A Long List of Firsts: A Carlsbad Village Lesbian Romance

by Sabrina Kane

  But other than that, Ainsley loved this bedroom! The wood-plank flooring which she adored in the front part of the house extended in here and there was a bay window with yet another window seat. This room even had its own skylight! But it included a shade, in case a woman did not want to be woken up too early by the morning sun. But Ainsley could totally imagining opening that shade and then spending a lazy morning in bed basking in the natural light.

  Or maybe a not so lazy day in bed, depending on if she was with somebody…

  Rachel came to mind, which was ridiculous, Ainsley considered. Yes, Rachel was hot, but she didn’t even know if the realtor was gay; although contemplating the possibility that Rachel wasn’t gay and yet somehow still getting to have sex with her made Ainsley’s clit pulse now. First-time-lesbian was her favorite trope when reading lesbian romances. In fact, her absolute favorite lesfic writer in the world, Jillian Ashley, used that trope for her first novel, The Fordham Road Fling and Ainsley had already lost count of how many orgasms she had given herself because of that book. Especially the twenty-fifth chapter in it.

  She became aware that Rachel was talking to her and blinked rapidly to clear her head and focus on the task at hand.

  “I’m sorry, what?” she asked.

  “I was just pointing out that mirrored closets aren’t exactly everybody’s cup of tea but—”

  “Oh my god, get out of my head!” Ainsley exclaimed, laughing.

  “What?”

  “I was just thinking how those hideous closet doors would be the first things to go if I bought this place.”

  Rachel stared at her. Ainsley couldn’t quite interpret the look, though. It was a mixture of being amused and being in wonder.

  “We’re vibing,” Rachel eventually said.

  “Guess so,” Ainsley agreed, wondering if it was against the real estate industry’s code of ethics for one of their agents to fuck a client in an empty house. If it was, Ainsley swore not to lodge a complaint…

  ***

  Eventually, the showing was done.

  Ainsley knew she could keep looking but the truth was, she’d already been looking for three months, ever since she accepted the Assistant Chief of General Surgery position at Scripps Memorial in Encinitas, not far from Carlsbad.

  Her previous realtor had been a tool. The guy was always late for showings, took forever to respond to her calls or emails and seemed unable to believe that, in his words, “someone as beautiful as you is a surgeon.” So she had fired him and then gotten referred to Rachel by Dr. Truman, chief of thoracic surgery at Scripps.

  “She’s fabulous,” Dr. Truman had said, telling Ainsley that Rachel had sold him his house in La Jolla.

  And he hadn’t been wrong, Rachel was fabulous, Ainsley thought. And when Ainsley hadn’t been distracted by thoughts of slowly undressing Rachel and sucking on her nipples until they were sore, she had been impressed with Rachel’s manner and competence as a real estate agent.

  And of all the houses she’d seen in Carlsbad and nearby Oceanside over the past few months, this place was the one really speaking to her. Not only was it super cute—except for those closet doors—but it was close enough to the beach that she could walk there in less than five minutes.

  “So,” she began after she had conducted her own walk-through of the house by herself, spending time in each room, envisioning making each space her own, Rachel patiently waiting outside in the backyard. “What are my chances of getting this house?”

  Rachel smiled.

  “Yeah?”

  Ainsley nodded.

  “Yeah.”

  Rachel then explained that if she wanted to put an offer on it, they should do so now.

  “Like, now!” she added for emphasis, taking Ainsley’s hand and leading her back into the house. Rachel’s purse and laptop were in the kitchen on the countertop near the fridge.

  “At less than a million, this place is going to go fast!” Rachel said, logging into her computer. “The only reason it’s still available is because the last offer fell through.” She looked up at Ainsley. “The buyers ended up not qualifying for the loan.”

  Ainsley liked seeing this side of Rachel emerge: super competent, focused on achieving the end goal. She watched Rachel as she used her nicely tapered fingers on the laptop’s keyboard and trackpad to navigate to some real estate website. That’s when she noticed it.

