Christmas All Around Us ; The Perfect Time for Love ; Playing for Keeps

by Carla Kincaid

  The response sounded more like what Rachel would have expected -- or at least hoped for -- if last night had ended differently between the two of them. But given everything that had happened, Rachel didn't know why Julie was in such a good mood.

  "Alright, Misty. Time for us to get dressed!" Julie announced extending her hand toward the little girl. "When Rachel gets finished eating, we'll head over to the hospital to see your mom."

  "Okay!" Misty sang out enthusiastically.

  Rachel watched as Misty shimmied off her chair and scurried down the hall leaving Rachel in the kitchen alone with Julie.

  Rachel's throat clenched. This was it. Their first time alone since last night. This was the moment when she was sure Julie was going to tell her to go to hell!

  "How are your pancakes?" Julie asked. She was still smiling albeit not as broadly as when Misty was in the room -- but still smiling.

  "They're delicious," Rachel said as she forked another bite of the fluffy pancakes into her mouth to prove her point. "I actually think they're the best cinnamon pancakes I've ever had."

  Julie's smile inched a little broader.

  "Thank you very much," she said as she put the last of the dirty dishes into the dishwasher. "Well, I'd better get in there before Misty tries to run her bath by herself. When you're done with your pancakes, please put your plate in the dishwasher. I want to make sure the kitchen is clean when Gail gets home tomorrow. Oh, and I think I'll drive my car to the hospital this morning. Sarah is going to meet us there to pick Misty up for her sleepover with the twins and I've got to run a quick errand before I head home to get ready for the gala."

  Rachel just nodded. For a moment, she wondered if Julie taking her car meant she'd changed her mind about the two of them going to the gala together.

  "You're still picking me up at my place at 7, right?" Julie asked before walking out of the kitchen.

  "Yeah. Absolutely," Rachel said with a sigh of relief. Maybe things between them weren't as bad as Rachel thought they were?

  When Julie walked out of the room Rachel just sat at the table staring at her half-eaten pancakes. Everything seemed so calm this morning part of her wondered if she'd dreamt the intimate encounter from last night. But deep down she knew it had happened -- even if Julie didn't want to talk about it.

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  "So you're just going to leave town without even telling her how you feel?" Gail asked when she and Rachel had a moment alone at the hospital. There was more than a slight tone of disappointment in her voice.

  "What else am I supposed to do?" Rachel responded in frustration.

  Gail let out a snort of laughter. "You really have it bad," she giggled.

  Rachel glared at her friend. "What are you talking about?"

  "I've rarely seen you at a loss of words and I've never seen you back away from anything you wanted before. This thing with Julie must really have you scared."

  Rachel wanted to protest but she couldn't. Everything Gail was saying was true. Rachel was known for being someone who didn't back down in tough situations which is why she excelled in her career the way she did but this thing between her and Julie had her totally off her game.

  "You could give me some advice instead of laying there laughing at me," she playfully snarled at Gail. "And be quick about it. They should be back from the cafeteria soon."

  Gail -- sensing her friend needed to talk -- had sent Julie and Misty on a search for a fruit cup in the cafeteria.

  "Well, why don't you try telling her the truth?" Gail asked.

  "I did that. That's what got me in the mess I'm in now."

  "Well, yes. Technically you told the truth but you're a good enough attorney to know that the delivery counts as much as the information being delivered. Maybe Julie misunderstood why you were telling her about your possible move? Maybe she thought you were just suggesting that the two of you have a no strings attached roll in the hay until you flew off to the left coast?"

  Rachel considered what her friend was saying and knowing Julie the way she did now, a proposal of that sort probably wouldn't go over too well.

  "You may have a point," Rachel admitted with a sigh and then squared her shoulders. "I'll talk to her when I pick her up for the gala tonight. Maybe we can at least get things clear enough to have a fun evening?"

  Chapter 10

  Julie unlocked her front door and stepped inside her apartment for the first time in almost a week. She looked around the living room eyeing the furnishings she'd collected over the past three years that she'd been living there; her comfy couch that folded out for the occasional overnight guest, the two-person dinette set that huddled against the wall just outside her small kitchen, the large screen TV that was her companion on most nights after work. It wasn't an extravagant place but it was hers and she'd taken a lot of time to find just the right pieces to make the small apartment livable without being too crowded. Everything was the same as it was when she left it five days ago. Everything except her.

  Julie's mind immediately went back to last night's encounter with Rachel. The two women had only been alone for a moment this morning -- nowhere near enough time for Julie to say what it was she'd decided to say to the sexy attorney.

