Chapter Twelve
Emerson sat with Will on the sofa, half-watching a movie. When her screen lit up, Emerson looked down at her phone and smiled.
“You’re doing it again.”
She looked over at Will. “What?”
“Smiling at your crotch.”
Emerson rolled her eyes. “You’re a jerk.”
“You’re the one with the goofy look on your face. I can’t help it if you look like an idiot.”
In high school, Will had teased her mercilessly over her unattainable crushes. She’d hated it at the time. Now, with the prospect of seeing Darcy—just Darcy—taking shape, she didn’t even care. “You’re just jealous.”
Will poked her. “Maybe. I think it comes with my recent history of crash-and-burn in the relationship department.”
Emerson set down her phone. “I’m sorry, Will. I didn’t mean to—”
“Stop. I’m kidding. I’m embracing my celibacy for a little while. It’s good for me. Like a cleanse.”
“Still. I didn’t mean to rub salt in it.”
“You didn’t. Promise. I’m enjoying the distraction of giving you a hard time.”
“It’s always been one of your favorite pastimes.”
“So, what’s up?”
“Darcy asked if I wanted to get together this weekend.” She’d dropped off Liam’s painting a couple of days before, but they hadn’t discussed getting together again, with or without Liam.
“Kid time or grownup time?”
“Grownup time, I think.” Emerson picked up her phone and typed a response.
What did you have in mind?
Will pretended to peek at her screen. “Are you finally going to get laid?”
“God, you have a one-track mind.”
Will shrugged. “Maybe, but at least it’s on my mind. Have you even kissed?”
Emerson glowered. “Yes, we’ve kissed.” A mind-blowing, earth-quaking, still on her mind kiss. “She has a kid. That complicates things.”
“I’m not judging. I just thought maybe you’d decided to stick with play dates instead of,” she looked at Emerson suggestively, “play dates.”
Emerson’s screen flashed and she glanced down at it.
Drinks, dinner, walk on the beach, dessert…
She might be giving Will a hard time, but there was some truth in her words. Her last three interactions with Darcy had been dominated by Liam. Not that she minded. But she didn’t want the prospect of dating Darcy to get lost in the shuffle. “I think we might be planning the latter.”
“Totally kid free?”
Emerson nodded. “One thing I learned quickly is that Darcy doesn’t mix her romantic life and her son. So, if she’s asking me on a date, it’s a date date.”
“Fascinating. Does it feel like you’re spending time with two completely different people?”
Did it? No. “It’s more like what I imagine inter-office dating to be like. When you’re at work, no funny business. Not even flirting.”
“Huh.”
“And she’s much more laid back when Liam’s not there. That’s not surprising, I guess, but it’s maybe more extreme than I thought.”
“How so?”
“She’s not just laid back. She’s flirtatious, brazen. I think I find it weird that she turns it on and off.”
Will tipped her head to the side and looked at the ceiling. “I wonder if that’s a parent thing.”
“I don’t remember Mom and Dad being like that. Do you?”
“No, but they were married. It was expected that they’d be affectionate with one another. But I have no memories of them getting frisky in front of us. Not even a PG version.”
“I guess you’re right.” Emerson didn’t make a habit about thinking about her parents as a romantic, sexual couple. Not that she thought parents shouldn’t have that, she’d just never thought about it. And since she’d never dated a parent before, she’d not thought about it on that level either.
“Well, I’m glad one of us is getting lucky.”
Emerson studied her. “Are you getting restless already?”
Will lifted a shoulder. “Not really. I have moments of missing a warm body next to me, but I know that’s not what I need right now.”
“Good.” Emerson nodded. She didn’t want to tell Will what to do, but she’d been thinking the same thing. It was a relief to know Will was on the same page.
“Are you really going to have sex?”
“I’m trying not to think about it or plan it too much.”
“But…”
“But I hope so. Jeez, do we have to talk about this?”
Will lifted both her hands. “Nope.”
“Okay, good.”
Will rested her hands in her lap and started to twiddle her thumbs.
“What?”
“This is me not talking about whether or not you’re going to have sex this weekend.”
“Cut it out.” Emerson leaned over and shoved her.
“You just let me know if you need me to clear out for the night.”
Emerson couldn’t help but snicker. They’d never lived together after moving out of the room they shared for most of their childhood. The thought of negotiating this aspect of being roommates was beyond weird. “I won’t do that, but thanks for offering.”
Will shrugged. “Just saying. I support you getting some.”
“And now we’re officially done talking about this. I’m going to read before bed.” Emerson stood and pointed to her bed on the other side of the room. “I’ll be over there.”
“Hey, Em?”
Emerson turned back. “Yeah?”
“When you go on your date, might I suggest not smiling at your crotch? It tends to freak girls out.”
Emerson responded by throwing a pillow at Will’s head. But then she laughed and walked back across the room to retrieve it, since it was her favorite pillow. “Good night, Will.”
“Good night, Casanova.”
Emerson climbed into her bed and opened her book. She read a page, then realized she had no idea what she’d just read. Whether it was the text exchange with Darcy or the conversation with Will, her mind was now fully consumed. She didn’t want to assume or think too much about the prospect of having sex. It felt like those awkward pseudo relationships in college when she had no idea what she was doing, but thought about sex far too much of the time. She laughed at herself, then flipped the page back to start over. Her date with Darcy was still four days away. If she spent that entire time anticipating what might or might not happen, she’d drive herself absolutely nuts.