  Rachel’s nails were a bit long…

  “Okay,” Rachel began, “let me clue you in on a secret. If you offer up to fifteen-grand less than asking, the Havershams will take it.”

  Ainsley raised her eyebrows in surprise.

  “Really? You’re sure?”

  “Totally. Trust me, they want to sell this place.”

  “Why?” Ainsley asked. “Is it haunted?”

  Rachel laughed.

  “No. But I personally think that would be kind of cool. Anyway, I’m their realtor, this is my listing and they have told me that’s their magic number on the low end of the scale.”

  “Okay, fine, but why are you telling me this?” Ainsley asked. “Aren’t you giving away a bunch of commission?”

  Rachel looked at her for a long moment and Ainsley so desperately wanted to know what was going through Rachel’s mind right then!

  Eventually, Rachel shrugged and looked back at her laptop’s screen.

  “Maybe I just want you to move to town,” she said. “Having a doctor friend could be handy. What if I need my gallbladder removed one day? Anyway, what do you want to do?”

  Now it was Ainsley who shrugged.

  “Offer fifteen-grand less,” she instructed. If she could get this place and have fifteen-thousand less to pay back, why not?

  “Done,” Rachel said a few moments later after tapping some information into her laptop.

  “When will we know?” Ainsley asked.

  Rachel was now tapping on her phone.

  “Soon, hopefully,” she told Ainsley. “I’m sending Mrs. Haversham a text right now, if they even get cell service in friggin’ Alaska. I’m telling her you’re a doctor, super well-qualified and that this could happen soon!”

  She finished sending the text.

  “So…did you want to look at some other listings in the meantime?” Rachel asked.

  Ainsley shook her head.

  “Actually, I kinda want Greek food now!”

  “Ooh, I know a place!” Rachel said.

  “Will you join me?” Ainsley asked, trying to sweeten the deal by giving her best smile.

  It apparently worked.

  “Like you were going to be able to stop me,” Rachel assured her.

  Chapter 5

  Rachel wondered how long this would last.

  Would it end the moment she and Ainsley said goodbye at the end of the day?

  Would it end the moment Ainsley closed on her house in a few weeks?

  She had no idea.

  But Rachel had to admit that she had a massive crush on Dr. Ainsley Janowicz.

  She didn’t know exactly what that meant yet. And it still frightened her a little. But she also knew that it was pointless to fight it now. It was too potent. From the moment she first laid eyes on Ainsley, Rachel had been rocked, suddenly finding herself wanting to do things with a woman she never considered doing with any woman ever before in her lifetime.

  Like pressing her body up against hers.

  Like kissing her.

  The crush might have been quashed right away had Ainsley been a Grade-A bitch but she hadn’t been! Ainsley was amazing to be around! She was super funny and had a personality that was very approachable and in tune with Rachel’s. What’s more, during the showing, Rachel and Ainsley had discovered that they shared the same favorite color: blue; that they both still secretly loved Michael Jackson’s music; and, of course, that they both loved Greek food.

  Rachel was sure her crush would pass quickly. That it was just something similar to what Amy called “The Vanessa Effect”—suddenly finding yourself
in the presence of a woman so unbelievably beautiful that even if you’ve never had a single lesbian thought in your entire life, you start to question just how straight you really are. Amy swore The Vanessa Effect was real and, judging by the way Rachel saw even obviously straight women respond to Vanessa—the owner of La Vida Mocha—whenever she and Amy went there for coffee, Rachel believed in it too.

  Personally, she herself had never felt it. Yes, the owner of La Vida Mocha was exceptionally beautiful. And, good lord, did Vanessa have an incredible body! Those breasts of hers…Even fully clothed Rachel could tell Vanessa’s boobs were spectacular. And don’t get her started on Vanessa’s legs…

  She shook her head.

  OK, fine…maybe she had felt The Vanessa Effect also.

  In any case, Rachel was certain that she was just feeling “The Ainsley Effect.”

  In a day or two it would pass. No problem.

  They were now sitting in Rachel’s favorite Greek restaurant on El Camino Real, near the 78 highway.

