The Roundabout

by Gerri Hill

  Leah laughed, then leaned over and kissed Megan quickly on the mouth. “I find you adorable, by the way.”

  Megan’s head was spinning, and she leaned against the counter. Mary Beth and Nancy? Carla and Melissa? And now Leah found her adorable? What’s next? Were Julie and Sarah on the verge of dating?

  She looked over at Leah, who was humming as she wiped off the counter. Her gaze slid to the living room, bouncing from Mary Beth and Nancy to Julie and Sarah, who were still sitting at the table chatting. Carla was on her phone texting, seemingly oblivious to everyone around her.

  “What in the hell is happening here?” she murmured.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Leah stood at the windows looking down on Spring Street long after Megan had left. Strange, but she could still feel the younger woman’s presence, could still feel Megan’s body as they’d hugged tightly. And she could still hear the trepidation in Megan’s voice.

  “This is a terrible idea, you know.”

  She smiled now, recalling their conversation. As soon as the others had left, leaving her and Megan alone, she’d sensed Megan’s nervousness.

  “You okay?”

  Megan had nodded. “Yes. No.” Then a smile. “I’m not sure.”

  Leah hadn’t been able to resist. “Come here.” She’d pulled Megan into her arms, squeezing her tightly, securely, trying to let her know that everything would be fine. She’d felt Megan’s arms snake around her waist, tightening their hold too.

  “You give nice hugs,” Megan had murmured against her neck.

  “Thanks. You’re kinda nice to hug.”

  “Are we really going to do this?”

  “I think so.” She’d pulled back enough to meet Megan’s gaze. “What is it you’re afraid of?”

  Megan had slipped out of her arms and moved a few steps away from her. When their eyes met again, Leah had glimpsed a bit of sadness mixed in with the fear she saw there.

  “I don’t have a great track record. In fact—”

  “Megan…I’m not Tammi or Erin. I’m fifty-one. Too damn old for games.” She’d shoved her hands into her pockets, her turn to fight nervousness. “I’m attracted to you. I think you’re attracted to me. Let’s just see where this goes.”

  The fear left Megan’s eyes, but the sadness did not. “I’ve been hurt,” she’d said, tapping her chest. “I don’t want to go through that again.”

  She moved from the window finally, going back into her empty apartment. What was it she hoped to accomplish here? Should she heed Megan’s warning…that it was a terrible idea that they date? Should they just forget about it? She supposed the fake dating had served its purpose. Mary Beth had apparently moved on in her quest to date Megan…moved on to her sister. Was there still a need for them to date?

  The truth was, the more time she spent with Megan, the more time she wanted. She didn’t want it to be fake dating. She wanted it to be real.

  She shook her head and ran a hand through her hair. Real? This coming from the woman who hadn’t dated anyone in years? Why would she want to complicate her life like that? She was content. She’d already resolved herself to being alone. Dating was a chore. Dating brought complications. And sometimes—as both she and Megan could attest—dating brought heartache. Did she want to take a chance again? To what end? Sex?

  She shook her head once more. If it was only sex she wanted, she could get that without all the drama of dating someone. Isn’t that how she’d existed for the last umpteen years? Did she really want to disrupt her life by adding someone to it? She was just getting started with Ruby’s. She had her hands full there. June was right around the corner. June brought lots of tourists. Was there even any time to date someone? And Megan…as busy as the grill was, could she find the time to spare for dating?

  No. Megan was probably right—it was a terrible idea.

  Yeah. Neither of them had time to devote to this. Not to real dating. Maybe they should stick to what they’d been doing. Fake dating. It would be a whole lot simpler.

  But there was that kiss.

  She nodded. “Yeah…there was that kiss.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  “Since when are you attracted to older women?”

