JC rolled over in bed and reached for Jennifer in his sleep.  His arm hit something soft, and pulling it closer, he gave it a squeeze, thinking it was her.  He breathed deeply, expecting to smell Jennifer’s scent, but instead, he smelled something like laundry.  Frowning, he opened his eyes a bit to find out he was alone in bed, hugging a pillow.  “Jennifer?” he called out quietly.  He sat up, rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, and looked around the room.

Jennifer stood near the window, looking out over the backyard.  Lost in her own thoughts, she didn’t hear JC climb out of bed and walk towards her.

“Jennifer,” he said again, stopping to stand right behind her.  He checked the clock on the wall and said, “Sweetheart, it’s five-thirty in the morning.  What are you doing up so early?”

“I couldn’t sleep,” she answered, keeping her eyes aimed out the window.

“Are you all right?  Do you want to talk about anything?”

“That’s okay.  I’m fine,” she said in a low voice.

“No, you’re not; I can hear it in your voice.  Come on, sweetie, tell me what’s wrong.”

She sighed and rested her forehead on the cool glass.  “I’m meeting with Dave today, remember?”

“Yeah.”  I wish that bastard would never have called.  He stepped closer to her and placed his hands lightly on her shoulders.  She jerked involuntarily, then settled down and placed her hands over his.

“Sorry, sweetie, I guess I’m just a little nervous.”

“It’s okay.”  I could kill him for making her feel like this.  He began to rub her shoulders.  “You don’t have to do this, you know.”

“I know I don’t have to, but I feel like I need to.  He won’t go away unless I get rid of him, you know what I mean?”

“Yeah, I understand…it’s just…I don’t like seeing you like this.”

“Like how?”  She turned to look at him.

“Tense…nervous…I mean, look, you jumped when I touched you.  That’s never happened before, and I hate knowing that my touch can startle you.”

“It wasn’t your touch, JC.  You know I love it when you do touch me.  I guess I was just remembering…”

“That was in the past, Jennifer,” he said, cutting her off.  “This is now.  We’re together, and Dave is in your past.  Forget him.  He never deserved you.”

“I know that…now.  But you have to understand that I’m going to be facing my past today.”  She took his hands and walked with him to the couch in the sitting area.  When they sat, she continued.  “Meeting with Dave is going to bring back a lot of old memories, both good and bad.  Yeah, this is now, but I can’t forget what happened back then.  It’s part of who I am now…it’s part of who you fell in love with.”

Jennifer’s words hit home.  JC closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers.  “I’m trying to understand, really I am.  It’s just…” He paused, searching for the right words.  “I guess I’m scared.”

“Scared of what?”  Frowning, Jennifer pulled back and tilted his face to meet hers.

“I don’t know…” He opened his eyes to look into hers.  “I don’t want him to hurt you again.  Don’t be angry, but…Derrick told me about how Dave tried to…”

“Oh, God,” she choked out.  “He told you?”

“Yes, but don’t be mad at Derrick,” he said in a rush.  “He was only doing what he thought was the right thing to do.”

“I’m not mad about that.  I just didn’t want to remember that particular incident, that’s all.”

“I’m sorry it ever happened.  I wish I could go back in time just so I could take this guy on when he tried to…hurt you.  It infuriates me when I think of what he might have done if Kathy and Derrick hadn’t come in when they did.  I mean, God, Jennifer, he could have…”

She stopped him by wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him close.  “Shh…let’s not think about that.  He can’t hurt me ever again.”

“How can you be so sure of that?”

“I lived through that nightmare, JC.  If I can survive that hellish relationship, I can survive anything.”

“You’re a strong woman, Jennifer.”

“My strength comes from your love, JC.”

Hearing those words, he kissed her gently, then pulled her into his lap.  She tucked his head under her chin, and there they sat, holding each other close, as the sun rose into the morning sky.

**

JC had fallen back asleep with Jennifer on his lap.  His head rested on her chest as she stroked his hair and sang quietly to him.  After a few minutes, Jennifer heard a soft knock on her door.  “Come in,” she called out in a low voice, hoping she didn’t wake JC.

Kathy tiptoed in and looked toward the bed.  When she didn’t see anyone, she whispered, “Jen?  Where are you?”

“Over here.”  Jennifer gestured for Kathy to come to the sitting area.

“Sorry to bother you,” she said, coming over to sit down.  Noticing JC sleeping, she smiled.  “He can sleep anywhere, can’t he?”

Jennifer giggled softly.  “Guess so.  What’s up?”

“Oh, I just wanted to see what you wanted for breakfast, that’s all.”

“Come on, Kat, I know you were going to ask me about meeting Dave.”

