Wes sighed in relief. He was finally done. It had been nerve-racking work. It took over an hour to clear the damage done by the virus. He knew it could have been much worse, however, so he was thrilled.
He turned toward Janet and grinned. She was just too cute. “Guess you’re not ready to go, huh?” he said.
She had chosen that moment to clean out her pocketbook. The entire contents were dumped onto her lap. Along with her wallet, Wes could see five paper clips, three mismatched buttons, approximately two and a half dollars in change, a soy sauce stained slip of paper from a fortune cookie, a few pony tail holders, a hair clip, two lip balms, a tiny bottle of hand sanitizer and another of hand cream, a small bag of M&M’s, three store receipts, several candy wrappers and a comb with a sticky peppermint glued to it.
She stared up at him and bit her lip. “Ah, sure I am… um…in a minute,” she said as she stuffed everything back in, even the candy stuck comb.
“You know, that’s pretty much exactly what my mother always had in her pocketbook when she decided it was time to clean it out,” Wes said with a laugh. “Are all girls the same or just you and my mom?”
“Uh…I guess all girls…I think,” she mumbled, taking the bag of M&M’s back out. She tore it open and grabbed Wes’ hand. She dumped the contents into it, then took out all the green ones and popped them into her own mouth.
“Teenage boys should never have these… I’ve been told,” she said with an impish grin.
Wes burst out laughing. “You’re so cute,” he said and he tossed the rest of the candy into his mouth.
He stood and held out his hand to her. “Come on, I’m finished. We’re back on line. Mr. Hunowski will be happy. Let’s go tell him, Baby.”
She yanked her hand out of his grasp. “Don’t call me that!” she snapped.
He stared at her, shocked. “What? Baby? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it,” he said anxiously. “Janet, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” she replied stiffly. Now she felt stupid for overreacting. She turned her back on him and pretended to fuss with the contents of her purse. After a minute she turned back toward him and slipped her hand in his. She smiled up at him as if nothing had happened and said, “I’m ready.”
For a second he stared at her with a puzzled expression on his face. He looked like he wanted to say something, but in the end, he decided not to and she was endlessly glad for it. He led the way to the front where several workers lounged about smoking, drinking coffee and joking around. Among them was Ken Hunowski the manager and much to Wes’ surprise, John London, the owner.
“Wes! About time. You don’t usually take so long. Was it really bad?” Ken asked.
“It was his pretty girlfriend distracting him, wasn’t it?” John London said smirking.
The men laughed. Janet, on the other hand, looked up at Wes with a guilty expression on her face. He squeezed her hand in a reassuring gesture and smiled. It seemed only she could tell he was annoyed.
“While my girlfriend is very pretty and could be a distraction, she wasn’t. I know when and how to separate work and play,” he said in a casual tone.
“Just teasing you, Wes. I know you’re good and a professional,” John said as he stared at Janet. “Hello, Jasmine. Don’t you remember me?”
Janet looked at him until recognition hit her. “Oh, yes…you’re Chad’s brother. Hi,” she said, convulsively clinging to Wes’ hand.
“How is May? Haven’t heard from her in….since Chad died,” John added, giving a stiff sort of smile.
“Um...okay, I guess,” Janet answered. She glanced up at Wes silently pleading to be out of there as soon as possible.
Somehow he got the message. “It was a little involved, getting the computer back on line, Mr. London. It’s good for now, but I need to come back next week and finish up. I can tell you then what I did today and what still needs to be done, so this doesn’t happen again, or I can send you a service report if you like. I’m a bit pressed for time today or I would do it now,” he said apologetically.
“Don’t worry about that. I trust you,” John said. “It was really nice seeing you again, Jasmine. My love to May and Travis, the next time you see or hear from them.”
“This is Janet, Mr. London, not her twin Jasmine,” Wes corrected.
“Oh,” John said frowning slightly. “I’m terribly sorry. You look so alike. You must get that all the time.”
“No worries. I’m used to it,” Janet said shrugging.
“It was good seeing you again, Janet, and you too, Wes. Thanks for getting us going again,” John said.
They shook hands and said their goodbyes. Then Wes put his arm possessively around Janet and took her outside.
“May and Tristan are your aunt and cousin, right? The ones that went with your family to Mexico?” Wes asked tentatively. “And Chad London died in the war.”
She nodded.
“You don’t get along with John London?”
“My Uncle Chad didn’t get along with him, so I can’t like him,” she replied simply. “My loyalty will always be with my Uncle Chad. He was such an awesome guy. He shouldn’t have died. We all miss him so much,” she said quietly.
“I bet. I’m sorry,” Wes replied.
They got to the car and as he opened the door she grabbed his arm and peered anxiously into his face. "Wes, I'm sorry," she said.
“About what?” he asked.
“I got you in trouble. It could hurt your business having me with you,” she said, searching his face, wondering if he was angry with her.
“It’s fine, Janet," He said smiling. "Really, don’t worry, okay?” He caressed her cheek with the tips of his fingers and stared into her beautiful eyes. He bent down and had been within a centimeter of kissing her sweet lips when he heard a wolf whistle, a very crude remark and some raucous laughter.
He immediately pulled back, looking angry. “Let’s get outta here,” he muttered between clenched teeth. He hurried her into the car and slammed the door.
Once in and safely buckled, Wes tore out of there as if the devil himself were after them. This utterly confused Janet. That had been a perfect opportunity to show they were a real couple. So, why hadn’t he kissed her in front of all those witnesses? Then she realized they really didn’t have to show them. Wes had called her his girlfriend. It apparently had been enough. They were convinced and all they did was hold hands! She wondered why Wes wasn't happy about that.
As if Wes heard her ask, he said, “I hate when guys act like that!”
“Uh, what do you mean?” she asked.
“It's bad enough when guys my age act like that, but they're grown men.They should know better and they acted like… like scumbags,” he said angrily.
“Were they?” she said innocently.
“Didn’t you hear what they said?” he asked.
“Sure I did. They acted like all guys do,” she said shrugging.
“I don’t act like that!” he shouted indignantly.
She laughed. “I know. I already told you you’re not like other guys,” she said. “But you should be happy.”
“Happy?” he said, incredulous. “Why the hell should I be happy they said those rude things about you?”
“I’ve heard worse, Wes,” she replied. “But I didn’t mean that. You should be happy because those guys obviously were convinced I’m your girlfriend and you didn’t have to kiss me or anything. Just holding hands was enough,” she said brightly. To her amazement Wes didn’t look any happier. In fact, he looked furious. If she had been confused before, she was utterly bewildered now.
Wes clutched at the steering wheel with such force, he marveled it didn’t break. Just perfect, he thought miserably. Now Janet wouldn’t let him kiss her anymore! What the hell was he going to do now? Then he felt her soft hand on his arm.
“Wes, you really don’t have to worry about what they said. I don’t care, cuz…well, cuz I just don’t and you shouldn’t either,” she said.
“You shouldn’t have to hear stuff like that and you won’t if I have anything to say about it. I’ll make sure of it,” he insisted. “When I go back there, I’ll tell them they can’t talk that way to my girlfriend,” he said fiercely.
“Uh, are you forgetting? I’m not really your girlfriend,” she said, her eyes wide in surprise.
“Uh…yeah, but…you’re a girl and my friend…that’s...that's what I meant,” he said, knowing perfectly well he sounded totally lame. To his shock she laughed.
“Oh, my bad!” she said, grinning at him.
