“Question everything, right? Now that’s next level commitment, I love it.”
When June came back, Ollie was leaning on the countertop to talk to Trish, their drink-making forgotten.
“What are you guys talking about?” June said. When Trish held up Infinity, June rolled her eyes.
“I don’t know how he can keep reading it again and again,” June said.
“Blasphemy!” Ollie cried, and Trish nodded eagerly.
“You can’t just read it once or twice, it’s way too layered. You get something different out of it every time,” Trish said.
June smirked at Trish, shaking her head.
When June passed by to make herself a drink, Trish caught the fragrance of June’s soap, something deliciously fresh. June had changed into tight black jeans and a soft gray sweater. Trish watched her reaching for bottles and contemplated the flawless shape of her bare feet. Trish had never appreciated a woman’s feet before. What was she turning into?
Soon the first guests arrived, and before long the kitchen and its surrounding rooms were full of people and the buzz of conversation. Music played, the speakers in the living room blasting a 1960s girl group singing about boys. Trish shook a lot of hands as June introduced her to friends. Most of the people she met were women from the roller derby league, joined by friends or partners, both male and female. They washed over Trish in a sea of tattoos, piercings, and effortlessly cool clothes.
It all made her feel square and boring, just like she knew that it would.
“This is my friend Trish,” June said again and again. There were women who greeted Trish with jealousy, as though trying to figure out if there was more to the story that brought this stranger to them. It wasn’t surprising that so many of these women had a crush on June, and Trish wondered how many of them June had already slept with. There had to be a reason they all came across as so possessive. The thought made her clench her teeth.
It soothed her frustration that June stayed by her side, not leaving her alone for a second. June kept grabbing her shoulder or running her fingers down her arm, especially when nobody was watching. It made her feel cared for, and Trish never had the sense that June wanted to be anywhere else. Now and then June would turn toward her and whisper something conspiratorially, a piece of gossip about this person or that.
A group of people entered the room, drawing shouted greetings, and when Trish looked at June, her jaw looked tight. Trish easily clocked Brie, a blond woman whose gaze had started to cling to June as soon as she came in. The gaze slipped across to Trish, running up and down her body in assessment. Brie’s expression told her clearly how she had been scored. Brie had decided that whoever Trish was, there was nothing about her that was a threat.
“I should say hello to Max, and Brie,” June said. “I’ll introduce you to them.”
Trish followed June across the room, watching the group and seeing Ollie kiss his boyfriend hello.
“Hey Brie, Max, everyone. Guys, this is my friend Trish,” said June.
“Hello,” Brie said, taking Trish’s hand between the two of hers, glaring nakedly at her as she did it.
“How are you?” Trish said.
Brie didn’t answer, looking over Trish’s shoulder like she was scanning the room for someone better to talk to.
“Hey, I’m going to go and get a drink,” Brie said, stepping close to June and laying a hand on her waist. She shot another dirty look at Trish before she walked away.
Trish glanced at Ollie, who was watching the exchange with an amused expression.
As soon as Brie and her group drifted over to the table where the drinks were set up, June took Trish’s arm.
“I’ll show you where the bathroom is,” June said, leading Trish down the hall. When they were alone she put a hand on Trish’s shoulder. Trish moved nearer to her.
“I’m so sorry, Trish, I can see that she’s being really rude to you already. This is what I was afraid of when Ollie said she was coming. I would never have invited her here.”
“She is being rude, isn’t she? The way she looked at me…it’s like she’s jealous. Like she thinks we’re together or something. Is she like that with everyone?”
“I don’t know! But she’s being weird. It just proves that I was right to keep my distance from her in the first place, I didn’t like her whole vibe. I kind of can’t believe it, I only went on one date with her. We didn’t even kiss or anything.”
“You really didn’t kiss her?”
“No,” June said. “I didn’t want to.”
June put a hand on Trish’s shoulder again and Trish felt the gentle weight of it through her shirt. As someone passed them in the hall, June leaned closer. “I’m going to tell Ollie this as well, but can you please rescue me if it looks like I need it? I don’t think Brie’s going to leave it at that, I feel like she’ll definitely try and talk to me again.”
Trish shivered at the feeling of June’s breath so close to her ear.
“Of course, I will. You can count on me,” Trish said.
June pulled away, her expression lighting up to see Ollie approaching them.
“I came to see if you need reinforcements,” he said, grinning.
“I think we do Ollie, I think we do,” June said.
Ollie gleefully put his arm around them, drawing them into a huddle. Trish buzzed with the feeling of being included by the two of them.
“So, ladies, what are we going to do about the bunny boiler?” he said in a stage whisper.
“That’s just what we’re trying to figure out,” June said. “I have a feeling she’s going to try to talk to me again. I’ve just asked Trish to help me out if I look like I’m stuck. The goal is to separate me from her if you ever see her trying to pin me down. Just come in and find any way to take me away, say you need something, whatever.”
“You got it, I’m in. And next chance I get I’m going to tell Max to not invite her to stuff like this. She can be a strictly Max friend, at least while you’re around.”
With their agreement in place, the three of them moved back into the kitchen.
