“I’m not doing anything. What’s your problem?” Jackson yelled.
Tommy shook his head in disgust. “You’re being an idiot. Not to mention a complete asshole. She has a boyfriend!”
“We all know she has a boyfriend,” Alex chimed in.
“Shut up, Alex.” Tommy turned to look at him. “You think this is cool? No big deal that Jackson is talking to someone else’s girlfriend?”
Alex shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s not my business and…it’s not like she’s married.”
Tommy spat out a laugh. “Really, Mister Get-involved-in-everyone-else’s-business? Now you see fit to stay out?”
“Enough!” Jackson’s voice echoed through their apartment. “She and I are friends. We talk. Now back off.”
Jackson grabbed the cordless phone, walked into his room, and slammed the door behind him as he dialed Caroline’s number.
“You know this isn’t cool, Jackson,” Tommy yelled loud enough for him to hear.
“Hello,” she answered quietly.
“I am so sorry, Caroline,” Jackson told her. She didn’t respond right away, but he could hear her breathe.
“Who was that?” she asked.
“That was my roommate, Tommy. I’ve known him since we were kids. He can be a real jerk,” Jackson explained.
“I feel like such an idiot right now,” Caroline admitted.
“No, Caroline. Please. It’s Tommy. He’s the idiot, not you. Don’t listen to him,” Jackson pleaded. “He’s a love-hater.”
The phrase “love-hater” coming out of Jackson’s mouth made Caroline burst out into laughter. “So, who else do you live with?”
Jackson was thankful she seemed less upset. “Alex. I’ve known him since I was a kid also.”
“Is he a love-hater too?” Caroline asked through her laughter.
Jackson laughed. “Nah. He’s a love-lover, for sure.”
Caroline continued to laugh and then stopped abruptly. “Oh! I keep meaning to ask you if you have a Facebook page?”
“I don’t,” Jackson responded.
“Seriously?” she asked with surprise. “Even my parents have them!”
“Well, they are clearly cooler than I am,” he laughed. “But it’s not really my kind of thing.”
“Why not?”
“I guess I’d rather keep in touch with people the old-fashioned way. You know, either in person or on the phone.”
“I get it.” Caroline sounded disappointed.
Jackson added, “Plus, that site seems to breed a lot of drama. I hear Tommy and Alex talking about it all the time. Who needs that?”
Caroline nodded her head in agreement. “That is totally true.”
“You’ll just have to settle with talking to me on the phone, through email, and text messages. Think you can handle it?”
“I guess we’ll see.”
Jackson stifled a yawn.
“Oh sorry. Am I boring you?” Caroline teased.
“Tremendously,” he responded. “I hate to say it, but I really need to get some sleep or I’ll pay for it in the morning.”
“This time difference thing sort of sucks,” she moped.
“Goodnight, Caroline. Sweet dreams.”
“You too,” she whispered softly. “’Night.”
Jackson leaned his head into his pillow and as he fell asleep, Caroline consumed his every thought.
****
Caroline hadn’t intended to keep in touch with Jackson on a daily basis, but with Clay working most nights, it made talking to him easy. The time difference didn’t hurt either. By the time Caroline got in from work, Jackson had long been home, studying or relaxing.
As the days passed, she found herself more and more reliant on Jackson’s companionship. When something happened at work, she longed to fill him in. Any news or funny story, he was the first one she wanted to tell. So by the time Clay got home from work, Caroline no longer felt the need to share. When he asked how things were going, he got one-word answers.
“Baby, are you okay?” Clay asked her one night.
Caroline stopped what she was doing and looked in his direction. “I’m fine, why?”
“I don’t know. You just seem distracted lately.”
Caroline smiled. “I’m sorry. I just have a lot going on at work with the promotion and stuff.”
Clay looked confused. “What promotion?”
Caroline scrunched her face in confusion, as well. “Yeah. Since I got hired as staff. You know this.”
Clay shook his head. “No. You got hired as staff?” His tone grew in excitement for her. “Baby, that’s awesome!”
“I swear I told you,” Caroline insisted and thought back to the day she got the news.
“No. I’d remember something like that. So when did it happen?”
Caroline tried to remember when the promotion came through and she thought briefly about lying to Clay, but couldn’t. “A few weeks ago.”
Clay’s face dropped. “Really? A few weeks ago?”
“I’m sorry, J…hon. I seriously thought I told you,” Caroline apologized.
“It’s okay. I’ve been so busy at work and I’m never around. It’s my fault.”
“What? Stop it. Clay, it’s not your fault. I thought I told you, but obviously I didn’t. And that’s my fault, not yours.” Caroline refused to let Clay take the blame for her idiocy.