The Roundabout

by Gerri Hill

  She paused at the door, then with another deep breath, she knocked three times.

  “Come in. It’s unlocked,” Leah called from inside.

  Megan opened the door, finding Leah in her kitchen with her back to the door. A quick glance told her Leah wasn’t yet ready for company. She was in shorts and a paint-stained T-shirt.

  “Hey,” Leah said. “Come here. This needs something and I can’t figure out what.”

  Megan went into the kitchen, obediently opening her mouth as Leah shoved a spoon inside.

  “Well?”

  Megan nodded. “Spicy.”

  “And?”

  “It’s good.”

  “What does it need?”

  Megan smiled. “What is it?”

  “It’s the Baja sauce.”

  “Since I’ve never tasted it before, I have no idea if it needs anything.”

  “More cilantro?”

  “No.”

  “A little more lime? Adobo sauce, maybe?”

  “What do you think it needs?”

  “Well, I would go with more chipotles, but not everyone likes things as spicy as I do.” Leah smiled and wiggled her eyebrows teasingly. “If you know what I mean.”

  Megan laughed lightly, surprised that such a simple gesture put her at ease and chased away the nervousness she’d been feeling. Things were fine between them. There was no need to clear the air or talk about…the kiss.

  “I wouldn’t mind it being a little spicier,” she said. “Spicy is good.”

  “A woman after my own heart, I see,” Leah said with a grin. “What are you doing here already?”

  “I thought you might need some help.” She shrugged. “Nancy suggested it would be the proper thing to do.”

  “Ah. Well, I chopped the cabbage and made up a slaw already,” Leah said. “I’ve seasoned the fish and it’s marinating. So I’m good.”

  “What about the beer batter?”

  “I’ll stir that up right before I fry.” She closed the lid on her Baja sauce and put it in the fridge. “Something to drink?”

  “Just a water for now.”

  Leah took two bottles from the fridge and handed one to Megan. “I guess you saw Dee.”

  Megan nodded. “She seems excited to be working.”

  “Or excited to get away from her husband, I can’t decide which,” Leah said with a laugh. “But you were right. She’s super nice. And she knows exactly what to do.”

  “How much will she work?”

  “About twenty hours for now. During the summer, she’s open to working more, and she doesn’t mind working on Saturdays, so that’s a plus.”

  “There were a few customers down there,” she said. “Have you been pleased?”

  Leah nodded. “We haven’t been packed, by any means, but at least people are coming in to take a look. I’ve also had a few people from other shops come in, just to look around.”

  “Competition,” she said. “And being nosy.”

  Leah leaned a hip against the counter. “So…everything okay? With us?”

  Megan met her gaze, then nodded. “Yes. You?”

  “Yeah. I didn’t know if…well, if you thought we needed to talk or something.”

  “Do you think we need to talk?”

  Leah studied her for a moment, then nodded. “Maybe.”

  Megan was surprised by her answer. “Maybe?”

  Leah shoved off the counter. “Now’s probably not the best time. I need to shower.” She pointed toward the living room and TV. “Make yourself at home.”

  Megan stared after her as she walked away. She’s got really nice legs, she thought. Then she shook her head, chasing that thought away as quickly as she could. Leah wanted to talk. What did she want to talk about? The kiss? Their fake dating? Was she going to break up with her?

  But I’m not ready to break up.

  She sat down heavily on the sofa and picked up the remote, flipping it around in her hands. She finally turned the TV on, more for background noise than anything else. Her mind was racing and she needed something to distract her. Unfortunately, the TV wasn’t helping.

  Leah wanted to talk…apparently.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Megan heard the water turn off and knew Leah was finished with her shower. And, okay, yes, she did picture Leah naked, dripping wet…yes, she did. But only for a few seconds. That didn’t mean anything, she told herself.

  When she heard movement in the bedroom, she got up and went over to the windows that faced Spring Street. She looked out, watching as a few tourists still lingered. Most of the shops had closed already, and she wondered how many of the people milling about were making their way over to the grill for dinner. Or perhaps they would stop into Ruby’s since Aunt Dee was keeping it open later than usual.

