by Cora Jay
No, she had to think of the future and her financial situation. The lean times were ahead.
12
Harika
“I just… I can’t believe it. I can’t. Ellie… This is amazing.”
Harika’s heart swelled as she scrolled through the beautiful website Ellie had created for the clinic. Harika couldn’t believe she’d gone so long without even having one, and now, she had the best of the best. This was going to be an instrumental tool in growing her business, she could tell.
The front page had a photo of her that Ellie had taken, warm smile welcoming potential patients. It was neatly organized and had plenty of good photos of the staff and facilities, to put patients at ease. And best of all—according to Ellie, anyway—it was mobile-friendly. Apparently that was standard nowadays, so Harika had agreed to go along with it.
She was glad she did.
“Here’s the mobile version,” said Ellie, handing her phone to Harika, who took it as if she were a child being presented with a new toy. The website really did look amazing even on the small screen, and it was easy to navigate.
“I can’t believe how perfect it is,” said Harika. “Are you sure I can’t tip you? You can tip for good service, right?” She laughed.
Ellie chuckled. “Not in my policy. Taking care of Bella was my tip.”
Harika shook her head, still marveling. “Between this and the business cards and brochures… I’m going to be the most well-branded vet clinic in Redwood County.”
“In the whole region, probably,” said Ellie, winking.
Harika’s heart fluttered. Ellie was so cute when she winked like that. She was just a cute person in general, one of the rare kinds who balanced an adorable nature with a sexy appearance. Harika hadn’t met many people like her. And to top it off, she had a dog who she adored. And she was talented. And had cool tattoos.
She was perfect.
If Harika wanted to keep Ellie in her life, she needed to ask her out immediately. She couldn’t waste any time. She’d been so open to new connections before, so what was stopping her? It was ridiculous. See a hot girl, ask her out. She’d done it plenty of times before, and she could do it again.
“By the way,” she started, heart pounding and palms getting sweaty. God, was she really that pathetic? “Would you want to get drinks sometime?”
The question hung in the air like thick smoke, blanketing everything that had come previously.
“Drinks?” repeated Ellie dumbly, blinking her eyes.
“Yeah. We could hang out,” said Harika. “I know a bunch of great places around here, and I’m sure there are others, maybe in your neighborhood…”
Harika balled her hands into fists, nerves getting the better of her. She shouldn’t have done it. Now things were weird. They could have had a perfectly amiable working relationship, but now things were ruined.
“Um, yeah,” said Ellie, a smile breaking out across her face. “I’d like that. I need to get out of my house more, anyway.”
“I mean, it’s okay if—” said Harika, desperately trying to save face. “Wait. Yeah?”
“Yeah,” said Ellie. “Let’s do it.”
Let’s do it. Oh yeah, we’ll do it.
Harika had to get a grip. But who could she blame? She was the one who’d been practically celibate for the past couple years. Of course her libido was raring to go. She shuddered to think of what a fool she’d make of herself after a couple of beers.
“Great. Betsy likes you, anyway, so that’s a sure sign we should hang out.”
Oh no. No, no, no. She had to stop saying stupid shit like that if she wanted to get anywhere with Ellie. Harika had been so confident back when she was in school. She was always the one with a dominant streak. She’d never had an issue going for what she wanted—and most often, getting it.
Until now, apparently.
“It’s always good when a dog trusts someone,” agreed Ellie, as if Harika hadn’t just said something completely stupid.
Whew. “They really know, don’t they?” said Harika. It was like she was an alien pretending to be human all of a sudden. This was how people normally interacted, right? This was the order the words went in?
“Yeah,” said Ellie. “I have to go now, get some work done and exercise Bella, but you have my number, right? So just let me know when you’re free.” She smiled, showing off perfect white teeth.
It was enough to make Harika want to gather Ellie up in her arms and squeeze her tight, feeling those curves against her own, the colorful, inked skin against hers… Kiss that neck and squeeze that ass.
“Will do.” Harika smiled back.
After Ellie left, Harika took a deep breath. She’d done it. She’d gotten a date. Harika Knowles had a date. Well, technically not a date since they hadn’t picked a date yet. But it was happening. Her guess had been correct and Ellie was interested in spending time with her. Maybe something more.
Definitely something more.
There. There was that old confidence returning, like a tsunami forming out in the open ocean of Harika’s desire. She’d missed it, and now it was back, like an old friend. She was going to get it all right. She was going to get Ellie into her bed, and into her heart, and with any luck, they’d live happily ever after.
It was perfect.
13
Ellie
Ellie was walking on clouds all the way home. First off, she’d completed a job successfully. Harika’s effusive face had shown her all she needed to know—the vet loved the website, loved the logo, loved the print stuff. She’d genuinely appreciated Ellie’s hard work and man, that was always a great feeling.
Second, Ellie now had a friend. She was surprised that they’d been thinking the same thing. Ellie had just been wondering if she could hang out with Harika, get to know her, and now the lady wanted to get drinks.