  Her reflection in the mirror didn’t answer her, and Megan sighed as she tossed the towel down. Yes, Leah was older. But if not for her head full of lovely gray hair, you’d never guess she was over fifty. Did that matter? Age should be irrelevant. It was irrelevant. It wasn’t like she’d consciously discounted anyone who was older than she was as potential dates. There simply wasn’t anyone in town she’d been even remotely interested in. But when Erin waltzed into town—ten years younger than she was—and started flirting with her, hadn’t she been secretly pleased that there was finally someone closer to her own age asking her out?

  Yes, she had been. Of course, at the time, she failed to see how immature Erin really was. Well, ignored it was closer to the truth. And as she’d told Leah, she knew it was going nowhere with Erin…she knew it. Yet…she kept dating her because Erin was cute and young and she made Megan feel cute and young.

  “God, you’re pathetic,” she murmured to her reflection.

  What in the world was she going to do? She’d never dated anyone older than she was. Never. Not even in college. Why was she having such a hard time with this? Fake dating was suiting them just fine. Why complicate things by making it real?

  “Because that kiss was real,” she whispered. Damn, that kiss practically made her knees buckle. When had that ever happened?

  “Never.”

  She sighed again. That, of course, was the problem. That damn kiss had her running scared. She had nothing to compare it to. She’d been only twenty-four when she and Tammi moved in together. Tammi was barely twenty-one. Their relationship had been based almost entirely on sex, yet she couldn’t recall a single time that a kiss from Tammi had affected her this way. And Erin? Please. It wasn’t kisses she was after with Erin. After being celibate for over eight years, kissing was the last thing on her mind.

  She shook her head slowly as she pulled out her toothbrush. Was that it? She was thirty-nine years old and she had two so-called relationships to her name and, sadly, both had been based on sex. Was that it?

  And now here was Leah, an attractive, older woman who made her knees buckle and her heart flutter from a kiss. What would making love with her be like?

  Her eyes widened as she met them in the mirror. Would Leah turn her world upside down? Would Leah’s touch send her spinning out of control? Would the sex be wild and crazy? Or would it be slower, gentler?

  Would Leah make her fall in love with her?

  She dropped her toothbrush into the sink as her hands gripped the countertop tightly. Is that what she was afraid of? Had Mary Beth’s ramblings about falling in love gotten to her?

  “Jesus, you’re not even dating yet,” she reminded herself. Yet, as Leah had said, they were dating, weren’t they? That kiss certainly said they were dating.

  “This is a terrible idea.”

  That didn’t seem to matter though. If she were honest with herself, she’d admit that she liked Leah. She liked being around her. Leah made her smile, made her laugh. There was absolutely no reason not to date her. And being afraid that her kisses would buckle her knees was not a valid reason.

  Being afraid that she might fall in love with Leah…yeah, that was a valid reason. But she had absolutely no intention of falling in love with anyone.

  But damn…that kiss felt good. That kiss made her feel alive.

  “You’re in such big trouble,” she murmured.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Leah stood at the door, watching the rain come down. Having lived her whole life in the Bay Area, she rarely saw good old-fashioned thunderstorms like this. Water was running down the street, splashing against the curb as people took cover in the shops along Spring Street. Unfortunately, none of them chose Ruby’s for their shelter. She watched a little longer, then a st
reak of lightning overhead sent her back into her shop seconds before thunder shook the windowpanes.

  The locals seemed to take these thunderstorm watches and warnings in stride. Even tornado watches didn’t seem to faze them. She, however, had no such experience with this so when she woke that morning to an alert on her phone—possibility for severe weather, including tornadoes—she had gone into panic mode. She had no designated safe room, no survival kit packed, no exit strategy. Then she had to remind herself that it wasn’t an earthquake she had to prepare for.

  She would check with Megan and Nancy and see how they handled these situations. What did they do when the grill was full and a storm came in? What did they do at their house? Did they have a room they could take shelter in? She glanced around her shop, knowing the only safe place would be her storage room. It was in a back corner and it had no windows. That’s where she would go.

  As another boom of thunder sounded, she wondered if she should go there now. But what if a customer came in?

  “In this mess?”

