Page 58 of The One That Ran Away
Fuck you, fate. I was doing such a good job, too.
***
Kelsey lifted her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. Shannon pulled another tissue out of the box on her nightstand and handed it to her friend.
“I’m sorry,” Kelsey said with a sniff. “I’m such a bitch. Trust me, I know. It’s what my ex said when she broke up with me.”
Shannon kept her distance on her bed. “I’m sorry to hear that. When was that?”
“Five months ago.”
“When you were dating Trevor?”
“More like Trina.”
Shannon shook her head. “Promise me something, okay? If I stop lying to myself, you’ve gotta stop too.”
“What’s the point?”
“Freedom, I guess.”
“Iguess.”
Shannon gave her friend a hug. “We’re gonna be okay. We’ve gotta be.”
“Says the woman in love with someone.”
She hung her head. “I fucked it up, though. Jess is so mad at me for jerking her around.”
“Did you?”
“Yeah. I did.”
Kelsey finished dabbing the tears off her cheek. “If you really feel something for her… well, guess you gotta make it right.” She stood, tossing the tissue into the trash. “I need to go. I have a business dinner I need to get ready for.”
“Kels?”
She turned around. “Yeah.”
“We’re cool?”
Kelsey shrugged. “I mean, you said it yourself. I was mad crushing on you back in college.”
“What about now?”
She looked to the ceiling, lost in thought. “You’ll always be my friend first. I think I’m over the other stuff.”
“That’s what Jess said too. About me.” Shannon snorted. “Guess I’m easy to get over.”
“No, you’re not.” Kelsey showed herself out.
Shannon remained on her bed for a few more minutes, hand wrapped around her Aquarius necklace, wondering how much of that metaphysical shit was true.
It was Sunday night. Odds were good Jess was at the teashop a few blocks away, divining fates and deciphering personalities. With any luck, she wasn’t full of cynical shit after the stunt Shannon pulled a few days before.
Butterflies flitted in her stomach as Shannon got ready to go out. She showered and dressed in the cutest yet most flirtatious clothing she owned. Beneath the peasant top and jeans, however, was a baby pink bra and panty set she bought shortly after Andrew dumped her. To make her feel sexy, she had told herself. Now she knew it was fate she bought a lingerie set in one of Jess’s favorite colors.
Shannon blow-dried her hair so it was as feathery as the day Jess first saw her. Light eyeliner and lip-gloss finished her outfit before she stepped into her knee-high boots and grabbed her purse. A light chill hit her on the way out the door, and she retreated inside to grab a jacket.
