Avery and Jenna Pt. 11: Contrived

"Dammit, Avery," she said to herself.

"DON'T EVER CALL ME THAT AGAIN"

The inside of the building was so cold. As he skipped a step with each stride to climb the fourteen stairs to the second floor, where his apartment rested, he saw a thin, white cloud of water vapor with each aspiration. To be inside of the building and still see his breath, meant something was wrong with the heater. The building was built in the early 70s; it operated on one heating and cooling system. The heater had one setting, which was sweltering. The air conditioning had one setting, which was frigid. He and Jenna adapted to the system, using the heat or air conditioning only when they absolutely needed to do so. There was no way it could be adjusted because of the central nature of the system. There was a temperature gauge within their apartment, which was just for show, as it was broken. Turning the key to open the door, he saw Jenna sitting on one of the couches in the living room. There were two couches in the room, a short blue couch and a longer, blue couch of a different shade. Across from the short blue couch were two large, red chairs. Against the wall was a high serving table, which seated the television, digital cable box, gaming consoles, and various remote controls. Jenna had bundled herself within two blankets, one of which was his beloved navy-blue blanket.

"You won't believe this: I could see my breath as I was coming up the stairs," he said, pulling off his sweater and removing his shoes.

"I believe it. Something's wrong with the heat. It's literally blowing air. Not hot air, just air," she replied, turning to face him.

"I wonder if the super knows about it," he said, walking over and joining her, sitting atop the short blue couch. Jenna stood and walked over to him, sitting down beside him.

"Arms open, please," she ordered. He complied with her words, spreading them almost entirely. She lowered herself against him, turning his chest into a makeshift pillow. Once they were both comfortable, he closed his arms. Jenna nestled into him. The failing heater was allowing the temperature outside to penetrate their apartment. It was even cunning enough to sneak its way through both blankets. Now that Avery was home, she could steal some of his immense body heat.

"Where were you?" She asked.

"Alicia is leaving tonight, and she wanted to see me before she left."

"Oh. She was here a long time," she said, opening the blankets to gather one of his hands in hers.

"Yeah, exactly two weeks. I'm wondering if the friend she came to visit was more than a friend. What do you think?" He inquired, watching as Jenna parted his fingers and slipped hers between his. Jenna's fingers were average for someone of her height.

"She's been here for two weeks? If I had to guess, I'd say you were right." The two of them shared a quiet moment while Jenna's show plodded through some senseless and rehashed plot about friends who slept together and now everything is complicated. Avery rested his head atop Jenna's.

"Did you have fun this weekend?"

"I did. Almost everything went well."

"Almost everything?"

"Everything except this morning," she said. Avery sighed and kissed her on the forehead.

"I'm sorry about that." Jenna turned her head upward to face Avery.

"It's not your fault. If Janelle hadn't grabbed my arms, I could have used our safe action, and you would have stopped. Right?"

"Yes. I would have stopped. Where is Janelle, by the way?"

"I'm assuming she went home. You were both gone when I woke up. I texted her to find out where she was, but she hasn't responded yet."

"She's probably still on the road." Jenna's eyes turned back to the television. Another period of silence filled the room.

"While I was sleeping, you and she didn't...you know...fuck or anything like that, right?"

"No. I left about five minutes after you fell asleep. I guess she left right after I did."

"What exactly were you thinking this morning? I was sucking you. Like, I was sucking you well. I thought I was doing well, at least. But you seemed to be more interested in kissing her. I felt like you were ignoring me," she confessed.

"It did feel incredible. I think I wasn't awake enough to concentrate on you sucking me and her kissing me."

"So, you chose to ignore me for her?"

"It's not like I made an active decision to ignore you."

"I hope not. I feel like I do a lot to make you happy. More than I probably should."

"You do. More than you should. But you should know, I appreciate everything you do and everything you are. I'm awestruck of your talents and your intelligence, and I'm not worth any of your time. I feel like you're totally out of my league, but I do try to reciprocate your efforts," he said. Jenna did not respond, but his compliment warmed her heart. She squeezed his hand and pushed into him. Avery knew those words needed to be said, even though nothing was said in return. She closed her eyes and relaxed, comforted by his presence. His phone made a buzzing sound to indicate a text message had arrived. When he opened the messenger, a picture of Erin's round ass was present. She was in a revealing pose, bending over in front of the long mirror in her bathroom. The picture came with text that read:

[My ass and I had a wonderful time last night.] Avery did not get to enjoy the picture very long.

