Thorns in My Side

Chapter 1When Tim Whittaker’s best friend Jake Thorn showed up at his apartment to announce that he’d proposed to his girlfriend, Jenna Riley, and that she’d accepted, Tim’s response wasn’t “congratulations” or “that’s great.” Instead, he told Jake, “Don’t marry her.” Jake stared at Tim for a moment, then laughed. “What?” “Don’t marry her,” Tim repeated. Jake laughed again. “Are you high? Stop joking. I’m serious.” “So am I. Don’t marry her.” Jake’s expression changed. There was no more laughter or even the crack of a smile as he lowered his voice and asked, “Why would you say something like that?” Tim stared into his friend’s brown eyes. “You know why.” Jake swallowed and Tim watched his Adam’s apple bob in his throat. “I love Jenna.” “I know you do, and that’s why you shouldn’t marry her.” “You’re out of your mind. As my best friend, you should be happy for me.” “Really, Jake? Why would I be happy to see you make, possibly, the biggest mistake of your life?” “No, the biggest mistake of my life right now seems to be having anything to do with you.” Tim knew Jake wasn’t serious and told him so. “You don’t mean that.” “The hell I don’t.” “We’ve been friends since we were kids.” “Yeah, well we’re not kids anymore.” “You think I don’t know that? We’re almost thirty. Don’t you think it’s time to stop with the bullshit?” “Jenna and I have been seeing each other for three years! What did you think was gonna happen after we moved in together earlier this year?” Tim shrugged. He didn’t really have an answer for that question. When Jake and Jenna moved in together, Tim realized their relationship was moving to a different level, but he didn’t think marriage was on the horizon. He figured they did it mainly to save money. “Is she pregnant?” Tim asked, wondering if that was the reason for the sudden engagement. Jake rolled his eyes. “No.” “So, you’re just doing this to piss me off?” “This isn’t about you!” Jake said, throwing up his hands in exasperation. “I’m doing this because I love Jenna and she loves me.” “I love you, too, you know.” Jake hung his head and sighed. “Tim, don’t.” “Don’t what? Tell you the truth?” “I have to go,” Jake said, heading for the door. Tim grabbed Jake’s shirt sleeve, but Jake angrily yanked away his arm, causing his sleeve to tear slightly. He looked at the hole near his shoulder. “Fuck.” “I’m sorry. You can borrow one of my shirts, if you want.” Tim, who stood at 6’ 1”, knew he and 5’ 7” Jake didn’t wear the same sized clothing. Still, he wanted to help since he knew he was partially responsible for the tear. “Forget it,” Jake said. “I have to go. I’m meeting Caleb for dinner to tell him the news.” “You told me before you told your brother?” Tim asked. Jake looked at him like he was crazy. “Of course I did. You’re my best friend. Plus, I figured you’d take the news harder than he would, so it was better to get this over with first.” Jake’s statement confused Tim. As far as he knew, Jake’s brother liked Jenna and there weren’t any issues between them. “Why would Caleb take the news hard? Does he have a problem with Jenna?” “No, but he’s always been funny about my relationship with her or any other woman. Since he’s gay, he thinks our parents don’t respect his relationships with men the way they would if he dated women.” Jake let out a short laugh. “He’s paranoid.” “Is that why you’re rejecting me? Because you think your parents won’t approve?” “My parents aren’t homophobes, Tim. You know they aren’t. Whatever issues Caleb has with them are all in his mind. Ever since I was born, Caleb has been complaining that he always gets the short end of the stick with them compared to me. He thinks I’m spoiled because I’m eight years younger. The baby got everything the baby wanted. It’s such a crock of shit.” Tim looked at Jake standing by the door, dressed in a pair of dark jeans, brown loafers, and a now-torn blue button-down shirt. His dark hair was in need of a trim and fell across his eyebrows. Tim tried to remember exactly when he’d fallen in love with him. He’d loved Jake for many years as the two grew up together. At first, Jake was the brother he’d never had. But something changed between them as they grew older. Tim started to see Jake in a different light and decided he wanted more from him than just friendship. He moved from loving him to being in love with him. “I’ll talk to you later,” Jake said, breaking Tim’s train of thought as he opened the door and left. Tim almost went after him, but he didn’t.