Sasha feels like she had too much vodka, but she doesn't care. She just wants to feel free from the pain, free from the heartache, free from thinking about Shay. She loves Shay so much and it pains her to be away from her, but she knows she needs to do this, for herself and Shay.
"Sash, you've already had enough. Let me clean this mess. You can go to my room and freshen up. I'll make us coffee to avoid getting a massive hangover tomorrow."
"Let me help you."
"No need, babe. It's okay. I can manage. Just go to my room and I'll take care of everything here."
"Thanks, Jan. You are always there for me, always saving me. Since the day we met, until now. You must really love me."
"I think that's the vodka talking. Of course, I love you. You're my friend. I will always be there for you."
Sasha smiled, as she slowly stood up and moved closer to Janel. Her face, inches away from the brunette's and she can sense that the other girl is tensing up. She can hear the brunette's breathing getting a little deep and her heartbeat sounding like a drum, thumping hard. Without hesitation, she cupped Janel's face and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. It was just a peck, the kind of kiss that you would get from a close friend, a close gay friend. For Sasha, this is the best way she can show her gratitude towards the other girl, plus the vodka in her system is making her do things she can't control. Before she does something she would regret, she slowly pulled away and looked into Janel's eyes.
"Thank you, Jan, for everything. I just want you to know I am grateful."
Janel was a little shocked by what Sasha did. She didn't expect that kiss from Sasha. She knows it's just a friendly peck, nothing more than that. Still, that kiss gave her butterflies she thought had died a long time ago, but now they seem to have fluttered back into her stomach.
"Uhm. I think you've said thank you more than enough. You better go and freshen up, so I can follow after you, then we'll have that coffee."
Sasha just smiled and nodded as she heads towards Janel's room.
It took Sasha about 30 minutes to finish then Janel immediately followed after her. Once they've both had freshened up, they settled in the living room, with two black coffees in hand.
"Will this really help with the hangover?"
"Yeah. A cup of black coffee will do the trick. You won't feel a thing tomorrow."
"You better be right."
"Of course, I am."
"I feel my head is already pounding. We didn't even drink that much."
"Speak for yourself. You almost finished the half bottle."
"I did not. You're lying. Or maybe, you did that on purpose. You were giving me more."
"Why would I even do that? What will come out of it if I get you drunk?"
"I'm just kidding. You're too serious. Well anyway, thank you for all these. You made me feel better."
"Enough with the thank yous. If I hear another thank you from you, I'm gonna charge you."
"Oh yeah? Charge me with what?"
"One thank you equals to one kiss," Janel dared.
Sasha was rendered speechless for a moment. She knows Janel likes her a lot, even though they agreed to stay as friends, the brunette takes every opportunity to flirt or get it on with her.
"What? A cat caught your tongue? Relax, I'm playing babe."
"I'm down."
"What? What do you mean, you're down?"
"If ever I say thank you, you get to kiss me."
"No, babe. That was just a joke. I'm not gonna flirt with you knowing that you're in a rough situation with your girlfriend."
Sasha doesn't understand what she's doing. Why is she even flirting with Janel? She knows it's just harmless fun but, it might affect their friendship. She immediately realized that she has to stop going in this direction. She can't commit the same mistake Shay did.
"You're right. I'm sorry. I'm no better if I'd act the same way, or do the same thing she did."
"You better talk to her first. And if you really want to kiss me, Pieterse, you have to be single to do that. I don't want to be tagged as the other woman," Janel said offering a little laugh.
Sasha laughed along, knowing that her friend is just trying to ease the situation. She never seriously thought of giving Janel and her a shot at a relationship. That would be too awkward if she'd be honest. If you think about it though, Janel is such an amazing person. They have that connection, that maybe she was just too afraid to explore. Here she goes again, Sasha scolded herself. Why is she thinking about having a relationship with Janel, when her current relationship is still in shambles. Besides, she needs to fix herself first and put her heart back to pieces before she can be with someone, may it be Shay, Janel or someone else.
"You okay?" Janel said, breaking Sasha from her thoughts.
"Yes, just thinking about stuff."
"No thinking tonight. I just want you to relax and take some time for your self. You can think tomorrow."
"Isn't that what I've been doing for the past hours with you? Relaxing and just having fun?"
"Well, yeah. But still, I don't want you to think about anything else at the moment. You've been crying since you got here. You deserve to have fun even just for a short time."
"And I am having fun. All thanks to you."
"There's that thank you again."
"That was not a thank you. That was thanks, there's a difference. But you can kiss me if you want to so badly." Sasha just couldn't stop herself. Maybe it's the alcohol in her system, or maybe this is just her brain trying to find a way to cope with the pain. She's glad Janel is too decent to take advantage of the situation.
On the other end, Janel just looked at Sasha. Here she goes again with the flirting, she thought.
"You're lucky I don't take advantage of drunk and broken women."
"I guess I am just lucky to have a friend like you."
"You bet that right."
The girls both laughed and spent the rest of the night catching up.
"So, that's the reason you left Paris. You got your heart broken."
"That was part of the reason. But I also missed living in the States. Paris is awesome, but I still miss home. I miss my mom, I miss Ravenswood, I miss you."
"I thought no flirting?"
"I'm not flirting. I'm just stating a fact."
"But I'm glad you're back."
"Me too. When I heard about what happened to you, I wanted to come and visit. I felt really bad I was not there. But I can't miss school."
"Hey. You were there for me. You messaged me every day and that was enough. I read all your messages when I got out of the coma."
"It's the least I could do. And when you told me Hudson's in jail, I felt so relieved. You don't know how much I wanted to hurt that guy for everything he did to you."
"That was in the past. I've moved on from that. I'm better now. I'm not affected by Hudson anymore."
"That's really great. Anyway, do you want to call it a night? It's almost 2 AM."
"Really? I didn't notice the time. We should definitely get some rest."
"Yeah. Let me just put these away. You'll be sleeping in my room and I'll be sleeping here."
"What? No. I'll take the couch. This is your apartment. I've given you much trouble already. I'll be fine sleeping here."
"No. I insist. You take the bed."
"I'll take the couch. End of discussion."
"Whoa. Who made you the boss? This is my apartment, I get to decide."
"Remember? I am the boss in this relationship?"
"Okay. Okay. I won't argue with you anymore. I'll get you some pillows and a blanket. Are you sure you'll be okay here? What if we just share the bed?"
"I thought you don't take advantage of drunk and broken women?"
"Hey. I'm just being nice. My bed is not that big but we can fit on there."
"Okay. If you insist. Let's share your bed."
Both girls had so much fun that night. Sasha didn't think of Shay at all, and she has to thank Janel for that. Both of them are exhausted after the long day they had, and the moment their bodies hit the bed, they instantly fell asleep.