“How much did you actually hear?” Reese asked.
“All of it. Am I screwing this up?” Riley asked and took a drink of Reese’s cosmopolitan.
“You’re not screwing it up. But you shouldn’t lead her on if there’s nothing on your end of things, Riley,” Kellan said. “She doesn’t know, though, does she?”
“She said she’d call. She hasn’t yet. I was hoping I could talk to her tonight. But she seems busy.” She turned to see the blonde wrap her arms around Kinsley’s neck and lean in. She must have said something into Kinsley’s ear. “Very busy.”
“Riley, she’s just dancing. James doesn’t do one-night stands. She won’t take anyone home tonight,” Reese explained. “Why don’t you ask her to dance next? You could try talking to her then.”
“I’ve got a better idea.” She took another drink of Reese’s cosmopolitan, for some liquid courage, before she stood somewhat confidently, exhaled a deep breath, and walked toward the dance floor. When she arrived at Kinsley and the blonde, she asked, “May I cut in?”
“With which one of us?” the blonde asked.
“I’d like to dance with her if you don’t mind,” Riley replied, pointing at Kinsley.
“Oh,” the woman said and glanced in Kinsley’s direction.
“I’ll grab you later for another dance,” Kinsley told the blonde. “My friend just got here,” she added, likely to make the woman not feel as bad.
When the blonde kissed Kinsley’s cheek slowly and whispered something to her Riley couldn’t hear, Riley gulped and considered just going back to the table. The blonde walked off the dance floor just as a slow.
The next song started. It was one of those songs that still allowed people to dance at a bar but also to pull someone close and rock their body against them. It was just the kind of song they should not be dancing to right now. Riley wanted to talk to Kinsley. She wasn’t sure they could do that with this song playing, but she’d started this. She’d have to finish it now. Riley pulled Kinsley’s hips toward her before placing her arms around Kinsley’s neck.
“Is this okay?”
“It’s fine,” Kinsley replied but didn’t sound so sure.
They weren’t pressed against one another. In fact, Riley thought, they must have looked like two kids at a seventh-grade Catholic school dance, where they were told to leave room for the Holy Spirit. She hadn’t danced in a long time, though. Riley wasn’t a big dancer, but she liked to go out occasionally and dance with a woman. She hadn’t been able to do that with Elena. Even when she’d tried to just dance with her in the kitchen, where they had privacy, Elena had thought it ridiculous.
“I needed to talk to you. You didn’t call. Reese and Kellan told me you’d be here. I shouldn’t have just shown up, though,” Riley said.
“It’s fine,” Kinsley repeated.
“Are you just going to keep saying that?”
“No,” Kinsley said. “I’m answering your questions, Riley.”
“You’re being short with me, because you’re upset. Will you tell me what you’re upset about?” She swayed as Kinsley’s hands gripped her sides but weren’t really holding her. “Kinsley, I wanted to talk to you for a reason. That day I dropped off coffee and bagels, I wanted to talk, too. I just lost my nerve.”
“Why?”
“I told you. I always feel like such a mess around you,” Riley said as she chuckled.
“I wish you’d stop saying that. I don’t think you’re a mess.”
“You might take that back in a minute,” Riley said.
“What? Why?” Kinsley lifted a sexy eyebrow.
“Kinsley, will you go out with me?” she asked.
CHAPTER 12
She hadn’t heard that correctly. Kinsley pulled her body away from Riley’s and just stood in the middle of a semi-crowded dance floor.
“That’s not funny, Riley. That’s actually pretty mean,” she said.
“Hey, everything okay?” Morgan leaned over and away from the redhead she’d been dancing with.
“Everything’s fine, Morgan,” Riley said.
“I’m going to get a drink,” Kinsley said.
“Kinsley…”
“Riley, come on.” Morgan let go of the redhead. “What are you trying to do?”
“Morgan, can you just mind your own business?” Riley snapped.
