Chapter 10 ~ Reasons for a Spark

"But Cindy, he's such a nice boy, it would be such a smart match if you two got married!" Her mother's words from the night before kept ringing in Cindy's head as she made her way to Nick's house that Thursday morning. I deserve more than a smart match, which is why I gotta do this. When she arrived at Nick's house the horse trailer was backed up to the garage, where she saw Nick surrounded by tack and gear. "Hey Nick."

He looked up from his task to see his girlfriend smiling down at him. "C!" he greeted excitedly as he stood up hugged and kissed her. Dang the boy can kiss… no, focus Cindy, it's the right thing for both of you. Nick released her and quickly asked "So, you gonna join us?"

"I'm sorry, but no." Nick's excitement faded into a look of disappointment.

"But, why not? When I talk to your folks it seemed like they even wanted you to come."

"They do, but I don't. Look I'm just not as passionate about all this as you want me to be, and that's not fair to you."

"Okay so, I'll see you the middle of July, then when school starts again? We can handle that. Although leaving you here alone with your old flame does makes me a little nervous."

"He has a girlfriend from the program Nick." She defended, then continued "But anyway, when I said it's not fair to you I meant this whole thing. You've found this amazing thing you are so passionate for, but I can't and don't really want to follow. I just think it'd be best if we followed our own paths."

Nick looked terribly confused "What are you saying C?"

"I'm saying you and I have grown into two very different people, who don't really fit together anymore. And it would be better for the both of us to stop wasting time and start trying to find someone who is right for us."

His confusion started to turn to hate "So what your saying is that the last two years with me have been a waste of time?"

"No! God I'm saying this all wrong…"

"If you're trying to break up with me I think you're saying it right."

"Yes, but I'm trying to do what's best for both of us! There are tons of other girls who have the same passion as you for rodeo, any one of them would be a better fit for you than me. I don't want to spend my life going to rodeos. I want to finish high school, go to a prestigious college, and do or invent something that's gonna change the world. Are you gonna be the guy by my side through all of that?"

Nick honestly thought about everything she was saying, he was still mad and hurt by the conversation but conceded "You may have a point C, I guess I do want someone who's gonna ride with me and enjoy this crazy life style." He looked into her eyes and asked "And you're sure that won't be you?"

She simply nodded and said "I'm sure."

After a moment of awkward silence Nick interjected one more question "And this isn't because Neutron's back?"

"No, I mean were still friends, but he has a girlfriend Nick. I'm not trying to get together with him, this is about you and me." Nick decided to believe her, and gave her one last hug. "Now you go enjoy your adventure." She pulled away a little and kissed his cheek.

After her break-up with Nick, Cindy had made it back to her room. Mostly assured in her decision to end things, but still sad, and needed a friend. She picked up the phone and dialed a familiar number, after two rings Cindy heard a familiar "Hello?"

"Hey Libby, you free to come over?"

"Um, I could be. What's up girl? You sound kinda sad…"

"I'd rather just talk about it when you get here." Cindy insisted then noticed the loud background noise to the phone, but just figured she was driving with the windows down "Can you?"

"Sure thing girl. See you in a few." Before Cindy could say bye, Libby had hung up the phone. Cindy set the phone down on her desk, then decided to tidy her desk while she waited. Placing pencils and pens where they belonged and placing papers in the file drawer to her left. Cindy was definitely an A-type personality and tried to keep her work area clean. It'd been bugging her since yesterday that she had left the lab a mess when she cleared the room for Aja and Jimmy to talk. And between her parents getting home early and the time spent with Jimmy's mom that afternoon Cindy hadn't had a chance to get back down to the lab to revel in the success of their experiment or clean up after herself. Once her desktop was clean she pulled open her top desk drawer, knowing it had been a while since she decluttered it. After reaching in to pull out a few papers, her hand hit something hard, she winced a little as she pulled her hand out.