“Well, yeah, but I didn’t know how to bring it up.”  Kathy gazed at her friend with a concerned look on her face.  “Are you sure this is the right thing to do?”

“It has to be.  I mean, doesn’t everyone say that you should face your problems head on?”

“Sure, but…”

“But nothing.  I can do this, Kathy.  With you and the guys there, I know I can do this.”

“You sure have guts, Jen.  I know that if I were about to meet an ex who had treated me the way Dave treated you…” Realizing what she was saying, Kathy stopped abruptly.  “Sorry.”

“No, it’s okay.  It’s true, Dave did treat me badly, but I’ve learned from it.  I’ve grown.  Yes, seeing him again will really test me, but I think I can handle it.”

“We’re just concerned for you is all.”

“I know, and I appreciate it.”  Jennifer looked down at JC’s sleeping face.  She planted a kiss on his hair and continued.  “JC and I had talked about it earlier this morning.  He…knows about what happened before.”

“How?”

“Derrick told him.”

“And are you okay with him knowing?” Kathy questioned.

“It’s probably better that he knows,” Jennifer reasoned.  “I should have told him sooner, but then he would have been dead set against me meeting Dave.”

“Of course he would.  Jen, he almost raped you.  There’s no telling what he might try when he sees you today.”

“And that’s why you guys will be in the park near us.  I can’t help it if Dave insisted on meeting me alone.”

Kathy exhaled deeply.  “Jen, can’t you see Dave was controlling you again?  He told you not to bring anyone else, and you simply agreed to it.”

“I was compromising with him.  He agreed to meet me in a public place, and so I agreed to go alone, which I’m actually not.”

“I still don’t understand why you’re going to meet with him.”

“To tell you the truth,” Jennifer confessed, “I’m not really sure why myself.  I guess I’m going so I can finally lay this thing to rest.”

Kathy stood up to stretch.  “Well, it’s your decision, and as your friend, I can only support you.”  She glanced at the wall clock.  “Wow…it’s almost nine-thirty already!”

“Are you serious?”  Jennifer tried to turn to take a look, but JC’s arms held her in place.  “Hey, I hate to ask you this, but could you make breakfast?  I don’t think I can move.”

Kathy laughed softly.  “Sure, no problem.  You take your time in prying him off.”  With one last giggle, she left the room.

Jennifer sighed and looked down at JC.  His chest rose and fell with every deep breath he took.  She ran her fingers through his hair again and kissed the top of his head.  “Sweetie,” she said under her breath.

“Hmm?” he mumbled sleepily.

“JC, honey, time to wake up.”  Boy, isn’t this a turn of events, she thought.  Me waking him up…when I’m the one who usually sleeps in on a Saturday morning.  With a chuckle, she tried to lift his head off her chest.  “Come on, JC,” she said in a labored voice, not able to get him up.

“Just five more minutes,” he muttered, rubbing his cheek against her robe.

“Oh, good Lord,” she said aloud.  She sat still for a minute, trying to think of some way to get him to wake up.  Then, her lips stretched into a wicked grin.  I know what’ll wake him up.  She slowly worked her hand down between their bodies.  “JC,” she whispered seductively in his ear.  “Wake up so I can…” Her hand reached its destination, and she began to rub his crotch.

“Mmm,” JC hummed approvingly.  He opened his eyes a bit to look at her, and she smiled back at him.  “Well, if that’s why you want to wake me up…” His fingers worked on untying her robe.

“Hold on there, sweetie,” she said, shifting to straddle his lap.  “Tell me what you want first.”

“I want to make love to you,” he murmured as he tried to untie her robe again.  “What do you want?”

“Hmm…” Jennifer pretended to think.  Raising one eyebrow, she decided to play with him.  “You want to know what I want?”

“Yes.”  He opened her robe and began kissing her between her breasts.

“You really want to know?” she asked as she played with his hair.

“Yes.”  He pulled her hips closer to him.

“Do you really?”  She teased him by moving her hips to rub against him.

“Damn it, Jennifer.”  She was driving him crazy.  “Tell me what you want.”

“Okay.”  She pushed his shoulders up and stood from his lap.  Pulling her robe together, she answered simply, “I want to eat breakfast.”  Turning quickly on her heel, she headed for her closet to get dressed.

JC sat on the couch, surprised and uncomfortably aroused.  “I can’t believe this,” he said to no one in particular.  He looked at the door to Jennifer’s closet.  “I’ll get you for this, Jennifer,” he muttered with a grin.  Then, chuckling, he stood and went to his own closet to change.

**

When Jennifer and JC reached the kitchen, they found everyone else preparing breakfast.  Kathy was flipping pancakes at the stove, Lance was slicing fruit, and Derrick was pulling various containers out of the refrigerator.  Justin, Chris, and Joey were setting the table.

