The Roundabout

by Gerri Hill

  “Nope. Give me a year and we’ll talk.”

  “What about moving here? Do you miss the city?”

  Leah smiled. “I miss grocery shopping where I want to.”

  Megan laughed. “Besides that.”

  Leah shook her head. “Not really. It’s taken me a while to get used to the slower pace. And get used to everyone knowing my business,” she said with a laugh.

  “What about friends?”

  Leah shrugged. “I think when you move, you learn quickly if you were really close friends with someone or not. I had a group that I hung out with. I thought we’d keep in touch more, I guess.” She took another onion ring and nibbled it. “A few phone calls, a couple of emails…that’s about it. They’re still hanging out, doing their thing. I’m an outsider now.”

  “I know what you mean. When we moved here, I had two really good friends that I thought I would always be friends with. Now? I can’t even remember the last time we spoke,” Megan said. “Interests change, priorities change and yeah, they’re still there and you are suddenly out of the daily loop.” She smiled. “So you make new friends.”

  Leah nodded. “Yeah. I make friends pretty easily. Having them over for dinner helps my cause too,” she said with a grin.

  “So the same group? Sarah and Julie too?”

  “Yes. And I wondered if I should invite Carla. What do you think?”

  Megan nodded. “Yes. Carla gets along fine with the others. In fact, I think Carla and Julie hang out some.”

  “Good. Then I’ll have to borrow three chairs.”

  Megan leaned her elbows on the bar, studying her. Long enough for Leah to feel as if she were under a microscope. She finally raised her eyebrows questioningly.

  Megan met her eyes and smiled. “You’re nice,” she stated. “That’s why you make friends easily.”

  Leah shrugged. “Well, thank you. I think…you’re nice too.”

  Megan laughed. “There’s no need to lie.”

  Leah laughed too. “Well, when we first met, I may not have used that adjective to describe you. But now…at least to me, you’re nice.”

  Megan studied her again. “You’re too perfect.”

  “Perfect? I’m far from perfect,” she said.

  “No? Other than your obsession with parking spaces—which annoyed the hell out of me—I can’t really find anything else wrong with you,” Megan said. “You walk instead of drive. Or you ride your bike. You own an electric car. You’re obviously conscientious about the environment. You’re nice and polite to everyone. You’re nearly perfect,” she said again. Then she leaned closer and wiggled her eyebrows. “So what’s wrong with you?”

  Leah grinned. “I see…so you want to know what my faults are, is that it?”

  “Yeah. Give me some.”

  Leah always hated this question. It ranked up there with strengths and weaknesses. If you listed off what you perceived to be weakness…then you sounded weak. And if you listed off your strengths…then you sounded arrogant.

  “Well?”

  “Okay. I like to take really long showers.”

  Megan wrinkled up her brow in a frown. “What? That’s it? That’s not a fault, Leah. Who doesn’t like long showers?”

  “I’m from California,” she reminded her. “We kinda have a water shortage, you know. You don’t take long, lingering showers there. But since I’ve been here, I’ve gone crazy with it.”

  Megan rolled her eyes. “Really? You can’t come up with something better than that?”

  Leah shrugged. “What about you? I mean, other than being obsessed with parking spaces,” she teased.

  “My faults? Oh, God…they’re too numerous to name. I’m grouchy, for one. I’m opinionated. I’m always right. Everybody knows that.” She paused. “But are those faults? That’s just the way I am. That’s just me.” She smiled at Leah, a smile that she found infinitely sexy. “Do I have any faults? Maybe I don’t.”

  Leah laughed. “Well, they say denial is the first step to acceptance.”

  “So you’re saying I’m not perfect too? I told you that you were perfect.”

  Leah leaned closer, holding her eyes. “I suppose the longer we date, the more we’ll find each other’s faults. Then we can decide if we can live with them or not.” She lowered her gaze to Megan’s lips, watching in fascination as Megan’s tongue poked out enough to wet them.

  “Are we…are we still playing?” Megan asked softly, her voice hinting at nervousness.

