I met jovie in a hotel I didn't even plan to stay long in. I was there to see my boyfriend, the usual mix of excitement and nerves sitting in my chest like an unopened message.
She was there too, with her own boyfriend. I didn't know her yet, but the moment we crossed paths, she smiled and said, "You're so pretty." I smiled back and said the same because she was. There was something soft but confident about her, like someone who knows how to be noticed without trying too hard.
We bonded over something simple an orange juice. It sounds small, but I've always believed real connections start from the smallest things. We laughed about how we both liked it, and just like that, there was a vibe between us two girls with different stories but the same kind of heart.
But a few minutes later, the air shifted. Jovie picked up her boyfriend's phone and saw something she wasn't supposed to. His ex. Messages. Lies hidden behind "it's not what it looks like." Her face changed. I could feel her hurt without her saying a word. I sat with her, the way only another girl could. I talked to her until her voice softened again, until the anger in her chest made space for silence. Eventually, they made up the way young lovers always do, even when they shouldn't.
I sat across from them on a couch, watching quietly. She reached for my phone, started recording playful little videos of herself laughing, posing, pretending nothing had happened. Then she saved her number in my phone and said, "Send me the videos later."
That's how it started a friendship I didn't see coming, in a place I didn't expect, on a day that already felt heavy.
Then I went home and sent her the videos. We started texting, laughing about random things. She asked what happened between my boyfriend and I, and I asked her the same. We both chuckled and admitted we did foreplay we made out. And just like that, we bonded. There was something about her energy that felt familiar, like I had known her in another lifetime. Our conversations flowed effortlessly, no pressure, no pretending just two girls who had seen a little too much of love but still wanted to believe in it.
That night, as I laid in bed replaying our talks, I didn't know it yet, but meeting her would become one of those moments that change how you see people… and maybe even yourself.