Head Over Wheels

by Diana Morland

  “Wow,” she said. “Shayna, I hope you don’t mind if I borrow those sometime. Those are great illustrations.”

  “Of course not,” Shayna said, looking up and smiling at her. “We can share them.” She looked around the table. “This is very nice of all of you. Thank you so much. I can’t believe you got me such a nice gift before you even met me.”

  “We’ve heard a lot about you from Mindy,” Mindy’s mama said. “And we hope to get to know you better.”

  “I think you will.” Shayna glanced sideways at Mindy and her smile strengthened. “We have time, after all.”

  Chapter 14

  Mindy had never been as grateful for the extra roller derby practices with Shayna as she had in the past week. She went to roller derby to get out of her head, to stop worrying about work and people drama and all that stuff—but lately practice with the Monstrous Regiment hadn’t been all that relaxing, between the new weight lifting regimen and the relationships between her teammates.

  There was some kind of drama, and she didn’t pretend to understand it, but Gayle had vanished from practice for a week. She was back now, but things were tense. Mindy was confused—hadn’t Gayle and Shelly been dating? What could have happened between them?—but she was wise enough to keep her trap shut about it.

  The result was, though, that regular roller derby practice didn’t relax her as much as it could have. She needed the two extra practices a week with Shayna to get out of her own head properly.

  It didn’t hurt that they almost always had sex afterward, either.

  She walked into the locker room that Wednesday afternoon to find Shayna already sitting on the bench, lacing up her skates. Mindy sighed and set her things down so she could wrap her arms around Shayna’s shoulders and lean on her for a bit.

  Shayna patted Mindy’s arm. “You okay? Stressed?”

  “Yeah, kind of.”

  Shayna turned so she was half-facing Mindy, though she was still sitting on the bench with one skate partially laced. “Do you want to skip today’s practice? We’ve been working hard and I don’t want you to get behind on your graphic design jobs.”

  Mindy’s stomach twisted. She hadn’t made as much money in December as she’d hoped, and now, almost halfway through January, the work hadn’t picked up again. But things were always slow around the holidays; they would improve soon, and in the meantime, she was honing her skills and making herself an even better choice for any client.

  Right now she wouldn’t worry about that. She couldn’t afford the time to worry. Right now was time for roller derby, so she could get out of her own head and be fresh tonight for her next project.

  “No,” she said, releasing Shayna and opening a locker. “I need this. It’s the only thing that de-stresses me.”

  “The only thing?” Shayna said. She had bent over to finish with her skates, so her voice was a bit muffled, but Mindy could still hear the teasing warmth in her voice.

  “Whatever I do with you de-stresses me,” Mindy said with a grin. She unpacked her clothes and changed quickly.

  “I guess I don’t have to worry about taking up too much of your time, then.”

  “You? Never. I could wish the commute was shorter, but it’s worth it, and I can sketch and think on the bus.” Not that she’d done any productive thinking on the bus today. She grimaced. Maybe she should find out what was up with Shelly and Gayle, if only for her own peace of mind.

  “You sure it’s okay?” Shayna stepped closer and ran her hand down Mindy’s cheek. Mindy felt her facial muscles relax just from that touch.

  “Yes, I’m absolutely sure,” she said, letting out a sigh.

  “Okay then.” Shayna grinned. “Last one to the track does double laps.”

  Mindy shrieked and skated after her, but Shayna had gotten the head start, and—despite Mindy’s longer legs—Shayna made it there just a few strides ahead. She did make Mindy do the double laps, twenty instead of the ten they normally did to start their practice sessions, but Mindy was grateful. Legs burning, lungs laboring to keep up, she didn’t have the time or energy to think about work, her friends, or anything else.

  They worked as hard as they always did. Mindy worried that she wouldn’t be able to keep up, but she found the extra reserves of energy from somewhere. Maybe it was just Shayna’s gorgeous figure, a few feet ahead of her.

  “Whew!” Shayna sagged against the wall after they completed a series of jumps. Mindy rolled up to her and leaned on the wall herself, planting her palms on it. The scratchy fabric had probably absorbed the sweat of millions of skaters, but today it felt good.