"What the crap was that?" she pushed the papers aside and saw the small glass picture frame in the drawer, and pulled it out. She could feel her heart start to flutter as she remembered the picture, her and Neutron under the Eiffel Tower. She set the picture up on her desk and proceeded to rifle through the drawer, "There you are!" she boasted to herself, holding the penny sized pearl Jimmy had given her when they were stranded on a deserted island. Finding her lost stash of Jimmy memorabilia made the girl both giddy and angry. She had forgotten she kept any of it; a glitching holographic valentine card, the short term memory whipper, a few pieces of saltwater taffy from the Oozy Scab, a couple aster-rubies, and their friendship contract. But with every trinket she pulled out she became more confused. Is there still something there? Or am I just dwelling in the past? She stared intently at the content she had pulled out, every piece had a story, except for the short-term memory whipper… Jimmy told me what it was, and that he had to use it so he could keep his lab secure, but I've never gotten the full story, even after I had an invite into the lab… Just then there was a knock on her window, Cindy jumped as she looked up and saw Libby at the window. She walked over to let her friend in then saw how she was actually at her window, the whole gang was piled in the hover-car.

"Hey girl, did I scare ya?" Libby stepped into the room.

"Little bit." She under exaggerated, "Ya know, since most people use the door…" then she greeted Jimmy, Sheen, Carl still in the hover-car "Hey guys."

"Cindy do you need girl talk with Carl?" Carl asked, hoping for an invitation. Cindy was hesitant to say yes, then Sheen blurted.

"Carl, we've been over this, you are not a girl, you have a penis."

"Sheen!" his girlfriend scolded.

"Oh, come on Cindy, You know whatever's upsetting you you're gonna tell me and Jimmy eventually and Sheen will hear it from Libby. So you might as well invite us all in and spill." Carl insisted.

He's not wrong, and it's not like this is gonna stay quiet. "Fine! Whatever." Cindy agreed "But park the hover-car on the lawn, you may rip shingles off the roof when you start it up again if you park it there. The front door's open." Jimmy nodded to the request then the boys left the window to park the hover car.

Cindy quickly stashed the content she just found back in the drawer, but not before Libby got curious "What's all that stuff?"

"Well I started cleaning a little while I was waiting, and I came across a bunch of stuff I saved from my crush on Jimmy." She explained quickly.

"Oh, cool! Let me see!" Libby asked excited.

"Later Libby, not when the boys are coming up the stairs any second."

"Fine." Libby dropped it and moved on to her next question, "So what's this about girl?" after thinking a moment she remembered a crucial piece of info "Wait! It's Thursday, girl are you leaving or not?" Just then the boys knocked on her door, Cindy shut the drawer and walked over to let them in. But before they could settle in Cindy's impatient friend reiterated her question. "Come'on girl, spill, you leavin or not?"

"Wait that's what this is about?" Sheen asked "I thought you already decided you weren't going on that cock-a-mamey trip?"

"Na, she's gone so back and forth so much I don't even know what she wants to do." Libby explained then looked to Cindy, "So?"

Cindy waited for her friends to take a seat, the boys all plopped on the bed while Libby sat in the desk chair, and Cindy herself popped up on her desk. "I um, told him I wasn't going." Sheen, Carl, Libby exchanged a mess of 'I told you so's' and 'what's!', while Jimmy stayed quiet.

"What'd you say?" Carl asked "Was he disappointed?"

"I told him I couldn't commit to it, and of course he was disappointed. But he was more upset when I, uh, when I ended things." That piece caught everyone off guard, it was brief, but Cindy could swear Jimmy smiled at the statement. "I actually took Neutron's advice, when it came down to it. Nick wanted me to join him on a life I didn't want to follow. And when I explained what I hoped to do with my life he wasn't too keen on being a tagalong. So I explained we both deserve to live our own lives and find someone better for each of us."

"And he just let you go?" Carl asked.

"What the hell was he gonna do? Kidnap her to join the rodeo?" Sheen asked baffled. "It's not the circus Carl."

"I just mean he's kind of protective, and he just said he loved you, and he's not used to rejection, and…"

"It's fine Carl, parted pretty amicably, once I explained why. I don't think it'll be a big deal."

"Not till fall when you got a new man on your arm." Libby divulged, winking at Cindy.

"Wait, you dumped him so you can date someone else?" Carl asked "Who?"

"There's no one else Carl, that's just Libby's wishful thinking getting the best of her." Cindy clarified.

"So, we get to keep you for the summer?" Jimmy asked, it was the first thing he actually said since they arrived.

"Yup, you don't get the lab to yourself like you were hoping." Cindy smiled, Jimmy just grinned and shrugged in return. "So, why were you all in the hover-car anyway?"

"We were headed to the lake." Jimmy explained "I came by to grab you first, but you weren't home. Figured you were at Nick's getting ready to leave."

