Thank you for being so patient! I ended up rewriting this about four times until I was pleased with the pacing. Your support means everything to me. Thank you so much!
And, thank you Shachar for letting me know someone actually reads my profile!
*****
JJ drove away from Ashley’s house with a smile on her face. Who wouldn’t, after a night like that? In one day they’d progressed much further than JJ would have dared imagine. The taste of Ashley was still on her lips, her mind replaying the last twenty-four hours.
JJ’s good mood continued as she showered, dressed, and gathered up her dirty laundry. She normally hated the mundane chore, but today even that didn’t matter. JJ added the detergent and fabric softener bottles to the oversized canvas sailor’s bag that served as her hamper and pulled the drawstrings tight. She slipped her laptop and some snacks into her backpack. She filled her pockets with her wallet, phone, and keys, then slipped back outside, bags slung over her shoulder.
She smiled at the maid pushing her cleaning cart, waved at the tired looking businessman leaving the front office. She hopped back into her truck and drove off to the house, determined to keep having a good day.
Packing up Emily’s belongings wasn’t bittersweet and emotional the way opening them had been. JJ placed everything back into the trunk carefully, making sure to wrap the delicate things between layers of clothing, the way she’d found them. She latched the footlocker, but didn’t put the lock back on. There wasn’t any reason to.
JJ pushed the repacked box up against the wall and went to the garage to retrieve the other locker. This one was heavier, much heavier. JJ had to use an old towel to slide the box across the wood floor to keep from scratching up the refinished surface. She finally got it to the bedroom and opened it up.
Books. No wonder it was so heavy. JJ frowned, dusting off the uneven surface of the books. Mack never read anything but auto magazines. These couldn’t be his. Why did he have them? She lifted the cover of ‘A Tree Grows in Brooklyn’ and read the neat cursive. ‘Emily Morrison’. Of course, Mack would keep his wife’s books, especially if she’d had an emotional attachment to them.
Pulling out her phone JJ text Ashley. ‘Hey. Locker just had books in it’.
Setting the phone aside JJ busied herself pulling books out of the locker. There was a large number of classic works, novels, plays, and poetry. There was also quite a few mysteries and romance novels mixed in. She stacked the books against the locker as she pulled them out.
JJ had emptied about half the trunk when her phone buzzed with a new message. She took a break to reach over and snag the phone, reading the text. It was Ashley, ‘Didn’t take Mack for the literate type. No offense.’
JJ chuckled and replied. ‘None taken bc he wasn’t. They’re Emily’s.’
Ashley responded quickly, probably waiting for JJ’s texts. ‘Wow. Anything good?’
‘Lots of classics. A couple romances and some mysteries. She had good taste.’ JJ snapped a picture of the books all stacked up against the locker and sent the message.
It took Ashley moment to text back, ‘It’s an impressive collection.’
‘Ya. It’s getting added to mine. Want any duplicates?’ JJ asked, the idea springing up as she typed.
‘Wait, you read?’ Ashley’s text actually made JJ laugh. She typed back quickly, a little grin on her lips.
‘You keep up these jokes Imma tan your hide.’ JJ couldn’t deny that the idea was a little too appealing. She still couldn’t shake the image of Ashley, belly down on a bed with her ass up in the air, offering herself to JJ. It wasn’t hard to imagine a rosy hue on those sweet cheeks.
It took a minute for Ashley to reply, which was long enough that JJ almost started to wonder if she’d gone too far. Soon enough though, her phone buzzed with a new text.
‘Only if you can catch me.’ Oh, Ashley was smug wasn’t she?
‘Challenge accepted.’ JJ replied, her tummy tightening with a new flash of arousal. She liked this game. She went back to pulling the books from the trunk to distract herself. Her phone buzzing tossed that idea right out the window.
‘Accept at your own risk. What’ll you let me do if I catch you instead?’ Hmm, that was a good question. JJ didn’t really intend to let Ashley catch her, but she decided to give Ashley some incentive.
‘Anything you wanted.’ With a smiley face for flair.
‘Hmm. I’ll hold you to that.’ Ashley replied. JJ read the text with a smile, then slipped her phone back into her pocket. She needed to finish this up and flirting wasn’t helping.
Half an hour later JJ had the locker loaded into the back of her truck and was heading down the street to the laundromat. She parked where she could keep an eye on the truck and hauled her bags inside. The attendant looked up from her magazine, waved, then went back to reading. JJ picked out a machine and loaded it up.