Jennifer looked on in awe.  “It’s like a well-oiled machine,” she commented.  “I should hire all of you as a staff or something.”

“Ha, ha, very funny,” Lance said as he passed with a plate full of sliced melon.  Jennifer snagged a piece of cantaloupe as he went by.  “Like we would ever work for you,” he added sarcastically.

“Hey, speak for yourself, Lance,” Chris replied.  “How much do you pay, Jen?”

Jennifer laughed and answered, “Not enough.”  She looked around once more.  “Is there anything we can do to help?  Does anyone need anything?”

“I could use a kiss,” JC said.  Jennifer smiled and kissed his cheek.

“I could use a kiss, too,” Justin said under his breath, not meaning for anyone to hear him.

Jennifer did, though, and walked over to him.  “Be careful what you wish for, Justin; you just might get it.”  She raised up to kiss his cheek as well.  “And before anyone else asks…” She walked around the room, giving kisses to Joey, Lance, and Chris in turn.

Justin lifted his hand to his cheek.  Jennifer’s words ran through his head again.  ‘Be careful what you wish for; you just might get it.’  He sighed and smiled sadly.  If only that were true.

“You’re in an awfully good mood, Jen,” Derrick pointed out, “considering…”

“Yeah, I know, considering I’m going to meet Dave today.”  She sat down in the seat JC pulled out for her.  “But I figure that it’ll be more pleasant if I have a good outlook on this.”

“I still don’t like the idea of you meeting him,” JC muttered.

“None of us do,” Joey added.

“I know you guys don’t like him,” Jennifer said, “but this is my choice.  I’m doing this for my own good.  Besides, if anything happens, I know y’all will come and help me.”  She looked around the table as everyone else sat down.  “I trust you guys to support me, and I hope you guys can trust me in doing the right thing.”

“We trust you, Jen,” Justin answered.  “It’s Dave we don’t trust.”

“Well, I don’t trust him, either.  Why do you think I asked to meet him in a public place?  Why do you think I’m having you guys come along when I told him I’d meet him alone?”

“Okay, everyone,” Kathy spoke up.  “Let’s just have breakfast, and we’ll talk about this later.”

Everyone agreed, and they all settled into a more normal conversation as they ate.

**

They were all hanging out in the living room when Jennifer said, “It’s twelve-forty-five.  We should probably get going.”

“Doesn’t it take twenty-five minutes to get to the park?” Joey asked.

“Yeah, but I want him to wait.  Give him some time to think about this.”

“Good thinking,” Derrick said.

“Hold on, Jen,” Justin said.  “Didn’t you say Dave wanted to meet you alone?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Well, if we all go in the van, isn’t he going to suspect something’s up?”

“Hmm…you’re right, Justin.  How about this…I’ll drive alone in my car, and everyone else can follow me in the van?  Dave’s never seen our van, so he won’t think about it.”

Everyone decided that was a good idea, so Jennifer handed over the keys to the van to Kathy.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to ride with you?” JC asked worriedly.

“I’d like it, but I should really show up alone,” Jennifer said.  She reassured him with a kiss.  “I’ll be fine.”

“Wow,” Chris joked, trying to lighten the mood in the room.  “It’s like we’re a bunch of secret agents or something.  Should we synchronize our watches?”

Laughter broke the tension in the room, and everyone started to head for the door.

Once they were outside, everyone slipped on their sunglasses and headed for the driveway.  As the group piled into the van, JC took Jennifer by the elbow and pulled her to the side.

“Last chance to change your mind,” he told her.

She smiled and placed a hand on his cheek.  “You know I’m going to do this.”

“I know…I was just hoping, I guess.”  He smiled back at her.  “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Take care…and remember, we’ll be watching.”

“I know.”  She pulled out the keys to her car and turned to walk away.

“Wait a sec,” JC called out to her.  When she turned back around, he ran to her and kissed her deeply.  “That’s to remind you of who really loves you,” he said after they pulled apart.

She only smiled again at him.  Reaching up to stroke his cheek again, she took one long look at his face, then turned again to get into her car.  As she pulled out of the driveway, she saw JC watching her, then getting into the van.

**

Jennifer found a space near the park and pulled in.  Setting the brake, she quickly checked herself in the mirror, then thought about it.  Why am I checking how I look?  It’s not like I’m trying to impress him or anything.  Slowly, she got out of her car and walked through the gates of the park.  She noticed her friends getting out of the van and walking through another entrance.  They headed for a picnic table and sat down, as though they were going to play a game or something.  She noticed JC look at her quickly, give her a small wave, and turn his attention back to the group.  As she glanced around, she saw Dave headed toward her from the opposite direction.  Taking a deep breath, she straightened her back and strode easily toward him.  Well, here goes nothing.