No one had the balls to challenge Jay Firefly. After everything Octavia had said and done since moving in, Jay could have her fired.
Then why haven’t I?
The thought caused Jay to feel queasy. There was no way she could return to the woman in her room. Instead, she decided to mute her ego, again, and go downstairs to clean up the mess.
Jay’s heart skipped a beat. Octavia was sweeping up broken glass.
“Hey, I told you--”
“Careful,” Octavia held up a hand, cutting Jay off mid-sentence. “Do not walk any further without shoes. You can hurt yourself.”
No one had ever cared about Jay’s safety. Not unless their checks relied on her being alive. But small wounds people could care less about.
“It wouldn’t be the first-time having glass stuck in me; member?” Jay pointed to her healed eyebrow, taking another step forward, trying to test the boundaries.
“Damn it, Jay, what did I just say?”
“You do realize I’m your employer, right?”
Octavia stopped sweeping and met Jay’s eyes with a hard glare. The sight made the musician seem to shrink where she stood.
Octavia quirked a challenging brow and put a hand on her hip. “Fine, do what you want. I don’t care, Ms. Firefly.”
Jay huffed at the realization that she’d been found out. Octavia seemed to see that Jay hated being called Ms. Firefly by her. Every time Octavia said it, Jay’s body physically squirmed as if she’d seen maggots eating rotten flesh on the street.
By the front door were a pair of sandals, Jay slumped her shoulders as she moved to the door and slid the shoes onto her feet. It’s not that she didn’t want to wear protection, it was the idea of losing to Octavia that annoyed her.
Regardless, it didn’t annoy her enough to forfeit. Jay craved Octavia’s presence like an addict to drugs.
“So,” Octavia started as Jay made her way back to the kitchen. “What can I do for you?”
Jay shrugged, feeling like a kid all of a sudden. “I--uh--I came down here to help.”
If Octavia was surprised, she didn’t show it. “Grab a trash bag and go through all the shit in the living room. I noticed that trash seemed to be mixed with your wallets.”
Jay nodded and moved toward the living room. Octavia was not joking. Not only did Tina grab all the trash meant to be thrown out and flung it around the room. But she went through all Jay’s files and scattered them about, plus tossed her wallets everywhere.
“I’m sorry you have to clean up this.”
Octavia shrugged, saying, “Not the worse condition I’ve seen this house in.”
Automatic response caused Jay to flinch hearing this.
“I’m sorry you have to put up with me. I know I tend to be--uh-- difficult.”
“Yes, you can. But it comes with the job.”
As she picked up all various paperwork, Jay thought about the fact that no one had ever called her difficult. They’d said it on gossip magazines, or in the blogs. Sometimes, scorned girlfriends would say it out of anger, but no one said it just in passing. It wasn’t a good thing. Octavia said it like it was a fact. Another part of Jay’s persona. Silver pixie cut hair, stud, rockstar, difficult.
Instead of replying to that, Jay changed the subject, “Want some music.”
“I was listening to something before you came down here.”
“What were you listening to? I can put it on. We can listen together as we clean.”
“Selena, ‘La Carcacha.’”
Judgment was saved for Jay’s thoughts as she put on the music.
Music filled the space as they worked together to clean up the mess. It was the most Jay worked in a while. Octavia did not play when it came to her job. The jobs she gave Jay were much easier than the ones she took on. Once Jay had finished picking up in the living room, Octavia moved in to vacuum the area up, while Jay took out the trash.
An hour later, and they were done.
“Do you like rock music?” Jay asked as Octavia cooked up a midnight snack for them.
“Never had the chance to listen to it.”
“Want to have a listen?”
Octavia froze, mid-scoop of ice cream. “Are you going to play one of your songs because one, that would be conceited and two, even if I didn’t like it, I’d have to pretend I do, so I don’t hurt your already bruised ego.”
“Ha, no. I’m not that vain. It’s not one of my songs. Least not yet.”
Red Hot Chili Peppers “Give It Away,” started to play through the speakers.
For a moment, Octavia’s body froze like she was not into the song. Then her head started to bob back and forth as she returned to scooping vanilla ice cream onto their chocolate chip cookies.
“I like it. It’s a little funky and a little something else…”
“A little rock and roll.” Jay joined Octavia in bobbing her head to the beat.
Their snack was done by the time the song changed to The Eagles, “I Can’t Tell You Why.”
Octavia brought both their bowls of ice cream and cookies to the living room as Jay brought the glasses of milk. They sat side by side on the sofa and dove headfirst into the sweet treat.
“Who sings this?”
“The Eagles,” Jay answered before stuffing more cookie into her mouth.
Octavia giggled as she instinctively ran her thumb against Jay’s bottom lips, scooping off a drip of ice cream that had fallen.
The sensation caused an eruption of butterflies to buzz in Jay’s stomach. She tried to play it off, tried to pretend that it didn’t affect her, but Octavia saw everything.
“Sorry, habit. I used to take care of all the babies at my orphanage, so I have a bit of a motherly instinct.”
Jay shrugged. “No worries, I didn’t even notice.”
Octavia rolled her eyes and went back to her food, muttering, “Uh huh,” under her breath.
“Hey, Jay--” said an unfamiliar voice that pulled both of their attention. The one-night stand Jay had forgotten about stood before them. Dressed in the same purple short skirt set, Jay saw her in earlier. The sparkle of the thing caught her eyes, along with the long legs that were showcased in it.
“Hey…”
“So, um, I think I’m going to head out,” she said, eyeing Octavia, who hadn’t bothered to stop eating. Jay wasn’t sure if Octavia’s nonchalant attitude towards the woman was a good or bad thing.
“Okay, I’ll call you.”
The woman nodded then shook her head, like she was thinking everything through, realizing the fact that Jay did not even have her number. “Right, okay then. Bye.”
Silence filled the space between them when they heard the door close. Octavia didn’t seem bothered by the woman, which was alarming because Jay was bothered. Her flesh crawled. Embarrassment claimed her body. And fear…
Please don’t hate me.
“Who sings this song? I’ve heard it before?” Octavia said, bouncing her head.
This brought Jay back to the present, she listened to the song and realized why Octavia had heard it before, “I do.”
“It’s a good song.”
“You’re just saying that?” Jay asked with a smirk on her face.
Octavia nodded, “Yes, yes, I am.”