“Hey Trish, want to be my apprentice, help me make some more drinks?” Ollie asked.
“I would love to.”
“Okeydokey, can you pass me the rum? It’s mojito time.”
Trish searched through the bottles until she located it. “Isn’t it a bit cold for mojitos?”
“It’s never too cold for mojitos,” he said, pointing a muddler at her. “Can you cut some more limes while I get going on this mint?”
“Of course. And I like the way you think. How long have you and Max been together?”
Trish searched the room to find June, who was mingling with the guests.
“About a year. I hit the jackpot with that boy. So, what do you think we should make after the mojitos?” Ollie said, glancing up.
“I’m not sure…”
“Oh dear. I think we’ve got a situation. Code Brie,” he said. He had his hand covering the blender lid as the motor whirred loudly. “I think you should get in there.”
“On it,” Trish said, eager to help. There was nothing that she would like more than to interrupt Brie and June. June was leaning away from Brie, who was speaking to June with a raised finger.
Trish moved as fast as she could and slid into place next to June, the urgency making her put a possessive arm around June’s shoulder.
“Hey. Sorry to interrupt. June, Ollie and I were hoping you could help us with the drinks. It’s getting hard to keep up with the demand.”
“Um, can’t you, like, deal with it yourself?” Brie said. “We’re in the middle of something.”
June looked at Brie with widened eyes. Normally Trish would withdraw from a situation like this in favor of minding her own business, but June had asked for her help. Trish couldn’t go back to Ollie and tell him that she’d failed at the mission, not when he’d asked her to do this.
“No, we really need her. She’s the hostess,
” Trish said. “She has to do hostess things.”
“She can do them later. We’re talking,” Brie said.
“Excuse me, Brie,” June said. “But I really should go.”
“Who exactly are you, anyway?” Brie asked Trish. “Are you two seeing one another? You do know she and I just went on a date last week, right?”
Trish tightened her grip around June’s shoulder. “Oh, that’s okay. I don’t mind if she goes on a date now and then, as long as she always comes home to me. We’ve got that kind of relationship. Don’t we, honey?” Trish said.
June quickly caught on to the ruse, putting her arm around Trish’s waist. “Yes. I’m very sorry Brie, I should have told you about this.”
Brie was looking back and forth between them, not buying it. “You’re telling me this is your girlfriend? Why wouldn’t Max tell me that you had a girlfriend?”
“I have no idea. I guess because of the whole open relationship thing, but Trish still gets a say in what I do. I mean, that’s how we make it work. Anyway, I should go and help,” June said. “Sorry.”
They walked away holding hands, June’s palm brushing softly over her skin.
When they got to Ollie, he nodded at Trish. “Did you just do the fake girlfriend maneuver? If so, I’m totally impressed.”
“I did. I didn’t know what else to do,” Trish said, reluctantly dropping June’s hand. It had all seemed like a game, but the embarrassment was starting to sink in now. “I’m sorry, June. I hope I haven’t made things even worse, that was all really silly.”
“Not at all, it wasn’t silly. I don’t care what she thinks as long as she leaves me alone. She was being impossible. I’m just worried she didn’t really believe it anyway.”
The three of them looked over to see that Brie was now speaking with Max. Max was shaking his head, his hands lifted up by his sides. June covered her face.
“Oh shit. He’s telling her that we were making it up. This is the worst.”
Brie glared at them. Ollie put his hand to his mouth and bit the skin between his thumb and finger, his shoulders shaking.
June hit him on the chest. “This is not funny.”
“It is. I love dyke drama, it’s the best.”
He sobered suddenly when Brie started marching toward them.
“Golly, she’s crazy. Why wouldn’t you just leave at this point?” Ollie said, as though he were watching a character on a television show.
“What do I do, what do I do?” June said.
“Double down. Kiss her, Trish,” Ollie said.
Trish looked back at him and tried to laugh because he must be joking, then she met June’s eyes. June was looking back at her, her expression neutral, but she was fidgeting and shuffling around.
Trish placed her hands on June’s hips.
She leaned forward.
It would only be a peck, a kiss as chaste as could be. It was against the rules, but this situation warranted an exemption, she was sure of it.
Trish’s lips touched June’s and a gasp passed between their mouths when they made contact. Thanks to the cocktail she’d been drinking, June tasted like salt and citrus. In her wildest imaginings, Trish had not thought June’s mouth would feel so right against hers. Trish pulled back and traced her fingers over June’s lips, and June’s eyes looked into her own, asking her for more. There was no question of not giving it to her. Trish eagerly leaned in once more.
Trish had meant for it to only be for another moment, yet the kiss went on and on. They savored one another’s lips, the room dropping away. June’s mouth was so warm and inviting, and as soon as Trish’s mouth opened, June followed her. June’s tongue gently explored hers. Trish put her hand on the back of June’s head to keep her close, her hand playing through June’s hair. June’s soft breasts were pushed up against her chest.
If they were alone, she would be pushing June against the countertop by now. She would be touching her everywhere. Trish never wanted to stop kissing her.
