“My foster mother taught me to always hold the door open for a lady.”
Jed pulled the cafe doors open, ushering Vanessa inside. She was bundled up, tight, wearing one of Jed’s big gray scarves and woolen duster. It was gigantic on her, grazing the ground with each step she took, forcing her to grab at Jed’s arm for stability. Normally, she wouldn’t be caught dead wearing one of these--the color was so 2067, and its bulkiness was extremely unappealing. But, they were going for a walk after this at a nature preserve, and her sheer tights would provide no barricade from the chilly winter weather.
“She also told me to do… this.” He pulled a chair out for Vanessa to sit on, and, before she could thank him, Jed turned around, sifting through his pockets for something.
“And this.” Jed grabbed out his navy blue wallet, opening it in front of her and flashing her his cash. “Let me buy you your drink. It’s a thank you and an, um, apology for crying on you, and an apology for that giant snot stain I left on your shirt… sorry.”
Before Vanessa could protest and insist that she pay for both of them, Jed dashed up to the front counter and began talking to the barista. She watched him, curious as to what he would get for her, knowing for a fact she had never told him her drink order.
Alone and eager to drown out the strange choice of music the cafe was playing, Vanessa relayed the events of the last few hours:
He told her about his suicide-pact. He cried. They hugged. They also had a strangely charged pillow fight. That was … a lot. But Vanessa was glad it happened, regardless. The way he clung to her so desperately after bearing his heart made her see how much Jed held inside. She didn’t want him to feel that way anymore. Hopefully their friendship proposition would allow for Jed to feel as if he’s able to share his feelings more and more until he got to a point where he could finally breathe easy.
Their talk made Vanessa realize how much she appreciated having him in her life -- he had become her routine. Someone she saw every day. For these next years, their lives would continue to build themselves around one another and then, as with every bracket season, it would come to a sudden halt. A close that marked the sharp and sudden end of any further relationship development. Strangely, at that realization, Vanessa became suddenly uncomfortable. Usually, she was excited to say goodbye to her old brand ambassadors and hello to new horizons, but right now… saying bye to Jed made a pit form in her stomach. Well! She didn’t have to say goodbye -- she could always employ him like she did for Amon! And, considering this bracket’s theme, Vanessa was certainly not opposed to Jed dropping out early.
“Dove?” The barista called out, snapping Vanessa out of her thoughts.
Dove? Why was he going by that?
Jed hurried to the woman holding his beverages and graciously took them from her, dropping any spare change into the tip jar. In one hand, he held a tiny paper cup. In the other, a tall, plastic one, with a mysterious reddish-blue liquid inside.
Once back at the table, Jed slapped the drinks down, antsy for Vanessa to notice what he picked out for her. He sat down across from her, eagerly bouncing his foot up and down, shaking the table in between them. “Look at what I picked for you.”
Curious, Vanessa peered down, greeted by a very pleasant surprise. Hey -- this was her exact order! Jed must’ve paid attention that one time they went all those weeks ago.
“Jed!!” Vanessa beamed, feeling particularly special, and clapped her hands together. “I’m impressed.”
Before drinking her espresso shots, a much needed pick-me-up after their emotional talk, Vanessa examined his drink. Why was it blue? Did they even serve that stuff here? And, last time they went, Jed told her he was allergic to everything on the menu. So… what gives?
“What is this?” Vanessa grabbed Jed’s drink, lifted it up, and swirled it around, making sure the consistency was truly liquid. “And why did you tell her your name was Dove?”
“I ask every random worker to call me Dove.” She placed his cup down, sliding it back to him as he spoke. “It’s like, um… exposure therapy?”
“And… It's blueberry juice.” He smiled a little sheepishly at that, feeling embarrassed. “After we went last time, I asked the barista lady if she could work around the allergies just in case you wanted to meet here again. Because, um… you know. If you like this place, I don’t want to make you look for a new meeting spot or whatever.” He met her gaze, and Vanessa found herself feeling flustered at the sudden eye contact. That was different. “So, we figured out that in this one smoothie they sell, they use real blueberries. Ones that they store in the freezer, away from everything. So, she blends them up and pours it into a cup for me.”
