2019-07-29 - And Then There Were Three (With Weed)

It's time for the BFFs to have a chinwag. 'Truth or Dare' night with Kevin was some time ago now but there were still leftover 'storylines' to wrap up. One...Jessica dressed up as Princess Leia. Two...Harper wanted to talk about Nicholas. To Jessica, it sounded like a relationship talk, so best that only the two of them be on the houseboat for that.

It's early evening as Jessica stalks the living area, picking up pillows and moving furniture in pursuit of a USB with her latest story on it. "Come on! You were just here a second ago!" Still, Harper will be here any moment so it will have to wait. Clad in t-shirt, sweats, and fluffy bunny slippers, Jessica gives up on the quest to grab a bottle of wine for them to share. Nibblies already on the coffee table.

It's the end of a hot work day at the end of July. Harper has changed out of librarian gear, pulled on a sundress and sneakers (outfit, not pb: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/493073859203792182/ ), and headed straight over to Jessica's place. She doesn't knock. Jessica knows she's on her way over. So unless locked the front door admits one Harper to the USS Jessica, aka Honeybuns. "Permission to come aboard," she calls brightly, always after she's aboard. She catches Jessica mid-search and sets her fists on her hips to scrutinize what can infer. "Nice slippers. Lose something, Jess?" She looks around the room as if it will show itself to her and she can save the day.

"You always have persmission, Harpo" Jessica grins as she tries to open the bottle of wine. The cork is proving bothersome - at least it's not a screwtop! "I lost the USB I saved my story too. It'll be here somewhere. I'll find it. Oh, for goodness sake, don't tell Kevin. He'll say it is a conspiracy and that is was stolen deliberately by government fish people." A pause. "Can't say he's wrong, but the evidence suggests otherwise. You're looking nice. You do know it's just us tonight, right?" A wink to her friend as the bottle finally opens with one last grunt of effort. "Have a seat."

Harper leans a shoulder into the doorframe and watches Jessica move frenetically around. "Well, that sounds aggravating. You should have seen me today at work. I broke a heel, then my bra broke, like in the front middle?" She gestures to the center of her chest. "It was like a bad, a really bad strip tease. Then someone somehow set -- get this -- 'Fahrenheit 451' on fire in the restroom. Still don't know how that happened, but they were really apologetic." She shakes her head. "Oh, I got not one, but two flat tires. Then my toaster exploded. Like an electrical POP! and there was smoke. And, get this: the DMV sent me a letter saying my license was suspended pending a DUI. I've never even gotten a DUI. I think we both pissed off the same deity." Harper folds her arms across her chest. "I'm thinking Shiva, maybe?" Jessica mentions Kevin. "I haven't seen him since he ran away. Did I say something really stupid after I drank those rum-and-cokes?" Harper sounds like she wouldn't be surprised if that were the case.

Jessica stares at the litany of misfortune that has befallen Harper. And she thought she had a bad day. "Wow. Seriously? All of that?" A pause. "Just today? Where do I even begin to unpack all that? And that wasn't a pun about your bra breaking. I don't think it counts as a striptease if you were wearing a cardigan over it." What else would she be wearing? "Umm...you let people take books into the restroom? That is pretty divine level irony there."

Jessica takes extra care to pour the wine after all that. "I have Christ and Mohammed competing in my household, typical that it would be another one altogether that causes the trouble. I'll go with Shiva. You didn't say anything stupid with Kevin." Jessia shrugs lightly. "Nothing more than usual. Just teasing! You did mention you wanted to talk to me about Nicholas." A wiggle of her eyebrows as she brings over the glasses of win. "Sounded pretty serious." A fluffy bunny catches on a pile of her clothes, tripping her enough that the contents of one glass is now splashed over Harper's pretty dress. More staring in disbelief before Jessica rushes for a cloth. "I'm so sorry!"

"All of that," Harper echoes, looking amused because she doesn't think she has anywhere to go but up. "It was their high school copy of the four-five-one. Not even the library's. And I didn't want to ask what they were doing with it in the restroom. Sometimes a person needs a little privacy. To burn books about ... burning books." Harper still looks amused in that laissez-faire sort of way. "I had to go home to change," she argues. All limpy and loose." Both the shoe and the 'shirt'.

The wine pouring is watched from that same shoulder lean against the doorframe. Shiva: Harper nods sagely. "This is definitely the type of thing you'd see from Shiva." Her brown eyes sparkle at Jessica's religious entanglement of an upbringing. "I mentioned wanting to talk about Nicholas in front of Kevin? Well, that's awkward." However, Harper doesn't look too upset. "Yeah, watch out with that --" Annnd Harper is wine-stained. She bursts out laughing, looking down at her white sundress. "Thank you," she begins, " -- for not popping my bra. This is just a flesh wound. It'll be fine. Seriously, Jess. Stop. You're gonna kick the sofa and break a toe or something. Really, it's nice and cool on a hot day. Just a different type of refreshing, is all. I'll soak it in oxy-clean when I get home. Here --" she grabs the glasses from Jessica and refills them. "Sit down," she demands, pulling a Jessica on Jessica, demanding that she take a seat. "C'mon. Let's toast Shiva really elaborately and then try not to drop our glasses, 'kay?" If Jessica has sat down, Harper does the same, pulling up a knee to sit on one of her feet on the sofa, facing Jessica. "How much of the sordid tale did I spell out? And you need to cut me off harder than you did next time, wing-woman. At least when innocent men are in the vicinity." Her brown eyes twinkle at her own remark.