  “I think we’re done for the day,” Shayna said, taking in big gulps of air. “What do you say?”

  Mindy nodded. “Sounds good to me. I’m exhausted.” Good thing she had mostly been using her legs and lower body, not her arms. When she got home she could collapse on the couch and let her arms, hands, and brain do all the work.

  “I think we’re doing pretty well.” Shayna leaned harder against the wall, then pushed off to skate slowly toward the locker room. “We just have to hope that no one else is practicing harder than we are.”

  Mindy followed her. “I doubt it. We’re pushing really hard, and this is in addition to our regular practices. We’re either going to wear ourselves out or blast away the all-star tryouts next year.”

  “Even if people are practicing just as hard as we are?”

  “Couldn’t be.” Mindy dropped a kiss on Shayna’s head as they both started to change out of their sweaty derby clothes. “Quit worrying about it.”

  “I’m not exactly worried.” Shayna unlaced her skates and kicked them off. “Just trying to be realistic. I don’t want to get my hopes up and then be heartbroken if we don’t make it again next year.”

  “Be like me instead,” Mindy advised. “Expect the best and then figure out how what actually happens was the best outcome to begin with.”

  Shayna turned and put her hands on her hips. “And how exactly was us not making the all-star team the best outcome?”

  “Well, we met each other at the practice.” Mindy reached for her T-shirt.

  “We would have met whether or not we made the team.”

  “We had more time to date than we would have if we’d been on the team together. And maybe next year they’ll realize they don’t have the absolute perfect team, since they didn’t win, and they’ll put us on next time.” Mindy pulled her shirt on as Shayna laughed. She could smell her armpits and couldn’t help wrinkling her nose. “Ick, I really need a shower.”

  “Yeah?” Shayna stepped around the bench and grabbed Mindy by the waist, pulling her close. “Want me to come over and help you shower?”

  Mindy put her arms around Shayna, but sighed. “I wish I could, shayna maidele, but I really need to get work done. I’m falling behind. I know I said being with you de-stresses me…”

  “But you’ve been de-stressed,” Shayna finished for her, her mouth falling in disappointment, but her voice staying strong. “And what you need now is to get to work and earn some money so you can keep feeding me Girl Scout cookies.” Her eyes sparkled.

  Mindy grinned. “Yeah, cookie season is coming soon, isn’t it? I have to be ready. Thanks for understanding.”

  “I do understand. And I love how hard-working you are.” Shayna took a deep breath. “I love you, Mindy.”

  “I love you, too.” Mindy bent for a deep kiss. She and Shayna had said the l-word to each other a few times now since Hanukkah, but it was obviously a lot harder for Shayna than it was for her.

  She really, deeply appreciated that Shayna went to the effort to say it nonetheless.

  Chapter 15

  The roller-derby break, exhausting as it had been, had worked; Mindy doubled down on her pitches on Wednesday night, and some of them paid off on Thursday. She did one job with a quick turnaround that paid her almost half her goal for the week. She knew she couldn’t stop there, but it sure buoyed her mood.

  She also
started talking to a client who wanted to see some stuff done in physical media, so she decided Friday would be the perfect time to go down to Dick Blick and spend her gift card. She spent a few hours on and off talking with the client and getting a good sense of what they wanted, then slept hard, visions of new markers dancing in her head.

  She woke up early—for her—and was out the door and ready to get on the bus by ten AM. One of the many nice things about being a freelancer was that she could get on the bus when it wasn’t crowded and have a whole bench to herself. She tried to sketch the few other passengers, but the ride was so bumpy that nothing came out right.

  When she got to the art supply store, she spent a few minutes just wandering the aisles, breathing deeply and savoring the many smells—the sharpness of oil paints, the softness of water colors, the piney scent of new paintbrushes, the cloy of turpentine. She worked mostly digitally now—it had many pluses, including being quicker, easier, and cheaper—but she still loved physical media, and she didn’t think she could live without them entirely.

