“No.”
“Banana nut muffins.”
Briley instantly perked up. “Those do sound good, but you’ll have to scavenge on your own. I have breakfast plans with Leah.”
“I’m sure I can manage on my own.”
“I’m sure you can. I’m going to take a quick shower, then I’m going to head over.”
“Don’t linger on my account. Go. Your girl is waiting for you.”
Briley stepped out of the shower, dried off, then dressed in a pair of jeans, a blue tank top, and her pair of work boots. After breakfast, she was joining Brandon at a property they were considering buying.
With a wave at Kat, Briley walked out the backdoor and headed to Leah’s. The door opened to a smiling Leah before she even knocked.
“Right on time,” Leah said. Without thinking, Briley kissed Leah’s cheek, then stiffened. That wasn’t what she had intended to do. Although Leah had often kissed her cheek, this was the first time Briley had crossed that line. They both stood stock still, just staring at each other, until a smile blossomed on Leah’s face and she motioned to the table. “Sit down.”
“Right.” Briley refrained from touching her and took a seat at the table. Laid out in front of her was fruit salad, scrambled eggs, bacon, whole wheat toast, and strawberry jam.
Leah set a glass of orange juice in front of Briley. “Freshly squeezed.”
“No.” Briley feigned shock.
“Yes.” Leah grinned. “Nothing’s too good for you.”
“I hope you didn’t go to any trouble?”
Leah reached across the table and picked up Briley’s hand. “It was no trouble.” She pulled her hand back. “They were on sale at the grocery the day before yesterday. So, fresh squeezed. It’s not something I would get used to, though,” Leah added with a wink.
“I’m flattered, and you don’t have to do anything special on my account. Breakfast with you is always a reward in itself, no matter what we eat.”
Leah shook out her napkin. “You’re a smooth one, Briley.”
“Only for you.”
“You’re on a roll this morning.”
“I do have my moments.” They ate in silence with occasional glances toward each other. Briley tried to keep her focus on the food in front of her, but Leah looked exceptionally good this morning. Her hair was put up off her face, highlighting the sharp planes of her jawline. A jawline Briley wanted to trail kisses along.
“You’re staring.” Briley jerked her eyes up to be met with the amused one’s of Leah, but kept quiet. “I’m flattered, Briley, but you have to work today, so you need to finish eating.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Briley, it’s okay. No harm done. Eat.”
Fifteen minutes later, they were both finished, and Briley stood beside Leah, washing their dishes. Briley dried the last plate, wiped her hands, then turned to Leah, who was leaning against the wall, looking at her. “Breakfast was good.”
“I’m glad you liked it.”
Briley stuffed her hands in her pockets. “I should get going.”
“Yes.” Leah glanced out the window then quickly back. “I…there’s something I wanted to ask you.”
“Go ahead.” Briley rested her hip against the island. “You can ask me anything.”
Leah ran her fingers along the countertop. “I know what I said the first time we had dinner together, but…I.” She sighed. “I was wondering if you would accompany me to the dance.”
What? Had she heard her correctly? Briley’s heart thudded in her chest. Did Leah just ask her out? She needed clarification. “Like a date date or a friend date?” Please let it be the first choice.
With each step Leah took in her direction, the more Briley felt like she was having a heart attack. When Leah placed the palms of her hands on Briley’s chest, Briley damned near did have a heart attack. “Not a friend date. Over the last few weeks, it’s come to my attention that I like having you around. I’m still unsure about a few things, but I would hate to keep you at a distance and someone else scoop you up. I would regret not taking the chance.”
“So, you like me?” Briley wrapped her arms around Leah, resting them on the small of her back, holding her gaze.
Leah leaned into her further and slipped her arms around Briley’s neck. “Yes. I like you. I would still like to take this slowly. I’m enjoying what we’ve been doing and would like to continue that, but with the promise of more.”
