“Oh, yeah?”
“Kinsley, she’s not running for governor,” Riley replied. “She told me she still loved me and wanted to move here, like we’d planned.”
“Got it.” Kinsley turned her face to her computer. “Thanks for the update, Riles. I really appreciate it,” she said sarcastically.
“I told her no, Kinsley.”
Riley watched Kinsley’s expression as she turned back to her. There was a small, almost imperceptible smile for a moment. It was a cautious smile. Riley knew it well, coming from Kinsley.
“You did?”
“I did. She tried a few times. She asked me to give her another chance, promised me she’d move here and make me a priority. Hell, she even said she’d consider kids now.”
“And you still–”
“Said no, Kinsley,” Riley interrupted. “I took care of Margie. Then, I took a ridiculously early flight back home this morning and came here first thing. Well, I went to the café for this first.” She lifted the coffee cup. “I haven’t even been home yet.”
“When you didn’t really keep in contact while you were there, I just assumed…”
“That I got back with Elena?”
“Yes.”
Riley swallowed hard and felt the burn on her tongue from the coffee.
“Did you…” She paused and looked down at the floor. “Did something happen between you and–”
“Courtney?”
“Yes.”
Kinsley stared at her as Riley raised her eyes to hers.
“I helped her find an office, like I said before.” She smiled. “Nothing else happened.”
“Really?” Riley smiled.
“She tried. And if I’m being honest, I considered it. But that was mostly about you. It wouldn’t have been fair to her.”
“You considered sleeping with her because I didn’t call?”
“No, Riley. She wanted that; and she said as much. I considered going out on a date with her. But I don’t do one-night stands. I’m not interested in just sex with anyone. I want more than that.” Kinsley leaned forward. “This is probably the least romantic way to do this ever, but I’m just going to do it, because this has gone on long enough. I’ve been stupid and a coward.” She took a breath. “Will you go out with me, Riley Sanders?”
“Yes, I would love to go out with you,” Riley replied, her heart thundering in her chest.
“Maybe if I would have just done that in college, we could have avoided all this,” Kinsley remarked.
“I doubt it,” Riley replied.
Kinsley looked a little confused and asked, “You do?”
“I didn’t give you the time of day back then, remember? You like to point that out whenever you can.” Riley winked at her.
◆◆◆
“When is this date happening?” Kellan asked her.
“Saturday night,” Riley replied with a wide smile.
“It’s only Thursday. You look like you’re about to burst. How are you going to make it until Saturday?” Kellan laughed at her.
“Kinsley is helping Courtney finalize some paperwork tomorrow and won’t get back into town until late. Saturday night was the first night we could make it happen. To answer your question, I am about to burst. How did I not see it at first?”
“What?”
“Kinsley James,” she answered. “How long have I known her?”
“Years,” Kellan replied. “Since you were eighteen, apparently.”
“And I’m just now realizing how much I like her,” Riley said. “God, telling Elena I don’t love her like that anymore was easy.” She paused. “It was easy, and it’s because of Kinsley.”
“That’s good, right?”
“It’s very good. You should have seen Kinsley’s face when I told her Elena wanted to get back together with me.”
“I don’t think I’d want to. She was probably heartbroken, Riley. Why are you smiling right now, thinking about that?” Kellan asked, pointing at her face.
“Because it means she really does like me that much. Just the thought of me getting back together with Elena was enough to do that to her. Don’t get me wrong: I don’t ever want to hurt her or see her hurt like that. But, coming back to town, all I wanted to do was to see her. I needed to tell her it was officially over. I’d had the chance to get back with Elena. I could have said yes. She would have moved here. We would have bought that house.”
“But you didn’t.”
“I didn’t.” Riley smiled at her friend. “And it’s at least partly because Kinsley showed me what it’s like to really have someone who lov–”
Riley’s eyes got big. She’d almost said something there.
“Who loves you?” Kellan asked.
