Lead the Way - Chapter 067 - Moving On
Is it my imagination or was there a time when LJ actually worked? When you'd click on something and two seconds later it would show what you wanted.
Well anyway, I don't know what's going over at HQ and how long this will last, so I'll post yesterday's chapter real quick. Sorry folks, it really wasn't my fault.
Lead the Way - Chapter 067 - Moving On
Her heart was pumping so hard, JJ was sure it would fall out of her chest any second now. There she was: her nemesis. Once, she could have grown to like her, if they had met under different circumstances. Now all she felt was hate.
The music around her was as loud as ever, but she barely heard it any more. Her eyes were glued to the beautiful woman standing and laughing about ten feet away from her. She hadn’t even considered that she might be here. It should have occurred to her. Gay women frequent gay bars.
The surprise still was paralyzing. She had spotted her and was on her way over now.
“Hi, blue eyes, didn’t expect to see you here.” From deep within her JJ summoned all the strength she had and answered as neutrally as possible:
“Hello, Sara.”
“Sorry to hear about your break up.” There wasn’t an ounce of sincerity in her voice. JJ’s back tensed even more.
“You heard?”
“Oh yeah. Emily is with me now.” Being struck by lightning couldn’t possibly be any more painful, JJ realized.
“Is she here?” The tremor in her voice could no longer be controlled.
“No, but I’m headed over there right now.” Sara was gloating but that did not ease JJ’s pain. She watched the black woman prance out of the bar and felt her heart break all over again. She would just have a quiet beer at the bar and go home. This had been a bad idea all along.
Seeing Sara had taken her down a notch, but tonight had never been about finding someone. She had come to the conclusion that a break up with Emily did not necessarily mean she had to give up on women altogether. Tonight she would just take the first step.
“Now, that is just plain wrong.” The cheery voice next to her startled her. She looked up from her beer and saw… of course… Donna. This was just the perfect day.
“What is?” JJ mustered, too emotionally drained to follow her line of thinking.
“A beautiful woman, like yourself, should never be so sad. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you, JJ?”
“You remember who I am, then.”
“How could I forget a face like yours?”
JJ had to admit she felt a little better already. Just a little. She smiled shyly at her beer.
“Let me guess.” JJ looked at Donna. “She dumped you.” JJ nodded at her beer.
“Let’s sit down over there and talk. What do you say?” JJ followed her gesture and saw a cosy booth. She wasn’t sure where this was headed but the agent had decided that she was done thinking for other people. She would enjoy her night out and she didn’t have to agree to anything.
“Sure.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Tell me what happened. Did you get too close?” JJ shifted in her seat. Donna knew Emily obviously really well.
“Don’t worry, gorgeous. It’s nothing personal.” Suddenly it was all too much: losing Emily, coming home to an empty house after such a horrid case, her career hanging in the balance and her ex-girlfriend already sleeping around again. It wasn’t personal. Sure as hell felt that way, though. Unwittingly JJ burst out into tears.
“Oh come here.” Donna hugged her and much to her own surprise JJ hugged her back. Donna was a stranger really. They had never even talked but somehow she felt as if the other woman could understand what she could barely admit to herself.
“I’m sorry. I don’t even know you. I don’t mean to be rude.” JJ sat up again, wiping the tears from her cheeks, ready to retract back into her shell.
“She was your first, wasn’t she?” Donna interrupted.
“How did you know?”
“One gets an eye for this kind of things.”
JJ nodded distractedly. She wanted to ask so much she had no idea where to start or even if she should. She hardly knew the woman. After sinking in her arms crying, JJ thought she could dare to ask a question or two.
“Can I ask you something?”
“You can ask me anything.” JJ hesitated and Donna added: “Don’t worry. I’m not trying to get into your pants, if that’s what you’re afraid of.”
“Why are you so nice to me?” There had to be a catch.
“Despite what you may think, some of us are really nice people. Just like yourself.” Ashamed, JJ blushed. It had never occurred to her that she might find a friend tonight.
“How do you know Emily?”
“A couple of years ago I met her at a friend’s party. She had just gotten some kind of promotion apparently and had treated herself to a new designer dress. She outshone everybody.”
“What happened?”
“I cheated on my girlfriend.”
JJ was shocked.
“Emily didn’t know of course. She’s not a cheater. I was angry at Heather for accepting a job offer in Houston and was looking for a reason to break it off, really.”
The Media Liaison was still rather uncomfortable, but she wanted to know more. “What happened next?”
“Nothing. I knew Emily wasn’t one to commit, it’s no secret really.”
“So I’ve noticed.” Her drink was empty and she ordered another beer.
“Do you know why?” JJ whispered, afraid of the answer.
“No one knows. I heard rumours that she had said gay women couldn’t have relationships, but I’m not sure it’s true. Maybe she’s afraid to let anyone in. She’s not exactly easy to get to know.”
JJ snorted. “Tell me ‘bout it.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Donna was driving her home, refusing to let her take a cab. A gesture that reminded her vividly of Emily and had kept her quiet ever since they had left the bar. JJ had lost track on how many beers she had had, but for the first time in almost two weeks she hadn’t felt as though her life had been sucked out of her and she found she liked that feeling. Against all odds Donna had kept her word and had made no attempt to charm her. Even now, in her car, JJ was sure Donna didn’t expect anything from her and she was relieved.
“What are you going to do now?”
The agent remembered the nightmare that had caused her to confront Emily, she thought about their break-up, about Will, about Henry.
“I think, I’ll just wait and see,” she lied.