Morgan moved to where Kinsley had been standing before she’d walked off the dance floor. Kinsley made her way toward the bar where she thought about ordering another drink. Then, she decided she needed air more than alcohol. She’d driven Morgan here, but Morgan could get a ride with Kellan and Reese. She texted Morgan as she made her way to the door and outside. She knew she’d been rude not to say goodnight to Reese or Kellan, but she needed oxygen, and she couldn’t get any inside that bar. What the hell had just happened? Had she heard Riley correctly, or had she just imagined it? She’d imagined it, for sure. She was overreacting to something she thought she heard. Riley probably thought she was crazy now.
“Kinsley James, stop!” Riley yelled.
Kinsley turned around to see Riley standing just outside the bar’s bright red door.
“Riley, I’m going home, okay?”
“No, it’s not okay.” Riley rushed toward her.
She looked good tonight. She’d worn a light blue cocktail dress with white two-inch heels. Her hair was half up and half down, and it looked great. Her makeup was light and matched the lightness of her dress. Her lips only had gloss on them with no shade and looked just as kissable as they always did.
“What the hell was that, Riley? I’ve been a good friend to you. I’ve listened to you talk about your girlfriend. I’ve tried to help you find a house that you two will share. I’ve done everything I can to try to help. And it’s like, you can’t even respect my feelings. You remember what happened the other night, don’t you?”
“Kinsley, I absolutely remember.” Riley moved toward her. “And this is crazy, and probably a bad idea, but I am asking you out on a date. I meant what I said in there.”
“You are–”
“Single,” the woman interrupted her. “Newly single, technically.”
“Wait. What?” Kinsley asked. “Elena is–”
“Gone. She left yesterday.”
“But–”
“We broke up that night, Kinsley. She stayed in Kellan’s old room for a couple of nights. I think she thought she could convince me to take back the breakup by staying an extra night, but I didn’t. We’re over. Elena is back in Texas, living the life she wants. And I’m living the life I want here.”
“But–”
“But what, Kinsley?” Riley moved another step closer to her as they stood in the near-empty parking lot. “But what?”
“You’re single?”
“Yes, I’m single.” Riley smiled at her. “And I’d like to go out with you if you’d like to go out with me.”
Kinsley was standing in front of the woman she’d liked for pretty much her entire adult life, and she didn’t know what to say. Riley was single. She was asking Kinsley on a date. Kinsley should say yes. She’d love to go on a date with Riley. The woman was smiling at her, patiently waiting for an answer, and Kinsley had yet to give her one, because she didn’t know what to say. She had thoughts about her parents and their troubled past that always had her on edge when it came to the endings and beginnings of relationships. Of course, that ex-girlfriend of hers had caused some problems for Kinsley, too. Kinsley had started that relationship after the assurances that the woman’s previous relationship was definitely finished, only to find out too late that it wasn’t. She wasn’t just gun-shy because she’d always wanted Riley. She was gun-shy because she wasn’t sure Riley wouldn’t break her heart and end up back with Elena.
“Riley, we shouldn’t.”
“Shouldn’t go out?” Riley asked, seemingly hurt by the words.
“You were with Elena for three years. You were planning a life with her, buying a house,
settling down. And now that’s not happening. It’s a lot. It’s something you need time to deal with. Maybe you’ll even reconsider once you’ve had more time to think about it.”
“You know what I’ve been thinking about?” Riley asked as she reached her hand out and took Kinsley’s the same way she had that night. “How nice your hand felt that night. It didn’t last long – I know, but there was this little spark I felt when I touched you. I think that means something, Kinsley.”
“Riley, you have no idea how much I want to say yes to you right now.”
“Then, say yes,” Riley implored. “Say yes. We can go back inside and dance like two single people who want to dance with one another, instead of the way you just tried to dance with me.”
“Because I thought you had a girlfriend, and I had to protect my heart, Riles,” Kinsley said and dropped Riley’s hand. “That’s all I’ve ever done with you.”
