"So let me get this straight," Cat started over lunch the day after my date with Leila, "this girl tells you that she isn't going to be like those other girls, but then gives you a pretty filthy goodnight kiss at the end of your first date? Kind of seems like mixed signals if you ask me."
I grimaced as I took a bite from my sandwich, "I fucking hate the way you use the word filthy. It makes it seem...dirty."
"Well, wasn't it?" Cat asked with a smirk.
"Things definitely could have gotten out of hand." I said with a mischievous smirk as I took a sip from my drink. Cat gave me a triumphant grin before returning her attention momentarily back to her panini.
"So when are you going to see her again?" Cat asked.
I let out a sigh, "I don't know. I was probably going to wait a couple of days. I felt weird enough asking her out the very next day after meeting her. I mean, I do work the next few nights so it isn't like I'll actually have time for anything. Is that bad? Should I at least call her and let her know I'm busy so she doesn't think I'm avoiding her? Or is that weird?"
Cat started laughing, which broke me from my rant, "Oh my God. You like her."
"No, I don't." I said, probably too hastily for the sake of my argument.
"Right." Cat said with a raised brow and a chuckle.
"I don't! I just... I don't want to seem too eager." I said with a shrug, hoping I seemed a bit more believable.
"Or too desperate for a distraction." Cat quipped.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked with narrowed eyes.
"Don't even try to act like you don't know what I'm talking about." Cat said indignantly.
"I'm not using her to get over Tori. It's just strange timing." I said defensively.
Cat looked at me pointedly, "Funny. I didn't even have to say her name."
"Well, who the fuck else would you have been talking about?" I snapped defensively, "This isn't a distraction, Cat. I've got nothing that needs distracting from."
She shrugged, "If you say so. Summer will be interesting when she comes home."
"If Leila and I are still together then." I shook my head quickly, "I mean if we even get together in the first place."
Cat laughed again and I was growing tired of her attitude.
"Roscoe asked about you last night." I said with a smirk.
Cat squealed and clapped her hands together, "Oh my God, I miss him! How is he?"
I nodded my head, "He's good. He asked if Beck finally got his shit together and asked you out." I said, looking at her with knowing eyes.
I always made fun of her and Beck for their relationship and how close they were. Roscoe wasn't the only one that assumed they were dating, and then questioned why Beck hadn't grown a pair and asked Cat out. The three of us would laugh because no one else really understood the kind of friendship they had. The thought of them actually dating creeped me out. And not because Beck was my ex. That's high school history, and not really something I'm concerned with after all.
She blushed almost as red as her hair as she looked for anything else to occupy her attention, "Fuck." She whispered.
But that definitely wasn't the kind of reaction I was anticipating getting from her.
"Cat." I said in a warning voice. She had started chewing on her lower lip and staring at her half-eaten sandwich. Then, it hit me, "Oh my God. He did. He fucking asked you out. Christ, was it awkward when you said no?" I asked as I leaned forward with curiosity.
"Um. Right." Cat said as she cleared her throat, "Well, I kind of didn't say no." She said quickly.
I laughed. I straight up guffawed at the thought of the two of them dating. Until Cat looked at me severely and I realized this wasn't a joke.
"Fuck's sake, are you serious?" I asked in disbelief. I wasn't upset, believe me. I was shocked. I definitely hadn't seen something like that coming.
"Well, I don't know, Jade. We've just been spending so much time together, and I do really like him. It just kind of made sense. After that date with Clint, I kinda knew."
"Whoa. Hold the fuck on. You went on a date with Clint? As in, my fucking boss, Clint?" I asked, completely beside myself now.
"It was last week! You had enough shit going on in your life, I didn't want to bother you with this, too. So we went out to dinner and mutually decided that dating was not something the two of us should do. Not together at least." Cat said, her speech frantic at first, thought it mellowed out dramatically by the time she finished.
"What happened, did he have a small dick?" I asked nonchalantly as I continued to eat my lunch.
"Jesus, Jade! No. We didn't even do anything like that. We just both kind of realized that we would have preferred to be out with someone else." Cat spoke, a shrug flourishing her sentence.
I nodded my head, "Okay. Aside from the fact that I'm incredibly pissed that you waited this long to tell me, when did Beck ask you out?"
Cat pouted for a moment, obviously hating the fact that I was moderately upset with her. Of course I was being dramatic when I told her how upset I was. The thought of her dating Clint didn't bug me. But the not knowing about it definitely did. I wasn't even upset with the fact that Beck had asked her out, either. Just more of the not knowing.
