Days Behind - Chapter 06
Jared fell on the sofa, hearing the squeak of a toy underneath him. It had been a long day, but very rewarding for him. Sure, he’d had to hang out with Chad all day, and the drag show was just like all the others he had been subjected to, but he’d met Jensen. Jensen with the beautiful green eyes and the wonderful just-deep-enough-voice. Yeah, that was worth all the douchebaggery he’d had to put up with that day.
But he’d forgotten to give the man his phone number, and that was something he regretted. Though, he was sure he’d seen the other man that Jensen had helped carry to the car that night at the bar before. Maybe that was the in that he needed. At least, he hoped that was a good lead, otherwise he’d just blown the only chance he thought he would have at love ever again.
Okay, perhaps he was being a tad melodramatic, but that was just the type of mood he was in. It seemed it had been a long time since Kenzie and he had been together. Four years, six months and nine days to be exact. Not that he was counting, mind you.
There was a rustling sound as one of the girls, and Jared was sure it was Eleanor, attempted to get out of her bed. She didn’t care much for the new railings that Jared had put on the beds and had been trying to escape for the past week.
Jared ignored it and closed his eyes as he leaned his head back on the sofa. He’d just let her come to him and then he’d scare her. But he never got the chance as his daughter settled back into her bed and Jared began to snore lightly.
Jensen awoke with a smile on his face, the memory of distinctly feline eyes still fresh in his mind. He still couldn’t believe he’d been stupid enough to forget to get the guy’s number. Though there was the fact that Jared had told him that his friend Chad owned the bar they had met at. He was thinking that maybe it wouldn’t be that bad if he went back the next week. In fact, he might even be able to get Misha to go with him so that he wouldn’t feel so out of place. The guy wasn’t really all that bad once you got to know him.
His head lolled on the pillow for a moment before letting his eyes drift to the clock sitting on the bedside table. Squinting to read the numbers, he let his brain wake up slowly. When the numbers became readable, Jensen's eyes widened impossibly large.
“Shit! Shit! Shitshitshitshit!” He popped out of bed and sprinted to the bathroom for his contact lenses. He didn't know how he could have slept through his alarm and didn't have time to think about it very long before his cell phone began buzzing itself off the nightstand.
“Hello?” Jensen croaked as he flipped the phone open and grabbed his jeans from where they lay discarded on the floor.
The answering growl was enough to shoot Jensen the rest of the way awake. “Don't 'hello' me, Ackles! Get your ass out here. I been sittin' here idlin' for ten minutes waitin' on you. Next, Imma start honkin'.”
Jensen flattened himself on the floor to look under the bed for his shoes. “No, no - don't honk. I'm just putting on my shoes.”
“You got 'til ten. One...two...three...”
Jensen snapped his phone shut and drew back his arm to throw it before thinking better of it. “Dammit!” He bent to tie his shoe when he heard the first honk. “Damn. It.”
Jensen chewed at his nails as he sat in the chair getting his makeup applied.
Lauren slapped at him. “Dammit, you need to keep your fingers out of your mouth.”
“Yeah, Jensen, keep your fingers out of your mouth.” Christian fell into the chair beside him.
Jensen cut daggers at the other man. “Shut up.”
Lauren snapped his head back to her, maybe a bit too roughly. “All right. Spill. What’s on your mind?”
Christian answered as Jensen was taking in a breath to do it himself. “Sports.”
“I said shut up.”
Madelyne pulled Christian’s hair and caught Jensen’s eyes in the mirror before winking. “I don’t think I understand.”
Christian slapped at her hand and growled. “Our boy Jensen here has it bad for the local sports guy.”
Lauren leaned over to tap his head with the brush she had been using. Madelyne high-fived her. “Oh, you mean the channel nine guy? He’s kinda cute.”
Christian slumped in the chair and scowled at his reflection. “No, you know who is cute on channel nine? Beth.”
Lauren chuckled to herself. “She would tear you up.”
And there was the wolfish grin everyone in the room was expecting. “Yeah, I was thinkin’ that too.”
“I seem to remember saying the words shut and up back there somewhere,” Jensen muttered, relaxing back into the chair.
Lauren patted him gently on the shoulder. “Oh, that’s cute that you think we actually listen to you.”
