Last Love | Book 3

Chapter 15

(Jen)

When I wake up I look for Josh, but he isn't here. The car's not in the driveway either, but the kids are here so I know he's not planning to be gone long. I get Ava and Cole dressed for the day and take them downstairs to the living room with me to watch tv. I turn on cartoons and they sit on the couch with me and watch them for a while, but they eventually abandon me to go play with their toys. Just when I'm starting to think about calling Josh, he walks in the door holding a box of doughnuts in one hand and car keys in the other. "You got doughnuts?" He throws the car keys on the kitchen counter and walks into the living room. "Yeah. I didn't really wanna make breakfast and doughnuts sounded good." He sets the box down on the coffee table and I open it up. "I think after we eat I'm gonna take the kids to the park or something. Give you some time alone." He says. "Okay." There's a dozen different assorted doughnuts inside. He sits down next to me while I'm still trying to decide which doughnut I want. "Which one do you want?" He asks. "I don't know. I'll just pick from what's left after you and the kids get some." I push the box over to him and he gets a glazed doughnut. "Ava, Cole, Come get a doughnut!" They run over to us and Josh turns the box towards them so they can each get one. I decide on one of the left over blueberry doughnuts for myself and close the box. I curl up against Josh while I eat my doughnut and watch him flip through the channels on the tv. He finally just settles on the kids show I had turned on earlier. I finish my doughnut and reach into the box to get another one. "Do you want another one?" I ask, glancing up at Josh as I pick up a plain glazed doughnut. "Yeah. Get me a chocolate one." I take a bite out of mine and use my other hand to get one out of the box for him. We sit through another episode before he gets up to get ready to leave again.

Since the kids are already dressed it doesn't take him long to get ready to leave. He leans in and kisses me, the keys in his hand brushing against my leg for a moment. "We'll be back later." He says. "Okay. I'll be waiting." I smile and reach up and grab his face before he can move. I kiss him again twice before actually letting him go. "Have fun." I say, as they're leaving. "You too!" I watch them walk out and close the door before moving.

I get up from the couch with a sigh and pick up the box of doughnuts off the counter. I have the whole day by myself, but I have no idea what I want to do. I decide getting myself cleaned up is a good place to start. I set the doughnuts down in the kitchen, taking a chocolate frosted doughnut upstairs with me. I set my doughnut down on the counter while I start a bath. I rarely have enough time to take a bath without getting interrupted by something, but today I have all the time I need. I grab my phone off its charger and turn on some music. Then I strip out of my clothes and step into the bath. I listen to Adele's voice fill the room as I lay down in the hot water. I don't think I can get much more relaxed than this. I use my one hand that isn't already soaked with water to grab my doughnut off the counter.

When the water starts to feel cold I make myself get out of the bath and dry off. I slip on my light blue silk nightgown that I've only worn maybe one other time and put my hair up into a messy bun. Then I crawl back into bed and take a nap.

I wake up around one and order a pizza for lunch. While I'm waiting on my pizza I go outside and get the mail. "Hey." I hear someone say from behind me, almost making me jump. I turn around, mail in hand. "Hey?" I don't recognize the man standing in front of me, although he must be from around here. "You're Jennifer right?" I nod. "Yes." I really hope he's not new to the neighborhood. This isn't exactly a good first impression. I put a bathroom on around my nightgown before coming outside but I still feel way to underdressed to be meeting new neighbors. "I live across the street. I'm liv's husband." He explains. "Oh, okay." I pretend like I know who that is. I'm sure I've met her before but it's hard to put a face to everyone's name. "I usually travel for work that's why we've never met before. My name's Ethan." I'm not sure what to do so I stick my hand out. "Nice to meet you Ethan." I say, shaking his hand. Thankfully before we can talk anymore a car pulls into the driveway with my pizza. "Oh. That's mine. I'll talk to you later." I fast walk back to the house to get my money and pay for my pizza.

Josh gets home a few hours later, carrying both Ava and Cole in his arms. "They fell asleep in the car." He whispers. I nod and turn to watch him carry them upstairs. He returns a few seconds later and sits down next to me on the couch. "What'd you do today?" He asks. "Not much. Mostly just laid around the house. I took a bath and ordered pizza for lunch." I scoot over so he has more room but I don't take my feet off the couch. "Sounds fun. Is there any pizza left?" I nod, glancing toward the kitchen. "Yeah, there's some in the fridge. I though we could just have the leftovers for dinner." He just nods along with me. "Sounds good." He smiles at me, reaching for my hand. I stare at his finger making tiny circles on the top of my hand for a second while I think. "Oh yeah and when I was getting the mail earlier I ran into the guy who lives across the street. He seems nice." He looks up at me, clearly confused. "What guy?" I have to think for a second before I come up with a way to describe him. "The one that's never home. I think we've met his wife before." I add the last part just incase he needs more clarification. "The one right across from us?" He questions.
"Yeah. Apparently he travels a lot for work. That's why we've never seen him before." I explain, not noticing the hint of anger in his voice. "Probably because he's always cheating on his wife." He looks irritated but I can't imagine why. I thought he didn't even know the guy. "Did I miss something?" I ask, trying to understand how his mood could shift so quickly. "I just don't think you should talk to him anymore." He says. "I'll talk to whoever I want." I brush his hand off me and start walking upstairs, but he follows me. "No, you won't." He tries to argue, but I slam the bedroom door in his face. He opens it immediately and follows me into the bedroom. "Can you please not slam doors? You're gonna wake the kids up." He closes the door gently behind him. "No! Not until you tell me what the fuck your problem is!" I scream. "Will you just trust me on this?" He asks. "No! You can't just tell me what to do, Josh!" I try to keep my voice down but I can't calm down. "Look Jen, I just don't want you talking to him, okay?" He tries to calm me down by using a softer voice but it doesn't work. "Do you think I want you to go back to work so that bitch Naomi can flirt with you all day? I don't, Josh! But I let you because I know that's what you want. Do you really think I don't think about that every second of everyday, Josh?" I have to resist the urge to throw something because I know the kids are sleeping in the room next door. "Can you just listen to me and stop acting like you're the only one who's been cheated on before, Jennifer!" I can see the pain behind his frustration in his eyes as he stares at me, waiting for a response. That softens my anger right away. I wrap my arms around him and kiss him. My immediate response anytime he's upset. "Can you please just listen to me?" He whispers, still holding onto me. "Okay." I stare down at the floor, waiting for him to say something. "I've just heard some people talking about him at work. Apparently, He's slept with half the women in this neighborhood and his wife doesn't know." I feel myself tense up automatically at what he's saying. "Why didn't you just tell me that?" I ask, my voice weak from yelling so much. "I didn't want you to know. I didn't want you to even think that something like that was happening." I take a deep breath, breathing in his smell. "Okay. I'll stay away from him. I didn't know he was like that, but Josh, I would never do something like that to you. Ever." I feel him brush his hand over my hair. "I know. I'm sorry. I trust you." I loosen my grip on him and pull him in for another kiss. "I love you." I mumble, in between kissing him. "I love you too." He says, running his fingers through my still moist hair. It's all tangled from wearing it in a bun for most off the day. "So, since we're already here." I glance over at the bed, starting to smile. Without blinking he lifts me up and I wrap my legs around him. I laugh, as we fall onto the bed together.

A/N: ok so I know it's kinda boring but I promise I'll make it more interesting soon. But I hope you like it anyway and vote and comment and stuff. (Also I didn't read it over so if there's any errors please point them out to me)