Definite Possibility

by Maggie Cummings

  “We could shower and head to Lucy’s a little early. Lexi beats us there every week. She could be there now for all we know,” she said through a laugh. “Hey.” Sasha pushed Meg’s hair off her forehead gently. “Any chance we’ll see Sam today at the coffee shop?”

  Meg scrunched up her nose, all but saying no even though she wasn’t a hundred percent certain. “She and Lucy are still on eggshells, I think.”

  “Did you ever find out what exactly happened?”

  “I didn’t really ask.” Meg drifted her fingertips along the tops of Sasha’s soft shoulders. “Lexi didn’t say, and I didn’t want to push it. But obviously it’s pretty serious.”

  “Serious enough to break up over? For good?” Her voice was full of genuine concern as she stroked Meg’s belly. “I thought they were talking things out,” she said with unmistakable hope. “That’s what Lexi said the other day.”

  “They are. But it’s still dicey.”

  “Meaning what?”

  “I don’t know.” Meg’s answer was starkly honest. “I want to believe they’ll work it out. Babe.” She tipped Sasha’s chin up with her thumb. “You don’t even know what Sam was like before. She was the player.” Meg shook her head. “Seeing her with Lucy, witnessing her transformation, I mean, girls check her out all the time. Still. At the socials, even at the coffee shop, they just approach her and, like, throw themselves at her. The old Sam would have been all over it.” Meg frowned. “I’m telling you she hasn’t given a single second glance to anyone. She is completely in love with Lucy. That’s all I know.”

  “Well that’s something.”

  “The thing is, I get the gist that it’s Lucy who’s the holdout. I mean, Lexi basically told me as much.”

  “And Sam just bought the house. She had to have plans on being with Lucy in it. Even if it was down the line.” She pouted. “It makes me sad.”

  “Don’t write them off. It could still work. Look at us.”

  Sasha looked right at her and her eyes held an emotion Meg couldn’t quite identify. “You’re right,” she said with a nod. “But I lost you for a whole year almost. I missed you so much. Every single day.” She punctuated each word with a tiny kiss. “I’m never letting you go again.”

  “Promise?”

  “Promise.” Sasha spread her legs wide enough to straddle Meg. She leaned forward for a kiss but Meg stopped her.

  “I don’t want you to leave.”

  “I wasn’t planning on it,” Sasha whispered, her tone holding the mood.

  “That’s not what I mean.” Meg put her hand on Sasha’s face. “I want you to stay.” She saw Sasha’s brow furrow and knew she needed to explain. “Sash, you’re right. I love Sundays with you. But lately,” she admitted, swallowing her feelings, “they stress me out.” She rubbed the top of Sasha’s thighs. “It’s because of this. We spend all this time together on the weekends and it’s perfect. But then, eventually, Sunday night rolls around and you go back to Manhattan and I have to wait three days to see you again.” She saw the edges of Sasha’s lips curl upward. “I know sometimes it’s only two,” Meg said. “Still. Too many.”

  Sasha looked like she was about to say something but Meg didn’t give her the chance.

  “I want to spend every night with you. I want to come home from work and see your gorgeous face when I tell you about my day. I want to hear the crazy things your students did, listen to you make lesson plans, talk to you about your grad classes. I know we do that now over the phone, but it’s not the same.” Her hands drifted up to Sasha’s hips, holding her in place as she continued. “I want to come up behind you when we’re cooking dinner, sit next to you every night when we eat. Hug you and kiss you and see your beautiful eyes when you get all animated over Little Dorritt.”

  “It really is Dickens’s most underappreciated work.”

  “See.” With one finger Meg made a small circle an inch from Sasha’s face, finishing it with a tiny touch to the tip of her nose. “I need to see this face. All the time.”

  Spencer leapt onto the bed interrupting Meg’s moment, but she went with it. “See, even Spencer agrees.” She reached over and let the cat’s body brush against her hand. “You’re right,” she said, bringing Sasha’s face to her own. “No more lost time.” Meg leaned forward and kissed her. “Stay.” She tucked a lock of Sasha’s hair behind her ear. “For good.” She shrugged a little. “Just stay.”

