TWO CHAPTERS IN TWO DAYS?
CHRISTMAS BREAK YA'LL.
So much free time! No lesson plans! So much time for writing!
Also, can't for the life of me think of a name for The coffee shop Jean works at. Please help me. Comment your suggestions. Thanks fam
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By the time Jean went in for her next shift at Carmella's that Tuesday night, she realized she was more anxious to go to the movies the next day with Shawn and his friends than she was to go to work at her new job. She was getting used to it; and she didn't know if that was good or bad.
The more Jean went back, the more used she got used to the dancers. Like Brooke said, they were never fully nude, and she found herself stopping and staring at the stage to watch the girls effortlessly whipping themselves around on the pole. They made it look so easy.
In her first week, she saw her first guy get thrown out for being too handsy with one of the waitresses. However, she saw another waitress sitting on a guy's lap. Apparently it was okay because she was doing it? There were so many rules she needed to learn.
It was in middle of her fourth shift when a man walked up behind Jean and swatted her backside.
"Get me a beer," he said, and then turned back to his buddies to talk.
Jean felt the heat rise in her face. This was the first time someone had been purposely disrespectful to her. The anger fueled her courage to speak.
"Touch me like that again, and I will not serve you," she said, loud enough for him to hear over the music and turn around to face her.
"Why are you—"
"Is there a problem here?" Jean stepped back to see the security guy that Brooke had pointed out as Donovan cut in.
"She said she won't serve me," the guy said.
Jean clenched her teeth. Donavan spoke before she could.
"I saw what you did. Knock it off or you're outta here."
The guys were evidently too prideful to stay because they said a bunch of expletives and stormed out of the bar.
"Nice job standing up to them," Donovan said. "Most new girls freeze up in those situations and pretend it didn't happen."
Jean smiled. "It wasn't so much as what he did as his rude attitude."
"Yeah, get used to that. I'm Donovan by the way."
Donovan. Jean had remembered what Brooke said about him being creepy. So far he seemed nice, and she was grateful he helped her out with the rude guy. She pushed the thought out of her head.
"Jean," she replied, shaking his hand.
Donovan returned to the area he was patrolling and Jean would catch him looking in her direction. She quickly averted her eyes. Maybe that's what Brooke meant by him being creepy.
Luckily for Jean, nothing else happened the rest of the shift. It was extremely slow and Brooke ended up sending her home early. She was grateful, she was exhausted and she couldn't stop thinking about the fact that she was going to see Shawn tomorrow.
****
They told her they would pick her up. She had been ready for over an hour now. She paced back and forth. Why did she feel so anxious? They were just going to see a movie. She wouldn't even be required to talk that much.
Shawn called her when he got in the parking lot. She felt her heart pounding when she ran down the stairs. She saw the same black Fusion he had drove her home in when she got out there. It looked like Zeiler, Tyler, and Scottie were all in the backseat.
"Congrats," Scottie said, rolling down the window. "You get shotgun without even having to put up a fight."
Shawn got out of the car when Jean walked up. He smiled at her as she stopped in front of him.
"How are you feeling?" Shawn asked.
"Anxious," Jean said honestly.
"I know," he said, smiling as he reached behind him to open the car door. "But I'm glad you came."
The entire ride to the movie theater Zeiler and Scottie asked Jean questions about her life. Nobody mentioned the video. Nobody mentioned the fact that they had seen her passed out. Scottie provided comic relief and helped ease her nerves. Like Shawn, they were easy to talk to, and she felt like they were being genuine. She couldn't read their minds, but she didn't feel judged by them.
"So where do you work?" Scottie asked Jean.
She bit her lip. No matter who asked this question, she hated it. It wasn't even just the fact that she now technically worked in the sex industry. She still worked at the coffee shop, but even admitting that was embarrassing. These people had real jobs. Careers. She was working for just over minimum wage and she had been there since graduating high school.
She told them about the coffee place.
"I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do," Jean said, trying to defend herself.
"I love that place!" Scottie said, leaning forward in his seat. "Can you hook me up with free coffee?"
"So bold," Tyler said, shaking his head. He looked at Jean and smiled. "Just tell him no."
Zeiler narrowed her eyes. "You know what, I thought you looked familiar. I probably have talked to you countless times!"
