by A. L. Brooks
She hesitated. Spending more time with Justine would be lovely. They had laughed and chatted so easily with each other—who wouldn’t want another evening of that? But was she really being honest with herself about the situation? Wasn’t she just a teensy bit attracted to Justine, and was therefore enjoying her attention a teensy bit more than she should?
She met Justine’s gaze, and Justine smiled widely at her. Once again, warmth pervaded Alex.
“Well, okay, then,” Alex found herself saying. “Why not?”
Sylvie grinned. “Parfait. Okay, so we will see you at Gabrielle’s tomorrow. Sonia, could you give Alex directions?” Sonia smiled and nodded. “Okay,” Sylvie continued, “we will be there from eight. Join us any time that suits you.”
Chapter 8
Justine shifted in her seat again. It was eight fifteen and there was no sign of Alex. For once Justine had been on time, making an extra effort to ensure Alex wouldn’t wander into Gabrielle’s and not see a familiar face. A friend would do that, right? But how long should she sit here waiting for Alex? Stupidly, they hadn’t swapped phone numbers, relying instead on Sylvie’s casual yet forceful invitation to bring them together at the appointed time.
Only Alex wasn’t here.
For about the tenth time, Justine scowled at the empty seat beside her. Sylvie had called her two hours ago, apologising profusely as she explained why she wouldn’t be joining them this evening.
“My sister is in meltdown,” she said, sighing. “Big opening night at the gallery and no babysitter. I cannot let her down, chérie.”
Justine couldn’t argue with that—Sylvie’s sister was infamously dramatic at the best of times, so she could only imagine the state she was in, in those circumstances. It was just… Sylvie had arranged all this, without consulting Justine first, and she felt off balance as a result. They had exchanged some heated text messages earlier that morning, with Justine questioning Sylvie’s motives over the invite she had extended to Alex.
Are you saying you don’t want to carry on getting to know her? Sylvie had messaged eventually, and Justine had had to give in.
No. I do. Thank you. I think.
Sylvie had simply responded with a smiley face and that was that.
So, now, here Justine was, waiting on her own for Alex and still trying to sort through her conflicted thoughts about what was happening between them. On the one hand, she certainly wasn’t going to turn down the chance to spend more time with Alex. The evening at Lèvres had ended all too rapidly, just when Alex had seemed to be relaxing completely. But Justine couldn’t kid herself—she was very much attracted to Alex, and that physical attraction could derail things if she wasn’t careful. She also had no idea if Alex was in any way attracted to her. Sure, there’d been a few looks, and Alex’s almost constant blushes, but for once Justine couldn’t actually read what those signs meant. It was disconcerting to say the least. Everything she thought she’d learned over the last eighteen months about the signals women could give was failing her dismally when it came to Alex.
The opening door caught her attention, and she sucked in a breath as Alex quickly entered the bar. Justine raised a hand to get her attention and caught the slight falter in Alex’s steps as she realised Justine was alone at the table.
Don’t worry, I’m just as nervous about that as you are.
“Hey, how are you?” Justine asked, rising as Alex reached the table. “Sylvie sends her apologies. Her sister called with a babysitting emergency.”
Alex smiled and her features relaxed the small frown they’d been sporting. “Ah, I see.” She placed her coat on the spare chair and sat.
“How was your day?” Justine asked, motioning the waitress over.
“Good. Busy. That’s why I’m a little late; I got caught in a meeting. Still, I slept pretty good last night, which helped get me through the day—must have been all that dancing, wearing me out.” Alex’s voice had a slight croakiness, and she cleared her throat. Was she nervous?
Justine smiled, reining herself in from reaching out to comfort Alex. “Well, that’s good.”
Alex ordered a glass of wine and sat back as she sipped it. “How about you?” she asked, setting her glass down again. Justine noticed the slight quiver in her hand as she did so. Yep, definitely nervous. But about what?
“Oh, so-so. Nothing major.”
“What is it you do? We never did get around to talking about work after Sonia banned it.” Alex’s smile then was bright and relaxed, and Justine’s entire body lost its tension. They could do this.
“I’m a project manager,” Justine replied.
“Prince2?”
“Yes, and an MBA too.”
“Impressive,” Alex said, nodding.
“What about you?”
“I work in HR. I’m the training director for my company.”
Justine smiled and tipped her glass in Alex’s direction. “Equally impressive.”
Alex laughed. “Thank you.”
“So do you come to Montreal often?”
“This year I have—this is my fourth trip. Last year only twice, though.”
“Do you like travelling?”
“Oh, yeah, I do, actually. Not the flying so much, but landing somewhere new, yes, I really love that.”
And just like that, that easily, they were immersed in conversation. Justine couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so at ease with someone. Before their food arrived they talked about all the places they’d travelled or would love to visit. As they ate they discussed food and wine and the best meals they’d ever had.
“So what’s your secret craving when it comes to food?” Justine asked as the waitress dropped dessert menus in front of them.
Alex blushed that endearing pink again and laughed. “Oh, God, this is embarrassing.” She paused. “Er, it’s custard.”
Justine snorted. “Custard? As in that awful yellow stuff?”
