Absolution and Fragility

XV

If I wanted to, I'd destroy everything, but I've chosen to be good. Don't make me change my mind.

The bottle green dress Jocelyn wore paled Lexi in comparison. She didn't feel as beautiful or sensual as she had before her friend had finished getting ready. It was a little insane to her, but now she was walking almost behind her through the halls to the main entrance she hadn't seen in so long. With every step, her confidence seemed to crumble.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Suddenly the nude pumps she had been staring at came to a halt in the middle of the long hallway. Startled, Lexi stopped too. Jocelyn turned around – her perpetual smile gone – with her eyebrows drawn together and placed her manicured fingers on her shoulders.

"I haven't been in this home in over a year, Lex, and I'm extremely nervous about it," she whispered.

Lexi did a full double take. The bold woman in front of her had hardly looked anxious at any moment until now. The new information made her want to crawl in bed and forget this was ever going to happen.

"Why?" she whispered back.

Voices from the entrance were tunneling through and covering up their conversation. They were being drowned out. It was almost hard to hear each other, but they both seemed innately thankful. However, Lexi was tense. The muscles surrounding her spine were seized up and pulling her in different ways until she was more uncomfortable than she has ever been.

"There's someone on Theo's staff here..." the idea had been left open for Lexi's own imagination.

"There are a lot of people on his staff," she replied after a beat.

With a frustrated sigh, Jocelyn finished, "Someone who is not the someone I want it to be that I have feelings for that turns out isn't a woman."

Lexi's head spun. This was now another thing effectively added to her plate, but it made the relationship between the two seem more real – stronger even. But, this was the last thing she needed, truly. Out of all the things Jocelyn could have just told her, she wished it hadn't been this.

"Well, you're probably bisexual." Brilliant, she thought stupidly. A cloud of shame rolled over her head. "And, it isn't uncommon. It's probably just weird water for you."

Jocelyn frowned, "You're totally uncomfortable talking about this."

"This was the last thing I was expecting for you to say."

"Tomorrow, then."

"Dear gods, please."

Jocelyn shook her head with a small smile before stepping back and dropping her arms. With a nod, she turned and they were back on course for the entrance that was lit up. The other hall had three or so people spilling out of it too which made her feel better about the amount of time it took them both. They weren't late, but they certainly weren't early. People were walking in and out of the main doors in clubbing wear. Her eyes were taking it all in and searching.

They stopped on the curvaceous blonde wrapped in pale gold attached to a man in an everyday blue pant with a short sleeve white button up that led to his goatee. They were a nice vision side by side chatting with the man in all-black as he normally stood. His dark hair was fully slicked back in a way that made her fingers twitch.

"Staring won't get you very far."

Lexi looked away at Jocelyn who had a sly grin on her face like the cat that got all of the cream. She rolled her eyes.