Page 17 of No Place Like Home

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Jess added.

“Sure,” Rosie interjected.

“We’re best friends.”

“Since when?” I asked, but Emma came over with our drinks before she could answer.

“Aww, Q, look at you. You keep getting bigger and bigger.” My old boss smiled at me.

She was a dime, a total angel. I had lots of love for her.

“Ems, you’re looking fine. You know, I need a date for the EPSY’s. You might just get a call.”

“I thought I was your secret love!” Freya yelled, proving she was eavesdropping.

“Not happening! Not when your man threatened my moneymaker!” I yelled back with a smile.

Some things never changed. I looked around the diner, and it felt like home.

Jess was taking a sip out of her milkshake, and when she was done, she grinned at me. I bit my lip. She still had some whipped cream on her mouth.

“Um, your lipstick’s going to smear,” I told her.

“My lipstick?”

I leaned up, wiping the whipped cream on her top lip with my thumb. “It didn’t smear.”

Jess licked her lips. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Damn, her lips were naturally pale pink. I think this was the first time I had seen her without the dark lipsticks she used to favor. Without thinking about it, I brought my thumb back to my mouth and licked off the remainder of the whipped cream.

Clearing my throat, I changed the subject. “So, how come this is the first time I’ve seen you in the last six years?”

“Um…I don’t know. Guess we both got busy with college.”

When the teenager brought us our food, we fell into a comfortable silence. Jess sent me accusing eyes when I would slip Simba some ham under the table. That was when I noticed that I hadn't felt as stressed for the first time in weeks. I knew part of it had to do with my phone being in my car, and I didn’t have coaches, trainers, my agent, or teammates hitting me up for random bullshit. The other part was being around people who didn’t give a fuck who I was. When Simba started to whine because he wanted to go take a piss, I was surprised by how much time had passed. It was starting to get dark outside.

“We should get going. I have to drop Rosie off at home. She has homework,” Jess said, making a move to get up.

“No, I don’t,” Rosie retorted.

“Yes, you do.”

“Yeah, I should take Simba on a walk.”

My dog perked up. He loved walks. It was somewhat bittersweet hanging out with someone from my high school days, before the fame and glory. It made me feel melancholy.

“Where are you going?” Freya came out from behind the counter, looking at Jess accusingly and giving me a funny look.

“I have to drop Rosie off at home,” Jess said, almost defensively.

“Max went to get a few things from his office. He’ll be back soon. We can take her. Come on, Rosie Posie. Let's get you back to Momma.” Freya motioned for Rosie, and the little girl gave Jess a kiss on her cheek and left with her.

“I love how she didn’t ask,” Jess mumbled as she glared at Freya and Emma, who gave us guilty smiles.

I shook my head and narrowed my eyes at their antics.

CHAPTERFIVE

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