Daily Ramblings

Mar 1 LL 908 words

“You’re such a smart ass, Red,” Jake said. “it’s a good thing I like you regardless.”

“So…what happened?” Justyn asked, still a little wary.

“Well, the short of it is that Chad was distracted over Lacey, which you obviously figured out. And now you’re sitting there wondering just how the hell I know that, and what I’m going to do about it.”

Justyn rarely had people peg her emotions so exactly, with the exception of Lacey. She was a little unnerved by Jake’s observation. So she said nothing.

“And that, my dear friend, is why I called to ask you on an UN-DATE, as you insist upon calling it. I want to pick your brain, I want to know your thoughts on the matter, and I want to know what plans you’ve got going.”

Justyn opened her mouth to protest, then realized she had nothing to say.

“AND, I know that you’re probably sitting here reeling with everything I’m saying. So I’m going to count my blessings, and thank the powers that be that Justyn has nothing to say for once, and tell you what I think. I also know that your calculating mind is probably whirling a million miles a second right now, and you’re not sure if you should be talking to me about this, since its so private and personal and all, and no one else knows what’s going on,” Jake finished quickly, looking smug at the same time.

A long pause went by, before Justyn was able to voice the thoughts that were going through her head. Damn it all, Jake was right. About the whole thing. Justyn wasn’t used to people being able to read her so well. Except with Lacey, and to a lesser degree with Chad, she kept her thoughts close to home. She had learned her lesson hard and well before, and wasn’t free with her emotions any more. To have Jake call everything to a tee was a little disconcerting, to say the least.

“Ok. So I guess my first question to you is why. Why do you want to know my thoughts about all this? What difference will it make?

Jake had anticipated Justyn’s uneasiness about talking about Lacey and Chad, after keeping it to herself for so long. After all, she had protected and quietly promoted that secret alone for quite some time. He had an answer ready, one that he was sure would serve both her loyalty and her love for her friends.

“I want to help,” he said simply.

“Help….what?”

“Help. Assist. Aid. Be of service. Offer advice. Help,” Jake finished with a grin.

“Smart ass yourself, Stretch,” Justyn laughed.

“Alright. Here’s the thing, Red. Like you, I see things that most other people don’t see. Call it my cop-sense, or simple observance, or something else. But I notice stuff. I see you and Lacey, and I know what you two are to each other. I know that you two are closer than any other girls I’ve ever met. I see the way you guys will go to the ends of the earth for each other. I’ve also seen the way Lacey and Chad are when they are together. Since I managed to beat a confession from Chad earlier,” Jake grinned, “I know how he feels. I’m pretty sure Lacey feels the same way about him. And I’m guessing that you’re all prickly about it because you know how they both feel, and you want to protect them.”

Jake paused a moment, to grab some fries and a swig of beer. He was wise enough to let his words sink into Justyn’s mind.

“So what you’re saying is that you want to help me keep the whole world from finding out that our next mayor is madly in love with her head of security,” Justyn said.

“In a way, yes. I know how important it is to keep a ‘clean’ campaign, and I know that some people could have a field day with that. So, yeah, I’ll do all I can to keep that where it belongs.” Jake could see Justyn’s shoulders relax a bit a that statement. “But my question to you is, where does it belong, Red? I’ve seen Chad mooning over Lacey, and it ain’t a pretty sight for a guy to watch. It earned him one hell of a nosebleed, and a shiner to boot!”

Justyn’s laugh joined Jake as she pictured the long and lanky man getting past the defenses of the shorter and stockier one. Then she pictured the black eyes Chad was going to have to explain and laughed some more. Jake was glad to see more of the tension drain from her body.

“But here’s my thing,” he continued. “Propriety and all that aside, and I swear if you ever repeat this I’ll deny it forever, but doesn’t that whole ‘true love’ thing play a part? A rather important part?”

The gleam in Justyn’ eye made Jake falter a bit. “Damn it, I knew I shouldn’t have said that to you,” he laughed.

“Oh yes Jake. True love plays a rather mighty part in life. Though I am a bit surprised to hear you say that,” she teased.

“Yeah, well, like I said, I’ll deny it forever,” Jake muttered. “Besides, I just want to see my friends happy.”

“Well, Stretch, I”ll drink to that. Let’s do some talking, you and I,” Justyn said. “Cheers, Stretch.”

“Cheers, Red.”