“I decided it wasn’t worth me keeping you at a distance. It seemed silly to close that chapter before we even opened it. Any more?”
Briley was satisfied with that answer. “Those were all the questions I had for now. Well, I mean, I’ve been tested and I’m clean.”
Leah took a sip of her beer. “I am as well.”
“Good. Good.” She fiddled with her glasses. “We’re good.”
“We are.”
They ate in silence, but it was comfortable. Once the table had been cleared and the garbage boxed up, they settled onto the couch. Briley leaned into the arm of the couch and slipped her arm around Leah’s shoulders, drawing her against her side. Leah turned the TV on and they settled on a wildlife documentary on the Discovery Channel.
If all they did for the next six months was cuddle on the couch and watch TV, she’d be satisfied. Well, with a few kisses and hugs thrown in occasionally. This was different from her start with Beth. “Being with you is easy,” Briley said.
“How so?” Leah turned slightly and placed her hand on Briley’s chest.
“It just is. When Beth and I started dating, it always seemed forced. Don’t get me wrong, I was crazy about her, and it never felt wrong, it just never felt like this. Easy.”
“I’m glad. I had to work at it with Kathy. I know what you mean about it being easy. You look like you want to say something.” Leah touched the wrinkle on Briley’s forehead.
“I want us to make it, you know?”
“I want us to make it, too.”
Briley cupped Leah’s cheek, and kissed her. “I have all the confidence in the world that we’ll prevail.”
“Stronger together, Supergirl?”
“It is my motto.”
“I wouldn’t be opposed to a private showing of said costume.”
The scandalized look on Briley’s face made Leah giggle. “Well, well, Miss Daniels, I do believe that is a tad inappropriate.”
Leah wrapped her arms around Briley’s neck and brought their faces close together. “You don’t fool me. I know what you’re thinking.”
“Enlighten me.”
“You’re thinking, if I show her my Supergirl costume, will I get a private viewing of her Captain Marvel costume?”
Briley chuckled and buried her head in Leah’s neck. “You’ve got me, tiny.”
“You better believe it. Now,” Leah untangled herself from a protesting Briley, cuddled back into her side, and pointed at the TV, “don’t distract me, darling.”
“I won’t.” Leah was distracting enough without the kisses and touching thrown in and Briley wouldn’t have it any other way.
Chapter Sixteen
The six days leading up to the Wednesday before the dance were one for the record books. She and Leah managed to have dinner three times, and breakfast a few times. They’d even worked out their schedules to have a picnic in the park. Even this morning, she’d awoken with a smile on her face. That was until she’d sat down at the kitchen table and one, realized Leah had to take a day trip, and two, Kat had said something about the dance. The same dance she didn’t have an outfit for.
“I don’t want to go shopping.” Briley hid her face in her arms on the table.
“I thought you wanted to shine for Leah. Your girlfriend.” Kat poked her on the arm.
Briley peeked one eye open and regretted it by the smug look on Kat’s face. “Fine.”
“That’s the spirit.”
Two hours and three stores later, Briley wished she hadn’t listened to Kat’s stupid idea. Her feet hurt, she was hungry, and they hadn’t found anything either one of them had liked. “I’m hungry.” On top of that, she’d only had one text from Leah all morning.
“All right. Food, then more shopping.”
“Is it really considered shopping if we’re not buying anything?”
“You seem to be forgetting I bought that new keychain in the first store. So, technically, we are shopping.” Kat dug into her pocket and pulled said purchase out.
“Oh, I see.”
Kat stopped walking and drew Briley to a stop. “Please, stop looking at your phone. You have plenty of battery left. If she needs you, she will call. You’re acting a bit clingy.”
“So, I shouldn’t text her again?”
“Let’s get some lunch. If she hasn’t contacted you by then, shoot her another text.”
“Fair enough.”
