Five

       Janelle walked into his house again Two days later. One thing she liked about him, was that he never pushed her away for wanting to spend time with him. Since their childhood, Denzel had always been her best friend. Even after having two girlfriends, he was still her other best friend. The one who could talk with her for as long as she wants. He shut the door behind him and followed her to the living room. She turned around and sighed. He was in his sweat pants and was totally shirtless.

"I'm sorry. I know it’s late and I shouldn't be here but, I just needed to talk to someone." She said.

He nodded, with his hands on his pockets. "Did you sneak out of the house again?" He asked. Denzel knew that attitude was still there.

She shrugged. "Old habits die hard. I'm sorry, I know I'm causing an inconvenience." She sighed and sat on the sofa.

He sat beside her. "What is it?"

"It’s James. He hasn't called. I'm worried, Denzel. Have you been speaking to him?"

Denzel nodded. What the hell is wrong with that cousin of mine?

“Yes, I talk to him most times.”

"I don't understand why he has to be too busy to talk to me. I always try to call him but I only get his voice mails. Why is it too hard to talk to me? Am I too repulsive?"

Denzel shook his head. "You know how James is. I'm sure he will call you, Jay. Calm down."

"I can't! I am 99.9% upset right now!"

She said at the top of her voice. Denzel smiled and raised a finger to be excused. Janelle just looked at him, sighed and buried her face in her palms. Few seconds later, he arrived with a bowl of cereal. Janelle looked up at him and scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Seriously, Dee?"

"Come on." He said.

"I'm not hungry."

"What are you talking about? You get hungry when you're upset. Come on." He said.

       Janelle smiled because he knew her too well. She would rather eat when she's really upset. And at midnight she gets up to take cereal. It's not healthy, but she had grown up with that habit. And Denzel knew that too well.

"I would have killed you, but I need this food right now." She said.

He nodded with a smile. "You're very welcome."

"And, I would have killed you but I won't. Because I need someone to talk to. You know me too well, Denzel. I don't know if to be happy or sad." She said, digging into the cereal.

"Hmm. This is delicious. You're a life saver, Dee."

She muttered, with her mouth full. He chuckled and watched her. She even had milk on her nose. How she manages to get that on the tip of her nose sometimes was very surprising.

He leaned forward and cleaned it off with his thumb. She looked up at him and he held their gaze for a brief second.

She cleared her throat and looked away. "Thanks for this, Dee. Please, talk to him. When you call him, tell him I want to know of he's okay." She said.

Denzel swallowed the lump forming in his throat. He nodded.

"Sure. I'll do that." He said.

"I don't know why he has to act like that. He is the one who proposed to me. Even though our parents want it, I do too. And so does he. Why did he tell me he loves me, if he would treat me like this?"

Denzel couldn't ignore the hurt he was feeling. Talking to a friend about how she loves another man can be stressful. Especially when she's the love of your life. "He does, Jay."

She looked up from her cereal. "What?"

"He loves you. He...talks about you every time we talk on phone."

Her face lit up. "He does?"

Denzel nodded. "Yes, he does. Most of our conversation is about you. And he keeps telling me that he misses you so much and he's too busy to call. And you don't know how sorry he feels about that." That was partly true. Well, Denzel was always the one who brought up the topic about Janelle. Most of their conversation was about her only of James doesn't tell him to stop talking about it and say something else about the business.

But how could he tell her that? When all he wants is for her to be happy. She loves James. Its obvious. It has been obvious since childhood. She smiled. "Oh, then let him call me. I won't take long. I swear I just want to hear his voice."

Denzel chuckled and took her hands in his, kissed it. He always does that. She said she likes it and the feeling is mutual.

"He loves you, Jay. He can do anything for you. James never stops thinking about you, Jay. You drive him crazy. When he gets back, he is going to make you feel very special."

She smiled. "And how will you know all that?"

She was done with the cereal and she put it aside.

He grinned. "He's my partner in crime, remember?" He said.

She laughed. "Yeah, I do. Like when you shaved granny's hair while she was asleep." She said and laughed out loud.

He laughed with her. "Yeah, she's a heavy sleeper."

"Very heavy sleeper." He said.

"Well, I can't wait to see him too. You know, he makes me feel special too. In so many ways. You know, James isn't the kind to show his feeling with actions. But I still love him."

Denzel nodded and leaned back in the sofa. "I know."

She stared at him again, then looked away. "Uh...I wanted to ask you. Are you in love with Tara?"

"What?"

She laughed nervously. "Well, she's smitten by you."

He smiled. "She's is, huh?"

"And she wants me to help her get your attention."

Denzel laughed. "Well, tell her she has it."

The smile drained off Janelle's face and she blinked at him. It didn't take two seconds to recover. She smiled. "Yeah, umm...Sure. I'll tell her."

There was an awkward silence between them. With Janelle in her own world and Denzel staring at her. What he said still echoed in her head. She didn't know he took a fancy to Tara. Janelle knew she shouldn't feel bad that he likes Tara John. He should like someone too. But then she reminded herself that she's just not used to sharing him with other ladies. When he sleeps with ladies too, he would only say he did it because he was in the mood. And she didn't feel bad about it. But now, he's starting to fancy Tara.

"Jay?"

"Huh?"

She said and blinked.

"Did you hear what I said?"

"Uh, no. What did you say? Sorry."

"I asked if you're done with your designs."

"Oh! No, I'm not . Almost done." She said.

He nodded. "Are you okay? Still thinking about James?"

She nodded. Even if that was a lie. And one thing; Denzel was good at telling when she's lying. So, she simply lowered her gaze.

"Are you sure or you just want me to–"

He leaned forward and lifted her face to meet his.

"I'm fine. I just spaced out for a second but it has nothing to do with James." She said to him.

"What is it?" He sounded sincerely concerned. His hand caressing her cheek. Somehow, she liked his touch but can't explain why. Their gazes held for a minute. Whatever must have caused someone to move first was beyond her but, Janelle doesn't want to believe that  she had moved first because suddenly she was kissing him and he was kissing her back.

She had kissed James before. And she had kissed Denzel before too. But whenever Denzel did it, she felt like she needed this.

His mouth moved over hers at first and she opened up for him. Denzel didn't hesitate. He dug his tongue into her warmth.

James is a good kisser. Denzel is also a good kisser. It’s like they were competing for the best kisser...

     James!!

Janelle pulled away and jumped off the sofa like she had been bitten. "I'm ...I'm...." She stuttered.

"I'm sorry."

He said first. "It shouldn't have–"

"Dee, we agreed not to do that again." She said.

"I know. I know. I just..." He sighed. "Listen, it was a mistake. I'm sorry."

He said, stood up and pulled her into a hug.

She nodded. "I should leave."

"No, no. Don't. Beside, its late. Its midnight and its not safe for you to be out alone at this hour. Come on, I'll give you a room to sleep." He said. She nodded again after two seconds of hesitation. The last time she spent a night in Denzel's house, that was when he still stayed with his parents. She had willingly given him her virginity. That was something they promised never to repeat again.

Their little secret.