“Hello, there Jailbird,” Taylor greets me.

The officer holds open the door and I nod to him, merely just to acknowledge his presence. I’m fucking pissed I got arrested. To me, it doesn’t make any fucking sense.

This is some fucking bullshit, that’s for sure. We were barely causing a scene. What happened between Tess and I was merely a scuffle between two competitive friends.

Friends with benefits.

And, so maybe it spilled out onto the lobby. Have you ever been to New York? That shit happens all the fucking time.

I run my hands through my hair, rubbing the stale piss and sweat off my face.

You might not believe me, but this is my first time in a jail cell. And, trust me, it’ll be my last. If I could not brush shoulders with Mr. Pinkie sporting assless chaps again in my life, I’d be a happy camper. Though, I’m not going to lie, it was an entertaining few hours to say the least.

“Hey, thanks man. I appreciate you bailing me out,” I pull Taylor in for a hug.

“No sweat. You do owe me a drink,” he punches my shoulder. “Bail is not cheap. And that fucking scene you made…well, let’s just say, there’s a lot you have to do to re-establish your reputation in Clarendon Tower. Again,” he’s lips curls in a ‘sucks to be you’ smile.

“It wasn’t that bad,” I argue.

“To you, maybe” is all he says.

Taylor opens the door for me, seeing as I’m still collecting my belongings, tucking them away into my various pockets.

“Oh, shit,” I hold up my hands before my eyes, squinting when the sun sears into them.

“Dude, you’ve been in the joint for less than a day. Calm down,” Taylor teases.

“You have no idea how dark it is in there. This is fucking drastic,” I admit.

The sounds of the busy street surround me, but one voice cuts through the clatter.

“Hey,” Tess says, softly. And, the details of her figure fill in when I step closer. She’s standing next to Ashley, who has a somber look on her face.

God, Tess is a breath of fucking fresh air.

“Hey,” I mutter. “How are you?”

“Good,” she looks down at her hands, her fingers pulling at her skin. “I only have a few bruises to my ego.”

I chuckle, understanding where she’s coming from.

The last time I saw this woman, we were swatting fucking headboards at each other. And in the lobby of fucking Clarendon Tower. I feel like I should still be pissed at her, but I’m not.

Maybe, it was being handcuffed by a 300-pound cop that sobered me up. Or, it’s seeing her now, looking so defeated and exhausted using Ashley as a crutch. Rather than competing with her, again, I want to hold her in my arms and tell her everything’s going to be ok. I want to reassure and comfort her. Even though, I have no idea if it will be.

“Thanks for waiting, Ashley,” Taylor says. “Let’s go get a drink or something. We have something to tell you guys.”

Taylor darts his eyes between Tess and I, and I can a secret that they’re keeping.

“Uhh…ok,” I tilt my head, testing him.

“Yeah, you’ll need a drink for this,” he pats my back and leads me towards the bar on the corner.

We settle in, with me across from Tess and Taylor opposite of Ashley. I look around, assessing the bar we’re at. It’s a ridiculously hipster venue, and I roll my eyes, hating every minute of this fake bullshit. I would never be here if it wasn’t for the urgency in Taylor’s voice.

“We sincerely apologize for what happened,” Ashley breaks the silence between us. “With the whole Giannoni incident. It was all my fault,” she admits, sipping her white wine.

“What do you mean, all your fault?” Tess twist her body to face her square on.

“Well…” Ashley clears her throat and glances up at Taylor, almost like she needs back-up.

She continues. “I found the number of Giovanni Giannoni on Taylor’s desk. I snooped and looked at the file. That’s when I found out that he was this world-renowned designer. I knew I had to tell you, Tess,” she reaches for her, grabbing onto her elbow to emphasize her point. “But apparently, Taylor had the same idea.”

“We wanted to help the both of you in the competition. We just shared the same information to both of you,” Taylor jumps in, trying to throw Ashley a fucking life preserver.

“Oh…I see,” Tess turns back to face me, and clasps her hands together between us.

“Wow, ok.” I nod my head, not wanting to understand but I do appreciate them looking out for us.

Let’s be honest, if it were Tess and I, we would probably do the same.