  She could barely see across the street, and the wind was blowing the rain sideways. No one was going to come in until the storm passed. Still, she hesitated. Maybe she was overreacting. It was only a thunderstorm. A severe thunderstorm with the possibility of a tornado, she reminded herself.

  “Oh, hell…”

  She hurried into her office and took a water bottle from the small fridge, then went into her storage room, resisting the urge to close the door and shut out the storm. Boxes were piled haphazardly on one side. On the other, shelves were neatly labeled…and empty. She’d been putting it off…might as well use this time to organize her inventory. She tried to ignore the rumble of thunder and the sound of the oak tree in the back alley brushing against the building as the wind whipped it around.

  * * *

  “Damn…that sounded close.”

  Megan stood at the window in their office, looking down the sidewalk to Ruby’s. She’d actually flinched as lightning—and the immediate crash of thunder—flashed across the window. The lights flickered a few times, then held steady. She wondered how Leah was faring.

  She turned from the window, glancing at Nancy. Now was as good a time as any for a chat. There would be no lunch crowd until the rain let up. The few people who’d made it inside were already taken care of.

  “So…what’s going on?” she asked obliquely.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, in a few weeks’ time, Mary Beth has gone from showing me a photo on her phone…a photo of me, completely naked, a photo she hinted that she would post…to nothing. Nothing. No stalking. No veiled threats. Nothing,” she said again.

  “You should be happy.”

  “Oh, I am. I’m thrilled.” She narrowed her eyes. “So what’s going on?”

  “What makes you think I know something?”

  “Because you’ve been acting weird,” she said, pointing her finger at her. “And Mary Beth has been acting weird. Well, weirder than normal. Then it hit me…you’ve been acting weird together,” she said knowingly, pleased that Nancy actually blushed.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Megan stared, her eyes widening. “Oh, my God! Really? You and Mary Beth?”

  Nancy stood up, pacing behind the desk. “What is it that you’re insinuating?”

  “I’m insinuating that you and Mary Beth are seeing each other,” she said bluntly.

  Nancy stopped and her expression turned serious. “And…what if we are?”

  “Mary Beth Sturgeon? The woman who stripped me naked and took pictures of me? The woman who posted them on Facebook in an attempt to blackmail me into a date?” She put her hands on her hips. “Are you serious?”

  Nancy turned on her. “Look, this is all your fault!”

  “My fault?”

  “Yes! You insisted I talk to her, to get her to stop with the Facebook thing. So I did. We started talking…and…well, the next thing I know…”

  “Oh, my God! Are you sleeping with her?”

  Nancy’s face turned bright red. “That…is none of your business,” she said curtly and brushed past her out of the office.

  Megan stood there in shock. She’d convinced herself that she’d imagined the looks that had passed between Nancy and Mary Beth. Apparently not. Apparently her sister was sleeping with freakin’ Mary Beth Sturgeon!

  “She has lost her mind,” she murmured.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Leah actually let out a startled scream as the loud crack of thunder seemed to rattle the entire building. Seconds later, the room was plunged into darkness, leaving her scrambling for her phone—and its built-in flashlight.

  “Sure…take shelter in a windowless room,” she murmured as she held her phone up. She went back out into the shop where the large front windows let in enough light for her to pocket her phone again.

  The sky was lightening up and the rain had lessened to a drizzle, but thunder still rumbled. She looked up, staring at the lights, as if expecting them to come back on at any second. She wondered what the norm was around here for power outages. An hour? Half a day? Several days?

  She walked over to the door and opened it, finding others standing under cover, looking around and talking. The whole street was dark…maybe the whole town. She turned, glancing at the Phenix Grill. She could always dash over there. She was about to do that when another flash of lightning and clap of thunder sent her back inside. So maybe later.

  Besides, she figured she needed to give Megan some time. They’d left things kinda up in the air last night. Knowing Megan, she had settled on the “it was a terrible idea” for them to date theme. And when she was ready, she’d come over and tell Leah so.

  But when they were together, there was that underlying attraction that seemed to pull at them. Common sense seemed to go right out the window then…for both of them. Why else were they in this position to begin with? Fake dating? Whose idea was that, anyway?

