One More Weekend (Sapphics in the City #5)

1. Jenna

1

JENNA

I couldn’t tell whether it was sweat or tears streaming down my face as I walked through the steamy subway platform at Myrtle-Wyckoff.

Eight hours ago, I was so confident that the agency I was interning for would give me a full-time position. And now, I was dodging pedestrians with salty tears blurring my vision. As I took the stairs up to street level, I took a look down at my outfit.

A simple white, button-down and fitted black trousers was a perfect outfit: simple, understated, professional. But something had gone wrong.

What did I do wrong?

My mind went back to the moment as I walked.

Clicking away at my laptop, I’d been in the middle of reorganizing my lead agent, Tommy Creed’s digital contacts. They’d gotten completely out of hand and I’d already gotten through the emails I needed to send.

It was my last day as an intern and I'd been waiting all day for any sort of news about being kept on full-time.

Just as my heart rate started to rise, Tommy poked her head out of her office and smiled at me. “Hey, Jen. Can we talk?”

“Of course.” I shoot out of my seat, probably too eager. But I didn’t really care. Was it so bad for Tommy to know I wanted the job?

As soon as we walked into her office, the glass door closing behind us, Tommy cleared her throat and shook her head. Her usual professionalism seemed to be crumbling as she took a seat.

Fuck.

“So look, I’ve been in meetings all day, as you know. I’ve been trying to fight for you to get a permanent position here but the partners aren’t having it.” Tommy cupped her hands together on her desk.

Nodding, I sighed. “Right.”

My chest was growing tight and my face started to flush. But I had to keep it together. I’m a big girl. I can handle this.

Tommy bit her lip, annoyed. “I’m really sorry that today is the last day of your internship. There’s no doubt in my mind that you are the best intern this place has ever seen.”

“Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity.” Clenching my jaw, I forced a smile.

Waving me off, Tommy laughed. “Jenna, do me a favor and let those walls fall for just a moment. This shit sucks and I’m heartbroken for you.”

My shoulders dropped and a huge breath left my throat. “It really fucking does.”

“Promise to stay in touch. I’ll be passing out your resume like candy on Halloween.” Tommy stood from her desk and walked around it to shake my hand. “If anything opens up, you’re my first call, understood?”

Swallowing hard, I stood from the plush, brown leather chair and shook Tommy’s hand back. “Got it.”

With the handle of her glass door in hand, Tommy shrugged. “I really can’t emphasize enough how much this isn’t about your performance. I know you’re going to go home and analyze every second of every day you spent here, but I swear you outpaced every intern we’ve ever had. Myself included.”

It was hard to imagine someone as put together as Tommy as an intern, a scared post-grad just hoping for work. I tried to let the image steel me enough to get the fuck out of these pristine offices. If Tommy was like me once upon a time, I could be like her one day.

It had taken everything in my being to get out of that building without sobbing. But I’d said my goodbyes, gathered my things, and headed downstairs at 5 pm sharp. Fuckers can’t take any more of my time.

As soon as the warm air of the city streets hit my face, the tears burst out. I didn’t even care that the other business people strolling down the Midtown streets could see me.

And I stayed like that until I got off the L train in Brooklyn.

I’d texted Clay a warning that I was upset before I even got on the train. I didn’t want my sweet girlfriend to be completely blindsided by my tear-streaked face.

As I walked down the residential streets of Bushwick, I wiped away the rolling drops of water.

Maybe Clay will have something reassuring to say.

It was all I could hope for.

I climbed the stoop of her apartment building in a few steps, my finger finding the buzzer to the second-floor unit without my eyes having to check.

The door unlocked with a loud buzz instantaneously.

She’s waiting for me. My cheeks flushed at the thought.

As I walked up the steep, crooked stairs to the doorway right at the top, I took in a deep breath. Everything’s going to be okay.

It wasn’t until Clay swung the door open that I knew something was wrong. Chewing the inside of her cheek, Clay smiled gently. “Hey, come in.”

My forehead wrinkled as she gestured for me to walk past her sans welcome kiss. I swallowed hard. Was she just nervous about comforting me?

I tried not to get in my head, it had been a long day and I certainly wasn’t thinking clearly. Still sore from crying, my eyes scanned the apartment. It was unusually clean which meant one of two things: Clay was trying to surprise me or she was anxious.

The door clicked closed and Clay let out a sigh. “Sorry about your job. That really sucks.”

I felt the lump in my throat regrow in an instant. “Thanks. It really does. I have no idea what I’m going to do.”

Clay leaned against the dining table smashed up against the one bare wall in the crowded galley kitchen. Her long, lanky arms strained as she went back to chewing her cheek.

“Is everything okay?” I asked. I hadn’t even taken off my shoes yet.

Looking down at her hands, Clay shrugged. “I’m really sorry, Jen. I was planning to do it today and then… your job…”

“Wait, what?” My eyes flicked across her face, trying to figure out what the fuck she meant. Because by the second, I was becoming more and more convinced that my girlfriend was breaking up with me.

“I think we should break up.” Clay lifted her arms, crossing them across her chest.

My jaw dropped. “Are you serious?”

Lifting herself off the table, Clay started pacing. “Yeah, I am. I’ve wanted to for a while but there wasn’t a good time.”

“And now is?” It was impossible to stop myself from gawking at her audacity. My mind raced with questions. “How long is a while?”

Clay licked her lips. “Well I thought about it in February but then it was Valentine’s Day. And then your parents were coming to town. And then your internship got really busy. And now this. I had to pull trig eventually.”

The laugh rose from my chest before I could stop it. “So you wanted to end things two months after we went official? Clay, this is embarrassing.” I couldn’t stand the thought of standing in the boiling-hot apartment a second longer. She hadn’t even put in her air conditioning yet.

But from the look on her face, I could tell Clay thought I was more embarrassing.

I moved toward the door and grabbed the handle, stopping in my tracks as I considered this. “You met my parents, knowing you were going to break up with me?”

“I didn’t want to ruin their trip.” Clay shrugged.

It was the second time today that I refused to let someone see me cry over them. I ripped open the door and took a step before Clay raised her voice. “Wait, grab that box, it’s got all of your shit in it.”

My jaw dropped as I looked to my side. Sure enough, sitting right by the door was a crappy U-haul box with my name on it. I’d walked right past it.

I reached down, gripping the thinning cardboard in my hands. Looking down at it, I rolled my eyes. “The least you could have done was organize it, asshole.” And just like that, I slammed the door closed behind me.

As I nearly ran down the steps and back down to the streets of Brooklyn, my mind raced. I’d somehow lost my job and my girlfriend in a matter of hours.

How the fuck am I going to pay rent?