FIC: Lips are sealed. J2. WIP.
Title: Lips are sealed. Chapter 2
Author: trueshellz
Pairing: Jensen/Tom, very brief Jensen/Steve, eventually Jensen/Jared.
Warning: None yet
Summary: Marketing assistant Jensen Ackles hates flying and one particular flight means that he blurts all his secrets to the starnger next to him. But that stranger has a bigger connection with Jensen than he thinks.
Rating: R
Status: WIP
Disclaimer: Not mine! Noting at all. Nada
A/N: Based on a book by Sophie Kinsella. Also my first ever WIP.
Beta: eilan
Chapter 1
“We won’t die,” he said to me. “The pilot said that we’re perfectly safe and it’s just a bit of turbulence.” I whipped my head to my left and realised suddenly that I must have said that last bit out loud and that the guy I was sitting next to is staring at me.
“Of course he did! It’s not like he’s gonna tell us all that there’s a chance that we’re gonna die! Oh god, I’m only 27 and there’s so much things I haven’t even done yet! I’m never gonna be rimmed again! Tom is such a prude; he won’t put his tongue anywhere near my ass.”
“Err…”
“I mean, my parents must think that I’m a total joke. I’ve never had a real job till now.” I can’t stop myself from talking!
“You’re probably just overreacting.” The guy next to me interjects nicely.
“Well, they might have thought I was somewhat normal until my cousin Chad came to stay with us! It all went to hell. I thought it’d be great since he was two years older than me and it would have been like having an older brother.”
The mouth/brain filter that is normally in place seems to have disintegrated and I can’t stop talking!
“… he was first in everything! I hated it.”
“… it felt like my parents thought I wasn’t even there!”
“… I mean, how do you know that you’ve found your prostate?”
“… I hate briefs they make me feel like I have rubber bands around my thighs.”
“… I work with a guy called Taylor and he’s a total ass, good looking but totally knows it.”
“… I tend to overfeed his goldfish sometimes, but he totally deserves it!”
“… there’s a guy in Personnel called Justin, he sometimes comes up and asks if we wanna run through some numbers. But that’s just code for ‘do you wanna go grab a coffee from Starbucks?’”
“… he has the oddest fashion sense and sometimes gives me really weird ties that I never wear but have to pretend I like.”
“… the coffee we have at work is like drinking liquid tar.”
“… I raised my GPA to 3.8 when it was really 3.5, I knew it was wrong but I really wanted the job.”
What the fuck? I can’t stop talking, something is making me talk. I swear I’m not the type to spill my guts out to a stranger.
“… sometimes I wonder about the existence of God. But then my parents would kill me.”
“… they don’t even know that I’m gay. Or that I broke my virginity upstairs to James Lafferty and not Joanna Krupa.”
“… I love pasta, all kinds.”
“… I wish I had a bigger dick sometimes just to see what it would be like.”
“… the song by Daughtry makes me teary.”
“… the perfect date would be at the movies where we had the whole screen to ourselves.”
“… one time my friend Steve and I told each other that we were going to go to the gym every single day in college. But I pretended I did and he still doesn’t know!”
It’s like it’s no one but him and I, I can’t seem to shut up. I should have gone to therapy if it felt as good as this. I mean, I feel so much better now.
“… my boyfriend Tom is gorgeous. He works in finance. Dark hair, blue eyes and he has the cutest smile.”
“… sometimes I think he’s too good looking. Kinda like Superman ya know, sorta unattainable.”
“… always have a shot of tequila before a date.”
Oh god, I should have never bought Tom up I seem to have gone off on a tangent about him now.
“… I got him a gorgeous Rolex for his birthday instead he wears this plastic waterproof and shockproof one.”
“… he thinks I love Blues and Mo-town music and always takes me to concerts."
“… he knows every single Clint Eastwood line and it drives me insane!”
“… loves going out all dressed up, but I just wanna quiet night in with pizza and beer sometimes.”
“… so dense and has no idea what I’m saying. He looks at me like I’m talking a foreign language or something.”
I feel a tap on my shoulder and as I peer up I see my friend the air steward again. I look up expecting him to say that I’m annoying the other passenger or something.