“Haha, she got you man.” Steve sauntered in, his hair wet.
“Who told you that you could talk?”
“Hah-“ Steve’s smile turned to a tight-lipped line. “Right. Shutting up.”
Lauren reached over to tousle Steve’s hair. “Faster learner than I thought.” She turned back to Jensen, “Now, what’s going on with you that makes you want to nibble your own fingers? I mean, if you don’t have food, you’re welcome to come have dinner at my place - shut up, Kane.”
Christian looked up, his face the very picture of innocence and confusion. “I didn’t say anything.”
“But you were thinking it really loud.” Jensen jumped as his shoulder was grasped. “And I didn’t hear an answer from you.”
Christian went back to the magazine he had been leafing through. “You get ‘em, Mama.”
“Look, boy, the only thing I’m getting is irritated with you. Shut your yap and let Madelyne do what she has to do before I break out the scissors.” Christian’s eyes got as big as platters before he visibly flinched and sat perfectly still in his chair, staring straight ahead. “Good. Now, go on, Jensen honey.”
“Well,” Jensen started, but figured there was no way to tell her exactly what was going on. “It all breaks down to Chris Kane is an asshole when he drinks.”
“I was trying to help, man.” Christian shot Madelyne a look in the mirror, daring her to pull his hair to get him to stop talking. When it was clear she wasn’t going to, he continued. “There was no way you were ever going to say anything to that boy you been mooning over without me helping. You should be thanking me rather that bitching my ass out.”
“I would have gotten around to it,” Jensen grumbled, cutting his eyes at his co-star.
“Oh stop being such a princess and suck it up,” his friend drawled, bracing for a poke from Lauren that never came.
Madelyne laughed, tapping Christian on the shoulder. “That’s what he said…”
“Damn skippy!” Christian reached back to high-five the hairdresser.
“Okay, that’s enough from the peanut gallery. Jensen, don’t listen to them, they are just jealous.”
“Nothing to be jealous of.”
“Okay, that’s fine too. You’ll tell us when you want to.” Lauren patted Jensen on the head as she started to put the brown make up on his face. “No rush.”
There was a heavy silence in the air as Madelyne continued to work on Christian’s black and white stripes and Jensen got his face made over. The sound of Steve turning pages of the magazine he was reading were all that could be heard in the tiny trailer.
Jensen sighed as Lauren stood back to inspect her work. “Okay, it’s like this…”
Christian, Steve, Madelyne and Lauren smiled as they were rewarded with Jensen’s story.
“I just don’t know,” Jared scratched his ear with his right hand as his left waved a Twizzler. “I am so confused.”
“What’s wrong?” Beth reached up on her tiptoes to take a bite of the candy the man was using for emphasis.
“Well, I met this guy and -“ Jared was cut off by someone running in the door.
“Sorry I’m late but…hey, was Padalecki here talking?”
“Yes, Jeffrey, as a matter of fact, he was.”
“Oops. Sorry ‘bout that, Jay. Continue.”
“Thanks. As I was saying -“
Jared was cut off this time and all but accosted by the PA, Alexis.
“Hey, loverboy, we got 15 minutes 'til air.” She waved her clipboard at the group before sprinting off somewhere else.
“Thanks?” Jared called to her retreating form.
“Anytime!” Alexis called back with a laugh in her voice.
Jared fiddled with his mic pack as the others stared at him, waiting for the rest of the story. “What?
“And?!?!” Beth squeaked, throwing her hands up.
“And what?” Jared frowned at Jeff's throat clearing chuckle.
Beth smacked him on the arm. “And then what happened? Did you sign up for his softball team? Bounce him out of the bar? Give him an autograph?” She was almost vibrating with excitement. “Oh, I know! He tricked you into signing up for another gym membership!”
“Oh haha. Once. That last one happened once. And I don't know why you're complaining - you got the free buddy membership. By the way, lookin' good...”
“Thank you, Jay,” Beth took a moment to preen before remembering she was trying to get information out of Jared. “But that didn't answer my question.”
“Would you stop hounding the boy, Beth?” Jeffrey admonished with a smile into his coffee cup.
“But he --” The young woman defended.
The older man regarded the younger for a moment. “He's going to call him - right, Jay?”
