Best Practice

by Carsen Taite

  “What?”

  “Not the parents.”

  “I figured, judging by the expression on your face. Good news?”

  Grace set the phone on the table, facedown. “Nothing important.”

  Perry inclined her head, certain Grace was hiding something from her. “Then why do you look so giddy?” She grabbed the phone and turned it over in time to catch an incoming text and, disregarding the fact she was completely violating Grace’s privacy, she jabbed at the message app and let the entire conversation fill the screen.

  I’ve been stuck at a firm retreat all day. No phones allowed. Too late to take you up on your invite?

  Good excuse.

  Totally true. I promise. I’ll even treat for brunch if you’re still up for it.

  Perry stared at the phone wishing she’d never seen the conversation between Grace and Danika, but not wanting to let it go in case there was more. There wouldn’t be more of course unless she handed the phone back to Grace so she could continue the conversation. She met Grace’s eyes, but couldn’t quite read the expression there. “She’s not right for you.”

  “And you know that how?”

  Perry didn’t have a good answer for the question. Her teenage self might have said something silly and romantic like “because I’m the one for you,” but she didn’t believe in soulmates and lifelong loves and all that crap because good things didn’t last, and whether that belief was a by-product of her parents’ death or not, it was true. So why did adult her have a problem with Grace being with someone else? She handed the phone back to Grace, stood, and pointed toward the dance floor in a challenge of sorts. “Let’s dance.” She strode away willing Grace to follow her into the haze of smoke and hard-hitting beats she hoped would distract her from asking questions she couldn’t possibly answer.

  She edged through the crowd, found a spot near the DJ booth less crushing than the rest of the room, and surrendered to the primal beat. Movement equated to freedom. Freedom from feeling trapped in Austin. From the memories being back here brought to life. Freedom from conflicted feelings about Grace.

  A tap on her shoulder. She went still, and a moment later Grace was standing in front of her moving in slow motion to the bass pounding from the nearby speakers. Her movements appeared cautious at first, like this whole dancing thing was brand new, and Perry slowed her rhythm to match her pace. They were completely in sync when the music changed from hard pounding techno to a gentle ballad. Out of the corner of her eye, Perry could see first date couples peeling off the dance floor, leaving lots of space for lovers and drunks to sway to the slower pace. She refocused her attention on Grace and found her staring hard with a smoldering look in her eyes. Emboldened by being the center of her focus, Perry stepped closer into the circle of Grace’s arms. Time was suspended as they stood with almost no space between them.

  Perry reached her arms around Grace’s waist and pulled her even closer until mere inches separated their lips. Had Grace’s lips been so full, so lush when she’d crushed on her years ago? Had her deep brown eyes held this same combination of mystery and allure? How in the world had she been able to resist kissing her? Why hadn’t the courage of youth catapulted her into seizing the day, or the lips as was the case here? If she couldn’t do it then, could she do it now?

  She leaned in and lightly brushed her lips against Grace’s, then drew back and locked eyes with her, looking for permission for more. The consent was quick and clear. Grace pulled her closer, slid a hand up the back of her neck, and pressed her close. When their lips met again, the connection was electric, swift, and sure. Perry laced her tongue with Grace’s and groaned at the off the charts pleasure that pounded throughout her entire body. As the kiss deepened, her arousal soared, and she wondered why, why had she waited this long to make the first move?

  The music stopped and the DJ’s voice sounded over the speaker. Perry tried to ignore the interruption in favor of the bliss of Grace’s kiss, but Grace shifted in her arms. “Don’t stop,” Perry murmured against her lips, reluctant to break their embrace, but Grace squirmed free and took a step back. Her eyes were hazy with a half aroused, half shocked expression. “It’s okay,” Perry said, reaching for her hand. “Come here.”

  Grace shook her head. “I can’t. This,” she waggled a finger, motioning between them. “No.”

