Through Sophie's Eyes: Chapters 5 and 6

Chapter 5

We meet again

            It was a Monday.  Another day another dollar.  Considering the lousy weekend I had I was surprised to find that I woke up rather chipper in the morning.  Usually I was not much of a morning person.  I guess I just happened to wake up on the right side of the bed.  Even Lacey gave me a surprised look when I walked into work ready and raring to go.  I was even humming a happy tune to myself as I strolled in.

“Did I miss something?” Lacey asked me with a concerned look. “Should I be worried?

I gave her a smile and said, “No Lace, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” she asked.

“Yes, I’m sure.  I just have a feeling today is going to be a good day.  Can’t I just be in a good mood?”  I gave her a questioning look.

“Considering what happened on the weekend, no.” She raised one eyebrow. “Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?” She asked looking at me like I wasn’t real.

“Seriously, Lace, I’m good.  It’s still me in here.” I told her pointing to my head.

“I guess so.  It’s just not like you to be so perky in the morning.”  She stated.

“I know but we’re all allowed to have our moments right?” I questioned as I looked her in eyes.

“Yeah. Alright I’ll let it slide this time.  But I’m watching you. Now let’s get this show on the road.”  She said excitedly. 

            Lacey gave me the day's rundown.  I had two clients modeling a new clothing line.  She also said that the magazine was doing an article for business men fashion and picked some successful “suit” to pose for the pictures.  I hoped he wasn’t stuck up.  Lacey had misplaced his name and spent most of the morning looking for it.  While she did that I just started with my first shots for the day as always.  I was glad the first two clients were cooperative and professional.  They were very nice to work with and we all had fun too.  They definitely kept my good mood intact cracking jokes and stuff.  A few hours later and we were done.  Lacey and I set up for the next shoot.

            Our next client for the business man shoot was late.  Lacey still didn’t know his name.  I tried to keep perky but my patience was running thin.  Everything was all set up and ready except for the guy who was suppose to be in it.  It was going on a half an hour late.  It was a good thing there was no other clients after him.  I was starting to get the impression he was going to be a snob after all.  He was going to be one of those people who liked to be fashionably late.  No pun intended.  Then again maybe I shouldn’t judge before I meet him. There was probably a perfectly logical explanation why he was late….or not. 

“Whatever you’re thinking, don’t think.”  I heard Lacey chime behind me.

I turned in her direction.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”  I said simply.  As much as I played coy I knew Lacey knew me too well.  She prides herself on seeing right through me.

“Uh huh.”  She mused.

I mustered a little laugh. 

            It was now going on 45 minutes.  I was pacing the floor while I chewed on one of my finger nails.  Just relax I told myself.  It was a good happy day and nothing was going to ruin that. As I gave myself that pep talk I heard some commotion by the front door.

“Who is that sexy drink of water that just walked in?  Please tell me that’s the guy.  Damn, I still don’t know his name.”  Lacey said practically drooling at the sight of the guy.  I giggled at the sight of her dumfounded face.  Then I turned to see for myself what she was mesmerized by.

            My breath caught in my throat and I couldn’t believe my eyes.  Was I seeing things or was that really who I thought it was?  I looked harder in anticipation.  It was. It was JD.  I hadn’t seen him in like 5 years.  What was he doing here?  Was he the guy I was supposed to photograph for the article? You had to be kidding me.  What was I supposed to do?  What was I supposed to say?  Would he recognize me?  Ok, I needed to stop asking so many questions to myself and get it together.  When I looked up he was walking toward us. I hid behind Lacey.

“Oh my goodness!”  I gasped.

Lacey finally snapped out of her trance. “What? What’s wrong?  Why are you hiding?” She questioned.

I tried to find my voice,” That’s JD!”

“JD? Who’s JD?” she started, “Wait a minute. As in your JD, JD?”  She asked in shock.

“Shh! Yea.”  I whispered quickly.

She looked back at him.  “Why didn’t you tell me he was hot?” She had to ask.

I gave her a dirty look.

“Oh man!  What do I do?”  Why I asked Lacey that question I had no idea.

“What do you mean what do you do?  Go say hi!”  She urged me.

