Lucky Love: A Lesbian Romance Page 10

  I let her clean until I felt human again, then I brought my mug to the counter. "What's the other surprise?"

  Alice swiped at the sink and tossed the sponge back in its little holder. "Oh, I have two surprises for you. Well, the first isn't really a surprise. I washed the clothes you let me borrow. They're in my basket."

  "Thank you," I said.

  She walked over to the basket and lifted the lid. She drew out a perfectly folded set of boxers and a T-shirt and handed them to me. A floral scent washed over me, but I pushed away the urge to bring the clothes to my nose. They smelled like her.

  I didn't have a chance to examine my growing discomfort before she lifted out her second surprise—a pair of pointed silver scissors.

  I frowned.

  "They're hair shears."

  "Yes... I'm just not quite sure why you brought them here."

  "Oh," Alice colored. "I thought you needed—oh, never mind it was a stupid idea."

  "What?" I asked.

  Alice's eyes moved over my face. "Your hair has grown out so much since you arrived, I'd thought you'd like a haircut."

  The thought of her fingers in my hair sent waves of pleasure to my core. It was too much, wasn't it? We'd just had sex yesterday and if we had it too often... then... what if I developed an attachment to her? We needed a set of rules. Number one, no excessive touching. "I don't think that's a good idea."

  "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have suggested it. It's none of my business. I just thought you would like—"

  I caught her wrist as she moved to put the scissors back in the basket. I was being weird. If haircutting was intimate, there wouldn't be hairstylists out there. Or they would have the same reputation as the happy ending kind of massage therapists. I did need a haircut. Why not get it now?

  "And you have experience with this sort of thing?" I said, my hand still clutching her wrist.

  "Tons." Alice's eye darted to my wrist. "I cut lots of hair in college. One of my friends, Julia, she had hair just like yours—same texture and everything—just a little darker. I cut my own hair, too."

  Alice's hair always looked great. If she could do her own, why not mine?

  I was still holding her wrist. I released her, clearing my throat. "You're right. I haven't had a cut since before I arrived, and my hair grows so fast I can't keep up with it. I don't want to inconvenience you."

  "It's not an inconvenience at all. Really. Sit."

  "Now?"

  "Yeah, might as well start your day off on the right foot."

  "Okay. Cool," I said, faking the cool part of the statement. I felt anything but cool. In fact, if the thermostat was malfunctioning and pumping out extra heat, I wouldn't be surprised. Alice didn't seem to notice, even though she was wearing a lot of clothing, so I took a chair quietly. My heart thrummed as Alice ran her fingers through my hair, humming as she moved. My scalp tingled at her touch.

  Think of something gross. That would help. What was gross? Dirt. No, dirt only reminded me of our time in the shed yesterday. What about blood? I'd always hated blood, could never even bring myself to look at it. Or hot dogs. Hot dogs made my throat burn just thinking about them.

  Why wasn't this working?

  "What are you planning? Nothing too radical, right?" I asked, finding my voice as she shook out the hair-cutting cape.

  "Of course not. I wouldn't do that without asking you first. I'll keep the same style, just make it shorter."

  "And you're sure you know what you're doing?"

  The hair-cutting cape took flight over my head and settled on my clothes. Alice's fingers fluttered against my neck as she tied the cape. It took everything I had to stop myself from leaning into her touch, from grabbing her hand and kissing her palm.

  "Relax," she said, her fingers digging into my shoulders.

  This sent me into a full-blown panic. I shrunk away from her.

  Alice released my shoulders and walked in front of me. I studied her face to see whether she was doing this on purpose—whether this was all one big joke to her. But her face was serious. All business.

  Her lips didn't flicker with a grin as she spoke. "Would you be more comfortable in front of a mirror so you can see what I'm doing?"

  Yes, my brain screamed. But my brain was stupid. It had led me to misjudge Alice, causing both of us to miss valuable time. "No, go right ahead. I trust you."

  Alice smiled and resumed her humming and massage of my head with her fingers. It was taking all I had not to moan out loud... until the first snip. My fists clenched under the apron to stop myself from flailing. Trust. Trust. Trust.

