by Jae
Eliza smiled warmly at the girl. “Hi. Happy birthday.”
More steps sounded on the stairs, then a woman of about Eliza’s age joined them. She was taller and leaner than Denny, but Eliza would have recognized her as Denny’s sister anywhere. With her hazel eyes, she looked like the femme version of Denny.
“Hey there. You must be Eliza.” She took Eliza’s hand in a firm grip and shook it enthusiastically. “I’m Salem. It’s great to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.”
“Really?” Eliza sent a curious gaze over to Denny. “What did she tell you?”
Denny flushed to the roots of her carefully styled hair. “Uh, shouldn’t we get this set up?” She nodded at the box in her arms.
“Not much to set up,” Eliza said. “Just put it all on a table somewhere, and maybe spread some newspapers on the table.”
Denny didn’t have to be asked twice. She carried the box into the dining area, with Bella hot on her heels, jumping up and down so she could peek inside the box.
Eliza stayed behind with Salem.
“I can’t thank you enough for saving Bella’s party,” Salem said. “Please tell me how much you spent so I can repay you.”
“That’s not necessary. I had all of this lying around, and I hear Denny’s going to pay me in pizza.”
“A woman who accepts pizza as a currency!” Salem wrapped one arm loosely around her and led her into the dining area. “I like you already.”
Denny looked up from where she was putting the bottles of brush-on sealer on the table. The olive-green of her eyes seemed to light up from within as she smiled at them.
Eliza grinned back, glad Denny’s family seemed to like her. Not that she had thought otherwise since she got along well with most people she met. But Denny’s sister and niece were important parts of her life, so their opinion of her was important to Eliza too.
“This is so awesome.” Bella held up several paint pens. “Mom, look! She brought stuff for painting rocks.”
“That’s not all I brought.” Eliza walked up to the table, pulled the envelope with the Beak Box subscription from her purse, and held it out to Bella. “Just a little something that I thought you could use now that you have a new pet.”
Bella went wide-eyed. “Wow. Thank you.” She took the envelope from Eliza’s hand as carefully as a cat taking a treat from a stranger, but then her demeanor changed, and she eagerly ripped it open.
“Don’t you want to wait until your friends—?”
But Bella was already pulling the card from the envelope, so her mother fell silent and shrugged at Eliza. “Guess not.”
“It’s a subscription for bird toys and snacks! I’ll get a surprise box with fun stuff every month. And look!” Bella held up a card with a green budgie on the front and the words Have a birdtastic birthday for everyone to see. “The bird on the card looks exactly like mine!”
“That’s fantastic. I mean, birdtastic.” Salem turned from her daughter to Eliza. “I wanted a card like that but couldn’t find one. Where did you get it?”
“I had my mom make it. She illustrates children’s books for a living.”
Salem regarded her with a shake of her head. “Amazing. You really went all out for a stranger’s birthday. Seems Denny wasn’t exaggerating about how great you are after all.”
Had Denny really said that? Eliza peered at her.
“Um, Bella, why don’t you leave the rest of the gifts for later and show Eliza your new friend before your guests arrive?” Denny asked. Almost beneath her breath, she added, “While I kill your mother and find a place to dispose of her body.”
Chuckling, Eliza followed Bella upstairs. It was going to be an interesting afternoon.
The scent of sizzling cheese and tomato sauce wafted through the house, but that wasn’t what drew Denny to the kitchen. She leaned against the counter and peered at the dining table, where the craft party was in full swing.
Bella and her friends paid careful attention while Eliza showed them how to paint the rocks.
Her shiny chestnut hair tumbled from behind her ear as she shook one of the paint pens. She brushed it back with an absentminded swipe of her slender hand and then laughed at something one of the girls said.
God, she was beautiful. Watching her made Denny light-headed.
When Salem joined her in the kitchen, Denny looked away and tried to control her expression.
Salem leaned against the counter next to her. “She’s great with the girls. I’m impressed. I’ve never seen half a dozen tweens pay this close attention to someone.” Laughing, Salem gestured toward the table. “Or you, for that matter.”
