JIMONE : The Fond Farewell

Part 2

Simone shivered as she exited her Uber, thanking the driver for yet another slightly inappropriate compliment about how good she looked. Heading towards the front door, she cursed quietly as her high-heeled peep toe booties hit the pavement. The wind spun around her bare, toned legs and up her thighs, whipping under her short skirt, as if to hurry her along. Ok, ok, she thought, as she quickened her pace up the driveway.

She was running late and she hated being late.

At the door, Simone hesitated before she rang the bell to the house where she once lived, briefly, as a scared teen. She paused, afraid to enter a door she had crossed over a thousand times or more to spend time with her friends who became family and where she grew closer to and fell in love with the man she would marry. Suddenly, she was back in that frightened teenage head space where she second guessed every thing.

She wasn't sure what the dress code was for a pre-funeral dinner among one-time friends, but there was no way she was showing up looking anything less than fire. She knew she looked good, but she wondered if it was too much. Her cute leather jacket did little to provide her body warmth. It did less to cover her sheer shirt. As she crossed her arms over her body, she felt her nipples harden from the chill. Simone cursed again - even her own body was betraying her. She turned to walk away when the door swung open.

"Uh hello," Olivia greeted her. "How long are you going to stand out here freezing?" she asked with a knowing smile. She pulled one of Simone's hands away from her body and held it as she led her friend into the foyer.

"Let me take your coat, sexy," Olivia teased, snapping her fingers.

Simone blushed. "Is it too much?" she asked, looking for reassurance. "I feel like it's too much."

"No," Olivia started firmly. "You look amazing. Now come on so we can eat. We've been waiting for you."

"Am I the last one to get here?" she asked.

"Yeah but don't worry about it," Liv convinced her, giving Simone a wink. "I saved you a seat by me."

As the two girls walked into the dining room, Simone came face to face with her past. She barely had time to take it in when the fun began.

"FINALLY," an irritated Patience said loudly. "Can we eat?"

"P, chill out," Spencer warned. "We all family here. Turn that diva shit down. We knew you before the fame."

Coop snickered. "Hey Simone," she greeted her old friend. "It's been a long time. I see you doing your thing on the court. Respect."

"Thanks, Coop," she replied. "I try." Simone wasn't really up on what everyone else was doing so she didn't say much.

Spencer walked over to give Simone a big hug, avoiding touching or looking over at Olivia. Simone was too overwhelmed to notice the vibes were off between them but Olivia noted the slight immediately.

As Simone found her seat, she greeted Jordan and Layla, immediately looking away to avoid Jordan's intense stare. "Hi, Simone," Layla responded, keeping her eyes on her fiancé.

Jordan cleared his throat, mumbled a greeting and sat back down between Layla and Spencer.

Dinner was...awkward. Politics and religion may have been the safest subjects to discuss at this table. The conversation was stilted, as they attempted to avoid touchy subjects and each one only spoke directly to the people they had no issues with. They wanted to be respectful of the occasion, but being on their best behavior was tiring, and of course it didn't last.