June’s hand had dropped to the small of Trish’s back, settling there in a way that suggested it wanted to move lower. Trish wished that it would. She had never had a kiss like this.
“Uh, you guys. You can stop now, she’s leaving,” Ollie said.
They pulled apart in slow motion and stared at one another, each of them breathing fast.
“Drink anyone?” Ollie asked, holding out the jug.
Chapter Ten
Memories from the night before flooded back to June as she stirred. What a strange evening. Brie’s arrival at the party had thrown her, and having both her and Trish in the same room was more than a little weird.
It was strange to have Trish in her house in the first place, to see her at ease in the kitchen talking a mile a minute with Ollie. By the end of the night, Trish and Ollie had been acting like old friends, which June loved. Trish fit neatly into her life; she belonged in it.
Trish had been different last night, looser and more relaxed. For the first time Trish had initiated things with her, touching her as they walked around the house. Trish’s slight tipsiness allowed her to fix her gaze on June a little more openly than she normally would. Trish’s stare dropped to her chest, and June turned around more than once to see Trish quickly raise her gaze back to her face.
There had been more guests than she and Ollie were expecting. Word had gotten around, and a lot of extra people tagged along. Their few rooms had been stuffed full of friends and strangers until the early hours of the morning. Eventually both Ollie and June had slipped off quietly to their bedrooms, leaving the house to their guests in the hope that they would all be gone by morning. June was sure the house was a mess, but she hoped there wasn’t any serious damage.
The memory that she was avoiding surfaced. The intensity of that kiss had shocked her, and shocked her still. There had always been something so sexy about Trish, a quality that peeked out from behind that buttoned-down façade that she presented to the world. Now June had caught a glimpse of it in the way Trish kissed, sighing against June, grabbing her hair. June wanted to see much more of that side of her. She had a feeling that it wouldn’t disappoint.
June rubbed her eyes and picked up her phone. There were two missed calls from Trish, and June pressed the button to call her back.
“June?”
When June spoke, her voice left her mouth in a rasp. She had been shouting to make herself heard over the music all night. She cleared her throat. “Hey Trish.”
The line was quiet.
Trish left the party half an hour following Brie’s dramatic departure. After the kiss, they had acted like nothing had happened between them. They stayed where they were, joking with Ollie about the crazy way that Brie behaved. Max joined them and apologized for bringing Brie over, saying that he hadn’t known what her agenda was when he’d agreed to bring her. Ollie poured them all another round of drinks and as soon as Trish finished hers, she excused herself to go and call a cab.
Trish leaned against the wall with a finger in her ear, trying to block out the noise as she gave directions to the driver. Words could not capture how badly June wanted to take the phone from her hand, and tell her that she should stay. It wasn’t even that June wanted to kiss her again, although of course she did want that. It was that June wanted to sleep in the same bed as Trish, even if nothing else happened between them. June just wanted to hold Trish in her arms.
“Trish? Is everything okay?” June said.
“I guess I just wanted to make that we’re okay, after last night.”
June sat up in bed, clutching the phone in her fist. Of course, Trish would think that she was mad at her. They weren’t supposed to kiss one another, they’d even written it down. But the night before had been such a strange situation, with Brie backing them into a corner and Ollie egging them on. Maybe the kiss had weakened her even more against Trish, because she couldn’t find it within herself to be mad.
“It’s okay. I get how it happened. It’s not your fault.”<
br />
“Thank you. I was really worried.”
“No, I should be thanking you. You really helped me out of a bad situation,” June said, lying back down and settling against the pillows. She couldn’t talk any more about the kiss without saying something stupid, so she changed the subject. “How are you doing? I don’t feel that great.”
“Me neither! I haven’t had a hangover like this for a while.”
“Bacon and eggs, best cure you’ll find. Did you have fun last night?”
“I did! I love Ollie, he’s so nice. So was everyone else. Well…aside from Brie.”
June laughed, putting her hand on her forehead. “I know. She really was too much, wasn’t she?”
“Indeed. But it’s okay. I should take your advice and have something to eat. See you tomorrow morning?”
“Same time, same place.”
June sighed when they hung up. They had never spoken on the phone before. Talking to Trish had made her feel like she was right here, her voice soft in her ear. June was lying with an elbow thrown over her face when Ollie dragged himself into her room and flopped down on the bed next to her.
“I’m scared to go out there. The place must be a mess,” he groaned.
“It’ll be okay,” June said, listlessly patting his arm.
Ollie turned to the side and pulled her elbow from her face. “So. Trish. Let us talk about Trish.”
“Mmmm,” June said. It made her feel exposed to think that they had kissed in front of everyone, although June didn’t usually care about things like that. It must have been obvious that she was very into Trish. June had been desperate to prolong that kiss, and had not cared enough at the time to try to hide it.
“I thought when I met her that she was going to be…I don’t know exactly, but I like her,” he said.
“What do you mean? What did you think she was going to be like?” June held her breath to hear what Ollie might say next.
“You know what I mean. I thought she was going to be full of it. But she’s real nice, real genuine. And she likes you. Like, really likes you. She couldn’t take her eyes off you all night. I really don’t understand why you guys haven’t gone there.”
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