Page 19 of Inevitable Love
“Taking advantage of a slow afternoon?”
“Yeah, I decided I could use a few hours of playtime versus work time.”
“Perks of owning your own business, right?” I look back across the street to my own shop and sigh. She looks a little tired. My Sticky Sweet sign doesn’t pop like it did when I opened. The pink of the walls glares through the windows and feels like too much. Everything feels off with it. Mymother would have a field day telling me how ridiculous and washed up it is.
“What’s wrong?” Jules asks, elbow deep in the planter.
On a sigh, I sink to my knees next to her. “Just seeing where I could use some updating. Seeing your shop all posh and nice makes me feel like mine is a little loud in comparison.”
She pauses and studies my face. “I don’t think your shop is loud. I think it’s got a fun vibe.” Her inspection grows sharper, and I fight a fidget. “What’s this really about? Have anything to do with why Jackson nearly bit Cal’s head off at the station yesterday? Or maybe it’s about how you two were cozied up at the reception last week.”
My eyes dart to hers.
“Yeah, I saw you two leaving together. You wanna talk about it?”
My shoulders sag as the weight of what happened a week ago threatens to consume me. I’m not one to share the intimate parts of my life, but right now, I feel so lost. “I think we may have made a mistake that cost me everything.”
Sympathy radiates from her expression as she stills. “Oh no.”
“I haven’t heard from him since. Did I just fuck up and lose my best friends? And truly, it would be both, because technically, his sister has been my best friend since high school. She’s gonna hate me if she finds out. And now he’s not talking to me.” My voice trembles as I rush through the last part.
Apparently, a week of keeping everything bottled up hasn’t done me any favors, because I just emotion vomited all over Jules. It’s ridiculous to be fighting tears, but I can’t help it. The thought of possibly losing two of the most important people in my life is terrifying.
Jules pulls her gloves off and sets them in the bucket that holds the rest of her tools, then brushes her hands off before offering me one. The simple gesture is so comforting, while also making me realize just how much the physical distance between me and Alice has affected me.
“Let’s go inside,” she says. “There’re too many nosy ears on this sidewalk.”
Hand in hand, she pulls me through the door. The scent of freshly brewed coffee is a warm hug. She pushes me toward the cozy couches at the back of the shop and stops to grab us each a tea.
“Here, I know you like chai.”
I thank her, even though I wish it were something stronger than tea. My stomach immediately reminds me of the shots I consumed last weekend. Maybe tea is the better choice after all. Especially since I can’t seem to stop replaying the night over and over in my head and wondering about the parts I can’t recall.
We sip in silence for a few minutes. Not even the cozy vibe of her coffee shop can quell the turmoil racing through me. But maybe talking it out will help, even if it feels weird to open up to someone new.
“Alice and I were two peas in a pod in high school. You know how it feels when you just find your person? We were inseparable. Jackson was around, but he was older and way too cool to hang with us. You’d think I would’ve had a crush on him like every other girl in school, but I didn’t.”
Jules nods encouragingly.
“He graduated, and Alice and I spent nearly every day together after he went to school. Basically, we were two only children living our best life. Then, after our senior year, their parents divorced. Alice went away to school. Jackson was gone, doing his thing. Their older brother hadalready been gone for years. And their parents sold their house and moved away.”
I was nearly as affected by the Jacksons’ divorce as their own kids were. Between them moving away and Alice being gone at college, I felt like my life had ended too.
“Alice sided with their mom,” I continue, “so when she’d go home, she’d go to her mom’s new place. It was a weird time.”
“I imagine you were lonely, feeling like you lost your family too, almost.”
“Yeah, that’s exactly it.” I swallow and avoid going further down the slippery slope of emotion. “Jackson bounced around and then came back here, and over the course of time, we started hanging out. At some point, I mentioned wanting to start hiking but didn’t have anyone to go with, so he took me.” The memory of that first hike still makes me smile. “And from there, we just clicked and started hanging out regularly. Always chatting and planning our next adventure. For the last year, we’ve spent so much time traveling and on the trails. Every available off day. He’s my adventure buddy.”
But now we have no plans. I can’t remember a time when Jackson and I haven’t had at least one adventure planned. And that thought threatens to send me back down the spiral of despair.
“Until last weekend,” she confirms.
“Until last weekend.” When I’dseenmy attractive friend, and he’d shown me attention beyond compare, and we danced and laughed and had a great evening after we finally got past his surly attitude and my bitter jealousy.
The feel of his body next to mine when we danced, the way we moved together… It was like we were made for each other.
Jules is silent for a long moment, like she’s weighing her words. “Maggie, were you replacing Alice with Jackson?”
