Page 14 of Jump

“Does being there make you happy?”

Her mouth remains shut, but her head bobs slowly. Sadly.

“Then be happy.” Coming closer and pulling her into a tight hug, I force her to return the gesture. “I’ll advertise and get a new roommate,” I tell her. Stepping back, I keep half an eye on Treasure, who gallops across the lawn, thrilled at her freedom, and the rest of my attention on my best friend. “You can go, Han. Be happy. Invite me over to dinner sometimes. Don’t forget about me. But stop burning money and calling it friendship.”

“Are you sure? You can’t carry the whole lease on your own, Viv. It’s too much.”

“That’s why I’ll find someone else,” I repeat. “I’ll charge them even more and call it an inconvenience fee, since it’s inconvenient for me to get to know someone else’s name.”

She chokes out a soft laugh. “Are you really sure?”

“I’m sure. I’ll start asking around today, and get someone in there. You move out what you need so the room is empty.”

“I’ll keep paying until you find someone,” she insists. “Like you said, business is booming, so I can swing it for a little while yet. Until my room is filled, that expense is on me.”

“Or…” I jump to the left when Treasure barrels between us and collides with Hannah’s knees, nearly buckling her almost six feet of height. “Pay for the rest of the month.” I grab her hand when she reaches down with the other to wipe Treasure’s mud from her jeans. “That’s ten days. If I don’t have a pressing deadline, chances are, I won’t find anyone else. But if I know I need to be organized by the end of the month, then I’m more likely to get off my butt and do something.”

“Ten days isn’t—”

“It’s a done deal,” I announce, releasing her when Treasure takes off and Hannah stands tall again. “If you and Axel break up or decide to get a little distance, you always have a home with me. But since I kinda figure it’s set in stone now,” I pause, and wait with a lifted brow for her nod of acknowledgment, “then it’s time for me to make my own plans. I refuse to let you pay rent for something you’re not using. It’s time I look for a new best friend.”

“Hey!” Affronted, she reaches out and smacks my arm. “New roommate. Not a new best friend.”

Amused, I turn on my heels and head inside to open Diesel’s cage. He’s an ugly little fox terrier who yaps enough to make sure I’ll never adopt him for myself. But he has a heart of gold, and a mega crush on the voluptuous rottweiler. So I release him and let them run together.

“Okay, I’ll find someone to fill your room.” And to layer extra cheese on my words, I smile and add, “Not your place in my heart.” Stopping in the doorway leading out, I study her in the midday sun and mildly resent how utterly beautiful she is.

Some people achieve beauty with the help of makeup and stylists and all the bells and whistles. And then there are people like Hannah, who wake up with such beauty and have no clue how truly lucky they are.

She so effortlessly exudes glamor and sex the way I could only after professional makeup application, the help of a hair stylist, and donning a silk mask that I still, to this day, do not have possession of.

I suppose Matt took a souvenir for himself. A memento of our time together. At least, that’s what my fantasy memory tells me. In reality, the silk sash is probably lost in the grass at the lake, long-forgotten by the strange man who made me feel beautiful for a night.

It was a little like Cinderella’s evening at the ball. A spell was cast and the magic was woven. She had until midnight until real life took back over. I had until sunrise. Which was both forever, and not nearly long enough.

But I swear, we cherished every single second we had.

“I want to be invited to the wedding,” I finally tell her. “In fact, I want to be the maid of honor. I won’t hate you if you don’t invite me, because I don’t get off on emotional manipulation. And if you’d rather Nicole be your maid of honor, since she’s Axel’s sister, then I guess that’s cool too. But these are my wishes. Now you know them, so I don’t—”

“Aww, Viv.” She strolls forward and stops just a foot away. “Will you be my maid of honor at some point in the future, when Axel Feeney eventually asks me to marry him?”

Diesel and Treasure attempt to hump twenty yards from where we stand, but they’re both neutered, so I let them go for it, and instead, study my best friend’s shaky expression.

“It’s still early days,” she murmurs. “So don’t expect wedding bells for another year or two. But I love you, and I want you in my life even if we don’t live together. That means inviting you over for dinner a lot. And having you stand with me on my wedding day. It means making you godmother to my future babies, and my late-night gossip phone call when I don’t want to talk to anyone else.” She stops her runaway train of thought and studies my eyes. “Will you be my maid of honor… someday?”

“Yes.” Emotion makes me teary and dumb, but I wrap us both up in a hug, until the sound of a door slamming on the other side of the Friendly Paws shelter has us jumping apart.

I sniffle back whatever it is that makes my nose runny, then I turn to watch Diesel bang Treasure like his life depends on it. Finally, I clap my hands as I start forward. “Diesel! Get off of her.”

“Hey, ladies.” Jason Weatherton, my one and only employee, was Hannah’s date to the masked ball. He was a seat-filler, much the same way I was for Matt. And though things didn’t work out between the pair—obviously, since she’s moving in with Axel—there’s no weirdness as he comes to stop on her left and folds his arms so his muscular shoulders push a little higher. “Is Diesel still harassing Treasure?”

“He sure is.” Hannah looks across and snickers. “He’s so little, and she’s so tall. It’s dumb how they don’t fit together.”

“Yes, well… love tends to find a way,” he teases. “How’s Axel?”

“Speaking of awkward love,” she snickers. “He’s good. He’s on a twenty-four-hour shift right now and won’t be home until the morning. The house is quiet without him and our housemate around, so I’m doing everything I can to not be there alone.” Then her eyes come to me, and she smirks. “Can I use my rented room tonight and sleepover with you?”

“Nope.” I stride forward and pick Diesel up when Treasure decides she’s done waiting for him to figure out the physical logistics of their romance. “You’re out now, girlfriend. Get used to it.”

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