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I patted his back then let go and walked to the car. “I promise. It was just hard to get away.”
“Think about what I said.”
I nodded. “I will. I’ll handle it, when the time is right.” With that I climbed into the car and Jason turned to walk to his apartment.
I would handle it, just not tonight.
Chapter 17
Jaz
Onyx pounced before I even made it over the threshold of the door. “Sunday you’re taking Mike to Mom and Dad’s.”
I pulled my bag from my shoulder and went to get some water. “Is that right?” I asked as I filled the glass.
“Yes.Andyou will fill me in on all the yummy details of you and Mike tonight.”
I chuckled. “I knew I’d have to catch you up eventually. Let me get some laundry going and we can chat.”
My room was moderately messy. I had been at Mike’s so much I only came in long enough to get clothes. Luckily, I had plenty of scrubs, but the pile was getting outrageous. I picked up a few things from the floor and tossed them into the hamper, made my bed, and straightened up the top of the dresser. Once it was tidy, I grabbed my hamper and walked through the kitchen. The great thing about living just outside the city is the apartments were newer and had laundry rooms in each unit.
After tossing a load of laundry in, I topped off my water and went to sit on the couch with a sigh.
“So,” Onyx said as she tucked her legs under her on the sofa, “tell me everything. And I meaneverything.” She waggled her brows.
I shrugged. “We just…happened. I don’t know.” Her expression told me that was insufficient. “We were going to be friends. But then there was a thing. I dunno. We just sort of fell back into ‘Mike and Jaz.’”
She let her head fall back and roll dramatically as if an eye roll wasn’t enough. “Jaz…I am yoursister. You can be normal with me. What was the thing? Who made the first move? Was it weird sleeping with him again after all this time? Tell me something, anything!” she demanded as she threw her hands in the air.
“There was a misunderstanding. He straightened it out. Then we kissed. And kissed some more.” I sipped my water as I tried to ignore her glaring at me. “Okay, okay. I thought the sex would be awkward, but it was anything but.”
She clapped her hands together and wiggled her body. “Okay, now we’re talking.”
Looking over at her, I figured giving her a few details wouldn’t hurt. Even though Mom would have killed me if she knew, Onyx was the only person I confided in about these things in high school. “I guess with age, things get better. The chemistry was always there, but this was, I dunno. Grown up?” I grimaced at that term and searched my mind for a better one. “Passionate. It was more passionate.”
“Well sure. When we’re young, we don’t know shit. Not about the opposite sex, or our own bodies half the time. The older we get, the more we learn. So, are you guys, like, really back together or is it just all the passionate sex?” she asked as she wiggled like an excited puppy. It was like talking to her when we were in high school all over again.
“Umm, together, I guess. He said he wanted me; I said I wanted him. And that was that.”
She huffed. “Just like that. Poof.” She began ticking off with her fingers. “He comes back, and you practically run, then you’re friends, then you fight, then you hook up, and bam. Like all those years didn’t happen?”
I shrugged. “Why do things have to be complicated? We’re happy. We’re together. What else do you want me to say?”
“I just assumed there’d be more drama. I heard you both arguing that night, by the way.”
I whipped my head at her. “When?”
“The rainy night. The apartments are good, but they’re not high-end, and you were in the damn parking lot. I’m pretty sure the whole building heard you.”
My face got hot. “Then why did you ask me?”
“I wanted to know if you’d tell me what really happened.” She stood up and sighed as she turned back to me. “Jaz, I’m your sister. I may be younger, but not by much, and I’m not dumb. You used to trust me with everything, but for a really long time you’ve shut me out. I don’t know what happened, but I’ve missed my sister.”
She turned again, then went to her room and slammed the door. I jumped at the sound. My heartbeat was so hard and fast I heard it in my ears. I sat in silence, trying to calm myself. Sipping my water, I took breaths in through my nose, out through my mouth. As a med student, I had access to plenty of therapy practices without actually going. Sometimes the breathing worked, sometimes I had to try other measures. And we learned a lot of ways to disassociate so we could treat patients objectively and not get feelings involved. Although that was a skill I had been mastering for years on my own.
I was still trying my breathing techniques when Onyx came flying from her room and stood in front of me. With her finger wagging in my face, she started screaming. “Who are you? Tell me!”
Shocked and confused, I tried my best to stay calm. “What? Who am I? What do you mean?”