Denny scowled at her. “I’m keeping an eye on the pizza.”
“Yeah, the pizza. That’s what you’re watching. Sure.”
“Stop it, Salem.” Denny drew her sister’s name out the way she had when Salem had been a little girl getting into all kinds of mischief. “I know you think this is funny, but my friendship with Eliza is not a laughing matter to me, okay?”
Salem sobered and put her hand on Denny’s arm. “I’m not making fun of—”
“Mom! Aunt Denny!” Bella called. “Look! I did one of Kiwi.” She held up her stone. The green-and-yellow bird she had painted on it was easily recognizable as Kiwi, the budgie she had finally named with Eliza’s help earlier. “Try one. This is fun.”
Denny and Salem glanced at each other, then Salem patted Denny’s arm. “Let’s talk later,” she said quietly before joining Eliza and the girls at the table.
“Aunt Denny, you too!”
Denny took a hesitant step toward the table. “Uh, there’s no room.” Every inch of the table was covered with newspapers, stones, paint pens, and different varnishes, and the girls sat shoulder to shoulder.
Eliza maneuvered a stool into the tiny space between her and Bella and pulled Denny down on it. “There’s always room for one more, as my mom used to say.” She put a stone in front of Denny and fanned out a handful of paint pens. “Here. Try it.”
They sat so close, her body heat seemed to engulf Denny, making her own temperature skyrocket. When she reached for one of the pens, their knees brushed. It took all of Denny’s willpower to stop her eyes from fluttering shut. She hoped her voice wasn’t too husky as she said, “I have no idea what to put on the stone. What did you do?”
“Well, since we started out as text buddies, I thought I’d do a custom emoji.” Eliza slid one of the stones on the table closer so Denny could study it.
Even with something as simple as an emoji, Eliza’s artistic talent was obvious. The smiling yellow face looked back at her from behind black-rimmed glasses, and a light flush dusted its cheeks.
“Why is it a custom emoji?” Denny asked.
“Um, because this one,” Eliza pointed at the stone she had shown her, “is a Denny emoji.” She averted her gaze.
Denny stared at her. “You turned me into an emoji? So, what does the Denny emoji mean?”
“It’s a very versatile emoji. It can mean all sorts of things.”
“Oh, really?”
Eliza peeked up and nodded. “It’s a fact.”
They looked into each other’s eyes, and the few inches of space between them seemed to vibrate with something Denny couldn’t name.
“Hey, you two.” Salem waved at them from across the table. “You’re hogging the yellow marker. Can you throw it over to me?”
Denny forced her attention away from Eliza. “Sorry, sis. I need the yellow.” She snatched it up from the table. “I’m making an Eliza emoji.”
It turned out that rock painting wasn’t as easy as it seemed. Or maybe it was, and it was only Eliza’s closeness that made her hand unsteady as she drew a yellow face onto her stone. She hadn’t waited long enough before drawing its eyes and mouth, so the yellow and black had mixed a little, making her features blurry. At least the emoji’s hair looked great. After she had applied two coats of the gloss varnish, it was as shiny as Eliza’s hair.
How could she smell so wonderful after spending hours entertaining a horde of kids? Denny discreetly inhaled more of her signature scent.
“My eyes look a bit blurry,” Eliza said.
Her warm breath washed over Denny’s cheek. A shiver went through Denny, and she clenched her jaw so she wouldn’t let out a moan. “It’s the Eliza-before-her-morning-tea emoji,” she said, struggling to sound normal.
Eliza laughed. “Ah, that explains it. But why are her lips blurry too?”
Denny’s gaze darted to Eliza’s lips. If she were Superwoman, those lips would be her kryptonite. She bit back the first reply that came to mind: because they’d been thoroughly kissed. “Um, smudged lipstick, I guess.”
“Hmm, I see.” Eliza tapped those sensuous lips, deep in thought. “So, what does the Eliza emoji mean?”
