Chapter Six:

| Whitney |

“This is insanity! What are you doing out there, Whit? Come back home.” Theresa’s exasperated tone irritated her younger sister to no end. When she couldn’t ignore her family’s constant barrage of phone calls any longer, she finally gave in and answered mid ring just before hopping in the shower to begin job hunting. Auburn didn’t seem to have many prospects- but there was still one more day to go until she’d see Hollis again at Chelsea’s, and sticking around Kendra and her obscure group of drinking buddies wasn’t an option.

“California was never my home.” Whitney replied without missing a beat, undoing the tie holding her long black braid together and separating the mess of wavy curls with her fingers as she spoke. “I wish you’d give me space, Theresa. Mom and dad too. I have my own money, and I’m doing alright for myself in Maine-“

“But WHY move so far away from us? Are we really that insufferable to be around?”

You're kidding me, right?

Cue the tears for dramatic effect. Theresa would have been much more convincing...if she weren’t an astounding actress. Whitney rolled her deep set brown eyes and undressed hastily in the guest bathroom before cranking the shower on.

“If you don’t listen to anything else I tell you, why would I bother explaining all the reasons I was unhappy in Hollywood? I just don’t belong...it doesn’t mean I don’t love you, but everyone deserves to feel like they have a place somewhere. Not trying to be rude, but I have to go now.” Without giving Theresa a chance to retort, Whitney ended the call and stepped into the inviting stream of hot water. Like clockwork, her phone rang three more times before whoever was on the other end gave up at last. It seemed like her parents and sister took shifts trying to reach her, and it was mind blowing. Had they paid this much attention to how she felt while she was still living at that same damn house in California with her parents, maybe things would’ve worked out differently.

Okay probably not, but still. She couldn’t even earn their respect from thousands of miles away. She thought maybe her dad would see this as a step in the right direction at least, but of course he didn't. It was all about control with the York family. Unreal.

Whitney contemplated this as she lathered up her svelte body with some honeysuckle gel from Bath & Body Works, and scrubbed the tension from her scalp with a similar smelling shampoo. After a lifetime of being hounded for the time she “wasted” in the shower, it felt luxurious to take as long as she wanted without anyone jumping down her throat for once. Kendra was more than fair about the utility costs, and she wouldn’t have minded paying a little extra anyway. Self care was a high priority in her book.

Speaking of books, she wondered how her new, beautiful blonde friend was getting on with her manual covering the basics of art. If Hollis hadn’t shown so much interest in their doodling, Whitney would’ve sworn she’d only jumped at the chance to borrow the book so they could see each other again. The idea alone had her heart racing as she carefully stepped out of the stand up shower and onto a freshly washed sunflower printed bath mat. Recalling how giddy she’d felt when Hollis disclosed her sexuality at the bar made Whitney cringe for a second.

Don’t be ridiculous, dork. Did you get a good look at her?! She probably has a girlfriend.

Whitney willed herself to stop thinking of the other woman’s perfectly straight smile, or the way those almost clear grey eyes had twinkled mischievously at her the evening they met. She wasn’t the type to get enamored easily, and refused to start being one of those girls now.

“I thought I heard the shower going. Almost done? I’m making apple strudel if you get the taste for it later!” Kendra’s voice hollered from the top of their staircase. Whitney finished brushing her mid back lengthed black strands and allowed them to hang freely to dry. She began applying lavender eye shadow from her favorite NYX palette quickly.

“Yeah, thanks! I’ll have some when I get back for sure.” Making a mental note to spend some more time getting to know her quirky new roommate, a text notification made her jump in surprise. Assuming it was her sister, Whitney went to turn the device off, but felt her throat close up when she glanced at the message.

SMS: I can’t wait until tomorrow. Want to grab a coffee with me? I have some questions about this book, and you owe me answers :)

Hollis. Holy shit, BREATHE Whitney. Gawd.

As unexpected as the text was, Whitney couldn’t keep from smiling broadly to herself. There wasn’t a single logical aspect to describe how she was feeling, but for once she could care less. After swiping a candy pink lip gloss from L’Oréal across her full pout, she responded a few minutes later with excitement vibrating through her fingers.

SMS: New to town, remember? Is there a Starbucks around somewhere? Let me know!

She’d had trouble thinking of little else since meeting the mysterious Mainer two nights ago, and couldn’t wait to see her again. At the last second, she decided to pin half of her curly mane up with a plain black hair clip and dashed into her bedroom for a different change of clothes.

Job searching could wait.

********************

| Hollis |

“Starbucks? Ha. You’re not in California anymore, Honey. I’m taking you to get real coffee.” Hollis chuckled aloud, but decided to spare Whitney any more teasing V.I.A text until they were better acquainted. Sarcasm was her second language, and she never knew when it was taken too far. That’s probably why Dalton’s friends stopped coming over as much while they still lived with their parents. Their fragile teenaged egos couldn’t take Hollis’ blunt, smart ass remarks.

