| February 7 | Wednesday Afternoon |
~ Sam's POV ~
I waited impatiently in my car for Blair to emerge from her apartment wishing she would hurry. I was starving.
She appeared at the top of her stairs and ran to my car in an attempt to escape the cold. After lunch I would drop her off on campus since she had a class in a few hours. I had to admit, watching my girlfriend and best friend struggle through each semester was tiring even for me. I could only imagine how it was for them.
"S-Sh-Shit..." Blair stuttered. "I c-can't wait for summer."
I laughed to myself. "You're one of those people."
"W-What do you mean?" She started to mess with the heat dial. "Jesus, put this higher."
I backed out. "You bitch about the heat in the summer, and then bitch about the cold in the winter. You just like to bitch, don't you?"
"I thought you knew this already?"
"Right."
I made it to the diner we were eating at and pulled into a space, allowing us to exit and battle the cold once again. Obviously the cold bothered me. A lot. But Blair was a completely different story. It was almost hysterical.
She bolted for the door, leaving me in the parking lot for a second. I couldn't help but laugh to myself as I let myself into the restaurant.
We sat in a booth and I picked up a menu.
"Has Megan run into Nikki again since...?" Blair wondered.
"No," I answered. "Or, I don't think so. I mean, it's bound to happen again. She's literally teaching at the same college you two are attending."
Blair just pursed her lips in response.
Everyone knew how upset I was about the Nikki situation. It was annoying, and I didn't even understand why. Megan loved me, I knew that. We were great, and she didn't want to have anything to do with Nikki anymore, but there was that small thread of worry I was hanging onto. But over it all, I trusted Megan with my life, and I knew she wouldn't do anything to hurt me.
But even knowing all of that didn't stop the anxiety.
"Enough about the whole Nikki thing," I ended. "What about you and Tony?"
Blair's face lit up at the mentioning, but I could tell she still wanted to pester me about how I felt. I didn't want to talk about it because I didn't understand what I felt. The threat of Nikki living here annoyed me to no end, but my anxiety was stemming from something else. Something much darker than plain annoyance of her presence.
"He's just... perfect," Blair admired. "I really don't know how I got so lucky."
"You didn't get lucky," I included. "You're just so goddamn picky and headstrong that Tony is the only one who qualified."
"I can't tell if that was a compliment or not."
"Me neither."
Blair studied me, and probably realized I had spaced for most of her boasting about her boyfriend. She tilted her head and leaned forward.
"Samantha," she said. "You and Megan will be fine. You two were practically made for each other. Nikki is a wad of gum compared to you in Megan's eyes. Trust me."
"A wad of gum?"
"You know what I mean."
I laughed and decided I needed this talk with my best friend. Blair always knew the right things to say. What in the hell would I do without her?
"Thanks Blair," I answered.
"Welcome." She gave me a mischievous grin. "Now gimme some fries."
* * *
I parked in the Jinx employee parking lot and spotted a figure outside smoking on a cigarette. After realizing it was Mariah, I exited my car and made my way over to her. When I approached, I decided to break the silence.
"I didn't know you smoked," I claimed.
"You also don't know a whole lot about me, either."
I was taken back by her comment, and she sensed it, forcing herself to look at me.
"I'm sorry." She shook her head. "It's just been a shit day."
I sighed. "Yeah."
She studied me. "You don't look so hot yourself."
"Thanks."
She offered her cigarette to me. "Want a drag?"
I hadn't smoked in a while. Usually I bought a pack when things were rough and smoked a cig maybe once every few weeks. Nothing regular, and usually when I was really stressed. Which I was right now.
I took it from her and brought it to my lips, inhaling and allowing it to heat my lungs. Then I blew the white smoke into the cold winter evening, pretending I was releasing my newfound anxiety with it.
"I haven't smoked in a while," I admitted while handing Mariah back her smoke.
"Shit," she said. "I didn't know..."
"It's fine." I stared at my car in the parking lot. "You're not the only one that's been having shit days."
Mariah didn't say anything, just took the last drag of her cigarette before tossing it to the ground to stomp it out.
"Yeah, well..." She sighed. "Let's stop being a bunch of bitches and get inside. It's cold as tits out here."
We headed inside and began stocking up for tonight. I wasn't expecting it to be busy at all, and Mariah would be covering the floor alone, with the help of me. This was a new thing we were trying out, but I was sure Quinton and Sara were appreciating the time off since they had busted their tails since we opened.
The evening proceeded slowly like I anticipated, not many customers walking in or needing a whole lot of attention. Mariah was fine on her own, but I needed to be here for the sake of it, but come eight-thirty, things started picking up for some reason.
"Shit, is there something going on around campus?" I asked.
"No idea," Mariah said as she poured drinks. "Do you think we'll need backup?"
I sighed. "I can call Jas, but if she's busy I won't call Sara and Quinton. We'll just have to get out of this on our own."
"Yeah, call Jas."
I ran to the storage and gave her a call, hoping she picked up.
"Sam?" she answered.
"Hey, I know it's your night off, but Mariah and I are struggling," I informed. "Could you come help for a little bit?"
"Um, yeah. I'm in town so I'll be there in a few."
"Thank you so much."
I ran back out on the floor and helped Mariah, but we were slammed. I could only hope Jas showed up soon. Where had all these people come from?
Jas showed up and clocked in within ten minutes, looking a bit down but with a small smile plastered on her face anyway.
"Thanks for calling," Jas said to me. "You kind of saved me from a horrible date."
I laughed to myself. "Oh yeah? That bad?"
