The Learning Curves Omnibus

by Ceillie Simkiss

  “Want me to move?” Cora asked, her voice thick with emotion.

  “Hush,” Elena said soothingly. She held her, rubbing circles into Cora’s back as she cried. “I’ve got you.”

  “I don’t want you to go,” Cora mumbled into her chest. “I don’t want to lose you.”

  “I’ve got you,” she repeated. “I’m not going anywhere unless you want me to.”

  They stood like that for nearly ten minutes, just holding each other. Cora’s tears subsided, and she pulled an arm away from where it had been wrapped around Elena’s waist to wipe her eyes.

  “Well, that was embarrassing,” she laughed wetly. “Probably should have included that I cry a lot in the note.”

  Elena smiled down at her, her tongue poking out between her teeth.

  “Your note was adorable, just like you, you goose.” Cora smiled up at her crookedly through still wet eyelashes. “And I already knew you cry a lot. I’ve seen you read. I like you, Cora. We’ll figure out the rest together. Sound good?”

  Elena looked down at her expectantly. Cora bit her lip and continued to smile up at her girlfriend. The thought of the word “girlfriends” being applied to them made Elena’s heart sing.

  “Sounds good to me.”

  Elena pressed a kiss to Cora’s forehead.

  “Now, do you want to learn how to make brioche?

  “Sure,” Cora said with a grin. “That sounds fun.”

  Chapter 7

  The Final Interview

  The Final Interview was originally distributed as an exclusive short story for my newsletter. It takes place before the events of Wrapped Up In You! Enjoy!

  The Final Interview: A Short Story

  Elena stood by the door tapping her fingers anxiously against the leather exterior of her purse. It was almost time for her to leave for the hopefully final interview for a new job at a local law firm. She really wanted this job, and her anxiety had kicked into high gear.

  “Are you sure you’ve got everything you need?” Cora asked, still in the shorts and t-shirt that she’d slept in.

  Elena had gone through her bag at least half a dozen times that morning.

  She was positive that she wasn't forgetting anything, but the little voice in the back of her head was telling her otherwise.

  The little voice was often a liar, but she felt like she really was forgetting something today.

  “I'm pretty sure....” Elena grimaced. “Can you check behind me?”

  “Sure thing, love. Hand over your bag.”

  Elena handed over the purse, and Cora promptly sat on the floor. She crossed her legs like they taught you to in kindergarten. She went through it, ticking things off on her fingers as she went. “You really need to clean out your purse. You have so much change at the bottom of this!”

  “Now is really not the time, Cora... Just help me make sure I haven’t forgotten anything for this interview, would you?”

  Cora flapped a hand at her.

  “Of course, of course. I know what you forgot!”

  Elena raised her eyebrows, but Cora just got up and walked into her office. She came back out, but Elena couldn’t figure out what she’d retrieved from it.

  “Close your eyes and hold out your hand!” Cora said in a sing-song voice, a silly grin on her face.

  She did so, but not without making a face at her girlfriend. Something small and cold dropped into her hand, and she opened her eyes. Her keys. She’d forgotten her keys.

  “You are the best, Cora.”

  “I’m not done yet! You forgot one more thing.”

  “Oh? What’s that?”

  Cora smiled impishly up at Elena.

  “A kiss for good luck!”

  “Well, I can fix that.”

  Elena set down her purse and keys just in time for Cora to rise up on the tips of her toes to press a deep, luxurious kiss to Elena’s lips. She didn’t hesitate to return the kiss, wrapping the much smaller girl in her arms.

  By the time they separated, they were both more than a little breathless.

  “Now... have I forgotten anything else?”

  “Nope,” Cora said, popping the last consonant in the word emphatically. “You’re all set. Go kick their butts and bring home all the money, babe!”

  THE END

  Cover Artist: Ceillie Simkiss

  It’s been two years since Cora and Elena of LEARNING CURVES discovered how easy it is to learn to love–but with Christmas just around the bend, they’re going to have to learn to cope when both their families descend on their household for the first time ever. With her brothers and parents underfoot and a million dishes to cook, it’s hard enough for Elena to plan her double surprise for Elena, even harder when she has to corral her wayward brothers into it–but when Cora’s own surprise plans tangle with Elena’s, it may be impossible to tie up the holiday in a neat little bow.

  * * *

  There’s mayhem and laughter, warmth and unexpected turns–and even if it all doesn’t go according to plan, neither Cora nor Elena care so long as they can stay wrapped up in each other.

  Original Copyright © 2018 by Ceillie Simkiss

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Chapter 1

  Cora’s eyes shot open. Her heart raced inside her chest, and she had no idea why. The room around her was still the deep dark of the wee hours of the morning and she could feel the warmth and weight of Elena’s body in the bed next to her. She eased herself up in bed, leaning against the headboard. She rubbed her eyes gently with the tips of her index fingers. Slowly, she realized what had woken her. From her spot in bed, she could hear a chorus of voices… and it sounded like they were singing.

  Cora grabbed her phone from the nightstand and saw that it was just barely 5 a.m. She stifled a groan as she eased herself out of the bed so that she wouldn’t wake Elena. She was not a morning person at the best of times.