Once the machine was running JJ sat with a sigh in the izmit rus escort chairs and started up her laptop. She had a backlog of emails to work through, having ignored them for the last two weeks. She was picking through, selecting all the junk to delete when her phone rang. That was unusual. JJ pulled the phone out of her pocket and looking at the screen, felt her good mood waver. Her ex-girlfriend calling was rarely good news.
Tapping her thumb on the screen, JJ accepted the call. “Hello?”
“Hey, JJ?” Veronica’s warm voice had a hint of hesitation to it, like she’d expected someone else on the other end.
“Yeah, it’s me. What’s up?” JJ asked, clicking another email.
“I was just calling to see how things were going. I never heard from you, after that last email, so I figured you were busy. I started to worry you’d fallen off the roof or something.”
“No, I’m fine. Better find some wood to knock on though, now that you’ve jinxed me.” JJ teased, deleting all the junk emails.
“You don’t have a superstitious bone in your body. How’s the house? Is now a good time? It sounds loud where you are.” Veronica probed.
“The house is good. It’ll probably be done by the end of May, way ahead of schedule. I’m at the laundromat. Laundry day.” JJ opened the email Ronnie had mentioned, scanning the questions, and updates.
“Well, that’s good news, is it?” There was a pinging sound on Veronica’s end, like a directional blinker.
“Yeah, it is. Are you driving?” JJ asked, knowing that while Veronica was highly intelligent, she was easily distracted.
“I am. But don’t worry, Monica gave me a headset. I’ve got to pick Owen up, so this lets me talk and drive at the same time.”
“Okay. Well, I’m actually sitting here just now going through emails. I would be happy to get you pictures, if you still want them.” JJ read the rest of Veronica’s email and added, “How is Owen?”
“He’s doing well. Growing up so fast, it’s a little scary. He asks about you, if you’re coming back.” The way Ronnie made the statement sound like a question told JJ Owen wasn’t the only one who wondered.
“Ronnie, I don’t know what I’m doing anymore, to be honest.” JJ sighed, her mood slipping further.
There was an awkward silence between them, lasting almost a full minute. Veronica broke it first, hurt evident in her voice.
“She’s there, isn’t she? You ran right back to her, even though you said you wouldn’t.”
“Ronnie, I don’t have to explain myself to you. We went our separate ways three years ago. Don’t do this.” JJ knew that Veronica still had feelings for her, feelings that raised an ugly head whenever JJ turned her attention on another woman. She didn’t want to deal with them now.
“You said you were going to avoid anything from your past. You were going to fix up the house and sell it. Then you’d be back. Have you been fucking her for the last two weeks? Is that why you’ve got laundry and emails to do?” Ronnie’s warm voice had a hard and ugly edge to it, anger and hurt mixing poorly with jealousy.
“What I’ve been doing the last two weeks is none of your business.” JJ fought to stay calm, knowing that if she gave in this phone call would get nasty quickly.
“Which means you have been. You disgust me sometimes, Jordyn. You never could pass up an eager pussy. I hope she was lousy in bed. I bet she’s a little slut, giving it up to anyone who wants her. Spreading her legs for anyone with a dick big enough to make her sloppy pussy feel tight.”
JJ listened, not even aware of the growl rumbling in her throat. She shot a glance over at the attendant who was still aimlessly flipping through magazines. This needed to be stopped, but JJ preferred to keep this private. She stood, Veronica still ranting in her ear and stepped outside, the bell on the door clanging. She stalked to the side of her truck, and looked around swiftly to be sure no one else was near.
“You have no idea, Veronica,” JJ interrupted the tirade, “You have no idea how ugly you sound right now. You’ve never met this girl and you’re going out of your way to hate her. To put her down, degrade her. How can you think any of this about someone who made my miserable life worth living? Ashley being my friend is the only part of my childhood that I want to remember. She was sweet and caring, looking past everything that other kids used against me, used to single me out. She was the first person to stand up for me and accept me the way that I am. How dare you sit there and say such disgusting things. No.” JJ stopped Veronica’s comment before it was even spoken. “You claim to care about me, to love me. I don’t doubt that, not normally. But right this second, I question everything you’ve said about caring for me, about wanting the best for me. If you wanted the best for me, then you’d be happy that instead of turning me away for leaving and never communicating, Ashley has been happy to have me back here, back in her life. You’d be happy that I might have a second chance. izmit escort You know what she meant to me. What she still means to me.” JJ hissed into the phone, her body rigid with bottled anger.
