Final Fantasy VII: Reflections - Book 1: Descent

THIRTY-SIX

That morning, after a quick bite to eat at Seventh Heaven, I walked over to see Katie at her tally board. She was already hard at work as the guys from the watch turned in their kill sheets so she could update the counts. She'd eagerly shout out the numbers whenever they went up, so I heard her long before I actually saw her.

"Twenty-five!" she called. "Twenty-five monsters slain this month! Let's see if we can get it higher!"

I walked over to her and smiled. "That's the spirit!"

"Jessie!" she waved. "Morning!"

"Same to you," I chuckled. "Thought I'd find you out here."

She stepped off the platform for a moment and walked with me to one end of the little plaza to take a quick break and give us a little bit of privacy. Katie surely knew why I'd come to see her, and we didn't need half the watch overhearing us and spreading gossip all across town. So she and I leaned against a nearby wall in the shade out of earshot of the guys mingling around the area on their way to and from patrols or the watch base farther down the road.

Katie nudged me with her elbow. "So... how was it?"

I didn't have to ask what she meant. "Incredible. He was fantastic. I had a really wonderful night, Katie."

"Awesome!" she winked. "Were ya pleased with your gift?"

I smirked. "Oh, yeah. Quite a few times, actually."

Katie grinned. "Good! I'm happy for ya, Jessie. Bet you're not quite so tense anymore, are ya?"

"Nope!" I laughed. "Thanks for the gift."

She gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze. "You're welcome. I wanted to do something special for ya after what you did for me a few months back with the ring. Really means a lot to me."

I slid an arm around her. "I was happy to do it. I gotta say, though, last night was one hell of a thank you!"

"Sure was, wasn't it?" Katie agreed, giggling.

"Yep. And I'm definitely thanking Lena too when I see her again," I said. "Never thought I'd get to spend the night with a hunky Honeyboy for my birthday. You two are devious!"

She chuckled. "Thanks! So... you think you and him might... you know... get involved? I think he liked ya, Jessie. Tifa told me earlier he stayed with you almost all night."

"No," I sighed, shaking my head. "He was sweet, but... he's what he is. And although it felt for a little while like he might've wanted to cross the line and make it more than that, he didn't. I wouldn't have minded if he had, though. I kinda liked him, too. But you know, I don't think it would've worked out between us anyway."

Armand was a charming, handsome man, but I knew what kind of life he lived, one that I'd never be able to pull him out of, as he'd shown me last night when he'd left. Although he'd strayed close to the edge, he hadn't gone over it. He'd made his choice. I hadn't expected him to stay with me, but that didn't mean I wasn't a little hurt. There was nothing I could do about it but go on, though.

"Probably for the best, then," Katie said. "You okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I'll be fine."

We talked for a little longer, and then I left while Katie returned to her tally board to get back to work. I headed over to my shop to do the same—I had several trips to make today for repairs and deliveries, not to mention a bunch of filters to install or replace. Same as always, but I didn't mind. I could use the distraction, and keeping busy like that had always been a good way for me to keep my thoughts occupied. It wasn't always easy, though. I hadn't been in a man's arms in so long, and I had a hard time forgetting how good it had felt.