Lunch was a simple fare of salads and iced tea. Briley had offered to pay, but Kat had looked horrified and paid the bill. “I may have quit my job, but I’m not broke and the freelance is paying all right. You worry too much.”
“All right.” She texted Leah then slipped her phone in her pocket. “Okay, we have two more stores downtown, then we would have to hit the bigger box stores, and I don’t want to do that. I also want to take you by Turn the Page.”
“So, it’s either these stores, or we wear something we already have? What’s Turn the Page?”
“Correct, grasshopper, and it’s a locally owned children’s books and comic store.” Kat held the door open at yet another upscale, downtown boutique. As Briley’s eyes scanned the area, she could see potential. Dresses were scattered throughout the entire layout. The dresses in front didn’t interest her, but they were well made and pretty. She hoped there was something more to her taste near the back.
“Good afternoon, ladies. Is there something I can help you with?”
The sales lady was well dressed and not overly cheery. Briley could work with this, but before she could get a word out, Kat beat her to it.
“We need dresses for the dance.”
The sales lady, whose tag read Linda, smiled at them. “Is there a certain style you want?” She led them past the dresses in front and to a showcase near the back. “These are always a popular choice.”
In the end, Kat went with a black lace, fit and flare dress and Briley didn’t go with a dress at all. She picked a two-tone crepe, black and white, wide leg jumpsuit. They both selected a new pair of heels. As they each paid for their purchase, Briley’s thoughts strayed to what Leah would wear.
“Earth to Briley.”
“What?” Kat held out her bag for her and she took it, slinging her outfit over her shoulder. “I’m ready.”
At the stoplight, Kat rubbed her hands together in the passenger seat. “We’re going to have so much fun tomorrow night. You with Leah and me with whoever I want.”
“I know you told Leah that the woman you were dating wasn’t serious, but are you okay?”
“Bri, it was just one of those things. I had already decided to move and shouldn’t have gone out with her when she asked, but she was cute and I said yes. But, the life change meant more to me than she did. Let me put it this way. Can you see spending the rest of your life with Leah?”
“Yes.”
“I couldn’t with Sarah. That simple. Nor with anyone else I’ve dated.”
At the next stop light, Briley asked the question she’d been dying to. “Have you decided what your next career move is going to be? I know the freelance accounting you’re doing is bringing money in, but I also know you hate it. There’s nothing on the horizon?”
“I’m working on it.”
“That’s all I get?”
“For now.”
Briley pulled into the parking lot adjacent to Turn the Page and shut the truck off. “Kat, you’re going to love this store. One part children’s book store, one part comic book store, and the owners are super friendly.”
“Well, what are we waiting for?”
Once in the store, Briley waved at the guy behind the counter, then pulled Kat toward the large opening in the middle of the room that led to the comic book section. Thousands of comic books lined large cases that took up most of the room, and shelves along the walls held action figures, t-shirts, and one section was set up with board games. Dozens of large-scale posters of superhero movies hung on the walls. A life-size cutout of four different superheroes
stood in each corner of the room and several different cardboard cutouts of ships hung from the ceiling. From the Death Star and USS Voyager, to Prometheus, and an F-302.
Kat scanned the space, wide-eyed. “This is awesome.”
Briley grabbed her arm. “I know. Make sure and take a good look at the children’s part, because it’s awesome too. Let’s browse.”
“You don’t even like comics.”
Briley squeezed her arm. “No, but you do. If they don’t have anything you want, they can always order it. That goes for children’s books too.”
“Do you come here that often?”
“A couple of times a month.” Briley pointed to a room off the back. “They have board game and video game tournaments twice a month and give away prizes. They’ve only been opened for a year, but it’s quite popular. It doesn’t look it now, but once school lets out, this place will be packed.”
Kat rubbed her hands together. “Let’s do this.”
Briley left Kat scanning through the comics, as she perused the action figures. After twenty minutes, she joined Kat.
