Jackie brought the camera back up to her eye just in time to capture a great shot of Regan with her eyes closed, hitting a high note.
That song seemed to have woken up the crowd. They gave Regan a huge cheer as Jackie made her way to the back of the room.
She leaned against the back wall and quickly scrolled through her photos. There were definitely some good ones in there.
Jackie packed her camera away and slung the bag across her shoulder. She looked up to find Lynn’s eyes already on her. She was at the bar with two bottles of beer. Jackie walked over to her.
“How’d that go?” Lynn asked, handing her a bottle.
“Thanks,” Jackie said, accepting the beer. “Good. I think I got a few shots worth using.” She took a quick drink to cool herself down. “What’d you think of her?”
“She’s talented and her voice is unique. She’s a good song writer too. I think she could be really popular.”
“Me too.”
Jackie watched Regan on stage from the back of the room. She stood up and moved to sit in front of the piano, pushing her long blond hair over her shoulder. Jackie glanced at Lynn who was watching the stage intently and decided that she’d resume their conversation after this song.
The room grew silent as soon as she started singing and Jackie knew that she’d really won over the audience.
“So you’re finished working for the night?” Lynn asked over the applause a few minutes later.
“Yeah. You only get three songs to get your photos. It’s enough if you know what you’re doing,” Jackie answered.
“And then you get to see the rest of the gig… That’s not a bad job. I can see why it’s more appealing than weddings.”
Jackie nodded in agreement as the crowd grew quiet once again and Regan’s raw voice filled the room.
“Have you thought about what you’re going to do now that you’ve retired?” Jackie asked when the song ended.
“Not yet. My main priority right now is finding a place to live. Every apartment I’ve looked at in the last week has been snapped up that same day. It’s like you have to sign the contract on the spot.”
“Real estate in New York is ruthless. You have to have a good agent and even then you have to be willing to look at a lot of places,” Jackie said.
“I like the hotel where I’m staying but it’d be nice to get settled in somewhere. All of my stuff is in storage.”
“I’ll let you know if I hear of anything. I think a lot of deals are done without ever advertising the apartment. It’s all about who you know,” Jackie said with a smile.
“And I take it you know a lot of people,” Lynn said smiling back at her.
Jackie just nodded. Regan stayed in front of the piano as she introduced the next song.
It was a relatively short set and Regan finished with her tenth song, her only other upbeat song. The night flew by which was always a good sign from the artist’s point of view. Jackie knew it didn’t hurt that Lynn was standing beside her for most of the night.
Jackie couldn’t put her finger on it. Natural. Maybe that’s it. It’s just easy and natural. But Jackie knew she couldn’t say anything or act on it.
Jackie never had this problem before. She and Emily never competed for women, mainly because Emily wasn’t out looking and Jackie always was.
It was bound to happen at some point though and Jackie knew she’d have to step aside and let things run their course or risk her friendship with Emily.
“I’m glad the receptionist told me about this gig,” Lynn said, taking Jackie away from her thoughts.
“Yeah. She was better than I’d thought she’d be,” Jackie said, finishing her beer. “How’s things with Emily?”
“Good. We’ve only been on one date. She suggested going to Central Park.”
“Anything planned for this weekend?” Jackie asked, trying not to be too intrusive.
“She’s really busy at work but she mentioned Pride. That’s the following weekend, right?”
“Yep. We always try and get to the parade no matter how busy either of us are.”
“So I’ll see you there then?” Lynn asked.
“That’s the plan,” Jackie said, silently wondering why she wanted to know.
“Good. I better get going. I have a viewing at nine tomorrow morning,” Lynn said.
“I hope it goes well.”
“Me too,” Lynn said, finishing her drink. “See you at the parade.”
Chapter 4
“Hey!” Jackie called out to Emily. They agreed to meet at their favorite coffee shop on the morning of the parade. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in a month!” she said, giving her friend a hug.
“It’s nearly been that long,” Emily said.
“Work is as busy as ever?”
“And no sign of it ending.”
“You better make the most of today,” Jackie said, putting a garland of rainbow flowers around her neck.
“I thought you might have forgot mine.”
“No way,” Jackie said with a laugh. “You look great.”
“Thanks.”
“So where’s Lynn?”
“She said she’d call me when she got here. She’s moving into her new apartment this weekend,” Emily said, checking her phone.
“That’s good. So how are things going?” Jackie asked.
“Good, I think. I’m really busy but we’ve had two dates so far and I think they went well.”
