Accidental Arrangements

by Alexandra Warren

  “It did.”

  Instead of accepting my confession, she shook her head in disbelief, shoving the pills in her mouth and swallowing hard with a gulp of water before suggesting, “Your flattery really isn’t necessary.”

  “I can’t help it. I just… I want you, Jules.”

  I wasn’t even sure why the words came out right then, let alone came out so strongly. But now that they were gone, released into the world and directed towards the person who needed to hear them, I knew there was no turning back. And I could tell Jules was just as surprised as I was when she pulled her sunglasses off, her voice low when she asked, “What does that even mean?”

  “I can’t go cold turkey like this. Shit doesn’t even feel right,” I explained as I took a step closer to her.

  Though my step only prompted her to take a step away as she crossed her arms over her chest and tossed over her shoulder, “Doing stuff we have no business doing doesn’t feel right either.”

  “It doesn’t?” I asked as I closed the space between us once again, this time wrapping an arm low against her waist to remind her just how well we fit together; just how well we meshed.

  And I could tell the memories were just as vivid for her as they were for me as she sank into my hold, releasing a heavy sigh before she replied, “I mean, it does. It did. It felt great. It just wasn’t... smart. I can’t operate under those uncertain conditions. I can’t operate in that gray area knowing you’re going to be one foot in and one foot out. But I respect what you’re doing. I respect your dreams. I respect your goals. Which is why I’m saying no more. You can give all of your attention where it belongs. In the gym.”

  While I could appreciate the stance she was taking, the truth was…, “Jules, I’ve been playing basketball all my life. I can shoot free throws with my eyes closed, I can dribble in my sleep. Hell, I can probably cross somebody up with my feet tied together. But the fact of the matter is, I’m not really in control of how that all plays out. I can do the work, I can put in the extra effort, but at the end of the day, it’s not in my hands. But you wanna know what is in my hands? This. You and me. This is something I can control. And I’ll be damned if I drop the ball.”

  Jules peeled herself from my hold, turning around to see my face when she asked, “So what are you saying then?”

  “I guess I’m trying to say… what’s that life if I don’t have anyone real to experience it with? To take the journey with me? To enjoy the process with? In all honesty, I think that’s where I went wrong the first time. Surrounded myself with all of those fake ass niggas as if that was going to help my situation when it only made it worse,” I told her before continuing, “Now I’ve worked my ass off to right my wrongs when it comes to my career, and I have faith that it’ll all work out however it’s supposed to be. But there’s not as much value in that if I don’t have my little baby rockin’ with me too.”

  I had already learned early on to expect the unexpected when it came to Jules. But I still wasn’t prepared for her to ask, “Did you rehearse that?”

  “What?”

  “That little spill. Did you rehearse that?” she repeated, her tight lips slowly turning into a teasing grin as she waited for me to answer.

  And even though I wasn’t sure where she was going with it, I still kept it real when I licked my lips to reply, “I thought about it long and hard while you were gone, but it came from the heart.”

  Her little grin turned into a full-on smile, making me feel hopeful as she started, “Look, Levi. I know I’ll probably never be as important to you as basketball. Basketball is your life. It’s your world. It’s always been your world. And I know if I had something as important, something as sacred, I’d want someone to have my back too.”

  “I’ll always have your back, pretty girl. You’re like… I don’t know. Like the best friend I never had,” I told her, eliciting a laugh as she smacked a hand against my chest in disbelief. And while I was glad to see her back in good graces, I couldn’t help myself in pulling her back in so that I could continue, “I’m serious though. You just… you get me, Jules. You challenge me. You teach me shit and allow me to do the same for you. You do cool shit so effortless that I’m forced to level up if I really wanna stand a chance with you.”

  “I’m really not that great,” she muttered with a roll of her eyes as she rested her head against my chest.

  And I put my chin on top of her head as I teased, “Maybe not, but still.”

