Jack & Lucy

Lucy

"That meeting took forever," I whine when Stella finally rings me back. I had forgotten she had a day trip to Portland today so she was unreachable all morning. 

"If I held up a meeting every time you had a Jack crisis, I would have been fired years ago," Stella mutters and I hear her cross into some loud space on the other end. 

"There's that word again! Years!" I snap as I slow my jog to a walk. I was unable to sit still once the events of last night flooded my memory over coffee this morning and decided a run around my shit neighborhood was a good way to blow off steam. I realized in the daylight, that the neighborhood does look a bit run down with broken down cars littering the curb and every other house hasn't had the weeds pulled in years. But I noticed some kids jump roping and skating in the cul-de-sac, so if they seem fine out here then I can run around too. If I can survive New York City, then I can survive Phoenix. My friends can stop with the concern. 

"Okay, so he said he's wanted to kiss you for years. I don't get why you are so mad," Stella replies.

"Why did he never make a move?! I was single between foot fetish Peter and Blake. He had ample time to plant one on me."

"I forgot about foot fetish, Peter. Is he in any of your classes this semester?"

"Stella!" I plead. I use an arm to wipe the sweat spilling down my forehead off and regret running in the middle of the day.

"Sorry, okay. Did you ask Jack why he's never made a move?" 

I shake my head as I prop my foot up onto the curb, trying to catch my breath while replying, "No. And he hasn't texted me all damn day either, so I have no idea where his head is at."

"How did you end things last night?" 

"Well, I fell down and felt rejected-"

"You fell? How?" Stella asks and it becomes quiet on her end, she must have dropped into her uber.

"Not important-"

"It is if you were wearing my dress and Louboutins." 

"Your wardrobe is fine Stel, now I am about to see Jack in two hours and I need to know how to approach this here. And you never wrote me back about Fischer either. What was that about last night?" 

"I was establishing my dominance over Ari. Showing her that Fischer comes when I call."

"He starts throwing words like tech startup around and suddenly he is appealing?" I ask her, eyebrow raised high on my forehead. 

"He has always been appealing. Just not a viable option."

"And he's an option now?"

She ignores me as she says, "Maybe something happened to you that finally clicked with Jack? Something suddenly made him want to move you out of the friendzone." I clench my teeth together. Why was I suddenly desirable? What made him confess to wanting to kiss me? 

"Ugh, Stella you're really not being a great life coach right now. I need you to just tell me the answers so I can tell all these questions in my head to shut the fuck up." 

"Lucy, put your big girl pants on and just ask him tonight. Straight up. You want answers? Go get them." I go to complain but she cuts me off before I am able to, "I am at my next meeting so I gotta go. I'll call you when I land tomorrow. Love you." Silence greets me and I know she's about to mute her notifications for the remainder of the day. I realize I walked to the corner of the Starbucks near my place and it must be a sign that I needed a before-work treat. 

I suck my cold brew down on my way back and text Steve again to come and fix the damn lock. It doesn't latch all the way, so if someone tugs on the sliding door hard enough, it glides backward. He promises to come tomorrow and I threaten to withhold next month's rent if he doesn't. Oh god, I seriously hope the spring break crowd brings in enough tips so I can move out before then.