Kendall Summers

“You came to visit a friend?” Jemma inquired with an eyebrow arch, gaze averting around their surroundings. “Where the fuck are they then?” She scoffed out, casually spinning around the cigarette with her fingers. But of course she couldn’t resist as the the corners of her mouth twitched into the faintest of smirks. Fishing out her own lighter, she lit up her cigarette and took in a deep inhale. Tilting her head upwards, she watched the smoke escape from her mouth “Well, I haven’t wiped it down yet, babe,” she said with a wink. “Pillow princesses are so boring, it’s like – damn, I wanna come too. But  y’know, I’d just have punched poor ‘ol Brad and be done with it.”

Kendall chortled, giving a dramatic roll of her eyes, but that persistent grin remained. “What? You think I’d let anyone I like near this place?” She asked, pulling a face as she looked into the shop. Clear bullshit, since quite a bit of her own work was done inside that very building. That, and the list of people the telemarketer genuinely liked was rather... short. Kendall tilted her head back and laughed. “You tryna make me jealous?” She asked, teasing lilt to her voice. “It’s kind of working.” She hummed, giving her friend a nudge as she feigned interest in the overcast sky. She chuckled, shaking her head. “Fight or flight, man. I’m a runner. Especially when chick wasn’t a good lay in the first place. I’m just gonna go celibate. Born again virgin, all that shit.”

Kiara could’ve continued playing it cool, but her nerves were getting the best of her. “I was going to head home. I was going to just… to just go home and order food from wherever and end my day but…” Sucking in some air, she exhaled sharply before continuing. “You seem okay. You seem normal. I like your tattoos and your whole vibe is like, don’t get me wrong, intimidating as all hell! But you seem cool. My head isn’t screw on all that tight either. Well, it is, but too tight? You know? I could lose a few screws. Or loosen them,” Kiara even laughed lightly at herself. “So I think we should go out. We should go to a bar and take shots and drink and just… do you like wings? I’ve been craving wings today, so I need some of those tonight.” Smiling nervously, she finally released her bag. Well, if she was going to invite this girl out, she might as well relax a little. “I have an Uber on the way, if you know of any good places, now is the time to suggest it,” Her smile grew a little more as she thought to extend her hand and introduce herself. “Kiara… Sokolov. By the way. That’s my name.”

Kendall’s brows furrowed as the girl seemingly dragged her way through the conversation. She had to give the girl credit – she was pushing through when she clearly would rather not. At the sharp inhale though and shift though, a grin of sorts tugged at her lips. If it weren’t for the guilt taking firm root in her at the very moment, she may have even outwardly congratulated the woman. Instead, Kendall let out a light chuckle, nodding. “Didn’t have you pegged for a shots girl,” she mused, fingers running guiltily along the wallet’s edges. It was difficult to keep hazel eyes from tracking the movement of the now loose bag, but she managed to keep her gaze on the other woman. She’d gotten the wallet out – putting it back couldn’t be that hard. “Fuck it, I’m in.” She agreed, giving the other a grin. “I won’t hold it against you if you can’t keep up.” She added, tone playful as she wrinkled her nose. 

It was good to see the woman loosen up – Kendall had noticed that rigidity of the other, to an extent – but it wasn’t until the tension began to leave her (at least a little), that she noticed just how nervous she was. As she extended her hand, Kendall let go of the wallet, feeling it sink back down into her pocket. “Kiara,” she repeated, nodding. "Kendall. Good to meet you.” She said, offering her another smile. She hoped she managed to keep the edges of insincerity out of it. Hell, she would’ve meant it, to an extent – if part of her weren’t still screaming to take the money and run. “There’s this little place, hella divey, if that’s a vibe you can fuck with. Great wings, cheap beer, cheaper shots. Used to sling drinks there when money got tight – might be able to pull a discount. Watch out for the bouncer, though – dude likes to try and convince pretty girls he’s an Earl or some shit. Pretends he’s 30th in the line for the throne. Total crock, but I’ve seen it work more than once. Best to just smile and nod.”

“Jesus fuckin’ christ on a cracker,” Jemma exclaimed while traipsing her way onto the scene, a cigarette loosely held in-between her fingers. The half-cocked smirk showed her amusement with her friend’s shenanigans, one that she had grown accustomed to. Casually leaning against the brick wall, she let out an exaggerated scoff and watched the unsuspecting victim scatter away. “Next time, don’t fuckin’ do it in front of my shop, yeah?” She inquired in a casual tone, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. “If you need sleep so Goddamned badly, the bathroom floor doesn’t completely suck.”

