Emma sat back stage and her pants vibrated. She jumped a little and pulled the phone out of her pants. She quickly answered it out of habit.
“Hello?”
“Who’s this?” An angry female voice came over the line,
“Who is this? You’re calling me.”
“No, I was calling Josh. Why are you answering his phone?”
“Because he had me hold his phone. Would you like to leave a message?”
“No, I’ll talk to him later.” The girl said and hung up the phone. Emma looked down at the phone and saw the screen read ‘Amanda’s cell’. Instantly flashes of Jason came through her mind. She shut her eyes tightly, trying to push the thoughts out of her mind. JC wasn’t Jason, this call didn’t mean anything, she could just be a friend. Kitty noticed her face and bumped her arm,
“Hey, you trying to get premature wrinkles?” She half joked and Emma opened her eyes, looking at Kitty. Kitty’s demeanor instantly changed, “Whoa, what’s wrong?” Emma handed Kitty JC’s phone,
“I’m being dumb. Some girl just called for Josh and I was mentally flipping out.”
“Em, JC’s not-”
“I know he’s not Jason. I know I keep trying to get it through my think skull but it always flashes through my mind, bringing me back.”
“Well, get him out of your mind, don’t fuck up this relationship because of Jason. As much as I love Jason and loved you and Jason together, JC is way better for you. You know that deep down, I know you do. Jace is a good guy and you love him, just cherish it okay? You’re better now.” Kitty rested a hand on Emma’s arm and Emma hugged her, “Everything’s going to be okay now.” Kitty told her.
“I hope so, I really do. I can’t do that again. I think I would die of a broken heart this time.” She whispered and Kitty pulled back holding Emma’s face in her hands,
“Well then it’s a good thing that your heart is in good hands, huh?”
“It is isn’t it?” Emma smiled,
“Yeah, it is.” Kitty assured her and Emma hugged her,
“Did I ever thank you for being my friend Kit? I don’t know how I survived without you.”
“Me, neither hon.”
“Baby, Amanda called.” His eyes flew up suddenly to meet hers,
“She did? What did she say?” He asked worriedly,
“Um, that she would call you later.” She shrugged off. “She sounded kind of nasty to me, or she wasn’t in the best of moods.” JC nervously scratched the back of his neck,
“Um, Em, there’s something I should tell you.” Emma took a deep breath and plastered on a smile,
“Yes, honey?”
“Amanda’s one of my ex-girlfriends.” JC took her hand and squeezed it gently,
“There’s nothing going on, we just call each other up every now and then to catch up, except I don’t think she’s fully over me. She’s extremely nasty to every girl I’ve dated since, so I’m sorry if she was rude to you.” Emma let out a deep breath,
“Okay, thank you for letting me know.”
“You’re okay, you’re not mad at me?”
“Why would I be mad?” She said with a slightly forced smile,
“I don’t know, most girls get mad when you tell them about ex-girlfriends.”
“You’re honest and that’s all I ask for.” She shrugged and he smiled as he took her hand in his,
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For being different from the rest. You’re so up front with me and I’m simply amazed by you.” He gazed adoringly at him and she looked away guiltily. She had freaked at first, until Kitty had calmed her down. JC noticed her look, “Baby? What’s wrong?” He asked and she sighed,
“I need to tell you something.”
“You can tell me anything, what?”
“I wasn’t okay when Amanda called, not at first.”
“But-” JC started but Emma stopped him and went on,
“It wasn’t you, I trust you. You’ve never given me reason NOT to trust you. But I was hurt really bad in the past, by my last my last boyfriend.” She looked at JC and he smiled reassuringly, knowing that she needed to tell him and get this out to him,
“Go on, what happened?”
“He cheated on me. We dated for a long time. In fact I thought I was going to marry him. We dated for four years and I was so in love with him.” She smiled sadly. “Well he went away for a short time over in Asia. He got a grant to study a new form of martial arts. He was extremely gifted. We couldn’t see each other very often but I flew over to see him at least once a month and I flew his entire family over there to see him a couple of times. I went to surprise him on our four-year anniversary. I called him right before I got to his place and he went on and on about how much he missed me and how much he loved me, how he couldn’t wait to see me.” A tear trickled down her cheek, JC wiped it away. She took a deep breath and smiled. “I finished the conversation with him as I was standing outside his room. I opened his door and yelled ‘Surprise!’ But I was the one who got the surprise, because there he was, fucking some cheap whore. He was fucking her, while he was on the phone with me. While he confessed his undying love and devotion to me.” Emma said through clenched teeth. “Needless to say I was crushed. I ran out of his place and flew back to California. I submerged myself into my work and didn’t look back. I swear I didn’t do anything for months. I couldn’t believe that it had actually happened, you know? I mean, he loved me, it shouldn’t have happened. I thought it was a sick joke. But then his phone calls started coming, and the flowers and the gifts. Each one was a reminder that it hadn’t been a joke, that it had actually happened. It hurt so bad, it still does.”