  Perry stepped forward, raising her hands in the air when Grace backed up farther at her approach. She motioned to a table near the edge of the dance floor and followed Grace there. Once they were seated, she repeated, “It’s okay,” hoping her assurance would stick.

  “It’s not okay. We can’t do this.”

  “Why not?” Perry asked. Outright rejection she could handle, but Grace’s physical reaction had made it clear Grace was as aroused as she was. “Tell me you weren’t turned on just now.”

  “I wasn’t. I mean I was, but that’s not the point.”

  “Then what is it? What’s stopping you from being with me? You have to know I’ve been crushing on you hard since you first showed up at our house with Campbell all those years ago.”

  “Perry, stop it.”

  She should honor the request. Grace was making it pretty damn clear she wasn’t interested, and but for the fact her body’s reaction had given her away, Perry would be forced to believe her. But people don’t kiss like that when they’re not interested, not aroused, not wanting more. The only other conclusion was that Grace was overanalyzing the situation instead of giving in to her feelings. She reached a hand across the table and traced a heart on the back of Grace’s hand. “Don’t overthink it. Let yourself have some fun.” She grinned. “I promise you’ll have fun.”

  Grace’s eyes closed for a moment and Perry waited for her to succumb, but when they opened again, Grace’s expression was sharp and stern. “You may live your life that way, but I don’t. I think about the consequences of my actions and how what I do affects other people, people I care about.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means not everyone measures everything in terms of how exciting it’s going to be. We have roles. Technically, I’m your boss. I’m your sister’s best friend. This is complicated. This,” she wagged her finger again. “Isn’t ever going to happen. Never. And no amount of super hot kissing is going to make it so.”

  “Wow. Never?” Grace’s words were harsh enough, but she backed them up with arms folded across her chest and another stern look. Whatever switch the kissing had turned on was now solidly turned off, and Perry knew Grace thought now that she’d stated her reasons, she was done with her.

  But they were dumb reasons because Grace wasn’t really her boss and who cared what Campbell thought? Well, screw that. She wasn’t going to sit around here pretending like whatever had just happened between them was a figment of her imagination, and she certainly wasn’t going to be lectured about being a responsible adult. She wished she’d never admitted her feelings to Grace. Perry pushed away from the table and pointed at her chest. “I’m going. Why don’t you text your pal from the plane and you can have a nice dull evening together?”

  “Wait, don’t go away mad.” Grace looked pained.

  Perry grinned to cover her vulnerability. “Oh, I’m not mad. You’re the one missing out here.”

  “But I drove.”

  Seriously, were transportation logistics all Grace cared about? Was she worried Campbell would be mad if she didn’t safely escort the kid sister home? The realization was like a stab to the gut.

  “Oh, I have no doubt I can find a ride.” Perry made a show of looking around the room. “I’m sure there are plenty of people here who have a healthy appreciation for a super hot kisser.” She stared at Grace for a moment, unsuccessfully willing the last few minutes away. Her concentration changed nothing, and she turned and strode away, struggling not to turn back to see if Grace’s eyes were on her, telling herself she didn’t care either way.

  * * *

  Grace pulled into her garage an
d sat in the car, still paralyzed by the scene back at the bar. From the kiss to Perry’s abrupt departure, she couldn’t seem to process exactly what had happened, but she knew one thing—her relationship with Perry had radically changed and she didn’t have a clue what to do about it.

  Perry had kissed her. Not a quick, friendly kiss, but a long, lingering, lover-like kiss. And she’d kissed Perry back, matching her passion in equal measure. What had she been thinking? Perry was her employee, her best friend’s sister, the little kid who’d tagged along with her and Campbell everywhere they’d gone, annoying them and infringing on their adventures. But Perry wasn’t a little kid anymore, and while her headstrong ways might be annoying, she was also smart, funny, and good-looking. If she were older, if she weren’t Campbell’s sister, Grace would swipe right in a heartbeat. And now that she knew what a fantastic kisser Perry was…Damn, she was in trouble. She needed to find a way to go back and purge the last hour from her memory as quickly as possible or she’d start to obsess about Perry’s kissable lips and ways to connect with them again.

