Everything to Everyone

by Sherryl Hancock

  She smacked herself in the forehead with the heel of her hand. “I’m so fucking stupid!”

  “You do have your moments,” Cody said, her lips curled in a grin. “Come on, I’ll drive you home.”

  “I can’t leave the Berlinetta here,” Dakota said, shaking her head.

  “I don’t expect you to,” Cody said, nodding to McKenna who stood waiting inside the bar. “Kenna drove me over so I could drive you home.”

  Dakota glanced over at McKenna, grinning, then looked back at Cody. “Always ahead of me, aren’t ya?”

  “It’s not always easy,” Cody said, moving to stand, “but I try to be.”

  Cody reached out to take Dakota in her arms then, hugging the woman that she truly considered family. She’d known it was imperative that she help Dakota unknot herself. It was the one thing Lyric and Savanna would have expected her to do. Cody did her best never to let her family down.

  “Love ya,” Cody said, kissing the side of Dakota’s head.

  “Love you too,” Dakota said, giving Cody a slight squeeze.

  Half an hour later, Dakota walked into the house she shared with Jazmine. Jazmine was standing in the kitchen and all but ran to her, throwing herself into Dakota’s arms.

  “I was so scared!” Jazmine said, her voice tremulous, pressing her face against Dakota’s shirt.

  She pulled back and looked up at Dakota. “Don’t you ever leave this house in that car drunk again!” she said seriously.

  Dakota lowered her head nodding, her looking downcast. “I know, babe, I’m sorry,” she said, her tone repentant. “I just didn’t think…”

  “It only takes one time, Kota,” Jazmine said softly, her eyes reflecting the fear she’d felt.

  “I know,” Dakota said, her look pained. “I’m sorry, what can I say here?”

  “Promise me you won’t ever do it again,” Jazmine said, her tone vehement.

  “I won’t, I promise, okay?” Dakota said, returning Jazmine’s direct gaze, her tone somber.

  “Okay,” Jazmine said, nodding, looking relieved.

  “Can we talk about the job?” Dakota asked her then.

  Jazmine bit her lip, but nodded. Dakota led her over to the couch in their living room. She sat down and pulled Jazmine down next to her, holding both of Jazmine’s hands in hers.

  “Jaz,” she said her tone soft, “I want to take the job.”

  Jazmine winced, pressing her lips together for a moment.

  “Why?” she asked, her tone plaintive.

  Dakota blew her breath out. “For one thing, I’ve made commitments to people for work that would pay them a substantial amount of money. We’re getting close to the holidays, babe, they were counting on this job. For another thing, I think that the experience I’ll gain on a project like this one is invaluable and it will open up an entirely new market for me.”

  Jazmine nodded, her look subdued. “So you’re going to take it?”

  Dakota looked back at her for a long moment. “Only if you say yes.”

  Jazmine blinked a couple of times. “You’re asking me?”

  “Yes, I’m asking you.”

  Jazmine shook her head looking bewildered. “Why?”

  Dakota looked back at her with soft eyes. “Because I love you, and I don’t want to do anything that is going to endanger what we have, ever.”

  Jazmine bit her lower lip, tears coming to her eyes.

  Dakota felt instantly sorry for her previous behavior. She touched Jazmine’s cheek gently.

  “Babe, I’m sorry for how I acted earlier,” Dakota said. “I was pissed off and disappointed and I didn’t handle it right. This whole relationship and being a responsible adult thing is still kind of new,” she said with an impish grin. “But that doesn’t excuse it,” she said seriously. “I know that all that shit with Cassandra was awful, and could have been so much worse, and I know that it was really hard on you. So if you don’t want me to do this job, I won’t do it, it’s as simple as that.” She put her finger to Jazmine’s lips then. “I love you more than anything in the entire world, and no job is worth losing you over, okay?”

  Jazmine smiled, tears spilling over as she did.

  Dakota pulled her into her arms and hugged her. She held her until Jazmine pulled away to look up at Dakota.

  “Do you think you can trust her?” Jazmine asked, just like Cody had.

  “Yeah,” Dakota said, nodding.