“Maybe it’s for the best that you’re so busy at work. Things won’t move too fast if you’re meeting once every week or two,” Jackie said.
“You think I’m going to dive head first into this and fall head over heels for someone I just met?”
“It could happen… It’s happened before.”
“True,” Emily said with a sigh. “But it’s definitely not happening again.”
It was a beautiful summer’s day in New York City and the sun was beating down on them. Jackie kept it simple with jean shorts and a plain white tank top. She wore the same Hawaiian flower necklace that she’d given to Emily.
“Coffee?”
“Yes,” Emily said opening the door of the small coffee shop. “I haven’t had my morning fix yet.”
“So where was your second date?”
Emily placed their order and turned to answer her. “She brought me to the movies.”
“Please tell me it wasn’t one of those horrible rom-coms you like.”
“No, it was a psychological thriller,” Emily said as she paid the barista for two iced coffees.
“Lynn has good taste then.”
“That’s not all,” Emily said with a wink, handing Jackie her coffee.
“Oh yeah?”
“She’s an amazing kisser.”
“Better than me?” Jackie joked as they left the shop.
“Why do you always have to bring that night up?”
“Because I know how much it bothers you,” Jackie said with a laugh. “You know that’s not-”
“I know. I know. That’s not how it generally goes when you kiss a girl. There must be something wrong with me. Blah, blah, blah.”
“Em! We just didn’t work. Even as a one-night stand. There’s nothing wrong with you! But yes. That’s not how it normally goes.”
“I’m glad that’s settled,” Emily said sarcastically. “Is anyone meeting you here?”
“Um... No. I thought I’d just wing it this year. I’m sure I’ll meet someone somewhere along the way,” Jackie said, putting her shades on.
“Of course you will,” Emily said, reaching for her phone. “Lynn just sent me a text. She wants to know where to meet me. What’s the plan?”
“You know I like to stay in The Village but the parade won’t get down there for a while yet. Do you want to follow it from around Madison Square Park?”
“Yeah. That’s fine with me,” Emily said as she started to reply to the text.
“Is she okay with the subway? Has she figured it o
ut yet?”
“Yes. Definitely. She said she’s been all over, every line, when she was looking for an apartment,” Emily said.
“Good. We can meet her at the 23rd Street station.”
“Okay, I’ll let her know.”
Jackie took a sip of her coffee and watched a group of young men walk past with huge rainbow flags and their faces painted. The city was always buzzing but Pride brought it to a whole other level.
“Let’s head over that way. She’ll be there in a few minutes,” Emily said, putting her phone back in her pocket.
Emily was a bit more dressed up than Jackie. She had jeans shorts on too but her purple silk top was much nicer. The scoop neckline was lined with jewels that glimmered in the sunlight.
They walked parallel to the parade route until they reached Madison Square Park.
“I can disappear if you want… give you guys some alone time,” Jackie suggested as they waited outside the 23rd Street station.
“Don’t be silly. If it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t be meeting her here right now. Anyway, knowing you, it won’t take you too long to find someone to keep you occupied for the day.”
“Okay, if you’re sure.”
“I’m sure,” Emily said, her eyes searching the crowd for Lynn.
Part of Jackie wanted to run, to go straight to The Village and not see Lynn at all but the other part of her kept her feet cemented to the ground. She hoped that she could be around the two of them without witnessing too many PDAs. That was the last thing she needed.
Jackie tried to tell herself that it was just a harmless crush, that she’d be able to see Emily and Lynn together. It might even put an end to whatever it is that she felt for Lynn.
“What’s up with you? You’re all fidgety,” Emily said, eyeing her up and down.
“Too much coffee.”
“There she is,” Emily said.
Jackie had already spotted her. Lynn’s long blond hair was in loose curls with her sunglasses on top of her head. She wore a pair of khaki shorts to her knees with a similar colored tank top.
This was the first time that Jackie had seen her wear anything so casual and she was amazed at how stunning she was.
“Hey! I hope I didn’t take you guys out of your way,” Lynn said as she put her sunglasses on. “I’m trying my best not to look like a tourist but I still don’t know where I’m going half the time.”
“You’ll get there soon enough,” Jackie said with a smile.
“Jackie, this is Lynn,” Emily said. “Lynn, I’d like you to meet my best friend, Jackie.”
They stood looking at each other for a moment, both realizing that neither of them had mentioned to Emily that they’d met not once, but twice in the last two weeks.