  Sasha’s face was full of emotion and Meg knew she was going to say yes.

  “I love you so much, Meg.” Sasha looked over at Spencer. “You too, Spencer Carlin,” she added before giving her attention back to Meg. “Yes.”

  “Yes?”

  “Yes, I want to stay. Every time I leave here, I’m sad.” She kissed Meg. “No more.” She glanced around the bedroom. “Truthfully, Meg, I would live anywhere with you. My apartment, here, somewhere we don’t even know yet. But this”—she swallowed, clearly absorbing the weight of their conversation—“this place feels like home. It’s where I always picture our life together.” She bent down and kissed Meg over and over. “Can we swing by my apartment later?” she asked. “I just want to grab a few things to bring back. My lease is up in December, but I don’t want to wait another minute.” Her mouth hitched up to the side, a gorgeous smile emerging.

  Meg responded with a sweet kiss that turned passionate almost immediately. She repositioned them, rolling over on top of Sasha so their bodies touched everywhere, the moment sexy and tender at the same time. Meg felt her entire life click into place. For all the time she had spent looking for the one, the perfect match, pursuing women she knew were wrong for her, trying like hell to make the right ones work out, here, true love had snuck up on her when she’d least expected it. It was cliché and corny and so unbelievably true.

  She let her mind drift back over the last few years and acknowledged a truth she knew to her very core. In her mind, there wasn’t a moment that passed when Sasha wasn’t the first person she thought of when she had news to share. Whether it was mourning, celebration, or complete nonsense, it was Sasha every time. She didn’t need to ask—she knew Sasha felt the same. The days and years ahead wouldn’t always be this easy and carefree, she knew that. Life wasn’t simple like that, nor should it be. Meg knew the future would be characterized by ups and downs, ebbs and flows, years filled with joy and hardship and sorrow and bliss. And Sasha. Forever, Sasha.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Sam leaned against the wooden framework of her redesigned kitchen countertop, half watching and listening to the contractors as they put the finishing touches on her overhauled downstairs bath. She peeled the plastic lid off her coffee and braved the steam to snag a taste.

  “Knock-knock.” Lucy’s sweet unmistakable voice came from the open front doorway, and Sam did her best to cover her enthusiasm at the surprise pop-in. “Are you busy?”

  “Not at all.” Sam felt her heart pound even as she tried not to read too much into this impromptu visit. Their communication had been on a steady incline. They talked once a day, texted all the time, sometimes they even flirted. Sam wasn’t sure if it was deliberate, but it didn’t matter. It still counted in her mind, and as a bonus, for the last week and a half they’d spent a solid few minutes every night wishing each other sound sleep and pleasant dreams. It had to mean something. Friends didn’t do that, right?

  Now at their first face-to-face in over a month, Sam searched for a sign, but Lucy’s tempered demeanor gave nothing away.

  Lucy ran her hand along the smooth Sheetrock as she made her way inside. “Wow, big changes, huh?”

  “Just upgrading mostly,” Sam answered casually. “A couple of fixes too.” She pointed her coffee in the direction of the freshly hung drywall. “I was thinking—”

  “Oh my God,” Lucy interrupted her. “Are you drinking Starbucks?” Her mouth dropped open in mock horror.

  Sam clenched her teeth and lifted her eyebrows in a kind of apology. “Sorry?”

  “
You should be.” Lucy was obviously teasing, but Sam still felt bad.

  “What can I say?” She shrugged her shoulders trying to explain. “I was tired. I needed a boost.”

  “Why didn’t you come into the store?” Lucy sounded almost hurt.

  It broke Sam’s heart and she took a second to find the right words but nothing came to her. She went with the truth.

  “I needed coffee. You need space. It’s a dilemma.”

  Lucy blinked slowly, shaking her head. “You come to me. No matter what. That’s what you do. I’m telling you this for future reference.” She made her way closer to Sam’s spot near the makeshift counter. “I didn’t even know you were back from San Francisco.”

  “My training ended sooner than I thought so I jumped on an earlier flight. I wanted to check on things here.”

