Chapter 16:

Saturday night came too quick. Mom said I could go since it was a group date. She extended my curfew to midnight. Mom and Matt were staying in since she was too tired to go anywhere. The icy feeling hit the pit of my stomach. Staring at the ceiling, I woke up around 11 am, contemplating making up an excuse. I still felt shook from seeing Jason in the NA meeting. I fell for his tricks again. I made up my mind: I'm not going back. But then Ms. Kenan would tell my therapist and my parents, my P.O, and I'm back to rehab. Screw it. I stood up, heading to the bathroom to get ready. "Ow," I winced when I got out of the shower. What the hell? I cleaned off the steam on the mirror to check it. "Fuck." There was a bruise on my wrist. "Fucking Jason." I stuck out my tongue. It was clear as day if I moved my head. Anyone could see it. I didn't usually wear makeup. I'll go light today.

I blended the foundation in my skin. Muttering curses when I wore my mascara. Cursing him, cursing myself for seeing him again. He trapped me. I'm wearing a long sleeved floral blouse, and I stretched it down to my wrist. There, no one would see. It pulled to my fingers, stretchy enough. I could tell them I'm sick. I jumped when I heard my phone ring; it was Shane. I stared at the screen, as the ringtone sounded, my thumbs hovering over the decline button, I took a deep breath and clicked on the accept button. "Hey!" My voice came out shaky, I coughed and cleared my throat, could it be I'm coming down with something? I pressed my neck with my three fingers.

"Hey, you ok?" He asked.

"Yeah! Yeah," I lowered my tone to calm myself down. "Are you here already?" I questioned.

"Give me fifteen minutes until I reach your house," he answered.

"All right, I'll see you here. I mean, there. I mean, I'll see you soon." I hung up after my babbling. I threw my phone in my purse, I let my hair down, tucking in a strand of hair behind my ear. Let's do this. As I headed downstairs to tell mom I was about to leave, dad was standing in the foyer. "Hey dad, what are you doing here?" I asked in a confused tone. I wasn't expecting to see him here tonight. "Is everything ok?"

"I'm dropping off Jim. He wanted to be with your mom. I thought we could all hang out. Together. Like old times," he explained.

"Like old times. What are our old times, father?" I leaned my elbow on the stair banister.

"Watching old movies on the couch, all four of us." I do remember that, we did when I was 10, Jim was 7. Then it stopped when I was 14. The last movie we watched together was Shrek Forever After.

"It's not just the four of us anymore, we're expanding. What's going on?" I frowned.

"I'm trying to be spontaneous. Dr. Brett's advice. Trish is at work tonight. Where are you off to? You look nice. Are you going on a date?" He frowned.

"I'm going out with some friends from school for dinner. It's a group thing. Mom said I could go." If you called, I would have canceled and told them it's a family night. Great timing, dad.

"Oh. I get it." I saw the rejected look in his eyes, disappointment in his tone. Now I feel bad, don't make me feel guilty, dad.

"Sorry, he's on his way to pick me up."

"He?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Just a friend, dad." I approached the living room, mom and Jim were on the couch watching TV, eating snacks out of a bowl. "It's not you know who." Thinking about him made the mark on my spot tingle.

"Good," he nodded. "Have fun." he smiled.

"Thanks."

"Jordan, come sit with us. We're watching Modern Family reruns," Jim said with a gleeful expression, patting the couch cushion next to him.

"I would love to, bud, but I'm going out for a while. I'll be back," I told him and scruffed up his hair. I heard my notification sound ping, Shane texted me that he was outside. "Love you guys, I'm going now," I announced.

"Mom, I'm heading out."

She looked back and grinned without getting up, "have fun, honey. Call me for anything."

"I will." I opened the door and walked out. Shane was by his car in black slacks and blue buttoned down shirt with no blazer. It looked like he got a haircut for tonight. "Don't you look handsome and classy." I smiled with a chuckle.

"I had to. You look amazing," he said, with a glint in his eyes. I pulled my hair more to my neck to hide my blush.

"Thanks. Let's go." Before I could enter the car, Shane pointed behind me with furrowed brows in worry.

I turned around, "Dad! What the... what are you doing?" I stuttered.

"Just wanted to see who's taking you. John Baker, Jordan's father," he stated in a stern tone while putting his hand out to Shane.

"Nice to meet you sir," Shane's voice wavered.

"So where are you two going tonight?" he asked, his jaw ticked and his brows furrowed.

"We are meeting two friends at Red Lobster," Shane answered.

"Red Lobster, huh? It's not code for anything you kids are doing, right?"

