Hopeless Romantic

by Georgia Beers

  A subject change was in order. Now.

  “Where are we going again?” Leah asked.

  “I’m going to look at some school supplies I found on eBay. This woman has space in a warehouse at the edge of town, and she’s trying to get rid of some stuff. I thought I might be able to use it.”

  “You’re meeting a stranger in a warehouse at the edge of town at seven in the evening. That’s not sketchy. Nope. Not sketchy at all.”

  “Why do you think I asked you to come?”

  “You do get points for that.”

  “Duh. And I promise to take you out for a birthday dinner afterward.”

  “Ugh. I don’t want to think about that. I have decided I don’t want to be forty, so I’m not going to be.”

  “Oh, good. ’Cause that works.”

  “Shut up.”

  Another ten minutes and Kelly turned into a driveway that led to a large parking lot with a large array of buildings circling it, all of the gray, steel, industrial type.

  “Okay…” Kelly squinted to her left. “There. Number nineteen.” She pulled the door handle and got out.

  Leah ducked her head to get a better look, but there wasn’t much to see. A handful of cars dotted the lot, and lights were on here and there, but there was little activity. She got out of the car. Kelly was typing on her phone.

  “She’s in here.” With a gesture for Leah to follow, Kelly started toward building number nineteen.

  The gray steel door was closed, an outdoor light hung above it shining down in a pool of hazy yellow. A doorbell was mounted to the left, and Kelly pushed it.

  “I feel like this is the beginning of a horror movie, Kel.” Leah glanced around the lot, a weird feeling of anxious anticipation in the pit of her stomach.

  “Would you relax?”

  “Yeah, you won’t be saying that when the masked serial killer comes at us with an ax.” She shivered. “Tilly would love this.” The sudden buzz of the door startled her enough to make her flinch, and Kelly pulled it open.

  “Ready?”

  Leah shrugged. “To be murdered and dismembered? I guess.”

  Kelly smiled and shook her head. “I think this will be much more pleasant.”

  “Famous last words.”

  They went in.

  To their left was what seemed to be an office. There was a window looking out onto the rest of the space—which Leah couldn’t see because the office was the only bit with any light. Its door was shut. There was a note taped to it.

  Kelly pulled the paper off the door and read it aloud. “Follow the lights to the X. I’ll meet you there.” The second she finished, there was a loud click and one light overhead lit up. It wasn’t bright, just bright enough to light their way. Leah still couldn’t see into the rest of the warehouse area. Then another light about ten feet farther down also clicked on.

  “Seriously? That’s not creepy at all.”

  But Kelly wore a big smile and grabbed Leah’s hand. “Come on. It’s an adventure.”

  Another light another ten feet down the line clicked on, and now there was a clear path to walk.

  Something about Kelly’s demeanor—her big grin, the sparkle in her eyes—told Leah to follow her. So she did.

  When they were standing under the third light, Leah looked around. “Okay. Where’s the next one.” She glanced at Kelly, who was still smiling. “You’re not even a teeny bit unnerved by this? Really?” The next click was louder, and a big space suddenly lit up. Leah squinted, as it looked like a tollbooth of some sort. A large orange X made out of tape was visible on the floor in front of it. “What the hell?”

  Kelly held up the note, waved it around. “It says to follow the lights and stand on the X.”

  Leah shook her head. “I don’t know about this…”

  Kelly tugged her by the hand. “Come on, Leah.” At Leah’s raised eyebrows, Kelly tilted her head to the side and said, quietly and simply, “Trust me.”

  Swallowing down the nerves and trepidation, Leah squinted at her sister, but followed her to the X.

  “Okay. Stand on it.”

  “You’re the one trying to buy stuff. This isn’t for me.”

  Kelly grabbed Leah’s shoulders and moved her until she stood on the X. “Yes, it is,” she whispered.

  The three lights that had led the way suddenly clicked off, and with a knowing grin, Kelly stepped backward until the dark swallowed her and Leah was left standing in the pool of light in front of what, yes, actually was a tollbooth. Nobody was inside, but Leah could see through the windows to the other side of it—and that’s when a figure appeared, and Leah couldn’t believe her eyes.

  Teddi.

  She stood on the other side of the tollbooth, like she was looking inside, gave a small wave. “Hi, Leah.”

  Leah blinked several times before remembering how her voice worked. “Hey.” A soup of emotions ran through her body, her mind, her heart. First and foremost was how amazing it was to simply see Teddi in the flesh again. To have her standing no more than a dozen feet away. Of course, that was followed by utter confusion. “What’s going on? What is all this?” She started to move, but Teddi stopped her.

  “No. No, stay there. Please. And just hear me out. Okay?”