"Who's texting you? Don't they know you're on my time?" Jenna questioned, keeping her eyes shut.

"Uhh, Carter. He was reminding me to bring some stuff to the office tomorrow," he lied. Avery was unaware of Carter's presence at the Curtain Call last night, and that his cover was already blown. Jenna, cold, exhausted, and noncombative, at least not now, opened her eyes and looked at the television.

"Did you and he finish your work last night?" She inquired, choosing to play the game he started yesterday.

"Most of it, yes. We're going to meet early in the morning to finish it," he answered, sneaking a few more glances of Erin's picture before he darkened the screen on his phone.

"That's good," she answered. There was some drive within her to call him out for lying to her, yet when she tried to find the words to say as much, all she could muster was a yawn. It was seldom that Jenna was too exhausted to argue, especially if she knew she were right about the issue. However, between the threesome, the long night of dancing, and the vomiting earlier in the morning, her body, like his, had been put through the ringer. All she wanted to do was get warm and rest. His lie would still be there tomorrow, and she would remember to scream at him for it.

"Avery?"

"Yeah?"

"Call me a whore."

"What?"

"Call me a whore." Completely shocked, he moved his head from hers.

"Why would you want me to do that?" Jenna sat up from his chest and turned to face him.

"I want you to say, 'Jenna, you're my whore.'"

"Tell me why."

"Just do this for me."

"First, tell me why."

"Please? Just do it." Avery sighed. He shook his head in incredulity of her request, but obliged her nonetheless.

"Jenna, you're my whore." Hearing him say the words, her first reaction came in the form of a wide smile, though the smile was merely involuntary. It took her brain a few seconds to realize that what he said was the only thing she did not permit him to say. With the smile still plastered to her face, she released his hand, quickly raised hers to his cheek, and slapped him firmly across it. The strike was not a delicate love tap, either, but an aggressive, heavy-handed thud. Unsurprised by her actions, Avery did nothing. He knew he deserved that slap. Probably for more reasons about which Jenna knew, he deserved that slap. She climbed back onto his chest after a few seconds, and his arms, once more, enveloped her. She sighed contently, delighted by her actions.

With a high level of indignation, she said to him, "Don't ever call me that again."

"AVERY'S ON VACATION THIS WEEK"

As Jenna parked her car in the lot next to Avery's office building, she checked herself in the vanity mirror. She had just gotten out of the gym and her attire showed it: a pair of grey and pink pants, a pink tank top and a corresponding jacket on top of that. She was not wearing any makeup, but she looked attractive without it. Her hair possessed a little extra bounce. Her skin looked especially fresh and clear. Avery told her that he would be working through most of the day. Their gym, The Long Weight, was only twenty minutes away from where he worked. She thought it would be nice if she surprised him. It was exactly twelve in the afternoon, and she knew he would be taking his lunch soon, and her company would, likely, be welcome.

The lobby was uncharacteristically empty for a Monday afternoon, which were usually buzzing with activity. She saw the receptionist at the desk. Jenna had seen her on multiple occasions during various company events. However, her name always seemed to slip from Jenna's memory. Sparing time for thinking, she narrowed the list down to Patrice or Patricia. To her right were two elevators and a door leading to the stairs. To her left were a set of bathrooms. She approached the desk, as she neither worked there nor had an appointment. She would need to either have Avery come down to meet her, or for the desk clerk to allow her to go upstairs.

"Hello! Jenna, right?" The dark-haired receptionist said. What luck. She knew her name, yet Jenna had no inkling of hers. Jenna searched the woman's outfit for a name tag. None was present.

"Penelope. We met at the holiday party last year," she reminded. Jenna was close, knowing her name began with a P.

"Oh, right. Sorry, I feel so embarrassed."

"It's fine. I'm sure you met a lot of people that night."

"Yeah, there were a lot of new faces and names to learn," she replied, smiling at her.

"What can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to see if Avery wanted to grab an early lunch," she said, pointing one of her painted but slightly chipped fingers toward the elevator.

"Avery's on vacation this week," Penelope answered, quickly punching some keys on her computer.

"Are you sure?" Jenna said, pulling out her cell phone to reread an earlier conversation with him.

"Yeah. He didn't scan his card this morning, and I'm not certain, but I think I saw his name on the vacation list earlier today," she fired back, still typing away on the keyboard. Jenna sighed, confused by Penelope's answer. Jenna glanced through the conversation with him in the morning.