  “Not just about the money, Kota,” Jazmine said. “I mean personally, emotionally.”

  Dakota considered that question. “That one I’m not so sure about,” she said honestly. “But I will promise you that if she steps over the line, I’ll quit.”

  Jazmine blinked a couple of times, then nodded accepting the answer. She leaned her head against Dakota’s chest, closing her eyes. The thought of Dakota around the woman who’d been so very careless with her life scared her to death, but she trusted Dakota and she believed that she knew what she was getting into. She just hoped she was right.

  Lifting her head, Jazmine looked up at Dakota, smiling.

  “Take the job,” she said simply.

  “Are you sure?” Dakota asked, her eye searching Jazmine’s.

  “No,” Jazmine said, smiling as she shook her head, “but I love you and I know that this job is what you have wanted for a long time. I want you to have what you want.”

  “I want you,” Dakota said. “Above everything else.”

  “And that’s the other reason,” Jazmine said, smiling. “Because you say things like that.”

  “I mean it, Jaz,” Dakota said, wanting Jazmine to understand that important fact.

  “I know,” Jazmine said, smiling, “but it feels really good to hear it too.”

  Chapter 5

  “So are you going to tell me what’s going on or what?” Harley asked Shiloh one afternoon when they were returning from yet another meeting downtown.

  “Huh?” Shiloh queried absently as she answered another text message on her phone.

  Harley looked over at Shiloh, her look pointed.

  Shiloh caught her look and shook her head. “I’m just dealing with some personal stuff,” she said.

  “And you don’t feel like we’re friends enough that you can share it with me?” Harley asked her tone quizzical, the look in her eyes hurt.

  Shiloh glanced sharply at Harley, seeing the look in her eyes. “It’s not that,” she said shaking her head again.

  “Then what is it?” Harley asked, her look so openly concerned that Shiloh grimaced.

  “It isn’t a problem with us, okay?” Shiloh said. “I love working with you.”

  Harley nodded, looking somewhat relieved. “Okay, then what is it?”

  Shiloh shook her head. “It’s too embarrassing.”

  “Oh, come on…” Harley said, her tone entreating. “Tell me.”

  Shiloh looked down at her hands, biting her lip. “I’m getting evicted from my apartment.”

  “What!” Harley exclaimed, looking shocked. “Shiloh! Why didn’t you say something?”

  “I told you, it’s embarrassing,” she said shrugging and looking anywhere but at Harley.

  “What can I do?” Harley asked then.

  “Nothing,” Shiloh said, shaking her head. “I’ll be okay.”

  “Really?” Harley asked her tone doubtful. “What are you going to do?”

  Shiloh didn’t answer. In truth, she had absolutely no idea. She’d reached out to the two friends she still had, but they weren’t in a position to help. They were as bad off as she was.

  “Shy?” Harley queried, when she didn’t answer.

  “I don’t know yet, Harley,” Shiloh said, blowing her breath out.

  “I can give you money if that will help…” Harley said.

  “No!” Shiloh exclaimed, her tone sharper than she’d meant it to be. She grimaced and said, “I’m sorry, I just… It wouldn’t help at this point, I’m so far behind that I’d never catch up.”

&nb
sp; Harley nodded already working on a solution.

  “Well, then it’s simple,” she said, after a minute. “You’ll move in with me.”

  “What? No!” Shiloh said. “I can’t do that, you’re my boss!”

  Harley gave her a deadpan look. “Really?” she asked in a sardonic tone.

  “Yes, really,” Shiloh said. “I couldn’t ask you to do that, Harley. I really couldn’t, but thank you for the offer.”

  “I’m sorry, did you ask me if you could move in?” Harley asked.

  “No, but—”

  “No,” Harley said, cutting her off. “You didn’t. So you didn’t ask me, I offered.”

  Shiloh sighed. “That’s not the point, Harley. It was really sweet of you to offer, but that would really be taking advantage of you, and I can’t do that.”

  “What if you paid me rent, would that make you feel better?” Harley asked.

  “I,” Shiloh stammered. “Well…” she said then, her look considering. “What would you want me to pay you?”

