Page 9 of Fast Lane

Kosi stays on my mind over the next few days. I’m not sure why and it’s frustrating me. I’ve never been one to dwell over a girl. My personality gets bored with most things quickly. I’m also pretty guarded. Growing up I saw how bad relationships could be. I envied the family that Bowie grew up in. Ronald and Annie James were the epitome of love. My parents were the polar opposites. So when it comes to any kind of romantic relationship I normally just avoid them at all costs. I’m not saying I want a romantic relationship with Kosi Scott—I still can’t stand her and I’m sure the feeling is still mutual.

It’s just that Kosi is smart and what she said about the appearance of Free Fall isn’t wrong. Did it sting to hear that, most definitely, but it was still pretty damn accurate. The last few nights I have spent a few hours online looking for someone to come in and redecorate the place but the truth is everyone I have found is way out of my budget. No one knows I recently took out a loan to purchase Free Fall. Mac wanted out. He was ready to retire. I had been with him the longest so he confided in me. Mac had a few offers but no one could guarantee that Free Fall would remain the same. The idea of the skydiving school suddenly disappearing made me a little desperate and the next thing I knew I applied for a loan and bought the school from Mac. I’m still learning the ropes on running the place. I don’t come from money and with just buying the school I’m a little low on cash.

Mushu rubs against my legs and I pick him up, pressing a kiss to the top of his head as he purrs. There’s a knock on the door and I check the time before getting off the couch to answer it. Bowie James stands on the other side. He holds up a six pack of glass bottle Cola. “I got the night off.”

I chuckle. Bowie is the third of five brothers. His reputation was always that he was a hot-headed flirt. Bowie is no stranger to spending the night in jail after letting his fists do his talking. The entire time I’ve known him he’s only ever had one thing to keep him level-headed… Hollis. Hollis was his high school girlfriend but after a huge tragedy in her life, she ran away. Bowie was heartbroken of course and he became wilder by the day. Then ten years after she left, Hollis reappeared. They finally got their second chance, but even that had obstacles that they managed to overcome. Now, they’re married with three kids. It still makes me want to laugh, though, when I think about Bowie as a dad. He’s a great father so don’t get me wrong, it’s just I’ve always seen him as one way and suddenly he’s not that version anymore. I step aside from the door, pulling it open all the way. “Then come on in.”

Bowie enters with a heavy thud of his boots that I’m sure the neighbors below don’t appreciate. No matter how much Bowie changes, though, some things remain the same. His baby blue eyes that made all the girls swoon still swim with mischief. The signature dark brown James hair has always been cut short and spiked in every direction. A few tattoos litter his body and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him without his black combat boots. Bowie takes a seat on my tan couch while placing the six pack of Cola on the white top coffee table in front of him. “Hollis and some of the girls decided to do a movie night with the kids.” By some of the girls, Bowie is referring to his brothers’ wives or fiancés, Sadie, Londynn, Kynlee, and Summer.

“Sounds like a nice night off. You want to watch a movie?” I offer as I sit Mushu on the floor before heading towards the couch.

“Yeah, let’s watch a good slasher movie. All I ever see these days is cartoons full of love songs. Let’s order a pizza too,” Bowie adds.

I pat my pockets for my cell phone. Bowie watches me. “It must be in my room.”

“That would explain why you didn’t reply when I texted.” I head into my room and find my cell phone lying in the middle of my unmade bed. After grabbing it, I head back to my living room where I see Bowie studying the screen of my laptop. When I take a seat on the couch he looks over at me. “What’s that all about?” he asks while nodding his head towards the computer.

For a moment I hesitate before reminding myself that he is my best friend and it would be nice to get someone else’s opinion on the state of Free Fall. Especially since Kosi’s words have been on repeat in my head. “I bought Free Fall, but the other day Kosi came in last minute to help out when Annie didn’t show up and she was telling me how the first impression doesn’t give off the right vibe. So, I was looking for someone to give it a facelift so-to-speak but they’re all out of my price range.” After my confession I take a much needed deep breath. When I look in Bowie’s direction he looks confused, eyes wide.

“I’m not sure where to start.”