“No way!  I haven’t seen him in like forever.  I wouldn’t know what to say.  Just hide me.  No, wait.  I have to go to the bathroom.”   I gave Lacey my camera as I started walking away.  “You take the pictures.  I’ll be back in an hour.” I said quickly to her as I pretty much ran to the bathroom.

“Sophie! Get back here!” I heard her yell as I disappeared around the corner.

I got to the bathroom before she could catch up to me.  What was I doing?  I saw my best friend for the first time in how many years and I wound up fleeing to the bathroom.  Who does that?  Why was I freaking out?  Be a woman Sophie I told myself.  Get a hold of yourself.  Why was I so nervous?  This was JD.  This was the guy that knew every inch of me, the guy I grew up with.  Ok I was just overreacting.  It was all going to be fine when I went back out there.  I tried to make a move for the door but I was frozen in place.  I took some deep breaths and fixed myself up a bit before facing him.

            Lacey finally caught up with my a few minutes later. “What are you doing Soph?  Get your booty out there and work your magic.  You know this guy.  What’s the problem?” She asked genuinely concerned.

“I don’t know. My nerves just got the best of me I guess.” I told her.

“Why?  Aren’t you guys just friends.  Usually friends don’t get nervous with each other. It’s almost like you got a thing for this guy or something.”  She insinuated.

“What? No way, definitely not.”  I answered sounding a little awkward.

Lacey looked at me through the mirror with an evil glint in her eyes. “You totally do!” She assumed.

“No really I don’t.  It’s just weird seeing him after so long.  We haven’t even talked to each other since that email situation.  Now all of a sudden he shows up in person out of nowhere. And it’s at my job no less. It’s just weird.” I informed her.

“Right,” She said in a disbelieving tone.  She also gave me one of those looks where I can’t tell what she’s thinking and it bugs the hell out of me. “You can do this girl.  It will all be ok.  I’ll be by your side the whole time, ok?” She assured me.

“Ok, I’m ready now.” I lied.  I wasn’t ready but I had to be.  There was no time for nonsense.  I’m a professional and will act as such. 

As we walked out of the ladies room Lacey walked behind me with her hands on my shoulders. “Alright, we’re good.  Go team!!” She rooted trying to ease my nerves.  She was officially my cheerleader for the day. I laughed at the thought of it.  I just couldn’t picture Lacey being a cheerleader.  She was more of the too cool for school type. 

My thoughts were thwarted as we reached our destination. I looked around and saw no sign of JD.  Maybe he left.  Maybe he wasn’t in the photo shoot after all. 

“Where did he go?”  I heard Lacey ask behind me.

I was a little relieved but also a little disappointed.  As much as I freaked when I saw him it still would have been nice to get to talk to him and see how he was doing.

            I turned to face Lacey and just shrugged my shoulders.  I was about to say something to her when she smiled at me with a little too much satisfaction in her eyes.  My body stiffened.

“Excuse me?”  A deep voice spoke behind me.

“I’m really sorry I’m late but the traffic on the way here was horrendous.”

I still didn’t turn around.

“I hope I didn’t cause too much of a hassle for you ladies.” He said.

“No not at all.”  Lacey told the man as she looked over my shoulder.  All I could do was stare at her like a deer caught in headlights.  She mouthed to me to turn around and I just shook my head no to her.  She gave me a stern look that reminded me of my mom.  I furrowed my eyebrows.

“That’s good to hear.”  He said. “Well, they sent me straight to wardrobe when I got here so I’m ready whenever you are.”

Ok Soph just move.  Use your legs and turn around I said to myself.  Slowly but surely I started to move.  I finally turned to face my old friend.  He was looking down when I was fully turned.  Just then I felt a little faint and hoped that maybe somehow he wouldn’t recognize me.  It wasn’t possible but I still hoped.

“Do…” he started to say as he looked up.

He looked absolutely amazing.  The last time I saw him he could barely grow facial hair.  Now he was all grown up and still as beautiful as ever if not more. As soon as he looked up and saw me he smiled that big bright smile of his and the realization hit him.

“Oh my goodness!” He started. “Sophia Mckenzie.  I can’t believe it!”  His blue eyes sparkled with delight.

I stifled a giggle. “Jayden Daniels.” That’s all that passed through my lips.