“Sir, we’ve landed.”
“Landed? Already?” I look past the guy next to me and realise that yes, we have indeed landed. Oh fuck, that means I’ve been talking non stop since we took off. Fuck!
“We’ve stopped bumping?”
“We stopped bumping ages ago.” The guy with a Texan accent replies.
Oh god, I just realise now what happened on the plane, I have been babbling off my head for the last few hours and he didn’t even stop me. Oh god, I told him about my sex life.
“You should have stopped me.”
“That would have proven difficult, you were on a roll.” A tiny smile quirks his lips as he stands up.
“You should have really stopped me.” I try to lighten the mood.
“Don’t worry about it, we all say odd things when we’re worried. Gut reaction.” He grabs his bag from the floor and swings it over his shoulder. “You gonna be alright from here?”
“Ill be fine. Thanks. Have a nice day.”
---
By the time I’ve grabbed my things and got off the plane I feel slightly better, but the whole journey was a blur. I am so happy that I on firm ground again. If I wasn’t already so embarrassed I’d go hug a pillar or something. Seriously. I sit down on one of those plastic hard chairs and run my fingers through my hair, it’s all matted. So much for Mr Cool Businessman.
“Jense!” I hear my name being called from a distance as I walk through Arrivals. But surely there’s other guys called Jensen or there’s the idea that I could be hearing things. My ears may not have popped yet.
“Jensen!” I look up confused and there has to be some mistake.
Is that?
No way.
It is.
It’s Tom.
Looking gorgeous as always, he’s wearing a dark shirt and jeans on. His dark hair is still damp from the shower and he’s walking towards me. He looks worried. Why would he be worried? What the hell is he doing here? If I was confused before I am past confused right now. Befuddled. That’s probably the closest word for what I am right now.
“I thought something had happened. I called the airline and they said that the flight would be delayed cause you ran into turbulence and then an ambulance appeared and I thought… I didn’t know what to think.”
“Can you just take me home? My head’s splitting and I feel disgusting.”
“Jensen,” Tom holds my gaze and looks at me intently. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”
I nod my head mutely wondering what on earth it is. Oh god. He wants me to come out to my parents. Or get married. Oh god.
“I was hoping that we’d move in together.”
Oh. I am such an idiot. The plane must have fried some more brain cells or something.
“Jensen? What d’ya say?”
“Well…” My train of thought gets lost somewhere between the reason I like Tom and the things I said on the plane. Did what I said mean anything? They can’t have.
Of course they didn’t. I was just worried and stressed. People get stressed all the time. Moving in seems the normal thing to do. It’s what boyfriends do.
“Tom, didn’t you have a golf game?”
“Yeah, but I cancelled.”
I feel a stupid grin cover my face. Tom loves golf, adores it even and he cancelled the game just to pick me up from the airport.
“Let’s move in together.” I tug on the front of his shirt and kiss him hard.
---
Next morning I wake up in Tom’s bed with last night’s sex still fresh in my mind. I turn over in bed and wince at the throbbing pain and dried come in my ass. I really should have got cleaned up before I fell asleep, the next day clean up is a chore.
After a warm shower I feel slightly more human. I make my way to the kitchen in my bathrobe to have my morning cup of coffee and a bagel. As always Tom is there, fresh and ready with his hair combed and suit pressed greeting me with a cup of coffee.
“Morning Jen.” He leans down to greet me with a kiss and grabs my ass through the bath robe. I bat it away and remind him playfully that my ass is sore. “I promise I’ll make it up to you.”
I grab a bagel and smother some cream cheese on it while I go through my emails on the computer. There’s a few from my mom, some from my dad, one from Chad to remind me of the birthday dinner for my mum and then some junk mail asking if I wanna make my dick bigger. The plane conversation blares in my head again and I shut the laptop hastily.
Tom walks in and sits on the other side of the table, he’s got that look on his face again. The look that says ‘I have an idea and you may not like it.’ “Jensen, you know how we always said that we’d have no secrets.”
“Yes.” I reply apprehensively.
“There’s something I wanted to say to you.”