Trying to stay calm sounds like a good idea. And Jessica does her best to Harper's advice, taking some deep breaths and plonking herself down on the couch. There is no safer place. Damn that, Shiva! "You didn't really mention Nicholas in front of Kevin. It was more one of those looks you gave me. No one else will understand. I have the feeling that Kevin is only interested in blondes. Magnolia specifically." A playfully dramatic sigh. "I guess you'll have to go with Nicholas and I'll go with...umm...my USB if I ever find it."

Jessica does feel bad about the wine stain, regardless of what Harper may say. "You were having a great time. Why cut you off?" she says as she takes the new glass and raises it in a toast. "Here's to Shiva. May they let us get through the night without setting my house on fire. Or falling into the ocean. Or destroying our bras in a non-good way. I'm just giving Shiva ideas now. Drink. Quickly. And then tell me all about Nicholas."

"Oh, we're not /dating/." She laughs a little and waves a hand at Jessica in regard to Nicholas. "It was a couple of kisses and I was plastered. In fact, if anything I see him less often now than I did before Fred-the-Jerk took me dancing. She pauses, frowns a little. "I hope he isn't upset." This may be the first time Harper's really thought back to that largely fuzzy night. "Nicholas works, like, all the time. I told him he's got a lethal case of Savior-complex, but I don't think he listened." She looks as though she doesn't sound happy about that, but then she takes a long swallow of wine and refocuses on Jessica from her inner-revisiting of that awful night.

"Really? Are they actually dating? Huh. You called it. I wouldn't've guessed it, but then my success rate in the matchmaking department hasn't actually been on the winning end recently. I would have laid odds on you and him -- well, you know." Harper shrugs and watches her friend. "Maybe there's still a chance. You two have some serious banter going on, at least. It's fun to watch." Harper lifts her glass to the toast. "Shiva. The most beautiful and cunning of all deities. May she have mercy on us for the rest of the summer." Clink. Drink. "You know I make a fool out of myself when I drink like that. You've got to save me from that kind of embarrassment, Honeybuns." She agrees with the fact that Jessica's tossing Shiva ideas with a little tip of a fingertip to her lips. "Let's drink twice." Another clink and another drink.

"Granted, if I remember correctly, they were pretty hot kisses. And I wasn't the one who -- I don't think, maybe I'm remembering wrong -- started the kissing. But Jess, just let me say this: unless that sixth drink is messing with my memory, he is a mighty fine kisser. I mean, hot." She fans herself. "Maybe I should re-introduce you."

"Hot kisses? You never mentioned that before." Color Jessica intrigued, her eyes lighting up with a curiosity she usually reserves for political scandals. "Nicholas was kissing you, Harpo. He wasn't thinking about me when he was smooshing your lovely lips. Hey, I'd be upset if you never called again after a hot make-out session. Go take him one of your food packages...with a side of hot Harper sauce." A wink for her friend, happy that there could be something there for her.

"We wouldn't be good reporters if we didn't banter" Jessica smirks before praising Shiva a little more. "You know, you don't have to matchmake at all, Harpo. Except for yourself. You should definitely be getting your bad self on...if you know what I'm saying." Her brow furrows. "Though I'm not sure I do." And it's only been a couple of sips of wine. "Hmm...maybe I should drop by and see Nicholas. Make sure he knows how good he could have it."

Harper shrugs a little mystified sort of shrug. "If it had been a real thing he'd have called or something. You know it's very possible I pounced on him in a drunk fervor in thanks for driving for almost forty-five minutes each way. I can't help it that he gives good lips. And, well you know, everything else." Harper smiles a conspiratorial smile at her best friend. "Well, not everything else. And maybe it's all a figment of my imagination, like a drunk dream or something. That could really be a thing." She looks off into the middle distance a minute, hums to herself thoughtfully, then shivers. "Unless he's upset about it now, I don't think I'll even bring it up next time I take over some banana bread. It's been nearly two months, Jess. If it'd been something, he'd return my calls and text or something about the banana bread I drop off at his door while he's working two plus shifts each day." She toasts her glass. "Dear Shiva, thanks for the good lips, even though you giveth and taketh away. Sincerely, Harper." The toasts to the Hindu deity are beginning to sound like pen pal letters. Harper listens to Jessica noting the requirement for 'banter' between reporters. "Well," she submits for approval. "There's banter and then there's banter. Admit that at least."

"Everything else? Oh. My. Gosh. You did it with him? Like...it! And you didn't tell me until now?" Jessica's eyes narrows. "Okay, I think I need a definition of 'everything else'. Third base in the front of a car? Home run in the comfort of your bedroom? Double header? C'mon, Harpo, you know I have to live through you since I have cobwebs now. You're the one getting all the action."