“Well, give me a hug girl!”  He said excitedly as he grabbed me and gave me a huge bear hug lifting me off the ground. “It’s so good to see you Soph!” he confessed.

“Yea, you too! How have you been?”  I asked finally finding my voice.

“Pretty good.” He replied. “What about you?”

“Good. Really good.” I gave him a smirk as I replied.

“So you work for the fashion mag, huh?” He asked.

“Yep, I’m the official photographer.” I stated proudly. “What about you?  You a business man now I see.”  As the conversation grew my nerves eased up and I got more comfortable.  It was like old times.

“Yea, it keeps me busy.”  He explained. “I missed you.  It’s weird not having your scrawny, annoying butt around.” He teased.

I heard Lacey slightly giggle behind me. I rolled my eyes.

“You know it’s hard to believe, but I think I missed you too.  You and your witty, sarcastic banter. I always took it upon myself to ignore your mindless comments.” I said acting serious.

Thirty seconds later we both busted out laughing.

“Eh hem.” Lacey noised.

“Oh um, JD, this is my friend Lacey.  She also works here.” I introduced them.

She immediately stepped in and shook JD’s hand. “Nice to meet you JD.” She said.

“Nice to meet you too Lacey.” JD waited for her to stop shaking his hand.  She lingered for a minute.

“Uh Lacey?” I interrupted.

“Oh.” She let his hand go. “Sorry I got lost there for a second.” I gave her a weird look. She shrugged innocently.

“Ok well we should get started.” I announced. I grabbed my water bottle to take a sip.

“Right,” JD said, “where do you want me?”

“I could think of a few places.” Lacey said under her breath.  It was unfortunate that she was standing in front of me. After her comment I couldn’t hold it in and the water that was once in my mouth spit out all over her.  We all just kind of stood there wide eyed.

As Lacey attempted to wipe the water off of her face she confessed, “I guess I needed that.”

I just shook my head at her and she walked off the clean herself up.

“Is it always this interesting here?” JD asked curiously. “Cause if it is I definitely would want to be a part of it.”

“Yea pretty much.” I answered laughing. “O my gosh, I feel so bad for doing that to her.”

“Don’t worry. She needed it remember.” He stated with a wink.

“She will get me back for this. You know that right?” I informed him as I started taking his picture.

“I look forward to seeing that.” He smiled evilly.

            As the shoot went on, Lacey lingered in the background looking a little grim.  I tried to avoid the daggers she was throwing my way.  I also was extra careful not to fall into a trap she may have laid out for me to get back at me.  After a while JD helped me forget about her eyes on me.  We had a good time working together.  We reminisced about the past and shared details of our recent lives.  We got to catch up a little between takes.  We were in our own little world. 

I turned to Lacey at one point and this time she looked different.  It wasn’t so much the “get you back look.” It was more of a curious look.  I had a feeling she was over analyzing every word and every move JD and I made.  She liked to know everything that went on around her straight to the last detail.  I couldn’t imagine what was cooking up in her mind at that moment.  I just tried to ignore her once again. 

            Before I knew it the shoot was over.  As JD went to go change out of wardrobe, Lacey came up to me.  She just looked me up and down knowingly.

“Remember what you told me earlier today?” I gave her a warning glare. “Whatever you’re thinking, don’t think.” I used her words against her.

“Sorry but the thoughts have already been analyzed.” She warned me. She looked over my shoulder. “We’ll talk more later, missy.” She said with a wink and strode to the other side of the room.

JD came out of wardrobe back into his own clothes.

“So Soph, I was thinking maybe we could go out for drinks or something one of these days and catch up more.  How bout it?” He asked with a hopeful smile.

“Sure, sounds good to me.” I smiled back.

            We exchanged phone numbers and parted ways.  It turned out to be a better day than I expected.  No wonder I woke up happy. My best friend came back into my life and it looked like he was there to stay for a long while.  I guess we’ll just have to see what happens.

Chapter 6

            I was surprised when I heard from JD the next afternoon.  I figured he was busy and probably wouldn’t have called me for a while.  I guess I was wrong.  We wound up setting up a dinner date for that Friday night.  Of course when Lacey heard about it and Friday came, she insisted on coming over to help me get ready.

