Lucy just smiled. “I don’t think it’s ridiculous. I think it’s hot.” She leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Sam’s lips. “Even hotter that I’m the only one.” She made small designs on Sam’s chest with her short nails. “I like knowing there’s something that’s only mine. It makes me feel special.”
Sam kissed her forehead and waited for Lucy to look up. “Luce, you are way beyond special.” She held her close as she spoke. “You know I love you.” Rolling onto her back, she pulled Lucy with her, their bodies touching everywhere. “What you don’t know is that I’ve never felt this way before. About anyone.”
Lucy crinkled her forehead.
“Too much?” Sam winced a little, covering her eyes with one hand.
Lucy pulled her hand away. “No, babe.” She brushed Sam’s hand against her cheek before she kissed it. “I’m just surprised. What about Julie?”
Sam shook her head. “Nah. Julie was…a crush at first. Then kind of a challenge, which I know makes me sound like a dick.” She blew out a long breath. “With Julie, I guess I thought I could be in love with her. See, it’s like this,” she started, moving a pillow into position behind her head. “I just never thought I would be in love.” She tucked a strand of Lucy’s dirty-blond hair behind her ear. “The things other girls talked about feeling”—she shrugged—“I never felt it.” Her fingers traced Lucy’s face as though she was trying to memorize it by touch. “I just figured I wasn’t wired like that. But then, you…” She blinked slowly, mimicking an explosion sound with her mouth and hand at the same time. “All at once. Boom.”
She opened her eyes and Lucy was looking right at her.
“God, I love you.”
“You do, huh?”
“You know I do.” Lucy dropped a kiss on her. “You are never allowed to be with anyone else again.”
“You know I won’t.”
“Great. Now we just have to go back and delete everyone from your past,” she added with a shy smile. “So it’s only me.”
“It is only you, Lucy. Always.” Sam leaned forward and her kiss was filled with sweetness and desire and passion and an endless amount of love. All the things she had never believed were in the realm of possibility for her were suddenly here, present in her every day. She turned Lucy around so she could hold her until they fell asleep. Life was fucking fantastic.
Chapter Eighteen
With a sigh, Meg dropped into her favorite leather chair in the corner of Lucy’s coffee shop in need of something supremely caffeinated to pull her out of her slump.
“I’m shocked you wanted to meet this early.” Lexi’s voice caught her off guard.
“Early? It’s ten thirty.” Meg looked past Lexi and waved hello to Sam and Lucy at the counter. “How did I not see you when I walked in?” she asked more to herself than anything.
Lexi answered anyway. “You’re in your own world.” She touched Meg’s shoulder. “What do you want—I’ll get it for you.”
“Just coffee, but it’s fine, I’ll get it.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” Lexi asked, settling into the spot across from Meg.
Meg looked out the storefront window and shook her head. “Nothing to talk about.”
“Bullshit, Meg.” Lexi tucked one leg under the other and paused for a second as she sipped her drink. When Meg still didn’t respond, she pushed. “No mission today?”
“Nope.”
“So you’re just done with that now?”
“Third degree much?”
“I’m sorry. I thought we were friends.” Lexi’s voice was loaded with spirited snark as she punched Meg’s knee. “Hey, when I’m upset, I talk to you. When something’s up with you, you talk to me. That’s what we do, Meg. If you’re not ready yet, that’s fine.” She leaned all the way forward keeping her hand on Meg’s jeans. “You’ve been off the radar for over a week now, so you know I’m going to make sure you’re okay. You would do the exact same thing for me.”
“I know.” She patted Lexi’s hand. “I’m sorry,” she said, settling in to the worn chair. “I’m all over the place.”
“This is because of Sasha and the movie thing?” When Meg looked at her with an obvious question in her eyes, Lexi fessed up. “Sam filled me in.”
“But how did she—”
Lexi raised her shoulders. “She saw you there that night. She said you were a mess and that you left in a hurry with some bogus story about your sister needing you. Then she spotted Sasha and her friend and the two guys. Not that hard to put together.”
