Waiting for You

by Elle Spencer

  Lindsay gave her a side-eye. “Thank God.”

  They drove in silence until Lindsay parked in front of the gallery. Patty turned to her and said, “I’m going to find out who those girls were, and I’m going to make amends.”

  “Cakes, you realize this was like, seventy years ago, right? There’s almost no chance they’re still alive.” Of course, Lindsay knew they weren’t.

  “I have a lot to think about.” Patty opened the car door, then turned back. “Where’s Ren? Mrs. Stokely asked, but you didn’t answer.”

  “She’s…I don’t know. Ben told her about Roo. She asked me about it. It didn’t go well.”

  “Well, shit. Are you going to talk to him about it?”

  Lindsay shook her head. “No. I don’t want to spend another minute on him. Brooke graduates next year. My time will be my own again. And Ben doesn’t get a say in what I do with the rest of my life.”

  Patty smiled. “Good for you. But what about Ren?”

  Lindsay took a deep breath. “How much longer can I let Roo control my life?”

  Patty’s eyes widened. “First Ben. Now Roo. Am I next?”

  Lindsay nudged Patty’s shoulder. “No, silly. You’ll always be stuck with me. But Roo? I’m going to paint her once more, and that’s it. You’ll have it to sell soon, and I expect you to get top dollar for it. No lowball offers.” Lindsay leaned over and kissed her cheek. “See you soon, Tater Tot.”

  Patty got out of the car and shut the door. “I miss your casserole,” she shouted.

  Lindsay flipped her the bird. “No, you don’t!” She laughed as she drove away. Saying it out loud seemed to have lightened the load she’d carried with her for so long. Roo would finally rest in peace.

  If only it were that easy. Just will it to be so, and poof, Roo would be a distant memory. Lindsay knew it didn’t work that way, or at least, it hadn’t in the past. But she had a newfound sense of hope that the memories, both bad and good, would fade so Lindsay could focus on her future. Enough of living in the past. She wanted a full life in the here and now. Live before you die, Lindsay. Live before you die.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Lindsay locked up her studio and turned to leave. She stopped when she saw Ren standing a few feet away.

  “The sign on your front door said to come back here if you didn’t answer.”

  Lindsay stepped off the small porch. “Hi.” Her tone was flat, but she’d been caught off guard by Ren’s sudden presence. And why Ren was holding a carved pumpkin was baffling.

  “Can we talk for a minute?”

  “Maybe we should talk about the huge pumpkin in the room first.”

  “Oh. Right. This is for you. We carved pumpkins last night at Deb’s house.”

  Lindsay tilted her head. “Is that Yoda?”

  “A fan you are, hmm? Your doormat I saw.”

  Well, wasn’t this the cutest thing Lindsay had ever seen? Ren, dressed in cropped jeans, black Chucks, and a gray hoodie, holding a Yoda pumpkin and using Yoda-speak. “Observant you are.” Lindsay headed for the back door. “Brooke will love it.” She opened the door and let Ren go in first. “You can put it on the counter.”

  Ren pulled out a stool and sat at the island. “I don’t like the way we left things.”

  Lindsay opened the fridge. “Am I going to need alcohol for this conversation?”

  “Linds, just listen to me for a minute. We both should’ve been more honest. I should’ve told you about the conversation with Ben, and you should’ve told me about Roo before we ever…” Ren stopped and took a breath. “I’m going to Paris. It would’ve been nice to know that you thought we had this big connection.”

  Lindsay turned around. “I’m not trying to keep you here.”

  “So you just wanted to have sex with your long-lost love from another life? I find that hard to believe.”

  “I didn’t have any motives. It was just sex.”

  “Nice try, but it wasn’t even just sex for me.”

  Lindsay lowered her gaze. She couldn’t hear the word sex over and over while looking at Ren and not feel something she didn’t want to feel again. She needed to stay strong in her convictions. She’d made the decision to let go of Roo, and that meant letting go of Ren too.

  “What do you want, Lindsay? From me? What do you want?”

  “I got what I wanted. I had a fling with a beautiful woman. I can check that off the bucket list now.” Lies, lies, and more lies. A bucket list? Lindsay didn’t have a bucket list, but hey, it sounded good.

