Lost & Found

by Raquel De Leon

  Selma nibbled her lower lip. “I’d like that, too.” Had she been this agreeable all night?

  “Great,” Piper said with a growing smile. “Maybe we can take Ben somewhere, that way you don’t have to worry about a sitter.”

  As they stopped just shy of the door, something surged in Selma’s chest. Piper was just so…

  Her hands found their way to Piper’s shoulders first as she angled her head upward.

  Piper’s lips were as lush and pliant as they seemed.

  Selma bit her lip as she stared at her computer monitor. She’d been distracted all morning and had only gotten through a small portion of what she’d intended to. Maybe she should just take her lunch hour early. There was nothing pressing going on at the moment.

  Just as the thought crossed her mind, her phone began to ring. She dug around her unintentionally messy desk, wondering how she’d managed to make things so disorganized in such a short time.

  Breathless, she finally found the phone and hurriedly accepted the call. “Hello?”

  “Selma, hello,” Karen greeted. “I was just calling to see what you were doing for lunch. Piper will be here soon and we were wondering if you wanted to join us.”

  “Karen, oh, I'm sorry. I didn't look at my phone.” Selma shifted uncomfortably in her chair. She hadn’t felt this awkward with Karen in a long time.

  “Oh, that's good! That means we caught you in time.” Karen laughed. “You will come, right? You can bring Ben, of course.”

  Not knowing how to say no, or if she even wanted to say no, Selma found herself in a quandary. “Are you sure I won't be imposing?”

  Karen's voice was warm. “Of course you won't be imposing. You're family.”

  Selma didn’t understand how something could make her feel both terrible and amazing all at once. Oh, god, she should have told Piper last night. She’d meant to. “We’ll be over shortly.”

  “Excellent, see you soon.” Karen sounded positively delighted.

  After her own goodbye, Selma didn’t move at first. She stared down at her phone. With a breath, she swiped over to Piper’s name and opened a new message.

  ‘Looks like you get to see me today. I’m joining you for lunch,’ she typed out.

  The response came quickly. ‘Fantastic! I was just about to leave. Should I pick you up?’

  Would it defeat the purpose of her starting the chat if she said yes? Selma found she didn’t care. ‘You should come, but we’ll take my car. Ben’s coming with.’

  ‘Ahh. Car seat! Alright, I’ll be over in a few. :)’

  Selma smiled down at the text, and then jolted up and out of her seat. She needed to tell Emily she could cut out early, get ready, get Ben ready…

  Ten minutes later Emily was gone and Piper was waiting patiently on the couch, a giggling Ben on her lap. Piper was wearing a green button up and jeans, and Selma wondered how one woman could make casual wear so alluring.

  “I’m so sorry to keep you waiting. I swear I’m not normally like this.” Selma tugged at the hem of her skirt. She’d just managed to finish restocking the supplies in Ben’s ‘just-in-case’ bag. She’d intended to freshen up a little herself, but the way Piper’s eyes had lingered at the door were an indicator that maybe she didn’t look too mussed.

  “It’s fine,” Piper said with a chuckle, “I’m not in a hurry.”

  She zipped up Ben’s backpack and glanced at Piper. She had to bite her lip to hide a smile. Piper’s eyes had been unmistakably focused on Selma’s ass, and her cheeks had pinkened adorably once she’d been caught.

  Selma smoothed a hand over the skirt of her slate sheath and slung the bag over her shoulder. “Let’s go.”

  “Mommy,” Ben interrupted as Piper set him down and stood, “I want to carry my bag.”

  The determined look on his face made Selma immediately buckle. “Okay, honey.”

  As he turned away so she could slide the straps over his shoulders, Piper leaned over to whisper in her ear.

  “I can’t stop thinking about our date. I’m glad you said yes to lunch.”

  A shiver rippled down Selma’s spine though she tried to hide it. Piper’s breath had tickled her neck so enticingly. She licked her lips and finished settling the bag on Ben’s shoulders.

  She held onto him with one hand for a moment, using the other to tug Piper back and steal a quick kiss. God, she loved being able to do that.

  If her crooked smile was anything to go by, Piper seemed to love it too.

  Ben squirmed so Selma let him go. He scampered off to the front door.

  Piper stepped closer, her warm hand settling low on Selma’s back. “Dinner tonight?”

  Goosebumps pricked at Selma’s skin. “We haven’t even had lunch yet. What if you’re sick of us by then?”

  “Not a chance.” Piper’s voice was low and soft and, combined with an intense look, made Selma forget what she was supposed to be doing.

  “Mommy!” Ben called from the door. “Come on.”

  Selma shook herself and clicked her tongue at Piper, finally moving to join her son. “Stop distracting me.”

  Piper trailed along. “You started it,” she insisted with a purposefully innocent look, “with your eyes, and your lips and—“

  “Piper,” Selma warned as she tilted her head toward an impatient-looking Ben.

