A Christmas Party Ch. 09

"Hey, Jeremy?" a female voice asked from the other line.

It didn't sound familiar, "Yes? Who's this?"

"It's Phi, I'm sorry I kind of stole your number from Kachi's phone..."

"Oh no worries, it's fine. How is she?" he asked, the nervousness in his voice evident. In truth, he was glad Phi had the sense to steal his number, just in case she couldn't get through to Kachi.

There was a deep sigh from Phi's end, "She's conflicted, she wanted to abort the pregnancy, but I think Ugo- her brother, was able to talk some sense into her. I still don't think we're out of the woods yet." She sounded concerned for her friend.

Jeremy placed his hand against his temple with a sigh, how could she even consider..."Thank God" he said under his breath, "So can I come over now?"

"I'm afraid not, but her brother would like to meet you." Phi replied, her voice filled with hope.

Jeremy understood her excitement, meeting her brother had to be the next best thing. Besides, he supposed the guy couldn't be all that bad if he convinced her to abandon the idea of abortion, "Okay, so when will that be?"

"If you aren't too busy, this evening would be good."

He did a double check on his schedule for the day in his head. He was supposed to see his father this evening for a run-down on the plans in place for the first quarter of the year, but he supposed that could be postponed till the next day.

"Okay, where?"

"There's this bar close to Kachi's place..."

"Yes, I know the place." He didn't mean to cut her off, but he was past being patient.

She didn't seem to be offended by his tone, rather she continued, "He said you should meet him there by seven."

"Okay, seven, okay. Thanks a lot Phi, I owe you."

"No worries, just trying to help out friends." She cut the line without another word.

Jeremy sighed. He was having one hell of a day.

*****

"Need some company?"

If he heard that question one more time, he would leave this place. Phi said it was a cool bar, and to some extent he agreed with her as far as the ambience of the place went, but he definitely didn't expect all of this hounding. Was it so wrong to sit alone at a bar? He hadn't even been here ten minutes and he had been asked this same question three times, did he look like he needed company?

Ugo looked up at the tall brunette who asked the question, her grey eyes gleaming, though he couldn't tell if it was in anticipation of a positive reply from him, or the effect of one too many drinks. He would give it to her though, she was pretty.

"No thanks, I'm waiting for someone." He replied.

She gave him a flirtatious smile and leaned closer so that he could just see the tops of her breasts, "Well, just in case she doesn't show up, I could make good company." She replied suggestively.

Ugo smiled at the invitation in her voice, it was tempting, but there were more important things on his mind right now, "Thanks, but..."

"Hey, Ugo right?"

Ugo's attention was called to the tall man who was now standing beside the brunette; blonde hair, bluish grey eyes, he supposed he was Jeremy, besides, he couldn't forget the face from the little porn he was treated to this afternoon. He stood up, "Yeah, you must be Jeremy."

"Yes, I hope you haven't been here too long. I apologize."

"Oh not too long."

He replied as they shook.

The brunette eyed up both men with a smirk, "I should've known, all the good men are gay." She sighed and walked away.

Jeremy made an attempt to correct her, but Ugo stopped him, "Don't bother." He said as he sat, with Jeremy seating opposite him, "So, you're the infamous Jeremy who knocked up my sister." He began jovially.

Jeremy wasn't sure if he was supposed to laugh at that, but he didn't sound angry. He smiled, not wanting to offend him just in case it really wasn't said in good humor, "It wasn't intentional."

"Is it ever?" he asked, "You really should get a drink. What would you like?"

Jeremy noticed he seemed rather friendly for a guy who was only meeting the man who impregnated his sister for the first time. He hadn't expected such a warm reception; the smile, the good-natured jokes, the hospitality. It was all a bit too surreal, he thought he would get a frown and a long, harsh lecture, not this. Choosing to keep his guard, he replied, "Anything would be fine."

"Be right back." Ugo replied, "Don't worry, I'm the good brother." He said with a smile just before he went toward the bar. As he waited for the bartender to get two bottles of beer, he noticed the brunette on the other end of the table, her eyes were trained on him. He smiled at her boldness and gave her a wink once he had gotten his orders, he thought she winked back, but didn't turn around to confirm that as he returned to their table. He found her an interesting character, perhaps he would get a chance to correct her notion that he was on the other team- if she wasn't gone by the time he was through with Jeremy.

*****

So it wasn't as bad as he originally thought.

Jeremy didn't need to breathe a sigh of relief by the end of the night. He had had a fairly good time despite the circumstances that led to the meeting, it felt more like he was having a discussion with an old friend.

"I'll talk with her, expect a call tomorrow." Ugo said in assurance as the two men shook.

"Thanks a lot. It was nice meeting you." Jeremy replied with a smile. He supposed it was a good thing he had managed to get on the good side of one of Kachi's brothers. He was just a couple of years younger than he was, but the age difference was far from evident. He was up to par in all topics, he particularly found his knowledge of politics and foreign affairs interesting. He didn't know many people who could speak so thoroughly about a topic most people couldn't be bothered about. Then there were their similarities in hobbies and sports.