  Did I leave music playing in the office? She asked herself, but knew as soon as the thought crossed her mind that that wasn’t what she was hearing.

  Wrapping herself in her warmest flannel robe, she shuffled her way towards the front door, trying to discover the source of the sound.

  She thought she could hear a few children’s voices in the group, which was the most confusing part. She and Elena had moved out to the outskirts of our small town in Virginia specifically so that their neighbors wouldn’t make weird noises in the middle of the night. Their nearest neighbors only had one daughter, and there was no way that she would be out this early in the morning. Janelle was famous in her family for her ability to sleep in, no matter what the occasion.

  The closer she got to the front door, the more confused she got. She knew the tunes of the songs that the group was singing, but didn’t recognize any of the words. When the chorus transitioned into the Little Drummer Boy, she realized why. The group was singing in Spanish.

  Tugging the flannel robe tighter around herself, she tied the belt as close as she could around her slim waist to keep herself to keep the heat in. She pulled her shoulder-length blonde curls out from underneath the collar and ran her finger through them.

  She had no idea what her hair looked like, but since whoever was out there was showing up unexpectedly at 5 AM on Christmas Eve, she didn’t particularly care.

  Something clicked inside Cora’s mind. She suddenly knew exactly what she would find when she opened the front door. A gust of cold air seeped through the door as she opened it to reveal a frost-patterned storm door. Through it, Cora could see the outline of Elena’s parents, her three brothers, and Anton’s two children, Sofía and David.

  With a sigh that became visible in the cold air, she slid her feet into her faux fur lined house slippers and st
epped out onto the porch.

  “Señora Mendéz, what is this? I thought you weren’t coming until this afternoon.”

  They stopped singing and trudged up the porch steps.

  “This is an asaltó navideño, Cora!” Elena’s eldest brother Anton answered in a chipper voice that was completely inappropriate for the time of day. “This is a Mendéz family tradition with new members. Now let us in before the kids freeze to death!”

  Sofía made a show out of rolling her eyes and chattering her teeth as only a nine-year-old could. Cora beckoned them all into the house, closing the door tightly behind me with a shiver. When they got to the kitchen, Cora was the only one surprised to find Elena at the stove pouring water into the electric kettle.

  Elena turned towards her girlfriend, her loosely braided hair swinging with the movement of her curvy body and a wide grin spreading across her face. Cora was beginning to feel played.

  “You, madam, are a fiend!” Cora squealed. “You knew this was coming?”

  Elena nodded, her smile becoming wickeder.

  “You could have warned me!”

  “Now where’s the fun in that?” Elena’s laugh boomed through the kitchen and was joined by chuckles from her brothers. Cora glared. “You had a nice Christmas surprise, no? I got to watch you stumble to the door in a confused, sleep-drunk stupor. That alone made it worth it to me.”

  As she flipped the switch on the kettle, Elena flashed her a wide, dazzling smile that would almost be enough to make Cora forgive her. Almost.

  Her voice came out in a whine.

  “Elena, it’s 5:15 in the morning. I’ve never been up this early of my own volition.”

  “And you still aren’t. You’re gonna be just fine, you big baby.” She pressed a kiss to Cora’s forehead and pushed her gently towards the back of the house. “Go take a shower. I’ll take care of getting the hungry masses their breakfast.”

  Cora walked away shaking her head. Behind her, she heard Elena give her first order of the day. She could see the image in her head. Elena would be standing with one hand on her wide hips and the other would be brandishing a spatula like a scepter. She knew it well.

  “I’m making scrambled eggs and baking bacon. If anyone has any complaints, keep them to yourself because I don’t care. You invade my house, you deal with my cooking, claro?”

  Her family’s chatter filled the warm air of their home as Cora made her way to the back of the house to get ready for what was shaping up to be a very long Christmas Eve day.

  There was very little that Elena loved more than the sound of her family chattering amongst themselves. It was great to have them here in their dining room together for the first time.

  The chairs didn’t match the table or each other, and they didn’t have any placemats, but she didn’t care. They didn’t seem to care either. It felt like Mama had wrapped a cozy weighted blanket around Elena and tucked her in to read a bedtime story like she had when Elena was little.

  She served the last bit of scrambled eggs to Sofía and David just in time for Cora to re-enter the kitchen. She still looked tired, but she seemed a little more human than she had before she’d showered.

  She wore loose black-and-white striped pants and the hems rustled against the hardwood floor as she made her way to the stove. Elena couldn’t get over how wonderful it was to watch Cora walk around in the house that they were renting together. Every time she walked in the door to see Cora working at the dining room table, or laying out an art project on the living room floor, she couldn’t help falling in love with her all over again.

  Cora pressed a kiss to Elena’s cheek, carefully avoiding leaning over the still hot pans. Sparks of a different sort spread across Elena’s face at the comforting press of Cora’s lips. Even though they’d been dating for more than two years at this point. Elena hoped that they never lost that spark.

  The toaster popped, releasing two slices of homemade rye bread and surprising them both.

  Cora pulled back and smiled. Elena felt a matching goofy grin spread across her own face.

  “Are you hungry, honey? Pan’s still hot.”

