One Deep Breath

Chapter Seven

Later that night Jolie and Rachel were back in the room, both on their laptops each in their own beds. Jolie had filled Rachel in on the latest Landon drama during dinner.

"So are you gonna call him?"

"Who?" Jolie automatically replied before realizing her mistake. 

"Landon. Wait, what? Did you get that guy's number last night? I thought you said nothing happened!" Rachel shot out of bed and was over on Jolie's in an instant. "You little slut! Tell me everything!"

"There's nothing to tell! He did put his number in my phone though," Jolie replied, looking abashedly over at her best friend.

"No. That's not nothing."

"Alright, alright. We got food, like I told you. And then he drove me home right after, also like I told you. But there was something weird between us, like chemistry maybe? I mean obviously he's majorly hot. But I think he might have been in to me, too."

Jolie paused to gauge her friend's face, but Rachel just continued to look at her expectantly, obviously awaiting more detail.

"He had given me his coat, cuz it was snowing and all, so we were huddled together while we waited for our hot dogs. And we kind of held hands at one point, and we had one moment where I thought maybe he would kiss me. But he didn't. And then he just brought me here. I don't know. I hardly spent a full hour with him!"

Rachel pursed her lips and cocked her head to the side, trying to get a better read on everything Jolie had just spilled.

"You like him," Rachel plainly stated.

"I don't even know him!"

"Yeah but it was clear you were attracted to him last night, the way you were both staring at each other back by those bathrooms, you could cut the sexual tension with a knife. And just now when I thought it was obvious I was asking about Landon, you thought maybe I was referring to Jesse, which proves that you've been thinking about him today. Haven't you?"

Rachel took Jolie's silence as a yes, and she burst into a fit of giggles.

"Hey girl, good for you. He's way hot. He's obviously out of school already, right?"

"Yeah, he's a few years older than us, works full time. I think he works for his dad. The Troy-Bennett Group."

Rachel nodded and got up to go back over to her own bed, satisfied with Jolie's recollection of the prior night's events.

"But, um, back to Landon for a minute," Jolie began. "Am I a totally bad person? Should I be apologizing to him for overreacting last night and fighting with him today?"

Rachel paused before answering.

"Do you want my honest answer?"

Jolie nodded her head yes.

"I think your fight with him today is bigger than just a shitty photo on Instagram. I know you don't want to be with him anymore, but I also know that you don't know how to be without him. And honestly, I like Landon, but I think it's done. I think it's been done for a while. I just think neither of you know how to let it go. At this point if you stay together you'll both just be settling. But no, Jay, you're not a bad person. You're actually a pretty amazing person. And if you like this Jesse guy, I think its okay to explore that a little."

Tears stung the back of Jolie's eyes in that moment, because everything her best friend had just said was entirely true. She gave Rachel a small nod and a soft smile, before settling back into her pillows.