At the end of their conversation, they had already set up a date for a basketball game and somehow, Ugo had managed to not talk about Kachi as much. It was thirty minutes into their conversation that Jeremy understood the real purpose of the meeting. Contrary to his expectations, the entire meeting was more about him than Kachi, he had gone thirty minutes into the much dreaded 'interview' before he even realized what it really was.

Ugo was much smarter than he let on and he thought he would make a good friend in the long run.

"Same here. And don't worry, you passed." He added with a smirk and a wink.

Jeremy couldn't help his grin, "Thank you. Aren't you leaving now?"

Ugo looked over at the bar. She was still there, and if he wasn't mistaken, she was probably waiting for him.

He shook his head with a smile, she was dogged alright, "Ah, no, will just hang around a while longer."

Jeremy needed no further explanation, he had noticed Ugo's gaze darting towards the bar a number of times during their conversation. He assumed he was checking out some lady, and it seemed he was right.

"Good night then."

"Good night." Ugo replied. He watched Jeremy walk out of the bar.

It was only when he had left his sight that he approached the bar to meet the brown-haired beauty that had been waiting patiently for him, he noticed her smile widen as he approached her.

"You should know that flirting with a gay guy will get you nowhere." He began.

She smiled at him and batted her lashes, "Well, I figured you're far from gay if you spent most of your time ignoring the hunk in front of you and eye-fucking me."

He laughed, "Eye-fucking you? I see you've got quite the imagination, besides, what makes you think I wasn't ignoring him because he's not my type?"

She leaned closer and whispered in his ear, "Let's test that theory, shall we?" she asked seductively. She didn't wait to let him decode her statement before her lips were placed against his.

Ugo went still as this woman he barely knew kissed him softly, he liked the way her lips felt against his; soft and inviting. She nibbled on his lower lip and moved away leaving him just a bit dazed- and aroused.

She laughed heartily at the expression on his face, "If you're gay, I must be Mother Theresa." She smiled and stretched her hand out to him, "I'm Megan."

He returned her smile and took her hand, despite her tan the difference in their skin tones was glaring, "Ugo."

*****

Phi was just settling in to sleep when she heard the door ring.

She frowned, what the hell? She had had a very long tiring day, was she asking too much that someone let her have a well deserved sleep. She closed her eyes tight intent on blocking out the sound of the bell until whoever it was got the message and left.

5 minutes later, the ringing continued. She grumbled, who the fuck was disturbing her sleep? She dragged herself out of the bed and stomped to the door, she was going to scream at that annoying idiot until his or her fucking ear drums burst.

"What the he...?" she didn't get to complete her sentence as she flung the door open and found Keith standing at the other side, ''figures'' she grumbled, who else would do something so annoying?

He was smiling at her despite the scowl she had on, he had a gorgeous smile and she would have appreciated it more if she wasn't so tired.

Keith took in her appearance amazed at how pretty she was able to look even in her disheveled frowning state. It was apparent he had disturbed her sleep, but he wasn't about to leave her be and abandon his purpose for being here. He had waited for her call for over a week, sent her a portrait, all that was left was to spray paint her building with a large, 'CALL ME ALREADY PHI!' with his phone number right under the message. He would do that, but he wasn't a vandal and he didn't need everyone on her street calling him- or the police having it easy when he got reported for vandalism.

"What do you want?" she grumbled.

"Well initially I wanted you to call me, but since that's apparently so difficult, I'm here to take you to dinner." He replied simply.

She stared at him, flabbergasted. Doing a reverse walk, she looked up at the wall clock, it was past ten pm, was he high?, she returned to ask him just that and repeat the time just in case he had missed it.

"I was actually going to call you to ask what time would be convenient, but I didn't have your number, you had mine but since you couldn't call...I just assumed any time would be convenient." He replied, his hands inside the pocket of his jeans as he rocked forward and backward like a kid.

Phi wanted to scream at him, but his little antics had a weird effect on her that left her literally lost for words, or even sounds. She couldn't deny as mad as she wanted to be- or rather, thought she should be, she couldn't shake off that feeling of joy and happiness that he bothered to come after her when she failed to call, lots of guys would have gone on to the next chase after over a week of not getting any reply, but Keith? He was dogged; she liked that and found it oddly charming.

"I'm sure you're aware I was already asleep." She wasn't about to make this easy for him.

"You were? I had no idea." He replied, he sounded sincerely surprised by that fact, but she knew it was all an act.

"You rang the bell continuously for five minutes, the first two minutes would have told you whoever was in was asleep, besides, all the lights were off."

He scrounged up his face like he was in thought, "Oh, thought it was one of those 'save the earth' things people do these days. Anyway if you don't want to go out, we could stay in, as long as we have our date."