A sip of her wine to toast the good lips...and hope to meet some herself. "I'll talk to him" Jessica decides helpfully. "He'll be calling soon. And if not, then he's an idiot and not worth your time. Once he hears you go around braless now...hubba hubba." An amused shake of her head. "Kevin is not interested in me, banter or not. And that's fine. No work issues if we keep it like that."

"No. Nononono. No. We didn't. I know that much. I spent the night alone. He didn't even come in when he dropped me off. Believe me, Jess. You'd have heard all of this long ago if it'd gone that way." Harper actually flushes. "I just meant kissing. Really hot kissing, yeah. And then only like two or three times, tops. But I was hammered. My date might have slipped me something. I don't remember." She's laughing now at the permutations her best friend intimates. "Seriously, Jess. You know what I mean by hot kisses. That and no more. And me fall down drunk. It's far less exciting than you're making it sound." Harper gulps down the rest of her wine and leans over to set the wineglass down on the edge of the table, so close it wobbles and she just catches it, only to knock a knick-knack off the coffeetable. "Whoops. Sorry."

"Jess..." Harper warns in a don't-even-think-about-it tone. "Leave the man alone. He flipping saved me from the Worst Date Ever. Don't rub it in his face. If it was meant to be something, it'd be something by now. Besides, I have a date this week." Harper waves a hand at Jessica. "Don't worry. It's just a lunch thing outside the library. I promised to bring a picnic. But he's hardly even legal. He's just out of the service with a medical discharge, hit with an IED. He was charming and I couldn't really turn down his offer for dinner. So, I made it a lunch and that will be that. I'm not robbing the cradle. Nope. No way. But a military man who sacrificed so much for his country, all so civilians wouldn't die, he deserves to be taken seriously. I'll be my charming self. He'll be on his way and that will be that. I mean, Jess, he's only twenty-one."

Jessica is very disappointed to hear that it was just kissing. And that 'everything else' just meant more kissing. Harper really needs to work on her word use. "Don't remind me of 'He's Dead Fred'. I'm still looking for him. I'd kick him in the nuts if he had any. I understand the drunk stuff. I came home from that girls night out in much the same way. Lexi brought me home...and she wasn't even at the event. Very sweet of her though. Making sure I got home okay. I guess this town does have some good souls in it after all." A dismissive hand at the knick-knack-knocking. "Don't worry about it. Not even sure what that is."

"Okay, I'll leave him be" Jessica sighs in defeat. But then there's talk of another date! "Since when has age mattered? You don't see guys complaining about dating twenty-one year olds, so why should we? He's old enough to know what he's doing. And if he's been in the army, then he is responsible. Go for it. He got hurt in the war? Sorry to hear that. Just have a fun lunch with him, Harpo. Be yourself...yes, charming...but treat him and the situation honestly. If you're hitting it off, then don't be afraid to hit that. Life is too short."

Harper is amused at Jessica's disappointment, but only in the way a best girlfriend would be. "You make me almost feel sorry for Fred. Except I really, really don't." Harper listens. "Meet anyone interesting at that drinking-fest?" Harper inquires. "Do I know Lexi?"

Harper nods at the 'leave him be'. "For the best, Jessica, my darling friend." Harper settles into the sofa back with one shoulder and tips her temple against the cushion. "I'm really not about the younger guys, even if it sounds like it. I prefer older guys, Jess. Give me a forty-year-old man who knows what he wants. These college-kids are cute, but they're still a little too green for me, you know? Experience, maturity, a guy who listens instead of talking all the time. Know anyone like that?" She reaches the hand of the arm she's leaning against the sofa over her head to push her hair out of her face. "Just, someone steady. And dreamy. And if he was just a little brilliant like Shirley, I wouldn't mind." She speaks of Sherlock Holmes, the fictional character she's had a crush on since high school, as if some version of him exists out in the real world. She nods distractedly about her upcoming picnic date. "Don't worry. I get out a couple of times a year. I haven't given up. And you shouldn't either, Jess. I mean it."

"Hey, I could use all these other murders as cover for doing in this Fred guy" Jessica grins. "And I'm kidding." Harper would know that but it doesn't hurt to say it in case they are under surveillance - Kevin is probably convinced they are. "I was going to hit some really tall guy over the head with a drinks tray, but the bouncer took it off me before I could. It was a...umm...interesting night. And though I had someone in my house that night, I was on the couch by myself, dead to the world. Lexi is a tattooist. Met her once at the weed shop. You go to either of those places?"

"Older guys? Hmm...just remember that as you get older, they get older. I'd hate for you to be forty and pining for an eighty year old. I get what you're saying though. Training the young ones is such a chore." Not that she would know. A shake of her head. "Don't know anyone like that. How about the mayor? I can't remember if he's married." A fond smile at talk of Sherlock Holmes. "You'll find a Shirley one day, Harpo. And I'm out all the time. Haven't you heard the rumors about that hot journalist sleeping her way to the top?" She screws up her nose. "Neither have I. And I get out. Going to the Latin festival soon." A social gathering without a date is going out...right?

