Chapter
Seventeen
The next weekend, JC had a birthday party thrown for him by a
couple of his close friends. Larson was
there for JC and Mel…well she was there for JC, but she was more excited to
hang out with his friends.
Mel
placed a hand on Larson’s arm, “L, I would just like to thank God that you’re
my best friend.” She whispered, “I
can’t believe that I’m here.”
Larson smirked as she glanced over at her best friend, “I better
get a damn good Christmas present.”
“Whatever you want.” Mel
said still in awe at the party going on around her.
“You better watch what you say or I might hold you to that.” She laughed and scanned the crowd for the
birthday boy. She saw JC talking with
Justin, “Oh, there’s JC, let’s go say hi.”
They moved over to him where he was talking to Justin. JC noticed them and a huge smile spread
across his face.
“Hey! You made it!” He
said hugging Larson and kissing her on the cheek.
“And miss this shindig?
Never!” She laughed, “Happy
Birthday, JC.”
“Thank you.” He looked
behind her, “Hey Mel, how’s it going?”
“Not too bad, Happy Birthday.”
She said giving him a quick hug.
“Thanks.”
Larson turned to Justin, “Hey Justin, didn’t mean to leave you
out.”
Justin shrugged and gave her a quick hug, “No prob, I’ll let C have
the spot light for once.”
JC laughed, “For once.”
Larson stepped back and looked around the grand party, “This is
quite some party you’ve got going on here.”
Larson mentioned,
“Yeah, well, it was all this guy.” JC said nodding to Justin, “I was quite happy to have a small
thing with a few friends, but no. He
had to go all out.”
Justin scoffed, acting all offended, “That’s the last time I do
anything for you, loser.”
Larson leaned into JC, “He just probably wanted to rub it in that
he’s younger than you.”
JC placed his hands on his hips and played along. “I know.”
Justin
wrapped an arm around Mel, “I know when I’m not wanted. I’m taking Mel and we’re going to have
fun.”
“And I’m sure she’s gonna fight you the whole way.” Larson teased as Mel shot her a look,
“You’re just jealous.” Mel
shot back and Larson wrapped her arm around JC’s waist,
“Nope, because I’ve got the man of the night, right here. I’m set.”
She teased making the girls laugh.
“See you guys around.” Mel
and Justin waved as they walked away.
Larson laughed as she turned to JC, “They are something else.”
“I think you two are something else.” He laughed placing an arm around her shoulders, “For two people
who are supposed to be such good friends, you sure don’t act like it.”
Larson cocked her head to the side, “You think after hanging out
with us for so long that you would get it.”
JC raised an eyebrow at her as they began walking through the
party, “Long? I’ve known you two for
what? Four months?”
“That’s long enough, we’re not that complicated.”
JC rolled his eyes at her, “You’re women, of course you’re
complicated.” Larson pinched his side
gently and he jumped, “Hey! Be
nice! I’m the birthday boy.”
“So that gives you the right to make comments like that?” She said playfully,
JC laughed and shrugged, “I guess I’m just going to have to hang
out with you more often to dispel my thoughts on women.”
“Why don’t you just move in?”
She said playfully, “I think you’re at my place more than I am.”
“How is that true? I’m
only there when you are!” He protested,
“Then I’m just going to charge you rent.” She said playfully,
“You keep being mean to me and I’m going to think that you’re in
love with me.” He teased, and poked her
affectionately.
“Nah, I just want to jump your bones.” She laughed,
He wiggled his eyebrows at her, “Is that my birthday
present?”
“Are we a little horny tonight?”
She teased, nudging him with her hip slightly.
“When a woman offers sex, a man rarely turns it down.” He shrugged and she rolled her eyes at him,
“You are such a male.”
“Why, yes I am.” He
replied chuckling and making her laugh.
Justin and Mel watched Larson and JC
interacting. “He’s so into her.” Justin said,
“You see it too? Man, I’ve
been telling her that for months. I
don’t know how she can’t see it.” Mel
said shaking her head.
Justin smirked, “It is pretty obvious, actually painfully
obvious.”
“I know, you’d think she get the hint after all the time he spends
with her. I mean I consider him my
third roommate I see him so much.” She
joked,
“Tell me about it.” Justin
laughed, “Every time I talk to him all I hear about is Larson this and Larson
that.” He shook his head, “What’s
stopping them? Is she seeing someone?”
“No,” Mel shook her head, “she’s just convinced that JC doesn’t see her that way.”
Justin nodded and stroked his chin thoughtfully, “We should change
that.”
Mel smiled at Justin as she thought up a plan, “Maybe we should.”
Later that night JC pulled Mel aside,
“Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Sure. Are you having a
good time tonight?” JC glanced back at
Larson who was talking with Joey animatedly.
She had barely left his side all night.
JC looked back at Mel, “Yeah, I really am. I need to ask you a question.”
Mel gave JC her full attention, “Shoot.”
