Starbucks

I was shuffling through some invoices at work when I received a text from Jessica.

"Hey... What're you up to this afternoon?"

I wrote back that I didn't have any plans, so she asked if I'd be interested in grabbing coffee with her. Even though I was on my second cup of regular (leave me alone, I'm trying to cut back), I agreed. We hadn't really talked since our beach trip and I didn't want things to become tense. I realized that I hadn't really talked to Darlene or Anna much either. Maybe I was too busy texting Justin emojis all day, but it hadn't even dawned on me that our group text was eerily quiet. Was this 'beach argument' really a thing?

I picked Jessica up when I got out of work and began driving to the closest Starbucks. It had been muggy out all day, but the rain had held off. That is, until we arrived at Starbucks.

"Maybe it'll stop in a few minutes," I said as I turned my car off. "Want to wait it out for a little?"

"Sure," Jessica said, staring out the window at the busy road. I thought she was going to say something else, but she held her glare on the road for a little too long.

"So what's up?" I asked. Even if things were still weird from the beach, Jessica and I had no reason for tension. We were on the same team, after all. If anything, she was the only one on my team. I bit my lip as I began to wonder if Darlene and Anna were stirring over everything that happened the other day.

I almost fell down the rabbit hole of complete overly anxious thoughts about what my friends were thinking when Jessica luckily broke the awkward silence.

"Nothing, just exhausted," she responded with a sigh. After all that silence, that's the best she can do? Weak sauce.

"Has work been rough?" I innocently asked.

"No, not really."

The awkward silence continued for a few more seconds. She continued to stare out the window at the rain.

"Well, it's not going to get any better than this," Jessica finally said, referring to the rain. She was right. It wasn't raining as hard as it had been when we first parked, but it was still pretty bad.

"Okay, let's go," I said as I pulled the hood of my sweatshirt up.

We ran into Starbucks and even though it was only a ten second sprint, the bottoms of our legs were drenched upon walking in. The place was pretty much empty, which was not surprising considering the weather, so we were able to order right away. Jessica asked for some green tea frappuccino concoction, which looked ridiculously disgusting, but I decided it was best not to make fun of it. I figured this afternoon was troubled enough. I decided I needed a mocha latte for the occasion. Once we had our drinks, we sat with a view of the thunderstorm.

"Caroline, I've been thinking a lot about what everyone said about Josh," Jessica quickly began. She was no longer embracing the silence. "Darlene and Anna made it pretty clear that they are not going to support my decision unless I choose to stop seeing him. It makes me feel kind of backed into a corner. I know you didn't side with them, but they really made me feel like crap."

"I get that," I interjected. "That wasn't fair at all."

"It's made me think," she continued without even acknowledging my comment. It was as if she had a speech rehearsed and would not stray from it. "I'm pretty certain about my choice," she stated before taking a long sip of her frappuccino.

"And?" I asked as I held my breathe. Was she going to stop seeing Josh? Were Darlene and Anna driving her into his arms? What was she certain about?

She looked down and began playing with her straw. "Josh deserves another chance."

"Well," I began, slightly disappointed, "I'm happy if you're happy. You know that." As I took a sip of my latte, I furrowed my eyebrows. "So what did Darlene and Anna make you think about?" I asked.

Jessica looked out at the rain. "I can't be around Darlene or Anna right now," she began, completely avoiding eye contact with me. "I think I need my space for a while. You know, so I can give things with Josh a fair shot. I can't have their negativity around me right now. I don't want to think about how they hate my boyfriend every time we hang out."

I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. "Really?" I asked.

Jessica nodded. "I just wanted to tell you in person. We can still hang out. I'll probably lose my sanity if we don't." Jessica turned to me and cracked a smile for the first time. I smiled back at her, even though my mind was racing. How long would this go on? Was she going to simply avoid them? Did she want me to pass the message along? Would Jessica come out for Darlene's birthday at the end of the month?

I finally managed to mutter out a response. "I want things to work out with you and Josh. I mean that."

"I know," she said as she nudged my right shoulder with her left one. "And I'm sure you and Justin will work out. Maybe we can double date soon!"

I agreed, but wasn't sure if that would ever work itself out. We made some small talk about work for the rest of the afternoon before walking back to my car. It luckily wasn't raining anymore, but it was still super gross out.

"Keep in touch," I desperately said once I reached Jessica's house. "And let me know if you need anything at all."

"Of course I will, Caroline," Jessica said back with a weak smile. "Thanks a lot. I mean it."