by Jae
It took her several seconds to realize the ride had started up. The Viking ship quickly picked up speed. It swung higher and higher, giving them a view of the waterfront, the river, and the high-rise buildings to the east.
“Put your hands up!” someone in the row ahead shouted.
Eliza looked at Denny. Should they?
Denny met her gaze and shrugged, then lifted her hands in the air.
Eliza let go of the lap bar too, still clutching the stuffed dragon with one hand.
They grinned at each other like two daring Vikings about to set off on an exciting new adventure.
Instead of enjoying the view from high over the waterfront, Eliza couldn’t take her eyes off Denny.
The wind blew Denny’s short hair back from her face, revealing her flushed cheeks, and her hazel eyes sparkled with excitement.
The stern of the ship soared up again, higher than before. At the apex of the swing, they hung suspended for what seemed like a timeless moment.
A sensation of weightlessness gripped Eliza, as if she were floating in space.
Her stomach dropped. A piercing sound—half scream, half laugh—burst from her chest. She gripped Ms. Underbite more firmly and latched on to the bar with her free hand. Her fingers tangled with Denny’s, who had grabbed hold of it too.
They clung to each other, laughing, caught between giddy joy and sheer panic.
Then the ship swooped back down, and Eliza could momentarily breathe, only to be swung back up and experience that moment of zero gravity again.
Minutes later, the ship came to a halt. The lap bar rose, and they stumbled down the metal stairs on unsteady legs, holding on to each other.
“Oh my God!” Eliza pointed at the ship. “That looked so tame from down there.”
“Boy, I think I’m getting too old for rides like this,” Denny said with a laugh. “For a second there, I felt like my heart had stopped!”
Eliza had experienced the same sensation but didn’t want to admit it. She nudged Denny with her shoulder. “Don’t play the senior citizen card. You’re forty-one, not eighty-one.” In fact, now that they had finally met in person, their eleven-year age gap didn’t seem to matter at all.
Denny slipped back into her jacket, and as they continued their stroll across the park, Eliza handed back the stuffed dragon, finally allowed herself to give in to the urge, and slid her hand onto the bend of Denny’s arm. Her head still spun, but at least she found the answer to one of the many questions ricocheting through her mind: Denny’s jacket was still damp, but the chocolate-colored leather felt as soft as it looked.
They left the loud music and the crowd behind and strolled along the esplanade, away from the noise and the many people who knew Eliza and wanted a word with her.
The sun had dipped beneath the horizon some time ago, and darkness had fallen. With the illuminated Ferris wheel and the twinkling festival lights in the background, the stroll along the waterfront was ridiculously romantic.
And that soft, warm hand on her arm… Denny peered at it every now and then. Was Eliza aware of what she was doing? Well, for her, it was probably something she did with all of her female friends. She couldn’t know the simple touch made Denny tingle all over.
She held her left arm—the one Eliza was holding on to—very still, afraid Eliza would pull away should she do something to make her aware of it.
A middle-aged couple passed them and gave them curious looks. Maybe they realized Denny wasn’t a man.
Whatever they were thinking, Eliza didn’t seem to care. She left her hand where it was.
Bang!
The first firework exploded, making both of them flinch.
Was it time for the fireworks display to start already? Denny was tempted to glance at her wristwatch, but that would have required her to move the arm Eliza held on to, and she didn’t want to end their contact. How could four hours have flown by so fast? That never happened to Denny when she spent time with a new person.
“Is it ten already?” Eliza asked. “How did that happen?”
“I have no idea.”
Music played from loudspeakers, and more fireworks rose high up over the river. One large rocket exploded into a shower of silver rain, then changed to a dark red before cascading toward the ground and fading into the night.
“Wow,” Eliza whispered, her upturned face bathed in the glow of the last red sparkles. “Did you see that one? That was beautiful.”
Denny gazed at her. “Yeah.”
They watched the rest of the fireworks in companionable silence, interrupted only by the music and the “oohs” and “aahs” from Eliza and the rest of the crowd.
