Page 21
Story: Finding Jess
“What?” Sam jerked her head back. “That’s not true.”
“It’s definitely true,” Scarlett said as she ambled over to the next row of flowers.
Sam pursed her lips. “Okay, maybe it’s been true a few times before.” Scarlett gave her a pointed look, arching one brow. “But Tiana’s different. I’ve known her for like half my life. She’s like that with everyone.”
Scarlett walked further down the aisle, muttering something beneath her breath that Sam couldn’t quite make out.
Jess stayed close by, eyes trailing over the flowers before them. “You guys knew each other before high school?”
“Yeah,” Sam answered with a nod as she rested her hands in her pockets.
Jess hummed, tilting her head back as if thinking something through. “Did she know Liz, too?”
Somehow, in the few minutes since arriving, she’d managed to forget about Liz entirely. With how easily they’d slipped back into a sense of normalcy, she’d forgotten exactly how much had really changed.
“Uh—no,” Sam replied, shaking her head as she moved further down the aisle. “Liz and I were friends a couple years before I met Tiana.”
Jess nodded slowly, and Sam could see the wheels turning in her mind. She knew that look. It reminded her of when they’d first met and she would ask her questions about her past, careful never to push too hard. Which made it all that much easier to open up.
“We were in one of the same homes together,” she continued, giving Jess the answer to the question she knew she wanted, but wouldn’t ask.
“Oh,” Jess said quietly, glancing up at her with a slightly surprised look in her eyes.
Sam cocked her head. “Why do you look surprised?”
Jess shrugged lightly. “You never mentioned her before.”
Sam turned, looking back at the row of arrangements. “We don’t get to see each other often. She bounces around a lot. Never really liked to stay in one place for long.”
Jess nodded slowly, her lips tightening in the way they always did when she wanted to say something, but held back.
“What about these?” Scarlett called out.
Sam looked up to see Scarlett making her way back toward them with an enormous bouquet clutched tightly between her hands.
“Oh, those are gorgeous,” Jess replied, stepping around the end of the aisle toward her.
Sam looked them up and down, and although they looked almost the exact same as half of the others she’d pointed out so far, she nodded along anyway. “Yeah,” she said, trying to add some enthusiasm to her tone. “They’re great.”
The corner of Jess’ lips quirked upward as she shot her an amused glance.
“Ugh,” Scarlett groaned. “But it’s not exactly what I was picturing.”
“What did you have in mind?” Sam asked, trying to find any possible way to be helpful.
“Something with greenery,” Scarlett muttered, eyes narrowing as she twisted it in her hand, examining them meticulously.
Sam stared down, scanning the countless green leaves poking out of the bouquet. “Is that not what that is?” she muttered, throwing a nod at it.
Scarlett huffed, shaking her head. “Yeah, but—not like that.”
Sam arched a brow as she nodded slowly. She could understand some of the most complex software and mathematics problems known to man, but apparently figuring out wedding arrangements was where her brain drew the line.
“Right,” she muttered.
“What about this one?” Scarlett asked, holding up a new bouquet.
Sam held back from pointing out that it seemed to have even less greenery than the last one.
Table of Contents
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- Page 21 (Reading here)
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