AJ sat impatiently by the phone in his hotel room, waiting for Jenna to call, waiting for her to tell him it was time. She'd been out with Nick now for over two hours, and with each passing minute he grew more and more worried that she was going to back out of the plan. He knew she was weak where Nick was concerned.
He had spent the afternoon helping Jenna pack up her things and load them into his car while Nick was away. He had watched her from across the room as she did it. Silently crying to herself, thinking he didn't notice her tears.
It'll be better for her in the long run, he thought.
Now she was at dinner with Nick. A dinner he had vehemently objected to her going to, but in the end she didn't listen and was at this moment sitting with him, eating, talking, probably making up, he thought again.
The rain poured from above, thunder clapping in the distance, flickering the lights every once in awhile. Still, all he focused on was the phone, and why it wasn't ringing yet. He couldn't even watch the television, he was so wracked with anxiousness. She should have been here by now, he thought as his leg shook unconsciously.
Finally a knock sounded on the door. AJ rushed off the bed and swiftly pulled it open, breathing a sigh of relief that she was actually here. Jenna stood before him, wet and shivering. Her hair plastered to her face, looking as pale as a ghost. He pulled her into the room and led her to the chairs that sat in the center of the room, turning the heat on full blast to warm her up.
"What happened Jenny? Why are you soaked like this?" He asked as he went into the bathroom, returning with two of the big plush white towels that had been folded above the toilet.
"I did it." She said with chattering teeth as he wrapped a towel around her shoulders. "I finally told him. Then I got in a cab and left him sitting in his car. Then I came here."
"Then why are you so wet?"
"Because I couldn't come in when I got here."
"Where did you go?"
"On the beach." She said, her eyes looking away from him and outside towards the water.
"You went out on the beach in this storm? Just wearing that dress? Jenna it's like 45 degrees outside!" Jenna simply nodded. He could see her body still shivering.
"How long were you out there?" He asked, rubbing her arms through the towel, trying to warm her up.
"I don't know...maybe an hour."
"Goddamnit Jenny, no wonder you're frozen!" He yelled, getting up from the couch and storming into the bathroom. He turned on the faucets in the tub, pouring in some of the scented bottle of bubble bath that sat with the shampoo and conditioner the hotel gave him. When it was full, her returned to where Jenna sat, still staring aimlessly out the window, and ushered her into the bathroom. She was reluctant to get in, but with a little coaxing, and his assurance that he would shut his eyes while she undressed, she sat down in the bath. Bubbles surrounded her as she sunk low into the water,
"I'm gonna let you sit alone for awhile okay. Just yell if you need something."
"Thank you for being such a good friend AJ." She said as he closed the bathroom door behind him. A wave of guilt swept through him. He was anything but a good friend.
He was curled on the end of a bed watching a movie he'd bought when she emerged wrapped in the robe he'd given her. Her color had come back, and she didn't seem like she was in as much of a daze.
"Warm now?" He asked from his perch on the bed, sitting up and muting the television.
"Very." She replied, digging into the bag she had AJ bring to the hotel with him, pulling out her brush.
"Here, let me." He said as she began brushing out her wet hair. She obliged and sat down in between his legs on the end of the bed. When they were a couple brushing or drying her hair had always been a guilty pleasure of his, allowing him to experience a small intimate moment with her. The smell of her shampoo, the feel of her hair between his fingers. It was just one of those things he couldn't explain, and something he couldn't do to anyone but her. Something he thought he'd never have the chance to do again.
He could feel her tension releasing as his fingers went through her hair. Gently combing out any knots. He leaned a little closer to smell her, the little musky scent of the bubble bath lingering on her skin. She didn't stop him when he moved closer and his lips brushed against the soft flesh of her neck, his hand trailing along the collar of the robe, caressing her shoulder. She still didn't stop him when he moved around to the foot of the bed, running his hand through her still damp hair one more time before kissing her gently on the lips. His heart pounded in his chest with the familiarity of her kiss, like long lost love reunited.
She accepted the kiss and those that followed, touching him like she had when they were together. As if time hadn't passed.
A sweet release leaving his body, knowing happiness was now his.