by Anna Cove
"Okay. I'll set up the meeting for the week after next."
"Set it up this week, Cal. I'm ready."
Cal frowned. "Are you sure? You'll only have one chance."
Alarm bells pinged again, but Laura ignored them. If she got through this pitch, that was great. If not, well, then she could just go back to Dylan and their slower life on the mountain. She would find something else to do. That's how much this story meant to her.
"I'll be ready. Set it up."
Cal sighed, but pulled out his phone and disappeared behind his office door. It was better to work without him, anyway. He was a distraction.
Before she got back to it, Laura pulled out her phone and typed up a text.
I'm sorry, I'm going to have to cancel our video chat tonight. Something's come up—I'm pitching the execs this week and need to pull an all-nighter! But I promise, I PROMISE, after that we'll go back to being us. No matter what happens. I love you. XO.
She thought about typing more. About apologizing for what had happened over the weekend, or about what had not happened. But apologies were better in person, so she could prove to Dylan that this wasn't going to be a long-term thing. Hopefully, she hadn't already done permanent damage.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
WHEN LAURA LEFT FOR the city, Dylan had thought she would fill her time with work and volunteering. But her life had changed in the past few months to the point where it was almost unrecognizable to her.
Though she knew she was leaving, she kept going to crew practice, and now also went out with the team after practices. She laughed and socialized with them. She worked less than before and filled her time with packing and tying up loose ends. She even went to a party her coworkers threw for her, made speeches, and gave away her things in a pretend auction.
The change was for the better. She felt happier than she ever had, though it was a bittersweet happiness. She knew she had the tools to rebuild her life. Plus, with Laura by her side, she could do almost anything. The world and its many opportunities were open to her. She only hoped Laura would be by her side. Before the weekend visit, she hadn't doubted it. But now she wasn't so sure.
The Monday afternoon after her visit, she was sitting with Skylar and Kell in The Snuggery when a text came through on her phone.
She tried to ignore it, but when her phone buzzed again, she glanced at Skylar.
"Go ahead, take it. There's no one in here anyway. But make it quick."
Dylan pulled out her phone and stared at the message.
I'm sorry, I'm going to have to cancel our video chat tonight. Something's come up—I'm pitching the execs this week and need to pull an all-nighter! But I promise, I PROMISE, after that we'll go back to being us. No matter what happens. I love you. XO.
Dylan flicked off the screen and slid the phone back in her front pocket.
"What is it, Wilson?" Kell asked. "Your old lady checking up on you?"
Dylan pressed her lips together. It wasn't because Kell's words turned her off this time. Her diction had started to grow on Dylan. It was because she didn't want to share what was going on, her growing fear that moving to the city would be a mistake. It was the only thing that clouded her happiness these days, while it should be the thing that was making her happy.
"Naw, it's just one of those stupid spam messages."
"Liar," Sky said.
"I'm not lying."
"You always bite your thumbnail when you fib."
Dylan pulled the offending nail out of her mouth.
Sky leaned forward, folding her long fingers together. "And you haven't talked about your city visit. What happened, Dyl?"
"I guess I'm just not the type of person to gush. You know me." Even as she said the words, uncertainty surfaced. What was happening with Laura didn't make sense. It was as if in the span of a week she had become a completely different person. If Dylan had ever needed to talk something out with friends, this was it.
She glanced at both of them, then focused on Skylar. She didn't mind if Kell heard this, but she didn't want to be tainted by her probably outrageous opinion. Or her I-told-you-so. Dylan still remembered what she had said to her the night of their dinner date. Skylar would have the more measured advice. Probably.
Dylan ran a hand through her hair. "So, I went down there and, you know how hot it was this weekend. Well, we were supposed to meet at her apartment, but she was two hours late and I had to wait outside baking on the curb. I finally got a hold of her so her doorman would let me up to her place, since they have a stupid rule that guests had to be signed in, and then I had to pick up Aaron because the nanny had another engagement and I fell asleep before Laura even got home."
It was the most Dylan had ever said at once in a long time and it left her a little breathless. Though she hadn't finished her thought, she took another breath.
"And what did she tell you about why she was away?" Kell asked. Totally serious. Totally reasonable.
Dylan looked between her and the silent Sky. "She said she got caught at work."
"And... you didn't believe her?" Kell asked.
"No. I did believe her." And here was the crux of the problem. "Except I don't trust the guy who is her manager. I got a weird vibe from him when we met. And I can't say anything about it because he's her best friend."
"Tricky. Can't mess with the best friend." It was Kell who spoke again. Sky was silent, her arms crossed as she followed the conversation with her gaze.
"I think he might have made up an emergency the next day, too, when we were at the zoo. She was away all day again."
Kell shook her head. "Yeah, this guy sounds like he's no good."
"On the other hand, what do I know about the television business? It could be that this is just what happens at the beginning of a project when they're trying to pull things together."
"And what was that text about just now?"
Dylan squirmed. For some reason, the text made her feel most uncomfortable. Maybe it was the building up of things, the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back. "She canceled our video chat tonight and said she had to pull an all-nighter. Am I crazy? Is she trying to ghost me?"