“Hi,” Jackie said, extending her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you too,” Lynn said, shaking her hand.
She took out her phone as Lynn leaned into Emily for a hug. She didn’t know if they were going to kiss or not but either way, Jackie didn’t want to see it.
She did actually have a text though, from Zoey, a college student she’d met about a month ago. Zoey thought that the only reason their one-night stand wasn’t something more was because she was going home to California for the summer.
Zoey had text to let her know that she was in New York for the parade and hoped to meet up with her.
Normally, Jackie would have said no. She knew Zoey’s type through and through. She wanted a relationship and a commitment, two things that Jackie had zero interest in but she replied and told her where she was.
Zoey replied quickly saying that she’d probably bump into her as they headed down 5th Avenue but if they didn’t they could arrange to meet at a bar later. She also told her to look out for her neon pink board shorts.
“Jackie, are you coming?” Emily asked.
“Yeah, sorry.” She put her phone in her pocket and followed them as they headed for 5th Avenue where the parade was going past.
The sidewalks on both sides of the street were packed with people waving rainbow flags and cheering at the floats going past.
The three of them stopped when a float with some of Emily’s favorite actors and actresses came to a halt and started throwing t shirts and baseball caps into the crowd.
“This is insane!” Lynn said, leaning into Jackie so she could hear her over the noise.
“Is this your first pride?”
“I’ve been to smaller ones before but this is my first one in a major city,” Lynn said, looking up at the float. A black baseball cap was heading straight for her head at speed and Jackie reached out to pluck it from the air with one hand.
“I don’t know how I didn’t see that coming!” Lynn said. “Thanks.”
Jackie turned to face her and placed the hat on her head. “No problem.”
“What do you think?”
“It suits you,” Jackie said with a smile.
“You got one too!” Emily said as she put hers on. “Perfect. Will we keep moving?”
“Yeah, sure,” Lynn answered as she adjusted her hat.
They were able to travel at the pace of the parade, stopping several times to see a dance routine or to see a singer perform.
“Jackie! Jackie!”
Jackie looked around her, not sure if the voice was meant for her. Then she spotted the bright pink board shorts.
Zoey came running up to her and threw her arms around her neck, giving her a kiss on the lips, her blond hair falling forward into Jackie’s face.
“Zoey, hey,” Jackie said, pulling away, still shocked by the intensity of her greeting.
“I didn’t know if you’d be around this weekend. I just flew in last night.”
Emily was looking on and decided to join in. “She never misses this weekend.”
Zoey glanced sideways at Emily wondering if this was someone she needed to be worried about.
“Zoey, this is my best friend, Emily,” Jackie said as she gently untangled herself from Zoey. “Emily, this is Zoey. Remember… We met about a month ago but Zoey was going back to California for the summer."
“Oh yeah… Zoey,” Emily said, pretending to remember exactly who she was when she knew that this poor girl was just a notch in Jackie’s bedpost. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too,” Zoey said, pushing a lock of blond hair behind her ear.
“So will we keep heading for The Village?” Jackie asked, wanting to steer everyone’s attention away from the two of them.
“Sure,” Emily said, reaching for Lynn’s hand.
Jackie noticed that Lynn had stayed in the background for that awkward little exchange. Maybe she sensed Jackie’s apprehension.
Maybe she was jealous? No. That would be too good to be true.
Zoey slipped her hand into Jackie’s, interlacing their fingers. Jackie did her best not to flinch. Clinginess drove her mad. This is going to be a long day.
They spent the afternoon in The Village and watched the last floats come in. By the time the parade was finished, the four of them were starving. They agreed on a Mexican restaurant that Emily and Jackie had been to before.
Jackie could feel Emily’s stare on her for most of the afternoon. She was probably wondering what it was about Zoey that made her so special and why she never heard anything about her before today. Emily had never met any of Jackie’s love interests unless they were both out in the same club.
They had to wait a few minutes for a table to free up. Emily went to the bar to get them four beers and Zoey went to the restroom, leaving Jackie and Lynn standing beside each other in the cramped entrance to the restaurant.
“I didn’t know you were seeing anyone,” Lynn said. “She seems nice.”
“It’s complicated…”
“So she’s the exception to the rule, huh?” Lynn asked with a small smile. “Emily gave me the impression that you didn’t do relationships, at all.”
“I don’t.”
<
br /> “I don’t think Zoey knows that.”
“Like I said, it’s complicated,” Jackie said.
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