Six
I had to go back to work before we really hashed things out, but I could barely contain my glee that she was staying for an extra week. Maybe I could even take a day or two off and we could hang out. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d slowed down either. I was always moving, always doing something else so I didn’t have to stop and think. I’d done it in my relationships, too. I’d moved from one person to the next, never slowing down long enough to see if something could work in the long-term.
Maybe we both needed to put on the brakes and breathe. Together.
I found someone waiting by my car for me when I walked out of the library after locking up.
“Fancy seeing you here,” I said. She grinned and adjusted the adorable baseball cap she had on. She looked damn adorable.
“I know. I can’t imagine what I would be doing at a library.” I snorted.
“So, what can I do for you? You want to break in and read all the dirty books?” She leaned close and whispered conspiratorially to me.
“Do you have any gay books? Those are my favorites. With girls kissing other girls.” I pretended to gasp.
“So scandalous,” I whispered back.
“I know.” She wiggled her eyebrows and I couldn’t resist any longer. I reached for her face and she came forward to meet me.
It was like the first time. All fire and sweetness and her lush lips on mine. I’d never had someone kiss me who just completely swept me up in it. I couldn’t remember what else I was supposed to be doing, other than kissing Lacey Cole. Why would I ever want to do anything else?
She rested her forehead on mine.
“You’re incredible. I don’t even know your middle name, but you’ve just totally ruined all my plans. And I like my plans, Anna.” I shivered at the way she said my name.
“I’m sorry I fucked with your plans.” I licked my lips, tasting her.
“No you’re not.” She pushed away from me and sighed.
“You want to do something?” she asked.
“What?” Everything was closed or closing soon. Ridiculous small town hours. At least in the summer we would have been able to get a drink until ten.
“I . . . don’t know. You’re the one who lives here. Show me your town.” Okay. I guess I could do that. It was a relatively warm night and we only needed light jackets to wander around without getting cold.
“Sure,” I said, motioning to the street. “Let’s go.”
*^*^*
We headed up and down the main street and then went down to the water. There was a dock that people often used in the summer as a place to get drunk, but tonight it was abandoned. Sometimes I would come down and stick my feet in the water, but you couldn’t pay me to do that now. Way too cold.
Still, Lacey and I sat on the dock and watched the moonlight drift over the waves.
“It’s nice here. It feels like this town moves at a different speed than the rest of the world. It’s calm. Slow. But in a good way. I like it.” I’d been other places, but not for a long time. I’d flirted briefly with the idea of moving to New York or Seattle, but that had always seemed impossible. Unreachable. So I’d just stayed here. And I was happy. I was. I think?
“Does it make you happy? Traveling?” Lacey pulled her legs up and put her chin on her knees, looking out at the water. The wind tossed her hair around under the ballcap.
“It used to. I think it still does. But, like I said, I feel the need to stay still for a while. To breathe. To do nothing but sit and read a book, or watch movies all day. To be idle.” I liked the idea of it, but wasn’t sure if I could really do it.
“I could try being idle with you. I could take some days off, maybe.” She turned and smiled at me, hopeful.
“Really? I think I’d like that. A lot. Being idle with you.” I didn’t mean to make it sound sexy, but there was an undercurrent that I didn’t think I was the only one feeling. She brushed some of my hair behind my ear.
The ocean air was cold, but cleared my head. I’d always loved living near the salty air. It helped me get clarity sometimes.
“Then let’s be idle.”
*^*^*
It got too cold to sit by the water, so we ended up being idle in the comfort of Lacey’s room with a few rum and Cokes, and some cheese and crackers.
“If you had a million dollars, what would you do with it?” I asked. We were getting to know each other by asking ridiculous questions. It was fun and silly and I was warm from the alcohol and I couldn’t remember being this relaxed in ages.
“Hmm,” she said, her face screwing up as she thought. So adorable. “Probably buy some boobs.” She looked down at her chest and pouted a little.
“How big would you go?” I asked.
“I’m not sure. I’m still waiting for mine to grow a little more.” They looked perfect to me, but I wanted her to be happy with them.
“I think I’d buy a villa in Tuscany,” I said. “Fix it up. Like that movie.” Lacey looked up from her chest.
“That sounds nice. I’ve never been to Italy.” I could tell she was still thinking about her body.
“Hey,” I said, reaching out and touching her arm. “I think you’re beautiful. Just the way you are. Okay? You don’t need to change anything. But if you want to, need to, that’s okay too. Do what you need to do for you. You deserve it. You deserve everything.” She bit her bottom lip and nodded.
“Thanks. I’m still figuring out what I want. It changes. Anyway, let’s talk about something else.” She went back to asking about what I’d put in my villa.
“Well, I think I’d love to have a huge garden. I mean, I can’t grow a damn thing, but maybe I could hire a gardener or something. I mean, if I had all that money, I don’t see why I couldn’t pay someone to grow stuff. And then I’d put my library with windows overlooking the garden so I could have a window seat to read in.” Of course I’d have a huge library. That was essential.
“And who would live with you in this villa, or would it just be you?” I knew what she was asking.
“I’m not sure. It might be awful lonely to be in a villa by myself. I might want to have a cat, at least. A black one.” She smiled slowly.
“Oh, really?”
“Uh huh.”
Lacey sipped at her drink and thought about that.
“I think Murder would like living in a villa. There’d probably be lots of birds in the garden for him to watch and plenty of places to hide and then jump out and scare us.”
“Us?” I said.
“Yeah, us.” That word was both terrifying and reassuring at the same time. I couldn’t figure out if I liked the sound of it or not. So many conflicting feelings.
“I could put in a photography studio. I think someone could take a lot of wonderful photographs in Italy,” I said. Her smile got wider.
“I think I could.” I changed the subject again, asking about her most-embarrassing moment. I then shared mine, and we went back and forth like that for hours. Well into the night.
“Do you want to just stay here?” she asked. I thought about it. Not a good idea. Too many temptations.
“It’s okay. I don’t live that far.” And I had my car. This was when living in a small town worked out in my favor.
“Okay,” she said, but I could tell she was a little hurt.
“It’s not that I don’t want to. I just . . . I think we should keep things . . .” I couldn’t find the right words.
“Uncomplicated?” she asked and I laughed.
“Yeah. That.” Lacey sighed and nodded.
“Yeah, you’re right. We should keep things as simple as possible. At least for now.” For now.
“Sounds good. So . . . I’ll see you tomorrow?” I hoped I would.
“Yeah. You’ll see me tomorrow. We’ll do some more idling.” I couldn’t resist giving her one last kiss before I left.
“Goodnight, Lacey Cole.”
“Goodnight, Anna Corcoran,” she said.