by Blythe Stone
Nat prepped a piece of biscuit and held it up to Iris's mouth to feed her. Once she ate it Nat licked the excess honey off of her thumb.
“I might go crazy if I stop working,” Nat confessed. “Olivia thinks I'm addicted to it. She says I don't know anything else and she's not wrong.”
Their food came out and Nat waited to eat it. Her hands were in Iris's and she didn't want to let her go.
“I get that. I couldn’t stop writing and playing. I’m not sure I’d survive for very long, which I know sounds dramatic.”
Iris made no move to start eating either but she did take a sip of her coffee and go back to watching Nat.
“So, what do you think? Are we actually robots?” Nat smirked.
“The opposite. We’re driven to create and feel and try new things. I think everyone is searching for something. This is just how we do it,” Iris concluded.
Nat squeezed her hand and finally turned her body to start eating. “Let's eat baby. You don't eat enough. Come on.”
Iris didn’t reply, she just released Nat’s hand and started to attack her waffles. After a few bites she looked over at Nat and couldn’t help but grin. She was so pretty, more so every time Iris looked.
She took a finger and dipped it in the whipped cream and then reached over to deposit it on Nat’s nose.
“Oops,” she joked.
Nat dropped her sandwich down onto her plate and turned to face her. “Oops?” She asked.
“It slipped. Let me help you.” Iris scooted closer and leaned in, managing to take the whipped cream with the tip of her tongue and then she closed her mouth and kissed the side of Nat’s mouth. “That’s better,” she whispered.
“Yeah?” Nat asked, swallowing and staring into her eyes. “I didn't even get to taste it,” she said, staring down at her lips.
Iris leaned forward and obliged. She knew at least the taste of the cream was still on her tongue. They kissed, ignoring their food for a moment and enjoying consumption of a different kind.
When they finally stopped Nat used Iris's finger to fetch a little more whipped cream and suck it off of her finger.
“Okay, I'll be good,” Nat said, turning again to try and make herself eat.
“Otherwise these people are going to get a show,” Iris said.
They ate beside one another only stopping when they were both finally full.
The ride to the bridge was cozy. Nat let Iris lean against her and, as usual, she completely refused to look at her phone.
When they got to the bridge, Nat put her small backpack on and they walked together through the crazy gift shop, taking in the funny stuffed toys and lame stickers. Nat picked a bear up and held it near her own face. “You want one of these?”
“Now that you’ve just given me a memory of you holding it up like that, I do,” Iris replied.
“Sold,” Nat laughed.
“You know that it’s staying in my bed when you’re not there right? I’m going to be that girl with the stuffed bear in her bed,” Iris laughed.
“Wait. You're planning on not having me in your bed?” Nat pouted. She grabbed a couple candy bars, a mug, and an expensive looking knit sweater that she could send to her friends.
“If it was up to me I’d keep you there but I know at some point there’s gonna be work elsewhere and I’ll have to make do. If you didn’t catch that, I’m saying in the future, future,” Iris blushed.
“I don't like this plan you have to sleep without me,” Nat bullied. She walked to the register and put the stuff down and paid. “Can you hold those for me,” she asked the cashier. “Oh wait, not that,” she said, taking the bear and handing it over to Iris so that she could take it with her on the hike. “Thanks,” Nat said, walking with Iris to leave the shop and go see the actual bridge.
“It’s not a plan, babe. I’m preparing myself for the eventuality but it’s very heartening that you’re reacting this way.” Iris took the bear and tucked it in the crook of her neck, propping it there by using the hood of her hoodie to keep it in place. “What should I name her?”
“Homewrecker,” Nat teased.
Iris laughed and bumped Nat’s shoulder.
“Na, more like she’s my connection to you if you’re not near. Hmm, what’s your middle name?” Iris asked.
“Maria,” Nat said, playing with her hair.
“Then, that’s her name. Maria the bear,” Iris said. She took the bear down from her neck and held it in her arms. “Is there a bathroom in here?” Iris wondered.
