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“Hi, what can I get you?”
Rey doesn't look up as she says it -- the people who come here are all the same. Jittery college students preparing for exams or even just classes of the morning. Hipster teenagers with non-prescription glasses and tilted beanies. When she does look up, she doesn't look at the person at the register. At least, not until Poe, sitting at a table near the counter, makes finger guns at her.
Then she looks at them, and almost falls over. There's a girl standing at the counter, a rounded face and a blinding smile. That's different enough, Rey thinks, from the usual that she's just shocked.
“Iced coffee,” the girl says. She's wearing a faded orange striped jacket like Poe's, her eyes bright and soft. “Please?” she adds, fidgeting.
Rey calls it over her shoulder at Finn, who salutes. She's not sure if it's mocking or not, but it does make Poe snort. “Don't you have classes,” she shouts at him. It doesn't come out as a question; the girl giggles.
Poe puffs out his chest. “I'm skipping,” he declares.
“Have you ever skipped a class in your life?” the girl asks. Rey looks between them--Poe falters at this.
“Shut up, Jessika.” He sighs and grabs his bag from where it's wrapped around the chair, leaving his jacket behind. “Hasta la vista,” Poe calls over his shoulder as he heads out of the Starbucks.
Rey glances around the near empty coffee shop, now that he's gone. Maz, graceful with an ageless face and orange nails, bites into a scone and gazes out the window. Phasma, the six-foot-three police captain no one seems to know the first name of, swallows her black coffee in one sip. Kylo, Rey's distant cousin (well, not distant by blood), looks like he's a few seconds away from throwing his laptop at someone.
She snaps herself out of it, turning to the girl -- Jessika -- again. “So, your name's--”
Finn is already scrawling Jessika on the cup with a red pen, sliding it across the counter to her. It looks like there's something else on the cup, a scrawl of numbers with a name. Rey whirls to face him as soon as Jessika's gone.
“What did you do?” she demands. “Don't you have a boyfriend?” Who left his jacket here. On purpose because he's been doing it for a week now, she thinks but doesn't say.
“It wasn't my number!” Finn squawks. Rey tilts her head; he rubs his neck. “It was -- ah -- yours.”
“What.” For as sweaty as Finn is half the time, Rey has to admit, he's sneaky. That's not the point, she tells herself, eyes narrowing. “You gave her my number? Why?”
Finn shrugs. “You seemed to like her.”
“L --” Rey drops off. “Oh my god I hate you.”
He pats her on the shoulder. He, god bless him, doesn't say no you don't (as Poe would, with that brilliant smirk of his), but his face says enough. Rey can't glare at him. She's pretty sure it would be impossible for anyone to actually dislike Finn.
Screaming into her palms while Phasma stares, though, is good enough for now.
*
Ring. Ring. Ring.
Rey knows who it is before she picks up. “Hello?” she asks anyways, tone and breathing uneven. God she's pathetic.
“Hi,” Jessika says on the other end. There's a muffled laugh from the background, and then the distinct smacking sound of a pillow. Rey arches an eyebrow at that, but doesn't say anything. “So, I was wondering -- want to go somewhere sometime this week?”
“Maybe,” Rey says in a flat voice. She laughs when silence follows -- the sound trembles. “God, I'm sorry, when I get nervous I make bad jokes. Yes. I'd love that.”
“Oh.” A pause. “That's good.”
There's another awkward stretch in which neither of them speak. Rey lets out her breath; she's pretty sure holding it for over a minute won't be good for her.
“So, where do you want to go?” She's the one to break the quiet, dragging her fingers through her hair. “We could go see a movie --”
Fabric rustles against the receiver instead of an answer. Rey frowns, hearing a thud, and a shout, before Jessika returns. “Sorry, I had to get Poe to stop laughing by tossing him out of my apartment. What were you saying?”
Rey laughs; damn, she likes this girl. “Want to go see a movie?”
“A movie and dinner, huh?” She can hear the smile in Jessika's voice. “Seems a little traditional for me. But I'm game.”
“Who said anything about dinner?” Rey rolls onto her side, fist pressed against her cheek. “Not that I mind --”
“Hopefully not,” Jessika mutters. Her voice rises when she adds, “So we'll go see a movie on Sunday? There's a nice diner around the corner from the theater.”
“I'll drive,” Rey offers. “See you then.”
“See you,” Jessika echoes.
Rey clicks off and grins into her pillow.
*
Jessika and Rey's date is mundane enough. It's really just a night at the movies and going out for dinner. Of course, she does spot Finn and Poe on a date at the diner, Poe showing Finn pictures of his corgi. Rey snorts at them, pointing them out to Jessika.
“Oh my god,” Jessika says, stifling laughter in her palm. “I can't believe I ever thought Poe was cool.”
“I know, right?” Rey shakes her head and drags her gaze away. She drops her eyes to the menu, though she doesn't need it. She gets the same thing every time, anyways. “What're you getting?”
Jessika tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. “Hamburger and fries.”
Rey blinks. “Me, too,” she says. Jessika grins at her.
They don't make small talk while they wait for their food. Rey's never liked exchanging stiff banter with dates, and it appears Jessika feels the same way. Instead of stilted and terse, the silence is calm and Rey finds herself not minding it.
(That could be because soon after they both fall quiet, she reaches across the table to lay her hand across Jessika's, but it could be something else. Not that that's too likely.)
At the movies, Rey pays for a large bowl of popcorn and two sodas. Jessika protests, but she'd paid for dinner, so Rey calls it even.
They share the popcorn, and Rey doesn't know what the movie's about. Her gaze is turned to Jessika most of the time, watching the way her face glows with the flashing of the screen. The widening of her eyes, her expressions and how they change throughout the movie -- both fascinate Rey.
When Rey drops Jessika off at her flat, waiting outside on the dreary street, Jessika opens her door but hestiates. She smiles in Rey's direction before she leans across into the driver's seat to kiss her, soft and sweet, then pulls away again.
“We should do this again,” she says, her face glowing like it had at the movies. This time it's across her cheeks, a soft red, and Rey bites her lip.
“Sure,” she agrees. “Call me?”
Jessika beams. “Absolutely,” she tells her. And with that, she climbs out of Rey's banged-up pickup, saluting once she's at the steps to her house. Bye, she mouths.
Rey's in a loose, relaxed state the entire way home, feeling like she's in a trance of some sort. Standing in front of the mirror before bed, she traces her fingers across her lips, and goes to bed with a wide smile crossing her face.