Oh god, what is it now? Probably more common couple stuff or something. Or he wants to get kinky and introduce some stuff into our sex life. Like bondage or something. I’ve always wanted to try it out.
“Well, the thing is,” Tom continues, he’s looking at the table and picking at the coaster. “I wanted to know what we’d call each other now. I want to call you my ‘life partner.’”
Huh. I guess bondage is off limits then. Life partner? It makes us sound like we’re old and wrinkly. What happened to boyfriend?
“Er, okay. Life partner.” I will not laugh. I will not laugh. I will not- Oh hell.
Tom looks back up at me with a hurt look across his face. Oh god I feel bad now. “What’s wrong?” he asks
I stifle my immediate reaction and try to keep solemn. “It just… doesn’t feel right. I mean, it might grow on me. Or whatever.”
“But this is important to us. I mean we’re in an adult relationship Jen, not some high school fling.”
I nod in agreement. “I know. Just… gimme time to get used to it.”
Tom’s face lights up again and he’s smiling. “Course. Have fun at the dinner with your parents. I’ll see ya later.” He pulls me in for another kiss and I can taste coffee and chocolate on his lips. As he walks out the door he waves and winks at me.
Life partners.
It should be easy.
Life partners.
See, easy as pie.
Oh hell.
---
As I walk into my front door I am greeted with the loud blaring of music. You would think that living with Steve since high school I would be used to it by now. But the noise never ceases to make me jump and occasionally drop something. I walk in and see Steve on the floor surrounded by sheets and sheets of music, his Bluetooth attached to his ear, his guitar on the floor to his right, a can of Red Bull on his left and his laptop on his crossed legs.
He nods at me in acknowledgement as I walk into my room and pull on some clothes for work. By the time I get out the Red Bull can is crumpled up and Steve is scribbling away on a piece of paper with one hand and tapping away on his laptop with the other. Talk about multitasking.
“Hey Steve.” I grab my second cup of coffee and perch on the unoccupied side of the sofa as to keep away from the wrath of Steve at work.
“Hey Jen.”
“So, what are you up to? A new deal?”
“Not really. I got this band right? And they stupidly got themselves into some legal shit by copying some music from another band. So right now I am up to my ears in lawyers and long words and a nanometer away from killing them.”
“Ouch, so what you gonna do?”
“Well, if all else fails I’ll make them plead insanity. I’m sure it’ll work.”
“To be honest Steve, it was all your own doing. You should have made sure that you went through the contract clauses with them properly” says a voice from the doorway.
And in comes my other roommate Chris Kane, he’s a fashion designer and owns his own clothing line for swimwear and underwear. He’s probably the only person in this apartment who has a decent job and earns enough.
Steve turns around to glare at him and throws a pen at him. “Just because you have a whole bunch of lawyers who are paid billions to do their job, doesn’t mean that I have the same.”
“Whatever. And who took my leather jacket? I can’t find it anywhere.”
The other thing about living with Chris is that he gets armloads of clothes when he goes to his fashion shows and photo shoots. No kidding, he has the biggest and most extravagant wardrobe ever. I am sure I saw Steve wearing the aforementioned leather jacket to a record meeting a few weeks back.
“No idea.” I reply
“Don’t look at me.” Steve adds.
I can feel Chris’ eyes making holes in the back of my head; he glares at us once more before grabbing his cell and denim jacket off the desk. “Don’t think I won’t find out. I know my clothes very well.”
As the front door closes I turn to Steve questioningly.
“Shit,” Steve says. “I left it at the recording studio. Oh well, I’ll get it when I go in next.”
Okay, so Steve and I both borrow Chris’ clothes sometimes but we always put them back in clean and pristine. Anyway, it’s basic roommate right to borrow clothes, I’m sure there’s a constitutional law about it somewhere.
“Anyway, he owes me for getting the band to play at his fashion show last month. Did you know that he didn’t even say thanks? Ungrateful bastard. Jen, what you doing later on? Wanna go grab some beers?”
“I can’t. I got my parents anniversary dinner later on.”
“Oh,” Steve’s face is an epitome of apology. “Good luck.”
