****
Jordan shut the front door behind her as she stepped into the lavish Florida home, making her way carefully through the dimly lit entryway. Kicking off her sandals, she continued on towards the back of the house where the bluish light of the TV flickered wildly. Stopping briefly in the doorway, she smiled as she noticed Chris sprawled face down on the sofa, his mouth hanging open as he slept.
Moving towards the television, Jordan bent down and felt around for the power button, finding it after a few moments and shutting off the tv. Grabbing a blanket off of the back of a nearby chair, she quietly placed it over Chris’ body before leaving the room.
Jordan bit her lip thoughtfully as she headed into the kitchen, flipping on the light as she entered. Filling a mug with the remainder of the coffee she had made earlier, the brunette plopped down listlessly at the table. Her mind was active with worry, battling against the exhaustion her body was feeling as she continued to dwell on the scene she just witnessed. Excuses and thoughts pulled at her emotions, draining her of logic as she felt the tug of jealousy gnawing at her. And why? Why did she suddenly look at April and Justin’s relationship in a new light? Was it because Justin had been spending so much extra time at work lately? No, her mind screamed at her, April’s your best friend, there’s absolutely nothing to worry about. Forcing herself to push aside the image that had ingrained itself in her mind, Jordan was startled when she heard the front door opening quietly and soft footsteps moving towards the stairs.
Justin started up the carpeted stairway, trying to be quiet, pausing briefly as he noticed a light burning brightly. Figuring Jordan had just forgotten to turn it off, he shrugged and started toward the kitchen to shut off the light before heading to bed. Sticking his head into the room as he reached for the switch, surprise graced his handsome features as he noticed his wife sitting at the table. Jordan’s hazel eyes pierced his baby blues as she lifted the cup of coffee to her lips.
“Hey, what are you doin up so late?” Justin asked with an arched brow, standing adjacent to the table Jordan was seated at.
Setting her mug down gently, Jordan met her husband’s eyes once more. “What are you doin at work so late?” she inquired pointedly.
“I asked you first.”
Jordan shrugged. “After I put the boys to bed I fell asleep down here,” she began, “When I woke up, I went upstairs and crawled into an empty bed. After that I was worried about you and I couldn’t sleep. So there ya go, now you.”
“Fair enough.” Justin gave a slight nod, “Okay, well, I was working.”
“Until five am Justin? What could you possibly be doing until five am?” Jordan demanded, her voice rising slightly as she spoke.
“April was still working after I got all my stuff done, so I stayed with her. I didn’t want to just leave her there alone with it being so late and all, I figured maybe she could use some company.” Justin retorted, running a hand over the stubble of his newly cropped hair.
Jordan’s eyes flashed slightly, and she bristled at his response. “Well what about us Justin? Don’t you think it’d be nice if you’d grace your sons with your presence once in awhile? They could use the company too ya know. Or what about me, remember, your wife? I know I’m not as stimulating as a fun filled work day but I wouldn’t mind having some time with you once in awhile. Is that too much to ask?” she inquired thinly.
Justin sighed audibly as he crossed his arms, looking at his wife with dull blue eyes as she continued. “What am I supposed to tell Zach when he’s upset because you promised him that you’d be home early tonight? They want to see you Justin, him and Noah both, and they haven‘t spent time with you at all lately.” Jordan paused momentarily before continuing, “And on that note, neither have I. We haven’t eaten dinner together once this week, and I‘ve gone to bed alone for at least the past two. I mean, doesn’t that bother you? That you don’t get to see your family at all because every night when you finally decide to come home, we’re all sleeping?”
Jordan stopped, awaiting her husband’s reaction. The room was coated in a thick silence until finally Justin spoke, his voice flat and distant in the large kitchen. “I’m going to bed, I need at least a couple hours of sleep before I head in to work tomorrow.” he stated, shooting his wife a pointed look as he ran a hand over his short hair once more. “I really don‘t need this right now Jordan.” And with that final statement, he turned and exited the room.