“Uh,” Nat looked around. “There,” she said, pointing up at a small sign.
“Ah, yes. I’ll be right back then,” Iris said.
She handed Maria to Nat and leaned in to kiss her hard but not for very long. Dazed, Nat stared as Iris slowly walked away. Her eyes trailed down her body and she picked at the ear on the bear absentmindedly.
Iris was gone for at least five minutes and when she came back she had a devious smile on her face but she said nothing until Nat looked at her.
“Should we go run around in the trees?” Iris asked.
“That's the plan,” Nat said, trying to feel her out.
Nat started to walk toward the exit. You had to walk through the gift shop to get to the start of the bridge and the treetop trail.
Outside, the sun was still playing its game of hide and seek with the clouds. Nat’s phone rang in her pocket, she pulled it out and saw that Avery was trying to videocall.
“Oh shoot,” Nat said, excited and knowing she wanted to answer.
“Answer it,” Iris said.
“You sure?” Nat asked, worried.
“Of course, you should talk to your friend and I should start getting to know them,” Iris said.
Nat walked toward the side rail and swiped on her phone to connect to the video.
“NAAAAT!”
“Hi baby!” Nat beamed. Avery was so cute, she had her hair tied back and she'd somehow lost even more weight which actually worried Nat but it made Avery look fucking killer. “How are you?”
“I'm good,” Avery chuckled. “Just checking to make sure you're alive!”
The camera moved a little and Nat could see Olivia cooking Avery breakfast and singing along to her music far off in the background.
Nat tugged on the neckline of her hoodie and felt her chest ache. They were finally home together and she missed them.
“I'm alive,” Nat blushed, a little breathless. Avery had a white shirt on and it was tied in the front. She was getting even prettier with age, blonde, blue-eyed, and cheeky as hell.
Iris stood beside Nat, leaning on the railing and listening to them talking, taking in all the sounds.
“Good, we were worried that you’d been kidnapped or something. Also, what’s this I hear about you and Iris Dupree? Do you even know how hot she is and her band… so good. You’ve got to get me an autograph or something,” Avery gushed.
Iris was laughing and trying to muffle the sound.
Nat moved the camera so that Avery could see her. “Pretty sure that can be arranged,” Nat laughed.
“Oh, shit!” Avery laughed. “Now, I feel like a dork. Uh, sorry,” she said.
“No! It was so sweet. Thank you. I’m just happy you like the music. It’s part of why we do it. I can do you one better. Maybe we can get you out to a show. You can hang out with us,” Iris said.
“Oh my god, that would be amazing. Wait till I tell Olivia, she’ll flip. Dude, Nat… you’ve got good taste. She’s cool,” Avery said.
Nat blushed and let her eyes slip sideways to share a glance with Iris. “Yeah. I know,” she said. “And she's really pretty too.”
“So, when are you finished with this movie? We want to see you,” Avery said.
“Uh. A couple weeks probably,” Nat stressed. She leaned her arms on the railing and felt suddenly tired.
“Babe, what are you doing?” Olivia asked. “Oh shit. God I hate when you do that,” Olivia laughed, embarrassed and coming close. “
You never tell me,” she growled at Avery, pinching her side. “Look who has time for you,” Olivia said, still a little upset about the other day.
“Hey,” Nat said, bruised. They were really cute together, always. When they did these video calls Nat was reminded of the distance they were forced to endure on the day-to-day.
Olivia hugged Avery's side and rested her head on her chest, rubbing a hand across her stomach. “I'm glad you're alive,” she told Nat.
“I know baby,” Nat said.
Iris looked out over the trees and remained close, keeping a hand on Nat’s waist and listening intently to the cadence of their speech and the intimacy they created when all three spoke together.
“At least I know you're having fun,” Olivia said. “There's some pictures of you guys. Did you know that?”
“What?!” Nat laughed, looking over at Iris.
Iris blinked and shrugged. There were only a few times that could have happened unless someone on set had taken them.
“Where are you?” Olivia asked, trying to make out a location from the buildings and trees.