  “Levi!” she screeched, pulling away to slug me in the arm.

  And I could only laugh as I reasoned, “You’re the one who said it.”

  “See. You play too much,” she insisted as she took another gulp of her water bottle, reminding me of her trip which also reminded me of something I had done while she was gone.

  I knew I was in store for yet another unpredictable response, but I had a feeling this one would be even more positive than the last when I told her, “I have a surprise for you.”

  “Flowers and sea-salted caramels?” she asked, her eyes lighting up in the process.

  But I shook my head no as I replied, “Better. I… I talked to my agent.”

  “And…” she trailed with confusion, waiting for a full explanation.

  “And he talked to some of his talent agent homies…” I added, building the suspense of it all as Jules grew more and more confused.

  In fact, she was so confused she could only press on with another, “And...”

  “And… we.... found somebody to represent you,” I spilled, bracing myself for whatever was to come.

  But to my surprise, Jules was completely calm as she repeated, “Represent me?”

  “Yeah. Those actress streets are rough, but having somebody to plug you will make it a whole lot easier,” I explained in the same way Damien had explained to me during our latest check-in. While he only had potentially good news regarding my career, I was grateful that he had went the extra mile to pull some strings for Jules.

  Still, she seemed stunned as she leaned against the kitchen counter before stammering, “But I… I can’t afford that.”

  “You don’t have to pay them anything upfront. It’s a risky business, but agents know what they’re doing which is why they’re so picky about what clients they accept. And I mean, the quicker they get you a gig, the quicker they get paid. So it’s really a win for the both of you.”

  “Well can I tell you a secret?” she asked, already gnawing at her lip as she waited for me to respond. And the second I gave her a nod, she continued, “I might have a gig. Like, a real one.”

  “Word? You got a call back?”

  She shook her head. “No. I ran into this producer on the plane and we exchanged info.”

  My eyes rolled instantly as I caught myself growing angry when I told her, “Man, he was probably just some bitch ass nigga tryna get you to take your clothes off on camera.”

  But Jules was quick to throw water on my growing fire when she brushed me off to explain, “It was a woman, Levi. And she’s legit. I looked her up. Alexis Martin-Ross?”

  “Alexis? Like, Jaden’s girl?”

  “His wife now according to her Wikipedia. But you know them like that?” she asked, her eyes wide with interest as if the ideas were already churning in her head.

  And I tried my best to explain, “Nah. I just know of them. Alexis, uh… she used to talk to Bryson Harris back in the day. Bryson and Wes played on the same team before Wes got traded so I got to know him a little bit through Wes. And he… he mentioned her a time or two.”

  Mentioned her seemed small scale considering how enamored with the girl Bryson seemed to be even though it was clear Alexis had her sights set on Jaden from the jump. But Bryson had always been convinced that she and Jaden were just some temporary thing until he was ready to make his move. A move that never actually got made since Jaden and Alexis had obviously stuck it out, and Bryson had thankfully found someone of his own.

  Well… sort of.

  Eith
er way, none of that seemed to matter to Jules as she muttered, “Ugh. He is so damn fine.” Earning herself a stiff side eye as I brought the original topic back to the forefront of the conversation.

  “That’s what’s up though, pretty girl. I hope it all works out for you. But I’m proud of you regardless.”

  Her smile was filled with pride when she replied, “Thank you, Levi. And thanks for talking to your agent. You really didn’t have to do that, but I’m so glad you did.”

  “I’m just trying to put some good vibes out into the world, you know? And maybe they’ll make their way back to me someday,” I told her with a smile of my own, knowing even if they didn’t, I was still glad to be able to lend a helping hand that didn’t involve me handing over a check.

  But Jules seemed to appreciate this kind of help more than anything as she stood on her tippy toes to pinch my cheek when she insisted, “I’m sure they will. You deserve it.”

  “You really mean that? I’m not just some basketball asswipe to you anymore?”