"Then why we sitting in my room when we could be at the beach? I'll grab my suite." She said as she hopped off the desk and headed for her closet.

"Sweet!" Sheen elated happy to go back to their first plan for the day "last one to the hover-car sniffs my shoe!" Carl and Sheen booked it out of Cindy's room.

"No fair, I still have to grab stuff!" Cindy hollered back at the boys. Then opened her closet to grab her suit and beach towel from a drawer. With her closet open Jimmy thought he recognized something hanging up. As Jimmy headed for the close, Libby investigated the contense of the drawer Cindy threw stuff back in earlier.

Once Jimmy was at the closet he pulled at the purple garment to confirm it was what he was thinking. "You still have this?"

Cindy looked up to see her purple flight suite. "Yeah, why get rid of a good flight suite…" was the best she could come up with.

"I highly doubt it fits anymore." Jimmy suggested then spotted a red cape and grey shirt behind the suite. "And you still have your N-men outfit?"

"Whatever? I know you still have yours."

"I've been gone for 5 years, haven't exactly cleaned out my room the past week, especially since you've been inhabiting it the past 5 days." Neutron pointed out as he looked for more things she may have saved, just as he spotted a black ensemble from his movie, Cindy stood up and closed her closet door, almost catching his hand.

"Would you stop rifling through my stuff!" then she caught Libby out of the corner of her eye "You too Libby!" Libby threw her hands up and smiled guiltily.

"Why? What's in there Libby?" Jimmy asked as he started to walk over, but Cindy grabbed him to stop him, then shoved him out the door.

"This is why I don't let people in my room!" Jimmy smiled to his friend and adhered to the shove, heading downstairs. Then Cindy directed her attention to Libby. "What the hell Libby?"

"What I was curious what all you kept." She opened the drawer again and pulled out what looked like a mini-receiver dish. "Like what's this?"

"That's a short-term memory wiper. Neutron used it on me after the whole Yolkian return. Apparently I figured out how to access his lab so he had to wipe me."

"So you don't remember any of that?" Cindy shrugged as she stuffed her suite in a cinch top backpack. "Neutron tell ya that you convinced the town to trust his warning?"

"Nope."

"He tell ya how we killed Poultra?"

"Yup," Cindy snatched the device from her friend. "Spicy candy and purple flurp, alien chicken go boom."

"He tell ya you two danced together?"

"Huh?"

"That's a no." Libby giggled, then explained "You two danced together all night at the party."

"Wait, that was before I even liked him. That was before the love potion fiasco." Cindy pondered "So does that mean Neutron actually like me first? But I thought he had a big crush on Betty Quinlin before me?"

"I'm thinking he's always had a thing for you girl, whether he realized it or not." Cindy smiled at the notion, and placed the device in the drawer and shut it before picking up her bag.

"We better get down there before Sheen starts yelling."

"Fine, but you're giving me a full tour of that drawer later."

"Fine, whatever, let's go!"

The time at the lake with her friends seemed to be just what Cindy needed after her emotional morning. After they swam for a while Carl offered to cook up some burgers he had packed, Libby used the break to relax on her beach blanket and Jimmy Sheen wandered to the basketball courts on the north end of the beach to play some one on one. "So, Cindy?" Carl asked after he plopped the last burger on the grill, Cindy looked up from the picnic basket to her friend. "You sure you didn't break up with Nick for some other 'smarter' reason?"

"What are you getting at Carl?" she asked annoyed.

"Oh come on?" her red haired friend insisted "You two have been like old times since he got back, and we all know how you both felt when he left."

"Just drop it Carl, it's not gonna happen, he just renewed the lease with his girlfriend." Carl just looked at her confused "I don't know, they just seem so professional when they talk, the only emotion I heard was in that stupid French accent."

"See, right there, your bitter toward Aja, so you still have feelings for Jimmy!"

"Carl! Shush!" Cindy pleaded, hoping his voice wouldn't carry to the basketball courts.

"I'm right! Oh just go over and tell him to break up with his girlfriend so you can be together, or I will!" he exclaimed quietly.

"Carl, calm down. Yes, I think Aja is a bit of a snob. But I just broke things off with Nick, I don't know if what I'm feeling is loneliness, jealously, past feelings, or new feelings. Either way I'm not gonna screw up what Neutron's got just cause I thought I felt a few things in the lab the other day…"

"What were you feeling up in Jimmy's lab?" Libby asked as she walked up to the pair, having caught wind of the conversation from where she was laying.