Ok, maybe one more teasing comment wouldn’t hurt. Starbucks? What an insult. Stretching her long legs out made her water bed rock gently as Hollis leaned against a small mountain of pillows to reply.

SMS: I said coffee, not dessert West Coast. Let’s go to Aroma Joe’s, I’ll fire over the address. I can always pick you up if that works out better. Don’t want you getting lost ;)

Hollis changed into a light grey crop top almost the identical shade of her eyes, and pulled a pair of faded Levi’s on. She’d been feeling lazy with styling the mess on her head, but wanted to look nice tonight, so she brushed the blonde knots out dutifully until her hair shone. Just as she was about to fix it into a high ponytail, she heard her phone buzz and quickly retrieved it.

SMS: Haven’t you ever tried a white mocha frappachino!? You’re no fun! That’s alright, I’ve got GPS. See you later.... hater :D

Hollis grinned in spite of herself and finished tying her hair up without responding. She felt so at ease around this girl, even through text. It made her a little sorry for letting nerves get the better of her, and not texting Whitney sooner like she’d wanted. After mentally checking off her wallet, car keys, and the art manual she’d borrowed from the gorgeous brunette she was meeting, Hollis took off down the stairs two at a time.

“Where’re you off to, Road Runner?” Dalton’s amused voice came from their beige faux leather couch in the living room. Hollis blushed like she’d been caught in a lie, and hid the book under the crook of her arm as she approached her brother, who was cuddling beside Nina. The two were dressed to the nines in a fancy tuxedo and mustard yellow cocktail dress, but had been pigging out on Chinese takeout and binge watching Netflix. Once a month, Dalton and his girlfriend would clean up nicely just to dance in the middle of the kitchen to slow 80’s jams and eat cheap food. Hollis thought it was sickeningly endearing.

“Out. I’m going stir crazy sitting in this house. Not used to all these days off I guess.” It was only Monday, and she wasn’t on the schedule to bar tend until Thursday evening. The perfect excuse to NOT get into her plans with Dalton. He knew more than anyone else how she couldn’t stand having nothing to do.

“Could you run to Wal-Mart on your way back? Your brother forgot the Smirnoff like always!” Nina smirked good-naturedly at Dalton while forking over a twenty dollar bill. Hollis dismissed the offering and smiled in agreement.

“He’s good at that. I’m usually the one who drinks you guys out of house and home. I’ll get it this time.”

Hollis liked Nina Esteban. She was the first and only girlfriend she’d remembered Dalton getting serious with. They met when he was just sixteen and fighting with their mother to prove he was ready to start dating. Disobeying their parents wasn’t the norm for Dalton, but he was constantly sneaking out late at night to whisk his girl away for a few precious hours alone in the back of his white Chevy pick-up. Nina came from a well to do Spanish immigrant family, whose parents specialized in the medical field. After graduating high school, Nina moved to Madrid to reside with close relatives for a few years at her parents urging, and it crushed Dalton. Hollis couldn’t bring herself to invite him along to the parties she’d attended, afraid he’d easily get addicted to substances due to his depression. Luckily the distance from everyone she knew and loved, Dalton especially, became too much for Nina to take and she returned to the United States to continue her education. Somewhere down the line they reconnected, and have been inseparable ever since. In fact, the only reason she wasn’t living with Hollis and Dalton was because of school. Nina resided on campus and reveled in the experience. They were talking about her moving in during next summer vacation, but nothing was set in stone yet.

“You’re too sweet, Mija.” Nina snuggled closer to Dalton, glued to the reality TV program they were watching before Hollis appeared downstairs. Dalton rolled his eyes, winking at his younger sibling.

“Stay away from drugs and prostitutes.” He always joked with his sister before she went anywhere besides work, but there was just the tiniest bit of truth hidden in his warning. Dalton wasn’t stupid, he knew Hollis got into some strange shit, but she paid her bills on time and respected his and Nina’s space. Getting involved wasn’t really something he wanted to do. Hollis was ridiculously private, and had been for as long as he could remember. Maybe it was a self defensive mechanism.

“Oh no.” She pretended to clutch her chest. “I better cancel my meeting with the local blow dealer and let my pimp know I won’t be needing any hoes tonight either.”

“Smart ass, I’m serious!” Dalton cracked as she turned on her heel and bounded straight for freedom.

Hollis heard their laughter ring behind her as she disappeared out the front door. Well, at least Dalton wouldn’t have to worry about her tonight. She had the feeling if she told him she was just having a simple cup of coffee with a Californian artist, he wouldn’t have believed a word of it anyway.