by Liz McMullen
“Well,” Jodeci started.
“The truth,” Suzie said, cutting short whatever tall tale Jodeci was planning.
Desiree was suspicious, but she also wanted to hang out with her friends. Watching Violet and Jodeci work a room was pure entertainment. She was about to cave and agree to join them later when she remembered her other plans. “We can’t go with you guys. I need to get ready first, plus I was supposed to meet the Kelly twins at a bar on Main Street.”
“Ooh, the Kelly twins, huh?” Violet purred.
Suzie turned to her friend. “Oh, you stop it. Besides, who needs those shrimp boats when you have a voluptuous Senegalese goddess?”
Then Jodeci played her ace. “Rowan’s bartending.”
The light in Desiree’s eyes went out and she shut down completely. “Suzie you can go if you want, but I can’t stand them up. I’ve already broken a few coffee dates as it is.” She was lying big time, and everyone in the room knew it. Thankfully, no one called her out.
“You heard her, Stud One and Stud Two. Off to work with you, and take it easy—on the ladies.” Suzie wagged her finger. After a moment’s thought, she amended that. “And the boys. They can’t help that you don’t have the right plumbing.”
That made Desiree laugh, but her mind was made up. She was shaky as it was, and there was no way she could deal with Rowan, never mind watching women fawn all over her. She hated admitting the latter part, but it was the truth. She had a crush, but how she dealt with the attraction was her business. “Jodeci, that goes especially for you. They don’t expect women to have the body of an NBA player.”
“No kidding. I can’t tell you how many times a guy has tried to follow me into the bathroom,” Jodeci said as she slipped her leather jacket on. “Maybe you guys can stop by later on before you go home?”
“Sure,” Desiree lied again. She wasn’t any better at fooling her friends the second time around.
“Great!” Jodeci swooped her up in a hug that left her legs dangling for a bit. She laughed, appreciating her friend’s enthusiasm.
“Off you go! I need to shower and get ready.” Suzie shooed them out the door, though not before Violet gave her parting shot.
“And miss last call?”
“Hey,” Suzie protested, but Butch One and Butch Two had already beat a speedy retreat.
Chapter Eleven
When the bois left the room, so did Desiree’s drive. It was like she was a full balloon losing helium as soon as the door closed behind them. She plopped down on her bed and leaned back with her arms holding her knees close to her chest. “I’m going to stay in tonight.” A tear too heavy for her lashes to hold rolled down her cheek.
Suzie joined her on the bed and pulled her close. “Lay your head in my lap honey and I’ll play with your hair.”
The offer of comfort was too appealing to resist, and Desiree’s body replied on autopilot.
“Too much for one day, huh?”
Sucking in a deep breath, she let her tears fall as her best friend stroked her hair. “Yeah. It’s just…”
“I know, love, you’re over stimulated, I get that,” Suzie spoke softly as she sifted brown curls through her fingers.
Desiree replayed her day. Meeting Rowan, coming home to her mom perched on her chair like a bird of prey, and the high of meeting her new boss…it was all too much. She trembled as the last wisp of adrenaline left her body.
“Why don’t you crawl under the covers? I’ll take an obscene amount of time to shower and get dressed, and if you’re up for it, you can come out with me.”
Desiree tensed.
“We’ll go meet the twins. I think you have had enough sexy badass butchness for one day.”
Desiree smiled up at her friend, the motion dampening her hairline with tears. “You know me so well.”
“And I love you, sweetie. I think dancing off the negative energy will be good for you, and this time, I’ll let you sleep in. No more Jodeci sneak attacks.”
“Deal.” Desiree sat up and stretched. “I try not to ask you about this, but…”
“Go ahead, slugger, hit me with it.”
“Why aren’t you dating Jodeci? It’s obvious you have feelings for each other.”
Suzie paused for so long, Desiree thought she might not answer. “I don’t think she is ready.”
“But you sleep together?”
Suzie flushed so red, Desiree worried she would ignite on the spot.
“Not as much as you think we do. For now, we are friends who express closeness in a different way.” Suzie tilted her head as she sorted through her thoughts.
“She’s not as much of a player as she pretends to be.” Desiree was sure of that.
“She’s actually not a player at all. Not anymore, and trust me I would know.” Suzie fussed with her stylishly jagged bangs. “Not just the gossip, but Jodeci would tell me.”
“Then you’re girlfriends.”
Suzie’s eyes widened and she let out a breath of exasperation. “We both have to say the words, especially those three short pesky ones.” Suzie stood up and started to gather her things for her shower. “There’s no rush, I know I have her heart.” Suzie looked more serious than Desiree had ever seen her. “She has to believe she is worthy of love, that she’s worth more than fleeting entertainment. Until she gets to that place, we’re friends. Very close friends.”