Kell sat back and narrowed her eyes. "If I hadn't met her or spent time with her, I'd say yes, given her reputation."
"Her... Oh." Dylan had forgotten Laura was famous. She had forgotten that everyone knew a different Laura Munro than she did. One who partied and went out with A-list celebrities and hit the red carpet and starred in a soap opera. It was so far from the woman that she knew that she had flat-out forgotten. Even when it had been shoved in her face over the weekend. Her private car. Her expensive apartment. What if celebrity Laura was the real one, and her Laura was just a blip that appeared due to circumstances? What if Dylan was just a passing convenience?
Believe people when they show you who they are, Dylan thought.
Laura was showing her something now, but she had shown her so many things over their time together. She'd taught her how to love life. She'd shown her that she was a fast learner, a generous lover, an excellent mother. That she could listen and respond with empathy. But then she'd also shown her that when other priorities came up in her life, Dylan would be shoved to the side. She'd shown her she was ambitious. What characteristics would dominate?
"What do you think, Sky?" Dylan asked.
Sky shrugged and stood from the table. "I'm going to get us refills. I'll be back, ladies."
She disappeared into the back.
"What bug got up her ass?" Kell asked.
"I don't know. She usually loves talking about relationships and gossip. I would have thought this was right up her alley."
"Hmph." Kell spread her fingers on the table, her nails painted black. She shrugged and returned her focus to Dylan. "I've had a lot of women, Wilson. A lot. None as beautiful or talented or famous or sexy as your leading lady..."
"Okay, Kell, get to the point."
Kell gave her an exaggerated wink. "You know I'm only kiddin
g, Wilson. Anyway. What I wanted to say was that you should trust your gut on this. If you can smell something fishy, there's probably some rotten tuna there with that Cal fellow."
Dylan wrinkled her nose. It was a nasty analogy, but the more Dylan thought about it, the more she considered Kell could be right. When Cal had arrived on Big Badger, he was still trying to get Laura back on The Beautiful Ones. Then he turns around and proposes this amazing gig he knew Laura couldn't resist. He made it seem like it was a done deal, but Laura had been working nonstop on it since she left.
Then there was the way his eyes and his hands had lingered on Laura at the cabin. Dylan had convinced herself she'd imagined that. But what if he had done all this because he wanted to get Laura away from Dylan, because he wanted Laura for himself?
Dylan groaned and slid down in her seat until her neck rested on the back of her chair. She stared up at the ceiling. "I'm going to have to talk to her about this, aren't I?"
"I wouldn't listen to me as my longest relationship has been about, oh, six weeks, so you've already got me beat, but if I were to channel a normal person, I would say, yeah. You should talk to her about your concerns."
Dylan sat up again. "And how do I go about that? What do I say to her so she doesn't think I'm jealous and want her all to myself? You're the wordsmith, Ms. Mayor. You got a whole town, half of which are conservative, to vote for you, a..."
"Bull dyke? Yeah, I honestly don't know how I did that."
"Me either."
Kell chuckled. "Well, thanks, Wilson. Nice to know I had your vote."
"I did vote for you."
"Well, then... you know better than me. What did I say or do to convince you?"
Dylan thought about it for a moment, then shook her head and shrugged. "Nothing. You were the first person like me I'd seen running for local office."
Kell huffed out a laugh. "That doesn't help much in this situation, does it?"
Dread curdled Dylan's stomach. She was supposed to move the first of her things down to the city this week. It was stressful enough without having this type of conversation with Laura. At the best of times, she had never been one to call out someone when they were doing something wrong, and arguably that's why her relationship with Katie had started to falter.
She would not let that happen here.
If their relationship was going down, she, for one, would go down fighting.
And that fight couldn't wait another minute.
THREE HOURS LATER, Dylan, serendipitously, found a parking space close to Laura's apartment. She took this as a sign. A sign on top of all the other signs—the highways free of traffic, her improved mood—that this was the right decision. On the way down she'd listened to her workout playlist and managed to maintain the high that had flooded her the moment she decided to leave Love Falls. She had militantly pushed away any what-ifs. They were not useful.
She also hadn't texted or called Laura, unwilling to give her the opportunity to convince Dylan to stay home. They had operated on Laura's schedule now for over a week, and it was time Dylan called the shots in their relationship. It was time Dylan stepped up.
It was almost nine at night, so despite what Laura had said about the all-nighter at work, Dylan thought she'd check her apartment first. If that didn't work, she'd charm the doorman into telling her where Laura's office was. She was working on her speech—charming on the fly was not Dylan's strong suit—when someone exited the apartment building, holding the door open for her. Another sign?
"Ms. Wilson. What a pleasant surprise," said the doorman. "Are you here to see Ms. Munro? I'll buzz up."
Pleasant surprise? She hadn't realized she'd made an impression on the doorman. She didn't even know his name. Flying high on her confidence, she walked up to the desk and leaned on it. "Can you hold off on that for a second?"
The doorman paused with the phone in his hands, his dark eyebrows raised.
"I'm here to surprise her. Do you think I can just go up and knock on the door?"