“Believe me I’m gonna need it.”
---
The subway ride to my parent’s house is busy as hell and I’m sitting on the train next to woman wearing perfume so strong that I am positive that I’ve burnt my nostrils. Then there’s this guy opposite me who has the most annoying staring habit and keeps staring at me like he can see through my clothes. Wait, my fly isn’t undone again is it? I glance down briefly and breathe a sigh of relief when I don’t Little Jensen peeking out again.
I make list in my head of things that I need to do:
I will:
• Keep calm in Chad’s presence
• Resist the urge to throw anything at him
• Ignore anything that Chad’s wife Kenzie will say and resist the urge to strangle her too
I will not:
• Get angry and storm out
• Scream at anyone like last time
Mum and Dad used to live nearer to me but when Chad and his wife got a house in the suburbs, they convinced my parents to move away from home. Which means that they see each other all the time much to my dismay. As I walk into the house I can see Chad and dad sitting on the couch watching a game, they’re both shouting at the TV and have beers in their hands.
“Happy Anniversary.” I give my mum a kiss and tap knuckles with my dad as I pass through my house. In the kitchen Kenzie is sitting with mum preparing dinner and drinking white wine. As I look at them I realize they look more like mother and daughter than anything else, Kenzie managed to get mum to highlight her hair and wear more fashionable clothes. So now, all I can see two heads of blonde hair and bright tops covering tanned skin.
My sister Mackenzie is sitting in one corner with a book in one hand and a beer in the other. Always the moody one she’s glaring daggers at Kenzie and ignoring anything she says.
“Hey Mack,” I perch myself on the edge of the sofa she’s sitting on and peer over to find her reading a book on feminism; the topic of most of her arguments with Kenzie.
“Hey Jenny,” she reaches over and hugs me tight and then whispers in my ear. “Kenzie’s been such a bitch I swear I am so glad you’re here. Someone non- plastic for a change. I’ve missed you so much!.”
I laugh at her expression and reach down to give her another hug. “Missed you too.”
By the time we sit down to dinner Chad and Kenzie seem to have slaughtered my life; from my job to my choice in girlfriends and where I live.
“Jensen, I can’t believe you live in an apartment. If you want I can sort something out with an estate agent.”
I stop myself from throwing my fork at Chad just in time. No one knows this but when I was fresh out of high school I went to Chad for a job in his firm. He flat out refused and even had the nerve to send out a standard rejection letter. “No thanks. I like where I’m living plus I share it with Steve and Chris.”
Kenzie wrinkles her nose in disgust. “You still live with that hippy Steve?” She shudders dramatically and turns to her husband in question. “Didn’t you go to one of his concerts once? Chad said that his music was the wrong side of country. Also, did you know he was gay?”
My mum is shaking her head in worry and my dad looks like he’s gonna have an aneurysm. I keep my mouth shut in fear of my life, I am nowhere near ready to tell my parents that I’m gay.
“I don’t understand it,” mum says. “How can you be so… so… blasphemous…”
I ignore the droning that is this conversation and keep my head down for the next 20 minutes. The next item of talk seems to be my job. Again.
“So Jensen,” Chad takes a sip of his wine. “What you working as now?”
“Still in marketing Chad”
“That’s good, I think it’s the longest job you’ve held down. You know the key to a good businessman is his dress sense. See, I always wear designer suit, pressed and ironed perfectly. It shows that I am in control, that I care about how I look so they assume that I care about how I conduct my business.”
Mum nudges me in the ribs and points to Chad lovingly. “You should take pointers love, you might get that promotion you were after.”
Kenzie’s shrill laughter breaks the conversation. “Oh Aunt Donna. Chad’s only giving advice, he’s not a miracle worker.”
“Shut up Kenzie, all you do is hang on Chad’s side like arm candy. You wouldn’t work for your own money; probably afraid that you’ll break a nail.” Mackenzie says angrily.
Me and Mack are real tight, always looking out for each other and making sure we can get through life in one piece. I hurriedly remove myself from the dining table and I can hear Mack and Kenzie arguing about the role of women in the modern world and the way in which egotistical men are making women live in a male dominant world.