  “So, if you don’t mind my asking,” Rachel began, once their waiter poured two glasses of water for them, “what made you want to move to Carlsbad?”

  “I got a new surgical position at Scripps Memorial,” Ainsley told her.

  “Oh, in Encinitas.”

  “Right. I am now the Assistant Chief of General Surgery.”

  Rachel’s eyebrows shot up. That was impressive! Especially considering Ainsley was her age, a fact Rachel had learned during the showing.

  “And I had been ready to leave San Diego anyway,” Ainsley went on.

  Rachel thought she saw a bit of a cloud pass over Ainsley’s features but she wasn’t sure.

  “You have a condo down there, right?” Rachel asked, remembering what Ainsley had told her earlier. “Are you planning on selling it?”

  “I don’t know. Should I? My dad thinks I should keep it and rent it.” She leaned forward a bit. “But I think I trust you more than my dad.”

  Rachel laughed. The woman was good at flirting and Rachel had been riding a buzz from it ever since they met back at the house. That someone who looked like Ainsley would flirt with her was an amazing feeling! And when Ainsley said certain things in that soft voice of hers, it was like Rachel’s brain was picking up a subliminal command to take off her clothes.

  “Rents are crazy-high in San Diego right now!” she told Ainsley, glad for a chance to get her mind away from the idea of taking off her clothes in front of Ainsley by talking about something she was well-versed in. “You’d definitely get enough in rent to cover whatever your mortgage payment is for the condo and then some. Maybe use the extra to pay it off early.”

  “That’s actually a good idea,” Ainsley said.

  “And you thought I was just a pretty face,” Rachel said, knowing how flirtatious that sounded. And not caring.

  Ainsley bit her lower lip and Rachel’s heartrate increased.

  “No, I thought you were a pretty face and an incredible real estate agent,” Ainsley said.

  Now Rachel felt flushed. Flushed enough to feel like she was overheating in her boyfriend blazer and so, to make herself more comfortable and to distract herself from the sensations blooming between her legs, she took off the blazer and draped it over one of the empty chairs at their table.

  “Whoa! And you have great shoulders!” Ainsley exclaimed.

  Rachel smiled. She was proud of her physique and the fact that at the grand old age of twenty-nine she had managed to keep it.

  “Are you an athlete?” Ainsley asked. “I’m asking seriously because you really do have nice shoulders and arms.”

  Their waiter returned then and took their meal orders. They also asked for a couple of glasses of ouzo.

  When the server left, Rachel shrugged.

  “I wouldn’t say athlete,” she said. “I play volleyball any chance I get, that’s it.”

  She saw Ainsley’s eyes widen.

  “I looooove volleyball!” the doctor declared. “Seriously, I play it all the time! Are you any good?”

  Rachel shrugged again. Good? She supposed. She could hold her own in a game, if that’s what Ainsley meant. But she only ever played with some friends of hers from here in town, although lately, what with being so busy selling houses at her current clip, she hadn’t been able to participate much.

  “I mean, I’m not going to the Olympics or anything,” she answered Ainsley.

  Ainsley scoffed.

  “Oh, please, I don’t think they’d even let me buy a ticket to the Olympics, let alone play in them! What position do you play? Wait! Let me guess…setter?”

  Rachel cocked her eyebrow.

  “What tipped you off?” she asked snidely. “The fact that I’m three feet tall compared to you?”

  Ainsley laughed.

  Rachel went on.

  “Yes, I’m a setter but I’ll have you know I’m a pretty darn good libero too.”

  “You should come join me and my friends sometime!” Ainsley insisted. “It’ll be fun and you’ll love them!”

  “Is it a league?” Rachel asked. Goofing around on the volleyball court for fun here in town with some buddies was one thing. But she wasn’t certain she was willing to be bothered with the schedules and pressures involved with a league.

  Ainsley laughed.

  “A league? Yeah, a league of misfits. No, it’s just a bunch of friends who love the game. We just get together every Sunday—if our schedules allow—and play against each other for fun. Trust me, we suck. But it’s just casual and relaxed. Totally no pressure.”