“Hey, don’t mock my heritage!” Alex laughed. “It’s a throwback to when I was a child. My mum would heat me up some custard and throw some sultanas in it, whenever I was feeling poorly. It was my comfort food, and still is.”
Justine smiled. “I get that.”
“So? Yours?”
Justine squirmed in her seat. She’d had many women baulk at this notion in the past—how would Alex take it? And why did she suddenly care so much what Alex thought of her? “Er, well, it’s…”
“Come on,” Alex prompted, smirking, “spit it out!”
“Cold pizza,” Justine said, wincing. “For breakfast.”
Alex’s eyes widened and she looked horrified. “Ew,” she said, but she was laughing, “that’s gross!”
“Hey, fair’s fair.” But Justine couldn’t help joining Alex’s laughter. “Have you ever tried it?”
Alex shook her head. “No, fair point. I haven’t. But, ew, the thought of all that cold, congealed cheese and dough that early in the morning. Really doesn’t sound like something I’d like.”
“Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it, that’s all I’m going to say.”
“Well, you knocked my custard.”
“Yeah, but I have actually tried that and I know I don’t like it.”
They declined dessert and instead ordered a second glass of wine. As they sipped slowly they moved on to books, and movies, and sport. The time passed in a warm, hazy blur that had Justine’s nerves tingling in so many delicious ways.
As they finished their drinks, Justine excused herself to go to the washroom. She stared at herself in the mirror as she washed her hands. The evening was going better than she’d dared hope for. Sylvie was definitely right, getting to know someone like this, without putting any pressure on herself to woo them into her bed, was a revelation in enjoyment. Of course, she had to
be honest and acknowledge that she thought Alex was wonderful and that she would, under different circumstances, want to see where they could take this. The cynic in her, the old Justine who wouldn’t quite lay down and die, reminded her that she could have her cake and eat it—she could have the nice conversation and connection and still take Alex home for a night of what she was sure would be incredible sex before Alex jetted off back to the UK in a couple of days.
The trouble was, the newly emerging Justine, the one who thought she really ought to say goodbye to that wild time she’d lived for the last eighteen months, already liked Alex more than as just a one-night stand.
Alex fidgeted with her empty wine glass and huffed out a breath.
She was in trouble and she had no idea how it had happened. It had just…crept up on her, without her noticing.
Once again, Justine had done nothing overt to suggest she was interested in anything other than friendship. But Alex was dazzled from being under the spotlight of Justine’s attention. No one had been this interested in her in years—just her, Alex, not the Alex who was Terri’s partner, or the Alex who was a director at RCS. Only Alex. The evening they had shared had, even more than last night, touched her in so many ways. Ways she’d forgotten she knew how to feel.
She blew out her cheeks and exhaled slowly. She’d been of two minds about coming here tonight—saying she’d got caught in a meeting had been a little white lie. Actually, she’d been pacing in her hotel room for twenty minutes, wringing her hands and trying hard to build up either the courage to go to Gabrielle’s or get Sylvie’s number from Sonia and beg off the evening entirely.
And it was all because of Justine and how she had made Alex feel last night at the club. Eventually her pacing had led her to rationalise that at least Sylvie would be with them at Gabrielle’s, so ignoring the buzz she got from being around Justine would be far easier. Then, of course, she’d arrived to find Sylvie couldn’t make it and she had a whole evening alone with Justine.
It was…intoxicating, and she’d loved every minute of it, but as much as she didn’t want to walk away from Justine, she knew she should. Twice already she’d had to stop herself from reaching out to touch Justine when she had said something funny or adorable.
You have a partner, you are in a relationship. Yes, it might be a doomed one, but why are you even thinking about Justine this way?
The answer came swiftly: Because she makes me feel special. Interesting. Funny. Smart.
She shook her head. No, it didn’t matter. She knew she was at risk of saying or doing something really stupid that would only embarrass her in front of this new friend. The better policy, the safer one, was simply to put on her coat and leave. Walk away from temptation and all the confusion it was bringing her.
She tensed her shoulders, then relaxed them again. Yes. She had to.
Standing, she pulled her coat from the spare chair and pushed her arms quickly into the sleeves. Just as she was pulling some notes from her wallet, Justine returned from the washroom.
The look of hurt that washed over her face, before she could mask it, made Alex’s stomach drop.
“You’re going?” Justine asked as she reached the table, her voice soft but with a slight tremble to it.
Alex couldn’t meet her eyes. “I really should,” she said. “I’ve got more of those dull meetings to deal with tomorrow, after all.” She wrapped her scarf around her neck and finally braved a glance at Justine.
Justine smiled, but it barely lifted the corners of her mouth. Her eyes narrowed and she shook her head slightly. “But…I thought…well, I thought we were having a nice time.”
“We were. Are,” Alex said quickly. “I just really think I should go.”
Justine glanced at her watch. “It’s, well, it’s only nine thirty. Are you tired?”
Just lie, tell her that’s what it is.
“No, it’s not that. It’s…” She looked anywhere but at Justine. Despite that, she was aware of Justine walking around the table, of Justine standing just a little too close to her.
