Maneuvering her truck toward the airport, Ashley looked over at Kim for about the hundredth time. Kim insisted on taking Ashley there for her trip to meet with the record company, however, Ashley wanted to drive her truck one last time before parting with it for a week. Part of the record contract was that Ashley would work with them while she was out of school, and unfortunately that meant working on holiday weeks. Ashley had said goodbye to Joe the night before when he left for home with the other girls. Kim was to join them later in the day when she drove Ashley's truck to his house. She opened her mouth to say something, but changed her mind...again.
"Well, out with it," Ashley said with an amused grin. "You're starting to look like a fish out of water."
"I don't know what you mean," Kim answered as she looked out the passenger window.
"Oh come on. Something is up. You act like you want to say something. You wanted to take me to the airport for a reason. Well...here we are, alone."
Kim just sighed and Ashley shook her head. She asked if she should park, or if Kim was just dropping her off. Kim said that she wanted to see Ashley off, so Ashley parked in the further long-term parking.
"If you're coming inside, you're gonna walk the long way with me," she said. Giving one of her bags to Kim, she continued, "While I have you here, you can help."
Kim still didn't talk while they waited in line. Ashley decided to deal with this once and for all when her turn came up to the counter. Kim put the bag next to the one Ashley deposited on the luggage pass-through.
"Is the seat next to me taken?" Ashley asked the clerk.
It was not, and Ashley said she wanted to buy that one, too. Kim raised her eyebrows, but figured Ashley wanted the extra seat to give her a buffer of space. When the agent asked who it was for, Ashley said to Kim, "Well, give her your license."
"Why? I'm not going."
"Yes, you are. If you won't talk to me now, you'll have a week of opportunities."
"But I didn't bring anything," Kim said but handed over her ID anyway.
"I'll take care of that when we get there. You could use an updated wardrobe, anyway," Ashley chided.
"Whatever!"
They stepped over to the TSA screening area where Ashley's bags were checked thoroughly. As stoic as the officer tried to keep his face, it reddened considerably. The partition hid what he was looking at from Kim, but his coloring got her curious. Ashley received her claim check and they headed up to the gates. As luck would have it, Ashley was the random body screen. Kim thought it was rather funny that Ashley would be selected, since Ashley had picked a short summer dress with a plunging neckline to wear. Whereas Kim probably fit more security profiles, being dressed in all black with a long sweater. She had wondered why the skimpy outfit since the fall morning was quite cool. The reason became quite clear.
The guard stated that Ashley was randomly picked, and she was given a choice between the full body scan, or a pat-down by a female agent. Ashley innocently said that she was afraid of x-rays and radiation, so she picked the pat-down. She added in a coo that she didn't care if he did it right there. He wasn't amused and motioned over the female agent and Ashley was taken around the side to a partition. Kim waited with arms crossed as she watched Ashley follow the instructions with a wink to Kim. Very little was concealed, so it shouldn't have taken long. But when the lady ran her hand over Ashley's belly, she summoned a supervisor and they instructed Ashley to a booth. Ashley asked if Kim could go too for her own piece of mind. They allowed it, and Kim shook her head when she followed them in.
"I felt something just above her groin," the agent told her supervisor.
"Miss, I have to ask you to show us your underwear."
"What if I'm not wearing any?" Ashley sassed.
"Ash, just do it, I don't want to get arrested for hampering a search."
Ashley rolled her eyes and lifted her skirt, showing that she actually was wearing underwear. Her phone was tucked in the front band.
"Why would you put your phone under there?" the supervisor asked.
"Do you see any pockets?"
Kim defended, "She always tucks her phone in her pants like that...just...she's wearing a dress right now."
Ashley was ordered to remove the phone, and when she did, a folded paper fell to the ground. The guard picked it up and read it. "Ha ha, very funny," he said dryly. "Next time don't try to bait us like that."
With that, he opened the door for the girls; they picked up their handbags from the x-ray tech and headed toward their gate.
"What did the note say?" Kim asked.
Ashley was stifling a chuckle the whole time. Before she answered, she burst out laughing. "It said, 'If you are reading this, thank you for the grope, but I am married.'"
They laughed at the planned joke and arrived just when the plane was boarding. Ashley lowered her eyes when she saw it was a commuter, but expected it since she knew it would be a short flight. Kim sensed her unease when they got seated and did what she could to take Ashley's mind off it.
"So, what was in that suitcase?" she asked once they were buckled in.
Ashley had another chuckle. "I put all my let's-get-it-on undies in that one, plus a few toys on top."
"What toys?" Kim had never known Ashley to possess such things, let alone use them.
Ashley lowered her voice. "A butt plug, double-ended dildo, couple of strap-ons."
