Always Second Place

Chapter One

Jazmine sewed the two fabrics together having this certain image in her head. Her fall collection was coming together nicely, the soft pastel yellow cardigan her mannequin was sporting looked spectacular. She was very excited that mum jeans were making a comeback, this meant she could incorporate them into her fashion line this year. As she was tailoring the jeans this sudden wave of anxiety hit her, and she couldn't shake the feeling she'd forgotten something important.. But then again what could possibly be more important than meeting her deadline?

Unfortunately, her flow of creativity inspired by the sound of Lady Gaga was interrupted when the default ringtone of her iphone filled the London studio. Without hesitation she went on a hunt for her phone which could've been anywhere under piles of sketches and fabric. Luckily, it was just neatly placed on her desk next to a million empty tea mugs her assistant had yet to clear up. Jazmine pressed the answer key without even so much as glancing at the caller ID. This was a bad habit she'd picked up over the years since she was constantly receiving business calls.

"Hello this is Jazmine Taylor." There was a long tense pause that began feeling awkward before the person on the other end spoke. "Yeah, I think I know who my own girlfriend is Jaz." The sarcasm and tone were all too familiar and Jazmine could recognize it anywhere anyday. "Oh hey babe!" The person on the other end of the phone was Jaz's long term girlfriend Robin; they'd been together for two years now three in October. "Don't you dare hey babe me like it's no big deal! Do you even know what tonight is?" Jazmine thought for a moment but nothing immediately came to mind. "I- I'm sorry?" it was like you could just feel Robin roll her eyes at her partner. "Yeah I figured whenever you didn't check into the hotel... It's my record release party." Jazmine's eyes nearly popped out of her head as she checked her calendar at the wall staring right at the reminder. "Oh my god Robby I'm so sorry I was-" the line went dead and Jaz just stared at her phone. How could she have possibly forgotten something important like this? Louis, her assistant didn't even remind her of the flight to America!

She checked her watch, noticing the plane was scheduled to leave in one hour, and this caused her to hurry out of her studio calling out to her assistant to lock up. She stood on the curb catching a cab back to her apartment so she could pack a quick bag. Stumbling up the steps she rummaged through her Louis Vuitton bag desperately searching for the keys to her home. Once her fingers are wrapped around them she opens the door practically leaving it wide open and scurries further into the apartment to pack a quick bag. After gathering a small amount of necessities she slams the door behind her running down the marble stairs of the complex calling for another cab.

The driver is given his location and told to "hurry" by Jazmine as she begins to chew on her nails. She was still so angry that she'd forgotten her significant others album release party, Robin had been reminding her for weeks on end about this day. The current time was 10:45 pm and the flight took off in less than 30 minutes. The anxiety was unreal at this point, and to calm her down Jaz began trying to remember how she met her partner.

It was a rainy night and Jazmine was making Peppermint tea humming to "Gravity of Love" by Enigma. This was a ritual she practiced every night a few days before a show. This was her way of relieving stress that was caused by the pressure of being perfect. To her having tea on the balcony overlooking all of London was an absolute dream come true. On most days she still couldn't grasp the fact this was her life now. Her siblings no longer had to fear going to bed, and mum didn't have to work four different jobs just for food Jazmine could pay for it all. The was the most rewarding part of her job, and owning her own company at twenty-one. Normally, she would put her phone on silent so she could focus on sketching, but tonight it slipped her mind. In the middle of a long sip her phone pinged and she couldn't resist taking a peek. Someone had tagged her in an instagram post, and while of course this happened often she still logged in to take a quick look.

That was the day she fell in love, as she was met with the blue eyes of the American singer "Robin Joy." who just so happened to be wearing Jazmine's 2018 summer collection. It stunned her to see someone so gorgeous enjoying her clothing. The red crop top framed her body perfectly, and popped against her pale complexion. Her black hair fell flawlessly bringing out her jade coloured eyes making Jazmine's heart melt. That was the day she made an executive decision and sent her a direct message, and while she'd always been unclear about her sexuality in this moment it was crystal clear what she wanted.