Cole & Jamie

Chapter 2

The loud ring of my alarm bounced off my bedroom walls. I groaned searching for the source of the noise in my sheets. After too long I found my phone underneath my bed, the time taunted me from the bright screen. 

When I opened my own business I thought my days of waking up early were over. I was sadly mistaken, there's too much to do and I didn't trust Destiny and Melody to lead the ship all by themselves just yet.

They were my only two employees, the only ones I could afford if I was being honest. Fresh out of high school they were just excited to be working at all and I was excited to have someone that wanted to work for me. The two of them couldn't be more different from the other; Destiny was upbeat, spunky, and the girl talked a mile a minute while Melody was reserved, a bit shy, and rather timid. I wasn't sure how the three of us would get along at first but after the first few days of working together, three of us just clicked.

My head spun as I climbed out of bed. An even lower alcohol tolerance was the one thing thirty had brought me that I wanted to return. I was never a heavy drinker to begin with but now even a few glasses of wine could take me out of commission. 

"Ah," I shrieked, looking at myself in the mirror. My bonnet had slipped off some time in the night leaving my curls mashed down on one side and the bags under my eyes were far from designer. Not a pretty sight.

I stepped into the shower letting the warm water wash the last of my sleep down the drain. As I worked the soap into a lather, thoughts of the night before began to trickle in. It almost felt like a dream. I smiled as bits of our conversation played back in my mind. It's been so long I forgot how easy it is to be with him. I've been lucky enough to have more than a few great friendships in my life but none of them compared to the bond that Cole and I had. Trish would kill me if she heard me say anything of the sort but it was true.

Shutting off the water, I wrapped myself in a towel before going into my walk-in closet. stepping into my closet. If I'm being truthful this house wasn't my first choice or even my second, but when I saw this walk-in closet I knew I had to have it. After living in tiny New York City apartments for nearly a decade the two-story house felt like a mansion. And I tried to treat it as such. You know, manifest and all that.

I pulled the white sleeveless dress over my head. The silky material felt cool on my bare skin as it slipped over my torso and fell to the top of my knees. It was supposed to be the first truly hot day of the summer and I wanted to soak it up for all it was worth. Maybe I would even try to go out for lunch today.

By some miracle, I was able to do my hair and still make it out of the house in time to pick up coffee for me and the girls. While making my dash to the car, I barely skirted my nosey neighbor, Rhonda. I love her dearly but man can she talk.

Pulling into my parking spot on the square, my heart swelled with pride as I looked into my storefront. I still can't believe I can say that I have a store; I'm not just managing someone else's and hoping that they see I'm doing a good job. As much as I loved my time working in the city nothing would beat opening something I owned every morning.

I struggled to balance my purse and the heavy coffee holder in my hands as I made the trip from my car to the front door. Making my way through the racks, I found Melody and Destiny whispering with their heads together at the register. I set the caddy of drinks on the counter interrupting whatever they were gossiping about. "Thanks for the help ladies."

They snagged their respective drinks. "Sorry, Jamie," Destiny apologized, "I didn't see you."

I shook my head. You provide drinks and a steady paycheck and you still can't get a good morning.