Kim gave a fearful look. "You were planning on me coming all along?" she accused. "I uh, I wasn't looking for a romp, Ash. I just wanted to talk to you in the terminal."
Ashley just smiled at Kim, letting her stew in her thoughts until after takeoff. Once in the air, Kim looked distracted, propping her chin in her hand while staring out the window. Ashley decided to let her off the hook.
"I already called Joe this morning to let him know you'd probably be coming. So, you're partially correct."
"Partially?" Kim looked into Ashley's eyes, searching for more.
"The stuff in the bag was a prank for the bag screeners. You remember what they did on our flight to Hawaii, right?"
Kim snickered. "Yeah, your unmentionables were hanging all over that cubicle while they went through your bag."
Ashley nodded. "Anyway, I know you haven't been happy with me for a while now, but you seem to keep playing to talk to me and then never get to the point, so I decided to kidnap you for a while until we get to the bottom of this."
"I'm not unhappy with you."
"What is it then? Joe?"
"Kinda. Well, maybe kinda both, in a way."
Ashley listened while Kim talked about what has been eating at her for months. Once Ashley recovered in the winter, Kim thought about her offer to donate an ovary to Ashley, and it scared her. She loved Ashley, but after deep thought, it was more of a profound friendship than romance. Through the spring, she kept waiting and wishing for Joe and Ashley to crumble and fall apart, so that she could have a second shot at Joe, or maybe Ashley, but it never happened.
"Just when I get to a point of thinking 'oh well,' something else comes up. You were gorgeous and amazing on the stage after graduation. I was so proud of you, and happy when you announced that you actually graduated. And then you passed out at the party. When you came to, you were just so happy to see Jasmine. I realized then, even being drunk, that being with either of you just wasn't in my cards. So, I've lost romances of two special people in the same year. To each other, and to one of my former best friends."
"Jasmine is still your friend. You just won't let her get close."
"Hmph." Kim turned back toward the window. "She might think we're friends, but that spiteful bitch is no friend of mine."
"Kim! She's great! Where are you coming up with this? She gets hurt every time you turn your back on her."
"She deserves it. We're starting to land."
"Kim..." Ashley pleaded, but didn't receive a response.
After getting the rental car and breakfast, Kim couldn't help but feel like she was just along for the ride. As Ashley navigated the busy streets of Atlanta by using her phone, the cramped nature of the city brought a lot of memories up for Kim. It reminded her of the place that was supposed to be home for her in the fall. The adjustment from small city and smaller private school to a large metropolis and huge school was just too much and she started failing miserably. The senior class size was twice the total enrollment of the entire school she and her friends went to in Florida. She shrank in her passenger seat much like she did last fall when her parents first pulled into the new city as the views of tall buildings and jammed streets seemed to engulf her.
"Where are we going?" she asked Ashley, who seemed quite at ease. No doubt Ashley's acclimation from living in the Bay Area in California hadn't worn off yet.
"Shopping," she said with a smile.
"Oh. Joy." The absence of any humor reflected what she thought of as she glanced around. Urban wear just was not her thing.
Ashley picked up early on the malcontent and had other plans. "Don't worry, I'm taking you to a suburban mall. Be just like home." Then after a pause, "Maybe a bit more upscale."
Perimeter Mall wasn't quite suburban, but definitely out of the claustrophobic center of the city. And, outside of parking in the "back 40" due to the start of holiday shopping, it seemed to be just what the doctor ordered for Kim. Early afternoon was a good time to go. The crowds were full enough to remind Kim that they were in a big city (although the two tiered structure was a reminder of that in itself), but weren't so crammed as to make her uncomfortable. She suggested they do a once-around, but Ashley said that she doubted Kim could hit the impromptu budget Ashley had in her head, so Kim should just stop in whatever store caught her eye first.
A mantra became present as they ducked in and out of stores, and Ashley found herself saying over and over, "if you like it, get it." When she refused to let Kim pay for the eighth time, a vague sense of deja vu washed over Ashley, and she paled. Kim noticed and suggested lunch.
"So, what happened in Victoria's Secret? You looked like you saw a ghost," Kim said after they ordered their sodas.
"I kinda did. About a year ago, I was doing exactly what you're doing now. Although I was wearing my cheerleading uniform in snow, then. Picking out undies for the week with you made it dawn on me."
"I didn't even think of that. But this is different," Kim said in an attempt of encouragement.
"Well, you're playing my part, if that's what you mean. Unexpected trip, needing to buy stuff to get you through until it's time to go home. I'm starting to feel silly again, wearing this skimpy thing. But I guess things are different, too. There's not an armed guard tailing us. We came by commercial flight..."
"Neither of our parents are dead or dying..." Kim added. "And, I'm at your side, instead of Joe."