  At the same time, my core was heating. I hadn't expected her fingers in my hair to be such an erotic experience, but no one touched me like this. So, while the tension built in my shoulders, it also built deep inside, the two coming together like waves in two ocean currents that combine to make a larger swell.

  Thoughts began to recede as I focused on keeping my breathing even so as not to alert Alice. She hummed throughout, not really talking all that much, though for once I wished for her distraction. My nails bit my palms. My teeth bit my bottom lip. I squeezed my eyes shut.

  "Are you all right?" Alice asked.

  Forcibly, I relaxed my muscles, though the heat remained in the pit of my stomach. I found myself wishing for some type of internal air conditioner. Some button I could press that would turn off this feeling. "I'm fine," I said, trying to fake smile to the fake-smile master.

  "I'm almost done. Just hold on for a few more seconds."

  I held my breath, barely staving off an orgasm in the process. This had never happened before. Never. Which meant that this kind of thing didn't happen with friends or strangers. "I'm dying in this apron. It's so hot. Will you hurry up?"

  "Hold your horses," Alice said, laughing. "Two more snips... annnnd you're done? Did you ever do Tara Stiles yoga videos? She always says that at the end of her yoga routines. I don't really like her all that much because she's not super relaxing and she's one of those yoga people with beyond perfect bodies and I feel like she's not down to earth. I much prefer—do you know Yoga in Nature? My friend Jada is seeing a woman Erika and she's much better. More quirky and enjoyable."

  As Alice prattled, she released the apron at my neck. I pulled it away, scattering hair across the floor and that still didn't stop her. At least her fingers were gone from my head. The double increase in cooling removed my edge. Alice finally stopped talking about... what was she talking about? Yoga? Still? And how did she get on that topic? She tilted her head, regarding me.

  "I think you'll like it," she said. "Come here."

  I appreciated that she didn't take my hand. She gestured for me to follow her through the sitting room and into the front hall. We stopped at a piece of furniture with a mirror. It looked like a normal bureau, though I was sure it was worth something more, knowing Lois. Alice probably had that information in her head. Now, she swiveled the mirror toward me.

  I gasped.

  "Do you like it?"

  "I love it," I said, moving my head back and forth so I could see. Somehow, Alice had taken the mess of my hair and made it... great. "It's better than anything the stylist I pay an arm and a leg for in San Francisco has ever done."

  Alice laughed, and for the first time I realized she had a pretty laugh. It was a dainty thing, lovely when genuine. "Anytime. I mean it."

  She peered through her eyelashes and looked so vulnerable I wanted to hold her close, but holding close was dangerous, so I physically took a step back.

  "What do you want to do with this place?" I asked to change the subject.

  Alice blinked. "I want to make it into a shop."

  "Tell me about it."

  "Well," she said. Her eyes darted up to the ceiling and she pointed. "It's already decked out for an antiques shop, just look at the ornate crown molding."

  "It's gorgeous." Though our subject of conversation had shifted, I was finding it difficult to tear my eyes away from Alice. From imag
ining my hands on her body. From imagining her looking at me like she just had. She was gorgeous. Despite the makeup.

  "Try to imagine this space once we sell off these antiques. Then imagine a winding path, organized with antiques from different eras. I want it to be like a museum exhibit, an experience."

  Her passion for her idea spilled out of her. I followed her around, watching her gestures as she lost herself in her imagination.

  "Imagine walking through here." She ran her fingers along the top of a table. "And being taken back to another time."

  Her sexiness was more than I could bear. I caught her hand as it fell off the table and pulled her toward me. She laughed and yelped and kissed me. Her lips tasted like berry. She smelled like flowers. I breathed her in. She was unlike any woman I had ever met before. A rare gem—and she shone when she spoke of her dreams in a way that made her irresistible. I just couldn't help myself. My fingers fumbled with the bow at her back, then with the zipper. The intensity of my feelings was so strong, driving me forward, I barely recognized it until the zipper caught. I pulled away, out of breath, raising my sleeve to my lips.