She began taking orders at the bar while Mariah and I covered the floor. Having the third person helped a lot, and after about twenty minutes everything had died down once everyone got their drinks.
I leaned on the bar. "That was wild."
"Right? It never gets that busy on a Wednesday," Jas said.
Mariah wiped the bar down and I watched Jas watch her. I could tell Jas was slightly interested, to say the least, but work relationships were sticky. Not that I would personally know, but I could imagine. But who was I to tell her what to do?
"So, why was this date so bad?" I joked aloud. "They weren't cute enough? Blonde enough?"
Jas rolled her eyes with a smile. "No. They were just... too much? If that makes sense?"
"Makes total sense," Mariah included. "I've been involved with people like that. Too needy, too clingy, too possessive... it's annoying. It's why I don't date much anymore."
I watched Jas digest the information.
As much as I wanted Jas to get what she wanted, I didn't think it was with Mariah. For some reason, Mariah reminded me so much of my past self. The reckless, selfish, and bitchy kind of person that just didn't want to be tied down. But Jas wore her heart on her sleeve, and she was very emotional. I just didn't want to see things go sour between the two if anything did happen.
The night continued and eventually we were a ghost town by ten-thirty. Sometimes when we were lucky, we closed early and went home, and it looked as if this could be one of those nights.
"I know this is totally random, and probably unprofessional, but would you two wanna close early and stay for a few drinks?" Jas pitched. "We could keep a tab and pay it off later."
"I'm down." Mariah leaned on the bar. "Honestly, after the day I had and this shift, I'm ready for a drink."
I didn't want to be the odd man out. And to be real, this whole thing with Nikki was wearing me thin, and venting about it with Jas and Mariah could at least alleviate some of the stress.
"Sure," I agreed. "Mariah, go lock the door."
* * *
"So... that's why my mom is a psycho bitch," Mariah said. "And now I'm couch surfing again."
"I'm sure you can find a decently priced apartment," I claimed. "Megan and I aren't doing too bad where we are."
"You have two incomes."
I shook my head. "Megan's income really isn't anything but spending money."
"So... in other words, you wear the pants?"
I rolled my eyes. "I can't believe you just said that."
Mariah laughed. "I know, I'm just kidding."
"If you need a new couch to crash on..." Jas started. "You could sleep on mine for a while. My roommate wouldn't mind."
I watched Mariah study Jas to judge whether or not she meant that, but I couldn't read her. Like me, she was pretty stone-faced. I took another swig of my beer.
Mariah faced me. "So, what about you? Why have you been having a shit week?"
The newly found attention gave me a little anxiety, but the drinks had helped loosen me up. And I felt safe telling Jas and Mariah what was going on, right? I mean, we were coworkers. Even Mariah had just revealed some heavy stuff as well.
"Megan's ex is living in Columbia after living in California for a few years," I revealed. "And she's working at Mizzou where Megan goes to school."
"Do they have like, unfinished business or...?" Jas wondered.
I palmed my drink. "Not exactly."
"Then what's it to you?" Mariah asked. "From what you've told me, you and Megan are pretty serious."
I sighed, trying to figure out how I wanted to navigate this situation. Being honest about certain things was still tough, especially when it came to Megan and I's relationship.
"Nikki is just a shitty person," I said. "Super egotistical and shallow."
Mariah shrugged. "That's still not telling me anything."
"Nikki and I kind of hate each other." I sipped my drink. "When I first met her, I kind of acted like a co-owner of the original Jinx and kicked her out."
"You acted like the owner?"
"She was being a complete shithead to Megan and said some ugly things when she went to the bathroom," I said. "And now that she's living here, it's likely she'll end up coming here and realizing I'm in fact not an owner, but a manager."
"Wait..." Mariah laughed. "You kicked her out? Knowing damn well you weren't an owner? That's insane!"
I nodded. "Yeah, I was a trip when I was in high school."
The words left my mouth before I could catch them, and the look on Jas's face let me know she hadn't missed it. Luckily, she didn't say anything in front of Mariah.
We finished our drinks and agreed to leave. All I could think about was that Jas was probably trying to figure out why I had been with Megan and her ex in the same place while I was still in high school. And why I interfered in the first place if Megan and I weren't romantically involved.
Luckily, Jas left before Mariah and I, so I didn't have to explain anything. Mariah and I were walking in the parking lot together when she broke the silence.
"I wanna hear more stories about your wild days," Mariah admitted. "Maybe we can compare our crazy sides."
I laughed. "Maybe so. My high school days aren't something I'd like to relive though."
"That bad?"
I shrugged. "Some good, mostly bad."
"I feel you." Mariah jingled her keys. "Hey, uh, you think Jas is cool?"
I looked up. "In what ways?"
"Like, I'm interested but I can't judge if she'd be cool with my... lifestyle."
I leaned on my car. "Jas is emotional, and I'm pretty sure she likes commitment, but I can't speak for her."
Mariah just nodded as she took what I said into consideration, but if I knew Mariah at all, I knew she was going to do whatever she wanted regardless.
"Want a cigarette for the ride home?" she offered.
I contemplated. I knew I shouldn't, but one wouldn't hurt, would it?
I nodded to accept. "Thanks."
"No problem."
Then I climbed into my car and started it up as I stared at the unlit cigarette. I could just throw it out once I hit the road, and Mariah would never know.
But instead I fished for my hidden lighter and inhaled.
***A/N***
Looks like Sam's picking up on her bad habits again, Nikki's in town for good, and Mariah seems to be Sam reincarnate... What do you guys think about this?
Also, don't forget to hit that little star if you love me! ;)
Much love,
Lauryn