Worlds Apart

by Isis Brown

  “What do you mean?”

  Layla paused briefly, wondering if she should say what was on her mind, the alcohol making it easier to say things she wouldn’t normally out loud.

  “Say it,” Sasha teased.

  “I used to have such a crush on Storm when I was younger.”

  Sasha smiled that sexy, confident smile, as Layla wondered what it would feel like to kiss her then.

  Marco returned just then with their drinks, saving Layla from embarrassing herself further. They danced the night away with other friends who came to say hello. Layla might have lost track of how many drinks she’d had but what she didn’t lose track of was how many times she and Sasha danced together. The dancing remained mostly innocent, but there were times Layla could swear she saw attraction in Sasha’s eyes when they danced close. As the night wore on, Layla had the sense to know when it was time to sit at the booth and sip some water.

  Excusing herself from the dance party, Layla wobbled her way to the booth and sat down. Not long after, Sasha came and joined her with a couple of bottles of water.

  Layla smiled sheepishly. “Thanks, I forgot to grab some on my way back.”

  “I’ve got you.”

  They sat side by side, sipping water and looking at their friends on the dance floor.

  “Just for the record,” Sasha said, not looking at Layla, “I just about dropped my drink when I first saw you tonight.”

  “What? Why?” Layla asked, confused.

  Sasha scoffed, then waved her hand over Layla as if to show her. “Really? You have to know how well you’re wearing that.” Sasha paused for a moment, then turned towards Layla. “You know earlier when you said your childhood crush was storm? Well, I always felt a certain way towards Princess Jasmine. I wore the damn VHS out as a kid because I watched that movie so many times. I used to think I wanted to be her until of course, I realized I wanted to be with her.”

  Layla laughed and blushed, suddenly self-conscious, tugging down at her top to hide more of her midriff.

  Sasha reached out and held her hand still. “No, don’t,” she whispered, close to Layla’s face now. “Don’t be shy.”

  Realizing how close they were, Layla turned her head and licked her lips slowly, wanting nothing more than to lean in and kiss Sasha. She must have had her intentions on full display, as Sasha cleared her throat quickly and leaned back, facing their friends on the dance floor again.

  Layla felt embarrassed, and leaned back again in the booth, sipping her water and internally chastising herself for letting the alcohol muddy her mind enough to think she saw the situation clearly.

  “I should probably go home,” Layla said to Sasha, not wanting to sit in the awkwardness.

  “Yeah me too actually.”

  Layla stood up and immediately stumbled. She was far more drunk than she thought and stuck her arm out on the table to steady herself.

  “Okay, hang on a second,” Sasha said as she walked around the booth to steady Layla. Marco must have seen them because then he was there seconds later.

  “Whoa, where did you come from Raja?” Layla asked.

  “I’ll take her home,” Marco said, looping his arm around Layla’s waist.

  “No, don’t worry about it. You’re still having a good time, and I am ready to go anyway. I’ll take her.”

  “You sure?” He asked, his eyebrow raised.

  “Yes, Marco, I’m sure and don’t look at me like that. I am an honorable woman.”

  “Who is honorable?” Layla asked, not keeping up with the conversation as she focused on trying to make the room stop spinning. “Am I speaking words out loud right now?”

  Ignoring her, Marco gave Sasha a set of keys.

  “Let’s go, hot stuff. I’m taking you home,” Sasha said.

  “I have to say,” Layla admitted as she leaned heavily on Sasha while they walked towards the exit. “I did not think those words would come out of your mouth under these circumstances.”

  Sasha laughed. “Me neither.”

  Sasha hailed them a cab and gave the driver Layla’s address. Soon Sasha was leading Layla into her condo and helping her get ready for bed by laying out a change of clothes and excusing herself. Once Layla was changed and sitting on the edge of her bed, Sasha asked to come in so she could help her finish getting ready for bed. Sasha had taken off most of her costume, along with the white wig and contacts. Sitting next to Layla, she started using a makeup remover cloth to take the makeup off Layla’s face.