“Seriously, Austin. It was an innocent mistake,” Taylor says in defense.

“I understand. I do,” I take a gulp of my whisky. It stings worse than my usual. It’s not the typical top-shelf I order, considering their top shelf here is about half the quality.

“Seriously, don’t blame her,” Taylor jabs back, sliding his drink over to him.

“It’s ok. We probably would’ve done the same,” Tess admits, and glances over at me. Did she read my fucking mind?

“There’s another thing,” Taylor says, letting his words linger on his tongue.

“Yeah?” I ask, not really wanting to know but my as well get this shitshow over with.

Ashley looks away from the table, but then swivels back to Tess in a swift motion. “It’s too late. You missed the contest.”

“Excuse me?” Tess spits out vodka and soda, almost choking on it.

“You missed the contest, both of you,” Taylor adds, looking at us with all sincerity. “Being handcuffed and jailed kind of makes you ineligible. Especially when that’s the reason why you didn’t show up to the contest at all.”

“Jesus Christ,” I lean my elbows on the table, running my hands in frustration.

“Clarendon Towers has decided to keep looking,” Ashley says, distress coating her voice.

“Are you serious?” Tess whimpers, covering her mouth to try to hush her emotions overwhelming her.

I reach for her hand across the table, but she moves it away.

Fuck.

Don’t do that. Please don’t do that, baby.

“Tess…” I plead, but she ignores me, not moving her gaze from Ashley.

“We will be here if you need any help, and we’ll let you know if anything changes,” Taylor says, reassuringly. He finishes his drink. “And, seriously, we wish you the best of luck. There’s a reason why you both were in the final round.”

Ashley and Taylor both stand up, their seat screeching across the concrete floor.

“You don’t need my luck. But, please, let me know if you need anything,” Ashley reaches for Tess’s hand, wrapping into hers in a warm, comforting gestures. “Jut let me know if there is anything I can do.” She kisses her on the cheek and turns towards Taylor.

He holds his hand out and she grabs it, and they walk together, hand in hand, towards the exit. It’s like a fucking thriller movie, two accomplices walking together out the door as the world collapses around them. That’s how I feel right now. Expect I’m the one standing there watching this happen. I’m the extra in the back falling into those deep crevices, convincing the audience I’m dead.

I watch my world fade to black and turn back to Tess, who’s quietly sobbing into her hands. I reach up and tuck a strand of loose hair behind her ear.

“I can’t believe this happened,” she says between shallow breaths.

“I know,” I say, not knowing what else to say because I can’t believe it either.

“This is the first time I’ve ever lost,” she wipes her tears away and her mascara-stained face looks up at me, her eyes droopy like a puppy dog.

“Me too, baby.”

She wipes her stains away aggressively and sniffles, trying to calm herself.

“You’ve never lost before?” she asks.

“No, this is my first time.” I nod with a small smile. “But you want to know something that might make you feel better?”

I reach for her hands and cradle them in mine, my thumb rubbing over her soft skin. I look between her hands and her eyes, wanting her to know how sincere I am.

“What’s that?” she asks.

“We’ve lost for the first time, but we lost together. There’s a first for everything,” I declare, lifting her folded fists up to kiss them.

She shakes her head and a quiet chuckle emerges from her lips.

“We did. We both lost,” she says, her ocean blue eyes staring at me and for a second, I feel adrift. I almost forget that I lost the competition because with her I find myself losing all sense of self. I know I’ve lost my fucking mind and I’m beginning to think I’ve lost so much more than that.

She jerks her hands out of my hold and looks away, gathering her purse. It pushes me back into my chair and I look around me, wondering if anyone else saw her abruptness or if it was just me.

“I’m sorry…” she stammers. “I can’t be here. I can’t face you.”

She stands up and my body has lost all mobility, unable to bring her back to me.

“Tess,” I start. “I love you.”

She looks at me with tears in her eyes.

“I love you too,” she says. “But love isn’t supposed to hurt, Austin. And that’s all I feel when I look at you.”

I don’t know what to say to that.

So I stay silent.

“I can’t do this,” she admits and then walks away.