Rules of the Road

by K. Aten

  “Hmm.”

  She looked at him curiously as he finished applying around her ears and started the delicate task of bleaching her eyebrows. “Hmm, what?”

  He smiled because he’d known Jamie a long time, ever since she moved to St. Seren at the tender age of twenty-five. “I think this is a good change for you. It sounds like you’re finally moving on.” Richard knew more about Jamie’s ex than most people. He also knew what the woman had done to his good friend and client.

  Jamie scoffed. “Please! I moved on a long time ago.”

  “No, honey, you closed off. There is a big difference between the two, believe me. And this is the much healthier way to go, so stick with it!” He sighed. “I know, I’ve been there.”

  Her voice was quiet in a moment of vulnerability. “Did you get lonely?”

  He nodded, heart breaking just a little for his friend. “At first. But then I started surrounding myself with better people. And I met a guy who had no expectations of me other than to be the person that I was. We just clicked and there was no going back.”

  “Do you ever miss the excitement of meeting new people? Of just hooking up with no strings?”

  He thought for a few seconds and nodded slowly. “I think everyone has that moment where they want to escape when shit gets tough, you know?” She nodded. “But while hooking up with people might be exciting in the moment, it doesn’t take away the loneliness. You know what I mean?”

  Jamie looked down because she did know. “Yeah, I get it.”

  He patted her shoulder. “All right sweetie, I’m gonna have you switch chairs while your color sets so I can give my next client a trim.”

  She moved over to a seat in the waiting area and pulled out her cell phone. Smiling, she texted Kelsey. The dental assistant would have arrived home by then and had probably just finished feeding her cats.

  I’ll have you know that I’m halfway to being on fleek! I looked it up

  The reply came back seconds later.

  Such a nerd! You know the original meaning referred to eyebrows, right?

  Jamie texted back.

  Well those were done too. But Merriam-Webster says it basically means perfectly done, so there!

  She snorted at her friend’s response.

  Best put that away before you trip yourself. Loose tongues will get a girl into trouble!

  Hey! My tongue is tight!

  Oh reeeeaaaalllly? Do tell? LOL

  Jamie’s phone vibrated again.

  Or don’t tell. I don’t really want to know your kinky stories!

  She smiled and responded.

  Actually, I have some really hilarious ones. You should ask about them next time we meet at the Crow.

  Maybe I will. One more day til the weekend, got plans?

  Jamie didn’t look forward to the weekends as much since she started changing her old ways. She could still have fun when she was out, but most of her crowd knew she had a reputation. People she just wanted to hang out with as friends turned her down, assuming she wanted more. Or they agreed to meet up, thinking that Jamie was interested in a casual night of sex. No matter what she did she felt like she was letting people down. Burke had been in town a few weeks before but they pretty much shot pool then waxed philosophical into the night. He had started dating someone so was laying low lately which left Jamie at loose ends. She wasn’t about to tell Kelsey all that and admit to how pathetic her life had gotten, so she texted something simple back.

  Nothing set in stone. You?

  Friend of some friends surprise bday Saturday. Was talked into going.

  You could always skip and hang out with me instead.

  Already promised them, sorry James. Maybe Scalded Crow Sunday?

  Her weekend brightened immeasurably at the thought of meeting Kelsey for drinks and coversation.

  Ooh, and break out of our normal routine? Sure, sounds great! Um, 2 okay?

  2 is perfect!

  Ok, see you then. Gotta go, Richard is ready to rinse. Bye Kels!

  Bye James

  The days flew by for Jamie, but not well. She attempted to go out for a little pool and dancing on Friday night and the evening ended in a bit of a disaster. A couple of drunk hetero guys started a fight and she caught a random swing to the lip while she was on the dance floor. And to add insult on top of literal injury, when she left the bar at 1:00 a.m., she found a big dent in Olivia’s passenger door. She went to bed angry and woke up not much better. Because her mood was “piss poor” as her mom would have called it, she probably should not have started making Bloody Marys at noon, but she did anyway. She drank all afternoon and watched the Food Network while yelling random comments to the blonde troll doll on the screen. Around three she texted Jenn.

  heeeyy, want to come over for bloody maryss? got nuthn doin tonight an im bored.

  Jenn’s message came back a few minutes later.

  What the hell, James? Are you drunk?

  Jamie giggled.

  Noppe. Prolyl should’ve ate something for lunch tho. And showered.

  God bless America! Malcom’s dad doesn’t pick him upuntil 5 so you know I can’t come over there and prop yo carcass up! Eat some food, dammit! And when you’re done, go wash your stank ass.

  The blonde pouted where she was slouched down on her couch.

  don’t wanna cook.

  So order a pizza, fool! But get some food in you and I’ll check back in a while. Okay?

  She frowned and texted back.

  k

  Jamie was tipsy, not wasted, and she successfully ordered a sub from the local place down the street. Following Jenn’s advice, she ate, showered, and made herself a drink. Maybe it wasn’t all per her friend’s advice, but it’s what she felt like doing. She was holding that drink when she answered her door at quarter after five. “Hey, Jenn! You here to hang with me tonight? Let me fix you a drink. Vodka cran, right?”