  While I knew the dynamics between Jules and I were steadily changing, it was still a solid stroke for my ego to hear her answer, “No. You’re actually halfway decent.”

  “Only halfway?”

  She shrugged, falling back to flat feet as she ran a hand along my chest. “Depends of if you’re trying to whip up some more of that spaghetti. I need some carbs to soak up all of this alcohol with.”

  “Yeah, I can still smell it on your breath,” I teased, quickly dodging her attempt to slug me once again.

  And I was already laughing by the time she said, “Shut up. No you can’t.”

  “It’s practically oozing out of your pores, Jules. Let me see if I can taste it too,” I told her as I pulled her into a hug, trying to get a little sample of the lips I had been eying since she first walked in.

  This time, it was her dodging me as she whined, “Levi, stop. That’s not what best friends do.”

  “That’s what I do with my best friend,” I clarified as I took a plunge, only catching her at the cheek.

  But I still wasn’t giving up. And I could tell she was struggling not to give in to my pursuit, though she still found the power to tease, “I knew you and Wes were a little too close.”

  I shook my head as I gave her the leeway to break free. But she didn’t budge, letting me know she was actually enjoying our little tussle, actually enjoying being this close to me. But since continuing to battle it out wouldn’t necessarily get me what I wanted, I decided to flat-out ask, “Can you just give me a kiss already? I really missed you, pretty girl.”

  “If you really missed me, you would want to do more than just kiss me,” she said with a sneaky little grin as she finally pulled herself away from me.

  “Well damn. I didn’t know that was an option,” I called after her as she took off towards her bedroom.

  And over her shoulder, she was sure to let me know, “You’re right. It’s not.”

  “Wait. That doesn’t mean it can’t be though,” I insisted as I stepped out of the kitchen to find Jules leaning against the frame of her bedroom door with her arms crossed, reminding me of just how happy I really was to have her back.

  Even if we still had some figuring out to do, and even if none of it was for certain, I was more than ready for whatever was to come. And if whatever was to come was somehow correlated with the invitation she was currently giving me with her eyes, I knew I was in for a treat.

  Jules

  There was nothing - and I mean, nothing - that could’ve knocked the smile off of my face as I strolled into work earlier than normal. After spending most of the week getting reacquainted with my roommate, sleeping in his arms and waking up to his annoyingly adorable ass kissing my face, I felt like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders and instead moved to my heart where it belonged from the get go.

  Well… maybe it didn’t belong there. Maybe I was making a mistake in allowing Levi to infiltrate my being. But it felt like a mistake worth making as I considered the potential, not to mention how good things were already panning out.

  The Max was still relatively quiet, only a few strays left from Happy Hour as the crew prepared for the night shift. And I wasted no time jumping in, humming as I filled the shelves with the freshly-sanitized glasses from the dishwasher.

  “There’s the Jules I know. What’s up with you?” Kelvin asked as he joined me behind the bar, checking the bottles to make sure we had everything we needed in stock.

  And as I continued to replace the glasses I fired back a question of my own. “A girl can’t be happy for the hell of it?”

  He smiled, nodding to agree as he replied, “I’m glad you are. We’re expecting a big crowd tonight.”

  “Nothing I can’t handle, boss man,” I told him with a wink just as my phone began to ring in my pocket. It was too loud and obvious to ignore, even under the scolding eye of Kelvin who preferred we kept our phones locked away so that the customers always had our complete attention.

  But once I checked the screen to see who the call was coming from - a number that wasn’t saved in my phone with a local area code meaning it could’ve been just about anybody - I couldn’t help myself in asking, “Can I... take this? Please?”

  Kelvin released a heavy sigh, shaking his head as he answered, “Jules, you know you’re not supposed to have your phone on the floor.”

  “Please, Kelvin. It might be someone important,” I begged as the phone continued to chime in my hand.