Thanking Donna for driving her home, she got out of the car. They would likely do this again in the not so distant future, but for tonight JJ had to sort out her thoughts.
Well anyway, I don't know what's going over at HQ and how long this will last, so I'll post yesterday's chapter real quick. Sorry folks, it really wasn't my fault.
Lead the Way - Chapter 067 - Moving On
Her heart was pumping so hard, JJ was sure it would fall out of her chest any second now. There she was: her nemesis. Once, she could have grown to like her, if they had met under different circumstances. Now all she felt was hate.
The music around her was as loud as ever, but she barely heard it any more. Her eyes were glued to the beautiful woman standing and laughing about ten feet away from her. She hadn’t even considered that she might be here. It should have occurred to her. Gay women frequent gay bars.
The surprise still was paralyzing. She had spotted her and was on her way over now.
“Hi, blue eyes, didn’t expect to see you here.” From deep within her JJ summoned all the strength she had and answered as neutrally as possible:
“Hello, Sara.”
“Sorry to hear about your break up.” There wasn’t an ounce of sincerity in her voice. JJ’s back tensed even more.
“You heard?”
“Oh yeah. Emily is with me now.” Being struck by lightning couldn’t possibly be any more painful, JJ realized.
“Is she here?” The tremor in her voice could no longer be controlled.
“No, but I’m headed over there right now.” Sara was gloating but that did not ease JJ’s pain. She watched the black woman prance out of the bar and felt her heart break all over again. She would just have a quiet beer at the bar and go home. This had been a bad idea all along.
Seeing Sara had taken her down a notch, but tonight had never been about finding someone. She had come to the conclusion that a break up with Emily did not necessarily mean she had to give up on women altogether. Tonight she would just take the first step.
“Now, that is just plain wrong.” The cheery voice next to her startled her. She looked up from her beer and saw… of course… Donna. This was just the perfect day.
“What is?” JJ mustered, too emotionally drained to follow her line of thinking.
“A beautiful woman, like yourself, should never be so sad. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you, JJ?”
“You remember who I am, then.”
“How could I forget a face like yours?”
JJ had to admit she felt a little better already. Just a little. She smiled shyly at her beer.
“Let me guess.” JJ looked at Donna. “She dumped you.” JJ nodded at her beer.
“Let’s sit down over there and talk. What do you say?” JJ followed her gesture and saw a cosy booth. She wasn’t sure where this was headed but the agent had decided that she was done thinking for other people. She would enjoy her night out and she didn’t have to agree to anything.
“Sure.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Tell me what happened. Did you get too close?” JJ shifted in her seat. Donna knew Emily obviously really well.
“Don’t worry, gorgeous. It’s nothing personal.” Suddenly it was all too much: losing Emily, coming home to an empty house after such a horrid case, her career hanging in the balance and her ex-girlfriend already sleeping around again. It wasn’t personal. Sure as hell felt that way, though. Unwittingly JJ burst out into tears.
“Oh come here.” Donna hugged her and much to her own surprise JJ hugged her back. Donna was a stranger really. They had never even talked but somehow she felt as if the other woman could understand what she could barely admit to herself.
“I’m sorry. I don’t even know you. I don’t mean to be rude.” JJ sat up again, wiping the tears from her cheeks, ready to retract back into her shell.
“She was your first, wasn’t she?” Donna interrupted.
“How did you know?”
“One gets an eye for this kind of things.”
JJ nodded distractedly. She wanted to ask so much she had no idea where to start or even if she should. She hardly knew the woman. After sinking in her arms crying, JJ thought she could dare to ask a question or two.
“Can I ask you something?”
“You can ask me anything.” JJ hesitated and Donna added: “Don’t worry. I’m not trying to get into your pants, if that’s what you’re afraid of.”
“Why are you so nice to me?” There had to be a catch.
“Despite what you may think, some of us are really nice people. Just like yourself.” Ashamed, JJ blushed. It had never occurred to her that she might find a friend tonight.
“How do you know Emily?”
“A couple of years ago I met her at a friend’s party. She had just gotten some kind of promotion apparently and had treated herself to a new designer dress. She outshone everybody.”
“What happened?”
“I cheated on my girlfriend.”
JJ was shocked.
“Emily didn’t know of course. She’s not a cheater. I was angry at Heather for accepting a job offer in Houston and was looking for a reason to break it off, really.”
The Media Liaison was still rather uncomfortable, but she wanted to know more. “What happened next?”
“Nothing. I knew Emily wasn’t one to commit, it’s no secret really.”
“So I’ve noticed.” Her drink was empty and she ordered another beer.
“Do you know why?” JJ whispered, afraid of the answer.
“No one knows. I heard rumours that she had said gay women couldn’t have relationships, but I’m not sure it’s true. Maybe she’s afraid to let anyone in. She’s not exactly easy to get to know.”
JJ snorted. “Tell me ‘bout it.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Donna was driving her home, refusing to let her take a cab. A gesture that reminded her vividly of Emily and had kept her quiet ever since they had left the bar. JJ had lost track on how many beers she had had, but for the first time in almost two weeks she hadn’t felt as though her life had been sucked out of her and she found she liked that feeling. Against all odds Donna had kept her word and had made no attempt to charm her. Even now, in her car, JJ was sure Donna didn’t expect anything from her and she was relieved.
“What are you going to do now?”
The agent remembered the nightmare that had caused her to confront Emily, she thought about their break-up, about Will, about Henry.
“I think, I’ll just wait and see,” she lied.
Thanking Donna for driving her home, she got out of the car. They would likely do this again in the not so distant future, but for tonight JJ had to sort out her thoughts.