Veronica was quiet for a moment. “So you still love her.” It wasn’t a question.
“I never stopped.” JJ whispered, swallowing to ease the harshness of her throat.
There was more silence, then Ronnie sniffled quietly. “Well, I need to go. I’m about to pick up Owen. I’m sorry JJ.”
JJ almost laughed. She held it in, though. “We need to talk, Ronnie. Face to face. Get this shit behind us. I know you don’t want to, but it needs to be done. Later. Say hi to Owen for me.”
JJ listened to the click of the line disconnecting and sighed, tucking her phone away and running fingers through her hair. That was a disaster.
She walked back inside and switched her loads, ignoring the side-eye the attendant gave her. When the wet clothing was in the dryer and the second load was in the washer JJ sent Ashley a text. ‘Skype yet?’. Maybe time with Ashley would return her happy mood.
‘Yep. Right now.’ Ashley replied seconds later. Shit. She’d said these calls could take a few hours. JJ slumped into the chair and crossed her arms over her chest. She had almost two hours to spend here. Surely by then Ashley would be free. JJ glared at her laptop with its unread emails. She snapped the lid shut and turned to glare at the timer on the washer.
JJ found herself thinking back to when she and Veronica had been together. It had been fantastic at the start. Both of them worked with David as models, Veronica one of his long term girls. He’d paired them up for a shoot and they’d discovered a chemistry on set. They’d taken that and run with it, going out almost every night after shooting and hitting the clubs and bars. It started as a strong friendship but quickly morphed into a physical relationship. The sex had been fun, varied and frequent.
JJ wasn’t sure if there was an exact point where things went south, but she remembered the arguments starting off small, over trivial things, then becoming bigger. She knew her avoidance was a big part of their split. Instead of going home she’d begun going out alone, picking up girls and playing around in the bars and on the club dance floor. She never brought any of them home and she never went home with anyone, but Ronnie assumed she had.
They’d tried to mend things. Had laid all their issues and complaints on the table and sorted out things to work on and ways to improve. Things had gotten better for a while, until Veronica revealed her desire for children. She already had Owen, the son she’d been pregnant with when her husband passed. When she asked JJ about having another, JJ had refused. Parenthood wasn’t something she was comfortable with. Owen was only four years old, but she could handle that. Babies, no.
Things between JJ and Veronica had soured dramatically after a week of arguments, talks, and attempts to find a way to compromise. JJ stayed for another eight months, sleeping in the guest bedroom, spending her days with Owen and trying to figure out her life. By then her contract with David was done and she was itching to move on. She ignored that to stay just a little longer with Veronica and Owen, but eventually she could no longer push the urge away.
Owen. JJ hadn’t thought about him in a while. He’d be about seven, maybe eight by now. Probably getting tall. And he’d be in school, second grade? Maybe third. JJ sighed. Despite not wanting to be a parent, she’d bonded with the little guy. They became best friends in an instant, all because of one piggy back ride. She had helped Ronnie out with caring for him, but she’d never made an effort to adopt or have any legal attachment. She didn’t feel like she’d been a parent to him. More like a best buddy, a coconspirator and playmate.
JJ sighed and combed both hands through her hair. She replayed the entire phone call in her head, trying to figure out how to feel, how this should be handled. Her stomach felt like a weight had been dropped on it when she realized what she’d revealed to Veronica. Did she tell her ex the truth? Did she still love Ashley?
Duh, was the answer her subconscious immediately supplied. Her rational head started making excuses, conditions. She loved the Ashley she’d known, she loved how Ashley was as a person. They’d just had sex that morning, surely these feelings were a result of that. Ashley had been so welcoming and understanding, of course she loved that.
JJ scowled, disgusted with herself. A deep breath settled rattled nerves. Several more wiped her mind clear. She pushed away the conflicting emotions and thoughts. She refused to pick at this cluster fuck any more. You have feelings, good positive feelings, for Ashley. JJ told herself sternly. There’s no need to label them. They are not just from the sex, these are deep rooted and solid. Years in the making. No labels. No worrying. Let this continue and go with it. It’s what we both want.
***
Ashley kocaeli escort was washing dinner dishes with her mother when her phone pinged on the counter. She checked the notification out of habit, her breath hitching suddenly when she read JJ’s name. Instead of letting it go until the chore was done Ashley stopped drying the plate she held and tapped the envelope icon.
