The Starting Line: Friends To Lovers

by Jennifer Hartley

  Hailey rolls her eyes. “Yes. That is how men generally look at women. It’s nothing new.”

  “Yeah but, he does it a lot.”

  “Jude.” She sighs. “Drop it. He’s a non-issue.”

  He narrows his eyes at her but says nothing more. A heavy, stubborn silence settles between them. These are becoming more frequent than he’d like. He returns his gaze to the TV behind her; she studies his face. Her blackberry buzzes suddenly and she glances at the screen, a slight frown passing over her face. Looking up, she bites her lip in contemplation.

  “Listen, do what you want. My primary concern is how she treats your family. She flirted with your brothers and ignored their wives, and she wasn’t very kind to your mom, who is a saint for putting up with all of you. How you didn’t notice this is beyond me. Just think about what I said. Okay?”

  Shrugging, Jude takes a long sip from his beer as she tosses down some cash and slides out of the booth. “I’ve got to head over to the women’s shelter,” Hailey explains at his puzzled look. “One of the women is claiming her husband tried to contact her, and it’s causing some problems. Have fun on vacation. Enjoy… everything.”

  “Yes,” he mumbles into his hand, perching his arm on the table. He watches her silhouette fade as she walks away.

  Looking at the empty booth, he realizes she left behind her fleece. He reaches over and grabs it; the subtle hint of her perfume hits him. Jude gets a flash of a hundred memories all at once, dizzying to a degree, all of them involving Hailey. Her embrace, the soft skin of her neck, her quiet laugh at his less funny jokes, the way her hair tickles his nose. He swallows hard and pushes it all to the back of his mind, to a deep dark corner that is rarely visited.

  Three days later, he boards a plane for Hawaii.

  Chapter Eight

  Jude receives a pleasant surprise visit the night before Hailey leaves for Her Majesty's Land. He's working a night shift that prohibits him from seeing her off early the next morning. So, Hailey decides to come to the fire station, arriving with brownies. A lot of brownies.

  “I still can't get the hang of angel food cake, sorry. But, I made these for your crew members.”

  “Since when can you bake?” Jude squints at the plate of thick, gooey brownies, gob-smacked.

  “Well, I already cleaned my apartment from top to bottom three times and finished packing days ago. After getting weird looks from the people that work at the gym for spending over half a day working out, I figured I should get a new hobby to occupy my time. I guess I don't do lack of structure well.” Hailey is rambling. She's very aware of this. Even so, she continues.

  “So, I finally used one of those cookbooks your mom gave me a few years ago. I still can't cook to save my life, but I find the precision of baking to be very... gratifying.”

  Jude stares at her for a moment, thrown by her verbal onslaught. Then he picks up a brownie and sniffs it for good measure before taking a bite. She rolls her eyes at his shocked expression, then produces an additional tin. Before she reveals its contents, he holds up his hand to halt her.

  “Wait. This... these are very good. For real though, how long did it take you to get the hang of it?”

  Hailey doesn't even blink, “Seven batches. My oven is very finicky. And butter at room temperature definitely helps.”

  She removes the lid to reveal oatmeal chocolate chip cookies in the tin. His eyes are as big as saucers. “Cookies too? Wow, I am genuinely impressed right now. How long for these?”

  “Three batches. Burned the first two. You know how I feel about raisins in my cookies, so I swapped them out for chocolate chips. There's one with only two chips in it for you.”

  Hailey grins as a couple of the guys enter the kitchen to say hi. Though it's not the first time she's visited, it takes the guys a little while to drop their 'best behavior' in front of her and act normal. They're a little less formal now, but some remain bashful.

  “You baked?” Carl, Jude's preceptor at the station, peers over Jude's shoulder. “She bakes too?”

  “She can't cook though,” Jude warns, watching as Carl takes two cookies and a brownie. Carl is nearing forty, balding slightly, and has a great big booming laugh. He'd also cut off his right hand if it meant keeping you alive. Jude may or may not have a man-crush on him.