  Cora wrinkled her freckled nose and grumbled.

  “It’s way too early for real food,” she grumbled. “I will, however, have some toast.”

  She grabbed a piece from the toaster and yelped, nearly dropping it from the heat.

  Mama laughed quietly at her but didn’t say anything. Elena rolled her eyes and fussed at her girlfriend.

  “At least grab a plate, would you? We got those cute ones for a reason!”

  Mama laughed out loud at the admonition that Cora ignored. She chose, instead, to slather her toast in butter in her hand. Elena rolled her eyes.

  After taking a few bites, Cora glanced around the room and then back to Elena.

  “Elena, have you eaten anything?”

  Elena looked down at the stove in front of her and realized that she hadn’t.

  “I’ve had a cup of coffee?”

  “Elena Maria!” Mama chided her. “That is not breakfast!”

  “I was cooking for y’all! When was I supposed to eat?” she defended herself

  “No excuse!” Cora told her, wagging a crumb-covered finger at her. “Sit and finish your coffee. I’ll make you breakfast.”

  Elena glanced at the smaller girl dubiously. Her cooking skills had improved since they had graduated from grad school, but only marginally.

  “You sure you’re up for that? It’s awfully early for you to be cooking in front of people.”

  Cora stuck her tongue out at Elena.

  “Would I have offered if I wasn’t up for it? No. Now go sit down with your family.”

  Elena obeyed, handing over her spatula ceremoniously. She grabbed her half-drunk mug of coffee and made her way over to one of the two empty seats at the table.

  As she let the noise of her family wash over her, she was glad that they had prepared to have a separate kids table for dinner. If they hadn’t, there was no way that there would be enough space for Cora’s family to join them.

  “You want your eggs sunny side up, right, hon?”

  Elena nodded with a smile, watching as Cora cracked two eggs into the still warm hand with a practiced hand. She seasoned them lightly and put down a few slices of rye toast for Elena as well. If Elena hadn’t known better, she would’ve thought that Cora really did know what she was doing in the kitchen.

  Sofía had managed to maneuver herself so that she was directly next to Elena at the table after finishing her breakfast. She pressed her slightly sticky face to Elena’s shoulder affectionately.

  “Tía Elena, I love your Christmas tree! It’s so preeeeeeetty! And there’s so much tree in it!”

  Her father tried to hide a laugh behind a bite of toast. Elena didn’t bother. She laughed loudly, pressing a kiss to Sofía’s tiny brown forehead. The tree that Cora and Elena had picked out was just barely 5 feet tall and had significantly fewer ornaments then Sofía would be used to seeing on a Christmas tree.

  As soon as Elena drew her lips away from Sofía’s forehead, wrinkled in confusion.

  “Qué? Why is that funny?”

  “It’s funny because you’re cute, Fi,” Marianne told her with a pleased smile.

  “That doesn’t make any sense, Mama, but whatever. Tía’s tree is so pink and yellow! How come her tree doesn’t have all the colors that Abuela’s does?”

  “Abuela has collected all of her ornaments over a very long time,” Elena told her. “This is the first year that Cora and I have a Christmas tree, so we didn’t have that many ornaments. We decided to go with our favorite colors for our Christmas tree this year.”

  “But Tía Elena, you don’t like pink that much!”

  “No, but I do,” Cora butted in. “Pink is my favorite.”

  She had snuck up behind the family while they talked. Cora reached a sweatshirt-clad arm around Elena’s broad shoulders to place a beautiful plate of food in front of her on the table. The ru
nny egg yolks spilled out ever so slightly towards the perfectly toasted bread. Elena had to admit that she was impressed.

  She scooped up a bit of egg and placed it onto the toast before taking a bite. She found that it was cooked and seasoned exactly the way she liked it.

  “This is delicious, Cor! Thank you for making it for me.”

  She nudged Elena’s shoulder and teased her gently.

  “You don’t have to sound so surprised, El.”

  Elena smiled crookedly up at her and Cora pressed a kiss to her forehead. Luís and Gabriel awwed pretentiously, trying to ruin the moment.

  Elena stuck her tongue out at them, making the rest of the table laugh.

  “Well, boys, since you have enough time to be jerks to your sister, you can do the dishes,” Papí announced.

  Their awws turned to groans as if they were surprised by this turn of events. It was Cora’s turn to laugh. “It’s only fair and you know it.”

  The kids were mostly blinking heavily at their plates. Now that they were in the warmth of the house and their stomachs were full, they were wiped.

  “Everything in the sink, kids,” Cora instructed them. “Elena, take your time eating. How about we all go take a nap in the living room, eh?”

  The children happily followed her instructions, following her to the sink and then out of the room like ducklings after their mother. It was adorable. Mamá followed after them as if she was ready for a nap herself.

  Papí smiled over at Elena, his thick eyebrows raised slightly.

  “You didn’t think we’d miss out on the chance to surprise you here, did you?”

  She laughed, covering her mouth to hide the half-chewed food in it. She swallowed it and answered him.

  “I kind of expected this. Do you remember the time we drove three hours in the middle of the night to sing at Anton's place when he and Marianne first moved in together?”