and Tavia had laughed and given some silly answer that she couldn’t recall now.
What if they were meant to be together? Had she just ruined that chance by being with Daric?
Ta
via texted Jensen to let him know that she would meet up with him the next day around noon. He didn’t answer back immediately and Tavia figured he was either passed out drunk somewhere or he was pissed and would get back to her eventually.
Daric’s conversation drew to an end and he replaced the phone in its charger before calling out for Tavia.
“I’m finished; just sitting on the bed, waiting for Pepper to text me back. Did you order food?” She didn’t feel bad for the lie, or half-truth, as she liked to think of it.
“I did. The kitchen will have it up to us within the hour—which means it will be delivered in about an hour and a half.” He laughed.
“Not the most punctual kitchen, huh?” Tavia chuckled but the humor was lacking; her mind was confused with too many emotions at the moment.
“Not usually. Of course, Bob could only find one cook trustworthy enough to keep his mouth shut about this place, so he has to do everything in the kitchen by himself. He’s only about a hundred years old, too. That doesn’t make him any faster, for sure. It’s always good, though.” Daric walked into the bathroom and grabbed a towel and cloth.
“Did you order something huge for it to take an hour and a half?” She really hoped not. She wasn’t even sure she was going to stay long enough to eat it.
“No. Just chicken tender meals and dessert. I have nothing in the fridge or the cabinets except coffee, it seems. I only stock up when I’m here longer than a week. It’s not easy to haul extra stuff on a Harley.” He pushed the door closed, giving her a quick wink just before the door shut completely.
Taking the opportunity, Tavia walked to the living room and used her cell phone to call Pepper. She answered on the second ring, sounding out of breath and slightly flustered. Loud techno music throbbed in the background. She was at work.
“Hello? Tavia? I’m at work. You’ll have to speak up, ‘k?” The music continued.
Speaking as loud as she dared, Tavia asked, “Pepper, should I wait for Jensen or try for Daric now? I don’t wanna be waiting in the wings forever and I don’t wanna miss out on Daric, either. Do you know if Jensen has plans for us or not; if you do tell me now, or I’m going to go for Daric.”
“Wow! You’ve put a lot of time and effort into Jensen to just forget about him now, haven’t you? I mean, we all thought you were making your play for Jensen—a future with him. We just thought you were taking it slow. Is that not what you were doing all this time?” Pepper was yelling and when there was a two second lag in music as the song changed, she seemed even louder.
Holding the phone away from her ear a few inches, Tavia listened and debated. Is that what she’d been doing all this time with Jensen? When she thought about all of it, she wasn’t sure what she’d been doing, or what she’d been thinking. “I don’t know, Pepper. Has he said anything about us?”
“I’m sorry, Tav. He’s not mentioned anything to me. I’m going to have to go soon.”
“I know. So, any advice?” Tavia used her free hand and cupped it around her mouth, directing her voice into the phone.
“You’re not in a relationship with Jensen, Tav. You’re definitely not married to him or anyone else—enjoy the hell outta yourself, is my advice. We were all too busy with school and careers to have too much fun until recently. Live it up; be careful; don’t expect much from anyone but yourself—and go easy on yourself. You’re allowed that much. I gotta go now, Tav.”
“Thank you, Pepper. Bye.” She disconnected and checked her messages again.
Still nothing from Jensen.