Everything. Denny clamped her teeth around her bottom lip so she wouldn’t say it out loud. She searched for something nice, yet innocent to say, but everything her overstimulated brain came up with sounded like a poem by a lovesick teenager.
The oven timer going off made her drop the Eliza emoji. It clattered onto the table.
“Pizza!” Bella and her friends cheered and rushed into the kitchen.
“Saved by the bell,” Salem murmured as she followed them.
Within seconds, Eliza and Denny were the only ones left at the table. Though there was now plenty of space, neither of them backed away from the other. Denny sat rooted to the spot by Eliza’s gaze, afraid to move and do something foolish. Her heart drummed against her ribs so loudly she was sure Eliza could hear it. She felt the urge to say something and interrupt this strange trance they were in, but she had no idea what they’d been talking about. “Uh, thank you,” she got out. She waved her hand across the table. “For everything.”
Eliza gave her a warm smile, but her gaze was intense and still holding Denny’s. “Any time.” She lightly touched Denny’s arm.
Since Denny had rolled up the sleeves of her shirt earlier, Eliza’s fingers connected with her skin, and every cell in Denny’s body was aware of the touch.
They sat like that for a moment.
“Who’s got the artichoke hearts and spinach ones?” Bella called.
Eliza let go of Denny’s arm and looked away.
“Me,” they both said at the same time, then glanced at each other again.
“I’ll get them.” As Eliza hurried to the kitchen, Denny clutched the edge of the table and let out a shuddery breath. Holy hell.
When the doorbell rang, Taylor scrunched up her nose. “Oh no, I think that’s my dad.”
Other than Addison and Kaylee, who would stay for a sleepover, she was the last of Bella’s friends to be picked up.
The birthday party was winding down, and Eliza found herself as reluctant to say goodbye as the girls.
In true Portland fashion, the rain had stopped shortly after the pizza was gone, so they had gone outside to hide some of the painted rocks for people to find. Seeing the girls so excited about their creations had been fun, but her favorite part of the day had been watching Denny interact with her family. The affectionate teasing between them had made her burst out laughing more than once.
They all seemed so familiar to her that it was hard to believe she’d met Salem and Bella only five hours ago.
As the door closed behind Taylor and her father, Eliza got up. “I think this is my cue to leave too.” She looked at Denny. “If you’ve got the time to drive me home.”
Denny stood with obvious reluctance and rolled down her shirtsleeves. “Yeah, sure.”
Bella glanced up from Denny’s laptop, where she was scouring the Feathered Friends website with her friends. “Already? But it’s the weekend. Can’t you stay for the sleepover?”
“Um…” Eliza hadn’t expected an invitation like that.
Salem put her hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “Where would she sleep, honey? I don’t think anyone over eighteen wants to sleep on a bedroll on the floor.”
“She could sleep with you or Aunt Denny,” Bella said.
The button from Denny’s shirtsleeve ricocheted through the dining area and skidded to a stop in front of the dishwasher.
Eliza’s heart beat faster. What was going on with her? It was a perfectly innocent remark. She had shared a room—even a bed—with other female friends before, so why did the thought of sharing with Denny make her heart race? She had assumed her little crush would fade away after she spent more time with Denny, but instead, the opposite seemed to be happening.
Denny was as red-faced as Eliza felt. “That’s not a good idea. Uh, I mean, you promised Heather to bring her pizza, right?”
“Yeah. Right.” Eliza sent Bella an apologetic look. “My friend covered our stall at Saturday Market by herself so I could spend the day with you.”
Bella nodded. “Yeah, I guess she deserves some pizza. Maybe next time.”
Eliza smiled, glad that Bella fully expected there to be a next time. She hoped to spend more time with Denny and her family too—and maybe introduce her to her own. Jeez, what am I thinking?
Now she was like SongBoy77, who had wanted her to meet his family on the first date. Some of her friends, even people she had known for years, had yet to meet her family, and it had never seemed important to her. But with Denny, everything was different, and she still couldn’t wrap her head around how different it was.
She got hugs from Salem and, to her surprise, from Bella too.
