Friday, May 5th 2023

“Could I ask why you don’t like me?”

“Jesus H. Christ where the did you come from?!”

“You left early because of me. Why?”

“I left early because I just finished a twenty-one hour shift and I’m dead tired. Not everything is about you Bambi.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Then stop stalking me!”

“I’m not stalking you. I just want to know what I did to offend you enough to justify how you’ve been treating me all night!”

“Look Miss Posen. I’m tired. I’ve had a week. I just want to go home, shower, use my favourite bullet to rub one out then pull a Rip Van Winkle and sleep for ages. None of what happened tonight is about you, ok? I’m sorry if your highness’s sensibilities were wounded but can you please just leave me be?!”

Stacie stalked angrily away, glowering and on edge, leaving a stone-faced Aubrey Posen staring blankly after her retreating back.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Two days later, Stacie found herself back in Jessica’s apartment, nursing a beer and sitting on the countertop while her friend bustled about making the two of them dinner. Jessica was always good for her word and had promised to make some of Stacie’s favourites tonight. As much as Stacie loved to talk and tease Jessica to elicit a response, when it was just the two of them they sometimes descended into contented silence. Today was one of those days.

Jessica hummed aimlessly with the soft jazz coming from her speakers, her actions deft and deliberate as she moved expertly throughout her kitchen. Stacie sipped her beer from her vantage point on the side counter and just watched.

She had always loved watching Jessica cook. She hadn’t been lying that day when she said she was still amazing at watching her friend cook without setting her own on fire. As someone with all five senses functioning and still being hopeless in the kitchen, Stacie could never marvel enough at the wonder that was Jessica Jung. The blonde had also been known to experiment in the kitchen as well as take requests, so it wasn’t just that these recipes were well practiced and memorized. Add to that the Jessica was actually a very good cook just made it even more remarkable.

“You going to tell me what happened between you and Aubrey after she pretty much ran out after you that night?”

“Nothing, she asked me why I was a to her and I told her I was dead tired. Some people just don’t know how to leave well enough alone honestly.”

“Well to be fair you were sniping at her for the majority of the night. And I could practically feel your smoldering eyes either trying to eye- her or reduce her into ashes.”

“I was not eye ing her.”

“You forget I have a sighted girlfriend. You most certainly were eye-ing her. That and I could practically feel it. You definitely were. I think you just weren’t consciously aware of it.”

“I was probably just trying not to fall asleep at the table and get a face full of duck.”

“Conrad. I’ve seen you go to a party after a twenty-eight hour shift and still rain hellfire. You were tired that night but not that tired.”

“Shut up Jung. That was years ago. I’m too old for that now.”

“Liar. You went to D’s party just three weeks ago after getting off shift and left with two guys. Old my .”

“Jessica Jung. Is this your way of telling me you regularly stalk me? I know for a fact you were not there.”

“I don’t have to stalk you, our friend’s do that for me. Enough deflecting. What’s going on in that beautiful mind?”

“Sing John Legend to me again and I just might kiss you.”

“Stacie…”

Stacie sighed and set her beer down on the counter.

“I’ve been agitated lately. The pure bureaucracy and politics at work just grinds my nerves raw. The guys I’m seeing seem more stupid than usual. Not to mention the standard of crazy monkey has also been slipping. They’re getting lazy and it seems asking to be completely ed six ways to Sunday is too much work for most. You know I can’t think straight whe–” 

“When you haven’t been bent over and rammed straight again. I know.”

“I’m just…restless.”

“How’s your family?”

“What family? They’re the same. Mom can’t be bothered to give a , sister’s still run off to the ends of the earth to get as far away from this ery that is our ‘family’ as possible, and dad’s going to end up dying in a coma and a haze of morphine at the rate he’s going.”

“You should come home with me to see my mom and dad. They’ve been asking about you and harping on me to finally get my head on crooked and make you my girlfriend.”

“They’re still on that eh?”

“I mean they say that all jokingly, they know I’m with Tiffany and I have no doubts once they meet her they’ll love her just as much as I…I mean yea I’m sure they’ll love her.”

“I caught that.”

“Too soon. I don’t wanna talk about it yet.”

“Fair.”

“Jokes aside, my family is your family. You and I both know we make our own families. Blood isn’t everything sometimes. Oftentimes. You’re just as much mine as I am yours. Nothing can change that.”

“Yea. A trip might be nice. We should take gumdrop. It’s high time she met Mama and Papa Jung.”

“You think?”

“Yea. I think she’d love it. And we both know your parents would love her. Almost as much as you.”

“Shut up. Say another word and I will julienne your with my knife. Now. Back to my original question. What is going on between you and