  Ren stood. “Is this fling over? Because the way your face is heating up right now tells me that maybe it isn’t.” She took a few steps and stopped. “What happens if I come over there, Linds? Because if that’s all this is…just a fling…I don’t leave for another five days.”

  * * *

  Ren usually liked to be in charge. Directing the show. That wasn’t at all what was happening, and she was fine with it. She watched her shoe fly across Lindsay’s bedroom and land somewhere behind her. Then the other. That one hit a potted plant and knocked it over. She was going to point it out, but the look on Lindsay’s face told her she didn’t give a fuck about some plant.

  Ren’s jeans came off next. Lindsay threw those behind her as well. She was still fully clothed, which was never how it went down with Ren. But Lindsay was special. And apparently, very horny.

  Lindsay slowed her pace when she hooked her fingers into the sides of Ren’s panties and pulled them down to her knees. She left them there while she ran her finger over Ren’s pussy. “God, you’re beautiful,” she whispered.

  Ren wanted to open her legs wider so Lindsay had better access, but the panties were snug around her knees. “Will you take off your shirt? And who are the Everetts, anyway?”

  “A family I don’t know. But I feel like they’d throw a good reunion. You know, the kind where they never run out of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.” Lindsay pulled the T-shirt over her head and threw it behind her. Then her bra. She got up on her knees and put her hands on Ren’s legs. “Better?”

  “So much better.”

  Lindsay slid Ren’s panties the rest of the way down. Ren didn’t open her legs. She wanted Lindsay to do it. She wanted Lindsay to lie on her and grind into her. She wanted to wrap her legs around Lindsay’s hips while their tongues collided. She wanted Lindsay inside her.

  But none of that was happening fast enough, so Ren grabbed Lindsay’s hands and pulled her down. “I’m all for slow, but only if you keep your tongue in my mouth.”

  Lindsay granted the request and kissed her deeply. She reached for the claw that held Lindsay’s hair up and let it fall around their faces. She tossed the clip to the side and grabbed Lindsay’s ass with both hands. Big denim pockets prevented her from getting a good grip. She pushed the overalls down with her hands and then her feet.

  Lindsay leaned up on her hands while she pushed her hips into Ren. With the overalls gone, it was clear she could feel the friction against her clit too. She moaned and said, “Take my panties off.”

  Ren pushed them down and grabbed Lindsay’s bare ass. She spread her legs farther and wrapped them around Lindsay. They rocked against each other while holding a stare. Ren pulled her down for another kiss. She took Lindsay’s bottom lip between her teeth and bit it, then worked her way down her neck, all the while keeping a firm grip on her ass. Lindsay moaned and whispered, “You get me so turned on.”

  Ren grabbed her face and looked her in the eye. “Ditto.” She tried to turn them over, but Lindsay held them where they were.

  “No. I need you in my mouth.” Lindsay pulled Ren’s bra down and circled her nipple with her tongue.

  Ren whimpered. “Okay. I’ll just be up here, feeling things. Oh God.” She put her hand on the back of Lindsay’s head. She needed more pressure, and Lindsay responded by pulling Ren’s nipple into her mouth and lightly biting. She did the same with the other one and then worked her way lower.

  With the first flick of Lindsay’s t
ongue against her clit, she knew she’d come like a house on fire. Lindsay’s bravery was such a turn-on. She’d never been with a woman before Ren, but she showed no hesitation. She was all in, and she was rockin’ it.

  It didn’t take long for the orgasm to build inside her. She ran her fingers into Lindsay’s hair and closed her eyes. She thought back to the first time she saw Lindsay naked. How beautiful she was. How fucking sexy she looked on her hands and knees. Ren’s body stilled, then she came with a fury, gripping Lindsay’s hair, her hips bucking, her mind lost in memories.

  Lindsay worked her way back up Ren’s body and lay on top of her. They held each other’s gaze while Ren caught her breath. It seemed like both of them were hesitant to say anything. Words would complicate things. Besides, Ren had other means of communication.

  She rolled them over so she was on top and straddled Lindsay’s body. She removed her bra and tossed it on the floor. “When does Brooke get home?”

