Along Came You

Pt.3: Smash Into You

"Whoa Whoa there! Slow down little road runner"  The stranger laughed, sending chills up her spine. She was still confused as to how she ended up crashing into the hard body.  Maybe her mind was still hazy from the night before. One shot too many. 

"I am so sorry. I did not mean to spill your drink. I wasn't looking ahead of me and where I was going. I'm such a clutz. I should've paid attention. I looked at my phone and I know I'm not suppose-" She was cut off from her frantic state.

"It's alright, Just a cup of coffee nothing major. To be honest I dropped it myself to catch you. Would rather have the coffee splattered on the ground than you. Wouldn't you agree? He smiled. Making her feel a bit at ease

"I suppose you're right" she spoke a bit unsure of herself. "How about I replace that to apologize? I was still the person not paying attention." she looked up at him squinting her eyes due to the sun shining directly on her. She then noticed how the weather decided to spare her for the day and not rain on her parade. Pity Parade that is.

"Sure, if you insist. I'd definitely appreciate the gesture"

"Great!" Good thing he accepted the offer. This would've weighed on her mind all day. She could repay him and get back to her plans. 

Jade and the mystery guy headed into the small shop and walked to the counter while he ordered the drinks for them. Jade was excited to bring out the Starbucks gift card and promised the man that he wasn't taking any money out of her pockets. As the barista gave the two their coffees, both of them turned to each other at the same time.

" I uh-"

"So wh-"

They both spoke at the same time and laughed.

Before one of them could speak again, the mystery guy's phone began to chime. He looked at her with sympathy before answering. She understood that the look  meant he had to take the call. As he stepped away, she was brought back to reality and convinced herself that it wasn't the time to put herself in another situation. She was already trying to get over James and felt that if she we're to let someone else in it would only ruin her more. Instead of trying to stick around, she made a dash for the door to save herself the disappointment.

As she jogged down the street, she thought of how much of a weird lady she looked trying to run down the street with a cup of coffee in her hand trying not to spill it over. She decided being locked in wasn't so bad after all.

After making sure the front door was all locked, Jade began to feel a little relief,  believing that she'd dodged a bullet. Sitting down on the couch in her small living room, she decided to find her favorite rom-com How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days on Netflix, completely disregarding the coffee left on the counter in the kitchen, she convinced herself that it was five o'clock somewhere in the world and one glass of wine wouldn't hurt. A couple of hours later, one glass turned into one bottle. Yeah, James had evaporated from her mind now, but when the wine was gone, he'd be back. 

A couple of years ago, if someone would have told Jade that she would live a lonely life and continuously falling to the feet of James she would have cackled and told them how big of a liar they were. She knew the type of guy James was. She'd heard the rumors and seen the girls that he'd left trailing behind him on his way to his next conquest. She'd never believe she'd be caught trailing behind just like the rest. Somehow, he proved her all wrong. 

Jade grew up with one sibling, her younger brother Micah. She and her brother were raised by their single mother up until they were old enough to get out on their own. Once the eggs flew the nest, Charles came along and swept their mother off of her feet. They've been together ever since. In school Jade was never a loner. She wasn't popular, but she wasn't an outcast either. She had friends of every class. Captain of the debate team, member of the math club, head of the prom committee. She was known by everyone. After high school, being with James became her number one priority. All of her dreams, achievements, personality was lost.