“I don’t know about that. I think I got a little ahead of myself there,” Riley said. “I know she likes me, though, and that’s enough for me.” She glanced at her phone on the coffee table. “Do you think I should text her? It’s not too late. Maybe I should just text her good night or something. Do you do that when you haven’t even gone on a first date yet?”
“I think you do that if you want to,” Kellan replied. “I should probably head on home. Reese is waiting.”
“That’s adorable, Kell.”
“Yeah, I love her. She loves me. It’s very adorable. She and Remy had a sisterly dinner tonight; no significant others allowed,” Kellan said as she stood. “I’m happy for you, Riley. Kinsley’s crazy about you, and I can see you’re crazy for her, too.”
“I am,” Riley said. “I didn’t know it until recently, but I am.”
“Tell her that,” Kellan said.
Riley walked Kellan out of the apartment, moved back to her sofa, and picked up her phone. She considered texting but took what Kellan said to heart and clicked on Kinsley’s contact instead.
“Hey,” Kinsley greeted. “You’re not calling to cancel Saturday, are you?”
“You wore a black V-neck and jeans,” Riley said.
“What?” Kinsley laughed.
“That day on the futon, when you came out to me; you wore a black V-neck shirt and jeans.”
“Okay. Riles, what’s–”
“Kellan was just here. I asked if I should text you good night even though we haven’t had a date yet.”
“You asked her if you should text me good night?” Kinsley asked.
“Yes.”
“That’s cute, Riles. You’re cute.”
“What are you doing right now?” Riley asked with a smile as she settled into the sofa further.
“Talking to you.”
“And?”
“And working in bed.”
“On what?”
“Prepping for the meeting with Courtney tomorrow. What are you doing?”
“Talking to you.”
“And?”
Riley smiled even wider, “And calling you to tell you good night, because I really wanted to do that.”
“That’s still cute.”
“And to tell you that I like it when you call me Riles,” she said.
“You do?”
“Yes.”
“I like it that you call me Kinsley even though most people call me James.”
“You do?” Riley asked.
“Yes.”
“Hey, Kinsley?”
“Yeah?”
“You gave me your sweater that time we all went to the movies and I was cold.”
“What? When was this?” Kinsley chuckled.
“Freshman year.”
“College?”
“Yes, college.”
“So, now you remember me?” Kinsley teased.
“I can’t wait until Saturday, Kinsley. I feel like I’m that freshman again, all excited for a first date with the girl I like.”
“Thank God we’re not still in college, though,” Kinsley said.
“I do not want to relive undergrad or law school,” Riley agreed.
“But will you tell me all about them on Saturday? I’
d like to catch up on all the years I missed.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes, that’s how this works. You tell me all about you; I listen. Then, I tell you all about me; you listen. We see if there’s something here.”
“Oh, there’s something here, alright,” Riley said before she could stop herself.
Kinsley laughed and said, “Oh, yeah?”
“I told you, I can’t wait until Saturday.”
CHAPTER 20
Kinsley stood just behind her front door, looking through the peephole for the tenth time in about a minute. She backed away from the door, paced the foyer, looked into the mirror on the opposite wall, tried to put an imaginary rogue strand of hair back in place, turned back around, and returned to the peephole. No Riley yet. Technically, she was staring a good five minutes early. Riley had said she’d be there at seven, and there were still four more minutes of waiting. Truthfully, though, Kinsley was kind of hoping Riley had the same problem she did: she just couldn’t wait. This date, it had been years in the making.
They’d spoken on the phone Friday night as well, after Kinsley returned from her meeting with Courtney. While Courtney hadn’t asked her out again, since Kinsley had filled her in about her feelings for Riley, she also hadn’t backed off completely, either. She’d found ways to brush Kinsley’s hand with her own or bump lightly into Kinsley’s shoulder. She hadn’t said anything, but she had invited Kinsley to dinner after their last meeting. They’d put in an offer on the second location they’d visited previously. Courtney wanted to celebrate. Kinsley wouldn’t normally decline a client wanting to celebrate a potential purchase. In fact, she had often taken clients to a celebratory lunch, dinner or, occasionally, drinks to congratulate them on their new place. With Courtney, though, she’d decided to go with the fruit and cheese basket once they closed on the building instead. It seemed safer that way.