Aaron had kept all the friends after the break up, inexplicably even though he’d moved to the other side of the country. They’d all “sided” with him, even though there hadn’t been any kind of fight or disagreement. Ellie still stung when she thought of some of the things they’d said, about how Aaron could do better, or how Ellie was so stuck in her Redwood County ways.
The way they told it, she sounded like a hick. But that didn’t make any sense, and she knew it wasn’t true. Didn’t stop it from hurting, though.
When she got home, she looked up places to get drinks in Candlewood. She was rusty and didn’t know which places were still open, except for the ones she passed every day on walks with Bella. But during those, she was often in her own head, unaware of her surroundings, so it was a surprise when she discovered that there were several new places that looked promising.
A sense of adventure was filling her chest, making her more energetic than she normally was. She recognized that it was a little pathetic—well, more than a little pathetic—that she was getting so excited about drinks with a new friend, but all the same, she had to take pleasure in stuff like this, or life would never be exciting.
“So, Bella, what do you think? Is it time to break out one of the nice shirts for a night on the town?” she asked, holding a shirt out on a hanger.
The greyhound tilted her head, confused at Ellie’s rapid change of demeanor. Ellie knew Bella hadn’t seen her like this very often since the break up. She was coming out of her shell. And it was turning out she shell was bigger than she thought it was.
Bella whined and stood up, stretching her front legs out in front of her, and walked toward Ellie, sniffing her like she thought something was wrong with her.
“I’m fine, honey, I promise. It’s just that… I was lonely,” she said, surprised at how the words flowed. She told Bella a lot more than she’d tell the average person, but even now, she was surprising herself.
And there was something else that made her feel uneasy. She’d developed some social anxiety and awkwardness as a result of being such a hermit. Not talking to people on a regular basis, except for work, had ma
de her skills rusty, and she found herself experiencing a little spike of anxiety even when she did basic things like order her coffee.
She needed to become the person she once was. And Harika—her first, new friend—was going to be the catalyst.
Harika had picked out a restaurant that had good drinks during their happy hour special. Ellie was glad for the choice, because she was still wary of her declining financial situation. But there was no way she was going to turn down this invitation just because she couldn’t spare twenty dollars.
Ellie thought about grabbing a jacket, but decided to ignore her discomfort over covering her ink. She shouldn’t have gotten tattoos if she didn’t want anyone to see them, after all. She smiled widely to herself and stepped out the door, looking back in for a moment to make sure that Bella had everything she needed.
The dog had gone back to her dog bed by the window, and she raised her head to acknowledge that she was leaving, then plopped it back down on her feet. Ellie had given her quite a bit of exercise that day, knowing that Bella would be a little lonely without her around the house.
After all, it wasn’t often that Ellie actually left it.
After making sure Bella was fine, Ellie locked up behind herself and set out. It felt weird to be leaving without the leash in her hand, and she felt herself tugging at the hem of her shirt, fidgeting. Was she really this neurotic? This simple outing was making it obvious.
But that was fine, because she was going out. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d gone to a happy hour. It was time to change things up.
14
Harika
Harika’s grandmother was from Puerto Rico, and she used to visit with her family frequently as a child. The food was one of the most memorable parts of the trips she took, and when her grandmother passed away, she found that she missed her cooking terribly.
When she first moved to Redwood Crossing, she’d stumbled upon a little hole in the wall called Las Hermanas, which was run by Reina, who looked a lot like her grandmother. Harika didn’t know much Spanish, but when she’d greeted the little older proprietor, Reina had been delighted and had sat right down with her as she ate.
The warm feeling that suffused Harika when she’d spoken with Reina, on that first meeting, was priceless. Absolutely priceless. No one could replace her grandmother and nothing could replace those trips to Puerto Rico, but this restaurant was a blessing Harika thought she’d never find.
So she made it a point to visit as often as possible, whenever she got a hankering for Puerto Rican food, made authentically and just how she remembered it. She’d brought friends here; sometimes she would take the vet techs out for dinner. On a couple of occasions, she’d even brought girls.
And from over the counter, Reina would watch them. At first, her mouth had been a flat line, and Harika had been frightened. She didn’t want to lose this little slice of home just because of something as abhorrent as homophobia. And she hated to think that Reina could even be homophobic, though it wouldn’t surprise her if she was.
But the second time she’d brought a girl here on a date, Reina had accosted Harika while her date had gone to use the bathroom, a smile widening on her catlike face.
“You like her?” she asked.
“Um, yes,” said Harika, unwilling to lie. She could still remember how nervous she’d been—what if her answer meant she could never return again?
But her grin had settled into a knowing expression. “Good luck,” she’d said, and then she’d tottered off to the counter again.
And from then on, Harika knew she had her blessing.
So bringing Ellie here was the clear choice. She had no idea what kind of food the designer liked, but if she didn’t like it here, she wasn’t the right one for Harika anyway. The happy hour offerings were among the best, with delicious, original margaritas and dollar cheese fritters.
Harika walked into the restaurant, knowing that Reina would have set up a table just for her. Even though the atmosphere in the restaurant was casual, the residents of Redwood Crossing seemed to know Reina and respect her space, so everyone present was dressed nicely—taffeta dresses, silk shirts. It was the perfect first stop before embarking on a night out on the town.