"Wait, why were you going to hit some tall guy with a drink tray?" Harper looks abruptly lost, perplexed even, in regard to her best friend turning violent on some stranger in a bar. "Was he Mickey-ing drinks?" She scowls more darkly than someone who is an acquaintance of Harper might expect. Jess knows better. "Someone slept here?" Harper nearly squeaks the words, they tip up the scale so high. "Tell me, tell me." She listens. "Lexi the tattooist. Hmm. Don't think I know her." Harper actually does know her, but not by name. "And that new CBD place? Can't say that I've been there, either. Though if you wanted to try some edibles some night on the safety of the USS Honeybuns, we could make snacks and try it out." She then pauses, realizes something. "Have you already tried it? And do you have a new tattoo I should know about?" Brown eyes twinkle. "The things you do for a story, my friend." Harper shakes her head slowly with an avid expression, all ears. Harper smiles and awws at her friend's support of her search for the fictional detective in her unsuccessful love life. "Maybe you'll meet someone hot at the festival," Harper suggests, brows tipping up. "Sounds like an excellent venue."

"He was getting into a fight with Erin Addington. I only know her by reputation but with everything going on with her family, I didn't want to see her, or any woman, being beaten up by some giant guy in a bar. I probably thought I was being the heroine of the piece. Yeah, she slept here. Literally." Jessica laughs. "No, I don't have a tattoo. I don't even have an old one, much less a new one. Wait, do you have a tattoo, Harpo? You librarians are such demons."

As for edibles... A wicked smile forms on Jessica's face before she holds up a single finger in a 'one moment' gesture. She slinks off to the kitchen. "Eve, who runs the store, is a lovely woman. Always thinking of her customers and making sure the proper information is out there." She rummages around in the back of a cupboard before pulling out a block of tin foil - with something in it. "Edibles. You want to try them tonight, Harpo? I've been frightened to, but if you're here..."

"I could meet someone at the festival. You could too. I mean, my wingwoman is coming along, right?" Jessica grins at Harper - one of those 'you wouldn't dare let me down' grins they've used on each other over the years. "You'd remember Lexi if you saw her. White blonde hair. Tattoos all over her. Really rocks the pigtail look. Though I think they were braids...looked like pigtails to me."

"Wait, wait, wait. Some giant guy was getting into a fight with the Erin Addington? How does that even work? Fisticuffs? Knife fight? Bad flirting? A heated dispute about the Macarena? Explain this to me." Harper is trying and failing to imagine the lead up to the described events. "Why'd she sleep here? Too drunk to drive?" Harper's pointed look at Jessica breathes 'Really?'. "You know I don't have tattoos. Though one night after a glass of wine I considered getting 'The game is afoot.' on my ankle." There's no telling if that is a joke or if Harper is serious about that. "Demons with bursting brassieres. Don't forget the brassieres," she reminds Jessica.

Jessica uses the single finger motion for just-you-wait-my-pretty and Harper pushes away from the sofa-back to watch after her friend. "Am /I/ spending the night?" What dangerous item could Jessica return with? "Well, yes," Harper answers. Who else could be safer than her best friend. "I honestly don't know how CBD is different from pot. I should but I've never looked it up. Are we going to get hungry and find the sounds of regular words hysterical?" This is living on the wild side for Harper.

"If you want me there, I'll come, of course," Harper replies. "But some guys get intimidated when we move in clusters. You have to be thoughtful of the poor sots, Jess." When Jessica describes Lexi Harper's lips part. "That sounds just like the woman I told you dragged me into the Sideways. Did she have a smart mouth?" Harper muses on this. "I wanted to try to find her and thank her. I wonder if it's the same person. I haven't seen anyone else like her in town." And it's a small town. Harper looks at what Jessica's emerged from the kitchen with. "You dangerous reporter," she teases. "And a corrupting influence. Bring that over here and tell me what we're trying."

"She has a smart mouth" Jessica nods as she flops back on the couch. Carefully she begins to unwrap the goodies. "The only guys who are worth it, would notbe afraid of girls in clusters. Why would you want a guy who prefers you alone? Sounds like a mugger. Lex could be the same person who...wait...why are you thanking her for dragging you in there? Shouldn't you thank her for not doing that?"

"Okay, what we have here are some chocolate brownies with herbal enhancement" Jessica explains. "I've never had them before but you're probably an expert. Corrupting? As if. I expand minds with my reporting."

"I admit I'm not sure what the fight was about but when an eight foot tall guy is getting mad, you intervene. Right? Thankfully, for him, the bouncer intervened too." And thankfully for Jessica too. "As for why Lexi slept here. I dunno, guess she thought I wasn't safe to leave on my own." A little embarrassed expression. "I might have been very drunk. Though I could still dance! I think I remember that. And we should make a totally sensible and sober deal here and now. If either of us gets a tattoo, the other has to get one too at the same time. Agreed?"

"You can spend the night if you like" Jessica chuckles. "If you don't think you can make it home, then you're welcome to stay. So this isn't pot, it's CBD? Hmm...I guess we'll see what it does regardless of what it is. We have nibblies if we get hungry. As for laughing at words...I always thought akimbo was pretty funny."

"So her name is Lexi," Harper murmurs thoughtfully. "Do you know where she works?" Which tattoo place, she means. Harper clarifies why she's not upset at having been dragged into the Veil. "I'd like to take her some muffins. She really did look out for me. I don't know if we had a choice about going down that alley. I think she's a caretaker wrapped up in a attitude. Which is charming, if you think about it." Harper disagrees with Jessica's assessment on 'guys' at large. "Sometimes the shy ones are worth the trouble." Sometimes.