  And while Kelvin once again shook his head, this time it was paired with his permission to…, “Go ahead. My office door is open.”

  I damn near took off sprinting from behind the bar towards the stairs which lead to his office. But apparently I wasn’t fast enough considering once I hit the staircase, the phone stopped ringing.

  Shit.

  I climbed the stairs two-by-two as I pressed the button to call the number right back. And after a few short rings, a familiar voice picked up to say, “Jules. Hey. I was just leaving you a message on the other line. It’s Alexis. Alexis Martin-Ross.”

  “Hey! Hi. How are you?” I asked, my heart already pounding as I tried to stay calm long enough to hear what she actually had to say.

  But it was clear my nerves were oozing through the phone as she chuckled when she replied, “I’m fine. How are you? I hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time.”

  I shook my head as if she could see me, working to keep my breathing steady as I stammered, “No, no. You’re fine. And I’m fine. It’s all fine.”

  Jesus, help me.

  Again, she chuckled. “Well I’m sitting here with the casting director, and we were discussing when and where we wanted to hold auditions which made me think of you. I showed him some of your work on YouTube, and we agreed that we wanted to make sure you got the first crack at things before we opened it up to the public.”

  “Oh my God. That’s… that’s amazing. I appreciate you thinking of me,” I replied with the last thread of composure I had left. It would be just my luck that my excitement would boil over before I could contain it and scare the woman away.

  But it seemed like she didn’t care either way, her main focus being, “Well you know how important it is for us to look out for each other. But anyway, we’re looking at a week from today. Say 8 PM?”

  “That would be perfect,” I answered with another unseen nod, making a mental note to take an off day from work.

  “Awesome. I’ll have my assistant shoot you all of the details. We’re really looking forward to seeing what you’re made of.”

  My cheeks were beginning to ache from smiling so hard as I told her, “I’m looking forward to it too. Thanks again, Mrs. Martin-Ross.”

  “Girl, call me Alexis,” she corrected with another little chuckle.

  “I’m so sorry. Thanks again, Alexis,” I repeated with extra inflection to prove I was a good listener.

  “Much better. You have a good night, okay?”

  “Thank you.
You too. See you next week.”

  I watched the phone closely to make sure the call was actually ended, waiting until it flashed back over to my home screen to let out the loudest scream I could produce. It was a scream I had been holding onto for years, waiting to be unleashed whenever I got the call that I had officially been booked for a part of this caliber. And even though the scream was a little premature considering this call was only for an audition, it felt good to finally release.

  Though it also resulted in a concerned Kelvin busting into his office to ask, “Yo, are you alright? Why are you screaming like that?”

  “I got a private audition!” I screeched, jumping up and down with a second wind of excitement.

  “I knew your ass was all happy go-lucky for a reason. Congratulations, girl,” he replied with a proud smile as he pulled me into a quick hug.

  “Thank you, boss man. And thanks for letting me take that,” I told him, holding up the phone that had been the ticket to it all, even though it had almost been the ticket to getting me in trouble.

  But now that he knew it was actually worth the trouble, Kelvin replied, “I told you before, Jules. We don’t want ya’ll here forever. Just long enough to get shit figured out.”

  “Well I’m about to get it all figured out. Right after I work this shift.”

  While I had a strong feeling the good news would help my night at work go even better, Kelvin tried to one-up me by suggesting, “Why don’t you go ahead and take the night off to celebrate? This is a big deal, Jules.”

  He was right.

  It was a big deal. A very big deal. But it wasn’t attached to any money quite yet which meant..., “You know good and well I can’t afford to take the night off. Especially after that trip ended up costing me double what I expected it to.”

  Giving Elizabeth the time of her life had almost cost me mine, literally and figuratively. Drinking well past my limit and barely getting any sleep had easily been the worst combination ever created, not to mention spending hoards of cash like bills never existed. Thankfully, I had Levi around to nurse me back to good health and loan me some gas money to get to work.