"Two days ago." Cat said, looking at me nervously.
"Where's he taking you?" I asked.
She shrugged, "I'm not sure. He said he wanted it to be a surprise."
"Are you happy?" I abandoned my food when I asked this question, wanting to be able to read Cat's body language before she could try to lie about anything.
A small smile broke across those ruby lips as she looked up from the spot on the table she had been inspecting, "Yeah, Jade. I really am."
Now it was my turn to shrug, "Okay then," I said as I brushed the crumbs off of my hands and onto my plate.
"That's it?" Cat asked, clearly surprised.
"What else would there be?"
"I don't know. I guess I thought you'd be upset or something." Cat said, sounding almost relieved.
"Cat, Beck and I are ancient history. If we can be friends, then we can certainly watch us date other people. Besides, he has never thrown a fit about my feelings for Tori, or me dating Leila." I said simply.
Cat's grin was nearly face-splitting at this time as she lunged across the table and wrapped me in a hug, "Oh I knew you'd be okay with it! I love you, Jade!"
"Fuck's sake. You're suffocating me." I said as I tried to pry her slim figure off of me.
When she finally returned to her seat, I couldn't help but share the smile she had on her face. Cat's happiness was contagious. It always seemed to be that way.
"So you work tonight. Do you think Leila will show up?"
I shrugged, "I doubt it. I don't think she knows that I work. I didn't mention it last night." I spoke as I accepted the bill from the server. As soon as the paper was in my hand, Cat snatched it away and handed it back to the man with her credit card. I gave her a smile and rolled my eyes. I'd have to allow that this time.
"I guess we'll just have to wait and see." Cat smirked as the server quickly returned with her card and her receipt. She signed it with a flourish as I threw down some cash for the tip, giving her a warning glare to let me do that much.
We gathered our things and walked out of the diner, "Yeah, you bring that fluffy-haired kid that's always attached to your hip. Tell him he's got some serious explaining to do!" I said as we parted ways. I watched as Cat walked a way down the street, waiving off my empty threat as she flagged down a taxi.
I smiled to myself as I made my way back to my apartment and lounged around for the rest of the evening. I thought about looking at my old writing again. I had found a piece that might be worth salvaging yesterday, though it would need to be looked at by fresh eyes before I'd put any more work into it. I'd have to remember to have Cat over to read it, since she was the only one I trusted enough to show any of my uncompleted work.
Time passed by quickly and before I knew it, I was frantically running around my apartment as I got myself ready for work. I pulled on a pair of black skinny jeans and deep-cut red sleeveless top. I glanced in the bathroom mirror to fix my lipstick and tousle my curls before pulling on a pair of black boots and was out the door.
When I got to work, I already knew that Cat had most likely talked to Clint about our conversation at the diner earlier. He looked at me guiltily as I walked behind the bar.
"I'm sorry, Jade! She said we should keep it quiet until things calmed down. She didn't want you worrying about more shit that didn't need worrying about!" He said frantically.
I laughed, "It's okay, Clint."
He looked at me shocked, "So you're not mad?"
"Oh, I'm pretty pissed. The way I see it, you owe me now." I said with a devilish smirk.
"Oh Christ. What's it gonna be?" He asked.
I shrugged, "To be decided at a later date." I said simply before beginning my work.
The evening was uneventful. Busy, but uneventful. I was thankful for that, because whenever things calmed down, I found myself thinking about Vega's drunken call the night before. And the fact that I may or may not have purposefully avoided talking about that with Cat. It would have just furthered her theory that I was using Leila as a distraction. And I truly didn't think I was. I enjoyed Leila's company. I enjoyed a lot of things about her, and who's to say I can't do that? Just as I thought about the pretty, green-eyed girl, I heard a familiar voice.
"Well, the service may be shit, but at least the help is hot."
I turned around and gave a challenging glare to the girl that had just occupied my thoughts. I strutted over to her and leaned on the bar, giving her a flirtatious look, "Is this something you do then, Fitz? Go to dirty bars and try to pick up their bartenders?"
She shrugged, "Only if they're incredibly good looking and clearly into me." She said cockily.
I stood up and crossed my arms, "You sound so sure."
She smirked, "Subtlety isn't your strong suit either, West. Or was that someone else's hands on my ass last night outside my apartment?"
I thanked the dim lights for hiding the slight blush that tinged my skin at the rather filthy kiss from the night before. "You sure weren't complaining." I said once I finally regained my composure.
"I'm sure not complaining now either." She said as her eyes raked over my body. I bit down on my lower lip as I let out a light laugh at her audacity.