The enhanced brownies are produced. "Oh Jess... this is going to be the perfect ending to my day." The day where everything went wrong? What could ... also go wrong? "You think I've had drugs of any kind before, aside from when I broke my arm? Jess, seriously?" Harper uses that tone with Jessica. When Jessica finally responds about the fight she engaged a serving tray in, Harper listens. "Eight foot. Really? So, like, Andre the Giant tall, huh? How did you know he was mad at the Erin Addington? I mean was it just ESP, girl-sense, or did you hear someone say something, make a threat?" Harper watches Jessica bring brownies out and makes sure her friend isn't holding a knife as she walks and talks. No further clarification on the bar brawl leaves Harper looking displeased. "Seriously? You can't just leave it there." But they're back to Lex again. "Definitely a caretaker, then. The prickly ones are the most fun. Wait, how drunk were you and why didn't you call me or an Uber or something?" Deals about tattoos. "Okay. Deal. Who makes the call? The one who wants the tattoo or the one who has to follow along and get one too?" Harper nods as an aside, "You're an amazing dancer." Harper at least knows to distinguish between pot and CBD. But not what cautions to take. "Okay. Any words of advice from the proprietor about these things?" She glances down to the wine stain drying on her dress. Oxi-clean really should happen tonight. "You didn't mention meeting anyone interesting while you were out drinking and dancing and fighting giants."

"I'm not sure on the name of the tattoo parlor but how many can there be? I think she may be a stripper too. She might want these kind of muffins" Jessica points out with a nod to the edibles before considering guys once more. "Yeah, you're right. The shy ones can be worth it. I mean, hey, we spent our high school years in libraries hanging out nerds. Why the heck would we want a jock now?"

A warm smile about the perfection of the end of the day. "Couldn't get any worse" Jessica laughs. "Speaking of, we need to soak that dress of yours now. Get it off and I'll grab you a dressing gown." An apologetic shrug to another use of that tone. "Hey, I don't know what you get up to in your library basement" she teases before proffering up more info about the fight. "They were sitting together at a table. And when I looked over, Erin was taking a swing at him. She missed...by miles. But he still caught her hand and was looking all glowering and menacing. So, you know, hashtag Sisters United, I was going to get up all in his business if he tried anything."

"I was pretty drunk" Jessica admits. "I should have called you but it was like the middle of the morning and I didn't want to wake you up. Uber? Who knows where I would have ended up. I didn't meet anyone. Sorry. I think everyone there was already hooked up or not interested. It was a girls night out, remember? Oh, I saw Bennie there. Remember her from high school? She left before graduating. Went off to become the town bicycle or something. She looks happy though. Didn't really get a chance to talk to her." Jessica eyes off the edibles. "The owner said to take it easy. Small amounts at first. Ready?"

"Too bad she's not here now. Maybe she'd have some advice," Harper muses. "Outgoing nerds, shy nerds. I've never been the jock type, but I wouldn't rule anything out, really. He has to have a brain and use it. Regularly." Harper's pretty straight-forward that way. The librarian groans when her best friend invites more bad luck to heap upon their heads with her words. "Do you have oxi-clean? I've had good luck with that stuff soaking out wine stains." She pushes to her feet and steps out of direct view of the front door before reaching down to pull her tank dress from the hem up and over her head. She's not shy about being in her underthings around Jessica. There are too many years of growing up shared between the two women. Because it looks silly to be standing in a bra and panties with sneakers on, Harper toes out of those as well and heads for the kitchen to pre-soak her dress.

"Yes you do. You know pretty much everything interesting that happens in my life, JessJess." And what an exciting life it is, Harper implies. "So you're saying the Erin Addington took the first swing, but you were pretty sure she was in trouble, so you proactively attacked? What did the giant do? You're my hero, by the way."

"Please don't tell me you were just wandering around downtown by yourself drunk. Jessica. Don't give me an after-the-fact heart attack." Bennie. Bennie. Harper considers the name as she thinks back. "No way. Bennie? Is she pregnant and ugly, or still the Hotness she was in high school. Because if it's the latter, that's just so not fair. Did you talk to her?" Jessica immediately thereafter says that they did not speak and Harper murmurs a little sound of disappointment. Bennie from high school. That's a face she hasn't seen in awhile. "I'm glad she looked happy." And Harper is happy for their school-mate, despite the unfairness of it all. When Jessica gives her a dressing gown, Harper slides it on and belts it at her waist, moving back over to sit on the sofa. She picks up a brownie and lifts it in the air like a toast. "Shiva, you beautiful bitch. We couldn't love you any more. Make it rain all things good." She lowers her brownie and bumps it to Jessica's, then takes a healthy bite. "Mmmm. The brownie's good, at least," she says while lifting hand to hold in front of her full mouth.

"I could call her" Jessica suggests about Lexi's presence. "She probably knows way more than me about this stuff." While Harper strips down, Jessica will get that dressing gown for her. They know each other way too well to be bothered by semi-nudity. "Oxi-Clean is in the cupboard under the sink. Damn, Harpo, how do you stay so thin" she grins. "Maybe I should get a pic of you right now and put it up on Datebook or something." As if she would.

