Devon's reading some technical thing. It must be morning because
Jon's out running and she's worried about him since the streets are
icy and whatnot. Then she chastises herself for worrying. She's
also glad that he hasn't seen Margo in several days. She asks
herself who cares, but part of her tells her that she cares and that
she wants Jon all to herself. The truth of that scares her.
However, since their affair could only possibly last until
graduation, it's not the kind of thing that Devon wants, although she
doesn't put it to herself so plainly. Then Julie knocks at the back
door, and Devon lets her in. Julie stopped by mostly to warm up on
her walk from the lab but also to chat. Julie reminds Devon that
she's scared Devon's dad will show up drunk to the wedding. Devon
had forgotten. She's all flustered and twitterpated. That is, to
use the technical term.
Julie asks if Jon has learned anything about Devon's dad. She
doesn't think so, and then Devon talks about how Jon doesn't take his
own father too seriously. Then she and Julie reminisce on the good
old dorm days when life was simpler and the food was terrible, but
nostalgia makes it seem better. Oh hey, there's Jon. When he walks
in, Devon hands him a cup of warm coffee. He comments on how she's
well-trained. Funny, I was thinking the same thing. He has indeed
talked with Devon's dad, who is planning on coming to the wedding.
Devon is annoyed Jon didn't tell her, but he replies that she didn't
ask.
Devon's dad is planning to show up just for the wedding, sit in the
back of the church, and leave before the reception. Devon doesn't
trust him to keep his promise and she's pissed that Jon would offer
this to her dad. By the way, Devon's dad's name is apparently C.J.
Jon also lets it drop that C.J. is living in Los Angeles and he may
or may not have a job. Well then.
We cut ahead to Devon staring at way too many index cards in her
bedroom. She wants to turn them into a paper that will be good
enough to convince Jon to make changes about alcohol in the national
government. No pressure. Also, there's a loud envelope stuffing
party downstairs for the mayoral candidate we saw earlier. Jon comes
in, asking about popcorn. However, when Devon rubs her neck
absently, he walks over and starts giving her a massage. He tells
Devon she should join them and she replies with all the stuff she
needs to do. Midterms are coming up. She asks Jon if he can send
everyone home. He kisses her earlobe and says, “I love it when you
want to be alone with me.” She protests that that's not what she
meant, then she sees that he was messing with her. Hah! What an
ass. Also, there's a bit of talk about how Devon thinks Prohibition
worked because suicides and such fell to much lower numbers and,
while people were still drinking, they had to be more careful about
it. Jon argues back with the old “correlation does not imply
causation” argument of statisticians. Devon has no real response
for this, but she's got a phone call anyway.
It's one of Devon's students from last semester! She got into
university. She doesn't name it, which reminds me that we have no
real idea where this story takes place. Los Angeles is halfway
across the country, and it snows here, so I guess it's somewhere in
the Midwest. How descriptive. Anyway, this student only applied to
college because Devon motivated her to, and she's super excited about
taking classes. Also, she's embarrassed that she called that man Mr.
Quinn (Devon's last name). Of course Devon's husband wouldn't have
taken her name. How odd that Devon didn't mention him last semester.
Devon agrees and the conversation ends soon afterward.
Devon heads downstairs to see that all of the guests are gone. Jon
is instructing the cat on how to be quiet, which includes giving up
potato chips and chasing her ball. While he's talking, Cyan jumps to
the floor, knocks over the metal wastebasket, gets out a cigarette
pack still with the crinkly shrink wrap, and chases it across the
floor a bit. You know, typical cat behavior. The important thing is
that Jon promises to be silent. For three days, he pretty much is.
He's barely home and makes almost no noise when he is. This is also
driving Devon crazy.
She knocks on his door to talk with him about this. Of course when
he opens it, he has a quip about how she's not another of his lady
friends to keep him company...unless she's changed her mind. Devon
ignores it and basically tells him that he's being too quiet. Very
good, Devon. She's learning. Devon explains that she would
appreciate a medium between all of the noise and none of the noise.
She wants to Goldilocks it. Then, he works it in kind of well, Jon
invites Devon to go to a basketball game with him. He hates to go
alone, you see and she could use a break. Devon threatens to break
him, and Jon replies that then it would be silent all the time. Then
he asks her how she ever lived alone before. Devon had been
wondering about that as well. He's become an integral part of her
life! ...or something.
