You wrote "Don't Forget"

Chapter 7- Call Me Maybe

After a few minutes of silence in the car, Jane finally broke down.

"This is the best thousand dollars I ever spent. Tell me everything." She said.

"Haven't you got any clothes?" I said, looking around in her car.

"Even if I didn't I would never give them to you, Tetris. This is the perfect opportunity for blackmail." She said, with a grin and before I could say anything, she took a picture of me.

"JANE!" I said, gritting my teeth.

"What? Tell me you wouldn't do the same if this happened to me." She said, raising her eyebrows. She was right. I would have done the same but she didn't need to know that so I just kept my lips sealed.

However she took my silence as an answer and smirked as she drove off.

I told her everything except me eating my own underwear, if she had heard that she would never let me live it down. As a wise guy once said, your friends are worse than your enemies.

"So you don't remember how that guy got there?" She said, a smile playing on her lips.

"Nada," I said, moving a hand through my hair.

"Well I do," She said, her smile growing wider.

"YOU! The CLUB! Did I - and you- didn't stop me?" I exclaimed, my eyes growing wider than Miss Williams'.

"Well, you didn't exactly wait for me to get there. We were dancing and then this guy asked you to dance with him. You said yes and before I knew it, you both were gone. It's not like I could do anything."

"Jane...you do realize..."

"That you have gotten laid the first time since Martin? Yes, I do. I think it will do you some good actually. You should start acting like a hoe more often, at least you wouldn't be brought down by feelings."

"I am not a hoe!" I said, defensively.

"Really? Look down, Casanova and tell that to all your boyfriends."

"I- I can't help that people find me attractive." I said, turning away from her.

Jane broke out into laughter as if I had said the funniest thing in the world. "Good one, Tetris." She said and I rolled my eyes.

I would rather die than say it out aloud but after all I had been through today, being here with Jane, even if she was pulling my leg was a huge comfort. Some things never change. I was grateful to have her in my life. She always had my back.

I made a mental note to add a little something when I returned her thousand dollars.

******

The door was waiting for me, smirking at my pain, taking pleasure in my suffering. The piece of wood had managed to look so formidable that I swore it would come to life any minute and laugh at me.

Jane placed a hang on my shoulder. "Let's see if your little conquest is still in there!" She winked. Without warning, she kicked the door open and barged in like she owned the place. Which to be fair was somewhat true. The thing about friendship is that it results in a collective sharing of resources, a good investment for when your friend acquires an xbox.

I wasn't as brave as her. I just stood outside my door as surprised neighbours stared my half-naked form.

"Come on!" She said, pulling me in by my wrist.

Well, this was gonna suck.

I tiptoed to my kitchen, with my heart hammering against my chest, expecting to find a naked man posing on the slab. I breathed in a sigh of relief when I found nothing but a sink full of dirty dishes. This was the first time in my life that I was happy to see dirty dishes.

Meanwhile, Jane was sanning, not so discreetly my bedroom - the scene of the crime.

"Nothing in here but man you guys must have been desperate. Your clothes are all over the place dude."

"Nope, they are always like that." I corrected her.

"Nah, that must I know. I mean the ones from last lines. The bed is a mess, a suspiciously too messy mess. Oh, lookie what we have here."

Before she could do anything, I ran towards the bedroom as if my life depended on it.

The scene of the crime was truly horrendous. There was evidence of blasphemy all over the floors: my clothes. I tried not to look at them and snatched the note Jane held in her hand.

Well, not a note, a letter would have been a better word to use.

I read it aloud:

Dear Tristan,

I am afraid we got off on the wrong foot. I didn't mean to scare you but I guess it was unavoidable. Usually I am not the kind of guy who does one night stands but - something took over me last night. I am sorry.

I hope we can still continue this little "thing", if there is such a thing between us. I would love to have dinner with you sometime.

Yours truly,

Alejandro.

Underneath his name, his phone number was written in neat handwriting.

Suddenly, I couldn't breathe.

Jane smiled at me, pulling me into a hug.

"You were a good hoe, he wants more of you." She said, trying to lighten the mood. I didn't return her smile.

I- this couldn't be happening again. After Martin, could I ever take a chance again. I didn't want what happened to happen again. If it did, I am not sure whether I would be able to take it.

Jane was still hugging me, trying to say what she couldn't with her mouth. I hugged her back, my mind was imagining worst case scenarios. I could always say no. Yes, I still had the right to turn down any dinner invitations.

"It will be okay." Jane said, softly without any hint of humor in her voice and for some reason, I believed her.