Her grin as the familiar voice sounded out behind her was wide and immediate. “How dare you,” Kendall started, turning to face the brunette. “I just came by the visit a friend.” She mused, grin clearly indicated that she was full of shit – not that Jemma wasn’t already well aware. Kendall leaned against the wall beside the other, fishing a cigarette out of her own pocket. A sort of bark of laughter escaped her at the suggestion as she lit up, shaking her head as she exhaled. “I don’t even get the couch? That hurts, Jem.” She said, grin lingering. “Crashed with this girl last night – total pillow princess, but she was hot, so whatever, right? All fine and dandy until her fucking boyfriend, fiance, whatever, comes crashing in at 6 a.m. Should’ve seen that coming. End up having to scale down this second floor balcony, lost some really great shoes to that apartment all because I don’t wanna battle with Brad over this chick who’s name I can’t even remember. It’s been a fuckin’ day, dude.”

Sawyer hated how easily it was to slip into some sort of banter. Something that most would just overlook, having no idea of the damage done. With a sigh, she refused to give Kendall any satisfaction of making this an easy exchange. Instead, she brushed past any pleasantries with a sigh. “Heartless bitch? Hm? Haven’t heard those rumors? Then again, I guess I’d have to care to pay attention to stuff like that…” Nonchalantly, she shrugged her shoulders– leaving her words up for interpretation. Truth was, she cared entirely too much. She’d love to say it was a simple fact that Kendall and James had slept together that occasionally kept her awake still. And sure, that was part of her nightmares. But no, the universe would be too kind if there wasn’t more. Going against all logic, every gut instinct, she still felt some kind of way towards Kendall. She sure as hell wished it was indifference. Hate alone would suffice, but it was more that. Sawyer unequivocally wanted the younger girl. “Like you even care. I mean why would you…” Extending her hand, she pointed at Kendall as though to prove her point. She tried keeping it together. She tried hard, but it was to no avail. Seeing the other there, it brought a lot of unwanted emotions to the surface. “You know, I knew what I was getting into falling for you. I accept my responsibility in what happened. But I never thought you would ever betray me like that. Figured it was too low, even for you, but I guess not. Clearly, my expectations were too high.” 

A surprised huff of laughter escaped her. “And here I thought you might be the source,” she muttered.  Of course she didn’t – partially because those words had stuck to Kendall long before her latest lapse in judgment. If she had to guess a point of origin. Her gaze shifted from the other woman, looking around the area as if there were something there – some sort of distraction she could latch onto as she shifted her weight uncomfortably from foot to foot. Good eyes eyes snapped back to the redhead as she spoke again, lips parting in her own defense. “C’mon, Sawyer. You would’ve found an out anyway. I just saved you the trouble. We both know I’m not the girl people settle down with, take home to meet the family.” She quipped – wincing once she realized the error in her words. She’d let herself become far too acquainted with the Miller family. She sighed, glancing down to pick at the already chipped polish on her nails. “I wouldn’t have – fuck, dude. I didn’t know who he was.” Kendall sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. “Look. I’m sorry, okay? I’m really good at that whole dicking people over thing, try to hide your surprise – but that was some worst enemy treatment. Wasn’t fair to you.” She stumbled over the words, at best – it was almost like each one was some bitter pill she was forced to swallow.

The thing about being a caretaker, you were up different hours of the day, caring for a child that needed her attention more than usual and his parents? Well, they didn’t want to deal with his tantrums, even if they didn’t say it she knew it just from the way they handed her the child. She honestly felt bad for him and she knew what it was like to have parents treat her like shit so she didn’t mind always being on call for him. What she didn’t love was walking home, too tired to even function, causing her to bump into a stranger. Shaking her head, “no, it’s on me, I probably didn’t see you as my eyes started to close.” A hand came up to her face, slapping her cheek too see if maybe she could pay attention this time. “Yeah, it was definitely a long night and day if you ask me but you probably don’t care. But let me make it up to you with a drink of something.” That was when she panted jean pockets to get her phone and that’s when she realized that her wallet was gone, “oh, I’m sorry, I must have left my money with that kid I was watching. I feel terrible, like unless you wanna follow me to go get it?”

It never stopped surprising her when she found herself on the receiving end of an apology for something she’d clearly orchestrated. Kendall didn’t know how to handle kind people – they were often the reasons her hit and run strategy failed, left her mentally scrambling for a way to stealthily return what she’d taken. Lips parted to assure the other that it wasn’t necessary, but the woman was already checking her pockets. Shit. She offered a grin that didn’t entirely reach her eyes as she shrugged. “Fuck it, i don’t have anywhere else to be. That what you do? Nanny or whatever?” She asked, sliding her hands into her pockets. If she played her cards right, she could drop the wallet en route and hope the other wouldn’t notice that it had fallen out of Kendall’s pocket, and not her own. She cleared her throat, nodding her head in the direction the other had come from. “After you.” She said, giving her that same half smile. “Kendall, by the way. I’ll answer to just about anything, though, if you shout it loud enough.”