  Harley shrugged. “Hell, I don’t know. How much do you pay now?”

  “Eight hundred,” Shiloh answered.

  “Okay…” Harley said. “So, what about like two hundred?”

  “What about like six hundred,” Shiloh said.

  “No way,” Harley said, shaking her head. “I already pay it so I’m not going to charge you crazy rent.”

  “What about four hundred?”

  “What about two,” Harley said, her smile wry.

  “That’s not negotiating, Harley,” Shiloh said.

  “I know,” Harley said, “because it’s not negotiable. The negotiable part was letting you pay rent at all, when I own a four-bedroom house where I use one and occasionally two bedrooms.”

  Shiloh looked shocked. “You own a four-bedroom house?” she asked, having thought that Harley was renting an apartment or maybe a house.

  Harley grinned, nodding.

  “Do I want to know where?” Shiloh asked.

  “West Hollywood,” Harley said, grinning.

  “Those aren’t cheap,” Shiloh said, narrowing her eyes.

  “What’s your point?” Harley asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

  “That two hundred is crazy for a room in a house in West Hollywood…” Shiloh said.

  “Could be nothing, keep it up…” Harley said, her look pointed.

  “Oh, I don’t think so,” Shiloh said, her tone sassy.

  Harley gave her a narrowed look. Shiloh returned it with one of her own. Harley grinned then.

  “So when do you need to move?” she asked.

  Shiloh blew her breath out. “I have a three day quit or pay as of today.”

  Harley nodded. “Okay, well, after work today let’s go over there and get started on packing.”

  “You don’t have to do that, Harley, I can handle it…” Shiloh said her voice trailing off as she saw Harley’s scowl. “Okay, okay, come help me, please,” she said then, smiling ruefully.

  “Much better,” Harley said, grinning.

  That afternoon they went to Shiloh’s apartment. Harley was astounded not only by the rundown neighborhood, but by the fact that Shiloh really had very few possessions. They had her packed within two hours. The apartment was furnished so she had no furniture of her own, except for her mattress.

  “Are you attached to that?” Harley asked her, pointing to the mattress.

  “I got it second hand,” Shiloh said, grinning. “So no.”

  “Okay, ’cause all of the bedrooms have furniture in them already, and the mattresses are new, so…”

  “You have bedrooms full of furniture that you don’t use?” Shiloh asked as they carried the two boxes of her possessions down to the car.

  “Well, one of the extra rooms gets used sometimes, but the others… They haven’t been used yet. I’ve only lived here for like eight months.”

  As they got in to the car, Shiloh looked over at Harley. “So who does the one room get used by?” she asked, curious.

  “I sometimes have LGBT teens that stay there when they need really short term housing,” she said, glancing over her shoulder as she pulled the car out on the road.

  She looked over at Shiloh and saw the odd smile on her face.

  “What?” she queried.

  Shiloh shook her head. “You say that like it’s something everyone does.”

  Harley blinked a couple of times, shrugging. “I have the room,” she said by way of explanation.

  “Sure, right,” Shiloh said, her tone comically agreeable.

  “What!” Harley asked laughing at the look on Shiloh’s face.

  Shiloh shook her head again. “You are just so…” Her voice trailed off as she tried to think of the right word. “Generous.”

  “Is that a bad thing?” Harley asked, worried.

  “No, Harley,” Shiloh said smiling softly. “It’s not a bad thing; it’s just a rare thing.”

  “Well, I like to be unique,” Harley said, her lips curling in a lopsided grin.

  “Well you definitely are,” Shiloh said, smiling widely.

  The drive to Harley’s house was accomplished in short order. When Harley pulled into the residential area, Shiloh noticed many of the houses were understated with Spanish tiled roofs and were hacienda style. However, the house that Harley pulled up to had a gate that slid back out of the way, exposing a very modern looking two-story house with two balconies that Shiloh could see from the car.

  “Oh my God…” Shiloh said, her tone awed.

  “What?” Harley asked, glancing at Shiloh, and then saw that she was looking at the house. “Oh, it’s nicer on the inside.”

  “It’s nice on the outside,” Shiloh said nodding.