  “I believe it was yours,” she murmured.

  * * *

  Megan stood at the window, indecisive. She was certain Leah was okay. Why wouldn’t she be? It was only a power outage, a common occurrence during spring thunderstorms. But a first for this year…and a first for Leah.

  “Go over there already,” Nancy said. “There’s nothing you can do here.”

  “What did Paul say?”

  “Lightning took out some transformers. Power is out pretty much all over up here. They still have power down the hill though.”

  “Well, I guess I could go check on her,” she said with a shrug.

  Nancy waved her away. “I won’t worry about you.”

  The rain was only a few sprinkles now, but Megan still heard thunder off to the east. She looked up, noting the dark clouds drifting away and, farther west, blue skies beginning to show. The door to Ruby’s was closed, and she wouldn’t have been surprised to find it locked as well. However, it opened easily and she went inside.

  “Leah?”

  The shop turned dark and shadowy when she moved away from the windows. She went to the back where Leah’s office was.

  “Leah?” she called again.

  She heard shuffling in the storage room, finally seeing a tiny beam of light. Leah was sifting through a box.

  “Hey.”

  Leah jumped, startled, and dropped her phone. “Jesus! You scared me!”

  “Sorry,” she said as Leah bent down and picked up her phone again. “What are you doing?”

  “Looking for a damn flashlight. Or matches.”

  “Matches? Are you going to burn boxes or something?”

  “No. I have candles.” She paused. “Somewhere.”

  “So you have no emergency kit?”

  “Well, if I was still in San Jose I’d have one…for an earthquake.”

  Megan laughed. “I don’t imagine you’ll need that here. Tornado, maybe, but no earthquake.”

  Leah moved closer to her. “I don’t
mind saying, I was a little scared. I’m not exactly used to thunderstorms like that.”

  Megan shrugged. “I guess I’ve seen so many, they don’t really bother me. Lightning hit a transformer, by the way. Or two.” She reached in her back pocket and pulled out the small flashlight. “And I’m prepared,” she said as she turned it on.

  “Flashlights, extra batteries. On my shopping list.”

  “Oh, and you should probably lock your door,” Megan said, motioning out into the shop. “I could have stolen you blind earlier.”

  “You would have attempted to steal those expensive wind chimes that you play with whenever you come in,” Leah said. “I would have heard you and caught you red-handed!”

  “Oh, yeah?”

  Leah took a step closer. “Uh-huh.”

  It should have been nothing, Megan thought. They were playing, teasing. She’d come over to talk, hadn’t she? Her mistake, of course, was looking into Leah’s eyes. The flashlight, though small, was strong enough to create a halo around the two of them. Those dark, smoky eyes held hers, and Megan found herself moving toward Leah as if she were under a hypnotic spell. Who reached who first, she didn’t know…she didn’t care. She found herself being held against the shelves, Leah’s body pressed so closely to hers, she could feel every inch of her.

  Their kisses were wild—mouths, lips, tongues attacking without thought. She never thought she could be delirious from a kiss, but Leah, with her hands sliding up her body, had driven her into such a fevered state that she felt weak…faint.

  Then Leah slowed their kisses, her lips moving to Megan’s neck, nibbling softly as Megan’s hands wound around her waist.

  “You smell…taste…so good,” Leah murmured.

  If Megan could have held onto a cognizant thought, she would have replied—something witty, no doubt. But her brain was a jumbled mess, and she was just thankful her knees hadn’t buckled. She managed a loud moan, a moan that seemed to strike fire in Leah as her mouth came back to hers, kissing her again with such passion it made Megan lightheaded and she had to hold on to Leah for fear she’d actually fall. Somewhere in her muddled mind, she knew they should stop. Her body, however, ignored that thought, and when Leah nudged her thighs apart with her leg, Megan moaned again as Leah pressed hard against her. They were close…dangerously close…to reaching the point of no return. She found she didn’t care.