Jealousy (14 page)

A rush of adrenaline ran through Justin’s chest as they locked eyes with one another.  The salesman was cute, and the small flirtation they shared was refreshing.  This was the first time Justin had any kind of interaction with another man since he met Kenny.  It was innocent, but it was exciting.

Heather clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth.

Justin knew she didn’t approve of his over-friendly behavior, but he ignored her.

The salesman
’s smile remained on his face.  He extended his hand and introduced himself.

Heather stepped between them, almost bumping into the salesman and forcing him to take a step backwards.  She pursed her lips to the side in an exaggerated smirk and directed it first at the salesman, and then at Justin.

“Are you taking that, Justin?  Because I’m ready to go.”  She was steaming, and she made sure he knew it.

Justin smirked back at her. 
“I don’t know yet.”

“
Why don’t you think about it and come back tomorrow?” the salesman said.  “I’ll be here to show it to you again.”  He dug his hand into his pocket and gave Justin a business card.

Heather dragged Justin out of the store by the arm as soon as the jacket was off
of his shoulders.

He pulled harshly out of her grasp. 
“What the hell is wrong with you?”

“
What’s wrong with
me
?  What’s wrong with
you
?  You were flirting with that guy!”

“
So?  I wasn’t doing anything wrong.”

“
Yes you were.  Why did you take his number?”

“
I didn’t take his number. I took his business card. About a sale. It wasn’t personal.”  He hated defending himself.  Heather was a tough person to argue with, especially when she was right.

“
I don’t care!”  She slammed the car door shut and scolded him the whole way home.  “I saw the way you looked at that guy.  You were out of line, Justin.  You can’t do that to Kenny.”

Justin rolled his eyes. 
“Like you never flirt?”

“
No, not the way you were.  Not since I married Peter.”

“
Well, I’m not married.”

“
What are you talking about?  You and Kenny are in a committed relationship.”  She smacked the steering wheel with the palm of her hand.  “It’s the same thing!”

“
No.  It’s not.”

Justin jumped out of the car as soon as Heather pulled into the driveway
.

She chased after him. 
“I can’t believe you’re trying to tell me that was harmless flirting!  You know damn well that if Kenny acted like that you’d be furious!”

She was right, but he wouldn
’t give in.  He snorted, rolled his eyes at her and marched up the driveway and right past Peter.

“
Trouble in paradise?” Peter asked.  He was sarcastic and it annoyed Justin, but not as much as it annoyed Heather.

She shot Peter an intensely evil look.  She stopped to say something to him, but Justin didn
’t wait around to hear what it was. He stomped into the house and waited for her.  He felt betrayed by her disloyalty. She was supposed to come to his defense, not stick up for Kenny.

As soon as Heather walked through the front door, he snapped at her. 
“Why are you taking Kenny’s side? You’re supposed to be on my side.”

“
I
am
on your side.  I’m looking out for you.  I’m trying to make sure you don’t make a stupid mistake and ruin your relationship with Kenny.”

“
Why are you making such a big deal?  Nothing happened.”

“
Because Kenny deserves more respect than that.” She paused, and her eyes bore into him.  Then she abruptly went out front and left him standing alone in the living room.

He read something in her eyes, but he was too angry to figure it out.  He stormed out of the house and waved her a sarcastic goodbye.

“Where do you think you’re going?” she asked.

“
I’m leaving.  I’m not gonna stay here while you yell at me all day.”

“
Come back here!  Don’t you dare leave when you’re mad at me!”  She ran after him and caught him by the arm.  “Wait. I’m sorry.”

Justin
’s voice softened.  He wasn’t angry anymore. He was hurt.  “Why did you go against me like that?”

“
I’m not going against you.”  She looked down at the ground.  “I don’t want you to make the same mistake I did, that’s all.”

She was thinking about her affair with Dominick – that
’s what Justin saw in her eyes.  He knew she still missed Dominick, even though she never spoke of him.

“
Don’t you love Kenny anymore?” she asked.

“
Of course I still love Kenny.  I would never hurt him.  I don’t know . . . it’s just that . . . I don’t know.  I don’t know why I was flirting with that guy, but I wouldn’t have done anything.”

“
I don’t want you to do anything stupid, Justin.  Don’t jeopardize your relationship with Kenny.  Stay away from that guy.  Don’t go back to that store tomorrow.”

He felt like she was taking Kenny
’s side again, and he resented it.  “Don’t tell me what to do.”

“
Why not?  You always tell me what to do.”

“
Look, Heather, I love that you love Kenny and that you’re sticking up for him, but you need to remember that
I’m
your best friend, because sometimes I think you’re getting a little too close to him.”

“
That’s crazy!”

“
I mean it, Heather,” he said, firmly.  “I’m serious.”

“
I can’t believe you’re even saying that.  I can’t believe you’re jealous of Kenny.  Do you actually think that anyone could mean half as much to me as you do?”

He didn
’t answer. He knew she was right, but he was powerless over his jealousy.

She slowly smiled at him,
and then she put her arms around his waist and hugged him.  At first he stiffened, but after a moment a barely audible sigh escaped him, and he hugged her back.  “No one will ever come close to the way I feel about you,” she whispered, “not even Kenny.”