  “Sasha?” Layla asked, her eyes closed as Sasha was gently wiping off her mascara.

  “Yes?”

  “You are so nice, and so… Sasha. I like Storm, but I like you better.”

  Sasha stayed silent until she finished wiping the makeup off Layla’s face, and Layla opened her eyes.

  “I like you, too,” Sasha said. “Now let’s get you in bed.”

  Sasha pulled the covers back and helped Layla get underneath them, leaving a bottle of medicine and water on her nightstand.

  “Goodnight Storm,” Layla whispered.

  “Goodnight princess,” Sasha said, closing the door behind her.

  Layla fell into a drunken sleep almost immediately.

  ***

  Layla woke up feeling like shit.

  She didn’t know what was worse, the pounding in her head, the nausea or the embarrassment she felt for how she drunkenly tried to kiss Sasha. After drinking the entire glass of water and taking some headache medicine, she ventured out of her bedroom not sure if Sasha spent the night or not.

  Layla found Sasha asleep in the guest room, so she tiptoed into the kitchen to make coffee. While she couldn’t even think about food for probably the remainder of her life due to her hangover, she ordered food to be delivered on her phone for when Sasha woke up.

  Sitting on the couch after lowering all the blinds, Layla began to slowly sip her coffee, hoping she would be able to keep it down.

  She heard rustling in the guest room, and it wasn’t long after Sasha emerged, wearing her white costume pants and a white tank top, holding the rest of her things in a tote bag she found somewhere around Layla’s house.

  “Good morning,” Layla said.

  Sasha seemed startled by her presence. “Hey, I didn’t think you’d be up yet.”

  “I can’t sleep in; it’s a curse,” Layla winced standing up. “I made coffee, can I get you some?”

  “It does smell delicious, but you sit, I can grab it.”

  Layla sat back down as Sasha poured herself some coffee and came to sit on the couch by Layla.

  Sasha held back most of a smirk. “So how are you feeling?”

  Layla groaned as she tucked her feet under herself on the couch. “I should have stopped drinking once I was doing the running man on the dance floor. That should have been my first clue.”

  Sasha laughed. “But if you would have stopped there, then I never would have seen the shopping cart or the sprinkler.”

  “Oh God,” Layla said as she covered her face with the hand not holding her coffee.

  “It was fine, don’t worry. We all had fun. You had fun, right?”

  “I did, but…” she let her sentence trail off.

  “But what?” Sasha asked, blinking at her with those gorgeous brown eyes.

  “Well, I need to apologize.” Layla turned her body, so she was facing Sasha. “I acted inappropriately towards you last night, I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve to have a drunken idiot try to kiss you, and I know we work together, and I wouldn’t want anything to jeopardize that. You had to take me home because I was a mess and I’m just mortified,” Layla exhaled loudly after her confession, searching Sasha’s expression for a hint of how she felt.

  Sasha reached out and grabbed Layla’s hand.

  “Okay, wow, lots to unpack there. First of all, you weren’t a drunken idiot. You were actually pretty cute. Second, you are allowed to be a person outside of work, and nothing like that would jeopardize our working relationship. I hop
e we can trust each other enough to separate the personal from the professional.” Sasha took a moment before continuing. “Last but not least, I would have been the one to kiss you last night if I didn’t think it would be inappropriate because of how much you had been drinking. If and when we kiss Layla, it will be eyes wide open.”

  Layla was stunned. If and WHEN? She was about to say something when the doorbell rang.

  “Shit,” Layla mumbled. “That has to be the food I ordered for you.” She stood up and moved towards the door.

  “Just me?” Sasha asked, confused.

  “I don’t think I can eat for the next month,” Layla responded her hand protectively over her stomach. Layla paid the delivery person and walked towards the dining room table, setting things up for Sasha.

  “I don’t know what you like in the morning, but I went with some safe breakfast food. Sorry, I didn’t cook it myself, but I wanted it to be edible for you, and as you can see, I’m not in top form this morning.”