Nat laughed and looked to Iris. “Hey, I want you to meet Iris,” she said, turning the phone a little so they could both be on the screen.
“Oh my god, hey,” Olivia said, ten times nicer than she'd been two seconds before.
Iris stood up from where she had been propping herself up and tried to gather herself.
“We’ve already kind of met but hi. It’s nice to see you and hear you at the same time. So, pictures? Are they at least flattering?” Iris joked.
“Uhh,” Olivia clearly blushed and looked up at Avery to deliver the news.
“What she’s not saying is that you’re kind of making out with each other and being super cute. Looks like you’re outside somewhere like a restaurant.”
“Right,” Nat laughed. “That happened,” she smiled.
“Oh, I wonder if it was that woman who wanted a picture with you. Damn, that was just an hour ago. People are fast,” Iris said.
“Guess our secret's officially out,” Nat explained.
“That’s good though, right? Or were you hiding it,” Avery asked.
“It is good,” Nat nodded. Olivia stared at Nat openly, before turning her lips into Avery's neck and kissing her skin.
“I'm gonna go cook, babe,” she muttered in secret and walked away. “Nice meeting you,” she turned back and projected for Iris to hear.
“Nice to meet you too and happy cooking,” Iris said.
Nat smirked and rolled her eyes to Avery, shaking her head.
“She’s just being Olivia,” Avery said.
“Yeah, and she's obviously still mad at me,” Nat mentioned.
“She’ll get over it when she sees you in person and you give her a hug. She can’t stay mad at you for too long, unlike me. She’s still mad at me for shit I did a year ago,” Avery joked.
“Uh-oh. What did you do,” Nat joked.
“Nothing. I did nothing… bad. It was a little bad. I just forgot to tell her that the team doc told me to take it easy and then I didn’t so I kind of ended up in the emergency room with pneumonia,” Avery said.
“What?” Natalie asked, instantly sad that she’d missed such a big trial. “Baby, that's so scary. Why didn't you call me?”
“I’m sorry. I was stupid and didn’t think it was a big deal. It wasn’t really, they just put me on some major meds, pumped me full of fluid, and sent me home. Olivia was livid though. I’m not sure I’ve seen her that mad but that tender with me at the same time.”
“I'm sure,” Nat said, feeling sad. “Fuck, I hate that.”
“But I’m fine now! See, I can move and breathe and everything. I’m surprised that Olivia didn’t tell you though. She was so pissed. I know she talked to my mom about it and they ganged up on me at one point. I think you may have been off doing some job in Europe so that’s probably why. Anyway, I’m babbling. Let’s talk more about you two. Hooooow did it happen? Who made the first move? Are you guys like official or what?” Avery went on.
Nat softened at that. Her mind was racing though with the information. Olivia probably didn't want her to fly back from Europe in the middle of her project. But that was wrong. They were more important than any dumb job or dumb movie.
“This one’s tricky,” Nat teased. Turning the phone again to show Iris. “I tried to ask her out but she turned me down and then confused the hell out of me.”
“When did you ask me out? I missed that!” Iris said.
“I invited you over to read scripts, remember?” Michael was invited first but still, it was a reason to get her alone.
“From where I was standing Michael was trying to ask you out and you were being nice by including me but it’s good to know I was totally wrong. I honestly didn’t think you’d say yes to dinner. It was a whim to even ask.”
“Oh wow. Nice to know I was a whim,” Nat teased.
“You weren’t a whim. Trying to ask you out was a whim. I’ve only asked anyone out a few times. It was nerve-wracking. You have no idea what kind of power you have,” Iris explained.
“Oh my god, stop! You guys are too cute. I’m going to die. I’m sad this isn’t recorded so I can play it for Olivia,” Avery said.
“Soon as she got me alone she was a killer,” Nat said, staring lovingly at Iris.
“I was just doing what I felt. You’re easy to get attached to and I was hooked,” Iris said.
“I officially ship this and I’m going to need you to start posting cute pictures on Insta,” Avery said.