“Protect your heart,” Riley said it as if trying out the words. “But I’m here now, and I like you. I like you, Kinsley,” she added.
“But I can’t trust that right now, Riley,” Kinsley began. “I wish I could, but I can’t. You just broke up with Elena, but I know a lot of people who end their long-term relationships only to begin them again days or weeks later. I can’t start something with you thinking that’s a possibility.”
“I’m not going to get back together with her. You were the one that showed me what I was missing, Kinsley. You show me what a real girlfriend is supposed to be.”
“I need to go,” Kinsley said.
“What am I doing wrong? Please, tell me. I’ll fix it. I thought you’d be glad to hear that Elena and I were over.”
“I am glad to hear that, but not because I think we should date. I’m glad to hear it because you do deserve better, Riley,” Kinsley offered.
“And you are better, Kinsley,” Riley replied. “You are, and I like this. I want to try this with you.”
Kinsley lowered her head before raising it back up and meeting Riley’s confused eyes.
“I don’t want you to try with me, Riley. If you feel the same way after some time has passed, we can talk about this again. But I can’t be with you now.”
“I’m telling you I don’t need time. Why don’t you believe me?” Riley asked, her voice slightly raised. “I think I know how I feel better than you do, Kinsley.”
“And I know how I feel better than you do, Riley. As much as I want this between us, I don’t want to be a rebound for you. I don’t want to be someone you try with because I cooked you a few meals and listened when you talked.”
“Fine,” Riley said and shook her head sideways several times. “I guess I’ll go then. You should stay. I’m sure Morgan is worried about you. She just gave me an earful about how I need to be careful with you. I told her I’d never hurt you. Because, in the past month, I’ve thought about you way more than I thought about the woman I was actually in a relationship with. But if you feel this way, and you can’t see this happening right now, there’s no reason for me to be here tonight.”
“Riley, please don’t be–”
“Upset?” Riley interrupted. She took a few steps past Kinsley and said, “I am upset. But you have every right to feel how you feel, Kinsley. I get it. I just didn’t see tonight ending like this.” She turned back to face Kinsley then. “I thought I’d take you home. I thought I’d make you strawberry ice cream and sliced bananas, since I didn’t get a chance to do that last time. I thought we’d talk a little or a lot, and I thought we’d share our first kiss. I actually thought the whole night through as I drove here tonight, and I smiled the whole time.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say,” Kinsley replied, feeling like the worst and dumbest human being alive.
“Nothing,” Riley replied. “I’ll see you around, I guess.”
Riley unlocked her car with her key fob. Kinsley heard the two consecutive beeps interrupt the near silence before Riley climbed into her car and drove off without another glance in Kinsley’s direction.
“Hey, are you okay?” Morgan had somehow ended up behind her.
“No, I’m not,” Kinsley replied without turning around.
“What happened?”
“She asked me out.”
“That’s good, right? Why is she driving off then?”
“Because I said no,” Kinsley answered.
“What? Why? She told me she’s single now, and she likes you, James. You like her, too. What’s the problem?”
“She’s been single for a few days, Morgan.”
“Oh, you think she needs time?”
“Who wouldn’t in her situation?”
“Did she say that?”
“No, she said she didn’t need time,” Kinsley replied.
“But you don’t trust it?”
“No.” Kinsley turned around. “How many couples do we know that broke up and got back together?”
“A few, but that doesn’t mean that would happen with Riley and Elena.”
“I can’t risk that, Morgan. I like her too much.”
“You keep saying you like her, but you’re not acting like someone who likes someone,” Morgan suggested.
“Because I don’t want to go out with someone that’s on the rebound?”
“Because you don’t just like her, do you, James?” Morgan asked. “It’s more than that, isn’t it?”
“It can’t be. Not right now, at least,” Kinsley said.
“You can’t help that, James. You can’t help falling in love.”