They chatter a bit more (Jon made it a class assignment to be
registered to vote. Not just because of Devon), and eventually Devon
agrees to go to the game with him. Before they leave, she says that
if she flunks the tests because of him, she'll sue him. Jon asks if
that means he can pick his reward if she doesn't. Hah! Oh you.
The next day, Devon drags herself home from the graduate admission
tests and flops into a chair in the living room. Jon talks her into
going out for Chinese. She asks for a hand, and he asks if she means
with changing her clothes. I love his quips. They only work because
he doesn't push them, though. They're serious, but he is fine
delivering them as jokes to be ignored. Anyway, he helps her out of
the chair, brushes her hair off her forehead, unbuttons her coat,
puts his hands on the small of her back, and pulls her to him. Woah
now. Devon responds by raising her head, parting her lips, and
letting “her hands trail sensuously over his shoulders and up to
clasp at the back of his neck.” He brushes her lips with hers and
asks if she's changed her mind as his hands slide up under her
sweater. She says no, horrified at herself, and pulls away from him.
Jon is pissed at her, and she replies with, “I'm sorry. I don't
understand what's happening to me.” He stops, but Devon can tell
he's struggling. She heads up the stairs, annoyed with the way she
reacted, making it so obvious that she wanted him, but she did when
he touched her, but she doesn't want to want him, but she does,
but.... Life is complicated sometimes.
Jon comes upstairs and knocks on her door. For a moment, Devon is
scared. In a much calmer voice, he tells her not to panic and that
he's just asking if she's still going with him, or if she's staying
home after all. She doesn't respond and he continues with, “It's
all right, Devon. I'm quite aware that you scared yourself to death
downstairs. I won't push you.” Holy crap. Now he's actually a
decent human being. I like this Jon much better than the one three
chapters ago. Devon decides that she will go. She just needs two
minutes to change. Jon grants her five. She sarcastically remarks
on his generosity, and he replies that their reservation isn't for
another hour anyway. Hah! Wow.
The neighborhood the restaurant is in looks pretty sketch. Jon found
it in the phone book, so he knew nothing about it. They both hope
that, despite its look, the food is decent. Jon promises that next
time they'll go to an Italian place. There's a restaurant in
Georgetown he wants to take her to. As I learned in the next
paragraph, that's around Washington D.C. So, he's saying that he
wants her to come with him when he gets into the Senate. Hey, this
guy, in this book; he's going to make it. She deflects this
not-quite-a-question by not looking at him and saying how she might
happen to be there touring the capital. Jon immediately turns the
pressure down, by saying how she might be chaperoning a class trip.
The conversation meanders to the post-poll-closing party that's
happening that night. Devon bets that Jon doesn't win. His eyes
light up and he asks if he can name the stakes. Devon firmly tells
him it's five dollars. Party pooper.
...and now it's time to talk about Devon's dad some more. His
current plan is to show up on Friday and leave Sunday after the
wedding. They talk about entertaining him, or letting him take care
of himself, and where he'd stay. He doesn't want to stay at Aunt
Eleanor's and Devon will not have him in her apartment, which he
anticipated. C.J. will stay in a hotel, which apparently would be
more like home to him anyway since he lives in one in LA. Devon asks
if it's in Skid Row, Jon admits only that he didn't get a street
address and that it's not a middle class neighborhood. Well, then,
I'm guessing that C.J. is the manager of a very ritzy hotel and has
stopped drinking. Anyway, Devon finally gets some say in this whole
thing: it's up to her if she wants David to know that C.J. will be
there. Devon wants to know why she can't tell her dad now not to
come, but he'll be out of touch for a few days. Devon guesses it'll
be on a bender and that Jon is way too nice. His reply is about how
he's always rescuing damsels in distress. He picks up her hand and
snuggles it with his cheek. He wants to know when he's getting his
reward. With all of these hoops, it had better be something good.
Hah. Maybe after you woo her, Jon.
Speaking of that, Devon needs to do some soul searching, because it
seems like she's not entirely in consensus with herself. Since this
is a romance novel, I know she's going to realize that she's in love
with Jon and carry that out with reckless abandon, but probably not
for another few chapters. I still think the wedding would be the
perfect time to realize she's in love.
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