"Dad, please," I shook my head. "It's dinner."

"I'm making sure he's ok. If I did that before, you wouldn't have been..." Don't mention it, please.

"I'm fine." I smiled and then swallowed hard.

He nodded "ok. Be safe. Both of you." He kissed my forehead, pointed his index finger at Shane, and stared hard, "take care of my daughter." Were his last words before stepping off. I waved bye at him as he entered the house.

"Your dad is freaking huge!" Shane said when I opened the car door.

I laughed and said "he's not that big."

"Are you kidding me? He's like 6'8," he said, making a weird face.

"So is this a hangout or a date?" I asked while tugging on my sleeves.

"It depends on how the night ends," Shane said with a smirk, I looked at him and smiled back. He drove off at a moderate speed. It kept my anxiety down as I sunk in the passenger seat. I tugged on the collar of my shirt, he's not Jason. He's good in my eyes. Too good.

The lighting was dim when we entered the restaurant, I squinted. Shane told the hostess with black and brown mixed braids that we had a table reserved for four. "Guys! Over here!" Myra waved back and forth. I wiped the sweat off my hands with my pants and unclenched my jaw.

Shane pointed at the area where we were going to sit. The hostess nodded, telling us to follow her. She tucked a piece of braid behind her ear while she walked in front of us. I slowed my steps walking behind him. I could back out and no one would notice. Shane took my hand, pulling me beside him. "It's gonna be fine," he whispered. I was squeezing his hand too hard, releasing my grip a little, and breathed out twice. I pulled out the chair next to Myra and Shane sat next to Kyle, they gave each other a fist bump. I removed my coat and purse, and hung it behind my chair.

"I like your dress," I told her. She looked great in the green dress with spaghetti straps. Her wavy hair was over her shoulders, her eyeshadow matched her dress.

"Thanks." She smiled. The menus were already placed on the plates.

"Where did you get it?"

"Marshalls. It was on sale," she said.
"Nice." I nodded.

"Love your blouse," she told me.

"Thank you. I don't remember where I bought it." I chuckled. I probably stole it or my mom bought it before I came home.

"Jordan, you look lovely," Kyle told me.

"Um thanks?" I frowned and picked up the menu and opened it to browse. The waiter came, he asked for our drink orders. I unraveled and placed my napkin on my lap.

Myra ordered a sprite, I ordered an iced tea, Shane asked for iced water and Kyle asked for coke with no ice. Plates and utensils clanked, chatter was loud enough in the restaurant from others but not from either of us. I tapped my finger on the menu, waiting for someone to say anything. "Where are the cheddar biscuits?" Were the first words I spoke to cut the anxiety in my body.

"I think they're bringing it out," Myra said, scooting closer to Kyle's side. Kyle grinned and flicked her nose. His buttoned shirt had no tie and no jacket. His hair was neat and slicked, looking gorgeous. Not better than Shane but he looked ok, I guess.

"So, anybody football fans? Patriots, Redskins? Ravens?" I tapped my fingers against the table.

Shane gave a small smile, "I didn't know you liked football."

"I don't, I'm more into wrestling. WWE. Just making conversation." I jiggled my leg under the table, clasping my hands together. I sucked at social cues.

"Really?" His tone intrigued, placing his arm behind my chair, "who's your favorite?"

"The Rock, of course," I answered with a shrug. Me, dad and Jim bonded over watching the wrestling matches.The first time I saw Dwayne 'the rock' Johnson, he was in a match against Triple H. His stage presence was charismatic. It was one of the things I fondly remembered of me and dad when he wasn't fighting with mom. Dad bought me his autobiography book. "But he doesn't wrestle anymore. So I would say Solo Sokoya and Roman Reigns." The new wrestlers were part of the new generation, I kept up with as much as I could before I went to rehab. Roman was handsome, charismatic like The Rock.

"Roman Reigns sucks," I heard Kyle chime in.

"Are we talking about the same person? The tribal chief? Reigning world champion?"

"Cody Rhodes is better," he argued.

I scoffed, "He's a traitor."

"It was a strategy to get to the top."

"Then how come Roman's still the reigning champion for so long?" I pointed out.

"So? He's still better."

"Well, he lost." The waiter came around our table again, finally with our drinks and a basket of biscuits. Yes! So far, I was feeling ok. My hands weren't shaking, I could make eye contact as Shane spoke. The waiter asked for our orders after he brought our drinks. I decided on shrimp alfredo. Kyle ordered crab cakes, Myra ordered pasta with mussels, Shane ordered lobster pasta. "Myra, who do you like?"
"I don't watch wrestling," she answered. "I'm more into Basketball."
"Basketball? You never told me that," Kyle snorted.