"Oh my God! No, 'feeling' not 'feeling up' Get your mind out of the gutter Libby. And have you been eavesdropping this whole time?" Cindy asked, now annoyed with 2 friends.

"Of course, I hear Carl braiding you about Neutron I'm gonna tune in." she smiled "So what happened in the lab Cindy?"

Cindy knew she would end up telling them eventually, so she told them her whole side of the story from the events in the lab the day before, as well as the conversation she had with Jimmy's mom. The two stayed oddly quiet through the entire story, so Cindy wouldn't forget or miss out on any details. Carl was so enthralled that he nearly burned their burgers. Carl plated them up as Cindy finished her story, then he was the first one to speak. "See I told you there's still something there. The flirtatious chase, the long stare into each other's eyes, him holding your hands to comfort you, how you felt when he took his shirt off. It's so obvious girlfriend." Libby just nodded excitedly in agreement, as she pulled out everything else packed for lunch.

"Yeah, and honestly that's where my brain was headed. But then why would he say yes to Aja?" Cindy honestly asked her friends, sounding almost hurt as she did.

"Boys are pretty blunt Cindy, they don't tend to pick up on what's right in front of them." Libby informed "So my guess is he said yes to Aja since you were still with Nick, and he wasn't getting a clear yes from you. Simple as that." Libby looked down to the spread on the table "And speaking of boys, I'm gonna go get um."

"So you're sayin you don't see it?" Sheen asked baffled as he checked the ball to Jimmy.

"Well of course I can see it, I'm not blind." Jimmy replied then checked the ball back "It's just not the kind of thing I need to be ogling, I have a girlfriend." The two started their game of one on one, continuing to talk as they played.

"You can't tell me your jaw didn't drop when Cindy came out in that bikini."

"Yes Sheen she's gotten even hotter. What's your point?"

"She broke up with Nick, what the hell you waiting for, a formal invitation?" Sheen shot for the net, it bounced off the rim and Jimmy nabbed the ball.

"They broke up this morning! I don't wanna be the rebound guy. And again, I have a girlfriend."

"You don't need her, you need a hot blonde smarty-pants who happens to live right next door."

Jimmy took a shot, and the ball sunk in. "Why do you even care Sheen?" Jimmy stopped the game to ask.

"What, I'm just pointing out the oblivious."

"I think you mean obvious."

"Yeah that's it, obvious facts you are oblivious to cause you're in a 'relationship'." He snarked, grabbing the ball from him.

"Did Carl tell you to say that?"

"No!" Jimmy started down his friend for the real reason for the topic at hand "Libby says if I help get you two together I can get to 2nd base."

"Sheen!"

"What? I wanna touch boobies."

"So you're willing to sabotage my current relationship for that."

"Just cause I'm getting a reward doesn't mean the whole you and Cindy thing won't work. You just admitted she's smokin." Sheen started dribbling again, and Jimmy followed in resuming their game as they talked.

"Sheen she's said it herself that the crush we had as kids was faded and done."

"She said that to your face?"

"No, to Aja when she called yesterday, but I was sitting right there and heard it loud and clear."

Sheen couldn't tell if Jimmy was hurt by the statement he repeated or just annoyed at the topic. Either way he dropped the conversation for now and played out their game, until Libby walked up. "Lunch is on boys." She announced as she walked up to peck her boyfriend on the cheek.

"Sweet!" Sheen elated then grabbed his girlfriend and gave her a full on smooch in front of Jimmy.

After a few blissful moments Libby remembered her present company "Sheen, Jimmy is right there, he don't need to see that." She managed to stutter as she licked her lips.

"Well he wouldn't have to if he were smooching his own girl right now." Sheen hinted not so subtlety, as they started walking to the picnic table where Cindy and Carl were at.

"Sheen my girl is nearly 5,000 miles away."

"No, more like 250 feet." Sheen insisted pointing to their destination.

"Sheen! Drop it, it's not happening."

"And why the hell not Jimmy?" Libby intruded.

"Cause she said so, she admitted to Aja that there was nothing left between us."

"Of course she did, Aja just realized Cindy was taking a shower 20 feet away from ya, and Cindy was just trying to calm your girl down."

Jimmy stopped "You know about that?"

"Look, she ain't gonna admit that you two still spark in front of your girlfriend."

"Did Cindy say something?" Jimmy was getting tired of the hints.

