It was Jenna, and she could tell that I was in no mood for bullshit. "Lacey," she mouthed, and I nodded. She plopped right down next to me and actually put her head on my shoulder, stroking my hair absent-mindedly, making me all too comfortable with her presence. It was as if a cat had taken mature human, female form, and proceeded to brush and purr against me. Yeah, it was that kind of vulnerable moment that really made me feel calmer and more relaxed than I ever had with Lacey.
We were both quiet for awhile as the movie played and Jenna just curled up with me, snuggling in ways that no best friend would. Well, at least no platonic best friend typically would, including ones of the opposite sex variety. It just felt...good. It was hard to describe it, other than balm to a wounded soul. At last, the movie went to credits and Jenna abruptly sat up with me.
"Alright, spill it, babe," Jenna used a rather surprising endearment.
"Well, Lacey found out about you and me...and well, all hell broke loose. Somehow, I don't know how, but it did. Someone named Nikki told her, but I don't know how Nikki knew. Of course, I threw it in her face about her breaking the 'virgin ass' thing and she claimed that I never stipulated, so she never broke the rule. Well, she didn't wait for my approval of the 'no Jenna' thing, so that applies, too, more so, since there was no insinuation on my part that I agreed not to bonk you. She broke the spirit of the deal, far more than I did, since her one-sided 'no Jenna' demand never got my consent.
"Then she declared that she intended to become the 'nastiest slut,' and that 'you started this,' after I told her that she didn't want to play this game. Well, there goes that. She wants war, I guess, but I don't know where that leaves us as a couple. Battles now and then, that's one thing in a marriage or relationship, but all-out war...how can a couple survive that?" I shook my head at that part.
"You don't, bro. You just...don't. A relationship can't survive a conflict on that scale. And it shouldn't have to. That's what I keep wanting to tell you...this isn't healthy, Damon. It just...isn't. This..thing that you and Lacey have, it might look pretty in a wedding photo, but a marriage, a relationship, that's more than photo-ops. She keeps thinking that she's out of your league, you buy into it, and she keeps making you jump through hoops just to please her. Is that really how you want to live your life for the forty or fifty years, even after her looks fade? That's no way to live, hon. It just ain't.
"Think of it this way. Those looks...they're like icing on a cake. They look good, they taste good, but they won't fill you up by themselves. That's all she is, Damon. Just icing...no actual cake. Now, what we have...I'm not blind and I'm not dumb. I know that the most we can have...is...fuckbuddies, friends with benefits, but that's still a helluva lot healthier for you than a lifetime spent walking on eggshells for your ice queen, being Ken for your own personal Barbie. Remember, Ken's got no balls and no cock...right? Think about the symbolism there," Jenna ranted before she realized that I was stunned by the level of her concern and the intensity of her disapproval of my fiancee.
"Well, you said your piece, didn't you? How long have you been holding that in, Jen?" I teased her, but hugged her, too, as I had to admit to myself that she wasn't wrong, was she?