CHAPTER 13
“I asked her, Reese. She said no. I don’t know what you expect me to do now,” Riley said and took a long pull from her beer. “I feel like such an asshole.”
“I don’t understand,” Reese replied. “She’s liked you forever.”
“But it is a little weird with the timing,” Kellan added.
“It’s definitely weird with the timing,” Morgan added as she made her way into Kellan and Reese’s living room. “And it’s weird that we’re in here talking about James, but James isn’t here.” She sat on the floor and faced Riley. “You really screwed it up, didn’t you?”
“Morgan!” Reese exclaimed. “Come on.”
“What? She broke up with her girlfriend and, like, two days later, she’s asking James out on a date.”
“I want to go out with her,” Riley argued. “I like Kinsley. She’s amazing.”
“She is. And she’s nobody’s rebound.” Morgan glared at her.
“Damn, Morgan. Are you sure you don’t want to go out with her?” Riley tossed back.
“I love that girl. She’s like my sister. I’ll always try to protect her, just like I did with Reese when Kellan first got here,” Morgan said.
“That’s a little different, though,” Kellan suggested. “You used to date Reese. Kinsley isn’t your ex.”
“Kinsley James was the first friend I met when Reese, Remy, and I got to school. She’s been a shoulder to cry on for me ever since. She’s also been there when I needed work advice, help handling every breakup I’ve ever been through, and she’s a person I know I can always rely on. So, I’m protective, but I’m protective for a reason.”
Riley sat on the floor on the other side of the sofa that Reese and Kellan shared. She stared at Morgan and knew she’d have to say something to get her to understand Kinsley wouldn’t be a rebound for her. She took another drink and set the empty beer bottle on the coffee table before she took a deep breath in and then out.
“Morgan, I like that you’re so protective of her. I mean, I think Kinsley is completely capable of taking care of herself, but I like that she has someone like you in her life. It’s important to have someone looking out for you.”
“What’s the catch?” Morgan glared again.
“There is no catch,” Riley replied and laughed a little. “I like her, but… I don’t know. Maybe she’s right. Maybe you’re right.”
“About you needing time to think
about Elena?” Kellan asked.
“No, that’s over,” Riley said instantly.
“What happened exactly?” Morgan asked and leaned back against the sofa. “I only heard the basics.”
“She came by unexpectedly. Kinsley and I were in the middle of a pretty important conversation where she told me she liked me. I was about to tell her that I liked her and was thinking about breaking up with Elena.”
“Because of James?” Reese asked.
“I broke up with Elena because I wanted to. I didn’t want to deal with everything she brings with her. We had this plan for us, but she doesn’t want that anymore. I’m not willing to do what she wants.”
“Which is?” Kellan asked.
“Be a mistress, basically,” she replied. “I’d move there and stay out of her way. She’d run for office. And win or lose, nothing would really change. She’ll probably be in the closet forever.”
“I don’t understand that. Why date women at all if you’re going to remain in the closet? You can always find a woman to hook up with. She led you to believe that some time down the road, you two would be out. And now, that’s changed,” Reese said.
“Even that, I probably could have lived with. It would have sucked, but I probably could have made it work.”
“Then, what was it?” Morgan asked another question, seemingly interested.
“I guess it was a bunch of things.” Riley leaned back against the empty chair behind her. “Elena and I have been fighting for the better part of a year. I didn’t realize until that night that her moving here was a last ditch effort to save us. I’d put so much work in relocating here, starting my practice, and trying to make it a home for us, that I failed to listen to her talk about how much she loves Texas, and how excited she is to possibly be its governor. Even though I don’t agree with her decision to stay in the closet, it’s still her decision.” She paused. “I want to live here. I’ve always planned on settling down in South Lake. I want a home I share with a wife and our kids. I don’t want to be with someone who wants to hide from all that or keep the best part of themselves away from everyone else. Hell, she’s probably going to find some guy to marry before the election.”
Time of Day Page 9