  She gave the watercolors a last longing look before heading over to pick out her markers and paper. Watercolors were beautiful, but they were tricky to get right and, like she’d told her family, didn’t translate as well to digital—or else she was just bad at scanning and photographing them.

  Markers, on the other hand, held their color and saturation really well, at least if you got the right ones. She picked out the colors she needed, then a few more that were just a few shades off in case she decided what she had wasn’t right, then grabbed a pack of paper to draw on.

  When the clerk rang her up, Mindy found that she still had about twenty dollars left on the gift card. She bit her lip. Should she go back and get some watercolors? Just for fun?

  No, she had to practice self-discipline. She could save the gift card for another time in the future, when she might need new supplies.

  Anyway, her job was fun. That was why she worked so hard at it, so she could keep doing art, without having to find a day job that would constrain her time and her freedom.

  She headed outside, determinedly not looking back, enjoying the unseasonably warm weather. The sun on her face felt good, and she didn’t quite want to make the trek back to ArriveSpace yet; maybe she should walk a couple of bus stops past the nearest one…

  It was almost a revelation when she realized where she was. Shayna’s cupcake bakery was only a few blocks away. She could finally visit Shayna at work.

  A grin spread across her face as she picked up her pace, heading for Rittenhouse Square. Shayna would be so surprised! Mindy could buy both of them cupcakes.

  She probably should be heading back home so she could get some work done, but the idea of seeing her girlfriend was too tempting. Anyway, Shayna was always coming up to Mindy’s apartment, or even meeting her at ArriveSpace, to hang out—it was far past time for Mindy to come down here. And if Shayna still had a long time left in her shift, maybe they would let Mindy sit around in the bakery and draw. She’d never been inside, but surely they had tables and chairs for their customers.

  It must have been lunchtime, because there was a bit of a crowd around the square. Mindy cut through a corner of it, tossing a few coins to a musician with a guitar and stopping to pat a dog, before arriving at Buttercup Cakery.

  A few people were inside, standing in line at the counter. Mindy joined them. The man in front of her was the perfect combination of tall, heavyset, and big-haired to block her vision of the counter. She couldn’t help but lean over sideways, staying in line while trying to get a glimpse of Shayna.

  She had perfect timing. Shayna was behind the glass case that served as part of the counter, bending down to pick up a cupcake from the bottom shelf. Her eyes widened as she lifted her head. Mindy grinned and waved at her. Shayna straightened up quickly and said nothing, but a wide, silly grin suddenly appeared on her face.

  Mindy’s smile didn’t fade and her heart squeezed as the line moved up. Everyone she saw leave was smiling. A woman pushing a stroller joined the line behind her, and then the large man was the last one in front of her. He picked out a dozen cupcakes one by one, making Shayna run into the back to get a bigger box. A woman’s voice said, “I can help the next person in line.”

  Mindy turned to the woman with the stroller. “You can go first.”

  “Oh, are you sure?” the woman said, putting her phone away. “You’ve been waiting longer than I have.”

  “My girlfriend’s the one who just went into the back. I’m waiting for her.”

  “Well, isn’t that sweet!” The woman laughed and pushed her stroller forward to place her cupcake order.

  Mindy had to keep waiting while Shayna returned with the box, the man changed his mind about one of the cupcakes and then another, and then, finally, she checked him out and he walked away. Mindy stepped forward, grinning at Shayna, and said, “I’ll take a double chocolate cupcake, please.”

  Shayna just stood there grinning at her, eyes sparkling. “It took you long enough.”

  “Hey, I had to think really hard about which is the best type of cupcake.”

  Shayna snorted and pointed to the case. “Actually, we don’t have double chocolate. And if you’re really going to take your time thinking about a cupcake, go ahead and do it and I’ll serve someone else. I shouldn’t be socializing on shift, but if you wait…” She turned and looked at a clock on the wall. “Seventeen minutes, I’ll be off.”

  Mindy’s grin widened even more. She’d had almost perfect timing. “I’ll order a cupcake and wait around, if that’s okay.”

