“Hailey?” Keira asked.
“She was the first, yeah. That’s a much longer story – which I promise I will tell you, but the other one was Elizabeth. When Eli and I ended, I didn’t know what to do. I thought that maybe I was just one of those women who wouldn’t have someone like that.” Emma paused as she played with the lid to her coffee cup with nervous fingers. “I dated a little after that. There was that time when Eli said she wanted me back, but I just kept watching all my friends find their soulmates and couple off. It ended up with me at the bar either by myself or with them as, like the ninth wheel, I think.” She laughed at the pain. “Moving here wasn’t just about the job for me. It was about starting over personally. I love my friends, but seeing them all find their one person was hard. I thought that maybe my one person was somewhere outside of the Chicago metropolitan area, and I moved here.”
“I see,” Keira returned. “But that doesn’t explain your mood shifts with me, Emma.”
“I know. That I can explain, but it’s still wrong of me.”
“Go ahead.”
“Remember speed dating?” Emma asked.
“Yes.”
“I left early, but I talked to a woman that night. She’s friends with Olivia.”
“Ok-a-y.” Keira lengthened the word, indicating that she needed more information.
“That friend, I guess, liked talking to me. She asked for my number. Olivia didn’t want to give it to her without asking me. She called me the other night.”
“Oh.” Keira took a sip again.
“She let it slip that you and Kellan had been together, and something had happened.”
“She what?” Keira stopped walking.
“She said that Kellan was into you, you met someone else, and ended it. That hit me, I guess. It made me think about what it was like when Eli told me about the cheating and–”
“Hold on.” Keira tugged lightly on Emma’s forearm. “I did not cheat on Kellan.”
“It doesn’t matter. It–”
“No, it does matter,” Keira objected. “I’ve never cheated on anyone I’ve been with.” She met Emma’s eyes. “Ever.”
“I’m not in any place to–”
“Emma, it’s important to me that you know that.”
“Okay.” Emma nodded.
“Kellan and I were dating, yes,” she began. “But we weren’t a couple. We weren’t exclusive. I was very clear about that when we started. I liked Kellan. She’s an amazing person. There was a spark there at the beginning, but it faded quickly for me. Unfortunately, it didn’t for her,” she explained. “I met someone else that I liked. She and I went out. Kellan and I ended. She was more invested than I was. It took us some time, but we were able to get to this point now where we’re friends. But yes, sometimes I wonder if she still feels more than that.”
“Has she said anything?”
“No, she says she’s fine. She’ll make comments like she did Friday night about a woman I’m interested–” Keira stopped talking and stared into Emma’s eyes. “Interested in.” She offered a coy smile. “It feels like jealousy to me, but she denies it. She says she likes our friendship. I don’t know what to do about it.” Keira still held onto Emma’s forearm. She looked down at where her hand was and slid it down to meet Emma’s hand. She held it lightly without linking their fingers. “The other night felt like a date to me. Did it feel like that to you? Is that why you were affected by Olivia’s comment?”
Emma sighed and looked down at their still joined hands. There was a prickle of what could only be described as electricity between them as they stood on the San Francisco sidewalk. She glanced up and met light blue eyes.
“I think so, yeah,” Emma replied. Keira smiled. “I was actually going to ask you out after Saturday. I thought we should get through the event first.”
“That’s probably a good idea.”
“Then, I got home, made dinner, and found two tickets to After Dark for tonight. I bought them. Olivia called right after. I thought about forgetting about it. Plus, I knew you’d be busy working, so I don’t know why I did it exactly. I thought I’d ask when I see you if you wanted to go tonight. If you couldn’t, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but–”
“I’d love to go,” Keira interrupted.
“Don’t you have work?”
“I can finish up what I need to go over with you now and work from Philz until it’s time to go. If you’re okay with me wearing this, that is.”
She motioned to her black pencil skirt and light blue silk blouse. She’d left the black matching jacket upstairs in Emma’s office.
“You look fine.” Emma tried to play off the fact that she’d been admiring that ensemble on Keira all afternoon. She tried not to think about the fact that if she looked down again, she’d get a nice view of cleavage. “I swear, everything you own goes so well with those eyes,” she admitted and blushed.
“Thank you,” Keira replied softly.
“You can work from my office or the conference room if you want. You don’t have to go to a coffee place. If you want, we can stop by my place before we go. Don’t get me wrong – you look great, but I want you to be comfortable. You can borrow something of mine if you want.”
“I wouldn’t mind seeing your place.” Keira’s cheeks darkened instantly. “I can’t believe I just said that.” Emma laughed hard at the adorable blush on Keira’s cheeks. “I didn’t mean it like that. I–”
“I know what you meant. It’s not much. I just got something quickly when I got here, with a short lease. I have, however, managed to unpack all the boxes though.”
“Then, I definitely have to see it.”
“For the clothes?” Emma questioned with a wink.
“Yes, just for clothes.”
“Should we maybe go upstairs and get back to work then?” Emma asked with a smile she couldn’t shake if she tried.
“Just one more thing.” Keira stopped her from leaving with a tug on that hand she was still barely holding. “Is this a date? Officially? It’s okay if it’s not. We can do that after Saturday if–”
“It’s a date, yeah. Official and everything,” Emma replied and then lifted her coffee to her lips.
◆◆◆
They were going on a date. They were going on a date tonight. Keira sat in the conference room with four binders on the table and a conference phone. Emma had interrupted her on three separate occasions to see if she needed anything and once, additionally, to see if she wanted a cupcake from the birthday party the fifth floor had thrown for someone. They were going on a date. Keira had known this woman for less than two weeks, but she was completely enamored with her. She still couldn’t understand what it was that was drawing her to Emma Colton. Those eyes didn’t hurt though.
“Hey, are you ready?” Emma asked.
“I’m good for now,” Keira replied. “I still have some stuff to do before the site visit tomorrow, but I can do that when I get home or tomorrow morning.”
“We really don’t have to go tonight. I’ll understand.” Emma stood and packed up her laptop.
“I want to go tonight. Besides, I have to walk off that cupcake you made me eat.”
“You really don’t.”
Emma’s eyes were on her body. She was blatantly checking her out, but it wasn’t pure lust that Keira sometimes detected in other women and also men. There was something innocent about the way Emma was admiring her. Keira watched Emma’s eyes as she looked up and then down again. The only way Keira could describe it was that Emma looked as if she couldn’t believe she was going out with Keira, which made no sense to Keira because she couldn’t believe she was going out with the woman standing in front of her.
“Should we go?” Keira asked as Emma’s eyes returned to meet her own.
“Yeah. It shouldn’t take too long on the train.”
“I drove in today. I had all these binders.” She referenced her tote bag containing her work. “I’ll drive us to your place. We can either driv
e or take the train from there,” Keira suggested.
“I should tell you – I’m a little nervous about getting in that car with you.” She winked and moved around her desk to turn off the light in the office. “You did almost hit me with it, remember?”
“You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?” Keira laughed as they left the office.
“No way,” Emma answered.
Keira watched Emma walk a few steps ahead of her, and as she did, Keira couldn’t help but think that the story of how they met would be a pretty good one to tell people someday.
CHAPTER 11
Emma was a little nervous as she slid the key into the front door of her apartment. She hadn’t shown anyone the tiny space yet and hadn’t bothered to decorate since she’d likely not be staying long.
“Please don’t think poorly of me because of this apartment. It’s not me at all and is totally temporary,” Emma explained the moment the door was opened and she motioned for Keira to walk inside.
“You’ve said that like ten times now. Do you live in a crack house or something?” Keira laughed out and entered the apartment, taking a look around. “It’s cute.”
“It’s tiny,” Emma corrected.
“Tiny is often cute.” Keira turned to smile at her. “It’s nice, Emma. And the best part about it being a studio is you don’t have to do the whole tour thing because I just saw the whole apartment.”
“I didn’t want a studio, but this was available and in my price range. I got the shortest lease possible. I’ll take some time in a few months to find the place I want.”
“Bathroom?” Keira asked. “There, I take it?”
“Through there.” Emma pointed at one of two doors in the apartment; the other being to the walk-in closet. “I’ll grab you something to wear while you’re in there. Jeans and t-shirt okay?”
“Sure.” Keira dropped her full bag by the sofa and headed off in the direction of the bathroom.
Emma stood still for a moment before she took a look around the space for the first time since entering. She hadn’t planned on having company. She hadn’t cleaned up before leaving that morning. The bed wasn’t made, but it wasn’t too disheveled. She still pulled the comforter back up to cover the pillows. She took the book she’d been reading and moved it to the table. She made her way to the drawers where she pulled out several shirts. She didn’t know what Keira would want to wear. She selected two out of the pile and decided to offer both along with a pair of worn, comfortable jeans. When she heard the toilet flush and the water in the sink running, she knocked on the bathroom door.
“I have clothes for you,” she said to the door before it opened. Keira stood in front of her with that same, wide smile. “I didn’t know which one you’d want.” She held up the shirts.
“This is good.” She pulled the navy blue V-neck shirt Emma had hoped she’d pick out because it would look great with her eyes. She grabbed the jeans from Emma’s other hand and met Emma’s eyes with her own. “I’ll be right out.”
“Okay.” Emma took a step back. “I’ll change out here.”
Keira closed the door with a smile. Emma returned to her dresser to change her own clothes. She rummaged through the top drawer and decided to change her underwear and find the matching bra she considered to be a lucky set. She wasn’t the kind of woman that put out on a first date usually, but she also hadn’t been a woman that hooked up with friends either. Then, she did that with Summer one time. She quickly removed everything she’d been wearing and tossed the clothes on the bed before donning the panties and the bra that had lace around the trim in pale pink with a matching pink bow between the breasts. She clasped it quickly and slid on the shirt she’d pulled out for herself. She pulled up her jeans and buttoned them just in time for Keira to emerge from the bathroom fully dressed, wearing her heels with the jeans and looking somehow hotter than she did when she went in there.
“Sorry, I should have told you I was coming out,” she stated when she saw that Emma’s hands were still on the buttons of her jeans.
“I’m covered.” Emma smiled at her. “I feel like every lesbian says this at some point in their lives to the women they’re going out with, but you do look good in my clothes.” She continued to take in Keira’s light blue eyes vibrating against the navy blue of the shirt and the light denim of the jeans. “Not that we’re going-out-going-out, but–” Emma bit her lower lip hard in an effort to stop the stupidity coming out of her mouth. “You know what, this is stupid. You look good in my clothes. There, I said it.”
Keira laughed at that, cocked her head to the side a little and appeared to be staring at Emma’s breasts.
“I like vaginas?” Keira questioned as her skin flushed and her eyes lifted to meet Emma’s.
“What?” Emma questioned right back and then looked down to see that she definitely should have paid attention to the shirt she’d thrown on. “Oh, shit.” She lifted it up and over her head without even thinking before reaching in her drawer for the one she thought she’d grabbed earlier.
“Well, hey there,” Keira remarked. “This date hasn’t even begun, and it’s already off to a really good start.”
“Sorry.” Emma pulled the other t-shirt over her head. “I meant to grab this one, but I didn’t pay attention.”
“Why do you even have a shirt that says, ‘I like vaginas’ on it? Do you normally read as straight so you wear it when you want the ladies to know you’re into them and not penises?”
“No, I wish it was that simple.” Emma chuckled to herself and then tossed the shirt into the dresser.
“And did you change your underwear too?” Keira pointed to the bed where Emma had yet to hide her bra and panties she’d taken off moments before.
“This really could not be going worse for me, could it?” Emma had to sigh a deep sigh in embarrassment and frustration as Keira took a few steps toward her and laughed.
“I actually think the whole thing is pretty adorable.” She took both of Emma’s hands in her own. “And kind of sexy.”
“Sexy?” Emma lifted an eyebrow.
“Yeah, that bra is kind of sexy,” Keira shared. “Did you put it on for anything specifically? I’m just curious.”
“I have no response that allows me to keep what dignity I have left, so I’m going to pass.” Emma enjoyed the feeling of Keira’s hands in her own. She moved her fingers to intertwine with Keira’s and felt her hands go clammy at the touch. “I haven’t been on a date in a while, and the last time I did, it didn’t go well. I’ve been very bad at dating, actually. Like, terribly bad at it historically.”
“Except for with Hailey?”
“Well, Hailey was my first love. I hadn’t learned how to embarrass myself properly yet, and I didn’t have that t-shirt to help with it.” She nodded toward the drawer she’d just stuffed it into. “And you know about Eli, and how that went. I’m just in this awkward phase right now, and you seem to keep bringing it out in me. So, thanks for that.”
“Oh, you’re welcome.” Keira continued to smile at her as she tugged and pulled on Emma’s fingers. “And I still think it’s adorable. You need to tell me about that shirt, though. Like, right now.”
Emma let go of her hands and turned to pick the remainder of her clothing off the bed to toss into the laundry hamper behind Keira.
“I was in Mexico with a few of my college friends. Spring Break fun, or at least that’s how it was supposed to be. I ended up with a major sunburn, and my luggage got lost. I borrowed what I could from my friends, and then I got thrown up on by a drunk frat boy. We were at a beach bar, so it was bikini city,” Emma started and then paused. “The lesbian in me enjoyed that very much, by the way, but the girl that smelled like vomit didn’t. I went to buy a shirt from the bar. It was one of those tourist traps and had shirts on sale. The only problem was – they only had one shirt that fit me. It was this one. My friends thought it was funny; and it’s not wrong. I bought it with the intention of never wearing i
t again and even throwing it away.”
“But you obviously didn’t,” Keira said.
“It became this funny story we would all tell together. Sometimes, when I talk to the few of them I still keep in touch with, it comes back up. I usually just sleep in it, but I was trying to change fast. I wasn’t paying attention. I just grabbed a white shirt.”
“I wouldn’t have a problem with you wearing it tonight, just for the record.” Keira lifted both eyebrows at her before lowering them down again.
“I think I’ll stick with this one. It has a little pocket here for the tickets.” She referenced the breast pocket that was gray against the white of the rest of the shirt.
“Because they couldn’t go anywhere else,” Keira stated sarcastically.
“Exactly.” Emma rolled her eyes at herself. “Should we go, now that you’ve had the tour and also seen me half-naked?”
“Sure.” Keira continued that laughter that Emma was really starting to grow addicted to. “I was thinking we could grab food on the way. How do you feel about hot dogs?”
“I’m from Chicago. San Francisco cannot compete with Chicago hot dogs,” Emma retorted.
“There’s a Chicago-style hot dog cart that usually parks about a block away from the Exploratorium. It might not be exactly the same, but I figured it was worth a shot.”
Emma squinted her eyes as she considered this.
“I’m willing to give it a try.”
“That’s all that I ask.” Keira nodded. “Are you ready? Or is there a chance you put on the wrong jeans and you need to take those off now and change? I’m willing to wait.”
“After you,” Emma replied.
◆◆◆
They walked close to one another but not touching as they headed in the direction of the food cart Keira had mentioned. Keira resonated an awkwardness all the sudden. Sure, it had been a little awkward when she’d emerged from the bathroom and saw a half-naked Emma standing in front of her. She’d done her best to keep it together, but Emma’s skin was pale without being overly so, and it looked so soft even from several feet away. She wanted nothing more than to take a few steps toward her and glide her fingertips along the toned stomach she’d imagined was there in her frequent thoughts of Emma’s body. She’d pictured that very stomach and other parts of that body every night since she’d first met Emma. Hell, even when she’d almost hit her with her car, Keira had thought the near-victim was hot. Seeing her without a shirt on only confirmed her theory. She’d kept it together though. They’d made it out of one awkward situation only to somehow fall into another as they headed out on their first official date. Suddenly, it felt as if she had nothing to say, when moments earlier, she’d felt like they’d never run out of things to talk about.
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