  “I was surprised when I saw your truck outside,” she said. “How’s the new job panning out?”

  “Good,” Sam said with a nod. “My boss seems like a decent guy. There won’t be a ton of travel. Which means I can do everything from right here.” She let her eyes drift around the half-finished space. “That will give me a lot of opportunity to take on more freelance, which I’m pretty amped about.”

  The two construction workers emerged from the bathroom, making a small racket as they packed up their tools for the day. They showed Sam their progress before consulting with her on tomorrow’s schedule. Sam shut the door behind them, ready to give her full attention back to Lucy.

  “You should go with marble,” Lucy said. She rubbed her finger along the wooden bones. “For the countertop.”

  “Not granite?”

  “Granite is nice. Marble is nicer. It would look great with these gorgeous floors.”

  “I thought there can be a staining issue with marble.”

  Lucy furrowed her eyebrows in disbelief. “Sam, you don’t cook.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Sam hung her head, shielding a tiny smile. “What if my girlfriend cooks? What if she bakes?”

  Lucy’s face registered the playful banter. “There are things you can do to protect the surface.”

  “Is it sturdy, though?” Sam tried for eye contact. “I mean what if there were things I wanted to do on it. Like, say, the baker?”

  Lucy rolled her eyes, but her smile and her body language told Sam she liked the attention. “Stop it, you.”

  Her voice was lively in a way that Sam hadn’t heard in ages and she couldn’t filter her emotion. “I miss you, Lucy.”

  “I know, Sam.” Lucy was suddenly serious. “I miss you too.”

  “How’s Emily?”

  A small laugh appeared to escape beyond Lucy’s control. “She’s great, actually.”

  “Really?”

  Lucy answered with a nod. “Frankie moved out. Emily put their condo on the market. They both have lawyers, but honestly, it’s progressing very smoothly. They should be officially divorced in no time.”

  “Wow. Fast.”

  Lucy chewed the inside of her cheek. “It’s almost like this was the validation she needed to end things and move on with her life. It’s unbelievable.”

  “That’s fantastic.” Sam took a sip of her drink, nervous about the response to her next question. She found her courage and asked, “How are things with you two?”

  “Me and Emily?” She bobbed her head back and forth. “Things were awkward…for about one second.” She shrugged and smiled at the same time. “Ems and I, we can’t stay mad at each other. It’s just not how we function.”

  “I’m glad to hear that.” Sam fiddled with the top of a screw, sweeping sawdust off its head with the pad of her finger. “Does she hate me?”

  “Who could hate you?” Lucy’s mouth turned into a kind of frown but her voice was oddly jovial.

  “Um, your sister, for one.”

  “Nah, you’re too sweet to hate. Plus you love me—that works heavily in your favor.”

  “I do, you know. Love you.”

  “I know.” Her voice was serious and sweet as she continued. “Emily knows it too. The thing about Emily is that she is sweet and kind and forgiving. She wants me to be happy and she knows I was happy with you.”

  “You were, right?” Sam asked the question but didn’t wait for an answer. “I was too. More than I ever even knew I could be.” She heard the hitch in her own voice and tapped her finger on a two-by-four. “What do we do now?”

  “Well, my therapist says I should go slow.” She touched Sam’s finger with her own. “Protect myself so I know exactly what I’m getting into. Set up boundaries so I don’t get hurt.”

  “Okay.”

  “But”—she let her hand cover Sam’s—“I don’t want to.”

  Sam’s heart was pounding and she was useless to stop the smile from spreading across her face. “No, huh?”

  “Nope.” Lucy moved closer and slipped between Sam and the counter. “I don’t think you’ll hurt me.”

  “I won’t. Ever.” Her hands went to Lucy’s hips out of habit and desire. “You know that.”

  “I do. In my heart, I do.”

  “Good.” Sam leaned down and kissed her lips lightly. “Because it’s the truth.”

  When they kissed, it was long and slow and deep. Weeks of separation were made up for in several moments of passion and honesty and love beyond measure. Sam wanted it to go on forever, but the sun was starting to set, and in minutes they would be surrounded by complete darkness.