Author: trueshellz
Pairing: Jensen/Tom, very brief Jensen/Steve, eventually Jensen/Jared.
Warning: None yet
Summary: Marketing assistant Jensen Ackles hates flying and one particular flight means that he blurts all his secrets to the starnger next to him. But that stranger has a bigger connection with Jensen than he thinks.
Rating: R
Status: WIP
Disclaimer: Not mine! Noting at all. Nada
A/N: Based on a book by Sophie Kinsella. Also my first ever WIP.
Beta: eilan
Chapter 1
“We won’t die,” he said to me. “The pilot said that we’re perfectly safe and it’s just a bit of turbulence.” I whipped my head to my left and realised suddenly that I must have said that last bit out loud and that the guy I was sitting next to is staring at me.
“Of course he did! It’s not like he’s gonna tell us all that there’s a chance that we’re gonna die! Oh god, I’m only 27 and there’s so much things I haven’t even done yet! I’m never gonna be rimmed again! Tom is such a prude; he won’t put his tongue anywhere near my ass.”
“Err…”
“I mean, my parents must think that I’m a total joke. I’ve never had a real job till now.” I can’t stop myself from talking!
“You’re probably just overreacting.” The guy next to me interjects nicely.
“Well, they might have thought I was somewhat normal until my cousin Chad came to stay with us! It all went to hell. I thought it’d be great since he was two years older than me and it would have been like having an older brother.”
The mouth/brain filter that is normally in place seems to have disintegrated and I can’t stop talking!
“… he was first in everything! I hated it.”
“… it felt like my parents thought I wasn’t even there!”
“… I mean, how do you know that you’ve found your prostate?”
“… I hate briefs they make me feel like I have rubber bands around my thighs.”
“… I work with a guy called Taylor and he’s a total ass, good looking but totally knows it.”
“… I tend to overfeed his goldfish sometimes, but he totally deserves it!”
“… there’s a guy in Personnel called Justin, he sometimes comes up and asks if we wanna run through some numbers. But that’s just code for ‘do you wanna go grab a coffee from Starbucks?’”
“… he has the oddest fashion sense and sometimes gives me really weird ties that I never wear but have to pretend I like.”
“… the coffee we have at work is like drinking liquid tar.”
“… I raised my GPA to 3.8 when it was really 3.5, I knew it was wrong but I really wanted the job.”
What the fuck? I can’t stop talking, something is making me talk. I swear I’m not the type to spill my guts out to a stranger.
“… sometimes I wonder about the existence of God. But then my parents would kill me.”
“… they don’t even know that I’m gay. Or that I broke my virginity upstairs to James Lafferty and not Joanna Krupa.”
“… I love pasta, all kinds.”
“… I wish I had a bigger dick sometimes just to see what it would be like.”
“… the song by Daughtry makes me teary.”
“… the perfect date would be at the movies where we had the whole screen to ourselves.”
“… one time my friend Steve and I told each other that we were going to go to the gym every single day in college. But I pretended I did and he still doesn’t know!”
It’s like it’s no one but him and I, I can’t seem to shut up. I should have gone to therapy if it felt as good as this. I mean, I feel so much better now.
“… my boyfriend Tom is gorgeous. He works in finance. Dark hair, blue eyes and he has the cutest smile.”
“… sometimes I think he’s too good looking. Kinda like Superman ya know, sorta unattainable.”
“… always have a shot of tequila before a date.”
Oh god, I should have never bought Tom up I seem to have gone off on a tangent about him now.
“… I got him a gorgeous Rolex for his birthday instead he wears this plastic waterproof and shockproof one.”
“… he thinks I love Blues and Mo-town music and always takes me to concerts."
“… he knows every single Clint Eastwood line and it drives me insane!”
“… loves going out all dressed up, but I just wanna quiet night in with pizza and beer sometimes.”
“… so dense and has no idea what I’m saying. He looks at me like I’m talking a foreign language or something.”
I feel a tap on my shoulder and as I peer up I see my friend the air steward again. I look up expecting him to say that I’m annoying the other passenger or something.