  Contrite, Piper raised her hands and didn’t say more.

  It wasn’t until Ben was secured in his car seat and Selma was closing the door that Piper struck again.

  Taking advantage of Ben being distracted with pulling a toy from his backpack, Piper finished closing the door and pushed Selma back into it.

  Selma’s breath caught. Piper’s body was pressed fully against hers. “Piper—“

  The protest died on her lips; Piper’s body was warm and soft and, oh, how she’d forgotten what it was like to be kissed.

  They kept the kiss relatively chaste—if the way Piper’s body fit against hers could be called chaste—but Selma’s hands still trembled as it ended.

  “Payback,” Piper murmured as she stared at Selma’s mouth, “for earlier.”

  *****

  Piper felt giddy as they left for the Bering estate. She did her best to calm herself down; happy was good but giddy was definitely not. She still had to sit down in front of Karen and Derek and act normal and not stare at Selma like a lovesick puppy.

  “Ben, honey,” Selma said as they got on the highway. “I packed Mommy’s tablet in your bag. You have my permission to play on it for a while, okay? Put your headphones on too.”

  Ben cheered from the back seat, his little hands scrambling for his bag. Piper waited to see if he’d need help but, in no time at all, he was happily tapping away with a set of blue headphones with paw prints on the sides tucked over his ears.

  Selma glanced in the rearview mirror and smiled. She cleared her throat. “Piper, there’s something I want to talk to you about. Maybe this isn’t the best time, but I meant to tell you last night. I should have told you last night.”

  Warning bells went off in Piper’s head. It was time for the other shoe to drop. Her giddiness dissipated as she looked out the window, trying to mentally prepare herself for whatever bad news was about to come. “Okay.”

  Selma released a slow breath. “Piper, I haven’t dated a woman since college.”

  Piper perked up. Selma had dated another woman before. That was good. Mostly. Right?

  “Even though I’ve known I was bi since the eighth grade, I haven’t dated a woman in over seven years.” Her hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles paled. “Karen and Derek don’t exactly approve.”

  “What?” Piper blurted out before she could stop herself. “What the hell, they’re homophobes?”

  Selma winced and sent her a look. “Homophobic is sort of a strong way of putting it—“

  “And you just, what, went along with it?” Piper smacked a hand at the air. “Let them control your life?”

  “P
iper, please.” Selma frowned and didn’t say more.

  Piper blew out a breath. Selma didn’t deserve her anger. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I guess I just didn’t expect to hear that.”

  “I get it,” Selma said with a careful glance in her direction, “I didn’t expect it the first time either. They didn’t… it wasn’t so much anything they said, just how they treated me after.”

  “How’d they treat you?” Piper pinched the bridge of her nose.

  Selma laughed but the sound lacked humor. “Just, standoffish. And Karen kept trying to set me up with every man she could find, even knowing I was in a committed relationship.”

  Piper tugged a hand through her hair, glad she’d left it down. “So what happened with your girlfriend?”

  “I didn’t let your—Karen and Derek drive us apart. It just happened naturally. I was busy with school, and then law school was on the horizon.” Selma adjusted her grip on the steering wheel. “And then after that I was so busy that I didn’t date much, and didn’t meet any women I really connected with anyway, so I just… didn’t press the issue.”

  “Why not?” Piper asked, careful not to let any judgement into her voice.

  Selma sighed. “It was just easier not to. Karen and Derek have been better parents to me than mine ever were and I just didn’t want to lose them, too. I know that sounds so cowardly but—“

  “No,” Piper interrupted. “No, I can understand that. I don’t know what I’d do if Dot wasn’t so great about everything.”

  When Selma took her hand a moment later and squeezed it, Piper knew she’d said the right thing.

  “The reason I’m telling you all this now is because I want to wait to tell them. I’m not saying forever, but I think it would just be nice if we had some time to ourselves to figure this out a bit before having to worry about what they might think.” She looked over at Piper. “And I didn’t want you to think I was asking you because I’m ashamed or embarrassed. I want to do this because I… well, I don’t know what you want from this, exactly, but I want it to work.”

  Piper caught her breath, feeling warm with Selma’s admission. “I don’t really do casual dating,” she admitted. “It’s why I haven’t dated in a while, either.”

  “Good.” Selma pressed a hand to her forehead. “We should have talked about all of this before I agreed to a date.”

  “Not that you needed to, exactly, but why didn’t you?” Piper rubbed her thumb over Selma’s hand. She really liked how they fit together.

  Selma’s cheeks flushed as she glanced at Piper. “I was, that is to say, you’re,” her back straightened. “I haven’t felt this way about someone in a while. I didn’t want to second-guess it.”

  “Jesus, Selma.” Piper covered her face with her free hand.

  “What?” Selma sounded alarmed.