"The bar bouncer got to the table before things got any worse. Andre backed away and left. Erin left. Everybody left and I kept dancing. Honestly, I thought they were gonna throw me out too but...nope." As for wandering the streets alone and drunk...let's talk about Bennie instead. "She was still hot" Jessica admits, returning to the couch and eyeing off the brownies once more before picking one up for a toast. "Here's looking at you, Shiva" she adds to the toast before a bite herself. Nodding in agreement at the brownie quality. "Should I call Lexi?"

"Then call her," Harper challenges. "I expect she's quite entertaining when I'm not expecting to die a gruesome death at any moment. I'll bet she says yes." Harper goes about pre-soaking the stained portion of her dress, then manages to wrestle out a tub of some kind to soak it in the stain remover. Eventually she is given a robe and slips it on, giving her friend a look. "It's from being utterly devoid of muscles," she answers dryly. "You're too obsessed with a corporate driven image that denies women curves. I'd switch bodies with you in a heartbeat." Then she laughs, "No! No partially clad photos of me for social media. I wouldn't be able to show my face at the library. Imagine some pictures of you like this posted in the bull pen at the paper. Yes. See? Now you get it." She demands agreement from Jessica, while still laughing.

As to the giant and the princess, Harper responds, "Well it sounds like everyone ended up okay." Harper just gives her friend a weighted Look at the topic of her wandering drunk around the dangerous town in the middle of the night. But they both know it can be as dangerous at any time of day. The topic turns back to Bennie and Harper's laughter turns to a smile. She, too, flops to a curl on the sofa. Takes another bite of brownie. "These are good. Was Bennie there with a date, or was she taking the whole room on, single-handedly?" Oddly enough, Harper means the words in a wistful sort of complimentary way. "Sure, I don't mind. Give her a call." This, of course, bringing them full circle to Lex.

A challenge. From Harper. Jessica is definitely calling Lexi now - that'll show her. Well...texting. "There. I invited her over. Hopefully she remembers who I am" she explains before a frown at her friend. "I'm not obsessed about corporate images. I like my body. I was just saying that yours was nice too. And, yeah, okay, naked pictures of me in the bull pen would not be a good idea. People would never stop laughing to work. I'm teasing! People would stare because I look awesome."

"I think Bennie had a date" Jessica nods slowly, "But she was also close dancing with a woman she came with who was with another guy. What a life she must lead. So, yeah, she came with a date but seemed to be after the whole room too. No change there then" she grins before glancing at her phone. "Looks like Lex is coming. I better confirm we're at the houseboat."

Harper is now three bites into the brownie. "I don't really feel different," she's noting. When Jessica picks up her phone, Harper laughs, enjoying her dear friend's reaction to a challenge. One glass of wine on her dress, one glass imbibed and now one third of a CBD brownie. "This has been such a strange day," Harper repeats. "I mean, if you'd told me what to expect when I walked out the door this morning, I wouldn't have believed you." Harper beams at her friend. "Compliment accepted, you luscious, curvy morsel." Maybe the CBD is having some effect after all. The librarian opens her mouth to argue about the reaction, then actually gives up a giggle at the conclusion. "Damn right you do."

"Hmm. Bennie and a date. I'd drink rum-and-cokes and watch that, yep." Harper shakes her head slowly, as though speaking of another world of living exists that has never touched hers. "With a woman? What a life -- /yeah/. That's just ... completely believable." Harper's brows lift as she takes another brownie bite, enjoying the chocolate-fudge goodness of it. "She is? Good thing I'm dressed to meet someone for the kinda-first time." Wry Harper is amused. "Tell her I promise not to take her to the library this time."

"Lex will be here in twenty. She remembered me" Jessica grins before looking worried. "I hope I didn't throw up on her. No, can't have, since she's coming over." The phone is tucked away. "You can tell her about the library yourself." The dressing gown she has got Harper is made of silk and is covered with middle eastern motifs; one half of Jessica's heritage on display. "Strange days are good days. Who wants the same day all the time?" A little giggle at being described as a curvy morsel. "I think the brownies are working." She has another bite.

"Bennie is a very liberated woman" Jessica nods solemnly. "Have you ever thought about being with a woman, Harpo? I mean, we snuggle and cuddle and things but totally as friends. Nothing like that. Not that you aren't totally hot."

"I wonder if we can run her off as fast as Kevin." Harper teases. Clearly the effect she's feeling is half the alcohol she has no tolerance for and half the beginning of some relaxation after a furious day. "I will!" she responds to telling Lex about the library as if it were a challenge tossed back her direction. But those sparkling brown eyes are mischievous. "I don't want the same day: not unless I could bypass all that Shiva-nonsense I told you about." She raises her half brownie toward the ceiling, "Love ya, Shiva." Harper's brows tip upward. "You feel different? I don't think I feel anyth--"

Jessica speaks of Bernie's liberated status then slides straight into women in an entirely different fashion. "Not really. I mean, I don't have any problems with people who are, or do, or ... I think loving someone is a pretty wonderful thing no matter what their gender or identification." Then she laughs and argues, "No you're hot." Harper switches back to the topic at hand and asks solemnly, "Have you?" This harkens back to in-depth teenage discussions the women have had over the years about just about everything.