“Here, let me see this on you.”  Lacey demanded as she threw another outfit at me.  I had changed like three times already for her.

“Lace, I still don’t understand why you had to come and help me get ready.” I said

She turned to look at me and said, “Because I figured you need help to get ready for your date.  I’m trying to help you look good girl.” 

“Lace, it’s not a date.  It’s just two friends who haven’t seen each other for a long time just catching up.” I told her.

“Are you serious?  The boy is fine as hell.  I don’t care if your “just friends.”  That’s what they all say and then, BAM, more happens.  Plus, you should always look good when you’re going out anyway.  You never know who you’ll run into if it doesn’t work out between you two.” She droned.

“I have no clue what you’re talking about, crazy, but whatever.” I replied.

She just rolled her eyes and kept looking through my closet.  I could not believe Lacey thought that JD and I would ever be more than friends.  It was a crazy thought.

“Oh yea, this is the one!”  Lacey yelled excitedly from inside my closet.

“What?”  I asked.

She came out with a short denim skirt in her hands.

“You buggin.” I said quickly. “I am not a skirt girl.”

“Then why is it even in your closet?  Come on, it’s cute.”  She said with a puppy dog look on her face.

“I don’t want to be uncomfortable.”  I said to her with a pleading look.

“Please, just try it on?”  She asked innocently.

“Fine.” I said a bit annoyed.  I grabbed from her and put in on just for kicks.  I actually didn’t look half bad but I still wasn’t sure if I should wear it.  As I showed Lacey I knew it was already decided for me.

“That’s it! You’re wearing it! Now let’s find you a top.”  Lacey announced.

I laughed slightly at her excitement.  I wasn’t going to fight with her so I kept the skirt on.

“Okay, well we need to speed it up a bit.  JD’s going to be here in a half hour.” I informed her.

“Crap, ok. Give me a sec.”  She said.

            After about five minutes of searching she found a shirt for me to wear.  It was a simple tank top and a sweater to go over it.  As soon as I was changed Lacey attacked my face with makeup.  I could have done it myself but she loved doing this stuff.  I sat there patiently letting her do her thing.  She was done in 15 minutes.

“There, all done.  You look marvelous!” She smiled with satisfaction.

“Thank you darling.” I responded. “Now you should probably skedaddle because he’s going to be here any minute.”

“Damn, that’s cold girl.  After all I did for you you’re just going to kick me out like that?”  Lacey said overdramatically.  Just as she finished her rant the door bell rang.  She grinned widely as she grabbed me and was practically pushing me toward the door.

“Go!” She screamed in a whisper.

“I’m going, I’m going. Quit pushing!” I whispered back. I got to the door and opened it.  There stood JD with a single rose in his hand.

“Hi.” He said as he handed me the rose.

“Thanks JD.” I said with a smile.  I was a little surprised by the small gesture.  He was just being nice as always.

“You look great.” He said simply. “You ready to go?” He questioned.

Before I answered I wondered where Lacey was.  I looked around and she was nowhere to be found.

“Everything okay?” JD asked curiously.

I gave him an awkward smile. “Yea everything’s fine.  Just give me a minute.  Why don’t you have a seat on the couch?  I’ll be right back.”  I told him.  I walked around quickly.

“Lacey,” I whispered, “Where are you?”

“Psst.” I heard from the kitchen.

“Lace?” I questioned.  I walked in and there she was sitting comfortably at the table with a drink in hand.

“What are you doing?” I whispered.

“I was thirsty.” She said innocently.

I gave her a weird look.

“What?” She asked as she took a sip.

“Shouldn’t you be going home?” I asked.

“Nope, I’m staying over tonight.  I’ve got nothing to do and when you get back I want to hear every detail.  I’ll live vicariously through you tonight.” She looked at me knowingly.

My eyes were wide. “Fine, see you later weirdo.” I said.

“You love me.” I heard her whisper as I left the room.

“Yea, yea.” I said back.

She just giggled and I shook my head slightly. When I walked into the living room JD stood up.

“Let’s go.” I said.

“You good?” He asked.

“Yea.” I said.

“Alright then.”  He said.