  Jenn stepped through the door and snagged Jamie’s sleeve as she started to walk away. “Nooope! Come back here you! I’ve got plans tonight, James. I’m already an hour late because I had to wait for my ex to pick up Malcom. I just stopped in to make sure you’re taking care of yourself.” She looked at her tipsy friend, taking in the slight sway and split lip. “You okay, hon? What happened to your lip?”

  “Couple a’ straight guys fighting at the bar last night, one clipped me in the lip when I was dancing. And Olivia got her door dinged in the parking lot! Was a shitty night.”

  Jenn looked back at her. “Is that why you started drinking at?”

  “Noon.”

  “Noon today?”

  Jamie shrugged. “Kinda. This new street is hard.” She finished her drink then went to the kitchen to rinse her glass and Jenn followed.

  When the blonde turned around again Jenn had a confused look on her face. “New street? What in the world are you talking about?”

  She hadn’t told her friend about becoming the new Jamie. She hinted at it with Kelsey but only Richard knew the whole story. She tried to explain to Jenn as best she could. “You know, when you told me not to kill so many cats, and that I’d have to drive a different way. So I’ve been driving a different way.”

  Jenn blinked at her and Jamie swayed a little. “Oh.” Then she blinked again in realization when her brain finally translated the blonde’s confusing words. “Ohhhh! You’ve stopped cattin’ around?” Jamie nodded. “Uh, when did that start?”

  Jamie set glass in the sink and thought about it, doing the math in her head. Then she gave up on the math. “Right after you talked to me.”

  She got a swat on her shoulder. “James! That was more than two months ago! And you’re just now telling me this?” The other woman shrugged and looked a little lost. Jenn knew that her friend had seemed down lately but she had no idea what was going on with her. Jamie tended to hold things pretty close to the vest. The black woman was torn. She had to go to her friend’s surprise party but she didn’t want to leave anothe
r friend alone who was clearly in need of emotional support. Finally making a decision, she pointed at Jamie. “Go fix yourself up, you’re coming with me to Sal’s birthday party. You remember Sal, right?”

  Jamie nodded and went into the bathroom to put some product in her hair. Even tipsy she still managed to style it to perfection. When she came out again she grabbed her messenger bag off the coat rack by the door. “Is she the one who was the Ass Quarters champion last year?”

  Jenn snorted and held the door for her friend. “Yup, same one. She’s turning forty and Brandi is having a surprise party for her.”

  “Hey, Kelsey is going to a surprise party tonight too!”

  Seatbelts were clicked into place and Jenn started her car. “Yeah? The same Kelsey that you met through your driving app and whom you talk about constantly?”

  Jamie’s face took on a dreamy look. “Yeah. I really like Kelsey.”

  Jenn looked at her curiously, more than a little taken aback at how open and honest Jamie was being with her. “Wow, she sounds like a good friend then.”

  “She’s amaaaaazing!”

  The blonde would probably be appalled that she was spilling the beans but Jenn was thoroughly enjoying it. And she thought it was about time that someone actually snagged Jamie’s attention. “Well then, maybe it’s the same party and we’ll see her there.”

  Jamie smiled for the first time since she woke that morning. “Maybe we will.”

  Chapter Ten

  THE PARTY WAS all right, but Kelsey was a little bored. She had only met the birthday girl once or twice before. And the only ones at the party that she really knew were Tam and Shell. She grabbed one of her cake pops off the tray and wondered what Jamie was up to. A random dark-haired woman walked into the kitchen and made a beeline for the center island where most of the food was located. She picked up one of Kelsey’s treats by the stick and took a large bite. “Hot damn, these are amazing! This is like, my fourth one.” She wandered back into the living room, and Kelsey just shook her head. At least she had contributed to the party. She felt bad just showing up empty-handed so she made two dozen of her specialty to bring along. Someone cranked up the music in the other room and she cringed at the twangy sound of country so she decided to go through the dining room slider and check out the back yard. Her face lit up when she saw that Sal had a genuine hammock. “Oh, I’ve gotta try that!” Fifteen minutes later she had a grass stain on her elbow and sticks in her hair so she gave it up as a lost cause. After that she wandered over to the koi pond and pondered what it must be like to be as well off as Sal.

  Inside Jenn and Jamie had arrived and Jenn immediately led her friend to the kitchen with explicit instructions to drink some water and sober up. When Jenn walked back out of the kitchen Jamie spied the cake pops on the counter. “Oh my God, cake pops!” She immediately snagged two and started eating one. Then she paused and looked around. “I wonder if Kelsey is here. I know these are Kelsey’s cake pops!” Before she could wander out an older brunette came into the kitchen and went straight for the dessert.

  “Seriously! I can’t freaking stop myself, these are so good!”

  Jamie nodded. “I know, right?”

  The other woman looked up, startled. “You’re not the woman that was in here before! Sorry about that, my name is Beth.” She held out her hand, the one not holding the cake pop.

  “Uh, I’m not? Who was in here before? Was her name Kelsey?” Then as an afterthought, Jamie dropped her first empty cake pop stick into the nearby trash and reached out to shake her hand.