“Oh baby, I’m sorry.” JC rubbed her arms soothingly,
“It wasn’t your fault. You weren’t the one in that bed. Though you get the irrational thoughts that come from my paranoia.”
“Oh God, honey, I’m so sorry. You know that-”
“I know JC. Thank Kitty, she set me straight. She’s really good at that.”
“Mmm, remind me to thank her later.” He said bringing Emma into his arms and kissing her forehead. “Thank you for letting me know that about you.”
“You should know, it’s an important part of my past that affects our relationship.”
“Every part of our past affects the present because the past created who we are today. All of the memories we hold, good and bad, shaped our personalities to this point in time and the time we spend together will shape our lives even more.”
“Maybe even heal old wounds?” She asked and he smiled warmly down at Emma,
“I’m willing to do everything to help you heal, Emma. You’ve healed me more than you can ever know.” He whispered into her hair and she buried her face into his chest, silently thanking God for bringing this man into her life.
Joey and Kitty walked up to the couple and cleared their throats. Emma and JC looked up at them,
“Sorry to interrupt you guys, but the car is here for us Em.” Kitty said and Emma smiled,
“Don’t worry hon, I’m ready to go.” She turned back to JC, “See you tonight at dinner?”
“You betcha, have fun on your excursion in the city.”
“I will, love you.”
“Love you two.” They kissed quietly while Joey made gagging sounds in the background. Kitty promptly elbowed him in the stomach,
“Ow.”
“Stop being a jerk.” She said quietly before Emma took Kitty’s arm,
“Thanks.” She said to Kitty with a wave to the boys and walked down the hall.
Joey watched Kitty and Emma walk away and whistled silently to himself.
“Damn Jace, I so need to land that girl.” He said and JC chuckled,
“Do you ever think of anything but sex?”
“Not when there’s something like that walking around. Speaking of which, have you and Emma sealed the deal?”
“There’s more to a relationship than sex, Joey. Maybe if you learned about that, you would actually have one.” He said turning around and walking to the opposite side of the hall with Joey slowly,
“I’ll take that as a no.” Joey laughed, “Jesus man, I thought you two would be like rabbits after that long absence from each other.”
“God it’s not like I’m trying to score with the girl! Well I am, but not like that! I want it to be special the first time we do it.”
“Sweep her off her feet?”
“Exactly.”
“It’s kind of hard with our schedule.”
“I know. I know, but I really want to try. We have a day off in a couple of days, I was thinking of doing something special then.”
“I can’t believe you’ve waited this long. With a girl like Emma, damn, I would have pinned her up against a wall, like three months ago.” JC hit Joey in the arm,
“That’s exactly why you don’t have a girl like Emma. She wouldn’t go for something like that.”
“Jace, all girls like that, trust me.”
“Yeah okay, Joey. Girls just love being treated like a piece of meat.”
“Hell yeah, they love it. I betcha if you just did it to Emma, she would go along and even urge you along.”
“Do what to me?” Emma said wrapping her arms around JC’s waist, causing JC to jump five feet. JC quickly turned,
“Uh, uh, take you shopping?” He asked and she rolled her eyes at him,
“Yeah, I bet that was it, Josh. Take an acting class or two and then run that line by me again.” She said kissing him quickly, “Though seeing you nervous is kind of cute.” She laughed and kissed him again. “I forgot my jacket and just wanted another kiss good bye.” She smiled at him and he relaxed,
“Thank God for forgotten jackets.” He mused and kissed her again. Joey cleared his throat and she rolled her eyes.
“Well I’ll let you guys get back to whatever you were talking about.” Then she leaned into JC’s ear, “But Joey’s right, girls like it like that once in a while.” She whispered into his ear and then kissed him one last time before running back down the hall. JC just stood there with his mouth open.
“Dude, that girl is something else if one whisper can stun you like that.”
“Huh?” JC replied looking to Joey and he just burst out laughing,
“Come on man.” He said wrapping an arm around his neck and pulling him down the hall.