  Sasha stood up and made her way to the table, and Layla couldn’t keep her eyes off of her. Sasha’s smirk indicated she noticed as she pulled out a chair and sat down.

  “For the record,” Sasha said, biting into a piece of bacon, “Blueberry pancakes are my favorite. You know, for next time.”

  Layla swallowed hard, and Sasha laughed.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Layla looked around the conference hall of the hotel where hundreds of people were gathered awaiting the election results for many Local, State and Federal races, the race for Mayor Woods was one of them. Everyone was confident about the polling for Mayor Woods being re-elected, but if Layla learned one lesson from 2016, it was not to count your chickens before they’d hatched.

  She mingled with dozens of people she knew, before needing a break and heading to one of the roped-off areas. Layla opted to head up the stairs and watch the party from above for a while. Leaning against one of the sturdy marble railings, she was pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of heels against the stone floor.

  Sasha was walking towards her, with two flutes of what looked like Champagne in her hands.

  “Don’t worry; it’s just sparkling cider. I know you’re still on an alcohol hiatus.”

  Relieved, Layla took a flute from Sasha. “Thanks.” They clinked their glasses together, and Layla took a long slow sip enjoying the feel of bubbles on her tongue.

  “Is it okay that I’m up here or were you trying to escape people altogether?”

  Layla smiled at Sasha. “Totally okay, I was more trying to escape the small talk with the politicos. You know how it goes.”

  “I do,” Sasha said, leaning against the rail with Layla looking down at the party below. Just then on the giant screens below, a projected winner was announced for a state senate seat, and the party erupted in cheers. They raised their glasses again in celebration with the crowd before the noise died down again.

  “So how have you been?” Layla asked. “I haven’t seen much of you this week around the office.”

  “I’ve been good! Busy. We are gearing up for what we think is going to be the next assault on civil rights, and humanity, based on the tweetstorms of our imbecile in chief. I have looked at so many case files I think my eyes are about ready to pop out of my head.”

  Layla took a moment to really look at Sasha, taking in the depths of her brown eyes. How her long hair was pulled in a tight ponytail, the curls falling down her back.

  “They look pretty good to me.”

  Sasha smiled. Layla put her cider down on the wide marble rail, indicating for Sasha to do the same. Now facing each other, Layla reached out and grabbed Sasha’s hand. They stood still for a moment, until Layla pulled Sasha closer, so they were inches apart.

  “Is it time?” Sasha asked, her eyes alternating between Layla’s eyes and her lips.

  “It’s time.”

  They both leaned in as their lips brushed softly against each other’s, once, twice, before Sasha slid her arms around Layla’s waist and brought her in. Deep down, Layla always knew it would feel that good. Layla kissed Sasha softly, her hands running up her arms, past her shoulders to cup her face. Sasha teased at Layla’s lips with the tip of her tongue, and Layla granted entry, her mouth opening to a deeper kiss. Time seemed to stand still as they stood together, swaying into their kisses, neither rushing as if they had all the time in the world. A loud noise erupted around them, forcing them to break apart, and as they looked at the screen downstairs saw that Mayor Woods won her re-election campaign with a convincing 8-point margin. Looking at each other somewhat breathless, they started to move apart.

  “We should probably get down there, huh?” Sasha asked as she tried to steady her breathing.

  “Unfortunately. I’ve got to do more schmoozing now.” Stepping back, Layla ran her hands back down Sasha’s arms, holding onto her hands. “Hey. Come over after this?”

  Sasha raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know. Do you have the necessary ingredients for blueberry pancakes?”

  “Only one way to find out,” Layla teased, letting go of Sasha’s hands, grabbing her flute of cider and making sure to brush by Sasha on her way down the stairs.

  “Layla, I never knew you were such a tease,” Sasha joked under her breath.

  Looking over her shoulder, she said with a sly smile, “You have no idea.”

  ***

  After what felt like hours of celebrations, photos, victory speeches, and toasts, Layla climbed into her car for the drive home. Sasha had left a little earlier and promised to meet her there.

