Chapter 16

Jennie walked over to Mike's house early the following morning. She hated to be so obvious, especially in front of Mike's parents, but she knew of no other way to see Mike, or to talk with him. He ignored her in school, and he hung up whenever she phoned him. She pressed the door bell and stood back, waiting for the door to be answered.

"May I help you?" Mike's mom had answered the door. Jennie was actually relieved because she thought that Mike might have slammed the door in her face, if he had answered.

"Hi Mrs. Sweeney. Is Mike available?"

"Come in dear, I'll get him for you. Aren't you the Taylor's daughter, Jeanie?"

"Jennie. Yes, I am."

"I shop in your mother's store all of the time. How is she?"

"They're both fine, thank you."

"Well, I better go get Mike for you. Why don't you go and make yourself at home in our living room, dear?"

Jennie walked into the large Sweeney living room and sat on their sofa. She had been in the family room with Mike before, but their living room was much nicer. She wondered who played the piano, as there was a big black formal grand piano that took up one whole side of the room.

Just as she was getting ready to get back up and go over to the mantle to look at family photographs, Mike and his mother walked into the living room. From the look on Mike's face, he wasn't pleased to see her.

"Here he is dear. Can I get you two something to drink, a Coke or some juice?"

"We don't need anything mom. I'm sure that Jennie isn't staying."

"A Coke would be nice Mrs. Sweeney. If it isn't too much trouble. Thank you."

"I don't want anything mom, thank you." Mike's mom went off to fetch the drink for Jennie. "Why are you here Jennie? I thought that we'd agreed that we weren't seeing each other any more?"

"I never agreed to any such thing Mike Sweeney. It was you who got it in your head to be jealous over nothing."

"It wasn't nothing. Besides, I thought you were Tommy's girl now?" Mike's mom came in with the Coke and a coaster for the can. She set it down in front of Jennie, smiled after Jennie told her thank you, and left the two youngsters to their privacy.

"I'm not Tommy's girl. Speaking of girls, I got a strange phone call yesterday afternoon. It was one of the reasons I came over to see you. Somebody called me to say that you were going to eat them. Did you have somebody call me to tell me that?"

"No, I don't know anything about that. I didn't tell anyone to call you."

"Was she telling me the truth?"

"Jennie, I'm not going to tell you anything about my private life. Okay? What did you really come over here for?"

"You did, didn't you? Who was it?"

Mike got up and started walking out of his own living room. This was getting too weird for him, girls calling up other girls and telling them what he was doing with them. He needed to call Jessica and ask her about whether she had called Jennie or not.

"Mike, come back here. Unless you want me to shout at you, because I will if you make me do it."

Mike turned back, reluctant, but also curious, and certainly not wanting to have his mother coming in to listen to this.

"Make it quick Jennie. I've got a date."

"With who?"

"It doesn't matter because it isn't you. Now what did you want to tell me?"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I went out with Dennis. I'm sorry that I messed it up between us Mike. I want us back together. I'll do anything Mike."

Jennie was crying as she spoke. Her tears surprised her, as well as the genuine feelings that were behind them. She wanted Mike more than anything, or anyone, she'd ever wanted.

"Jennie, you better go home. I'll call you later okay? I need to think about some things."

"Today Mike?"

"Yes, today. If I do decide to talk to you more Jennie, about getting back together, I'm not going to answer any questions like you asked me before. I went out with someone, and we did some things, but that's all I'm going to tell you."

"Will you tell me if you fucked her? I need to know that Mike, and I won't ask anything else."

"I'm not going to tell you if I did or if I didn't."

"You did. If you didn't, you'd just tell me that."

"Jennie, I'm not going to say. If that's too much of a problem, then we can just go back to before you came over here."

"Was she better than me?"

Mike just looked at her. He knew that he didn't want to answer her. He went over to her, and he helped her up from the couch, and led her over to his front door. He opened the door for her and waited for her to step through it.

"I can be better, Mike."

"Go home Jennie, I'll call you later."

After Jennie had left, Mike went back to his bedroom and began to straighten things out in there. He needed something to keep his hands busy while he thought about what to do. He needed to call Jessica to find out what she'd said to Jennie.

He needed to think about what Tommy was going to do, if he and Jennie got back together. He mostly needed to think about whether it was all worthwhile to go through it with Jennie again. There was something special about Jennie, and it was more than just the sex.

Jessica had given him sex too, but it wasn't the same as it was with Jennie. He decided to call Jessica before he thought too much about any of the rest of it.

"Hello?"

"Jessica, this is Mike."

"Hi Mike. What's up?"

"I know this will sound strange, but, did you call Jennie Taylor yesterday?" He heard Jessica laughing into the phone.

"What did she say?"

"Just that someone, a girl, had called her, and that they'd said something about me eating them out." Again the laugh.

"Well that limits the number of people that might have called her, doesn't it?"

"So, did you call her?"

"Of course I called her. I wanted her to know that she had lost you."

"She already knew. Now, she wants me back."

"I don't mind sharing, Mike."

"I've got to go. I'll talk to you more later. Bye." Mike hung up the phone, even more confused now than he was before he made the phone call. Jessica was going to be a problem. He had no doubt that she'd say more to Jennie, especially if they did get back together again. What the hell was he going to do now? He picked up the phone and dialed Jennie's number.

"Hello?"

"Jennie, can you meet me over at the park?"

"I guess so, when?"

"Now."

"I'm helping my mother with cleaning out the kitchen cabinets Mike. We'll be done in about an hour. Can I call you back then, and we'll go meet in the park?"