"I don't broadcast it, I used to watch it with my uncle. I like Lebron and Steph Curry."

"Oh. Shane?" I looked at him, he was sipping on his drink.

"I like the Uso brothers," he answered.
"Yeah, they're a great tag team." I fiddled with my napkin and I got the awkward chitchat out of the way.

"Movies. What is everyone's favorite movie?" Kyle sounded like my therapist and Ms. Kenan. I grabbed my drink for a sip.

"Dune," Shane said.

"I really like Grease," Myra said.

"For me it's between Bad Boys and Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless mind." I choked on my drink and coughed. I hit my chest to hack it out.

"Sorry, what?" I asked.

"Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind. What about you, Jordan?" He leaned his chin on his laced fists.
"Where is our food?" I opened it to wave it like a flag.

"It looks like a busy night." Kyle looked at me with a wicked look. He took a sip of his drink with his tongue out. Lapping his drink like a dog. I shuddered, moving my gaze from him. What the fuck was he up to and why did he bring up that movie? I smiled. Well I tried to. The corners of my mouth cracked, I gulped some of my tea for my thirst again. I looked at Myra as she scrolled on her phone. So clueless from his behavior. I shouldn't feel guilty. From what I learned in the past, it was better for her to find out what kind of trash Kyle was instead of me telling her. When our meals arrived, my gut gurgled from the savory smell.

"Is this your first date with Myra, Kyle?" I asked with a squint.

"Well, technically it's the second. The first was the party," Myra said with a smile.

"Hmmm. And how are things going?"

"How are things going for you and Shane?" Kyle asked.

"It's good. We're friends," I said.

"So is this a first date?" Myra asked.

"Yes." I confirmed. Shane's eyes met mine and he grinned. "It is." Being with Shane was safe, he was nice. He understood before he judged. Not that he judged me before but he had listening skills. Maybe. Maybe we could work. But I'm taking it slow.

"Huh." Kyle took a bite of his food while looking at me. I frowned again. Myra swooned, doing a shimmy like she was proud of me. I laughed. I took a peek at Kyle. He pulled out a flask and poured the contents in his drinks. I rolled my eyes. I slurped some more of my noodles, picking out and chewing on my shrimp.

"Enjoying your food?" I asked Shane as he scooped up some of his lobster bisque.

"Yeah, it's good," he answered. "You?"

"Yeah." I peaked at Kyle and Myra again, she was feeding him some of his seafood salad. Better than him looking at me. I was done with my meal, I took another biscuit since they brought more.

"I need to go to the bathroom." I wiped my hands on my napkin, tugging the collar of my shirt. I didn't really need to go to the bathroom, I felt stuffy and uncomfortable. I pushed open the door with force, it hit the wall. A woman with black straight hair and a red dress jolted in surprise with a frown. "Sorry," I said with a shaky laugh. "Big date?" She ignored me and walked past to exit. Jeez, attitude. I headed to the sink, turned on the faucet to wash my hands. After I was finished, a body got in the way. "Oh, excuse"

"Jordan," Kyle said, adjusting his collar. I checked his body language and moved back. He had that same look on his face at the table. He was way too close.

I slumped my arms, "What's wrong? Are we ordering dessert?" I asked. I was in the mood for cheesecake but maybe to go.

"We need to talk."
"About what?"

"About us," he said like it was a fact.

"Us?" I scoffed, "are you delusional?"

"Are you? Come on, Jojo, you can't deny our vibe, our chemistry." His hand leaned on the wall behind me as he smirked. I scowled. Was he drunk? He had to be, I saw the flask. Did he just call me-"When we first met, I know you were checking me out. We're connected."

My head snapped back, wait, he's serious. He couldn't be.

"Did you just call me Jojo?"

"Is that only reserved for Jason? He told me that's what he liked to call you. It's cute."

"You're on a date with Myra and you're hitting on me. You're gross."

"She doesn't have to know," he whispered in my ear.

"Are you drunk?" I inched my head to the side from the smell of vodka on his mouth.

"I added a little vodka to my drink. Wanna taste?" He puckered his lips and leaned forward, I palmed his face. He chuckled and said, "touchy." He moved in closer, his pelvis was almost close to mine.

"You need to stay the hell away from me." I shoved him again.

"Or what?"

"Just back off," I warned.

