Page 18 of Fast Lane

I chuckle. “My apologies.”

Finally, she sits down with Mushu in her lap. “When did you get a cat in here? He wasn't here the other day when I worked.”

“I’ve had him since he was a kitten, but he was sick this morning, so I had to take him to the vet and that took forever so I had to bring him here. I had a class but then more than half the class canceled so I rushed for no apparent reason,” I explain.

“He was sick? He seems fine now.”

I nod my head. “Yeah he ate something that had upset his stomach.”

“What’s his name?” she asks. “Oh never mind. I see the collar now.” I watch as her eyebrows pull together in confusion as she reads his name. “Mushu?” She looks up at me expectantly. I just nod my head. “What the hell kind of name is Mushu?”

To say I’m stunned is an understatement. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, where in the world did you come up with that name? Were you drunk or maybe you swallowed too much ocean water while surfing?”

“You’re kidding right?” I ask because she has to be kidding.

She gives me a dumb as rocks look. “Do I look like I’m kidding?”

I smirk. “I don’t know. You’ve always got a resting bitch face.” She glares at me. I raise my hands in surrender. “Okay, that was too far. You seriously don’t know where the name Mushu comes from?”

Kosi huffs. “Do you think I enjoy asking questions I already know the answer to?”

“It’s from Mulan. You know, the Disney movie. He’s an orange dragon in the movie.”

She shrugs her shoulders. “I’ve never seen it.” My head hits the desk. I count to ten before I look back up. In the meantime, she talks to my cat. “I think I killed your daddy. I’m sorry but you can come and live with Baylor and me and we’ll give you a good name. It’ll be so much more fun for you.”

When I sit back up I grab a pen and write a new bullet on the contract. I slide the contract over to her. “If you can leave my cat alone for a minute. Here’s the contract. That’s the budget for the facelift. That’s what you’ll get paid,” I tell her as I point to the numbers.

Of course, her eyes skim over the document but land on the part I just wrote in. “What’s that?”

“Part of the contract.”

“We will have a movie night and Kosi Scott will watch Mulan. That’s not a valid point in this contract.” Her eyes meet mine.

Thinking of how to explain this to her, I take a moment. “It is valid. It’s very valid. We can’t work together if you haven’t seen Mulan. It’s a Disney must.”

Kosi rolls her eyes. “Fine. I don’t know what the big deal is but okay. I didn’t peg you as a Disney or cat man anyways.”

“I’m highly offended by that but also happy to surprise you.” Kosi signs the contract. Mushu purrs in her lap and I feel something in my gut. Something that tells me this is going to be the end of one thing and the beginning of another.

Seventeen

Kosi

After meeting with Roscoe and officially taking the job to facelift Free Fall Skydiving school. I head over to see my brother Jaxx and his fiancé Kenndrix. It's a beautiful day out so I roll the windows down, turn up the music, and slowly make my way to the gated community they now call home. Jaxx’s house is a good drive away from mine. With the careers that he and Kenndrix have, living in the more exclusive part of Los Angeles is kind of a must. Despite the fact that they both work behind the scenes more than in the spotlight, the two of them are still often in the tabloids. Hollywood loves them as a power couple. They often get recognized when out together or even individually. It’s strange but I guess that’s life.

On the way to their house, I stop by one of my favorite drink trucks. It feels like a Red Bull kind of day. I got up early after getting off late to meet up with Roscoe. I’m working a double again today. Closing is always a late one. I’m dreading it but there’s not much else I can do about it. Drink Up has a steady line but I decide to go ahead and sit and wait. Eventually, I get the three drinks I ordered and head back towards my original destination.

I pull up to my brother’s house. It’s different from the one he used to have, but once he proposed to Kenndrix they agreed to find a house together. She sold her condo and moved in with Jaxx in his house until they found the one they agreed on. As I approach their house I can’t help but remember when a home like this felt like just a step away from where I used to be. The house is a two-story, khaki with gray undertone bricked house with white trim and shutters. A bay window in the main living room, three car garage, and brick driveway are also visible. The lawn is green with grass and trees and I can’t help but get a little excited to think that one day there is going to be some little mini-me’s of my brother or sister-in-law to be running around out here.

As I park in front of one of the garage doors, the front door opens. Jaxx walks out to me, looking casual in his khaki shorts and navy blue t-shirt. He meets me at my car and takes the drink carrier from me. “You look good, Sis.”

I laugh and make a show of looking him up and down. “And you look comfortable.” I specifically eye the pair of flip flops on his feet. It’s not often I see my brother looking so casual and I can probably count on one hand how often I’ve seen him in flip flops.

He shrugs his shoulders before running a hand through his now caramel blonde hair. Jaxx and I are both naturally blonde but for a couple of years his hair was dyed chocolate brown for roles he was in. Being a stuntman meant he needed to look like the actor. I never fully got used to the change of color but this transition color is really odd to me. “I am comfortable. Having some time off allows me to look like this for a bit so no judgment.”

My hands fly up in a surrender motion. “I wasn’t judging. I promise. The flip flops just threw me off.”

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