[How's work going?]

[Busy. There are so many clients here this morning.]

[I'm sorry. I bet you're handling things just fine.]

[Thanks sweetheart. Enjoy your day off. I'll see you tonight.]

[Okay. Bye dear!]

Jenna closed the messenger, feeling a dagger stab her in the chest. She held back her emotions from Penelope.

"Oh, you know what? You're right. He told me this morning, and I completely forgot," she lied, placing her phone back into her jacket pocket.

"Would you like me to call him for you? Let him know you're here?"

"No, no. That's okay. I can call him."

"All right. Well, it was good seeing you again," Penelope said with a big smile on her face.

"Yeah, you too. I'll let you get back to your busy day," Jenna said, as she began to back away from the desk.

"I wish we were busy today. It's been the slowest morning I've seen all month. There's only been one other visitor besides yourself." Jenna smiled and nodded. She turned around and started walking away, feeling completely destroyed. Once she got back into her car, she started to text him but stopped short of sending the angry message. Changing her mind, she dialed Janelle's number. After a couple of rings, her voicemail answered for her. She chose not to leave a message and decided to go home. Her patience had finally run out: she was done with Avery's lies.

She opened the door to the apartment and tossed her keys onto the floor. Her shoes were untied and placed into an organizer hanging in a closest. Her jacket was removed and draped onto a dining room chair. She crept into the living room, turned on the television, and seated herself on the couch where just three day ago, she, Avery, and Janelle had made love. The events were still on her mind, yet they were having a different effect on her now. She was no longer in the dark. Avery believed he was being careful and getting away with whatever it was he was doing, but Jenna knew he was being dishonest, and it was time for him to finally come clean. She settled into the cushions and allowed herself a short reprieve to watch the drivel on television. Thirty minutes later, Jenna's phone began to ring. Checking the ID, she was relieved that it was Janelle.

"Hello?"

"Hey. Did you call me?"

"I just wanted to talk. How's your day going?"

"Ugh, work was shit. How about yours?"

"It's all right. I had the day off from work, which was good because class is back in session. More tinder for the fires of stress in my life."

"Well, Avery's good for relieving it," Janelle joked. Jenna, however, had no interest in discussing Avery any further.

"Say, what are you doing tonight?"

"Nothing. I was just going to go home and make dinner. Why?"

"Just curious. Why don't I come by and help?"

"Yeah. I'd like that a lot."

"Great. I'll be there in about an hour!"

"Sounds good. See you later!"

Jenna pressed the end call button and tossed her phone to the end of the couch. She decided that there was no reason for her to sit in the apartment alone. As angry as she was, she had no interest in seeing Avery.

"NOT ANY TIME SOON"

Jenna left the apartment around 4:30 PM. Avery routinely arrived home at half passed five, and she wanted to be sure she was gone. Janelle's work day started two hours earlier than Avery's, so Janelle was free around three. Jenna wore a simple, cute red dress with black leggings. She also wore the necklace Avery had given her for her birthday, since she felt it brought the outfit together. Nothing was on her mind but Avery and his lies. Her first hope was that he was not cheating on her. Initially, she was confident that he was being faithful, but lately, she was questioning everything about their relationship. For Jenna, simply because she had cheated on Avery once, and he cheated several times, did not make her the better partner. They were both guilty of it. Since that time, she had been faithful. Additionally, Jenna prided herself on her honesty, knowing she told very few lies. She learned at a very early age that it was in her interest to tell the truth. People were more inclined to like her and be supportive of her. As she parked her car in the tiny spot below Janelle's apartment, she felt better to be in the company of a trusted friend.

Janelle and Jenna shared a homemade pizza, garnished with mushrooms, peppers, onions and alfredo sauce. They talked, laughing about old memories of their years together in school. Jenna had known Janelle almost her entire life. After fifth grade, Janelle attended a private secondary school. They stayed in touch, however, as their parents had also become good friends. They were supposed to attend the same high school, but because of a restructuring of the districts, Janelle once again ended up going to a different school. They even chose different colleges, until Jenna transferred to be with Avery, who attended the same college as Janelle. One thing that Jenna felt was a constant in her life was her friendship with Janelle.

As the friends washed and dried the used dishes, Janelle thought it was a good time to discuss something that was on her mind.

"So, there was something I wanted to talk to you about while I have you here," Janelle said, rinsing the pizza pan and placing it into the dishwasher. Jenna dried their wine glasses.

"Okay. Shoot," she said, reaching up to place them in the cabinet.