‘come dance with me’
Ashley smiled. She had already resigned herself to waiting to hear from JJ for a day or two. This was much better, an invitation to go out the same day they’d finally fooled around. Wait, did this mean there would be more playing around?
She decided to probe. ‘Where are we dancing?’ she text. It was a safe bet the answer was the club, so Ashley got a head start. “Mom, do you mind if I head out after these are done?” Ashley held up the plate she was drying.
Debbie seemed surprised. “Where you heading out to?”
“Dancing with JJ.” Ashley finished drying the plate and put it away before her phone pinged again. She picked up the last plate and dried it as she read the message.
“You know I’m not going to force a curfew on you. I expect you to be able to use your judgement. Keep me in the loop though. And be careful.” Debbie watched Ashley read her new message and nod slowly to show she’d heard.
“I will. Thank mom.” Ashley put the plate away, hugged her mother and wandered out of the kitchen, tapping at her phone.
She left the house twenty minutes later wearing a skirt so short her mom did a double take. Sure enough, JJ was at the club, so Ashley was headed there. She wasn’t able to get much more information from JJ, but Ashley figured they’d drink a little and dance a lot. Like last time. Ashley shivered pleasantly at the memory of JJ’s body pinning her to the back wall and coaxing an orgasm from her.
It was a short drive but a long wait. The line was long and the bouncers turned many people away. Ashley started to get nervous but when it was her turn the burly man at the door took one look at the long, lean legs she was showing off and let her in, his head turning to watch her legs as she slipped inside.
The music assaulted her ears as she entered the club, the long bar to the right full of people. The dance floor was full too, bodies moving and twisting under the flashing lights. Ashley slipped into a small open space at the bar and sent JJ a text. ‘I’m here at the bar. Come find me.’
She sat for a few minutes before one of the bartenders noticed her. He recognized her and gave her a small smile, lifting a beer in her direction. She nodded and gave him a smile when he set the cold bottle on the bar. Her phone pinged, vibrating in her hand. JJ had sent a blank message. Oops.
Ashley giggled and turned to study the people lounging at the bar. She had no idea what the other girl was wearing and couldn’t spot JJ. The flicker and flash of the lights didn’t help either. Ashley leaned away from the bar to study the tables and booths that lined the outer walls. Most of them were full, or had a couple occupants who were probably part of a group. She turned back to the bar and text JJ again. ‘Come to the bar.’ She took a sip of her beer and scanned the bar’s length again.
Hands landed on her hips, causing her to yelp and spin around, alarmed. The man sitting next to her with his buds turned too, her yelp cutting through the music. JJ stood behind her, a dopey grin on her face. “Hey you.”
“Oh my God, JJ. What the fuck was that? You scared me.” Ashley slipped off the bar stool and pulled JJ into a hug.
“I found you.” JJ answered, not slurring her words, but clearly drunk. That silly half grin still curled her lips.
“Yeah, you found me. Let me finish my beer then let’s dance. Yeah?” Ashley asked, rather enjoying the way JJ left her hands on her hips as she situated herself back on the stool.
Turning with bottle in hand to face JJ, Ashley combed back JJ’s hair, the dark, damp strands sticking to her sweaty forehead. “Have you been here long?” she asked, tipping the bottle to her lips.
“For a little while. Not too long.” JJ finally noticed Ashley’s skirt, eyeing the short hem before looking up the blonde’s slender body, enjoying the skin that was bared by the small halter top. It left Ashley’s shoulders bare along with half her flat belly. “Damn.” She muttered, her brown eyes wide, pupils blown huge.
Ashley polished off her drink, setting the empty on the smooth wood of the bar and tugging JJ closer to make room for another group trying to get drinks. “You ready to dance?” she spoke into JJ’s ear, her lips bumping the diamond stud that filled one of several holes in the other girl’s lobe.
“Yes.” JJ agreed, her fingers teasing at the hem of Ashley’s skirt. The blonde took JJ’s hand in hers and gave a flirty smile before tugging her to follow.
Ashley led JJ onto the floor, but the older woman quickly took the lead. She stepped into Ashley’s space and began moving fluidly with the music, her body urging Ashley’s to do the same.
Ashley relaxed and followed JJ’s lead. She even tugged JJ’s hands from her hips to the exposed skin of her waist, thrilling at the contact. This pulled JJ flush with Ashley’s body and emphasized their easy rhythm.