Denny held out Eliza’s jacket for her, and she slid her arms through the sleeves with a murmured “thanks,” very aware of Denny’s closeness and her hand brushing against her neck. Goose bumps skittered across her skin. Wow, this was wild. She couldn’t remember reacting like this to anyone, man or woman.
Salem, Bella, and her friends followed them outside and waved as they climbed into Denny’s car.
They drove in silence for several minutes. For the very first time, Eliza didn’t know what to say to Denny. Should she tell her about the new feelings she was experiencing, maybe ask her if she felt drawn to her in the same way? But even if Denny did feel the same, where would that leave them?
With a guy, the next steps would be obvious—a date or two, a kiss or two… She stopped her thoughts before they could veer into more R-rated territory. Was she ready to go out with Denny, not as friends, but as a couple, for the world to see? Was she ready to kiss her? Because if she wasn’t, she had no business saying anything. Denny deserved better than a confused straight woman who didn’t know what she wanted.
Denny braked at a red light and peered at her. “You okay?”
“Oh. Yeah. Just tired, I guess.”
Denny laughed.
The sound filled Eliza with warmth.
“Yeah,” Denny answered as the light turned green and she accelerated across the intersection, “spending the day with half a dozen tweens can do that to you.”
“Nah. They were wonderful, especially Bella. She reminds me a lot of you.” Eliza snapped her mouth shut. Crap. She’d basically just told Denny that she was wonderful in a roundabout. Oh well. She was, and it was okay to tell her, wasn’t it?
“I get that a lot. People often think she’s mine, not Salem’s.” Pride infused Denny’s voice. “But as much as I love her, I’m kinda glad she’s not. Pregnancy and labor…” She shook herself. “No, thanks.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Eliza grinned. “You could deliver at St. Immaculate Conception.”
They both burst out laughing, and most of the tension and awkwardness between them dissipated.
Conversation flowed easily the rest of the way, and it seemed like only minutes later when Denny pulled up to the curb in front of Eliza’s apartment building.
Denny jumped out and got the box of craft supplies out of the back.
They stood on the sidewalk, Denny cradling the box, Eliza holding the container with Heather’s pizza.
“Wa
nt me to help you get it all upstairs?” Denny asked.
Eliza shook her head. “No, I’m fine. I don’t want you to get a ticket for parking here.” She placed the pizza on top of the box, took both from Denny, and balanced them against her chest.
Now relieved of her burden, Denny slid her hands into the pockets of her baggy jeans. “Thanks again for everything. You really were a lifesaver.”
“Like I said, any time. It was fun.”
They both shuffled their feet.
Eliza didn’t want to just say goodbye and walk away. She wanted one of those wonderful Denny hugs. But the sidewalk was still damp from the earlier rain, so if she put the box down, it would get soaked.
“All right, then. I’d better get going.” Denny pulled one hand out of her pocket and adjusted her glasses. “Salem might need help herding the girls to bed.” But despite her words, she didn’t move toward the driver’s side.
To hell with the box. There was nothing in there that couldn’t take a little dampness. Eliza put the box down, stepped over it, and held out her arms to offer a hug.
Denny bridged the remaining space between them so fast, as if she’d been longing for a hug too.
Eliza sank against her, clutching her back with both hands. Being cuddled against Denny’s body, firm in some places and soft in others, made her head spin. The fresh, sporty scent of Denny’s cologne teased her nose. Eliza pressed her cheek to the soft leather jacket and inhaled deeply. Mmm. Men’s cologne had never smelled so good on anyone else.
God, this felt… She struggled to describe it, even to herself. Earlier, when they’d been painting rocks and she had touched Denny’s arm, she had felt the same. But that wasn’t why this experience seemed familiar; she just couldn’t put her finger on it. Her brain was focused on feeling, not analyzing.
Denny tightened her arms around her, then, with a sigh that ruffled Eliza’s hair, let go and stepped back. “I, um…” She pointed at the Subaru.
Eliza nodded, her mouth too dry to speak.