  Julie let out a long sigh just thinking about it. How was it possible for her life to go so topsy-turvy in such a short period of time? Last week all she had was a little crush on a woman who she only saw every other month at an Empowerment Now meeting. Now over the past few days, she'd become closer to that woman than she ever could have imagined but, in a moment of what she could only describe as insanity, she'd ruined it all. There was nothing left to do but to backtrack and hope Rachel still wanted to at least be friends.

  "What was I thinking!" Julie screamed into the empty apartment. If she'd only just kept her lips to herself! Julie slammed her palm to her forehead. It was that damn Santa suit that did it, she thought. Before that Julie had been doing so well keeping her feelings -- and her hands -- to herself. But watching the woman who hated Christmas dress up as Santa just to make a little girl happy put the attorney's tender side on display and made her simply irresistible.

  "Why did I have to kiss her?" Julie asked the walls of her apartment.

  No matter how many times she asked why there was no answer that would satisfy her. It's just the way it was, she finally accepted -- for the umpteenth time. There's nothing I can do to change the past so I might as well try to enjoy the last day in her company and then move on.

  Julie glanced at her cell phone and then hurried into the bathroom to take a shower. She had almost three hours before Rachel was scheduled to pick her up for the gala and she certainly didn't want to be half-dressed when the woman arrived.

  Two hours later, Julie twisted and turned in the mirror hanging on her bedroom door inspecting herself from every angle. The lining of her floor-length gown brushed against her skin like soft kisses and made her feel as elegant and sexy as the model she'd seen wearing the garment in the advertisement online.

  Now all she needed were the earrings she purchased to go with the dress. Julie reached into the little velvet bag dangling from the hanger her dress had been on. She pulled out the tiny box inside and set it on her dresser. When she opened the box, she couldn't help but smile at what she saw. The earrings were simple star-shaped studs that would look great once Julie pulled her hair up away from her neck so they could be seen. She slipped one of the earrings into her ear and then reached for the second one. Just then the doorbell rang.

  Julie must have been tenser than she'd realized because even though she was expecting Rachel, the sound of the doorbell startled her and she dropped the earring at her feet. That's when she saw one of the faux diamonds in the starburst pop out of its setting and skitter under the bed.

  "Oh, no!" Julie exclaimed as she scooped the visible part of the earring off of the floor. She was just about to get down on her hands and knees and look under the bed for the missing stone when the doorbell rang again.r />
  "Dang!" she growled and then forced herself to swallow her frustration and utter a more pleasant sound. "Coming!" she called as she hurried to the door.

  Even though Julie had been rehearsing her speech for Rachel about them just being friends, if she was honest with herself she still wanted to be picture perfect when the woman arrived. Now her perfect earring was in pieces putting her heart and her nerves on edge. But why should what she looked like matter, she tried to tell herself? If we're just going to be friends. Julie avoided looking at herself in the mirror -- not because of the missing earring but because she didn't want to see her own eyes letting her know that it still mattered very much.

  She took a deep breath and opened her front door but "Hi," was all she managed to say when she saw the woman standing in her doorway.

  Rachel looked like she just stepped off of the cover of Vogue. She was wearing a slim fitting, ankle-length black cashmere coat with shiny black fur at the collar and the wrists. She wore black leather gloves and black stiletto-heeled boots that Julie knew she wouldn't be able to afford or walk in. Rachel's dark hair was pulled back in a chignon. Altogether she looked like a sleek and sexy black cat stalking prey. And oh how Julie wanted to be that prey right now!

  "Can I come in?" Rachel asked raising her eyebrows. "It's a little cold out here."

  Julie shook herself pretending that it was the cold -- and not the wave of attraction -- that made her shiver too. "Of course," Julie said as she stepped aside to let Rachel into her apartment. Before she closed the door, she could almost feel each of the words of her speech about friendship blowing out the door and into the wintery night.

  Come on, Julie! You can't fold that easily, she chastised herself silently. Hold your ground. Being friends is what's best for everyone, she thought in a vain attempt to convince herself to stick to her original plan.

  "I'm almost ready," Julie said as she motioned toward the couch. "Please, have a seat and make yourself comfortable. I just have to put my other earring and my shoes on."

  "Okay," Rachel said with a smile. "But there's no rush. We've got plenty of time to make it to the center. The roads are still clear."

  Before Julie turned to go back to her bedroom, Rachel began unbuttoning her coat. When the soft outer layer slid off of Rachel's shoulders Julie had to steady herself to remain upright. The outfit Rachel was wearing underneath was stunning.