  “Not for a few hours.”

  “Perfect.”

  * * *

  “A fling?” Deb leaned across the counter and knocked on Ren’s head with her knuckles. “What’s wrong with you? I thought you’d fallen hard for her. Not to mention the fact that I’ve made plans. Big plans for when you move here.”

  “I’m moving to Paris. That hasn’t changed.”

  “I thought maybe you’d change your mind because of the past life thing.”

  “You know about that?”

  “Corey couldn’t keep it in anymore. She was bursting with excitement because she wants to throw you two a big party.”

  “What? No. That’s not going to happen. And why are you acting like this past life thing is nothing? It’s a big deal, and Lindsay kept it from me. I had to find out from her ex-husband that she thought I was this Roo person, and everyone else already knew. Talk about feeling like an idiot.”

  “And yet, you went to her house and got jiggy.”

  “Like I said, we talked it over and came to a mutual understanding. What we have is physical. That’s it.”

  “And you don’t see yourself ever having an emotional connection to her?”

  “And have this Roo person always hanging over my head? I mean, how will I feel when she mixes up our names?” Ren shook her head. “No. It’s easier this way.”

  “Then why do you look so sad right now?”

  Patty walked into the coffee shop. “Oh, hey, girls. Deb, I’ll have my regular.”

  “A small skinny mocha, no whip?”

  Patty made a face. “What? Ew. I only ordered that so Mrs. Stokely wouldn’t comment on my weight. It’s a hobby of hers, trying to guess if I’m up ten pounds or down five. She usually guesses up.”

  Deb got up and went behind the counter. “One large iced coffee and a cherry bomb muffin with vanilla frosting, coming right up.”

  Patty sat where Deb had been. “You’ll never guess what we found behind the plywood. Old dressing rooms from the 1950s. It was disgusting getting it all cleaned up. So much dust it had basically turned into a thick layer of dirt.”

  “Dressing rooms,” Ren said. “That’s odd.” She glanced at Deb, then lowered her voice. “Patty, tell me about Roo.”

  “Oh. Quick subject change. Okay. Okay. It’s not really my place…” She paused and looked around, then leaned in. “Okay, so a long time ago in a faraway land, or close land, no one really knows—”

  “I know that part. I just need to know how big a role this person—past person—plays in Lindsay’s life.”

  “I’m not in her head, so I can’t really say.”

  “You’re her best friend,” Ren said.

  “She has dreams. About a past life with Roo. And dreams about the boy too. That’s really all I can say. BFF code and all that. I mean, I can’t have her telling all of my secrets. I’ve known her since elementary school. Can you imagine the things she knows?” She made a motion like she was zipping her lip. “Loose lips sink ships and all that.”

  Ren blinked. She had no idea what Patty was talking about, but she was getting used to Patty and her stream-of-consciousness conversations, so she was able to zero in on the pertinent information. “The boy. The boy in the painting I bought?”

  “Don’t expect to make any sense of this,” Patty said. “I’ve been trying for years, and I finally decided that this is just Lindsay’s thing. It’s what she believes, and it doesn’t have to make sense to anyone else. But you’ll never find a better person, a better mom, or a better best friend.”

  “So you’re aware that she thinks I’m the reborn version of Roo, right?”

  “Of course.”

  Of course. Ren didn’t even need to ask. She was the only one in Lindsay’s life who’d been left in the dark. Deb set the to-go coffee and muffin on the table, then looked at her watch. “Patty, you have six minutes to get to the gallery and open it on time.”

  Patty scoffed. “Oh, please. I never open on time. See you girls later.”

  * * *

  Lindsay woke up from a short nap and sat up. The uncomfortable cot had given her a kink in her back. As she tried to massage it out, she took a good look at what she’d accomplished so far. Roo was coming to life again on the canvas. A much bigger canvas this time around.

  Lindsay had positioned Roo with her back to the viewer, looking over her shoulder with a mischievous grin on her face. She was larger than life. Untamable. A thorn in the side of anyone who tried to control her. Those were the feelings the painting evoked in Lindsay. Roo was a force to be reckoned with. And she had loved a girl named Katie.

  Lindsay got up and went back to work.

