Out Of The Blue

"What am I going to do?" I was sitting in Amber's kitchen coloring with Alexis as Amber and her mom were making dinner.

"I don't see what the problem is Janie," Amber looked up from the vegetables she was peeling. "If Devon is fine with you being there with him, then why not -"

"Oh Amber," Lenore waved off what Amber was about to say. "Janie, if you aren't comfortable staying at Devon's place, or if you are afraid that he will take advantage of the situation then you shouldn't be there."

"Well mom," Amber stopped what she was doing. "Where do you suggest she go?"

Lenore's eyes widened.

"Mom?"

"Mrs. Sands?"

"I have an idea," Lenore exclaimed. "I'll have to check out some things but I'm sure that we can have you out of Devon's place as soon as you want to leave there."

"Really mom?" Amber raised a brow. "Where exactly are 'we' going to move Janie?"

Lenore rolled her eyes before looking at Amber, "Well if you were any kind of friend, Janie would be staying here and Devon wouldn't have a chance to push her buttons like this again."

"Whoa!" I exclaimed, holding up both hands in mock surrender. "Ok, I don't mind staying with Devon, he's been great since the fire. I'm not being manipulated by him, he's not pressing my buttons and to be honest, I like living with him. I just don't want to be in his debt! If we were living together, equally, then it wouldn't be a big deal!" I stopped long enough to ask Alexis not to slap me in the mouth with her giant crayons.

Lenore came over to the table, "What are you saying Janie? That you are seriously considering getting back together with Devon?"

"Oh," Amber came running over to sit down too.

"Well..." I grinned, "There's just something about him that keeps pulling me back. It's not even a bad thing, it's..." I sighed.

Amber squealed excitedly as she clapped her hands together.

"Oh Amber really?" Her mom looked at her. "Just because he's Reed's friend, doesn't mean he's good for Janie." She paused for a beat before adding, "Now Reed's brother is a good guy."

"Mom! No!" Amber whined. "Sean is a good guy but Devon loves Janie."

Alexis slapped her hands against the table, giggled and said, "Dada!"

"But your daddy is taken sweetheart," I smiled. "Plus your mommy would kill me if I looked at him that way."

"Oh no," Amber smiled at me. "If you want him, feel free. Sometimes he just drives me crazy."

I laughed and almost said something about not needing to hear what he does to her in the bedroom but instead, I told her that I wasn't interested in Reed like that. "And Lenore, as good a guy as Sean is, I don't..."

"Oh Janie," Lenore went on to tell me that I should give Sean a chance because I wasted enough of my life on Devon. "He's a good boy Janie, but you need a man. Some one who'll take care of you, not play with your heart."

"Mom you don't know Devon all that well, he really does care for Janie. Yes, he did screw up in the past but he wants to make up for it." Amber turned to me, "Tell mom what Devon did for you a couple nights ago."

I couldn't help but smile as I told Lenore about my outing with Devon and the hours we spent decorating his place when we got home from the store. "When we were finished, he lit started a fire and we snuggled together on the couch and drank eggnog. It was the most romantic thing we ever did together," I sighed happily. "It was the best night ever."

Beside me, Amber reached over and squeezed my hand, "It's the best feeling in the world, isn't it?" She asked. "Every time Reed does some thing romantic, I feel like the luckiest woman in the world."

"I bet you do," I grinned. "But now what do I do?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he's being great. I feel happier than I ever felt with him before but what do I do now? How do I let him know I'm interested in him like that?" I gasped. "What if he loses interest in me now that I'm interested in him?"

"Oh don't be so silly Janie! Devon isn't going to stop loving you if you show him some interest. In fact," Amber gave me a knowing look. "Put on something sexy and you'll always have his interest."

"Amber a woman shouldn't have to 'put on something sexy' in order to keep a man's interest," Lenore seemed to scoff at the idea completely.

"Is that so mom?" Amber raised a brow. "Then what was with those 'outfits' in your closet? You are telling me you never got all sexy for dad?"

"Oh Amber! Honestly!" Lenore jumped up from the table and returned to the stove, mumbling something about children thinking they know it all while Amber and I laughed.

"She's right though," Amber leaned in to whisper to me. "You don't have to put on something sexy to keep Devon's interest, you just have to care about him and the rest will happen."

I told her that I knew what she meant but I wasn't so sure that picking things up with Devon was the right thing to do at the moment. "I just want to get back on my feet, you know?"

She nodded, "Yes, I know all about it. That's what I was trying to do when I told Reed that I wouldn't move in with him when I moved back here. I needed time to find my place here and in his life. I needed to know that what I was feeling for him was real and not just residual feeling from when we were first dating."

I spent the rest of the evening at Amber's house, Devon came by around ten to pick me up and take me back to his place. Just after we walked in through the door, his phone rang and he ran to answer it.

"It's for you," he plopped down on the couch next to me and held out the phone. With a questioning look, he told me it was Amber's mom.

I gave him a shrug in response to his question. "Hello Mrs. Sands," I said cheerfully when I placed the phone to my ear. "What can I do for you?"

"It's more like, what can I do for you Janie dear," Lenore replied before launching into a story about her evening after she left Amber's earlier. I was barely paying attention so it came as a huge shock when she said, "Carl and I talked about it and we would love it if you would consider moving into the guest house until get on your feet."