The words Briley wanted to say were stuck in her throat at the feeling of Leah wrapped around her. Leah was offering her a chance at everything she wanted. “I would like that.” She rubbed their noses together. “I like you.”
“I know.” Leah raised up and kissed Briley on the cheek. “You should be proud of yourself. If it wasn’t for you kissing me on the cheek when you came in, I wouldn’t have worked up the nerve to ask you out.”
Briley lifted Leah up and held her tightly. “Let me just say for future reference you always smell amazing.”
“Noted and catalogued.”
This was a feeling she didn’t want to lose. Briley held her for a moment longer. Leah felt so right in her arms. “As much as I don’t want to, I really do need to go.”
Leah placed a kiss on Briley’s neck. “I know.”
“Okay.” Briley lowered Leah, then took a step back. “Work. I need to go to work.” She pointed out the window toward her truck.
“Yes, you do.” Leah opened the refrigerator, took out a plain brown paper bag, and held it out to Briley, who readily took it. “One of the many perks of dating me.”
Briley blinked at Leah’s words. Dating. They were dating. “Is this lunch?” At Leah’s nod, Briley looked in the bag, which held a sandwich, a container of applesauce, a granola bar, banana, and a spoon. “This is awesome.” A post-it-note was attached to the inside, but she wanted to wait to read it.
“It’s not a big deal.”
It was a huge deal. Briley swept an arm around Leah and drew her into another hug. “Yes, it is. Thank you.” She kissed her cheek. “Though, you did forget something.”
“Oh, really?”
At the door, Briley turned back toward her. “Stickers. You should have sealed the bag with stickers. You do know they make superhero ones.”
Leah chuckled. “That is also noted.”
“Just to be clear. We’re dating?” Briley pointed from her to Leah.
“Yes.”
“Only each other, right?”
“Yes, Briley. Only each other. I’m not a fan of sharing.”
“Me either.” Leah’s smile was almost Briley’s undoing. If she didn’t have to work, she’d carry her into the living room, cuddle, and watch movies all day. She’d just turned the doorknob, when she turned back around. “The dance isn’t until next week.” Leah nodded. “Would you like to have dinner with me tonight? Nothing fancy. We can order in and relax.”
“I would love that.”
At Leah’s lightening quick response, Briley puffed up. Nice. “Yes, all right, then. Seven?”
“It’s a date.”
“It’s a date.” Briley couldn’t keep the smile off her face even if she tried. Which she didn’t. Once inside her truck, she looked at her lunch bag, then back to Leah’s house. Did that just happen? Leah had asked her out. Then she asked Leah out. She drummed her hands on the steering wheel. First work, then play.
Chapter Fifteen
Briley paced the finished kitchen of their newly flipped house. It was set to go on the market the following week, and already had quite a buzz around it. Nevertheless, her thoughts all day had been on Leah and their date that night. She could tell Brandon wanted to ask what was up, but he didn’t and she didn’t volunteer any information. If she was to start talking about Leah, she might not be able to stop.
She jumped when a hand landed on her arm. “I’ve called your name three times,” Brandon said. “What’s up?” He held his hand up. “Don’t try and deny it. I’ve known you long enou
gh to know when something’s on your mind.”
After taking a deep breath, Briley recounted everything that had happened up till this point. “So.” She stuffed her hands in the back pockets of her jeans.
A large grin flashed across his face. “I think it’s awesome.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I can tell by the way you’re acting that you really like this woman.”
“You have no idea.”
“I would like to meet her. Bring her to our potluck next month. Besides, this way I can get Mary off my back about setting you up.”
Briley cringed. Mary was well known in the neighborhood for being a matchmaker. Not a very successful one, but a matchmaker none-the-less. “I didn’t know she was still doing that.” Rumor had it she had quit last year after a particularly bad match ended badly.
“Oh, yeah. She’ll be happy for you, but sad her ‘operation: find Briley a girlfriend’ is over.”