"It's not policy, but..." The man glanced behind him as if someone was looking over his shoulder. He leaned forward. "I've always loved a good romantic gesture."
Dylan felt herself lift again. Another sign. No charm necessary.
"If you go straight up there, I can't see the harm. Good luck, Ms. Wilson."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you." Dylan bounced on her toes like a little girl on Christmas morning then bounded toward the elevator. Her excitement mixed with anxiety as the elevator drew her closer to the twenty-first floor. Why was Laura home rather than at the office? What was she going to say to her? She had no idea.
Yes, she did. She knew exactly what she would say to her.
The thought of losing Laura was intolerable, so intolerable that Dylan had driven three hours to get to her. She wanted this moment to be romantic, but fuck romance. What could be more romantic than Dylan saying, "Listen, I want to spend the rest of my life with you and Aaron, and I want to start that right now?"
Dylan glanced at her Vans sneakers and tried to smooth the wrinkles from her unicorn rainbow T-shirt. This was it. This was the moment. And she was wearing a wrinkled unicorn rainbow T-shirt. Whatever. It would make a good story later. She lifted her fist and knocked on the door, softly, so as not to wake Aaron if he was asleep.
When no one answered, she did so again.
The hallway was empty, but if someone was there, she might have whisper-shouted, "I'm proposing to my girlfriend!"
The door swung open. Laura's eyes widened, and she gave a half-glance behind her before mostly closing the door. "Dylan. What are you doing here?"
"I'm happy to see you, too." Dylan leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. As she pulled away her excitement began to wane.
Why wasn't Laura asking her in? Why was she closing the door behind her? And why did she look so guilty?
Do what you came to do, Dylan. Don't let your mind play tricks on you. "I couldn't wait another day to see you, so I drove down here."
Laura stared at her feet. "I wish you hadn't."
And with those words, Dylan deflated like a pierced balloon. She kept trying to build herself up again with tiny puffs of breath. It's okay. You came down here to fight. You've got your armor. Use it.
"I don't mind working around your schedule for the next few days. I just want to be with you. Can I come in to talk?" There was still time to rescue this, even though it hadn't gone at all how she'd imagined. They were supposed to be hugging one another while jumping up and down with excitement right now. But if Dylan knew anything about life, she knew this. It rarely delivered on expectations.
Laura glanced behind her, and Dylan's gaze followed hers. What is she hiding?
"I really have to pee." Dylan pushed the door open and slid by Laura. She entered straight into the living room.
Cal twisted around from his spot on the couch, a grin on his face. "Hey, Dylan. How are ya?"
The dread she'd felt outside the door slammed into her stomach so hard she thought she might lose the bagel she'd eaten for lunch. Cal was stretched out, taking up as much space as he could, his arm curled over the empty couch impression of Laura. Two wine glasses sat on the glass coffee table and candles were the only thing lighting the room. There were no laptops. No papers on the table. It was just the two of them. On a couch. With wine. And candles.
I have to pull an all-nighter tonight.
Dylan hunched and gripped her stomach. "I think I'm going to be sick." She lurched to the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.
All was silent out in the living area.
"Idiot," she whispered to herself. "Idiot."
How could she have missed this? She'd suspected something was going on, but not that Laura was complicit. It looked like a date. How could this be anything else? And why hadn't Laura told her, been straight with her, anything, so that she wouldn't be the fool who showed up right in the middle of her girlfriend cheating?
Pain twisted around her
lungs. She sat on the toilet, unable to hold herself up any longer, adrenaline fading to agony. She bit her knuckles to stop the scream from coming out. Why? Dylan had been going along fine before Laura, and Laura had dragged her out for what? Just to break her heart? Just to beat her when she was down? For fun? As a plaything?
Her mind spiraled on these questions for what could have been thirty seconds or thirty minutes. She'd lost all concept of time and space until the sound of a soft knock on the door brought her back.
"Dylan? Can I come in?"
Dylan glanced up, only then realizing the twisted form her body had taken, the physical representation of the pain she felt. She breathed, trying to remember all the things her therapist had taught her about how to come down from emotional overwhelm. But she couldn't remember any of it. Nothing that would help her in that moment with the very acute pain she was feeling. Her tactics had all dealt with pushed down grief, but this—this—she couldn't push down. And she couldn't avoid it. It was too big to swallow.
She straightened herself, unable to slow the speed of her heartbeat. She couldn't speak. She watched the door, silent.
The knob twisted. Laura slipped in, then closed the door behind her. She stood there, staring at Dylan. Just staring.
Dylan wasn't going to be the one to speak first. Not this time.
"I know what you're thinking," she said.
"Do you?" Dylan's voice was raspy, as if she had let go the scream that had been itching to come out.
"You were right about that nanny. She was awful. I fired her earlier today and Cal came over to work. We were just taking a break when you came in."
"With candles and wine?" Dylan tried not to get sucked into her thoughts again. That was a dangerous place, and she had gone there so quickly in the previous moments, gripped by a spiraling vortex. At the same time, she had to see things for what they were. Laura and Cal had been on a date.