"Yeah, we do have a habit of running people off. Maybe we'll just be old spinsters for the rest of our lives? Sitting on the deck of the Honeybun, wondering why we're still alone while cackling insanely and plotting the purchase of more cats." Jessica has another bite of her brownie. "I could think of worse things" she smirks.

"I haven't kissed any women like that" Jessica blushes, "But...I dunno. I've found some attractive. Like, really attractive. Never did anything about it though. I can't even talk to guys so why could I talk to a hot woman like that? Maybe that's why I don't have a boyfriend, Harpo? Maybe I don't want one? Maybe...I'm gay?"

Houseboat. 'Brownies'. Booze. Hot woman. Women? Lex really has no idea who this 'Harpo' may be, but when it comes to an intoxicated Jessica...? Well, the young artist has had some experience. As for what that experience may have been...

"Oh, honey... 'gay' is so last season. Now we're just... fluid." Lex's drawl is familiar as she makes her way onto the houseboat, this time without a drunken-Jessica in tow. Upon actually entering the place, a pierced 'brow is arched high as she recognizes the wine-tinged librarian. "So. Am I to introduce the two of you to hot edible lesbian sex, or is this a book club I wasn't warned about?" Her smirk, while still a smirk, manages to be affectionate.

The tattooist has abandoned the black trench coat with the warm night air, opting instead for black legging capris, black flip flops, and a -- surprise! -- black wifebeater tank. Her hair has been left loose across her shoulders and back. At least for now. When do we start doing each other's hair...?

Harper laughs at the potential scenario. "I can't think of anyone I'd rather be a spinster with." She affectionally leans forward to rest an affectionate hand on Jessica's knee, more than a decade of trust and secrets shared all wrapped up in her look at her dearest friend. "Jess, if that's how you feel, I say go for --"

Harper's relaxed-tipsy gaze lifts from Jessica to the newly arrived Lex. Sure enough, the town is small enough that lovely silver hair and tattoos can make a woman recognizable from an anecdote. Her lips curve into a delighted smile. "It is you. So Lexi?" She pushes up from the sofa in the fluttery silk robe she's borrowed from her best friend, sets down what remains of her brownie, and offers a hand to Lex, "I'm Harper Price. We met without really ah ... meeting. You kept me from being crushed by crumbling asphalt, debris and architecture. Thank you so much." If Harper is uncomfortable, it doesn't show. "And thanks for getting Jess here home safe a few nights back. All you need is a cape." Harper's brown eyes twinkle with the hint of a joke.

"I'm glad you could come to join us." She tips her head as she steps back, "Fluid. I like that." Lex's query draws a roll of laughter from the librarian that's more inclusive than anything else. "Maybe somewhere in between. Here, you sit next to Jessica and I'll go get you a brownie. Do you want something to drink? There's wine."

Lex certainly has her timing down pat. Jessica blushes up at the new arrival before trying a warm smile. "Fluid. Sorry. I should know that." Though talk of 'edible lesbian sex' has the reporter's eyes opening wide; maybe she misinterpteted the edible part. "Umm...no...I don't think that is expected of you." Where's that wine. "Harpo and I have been friends for a long, long time. No book club. Hair..." A wiggle of a level hand from side to side. "Possibly. Oh, Harpo, Lexi really rocks pigtails." Another clearing of her throat as she blushes once more. "Braids...not pigtails... Hot evening tonight, right? Thank goodness Harper has the introductions going and can take over the conversation. "You saved Harpo, Lex? Then you're definitely a friend of mine."

Lex is tipping an openly curious look between Jessica and Harper. "Yeah. I grabbed her, she grabbed me. We all turned out... alive in the end. The ones who started alive, anyway." That's Lex's oh-so-valiant summary of her participation in Billy Bones at the Library. She tilts a look back to Jessica, and enjoys watching the reporter blush and eye-widen far too much to be considered a... well, 'good' person? Hey, 'good' is all relative. And to her credit, the tattooist is doing a rather decent job at hiding her smirk at Jessica's apparent... fondness of pigtails. No, braids.

"Gotta say, ladies... wouldn't have put you two together. Not sayin' I don't like it... but not what I was expecting." She's kicking off her flip-flops, and revealing feet that are as tattooed as her hands, she pads barefoot toward the couch, lowering herself to the cushions a bit... gingerly? It doesn't seem a reflection on her cushion-partner.

Harper leaves her friend with the woman she believes is named 'Lexi' to rummage in the kitchen a bit. The larger portion of what Jessica says is overheard from the kitchen. She returns with a glass of wine and presumably another brownie for Lex. She moves up to the coffee table and sets both down near Lex's knees with an almost comical care, as if the boat were on the high, rolling seas and she was certain she'd topple one or the other. "Here you go." She picks up the remainder of her own brownie, then moves over to a chair near the sofa and settles to a curl in it, knees to one side. She's more covered in the robe than she was in her original sundress and seems not at all self-conscious.

