One More Weekend (Sapphics in the City #5)

14. Jenna

14

JENNA

This is embarrassing . I rubbed my forehead as I scrolled through yet another page of job listings, the sound of brewing coffee coming from behind me.

I’d already read through every single posting I could find.

Peeking down at the messenger bar in the bottom corner of my screen, I checked my message to Tommy. It read:

Any ideas on finding secret dream job listings? - your fave intern

One of my favorite parts of working for her was how much like a colleague she treated me. She never made me feel like a baby who didn’t understand what I was doing. Instead, I felt like she could see me in her position in just a few years.

There was still no response. After all, Tommy was a busy woman.

With a groan and peek over my shoulder, I moved my cursor over to the search bar. My location was set to anything within 50 miles of New York City. Clicking in, I scrolled down the list. Denver, Colorado; Washington, D.C.; Austin, Texas.

But then I froze as the cursor stopped on Los Angeles, California. Home .

Biting my lip, I lifted my finger to press down on the option.

I could just look.

“Alright, let’s blow this popsicle stand.” Sy groaned from behind me.

I slammed my laptop shut and popped up from my chair. “Awesome.” Of course, Sy knew I was considering leaving, it wasn’t a secret. But I didn’t want to make it real for her until I was sure.

Even my goodbye tour was really just an excuse to spend my free time with my best friend. Fuck, Ellis Island hadn’t felt like a goodbye at all. Not until I got home to the unpaid electricity bill. Then it felt like time to kick the can.

Shaking it off, I packed up my backpack and we started the long walk home. It was hot outside, forcing me to strip off the thrifted flannel I’d thrown on and tie it around my waist.

We talked about Sy’s regulars at the shop, and all of their strange neurosis, until we got to our block, hurtled up the insane walk-up, and tossed our bags inside.

I tossed some leftovers in the microwave while Sy showered and got dressed before doing my own makeup and shoveling food into my mouth.

We were ready to go, like a well-oiled machine, within a couple hours.

Sy wore a button-down with the top-most buttons undone, exposing her sternum and soft chest.

I settled on a skirt that showed off my legs and an old band tee from college.

Hoping to avoid a boring bus trip to the west village, Sy pulled out two shot glasses that we bought from a thrift store when we first moved in. “

Vodka or tequila?” She asked as she reached under the bar cabinet, grabbing the tequila for herself. This was always the question: was I ready for chill and sultry or a little wild?

“Tequila, please.” Nodding, I knew it would make the night more fun regardless of how it ended up.

Sy smiled and chuckled, as she poured our shots. “Oh, it's that kind of night?” Used to my antics, Sy knew exactly what tequila meant: me on the dance floor making an absolute fool of myself while begging her to join me.

“Well if I'm gonna leave the Big Apple, I don't have to worry about burning any sapphic bridges.” I reached out and took my shot from her hand.

On the count of three, we clinked our glasses and threw our heads back, swallowing the bitter liquid before heading out the door.

We didn't bother cleaning up our glasses, knowing there was a chance that our night would turn into a disaster and we’d want another drink when we got home.

I started to feel the shot in my chest twenty minutes after we left the house. Within seconds my confidence shot through the roof of the MTA bus. Suddenly my breakup didn’t feel all that bad. Clay had no idea what she was missing out on. But frankly, she was the last person I could think about.

Instead, I looked over at Sy, bopping her head along to the music some dude was blasting out of a speaker. It was hard to imagine this could be my last summer partying across town with my best friend.

But the longer my search for a job became, the possibility that I could find a position before my savings ran out or the lease renewal was shrinking. And I wasn't sure that New York was worth going into insane credit card debt just to keep myself here a little while longer.

I wasn't even sure I wanted to stay here past my twenties.

Before I could find an end to my spiral, the bus ground to a halt and Sy nudged me. “This is us.”

Following along, we hopped off the bus and down the street.

We took the walk quickly, only a few blocks from the bar's entrance. Plus we’d decided on some more practical footwear: me in my Docs and Sy opting for a fresh pair of sneakers.

One of the telltale signs of spring in New York was the return of the outdoor bouncers.

As we approached the door of Henrietta Hudson, the masc woman at the door stood from her stool and held out her hand for our IDs. She'd been working here for as long as I could remember. Part of me wondered if she noticed when we switched from our fake IDs with Connecticut addresses claiming we were five years older to our real ones from New York.

Realistically she probably saw more fakes than a customs officer.

She scanned images with her phone.

No longer looking young enough to be under 21, she didn't even wait to see the results of the scan before waving us inside.

As soon as we walked inside, a gentle breeze and some light traffic were replaced with heat and pulsing music from the DJ stand across the room.

It was still strange to walk into Henrietta's now after the renovations they did just after we graduated college. It used to be a glorified dive bar, everyone looking to pick a fight for some odd reason.

But now sticky floors had been replaced with cutesy neon signs from Etsy and a new paint job.

Sy started to push through the crowd toward the bar closest to the entrance. I followed closely behind, not quite ready to search for my hookup. As I trailed behind her, I watched as a wave of people on the dance floor turned toward Sy. Hungry, the patrons were shocked by the lean muscles of her arms, which were framed perfectly by the patterned button-down.

It happened every time without fail. Undeniably, everyone knew Sy was a catch.

Including me. I couldn't count the times I thought to myself if only I could find someone like her who wasn't my best friend .

Looking at the excited eyes surrounding us, I sidled up next to her and leaned against the bar. Before I lost Sy to some sexy wolf in the crowd, it was time to make the most of our time together.

At that same moment, refusing to let our buzz die, Sy turned around with two more drinks in her hand.

“To Hennies,” Sigh winked as she lifted her shot in the air, awaiting my own.

With a smile, I chuckled and let my glass meet hers, a clink sounding even over the blaring music.

I shot it back fast enough to avoid thinking about how bad it felt. My lips puckered at the taste, always shocked by the burn.

Coming to my rescue, Sy held out a lime just inches from my lips. I wasn't sure if it was the tequila or my inability to move any faster, but I wrapped my lips around it and pulled the wedge into my mouth and out of Sy’s grip.

Laughing, Sy gawked at me. “Eager much?”

I took my time sucking the sour juice out of the lime before responding, “No point waiting.”

Heat rose in my chest as soon as the words left my lips.

Careful, you know what tequila does. I tried to remind myself that we were in dangerous territory. Sure, I’d thought about taking back my promise from all those years ago more times than I could count. But I knew it was risky to make that move now.

Besides, Sy had friend-zoned me long ago. There was no way her opinion had changed this many years later.

With our shot glasses back on the bar, Sy turned her attention toward the people on the dance floor ahead of us. I recognized a few of them from past nights out but was almost certain that neither of us had tried anything with them before.

But my eyes fell back on Sy, watching her jaw tense as she watched for someone intriguing.

In all honesty, the last thing I wanted to do was find some stranger to spend a night with.

If this was going to be one of my last nights here with Sy all I really wanted to do was get out on the dance floor and party like we used to when we were 19.

“See anyone you like?” Sy leaned over and shout-whispered into my ear.

My throat tightened as I looked up into her green eyes and nodded. “Maybe.”