“Uh, yeah, sure - how do you do that?” Jared startled at Jeff's matter-of-fact assurance.
“Been interviewing people a long time, son. You learn how to read people.” He drank sagely from his mug. “So call him. We still got about...” Jeffrey looked at his watch, “...ten minutes for you to completely humiliate yourself before those cameras flicker on.”
“See, now, that was inspirational right up to that last part.”
Beth was already fishing Jared's phone from his pocket as she bounced. “Less talk, more dial.”
Jared frowned before letting it slip into a smile as he called up the number in his contacts and hit 'send' listening as the phone rang a few times and was answered.
“Yeah, who's this?” The voice on the other end snapped.
Startled by that, Jared yelped into the phone. “Oh, hey, Jason,” Jared stammered, watching his co-workers expressions.
Jensen was silently crushed when Jared had forgotten his name. “Uh, actually, it's Jensen...”
Jared frowned and slapped his forehead. “Sorry, sorry. Damn! I knew that was going to happen. I suck at names; please don't take it personally.”
“Sure, I get it, Jeremy.”
There was a heavy moment of silence as Jared contemplated what to say next.
“Jensen?”
“Yes?”
“I was showing you I could remember.” He smiled proudly even though he knew Jensen wouldn't see him through the phone.
“Then I take it back, Jared.”
“Thank you. Now, back to business.”
“All work and no play makes Jared a dull boy...” Jensen mumbled with his own smile-laden voice.
“I realized I didn't give you my phone number last night.”
“Kinda funny - that was one of the first thoughts I had this morning.”
Jared chuckled. “Liar.”
“No, really,” Jensen assured him.
“Promise?” Beth arched an eyebrow at Jeff, who merely nodded in the infuriatingly wise way he did.
“Yeah,” Jensen admitted, even though it sounded like he had his hand over his mouth when he said it.
That action alone was enough to cause Jared to gather his courage. “Then, uh, maybe you wanna go out for a bite?”
“I would love to. But...I'm kinda busy.”
Jensen heard Jared's smile fall through the phone.
“You know what? I'm not all that busy. What did you have in mind?”
Jared's smile returned full-force. “There's this great steak house on Main?”
“Sounds...” Jared heard commotion on the other end of the phone that sounded like yelling and someone kicking a wall. “Sounds like a plan. What time?”
“Uh, I get off work at...” Jared was stopped by what was clearly a howl of pain transferring though the phone. “You okay?”
“Yeah - listen - I'll meet you there at 8:30. I gotta go help Chris with ...something.”
“Deal. See you then.”
“Cool.”
Jared hit 'end' and looked up into five sets of eyes. “What?”
“On in three,” Alexis pushed on Jared to move the pack into position. “After that you guys can have your little pow-wow sewing circle.”
Jensen was sitting in the booth alternating tapping his fingers and looking at his watch when Jared spotted him, waving and smiling like he was running for office.
“Am I late?” Jared took off his jacket as he slid into to booth's seat across from Jensen.
“Nah, I was early, figured it was better than going home and being late.”
Jared frowned. “You haven't been home yet?”
“No, uh, I had to make a quick trip to the hospital.”
Jared's eyes widened. “Are you okay?”
“Oh, yeah, God no, it wasn't me - it was Chris. He was screwing around and broke his hand.” Jensen waved it off. “No big deal. He does it all the time.”
Jared's eyes got wider, amazing Jensen that it was even possible. “All the time? He's your co-worker, right? Is your job dangerous? Should I be worried about you?”
Jensen chuckled as he drank. “No, man, it's just Chris, that's all.”
“Oh, good,” Jared sighed, looking at the menu. “What is it you do, anyway?”
Jensen froze, looking at his own menu. “Well, I...”
Before he could go any further, Jared's phone rang. “Hello? No, Sandy...I'm at the restaurant with...no...well what did they do? Jesus...no, not you...can I meet you there? Right...ten minutes tops.”
“Everything okay?”
Jared put his phone in his pocket. “Uh, how much would you hate me if I said that I had to go?”
“Jared?”
“It's just that Sandy called and I, uh, need to go to the...hospital...”
Jensen was out of his seat and pulling money out of his wallet before Jared was finished with his sentence. “I don't think you're okay with driving - I can drive you.”