“You got it,” Nat laughed.
“Maybe I’ll even let her take a video of me playing,” Iris teased.
“Ahhh, stop. That would be amazing. Do it! I’ll die,” Avery fangirled.
Iris looked at Nat and frowned.
“I guess we can’t do it then. I can’t be responsible for killing your friend,” Iris said.
“Damn, you're right.. Better not,” Nat played along.
“Shut up, you big teases. Do it or I’ll tell Olivia that secret you told me once,” Avery threatened.
“Woooowww,” Nat said, lifting her eyebrows up and feeling the burn. “If you do that, I'll murder you myself,” Nat threatened.
“I guess killing her with the video is a moot point now,” Iris laughed.
Nat stared at Avery and thought about her. The hospital stuff freaked her out and she hated it.
“I need you to take care of yourself, baby,” Nat said, going back to that topic.
“I am, I promise. Olivia asks me if I’m okay every two seconds and my mom is constantly on my butt too. It was one of those moments I have where I think I’m invincible or something. It scared me how mad Olivia was. That was enough for me to realize I’d messed up really bad.”
“She was probably terrified,” Nat reminded.
“I know. It scares me to think about what could happen. I’ve thought about if something happened to me. I don’t know what she would do. You better keep her from doing anything dumb though, okay?” Avery asked.
“Oh baby, no, I can't talk about that,” Nat said, in stress. “Nothing bad is going to happen to you.”
Iris put her arms around Nat and hugged her from behind, sensing the change in mood. She could see Avery more clearly from this angle and the girl was gorgeous. There was such a clear, deep bond with all three but their temperaments were so different. It made Iris want to know the whole story. She was past stupid jealousy. Even if she knew she could still lose Nat, it intrigued her to know how these relationships worked.
“You’re right, I’ve just been thinking about it more lately. You know, I get all weird and sad. Anyway, I’m glad you guys are having fun and I hope this picture thing doesn’t cause any problems,” Avery said.
“Call me when you feel sad,” Nat said, swallowing. She hated that they’d been dealing with this stuff and not talking to her. She also felt terrible that she really hadn't been checking her phone. “Okay um. We better go
,” she said, really guilty now. “Kiss your baby for me, okay?”
“It was nice to get to talk to you,” Iris said.
“You too! Take care of Nat for us. She’s the most amazing person. Oh, and no hurting her or I’ll murder you, to take a line from Nat,” Avery said.
“Oh, I take that very seriously. My only intentions are to make her happy, not sad,” Iris promised.
“Good, kiss her for us,” Avery winked and smiled.
Iris laughed. “I will,” she said.
“And you,” Avery started, talking to Nat. “You be good, take care of yourself and tell us when you can come visit,” Avery said.
“You know I can't wait,” Nat reminded. “I'll come as soon as I can.”
“I bet that’s what you said last night,” Avery joked. She put up a hand and shook her head. “That was just bad, I’m sorry.”
“You're such an asshole,” Nat chuckled.
“Yes, I am and you love it so hush. Now, go do fun things. I love you and so does Olivia.”
“Love you too baby,” Nat said.
The call was a lot and she kind of wanted it to end.
Iris waved and Avery waved back before she ended the video call and the screen went back to Nat’s homescreen.
“Sorry,” Nat sighed. “That was a lot.”
“You don’t have to apologize but are you okay?” Iris asked.
She kissed the back of Nat’s head and rested there for a moment, trying to comfort Nat.
“I will be,” Nat said, troubled by what she learned in that call. She turned around and pulled Iris in for a hug.
“Do you need to go back to the hotel or sit down for a while?” Iris asked.
“What I need is to live my life,” Natalie sighed.
“Then, let’s do it. It’s so beautiful out here. We could get lost in the trees and make up our own stories about living in a treehouse, I could see that being pretty awesome,” Iris said.
“A treehouse,” Nat repeated. It made her smile, eventhough it reminded her of her past and Olivia. “Yeah,” Nat sniffed and nodded.