"You driving tonight?" I asked as I reached for a glass to fill with soda.
"Nope. The girls decided it was time for me to let my hair down for once." When she finished speaking, my hand bypassed the 16 ounce glasses and instead snatched up two shot glasses which I filled to the brim with tequila.
"Then I insist." I said with a sly smirk.
"Well, if you're enabling me, then I sure hope you're joining me." She said with a laugh.
I reached for her hand, licked my finger and wiped it on the side of her hand between her thumb and forefinger. I licked my own hand and sprinkled salt on both wet patches, and finished the process by handing her other hand a lime, the salted hand still being held by my own. Before she could move, I licked her salted skin, shot back the glass, and bit down on my lime. She looked at me with her lips puckered in an 'oh' and her brow raised high in surprise.
"Well?" I asked in a challenging manner as I lifted my own salted hand up for her. She mimicked my previous motions and shuddered once the lime left her lips.
"We should go out." She said once she took a deep drink from a water I poured for her.
I smirked, "We have. Twice. Unless that was someone else with her tongue in my mouth outside your apartment." I said playfully as I filled a few orders from the people around us.
She nodded once, "We should do that again. The date, I mean. Not the other thing. Well, I mean, we could." She rambled, and I found it rather cute.
"This isn't the first bar you've come to, is it?" I asked with a smirk.
She dropped her head back and let out a sigh, "God, no. I begged them to leave the last one to come here."
"You're drunk!" I said with a laugh.
She looked at me and nodded as if she were guilty of something much worse. I nudged the water glass closer to her. That explained the rather brash behavior. Well, more than usual I should say.
I crossed my arms and cocked my head to the side, "I guess I could let you take me out."
"Oh, so I'm taking you out?" She asked humorously.
"Better fucking believe it, Fitz." I said with a grin.
Just then, a girl I vaguely remembered from Leila's first night in the bar came up to us and leaned against the bar next to Leila, "Is this her then?" She asked, though her eyes never left me.
"Oh fuck, Emma. Could you be any more awkward?" Leila groaned.
The girl, Emma, shrugged, "I could."
"You're the taco girl?" I asked with a laugh as I finally fit the face with the stumbling drunk girl from that night.
Emma shot me a look, "Pardon?"
Now it was Leila's turn to laugh loudly, "Oh, it's from the last time we were here, remember?"
Emma shuddered, "I never would have gotten tacos from a food stand had I not been so drunk."
I chuckled, thinking that I could probably get along with this girl.
I stuck out my hand, "Jade."
Emma took my hand, "I know who you are. Leila here can't seem to talk about anything but the 'raven haired beauty' from that bar she hadn't wanted to come to in the first place."
I looked at Leila playfully and chuckled at the mix between embarrassment and rage she wore so well.
"Oh my God. Fuck you guys. You are humiliating," she said pointing to Emma, "And you," her finger now directed at me, "are enjoying this way too much. I'm gonna dance." Leila said before lifting herself off of the stool and making a bee line to the dance floor. I watched her until she disappeared in the thick of the crowd and looked to her friend.
"She's something else." I said fondly with a smirk, almost shocked with my own honesty.
"She sure is." Emma said, though I could tell she was saying it more definitely and less in wonder like I was. I looked at her with confusion.
"You like her. Is that safe to assume?" She asked, her voice harsh.
"More than safe." I answered, my body turning rigid as I appraised this girl again. She reminded me a lot of myself.
"Good. She's amazing. More than amazing. And she deserves more than the best. If I find out you've hurt her..."
Emma couldn't continue with her threat. A bouncing ball of red hair came bounding up to the bar, followed suit by a rather guilty looking Beck.
"Jade!" Cat shouted happily as she clung to Beck's hand.
"Cat." I said with a smile, though I gave Beck a pointed look.
"I'm sorry! I was going to tell you! But you had that date last night, good job by the way. I heard it went really well." Beck said, throwing in a wink. Emma looked at me with a mix of intrigue and what I thought was her attempt at intimidation.
"Oh shit. I'm an asshole. Emma, these are my friends: Beck and Cat. Guys, this is Emma. She is...a friend of Leila's." I said, introducing them to each other.
They made their pleasantries before Emma excused herself to go play body guard for her friends. I continued to actually do my job, realizing I had kind of been slacking since Leila came to distract me.
"She seemed..." Cat trailed off.
"Intense?" Beck finished for her with an uneasy smirk.
"Something like that." I said as I handed a man two bottles of beer.
"So Leila's here, then?" Cat asked with a knowing smirk.