Jordan sat silent, hearing her husband’s muffled footsteps as he made his way upstairs and down the hall into the master bedroom. “I just miss you.” The words escaped from her lips in a low tone, and she was startled once more as a familiar voice cut through the silence of the room.
“Well I miss you too Jor, but in all honesty I miss my own bed a hell of a lot more. What’s with that couch in there anyways?” he inquired. “It kinda just sucks you into it or something. When I woke up everything was black and it was eating my face! You might want to have that looked at before it swallows up one of the boys.” Chris stated, a serious look gracing his features as he entered the kitchen.
Jordan was unable to hold back a laugh, despite her sadness and frustration, as she gestured for the raven haired individual to take a seat. “Chris, what would I do without you?”
Sliding into one of the nearby chairs, Chris shrugged, reaching for her mug and taking a large drink of coffee. “Have to hire a babysitter?” he quipped.
“Oh like you have anything better to do.”
“Excuse me, I am the CEO of a very prestigious clothing company, and that requires all of my creative energy. It‘s exhausting.” Chris explained.
Jordan snorted, “Oh yeah, taking five minutes out of your day to approve a new logo that was sent to you through your email sucks the creativity right out of you. Please.”
“Whatever, so what’s your deal? Do you usually make a habit of talking to yourself at five in the morning? You woke me up, going on about eating sleeping boys for dinner or something to that effect.” he stated with a wave of his hand.
“I wasn’t talking to myself first of all,” Jordan explained. “Justin decided to roll his ass on home finally, and we had a little argument.”
“About eating sleeping boys for dinner?” Chris interrupted hopefully.
“No!” she said, her tone exasperated. “I was explaining to him that all this extra time he’s spending at work is affecting our family. We don’t eat dinner together, and the boys and I are usually asleep when he gets home.”
“Oh okay, I must have only caught bits of your conversation then.” Chris replied with a firm nod. The woman across from him yawned openly and he pushed her coffee cup back across the table, then stood. “Alright, I’m gonna get going so you can get to bed, but I’ll be back in a couple hours for breakfast. If you don’t mind, I’m really in the mood for pancakes this morning. Maybe with a little whipped cream and strawberries on top?”
Jordan made a face. “What do you think this is? Denny’s?” She rose from her chair and began shooing her friend out of the kitchen and toward the front door.
“Oh, and please don’t burn the bacon like you did the other day. I know Zach likes it crispy but damn it, I’m older and it‘d be nice to have a piece of pork that you don‘t break your teeth on, ya know?”
“Go home Chris.” the dark haired woman said with a smile as the pair reached the front door and she held it open wide.
Stepping outside onto the front step, Chris turned back to the pretty woman in the doorway. “Well if anything, learn how to make a decent pot of coffee woman. That stuff in there was just nasty.”
“I’ll keep that in mind when I apply at Starbucks later this week. Would you just leave already?” she retorted, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
“Fine. I’ll see ya tomorrow.” Chris replied, stepping down onto the sidewalk and making his way across the driveway.
“Chris?”
He turned, “Yeah?”
Smiling sincerely, Jordan spoke to her friend. “Thanks again for coming over here.”
“No problem, see ya in a few hours.” Chris returned, then with a grin and a slight wave, continued towards home only a few houses down.
****
Nudging open the now unlocked apartment door with his foot, the dark haired man stepped inside, a suitcase in one hand and a dozen red roses clutched in the other. A smile danced across his chiseled features as he put down his luggage, pausing briefly before heading back towards the bedroom where his girlfriend was rummaging around. Knocking lightly on her door before entering, JC’s eyes lit up as he observed the stunning blonde that stood within the room.
“JC!” April said, turning to him as he approached and graciously accepting the flowers he extended towards her. She tried to cover the surprise she felt at seeing him standing in her apartment so early in the morning, and smiled charmingly. “What are you doing here? I didn’t think you were flying in till later tonight.”
