Star Crossed No More (Sequel to Star Crossed Lovers) (girlxgirl)

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

 “It’s been a pleasure doing business with you,” David said.

Jesse shook his hand, pleased by the pleasant conclusion of their business. The lump sum cheque he handed her was going to make it possible for her plans for the firm to commence. “The pleasure is all mine,” she said.

Her personal assistant had booked a flight back to Rangers and she couldn’t say she was looking forward to going home because of how she’d left things off. She’d run off like a coward and though she wasn’t proud of herself, she could proudly say she’d needed to get away from it all.

David was a proud new owner of a beautiful block of apartments and Jesse’s firm had been contracted for their interior design services. She’d happily accepted the project, which had taken nine months to complete.

 If she hadn’t settled in Rangers and if her firm hadn’t gained so much success, she would have moved after the ugly manner in which everything had worked out. But the beautiful little town of Rangers was fast developing and business was great.

 Fred, her best friend and business partner, had been operating the firm while she’d been away and though she wasn’t excited about going back, she was happy to be going home to her lovely little house.

On her flight back home, she recalled the events that had taken place five months before she’d left town to go work on the recently concluded project. She hadn’t allowed herself to think about it since she’d fled town. Now, because there was no escaping, she forced herself to face it.

After Alex had found out about the affair, she’d been so hurt that it had destroyed Jesse to know she was capable of inflicting so much pain on someone she loved.

 She’d had a lot of time to think about her feelings and what she’d felt for both Billy and Alex and though she still believed she’d loved both women equally, she’d found herself conflicted by her feelings.

Guilt had literally haunted her on a daily basis for causing so much pain on the two people who had least deserved it. To make the matter worse, they had been best friends and she’d been on the edge of ending that lifelong relationship.

She’d resented herself so much afterwards and after ending it with both women, she’d hoped they would be able to repair their friendship. That was mostly why she’d ended it with them. If it had been up to her, she would have selfishly continued dating them both.

When it had come down to it, she’d realized she couldn’t make a choice between them. She’d had no right to do that after the chaos she’d created. Thinking about how it had all started and how easy it would have been to put an end to it made her feel incredibly stupid.

She was over both Billy and Alex. At least she made herself believe so. That was why she was a little more confident about going back home. It was the memories that resided there that she wasn’t ready to face.

 She imagined that both Billy and Alex had moved on now. Fourteen months was a long time to stay single, especially for such sexy and outgoing women.

 Alex had been so warm, sweet and beautiful. It must have been easy for her to meet someone. Billy on the other hand, had been sexy as hell and passionate. Jesse envied the women who were at the receiving end of all of that. She couldn’t believe she’d had that combination all to herself.

Funny enough, much as she was regretful for the hurt and pain she’d caused, she did not regret knowing the women in the intimate manner she’d gotten to. It had been very easy for her to be sucked into heir world and even easier to fall for them.

She hoped their paths would never cross again. In the period of time she’d spent in their world, she’d come to know where they liked to hang out and the places they liked to visit. Jesse thought that if she could avoid all these places, she’d pick up from where she’d left off and easily move on.

 *

After picking up her luggage, Jesse headed for the airport exit. She’d had a pleasant flight and she couldn’t wait to get home, take a shower and get into bed for some well needed rest. She got outside and searched the area for a cab, when she was about to hail for one, she heard someone call after her.

“Jesse, is that you?”

 She turned around and froze when she saw Alex. She had known she’d be unsuccessful at avoiding Alex and Billy, but she had not guessed she’d see either one so soon.

 “Alex,” she said nervously.

 Alex hadn’t changed a bit. Her eyes were as warm and inviting as they had been the last time Jesse had seen her. She surprised Jesse when she closed the distance between them and encircled her in her arms. Jesse was still shocked so she barely had time to respond before Alex released her and took a step back.

She had that same lovely smile Jesse remembered and it seemed to embrace her the longer she stared. She forced her lips to curve up in a smile and quietly and awkwardly stood there, wishing she could have taken a later flight.

“Wow, it’s so good to see you. How have you been? It’s been so long,” Alex said.

 Jesse could feel tension traveling through her own muscles. She hated feeling as though she’d been ambushed and she wasn’t quite ready to see Alex because she hadn’t been prepared.

 “I’ve been good. Just a little busy. What are you doing here?” she asked, wondering if she’d have to avoid coming to the airport as well.

 “Dropping of someone, you need a ride home?”

 Under normal circumstances, Jesse would have said yes and since she was exhausted, there was nothing she would have loved more than to head home but the last person she needed a ride from was Alex.

She didn’t understand how Alex could be so nice and conventional when things between them had ended at such an awkwardly unpleasant note. “I’m sorry, but I can’t,” she said.

 That same look of sadness that Jesse had seen in Alex when they had initially met came across her face and she was about to take back her statement and give in when she remembered that this was how everything had began back then. These were the kind of circumstances she needed to learn to avoid.

 “Alright, well, it was good seeing you,” Alex said.

“Yeah, it was good seeing you too,” Jesse said.

She took her luggage and hailed for a cab and in a few minutes, she was headed home. She couldn’t believe she’d run into Alex on her first day home. Maybe she would run into the rest the following day. Maybe she’d run into Billy.

The thought sent a chill through her. She definitely wasn’t prepared for that. She’d fled town to avoid such situations and had come back thinking she was ready to resume with her life, but seeing Alex again made her wonder if this had been the right decision.

She didn’t know if she had gotten over the two women. She’d ended up hurting herself almost as much as she’d hurt them but she’d felt deserving of that pain and had embraced it as part of her life. She hadn’t known whether she’d successfully overcome it, but seeing Alex had not prepared her for the confusing emotions she would feel.

She didn’t know if she was pleased or disappointed. No doubt Alex was still as lovely as the first day they had met. She was still as sweet and warm and she still had that ‘take-charge’ veneer about herself, which was partly what had attracted Jesse to her, but mostly, she realized when she’d seen Alex, the one thing that had stood out had been unease.

She didn’t know if she was still attracted to Alex, but whatever was left, she hoped to fully extinguish it. Maybe seeing her again had been a good thing because it had been a test to her heart. She wasn’t sure if she’d passed, but she didn’t think she’d failed either.

When she got in bed, she let go of her woes and sleep quickly consumed her.

**