“Is Larson, seeing anyone, like Jason?” He asked cautiously. He
knew how things had ended during his visit, but he still didn’t know how Larson
felt about Jason.
“Nope, why?” She asked
hopefully,
“Okay, well, it’s like, we’ve been hanging out and she seems
interested, but I can’t understand why she won’t take the hints.” He explained. Even though he knew Jason had just been trying to scare him off,
he had planted doubts in his head.
Maybe he wasn’t good enough for Larson.
She was a brilliant, successful woman, what could he give her?
Mel laughed and shook her head, “For a girl who’s so smart, she
can be completely oblivious, you know?”
“Okay…” JC said unsure of what Mel meant,
“Jace, I’ve been telling her for months now that you were into her
and she keeps telling me that you’re not and that you’re just friends.”
“This is going to sound like we’re in high school, but do you
think she likes me?” JC rubbed his
forehead; he couldn’t believe he was even having this conversation. He didn’t know why he could just talk to
Larson about this. He always believed
in being straight up with people, but for some reason he could never here he was asking her best friend if Larson
liked him. He might as well send her a
note asking her to check a box if she liked him.
Mel twisted her mouth to the side, “I know she thinks you’re cute
and she loves hanging out with you.”
JC smiled at that, “She thinks I’m cute?”
“Uh huh, and not like puppy dog cute, like I wanna jump your bones,
cute.” Mel confessed hoping that JC
would understand what she was telling him.
JC’s smiled grew even more, maybe Larson was being truthful about
jumping him before. “So should I just
lay it out for her?”
Mel gasped, “Oh God no!
She’d probably freak. You just
have to make her realize that she has feelings for you.”
JC frowned; he had been trying to do that all along. “Well, how do
I do that?”
Mel thought a minute, till a thought came to her, “Make her
jealous. That usually does it for
her.” She said and JC frowned even
more,
“I don’t know about that.”
Mel’s smile brightened as her plan began to take form in her mind,
“Jealously makes her fight for what she wants, mainly you.”
“But how do I make her jealous with hurting anyone?” He asked and Mel thought for a moment. Suddenly her face lit up with an idea,
“With me! I mean it’s
perfect, because I want you two together and I know what I’m doing. What do you think?”
JC’s frown didn’t lift, “I don’t want to hurt Larson.”
Mel rolled her eyes, “Neither do I. I’m her best friend, she tells me everything. I know her better than anyone on this
earth. I know how jealous to make her
and the greatest thing is that we really don’t have to do anything. Just be seen together and spend some time
together.”
“Okay.” JC said and Mel
smiled reassuringly,
“You want to be with her, right?”
“Yeah.”
Mel placed an reassuring hand on his arm, “Then trust me. I know exactly what I’m doing.”
JC sighed and nodded, “Okay, I’m trusting you. Mel.
This is going to work right?”
“Yeah, of course it’s going to.”
She threaded her arm through his, “You’ll be together in no time.”
The rest of the
night, JC spent with Mel at his side.
They danced together, talked and hung out with everyone. Larson noticed that JC wasn’t hanging out
with her as much as he did, during the beginning of the party, but figured he
was just enjoying his birthday. Larson was content to mingle in and out of the
group, talking with everyone there and catching up with people that she normally
didn’t get to see.
The next morning, Larson bopped down the stairs and saw Mel
sitting on the couch. She was doing her
morning ritual of eating a bowl of cereal and watching TV. “Hey Mel.” She greeted.
Mel glanced up at her in between bites, “Hey L. What’s up?”
Larson went and sat down next to Mel on the couch, “Not much. Have fun at JC’s birthday party?” She grinned,
“Yeah, did you? I kind of
lost you halfway through.”
“Yeah I know. I saw you
hanging out with him a lot last night.”
Larson mentioned as she leaned back on the couch.
Mel’s smile grew brighter, “Oh yeah, we had a really good time
talking.”
“And you didn’t faint? I’m
shocked.”
Mel rolled her eyes, “Please, I’m over the whole teeniness of
them. They’re all cool guys, especially
Jace.” Mel mentioned and then busied
herself with her cereal.
Larson raised an eyebrow at her best friend, “Really?” She never thought that Mel would go for JC,
especially since her heart had always been devoted to Lance.
“What?” Mel shrugged, “I just like talking to him, you know? I never really got to talk to him before
because you always hogged him.” Mel
teased and Larson rolled her eyes,
“Whatever, so what did you two talk about?”
Mel shrugged again, “Everything and anything. It was just a good conversation and I really
enjoyed it.”
“Oh, okay.” Larson
shrugged and got up from the couch.
Mel’s answer was completely evasive and she always gave Larson the full
story in detail, whether she wanted to hear it or not. She went into their kitchen, to think and
grab something to eat.
“L?” Mel called out when
she noticed Larson’s reaction to her answer.
Her plan was already working.
Larson poked her head
around the corner, “Yeah, Mel?”
“You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m hungry.” She
replied and ducked back into the kitchen, wanting to be lost in her
thoughts….JC and Mel?