  “Anything interesting?”

  She turned, finding Leah watching her. She was dressed in black jeans and a dark gray shirt that matched her hair perfectly.

  “You…you look nice,” Megan said.

  “Thank you.”

  Leah came closer, and Megan took a shaky breath, not realizing that she’d been holding it. She clutched her hands together behind her back, meeting Leah’s gaze.

  “You mentioned that we should maybe talk,” she said. They might as well get it over with before the others arrived.

  “Yeah. Well, I think I’ve changed my mind,” Leah said. “Let’s just see where it goes.”

  Megan met those smoky gray eyes…or were they blue? “See…see where what goes?” she asked hesitantly.

  As Leah leaned closer, Megan knew she was going to kiss her. Of course she knew that. And she should have taken a step back. She should have turned her head, at least. But she did neither of those things. With her hands still clutched behind her back, she squeezed her own fingers tightly when Leah’s mouth met hers. It was a gentle, rather sweet kiss, and Megan had no desire to pull away from it.

  “Let’s see where this goes,” Leah murmured, her mouth still mere inches away.

  Megan blinked several times, her eyes locked on those lips that were far too close to her own. She finally took a step back, shaking her head to clear it.

  “What? No,” she said. She held her hands up in front of Leah as if to push her away. “We can’t do this.”

  “Why? You said that the other night…but why can’t we do this?”

  “Because,” she said, as if that one word explained everything. But there was a smile playing on Leah’s lips, a smile she was trying to hide, it seemed. “Because we don’t do this. We don’t date,” she said, trying again to explain. “We…this would be a terrible idea.”

  “But we’re already dating,” Leah said.

  “We’re fake dating!”

  “So what if it’s not fake dating. What if it’s real dating?”

  “Oh, my God! Are you serious? Why would you want to date me?”

  “I like you.”

  Megan shook her head. “Why do you like me?”

  Leah gave up on trying to hide her smile. “Why do you like me?”

  “What makes you think I like you?”

  Leah leaned closer again, and again, Megan failed to heed the warning bells sounding. The kiss was a little harder, a little longer, and Megan found herself responding to it once again.

  “That’s why,” Leah whispered when she pulled away.

  “Oh, my God,” she murmured. “You’re driving me freakin’ crazy.”

  “Driving you crazy’s a good thing, right? I mean, it’s not like Mary Beth crazy. Is it?”

  Megan couldn’t help but laugh. “No.” But her smile faded as she shook her head. “This is a terrible idea, you know.”

  “Is it?”

  Megan’s mistake was meeting Leah’s eyes. Smoky gray or smoky blue—it didn’t matter which. They were dark with desire, and even though Megan tried, she couldn’t look away from them.

  “Oh…crap,” she whispered as she moved closer, sliding her hands up Leah’s shoulders and aroun
d her neck. The gentle, almost playful kisses of earlier were chased away, replaced by such a passionate kiss, Megan would swear she felt the earth shake. Leah, only slightly taller than she was, pulled her in tight, their hips meeting and then their thighs. She lost herself for a moment as Leah’s tongue brushed her own, causing her to moan, an embarrassingly loud moan which made her feel like a sex-starved virgin in a cheesy romance novel. The embarrassment wasn’t enough, however, to make her pull away from the kiss. Quite the opposite, she pressed her body even closer to Leah, her mouth opening fully, her tongue trying to slip past Leah’s and into her mouth. Yes, she felt utterly sex-starved—and she supposed she was—and later, she might be thankful to whoever was knocking on Leah’s door, stopping her before she began ripping her clothes off. But right now, right this moment, she wanted to curse—and ignore—the interruption. Because her body was on fire, and when Leah pulled away, ending their heated kiss, she felt nearly delirious. Her eyes wouldn’t focus, her legs felt weak and she was hot and feverish.

  “Megan?”

  She blinked several times, finally seeing through the cloudy haze in her eyes, realizing she was still holding on to Leah. More of the obtrusive knocking sounded and Leah smiled.

  “I should probably get that, don’t you think.”