  Beth shrugged. “I don’t know. She was close to your height, curvy, and I think Hispanic. Does that sound like her?”

  “Yeah, she made these!” Jamie held up the remaining treat like it was a torch in the Olympics. Before either woman could say another word a particularly annoying song came thumping through the kitchen door.

  The brunette’s face brightened noticeably. “Ooh, I gotta go! That’s my jam!” Then she scampered back though the door into the living room where the main party was located. Before Jamie could fully appreciate that the older woman thought “Insane in the Membrane” by Cypress Hill was her jam, someone else came pushing through the door. She had just taken a bite of her second treat when a familiar voice nearly made her choke.

  “Who do we have here? It’s been a while, lover.”

  Jamie paled. “T—Tori?”

  The redhead winked at her. “You remember my name, that’s a good sign. Too bad you didn’t remember to return my texts from a few weeks ago when I was out looking for a repeat.” Tori stepped close, right into Jamie’s personal space. “But that’s all right, you can definitely make it up to me tonight since we’re both here and all.” Jamie started to move back away from the other woman, but Tori’s hand was faster as she pulled Jamie’s head down for a kiss.

  It was in that exact moment that Kelsey came through the back slider and saw her close friend, and unacknowledged crush, locked in a kiss with the annoying woman from Club Culture. “James?”

  Tori released Jamie abruptly and stepped away from her before running a finger across her own bottom lip seductively. “Yum, you taste sweet! Just like old times, huh?”

  Jamie covered her throbbing lip, which had been split the night before, with the hand not holding a cake pop. “Ow, goddamn it! What did you do that for?” She took a stumbling step back. “And it wasn’t old times, it was one freaking time!”

  The redhead pouted. “Aww, you didn’t like it?”

  “Jamie?” Kelsey’s voice finally registered in Jamie’s alcohol-fogged and pain filled brain. Her face lit up when she saw her friend standing by the door.

  “Hey Kels! I was just getting ready to look for you!”

  Kelsey looked from Jamie to the skinny little redhead, then back at Jamie. “Yeah, it sure looks like it.” Before the blonde could make her shocked mouth work Kelsey pushed between them and walked out into the living room. Jamie grabbed her hair and cursed for a minute straight when she realized what had just happened.

  Tori’s voice broke through her ranting. “What was that all about?”

  Jamie shook her head. She was sick to her stomach with anxiety and exhausted from drinking all day. “Please just leave me alone okay, Tori? I’m sorry but I’m not interested in anything more.”

  The redhead looked from Jamie to the doorway where Kelsey had disappeared. “Clearly you’re interested in something right now, James. But no worries, we’re all good here.” She turned to make her way back into the main room and stopped before pushing the door open and turned back to Jamie. “For what it’s worth, I hope you find what you’re looking for.” Then she was gone.

  The door swung open again and Jamie threw her hands into the air. “What is this, Grand Central freaking Station?”

  “Why, is there an asshole train departing?”

  “Jenn? What’s that supposed to mean?” Jamie was upset and she was already considering calling a cab to take her home.

  Jenn scowled at her. “I’m talking about you! What the hell did you do to Kelsey? She came barreling out of the kitchen looking like she was going to cry then walked straight out the front door. What the fuck, James?”

  Jamie pointed at her. “Hey, keep your judgmental bullshit to yourself! I didn’t do anything wrong this time. Your friend Tori came in here and kissed me. It’s not like I wanted her to. Then Kelsey walked in and saw it.”

  “And what were you doing before that to prompt such an action?”

  Jamie grew angry. She tossed the last bit of her dessert into the trash. “I was eating a cake pop, Jesus! I don’t even like her like that anymore, I like—” She stopped speaking abruptly and grew still. Jenn watched as a strange look came over her friend’s face.

  “You like what, James? Kelsey?”

  Jamie sighed and didn’t answer the question. “It doesn’t matter. She probably hates me now, and even if she didn’t I’d never have a chance because all she knows of me is a reputation that is
built of exactly what she walked in on.” She ran her hand through what remained of her meticulously styled hair, sending it into further disarray.

  “Your lip is bleeding.” Jenn walked over and grabbed some paper towels then folded them up and wet them with cold water.

  She reached out and gently placed the compress against Jamie’s split lip. “Hold this to your lip. I don’t think it needs stitches, but let’s get the bleeding stopped then we’ll go see if Kelsey is still here, okay?” She watched as Jamie nodded her head and politely ignored the way her friend’s eyes were wet with emotion. Jamie never cried and she certainly wasn’t crying now.

  Fifteen minutes later they were on a manhunt for the missing cake pop maker. When they didn’t find her Jenn hunted down Tam and Shell. “Hey, have you two seen Kelsey? Did she ride with you or drive herself?”

  It was Tam who answered. “Yeah, Kels said she had a headache and that she was gonna go home. She asked us to grab her dessert container when we left. And she met us here. Why, what’s up?” She looked at Jamie and narrowed her eyes at the other woman’s disheveled look and split lip. “Why, what happened? And I know you! Weren’t you the one who dated Lindy about a year ago?”