"It was very grabby, yes," Harper agrees of the experience with the bones. "Put us together? We've been friends since early high school." Then Harper 'ohs'. "We're not dating. Just best friends." She has no problem being terrifically up front about such things. "So you're both right and wrong, I suppose." Harper's curving smile warms her features once more and she takes another bite of her brownie, coming close to the end of it. "What were you expecting?"

"What did happen to those bones? It's not as if the police are eager to talk to me lately. About anything." Nothing like work to get Jessica focused again. And nothing like Lexi's words to get her flustered again. "Oh, no, we're not...what Harpo said. I love her to bits, more than anyone in the world, but we don't fool around."

Lexi's reluctance to sit has Jessica's journalist mind back. "Are you okay? Had a fall? Harpo and I were discussing earlier all the things that had gone wrong today. Quite a lot." Her eyes narrow a moment before they pop wide again. "Oh...energetic sex?" These brownies are breaking down her politeness barriers.

"You know, darlin'.... I lived in this town long enough to expect anything," Lex notes to Harper, her tone still a tad dry. "But I will say, you two are an unexpected pair. You know... quiet librarian," a pause, and a none-too-innocent looking smirk toward Jessica, "and a mouthy reporter." Is she taunting the poor intoxicated women? Probably. After all, it is Lex -- and they did invite her over. "Am I...? Oh, yeah. Fine. No falls, just a few... interesting dreams." Which they may or may not get. With or without the weed. As for her own wine and brownie? Untouched, for now.

"Ah...dreams." A knowing nod from Jessica to Lexi; they all know about that here. 'Mouthy' she will take as a compliment. A gesture from Harper and Jessica nods in return; they don't even need to speak these days. "You know where the wardrobe is." The librarian disappearing into Jessica's bedroom to find some different clothes to wear.

Jessica has her legs curled up under her on the couch, half-turned towards her guest. Glass of wine in one hand, half-eaten brownie in the other. "Hope we didn't interrupt you at a party or something."

"Party? Fuck, this look like somethin' I'd wear to a party....?" She questions, even tacking on a note of faux-offense as she glances down at herself. To be fair, the leggings and tank are pretty much standard faire for the woman's day-to-day wardrobe, but party... well, maybe she'd have thrown on a choker!

"You... wanna slide down there?" She doesn't wait for the other woman's reply. That would've been the polite thing to do. Instead, the silver-haired woman is shifting from the gingerly-taken seat into what her maneuvering intends to be her head in Jessica's lap. She even taken the time to scoop her hair out from under herself -- and between them, for that matter -- if the reporter decides to try her hand at pigtails. "Nope. You interrupted some good old-fashioned staring at walls. I love'm and all... but you know, they just don't talk back when you want them to..." Maybe she's already high...?

"You look good enough to go to a party to me" Jessica mumbles under her breath before she is moving to accommodate Lexi's head on her lap. The contents of her hands carefully placed on the coffee table to free them up to... Do what? She starts with a hesitant stroking of the long silver hair, fully expecting Lexi to freak out. "Wall staring? You should have said you were doing something important" she deadpans in return. "I didn't really thank you properly for getting me home. So...um...thanks."

She doesn't freak out. If anything, the feel of fingers in her hair -- friendly fingers, we should probably specify -- actually had her eyes half-lidding. Her 'brows seem dyed black, just as the eyeliner and lip-coloring has been tattooed. In truth, the artist is a dirty cheater. Built-in make-up, and enough ink to make painting clothes look like an intentional display of this tat or that. But in reality? She looks... tired. Subtle signs of it, from shadowed features to the slightly shallow breath. It's Jessica's awkward closer that has her opening one eye, a jade-green look accompanied by an openly fond smirk. "Counted as a good night in my books, darlin'. Glad I ran into you."

She hasn't forgotten Harper -- Harper is not the sort of person you forget -- but for the time being, she's keeping her voice pitched toward Jessica.

Definitely friendly fingers. A gentle stroking through the long strands; it feels so soft. The tiredness is obvious, and Jessica feels a bit guilty that she dragged Lexi away from that wall staring. "You want to crash here again?" she suggests softly. "Glad I ran into you too" she adds, blushing in her tone. "Umm...I mean...to keep me safe like you did. This town can get crazy." The backs of her warm fingers casually caressing Lexi's cheeks.

Harper eventually exits from Jessica's bedroom wearing a pair of drawstring shorts and a graphic tee. Her steps slow as she sees the sweet scene between the pair. "Jess, I have to get home. I forgot about -- the toaster. I'm afraid it'll catch the whole house on fire if I leave it plugged in." She offers each woman a smile as she circles around the coffee-table and crouches down to slide first one foot into a sneaker, then the other into, well, the other shoe. "Lexi, let's all do brunch or maybe have a picnic on the beach sometime soon," Harper adds with that inimitably warm smile of hers that was so absent in their first meeting in the Dream. If Lex goes by 'Lex' she'll have to correct Harper, since 'Lexi' is the name Jessica used. If Lex agrees to share phone numbers with Harper, she'll exchange cell numbers with her. Finally, she pushes up from the floor and murmurs, "Jessica, call me, yeah? I'm gonna go wring out my dress and take it home to salvage." Harper pivots on the ball of a foot and heads for the kitchen. Strangely, despite the abrupt retreat, Harper seems happy, even pleased.