Chapter 8: It’s Me, Jana

Jana’s hello resonated like a boom in a whispering chamber.

The audacity of this woman. She barged into our game night. And right as the action was building!

Our group stood there in silence. I thought we were all unified in anger. However, when I looked over at Nate, Myles, and Gene, they were all beaming with a combination of horniness and awe. Even Weird Nikki lifted her veil to get a clear look at Jana. I practically heard bow chicka wow wow broadcasting from her mind.

I guessed Jammer and I were the only ones pissed about Jana’s intrusion. Unfortunately, it only took a glance to correct my misread. Jammer stared at Jana like a puppy dog. No doubt Jana’s short, fuzzy, pink panda pajama onesie, accessorized with a panda plushie backpack, filled Jammer with glee.

Then, as random as she was, the intruder shouted, “Billy!” She ran over and gave me the warmest hug I’d ever had, almost motherly in its tenderness.

Suddenly, all eyes were on me. Anger, awkwardness, and attraction pulsed through me. The emotions caused my voice to crack when I addressed her.

“Yes, I’m Bil-ly.”

She squeezed me tighter.

“I know you’re Billy, silly.”

A series of short, bright flashes startled us, but Jana didn’t let go. Not surprisingly, Jammer had her cell out, taking pics. She shyly waved, giggling as she turned the screen for us to see.

“You two looked too stinking cute together.”

“Take another,” Jana said as she twisted into me and looked up, gesturing for me to smile. I succumbed to her request but, admittedly, the resulting pics probably captured more reluctance than happiness.

After Jammer stopped, I subtly started wiggling out of Jana’s embrace. It took tremendous willpower to do so. The softness of her body made her hug damn near impossible to resist. Not to mention, she smelled like vanilla and honey.

I love vanilla.

Finally, she took a few steps back but stayed super close. After that, her general disposition shifted to reserve.

“Sorry I broke up y’all’s little game, but I did receive an invitation.”

I immediately shot a stern look at Nate. He smiled, folded out his hands, and shrugged.

Jana pulled out her phone and read the text, “‘Billy extends an invitation to come chill, ASAP. He lives in the old student activities building on the legacy campus. Wear something super sexy, like…’ Okay, I’m not going to finish the rest, but y’all get the picture. By the way, which one of you is bulldozerdat…cat emoji?”

Typical to form when dealing with women, Nate swiped at his hair, lowered one eyebrow, pushed his lips out, and suavely said, “Yeah, that’s me.”

“So, is this outfit sexy enough for you?”

Nate melted. His infatuation brimmed to the top. He was such a hardcore Jana stan that it was embarrassing to watch.

“Oh yeah.” This time, Nate sounded more like his authentic, nerdy self.

“Good. Glad you like.”

Jana reached out for Nate’s hand, which he extended while blushing. Then, without warning, she whipped Nate into a submission hold straight from a self-defense class.

“Don’t tell me you had me walk all the way over to this creepy-ass side of the campus and Billy didn’t want to see me. I took a ‘big’ risk coming here. The Campus Slugger is active at this time of night.”

Jana applied pressure to Nate’s arm, which looked uncomfortable.

Nate huffed out, “Billy, tell her, man.”

Wasn’t this the guy who told me to stand up to The Nameless One? So why was he looking to me to lie for him?

“Okay, yes. I had Nate text you. I was curious what you wanted.”

“Well, you did not look happy or curious to see me. So, I thought bulldozer— I mean, Nate lied.”

Jana released Nate.

“Nate, I like your real name better. Time is a resource, and I hate to waste it. No hard feelings?”

“We’re cool.”

Nate immediately regrouped with the others, who had backed away when Jana went all master of judo.

The awkwardness in the game room had hit an eleven, so I took it upon myself to push the conversation.

My goal was to get Jana out.

“So, Jana, what would you like to discuss?”

“First off, I’m so sorry, darling, for this morning.” She reached over and began stroking my arm as she spoke. “I was in a rush, just so much going on, and I didn’t stop. I’ve felt horrible about it all day.”

“No worries,” gently fell from my mouth, and instantly, I couldn’t believe I had betrayed myself. Jana’s ass-bump had cost me two months of magic karma. The mishap had bothered me all day. But at that moment, her repetitive caress on my arm made the negativity disappear.

The word hypocrite popped into my head—undoubtedly a psychic cry from my friends.

I looked their way and yup they were hawking us hard. A few even had the nerve to pair snacks and drinks with their viewing festivities. They all enjoyed seeing me sweat.

“So, do your friends pay you for the gallery seats?”

“Nope, they typically get that for free.”

I made a simple gesture to have Jana follow me.

“My friends are just nosey. Let’s walk this way. Where it’s more private.” I made sure they all heard me as she and I passed by.

“You can at least introduce us to your new friend before you two go off and get cozy.”

Friend?! Cozy?! Weird Nikki knew I was trying to get Jana out.

Jana latched onto Weird Nikki’s sentiment and said, “Yeah, Billy, where are your manners?”

Ugh.

Annoyed but pushing the feeling down, I swiftly introduced my friends, allowing approximately one second for acknowledgments before moving on to the next name.

“Jammer, Gene, Myles, Nate, and this bastion of polite society is Weird Nikki.”

“Nice to meet you all.”