Saturday morning, Kinsley had woken with purpose. She wanted her house to be clean, since Riley had asked to pick her up for their date. She had dusted, vacuumed, cleaned all the windows, and washed and dried all the towels and sheets. She also made sure to clean the bedding in the guest room just in case. She didn’t want to be presumptuous and assume that Riley might stay over. If they happened by the guest room, she wanted it to look like she’d cleaned that, too. Then, she showered, making sure to shave. She used her coconut-scented shower gel. And she actually blow-dried her hair, which she rarely did. She curled the ends and left it down. She put a little makeup on her face, but not too much. She straightened the princess cut button-down she’d chosen specifically because she’d always gotten compliments on the color that matched her eyes. She threw on a pair of form-fitting jeans and boots that went over them at the ankle. She unbuttoned the second button from the top, choosing to show a bit more cleavage, took a deep breath to try to calm her heart, and returned to the front door just in time to see Riley approach through the peephole and ring the bell.
“Shit,” Kinsley said to herself. She took another deep breath, gripped the doorknob, and opened the door. “Hi,” she said. “Damn,” she added when she noticed how hot Riley looked.
“Good damn or bad damn?” Riley asked with smoky eyes.
“Good,” Kinsley replied; her eyes were raking over Riley’s body, and she was not even trying to hide it.
Riley was wearing a slinky cocktail dress. It was a deep gray. She had on a pair of heels that only worked to accentuate her legs in that short dress. Kinsley gulped when she noticed Riley’s long, elegant neck, and that she’d even brought a clutch purse with her, as if they were going out for a fancy night on the town.
“That good?” Riley asked with a smirk.
Kinsley’s eyes met Riley’s as the woman took the step over the threshold. Kinsley knew what was about to happen. This kind of exchange could only go one direction. Before she could overthink it or try to talk herself out of it, she reached for Riley’s clutch, tossed it on the table next to them, and pulled Riley into her by the hands. Her arms went around Riley’s waist just as their lips met for the first time. Kinsley’s lips touched soft and warm lips that had been ready for her. Riley’s arms moved around Kinsley’s neck. Her feet started moving Kinsley backward. Kinsley didn’t work to push back. She let Riley move them back toward the staircase, knowing full well where Riley wanted to take them.
Kinsley’s feet hit the side of the bottom stair. They stopped their movement for a minute while Riley’s tongue played against her own. It was good. It was really good. Kissing Riley Sanders in her fantasies during these many years had been enough to make her wet; but kissing her in real life had her soaked through the panties she’d picked out specifically for their night in case something like this happened. She hadn’t expected it to happen this quickly, though. They’d planned to go to dinner and see how things went after. But this was better. This was much better.
Riley gave her a slight push, indicating she wanted them to continue in the direction of the bedroom. Kinsley took the stairs one at a time, trying to keep their lips connected, which turned near impossible. Riley’s lips moved to Kinsley’s neck instead. Kinsley stopped their progress at the first connection of Riley’s tongue to her throat. She leaned against the wall and let Riley do whatever she wanted to her. The picture of the lake she’d had framed and placed on that wall, fell off said wall and clanged down the stairs. Good thing she decided to leave out the glass on the front. Riley stopped to watch it fall. Her eyes returned to Kinsley’s. There was a smirk on her face that matched the darkness of her eyes. Her hands went to Kinsley’s buttons. Her lips and tongue went back to work on Kinsley’s neck.
Kinsley felt her shirt pull apart once the buttons were mostly undone. The keyword there was mostly, because Riley hadn’t been able to wait until she could get the bottom two undone. She’d yanked at the shirt, causing the last two buttons to drop to the floor and bounce down the stairs. That was what it sounded like, at least; Kinsley’s eyes were closed. Riley’s hands were on her breasts over her bra, and her mouth had returned to Kinsley’s. Kinsley’s hand was on the back of Riley’s neck, pulling her in closer as she tried to find the zipper to Riley’s dress by searching with two hands all over her back. Realizing it wasn’t there, her hands went to Riley’s sides. She found the zipper on the left side. She pulled down hard until Riley stopped kissing her to step back. The dress fell to the floor. Riley was standing there in a matching bra and panty set. Her lips were wet and swollen. Her breath was coming in short bursts. Her eyes told Kinsley that she hadn’t had nearly enough yet.