"Come on, no one will see." His hands began to grope my shoulder, reaching down to my breasts. He tried to pin me against the wall, his breath reeked of the vodka and fanned my face. "Isn't this how Jason had you?"

I'm done holding back. I'm done being nice. He touched me. I slapped him hard. I know. I'm gonna get in trouble but it was self defense. My fingers throbbed. I think I hit his nose or jaw.

"Bitch!" He screamed, "do you know who I am?"

"I don't give a damn. Never put your hands on me!"

"You-"

"What's going on here?" Shane asked as he came in front of us. His face was scrunched and red.

"Your friend's a dick," I pointed at his kneeling position.

"Says the mad girl that punched me." He whimpered, wiping the blood from his nose.

"Oh, shut up. I slapped you." I rolled my eyes.

Myra came from behind. She gasped, running to Kyle with care. "Kyle. What happened?" Myra asked, "are you ok?"

"She hit me," he said on the verge of tears.

"Don't put your hands on me."

"Me? You came on to me," Kyle assumed. "She wanted it. She kept looking at me all night." I cackled out loud, clapping my hands three times from his lies.

"You're Garbage. I'm out. Good night." I threw my hands up to give up. I'm done. I've had it. I walked away to get my things. Shane and Myra yelled out my name, I ignored them leaving the restaurant. Was this why he invited me, to humiliate me? Dickhead.

I proceeded to walk off, buttoning my coat up to my neck. I felt my eyes burn, tears threatening to come out, I blinked real fast. "Jordan!" Shane yelled. His footsteps were heavy as he ran.

"Don't defend him," I told him over my shoulder.

"I wouldn't do that, wait," Shane said, taking my elbow to halt my steps.

"No. I shouldn't have come. I knew this was a bad idea. We should have gone to the movies or I could have invited you-" I closed my eyes tightly. This was pointless. "Forget it."

He pulled my arm to a halt, I looked into his eyes, it was filled with anger too. I breathed rapidly, my chest was caving in and my throat hurt. Shane pulled me in, holding me in a tender embrace. I refused to cry, I wrapped my arms over his shoulders tightly. We stood there in a hug for a while, he swayed our bodies together. It calmed me down a bit but my head hurt. "Let me take you home."

We strolled to the parking lot hand in hand, we found his car we entered and he drove off. Twenty minutes later, we arrived at my house. My throat felt dry yet full, I cleared it. I tried so hard trying so hard not to cry the entire time.

"Kyle is such an asshole," Shane finally said.

"Yeah," I answered in a whisper.

"Um, do you wanna talk about it?" I shook my head and swallowed hard again, removing my seatbelt.

"I didn't expect him to do that."

"It's not your fault."

"Can I walk you to the door?"

"Thank you." We exited the car, slowly approaching my house. Licking my dry lips, I pulled at the ends of my sleeves.

"You ok?" He asked.

"Right now, no," I spoke honestly, clasping my hands together.

"Look, I'll talk to Kyle."

"You don't have to. I'll be fine. Thanks for tonight."

"If anything, you can call me," he assured.

"Hmmhmm." I didn't lean back, our eyes locked. Shane's fingers brushed mine, index moving from my wrists to my fingers. It gave me a phantom electric shock on my skin.

"Would it be ok if I kissed you right now?" he asked in a whisper. Our foreheads rested and lingered. I chuckled and nodded. Hesitant, his lips brushed my skin softly. He gazed at my face for a reaction. I breathed in as he leaned forward. I closed my eyes.

Before his lips pressed mine, my phone rang in my purse. I scoffed, opening my eyes one by one. Wasn't the goodnight kiss I was expecting. "I- I'm"

He smiled, "get it. We have time."

I took it out quickly. "Hello?"

"Mom's in labor," Jim said in a scared tone. Oh, my god. I looked at Shane with my mouth gaped open.

"What?"

"She's in labor, her water, it was gross, all over the floor. Dad took her. We're in the hospital right now." I thought she wasn't due yet.

"Which hospital?"

"St. Marks." I gasped. I felt a wave of elation. Then my mouth went dry, my stomach felt empty. It's that hospital.

"Does Matt know?"

"Dad texted him with mom's phone."

"What is it?" Shane asked with a frown.

"My mom's having the baby."

"Wow." his eyes widened. "That's amazing."

"I thought she had one more month due. Can you take me to the hospital? St. marks?"

"Sure. Let's go."

"I'm on my way." I got that feeling of wanting to throw up when I entered his car. The last time I was in the hospital was... well... This wasn't about me, it's about a brand new life coming into the world. I tried to stop the weakness in my knees as I walked back to his car.