“Sir, we’ve landed.”
“Landed? Already?” I look past the guy next to me and realise that yes, we have indeed landed. Oh fuck, that means I’ve been talking non stop since we took off. Fuck!
“We’ve stopped bumping?”
“We stopped bumping ages ago.” The guy with a Texan accent replies.
Oh god, I just realise now what happened on the plane, I have been babbling off my head for the last few hours and he didn’t even stop me. Oh god, I told him about my sex life.
“You should have stopped me.”
“That would have proven difficult, you were on a roll.” A tiny smile quirks his lips as he stands up.
“You should have really stopped me.” I try to lighten the mood.
“Don’t worry about it, we all say odd things when we’re worried. Gut reaction.” He grabs his bag from the floor and swings it over his shoulder. “You gonna be alright from here?”
“Ill be fine. Thanks. Have a nice day.”
---
By the time I’ve grabbed my things and got off the plane I feel slightly better, but the whole journey was a blur. I am so happy that I on firm ground again. If I wasn’t already so embarrassed I’d go hug a pillar or something. Seriously. I sit down on one of those plastic hard chairs and run my fingers through my hair, it’s all matted. So much for Mr Cool Businessman.
“Jense!” I hear my name being called from a distance as I walk through Arrivals. But surely there’s other guys called Jensen or there’s the idea that I could be hearing things. My ears may not have popped yet.
“Jensen!” I look up confused and there has to be some mistake.
Is that?
No way.
It is.
It’s Tom.
Looking gorgeous as always, he’s wearing a dark shirt and jeans on. His dark hair is still damp from the shower and he’s walking towards me. He looks worried. Why would he be worried? What the hell is he doing here? If I was confused before I am past confused right now. Befuddled. That’s probably the closest word for what I am right now.
“I thought something had happened. I called the airline and they said that the flight would be delayed cause you ran into turbulence and then an ambulance appeared and I thought… I didn’t know what to think.”
“Can you just take me home? My head’s splitting and I feel disgusting.”
“Jensen,” Tom holds my gaze and looks at me intently. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”
I nod my head mutely wondering what on earth it is. Oh god. He wants me to come out to my parents. Or get married. Oh god.
“I was hoping that we’d move in together.”
Oh. I am such an idiot. The plane must have fried some more brain cells or something.
“Jensen? What d’ya say?”
“Well…” My train of thought gets lost somewhere between the reason I like Tom and the things I said on the plane. Did what I said mean anything? They can’t have.
Of course they didn’t. I was just worried and stressed. People get stressed all the time. Moving in seems the normal thing to do. It’s what boyfriends do.
“Tom, didn’t you have a golf game?”
“Yeah, but I cancelled.”
I feel a stupid grin cover my face. Tom loves golf, adores it even and he cancelled the game just to pick me up from the airport.
“Let’s move in together.” I tug on the front of his shirt and kiss him hard.
---
Next morning I wake up in Tom’s bed with last night’s sex still fresh in my mind. I turn over in bed and wince at the throbbing pain and dried come in my ass. I really should have got cleaned up before I fell asleep, the next day clean up is a chore.
After a warm shower I feel slightly more human. I make my way to the kitchen in my bathrobe to have my morning cup of coffee and a bagel. As always Tom is there, fresh and ready with his hair combed and suit pressed greeting me with a cup of coffee.
“Morning Jen.” He leans down to greet me with a kiss and grabs my ass through the bath robe. I bat it away and remind him playfully that my ass is sore. “I promise I’ll make it up to you.”
I grab a bagel and smother some cream cheese on it while I go through my emails on the computer. There’s a few from my mom, some from my dad, one from Chad to remind me of the birthday dinner for my mum and then some junk mail asking if I wanna make my dick bigger. The plane conversation blares in my head again and I shut the laptop hastily.
Tom walks in and sits on the other side of the table, he’s got that look on his face again. The look that says ‘I have an idea and you may not like it.’ “Jensen, you know how we always said that we’d have no secrets.”
“Yes.” I reply apprehensively.
“There’s something I wanted to say to you.”