“Her search might not be over. She can work on setting up Kat.” Kat deserved it for all the shit she’d given her over the past few weeks.
Brandon threw back his head and laughed. “I’ll let her know.”
They stood side by side, looking out into the open space of the living room. “I don’t think we’ll have a problem selling this place,” she said. It would make someone a beautiful home.
“I also have my eye on another house, but the details haven’t been worked out yet. I don’t want to get your hopes up, so I’ll let you know when I know. Hell, my hopes are already up and it’s going to be heartbreaking if we don’t get it.”
“That good?”
“Even better.” He chuckled and shook his head, before squeezing her shoulder. “Go. Get out of here. It’s almost six, and by the time you get home and shower, it will be time for your date.”
“My date.” She was still in a daze about how everything happened. “Leah and I are dating.”
“Oh, my friend. You have it bad. Happy looks good on you.”
“Happy feels good. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” he called after her.
The drive home was quiet and quick. Just the way she liked it. Breezing in through the front door, she acknowledged Kat with a nod, skipped to her room, tore off her clothes, and jumped into the shower. As the water beat down on her, the nerves that had been building all day seemed to vanish. Tonight was a date, their first official date, even though the times they’ve been spending together Briley would classify as dates.
It was going to be awesome. They needed to discuss each other’s boundaries, but she hoped Leah would be comfortable with cuddling on the couch. Leah seemed like the type to be a hugger, but it was always good etiquette to work out these details beforehand.
Thirty minutes later, she was dressed in a pair of gray Bermuda shorts, and a white and blue striped short-sleeve Henley. After running a brush through her dried hair, Briley decided to put it up off her neck. She slipped her feet into a pair of sandals and walked out of her room and toward the kitchen. Kat was waiting for her with a hug and a cup of tea.
“Sit. Drink. You have fourteen minutes before you have to be over there.” Kat pushed Briley into a chair, then sat down opposite her. “Nervous?”
“Not really. More like excited.”
“I got that from the forty-six text messages you sent me today.”
“It’s what I wanted and now that it’s here, it’s almost hard to believe.” Briley blew on her tea and took as sip.
Kat nodded. “Believe it. I see the way she looks at you. I knew it was only a matter of time. You realize I am an all-star coach, right?”
“Any pointers tonight?”
“I got you this far. You can take it from here.”
Briley finished her tea and stood up. A quick glance at her phone told her she had four minutes. “Don’t wait up.”
“Didn’t plan to. Really, Bri, have fun.”
The walk to Leah’s took less than a minute, and she had barely knocked on the door before it was opened.
“Come in.”
Leah wore a long red skirt, with flowers scattered around the bottom and a black silk tank top. Her hair was down and curled around her shoulders.
“I think I’m underdressed,” Briley said.
“Don’t be silly. You look great.” Leah took Briley’s hand and lead her toward the far side of the kitchen, then motioned for her to take a seat, but not before kissing her on the cheek. Leah rummaged through a kitchen drawer and pulled out several take-out menus. “Do you have a preference?” Leah picked up a pair of glasses that were laying on the counter and slipped them on.
Briley about fell off her stool when Leah looked up at her. She’d never seen her with glasses on before, and they made her look twice as enticing. Leah must have noticed the look on her face because a sexy smile graced her lips, and she shook her head.
“Briley, focus. Dinner. Do you have a preference?”
“Not pizza.” Briley separated the pizza and Chinese ones from the rest. “How about Mexican?” She slid the menu toward Leah. “They do really good takeout.”
“Evan and I have eaten there a few times. I miss him. We talked last night, but it’s not the same.”
“He’ll be home in a little over a month and a half. The time will fly.”
They spent the next few minutes deciding on what to eat, then Leah phoned in their order. “Thirty to forty minutes. Whatever shall we do until then?” She set her phone on the counter, walked around it, then slipped in-between Briley’s open legs. “Do you have any ideas?”
