Chapter 6
Tori loved coming to work. It was her only distraction from everyday life and it's sick jokes. It was her only escape from thinking about Jade and their night together a couple of days ago. Only thing that stressed her out was that she would be spending her weekend with Beck and Jade, having to see them together, acting all happy. Thank God, she was allowed to bring Andre along, it will be like Hollywood Arts all over again.
"Hey," he smiled, setting down her salad and his sandwich, taking a seat before her where they usually meet for lunch. "Sorry, I'm late."
"It's fine, I have some research to do for work, anyway. This week has been a nightmare." She sighed, popping open the lid to the plastic container of her salad.
"Still find yourself in Jadeland, huh?" Andre asked, earning a glare from the brunette. "I'm sorry. "He took a bite of his sandwich. "How have things been with Beck?"
Tori nodded, "Still planning his wedding." She stabbed a piece of lettuce with her fork, placing it in her mouth.
"I'm so-"
"Andre, if you say, 'I'm sorry' one more time," she warned him, glaring.
"Okay," Andre held up his hands in defense. "Have you… Seen her? Jade, I mean." He handed her a cup with extra cheese for her salad. He knew that was Tori's favorite.
Releasing a heavy sigh, Tori dumped the cheese onto her salad, shaking her head. "No. Just Beck."
"Good for you. Been avoiding her, huh?" Andre took a drink of his soda through the cup's straw.
"I won't be able to for long, Beck wants the gang to spend the weekends this summer at his dad's beach house in Laguna Beach." Her words turned her stomach, but not as much as the idea of seeing the sweethearts together.
Andre's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Surely you said no. Right?"
Tori remained quiet, taking another chunk of her lettuce into her mouth, chewing it rather quickly.
"Oh, Tor…" Andre breathed, knowing well she accepted the invitation. "Why must you torture yourself like that? You obviously still have feelings for her." He leaned in, "Do you realize what you're walking into?"
"I know, I know," Tori's eyes closed, her fingers rubbing at her temple. "But, it won't just be them. It's all of us. Our last summer together."
"So, it's a group thing?" He asked, taking another drink of his soda.
"Yeah, well…" Tori's eyes focused on Andre, waitin for his reaction. "Us and… Trina."
Andre coughed, setting down his drink as he began to choke on it. His hand patting on his chest. "Trina? Your sister Trina?" He shook his head. "No way!"
"It's just for the weekends, Andre-"
"No, no, no! No, Tori- absolutely not!"
She glared at him. "Andre."
"Hey, you want to make yourself miserable by going on this trip, watch Beck and Jade together, you go ahead. But, I will not be in the same room as Trina Vega. She looks at me like a piece of meat."
"Well, you shouldn't have slept with her, you can't blame her for that."
He rolled his eyes, taking another bite of his sandwich.
"Come on, Andre. Please," now it was Tori who was begging him.
Andre hated her begging, because she would always look at him with her big brown eyes which made it impossible for him to turn down anything she wanted.
"Please? You can't possibly leave me alone in this. I will be with you all the time, I promise."
"Alright," he grumbled. "Alright, I'll go but don't do that thing with your eyes."
Tori smiled, rushing over to him around the table and pulling him into a big hug.
"Oh, alright, now we're hugging," Andre wrapped his arms around the brunette.
"We agreed we are all going to meet outside my house, so please be there before Beck and Jade arrive."
"Sure, thing, boss," Andre saluted playfully, taking another big bite of his sandwich.
"We should all take my car, yours is too tiny to fit everyone." Beck threw Jades luggage in the back trunk of his truck.
"Fine with me," Jade glanced down at her watch. "We really need to get going if we want to make it there before sun down."
Beck smiled. "Look at you all excited. I don't think I remember you ever being this happy about going away anywhere." His arms wrapped around the goth's waist.
Jade smiled, "I love the beach house. You know that. Besides, I've been needing a break."
Beck placed a kiss on Jade's lips, wiping away her smudged lipstick with the tip of his thumb. Jade was happy about going back to stay at the beach house but the truth was, she was even more excited to see Tori again. They hadn't spoken since that night in her bed, and she wanted to mend things.
A car honked, making the sweethearts turn their way and part from their embrace.
"Oh, there's Cat and Andre!" Beck waved, seeing Trina get out of house along with Tori.
Where's Robbie now? Jade's brow furrowed, holding onto Beck's arm as she leaned in.
"He won't make it this time. " Cat stated as she hopped out of Andre car with his cousin Danielle .
Andre s cousin always spent summers with the gang. As she came up from San Diego.
Jade watched as Danielle pulled Beck into a hug, way too friendly for her liking. If this is how he was with her, she didn't know why she was worrying about appearing too close to Tori. Slamming the door shut in anger, she met up with them, placing her sunglasses on.
