Chapter 39
It’s Just Lunch
Robert wakes me the next morning by jumping on my bed—literally jumping on my bed. He’s standing on my bed jumping up-and-down, singing Good Morning to You. I swipe my leg under his feet causing him to land on his ass with his legs straight out in front of him.
"That was awesome, can we do it again?" he asks with way too much cheer in his voice.
"No, but you can leave and let me go back to sleep.” I may not have a hangover, but I feel like shit.
I responded to Jack’s message last night, agreeing to see him. He shocked me again when he told me he’d come down the next day, which is now today. Which means, I’m going to meet Jack for lunch… today.
I’d planned on telling Adrian about Jack’s message, and our now lunch meeting, last night. When I got home from Robert’s, he was gone. He texted me later explaining his aunt had another migraine, so he needed to help with boys.
I went back and forth all night, debating whether or not call him and tell him over the phone. In the end, I decided this was a face-to-face conversation.
I lift my head to look at the clock. He should be back soon, and I have to tell him about Jack, just a few hours before Jack actually gets here.
“You can be such a buzz kill sometimes,” Robert says, moving to sit on the edge of the bed.
“Good morning,” Gemma says as she enters the room, making me feel sicker. Gemma doesn’t know about Jack yet either.
Robert smacks my leg to get my attention. “How did it go when you told him about Jack?”
I press my lips into a hard line and glare at him. He had to go and make my morning worse.
"What?" His face contorted in oblivious innocence.
"What. About. Jack?” Gemma asks, emphasizing every word.
Gemma was around when I dated Jack, when Jack left me, when I found out I was pregnant, and everything that came after. She was there, supporting me through the most difficult time of my life. So anytime Jack's name has been brought up since, she becomes like a mama bear, watching for him around every corner, ready to attack.
I continue to glare at Robert, not having the patience to argue with Gemma this morning, but she’s not willing to let this topic drop.
"Keegan, what about Jack?"
Realizing his mistake, Robert grimaces. "Was I not supposed to mention the Jack thing?" he asks in a useless whisper because Gemma is only two feet away.
"Keegan," Gemma says, this time clenching her teeth. "I swear to God if you don't answer me right now, I'm going to go downstairs and take something out of your survival hoard, and you'll never know what it was."
"Fine," I yell, slapping my hands down on the bed. "Jack messaged me yesterday on Facebook. He asked if we could get together because he wants to talk to me about some things. That's it."
Gemma throws her hands up in the air in frustration. "That's it? Are you serious? The boyfriend who walked away and left you in tears and—" she pauses glancing at Robert.
I subtly shake my head, letting her know he doesn’t know everything.
With a clipped tone, she asks, “What did you tell him?”
I drop back onto the bed in a huff. "I told him okay. I mean, it would be kinda nice to get some closure on all that."
"What, you're going to tell him… everything?”
I close my eyes and begin rubbing my temples, feeling a headache coming on. "Hell, maybe he already knows. Maybe that's why he contacted me."
Robert clears his throat. “Um, I think I’m missing something.’
I give him a pleading look. “There’s more to the Jack story than I told you, but I just can’t talk about now.”
I trust Robert, but I’m not ready to talk about what happened. I think about it all the time, but discussing it, telling the details to someone, is a whole other level of pain.
He pouts a little, but I can see the understanding in his eyes.
Gemma goes back on the attack. “You don’t need to see him.”
How does she know what I need? “Whatever, it's my life,” I say, feeling exhausted with this conversation.
"Wait," Gemma says pointing at me accusingly. “Does Adrian know? And, when are you going?”
I shake my head. “I was going to tell him last night, but he stayed at Diane’s all night. I’m meeting Jack for lunch today.” I cringe because I know she’s gonna blow.
She pushes herself up off the chair, shaking her head with disappointment. "You know Adrian's going to lose his shit,” Then she turns and practically stomps out of my room.
When I look at Robert, he lifts his shoulders almost up to his ears and grimaces again.
"I think she's kind of pissed," he informs me, making himself the proud new owner of the captain obvious title.