Jean felt the tension start to ease. They soon pulled into the theater parking lot and she followed them through the lobby. Sure enough, Scottie got them all in for free. Apparently he hadn't worked there in a few years, but lots of the same people were there as he went around and made conversation with various people.
Jean ended up sitting directly in the middle, between Scottie and Shawn and Zeiler and Tyler on the other side. Zeiler whispered to Jean as they waited for the movie to start.
The movie was entertaining enough, but not more entertaining than the commentary made by everyone periodically throughout. Jean found herself unable to hold back her laughs at one point and Shawn looked at her in amusement.
"Ma'am," he whispered. "If you don't control yourself, we're gonna have to ask you to leave."
"You guys need to stop with the jokes," Jean said, nearly out of breath from laughing. "It's too much."
The movie ended and Scottie leaned down for the end to look at everyone. He rose his eyebrows as if he was waiting for a response.
"No Scottie, not today," Zeiler said. "I don't want to risk getting Jean in trouble."
"We only get in trouble if we get caught," Scottie said back.
Zeiler took a deep breath. Jean was confused. What were they planning on doing?
Shawn looked to Jean and smiled. "I say yes."
"Shawn!" Zeiler said. "You're supposed to be the reasonable one!"
"Sorry babe, you're outnumbered," Tyler said, kissing Zeiler on the cheek. "Jean will love it."
"Can anyone explain to me what's happening?" Jean asked.
"Nope," Shawn said, jumping up from his seat and extending his hand down to help Jean up. "It will ruin the surprise. Just trust us."
Jean took Shawn's hand and she felt the butterflies in her stomach. Scottie started going up the stairs instead of down, and Jean realized there was a door at the top of the stairs.
Surprisingly, Jean was no longer anxious. She had enough trust in Shawn to know that he wouldn't put her in harm's way.
They came out in a hallway above the theater. There was a couple other guests hanging around; it appeared as if the two biggest theaters had an exit at the top as well, and there was an elevator to get back to the lobby. Scottie stopped and waited against the wall until the strangers got into the elevator. Then he quickly opened the closet door with a code.
"Those idiots," he said. "Two years later and they haven't changed the code."
He grabbed a lanyard and walked over to another door. He put the key into a lock.
"Oh my gosh," Jean whispered. What was happening?
Scottie held the door opened and waved everyone inside. Jean followed Shawn, who looked back over his shoulder to check on her.
"You good?" he whispered with a smile, reaching back his arm to guide her in front of him.
"I think so," she said breathlessly, looking around the dark room. "Is this the booth?"
"Yeah," Scottie said. "The creepiest place on earth, so we're not staying here. Follow me."
Jean looked around at the big machines that were projecting through little glass windows. She followed Scottie across the room and then up a staircase that led to another door.
He pushed open the door and the coolness of night instantly greeted her. It was weird, the sun was still up when they walked in the building. She realized that they were now on the roof of the mall. Turning around, you could see lights from all of the buildings. The cars down below glowed and the street lights changed.
"Wow," Jean said, looking out into the night. "This is amazing."
Scottie smiles. "We used to sneak up here all the time. On the Fourth of July we would come and watch the fireworks. Best view right here."
Jean walked over to the edge and put her hands on the railing. The wind swept her hair behind her and she breathed in the coolness of night. She couldn't remember the last time she had done anything like this. Her life had become consumed by work.
"What do you think?" Shawn said, walking up beside Jean and turning his back against the railing. She smiled.
"I'm really glad I came," she said. "Thanks for having me."
Shawn turned and looked out with Jean and took a deep breath. "Can I tell you something, Jean?"
He looked somewhat uncomfortable as he looked over the rail at his clasped hands.
"Of course," she said, a bit apprehensive.
He laughed a little bit and then looked at her. "I wasn't going to tell you this, because it sounds creepy, but before I met you at the coffee shop, I saw you somewhere else."
Jean's eyebrows narrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Shawn ran a nervous hand through his hair. "It was such a weird night; I had actually just got done breaking up with my girlfriend. She lived at Crosscreek apartments."
Jean felt a jolt of shock run through her. That was Anthony's apartment building.
"I was pulling out of the parking lot," Shawn continued. "And then you came barreling out in front of my car. You were really upset."
Oh no. Jean thought. The last days with Anthony were all dramatic. She racked her brain to try to remember which day he was talking about.