  Her phone buzzed and she seized it and stared at the screen, hoping for an overture from Perry, but disappointed to find only a new message from her mother. Thanks for dinner. I know these meetups are always a challenge, but we do appreciate you and everything you’ve become. Give our best to Perry and wish Campbell well on her wedding. Love you.

  She stared at the text and started several replies, but she kept stumbling over Perry’s name and finally closed out of the app, promising herself she’d respond later when her skin wasn’t still on fire from the way Perry had held her close. She thumbed through the rest of her texts on the off chance she’d missed one. She hadn’t, but she did slow down and hover over the text from Danika that had prompted Perry to ask her to dance. Too late to take you up on your invite?

  Brunch, right. She’d never actually responded to Danika about brunch tomorrow. It was eleven. Late, but not too late. Would Danika still be up? If she did respond, what should she say? “Hey, when I invited you to brunch, I hadn’t yet kissed the new associate at our firm who I’ve known since she was a little kid running around after me and her sister, who happens to be my best friend. Now that I’ve kissed her, it’s going to be hard for anyone else to measure up, but I’d probably be better off with a more appropriate relationship so maybe we should meet after all.”

  She laughed at the absurdity of her mental rambling, but it didn’t take long before her laughter morphed into an idea. A date with Danika might be exactly what she needed to distract from what had just happened with Perry. A sit-down meal with a woman closer to her own age who had a stable job right here in Austin. Yes.

  She composed the text before she could change her mind. I am absolutely still in for brunch. Meet you at Magnolia’s at eleven. Looking forward to seeing you.

  She hit send, but before she could stow her phone and get out of the car, it buzzed with Danika’s response. Perfect place. Looking forward to seeing you too. She smiled at the response and resisted the urge to keep the conversation going. Twelve hours was a short time to wait and there was all that stuff about absence making the heart grow fonder. She didn’t necessarily believe in the sentiment, but it might explain Perry’s actions. It had been years since she’d spent much time with Perry, but she’d always kind of wondered if Perry had a thing for her—the way she followed her around and did all those attention-grabbing moves younger kids do when they were trying to impress someone. She’d done a few of those things herself back when she’d had a crush on her fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Donnelly. She’d stayed after class every Tuesday when she knew Mrs. D worked late, and volunteered to clean up the classroom, decorate bulletin boards, or straighten books—whatever it took to capture the crumbs of her attention away from the rest of the class.

  Grace shook away the thought as she walked into her house. Perry wasn’t a little kid sucking up to her favorite teacher. She was a grown woman, a lawyer, and perfectly capable of respecting boundaries and outgrowing any childhood crush she might have had. Besides, even if Perry’s feelings were real and she were interested in reciprocating, Perry would be gone the minute her passport arrived in the mail. She was nothing more than a stopover distraction, but someone like Danika might be a potential pick for a future Mrs. Maldonado. Plus Grace knew Campbell well enough to know she wouldn’t be too keen on her sister dating her best friend.

  None of this should matter because she wasn’t interested in getting involved with Perry in the first place. But that kiss…That slow, searing, seductive kiss had wound around her senses and lingered still. If she wasn’t interested in Perry, then why had she had such a visceral reaction to her touch and why did she tremble at the memory even now?

  Chapter Thirteen

  Perry pulled up in front of Justin’s house—the house where she’d grown up—and sat in the car, contemplating whether she should go in. She’d slipped out of the house before Campbell and Wynne woke, not wanting Campbell to read in her face anything about what had happened the night before, but not wanting to be alone either.

  She stepped out of the car and breathed in the early morning air. It was early enough on Sunday morning that the neighborhood was quiet, but she took a moment to close her eyes and bathe in the memory of running down the street, playing tag with her friends on hot summer nights until way after dusk.