Chapter Twenty-Six:

Justin couldn
’t stop thinking about the salesman at the leather store.  It wasn’t really the salesman he was preoccupied with – it was the feelings that the salesman stirred up inside him that were driving him crazy.  He didn’t want to be tied down in a serious relationship, but somehow he fell in love with Kenny without even realizing it.  Justin tried to ignore and suppress his wandering eye, but it wasn’t fair to Kenny – and it wasn’t fair to himself.  As much as he hated to admit it, he needed to take a step back in their relationship.

Kenny was going to take the news hard.  But Heather was probably going to take it even harder.  Justin knew he needed to prepare her before he spoke to Kenny.

“Sit down, sweetie,” he said.  “I need to talk to you.”

Heather plopped on the couch. 
“What’s up?”

Justin pressed his lips together, and he hesitated.  The words didn
’t want to come out of his mouth.

It made Heather uneasy. 
“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“
Try not to overreact.”

“
You’re making me nervous, Justin.  What is it?”

He took a deep breath. 
“I’m thinking about breaking up with Kenny.”

Heather sat back, genuinely stunned. 
“What?  What are you talking about?”

“
I don’t know.  Lately I’ve been missing my freedom.  I think I wanna date other guys.”

She put her hands on her forehead and pushed her fingers through her hair. 
“Please tell me you’re not serious about this.  Does this have anything to do with that guy at the leather shop last week?  Is that what this is about?”

“
No,” Justin paused, “but it made me realize how much I miss flirting and the rush of being with someone new.  I don’t wannna be tied down.”

She shook her head. 
“I don’t understand.  You guys have a great relationship.  You always talk about how sweet and adorable Kenny is.  You get along so well.  I would give
anything
to have a relationship with Peter like the one you have with Kenny.  Did you two even have your first fight yet?”

Justin looked down at the floor. 
“No. I love Kenny.  I don’t wanna break up with him.  I only want a little freedom . . . but I don’t think he’s gonna go for it.  I’m trying to prepare you for the worst, that’s all.”  Or maybe, he was just trying to prepare himself.

Heather
’s eyes filled with tears.  “How could you do that to him?  You’re gonna break his heart.”

“
How many times have I told you not to get too attached to my boyfriends?”

“
Kenny isn’t just some fling.  You love each other.  Why do you want to see anyone else?  He loves you, and he’s good to you.  Why do you want to give all of that up?”

“
I miss dating.  Is that so wrong?”

“
You’ve dated a million guys, Justin.  Are you gonna spend your whole life jumping into bed with a different guy every night?”

She hit a nerve. 
“You don’t have to make me sound like a slut, Heather.  If I’m not happy, I owe it to Kenny to be honest with him.”

She paced throughout the living room and wiped the tears that seeped from the corners of her eyes. 
“I can’t believe this.  That poor guy probably has no clue.”  She slapped her thigh with her fist.  “I’m so mad at you right now!”

“
Don’t make me feel worse than I already do, and don’t be mad at me.  You know, I could be pretty upset with you right now because you’re not supporting me on this.  Don’t you want me to be happy?”

“
Of course I do, but . . . I love Kenny, and I can’t bear to think how much you’re gonna hurt him and how much I’m gonna miss him.  I don’t wanna lose Kenny as a friend.”

Justin straightened his shoulders and stood up tall. 
“If he isn’t in my life, he isn’t in yours.”  He shook his head.  “You can’t have a relationship with Kenny without me.  I’m sorry.”

She lowered her eyes. 
“I know.”

He put his arms around her and rested his chin on top of her head. 
“Maybe Kenny won’t mind an open relationship.  You could be getting yourself all worked up for nothing.”

But that was a lie.  He knew that his relationship with Kenny would be over as soon as he mentioned the idea of dating other people.

C
hapter Twenty-Seven:

Kenny rattled on about his shift at the hospital last night, while Justin drifted off and tried to figure out how he would approach the s
ubject of seeing other people.

“
Are you listening to a word I’m saying?” Kenny asked.  “You look like you’re a million miles away.”

“
We have to talk.”

Kenny
’s jaw hung open.  He knew exactly what those four words implied.

“
I don’t know how else to say this, Kenny, so I’m just gonna come out and say it.”  Justin paused briefly.  “I want to see other people.”

Kenny closed his eyes and shook his head. 
“Where is this coming from?  I thought everything was fine between us.”

“
It is.  It’s not you . . .”

“
Don’t you dare give me that fuckin’, ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ bullshit!”  Kenny leaned forward with his hands on his hips and furrowed his brow.  “What’s going on?  Is there someone else?”

“
No, there’s no one else.”

“
Then what is it?  There has to be a reason.”

Justin put his hands on Kenny
’s shoulders.  “I love you, but we jumped into this serious relationship so fast, and I’m not ready for it yet.”

“
Not ready for it yet?  You broke up with that guy, like three years ago, and you told me yourself that before you met me, you screwed every guy that came along.”

The remark reminded
Justin of Heather’s statement about jumping into bed with a different guy every night, and it left Justin questioning his promiscuity.

“
Is this because that guy cheated on you?” Kenny asked.  “Is that what you’re afraid of?  Are you worried that I’m gonna cheat on you?  Because, I would never do that, honey.”

“
No.  I told you, I just wanna slow things down a little.  Everything happened so fast.  We’ve barely been together three months.”