Meg rolled her neck and looked at the ceiling. “It’s not just Sasha. I mean, it is. But that is my own stupid fault for letting myself get caught up again.” She leaned forward and touched the edges of her short hair for comfort. “I know what she’s like. I should have seen it coming.”
“Meg, don’t.”
“Don’t what?” She looked right at Lexi. “Admit the truth? Sasha just wants attention. She’ll take it anywhere she can get it.” Meg let out a nasty smirk. “Even better if she can have it from everyone at the same time.”
“Come on, Meg. I don’t think that’s true.”
“Oh no?” Her voice was filled with anger and hurt and she knew Lexi heard it. “What’s the truth, then?”
“She wants to be with you, Meg.”
“Yeah, okay,” Meg said with a dismissive laugh.
“Look at me.” Lexi waited until Meg gave her her full attention. “I’m not guessing or surmising or anything like that. Sasha wants to be with you. She told me, Meg. She’s still in love with you.”
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“What are you talking about?”
Lexi let out a deep sigh. “Look, she came to me. I don’t know, months ago, now.” Lexi chewed her lip. “She asked for my help. She told me she’d made a huge mistake with you. And she wanted to win you back, essentially.”
“Why didn’t you tell me before?”
“Because she wanted to prove it to you herself. Which was the right thing to do, I think.” Meg tried to interrupt, but Lexi stopped her. “Wait.” She held up her hand. “I don’t know exactly what happened during that stupid zombie movie, but I know she’s upset about it and I know you’ve been blowing her off.”
“Part of that is because of work.” Meg held her head in her hands. “I need to get my head on straight if I’m going to get this promotion.”
“Well, you should tell her that. The fact that you won’t talk to her”—Lexi twisted the ceramic mug in her hands—“it’s really hurting her.”
“Lex—”
“Don’t get all full of pride.” Lexi rolled her eyes. “You love her. I know it. You may be able to BS everyone else, but I know the truth. And so do you. So stop being a baby and talk to her.”
Lucy arrived with a fresh cup of coffee and Meg thanked her, wasting no time before taking a huge sip of her drink.
They watched Lucy return to Sam’s side. “Now, moving on,” Lexi said.
Meg laughed a little. “I know, I know. We have to get on the planning of the summer carnival idea we tossed around in the spring.”
“Forget that.” Lexi waved her off. “Sam and I figured it out.” She shook her head. “We bailed on doing the carnival.” At Meg’s surprise, Lexi broke it down. “A carnival would be really expensive, and in the summer”—she shrugged—“we just don’t get the numbers to make it profitable.” She pushed her hair off her shoulders. “Maybe next year if we do it early and really promote it, but now, it’s just too late in the game. I feel like in August everyone’s away on vacation or running out to Fire Island to get their last shot at the beach.”
“So we’re just dropping it altogether?”
“Well, I think it’s better to put more of our effort and resources to the singles event we talked about for the fall.” Lexi tucked one leg under her. “But in the meantime, Sam and I hatched a plan to do a luau.”
“A luau?”
“Yep.” She
tossed her hair lightly over her shoulders. “Think about it. Right off, the vibe is much lower key than a traditional social. We’ll do tropical drinks and traditional food, like a pig roast but without the pig actually being here. Because, gross.” She laughed at her own squeamishness. “Sam already has a local restaurant on board.”
“All right. I can see it.”
“Set up tiki torches all around. Throw down a makeshift dance floor. Keep the pool open. The whole thing will be outside. Unless it rains. Then we’re fucked.”
“It sounds really nice.”
“It’s different. Kind of chill. I think it will be a hit.”
“Did you run it by Kam?”
“Not yet, but she’ll go for it. Particularly once she hears how cost-effective it is. Even if the turnout is low, we won’t lose money.”
“I feel bad that you guys did all this without me. I suck.”
“Not at all.” Lexi rubbed her stomach gently with both hands. “Once this little peanut comes out, you’ll be picking up the slack.” She smiled at her friend. “We’re a team.”
“Thanks, Lex.” Meg stood and kissed Lexi’s forehead. “I’m going to go thank Sam too.”