Not wanting to straight up tell him anything Libby fibbed "Something about what happened in the lab yesterday, but you had just patched things up with Aja so she dropped it."

"What about the lab?" Libby just smiled and made a dash for the picnic table 70 feet away. "What was that for?" Jimmy asked to Sheen.

"Well when she does that to me, it means ta follow her for a fun time." Sheen explained. "But I'm guessin this time a cats gonna come out of a sack…"

Jimmy's eyes widened scared of what might come out of the ebony girl's mouth. Then the boys booked it back to the table to not give Libby the chance to plot anything. Jimmy plowed into the table nearly knocking the plates off that had been set up, while Sheen screeched to a halt behind him, almost falling face first in the sand. "Well Sheen lost that foot race if that's what you boys were doing…" Cindy scoffed, Jimmy didn't know how to respond, he wasn't sure if Libby had a chance to say anything. After seeing the clearly confused look on the boy's face she simply said "Just sit down dork-tron, or the food will get cold."

The gang scarfed down the food, complementing the chef and chatting as they ate. However Jimmy ate in silence, he was deep in thought about what Libby and Sheen had more than hinted to earlier. What did Libby think happened in the lab? Did Cindy tell her something? About that long stare or holding her hands? And did she really not feel that old spark, or was she bluffing for my sake like Libby said? Jimmy looked up to the girl across the table, she was still in her dark blue bikini top and he assumed her same black bikini skirt. And Sheen wasn't wrong, she has gotten hotter.

"Hello? Paging Dr. Whippy-dip head?" Cindy waved a hand in front of Jimmy, snapping Jimmy out of his thoughts, Jimmy just looked dumbfounded at the girl he was just checking out Shit, did she see me staring?

"What?"

"I asked you ta pass the chips like 3 times."

He looked to the bag to his right, Dam, she still distracts me. "Sorry, guess I zoned. I was thinking about what to name the molecular waterproof coating." He fibbed, though not entirely, as he was contemplating that earlier, but not just then. After handing the bag to the blonde he recalled what she actually said. "Wait did you just call me Mr. Whippy-dip head?"

"No, I called you Dr. Whippy-dip head, see I changed the title." Cindy corrected and smiled back.

"I'm not sure that jab applies any more girl, his hair's like a fourth the height it used to be." Libby explained.

"True, plus after yesterday I should just go with shit head."

"Cindy!" Carl exclaimed worried "That's not even funny, it's just mean."

"I don't know Carl, shit is poop, and poop's pretty funny." Sheen giggled. "Poop!"

"Fine, Dr. Poophead" Cindy replied laughing, to which Sheen nearly choked on his second burger laughing in return, and Libby and Carl couldn't hold back a giggle.

"Oh come on you don't even know why that's pertinent." Jimmy defended.

"Oh, yes we do." Carl piped in. "Cindy told us everything about yesterday."

"Why'd you say it like that Carl?" Jimmy pried, then looked to Cindy and asked quieter "What'd you tell them?"

"Everything, experiment, spraying poo, Aja calling…" She explained plainly then chomped down on another chip.

But Jimmy had had it, he was done festering in his brain over what may or may not be. "Okay, if some cat's out of the bag I wanna know." He pronounced, everyone at the table just stopped eating and stared at him as he continued "I'm tired of all these weird mixed signals that confuse the crap out of me. Libby just hinted at something about yesterday on the way over here and now Carl said 'everything' all weird. And you all know I'm not smart about all this personal stuff, that's where you're supposed to help me," he gestured to Cindy, then stared contently at the table. "But you can't help much if you're the one pulling the confusing personal signal crap on me, and…"

"Leapin' Leptons Neutron," Cindy stood up and leaned across the table to place a hand on his to cease his rant and regain his attention. "What's getting you all worked up?" He stopped his rant but kept his face downcast.

"Hey since when do you say his freak out line?" Sheen asked almost offended that 'leapin leptons' came out of her mouth.

"It got his attention." Cindy replied still staring at the frustrated genius. "Catch your breath and ask one question at a time, otherwise I don't know what you're going on about. Like you said, I'm the friend that helps ya through personal crap." She smiled sincerely as he looked up at her, softly squeezing the grasp on his hand. The blonde then nodded for him to proceed. For that moment everything else disappeared and it was just him and her…

Jimmy did as he was told, breathed deep, looked to his friend who was intensely focused on him, then came up with his first question. "What did you tell Libby and Carl when Sheen and I were at the court?"

