Page 15 of Finding Jess

Jess’ eyes flicked to her, and Sam could see the slight apprehension that passed through them.

He looked back and forth between them, then his smile fell. “Sorry,” he muttered, shooting Jess an apologetic look. “Old habits.”

Jess nodded once, giving him a tense smile that stayed far away from her eyes. And even without that, Sam could see that something was bothering her. Something that had been present even before Caleb’s slip up.

Sam closed her laptop, standing and stepping toward her as an edge of concern bubbled in her chest.

Caleb cleared his throat, glancing between them. “I—uh—better get back to work. But let’s catch up soon?”

Jess smiled back at him, squeezing his arm. “Definitely."

He smiled at Jess one last time before walking out.

“What’s up?” Sam asked, not caring to hide the edge of worry that came out with the words. “Is everything okay?”

She let her eyes rake over Jess’ features, searching for signs. Searching for what she needed.

Jess stared back at her for a moment. And then something seemed to shift within her.

She loosed a breath, and with it, that tension that had been present each time she’d seen her over the last few days seemed to release.

Jess smiled softly, shaking her head. “Yeah—sorry. Everything is fine.” Jess cleared her throat, her eyes bouncing apprehensively around the office. “I just wanted to talk. I know I should’ve called or something.” She released a laugh that sounded almost nervous in a way. Then she crinkled her face slightly. “Now that I’m here, I realize it was probably weird to just show up.”

Ever so slowly, Sam’s concern morphed into amusement.

She shrugged, a small smirk tugging on her lips. “Not the first time you’ve shown up unannounced to talk.”

Jess faltered for a second, before a wide smile crossed her face and she shook her head with a laugh. “Don’t remind me.”

And just like that, the Jess she knew reappeared. As if the last four years of distance completely evaporated and she was still the person she could tell anything to. The person she could always count on.

Sam’s smirk grew into a teasing smile then as she laughed with her. Then she nodded over her shoulder to the desk. “Wanna sit?”

“Yeah,” Jess answered, following to sit in the chair beside her.

After a moment, Jess settled and cleared her throat again. “I just wanted to apologize for being so weird the other day when we ran into each other.”

Sam chuckled, pulling her phone out of her pocket and setting it on the table beside her laptop. “I think if there’s any time where you get a pass on being awkward, it was that day.” She leaned back in the chair. “Besides, I wasn’t much better.”

Jess nodded slowly. “Also, though, about what Liz said yesterday.” She swallowed, glancing away. “The motorcycle thing.”

Sam ignored the slight pang in her chest at the memory, forcing a rueful smile.

“You don’t have to apologize for that.”

Jess looked away, an obvious conflict playing out behind her eyes. And Sam hated herself for being the cause.

“Really,” Sam continued, “it’s okay to know what you want or—” She swallowed, eyes bouncing away. “Don’t—want in a person.”

She had no idea what it was, but something about those words must have been the wrong thing to say. Because the darkness in Jess’ eyes seemed to grow then.

A sense of unease filled her chest. Her brain began running through anything she could say or do to make it better.

Jess looked back at her with a small smile that did nothing to calm the rising worry.

“So,” Jess said, releasing a breath as she glanced around the large office, “I guess all those early mornings and late nights were worth it, huh?”

Sam chuckled, forcing down the urge to beg Jess to tell her what she'd said wrong so she could fix it. “Yeah. I guess so.”

---