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Chapter 7

Lea had avoidedher all day on Friday. Jewel didn’t need a memo to catch on to that one. She’d tried to find her at lunch, but Lea had vanished from her room in a sprint and didn’t turn around when Jewel called her name. Rather than chasing her down and making yet another scene, Jewel had let it go, watching her walk away.

She’d had over twenty-four hours to think about it. She hadn’t been mad at Brady, and she hadn’t wanted to fight with him because he was being an idiot. She’d wanted to protect what she had claimed, which the more she thought about it, the more that was a problem in and of itself. She didn’t own Lea, nor did Lea own her. Add in that, Lea wasn’t hers to claim.

The stupid crush she’d discovered she had on her best friend had only been growing, not lessening, and the more Jewel realized it, the less she wanted to deal with it. She could not be enamored with her best friend because more problems like Thursday night would happen and then what? She’d be stuck alone with no one else. She literally had no one else in town she thought of as a close friend, which was a personal problem, she knew, but everything in her world had revolved around Lea and Brady and his friends. She hadn’t taken the time to make her own connections.

Jewel held her phone in her hand as she checked the clock for the millionth time that morning. Nine. She and Lea were supposed to go to town and do grocery shopping like they did every other week together. It was part of their built-in routine. Drive to town to save on gas, chit chat while shopping, maybe get some lunch, and head home. But she wasn’t sure she’d even be welcome this time, not with how Lea had behaved on Friday and certainly not with how Jewel had behaved on Thursday.

One thing she knew for certain in the last twenty-four hours, she had never felt lonelier.

Taking the chance, she called Lea and held the phone to her ear with bated breath. Lea had to answer. Jewel had no idea what the next step in her plan was if she didn’t. The phone rang and rang, her heart thumping so hard in her chest and throat, she wasn’t sure that if Lea even answered she’d be able to talk. When it went to voicemail, Jewel cringed and hung up.

She stared at her phone like it was the enemy. What now? She had to fix it. She had to make it better. She had to get down on her knees and grovel and—

Her phone rang.

Grabbing it, Jewel answered the call nearly out of breath. “Lea.”

“Hey! Sorry, I was in the shower. What’s up?”

Tears stung at Jewel’s eyes. “I…uh…are we still going shopping?”

“Yes. Why wouldn’t we?”

“Oh, um…I don’t know. Am I driving or are you?”

“I’ll drive.”

“Okay.” Jewel fidgeted with the edge of her shirt. “I’ll be over soon, then.”

“See you.” Lea hung up.

Jewel found herself staring at her phone again. That had been odd, as though nothing had happened between them to cause a rift, which Jewel knew was not the case. Bouncing on her toes, she practically vibrated. She couldn’t wait. Grabbing her keys, purse, and grocery list, Jewel left her house and got in her car. She drove the short four blocks to Lea’s and parked outside.

When she knocked, Lea called for her to come in. Smiling to herself, Jewel headed inside completely unprepared for the sight before her. Lea stepped from the hall into the living area, her hair twirled up in a towel, her cheeks still pink from her shower, and wearing a tight pair of jeans and loose T-shirt. Jewel’s mouth went dry.

“I’ll just be another few minutes. You’re early.”

“Uh…yeah.” Jewel had to swallow to find her voice. “I didn’t have anything to do.”

Lea gave her a curious look before she turned toward her bathroom. Jewel followed, unable to stop herself. Lea stepped in front of the mirror and pulled the towel from her hair, using it to hand dry the damp strands a bit more.

Jewel leaned against the doorframe and watched. She’d done this before, but she hadn’t been so affected by it until now. The scent of Lea’s shampoo was nearly overwhelming, something fruity. Her cheeks were pink and her skin still looked moist. Jewel’s heart raced, and her fingers itched to reach up and touch the damp curly ends of Lea’s hair and tug. She hadn’t realized how curly Lea’s hair was. She must do something to tame it.

“I told Jean I’d stop by the leather shop and pick up the shoes she got fixed for John, so we’ll have to make another stop today.”

“Okay.” Jewel pressed her lips hard together. “That shouldn’t be a problem.”

But sitting in a car with Lea smelling like that was going to be intoxicating. Lea grabbed her eyeliner and leaned in to the mirror so she could trace it on. Jewel’s gaze followed every slide of her arm and wrist, her confidence as she dolled herself up.

“I’m sorry about the other night,” Jewel finally broke the silence with the only thing she could think to say that wasn’t out of line.

Lea shrugged. “He was crossing boundaries.”

“Still didn’t give me the right to come over here and not let you deal with it. I probably just made it worse.”

Lea set the eyeliner down and faced Jewel. “Maybe, maybe not. We’ll never know. Bridget pulled him over and gave him a ticket, by the way.”