  Leah raised her gaze again, surprised to find Megan’s eyes a bit darker than usual. Were they still playing? Teasing? Pretending?

  “Because if we’re still playing…don’t you dare kiss me.”

  Leah smiled slightly. “So if I kiss you now, that means what? That it’s not a fake kiss? That it’s for real?”

  “I’m finding it harder and harder to dislike you.”

  “That’s because I’m perfect. You said so yourself.”

  When Megan’s mouth lifted in a smile, Leah found she could no longer deny herself the kiss she wanted. A real kiss. She met Megan’s eyes again.

  “I’m not playing now,” she murmured as she leaned even closer. She wouldn’t have been surprised if Megan had backed away, rebuffing the kiss, but she didn’t. And even though they’d kissed before, she still wasn’t quite prepared for her heart to spring to life like it did. Maybe it was because Megan was being receptive to her kiss. Or maybe it was because Megan’s mouth was impossibly soft. Or maybe it was the tiny moan that escaped Megan’s lips when Leah deepened the kiss. Whatever the reason, she didn’t want it to stop. But when she reached up to cup Megan’s face to bring her closer, Megan pulled away.

  “We…we can’t do this,” Megan said as she pushed her barstool back and stood up. “We…we just can’t do this.”

  Leah was about to ask why, but Megan’s frightened eyes caused her to pause. Why in the world would Megan be afraid? So, she said the first thing that popped into her mind.

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”

  Megan held her hand up. “Don’t. I’m…it’s me, Leah. Not you. And…I can’t do this.”

  “Okay.”

  Megan was pacing now and Leah watched her with both amusement and curiosity.

  “I don’t do this,” Megan said, motioning between them. “That’s the reason for this…this arrangement between us.” She pointed at Leah. “And you don’t do this.” Their eyes met. “I should go,” Megan said hurriedly.

  Leah stood up. “Look, I’m sorry I kissed you.” She shoved her hands into her pockets, trying to appear less threatening as Megan took a step away from her. “But if we want this arrangement to work, then you probably should stay a while longer. You’ve been here less than an hour. I think that would raise a lot of questions.”

  Megan ran her hands through her hair. “You’re right.”

  “So how about we find a movie to watch? You can take the sofa,” she said. “And I’ll take the recliner.” Then she smiled, trying to lighten the moment. “That way, I’ll be far enough away from you that I won’t be tempted to kiss you.”

  Megan’s shoulders sagged. “I’m sorry, Leah.”

  “Nothing to be sorry about,” she said. “Find something to watch. I’ll clean up our dinner.”

  “I’ll help.”

  “Nope. I got it.”

  Really, there wasn’t much to clean up, but Leah needed a few minutes to herself. She thought perhaps she’d misread Megan…but no, she recognized the look in her eyes for what it was. Regardless of the basis of the “arrangement” that they had between them, she wasn’t blind to the fact that she was attracted to Megan. Surprised? Of course. It had been a very long time since she’d dated anyone. She hadn’t been celibate all those years, but there’d never been anyone who made her heart quake from a simple kiss.

  But Megan was probably right. They shouldn’t do this. She was nearly twelve years older than Megan. What could Megan possibly see in her?

  Nothing. W
hich is probably why she’d balked at the kiss.

  Leah sighed, feeling a bit disappointed as the reality of their situation settled around her. They were fake dating. They were fake kissing.

  Nothing more.

  As she wiped off the bar, she glanced into the living room. Megan had taken her shoes off and was leaning back on the sofa, her feet curled under her. As she watched, Megan lifted her gaze, meeting her eyes. Leah suddenly wished that they weren’t fake dating.

  She wished it was for real.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Megan stood looking at herself in the mirror. Her hair was still wet from her shower, making it look darker than it really was. She tightened the towel a little tighter around her. She looked the same as she looked every morning after her shower. Except she felt different. As she met her dark eyes, she saw the change there.

  It was…it was just a kiss. It was lips and mouths and nothing more. But then why did her heart still flutter when she thought about it? Why did she get a funny feeling in her stomach?