  A smile came over Layla as she thought about the kiss they shared earlier. Sasha was a great kisser, and Layla would have been content to stay on that upstairs landing a lot longer doing just that.

  A sense of guilt was starting to tug its way into Layla’s thoughts, about how easy it was for her to forget about Isabel in that moment, and how for the first time in weeks, she felt light — excited, even. Layla pushed those thoughts down, not wanting to ruin the moment or her night. She knew it wasn’t going to be as easy as shutting her feelings completely off for Isabel like a light switch, but she didn’t want that to hold her back anymore. She might not be able to help how she still had feelings for Isabel, but she could help what she did or didn’t do about them.

  Layla resolved herself to being honest with Sasha and hoped they could still find a way to spend time together.

  ***

  After greeting Sasha with a kiss on the cheek, Layla led her into the condo.

  “Can I get you something to drink?” Layla asked.

  “No I’m good, but here, come sit with me.” Sasha made her way to the couch and sat down, patting the space beside her.

  Layla followed and sat down, looking nervously at Sasha, not knowing what to expect. She hoped Sasha didn’t regret their kiss from earlier.

  “I think we should just lay down some quick ground rules. Like you said the last time I was here, we work together, and I think we both know this could get complicated if we’re not on the same page.”

  Layla smiled, relieved that it wasn’t ending before it even began.

  “Totally agree. If we are honest, I was kind of worried that I’m not exactly in the best headspace right now, for reasons you know a lot about. I would be lying to you if I said I was completely over Isabel.”

  Sasha reached out and squeezed Layla’s hand. “I know, and I don’t expect you to be. I hope you can always be honest with me, and I promise to do the same. From my perspective, we have always had this energy between us, but you know I am not interested in anything serious. My work is my life right now, and I’m not in a place to put anyone before that.”

  Layla exhaled, relief painted all over her face.

  “So, no pressure, be honest, and I’m going to add keep it private since we work together. Sound good to you?” Layla asked.

  Sasha leaned in, erasing the space between them. “Sounds great.”

  Layla held a finger up as she quickly ti
lted her head back, evading Sasha’s lips. “Well, except for Marco, because he would kill me if I didn’t tell him.”

  Sasha laughed, her breath reaching Layla’s lips they were so close. “Of course.”

  The distance gone between them, Sasha cupped Layla’s face and brought their lips together for the second time that night. Their pace was languid and searching, as they got to know each other without anyone or anything to interrupt them this time. Their hands got bolder as their kiss deepened, before Layla broke their kiss, turned on and breathless.

  Layla searched Sasha’s eyes before asking “So, not to be presumptuous but when we said stay the night did you want to stay in the guest room again or—”

  She was interrupted by Sasha standing up off the couch and pulling Layla up by her hands, then leading her to the master bedroom.

  “I have wanted to do this for a very long time,” Sasha said over her shoulder, sending a bolt of arousal through Layla.

  “Me too,” Layla answered honestly, before pulling Sasha back towards her and slipping her hands under the hem of her shirt, her fingertips grazing her stomach.

  “You sure about this?” Sasha asked, hands wrapping around Layla’s waist.

  “Positive,” Layla said, as she started pushing her towards the bed. They undressed each other playfully, with a shyness creeping in as they took turns unbuttoning each other’s shirts. With each article of clothing that dropped to the floor, their shyness was replaced with desire. Layla pulled Sasha to her as she started kissing her neck while her fingers unhooked the clasp of her bra. Pulling back, Layla slipped Sasha’s bra off and took a moment to look at her breasts, before looking up at Sasha for permission. Sasha nodded, and Layla lowered her head to them, kissing the tip of one nipple gently, then circling it with the tip of her tongue, feeling it start to rise and harden beneath her touch. Sasha’s breath unsteady; she put her hand on the back of Layla’s head encouraging her as Layla’s tongue became more demanding, her attention focused on both breasts, as she alternated back and forth while her hands dipped to Sasha’s waist, unbuttoning her skirt.

  Sasha helped lower her pencil skirt to the floor, before putting her fingertips on Layla’s chin and bringing her up for a heated kiss.