Cindy released her grasp on the boy's hand and calmly sat back down in her spot at the table as she devised her reply "Well I told them about our experiment, how you stole my phone, and I had to tackled you to get it back, only to find out you didn't have it and the tackle broke a seal on the poop machine. Then told um about how you got me sprayed with feces, and I had to take a shower in the lab. And then that I popped in on you and Aja getting back together."

"Wait that tackle was on purpose?"

"Well, I wasn't expecting you to double back but yeah I was gonna try and tackle you."

"Oh, that'd be why it knocked the wind out of me." Jimmy replied with a small smile then pondered his next question, not sure he wanted to ask, as he re-realized his other friends were still here. Well they would all hear both sides of this conversation eventually. "How long were we catching our breath?"

Seemed like forever… is what she wanted to say "I don't know, a minute? Takes a bit to bounce back from gettin the wind knocked out of ya." She smiled then added "Gave me a chance to remember how blue your eyes are."

Jimmy smiled at the compliment and returned, "Well yours are still as limpid green as ever." The girl blushed a little at the comment, then Jimmy pushed for his next question. "So, in that minute… did you want to kiss me?"

Carl couldn't hold back a small squeal at the boldness of the question. Libby would have too if she hadn't already been covering her mouth. Sheen eye's just got wide at the new content. And the girl in question's blush only got redder "Why would you ask that? I still had a boyfriend yesterday, and contrary to what everyone else here seems to think, I was telling the truth as to why we broke up, and it wasn't cause I'm in love with you." The smirk that was on the boy's face was chased away by the blunt comment. The gangs reactions silently shifted to shock as well, Carl was even glaring at her for the statement. "Sorry, that was a bit harsh."

"So what ya said to Aja was the truth? Not some cover up?"

"I exchanged more than one word with her, gonna have to be a bit more specific."

"You told her the crush we had when we were kids is faded and done." I really hoped his stupid eidetic memory wouldn't catch that. Before Cindy could reply, he continued "You guys clearly seem to think we still spark," he observed as he gestured to the audience of giddily nodding heads. "But I honestly can't tell what you think Vortex."

Spark… Why'd he have to say spark… "Neutron, you have a girlfriend, she may be 5,000 miles away but you just reaffirmed that you two still want to be together. I'm not about to go bulldozing over that because I'm lonely and I just got my best friend back."

"So you do think that something is still here?" he asked gesturing between the two of them.

"Okay, listen closely to what I'm gonna say Neutron, especially the first part." He nodded, heart hopeful. "If you love Aja, do not break up with her for me." His face became confused but he still listened, "Since you've been back there have been moments too strong for me to ignore, like how I you held my hands to comfort me when I was covered in feces, or how I wanted to kiss you when we were catching our breath. But I don't know if what I was feeling was remnants of that old crush, feeling lonely cause Nick had barely been around, just stupid hormones, or something entirely new."

"So, hypothetically, if he were single today…" Carl dared to ask and break the spell of the conversation they were in, but Cindy replied before he had a chance to finish the question.

"No." I wasn't expecting that… Jimmy thought to himself, Carl started to refute but was cut off. "I just broke up with Nick, I shouldn't be dating anyone right now. And like I said, I'm not gonna be the one to ruin what you and Aja got, you gotta sort out what you want with her without including me, or how we used to be, in the picture."

The one time I don't wanna hear a mature logical decision… Leapin Leptons, All I've wanted to do was kiss her since she admitted she wanted to too… What would she do if I just went for it, would she really be mad? Or just happy I ended this stalemate? Not like we haven't kissed before… If I just lunged across the table and grabbed her… she'd probably throw me across the beach…

Her voice regained his attention "Look Nerd-tron, the only reason I'm saying all this is because I don't want dumb secretes to ruin our friendship, especially after it survived the last 5 years. I don't wanna lose you now that I just got you back."

"I can understand that, I was pretty happy when you said you weren't leaving this summer." Jimmy finally smiled again, a gesture Cindy returned as overall she was happy with her decision as well.

"So…" Libby finally chimed in. "If Jimmy and Aja break up down the road, you two have a shot?"

"Libby!" Cindy scolded to the blunt question, but her friend stared her down for an answer. "I don't know, maybe, we can talk again if or when something changes, but for now I need time."