It's Complicated

Chapter 29

I woke up the next morning and got ready for the first day at my new firm. I was hoping that everything went smoothly and that no one brought up the reason that I had to leave the city a few years ago.

"See you tonight babe," I said to Alex, giving him a quick kiss.

"Good luck today," he said with a smile.

I smiled back at him as I walked out the door.

I got to work and began to settle in. I arranged my office, got my new case files, and met all of my new coworkers.

Everything had gone smoothly for my first day at a new office. 5:00 had hit and I was packing up my things to go home when I heard a knock on my door.

I looked up and felt my breath catch in my throat when I saw Jamie standing there. We were not going to make this a habit again.

"Jamie? What are you doing here?" I quickly asked.

"Nice to see you too Cas," she said with a smirk.

I hadn't seen that in a while.

"Sorry," I said quietly, "I just don't think it's a good - "

"Cas," Jamie interjected, "I was in the area for a case I'm working and just stopped by. I'm not trying to cause any problems."

I sighed, still unsure of what to say and feeling increasingly uncomfortable.

Jamie sensed my hesitation and tried to lighten the mood. "This jackass I'm defending for this case is a real piece of work, pretty sure he has about two brain cells."

I smiled slightly and relaxed a little bit. "That's most of the people we have to defend, isn't it?" I asked.

She nodded in agreement before continuing, "so I was also going to ask if you maybe wanted to um, maybe grab a quick drink?"

So she was serious about the whole "friends" thing.

"Jamie," I hesitated, "I don't know -"

She sighed and looked me in the eyes. "Look Cas, after seeing you again I really just can't stop thinking about how we left things. I just," she paused, "I just want to clear the air, that's all."

I thought about it, and it probably was a good idea that we talked things over. The way things had gone so far I was sure I'd run into Jamie multiple times and I didn't want it to continue to be this awkward.

"That and I was serious about the whole friend thing," Jamie continued with a smile, "I do miss talking to you."

"I - yeah I guess that's okay," I said. Maybe this would help us both get closure.

"Good," she said, "there's a good place right down the road."

She turned and walked out of my office and I hesitantly followed. We walked about a block down and into a quiet little bar.

We sat down at a booth and Jamie went up to grab us both drinks. "So how was California life?" She asked as she sat back down.

I shrugged as I ran my finger around the edge of my glass. "It wasn't bad, but I definitely missed the East Coast."

I looked up to find her intently watching me, and felt my stomach flutter.

No, I thought, why is she still doing this to me.

"That's good," Jamie said.

We made comfortable small talk for a while, but I could tell that there was still something that Jamie wasn't saying.

"I um," she started, "I just wanted you to know that I hate the way that things had to end when you left."

She fidgeted with her empty glass in front of her. It was rare to see Jamie this uncomfortable.

I nodded in agreement, "me too."

"I wish," she continued, "I just wish it wouldn't have ended so badly."

I was about to agree with her again, but she continued on.

"Or at all," she said quietly.

She looked up and met my gaze, still fidgeting with the rim of her glass.

"Jamie..." I said.

She shook her head at me, "I'm not trying to pull anything Cas, I just needed to make sure I said that."

I sighed, still not sure how to feel or what to say. I knew this was no easier for Jamie than it was for me, and I could tell she was still uncomfortable.

"You know you don't have to be okay with all of this Jamie," I said. "If it's too - I mean - if it's weird. You don't have to force the friend thing."

It wasn't that I didn't want to try and be friends with Jamie again, I just didn't know if it was a great idea.

"No it's fine! Really," she said. I saw her try to change her demeanor to sound convincing. "I've missed being able to talk to you."

"Me too," I agreed. "I just don't want either of us to feel too uncomfortable about all of this. We haven't exactly had a normal situation."

"Cas you'll know if I'm not fine, I promise," she said with a smile.

"Hey," she continued on, "I'm so fine with it I think we should all hang out."

I raised an eyebrow at her, "all hang out...?" I clarified. "Who do you mean when you say 'all?'"

"Me, you, Sophie, Alex and Liv," Jamie said.

"Liv?" I said, before quickly realizing who she meant.

"Ohh, you mean your 'friend' from the other night?" I asked with a smirk.

"Yes..." Jamie responded. "That's the one."

"I don't know Jamie," before I could finish my thought she chimed in.

"Come on, it'll be fun."

"I guess so," I said hesitantly.

"Perfect," Jamie replied. "There's a cute little restaurant not far from here that we can go to."

She paused momentarily before saying, "unless you want to go out to a club, you know, like the old days."

She smirked at me and I felt my cheeks flush. I hated that she still had this effect on me.

"Restaurant is good," I said dryly.

She laughed and nodded in agreement. "I'm going to go pay the tab I'll be right back," Jamie said.

"Wait, you don't need to get mine," I quickly reached for my wallet.

"It's on me," Jamie smiled at me and walked up towards the bar.

I sat there wondering what I had just agreed to. It was probably a terrible idea, but for some reason I had a very hard time saying no to Jamie.

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