Chapter 9

It was Saturday night and Jenny was in her room, lying on her back, listening to some music links Liam had sent her. She couldn’t help but check her phone every five minutes waiting for a text from Liam. She had sent him a brief text a couple of hours ago, just a ‘Hey! Are you up for a game of Scrabble?’, and had been waiting for a reply since then.

“I’m pathetic,” she said aloud, “Why don’t I just call him?”

She gathered some courage and hit the icon. The phone rang a couple of times before Liam picked it up. There was a lot of background noise. It sounded like he was at a party.

“Hi, Jenny,” he yelled. “Let me look for a quiet corner.”

It was a miracle she could hear him over whatever was going on in the background.

“Hi, again. I went out to get some fresh air. How are you?”

“Bored,” she said honestly.

“There is nothing inherently wrong with being bored. Believe it or not, I’m bored too.”

“It doesn’t sound like you’re bored.”

“I am hanging out at a bar with some colleagues from work. If not, I’d love to get bored with you. Between you and me, crowded and smoky bars are not my scene. Never have been, but they think I need to get out and get back in the saddle after my breakup.”

That piece of news caught Jenny’s attention. It was an encouraging detail.

“Stop it, you idiot! Hope is a luxury you can’t afford. You and Liam will never be together as a couple!” a voice yelled in her head.

“I went through one of those, too. Is it something recent?” she asked, trying not to sound too interested.

Liam’s voice sounded more serious than his usual self. “Ish? The night you first called me was when we broke up.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Who broke up with whom?”

“She did.”

“May I ask what went wrong?”

“It’s a long, fascinating story. Perhaps I’ll tell you about it another time.” Liam’s voice had recovered his usual playful tone. “Your interest in my love life is cute, Jenny. Are you already falling for me?”

“YES!” she screamed in her mind. “Not exactly. I’m looking for a boy toy, and I was checking if you could apply for the role.”

“Boy toy! Interesting ... Maybe we could strip together at your club.”

They both laughed.

Jenny heard the sound of steps, and then a slurred male voice saying, “Liam, stop looking at your phone and be in the moment with us, man. You’ve barely downed three drinks in the hour since we arrived.”

She heard Liam’s voice saying, “I’ll be with you in a minute, Andrew.” Then, he whispered, “Sorry about that, Jen. These idiots brought me out. Deemed it ‘good for me’.”

She loved when he called her Jen. Made her feel special.

“Help you heal your broken heart with alcohol?” Jenny offered.

“Supposedly. Every time I try to explain to them that I’m fine and feel good about the split, it’s a waste of breath. Shit! That sounded horrible. I didn’t mean it like I don’t care or anything like that. It’s—”

“I know exactly what you meant, Liam. I’m the last person you need to explain anything to. I understand.”

“Thank you. I felt like an ass for a moment there.”

“Just a moment?” she teased him.

Liam ignored her jab and asked. “So, you went through a recent breakup, too?”

“A breakup, yes. Not so recent though.” Jenny pressed her lips together as if forcing herself to not say anything else. “Are you behaving yourself?”

“Define ‘behaving.’”

“Not doing shots off the waitress’s stomach. Not making out with a strange woman that turns out to be a man. Getting a weird tattoo.”

“That’s quite a list. The answers are no, no, and hell no. Did that last one happen to you?”

“I had to witness it, if that counts for anything. A girl I met in college was a bit ... let’s say social.”

“I’m mainly babysitting here tonight. I plan to drag my colleague’s asses out of here at a decent time. After taking pics, of course. I plan to use them to blackmail them. I’m still refusing to anchor.”

“You’re evil,” she giggled.

Before Liam could answer, a male voice sounded loud and clear again, “Could you drop that darn phone, Liam? Here, have another drink...”

Jenny heard a muffled sound of struggle and then the call ended.

There was a knock on Jenny’s room’s door, and she said, “Come on in, Kara.”

“Are you okay? I heard you talking and I came to check on you.”

“Yeah, I was talking with Liam,” Jenny’s face lit up with a smile. “He told me he likes to get bored with me.”

“Wow. Sounds like a keeper,” Kara exclaimed, sarcasm dripping from her voice. “What kind of man tells a girl she’s boring? How will that help him score any points?”

Jenny smiled at her younger sister. “One, Liam is not trying to jump into my pants, so there’s no need to score points. Two, it was a compliment. He knows I like stuff other people find boring, like staying at home cuddled up on the couch watching a chick flick surrounded by junk food. I’m not wild. Not anymore. I like to read. I play games online. I like being bored. It’s ... comforting. One day you’ll get it, Sis.”