She folded her arms across he chest, she noticed his eyes on her perky breasts, but he didn't linger on them, she knew he thought she didn't notice, and she was content with letting him think so, "I don't have any food."

He smiled, "See, I knew you were going to say something like that, so I brought along some groceries. We can just do something simple, how does chicken parmesan sound? And some salad." He said as he walked down the steps toward his car without paying any mind to her shocked expression. He easily got out two apparently heavy bags of groceries, definitely too much for chicken parmesans and salad alone, was he planning a cook-out?

He maneuvered his way to her door and past her, again ignoring her speechlessness.

Phi stood there a few more minutes wondering how she got stuck with someone so damn stubborn, it was charming most times, but a girl really needed her beauty sleep and it was apparent Keith wasn't going to let her have it. She questioned how safe it was having him inside her house, he had never been in here, and somehow she feared that she would be sharing her bed with someone else tonight no matter how strong-willed she may be.

*****

Kachi woke up the next morning alone as usual. She got out of bed and made her way to the bathroom, it was Sunday morning. She had planned to go to the nearest church, but she doubted she had the strength to make it, besides it was too late to meet any service.

She willed herself to forget about everything that happened yesterday, but the nausea that overcame her the moment she stepped into the bathroom and inhaled the smell of jasmine was a harsh reminder that some things couldn't be easily forgotten. She made a mental note to change her soap before the end of the day.

She stared at her reflection, suddenly noticing the slight changes- or maybe her mind was just playing tricks on her. Of course, you find you're pregnant and you suddenly start seeing things, she assumed it happened with everyone.

She sat on the toilet seat for hours just thinking about her life and how quickly things had changed, two months ago she didn't even know who Jeremy Blair was, now she was pregnant with his child- and somehow Ugo had convinced her to keep it. After a long sleep she realized he had been right, aborting this child was a selfish decision, she ought to consult Jeremy before coming to any decisions, this was as much his decision as it was hers. That brought up another issue- she had to see him.

She took in a deep sigh, even after Donny's confession she realized she still hadn't gotten over that video. It was a frame up. He was drugged. She repeated those words to herself hoping to convince herself that the entire video was fake.

In the middle of her thoughts, she remembered that her phone had been switched off the entire day yesterday and even now.

She took a quick bath- with a different soap, it didn't do much good, but it wasn't as nauseating as the jasmine-scented one. As she oiled her body, her hand stilled once it reached her tummy, she felt for any bump and nearly laughed at herself; the pregnancy couldn't be up to four weeks old, so she doubted there would be any signs of a bump anytime soon.

The first thing she did once she was dressed was turn on her phone. Like she guessed a few people wanted to talk to her. She had 48 voicemails, about seventeen were from Donny, she could only listen to two, she deleted the rest without a second thought, she would talk to him eventually- and they would be friends, but not right now. She still couldn't wrap her head around her own best friend plotting with someone as conceited and calculating as Claire was for her own downfall, be it directly or indirectly.

29 were from Jeremy, she listened to about eight, sounded almost the same as Donny's, though she knew they were far from the same purpose. She figured the rest would be just the same so she skipped them all, the last two were from Ugo telling- no, that was his authoritative voice; he was ordering her to call Jeremy as soon as she got his message, no questions asked.

She closed her eyes and breathed in and out to calm herself. She dialed Jeremy's number hoping just a little that he wouldn't pick it so she would have an excuse to give Ugo once he asked- and he would ask. Unfortunately she wasn't favored, not an extra second passed after the first ring when he received the call.

"Thank God! I've been waiting since yesterday for your call Kachi, I couldn't even sleep...how are you? Are you well? The ba...the pregnancy, is it...?"

"I'm fine Jeremy and so is the ba...the pregnancy. It's just...we need to talk about us, about this child." She knew she sounded distraught, but that was exactly how she felt right now; distraught, stressed, worried, confused. Ugo was right after all, this was too big a burden for her to carry alone. She needed Jeremy.

"I know, I'm already at your door, just got here. If you would open up please?"

He was already here? Why didn't he come just a few hours later? When she was less stressed. She steeled her nerves and stood up, "I'll be right there."

She walked out of her bedroom and to the front door, unlocking and opening it before she changed her mind.

They both stood staring at each other for minutes, neither knowing what to say. Kachi couldn't stand there, so she did the first thing that came to mind. She moved closer and wrapped her arms around his torso, willing him to comfort her.

Jeremy didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her, he held her tightly against him like she was going to disappear. After a few minutes he began patting her head, he placed a light kiss on the top of her head, "Everything will be fine, trust me." He murmured against her head. He wanted to think all would be fine, and for now, having her so close to him made him feel like they really would be fine. They would get through all of the Claire drama, and he would convince her to keep the baby.

Beyond any doubts he had a gut feeling that all would be well.

*thanks for the feedback so far. I may not be updating any stories for a while, school has me busy, but will try to update when I can. Thanks again**LS