With one last burst of color, it was over.
They cheered along with the other people staring at the sky over the waterfront.
Eliza pulled her hand from the bend of Denny’s arm to clap.
Denny shivered as that spot on her arm went cold. She tucked Ms. Underbite beneath her arm and shoved her fists into the pockets of her jacket.
“What now?” Eliza turned toward her and gave her a questioning look.
Denny shuffled her feet. “You have to work tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah. Austen and I are covering the Feathered Friends booth at Saturday Market.”
“Then I should probably catch the next train home.” Denny gestured in the direction of the nearest train stop. “I knew parking would be horrible downtown, so I took the MAX.”
“I’ll walk you to the MAX stop,” Eliza said.
“No, I’ll walk you home.”
Eliza laughed and shook her head at her. “Let’s compromise, or we’ll still be here at sunrise, discussing who gets to walk whom.”
Denny could think of worse things than spending the night like that. Stop! God, you’re a fool! “All right. Let’s walk to the MAX stop closest to your apartment.”
They turned their backs on the waterfront and strolled along Salmon Street, their steps perfectly in sync. Eliza didn’t put her hand back on her arm, but every now and then, their shoulders or arms brushed as they walked.
It took only a few minutes to reach the MAX stop at the corner of Sixth and Madison, a few blocks from Eliza’s apartment. One glance at the TriMet app on Denny’s phone showed her train was only one minute out. She wasn’t ready for their evening to end, but at the same time, she was grateful to escape and get some time alone to sort out her feelings.
As the train approached, Denny thought she saw the same mix of conflicted emotions on Eliza’s face, but then Eliza smiled and stepped forward, right into Denny’s personal space. She wrapped both arms around her and held her tightly.
Denny hugged her back with the stuffed dragon in one hand and the other pressed gently to Eliza’s back.
Other people veered around them to get on the train, which had slid to a stop a few yards away.
Reluctantly, Denny let go.
“Call me about Bella’s birthday party,” Eliza said as Denny walked backward to the train. “I want to get her a gift.”
“Will do. Thank you for a great evening—and for Ms. Underbite.” Denny lifted the stuffed animal.
Eliza nodded and waved.
Denny was the last one through the doors. She dropped onto an empty seat.
As the train carried her away, she waved and hugged the plush dragon to her chest, where she could still feel Eliza’s body against her own. Shit. She was screwed.
She had spent a total of five hours with Eliza, and already, the harmless crush she’d had on Eliza before felt like so much more.
Chapter 13
The next afternoon, Eliza rummaged through one of the boxes they had brought to Saturday Market. Aha! There it was. Proudly, she held out the requested sola ball to Austen. They had put the ball into a cupcake wrapper, with a candle-shaped piece of sola sticking out of it. The cute bird toy didn’t really resemble the basketball from last night, but Eliza still found herself transported back to the basketball toss booth.
The open admiration on Denny’s face when Eliza had sunk three shots was burned into her memory, as were the hugs they had shared and so many other moments from last night.
Austen cleared her throat, wrenching her out of her thoughts before she could relive Denny’s hug goodbye for the five hundredth time. “I said sola sticks, not sola ball.”
“Oops. Sorry.” Hurriedly, Eliza kneeled a second time and dug in another box for the bag of sola sticks.
When she handed it over, Austen studied her. “I think we need a break. We’ve been working pretty much nonstop since we set up the booth this morning. How about some tea for you and a coffee for me?”
“That would be great.” Letting her boss think she was merely in need of some caffeine was easier than explaining what was really going on. Not that she could explain it, even if she tried.
She hadn’t slept for more than a couple of hours last night, and it wasn’t the excitement of the festival or the sugar rush from the funnel cake keeping her up.
With Austen’s coffee order and a ten-dollar bill, she made her way to the panini booth that, according to Austen, sold the best coffee at Saturday Market. While she waited her turn to order, she tried to sort through her jumbled thoughts and emotions.