  Grace had lived two streets over, close enough that she and Campbell practically lived at each other’s houses. Until their parents died, and Campbell settled into the role of pseudo mom, running the household with Justin despite being a kid herself. Grace had spent even more time at their house then, hanging out with Campbell, and Perry’s infatuation had only deepened with proximity. This block, this yard, this house was streaked with memories of days spent trailing around behind Campbell and Grace, trying to get Campbell to treat her like an adult and trying to get Grace to notice her.

  It had been a mistake to come here so soon after being rebuffed. She was halfway to the door and started to turn around when the door opened, and Justin stood staring at her.

  “Hey, P, are you coming or going? I need to know because I’m about to start the pancakes and I need to know if you want that flax seed stuff instead of eggs in yours.”

  “There are pancakes? Well, why didn’t you say so?” She quickened her step and followed him into the house, and just like that, she was a kid again and Justin was taking care of her. With a twinge of guilt, she thought his methods didn’t feel smothering as it did sometimes when Campbell tried to stand in the parent role. He was more about making sure her basic needs were met while Campbell had been focused on making sure she got into the right school, got the best grades, and the right job.

  She’d done okay, not Campbell level okay, but she’d scored well enough to gain entry to a top tier law school, even if it wasn’t the alma mater Campbell would’ve preferred. Richards College was still in-state, but far enough away that Campbell hadn’t been able to drop in whenever she wanted to check up on her.

  “The flax seed’s in that cabinet over there,” Justin said as they entered the kitchen. “Do your magic and I’ll heat the griddle.”

  Perry pulled the bag down from the cabinet along with a small bowl. She mixed the flax seed in some water, whipped it up with a fork, and set the timer on her watch to allow it to set. “I’m kind of scared to ask, but is this the same bag you had last time I was here?”

  He grinned at her. “Believe it or not, no. Is there a problem with me keeping some on hand?”

  “On the off chance your wayward sister drops by? I highly doubt that’s the reason.” She pulled open the cabinet again and spotted several other ingredients familiar to her, but what she figured were foreign to her brother. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’re a closet vegan. What’s up, bro?”

  He waved a spatula at her. “Nothing, bro. It’s possible, I might occasionally have a guest who doesn’t eat meat.”

  “Sure, but this is next leve
l preparation.” A thought struck her. “Wait. You’re seeing someone, aren’t you? Only true love would drive you to shop for things off the beaten path.” She grabbed him around the waist and started tickling him. “Tell me everything. What’s she like? Or what’s he like? It’s been so long since I’ve seen you, I don’t even know which way you swing.”

  “I’m still batting for Team Hetero.”

  “Not that there’s anything wrong with that,” Perry mimicked the joke she and Campbell used to have whenever people asked if their brother was gay too.

  “P.S., it’s not my fault you haven’t been around.”

  Perry heard the tone and forced back a defensive retort. There really wasn’t any point arguing the fact she hadn’t been around. “I’m here now.”

  “And it’s pretty great having you.” He slid a tall stack of pancakes off the griddle. “Grab the margarine and syrup, will you?”

  She complied, loving the easy way he welcomed her in without asking a bunch of questions about why she’d shown up on his doorstep on a Sunday morning. She foraged in the fridge and came up with the margarine and syrup and a variety of berries which she took to the table. “Plates in the same place?”

  “Do I look like someone who moves dishes around?”

  “Maybe your lady caller fancies having the dishes in a different place.”

  “Is there some reason you’re talking like you’re a cast member of Downton Abbey?”

  “Is there some reason you know what a cast member of Downton Abbey sounds like?” Perry set the table for two and Justin joined her with the large platter of pancakes. “Seriously, I need to know everything.”

  “I met her at South by Southwest this year. She works for a production company that’s been doing a bunch of work in the area. Believe it or not, they want to use ACL as a venue.”