“Oh my gosh, okay, well I hope you gave her a real nice tip for that!”
“I- I did!” Jed looked back at the barista, suddenly worried about under-paying her.
As the radio quieted during a shift in songs, Jed noticed how fast and loud his incessant tapping had become, and made a conscious effort to stop it. He wanted to kick his nervous habits. No ripping straw wrappers, no cracking his knuckles, no fidgeting. Not anymore! This was the new Jed. This was confident Jed.
“So…” Confident-Jed said, wanting to steer the conversation for once. “How are your other clients?”
Vanessa smiled at that, but the heavy sigh that followed let him know it wasn’t earnest. Confident-Jed took that as a not great. “Well, I’m technicallllly not supposed to gossip about you guys to one another--’cause it totally causes in-fighting. Which sucks to deal with.” She took a sip of her coffee, accidentally burning her tongue. It was hot. “And if I tell you something, but not Titan something, that’s considered favoritism.”
“Oh… but, I thought we were off the clock?” He tilted his head, attempting to appear as innocuous as possible whilst slowly pushing Vanessa to complain about Titan. Confident-Jed wanted to hear how annoying that guy was, and then subtly, so, so subtly, show why he was way better. “So it’s fine. This is friend time.”
“Friend-time.” She repeated, laughing slightly. “Sureeee. Am I going to regret saying we can get personal outside of work hours, Jed?”
“No!” Regular-Jed put his hands up defensively, shaking them to really emphasize his disagreement. Inwardly, he scolded Confident-Jed. You flew too close to the sun! “Sorry.”
But, Vanessa wasn’t mad. She took another deep breath, and decided to fill both Jeds in on the details. “Titan is a seasoned boxer. He has a big fanbase of really crazy guys, so he was an easy choice, you know? I didn’t have to build up a following for him or whatever.”
“But, like, with fame comes arrogance, always. And he’s just overflowing with testosterone, so it’s extra bad.” As she continued, her smile contorted to a strained frown. “Titan wants all of my time, and whenever we meet, he’s just complaining and complaining about my branding, about how often I see him, about the attention I’m putting on you.”
“Me?” Jed was beginning to feel defensive -- who did this Titan guy think he was?
“Yeah. I do dedicate a lot of time to you, but that’s because you’re a total rookie! You needed extra help. You didn’t have a single fan or anything to work with.” Jed’s brows furrowed, feeling frustrated on Vanessa’s behalf. Part of him wished he could be there so Titan wouldn’t mess with her anymore. The other part of him wanted her to just drop him as a client all together. Vanessa could make due with just two boxers instead of three this bracket, right?
“Ana doesn’t care, she’s easy. But Titan… he’s got a real problem with you.” Vanessa’s expression suddenly took a more serious turn, and she reached out to place a hand on top of Jed’s. “It makes me a little worried, considering this year's special event theme.”
“What is it?”
“You…” Vanessa cocked a brow at that. “Don’t know?”
“No. I never checked.” That was embarrassing to admit. Confident-Jed was officially retiring.
“Oh, well, ummm. Okay! I’m going to have Amon tell you about it the next time you two meet up because I’m not feeling giving you some seriously bad news.” With that, she finished her drink. “I’m gonna be sure to take off that day!”
That freaked Jed out -- with each bracket, the challenges increased, but so did the monetary prize. His bracket was exponentially higher than any of the other ones, even Amon’s, who suffered through the Beat ‘Em While They’re Down theme. What could possibly be worse than that?
Noticing the sudden pang of anxiety shrouding Jed’s face, Vanessa got up, collecting their drinks and tossing them in the trash behind the table. “Want to take your walk now? It’s still sunset -- perfect time to look at pretty leaves”
Jed nodded. That sounded good.
Standing up, Jed put an arm out for Vanessa to grab onto once more in case she found herself slipping on the giant duster again. Cordially, she took it, and arm and arm the two of them headed for the exit.
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