The blue eyed man’s grin faded as his face showed faint signs of hurt. “I wanted to surprise you, so I took an earlier flight.”
“Yes, well you did surprise me.” April stated, placing the roses down gently onto the end of the bed, purposefully looking away from JC’s piercing gaze.
“Is everything okay? You don’t seem very happy to see me.”
“Everything‘s fine and I am happy to see you, I just…well, I have to go to work.” she stated, glancing absently down at the slender gold watch that graced her dainty wrist.
JC looked amused as he leaned down to place a loving kiss on April’s crimson lips. She welcomed the caring touch, yet at the same time seemed strangely distant and guarded. The dark haired man felt a slight tug at his heart, but pushed it aside, figuring the awkwardness between them was due to their long separation as well as the early morning hour. Pulling back and smiling down at the pretty woman before him, he jutted his full lips out in a childish pout. “Can’t you just take the day off?”
“JC, I really need to be there today.” she said with a shrug as he frowned and then plopped down onto the bed.
Lying on his back, he propped his head up with one hand, allowing the other to lay casually across his broad chest. “I’m sure Justin would understand if you told him that I flew in to surprise you and you want to start your vacation early.” JC urged.
April listened patiently as her boyfriend continued. “I guess though, if Justin’s such a slave driver that you absolutely MUST go in today, I suppose I’ll live. I can just catch up on some shut eye here in your bed, that is, if you don’t mind.”
“Knock yourself out.” April stated, tying her hair back into a sleek ponytail as she conversed with the prone JC.
The man wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, “Are you sure you aren’t the least bit tempted to join me over here? I mean, it has been awhile, since…well…you know.”
“I really have to get going JC, I’m sorry.”
He sighed resignedly, “Alright, I forgive you for being so heartless today, but only because I know we have the entire week to lay in bed like bums and do whatever we damn well please.”
Biting her lip, April spoke hesitantly. “Um, what do you mean the whole week?”
“Your vacation, this week. We can do our own thing, spend some time together, it’ll be nice.”
“JC, uh, I’m not taking my vacation this week.”
JC sat up, “Well why the hell not?”
The fair haired woman wrung her hands nervously out of habit, “Well, Justin needs me in the studios for one…”
“Well what about me April?” JC asked, hurt evident in his smooth tone. “I took the one break I get in this hellish tour schedule to visit you instead of my family. And now you’re telling me that you’re planning on working the entire time? Why didn’t you tell me before so I could have made other arrangements?”
April shrugged, her eyes suddenly becoming flat and lifeless. “Listen JC, I’m sorry that I didn’t mention it before. I didn’t realize that I would be so busy with work, and I was planning on telling you tonight when I picked you up at the airport. It’s just that Justin really needs me to be there right now and I don’t want to just leave him hanging. I’m sorry.” she finished lamely.
JC closed his eyes briefly as he tried to extinguish the anger that had infiltrated his system. “Okay. Well, we’ll figure this out somehow, no big deal. I’ll talk to Justin and see what we can work out, I’m sure it’d be fine with him if you worked out of the apartment in the mornings or something. The calls can get forwarded here if he’s busy in the booth…” he trailed off as his thoughts took over.
Shaking her head, the blonde woman frowned slightly. “I don’t just answer the phones anymore JC, it’s just too hard to explain. I need to be there physically, can’t you understand that?”
He looked up at her feeling defeated. “I guess so. How about dinner? Can you fit eating into your busy schedule? I’ll pick you up and everything, you won’t even have to come home first.” he prodded, his voice tinged with a hint of sarcasm.
“I’ll try.” April stated, and noting the building tension in the room in addition to the frustrated look blazing in JC’s cobalt eyes, she turned to exit. “I’ll see you later, get some sleep.”
Lying back down, JC shut his eyes against the wall his girlfriend had just set up between them. “Yeah, see ya later.” he muttered, but April had already gone.