  Piper dragged her hand down her face, her head thudding back against its rest. “We’re going to have problems keeping this to ourselves with how often you make me want to kiss you.”

  When Selma laughed, it was full and free and it made Piper’s skin tingle. She grinned along.

  “Later,” Selma promised with a wink. She turned back to watch the road. “And I don’t mean you can’t tell anyone, Piper. I’m out. You can tell your friends and family.”

  “Cool. I don’t think I could keep it from Shelly, anyway.” She wiggled her fingers, pressing them to Selma’s and then sliding between.

  Selma released a beleaguered groan. “I just realized I still have to tell Laura how well our date went. She’s going to be incorrigible when she hears about this.”

  They laughed and made small talk until they reached the gate branded with a highly stylized ‘B’ and then finally released their handhold. Though Piper felt a little more uncomfortable about facing Karen and Derek again, she would do it for Selma.

  She twisted her lips wryly. If she’d have found out about the Berings being low-key homophobes before, she wouldn’t have wasted a single second getting to know them. The family she already had was more than enough.

  But… that wasn’t an option now. She liked Selma, and she wanted to see if things could work. That certainly didn’t involve leaving Selma to deal with Karen and Derek alone.

  “Let’s do this,” she said as she unbuckled her seatbelt.

  Chapter 9

  The townhouse was quiet as Selma fixed herself a sandwich. She hummed in a meager effort to fill the suddenly too-large house with sound.

  Karen and Derek had needed to visit Canada for a business trip, and since Selma had court all week, they’d offered to take Ben along.

  At the time the offer had seemed reasonable. The dawn of the third day without her son, however, had her feeling otherwise. They wouldn't be back for two days at the earliest and Selma was feeling every second of Ben’s absence.

  To top it all off, after only a single day in court, the opposing counsel had talked his client into settling out of court. She contemplated calling Karen just to hear Ben’s voice.

  She'd already called that morning. Calling again would be excessive. With a sigh, she put the finishing touches on her sandwich and added a few baby carrots to the side.

  Halfway through her sandwich, the doorbell rang. Frowning, she dusted off her hands and needed to the door. A peek through the peephole made her smile.

  “Piper?” she asked as she opened the door and invited Piper inside. “What are you doing here?”

  Piper offered a sheepish smile, hands tucked into her back pockets as she moved into the entryway. In jeans and a white v-neck, her hair up in its fashionably messy bun, she looked as appealing as always.

  “I know you're going a little crazy without Ben and you don't have a lot going on with work, so I thought I'd drive out and surprise you.” She rolled her lips together. “Is that okay?”

  “That's perfect.” Selma felt like her smile would become permanent. “I was just finishing up lunch.”

  “I'm sorry to interrupt. I should have called.” Piper was about to say more when her stomach suddenly growled. Her cheeks pinkened.

  Selma bit her lip. Piper was adorable when she blushed. “Why don't I make you a sandwich as well?”

  “You don't have to do that,” Piper said with a raised hand.

  “I want to. Come on.” Selma slid her hand into Piper’s, turning and gently leading the way before Piper could protest. “Besides, then I won't be eating alone.”

  They'd been on several dates since their first, Piper having come into the city multiple times to both see Selma and the Berings. Selma had come to the conclusion that she could very easily fall for Piper.

  “Is smoked turkey with provolone okay?” she asked as they arrived at the kitchen.

  Piper didn't respond at first. When Selma glanced back, Piper was blushing again.

  “Sorry,” Piper said as she cleared her throat, “but you look as amazing as always and I haven’t seen you since last week. Turkey is fine.”

  Selma chuckled and pressed a kiss to Piper’s cheek. For whatever reason, Piper had a weakness for her in work clothes. “Why don’t you sit at the counter? It shouldn’t take but a minute to put it all together.”

  As Piper took the spot next to where she’d previously been sitting, Selma gathered the ingredients for the sandwich.

  “As much as I love you in that skirt, how would you feel about going casual today?” Piper asked as Selma grabbed two slices of bread.

  Selma paused to arch an eyebrow Piper’s way. “That’s fine. What did you have in mind?”

  “I thought maybe we could just wander around a bit today, explore the city. We could stop at a museum. Take in a movie. Whatever looks good while we’re out.” Piper was perched up on her stool, hands interlaced as she leaned forward. Her blue eyes were intent on Selma.

  There was something so very appealing about having a spontaneous day with Piper. Selma couldn’t remember the last time she’d done something like that. With Ben, she liked to plan as much as possib
le so she could be prepared for just about anything that came up.

  “I think I’d like that,” Selma admitted.

  The smile Piper rewarded her with was enough to convince her she’d made a good choice. She finished making Piper’s sandwich in silence, her own smile refusing to fade.

  “Thanks,” Piper said as the plate was set down before her, “I didn’t even realize how hungry I was until you mentioned lunch. I just wanted to get here, but I hit some traffic this morning. It took four hours to get here instead of three.”