  “No problem. There’s a couple of tables over there.” Shayna gestured into the corner. “What flavor would you like?” Her voice went a little higher in pitch, a little smoother, the same way she’d been talking to the large man—her customer service voice.

  Mindy looked down at the cupcake display. Now that she was actually paying attention, she could see why the large man had needed so much time to pick out his cupcakes. There was a dizzying array of them, all iced and decorating in myriad beguiling ways. “Uh, which is the best?”

  “Well, my favorite is chocolate caramel. But that’s not the one you’ll like. Tell you what.” Shayna pointed to the register. “Go pay Brandi four dollars, don’t look, and I’ll pick something for you.”

  “Sounds good.” Mindy really wanted to lean over the counter and kiss Shayna, but she refrained, not wanting to get her girlfriend fired. She obediently walked over to the register and told the other girl, “Shayna says it’s four dollars.”

  “Right,” the girl said, smirking and tapping something into the register. Mindy handed over her card, and by the time she had finished paying, Shayna had placed a tiny box on the counter.

  Mindy raised her eyebrows at Shayna, who gave her a sidelong smile, but was already engaged in serving a man and two preteen girls. Mindy brought the cupcake to one of the little tables and sat down.

  When she opened the box, she found one of the least interesting cupcakes of the dizzying display—it had plain white frosting with a half strawberry on top. She did like strawberries, though, and Shayna had said she would enjoy the cupcake, so she carefully took it out of the box, peeled off the side of the wrapper, and bit in.

  Her eyes widened as she chewed. There was a flavor in this cupcake that she never would have expected in a dessert—balsamic vinegar. It went really well with the strawberries, though, and she loved that it didn’t have a cloying sweetness. It was just the right balance for her. Just as Shayna knew.

  She looked back at the counter and gave Shayna a little wave and a thumbs-up. Shayna grinned and winked back at her.

  Mindy whiled away the rest of the time waiting for Shayna to finish her shift eating the cupcake slowly and taking some sketches of the customers. She must have come near the end of the lunch rush, because the number of customers slowed down as the minutes passed, until finally there was no one in the store when Shayna came around the end of the counte
r.

  She untied her apron as she walked, and bent to kiss Mindy’s cheek as she reached her. “I’ll be right back, babe. Just have to get my stuff.”

  “Don’t rush on my account,” Mindy told her, and watched until she’d disappeared through a door into the back. Then she leapt up and rushed to the counter. “One chocolate caramel cupcake, please,” she told Brandi.

  The girl smirked again. “Sure.” She tapped on the register, then took an astoundingly long time bending over and placing the cupcake in a little box.

  Shayna came back out with her coat on and a purse in her hand while Mindy was still paying. She wished Brandi had been quicker—she wanted to surprise Shayna.

  Shayna did seem to be surprised, though. She raised her eyebrows, set her purse on the table Mindy had been using, and started to button up her coat. “You just had to have another?”

  Mindy took her card back finally and picked up the box. “Uh, this one’s for you, actually.”

  “Oh, Mindy.” Smiling, Shayna tied her belt and stepped forward to take the box from Mindy’s hands. “You’re so sweet. Don’t you think I get enough cupcakes at work?”

  “Please. If you did, you wouldn’t always be at my place raiding my cookie stash.” Finally, Mindy took Shayna’s waist in her hands and pulled her close, careful not to crush the box. When she kissed her, she tasted as though working in the bakery had doused her in powdered sugar. Shayna melted against Mindy’s body.

  “Shayna,” Brandi said in a warning voice.

  Shayna pulled away with a sigh. “We’d better get out of here. They don’t want me making out with a customer in the front room.”

  “Hey, I paid for two cupcakes, doesn’t that entitle me to a little satisfaction?” When Shayna’s eyes darkened, Mindy held up her hands. “Kidding. Let me just grab my things and we’ll go.” She snatched up her sketchbook and pencil and dumped them into her messenger bag, along with the supplies from Dick Blick, then took Shayna’s hand and pulled her out of the cupcake shop.