Last night had been a surprise; that much she knew. Not so much Denny herself. She was exactly the sweet and shy, yet fun person Eliza had expected.
It was her own reaction to Denny that surprised her.
If she’d been out with a man last night, there wouldn’t be any confusion. She would know exactly what she had felt: attraction, plain and simple.
But was this really so different? The emotions weren’t, just the person causing them—and that was what confused her. If she were attracted to women, wouldn’t she have noticed before last night? She was thirty years old, with a wide and diverse circle of acquaintances. She had met a lot of interesting, beautiful women. But while her artistic side could easily admit they were good-looking or even gorgeous, she knew without a doubt she hadn’t been attracted to any of them.
None of them had made her feel warm all over from a gentle touch on her back, and none had made her want to walk them all the way to Lents so she could spend more time with them.
Only Denny.
She couldn’t deny there was something about her that made Eliza’s heart beat faster. But what was it? Had her subconscious latched on to Denny’s more masculine-presenting side, reacting to it as if she were a man?
But that didn’t ring true either. There had been no doubt in her mind, even for a second, that she’d been with a woman last night. If anything, it was that mix of strength, chivalry, gentleness, and caring that drew her to Denny.
The person in line behind her cleared their throat when Eliza failed to step forward.
Quickly, she ordered a latte for Austen, a Ceylon tea for herself, and a coffee with just enough cream to turn it from black to a dark tan color, which she paid for with her own money. She would drop that off at Heather’s booth on her way back, as a thank-you for covering their stall today.
When Heather saw her coming, she held out her hands as if she were receiving a lifesaving cure. “Gimme, gimme, gimme!” She snatched the coffee from Eliza’s hand and took a big sip without bothering to check if it was too hot. “Oh my God! Marry me!”
Their stall neighbor Leanne looked up from one of her sea glass pendants. “She’s not interested in feminine charms, remember?”
Eliza quickly raised the paper cup to her lips to hide behind it. God, she had to get a grip. Just because she found herself attracted to Denny didn’t mean she was interested in feminine charms per se, right?
Heather playfully tossed her blonde hair over one shoulder. “Her loss.” She took another sip of her coffee. “Speaking of feminine charms or females I want to charm me… How are things with Denny?”
Eliza nearly choked on a sip of tea. “Sorry.” She coughed and gasped for breath. “Went down the wrong pipe. Um, why are you asking?”
“She and I, we exchanged a few messages this week, and she seems nice, but… I don’t know. She’s pretty slow to open up. Is she always that reserved?”
Eliza remembered the way Denny had engulfed her in a bear hug, her unrestrained laughter when Eliza had told her about the tricks her siblings had played on her, and the look of the wind in her hair on the Viking ship. No, there had been nothing reserved about Denny last night. “Um, I wouldn’t say reserved. She’s just a little shy. Give her some time, okay?”
Heather nodded. “I’m a patient woman.”
“I’d better get going,” Eliza said before Heather could ask about her evening with Denny. “My boss is waiting for her coffee.”
“And we know she’s not a patient woman. Hot as hell,” Heather made a sizzling sound, “but not patient.”
“Not that boss. Austen and I are covering the booth. Dee is meeting with a local pet supply store owner, so stop salivating.”
Heather pretended to dry her chin with her sleeve.
Eliza shook her head at her. Admittedly, Dee was gorgeous. Her long, black hair, intense gray eyes, and high cheekbones made heads turn wherever she went. But while Eliza thought she was beautiful, she had never been attracted to her. Apparently, whatever newfound appreciation for feminine charms she had, it was limited to Denny.
“Talk to you later.” She lifted her cup in a quick wave to Heather before making her way back to the Feathered Friends booth.
The market had become busier in the afternoon, so she had to weave around people.
As Eliza approached, a customer paused in front of their booth, checking out a macaw swing.
Eliza nearly dropped both of the cups she carried. Was she imagining things, seeing Denny everywhere, in addition to the flashbacks to last night?