  She closed her eyes, reliving the kiss one more time, remembering Leah’s lips as they teased hers, feeling that same flutter in her chest as she had last night.

  “God,” she whispered. This wasn’t supposed to happen. This was so not supposed to happen.

  She met her eyes again. “I’m not attracted to her,” she murmured. “I’m not.”

  She sighed. Who was she kidding? And when the hell did it happen?

  She undid her towel and tossed it on the countertop. It didn’t matter, she told herself. They would simply continue their little charade for the next few weeks…long enough for the others to be convinced that both she and Leah were off the market. Then they could gradually back off until they didn’t have to see each other again. By then, summer would be bustling and there would be no time for all these little games.

  In fact, maybe it was true. Maybe Mary Beth had already given up. There hadn’t been another Facebook post. Mary Beth had not made good on her threat. Maybe Mary Beth was over it. If so, then maybe she and Leah could stop all this…this pretending.

  Well, she didn’t anticipate seeing Leah again until her dinner party on Tuesday. It was hard enough sitting through a two-hour movie together. Even though Leah had sat in the recliner, Megan had still felt her presence. And even though neither of them had mentioned the kiss, it was still there, hanging between them. The movie was a comedy. They’d laughed. They’d chatted. They’d ended the evening on a good note. But the kiss was still hanging between them. When the movie ended and she was getting ready to go, there’d been an uncomfortable silence in the room. She’d actually paused at the door, hoping that Leah would stop her, hoping that she might…what? Hug her? Kiss her again? Their eyes had held for a few seconds, seconds that seemed to last minutes. Long enough for her to see the indecision in Leah’s gaze, long enough for her to realize that she really, really hoped Leah would move closer, would reach for her, would pull her into her arms. But none of that happened. Leah bid her a good night and Megan made her exit.

  So no, she wouldn’t see her again until Tuesday. At dinner, she would gauge Mary Beth’s demeanor. If she felt like Mary Beth was no longer pursuing her, she’d simply tell Leah that their fake dating had worked, that it had served its purpose but it was no longer necessary to continue.

  Yeah. That’s what she’d do.

  As she reached for her toothbrush, she met her eyes in the mirror once again. Yes, the sensible thing to do would be to end this…this fake affair with Leah. End it before it turned into something else entirely.

  Sure…that’s what she should do.

  She looked away from the mirror. The problem was…it wasn’t what she wanted to do.

  “Oh, Megan…don’t be stupid,” she murmured.

  Just end it and be done with it.

  Chapter Thirty

  “You should go early and help,” Nancy said.

  “Why? She didn’t ask me to,” Megan said. That was true. She’d not seen Leah or even spoken to her since Saturday night. Saturday night and the kiss. “I know nothing about making fish tacos or Baja sauce, whatever that is.”

  Nancy stared at her. “You’ve been acting really weird the last few days. What’s going on?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Did you two have a fight or something?”

  Megan laughed nervously. “A fight? What would we possibly have to fight about?”

  “Well, seeing as how you haven’t been dating that long, I wouldn’t think there’d be anything to fight about. But I do remember how it was when you first met. The only conversation between you was an argument.”

  Megan shook her head. “I told you, I’m over the parking thing.”

  “Then what? Having second thoughts about dating?”

  “Why? Are you still interested in her?”

  “No. I’m way past that,” Nancy said. “She’s not my type, anyway.”

  Seeing as how Nancy hadn’t dated anyone since they lived in St. Louis, she was about to ask who her type was but thought better of it. Her track record wasn’t much better than Nancy’s.

  “Well, maybe you’re right,” she said instead as she stood up. “It would be nice of me to go over early and see if she needs help.”

  “Yes, it would. But before you go, there’s something else I want to talk to you about.”

  Megan sat back down. “Okay. What’s up?”

  “I’ve been thinking that we…well, that we need to take some time off. Away from here.”

  Megan nodded. It was something she’d thought about too. “What do you have planned?”