  “I'm okay with that.” Carl devours a cookie in two bites. “Say, when do you get back from England?” A couple of other guys enter, smiling at Hailey and reaching over to grab some brownies. Jude slaps at their hands, telling them to thank Hailey before taking off.

  “You're welcome,” Hailey replies, turning back to Carl. “Uh, just before Christmas. At least, that's the plan.”

  “That's the plan, eh? Good. I'm going to book the church for New Year’s. That could be a fun wedding?”

  “Oh, are you asking?” Hailey laughs as Carl nods sensibly. “I'm pretty sure your wife might have something to say about that.”

  “No, I think she has a bigger crush on you than I do,” Carl leans forward to stage-whisper, “though I have it on good authority that I'd have to fight at least three other guys for your hand.”

  “Really,” Hailey smiles, glancing at Jude who just rolls his eyes at Carl's antics. “I'll keep that in mind for when I get back.”

  “You better. I know Earl has definitely taken a shine to you,” he winks then steps aside as Jude swipes at him.

  “Gross, Carlo. Earl is nearly eighty. Get your ass out of here!” Jude pushes Carl out of the kitchen then turns back to Hailey who's shaking her head.

  “Come on, let me walk you back to your car,” Jude leads her down the stairs, outside to the parking lot. “Thanks for bringing the cookies, Hailey. If this whole school thing doesn't pan out, you could have a future in the culinary arts or something.”

  “Ha, ha,” Hailey smirks at him as she leans back against her SUV. “So a little bird told me you're a single man again.”

  Jude makes a face, frowning. “My mom?” Hailey nods. “Yeah, we uh. It wasn't going to work out. We want different things; that's all.”

  “Well, that and Freemon offered her a seat on their primetime desk. No big deal or anything.”

  Jude crosses his arms, leaning against the car next to hers. He shrugs and looks up at the overcast sky, evening settling upon them. “She's not the only one transferring, I hear.”

  Hailey's eyes narrow, and she gives him a thin smile. “I was wondering how long it was going to take you. Yeah, Steve got picked up by Tampa. I think it was the signing bonus that sealed the deal.”

  “Still... Florida?” Jude watches her for a moment. “He didn't... he didn't ask you to come with him, did he?”

  Hailey doesn't meet his eyes and shrugs in response. “Doesn't matter whether he did or didn't. My path is leading in a different direction.”

  “Ouch. Did you make him cry?” Jude grins at her. “You made him cry, didn't you?”

  Hailey leans forward and pushes him in the arm, mock-glaring at him. “Oh, stop. You are the worst!”

  They fall into a silence that is slowly filling with things they want to say but never will. Hailey decides to leave him with a parting thought, breaking the silence.

  “Hey Jude,” Hailey is picking at her nails, looking at the ground. She looks up at him and clears her throat. “Make sure the next girl is a good one, okay?”

  His brow furrows, unsure of where this is going. “A good one? What would make her a good one?”

  This flusters her a little, and she breaks eye contact again, thinking. “She needs to be smart and quick on her feet because she has to keep up with you; she needs a good sense of humor, she... needs to challenge you - maybe not have all the same interests as you, oh, and make sure she's kind and sweet to your family; and... if Sunny doesn't like her, then you know she's no good.”

  Jude grows more amused as she talks, grinning at her by the end. “So my dog should decide who I date?”

  “Yes,” Hailey nods. “Definitely. She has more sense tha
n you.” The corner of her lip rises with her quip. “It should be easier without...” she exhales, “you know. Without me hanging around and everything.”

  Choosing to remain silent around a topic that has resulted in countless heated discussions, Jude shoves his hands in his pockets and changes topics.

  “So uh, when Perry and I come out in October, you better show us a good time. Don't forget; we got to go back to that one pub we went to last time we were there. I'm pretty sure I can drink my way to that silver beer mug this time.”

  “Yeah, that or alcohol poisoning.”

  “No, I'll prepare accordingly,” Jude pats his stomach grinning.

  Without another word, he holds open his arms, and she steps in his embrace. This is the most comforting position to either of them, one that quiets the world around them and releases the anxiety, the negative thoughts, and all the uncertainty. He breathes in deeply, feeling her do the same, their breaths syncing to a compatible rate with their hearts.