  “We should go,” she said, kissing her way down Lucy’s neck. “Wait a second.” She interrupted her own actions. “Shouldn’t you be working right now?”

  “Yes,” Lucy whispered. She found Sam’s lips again. “I don’t know if you know this.” She breathed the words in Sam’s ear. “I’m the boss. I come and go as I please.”

  “Is that right?”

  “It is. And”—she stroked Sam’s cheeks—“there happens to be a full moon tonight. Did you know that?”

  Sam didn’t bother to verbalize her response, relying instead on the look of pure disbelief she was sure was all over her face.

  “Of course you do,” Lucy said answering her own question. “I do have to go shut down and lock up the store. But after that, I was wondering if you might take me somewhere to see it.”

  “You’re going to close? Now? It’s not even six o’clock.”

  “Can you imagine, closing shop early for a date.” She opened her mouth dramatically, teasing Sam outright. “I guess I must love you or something.” She rushed her hands through Sam’s hair, bringing her in for another kiss. “Come on, let’s go.”

  Sam stepped back and grabbed her keys from her front pocket. “Lucy, you don’t have to. It’s an incredibly sweet gesture. Closing the store early, I mean.” She glanced around the barren room, making sure she had all her things. “But it’s not necessary. For real. The moon won’t be in the right spot for hours.”

  “Oh, Sam,” Lucy said, with a lively lilt to her tone. “So naive you are sometimes.”

  Sam’s laugh was completely honest. “What?”

  “We have hours of catching up to do before that moon viewing.” She let her eyes run the length of Sam’s body, her intent on display as she backed toward the front door. “If you haven’t eaten in a while, I suggest you load up now.” She raised her eyebrows and bit her lip suggestively. “Lots of carbs. You’re going to need your energy.”

  Sam felt a rush of happiness, desire, and pure love come to the surface but she kept her response simple. “Yes, ma’am.”

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Meg stood in front of her front door, turned the lock to the left and listened to the bolt slide securely into place.

  “No Sasha?” Lexi’s voice behind her came out of nowhere and it made her shriek in surprise. “You’re kidding me with that ridiculous scream, right?”

  “Well, don’t sneak up on people. I could have a heart attack.”

  “Sneak up on you? It’s the middle of the afternoon, broad daylight.” With bot
h hands she made a grand gesture around her for effect before narrowing her scope and pointing directly at her big belly protruding through her open winter jacket. “And I’m the size of a house. So hardly tiptoeing around over here.”

  “I just didn’t expect you to be right here.” Meg nodded toward her door. “Did you want to come in for a few minutes?”

  “No,” she said with a laugh. “I want to get this over with.”

  Meg’s voice shook a little. “Meeting the contractor, you mean?”

  “Meg, you are a terrible liar.” Lexi hooked her arm through Meg’s. “I know we’re going to my baby shower.”

  “Fuck.” She stomped her foot. “Who told you?”

  Lexi’s dimples came out when she smiled. “No one told me. I put it together on my very own.”

  “But we were all so careful not to slip.”

  Lexi rolled her eyes. “My moms have been completely weird about today for weeks. First making sure I would be around. Then not allowing my brothers to commit to any sports activity the whole weekend.” She grinned. “Kam was all over me too. Making sure I was definitely available to meet with the nameless vendor.” She threw some air quotes around the word for emphasis. “On top of that, Lucy has been baking nonstop, Sam hasn’t made eye contact since Thursday, and Sasha froze when I asked her what she had going on this weekend.” She lifted her shoulders. “I’m no fool. I knew something was up.”

  Meg hung her head in laughter and disappointment. “You have to act surprised.” She pointed at the Commons. “These people are really excited for this.”

  “I know.” Lexi’s voice was full of enthusiasm. “Believe me, I’m excited too. I love a party, you know that.” She tapped Meg’s forearm. “I just want to get through the beginning. I know I have to look shocked. I don’t want to let anyone down. It makes me nervous.”

  “We still have a few minutes to kill. They’ll have my head if I bring you there one minute early.”

  “But weren’t you just leaving when I got here?”