"So.. I'm your girlfriend now ?" Jennifer's question grabs me back to reality after some minutes the two women are gone.
"What ?! Hey we're not finish.."
"You said to her that I'm your girlfriend," Jennifer says.
"Don't change the subject !" I scold her.
"What subject ?!" Jennifer challenges me.
"You being careless and completely ignored what I asked you not to!"
"I told you.. I opened the door because I knew.."
"That is not an excuse!!" I shout at her, crossing my arms in front of my chest. "We agreed not to open the door for anyone or anything. We don't take any delivery order or ask people to send things to us. We don't receive any stranger.."
"That's just it. She is NOT a stranger!!"
"Damn it, Jen, this is not your court!! The agreement is not a law that you can bend just because you see loopholes!! The agreement is only to protect you!! You were finding loophole just to justify your careless act. Meanwhile your careless act was putting you in a great danger!!," I lecture her then kick my coffee table to release my anger, "DAMN IT!!"
I cover my face with both hands and count to ten inwardly to calm my self. I feel her arms slowly snaking around my waist.
"I'm sorry, okay," she whispers on my chest after putting her head on it. I exhales heavily then embrace her back.
"You don't know how panic I was when seeing the door opened," I whisper to her hair while closing my eyes. "I thought I would see you're dead on the floor."
"Sorry," she whispers while shaking her head few times. "I will be more careful. I promise.."
I move my palm circularly on her back. "I'm glad you are fine," I murmur then kiss her head.
"I'm getting closer to the real culprit. Once I find him, this will be over. You will have your normal life back, worry-less. You can move to your own apartment again.."
Jennifer distances her body from mine. "You want me to move to my apartment again ?"
"Yes.. you should live your normal life.." She steps away from me. "back. What's wrong ?" I ask her.
"No.. Nothing," she says then goes to the bathroom.
"Hey.. Did I say something wrong ?" I catch her hand after few steps. She stares at me.
"I thought you want me here.."
"I do. I want you here so I can protect you"
"That's it ? That's the only reason ?"
"Yes. Is there suppose to be another reason ?" I ask, playing dumb. Jennifer shrugs.
"I don't know.. Maybe.. because you love me and.. perhaps want me to be your girlfriend ?" She is too blunt to be played dumb.
I sigh. "Look... I only said you're my girlfriend to keep that woman's mouth shut. She talked as if I was her fiancee. It irritated me."
"Oh.. I understand," Jennifer says. It is obvious that she tries to be indifferent about it.
"So.. I assume.. you also didn't mean it when you said you love me, right ?" she then asks."That's why you've been acting weird these couple of days. You must regret to say it.."
"Jen.. look.."
"That's cool," she cuts me then releases her hand from my grab and continues her walk to bathroom. I just stare at her from my place.
"I'm going to sleep on the couch for the rest of my stay here. You should sleep on your bed. You will get backache if you keep sleeping on the floor," she says before closing the bathroom door.
A second later the door is opened again. "Btw, your balls are slightly different in size," she adds then closes the door again.
-------------
"Hey, Quite Rauss! You know 'quite' is a too good for you, right ? I mean.. you're not even a quarter of Rauss.. Hahahaha," The boy laughters is followed by his friends.
Soon they are starting to mock me, "Quite Rauss.. Quite Rauss.. how can he be a Rauss ? He has no blood of a Rauss, he's just a yellow mouse, taken as a Rauss. That's why we call him a Quite Rauss!!" Then they laugh again while pointing at me.
"Don't mind them," a cute little girl with a straight bang covers her forehead suddenly appears beside me.
"I don't mind at all. They're just saying the fact," I say to her in calm.
"You're not a mouse !!" The girl says in anger.
"We were living in a place worse than sewer," I remind her with pursed lips.
"That doesn't give them the right .."
"Let them be, okay ?" I cut her words then put my arm around her shoulder. "What matter most is I have you beside me."
I can see a blush grows on the girl's cheeks. "You're such a charmer," she murmurs.