  * * *

  “Okay, smile.” Ren took a few shots of Mrs. Stokely from different angles. She’d just had her hair done when she stopped in for a coffee. “You look beautiful. Doesn’t she look beautiful, Deb?”

  “I thought I’d try something different,” Mrs. Stokely said. “I told Michelle to go hog wild. Do whatever she wants to this old head of hair. There’s nowhere to go but up.”

  Michelle had completely changed Mrs. Stokely’s look by ditching the helmet hair and giving her a choppy, close cut. Ren also noticed that the therapeutic shoes had been replaced with a pair of red loafers that matched Mrs. Stokely’s wool coat. Had she gone digging through her old clothes? It looked like she had indeed.

  Deb set a small cup and saucer in front of Mrs. Stokely, similar to the ones she had in her own home. “This is your cup from now on, Mrs. Stokely. I think it suits you better than the larger cups.”

  “Why, thank you, dear. And call me Joyce.”

  Deb smiled. “Okay, Joyce. Enjoy.”

  Ren noticed Mrs. Stokely’s fingernails had recently been painted too. “Do you have a hot date this weekend?” she asked in a teasing tone.

  “Oh, don’t be silly. The only date I have is with my new jumbo-sized crochet hook.” Her eyes widened. “Oh my. That sounded bad.” She slapped Ren’s hand, and they both laughed.

  Ren leaned in and lowered her voice. “Would you ever want to date again?”

  Mrs. Stokely didn’t say no, but she didn’t say yes. After pondering the question for a moment, she said, “Who would want to date someone my age?”

  “Another lesbian around your age.” Ren brought up the photos she’d just taken on her phone. “We could post one of these shots on Ryder. It’s a lesbian dating app for women of all ages. You might find someone to share the rest of your life with, or you might just find some friends. Either way, it seems like it might be worth a shot.”

  “I have to admit that I’ve had so much fun with you girls, I think I would enjoy knowing some like-minded women.”

  “Oh, this is going to be fun. Deb, get over here. We need to work up a profile for Mrs. Stokely.”

  * * *

  Lindsay opened her front door, and Ren said, “I have news, but I wanted to tell you in person.”

  “Come in. I was just taking a pie out of the oven.”

  Ren followed Lindsay into the k
itchen. “It smells delicious in here.”

  “I try to bake a few pies every winter. Brooke loves them.”

  “My God, that’s such a turn-on. They only thing I ever bake is those premade tubes of cookie dough.” Ren stood close to her. “Cute apron.” She leaned in for a kiss.

  “Brooke’s home,” Lindsay whispered.

  Ren took a step back. “Right. Okay, well, I came by to tell you that Mrs. Stokely has her first date tomorrow.”

  Lindsay took off her oven mitts and tossed them on the counter. “What?”

  “She came into You Mocha Me Crazy, and we got talking, and she said she’d like to meet some like-minded women, so I decided to make a profile for her and post it online.”

  “What?” Lindsay blinked a few times. “I’m in shock.”

  Brooke slid into the kitchen just like her mother made a habit of doing. “About what? Oh, hey, Ren.”

  “Mrs. Stokely,” Lindsay said. “She’s going on a date. I hope she’ll be okay after all this time.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about Mrs. Stokely. Worry about her poor date,” Brooke said.

  “Be nice, Brooke. Mrs. Stokely was in the closet her entire life. I’d be grumpy too.” Lindsay looked at Ren. “We have to dress her. Do her hair. All of it.”

  Ren grinned. “She’s kind of already taken care of that. Check it out.” She handed her phone over.

  “That’s Mrs. Stokely?” Brooke exclaimed, her mouth gaping open. “She looks great.”

  Lindsay handed the phone back. “We have to see it happen.”

  Ren grinned. “I’ll get the details. We’ll hide in her bushes if we have to.”

  Lindsay put her hand out. “I’m in.”

  Brooke put her hand on top of Lindsay’s. “I’m in too.”

  * * *

  Lindsay covered her mouth to keep from screaming. She knew Brooke didn’t mean to slam a heel down on her big toe, but that didn’t make it hurt any less. Mrs. Stokely’s juniper trees had obviously been planted with three or four hapless souls in mind, not six.