"Sorry, we're late!" Trina smiled.
Tori rushed over to the group. "I'll take that for you." Andre said.
"Thank you."
Andre had settled on a pair of shorts, a polo shirt and his ray-bans, while Tori decided on a pair of jean shorts, and a tank top with her sunglasses and a beach hat.
"You look nice." Andre acknowledged.
"Thank you," that made Tori smile. "So do you."
"What, these old clothes?" He looked down at his attire, hearing a chuckle escape her. "Show time, huh?" He murmured over to Tori.
"Hi!" Beck smiled, hopping out of his car, along with Jade, and Cat. "All set?"
"All set," Andre smiled, making his way to the truck."
"Hey," Jade nodded, her eyes moving over to Tori. "Tor," she breathed, removing her sunglasses.
"Hi, Jade," Tori nodded, taking notice of the goth's attire, a pair of shorts and white shirt that was unbuttoned down to the second one. "How are you?"
"I'm good." Jade replied, "It's good seeing you."
Tori smiled, "Yeah, good seeing you."
Andre exchanged looks between both women, taking notice of their obvious attraction for each other.
Trina smiled, eyes landing on Andre as a smile tugged on her lips. "Hi, Andre."
"Trina," Andre murmured, looking over at Tori.
"You look so great," the woman smiled, her eyes literally sparkling. It made Andre feel really uncomfortable the entire time.
"Thanks- thank you," Andre went into the back of the truck, hoping Cat wold sit in the middle and instead the little redhead took her spot behind beck. Andre was stuck in the middle of the truck and Trina sat right next to him and Danielle on the other side of her. Leaving Tori to sit between Beck and Jade in the front.
Jade cleared her throat rather loudly, massaging the back of her neck, "Yeah, sorry to interrupt here, but we should really get going. So, let's go." She closed the door and tapped the dash to get it going.
"Jade's right! Come on, everybody, let's go." Beck climbed in the drivers side with a smile stretched across his lips.
"Alright, let's go! Whoo!" Cat whooped, a little too excited for Tori and Andre's liking.
Throughout their drive up to the beach house, Jade would constantly observe Tori surreptitiously, especially while exchanging a few words with Cat, who kept engaging Tori in a very annoying manner. Then the latina would turn and her very shapely bottom would press against her thigh.
"So, you and Jade are both PA's this summer?" Cat asked, her eyes trained on Tori. "Wow, that is so fascinating. Do you two work together?"
"No," Tori shook her head. "We work for different productions." Her eyes moved over to Jade's.
Andre cleared his throat, "Hey, who wants to stop and get something to drink? Some snacks maybe, Tor?"
"That sounds great, actually, I'm super thirsty." Tori breathed, looking over at him with a thankful stare for interfering with that question.
"We should stop for gas," said Beck, keeping his eyes on the road signs ahead.
"Oh, turn here!" Jade pointed to the first gas station she spotted.
Once they all dismounted the vehicle and headed inside the store, Tori noticed Jade staying behind reaching for the gas pump.
"Tor, you coming?" Andre asked, looking over his shoulder.
"Yeah, I'll be right there, I'm going to get some money from my purse." Tori watched him walk away before she walked back to the back seat of the car, coincidentally on the same side that Jade was leaning up against the car, watching the price range on the machine go up.
They exchanged a few quiet looks, while Jade watched Tori fish in her purse for a few dollars.
"I'm sorry thatCat is being annoying," Jade finally broke the silence. "Beck thinks he can pair you two up and forgot how Cat has a girlfriend at home."
Tori chuckled, "Yeah, well it's not her I'm interested in. So, you can stop acting jealous."
Jade's brow raised, her fingers tapping on her own chest. "Jealous?"
"Well, every time I glance over at you, you are watching me with her as if something was going to happen."
The goth looked away for a minute, watching the numbers go up. "Alright, maybe a little," she muttered. "The girl isn't right for you, if you ask me."
"And who is Jade?" Tori crossed her arms over her chest. "You? How can you possibly be right for me, when you are marrying my best friend?"
"Look, Tori, we can't change what happened between us, right? So, let's just… Make the best of this weekend." She walked up to Tori, letting the pump run on its own. "I really don't want things to remain awkward between us. I still consider you one of my best friends."
Tori gently blinked, getting lost in those sapphire eyes staring back at her. Without her heels, Jade was always slightly taller. "Yeah," she murmured. "I- I do, too."
This was killing her. Because Tori was always more to Jade, she just never said anything about her feelings because she didn't think Tori felt mutually about her. But now? She'd be lying to herself if she try to say that all she thought about was kissing her again.