I put my lips in front of her ear and whisper to her, "I love you, Jen.."
The girl beams. She opens her mouth, about to say something, but she is suddenly exploded in front of me.
I wake up with a muffled scream and heart beating fast. My hand reflexively grobs her bed side. To feel it empty and cold, I sigh in wry.
I had a weird dream. How could I dreamed about me being Quint Rauss so vividly merely because of that woman's words ? More over ... The little girl was definitely not Jennifer. But, I wanted her to be Jennifer. Worse.. I told her those three words again, al though in my dream, and she didn't mind about it. As if, she really was Jennifer. My dream was mashed up.
With mind still analyzing my dream, I wake up from bed and my feet bring me to my living room. In there, I sit on the floor next to Jennifer's face. I observe her face in silent.
I remember how her face expressed her disappointment when I said that I didn't mean it when I claimed her as my girlfriend. And I was kinda regret not to deny her accusation that I didn't mean my confession to her. But..
Jennifer snorts before slowly opens her eyes. She jolts in fear when she sees me.
"Jesus Christ! What are you doing ?!" she says in high pitch.
"Sorry.. I didn't.. it just.." I sigh then look her in the eyes. "Why don't you sleep on my bed again ?" I ask her.
"No. I'm good here," Jennifer refuses, pulling her blanket.
"It's safer in my room. It's further from the front door. And you have me to protect.."
"I'm fine. Beside, you said it your self that your apartment is the safest place. Or did you lie about it, too ?"
I shake my head. "I didn't."
"Good. Then you should go back to your bed then," she says.
"Jen.."
She turns her body to have her back facing me. I only can sigh to receive it.
---------
When Jennifer walks out of the bathroom and approach the couch the next night, I deliberately spread my hands on the back of my couch and put my legs across almost the whole couch.
"Move your legs, please. I want to sleep," she says in almost sighing.
"I still want to watch TV," I refuse her. "If you want to sleep, my bed is vacant," I add.
"Just move your legs," she grumbles, push my legs off the couch, ignoring my protest. She then lays her body on the couch, her head on the opposite corner from where I sit. She bends her knees so her legs barely touch my outer thigh.
"Turn down the volume a little bit, will you ? It's 10 PM already. Your neighbors will be annoyed by the loud voice," she utters.
"They've never complained about your screams of all of our nights before, why would they complain about the television sounds ?" I argue her, teasingly remind her about our noisy activity.
She bulges her eyes, a vivid blush appears on her cheeks. A second later, she snorts and burries her head under the blanket.
I pull her legs and places it on my lap, but she immediately pulls them back. I sigh. "This withdrawal really doesn't make sense, you know," I say to her.
"You don't wanna sleep with me because I was saying I didn't want you to be my girlfriend" I continue as having no response from her, "But we'd been sleeping around for more than a month before it, without any status, satisfied each other's ..."
"Will you be quiet, please ? I really need to sleep now," she cuts me. Her head already pops out of the blanket showing her annoyed face. I deeply stare at her, insist her to talk. She sighs.
"It is precisely because it's been that long. I thought.. we are going somewhere," she finally says then shrugs, "I guess I was wrong. That's okay. I don't want to push you into something that you don't want. But, I also can't keep giving my body to you knowing where I am in your heart now."
I reach out my hand to touch her cheek, but she swipes it away. "Please ... Don't.. " she begs me to stop whatever I have in my mind.
"Just sleep in the bedroom. I won't touch you. I promise," I say to her. Jennifer shakes her head then smiles thinly.
"Here is enough," she says then again, pulls her blanket to cover her head. I sigh again then turn off the television. Reluctantly I stand up from the couch.
"Good night," I whisper.to her before kissing her forehead that is already covered by blanket.
"Night," she murmurs inside the blanket.
-------------
"Scott!! Scoottt!! Wake up!!!" Jennifer's panic voice disrupts my sleep. Her hand is rocking my upper arm, determined to wake me up.
"There is someone outside trying to break in the door," She says in hurry and panic.