            We were on our way to the restaurant.  Simple was always good for us so we decided to go to a BBQ place. The ride there was a bit quiet.  We both just sat there listening to the radio.  Every once in a while we looked over at each other and smirked.  It was about a ten minute ride there.  Once we got inside and to our seats I was wondering when the silence would end. 

“So,” JD started.  I was a little startled when he spoke but was glad he broke the silence instead of me.

“Um.” He faltered a little.  Then we looked at each other and laughed.

“This is a little awkward, huh?”  He stated the obvious. 

“Just a little.” I admitted.

“Well, how’s your life been?” He asked.

“Pretty good so far. College was a little rough but I got through it.  Now I have my favorite job in the world and my own place so everything turned out pretty well.  What about you?”  I asked.

“Well, I had a little rough spot when college started but just like you, I survived.  I’m doing well with the job too.  I’m actually really glad they transferred me to NY.  Now I get to live closer to my family and also closer to you again.  So I can’t really complain.”  He explained.  I blushed a little at the ‘closer to you’ comment but quickly brushed it off.

“That’s good to hear.” I said with a smile. “So, got any interesting stories to tell? What about your love life?  Any special ladies over the years?” I asked interested.

“Well, in college I pretty much dated around.  There was one girl that was pretty serious for a while but that didn’t last.  So yea no one really too special came into my life.  Plus once I started working I focused on that more than anything.” He explained.

“So there’s no one in your life right now?” I asked.

“Nope” He answered with a sigh. “What about you? I bet you had to beat guys off with a stick over the years.”  He smiled.

 “Not really.” I said blushing.

“Oh come on that’s not possible.” He said a bit shocked.

“Well I had one serious relationship.  It lasted about a year.”  I confessed.

“See, so what happened?” He asked.

“He cheated on me.” I said plainly.

He hesitated before speaking. “O, I’m sorry.” He looked at me sincerely. “Do you want me to hurt him?”  He asked with a little anger in his face.

I laughed, “No, its ok.”

“I’m serious.  Give me his name. I know people.”  He said.

“JD, don’t worry about it. I could take care of myself.”  I smiled to him.

He looked at me curiously. “What did you do?”  JD asked.

“Nothing.” I lied.

“Sophia Rose…..” He started.

“Okay okay.  There is no need for full names here.” I interrupted.

“So…” he urged me to continue.

“Lacey went to his dorm, threw a pie in his face, and kicked him in the junk.” I said quickly and innocently.

JD just looked at me with wide eyes and started laughing hysterically.  I couldn’t help but join in.

“Wow,” he said, “Your friend Lacey seems like a pretty interesting person.” He laughed.

“Yea, she’s definitely a piece of work.”  I told him.

“How did you girls meet?” JD asked.

“She was my roomie in college.  We just hit it off right away and have been friends ever since. She’s probably the only girl I’ve ever met that I actually get along with. I think it’s because she’s crazy but I still love her.”  I smiled.

“It’s great to hear you made a good friend.”  JD said.

“What about you?” I asked him.

“Oh, just my buddy Jessie.  You kind of know him.” He said.

“Wait, not Jessie Lawrence from High school?” I asked.

“Yep.” JD said.

“I thought you guys didn’t like each other?” I asked.

“Well, we ran into each other at college.  I didn’t even know he was going there.  We both figured we didn’t know anybody else so we started hanging out. Turns out we had a lot more in common than we thought.” JD said.

“Interesting.” I said a little surprised.  I’ve never had a problem with Jessie but for some reason him and JD never really got along in high school.  They were always rivals.  It’s weird how things change once people grow up.

“You know I think him and your crazy friend Lacey should meet.  They seem like they would hit it off.” JD suggested.

“Oh really? Maybe we should arrange that.  That way she’ll leave me alone for a while.” I laughed.

“Just let me know when you two are free and we could make arrangements.” He said with a laugh.

“Sounds good.”  I said.  I couldn’t wait to tell Lacey about this.  She would probably be all excited about it.

“So how’s your family missy?  How’s mom and gram?”  He asked.

“They’re good.  My mom has actually been dating someone for quite a while now.”  I informed him.

“Wow, really?  Good for her. Have you met the guy?” 

“Yea I have.  He’s actually pretty great.  I’m happy for her.”  I said happily.