Oh god, what is it now? Probably more common couple stuff or something. Or he wants to get kinky and introduce some stuff into our sex life. Like bondage or something. I’ve always wanted to try it out.
“Well, the thing is,” Tom continues, he’s looking at the table and picking at the coaster. “I wanted to know what we’d call each other now. I want to call you my ‘life partner.’”
Huh. I guess bondage is off limits then. Life partner? It makes us sound like we’re old and wrinkly. What happened to boyfriend?
“Er, okay. Life partner.” I will not laugh. I will not laugh. I will not- Oh hell.
Tom looks back up at me with a hurt look across his face. Oh god I feel bad now. “What’s wrong?” he asks
I stifle my immediate reaction and try to keep solemn. “It just… doesn’t feel right. I mean, it might grow on me. Or whatever.”
“But this is important to us. I mean we’re in an adult relationship Jen, not some high school fling.”
I nod in agreement. “I know. Just… gimme time to get used to it.”
Tom’s face lights up again and he’s smiling. “Course. Have fun at the dinner with your parents. I’ll see ya later.” He pulls me in for another kiss and I can taste coffee and chocolate on his lips. As he walks out the door he waves and winks at me.
Life partners.
It should be easy.
Life partners.
See, easy as pie.
Oh hell.
---
As I walk into my front door I am greeted with the loud blaring of music. You would think that living with Steve since high school I would be used to it by now. But the noise never ceases to make me jump and occasionally drop something. I walk in and see Steve on the floor surrounded by sheets and sheets of music, his Bluetooth attached to his ear, his guitar on the floor to his right, a can of Red Bull on his left and his laptop on his crossed legs.
He nods at me in acknowledgement as I walk into my room and pull on some clothes for work. By the time I get out the Red Bull can is crumpled up and Steve is scribbling away on a piece of paper with one hand and tapping away on his laptop with the other. Talk about multitasking.
“Hey Steve.” I grab my second cup of coffee and perch on the unoccupied side of the sofa as to keep away from the wrath of Steve at work.
“Hey Jen.”
“So, what are you up to? A new deal?”
“Not really. I got this band right? And they stupidly got themselves into some legal shit by copying some music from another band. So right now I am up to my ears in lawyers and long words and a nanometer away from killing them.”
“Ouch, so what you gonna do?”
“Well, if all else fails I’ll make them plead insanity. I’m sure it’ll work.”
“To be honest Steve, it was all your own doing. You should have made sure that you went through the contract clauses with them properly” says a voice from the doorway.
And in comes my other roommate Chris Kane, he’s a fashion designer and owns his own clothing line for swimwear and underwear. He’s probably the only person in this apartment who has a decent job and earns enough.
Steve turns around to glare at him and throws a pen at him. “Just because you have a whole bunch of lawyers who are paid billions to do their job, doesn’t mean that I have the same.”
“Whatever. And who took my leather jacket? I can’t find it anywhere.”
The other thing about living with Chris is that he gets armloads of clothes when he goes to his fashion shows and photo shoots. No kidding, he has the biggest and most extravagant wardrobe ever. I am sure I saw Steve wearing the aforementioned leather jacket to a record meeting a few weeks back.
“No idea.” I reply
“Don’t look at me.” Steve adds.
I can feel Chris’ eyes making holes in the back of my head; he glares at us once more before grabbing his cell and denim jacket off the desk. “Don’t think I won’t find out. I know my clothes very well.”
As the front door closes I turn to Steve questioningly.
“Shit,” Steve says. “I left it at the recording studio. Oh well, I’ll get it when I go in next.”
Okay, so Steve and I both borrow Chris’ clothes sometimes but we always put them back in clean and pristine. Anyway, it’s basic roommate right to borrow clothes, I’m sure there’s a constitutional law about it somewhere.
“Anyway, he owes me for getting the band to play at his fashion show last month. Did you know that he didn’t even say thanks? Ungrateful bastard. Jen, what you doing later on? Wanna go grab some beers?”
“I can’t. I got my parents anniversary dinner later on.”
“Oh,” Steve’s face is an epitome of apology. “Good luck.”
“Believe me I’m gonna need it.”