Kinsley’s hands remembered how to move. Her feet did, too. She moved her body into Riley’s, loving how their skin looked and felt together. She kissed Riley softly this time. As their lips moved together, they continued their dance up the stairs and toward Kinsley’s room. Riley clearly had a thing with walls, because she had Kinsley up against the one next to her open bedroom door. Riley’s hands pulled away the shirt she’d already unbuttoned. It fell to the floor. Her fingers found the button of Kinsley’s jeans, popped it open, and unzipped them all within seconds. Kinsley couldn’t keep up with everything. Riley’s hand slid under her jeans and cupped her over her panties.
“Okay. Hold on,” Kinsley said, pulling her mouth away from Riley’s. “Inside.”
“No problem,” Riley replied and slid her hand under the fabric, moving to cup her again.
“Not what I meant,” Kinsley said. “Wow,” she added when Riley’s index finger slid between her folds. “Bedroom. Inside the bedroom.”
Riley’s smirk hadn’t disappeared yet, but it widened as she removed her hand and replied, “I want you.”
“Let’s go to bed, Riles.”
Kinsley kissed Riley, coaxing a soft moan from the woman as she backed into her bedroom, bringing Riley along with her. When she made it close enough to the bed, she turned them around, gave Riley’s shoulders a shove, and watched as she fell to the mattress, making the pillows behind her rise slightly and fall again. Kinsley st
ared longingly at Riley’s body. She’d seen it like this twice before. Once, Riley was wearing a bathing suit at the lake with all their friends. The second time was when Reese was helping Riley get ready for a party back in college. She’d been in her underwear then. Both times, this woman’s body was perfect to Kinsley. She couldn’t believe she could actually touch her now.
She leaned down, placed one hand beside Riley’s head, and used her other hand to trace the skin of Riley’s abdomen with her fingertips. She dragged them slowly up and down before circling Riley’s belly button. Her fingers trailed up to the cups of Riley’s bra. She grazed the nipples beneath and felt them turn to rigid peaks. Riley stared up at her while she continued the exploration. Kinsley felt Riley wiggle a little beneath her. It spurred her on, but she was more than content being above Riley like this, touching parts of the woman’s skin she’d long to touch.
“Babe?” Riley asked. “You’ve waited over a decade for this, and I’ve come to realize I’ve basically been waiting just as long. Any chance we could speed this up? I got pretty turned on just getting dressed to come over here tonight, so I’m–”
Kinsley kissed her, pressed her body fully down into Riley’s spread legs, slid her hand under the cup of Riley’s bra, and grasped her breast. If Riley wanted to go fast, Kinsley could go fast. She lifted up enough to lower the straps of Riley’s bra and kiss the skin beneath. Riley didn’t wait. She lifted enough to unclasp her bra hastily. Kinsley tossed it somewhere next to them. While she wanted to take her time with Riley’s breasts, she needed something else more. She lowered herself to the floor, kneeling between Riley’s legs. She took another moment to stare at her before she reached for the final barrier to Riley’s skin.
“Riles…” she uttered the moment Riley’s body was completely unveiled to her.
“Kinsley, just–”
Kinsley kissed her inner thigh once before moving to the other side. A moment later, she licked her center, and Riley’s hips lifted instantly. Kinsley wanted to moan at the sensation of finally touching Riley this way, but she held it in. She wanted to focus on Riley. Her own moans would come later, hopefully. When she heard Riley’s sounds after her tongue slid through her again, Kinsley nearly slid her hand inside her own panties to relieve some of the pressure building from the sensations. Her hands gripped Riley’s hips, pulled her closer to the end of the bed, and lifted her body up slightly for a better angle.
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