One Foot In & One Foot Out

Chapter 18

*Author's Note: The latter half of this chapter has a minute sexual content warning on it. No sexual activity happens but the friends have a talk about sex, so, you know, I guess I should put one here in case someone is uncomfortable it talks about it.

DECEMBER

It was getting closer to graduation time and Jael was beyond thrilled to leave her school. She was about to have a bachelor's degree! Within the month that passed, she and Davin did another two Parks and Rec binging mini dates with his sister and Hale at Daisy's house. He was a little nicer to Hale both times thankfully when he realized that he had nothing but good intentions. Hale and Daisy make a cute couple and they seem to be getting along well.

Jael still has yet to make Davin dinner, but she planned on doing it soon before graduation so she could also see if she could gather any intel out of him. She managed to get some out of Daisy, but when she tried to press her for more the next time she saw her, she was tight lipped about it and wouldn't say anything else, instantly changing the topic.

Kostas and Sophia were still dating but at least he was back to hanging out with Lucia, Byron, and her on his regular schedule again. He told them that he told her that she would have to be alright with him hanging out with his friends. She put up a fuss at first but if they were going to rebuild trust and communication between them then she had to live with it.

Jael and her siblings decided to do one lunch together every week so they could catch up on each other's lives and make sure the other was alright. It became like their sibling bonding ritual that they grew to love and cherish.

To Jael's surprise, Lucia and Dominican Bruce have started going on dates. She was really happy for her friend because now occasionally Bruce would hang out with them during lunch between classes. He was a good guy and Lucia needed a good guy. Her last boyfriend didn't last as long as she hoped and that was over two years ago.

Jael could already see the impact he was having on Lucia. She was starting to smile more and worry less. Laugh more and glow. But Lucia was still Lucia. She still roasted people she didn't like and still made jokes during class with Jael and Byron.

Now that Byron and Lucia knew about Jael's secret life, they and Kostas came over to her house a lot to talk about different things and formulate plans. Jael also now made them bring over their own contributions to dinner instead of eating all her food. These dinners became a twice a week thing and it brought the friends closer together and seemed to help them relax and not be as worried about their current situations.

"How are things going with you and Sophia?" Lucia asked Kostas.

It was a cold Tuesday night in Memphis on December fifth and the squad was once again at Jael's house for one of their weekly "Dine and Chill" nights. One thing Jael liked about living in the south was that their winters were never too serious. Or at least not as serious as they are up north. Here, when there was a forecast for snow everyone and their step-third cousin once removed ran to the closest store to gather all the canned goods, bread, and milk that they could find.

It gets very dramatic down in the southern musical city, however, even though the snow itself isn't that bad, the ice storms are even worse. That is what is to be afraid of. Ice on the roads mixed with people who can't drive results in plenty of car accidents. For some reason, the people will continue to drive reckless on roads with ice on them like they are invincible. The people in this city just do not slow down for anything.

See that the streetlight has turned yellow? Speed up, don't slow down! See that people are crossing the street? Keep driving at 50mph! There a squirrel in the road? Try to hit it, it's worth 10 points!