"Drunk, too." I answered vaguely as I continued to busy myself with the small crowd.
Cat laughed, "I need to meet her tonight."
I shot her a warning glare, "Oh, no you don't."
Cat pouted, though her face changed and she looked at me strangely, "You didn't tell me you talked to Tori last night."
I nearly dropped the pint I had been pouring, "How do you know about that?" I asked once I steadied myself.
"She called me earlier. Said she made a complete ass of herself."
I scoffed, "Fuck yeah, she did."
"She wants to talk to you. Just doesn't know what to say." Beck interjected at this point.
"Well, it's a little late for that, isn't it?" I said bitterly as I exchanged the drink for money to the man that had been standing next to Beck.
A cheery voice shouting my name broke up the tense conversation the three of us were having. Three sets of eyes shot up and watched as Leila came back over to the bar with a grin on her face.
"We're leaving." She said.
I looked over to Clint and nodded in my direction, a silent plea for him to cover me for a minute. I walked from behind the bar and over to where Leila stood.
"Okay, but before you go, this is Beck and Cat. Two of my best friends." I said casually as I wrapped an arm around her waist, my hand sliding into the back pocket of her jeans. It hadn't crossed my mind that this behavior should be strange until after I had done it. Though, it didn't feel weird. It felt normal. Like this is what I was meant to do. I leaned down and pressed my lips close to her ear, enjoying the way her body shuddered, "I'm sure you remember Cat." I said jokingly. Leila cleared her throat and stood taller, clearly trying to portray the sober version of herself that she most definitely wasn't at the moment.
"Leila Fitzpatrick." She said as she shook both of their hands. They stifled their snickers.
"Jade's told us all about you." Cat said with a cheeky grin.
"Fucking hell, Cat!" I shouted at her.
Leila looked at me with a drunken smile, "Oh has she?"
I dropped my head back and let out a groan, "What is it with our friends and embarrassing us?" I asked. Leila poked me in the side, causing me to twitch slightly.
"I think it's cute." She said.
"You didn't twenty minutes ago." I challenged.
Leila hummed in agreement before turning her body to face me completely, wrapping her arms around my waist and looking up at me. She had opted for flats, so the height difference between the two of us was more noticeable.
"Take me home with you." She said, her voice low enough that I had a good feeling Beck and Cat hadn't heard what she said.
Though I could assume they had a good idea what she said with the shocked expression that overcame my face. I kissed her once on the lips before brushing my mouth against her cheek and whispering, "You aren't like those girls, Fitz," into her ear. I heard her breath hitch in her throat as her grip on me tightened for a moment.
Sure we had gone on two dates, which was much more than any other girl I had ever interacted with. I wanted to do this right. Slow.
She pouted slightly and kissed me again and I laughed as I brushed the hair away from her eyes.
"Go home. Get some rest. If I'm not mistaken, you have a date to plan." I said cheekily.
Her eyes went wide and she stood up straight, "Oh my God! You're right! I gotta...I have to go. Bye!" She said frantically, coming in for one more lingering kiss before saying her goodbyes to us and running out of the bar with her friends.
"You're a changed woman, Jade West." Beck said with a smile.
I shrugged, "What can I say?"
"Tori really fucked up." Beck commented. Cat elbowed him in the side and he coughed and looked at he with confused eyes.
I shook my head, "Tori chose what she wanted. I can't be mad because it wasn't me."
They both nodded their understanding. Soon after, they departed from the bar and left Clint and I to end the night and close everything up. Once I finally made it to the confines of my apartment, I kicked my boots off and pulled my phone out of my purse, realizing I hadn't looked at it all night.
1 New Message: Leila Fitzpatrick
You better be prepared to go on the best date you've ever been on, babe.
I smiled, though bypassed responding, knowing she was probably passed out by now.
1 Voicemail: Tori Vega
Surprised, I hit the listen button and put the phone to my ear as I sat on my couch:
Jade, I'm sorry. I really am. I've been...I've been really dumb. I just...I don't fucking know, Jade. What are you expecting to get out of this? We were drunk, and I hadn't seen you in so long and... Shit. I don't know what you want from me right now.
And then the line went dead.
I looked at the screen and shook my head, punching the delete button and locking the screen. As I tossed the phone onto my coffee table, I thought about what I wanted from her.
Not a damn thing, Tori Vega. I don't want a damn thing from you anymore.
I just wanted to thank you guys for the input you've been giving me! I promise things are going to pick up in the next few chapters. Tori is going to make an appearance in the near future. Drop some feedback. You guys are amazing. =)