Sugar, Baby?

Head to Head, Heart to Heart

We make good time to the jet, which pleases Jade.

     I'm looking forward to spending the 4 hour Jet ride spooning the love of my life and napping peacefully, but my dreams to do so are dashed when Jade pulls Jesy away before I can even get settled.

     "Noooo," I whine, clinging to Jesy's arm.

     Jesy smiles and pecks a quick kiss to my lips, but then follows Jade to the back of the jet. Apparently having a couple measly days off means you've got to be fully briefed as to the week's itinerary and caught up on your social media posting before you get to wherever you're going next.

     Leigh slides into Jesy's seat almost as soon as she's gone, and though I'm still a little salty that I don't get to sleep and snuggle my girlfriend, I'm very happy that I've got my best friend.

     "How are you, Leigh-Leigh?" I ask, wrapping her in a tight hug before we both settle comfortably in our seats.

     "Oh, I'm swell," she says, smiling at me. "And you look phenomenal Pez, really. You're so... alive. It's wonderful to see you like this, all bright and happy and sunshiney. I was starting to get worried about you."

     "I know," I say, laying my head on her shoulder. "I was just so... flat after I lost my job. It was like nothin' really mattered anymore. Even before I lost it, everything had gotten so hum-drum and monotonous, and I just felt like I was in a rut. And then I went from entirely unemployed and beyond lonely to this in a matter of weeks. I don't think I've even stopped to breathe and take in what's happened," I say, realizing it's true.

     "It doesn't seem like Jesy and Jade have a ton of downtime," Leigh says.

     "No," I say with a rueful smile. "Unfortunately, you'll probably be stuck with yours truly most days instead of your new girlfriend."

     Leigh rolls her eyes. "You're just so pleased with yourself, aren't you? Pawning me off on your girlfriend's best friend. Honestly, Perrie."

     "Oh, come off it," I say with a giggle. "You like her, don't you?"

     "Jade's great," Leigh says with a smile, before she sobers. "But I'm not sure I can handle all the time apart, even if this week goes as well as I think it will. I have a job and a life that I have to get back to when these next five days are over."

     I know Leigh doesn't mean it as a dig, but it kind of feels like one.

     "You don't wanna just be a 'baby full time like yours truly? Too good for that?" I ask abrasively.

     "Woah, Pez, I didn't mean it like that at all," Leigh says, a little taken aback by my defensiveness. "I just meant that I'm happy with my job as a TV reporter. I like being a local celebrity, and going out and investigating and meeting new people. I can't just jump on a jet and leave it all behind."

     "You think it's a bad idea?" I ask, using Leigh as an excuse to let my own worries bubble to the surface.

     "Not for you," Leigh says honestly. "But, alike as we are, we're not the same in this way. I need to have a set schedule and a steady job to keep me sane. You've always been a little less rigid in that way."

     I mull over what she's said. It seems like a bit of a push off, a way to get around answering the question.

     "Plus, Pez," Leigh says, waiting for me to look at her before she speaks.

     "Yes?" I say, wincing when it comes off a little bitchier than I intended.

     "You can't really consider yourself a 'baby at this point," she says, and even though I know it's true, it sort of rubs me the wrong way.