  "Oh, God." That was close. I glanced at Alice. "I think we need some rules."

  ...

  ALICE

  Over the next week, we accomplished very little. Most often, it went like this. I showed up with my basket of goodies. We had coffee together, ate, and started to work. Then I would look up and she would look up, and our eyes would meet over our computers. One of us would break away, but from that moment on my mind was no longer on the task at hand. I would eventually say, "Want to take a break?"

  Lena would say, "Yeah, my eyes are burning. I've been looking at the screen too long."

  Even if it had only been a few minutes since we'd started.

  Then we would cling to one another like magnets and before you knew it we were kissing and fondling one another and orgasming and moaning. Never—not once—did we remove our clothes. Never did we take our time and lavish in one another. I think, on some level, both of us knew that would take us to a place we weren't ready to go. It would take us beyond the casual stage to something different. That was our major rule. Keep it casual.

  I would take what I could get. Lena was an insatiable lover. We'd basically spent the whole week on sex. By the end of the week, I still wasn't sick of her.

  On Friday, as we lay on the ground, both totally spent from our activities, I turned toward her. "There's a fall festival tomorrow downtown. I'm heading over with some of my friends. I was thinking—you haven't had a day off in a long time. Do you want to come? It starts at ten and goes till six in the evening, but we don't have to stay for all of it."

  Lena's face slipped into the unreadable, which meant she was uncertain or upset by this.

  "It would be just as friends, like I said, there's a whole bunch of us going. It'll probably be stupid. But there's a printing showcase, beer tasting, pumpkin decorating, a costume parade, and a DJ later in the afternoon. We don't have to do it all, and it's probably going to be pretty lame, like I said but—"

  "Okay."

  "What?"

  Lena sat up. "You had me at beer tasting."

  "You like beer?"

  "Yes. Why?"

  "Beer's gross."

  "Beer's wonderful."

  "It's all bitter and hoppy and... gross."

  "What do you like?"

  "Whiskey. Scotch."

  Lena chuckled and glanced toward me. Her hair was tousled, mussed from my hands through it. She looked relaxed.

  I want this. I want you. All the time. Be with me. Commit to me. I wanted to say the words, but I knew they would ruin the moment. They would ruin the few moments we had left. Don't ruin this, I thought. Don't ruin it.

  I smiled.

  "What's wrong?" Lena asked, pulling away.

  I shook my head, shrugging, trying to put an easy breeziness into it that I knew I didn't have. "Nothing."

  "You're smiling."

  "I'm happy."

  Lena's grip loosened as she pulled away for a better look. "You hide behind your smile. You use it as a shield."

  "No, I don't." I turned away from her appraising gaze.

  "You do. I can tell because this kind of smile never reaches your eyes. It's what made me distrustful of you when we first met."

  "Really?"

  "Really."

  A lump blocked my throat, and why? I'd known she'd hadn't trusted me but hearing the reason hurt. Did she still not trust me? Did this make me ugly to her? I swallowed, stepped over her laptop, and walked away from her. "I don't do that."

  Lena didn't answer.

  I bent and gathered my stuff and walked down the pathway between the antiques without looking back at her.

  "See you tomorrow," Lena said as if none of my feelings had just happened. "I'll pick you up at ten. You're at Antique Street, right?"

  I nodded and turned from her, unable to face her or reveal how I really felt. As I left I called over my shoulder, "Wear a costume."

  I closed the door behind me and leaned against it.

  What was I doing?

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  LENA

  I arrived at Alice's shop at ten sharp and a strange thing happened. Marie Antoinette opened the door.

  Alice had donned a dress that accentuated all her best parts. It was scarlet, peppered with hearts, cut low enough to show off her ample cleavage. Her face and chest were powdered white, her hair was piled high on top of her head and also powdered. I wouldn't have recognized her if not for those eyes. Those golden honey eyes.

  She curtsied low, and on the way up gave me a wink. "What do you think?"