  Harley pulled into the very neat garage. Shiloh saw the motorcycle, a Harley Davidson V-Rod Muscle in black and red. She smiled because it looked like Harley to her.

  The house that Harley led her into was astounding. Shiloh stood frozen as she looked around. She could not believe the sheer beauty of the house with its clean lines and open space. Downstairs was a huge open plan kitchen, dining, and living space. The back of the house was completely open with floor to ceiling windows that showed off a huge pool and lush green grass.

  “How big is this place?” Shiloh asked her tone completely awed.

  “About five thousand square feet,” Harley said, grinning.

  “Wow…” Shiloh said her eyes wide.

  “This isn’t any bigger than your parents’ house,” Harley said.

  “Yeah, you said it,” Shiloh said, glancing over at Harley. “My parents’ house, not mine.”

  Harley pressed her lips together, her look sympathetic.

  “Come on,” Harley said, “I’ll show you the bedrooms. You can pick which one you want to use.”

  “Okay,” Shiloh said, nodding, still in shock.

  Walking upstairs, Shiloh was no less impressed. The rooms that Harley showed her were huge and nicely decorated. They were all tasteful but simple, and airy. All of the floors were expensive-looking oak hardwood. And every bedroom had its own glass slider that led out to a balcony. Shiloh was completely blown away by Harley’s home.

  “This place is incredible!” Shiloh said. She she’d picked a bedroom with a built in vanity. “Two hundred a month isn’t even the beginning of what I should be paying you…”

  “Don’t start,” Harley said, narrowing her eyes. “Or I’ll change my mind about you getting to pay rent at all.”

  Shiloh sighed, shaking her head. “You are far too generous my friend.”

  “No, I’m not, Shy, not in this case,” Harley said, her look serious as she set the box of Shiloh’s stuff on the bed. “You have been taking incredible care of me since the day you started working for me,” she said sincerely, looking directly into Shiloh’s eyes. “So, to me, this is just my way of returning that favor, okay?”

  “They do pay me to take care of you, you know,” Shiloh said, her tone informative.

&n
bsp; Harley grinned. “Really? Do they pay you to remind me to eat? Sleep? Or to defend me against crazy lawyers, or even the AG herself? Hmm?” she asked, her look inquiring.

  Shiloh looked back at Harley for a long moment, not responding.

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Harley said, her eyes softening. “You go above and beyond for me every day, Shy. So please, let me do this for you, okay?” The last was said with the sweetest, softest voice Shiloh had ever heard Harley use. It brought tears to her eyes.

  She nodded, not trusting her voice to speak at that moment. Harley saw the tears in her eyes and stepped forward. She took the box Shiloh still held out of her hands and set it on the bed, then took Shiloh into her arms. After a couple of minutes, Harley released her, looking down at her.

  “I’m gonna leave you alone to unpack,” she said, smiling softly. “I’ll be right next door if you need anything.” She pointed toward her bedroom, the only room in the house Shiloh hadn’t seen yet.

  “Okay,” Shiloh said, nodding.

  A half an hour later, Shiloh knocked on the open door to Harley’s bedroom. Harley had changed and was wearing black sweatpants and a black tank top. Her hair was up in a ponytail with her two rainbow braids hanging down. She was sitting on her bed, one barefoot on the floor, the other leg on the bed as she tapped away on her laptop. She looked up at the sound of Shiloh’s light knock. Shiloh didn’t notice because she was busy staring openmouthed around Harley’s massive master bedroom.

  The room itself was no less than the size of her entire studio apartment had been. One entire wall to the left of the bed was a huge sliding door that led out to a balcony that overlooked the backyard and pool. There was a very modern-looking fireplace on one wall surrounded my marble tiles. The wall behind Harley’s bed had three large windows. The bed itself, although it looked like a California King, was dwarfed by the huge room. This room too was very simple in its décor, the walls were white, and the few accents in the room were shades of blue. There was a painting hanging over the fireplace. Shiloh walked over to it, and thought she recognized it, but she looked back at Harley.

  “Is this Monet?” she asked, her voice reflecting surprise.