“That’s good.  I’ll have to meet him some time.”  He said.

“Yea definitely.  What about your family?  How are your parents?  I hope Sam is doing okay without me around for him to ogle.”  I joked.

“They’re good.  I don’t know about Sam though.  He has become quite the ladies man.  I think he still thinks about you though.  Wait until he sees you now.  I’m sure he fall all over you just like always.”  JD laughed.

“I don’t know about that.” I smiled. “But we’ll see soon enough.”

Dinner went by in a flash.  It was good that we got back to our old selves.  We talked more about anything and everything.  The night finally came to an end and we were off to my place.

“I had fun tonight JD.” I confessed in the car.

“Me too Soph.” He confessed back.

We got to my place and he walked me to the door.

I turned to him and said,” It was really great seeing you.”

“Yea you to Sophie.  Hopefully we’ll keep seeing more of each other now that live in NY.” He said.

“Yea I’d love that.” I told him. “So thanks for tonight.”

“Your welcome. Let me know when you and Lacey want to come out with me and Jessie.” He reminded me.

“I will.” I said.

“Ok well good night.” He said.

“Good night.” I said

We gave each other a big hug and kiss on the cheek.

“Bye.” JD said hesitantly letting me go slowly.  Then he let me go and was off to his car. I waved to him as he pulled away.  This time goodbye wasn’t going to be for a long time.  I would actually see him again soon.  That was a great feeling.

            When I got inside my apartment I was prepared for the inevitable ambush that was Lacey.  I was met with nothing. I didn’t even see Lacey anywhere when I walked in.  I wound up finding her in the living room asleep on the couch. I looked at the clock and it was almost one in the morning.  I guess I was so caught up with JD that I lost track of time.  I was happy that she was sleeping.  I was relieved not to be bombarded with her questions right away.  At least I got to rest before she attacked me.  She was surely going to be my wake up call in the morning. I went to bed peacefully before the craziness in the morning.

            The morning came too quickly.  As I was in a deep dreamland sleep something woke me up.  I felt someone poking me in my side.

“Wakey, wakey.” The voice said.

“Leave me alone.” I groaned as I rolled over.

“Come on, I’ll make you breakfast.  Meanwhile you could tell me about your date.” The voice urged.

Lacey was relentless.  I totally forgot she had stayed over.  I guess it was time to face my inevitable questioning. 

“Fine.” I said as I threw off my covers.

Lacey sprang off my bed to go start breakfast as I got myself together for the morning.

When I got to the kitchen she was already cooking.  I sat down at the counter and awaited my meal.

“Soooo…..?  How was your date?”  Lacey asked.

“It wasn’t a date.” I stated in an irritated manner.

“Oh come on.  OK, how was your ‘non-date’?  And don’t be rude.  You love me, so spill.”  She said.

I gave her an evil look.  Then she gave me a look like she wasn’t leaving until I told her something.

I sighed with defeat and said, “OK.”

“Yay!” she responded jumping for joy.  “So, how was it?  Where’d you guys go?”  She asked.

“It was good.  We went to this BBQ joint.  We caught up, reminisced, had some laughs, and that was it.” I said simply.

“That’s it? Eww, you’re boring.” She said disappointed.

“Thanks.” I laughed.

“So that was it, just friendly banter?” She asked curiously.

“Yep.” I responded.

“Fine, I’ll just have to accept that for now.  If anything juicy happens next time you better tell me!” She ordered.

“Yes ma’am.” I saluted her. “The only problem with that is nothing juicy is going to happen, Lace.  We’re just friends.” I told her.

“Yea, we’ll see.” She said as she went to finish cooking.

            Lacey totally had the wrong idea.  There was nothing going on between JD and me.  I wish she would just stop nagging me about it and get it out of her head.

            When she finished cooking we ate in silence.  It was too early in the morning for me to be talking about anything else. When we were done I cleaned the dishes and she left to go home.  I decided to have a lazy day.  After the kitchen was cleaned I sat in my living room and watched TV.  I wound up falling asleep on the couch for a while. 

            A few hours later I woke up to my phone ringing. I didn’t realize how groggy I was until I answered it. 

“Hello.” I said with almost a manlike voice.

“Hello?” The voiced questioned. “Soph?” he asked.