“When you’re done with that, will you please call Sasha?” Lexi called over her shoulder. Meg didn’t say yes, but she certainly allowed herself to consider the possibility.
*****
Meg wasn’t able to commit to a phone call but late in the afternoon on the following day she sent a text to Sasha. She apologized for missing out on her volunteering duties for the past few weeks and cited work as the culprit. She couldn’t bring herself to ask about Evan or the movie, and when Sasha attempted to bring it up, she dodged the subject. They kept it light like this for the next two weeks, and while Meg knew she was being purposely distant she justified it to herself as something she would deal with after the promotion had been announced. Truth be told, she needed the next three weeks to blow the roof off the Dillinger Pharmco folks to land the spot.
The week of the LOL—Ladies Only Luau—Meg worked her ass off at Sullivan. Finally coming through the door to her condo at ten p.m. Thursday night, she scooped Spencer up in her arms and cuddled her at the base of the staircase. She felt Spencer’s sharp claws knead into her legs as she scratched behind her ears.
“You love that, don’t you,” Meg said.
Spencer answered with a loud purr and a turn of her tiny head as she touched Meg’s nose with her own. Meg couldn’t help herself. She reached for her phone and snapped a pic of Spencer’s sweet face. Without spending a half hour overthinking her word choice, she threw it in a text to Sasha with the comment: Come to Bay West’s luau on Saturday. I really want to meet you!
It wasn’t the warmest invite, but she hoped the exclamation point made it less awkward.
Sasha’s response was immediate. Yes! I look forward to seeing you, adorable Spencer.
Her text was followed immediately by more bubbles, so Meg waited to see what else Sasha had to say.
One question. What does one wear to a luau?
Duh. The corner of Meg’s mouth curled into a tiny grin as she typed. A coconut bra, of course.
LOL. Got it. See you Saturday, Spence. She punctuated her comment with a heart emoji and Meg felt her own heart beat faster in response.
Chapter Nineteen
The day of the luau boasted record-breaking temperatures. Factoring in the humidity, the heat index was in the midnineties by nine a.m. At three, Meg met Lexi and Sam to prep the grassy knoll area next to the pool and meet with their food and drink vendors, one of which just happened to be Lucy’s Coffee Bar supplying sugary treats and nonalcoholic fare. They stocked Bay West swag at a makeshift merchandise stand, along with floral and kukui nut leis, and ensured that all the tikis were filled with burn oil. Just under a half hour before the party officially kicked off, Meg announced she was running home to grab a quick shower. When Lexi rolled her eyes in obvious disapproval, Meg mimicked the gesture in playful response, citing her level of perspiration and promising to be back in fifteen minutes.
Just as she was exiting the party setup, she saw Sasha sauntering toward her in a short, breezy cotton dress.
“Party’s this way, I thought?” she said with a lazy smile.
Meg felt her cheeks pinch with a big smile. “You’re early.”
“I might have been hoping for some one-on-one time with a particular host,” she said in a lyrical tone.
Meg felt herself blush and looked down at her clothes, slightly disheveled from hours of work in the blistering heat. “Well, this host is a disaster at the moment.” She swiped at her damp shirt pulling it away from her body before snapping it back in place. “I was setting up all afternoon. I’m kind of a sweaty mess.”
Sasha gave her a complete once-over and ticked her head to the side. “I think you look hot. As in, like, hot-hot. I mean sexy-hot, not, you know, because of the temperature.” She covered her face with both hands. “Gah, talk about butchering a line.”
Meg laughed as she pulled Sasha’s hands away from her face. “You are cute, but I stink. I’m just going to shower quick. Go in,” she said, nodding over her shoulder. “Lexi is there and Sam. I’ll be right back.”
She got ready fast enough, toweled her hair dry, keeping it a shaggy mess with extra pomade, and threw on clean shorts and a fresh tee. She felt good and clean and ready for the night ahead. But just as she approached the luau’s entrance, Kam Browne pulled her aside.