  Something about her voice. Not pleading or desperation, really, but…Leah searched for the right word. Hope? Yeah, maybe it was that, and Leah was willing to let that glow, at least long enough to hear what Teddi had to say.

  Also, she looked fantastic.

  Leah could only see her from the waist up, but she wore a red sweater with a V-neck, and her dark hair was pulled back in a casual ponytail, random wavy wisps framing her beautiful face.

  “Okay.”

  Teddi’s relief was apparent, and a tentative smile bloomed across her face. “Thank you. So.” She stood up taller, clasped her hands together. “The very first thing I need you to know is that I miss you. So much. You have no idea. For two solid months, I’ve thought of you every single day. Wondered where you are, what you’re doing, if you’re okay, if Lizzie is okay…” Leah smiled at that. “You’re the first thing I think about when I open my eyes in the morning and the last thing I think about when I go to sleep at night. So, some things haven’t changed.” She gazed down toward the floor as if gathering some strength. When she raised her head again, there was a new determination in her eyes that Leah could see even from where she stood. “The second thing I need you to know is that I have done a lot of thinking. A lot of thinking. About you and about us, but also about me. That seems to be a talent you have—making me delve into myself and really examine things that I’ve kept tucked away for so long…” With a grin, she tossed a token into the little receptacle of the tollbooth, which hit a vaguely familiar note for Leah, and the lights clicked off, plunging Leah into darkness.

  But only for a couple seconds, as another light clicked on to her left. Before her was a lone car and nothing else. About ten feet in front of it was another X. Leah dutifully walked over and stood on it.

  Teddi appeared from the darkness and Leah watched as she literally climbed the car until she stood on the roof.

  “Wait.” The proverbial lightbulb went off in Leah’s head, and something very pleasant flooded her body. Was it that same hope she’d seen in Teddi’s eyes? Pointing a finger back in the direction she’d come from, she asked, “Was that While You Were Sleeping?”

  “Shh,” Teddi said with a grin. “Don’t interrupt me.”

  Leah held up her hands and laughed. “Sorry. Apologies. Continue, please.”

  “Where was I? Oh, right. The thinking. You, Leah Scott, are the only person in my entire life who somehow forces me to look inward. That’s not easy for me, and I resented it for a while, especially after we broke up.” Her voice softened. “Because I didn’t like what I saw when I looked inward.”

  Leah swallowed, and her heart squeezed in her chest at the sad self-awareness on Teddi’s face.

  “But I’ve done some serious so
ul-searching. Which is horribly clichéd, I know, but still true, and I’ve realized some things.” She cleared her throat, shifted her weight, looked down at Leah. “I’ve realized that letting go of the past is okay. That I’m allowed to do that. That it doesn’t define me or my life.” A pause. “I have also realized that past performance doesn’t indicate future success. Which I just heard and it sounds like something an ad for your firm would say in fine print.” Teddi’s chuckle was a nervous one, but Leah smiled anyway. “And most importantly. Most importantly, I learned that I do not want to be without you.”

  A loud click and Leah was plunged into darkness again. As she waited, her brain raced at breakneck speed. Teddi had put this together and she was using settings from Leah’s favorite romances to punctuate her points—the car was obviously a shout-out to Imagine Me & You. It was brilliant and it was beautiful and it was working. Leah already felt herself slipping back toward her. She was afraid of that hope, but also? She wanted it. She craved it so badly, she could taste it, she could feel it sneaking into her brain, into her heart, wrapping around her like ivy. She stood still and waited until another light clicked on. Without hesitation, she moved to the X and scanned the scene. It was the inside of an airplane, or a section of it. Six rows of seats, two seats on each side, blue industrial carpet down the aisle and a doorway with a curtain drawn across it at the end. Leah waited and in a moment, the curtain was pulled aside and Teddi walked onto the carpet, hands behind her back, face earnest. Leah noticed that her upper lip was beaded with sweat. As she spoke, she took small, slow steps up the aisle.

  “I love you, Leah. That’s not news. And I know I acted like we don’t want the same thing—no.” She swiped a hand through the air. “No, I basically told you we don’t want the same thing. But that’s not true. Because what I want is to be with you.” At the end of the aisle closest to Leah now, Teddi brought her hands out from behind her back. In them was a black velvet box.

  Teddi got down on one knee.

  And Leah gasped softly.

  “I know it’s way too early for marriage. We have things to work through. Things to discuss and so much more to learn about each other. There’s nothing more in my life that I would rather do. I want to spend the rest of my days with you, Leah. And until we reach that point where we decide we’re ready to take the next step—and we will—I am giving you my heart.” She opened the box slowly. Inside was the most gorgeous necklace Leah had ever seen. A thin silver chain sparkled in the light, supporting a silver heart encrusted with what looked a hell of a lot like diamonds to Leah.

