Chapter 6

Jasmine found Friday a chore, she desperately wanted Saturday to come so that she could spend more time with Richie. They had spent so much time together in the last month that it seemed odd to be apart; she missed his laugh and the way that he managed to fill a room with his presence, but most of all she missed just having him around. It was almost as if his just being there made her calmer and happier than she ever thought possible.

She spent the morning having a leisurely breakfast, the first one in almost a week that she hadn’t had with Richie. After a much more modest breakfast than she had gotten used to lately she showered and then did a run to the store for some emergency rations. She had hardly eaten at home for a month and supplies were running short as all the food had gone moldy.  The afternoon dragged on and on; Jasmine walked aimlessly from one room to another, unable to settle at doing anything for more than a few minutes. She flopped down on the sofa and exhaled a frustrated sigh. She rubbed her face hard with both hands, pressing hard on her eyes to relieve the stress. Holding her head in her hands she closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing. Get a grip Jasmine. You’re getting ahead of yourself you stupid girl. Get a fucking grip and stop obsessing.

She must have spoken to herself for more than 10 minutes, rationalizing the situation and telling herself off for getting so invested in Richie and allowing herself to think ‘what if’. She stood up and purposefully walked to the bathroom and ran another shower, determined to wash away the frustration and uncertainty that she was feeling despite knowing she was reading too much into her friendship with him.

Richie slept most of Friday, safe in the knowledge that Jon was not going to call him and yell at him down the phone for being a lazy bastard. He rolled himself up in his sheets and cocooned himself in his dream world. His dreams were littered with images of him and Jasmine in different situations; he couldn’t stop thinking about her and everything he dreamed eventually had her in it. When he woke up, just before 2 o’clock he instinctively reached over to touch her, only to find she wasn’t there. His dreams had been so vividly real that it took him a full half hour to get his head back into reality and realize that the situations he had been dreaming about were just that, dreams. He wandered around the empty house, looking for something to do. 

The house seemed too quiet; he had been in company for the last 12 months and now that he had some time off he couldn’t cope with the quiet. He put on the CD player to give some background noise but it didn’t work, he couldn’t feel the presence of anyone else. He switched it off and just sat in silence for a few minutes, the only thing he could hear was Jasmine’s laughter from the day before in the casino and the obvious enthusiasm when she talked about her work. He hated to admit it to himself but he missed her, despite trying his hardest not to get too involved too soon. They had spent so much time together lately and yesterday had been perfect, he wanted it to continue and he wanted to see her now. Why did I say Saturday? I should have said today.

He rubbed his temple and took a deep breath but it didn’t stop the strange feeling he had inside of him. He went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Maybe a shower will clear my head he thought to himself, not totally convinced.

Jasmine didn’t bother getting dressed after her second shower, instead she put on sweatpants and a vest top and grabbed her duvet. She raided the newly stocked cupboards for junk food and hit the sofa with a pile of her favorite girly movies, putting the first one in the machine and settling down with a box of tissues. She had chosen Dirty Dancing and spent a self indulgent hour or so watching Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Gray fall in love, lose each other then live happily ever after; she wiped the tears as they flowed down her cheeks and scolded herself for watching a movie she knew would make her cry. 

She had just switched on a comedy in a bid to cheer herself up when there was a knock on the door. After a few seconds of swearing and trying not to knock over the whole bag of Doritos she made it to the door, a little disheveled but presentable. She opened the door a crack and peered out behind the chain.

“Richie?”

“Hey darlin’ you busy?”

She opened the door wider and beckoned him in, “Uh, no. I was having a duvet day really, just watching a couple of movies and eating junk food.”

“Woman, you know how to relax!”

“I learnt from the best when I was in college. My roommate was an expert at chilling out. Did you get your lie in this morning?”

“Yeah. Actually I only just got up about 2 hours ago.”

“RICHIE!” 

“What? I was tired.”

Jasmine shook her head and giggled as she led him into the living room. Gesturing to one of the chairs she said, 

“Make yourself at home. Do you want something to drink?”

Richie looked around the room and smiled when he saw the duvet on the sofa. Planting himself on the sofa and pulling the duvet over him he patted the seat next to him,

“Looks like you have everything right here darlin’. Fancy some company?”

Jasmine looked at the bizarre situation and smiled, the tingly feeling in her stomach was back and she was smiling for the first time that day,

“Seeing as you look so comfy then why not? The Breakfast Club ok with you?”

“Perfect.”

They had a movie marathon, watching 3 other movies one after the other. They laughed together and talked about their favorite movies; both of them feeling so comfortable in each other’s company. As the final credits rolled on Rocky 1, during which Jasmine expressed her love of boxing, Richie turned to talk to Jasmine to reluctantly tell her it was time he was heading home. Jasmine had fallen asleep half an hour before and had been leaning on Richie’s shoulder. He smiled at her, noting how sweet and at peace she looked while she slept. He carefully picked her up and carried her to her bed; he returned to the living room and collected her duvet, placing it gently over her as she slept. Closing the door to her bedroom he tidied up the living room and left her a note explaining when he would pick her up for dinner the next evening. He quietly clicked the front door shut and made his way home, happier than he had been all day.

When Jasmine woke up the next morning she was confused. She didn’t remember going to bed and she certainly didn’t remember closing the bedroom door, she never slept with the door closed. She sat up and switched on the radio, which was playing an old Journey song. As her head cleared and she woke up fully, the events of the previous evening came back to her and a smile spread across her face. It had been a simple evening yet so perfect as well.

On entering the living room she realized that Richie had tidied up the mess and locked the door, posting her keys through the letter box. She picked up the keys and headed into the kitchen where she found Richie’s note.

Hey sleepyhead,

I’ll pick you up at 7. Looking forward to it.

Richie

X

The butterflies flew around her stomach and she couldn’t suppress the smile that spread through her. She bounced around the apartment doing the housework with a renewed sense of purpose, her stereo blasting out a mix of songs that always got her moving. 

After she was satisfied that she had done a good job, she changed and went for a run around the neighborhood. It had been a while since she had done so but it felt good to feel the ground beneath her feet and smell the fresh air around her. It was a relatively warm day and there was a slight breeze that swished around and blew through her hair as she pounded along the streets. She took long deep breaths as she ran and her mind cleared of everything other than her immediate surroundings and keeping her pace going. 

When she got back home she drank down a glass of ice cold water and stripped off on the way to the shower. Under the spray she closed her eyes and let the water cascade over her. She lathered the shampoo into her hair and massaged it into her scalp, pressing hard into her head. When she had finished she wrapped herself in a large fluffy purple towel then changed into sweatpants and a t shirt before opening up her wardrobe to decide what to wear for dinner.

She was ready just before seven and was sitting in her favorite chair blankly staring at the television, waiting for Richie to arrive.