“Great. You can say hi on campus now that you know of one another.”

I proceeded to gently touch Jana’s shoulder and direct her headlong down the path away from my game night. Then, from a distance, we heard Nate shout, “Jana, I’m a great photographer. If you’re interested in trading for photos, I’m available. Hit me up.”

Jana rolled her eyes, and I shook my head. Then, in unison, we locked eyes, smiled, and breathed a mutual sigh. We finally connected on something. I had hoped our shared embarrassment for Nate would have been enough to keep her mind busy until I got her to the exit. But, frustratingly enough, she started to float out of my guidance and into my sanctum.

“Your place is wow, Billy. You have everything. Do you guys ever leave?”

“Rarely. Mostly for class.”

At that moment, a vision of me in the demonic Mrs. Nelson-Perkins’ class washed over me.

Shit, Rules of the Black Arts for Advanced Users.

“Wait right here. I forgot something.”

I scrambled back to my seat, not making eye contact with anyone I spotted along the way. In retrospect, I should have asked someone to babysit our guest. But for some reason, getting to that book was my priority.

Weird Nikki and Gene were the only two players left at the gaming table.

I assumed Weird Nikki was resetting the campaign programming or regrouping on her story points, eager, like me, to restart the game.

“What the hell are you doing back in here?” Gene snapped, sprawling out in his chair, drinking an Iron Brew.

“I left my bag, but I wanted to keep it with me.”

I looked down to where I propped the bag on the right side of my seat.

WTF. It isn’t there.

I nearly panicked, but when I pulled the chair out, the bag was safely lying on its left side. Honestly, I can’t remember if my weird emotions were on display when I swiftly scooped it up.

“Where’s Jana?”

“I had her wait for me.”

“You think that’s a good idea?” Gene chuckled, slurped at his beer, and continued, “She’s probably made it up to the second floor by now, doing who-knows-what.”

Gene made an excellent point. As I hurriedly made a turnabout to get back to Jana, I noticed that the fire of the game night candle was no longer burning.

“Why isn’t the candle burning?”

“Weird Nikki took her index and thumb to the wick, that’s why. She’s packing it in.”

“Wait. What, Weird Nikki?” In seconds flat, I moved down to the table and stood next to her.

She’s calling game night. The situation is worse than I imagined.

“Billy. Billy. We can put Lords of Omni aside for one night. Go entertain that gorgeous specimen. Either A, she has something important to share, or B, she wants something from you. Both options are a win-win in my book.”

“Important? She just wanted to say she was sorry, and she’s done that.”

Weird Nikki continued to pack away her GM materials. So, I reached down and placed my hand on hers.

“Five minutes, and she’s out. I’ve been looking forward to game night all day, and I need it after my day. Please, Weird Nikki.”

She stopped and said, “Five minutes. That’s it. But I have a gut feeling fate has something else in store for you tonight.”

I removed my hand. Weird Nikki’s skin was ice cold. Kind of how I imagined it would be. Aside from that, an odd feeling stopped me as I began to dart away. Weird Nikki’s words about Jana tugged at me.

What was so important? What did Jana want from me?

Right then and there, I figured it out. Jana had come to get Rules of the Black Arts for Advanced Users. She must have.

The Nameless One and his crew, Mrs. Nelson-Perkins, and Becca all accosted me today. The one constant—that book. I bet Jana knows Becca. And Becca sent Jana as a honeytrap to take my book.

I redirected myself back to Gene and placed my backpack on his lap.

“Keep an eye on this for me. Don’t give it to anyone, and don’t open it.”

“Sure thing.”

“Back in five. Weird Nikki, get ready to relight the candle.” I sprinted back to Jana; of course, she wasn’t where I left her.

“Jana?!” I made doubly sure my voice echoed throughout the building. I had no time to waste walking through the maze to find her. Luckily, she answered me right away.

“Back here.”

Her voice shot from the theater. Without hesitation, I made my way to her.

What was up with this girl? She looked at home, snuggly wrapped in my favorite blanket and reclining in my favorite theater seat.

Argh. Now it’s going to smell like vanilla. Lovely vanilla.

“Hey, Jana, sorry ’bout that.”

“Come sit next to me. These leather seats are like clouds.”

“Yeah, comfort is important when watching flicks.”

Stay on track, man. Times a-ticking.

“You know, it’s chilly here, brr. The weather app’s showing a warm evening. Let’s go outside and get some fresh air.”

“I’m down with chilling and finishing our chat here. My schedule is open tonight. Do you have any crazy Italian thrillers or psychological horror flicks?”

She stunned me with her astounding suggestions. So much so that I found myself starting to acquiesce.

Ugh! Weird Nikki and her gut feelings.

But I, unfortunately, have an unrelenting bad habit: my facial expressions rarely matched my feelings, or maybe they were just too accurate. Whichever the case, Jana saw my turmoil and sensed I wasn’t into her idea.

“Damn, Billy, if you want to take me outside, let’s go outside.”

I groaned out, “Okay.” I started slowly walking toward the door, but Jana didn’t budge. Her mood turned pouty.

“Well, don’t take me outside because I said so. Do it because—”

Her confusing reversal was a prime example of why I avoided these kinds of interactions. I grabbed her hand. We didn’t stop ’til we were outside.

Two minutes left to get back to the table. Jana had to go.