  “You're going to be great out there. You are going to have so much fun, meet all these new people, sit in all the old, dusty libraries, reading. You're going to eat some awful food and make some good choices, and one or two bad ones. Just... don't forget us out there.”

  Hailey smiles, pressing her lips against his shoulder. “Don't forget me, either.”

  She pulls back and gives him a watery smile. “I know you're not going to email me, but I'm still going to text you.”

  “Oh, the really long ones that should've been an email?”

  “Hey, a girl's got to be resourceful.” She swipes at a tear and holds out her hand the same time as him, doing their secret handshake. “This is stupid. It's not like I'm leaving forever. Have a good time while I'm gone, kick ass playing softball, and... yeah, I'm going to go.”

  Jude smiles at her. She hates goodbyes even more than he does. But, just because he likes being a pain in the ass, he ropes her into one more hug, the type where she's buried against his chest, swaying back and forth in an exaggerated fashion. When she starts growling at him in frustration, he releases her, smirking as she sighs at him, rolling her eyes. Climbing inside her SUV, she waves at him one last time before driving away.

  As soon as she's out of the parking lot, he lets the smile fall from his face. He can do this.

  He has to.

  September

  A couple of days after Hailey leaves, Jude meets an elderly gentleman by the name of Luke. He's recently widowed and has taken to calling rescue for concerns that have very little to do with aid and more to do with loneliness. When Jude's truck arrives, Luke's sitting on his front porch with a foul-mouthed African Grey Parrot perched upon his shoulder.

  With Carl's assistance, Luke heaves his frail body off his rocking chair then gives Jude an unimpressed look. Jerking his thumb at him, he looks at Carl and says, “Where'd you find this guy? He looks like an asshole.”

  Carl bites his lip to keep from laughing as Jude's jaw drops. “Come on, Luke, what's going on today?”

  As Jude follows them inside, he spends the rest of the visit being called an 'asshole' by the Parrot and receiving pokes in the leg from Luke's cane. While Carl talks to Luke, Jude scans the small, well-kept home. It's unique, to say the least. Luke used to be a merchant marine and has artifacts and treasures from around the world, along with a crazy story for each one.

  To distract Luke from a current non-existing malady, Jude asks him about the large wooden chest in his living room. Luke's eyes light up as he gives Jude a crooked smile, launching into a twenty-minute story that would make for a great movie. It's a good visit, and it’s the first of many.

  Over a week later, Jude receives a text from Hailey:

  Skype?

  Jude hops on his computer soon after, smiling when he sees her face. “What's up?”

  “Hey, how's it going? Not too late, is it?” Hailey looks at her wristwatch, counting back the hours to Jude's time zone.

  “No, I'm at the station. I'm picking up extra shifts in preparation for 'Perry and Jude's Mancation.'“ Jude frames the words with his hand as Hailey laughs. “Enough about me, though. How is it?”

  Hailey's expression is one part overwhelmed and one part exhaustion. “It's different. It's everything and nothing I thought it would be.”

  Jude's eyebrows draw together, confused. “How so?”

  “For starters… I knew I was going to be in more of a communal living situation at the onset. It's this grand old flat in a decent location. The catch is that I have six roommates - well seven if you count Antonio's girlfriend. Not all are students, and none of us are from the same country. Only two of us are native English speakers. It's insane.”

  “Seven? Seven roommates? Do you have to share a room?”

  Hailey shakes her head, “Thankfully no. But my room is tiny. Like… I've developed a very strategic storage system.”

  “Bet it hasn't stopped you from shopping though,” Jude sips his steaming coffee.

  “Of course not. I'm actually saving up. Me and two of the girls here, Marta and Therese, are going to Paris next weekend.”

  “You're taking an empty suitcase, aren't you?”

  “Maybe…” Hailey's grin is borderline manic. “Hey, how's your brother? My Mom told me she ran into Gray the other day at the grocery store. Did he really fall off the roof?”

  “Yeah. Dumbass slipped. Didn't break anything, but he's really sore. I'm going to help out over the next couple weeks though.”