I shrug my shoulders and open the app on my phone to order some pizza. “From the beginning I would guess.”

Bowie nods his head, I notice from the corner of my eye. “Kosi Scott came to help you out for the day?”

My head falls back against the couch as the phone slips into my lap from my hands. “Out of all of that, Kosi is the part you caught?”

He chuckles. “No, I caught a lot of shit. That’s just the most shocking considering that you two don’t really get along.”

“We still don’t,” I admit. “But apparently she needs the money bad enough to come help me out for the day.”

Bowie raises his eyebrows. “Or… Jaxx didn’t tell her it was for you when he first offered her the job for the day.”

That thought hadn’t occurred to me but it actually made sense. Bowie gets up from the couch and makes his way over to the TV stand that sits below my flat screen hanging on the wall. The TV stand houses all of my movie obsessions which include all things horror and of course, Disney. Judge me if you must but Disney will forever be one of my favorites. I have every movie they’ve ever made. Bowie grabs the remote to my Blu-ray player and picks a disc from the movies. He pauses the movie once he sits back down. Mushu jumps onto the couch between the two of us and stretches back out. “That’s probably what happened.”

“So, you bought Free Fall? Why am I just now finding out about this?” Bowie asks.

Guilt seizes my body for a moment. Bowie and Lane have always been my best friends. Keeping something as big as buying a skydiving school isn’t something I would normally keep from them but I had my reasons. I shrug my shoulders. “I was worried about jinxing the process. To be honest I didn’t expect to even be approved for a loan large enough to actually purchase it from Mac. That was sheer luck.”

“No. That was work and determination. I know you have a lot of self-doubts but ,Roscoe man, you work your ass off. I would have been happy to help you out in any way I could have if I had known you were buying the school.” Bowie looks slightly hurt but not angry which means this is something that our friendship will survive. “So, this whole first impression thing really has you on a tailspin doesn’t it?”

I sit back against the couch one more time and Mushu moves to my lap. Sighing heavily, “Yeah, it does. At first I thought it was just Kosi, well, being Kosi but then after she left I just stood there and looked around and she’s right. I hate to admit that. It might literally kill a piece of myself but it’s true. The planes and jumping equipment are in excellent condition but you see the office first and it’s like stepping back into some John Hughes film. 80s all the way. So, now I’d like to give it a little pick-me-up but everything is so damn expensive.”

There’s a knock on the door and Bowie gets up without a moment of hesitation. That’s the way our friendship is. We’re more like family than friends. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. He collects the pizza before walking into my small kitchen just off the living room and grabbing some paper plates. “I have an idea to help you with that problem but I’m pretty sure you aren’t going to like it. Hell, to be honest, you’re probably going to hate it.”

After moving Mushu back to the middle of the couch I sit up and collect some pizza. “Let’s hear it.”

“You could always ask Kosi. I mean with her being out of the big money now I think she’d want the money and if I remember correctly once upon a time that’s exactly what she wanted to be.” Bowie takes a bite of his pizza. Silence falls between us. Uncertainty is all I feel. I do know Kosi wanted to do interior design or something along that line of work originally, she told me as much the day she worked at Free Fall for Annie. However, the idea of asking her and actually having to deal with her on a regular basis doesn’t exactly scream fun to me. I grab a glass bottle of Cola and pop the top. After taking a big swig, letting the carbonation tingle my tongue—I don’t know what it is but a glass bottle just makes everything taste better. “Do you remember when we used to get these glass bottle sodas and pretend they were beer?”

Bowie laughs, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “Hell yeah, I do. We thought we were so cool. Lane is the only one who had any sense. She would always call us dumb and roll her eyes.” The memories from easier days floods back to me. “Nice try on changing the subject but at least consider asking Kosi.”

I nod my head. “I will.” Reaching over I grab the remote and start the movie. “So which one did you pick?”

“The best… Scream, of course,” Bowie tells me with a wink. We sit back, eat pizza, drink Cola, and watch our favorite scary movie until it ends and Bowie leaves. Then it’s just Mushu and I again and I’m left with the lingering question of… should I ask Kosi or not?

Nine

Kosi

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