Page 44 of Is It Casual Now?

The interview with Siena had been quick and easy. Far easier than she had anticipated. The questions were in essence asking Siena about thoughts and comments on Jamie’s previous post, her articulation doing nothing to quell Jamie’s desire to get arrested for public nudity.

The tension between them hovered beneath the surface of the professionalism neither of them would drop. Despite the need for them to lean over the coffee table in the crowded cafe in order to hear each other.

Siena’s eyes had wandered on more than one occasion to Jamie’s cleavage. Jamie had done nothing to dissuade her from looking. The woman’s precise answers and calm voice told nothing of the darkening of her eyes.

Jamie had listened to the recorded interview a few times more than she technically needed.

Tapping her fingers on her mouse, Jamie bit the bullet and pressed the number. She had been debating video calling Jessie for a little over an hour now.

“Hey, Sis. What’s up?” Jessie answered after a few rings. Her hair was a mess and her eyes still glassy. That jealous side of Jamie snickered at the idea of Jessie’s students and parents seeing their perfect teacher disheveled like this.

“I have an article I want to post, and I’m not sure about it.” Jamie dove right in, squashing that darker thinking.

“Okay?” Jessie answered as she moved around her kitchen. “So what’s the issue?”

“I was wondering if you could read it and let me know what you think.”

“Since when did you ever second-guess yourself or bother to ask me for my thoughts?” Jessie smiled.

Jamie knew her sister meant the words in jest, but they hurt, and she couldn’t muster the energy to hide the pain.

“Hey.” Jessie stopped moving, a spoon of ground coffee held in the air above her machine. Her voice was gentle. “I was joking. But you have to admit it’s unlike you to second guess yourself. Is this because of your dumbass boss?”

“Probably,” Jamie replied, grabbing ahold of the easy out. It was about so much more than that, but she wasn’t really ready to dive into that yet. There was too much for her to be thinking about as it was. And these interviews were literally capable of tipping her career progress one way or the other. She knew which one she would prefer.

“Of course, I’ll read it. Send it over, and I’ll get to it as soon as the coffee’s ready. I’ll call you back soon.”

“Thanks, Jessie.”

“Of course.” Jessie smiled before the call disconnected.

Thirty minutes later and Jamie was certain she was going to climb the walls at any moment. Each minute had felt like hours since she’d hit send on the email to Jessie. She had madecoffee, paced the floor, eaten some toast, and now had resumed pacing once more.

Still Jessie hadn’t called her back.

“It wasn’t a fucking novel, Jessie,” Jamie muttered, running her fingers through her disheveled hair. She jumped in the middle of her pacing when the sound of knuckles on her door echoed through her place.

The kids asking questions about the similarities between Jessie and Jamie at the Halloween party hadn’t bothered her. Their innocence and curiosity were genuine and sweet. But usually, the questions that probing adults asked would annoy her at the best and become downright creepy at the worst. Eventually everyone would ask about telepathic links and mental abilities between them as twins.

Jamie and Jessie had never known anything quite like that. The conversations they had with a mere glance had far more to do with their similar lived experiences versus them being twins.

They did, however, always seem to know when the other one was around. That feeling washed over Jamie now as she stared at her closed door.

“Open up. I know you’re still home, JJ.” Jessie’s voice so alike and yet so different from her own.

“I hate that nickname,” Jamie called out loud enough for her voice to reach through the still closed door.

“I know!” the call came back.

Jamie wanted to scowl, but her smile won out. As jealous as she was at times with Jessie’s easy perfection, she understood why everyone loved her. She loved her sister even more than the rest. Her playfulness with Jamie had saved her sanity countless times while they were growing up.

That aside, she still needed to steel herself for her sister’s unexpected presence. Jamie pushed her shoulders back andchanneled her remaining anxious energy in a vain attempt to control the situation.

“Well, it’s about time,” Jamie said as she flung open the door.

Jessie laughed, rolled her eyes and stepped inside. “You didn’t have a clue I was heading here.”

“Nope, but in the story I tell in the future about this, I’ll be all in tune and shit. It’s what the people want.”

---