  “That's pretty generous of you,” Hailey observes, her tone turning facetious, “eh, it's probably just a ploy to rope you into his business.”

  Jude smirks at her. “Oh yeah, definitely. He always falls off roofs when he wants help at work.”

  “Knew it. But you like that kind of things anyway. You've always been good with your hands.”

  “Don't you know it.” Jude waggles his eyebrows at her unintentional innuendo. “You're right, though. I do. Eric and I are talking about teaming up with a couple of other guys and flipping a house.”

  “That could get interesting,” Hailey frowns. “And expensive. Make sure you have an endpoint in what you're willing to invest.”

  “We're just in the talking phase. Nothing definite,” Jude leans back and sighs. “Are you homesick?”

  Shrugging, Hailey looks down for a moment, “Yes. But I have so much going on. I try not to think about it. My classes are just now getting underway. And I like them; it's just… different from how it all is back home.”

  “Different as in harder or what?”

  “It's graduate school. A lot of what I do now is autonomous, self-driven. The research I do this year will be the basis for the rest of my degree. It doesn't help that I'm in a combined degree program, so there's no set format for what I'm doing.”

  “Like design your own degree plan?” Jude considers it for a moment. “I don’t know. I feel like that's something you'd enjoy. You've always struck me as more of a trailblazer than someone who likes to stay in a mold.”

  Her returning smile is one of warmth, the kind that he can feel, even through a crappy web feed. “Yeah, well. I've only finished the first week. Let's see how I'm doing come December.”

  “Oh, you'll be good. No doubt on my end, whatsoever,” Jude replies matter-of-factly. Before he can say anything more, a loud beep sounds on the intercom system. “Sorry Hailey, duty calls.”

  “Be safe, Jude.”

  “Yes ma’am.” He salutes her. “Night, Hailey.”

  Hailey doesn't want to be here. “You know, I think I'm going to head back,” she says to Marta, one of the girls with whom she's become very close in that short period of time.

  “No! You must stay,” she grabs Hailey's hand and pulls her through the undulating crowd of socialites, urbanites, hipsters, and too-poor-to-be-posh young adults. Marta's rope of golden hair lures Hailey onward, her musical laughter a siren's call. When they reach the table with questionable drinks, Marta sniffs at several bottles of liquor before
deciding on one and starting to mix a concoction into two cups.

  “Hailey,” the way Marta says Hailey's name reminds her of Jessica, Jude's first serious girlfriend. Marta is half-Belgian, half-Scottish, and her accent is confusing at best. “Therese and I are worried about you. All you do is study and go to class or the shelter. You need to get out!”

  “I get out! I go for dancing.” Hailey frowns. “You know I had that paper due yesterday. It sucked the life out of me. I swear, I'm good.”

  “Ah yes, okay,” she hands Hailey the cup. It's surprisingly delicious. “Only drink one of these. Don't let anyone touch it and don't set it down.”

  Alarmed, Hailey scrutinizes the crowd. “Is there something you know that I don't?”

  “No, just be safe.” Marta grabs Hailey's hand and weaves through other dancers to their other roommate Therese. Where Marta is fair and blonde and willowy, Therese has olive skin and the dark hair of one who grew up on the Mediterranean. From Cypress, she's doing a master's in international finance at the London School of Economics, and she’s possibly one of the smartest people Hailey's ever met.

  “How do you feel about Germany?” Therese asks the two girls, sipping her own drink. “I've family in Munich and some others that live in the lake country. We should go next weekend.”

  Hailey considers this proposal and nods before she can back out. Marta claps and jumps in excitement, while the more mild Therese beams brightly. “This will be wonderful. I can't wait to show you around. Munich is gigantic, but we'll actually be there in time for the end of Oktoberfest.”

  “But it's September,” Hailey's brow furrows. She's starting to feel fuzzy. A good fuzzy, though. “Oh, wait. But it actually starts in September, right?”

  “Good job,” says John as he slings his arm around Therese's shoulder. The girls remain silent, nonplussed. John, hailing from a blue-collar family from Liverpool, has a chip on his shoulder a mile-wide and the brains to back it up. He is not Hailey's favorite person.