"I felt so creepy, but I saw you crying in your car. I thought you looked familiar, but it wasn't until I saw you later at the coffee shop that I put together who you were."
"Was this before Thanksgiving?" Jean asked. It must have been the fight she had with Anthony about wanting to wait.
"Yes."
Jean shook her head. "My boyfriend lived there. We had a fight that night. We broke up a couple weeks later."
Shawn laughed and shook his head. "Well that's coincidental. Who was your boyfriend? Maybe I know him."
"Anthony Prescott."
"Doesn't ring a bell."
Jean smirked. Somehow with Shawn and his friends here, it didn't hurt so much to think about.
"It didn't end well," Jean said. "That night was just the beginning of our demise."
"Can I ask what happened?" Shawn said.
Jean thought about it for a second. Maybe it would help to talk about it.
"I went to visit him after work one day and he had another girl over. Things ended that day. They were engaged six months later."
Shawn's jaw dropped in shock. "You're lying."
Jean smiled softly. "I wish I was. He never reached out to me again."
"Well," Shawn said. "His loss. You're better off without him."
Jean felt something inside of her break, and she looked down at her hands. She knew in her mind that was true, but after all the events that had unfolded since the breakup, she often found herself struggling with that truth. She wouldn't have been drinking that night had she still been with Anthony. She wouldn't have lost her hours, and she wouldn't be working at Carmella's. Was she really better off without him?
"Thanks," was all she said in response. She felt her throat closing up and she knew she needed to keep talking so she wouldn't get emotional. She thought quick.
"Ametta and some other girl actually came to the coffee shop the other day. I believe on purpose because I was there. Just to torture me."
Shawn snapped his head towards Jean and leaned back. "Did you just say Ametta?"
"Yeah, the girl who Anthony left me for."
"Ametta Rollins?"
Jean straightened. "You know her?"
"It was my ex's roommate."
Jean felt her heart quicken, her brain putting the pieces together. "What?"
Shawn looked amazed. "I'm not kidding. My ex's name was Megan."
Megan. Was that the name of the girl who was with Ametta that day?
"Megan?" Jean asked. "Did she have dark straight hair? Brown eyes?"
"That's her."
Jean turned around. "Shawn, I think your ex was the girl with Ametta who was rude to me at my work."
Shawn blinked. "She was rude?"
"They brought up Anthony, and it was obviously planned. They're not very good actresses," Jean said. "I couldn't understand why someone who took my boyfriend from me, who didn't know me at all, would continue to torture me with it."
"Was this after the video?" Shawn asked.
Jean's head was spinning. If that girl was Shawn's ex, and she'd seen this video, that might explain why she had come to the coffee shop.
"Yes, after the video," she whispered, still trying to figure everything out in her mind.
Shawn shook his head slowly, looking out into the night sky. "I'm so sorry, Jean. That shouldn't have happened."
"It's okay, Shawn."
Jean didn't know why, but from the look on his face, it seemed as if the entire thing was bothering him more than it was bothering her. She pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes and she started to laugh.
"What?"
"Our exes lived in the same place and we never ran into each other. Your ex's roommate was cheating with my boyfriend and we never figured it out until right now. It just all seems so crazy."
Shawn laughed himself. "It's nuts."
Scottie came up from behind them and put an arm around each of them. Jean smiled as she looked to Scottie, who was already completely comfortable around her.
"Well," Scottie said, looking from each of them. "More than you bargained for, right?"
"Right," Jean said. "Especially if we get arrested."
"That's only happened once," Shawn said with a smirk. "But don't worry, Id take the fall for you."
"How would that work?"
Shawn shrugged his shoulders. "We'd tell them you were here watching a movie and a group of strangers forced you onto the roof against your will."
Scottie looked at Shawn. "I mean, that's what's actually happened."
They spent a few more minutes on the roof and they followed Scottie back down into the booth. As they walked through the main corridor, Jean looked around.
"Scottie, how long did—"
Suddenly the four of them were ducking behind a projector, Scottie slapping a hand over Jean's mouth and pulling her to the ground. It took Jean a couple minutes to hear footsteps in the distance and a voice. Oh no, they were definitely getting caught.
They crouched there out of view, Scottie's hand still over Jean's mouth as her heart beat wildly in her chest. Her eyes darted to Shawn who was crouched beside her. He was covering his grin with his hand and he leaned forward to see who was there. He shifted his eyes to Jean, and then pulled Scottie's hand off her mouth.