  “I think we should each take a day—a whole day—where we don’t come in at all. Not just a morning off or an afternoon. Or even missing dinner once in a while. A whole day.”

  “Even during the summer?”

  “Yes. I think we need a break. By the time August rolls around, we’re both exhausted and crabby.” She smiled. “Well, you’re crabby most of the time anyway, but you get what I’m saying.”

  Yeah, Megan got what she was saying, and yes, they were both running on fumes by the time summer ended. She agreed with Nancy that they needed a break, but why now? What prompted this change? She narrowed her eyes. Something was going on. If she thought about it, for the last couple of weeks, Nancy had been…well, different. But she’d been too stressed about her own situation to be concerned with Nancy. But there was definitely something going on.

  “Well?” Nancy asked. “What do you think?”

  Megan nodded. “Okay. If that’s what you want. But we’re not talking weekends, right?”

  “No. I was thinking Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. Maybe even Sunday. We can pick a day.”

  Megan shrugged. “Okay. Fine by me.”

  Nancy smiled. “Good. I’ll take Mondays, if that’s okay.”

  Yeah…she was up to something. Only Megan didn’t have a clue as to what it could be. But she nodded. She wasn’t going to argue about having a day off.

  “Fine. I’ll let you know what day I want.”

  “Great. Now, go already. I’m assuming you’re going home to shower and change first.”

  “Yeah.” She stood again. “Well, I’ll see you next door. About seven?”

  “Yes.”

  Nancy was still smiling, and Megan left the office with a frown on her face. Something was going on…and she hated not knowing what the hell it was.

  * * *

  She was nervous as she drove back down the hill after her quick shower. Nervous and she wasn’t exactly sure why. Afraid to be alone with Leah? Maybe. So in an act of defiance, she pulled into one of Ruby’s parking spots—her old reserved spot—and that made her feel a little better. She was surprised, however, to find Ruby’s still open. It was nearly six. Most shops didn’t stay open past five until June.

  She walked in the open door, pleased to see a few customers milling about. It wasn’t Leah behind the counter, however.

  “Aunt Dee? Are you working alr
eady?”

  The older woman laughed. “I’m not sure if it was the good word you girls put in for me or the batch of oatmeal cookies I brought, but Leah hired me on Sunday and I started yesterday.”

  “Good for you,” Megan said. “And how’s Glen?”

  “Oh, bless his heart. The man couldn’t find the fridge without my help.” Aunt Dee lowered her voice. “I told him either he went back to work or I was.”

  Megan laughed. “He’s been retired a couple of months now?”

  “Three. I can’t get a thing done around the house. He’s always underfoot.”

  “Well, I’m sure he’ll adjust.”

  “Oh, I know. He needs to find him a hobby is all.” Aunt Dee moved around her as a customer brought some things to the counter. “You’re here for the dinner party, I guess.”

  Megan nodded. “Yes. I came early. Thought Leah might need some help.”

  “Go on up, dear. She asked me to stay late so she wouldn’t have to lock up down here until all the guests arrived.”

  “Oh, okay.” Megan headed for the stairs. “Good to see you again,” she said, but Dee had already turned her attention to the customer.

  As she turned the corner to go up the stairs, she paused, looking at each step as her gaze traveled up to the door at the top. She took a deep breath, trying to settle her nerves. It had been three days. She should be over it by now. Besides, Leah was obviously over it. It wasn’t like she’d tried to contact her or anything.

  Right. So it was no big deal. They’d kissed. Over and done with.

  “No big deal,” she murmured as she took the first step up. But still…it was going to be awkward between them. Surely it was. Maybe they needed to talk about it. Clear the air. Because if things were awkward, then Mary Beth would pounce. Surely she would.

  She shook her head. She was being ridiculous and she knew it. They should be able to pull off this dinner party without any problem. Besides, Sarah or Julie—or both—would most likely occupy all of Leah’s time anyway. Or Carla, she added as she continued up the stairs. Everyone wanted a date with Leah, it seemed. Well, the good thing about that was that they weren’t asking her out any longer.