  The shimmering gold and black pinstriped jumpsuit flowed over Rachel's curves from shoulder to waist to hip, barely skimming her thighs before the wide pant legs cascaded toward the floor. Julie felt her heart flutter as she took in the image and she knew she was in trouble.

  "Your jumpsuit is really nice," Julie said trying to make her voice sound far more calm and steady than it was. Her eyes roamed up and down the glistening fabric that shimmered as Rachel moved to sit down on the couch.

  "Thanks! I love your dress, too," Rachel said seemingly oblivious to the fact that Julie was still standing in the middle of the floor with no sign of moving in any direction.

  At the sound of the compliment Julie shook herself out of her trance. "Thanks," she said shyly looking down at the garment that suddenly felt very plain next to the glamorous outfit Rachel was wearing.

  "Red is a good color on you," Rachel continued.

  Julie lifted her gaze to meet Rachel's smiling eyes and tried to remember how sexy she'd felt when she was standing in the mirror just a few moments ago.

  "Well, I'd better go finish getting dressed," Julie said pulling herself away from the scene. "There's an open bottle of red wine and a glass on the counter if you'd like some while you wait."

  With that, Julie hurried out of the room leaving her guest to serve herself.

  When she got back into her bedroom, Julie hitched the skirt of her dress up to her hips so she could get down on her hands and knees at the edge of the bed. She peered into the darkness underneath but saw nothing. She reached under the bed and patted the floor with her hand hoping to touch the missing stone. Of course, she didn't know what she was going to do when she found it. She could attempt to put the stone back into the earring setting but the only adhesive she had in her apartment was some nail glue left over from a failed experiment with fake fingernails.

  "Darn it!" Julie growled still peering under the bed. "This is not how this evening was supposed to start."

  "You need some help?" a voice asked from the doorway.

  Julie's face went flush at the sound. She could only imagine how she must have looked with her dress pulled up and her butt sticking up in the air. Julie quickly got up off her knees and pulled at her dress in a vain attempt to regain some of her dignity.

  "One of the stones came out of my other earring," Julie said as she self-consciously touched the intact piece of jewelry in her left ear. "I was trying to find it because I don't have any other earrings that will work with this dress."

  Julie dropped her head with exasperation.

  "I have an idea," Rachel said. "Be right back."

  Julie didn't know what Rachel's idea could have been but she was up for just about anything that would keep her from having to wear something that didn't match her outfit.

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  When Rachel came back into the room Julie was sitting on the edge of her bed. "Merry Christmas," Rachel said with a smile as she held out a small wrapped box.

  "What's this?" Julie asked as she stared at the item in Rachel's hand with a perplexed look on her face.

  "It's called a Christmas present," Rachel said with playful sarcasm. "I thought you knew about these things since you love the holiday so much."

  Julie let out a soft giggle and then reached out and took the box from Rachel.

  "I thought you didn't buy Christmas gifts," she said imitating Rachel's sarcasm.

  "I usually don't," Rachel replied with a shrug. "But I figured since I'd already put on the red suit and the beard I might as well go all the way. I draw the line at coming down chimneys though," she said with a giggle.

  When Rachel bought the gift for Julie, she had no idea that it would be needed for tonight's event but she was glad the present was so timely.

  "I got a little something for you too," Julie confessed with a smile. She pointed to a long rectangular wrapped box on her dresser.

  "A cigar?" Rachel asked with a laugh as she picked up the box and shook it. "Or maybe a dildo?"

  Rachel watched as her question caused a blush of color to spread across Julie's face. The sexually charged comment had come out of Rachel's mouth before she could think about what she was saying. Something about being in Julie's bedroom -- and walking in to see her on her hands and knees -- had sent Rachel's mind spinning in a very particular direction -- again.

  "You first," Rachel said dropping her present to her side. As curious as she was about what might be in the box, she wanted to see Julie's reaction to her present first.

  Julie nodded and began unwrapping her gift.

  "Oh my God! The earrings from the store!" Julie exclaimed. She jumped up from the bed, took them out of the box and held them up to her ears. "They're perfect."

  "I figured I couldn't go wrong with something you seemed to like so much when you saw them," Rachel said.

  She watched as Julie pulled out the single earring she was wearing and put the new ones into her ears.

  "They're even better than the ones I'd planned to wear," she said as she looked in the mirror. Then she turned to Rachel. "Thank you."

  Julie's face was beaming and Rachel couldn't help but smile, grateful that the present was appreciated as much as it was. For a moment the two women just stood there staring at each other. That same energy that they'd shared on the couch a night ago was still present -- and still strong.