Runaway

Chapter 1

Jade West, a female bartender, began to wipe the counter with a rag, passing by where Tori Vega was sitting alone, nursing her fourth cocktail. She casually raised her head away from her cleaning job and peeked around the near-empty bar behind the attractive, young brunette.

"You've got three more minutes to order another drink before we close up. Although I wouldn't recommend it since it appears whoever was supposed to take you home already left," Jade observed passively.

Tori lifted her gaze to meet the bartender's and pushed her empty glass forward.

"Just give me two shots of vodka and top it off with some sprite."

Having seen many people go down this path before, Jade reluctantly turned around and followed the woman's orders. She handed Tori her drink a minute later and proceeded to finish closing up, leaving her alone to be with her thoughts. Everything was squared away within fifteen minutes, so Jade returned to the space across from Tori, and she leaned against the counter in relief over a night's work being complete.

"Should I call someone for you?" Jade normally didn't hesitate to kick people out at closing time, but something about this woman put her in touch with her soft spot.

"Nah, don't bother. I mean…it's not like anybody would come for me," Tori replied with a sigh.

Jade stared at the other woman, perplexed.

"You mean to tell me that someone like you doesn't have anyone waiting at home for them?"

Tori raised an eyebrow, confused.

"Someone like me?"

One of Jade's co-workers came up and interrupted them.

"I need to lock up. Is everything okay here?"

"Yeah, we were just leaving," Jade explained before she walked around to the other side of the counter and motioned for Tori to follow her.

Tori took a moment to stand up and steady her balance before she followed Jade out through the employee exit.

"Where are we going?"

Jade pointed to her car. "You can get in if you want."

"How do I know you're not an ax murderer?" Tori questioned suspiciously.

"How do I know you're not a mugger?" Jade challenged back.

"Well um…because I'm not?"

"There you go then. Neither am I."

Jade unlocked her car with the push of a button and opened the door to slip inside. Tori entered on the passenger side and fidgeted awkwardly.

"A little bit ago when I said someone like you, what I meant was, well…I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but you look like a model straight out of a Victoria's Secret magazine," Jade admitted while avoiding eye contact.

"I'm pretty sure none of the Victoria's Secret models just ditched their fiancée and came out to their parents," Tori muttered in return.

Jade's eyes went wide at the other woman's confession. She did not see that coming. She tried to come up with a response, but suddenly she realized that the woman beside her had revealed something really personal, and they still hadn't even exchanged names.

"I uh, I'm Jade by the way." She reached out her hand to offer a shake.

"Tori," her passenger replied while returning the gesture.

"So Tori, you were engaged?" Jade inquired with legitimate interest.

She allowed her fingers to drum across the bottom of the steering wheel while she waited for Tori to open up about the details. From the corner of her eye she watched Tori drag a hand through her hair and let it fall back to her lap.

"Yeah. His name is Andre and he's a really talented pianist. We began singing together in high school. He asked me out when we were in college, and proposed on my birthday a few months after graduation. It's been about eight months since then."

Jade peeked over at Tori and noticed that she looked ashamed. She took a risk and moved her right hand so it rested over Tori's left. She decided this must have reassured her, because she continued her story.

"I had this stupid crush on another one of my best friends for the longest time. Don't get me wrong, she and I never hooked up or anything, so it's not like I cheated on him. She is only interested in men anyway. But that didn't stop me from wishing something could happen."

"If you didn't cheat, then why did you leave your fiancée?"

"I didn't have a choice. I forgot to clear my internet history one night, and the next day he found all these searches I had done about questioning sexual orientation and the lesbian blogs I had visited. He asked me if I had let someone borrow our computer, and when I said that I hadn't he knew it was all stuff I was looking at."

Jade stroked the back of Tori's hand softly and looked into her eyes with genuine concern.

"How did he react?"

"He was really shocked at first. After that he got really angry. I thought it would be easier to talk it out with him since we were so close for so long, but he told me he felt led on because not once had I ever even hinted that I was attracted to women, or doubted my attraction to him. Then I chose to leave, so I asked my parents if I could stay with them this past week. As soon as Andre didn't show up with me they were asking a dozen questions at a time, and eventually I had to tell them our engagement was probably over and why."

A small tear escaped the side of Tori's left eye, but she quickly moved her hand away from Jade so she could wipe it away.

"Jade, I'm sorry I'm unloading this all on you. You have no reason to care about me or my problems. Your job ended at getting me out of the bar."

Jade shook her head.

"I could tell you needed an audience, and I wasn't about to let you put the whole road in danger by driving yourself home."

"No threat there. My home is wherever I'm sitting, and everything I own is split between two houses, Andre's and my parent's."

"You're planning to sleep on the street?"

"No choice. My parents asked me to leave, and I'm too afraid to face Andre right now."

"What about your other best friend? The one you have a crush on? She must have a place, too. Or other friends."

Tori shook her head.

"She's in Europe right now. All my other friends are mutual between Andre and I, so they'll just give me grief over everything. The streets will be peaceful in comparison, give me some time to figure out everything before I face it head on again."

"I'm pretty sure alcohol never brought anyone peace, Tori. It's a depressant. You'd do better without it."

"I had to alter my consciousness somehow. No other way I'll be able to fall asleep on the ground, in an alley, or wherever…"

Jade yawned at the mention of sleep.

"Speaking of sleep, I should probably drive back to my place before I become as hazardous as a drunk from drowsiness."

Tori began to reach for the door handle, but Jade grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Where are you going?"

"You said you need to leave."

"Come back with me to my place," Jade insisted.

"But I'm a complete stranger," Tori reasoned.

"No you're not. Your name's Tori, you're stubborn, you enjoy vodka over rum, your love life is on the rocks, and you're attracted to women. Did I miss anything important?"

"Yeah, I don't sleep with people when I'm not in a relationship with them."

Jade blushed slightly.

"I wasn't…"

Tori cut her off.

"I know you weren't, but I thought it was important to share."

Jade finally turned the key in the ignition and put her car into reverse.

"You don't have to worry about me. I only seduce women that I don't like."