*****
Darcy slid the pan of macaroni and cheese into the oven. She set the timer and wiped her hands on a towel just as Alex popped her head into the kitchen. “You have a visitor.”
She disappeared without giving Darcy the chance to ask her who it was. Not that she needed to. Emerson was the only person who came to see her at work. Darcy stripped off her gloves and washed her hands, pausing in front of the oven to check her reflection. It might not be her best look, but at least she could make sure her hair was tucked up neatly and she didn’t have flour smeared across her face.
When she stepped out to the register area, she saw Emerson and Will chatting with Lia. She skirted around the counter and walked over to join them. “I’m glad you’re here so I can tell you in person. Liam’s painting got picked for display at the library.”
Emerson beamed. “That’s awesome. Tell him I said congrats.”
“He’s over the moon, and gives you all the credit.”
Emerson stuck her hands in her pockets. “He did the work. I just coached him.”
“He wants me to invite you to the opening night. You don’t have to say yes, but I promised I’d invite you.”
“That’s adorable,” Will said.
Lia nodded. “Completely adorable.”
“I’ll be there,” Emerson said.
Darcy had expected Emerson to say nice things, but the level of her enthusiasm surprised her. “They’re doing a little reception. It should be cute.”
“Wouldn’t miss it. Let me know the details.”
“I’ll text you. He’ll be so excited.”
Alex, who’d been at the register, walked over to join them. “What are we talking about?”
Lia slid her arm around Alex’s waist. “Liam’s painting. It’s going to be displayed at the library.”
“That’s so cool,” Alex said.
“What are you two up to today?” Lia asked.
“Delivering a painting to Hyannis,” Emerson said.
“And I’m going along for the ride.”
Darcy smiled. “Sounds like fun.”
“We just wanted to stop in and say hi.”
“And get coffee.” Will took a sip from her cup. “It’s really good coffee.”
“Agreed.”
“Thanks,” Alex said. “We do our best.”
Emerson turned to Darcy. “I’ll see you Friday night, right?”
Since there were three extra pairs of eyes on her, Darcy swallowed the suggestive reply on the tip of her tongue. “Yep.”
Coffees and pastries in hand, Emerson and Will left. There was a brief lull in the flow of customers in and out of the café, so Darcy and Alex lingered at the table with Lia. Darcy thought of Emerson’s worry about her sister. Will looked to be doing okay, which was good.
“So, are you two a thing?” Lia asked.
Darcy pulled her attention back to the moment. “A thing? I’m not sure we’re at that level yet.”
“Do you want to be?”
“I guess it depends on your definition of thing.”
Alex folded her arms. “What’s yours?”
For all that she’d thought about it, Darcy didn’t have a clear answer to that question. “I like her a lot. And she’s really good with Liam.”
Lia lifted a brow. “But?”
Darcy sighed. “But those two things are very separate for me.”
“What does that mean for you?” Lia asked.
“I don’t want the lines to blur. Dating Emerson is one thing. Emerson being friends with Liam is another.”
Alex nodded slowly. “Right. Are those things in conflict?”
Darcy shook her head. “No, but if you add them together, it looks a lot like playing family.”
“Oh.” Lia and Alex said in unison.
“It’s not bad, but I’m not sure if I’m doing a good job with the boundaries. Liam doesn’t know that Emerson and I are seeing each other.”
“Oh.” Again, Lia and Alex answered together. This time, the “oh” elongated. Not helpful, but at least they got it.
“Exactly. I’m not sure if I should tell Liam. He’s not still scarred about Shelly or anything, but I don’t want to go down that road if I don’t have to.”
“That makes sense.” Alex glanced at the door as a customer walked in. “Sorry, I need to take care of that.”
She moved away and Darcy knew she needed to get back to the kitchen. Before she did, she leaned down slightly and whispered to Lia, “We haven’t even slept together yet.”
Lia smiled. “Do you want to?”
“Oh, yeah.” That was one thing she was absolutely sure of.
“Are you going to?”
She hadn’t told Emerson about arranging for Liam to spend the night at his grandparents, but she had no uncertainty about her motivation. “That’s my plan.”
Lia grinned. “Excellent. You deserve it. And even if you aren’t looking to play family, Emerson is great. And hot.”
That pretty much summed it up. “You’re right. And thanks.”
“Don’t forget you have a pair of babysitters who don’t mind sleepovers.”
“Thanks for that, too. Are you…” Darcy paused, searching for the right word. “Practicing?”
Lia blushed. “Not officially.”
“But…”
“But we’re talking about it.”
“‘Might be nice one day’ talking about it or ‘where are we going to get the sperm’ talking about it?”
“Somewhere in the middle, I think.”
Darcy nodded. “Nice. Well, I’m here for you—friendly ear, advice, doctor’s appointments, whatever.”
“Thanks.”
Lia seemed alarmed by the mention of doctor’s appointments, so Darcy took that as her cue to leave. “I’m going to get back to work.”
“Okay. Good luck.”
Darcy smiled at her. “You, too.”