Harika caught the eye of a waitress, who took her name and led her to her table. She checked her phone for the time, realizing she was ridiculously early. Nervous, she glanced all around the restaurant, not really seeing the other diners, until she spotted Reina.
The older woman nodded her head slowly at Harika and grinned that smile. No, she wasn’t like a cat, on second thought. She was like a Sphinx. With a pang of regret, Harika realized she’d never bothered to ask her about herself—for example, why was the restaurant named Las Hermanas, or “the sisters?” But then, it had always been ridiculously busy whenever she’d come here, so she’d never had the chance to properly sit down and chat with Reina.
Soon enough, Harika glimpsed Ellie in the doorway. The lady looked around with wide, interested eyes, and this time, she had on a nice, forest green twill shirt with dark jeans. Harika waved her hand to catch her attention, and Ellie smiled when she saw Harika.
But Ellie was still nervous, that much was certain. Her eyes kept flitting over to other diners, to the décor on the walls, to the steaming plates of food on other tables. Harika flushed. Was Ellie going to be comfortable here? Maybe she should have picked a place that was a little more casual, less crowded…
“Good to see you,” Harika said, feeling like she was waiting on tenterhooks for Ellie’s response. She needed to know that the other woman was relaxed.
But she wasn’t, despite her words. “It’s good to see you too,” said Ellie, her eyes still darting. Her shoulders were squared—not relaxed at all—and she crossed her arms over her chest.
Well, it was normal to be nervous on a date—Harika couldn’t hold that against her. Maybe she just had to plow forward and see what happened. “Here’s the menu,” said Harika. “The drink menu’s on the first flap inside. I figured if you wanted to eat dinner, we could do that too…”
“Uh, sure,” said Ellie, her eyes on the menu.
Wait a minute. A lightning bolt of fear streaked through Harika’s chest. Did Ellie even know this was a date? Was that why she was so on edge? Harika racked her brains, trying to think back to their previous conversation. Had she made it clear that it was a date? Or had she simply asked to hang out?
She couldn’t remember now, but given Ellie’s behavior, and her easy acceptance of the invitation… It dawned on Harika that she was on one of those awkward half-dates, where one party knew and the other didn’t.
Well, that was a problem.
Or no, no it wasn’t. She could salvage this. She could make it a sort of “friend date,” and suss out romantic interest while making friendly conversation. It didn’t have to be a romantic date, even though that was what Harika would have preferred. Whatever it took to get Ellie comfortable, she was down with.
So, how to behave on a platonic date? She had to turn down the intensity. Act more casual. Like she was meeting a friend rather than a lady she had a huge crush on.
That was going to be difficult, because Ellie looked delicious. The sleeves of her shirt were rolled up, revealing those awesome tattoos, and delicate hands. Harika couldn’t help but imagine those hands on her skin.
No, no, no. She could not get turned on on a friend date. How awkward would that be?
The waitress showed up to take their drink orders. Ellie was ready to order, but Harika was so distracted that she hadn’t given thought to what she wanted at all. But that was fine. It was all fine. She’d been here so often that she knew the menu, and she gave the waitress an order that came to mind immediately.
“So, uh, this place is pretty nice,” said Ellie, looking around appreciatively. Of course—she had a designer’s eye. And Reina had done a killer job with the decorations. The wall was stucco and there were embroidered wall hangings everywhere, with scenes of is
land life. The lighting was provided by tin lanterns that hung over every table, holes poked in them to let out bright pinpricks of light.
It was simple, but gorgeous. And now that Harika thought about it, pretty damn romantic. No wonder Ellie looked so uncertain.
“It’s one of my favorite restaurants,” said Harika. “I’m practically a regular.”
“Oh?” said Ellie, leaning back in her chair and folding her arms across her chest.
She was still feeling reserved—Harika needed to get her to loosen up. “Yeah. My father’s mother is Puerto Rican, and this place reminds me of her cooking. Plus all the cooking I got to eat on trips to Puerto Rico.”
“Huh. I wouldn’t have guessed that you’re Puerto Rican,” said Ellie, tilting her head.
Ah, yes. The head tilt. Whenever someone tried to guess Harika’s ethnicity, it always made a reliable appearance. What are you, exactly? Well, um, I’m actually human…
“Well, I’m actually half Pakistani,” said Harika, “on my mom’s side. And my grandfather is white. So, well, I’m kind of a mutt.”
Ellie grinned. “I am, too. Polish, English, Scottish, who knows. That’s how it is for most white people here, anyway.”
“Too true. You have any connection to any of those countries?” asked Harika.
Ellie shook her head. “Nope. One set of my great grandparents was Polish and lived in Poland, but apart from that, I have no idea. Never been over there or anything. Never done any of that genetic testing.”
“It could be really fascinating, though,” said Harika. “Finding your family.”
Ellie shrugged. “I guess I kind of like my life the way it is. Quiet,” she said. “I’ve got my parents and my siblings.”