Oh, how she didn’t want to ruin the moment, but she needed to know their boundaries. “Actually, I do. Can we sit in the living room?”
Leah cocked her head, slipped her glasses off, then set them on the counter. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes,” Briley hurried to say. “There are just a few things we should discuss first.” Leah led the way into the living room, where they both took a seat on the couch. A few feet apart.
“Briley, if you’ve changed your mind.”
“No. No.” Briley scooted over and picked up Leah’s hand. “Is this okay?”
“Yes.”
“I’m big on consent and just wanted to know where your boundaries lie.” Leah relaxed before her eyes, squeezing Briley’s hand.
“Go on.”
“So, we’re taking this slowly and continuing to do things like we have been?” Leah nodded. “I’m not ready for sex yet; are you?”
“Not yet, no. I want to get to know you better before we take that step. I’ve had a sex-only relationship and hated it. That’s not what I want with you.”
“Good. Me too. Not the sex-only, but I want to get to know you better too.”
“What else?”
“Is touching okay? You seem comfortable with hugs. What about cuddling or holding your hand? Those types of things?”
Leah moved and sat down right beside Briley. “I’m okay with hugs and cuddling. Right now, I would like to keep our hands outside of our clothing, but whatever skin is on display, I don’t see any reason not to touch it.”
Briley took that as an invitation, lifted her hand, then traced her fingertips down Leah’s arm, stopping to caress her wrist. “Like that?”
Leah shivered. “Exactly like that.”
“What about kissing?”
Leah tangled their fingers together, lifted her free hand, and traced Briley’s jawline. “Kisses are fine. I’m not opposed to a make-out session, but we can work up to that. Who knows? You are hard to resist.” Leah leaned forward and Briley met her halfway. Their first kiss was brief, but intense. Leah pulled back and ran her thumb over Briley’s bottom lip. “Are you okay with taking it as slow as I would like? I don’t want to call all the shots.”
“I’m okay with that. I really like you and deep down I know this could be something special. I don’t want to jump into anything we’re not ready for. We can take all the time we need.”<
br />
Leah kissed her again and lingered for a second longer. “I could get used to that.”
“Well, we are dating now, so you can do that anytime you want.”
“You can as well.”
“I wouldn’t leave that an open invitation. I’ll be hugging and kissing on you all the time.”
Leah smiled. “I really don’t mind, darling.”
At the term of endearment, Briley had to ask. “Do you like nicknames?” Briley tried to tug her hand back, but Leah kept a firm hold.
“Depends on what it is.” She played with Briley’s fingers.
“You called me darling, which I like, by the way,” Briley was quick to add.
Leah eyed her warily. “Do you have one in mind?”
“Butternut,” Briley blurted out.
The smile on Leah’s face vanished. “Butternut?”
Briley tried to keep a straight face, but failed. “No, but it can’t be worse than that, can it?”
Leah slipped her free hand around the back of Briley’s neck and pulled her, until they were face to face. She lifted both hands, cupped Briley’s face, and kissed her slowly.
They were both breathing hard when they parted, and Briley rubbed their noses together. “So, no foods? I just want to make sure.”
“You have more?”
“Sure. Cupcake, Muffin, Peachy. Leah, you’re my green bean.” She batted her eyes at her.
Leah threw her head back and laughed. “I knew getting involved with you was going to be an adventure.”
“Oh, tiny. You haven’t seen anything yet.” Leah sucked in a breath at the term of endearment. “No?”
“I like it.”
Briley nodded, satisfied. She opened her mouth to speak when there was a knock on the door. “I’ll get it. I asked you to dinner, so I’ll pay.” She led the deliveryman into the kitchen, settled the bill with a generous tip, shut and locked the door, then joined Leah at the island. “God, that smells good.”
After the food was divided and they were seated, Leah spoke. “So, did you ask all your questions?”
“One more. What happened with the age difference you were worried about?”
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