Categories > Original > Drama > Only the cooks ever called her Al
"I'm going out with Joe tonight, so don't worry about me staying out late." Jasmine grinned to her roommate, Alana, as she peeked out from the bedroom and finished putting her earrings in.
Alana, who had been laying on the couch with a book, was immediately up and over by her friend, leaning against the frame for the door and frowning at her. "Why are you still goin' out with that jackass? I thought you broke it off last week?"
"That? He apologized about it and everything. He didn't mean it, and he's taking me out to dinner tonight to prove it." She rolled her eyes and dismissed Alana's concerns.
"Come on, you two got into a shouting match so bad I thought I was going to have to call the cops Jas. You can't tell me he's just 'I'm sorry' and all forgiven."
"You're over reacting." She patted the other's shoulder and moved past her toward the doorway. The argument had been a bit loud, but Jas was quick to point out that neither of them had been somber. And while she was glad to have a friend ready to watch her back and keep an eye out for her, she didn't need a second mother. One was bad enough.
"Jas..." But the argument would have been a lost cause. She could tell. The keys for the house were already in her hand, and she was digging through the closet to find the light shawl she used for the warmer nights they'd been having lately. With a sigh, Alana walked over and pulled out a set of car keys. "Do me a favor then, you drive. If he gets wasted again, you don't have ta rely on him for a ride and you can take care of yourself. Or call me. Alright?"
"Alana, stop stressing. It'll be fine." She smiled and waved as she stepped out from the apartment and down the hall to exit.
Peering out the window, Alana watched as a few minutes later the man she was growing to deeply distrust pulled up and Jasmine got into the car. She shook her head, and returned to her book.
~~~
"Joe, hey. Jas isn't here. She's still at work."
"That's fine, I'll wait here." He pushed the door open further, and slid inside the apartment. From her spot at the door, Alana held it open and glared at his back.
"Act'ly, I'd rather if you didn't. I have some stuff to do around the place and I don't want visitors right now," she said, her tone making it clear that she meant her words. She'd disliked him since she first met him, and never found a reason to think otherwise.
Joe looked around the place before dropping onto the couch. "That's cool. I'll just wait until she gets in and then we'll get out of the way." He smiled, showing his white teeth, a grin that could easily go in a magazine.
"Then you can fuckin' wait down at your car. Or pick her up from work so she doesn't have ta take the bus." But despite her arguments, Joe was just shaking his head and smiling at her, refusing to move from his spot. "Fuck it." Alana threw the book she'd had in her hand on the nearest surface and went into the kitchen.
"Hey," following her, he walked into the kitchen and blocked her path. "Jas doesn't get off for a bit yet. Why don't you show me her room?"
"She can fuckin' show it to you herself if she wants." She tried to duck under his arm and get passed, but he wouldn't let her. Instead, his large hands rested on her shoulders, and he continued to grin down at her. She was getting the very strong urge to sink a fist into his gut and throw him out. She was considering other forms of action as well. Powdered sugar in the gas tank, ash in the vents, some well-timed alarm clocks all over his place, an anonymous listing of his cell phone number in a few different places.... She was getting a number of ideas. Unfortunately, all of them included getting him out of her way first.
"Yeah, but you know Jas. She's so private about that shit. Or show me yours. I bet yours is even better, right gorgeous?"
"Fuck off asshole. Get the hell outta my apartment before I call the cops." To match her threat, she tried to throw the hands from her shoulders, and twist so that she could get to the phone. Joe, smiling, released her and put his hands up in the famed surrender position and took a step back.
"Hey, it was just a suggestion. I thought a woman like you might need to ... blow... off a little steam." The way he winked and paused around the words only made Alana even more pissed off at him. First, she'd thought him a jerk. Then, he'd gotten into a fight with her roommate and still managed to sweet talk her back into his good graces. Now, he was blatantly hitting on her, despite all of her hard hitting not-a-chance-of-an-ice-cube-in-hell vibes.
Her face scrunched up in a look of disgust, as she openly did a once over on his appearance. In the back of her mind, she could name at least six people who would have banged him based on looks alone; not all of which were women. This didn't say anything about their standards when it came to having sex, and thus less about Joe himself. Either way, it wasn't something she actually realized she was doing. And she was far from someone on that list. She considered telling him to fuck off, again. But it hadn't worked the first time. And the threat of the cops was the first sign of him backing down. Well, if that's what it took. "Joe, this is your last warning. I want you out of the building, /now/."
"Baby, look, I didn't mean anything by it alright? Why don't you grab us each one of those beers, and I'll apologize, and we can talk. How does that sound?" He raised his eyebrows, looking sincere and harmless, a simply guy just wanting to talk. He just wanted to know her a bit better, to cut down on the tension. Nothing wrong there.
"It sounds like you have a problem with your hearing. Get. Out." She pointed to the door for emphasis, and used her smaller build to look as threatening as possible. She didn't like being pressed in any way. And she like people coming into her space even less. She wanted her book, her food and some time alone. Was that really such a hard thing to understand?
"It's cool. I'll see you later then, alright?" Acting as though the idea had been his own suggestion, he casually walked to the door and out, closing it firmly behind him.
"Fuck." Now, frustrated beyond annoyance, Alana knew that there was little she could do to get back to her book in peace. Storming into her bedroom, she slammed the door shut. A moment later, music was blasting past the crack, a warning to Jas that it would be best if she was left in peace.