They both turned when a woman walked up to them, dressed in a pair of Levi’s and a Tardis t-shirt. “Hello, I’m Ainslon. I own the store and hope I’m not interrupting, but I have a survey you can fill out. We’re going to be adding a few things to both sections and wanted to get our customer’s opinions. For example, we are thinking about a life-size Tardis.” She pointed to her shirt. “Or, something Harry Potter related, like the cupboard under the stairs or a Hippogriff or a Centaur. Justin, my co-owner, and I have our picks, but we want to get feedback first. Take your time, and if you fill it out and turn it in, you’ll get a free comic.”
Kat grinned at her. “Excellent, Ainslon.”
“I’ll leave you two alone.” She winked at Kat and walked toward the children’s section.
“She’s cute,” Kat commented.
“She is,” Briley agreed.
“Bri, do you have a pen?” Kat accepted the pen Briley handed her. “Briley, fill yours out too and you can get me a comic with your voucher.”
Briley rolled her eyes, but did as she asked when her phone rung. “It’s Brandon, I have to take this.” She walked a few feet away before answering. “Hey, Brandon. What do you need?”
He chuckled. “You. Remember that house I was telling you about? Well, it’s ours if we want it. It’s off Sixth Avenue, across from the Wagner’s crossing sign. It’s being sold as-is, but, well, when you get here, you’ll see. I’ll text you the directions.” She watched Kat walk into the other room to pay for her items.
“All right, we’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
“Later, gator.”
Briley joined Kat at the checkout. “Everything okay?” Kat asked.
“Yes, Brandon found a potential property and we need to check it out.”
Once in the truck, she ignored Kat’s grumbling from behind the wheel, searched for listings online of the house he was talking about, but quickly gave up. They would be at the house soon enough. “Must not be on the market yet,” she mumbled.
“Bri, help a girl out,” Kat huffed.
“Turn left at the next light, then another left at the stop sign. His truck is a white Ford.”
At the final turn, Briley got her first look at the house and her heart skipped a beat. Nothing compared to seeing a potential house for the first time. A classic two story Victorian stood on a corner lot. Before she even got out of the truck, she knew they had to have it.
Brandon stood in front of the house with his arms spread wide. “What do you think?”
She loved it, but would hold off showing it. “What are the numbers?”
With a grin, he whipped a paper out of his back pocket. “Built in 1935. The foundation is solid and the previous owners had a new roof put on three years ago. Plumbing and electrical was updated fifteen years ago.”
She turned to find Kat, but she was talking to Mary, Brandon’s wife. She took the paper from Brandon and they walked around the house. “Needs new windows and siding.”
“Yes.”
The house was beautiful, and would be their biggest project to date. “Let’s go back to your truck and look at the numbers.” They both ignored the other women when they walked back to them. Brandon picked up his clipboard.
“What’s the asking price?” She crossed her fingers, hoping that it was reasonable.
“Two hundred and forty-nine thousand.”
She stiffened.
“What?” Kat asked, looking from one to the other. “Is that bad?”
“That’s a bit low, isn’t it?” Briley worried her bottom lip. In fact, it was extremely low. What the hell did the inside look like?
“The owner is ready to sell, and quick. But, it is an as-is sell.”
“When does it go on the market?”
“Monday.”
“What are the comps in the area?”
“Three houses sold in the last two months. One for four hundred, one for three hundred seventy-five, and the third sold for close to four hundred fifty thousand. This is an up and coming neighborhood and this house is on a corner, but still not much traffic.”
“How did you find out about it?”
He grinned. “My grandpa knows the lady that’s selling. She’s ready to move on with her life. She’s moving in with her son and his family. The house has already been cleaned out. My grandpa was in the house less than six months ago and he said it was beautiful. So even though it is an as-is sale we lucked out by him knowing her. I can’t guarantee it still looks like he mentioned, I think it’s a pretty good guess.”
