Why can't we help each other?

 

They both got on at the coffee shop. Actually, Jade's shift would be with Mona. Of course, she didn't know if she liked this or not.

"Look, we need to work together," Mona told her after they had talked to the manager together. After all, Mona already told the manager they were roommates and they would make sure to get to work on time.

It made Jade a little uneasy. Sure, they were both at the apartment, a lot, but as of yet they had never met Cat, but that seemed beside the point to Mona. AND they had not moved in with Nic and Tristan.

"OK," Jade guessed she understood what Mona was saying. Still, she just wished somebody would tell her the truth, like the whole Mona and Tristan fiasco. That's what it was, wasn't it? "Do you still want Tristan?"

"What?" Mona looked at her with a hard wince as if that was the most disgusting thing she'd ever heard of. "Of course not! I can't stand him. It's Nic that I want."

Jade nodded. At least this was helpful to know. "But..but why do you hate Tristan so much?" Jade asked as they walked toward Mona's car. After all, Mona had given her a lift.

"What's there to like about him?" Mona sighed. "You have no idea what you are getting yourself into."

"I haven't gotten myself into anything with him," Jade looked away as if this was not her summer for love.

"Tell me? Are you a virgin?" Mona wanted to know as she drove back toward the apartment complex.

"I .." Jade couldn't help but gasp.

"Oh you are, aren't you?" Mona looked over at her while at a stop light.

"How?" Jade felt as if she might shiver with the idea that Mona would know. 

"Look, a plus for you. He'll like that about you," she said as she moved her sedan back into the traffic.

Jade hugged herself hard. 

"He's hung up on you," she pouted back.

"Oh really," Mona didn't get distracted. "I find that hard to believe." She finally told her they always argued. "It was like, anything I did was wrong. And..and I felt like I was suffocating. Is that what you want?"

"No." Jade swelled a frown.

"Then find somebody else," she told her.

"But what about you ..you and Nic?" Jade looked at her.

"Oh, he's just a little boy in a man's body," she sighed. "I mean, I like that little boy, a lot. He's almost too sweet for his own good. I dunno how he got raised that way, but I would like to thank whoever is responsible for making him who he is. I want to make it work for him, but of course, you'd think he's dating Tristan half the time. They spend more time together than I would like for them to."

This was news to Jade.

"Nic just wants this whole damn roommate thing to work out. Just my luck I'll be in a bunk bed of some sort if I do move in." Mona told her. "You just have to persuade Tristan, that you're the one."

"How do I do that?" Jade winced hard, thinking this was getting rather complicated.

"Find someone else, make him jealous," Mona shrugged.

Jade was beginning to think Mona was the ultimate method actress.