Friends and Lovers

Ssj_hotaru

Chapter One

"Good Morning," Sora called out cheerfully over the chiming bell. She wedged herself in the door with boxes of supplies balanced precariously in her arms and used her sneakered foot to prop it open long enough to slip though.

"Hey," her employee responded with her typical apathy and didn't even glance up from whatever it was she was reading on the counter.

"Where's Joe?" She asked, crossing the sales floor to stand near the register. The young girl shrugged and gestured behind her toward the double doors at the rear of the small shop without taking her eyes off what Sora could now see was a celebrity gossip magazine.

"Useless" she muttered as she pushed her way into the backroom. The young girl was a new hire and Sora seriously doubted if it was even worth trying to keep her.

"I heard that."

Joe's voice came from the floral cooler and she saw the stainless steel door ajar. Smiling, she began unpacking the supplies onto the large wooden bakers table which served as their work station.

"How have things been here?" she asked.

"Awful." He stated as he closed the cooler door and joined her, laying an armful of white roses on the table before pushing his glasses back up on his nose. He absently brushed his shaggy, dark hair out of his eyes before he picked up the small knife and began trimming thorns. "It's been horrible. Did you know that girl out there hasn't made eye contact all day? If she isn't hunched over her phone she's hunched over one of her many magazines – she brought a stack. She also only knows three words and her favorite is my name, which she shrieks at a decibel that I'm sure has never been measured. It's a mystery all the glass isn't shattered."

"I take it you don't like her then," She said, laughing.

"It's not that I don't like her, she's just..." he paused thoughtfully, "how did you say it? You put it so perfectly. Oh yea- Useless. She's completely and utterly useless."

Sora's eyes widened "it's been that bad?"

"Worse." He assured her. "I haven't even started on the restaurant orders because I'm still working on Kari's wedding arrangements. Every time a customer comes in she needs me to do everything and now I'm so far behind I would need to clone myself to catch up."

She could hear the frustration in his voice as he lined the stems up under the slicer. Yolei had only been on maternity leave for a week, but already Sora could see the shop was struggling without its captain at the helm. Joe had been working with her in the shop since back in high school, but she knew she was relying on him too much. Not for the first time she wondered if she shouldn't just sell the business. She pushed that thought and the pain it brought out of her mind.

"So are you still going to TK's thing tonight?" She asked instead.

"Yes," he said, "but now it looks like I'm going to be late." He looked over at her and raised an eyebrow. "Still sure you're not going?"

"Yep." She agreed, breaking down the cardboard boxes to make more space on the table.

"You know Taichi will be there, and Izzy. This might be the last chance to see them for a while."

Her heart ached at the reminder. Taichi was leaving in a few weeks for his internship at a foreign embassy and Izzy had just gotten funding for research that was going to take him to remote locations around the world. Regret and longing twisted her stomach. It had been six years since they left for college and just the thought of facing her friends and comparing futures horrified her. She'd kept in touch with most through social media and hung out a bit when they came home for holidays, but she made sure the visits were short and focused on their lives. As much as she missed being part of the group she didn't think she could stand the pity when they realized that while they had been out grabbing life by the horns she'd never even left home.

Joe must have read how she felt on her face. "It won't be like that. Besides," he said, wiggling his eyebrows over his thick rimmed glasses. "We can always introduce you as my fiance. Snagging a soon to be doctor should count for something."

He dodged the balloon weight she threw at his head, laughing. "Okay-okay I get it. You don't want to marry me." She stuck her tongue out at him, but couldn't help smiling.

"Aren't bachelor parties supposed to be just guys anyway?" She pointed out as she got the vase and ribbon he needed for the arrangements out of the cabinet and handed them to him.

"Well not just guys." He teased and she stuck her tongue out at him again.

"You know what I mean."

"Taichi and Matt are throwing it for him so there won't be anything inappropriate." Joe assured her, "If the kid was smart he would have picked one of his college buddies to be best man instead of his brother and soon to be brother-in-law."

Sobering up he looked her in the eye and put a hand on her shoulder. "Look, you don't have to go, but I think you should. This is about us- ALL of us- celebrating Kari and TK. It's not a bachelor party; it's just getting together, getting drunk, and goofing around like we use to when we were kids. I don't know what happened back then that made you feel like you weren't welcome anymore, but everyone wants you there. We miss you."

She blinked to clear the tears that came to her eyes. She missed her friends too. She missed being a part of something bigger than herself. And while she had kept in touch with everyone else in one way or another, her heart gave a traitorous leap at the prospect of seeing him. She hadn't spoken to Matt since that last night when he'd been ranting about his girlfriend and she couldn't resist the sad hope that maybe, all these years later, things could be different. Yeah right! Viciously she squelched the thought.