  Megan wet her suddenly dry lips, running a hand through her hair. “Oh, my God. I can’t believe that just happened. I’m…I’m sorry. I…I—”

  Leah leaned closer and kissed her, her mouth moving slowly across her lips, silencing her. “It did happen. We kissed,” she said quietly. “It was a really good kiss, Megan. Don’t apologize.” Then she smiled. “And don’t fight it. I hope we have many more like that.”

  Megan stood there, still in a state of shock as Leah walked across the room to the door. She turned her back to the door and stared out the windows instead, trying to regain some semblance of normalcy. They kissed. That’s all. Just a kiss. People did that all the time. Kissed.

  She took a deep breath, absently hearing Leah as she greeted Nancy and Mary Beth. Nancy would take one look at her and know immediately what the delay was in Leah opening the door. She’d know that they’d been kissing. Of course, that didn’t really matter. She and Leah were supposedly dating. They kissed. She felt the now familiar flutter in her stomach as she recalled the fiery kiss, but she had no time to reflect on it. Laughter in the room caused her to turn from the window as Sarah and Julie had joined them.

  Only then did it occur to her odd that Nancy and Mary Beth had arrived together. Well, they were friends. She supposed Mary Beth had popped over to the grill and they’d walked over.

  Nancy elbowed her playfully. “You look all flushed, sis,” she teased. “Did we interrupt something?”

  Despite her attempt not to, Megan felt a red-hot blush cover her face, causing Nancy to laugh. It would do no good to protest so she nodded and smiled.

  “Yes, you did, actually.”

  Nancy’s expression turned serious. “Good for you. I like Leah. She’s the complete opposite of Tammi and Erin.”

  She nodded. “Yes, she is.”

  “And I don’t only mean her age. She’s…different.”

  “Mature.”

  “Well, that too, but…I don’t know. Different.”

  Megan smiled. “Glad you approve.”

  She would admit that the evening was a little less stressful than last week’s dinner at Mary Beth’s, but only slightly. Gone was the fear that the others would find out that they were fake dating. That was replaced with the fear that they were going to really date. A handful of times she found her gaze drifting to Leah, and more often than not, she would find Leah’s eyes already on her.

  God…what the hell were they doing?

  Instead of expensive wine and margaritas, Leah served cold Corona beer with lime wedges and a jug of fruity sangria. Megan enjoyed the beer but thought she would try the sangria with the fish tacos.

  As was the case at Mary Beth’s, she found herself relegated to the background as Sarah and Julie again fought for Leah’s attention. Megan found it a bit amusing as they peppered Leah with questions. Nancy and Mary Beth were sitting together on the sofa, and Megan noticed that Mary Beth no longer had that coy smile or predatory look in her eyes. That was a relief. Maybe she wouldn’t be exposed on Facebook after all.

  “I should get the fish going,” Leah said as she walked over to the bar where Megan was sitting. “Feel like helping?”

  “Yes.”

  She went around the bar and into the kitchen, ignoring the chatter from the living room. “I thought Carla was coming,” she said.

  “So did I. Maybe she changed her mind.”

  Leah already had a pan filled with oil on the stove, and she turned that on. “If you would open a beer for me, I’ll add that to the batter.”

  Megan did as requested, then stood back as Leah went to work frying the fish. She was quick and efficient, and Megan smiled as she leaned against the counter. “You really didn’t need my help, did you?”

  Leah smiled too. “Back in the old days, I used to make fish tacos at least once a week.” She looked over at her, holding her gaze for a few seconds. “But I did want your company.”

  The look in her eyes made Megan’s pulse race, and in a flash, she recalled being pressed against Leah, their thighs touching, their hips in a far too intimate position, their kiss—long and passionate—perhaps a precursor of things to come.

  She suddenly felt hot and she took a step away from Leah on shaky legs. To her surprise, Leah turned to her, her eyes a smoldering shade of blue and gray. For a second, Megan forgot about the others. She couldn’t look away from Leah’s gaze, and she barely fought the urge to kiss her. Leah, however, had no such luck resisting as she leaned closer, kissing her just hard enough to elicit a tiny moan from Megan.