  “Oh my God.” Leah brought her fingers to her lips, shock, disbelief, joy, hesitation all warring within her. But along with them was the biggest emotion of all. Love. Big, bold, all-consuming. She loved Teddi. She’d never not loved Teddi.

  “Leah?” Teddi’s voice was soft as she knelt in front of Leah and held up the box toward her. “Can we try again?”

  There was no question, and Leah knew it. If she was being honest, she’d known it the second the tollbooth had lit up. She reached down and cradled Teddi’s face in both hands. “Yes,” she whispered. “Please. Let’s do that.”

  The smile the erupted on Teddi’s face—and that’s what it did, erupted, like joy exploded—was the most wonderful thing Leah had seen in months. Teddi stood and Leah wrapped her arms around Teddi’s neck and kissed her. Soundly. Thoroughly. With every ounce of love and happiness she was feeling in the moment.

  “Here.” Teddi stepped back slightly and took the necklace out of the box. “I seriously almost bought a ring.”

  “You did not.” Teddi’s hands under Leah’s hair, fastening the necklace, were trembling.

  “Swear to God.”

  Necklace fastened, Leah leaned back so she could look Teddi in the eye. “You’ve really changed your mind about getting married?”

  “I’ve changed my mind about getting married to you.” Teddi brushed a lock of Leah’s hair off her forehead. “I don’t want to be without you, Leah. Ever. These past couple of months have been horrible. I missed you so much I didn’t know what to do.”

  “Me, too.”

  “I know it seems fast and it’s a big change, but give me time to show you. Okay?”

  Leah ran her thumb across Teddi’s lips. “I will give you anything you want. Don’t you know that?”

  “I do now.” As Teddi leaned down for another kiss, a voice boomed through the warehouse.

  “Can we come out now?” Kelly.

  “We?” Leah asked as lights clicked on and several figures emerged from the office they’d passed on their way in. Not only was Kelly there, but accompanying her were Tilly, Jen, JoJo, Harlow, Preston, and Leah’s mother. Leah’s eyes went wide and she gaped at them as they all gathered around, hugged and kissed her and Teddi. “Oh my God, where did you all come from?”

  “Do you think this all just set itself up?” Preston asked with a grin.

  Harlow had her camera and snapped a photo of Leah and Teddi as they stood close, her face colored with delight and happiness.

  “What is this place, anyway?” Leah asked.

  “I rent space here,” Teddi explained. “Remember? I think I mentioned it during one of Kelly’s first meetings with me. It’s where I keep all my supplies for weddings. Tables and chairs, arbors, tents, décor, stuff like that. I’m lucky enough to know some of the other folks in this industrial park who had the things in their storage spaces that I needed to make these scenes.” She shrugged like it was no big deal, but Leah understood the scope of it, the magnitude of the effort she’d put forth to make this all happen just right.

  “I can’t believe you did this,” she said quietly.

  “I would do anything for you, Leah.” Teddi hugged her close and pressed a kiss to her temple. “Anything.”

  “Mom?” Leah asked, as she noticed her mother’s eyes were wet. She held out a hand to her. “You okay?”

  Her mother came up to her, wrapped her arms around both Leah and Teddi. “I’m just so happy.” She pulled away, laughing and crying at the same time, and laid a hand against each of their cheeks. “You two are meant for each other. I’m so glad you see it, too.”

  “We do.” Leah looked up at Teddi, at the absolute sheer joy on her face, and she knew this was it. They were going to be okay. Not only that, but they’d get married. Not today. Not tomorrow. But it would happen. Leah knew it, felt it with every fiber of her being. And even though she didn’t think her smile could grow or her happiness could burn brighter, they did. Because Leah finally had what she’d always wanted, and she would make Teddi her wife one day.

  And those romances that she’d loved so much, the ones that had saved her from the fighting and the heartbreak of her parents’ split, the ones that salvaged her sanity when she dealt with bitter divorces and the end of love on a daily basis, the ones that her friends loved to tease her about, tell her she was a hopeless romantic because they were unrealistic and far-fetched? Turned out she’d been right and her friends had been wrong all along, because guess what? Leah was about to get exactly what all those movies promised.

  Leah was finally getting her happily ever after.

  About the Author

  Georgia Beers is an award-winning author of nearly thirty lesbian romance novels. She resides in upstate New York with her dog and cat, a wide array of plants, and at least the desire to learn how to cook. When not writing, she watches too much TV, explores the world of wine, and dutifully participates in spin class. She is currently hard at work on her next book. You can visit her and find out more at georgiabeers.com.

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