The Impact of You by Kendall Ryan

go,” Jase says , his voice tight.
    She steps into her jeans and tosses her long blond hair over her shoulder. “Chillax, hun, I’ve gotta pee and then I’ll go.” She crosses the room and heads out into the hall.
    Once she’s gone , Jase takes my hands in his. “I swear to God nothing happened. She got too drunk to drive home last night and I let her crash on the sofa. I didn’t touch her. I promise you.”
    He’s still dressed in his clothes from last night – including his belt. If something did happen between them, why would he have dressed in all his clothes again before going to bed ? I don’t know if I should trust him, but I want to.
    He’ s still holding my limp hands in his. “It’s fine, Jase. You’re free to do whatever…whoever you want.”
    “Okay, I know. I just…I want you to know that things really are over between her and me, despite what this looks like. I’m not with anybody right now.”
    “Fine,” I say. I don’t know whether to be mad at him, myself, or Stacia. There are so many emotions running through my system – anger, hurt, embarrassment – that I don’t know what to think. For all my supposed caution in getting involved with Jase, I suddenly realize I’ve built up our bond in my head into something it’s not.
    Jase pushes his fingers through his thick hair again, cursing himself under his breath. “She took a bunch of shots and begged me to let her stay. All I did was give her a blanket and leave her up here. She was passed out when I came to bed a couple of hours later.”
    My hands are still trembling . That news conjures up the image of a drunk Stacia hanging all over him, begging him to take her to bed. I don’t think for a second that she accidently drank too much and needed to stay. She’s much too calculated for that. The urge to hit something is barely contained. “You know she does this on purpose, right?” I ask.
    He shrugs. “Probably. She likes to mess things up for me.”
    I decide then and there I won’t let Stacia run me off. I’ll stand my ground. If Jase wants me here, I’m staying.
    Jase picks up the coffee from the dresser. “You got me coffee?”
    I nod.
    He pulls me in for a hug. “ Thanks, Whistle.”
    I stiffen in his arms. One step forward, two steps back.
    Stacia chooses that moment to grace us with her presence again. Jase rolls his eyes at her before turning to me. “I’m going to take a quick shower. Wait for me, okay?”
    “Sure.”
    He grabs a towel and some clothes and leaves me and Stacia alone in his room. Damn, this is awkward.
    She makes a production of lacing up her st rappy heels and organizing the items in her obnoxiously bright orange purse. “Gosh, I don’t even remember what happened last night.” She chuckles, inspecting herself in her compact mirror. “But I guess that’ll happen when Jase is feeding you shots.”
    I stay quiet, knowing if I open my mouth, it won’t be ladylike. But it takes everything in me, and I repeat a quiet manta in my head. Don’t sink to her level. Don’t sink to her level.
    Once Stacia is packed and ready to go, she crosses the room and stops in front of me. “You know he and I are neighbors back home. We practically grew up together. We have a history that can’t be undone.” She studies me silently for a moment, and getting nothing in response, she chuckles to herself and continues on her way.
    God! I want to hit something. Preferably her face. My blood is boiling. I pace Jase’s bedroom, too keyed up to sit down. Maybe all that caffeine was a bad idea. When I pass by his unmade bed, I can’t help but stop and stare at the little wicker trashcan sitting beside the bedside table. If they did have sex last night, that trashcan should contain a condom. I walk closer, my heart pounding and peer down into the wastebasket.
    An empty water bottle, a wadded up a receipt from the gas station for a tank of gas and a toy whistle.
    No condom wrapper.
    A breath escapes my lungs in a