“Alex, I have really enjoyed spending time with you. I’m not ready for that to end, and I don’t think you are either. We can spend some more time together, can’t we? Just a little more time, please.”
Alex dared to look at her, and it was her undoing. Justine’s expression was open, and warm, and…there it was again, that unidentifiable something that tugged at Alex and wouldn’t let her go.
Justine leaned towards Alex. “Stay,” she said, and she reached out to touch Alex’s hand.
The touch electrified Alex in ways it really shouldn’t.
She should go.
“There’s a great little bar a bit further down the street that plays really cheesy music from the eighties. It’s such a fun place. I’d really like you to see it.” Justine waggled her eyebrows. “And we could dance again.” Her smile lit up her face and another piece of Alex melted.
She should walk away from this situation because she knew she couldn’t handle it. Because she knew how tempting it would be to stay and continue feeling the way Justine made her feel, even if for just another hour or so. But hell, what would be wrong with that, actually? That didn’t mean she’d do anything about it—Justine clearly wasn’t interested in her that way. Although how she was looking at Alex right now, her gaze intent and a soft smile parting her lips, cast a smidge of doubt in Alex’s mind.
Tell her about Terri. Tell her.
Justine’s eyes widened slightly, and in shock Alex realised she had grabbed on to Justine’s hand. When had she done that? She made to pull away, but Justine stopped her and held Alex’s hand tightly. Alex could feel the warmth of Justine’s fingers as they meshed with her own.
Tell her about Terri. Or at least tell her you have to leave.
That gaze. That…something.
Oh God.
“Okay. I can stay a bit longer.”
A thrill ran through Justine at Alex’s words. She had no idea what had possessed her to reach out and touch Alex and to lay on the persuasion in the way she had. All she knew was she didn’t want this evening to end, didn’t want to say goodbye to Alex. Not yet. This whole experience had lightened her, somehow, and who wouldn’t want to keep feeling that way?
She held the door open for Alex as they departed Gabrielle’s and was rewarded with a gentle smile that made her heart lurch. She couldn’t help it. Alex was intelligent, funny, and had something indefinable that drew Justine to her in a way that made her feel strangely disorientated, as if the ground wasn’t quite steady beneath her. She just hoped she was hiding it well—there was no point complicating things by trying to act on all that she was feeling. Just practice, remember what Sylvie said. If she took the time to learn from this evening, exactly as Sylvie had advised, then when she was ready, someone like Alex, just like Alex, would come along to try to fill her heart and soul, and maybe, by then, she would let them.
The bar they moved to next was only three blocks away, but the night was cold enough for the walk to rosy up their cheeks by the time they arrived. They spoke little on the way, hands tucked deep in their pockets as they strode along, faces hunkered down in their scarves. She risked a glance at Alex as they walked up the steps and into the bar, wondering if she would see doubt and hesitation.
What she saw in Alex’s expression stilled her own doubts and started a warm glow deep in her belly. Alex’s mouth was parted in a gentle smile, and her eyes were wide and filled with thrilling excitement.
“What is this place?” she asked, her tone full of wonder as she gazed around the large room. The bright pink walls were speckled with the glint from a dozen mirror balls that dotted the ceiling, and “Mamma Mia” by ABBA blared out of the sound system. A surprisingly large number of bodies grooved and gyrated on the dance floor at the centre of the room, and almost the s
ame amount lined the two bars that framed the floor.
Justine smiled and her stomach did a little flop at the happiness on Alex’s face. She’d put that there and that felt very good indeed. “It’s one of Montreal’s oldest institutions. Part drag bar, part disco, part who knows what. Okay for you?”
“Oh my God,” Alex said, laughing, “I bloody love it!”
Justine grinned and gestured Alex towards the coat check. “We can leave all of our stuff there, okay?”
Alex nodded, and before long they wove their way to the bar, both free of any encumbrances save some cash in their jeans pockets.
Water bottles in hand, they leaned against the bar, facing the dance floor.
Justine watched Alex watching the crowd. Alex’s head bobbed to the music, and she wore a blazing smile. She looked relaxed, and comfortable, and happy. The sight made Justine break out into her own wide smile.
After only a couple of minutes, Alex turned to her.
“Dance?” she said, gesturing with her head towards the throng.
Justine grinned and Alex laughed, the sound sweeter than any of the music playing behind them. “Lead the way,” Justine said, gesturing for Alex to walk ahead of her.
She let her gaze wander down the back of Alex’s body as she followed her onto the dance floor. She couldn’t help it; it really was a glorious view. Alex’s top clung to her torso, highlighting her trim waist before it tucked into her jeans. The jeans themselves moulded perfectly to her ass and thighs, and her walk contained just enough of a hip swing to get Justine’s temperature rising in ways she was supposed to be suppressing. But this sudden heat she couldn’t fight.
She wanted Alex in the fiercest way possible. There, she’d admitted it. And it wasn’t just physical—everything they’d shared the last two evenings had thrilled Justine in ways that had her shaking her head in disbelief. But now, watching Alex move into the centre of the floor, her body flexing as she insinuated herself into the midst of the dancers already there, Justine’s mind went numb and her body took over.