Alana, who had been laying on the couch with a book, was immediately up and over by her friend, leaning against the frame for the door and frowning at her. "Why are you still goin' out with that jackass? I thought you broke it off last week?"
"That? He apologized about it and everything. He didn't mean it, and he's taking me out to dinner tonight to prove it." She rolled her eyes and dismissed Alana's concerns.
"Come on, you two got into a shouting match so bad I thought I was going to have to call the cops Jas. You can't tell me he's just 'I'm sorry' and all forgiven."
"You're over reacting." She patted the other's shoulder and moved past her toward the doorway. The argument had been a bit loud, but Jas was quick to point out that neither of them had been somber. And while she was glad to have a friend ready to watch her back and keep an eye out for her, she didn't need a second mother. One was bad enough.
"Jas..." But the argument would have been a lost cause. She could tell. The keys for the house were already in her hand, and she was digging through the closet to find the light shawl she used for the warmer nights they'd been having lately. With a sigh, Alana walked over and pulled out a set of car keys. "Do me a favor then, you drive. If he gets wasted again, you don't have ta rely on him for a ride and you can take care of yourself. Or call me. Alright?"
"Alana, stop stressing. It'll be fine." She smiled and waved as she stepped out from the apartment and down the hall to exit.
Peering out the window, Alana watched as a few minutes later the man she was growing to deeply distrust pulled up and Jasmine got into the car. She shook her head, and returned to her book.
~~~
"Joe, hey. Jas isn't here. She's still at work."
"That's fine, I'll wait here." He pushed the door open further, and slid inside the apartment. From her spot at the door, Alana held it open and glared at his back.
"Act'ly, I'd rather if you didn't. I have some stuff to do around the place and I don't want visitors right now," she said, her tone making it clear that she meant her words. She'd disliked him since she first met him, and never found a reason to think otherwise.
Joe looked around the place before dropping onto the couch. "That's cool. I'll just wait until she gets in and then we'll get out of the way." He smiled, showing his white teeth, a grin that could easily go in a magazine.
"Then you can fuckin' wait down at your car. Or pick her up from work so she doesn't have ta take the bus." But despite her arguments, Joe was just shaking his head and smiling at her, refusing to move from his spot. "Fuck it." Alana threw the book she'd had in her hand on the nearest surface and went into the kitchen.
"Hey," following her, he walked into the kitchen and blocked her path. "Jas doesn't get off for a bit yet. Why don't you show me her room?"
"She can fuckin' show it to you herself if she wants." She tried to duck under his arm and get passed, but he wouldn't let her. Instead, his large hands rested on her shoulders, and he continued to grin down at her. She was getting the very strong urge to sink a fist into his gut and throw him out. She was considering other forms of action as well. Powdered sugar in the gas tank, ash in the vents, some well-timed alarm clocks all over his place, an anonymous listing of his cell phone number in a few different places.... She was getting a number of ideas. Unfortunately, all of them included getting him out of her way first.
"Yeah, but you know Jas. She's so private about that shit. Or show me yours. I bet yours is even better, right gorgeous?"
"Fuck off asshole. Get the hell outta my apartment before I call the cops." To match her threat, she tried to throw the hands from her shoulders, and twist so that she could get to the phone. Joe, smiling, released her and put his hands up in the famed surrender position and took a step back.
"Hey, it was just a suggestion. I thought a woman like you might need to ... blow... off a little steam." The way he winked and paused around the words only made Alana even more pissed off at him. First, she'd thought him a jerk. Then, he'd gotten into a fight with her roommate and still managed to sweet talk her back into his good graces. Now, he was blatantly hitting on her, despite all of her hard hitting not-a-chance-of-an-ice-cube-in-hell vibes.
Her face scrunched up in a look of disgust, as she openly did a once over on his appearance. In the back of her mind, she could name at least six people who would have banged him based on looks alone; not all of which were women. This didn't say anything about their standards when it came to having sex, and thus less about Joe himself. Either way, it wasn't something she actually realized she was doing. And she was far from someone on that list. She considered telling him to fuck off, again. But it hadn't worked the first time. And the threat of the cops was the first sign of him backing down. Well, if that's what it took. "Joe, this is your last warning. I want you out of the building, /now/."
"Baby, look, I didn't mean anything by it alright? Why don't you grab us each one of those beers, and I'll apologize, and we can talk. How does that sound?" He raised his eyebrows, looking sincere and harmless, a simply guy just wanting to talk. He just wanted to know her a bit better, to cut down on the tension. Nothing wrong there.
"It sounds like you have a problem with your hearing. Get. Out." She pointed to the door for emphasis, and used her smaller build to look as threatening as possible. She didn't like being pressed in any way. And she like people coming into her space even less. She wanted her book, her food and some time alone. Was that really such a hard thing to understand?
"It's cool. I'll see you later then, alright?" Acting as though the idea had been his own suggestion, he casually walked to the door and out, closing it firmly behind him.
"Fuck." Now, frustrated beyond annoyance, Alana knew that there was little she could do to get back to her book in peace. Storming into her bedroom, she slammed the door shut. A moment later, music was blasting past the crack, a warning to Jas that it would be best if she was left in peace.
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