“Who’s this?” I asked as I cleared my throat.

“It’s JD.” He answered, “Were you sleeping or something?” He asked.

“Uh huh.” I mumbled.

I heard him chuckle on the other line.

“Time to wake up, girl.  I’m bored.” He said.

“Excuse me sir, but just because you’re bored doesn’t mean you have to wake my ass up.  Don’t you have other friends to bother?” I complained.

“I would be offended by that remark if I didn’t already know of your cranky nature when you first wake up.”  He said knowingly.

“Haha.” I said sarcastically. “What do you want?” I asked a little agitated.

“Alright cranky pants, that’s enough.  I’m coming over right now and you are going to join the world of the living with me.  I’ll see you in 10 minutes.”  He said then hanging up the phone.

“Huh?” I said to myself.

I hung up the phone and plopped my head down on the pillow.  After about a minute my eyes popped open and I realized JD was coming over.  I must have looked like a total mess.  I popped off the couch and ran to my bedroom to change.  I changed out of my sweats into some jeans and a nice t-shirt.  After that I went into my bathroom, looked in the mirror, and I looked a fright. My hair was every which way and my skin was paler than ever.  I threw on some makeup and brushed my hair as quick as possible.  Just as I finished, the doorbell rang.  I took a quick last look in the mirror and then was off to answer the door.  When I opened the door there JD was, looking good as always.  He could wear anything and always looked good.  He had on a nice pair of jeans and a t-shirt that hugged his torso in all the right places. I couldn’t help but be envious.

“Wow, you’re up?  I thought I was going to have to break down the door and throw a bucket of water on you.”  He said with a smile as he walked in. 

I rolled my eyes. “I would have liked to see you try.”  I said.

“I don’t know.  Sometimes you’re a little too feisty for your own good.” He admitted.

I laughed.  He knew me too well.

“So what are you doing today missy?”  JD asked.

“Nothing that I know of.  Why, what did you have in mind?” I asked

“Well, you see, being in the business I’m in one has certain connections.  I’m not trying to brag or anything but you know.  These connections happened to give me courtside seats to the Knicks game this afternoon.” He explained.

My eyes went wide, and my mouth fell open.  I loved the Knicks.

“So,” he continued, “I was wondering if….” He paused.

“Ah, yea!” I jumped in excitement.

“Oh, so you know someone that would want to go?” He questioned with an evil glint in his eyes.

I rose an eyebrow. “Uh, duh.”

“Who?” He asked like he didn’t know.

So he wanted to play this game, huh.  Well, two can play at that game.

“Well, there’s this girl I know.  You might know her too.”  I said as I walked closer to him.

He grinned. “Oh really? Who is she and I’ll tell ya if I know her.” He said.

“Well,” I started, “She’s about 5’2, brown hair, brown eyes, petite little thing.” I described as I came face to face with him.  We were inches apart.

I noticed him getting a little nervous as I got closer. “Um….does she have a name?” He asked as he took a nice gulp. I couldn’t help bit laugh to myself. This was interesting.

“Well,” I said in a light, seductive voice, “let me see.”  I spoke as I traced my finger around his chest. “I think her name starts with an S.”

“Right.” He said curiously.

“Maybe Sara, Sandra, Stefanie,….” I spoke questioningly.  I placed my hand smack in the middle of JD’s chest.  As my face got closer to his, he took a deep breath. An inch away from his face I spoke a little louder, “Oh yea,” I said,” It’s Sasha. She lives two doors down from me.  I’m sure she would love to go. You’re going to have to ask her parents though.  Ya know, cause she’s like 12 or something.” I spoke normally as I backed away from him like nothing odd happened.

JD looked dumfounded. “What?” he asked shockingly.  "You’re kidding, right?” He asked.

“Why would I kid?” I asked innocently.

“Ok, well I guess I’ll go ask her then.” He said as he started walking toward the door.  I grabbed his arm before he could leave. He turned to me with a smirk.

“Alright, enough joking around.  Are you in?” He asked.

“Of course.” I said.

“Ok, well in the mean time let’s get some grub.  I’m starving.” He said as he grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the door.  I just laughed.  It’s definitely great to have him back in my life.  There’s never a dull moment with him.