She punched him on the arm. “You should have started with that.” Briley turned to him and smiled. Even without looking at the inside, she knew they had to have it, and she trusted Brandon’s grandpa. He wanted them to succeed and wouldn’t set them up for failure. “Make the call.”
“That’s what I’m talking about.” He made a fist and lifted it in triumph.
Kat tapped her on the arm when he turned away to make the call and motioned for her to follow her. “You’re buying it?”
“Yes. It’s a fantastic deal. Even if we have to replace all the flooring and drywall.”
“Wow.”
“First a fantastic outfit and now this. This day can only get better.”
Nearly an hour later, they were all sitting on the front porch when another truck pulled into the driveway and a young man stepped out and handed them the key to the house. Brandon grinned at her, and handed it to her. “Ready?’
“Let’s do this.” The final paperwork wouldn’t be ready until Monday, but at least they would get a peek inside now. No turning back.
Briley took a deep breath, slipped the key in the lock, and turned the handle. Her breath left her chest when she got her first look at the inside. “Oh, my God.” She took a few steps in and heard Brandon suck in a breath. He grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her back against his chest.
“Damn, Briley.” He laughed. They started out exploring the layout.
Waxed hard wood floors shined back at them from every inch of the house. Polished wood trim surrounded every doorway and window. In the kitchen, the counters would need to be replaced, but the hardwood cabinets could be refinished and last another fifty years. The three bathrooms would be complete guts and the wall between the kitchen and living room needed to be taken down to open the space, but the house was beautiful and well maintained.
Kat whistled. “This house is amazing.”
“It is. We hit it out of the park with this one.”
“If we put a hundred thousand in it and sell for close to five we’ll make our biggest profit to date,” Brandon said.
“This is going to be awesome. Can you imagine what Nina and Ashley will do when they get their hands on it? Man.” She ran her fingers through her hair.
Mary slid her arm around Brandon’s waist. “I hate to break this up, but we need to go. I promised my parents we’d have
dinner with them tonight.” Brandon grimaced, but kept quiet.
“Right,” Briley said. This project was going to be so much fun. A ton of work, but fun.
Brandon was quiet as they made their way to their cars. “So, Briley. How’s it going with Leah?”
“Good. Really good.”
He placed his arm across her shoulders. “That’s what I like to hear.”
“She said yes to the potluck.” Before she’d left her house the night before, she’d asked, and Leah had been excited to meet more of Briley’s friends.
“We can’t wait to meet her. Kat,” Mary slipped her arm through Kat’s arm, “you’re welcome to come as well. I don’t know you nearly like I should.”
“Oh, okay. Sure. Who says no to food?”
On the way home, Briley was starting to get antsy, not having received a text back from Leah. When she pulled into her driveway, she noticed Leah sitting on her front porch, talking on her phone. She looked longingly at her garage, then sent a glare in Kat’s direction. Ever since Kat decided to move, her precious 2017 black Corvette Stingray Coupe 1LT had taken up residence inside Briley’s garage.
“She’s almost brand-new, Briley. Leave her be.”
“I don’t know why she outranks my truck, just because she cost more.” They climbed out and Briley locked up her crew cab truck and patted the hood. Kat walked to the garage and placed her hand on the door. “Lucille is sensitive and deserves to be pampered. Rosie,” she pointed at Briley’s truck, “is a work truck. She can handle the elements.”
They were locked in a stare-off when Briley felt an arm wrap around her waist and she relaxed. “Kat, the car is impractical. You have to recognize that.”
Kat narrowed her eyes. “What I know is neither I nor Lucille deserve this abuse.” Kat took three steps forward, leaned down, and kissed Leah on the cheek. Leah smiled, but Briley growled. “Now, now, Briley. No need for that. I was just saying hello.”
Leah tightened her hold on Briley. “Have you two eaten dinner?” They both shook their heads. “How about ordering in? My treat. Anything but pizza.”
“I’m game,” Kat said.
“As if I would ever say no to you.” Briley lightly kissed Leah’s lips.
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