  Spectacular was the word that came to mind. Instead, I glanced over my own attire. "Are we supposed to wear costumes?"

  Alice shrugged. "Didn't I tell you that last night?"

  Had she? I couldn't remember. I only remembered trying my hardest not to beg her to come back to San Francisco with me. I shook my head and did a little awkward shrugging motion.

  She shrugged, too. "You can if you want. I love Halloween—it's a great time to go all out and you can be whoever you want to be."

  "I much prefer to be myself."

  "Isn't it exhausting sometimes?"

  Yes, it was.

  Alice stepped back, gesturing inside. "Come in, come in. I have to go tell Aunt Helen I'm leaving. She's tending the store today. Should be a big day because of the festival."

  I stepped in. As Alice retreated to the back of the store and disappeared through a back door, I looked around. The place was jammed with antiques, but not because there were a lot—because it was so small. I could see the start of what Alice imagined. I could see her arranging her things in museum fashion, but she just didn't have enough space.

  No wonder she had wanted the old Victorian. It would fit perfectly, like another antique itself. As soon as this thought passed through my mind, another tagged along with it. I had delayed her move on purpose for so long, and I was still delaying it. We hadn't gotten much done in the past week. Next week, I would have to leave the house to let her get some work done.

  Alice returned, smiling. An old woman tottered behind the counter and gave me a little wave. Before I could say anything to her other than a quick hello, Alice slid her arm through mine and dragged me out the door.

  She walked quickly, her pace fast and bouncing. "I'm so excited about today. It's silly, really, but I love dressing up, and I feel like this festival is a time when everyone joins me in that, you know? We'll have to get you a better costume, though. I can throw something together real quick from the thrift shop closer to downtown."

  Alice's joy was infectious, and I found myself nodding at her, smiling to myself. How could life be any better? It was a cool, crisp fall day—not too cold and not too warm. I had a beautiful woman on my arm, a lump sum of money coming to me from the antiques, an app that was actually starting to work well, and the weather was just glorious. Sure, I could use an investor
for said app, but that was only a minor problem.

  The joy persisted as we approached a group of people dressed as characters from the Wizard of Oz. One was the Cowardly Lion, one was Dorothy, and one was the Tin Man. They latched on to Alice like barnacles to a clam. Together, they were like an atomic reaction, gathering energetic speed until all their voices clashed in an explosion. They touched one another freely, too, like they were all part of this club of intimate people.

  I clasped my hands and waited for someone to notice me, feeling my heart fall.

  Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Alice pulled back.

  "This is my friend Lena," she said, placing her hand on my lower back.

  Her touch sent shivers up my spine, closing my throat. It was all I could do not to pull away.

  "Hi, Lena," they said in unison.

  "Her grandmother was Lois Luck."

  The Cowardly Lion raised his eyebrows. Alice had probably told him about how horrible I was. I would admit, there had been weeks where I'd been downright difficult. Still, it bothered me.

  He reached out his hand first. "I'm Timothy."

  "Hello Timothy," I said, taking his paw.

  The others introduced themselves as well. Dorothy was actually named Dorothy and the Tin Man was actually a tin woman and her name was Kieran.

  "How did you all become friends?" Timothy pointed from me to Alice.

  "It all started with a rugby game," Alice said, as I prepared myself to tell them about the inheritance.

  "Well, it started a little before that, didn't it?" I asked.

  "He asked me when we became friends, not enemies. Our friendship started when Lena stalked me all the way to the rugby field."

  "You invited me to the game." I punched her jokingly in the shoulder.

  Alice kept a straight face. "And you said no."

  "You're very persuasive."

  "How did you track me down that day?"

  I examined my nails. "Not that hard in a town that only has a couple of fields. And I may have asked around."

  "Around who, Ms. Recluse?"

  The Cowardly Lion cleared his throat. My laugh died in my throat as I realized what had just happened. Alice had roped me into that conversation, leaving her friends stranded. I sucked in my lips to stop myself from smiling, but even then, I couldn't help it. I needed to get a handle on my feelings here. We were stepping into dangerous territory.