---
The subway ride to my parent’s house is busy as hell and I’m sitting on the train next to woman wearing perfume so strong that I am positive that I’ve burnt my nostrils. Then there’s this guy opposite me who has the most annoying staring habit and keeps staring at me like he can see through my clothes. Wait, my fly isn’t undone again is it? I glance down briefly and breathe a sigh of relief when I don’t Little Jensen peeking out again.
I make list in my head of things that I need to do:
I will:
• Keep calm in Chad’s presence
• Resist the urge to throw anything at him
• Ignore anything that Chad’s wife Kenzie will say and resist the urge to strangle her too
I will not:
• Get angry and storm out
• Scream at anyone like last time
Mum and Dad used to live nearer to me but when Chad and his wife got a house in the suburbs, they convinced my parents to move away from home. Which means that they see each other all the time much to my dismay. As I walk into the house I can see Chad and dad sitting on the couch watching a game, they’re both shouting at the TV and have beers in their hands.
“Happy Anniversary.” I give my mum a kiss and tap knuckles with my dad as I pass through my house. In the kitchen Kenzie is sitting with mum preparing dinner and drinking white wine. As I look at them I realize they look more like mother and daughter than anything else, Kenzie managed to get mum to highlight her hair and wear more fashionable clothes. So now, all I can see two heads of blonde hair and bright tops covering tanned skin.
My sister Mackenzie is sitting in one corner with a book in one hand and a beer in the other. Always the moody one she’s glaring daggers at Kenzie and ignoring anything she says.
“Hey Mack,” I perch myself on the edge of the sofa she’s sitting on and peer over to find her reading a book on feminism; the topic of most of her arguments with Kenzie.
“Hey Jenny,” she reaches over and hugs me tight and then whispers in my ear. “Kenzie’s been such a bitch I swear I am so glad you’re here. Someone non- plastic for a change. I’ve missed you so much!.”
I laugh at her expression and reach down to give her another hug. “Missed you too.”
By the time we sit down to dinner Chad and Kenzie seem to have slaughtered my life; from my job to my choice in girlfriends and where I live.
“Jensen, I can’t believe you live in an apartment. If you want I can sort something out with an estate agent.”
I stop myself from throwing my fork at Chad just in time. No one knows this but when I was fresh out of high school I went to Chad for a job in his firm. He flat out refused and even had the nerve to send out a standard rejection letter. “No thanks. I like where I’m living plus I share it with Steve and Chris.”
Kenzie wrinkles her nose in disgust. “You still live with that hippy Steve?” She shudders dramatically and turns to her husband in question. “Didn’t you go to one of his concerts once? Chad said that his music was the wrong side of country. Also, did you know he was gay?”
My mum is shaking her head in worry and my dad looks like he’s gonna have an aneurysm. I keep my mouth shut in fear of my life, I am nowhere near ready to tell my parents that I’m gay.
“I don’t understand it,” mum says. “How can you be so… so… blasphemous…”
I ignore the droning that is this conversation and keep my head down for the next 20 minutes. The next item of talk seems to be my job. Again.
“So Jensen,” Chad takes a sip of his wine. “What you working as now?”
“Still in marketing Chad”
“That’s good, I think it’s the longest job you’ve held down. You know the key to a good businessman is his dress sense. See, I always wear designer suit, pressed and ironed perfectly. It shows that I am in control, that I care about how I look so they assume that I care about how I conduct my business.”
Mum nudges me in the ribs and points to Chad lovingly. “You should take pointers love, you might get that promotion you were after.”
Kenzie’s shrill laughter breaks the conversation. “Oh Aunt Donna. Chad’s only giving advice, he’s not a miracle worker.”
“Shut up Kenzie, all you do is hang on Chad’s side like arm candy. You wouldn’t work for your own money; probably afraid that you’ll break a nail.” Mackenzie says angrily.
Me and Mack are real tight, always looking out for each other and making sure we can get through life in one piece. I hurriedly remove myself from the dining table and I can hear Mack and Kenzie arguing about the role of women in the modern world and the way in which egotistical men are making women live in a male dominant world.