"Sorry," she mouthed to Shawn. He rolled his eyes with a smile and waved it off. Her heart started to slow.
Finally, they heard a door close, and Scottie stood up.
"That was close," he whispered. "Jean, learn to control yourself."
She covered her mouth as the laugh escaped her chest and she filed out of the booth with the rest of them. Scottie threw the key back in the closet and they shuffled out of the theater.
As they were walking into the parking lot and Scottie challenged everyone to a race to the car, Jean realized that this was the first time in a long time that she felt like she was apart of something. She wasn't sure why these people decided to accept her, and she didn't know how long it would last, but for this moment, she couldn't hide the joy that was shining from her soul.
It was the best night she'd had in a long, long time.
"So Jean," Zeiler said from the backseat as they neared her apartment. "We has so much fun with you tonight. It's so nice having another girl around."
"I had a blast," Jean said honestly. "Thanks for inviting me. I'd love to hang out again sometime."
"Well," Zeiler said. "We always get together for church on Sunday and go to lunch after. We would love if you came with us."
Church? Jean couldn't remember the last time she had gone to a church. She wasn't even convinced that people her age still went to church. Would they accept her? What would she wear?
"It's very casual," Shawn said, looking over to her from the driver's seat. "Scottie wore sweatpants once."
"Will you let that go?" Scottie yelled from the backseat.
"He dresses up now though, for Chloe," Tyler chimed in.
Scottie leaned over Zeiler to try to attack Tyler, but she pushed him back over to his side.
"Please come," Scottie said. "It's a cool place."
Jean couldn't find words. If they had invited her to anything else, she would have said yes in a heartbeat. But church? She thought of Sunday. Did she work? No, she worked at the strip club late Saturday night though. Oh god, the strip club. She worked at a strip club. She was pretty sure God would smite her right there in the church parking lot.
"I'll tell you what," Tyler said. "You give it just one week. We'll buy you lunch afterward. If you hate it, you don't have to come back, but you got a free lunch out of it."
Jean laughed nervously. "You don't have to buy me lunch."
They were waiting for an answer and Shawn pulled into the parking lot. She couldn't believe the word that came out of her mouth.
"Okay."
They cheered, and Jean felt her vision go black around the edges. Oh God. What did she just agree to?
****
Shawn drove everyone home. He couldn't believe that Jean agreed to go to church with him, but he found himself still fuming over something else that she had said.
He walked out to the front porch and shut the door so nobody would hear him.
The phone rang a few times before he heard Megan's voice.
"Shawn?" she said, sounding surprised.
"Did you show up to Jeanette Arthur's work with Ametta on purpose?"
Megan was quiet. "What?"
"Just answer the question."
Shawn knew he was frustrated with her, and he knew that he was taking a risk by calling her. He just couldn't believe that she would do something so cruel.
"Ametta and I wanted coffee and she just happened to be there," Megan said.
Shawn was shaking his head, even though he knew Megan couldn't see. He knew she was lying. "So you knew Jean worked there and she might be there?"
"I'm not going to change up my life just for her."
"Megan," Shawn said, wanting to get his point across. "Ametta cheated with Anthony, on Jean. She already lost her boyfriend, do you think she wants to serve coffee to the other woman?"
"Well, she didn't. The drama queen walked away and the manager had to take over."
She walked away? Shawn was furious now. He knew he should hang up. He couldn't help himself. How did she spend so many years of his life with a person like her?
"What is wrong with you?" he asked.
"What's wrong with me?" she was yelling now. "Do you know how many people have asked me about you and that stupid video of you two? Are they dating now? What happened between you two? I'm so sick of you Shawn, and quite honestly, I'm sick of her too. From how she was acting in that video, I wouldn't be surprised if she cheated on Anthony first!"
He had to put the phone down by his side to keep from yelling back something he'd regret. He took a deep breath to try to get his last words out.
"Leave Jean alone," he said. "I'm serious Megan, you don't know the situation, but please, for the love of God, leave the girl alone."
He doubted she took the words to beast because she hung up the phone after that. Shawn collapsed back onto the bench and closed his eyes.
He started to pray for Jean, and using everything in him to deny his pride, he prayed for Megan too.