But there was no mistaking that chocolate-brown leather jacket or that cute cowlick sticking up at the back of her head. It was Denny.
Eliza’s heart beat faster. She quickened her steps, not wanting to miss a minute with her. She squeezed through the tiny gap between their booth and the neighboring stall and slid behind the table. Without looking at her, she thrust the cup of coffee at Austen. Her gaze took in Denny.
“Hi.” The olive color in Denny’s hazel eyes seemed to lighten as she smiled at her across the table.
“Hi. What are you doing here? I thought you’d be at the waterfront with Bella.” Eliza was very aware of Austen eyeing both of them with interest, probably wondering how they knew each other.
Denny pushed her glasses higher on her nose. “I was. I snuck away while Salem was trying to win a dragon for Bella. She took one look at Ms. Underbite and decided she needed one for herself.” An affectionate smile deepened the fine lines around her eyes. “She’s at that age where she thinks stuffed animals are the cutest thing ever one minute and is declaring herself too old for them the next.”
“If she liked the dragon so much, why didn’t you give her yours?” Eliza asked.
Denny pressed a hand to her chest and gave her a faux horrified look. “Give her Ms. Underbite? Can’t do that. She was a gift and a reminder of a wonderful evening.”
Their gazes tangled until Eliza had to glance away.
God, did Denny have to be so sweet? No woman, not even the straightest one in the world, would be left unaffected. Eliza peeked at Austen, who looked curious but not as if she were swooning over Denny. Maybe Denny’s appeal affected only single women.
“So…” Denny tried to slide her glasses higher up on her nose, but they were as high as they would go. She quickly lowered her hand and waved at the items spread out on the table. “What toys can you recommend?” Her cheeks flushed. “Uh, bird toys, of course.”
Eliza studied her more closely. She had been so busy dealing with her own emotions that she hadn’t stopped to think about how Denny felt. Was she making Denny as nervous as Denny made her? Or was it just her natural shyness around people?
When Eliza failed to answer, Austen stepped closer to the ta
ble. “Depends. What kind of bird do you have? The toys that work for big birds are not always suitable for the little ones and vice versa.”
Denny blinked as if only now remembering that she and Eliza weren’t alone. She swiveled to face Austen. “I’m getting my niece a budgie for her birthday. We’re total beginners when it comes to birds, so anything you think would work for a budgie.”
Austen held up toys, talking about budgie swings, climbing ropes, and chewable balsa kabobs, but Eliza only heard half of what she said. She was too busy watching Denny’s hands as she jingled a rattan ball with a bell and tugged on a rope. Had her crushes on guys ever been this distracting? She didn’t think so.
After some deliberation and an extended discussion with Austen, Denny got three different toys and a recommendation for where to get the bird and a cage.
“Want me to hang on to the toys and bring them to Bella’s party so you don’t accidentally spoil the surprise?” Eliza asked.
Denny slid her wallet into her back pocket. “That would be great. Thank you.”
“No problem,” Eliza said. “Is it okay if I give Bella a six-month subscription for our Beak Box? It includes a fun toy plus a month’s supply of different freeze-dried, organic veggies and fruits she can feed her budgie.”
A tiny wrinkle dug itself between Denny’s brows. “Are you sure it’s not too expensive?”
“Nah. My bosses are very generous.” Eliza grinned at Austen. “I’ll finally get to take advantage of my employee discount.”
“Okay. If you’re sure you’re not spending too much money, I bet Bella would love it.” Denny stuffed her hands into her pockets and moved to the side as another customer checked out the bird toys.
Clearly, it was time to say goodbye. Too bad there was a huge table between them. Or maybe that was a good thing. Eliza wasn’t sure how she’d react to another one of those awesome Denny hugs, and she didn’t want to try in front of her boss.
Denny shuffled her feet. “So, guess I’ll see you at the party next week. Want me to pick you up?”
“I can take the MAX,” Eliza said.
“No. I’ll come get you.”