  “That sounds amazing!”

  “It is! And you are going to join us!”

  Rachel liked the idea. And, if she was being totally honest with herself, she liked that Ainsley was asking her to join. Well, Ainsley was playfully telling her to join and Rachel was finding that incredibly hot for some reason.

  Fuck, I really need to sort this out!

  Her phone chirped. Reading the notification, she gasped.

  “They accepted your offer!” she announced. “The house is yours if you still want it!”

  Ainsley smiled.

  “Really? That’s amazing!”

  As if he had heard the announcement also, their waiter arrived just then with their glasses of ouzo. Once he left, Rachel raised hers in a toast.

  “Congratulations!” she said. “To finding a new home and starting your new life in Carlsbad.”

  “I’m am soooooo excited!” Ainsley said, clinking her glass with Rachel’s.

  However, once they drank their toast, Rachel knew she had to get down to business. The Havershams may have accepted Ainsley’s offer but that was only via text, which basically meant nothing. Neither Ainsley’s offer nor the Havershams’ acceptance of it were official until Rachel sent both parties a bunch of forms that they would then have to sign electronically. Until then, Ainsley was at risk of being outbid for the house.

  She explained all this to her companion as she took her iMac out of her combination purse/computer bag.

  “Sorry, I know we should totally be celebrating,” she said, placing the laptop on the table and starting it up. “But I don’t want you missing out on this!”

  She heard Ainsley sigh dramatically.

  “Well, you’re right…You’re ruining my thrill of victory, Rach,” Ainsley told her, and Rachel loved that Ainsley had called her “Rach.” Of course, Amy called her that all the time. So did her parents. Her siblings. All of her friends and most of her co-workers. Everybody called her “Rach.”

  But everybody else wasn’t Ainsley Janowicz.

  When Ainsley Janowicz called her “Rach…”

  Fuck!

  Under the table, she crossed her legs.

  Without taking her eyes off the iMac’s screen, Rachel said, “How can I make it up to you?” hoping Ainsley would take the hint.

  “You owe me a proper celebration,” Ainsley declared. “Let’s celebrate tonight.”

  Score!

  R
achel knew her features were displaying her pleasure at that idea even though she was still concentrating on getting the proper offer acceptance forms emailed to Ainsley and the Havershams. Her lack of a poker face was the reason she never played cards.

  “I, uh, promise I’ll stop flirting with you so much,” Ainsley added.

  Wait! What?

  This made Rachel look up from her work.

  “Who told you to do a dumb thing like that?” she asked, surprising herself.

  Ainsley laughed.

  “No one told me. I just…”

  “What?”

  Ainsley leaned forward again and held Rachel’s eyes with her own.

  “Look, I just want you to know that I really enjoy your company, Rach. I know we only met, like, five minutes ago practically but we hit it off—at least I think so—and I’d like the chance to get to know you better and become good friends. But I also know I’ve been kind of flirting a lot with you, which I can’t help, truth be told. But I can dial it down, I promise. You won’t have to worry about fending off my advances tonight. I really just want to go out and celebrate with my new friend.”

  Rachel felt the exact same way. She and Ainsley had hit it off instantly, the same way she and Amy had it off instantly freshman year at UCLA.

  Well, not exactly the same way…

  Rachel did not feel confused when she first met Amy. Even though, she remembered now, Amy had actually done a little exploratory flirting with her as soon as they met, which lasted all of about twenty minutes. After that, Amy had cottoned on to the fact that Rachel was as hetero as hetero could be.

  “I’d like the chance to get to know you better, too,” Rachel told Ainsley. “You’re right; we hit it off and I love your company also.”

  “Excellent!” Ainsley exclaimed.

  “But the flirting continues,” Rachel declared and was pleased when she saw Ainsley’s mouth drop open.

  She thought that was hot!

  Apparently, Ainsley knew she had given something away and then took another sip of her ouzo, obviously trying to cover. Rachel gave herself another point.

  “Is that so?” Ainsley said, her confidence regained.