  “Need help in here? I smelled something burning, but I guess it’s not the fish, is it?” Nancy teased and Megan pulled away from Leah with a guilty blush.

  “Very funny,” Megan said as she cleared her throat. “I was…I was helping, you know…with the—”

  “Well, if we’re ever going to eat, I think you should let me help,” Nancy said as she pushed Megan out of the kitchen.

  Leah laughed. “Thanks. She is distracting.”

  Megan had no choice but to go out and join the others. Julie and Sarah were in a two-way conversation, discussing the merits of a rumor going around that Melissa and Carla were seen sneaking around together.

  “She would have told me,” Julie insisted. “We’re friends.”

  “I can’t see it,” Sarah said. “They don’t go together at all.”

  Megan tuned them out and turned to Mary Beth who was sitting on the sofa. She patted the space beside her and Megan gave a silent groan as she went to sit.

  “You look frightened.”

  “Yes. You tend to do that to me,” Megan said bluntly.

  Mary Beth laughed. “No, not me. I meant her,” she said, motioning toward the kitchen.

  “Leah? Why would I be frightened of Leah?”

  “I think you’re afraid you’re going to fall in love with her.”

  Megan was shocked by her words. Was Mary Beth conceding defeat? She should graciously accept the statement and move on, but she felt the need to clarify. “We hardly know each other, really. I don’t think falling in love is on the table.”

  Mary Beth surprised her by patting her knee in an almost motherly way. “Let me give you some advice, young Megan. Sometimes love comes from such unexpected places. You find it’s been there all along, right in front of you.”

  Megan frowned. Were they still talking about her? Did that statement warrant a response? Before she could comment, Mary Beth continued.

  “Yes, right in front of you. Sometimes it takes something extraordinary to bring it to the surface. And other times, love hits you out of the blue. A stranger comes and changes your life. Like you and Leah.” She smiled at Megan. “Love comes in different ways, di
fferent packages…but I say, when it comes, you better grab it. Don’t be afraid. None of us are getting any younger, you know.”

  Megan had absolutely no idea what Mary Beth was rambling on about, and she wondered if maybe she’d had too many Coronas. Before she could respond, there was a knock on the door. Megan rose to get it, but Julie beat her to it. It was Carla.

  “Hey, everyone. Sorry I’m late.”

  Carla looked a bit flushed, and Sarah and Julie exchanged knowing glances. Megan looked at Mary Beth, but her gaze was focused on the kitchen—and Nancy. Everything seemed suddenly very weird.

  * * *

  Megan managed three fish tacos and she blamed the Baja sauce. She could eat that stuff with a spoon.

  “I love the spicy cabbage slaw,” Sarah said. “You’ve got to give me the recipe.”

  “Sure. It’s easy,” Leah said as she started gathering plates.

  “Let me help,” Megan offered.

  There were only two pieces of fish left, and she found herself eyeing them. “Put those somewhere before I eat them,” she said to Leah.

  Leah laughed. “I take it you liked the tacos.”

  “Delicious,” she said. “Everything was great.”

  Leah leaned closer. “I saw you and Mary Beth chatting. Is she threatening another Facebook post?”

  Megan shook her head. “No. She didn’t mention it. She’s acting really weird. It’s like she doesn’t have any interest in me at all.”

  “That’s a good thing, right?”

  “Oh, yeah! That would be fantastic. It’s just kinda weird how she stopped, you know.”

  “So maybe she stopped because of me.”

  “Maybe so. But she was rambling. She was going on and on about all the different ways to fall in love.” She met Leah’s eyes. “Call me crazy, but…” she motioned to the living room where Mary Beth and Nancy were again sitting on the sofa together. “You don’t think she and Nancy are, you know…” But she shook her head. “No. Not Nancy. She wouldn’t. No.”

  They were both watching as Mary Beth leaned closer to Nancy, whispering something, something that caused Nancy to laugh like a schoolgirl. Megan’s eyes widened and she grabbed Leah’s arm.

  “Oh. My. God,” she hissed. “They’re making goo-goo eyes at each other!”