“You don't have to do that...” Jared was insisting even as he allowed himself to be pulled out of the restaurant and into Jensen's waiting car.
“It's the hospital in town, right?”
“Yeah, but you really don't need to...”
“Jared. Just let me do this for you. You're as white as a sheet. And, frankly, it's scaring me.”
“I'm...” Jared pulled down the visor to look at himself. “...really pale. Wow.”
“Yeah, so, just...are we going to the Emergency Room?”
“Yeah, I think so...”
Jensen concentrated on not missing the turn into the parking lot for the next few minutes. “Okay, so, here we are.” He let the engine idle.
“You're not going in?”
“Do you want me to?”
“You can.”
“I thought...”
“So, you're just going to go?” The look on Jared's face was enough to break Jensen's heart.
Jensen turned off the ignition and pulled the keys free with a sigh. “Nah, think I'll go in and see if Chris is out yet.”
“Thank you,” Jared whispered as they walked inside the door, grabbing Jensen's hand for a brief moment.
“No problem,” Jensen smiled as they walked to the check out desk. “Christian Kane?”
The receptionist tapped on the keyboard in front of her and smiled up at them. “He's still here - doctor wanted to observe him overnight, so he's been moved upstairs. If you hurry, you can see him before visiting hours are over.”
Jensen nodded at her before turning to Jared. “Thank you. You gonna be okay?”
“Yeah,” Jared answered, looking through his wallet. “Sorry about all this.”
“No problem - maybe we should try it again sometime?”
“I'd like that.”
“Good.”
There was an awkward moment before Jared reached in and hugged Jensen tightly. “Thank you again.”
“Really, it was no problem.” Jensen couldn't erase the smile on his face as he headed to the elevators.
Jensen was still smiling the next morning, remembering the events of the night before. He was really happy about the way things had gone, even though he had spent a good part of the day in the hospital. He was on the way to the car to pick up Christian when his phone rang.
“Jensen's phone.”
“It's Jared.”
Jensen smiled to himself as he opened the door. “Oh, hi, Jared. Is your friend okay?”
“My friend?”
“Yeah, Sandy I think it was?”
“Sandy?”
“The one in the hospital?”
“Oh! No, it wasn't Sandy in the hospital. It was...um...Jensen I have something to tell you.”
“You're married, aren't you?”
“No, no. Nothing like that.” Jared drew in a breath. “It was my daughter.”
“Daughter? So, what, Sandy is your ex-wife?”
Jared's laugh carried over the line. “No, not even a little. And I'll be sure to tell her you thought that. She'll get a big laugh out of it.”
Jensen tried to process the information he'd been given. “Your daughter, is she okay?”
“Oh, yeah. She was just jumping on the couch and fell on her arm. Only a sprain. She'll be fine in a few days.”
Jensen nodded into the phone. “Good to hear, good to hear.”
“Yeah, she's a tough one.” There was a bit of silence as both parties tried to think of what to say next.
Jensen was the one to break the silence. “How about we plan another dinner? I'm going on a business trip tomorrow, but I'll only be gone a couple of weeks and then maybe we can try this again?”
“Sounds good.” Something in Jared's tone revealed he was relieved. “You can call me when you get back?”
“I'll do you one better. We can talk while I'm on the trip - that way we can make better plans. And kind of get to know each other beyond what I know of you on television.”
“Yeah, and maybe you'll finally get a chance to tell me what you do.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Jensen?”
“Yes?”
“This is where you tell me what you do.”
His brain raced, trying to think of the right thing to say. Jared had revealed he had a daughter, so the truth was out of the question. “I'm in the entertainment industry.”
“You're an escort, aren't you?”
“Got it in one. I hate to cut this short, but I kinda have to go get Chris.”
“Oh, yeah, your friend that was in the hospital. How is he doing?”
“Good. They just wanted to keep him overnight to make sure he didn't finally knock sense into himself.”
“Glad to hear it. So...I guess I'll talk to you later?”
“Most definitely.”
“Good, I kinda like your voice.”
“And I kinda like yours.” Jensen heard himself saying it before his brain had a chance to filter. “And now I have to go before I turn into a total sap and decide not to go on my trip at all so we can try dinner again now rather than later.”
“Have fun, Jensen. Call me when you can.”
“You're going to regret saying that.”
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