Girl of Mine

Chapter 14 - Girls and boys

Patty's full lips smiled shyly with what clearly was a crush portrayed on her face. Her round cheeks looked cuter than usual as her smile made them pop. Just the mention of Jenna's name was enough to make her all caught up in her girlfriend of four months.

«Jenna is out of town to see her brother.» She said, containing her excitement the best she could as a colleague walked by our desk. We didn't know what would happen if someone figured out Patty had a girl, not a boyfriend.

«Have a nice day, Gerald,» I said with a polite smile as he lifted his grey fedora to reveal a full head of speckled gray hair. Mainly, grown men dominated Next—except for a couple of young bachelors. We were part of a confined group of women, but even so, Next was one of the places wanting equality. It didn't matter what skin color you had; you would never see the restrictive signs denying access or inhumanely splitting people into groups. There were no separate doors, restrooms, or areas of any sort—as you could see in several streets of Madison.

As Gerald disappeared and the doors shut with the ring of a bell, my full attention was back on Patty—grinning.

«When is she coming back?» My question flew out, desperately wanting to hear more about Patty's exciting love life.

Patty gave me the smile of the year, with a merry disposition lighting up her dazzling features.

«Next week. We're... We're actually gonna go on a weekend trip together. I think... I think she might tell me she loves me. Last time we saw each other... I could almost feel she was about to tell me. Then my parents walked in on us, calling for dinner.» She shrugged—with so much thrill in her voice, until the annoying part with her parents. I could not understand how Patty could endure the heavy weight of having to keep Jenna a secret. It was just love, true love at that.

«I'm so happy for you, Patts,» I admitted, giggling together with my best friend.

«Thank you, Sal. I don't know what I'd do if I could not talk to anyone about this. I am just bursting with the want of screaming her name for everyone to hear.» She laughed as quietly as she could with such excitement.

I smiled, leaning over to my friend to hug her tightly.

«You always got me, bestie,» Her soft, fluffy sleek pulled-back afro tickled my forehead as I smiled in our embrace with closed eyes.

In a strained voice due to our tight embrace, Patty asked me the question she had been wondering about several times. «Has he called?»

A sigh left me as I pulled back from her. Shaking my head, I returned to my awaiting stack of blank forms—waiting for my tired wrist and ink.

«It's been a while, but just you wait. He'll call you. I know he will, after everything you told me.» She said positively, gazing at me like I needed an uplifting speech.

I smiled humorously and gave her the side-eye. «You know we're just friends, right? There's nothing to wait for. I really do not care if he calls me tomorrow or in two months.» I nonchalantly expressed—and I actually did mean it. My time with Elvis had been some of my best days this summer. But so were my days with Regina, Rachel, and Patty. We were all just friends, and sometimes friends were busy—especially if the friend happened to be superstar Elvis Presley.

«You don't mean that do you?» Patty said jokingly, even though I knew she was sincerely questioning me. None of my friends nor even my mom believed there to be no romantic feelings there.

Getting up, I annoyingly gazed back at Patty.

«I do. He has a girlfriend, and he loves her, Patty. And even if he didn't, I do not look at him that way. I have Wendell to worry about.» I said, clenching my hands as I remembered the past year.

«Wendell? Oh, forget about him. You can not seriously still be hung up on him? All summer, I heard he got into some trouble with a couple of guys in Danny's gang. He apparently dated two of their sisters. With the proposal scandal spreading... they weren't happy, I'll tell you that.» Patty said, chuckling. Danny's gang were these very obvious bad boys usually hanging out in the school parking lot with their cool polished cars—smoking. They beat up so-called nerds and others that, aggravated them. Patty wanted me just to be over and done with my previous love. It wasn't that easy, though. I got hurt, and I needed time. I never wanted to get that blinded by someone again.

«Patty, I'm not saying I'm over boys forever, but Elvis is not gonna be the one to change my mind. He's... not very trustworthy when it comes to girls, and I do not want to end up with Wendell 2.0. I want him to be happy with June.» I declared, determined to end this conversation at this exact moment.

Depicting that she was at a loss for words, Patty nodded with a thoughtful smile and got up after me.

«Lunch?» She suggested innocently.

«Lunch,» I answered, greatly appreciating the conversation being over.

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Author's note:
This was our first time meeting my girl Patty 💕 Patty is at some point getting her own book to tell her own side of the story. It will be separate from Girl Of Mine but follow the same timeframe.

If you have any thoughts you want to share on the chapter, please do :)

(Chapter 14/64)
Slightly edited with Grammarly.
Posting weekly (Tuesday and Friday)

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