“Meg, run up to the office in the Commons and get some change. We’re low on small bills already. If there’s nothing there, then hit the main business office in the rental section, that’s definitely stocked. Here’s the keys,” she said handing over a gigantic key ring. “They’re all labeled. I’m going to text you the safe combination now.” It was not a Please do this favor for me kind of situation. This was an order from her boss. Good soldier that she was, she zipped to the Commons, but just as Kam suspected, the safe was low on singles and fives, so she was forced to trek to the rental section and back which took a good chunk of time. The second she got back, the beer vendor recognized her as one of the organizers and as he hooked her up with an IPA, he informed her that one of his CO2 tanks was losing pressure. He had a backup in his van parked in the auxiliary lot, but with a busy bar and only one helper, he didn’t have the staff to retrieve it.
Meg pounded her drink and took another as payment for her services as she hoofed it across Bay West’s grounds to the overfill parking lot. Upon her return, she downed another drink, mostly from thirst, but as she watched the bartender fill her cup for the fourth time she remembered that she had hardly eaten all day. She should probably slow down. Taking the drink anyway she was about to turn around when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
“Hey, you.” The familiar voice came from behind her and she turned, meeting Reina eye to eye.
Meg smiled, genuinely happy to say hello to her old girlfriend. “Reina. It’s good to see you.”
“Same, Meg.” She reached forward and pulled Meg into a nice embrace. “Teddy tells me you’re running things here at the development these days.”
“I wouldn’t say running them.”
“The way I heard it, you’re responsible for this party.”
“That’s kind of true, I guess.”
Reina raised her mostly empty drink. “Nicely done, Meg. Really.” Her smile was sincere. “This is a nice night.”
“Thanks, Reina.”
“You’re truly in your element here, Meg. I’m happy for you.”
Across the crowded bar, Meg saw Melinda eyeing them suspiciously as she fought to get her order in.
“Yeah, you too,” Meg said with a nod. “Speaking of, I should let you get back to your girlfriend,” she added.
“And you to yours,” Reina said with a wink as she gestured into the distance. Meg followed her eyes to the edge of the dance floor where Sasha was talking to a tatted-up andro chick. She didn’t bother to correct Reina’s as
sumption. Her tone was completely earnest and Meg didn’t know how to explain the state of in-between-ness that described her current relationship with Sasha.
She walked away, beer in hand, as a mix of emotions flooded through her. Trying to focus on the positive, she acknowledged that she was happy to have peace with Reina. Not that there had ever been any real fallout over their breakup, but it was still nice to feel completely content with the way it had all played out.
As she made her way toward Sasha, she couldn’t ignore how much it irked her to witness the blatant flirting that was going on. Sasha didn’t stop, even as Meg got closer. Fully annoyed, Meg continued walking right past, hoping to find Lexi or Sam or even someone who might give her another errand. She was almost at the Porta-Johns when Sasha caught up to her.
“Meg. Hey, Meg,” she repeated when Meg ignored her. “Wait.” She reached for her arm. “Are you avoiding me?”
“Sorry,” she said coolly. “I had stuff to do.” She looked past Sasha to the lines forming to use the facilities. “You seemed to entertain yourself okay.” She took a sip of her drink. “No surprise there.”
“What does that mean?”
Meg frowned keeping her eyes in the distance. “I’m gone for a few minutes. Working, by the way. And you’ve already moved on. Same old, same old.” She raised her cup in an odd toast to her sentiment, before taking another long swig.
“Look at me,” Sasha demanded.
“Excuse me?”
“I want you to look at me.”
“You want everyone to look at you. Me, Beau, Evan, that chick over there.” She gestured roughly with her cup and some beer spilled over the side landing with a splash on her foot. “That’s sort of the problem.”
“You’re mad that I was talking to a girl?” Sasha shook her head like she couldn’t believe it. “Meg, you’ve been gone for hours. Your friends are busy doing party stuff. Like you. When you didn’t come back, I just felt”—she fingered her floral lei—“a little in the way.”
“I’m so sorry to have inconvenienced you.”
Definite Possibility Page 20