Still... it would be nice to catch up with everyone before they all went their separate ways once more. Who knew the next time they'd all get together.

She could handle her silly emotions for a weekend if it meant she got to see her friends again.

She wiped at her wet eyes and tried giving him a stern look.

"You don't play fair." She accused grudgingly. "Fine, I wouldn't want to deprive every one of my company."

"I'm glad you came around," he said, grinning "because I already told Taichi you were coming whether you liked it or not and I figured you wouldn't appreciate being duct taped and thrown in my trunk."

"Not like your other girls." She teased.

"Tell me about it, you think you can sit upfront and everything."

"What can I say, I'm spoiled." Joe shook his head at her and she grinned back.

"That's enough out of you." He said and then thrust his thumb over his shoulder at the cooler behind him. "Now get to work on those orders or we'll both be late."

"Aye aye Captain." She teased, sketching a mock salute before hurrying to start the custom arrangements

They fell into the familiar rhythm that came from years of working together and between the two of them they tackled the work in record time. Despite the frequent interruptions from the front, Sora loaded the last of the orders into the cooler with an hour to spare.

She couldn't help the nervous flutter in her stomach that had her hands trembling as she carefully placed the arrangements on the pickup shelf. Her mind tortured her with fantasies of seeing Matt again after so many years. Maybe letting Joe guilt her into going was a mistake...

"So are we taking my car or yours?" Joe asked as she emerged from the cooler. It took a moment for Sora's puzzled brain to register the question.

" Were we going together?" She asked, securing the steel door behind her.

"How else can I be sure you wont run away again." He said, only half teasing.

"I don't run away from everything." She tried to be indignant, but she sounded defensive even to her.

"Not everything," he agreed, "but this, ya."

Sora sighed. She couldn't even argue, her panicked brain was already sifting through possible excuses. She smiled ruefully.

"You do have a point." She said, "but I promise I'll be there. I have things I have to do before I leave since I didn't exactly plan on going."

"I can wait for you." He said, shrugging, "I expected to be late anyways."

"It doesn't make any sense for both of us to be late." She blew her bangs out of her eyes in frustration. "Look, if I chicken out you can always come back to Plan A and throw me in the trunk."

Joe pushed his glasses higher up on his nose and Sora tried not to shift under his suspicious scrutiny. Finally he nodded reluctantly.

"I'm buying a roll of duct tape before I leave." He warned her.

"Don't worry, I'll be there." She assured him, laughing as she headed for the door. She could see he wasn't convinced, but she gave him a little wave before leaving. "I'll see you later!"

At home, Sora got her bags down from the closet and began sifting through her wardrobe. She was pleased to realize she had come a long way from the awkward teenager she'd been six years ago. Impulsively she selected her own designs and tossed them onto the bed behind her, lingering over a few of her more daring creations.

Mimi was a model, she rationalized, and she could use any kind of networking to help get the online boutique more attention. She was definitely not trying to prove anything.

She tossed a couple of heels onto the bed as well, then moved around to her lingerie dresser, taking care to choose her best sets. To go with her clothes, she justified, and tossed in her bikini as well- just in case. They were staying at a Lake House after all.

Next was her makeup case and styling tools. She shook her head and headed towards the bathroom. When had she turned into such a girl, she mused, then caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and stopped in horror.

She was still wearing the active clothes she'd worn to the gym that morning, with her face free of makeup and her short red hair secured in a spiky pony tail. No way was she going anywhere like that.

More than an hour later and Sora was fresh scrubbed, groomed, smoothed, and moisturized. Sitting at the vanity, she swiped the finishing coat of gloss across her lips and met her gaze in the mirror. Her heart sank.

Her hair gleamed like polished copper where it fell in loose curls, softening the angles of her face and framing her brown eyes ringed in long, dark lashes. The black dress she had chosen perfectly contrasted the fiery brightness of her hair and the warm tone of her skin.

Even under her critical appraisal she had to admit she looked good. Better than good in fact, she looked great. She barely recognized the woman looking back at her.

There was no use pretending, she thought miserably, putting the gloss back and closing up her makeup case. She didn't look like she was reuniting with friends for a weekend... she looked like she was preparing for a date.

Just as she was contemplating whether it was even worth showing up and making a fool of herself, her phone chimed it's familiar jingle.

On her screen was a picture of the duct tape Joe purchased.

:No escape: He wrote.

Smiling she texted back :OMW: