Falling for My Bully: A Lesbian Romance

by Alexa Woods

  shitty all around.

  “I don’t know.” Beth sighed. “I’ve been researching schools, but

  everything is so far from Shannon’s house. They might have to move to get

  Amelia in somewhere else. The kid is in kindergarten. I didn’t anticipate

  having these kinds of problems for years yet. Like middle or high school.”

  “Don’t I know it?” Arabella muttered under her breath. “Yeah,” she said

  louder. “High school is a challenge. I think everyone has a hard time with

  that, no matter who they are. But I feel for you. Kindergarten. That’s

  rough.”

  “I think she might be better off being homeschooled, but Shannon wasn’t

  planning on taking time off from work. Sky was a, well, a very nice and

  very welcome surprise. She’ll be going back in six months, as soon as Sky

  is a year old. I don’t think they can get by on one income.”

  “I’m really sorry. I hope they can work it out. If you want, I could do

  some research on schools and maybe on transportation? I could make time

  this afternoon or tomorrow. I, uh, I know how rough school can be. Well,

  no, that’s not entirely true. I guess I know what a hard experience it can be.

  Sorry, maybe I’m just going on about nothing here.”

  “No, no,” Beth said with a smile. “I could give you her address if you

  really wouldn’t mind looking it up? I love Amelia. She’s a great kid.

  Doesn’t deserve the half of this. If she could find somewhere that’s a good

  fit for her, we’d all be so relieved, not to mention the twelve or so years of

  horribleness it’s going to save her.”

  Arabella nodded. “I can definitely look.”

  Sky reached for Beth’s blouse and tugged hard at the lapels of the bright

  pink, flowy shirt. She turned into her, giggled, then let out a belch that

  ended up being more of a barf. Beth grunted when she realized that she’d

  just been soaked in baby spit up.

  “That’s a thing with her,” Beth explained dryly. “Still.”

  “I’m sure she’ll grow out of it.” Arabella stood and held out her arms.

  “Here. I can take her if you want to go attempt to clean that up.”

  “Attempt would be the right word.” Despite the massive amount of

  upchuck on her shirt, Beth had a smile for her granddaughter as she handed

  her over to Arabella. “I’ll only be a few minutes.”

  “Take your time. I’ll be here.”

  “I have a diaper bag under the desk just in case. I wouldn’t try giving her

  anything to eat, unless you want to wear her lunch as well. Don’t fall for it,

  no matter how hard she tries to tell you otherwise.”

  “I think I can handle it,” Arabella said. She sat back down in the chair in

  front of Beth’s desk, Sky on her knee. The baby stuck a fist back in her

  mouth and gummed it. She was probably flushed from the whole teething

  thing.

  When Beth left, Arabella talked softly to Sky as she put the back of her

  hand on her forehead. She was a little warm, but she seemed happy enough.

  Content enough too. Arabella just cooed softly to Sky, and she was

  entertained by that. She didn’t need to look in the diaper bag for toys.

  A soft rap at the door startled them both. Sky froze and Arabella turned

  quickly. She wasn’t sure who was there, but the last person she expected to

  see was June. Obviously, she was also the last thing June expected to find in

  Beth’s office. Holding a baby.

  “Oh!” June said. She stood by the door awkwardly. “I…”

  “Beth will be right back,” Arabella said. She bounced her knees the way

  she’d seen Beth do and Sky loved that. She grinned up at Arabella

  adoringly, which melted her heart. She hadn’t had a lot of practice with

  babies growing up. She didn’t babysit because she never needed the cash,

  but she’d always liked kids and, oddly enough, they seemed to like her too.

  She wasn’t intimidated by babies in the least and her limited experience

  didn’t stop her from wanting to hold them and play with them. “I just came

  to bring her some reports and she had a bit of a spit up accident. I’m just

  watching Sky until she gets back.”

  “Shannon’s little girl,” June said. Of course, she would know who

  everyone’s daughter’s babies were. That was just June. Her company was

  such a great place to work because she’d made it that way.

  “Yes.” Arabella planted her hands on Sky’s middle and blew a raspberry

  at her. Sky loved it, giggling and reaching out for Arabella’s face. She

  jerked back, then leaned forward and did it again, blowing air in a puff at

  Sky, then dancing back just out of reach. Sky thought it was a great game

  and giggled wildly.

  Arabella caught June watching them. She was focused more on her than

  she was on Sky, which slightly unnerved Arabella, because the expression

  on her face was so hard to read. She was surprised, but she was trying to

  mask it. June probably didn’t expect Arabella to be good with kids. Not

  many people did. It still surprised her a lot of the time. June’s eyes were

  smoky and dark, emotion flickering over her face so fast that it was

  impossible to read it all. It was impossible to pretend that she wasn’t being

  watched, so Arabella just smiled back.

  “She’s super cute, isn’t she?” she asked. “All that red hair.”

  “Shannon’s husband. That’s where she got it,” June explained. “I don’t

  know if you met them at the company barbeque or not.”

  Arabella tried to think back. “I’m not sure that I did. It’s hard when

  you’re the new one and you don’t know anyone. Next year, hopefully I’ll

  know everyone.”

  It was incredibly presumptuous of her to think that she’d still have a job

  by then. But June didn’t sneer or scoff. She just nodded and smiled. It was

  mostly aimed at Sky, but Arabella still found it encouraging.

  Out of the three billion or so women in the world, June was so unique.

  Arabella truly felt humbled and a little bit awed to be in the presence of a

  woman who had built a multi-million-dollar company from nothing at all. A

  woman who was so smart, so genuine, so compassionate, a woman who

  thought creatively, who made a company that was truly a second home to

  the people who worked there. A company that mattered to the world and

  really did make a difference.

  And I kissed her.

  Arabella had firmly shoved thoughts of that kiss onto the back burner.

  June had made it pretty clear that it just happened, and it wouldn’t happen

  again. She’d drawn the line with the whole boss-employee relationship

  thing. It was a spur of the moment decision made by them in the dark with a

  sliver of moonlight on a beach by the lake. Who wouldn’t find that setting

  romantic?

  When Arabella had talked to Summer, she’d told her that it was as June

  said, a split-second decision that neither of them had thought about

  beforehand and if they had, it wouldn’t have happened, and that she did

  take her job seriously and didn’t want to jeopardize it. She wanted Summer

  to believe that she was sincerely sorry for everything she’d done in high

  school, and as a result, she’d promised that s
he’d keep her distance, be

  respectful, and do nothing to undermine or hurt June again.

  She very much wanted to keep that promise, but it was hard not to feel

  tiny flames start to lick at her insides when June looked at her the way she

  was doing now. It was clear to Arabella that June didn’t know she was

  looking at her in any such way. She probably had no idea that her eyes were

  so dark and smoldering, or that her face had a slightly pained expression

  when she looked at Sky.

  It was suddenly quite clear that June didn’t just like children, she wanted

  children of her own. That thought twisted up Arabella’s insides. She smiled

  at Sky, but it was hard for her to catch her breath.

  “Oh! Hey!” Beth breezed back into her office suddenly, and Arabella let

  out a small sigh of relief. Sky imitated her, which made her smile adoringly

  at the baby. “Sorry, I forgot about our meeting. I mean, I didn’t forget, but I

  kind of forgot. I was a tad distracted.” She indicated Sky, who grabbed at

  Arabella’s chin when she leaned in for another raspberry.

  “That’s fine,” June said, but her voice was huskier.

  Or maybe Arabella was just imagining that.

  “I can take her back,” Beth said, holding out her arms. She’d actually

  succeeded in cleaning her blouse quite well.

  “If you have a meeting, I could watch her in my office,” Arabella said. “I

  wouldn’t mind.”

  “Really?” Beth asked.

  “Really?” June echoed.

  Arabella paused as the two women looked at each other. “Uh, yeah. Sure.

  She doesn’t seem to hate me, so why not?”

  “Okay.” Beth was all smiles. “That would be great. Shannon should be

  back in an hour. She called me when I was in the bathroom working on my

  blouse. The meeting will probably take about that long. I can leave

  instructions at the front to have Shelly call you when she’s here.”

  “For sure.” Arabella stood, tucked Sky on her hip like it was natural, and

  received the diaper bag from Beth with her other hand. She blew another

  raspberry at Sky, who giggled and cooed happily before nearly tugging an

  entire chunk of hair from Arabella’s scalp.

  She walked to her office, letting Sky bounce on her hip, tugging away at

  her hair the whole time. She didn’t mind one bit. Sky was a great

  distraction. It was far, far easier to think about her lovely blue eyes and her

  adorable face than a set of deep brown eyes and the extraordinary woman

  they belonged to.

  “Well, how about we try to find your sister a good school?” Arabella

  asked Sky as she sat down with her in her office chair.

  Sky let out a burbling coo that sounded like full agreement. She reached

  for the keyboard, but Arabella was prepared with one of the toys from the

  diaper bag and tucked that into Sky’s hand. She kept one arm wrapped

  around the baby to keep her safely on her knee while she used the other

  hand to type and use the mouse. Sky was enraptured by the whole thing.

  Within the hour, Arabella had worked out a bus route that seemed easy

  and found what appeared to be a great school. She did have two other

  schools that weren’t as highly rated for their programming, but also looked

  like okay options. She printed everything and stuck it in a file folder. She

  was about to get some of the baby food out of the diaper bag when her

  phone rang. It was Shelly, letting her know that Shannon was in the

  reception area to get Sky.

  Arabella was almost sad to hand over the baby, who smiled so wide to

  see her mom that her face could have split. She kicked her chubby legging

  clad legs and fisted both hands in her mom’s long blonde hair. Shannon was

  very pretty but looked extremely frazzled and very tired.

  “I hope it’s okay. I was talking to your mom about schools. She

  mentioned that you were at a parent teacher meeting for Amelia. Sorry, I

  really wasn’t trying to be nosy, but Beth said that you’d maybe want to

  consider a different school. I had some time , and when your mom had a

  meeting, I volunteered to watch Sky. I hope that’s okay. I do know CPR—”

  “Thank you,” Shannon said sincerely. “For watching her. I mean it. You

  and my mom are life savers. Really.” Her face darkened. “I most definitely

  will be looking for a different school after today. Amelia is a great kid and

  if her teachers can’t see that—she’s six, for goodness sakes—then I’m not

  going to send her there. I can’t, ugh, I can’t even talk about that without

  getting steamed up. Of all the nerve to say that a six-year-old is too

  imaginative!”

  “I have no idea why someone would say that.” Arabella handed over the

  diaper bag. She patted the side. “I tucked a folder in there with some

  information on some really great schools that I found. I realize you’ll be

  going back to work soon, so I made sure the bus routes worked with your

  house.”

  Shannon’s face melted and tears streaked down her cheeks. “Thank you!”

  She stepped forward and suddenly tugged Arabella in for a tight hug. Sky,

  who was sandwiched between them, let out a squeal of joy at being so close

  to them both. “Thank you so, so much!”

  Arabella waved to Sky after Shannon thanked her again and walked out.

  Sky actually waved back.

  Arabella had never really thought about a family of her own. She’d been

  so embroiled in her dad’s drama and looking after her parents and sister for

  the past year, and too busy with work and college before that, to even think

  about settling down.

  Instead of thinking about the new, hollow space in her chest that she’d

  just discovered, she decided to focus on how good it felt to have helped

  someone. What she’d done in that hour had made a huge difference to

  Shannon, and if it worked out, she was glad. She hoped Amelia was able to

  find a school where she could thrive. Making a difference. Helping out.

  Being part of something. It felt awesome.

  That was the high she decided to chase. The only one she’d let herself

  think about.

  Chapter 11

  June

  June had tried hard for three days to banish those images of Arabella

  holding a baby. It was the most ridiculous thing, but of all the things, she

  wasn’t thinking about their time at the lake, little yellow bikinis, midnight

  talks under big trees, or kisses on sandy beaches. Now Arabella smiling at a

  baby who wasn’t even hers was firmly entrenched in June’s mind.

  She’d done everything she could to get it out, but she couldn’t be

  distracted. She wondered what Summer would have to say about that if she

  told her, but she certainly wasn’t going to do that. There was an uneasy

  truce between Summer and Arabella, and June wasn’t going to flip the

  switch and plunge them all into total chaos by mentioning that she might

  have a small crush on her employee.

  She could admit it. It was a crush.

  The most unlikely, terrifying, odd crush.

  But crushes went away, didn’t they?

  On her way to the morning marketing meeting, in which she wouldn’t be

  able to escape Arabella’s pre
sence, June decided to look up the meaning of

  crush. As soon as she read the words on her laptop screen, she felt instantly

  better. Crush: defined by intense feelings, infatuation, generally for

  someone entirely inappropriate. According to the internet, crushes were

  temporary—perhaps even temporary insanity—and they would go away

  with time. She felt better after that reassurance. The internet rarely lied,

  after all.

  By the time she got to her meeting, June felt much better. She felt

  comfortable and confident, no longer like she was boiling up on the inside.

  She only experienced a few twinges when Arabella spoke about her

  research towards the new children’s line.

  They were going to have to make a decision about that soon, and she

  knew that if they went that direction, her marketing department would

  market the heck out of whatever they put out there. June was privately

  impressed with Arabella’s level of research, her projections, and her

  designs. She was thoroughly organized. She was also utterly professional

  and had been ever since that slip up on the beach, which was a massive

  relief as well. It was easier to avoid temptation if temptation took itself out

  of the equation.

  June tuned out while the footwear line was being discussed by everyone

  around the table. It was easy for her to scribble things on the notepad in

  front of her, things that probably even made sense if someone should look

  over to read what she was writing, but her mind was on something else.

  Arabella.

  June didn’t like the hot prickles that crawled up her spine, the way the

  hair at the back her neck stood on end, or the fluttering in her chest and the

  sour clench in her stomach. If she told a doctor about it, they’d probably

  have a humorous explanation, like constipation, but she wasn’t constipated.

  She was jealous. Jealous from thinking of Arabella with someone else.

  Being happy with another person. Having her own blonde-haired, blue-eyed

  babies and looking at them with love and adoration like she’d stared at

  Beth’s granddaughter a few days ago.

  “Oh. Shit. I mean shoot. Sorry!” Arabella clamped a hand over her

  mouth.

  The meeting came to an abrupt halt and June’s attention was shifted

  abruptly as well, back to where it should have been all along. Her eyes