We Fell In Love In October

Session 5.2

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rainbow | kacey musgraves
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HIGH HEELS ON marble floors was not a recommended combination, especially if you had to spend hours combing through racks of extravagant clothing and shopping for the 'right' assets for a wedding. I longed for any of the strappy flats stacked in my apartment, wondering how grateful my soles would be for the change in footwear.

Glancing behind me, I saw Jayce and Haze in an animated conversation which looked funny from where I stood. The way Haze's eyes and hands moved radiated a glow of confidence which was not to be seen in Jayce. He stood there awkwardly, not knowing whether to let loose or hold on to that reserved attitude.

I wished Haze somehow coaxed him to make him feel belonged. I didn't want him to regret coming here. "Stop being obvious with the longing glances, Asterin," Stacey told me, grabbing the dress from my hand and catching my attention.

"What are you talking about?"

"You can't go minutes without staring at Jayce. I agree that he is..." Stacey pretended to scan Jayce, "quite the eye candy even with the battered shoes," she said.

I rolled my eyes. Jayce was indeed very handsome. No cheap clothing can change that fact. But, that wasn't the topic of discussion. "It's not like that. Jayce and I are just friends," I said.

"Do you think I believe that shit?" She raised her eyebrows at me and crossed her arms across her chest. "Okay, so how did you two meet?"

"Um..we, uh, we bumped into each other in Filter Kaapi," I said and immediately Stacey laughed.

"I can give you a four for your attempt. Good try though, Asterin," she said, taunting me with that signature look of hers.

"What?"

"Stop lying to me. It's so obvious," she accused and pulled out a dress from the hanger. "When are you going to realise that you can never lie to me and get away with it? Spill the details already. You know I am not going to judge you," she said and I sighed, looking up from the gold dress in my hands.

"We first met when he came to my office with an appointment," I admitted and Stacey's eyes widened. Skipping our first meeting was the best choice, for me, her and everyone.

"You are dating your client? Whatever happened to 'Work life is different from personal life' and 'The ethics of this profession is sacred to me' ?" She asked.

"And someone said they won't judge me," I mocked her and she swatted my arm.

"Look, I am not dating him, okay? And he is not my client. Shit went down when he came to my office demanding a fake report," I started and filled in the details of the conversation/ exchanges of each other's weakness. "We met again in the park and we talked and talked. When we met again, he had a hangover and I had a bad headache. I took him to Filter Kaapi. But one thing led to another and somehow I broke down in front of him and told him everything about Gale," I explained.

"What?"

"Yeah, I had a weird and emotionally messy day. After that, we sorta became friends, I guess. He is a really nice guy when he isn't temperamental." I glanced at Jayce again. "I don't know, I feel like I've known him for decades when I talk to him. He was technically a stranger when we met in the park again but it was as if we unconsciously skipped the 'stranger' phase. You know what I'm talking about, right?"

"Like you guys are meant to be friends?"

"Yes, I feel comfortable with him and there's something about him that makes me want to spend time with him."