"So, I know I enjoyed last Friday, but I was curious about how you and Avery felt about it," she said, reaching down to load the dishwasher with a soap pod.

"He and I talked about it briefly. We both had a wonderful time. Everything went down exactly as I wanted it to go," Jenna said, closing the cabinet. She grabbed a paper towel, and wiped the counter space where she had been drying the glasses.

"That's great! So, it appears that everyone had a good time," Janelle said, stopping short of saying what she truly wanted to say. She started the machine and turned to face Jenna, who was throwing away the wet paper towel in the trash can near the entrance to the kitchen.

"Yes. Everyone had a good time," Jenna echoed, putting her hands on her waist and looking at her friend.

"So, I was just curious, if there was any talk about doing it a second time," Janelle said, leaning back against the cabinet behind her. The machine quietly began to hum as it filled with water. Jenna sighed to the question.

"We haven't talked about it," Jenna said bluntly.

"I know it's only been a few days, but I wanted to throw the idea out there. I'm game to do it again, if you and Avery are interested," she said. Jenna looked to the side and licked her dry lips.

"I don't think there's going to be a second time, J," she said firmly. Janelle was taken aback by Jenna's tone. She leaned her head back as though Jenna's words were shooting out towards her.

"I don't mean, like, never again. I just mean, I don't know how I would feel about having a second threesome so soon after the first time," she said, with less fervor in her voice.

"Oh. Yeah, I get that. I'm not trying to pressure you. I just thought that, since the first time went so well, it makes sense to do it again," Janelle said, still leaning against the counter.

"I know, and I appreciate you doing it. I would not have trusted any of my other girlfriends to join me except you, but it was just something I wanted to try. Even if I really enjoyed it the first time, I don't know if it's something I want to do a second time," Jenna explained.

"Okay. I just don't understand why. It's not like I'm trying to move in on you guys," Janelle said defensively.

"I don't think you are."

"Then what's the problem? Why were you so adamant that we do it, and now that we have, suddenly be apprehensive about doing it again?"

"Because Avery is my boyfriend. I wasn't asking you to join us, so you could become a permanent part of our sex life," she professed.

"I know that. Is it because I called you a whore yesterday? I told you, it was just an accident. It just slipped out," she said, standing up from the counter.

"J, that word never just slips out. I don't mind, if in the moment, Avery calls me a slut or something. But 'whore' is never acceptable to me. Never." She said, clinching her fist tightly. "And no, that's not the reason why."

"What is the reason why?" Janelle questioned. Jenna sighed deeply.

"I don't know, Janelle," she said, looking at her in her azure eyes. Janelle looked away, trying hard not to cry.

"I don't want to hurt your feelings. I'm incredibly grateful for what you did for us, but I never promised that it would happen again. And right now, I don't know if I want it to happen a second time. Maybe sometime in the future, but not anytime soon. Okay?" Janelle nodded and remained quiet, quelling the swell of tears behind her eyelids.

"And now I feel awful. I didn't mean to upset you, J," Jenna said, walking over to her friend.

"It's fine," Janelle answered as Jenna's slender but strong arms wrapped around her. Janelle reciprocated, squeezing her tightly. Both women were wearing hints of body spray. Janelle breathed in the scent of Jenna's red hair, finding it intoxicating. No wonder Avery always wanted to fuck Jenna. Jenna felt the same about Janelle: she was beautiful, in great shape, had a good job, and among other attributes, was funny and kind. There was no reason for Janelle to be single. She could be with anyone she wanted without any difficulty, but Janelle seemed to be more interested in sex than she was in being in a stable relationship. Maybe Janelle possessed a fear of becoming too emotionally attached. Jenna, being the nonjudgmental type she was, loved her friend nevertheless. Their embrace was between two friends, to her. But to Janelle, it felt like the beginning of something more. As Jenna leaned away, Janelle lunged forward and kissed Jenna. Surprised, Jenna took another backward step. Janelle's hands flew behind Jenna's head, and she held her in place as her tongue ventured into Jenna's mouth. Jenna slowly regained her composure, situating her hands onto Janelle's lower back. Her lips, which at first were acting involuntarily, soon stiffened and locked into place. No longer kissing Janelle back, she moved her hands from her back to her stomach. Janelle interpreted the action to mean that she was going to rub up her body and, in response, kissed Jenna more intensely. A firm shove from Jenna finally separated them. Janelle appeared confused by Jenna's rejection.