There was a pause. A long pause.
“I’m going to be honest with you,” Jade rubbed a hand against the back of her neck nervously. “I usually don’t have to work this hard and it’s kind of crushing my ego a little right now.” This was a whole new feeling entirely.
Jade knew how to talk to women. She knew how to get women to talk toher. But having those skills she’d used numerous times before fail like this? It was seriously unnerving that this woman was able to fluster her like this.
“Is that such a bad thing though?” The woman asked nervously.
Jade tilted her head slightly and took in the woman standing before her. Her tone up until now was flirty and confident. She knew how to move her body to keep Jade hooked, the way she tucked her hair behind her ear alone was enough to drive Jade to distraction. Yet as soon as Jade showed any wobble in confidence, suddenly the woman was nervous? Did she worry she’d blown it with Jade? This only encouraged her to want toknow more about the woman in front of her. Especially what had caused the sudden change in tone.
“Not a bad thing at all. In fact, how about this: I’ll let you keep your name a secret, for now, and we take the evening to get to know each other a little better. Once we get to the point where you feel comfortable enough, you can then tell me your name?” Jade held her breath.
“Well, I’m here with my friend, and you’re here with your friend, it wouldn’t really be fair if we left them on their own, now, would it?” The confidence was back. That just made Jade even more determined.
“This is true, but this line is moving ridiculously slowly. We’ve already been away from our friends for a while, and neither of them has come to check on us. So, I’d say we could head back to our friends, turn our phone trackers on so they don’t worry about us, let them know we’ve met someone we’d like to get to know a little better and are heading elsewhere before going home. Would that work for you?” Jade smiled hopefully.
“Jade, I’ve never donethisbefore. I don’t know if that changes things for you, but I don’t know how my friend will believe me about leaving her to get to know someone new. She’s not going to go for that without giving me the third degree.” The woman frowned with worry. Her mouth twisted slightly to the side, and she clasped her hands in front of her body. Jade’s heart went out to her, that she was so worried about her friend’s reaction must be a heavy burden to carry.
“Look, whether you’ve donethisbefore or not, doesn’t change the spark I know you felt when you touched my arm. I’m not pressuring you in any way, so please don’t think that, but I felt it too. As far as I’m concerned, I’d like to get to know you better. I understand that this is new for you, and that’s ok. Just think of it as making a new friend and seeing where it goes. If nothing else, we get to make new friends. I don’t know about you, but friendsare handy to have.” Jade subtly moved her arm which was closest to the wall forward slightly and reached out her pinky, curling it a little in invitation for the woman to take it in her own.
Chapter 6
April
April looked around to ensure no one was watching, unclasped her hands, and moved her own arm closest to the wall forward, hooking her own pinky finger around Jade’s. “Ok,” she whispered, “I’ll tell her as much of the truth as I’m able to for now. I mean,” April let Jade’s finger fall as she turned back to the line but felt the loss of contact immediately, “that’s if we ever make it to the end of this line and get to the bathroom.” She laughed and turned back to face Jade, who hadn’t taken her eyes off April.
“Ok, let’s do that then.” Jade agreed, and April was treated to one of the most dazzling smiles she’d ever seen. April felther chest flutter in response, as if butterflies and dragons were playing tag in her chest cavity.
After what felt like an hour, but was most likely only fifteen minutes, April made her way back to the table where she’d left Dani. She’d agreed to meet Jade out the front of the bar when she was ready and saw her reach the table where her own friend was waiting a few moments later.
“I know you’ve still got drink left, and please, stay and enjoy it,” April began but was cut-off by Dani before she could continue.
“What? Wait, you were gone a while, did you meet whoever you’ve been eyeing this whole night and you’re now bailing on me?” Dani said jokingly, but her face soon changed to a surprised grin when she saw the blush rise across her friend’s face. “Oh my god youare, aren’t you?! April, I’ve never known you to leave with anyone. Ever. This is so unlike you.” A hint of concern edging into her tone.
“Dani, I know. Trust me, I know. Look, I’m not going to lie to you because we don’t do that to each other. Never have, never will. I just need you to have my back on this one, please? I’ll pop my location on my phone so you can track me the whole time. It wasn’t even my idea to do that, so that must be a good sign, right?” April ensured her cards were in her jeans pocket and took out her phone to switch on her location.
“I know you’re having a fun night out and all, I get it, butpleasemake sure you’ve thought this through. There are some real creeps out there who’d take any chance with not only someone who looks like you, but the fact you’re a notable sports name on top of your looks. What do you even know about him?!” Dani asked in a tone that reminded April of her dad. Must be the manager in her coming out.
April suddenly felt her stomach drop. Of course, Dani assumed it would be a guy that she’d met. She had no reasonto believe April was into anyone other than a guy at this stage. Which made April feel even worse for not having the courage to come out to her best friend, of all people.
“I don’t know how to explain it in a way that makes sense Dani, and I know that sounds crazy, I do. But they don’t know who I am. That’s rare,especiallyaround here. Even more so after the win last weekend. And before you say they’re pretending, I know they’re not. I deal with this often enough that I can tell that much about a person within the first few minutes of meeting them. I’m 22, Dani, not 14. Enjoy the rest of your drink, go home and enjoy the rest of the night without Matt sprawling across the bed, and you can watch my night unfold on your phone the entire time. I’ll be back at yours before you know it. Deal?” April said as she ensured Dani’s phone was picking up the live feed of April’s movements.
“I want it noted that I’m not entirely comfortable with this, I mean, I don’t even know this guy’s name and you’re heading off into the night with him when this isnotsomething you usually do. But,reluctantly, deal.” Dani sighed with a defeated tone, the concern clear on her face.
April stood, made sure Jade had made her way outside, and turned back to Dani. “Their name is Jae. They have fiery red hair, and green eyes, with a dazzling smile. They’re taller than I am tonight in my heels and wore trousers and a waistcoat. So, name and description. Better?” April said with a smirk.
Dani narrowed her eyes, but April could see a fraction of the concern dissipate. “Slightly, but I’m getting the feeling that you’d be going whether I agreed or not. Please be careful, I’ll be watching, and I’m just a phone call away if you need me, ok? Have fun. Just nottoomuch, you’re training at noon, remember? Text me in two hours to let me know you’re ok, then call me when you get back to mine and I'll let you in, no matterhow late it is.” Dani hugged April close and reluctantly let her leave.
A few minutes later, April met Jade outside, where the balmy evening welcomed her, along with another of those dazzling smiles from Jade.
“How did your friend take it? Are you happy enough to head off?” Jade waited for April to reply before they began walking down the street. She nodded to indicate they should both move away from the entrance to the bar before beginning to talk.
“Yeah, I told her almost the entire truth, but I panicked and used ‘they’ as your pronoun instead of ‘she’, so she didn’t ask too many questions. I hope you don’t mind. I just haven’t come out to her, or anyone, and I know it’ll be a long conversation when I do.” April paused.
“I’m guessing you chose to use my shortened ‘Jae’ instead of ‘Jade’ as well?” Jade asked with a warm smile.
April sighed, her eyes lowering to the ground ahead of them as they walked slowly down the street together.
“Hey, don’t worry about it. Coming out is a huge deal. You only get one shot to come out to each person. The important ones are always the hardest and the ones we freak out about most. So, take your time, there’s no rush until you’re ready.” Jade smiled before continuing with a chuckle. “Though prepare to be coming out every day for the rest of your life, because it’s not really a one-and-done kind of thing.”