Desiree giggled. Suzie wasn’t capable of doing serious for extended periods of time, though she was always incredibly tender with Desiree. “I’ll close my eyes and after your orgy in the shower…”
Suzie fluttered her fingers. “Orgy of one.”
“Uh-uh. You have at least ten lovers, more if you go tantric with your toes.”
Suzie guffawed, her good humor completely restored. “Gotta go, they’re waiting for me.”
“Knock ’em dead,” Desiree said to her friend’s retreating back. She only intended to relax but was soon fast asleep.
aaAA
The sound of the door to their dorm room closing quietly was soon followed by the scent of honeysuckle. Her body lotion had been beauty-product-napped. Apparently this was part of Suzie’s master plan to wake her. Desiree smiled on the inside and waited to see what else her friend would use to rouse her.
She didn’t have to wait long. P!NK’s sultry voice made the hairs on Desiree’s arms stand up. The French dialog in the background wasn’t helping. P!NK’s live cover of The Divinyls’ “I Touch Myself” was waking certain dormant parts of her body. No way Suzie missed her gasp.
CK One’s spicy musk filled her nostrils, and she looked up to find a satisfied look on Suzie’s face.
“She doesn’t wear that cologne,” Desiree replied without realizing she had revealed more than she intended. Including her desire to see Rowan.
“Who doesn’t wear this cologne?” Suzie tapped her chin with the smoky white glass cologne bottle.
Desiree shifted her lower jaw to the right before assuming what she hoped was a neutral expression.
When Desiree didn’t respond, Suzie raised a stylish eyebrow.
Desiree switched tactics. They were obviously going out. She flung back the cover, sprang to her feet, and was almost out the door with her shower kit when Suzie’s words stopped her.
“You’re either going to take this or return from the shower dripping, in the buff, along with a gaggle of fawning firsties.” Suzie held Desiree’s bathrobe and a fresh towel prisoner. “Fess up first or I’m going to get loud.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“Oh yes, dear, this is going to be too much fun.” She opened the door and was about to bellow Desiree’s secrets for all the floor to hear when Desiree snatched the bathrobe and towel, then made a break for the bathroom diagonal from their room. It was only a few short feet, but safety was not awaiting her on the other side.
“This is even better. The acoustics might carry my voice down the stairs to the lobby. Which, as you know, is hopping right now.” Suzie’s light blu
e eyes danced with glee.
“Rowan doesn’t wear it. I said it. Are you happy now?” Desiree hissed in an exasperated whisper. The damage was done, though. There were at least five women in the bathroom, not including two in the shower stalls.
Desiree rushed into the first open stall and waited for Suzie to escalate the situation. It seemed the rest of the folks in the bathroom were waiting too, and when nothing happened, the happy chatter in the bathroom resumed.
She huffed out the breath she had been holding and turned the faucet. Suzie may have won this round, but there would be consequences. Desiree filed this stunt away along with the healthy dose of embarrassment she planned to dole out when Suzie least expected it.
The shower relaxed her fried nerves, and she knew but wouldn’t admit that dancing was the best way to resolve the tension coursing through her veins. The next battle would be convincing Suzie to stick with their plan to meet up with the Doublemint twins instead of going to The Crooked Arrow.
It wasn’t just the matter of seeing Rowan again; the prospect actually had its appeal. But she was not looking forward to the obvious attention women would be paying Rowan as she bartended. The unexpected spike of jealousy she felt was all the more reason to avoid seeing Rowan again. She was too frazzled to deal with free-floating envy on top of everything else.
As she returned to their dorm room, she contemplated various arguments to avoid a trip to The Crooked Arrow and was unprepared to find the Doublemint twins waiting with Suzie. Maggie, the free spirit side of the Irish duo, was conspiring with Suzie when she walked in.
If it wasn’t for Maggie’s thick Irish accent, you would think Suzie and Maggie were the twins. They had the same white-blond rocker chick haircut, their clothes just barely gift wrapped their tantalizing qualities, and the matching looks in their eyes meant trouble. “Hi Desiree,” Suzie and Maggie greeted in concert.
Desiree pursed her lips.
Aeryn Kelly was off to the side, as was often the case with Maggie’s twin. She was elegant with long red hair that fell in supple waves down her back. Her emerald-green eyes held sympathy along with a promise that she would be a buffer to whatever Suzie and Maggie had planned for the night. This was the role she often played, a calm contrast to her sister’s wild ways. They complemented each other.
Desiree started picking her outfit. Once again, she’d make a trip to the bathroom to get dressed. It wasn’t modesty that drove her to dress in private, she just needed that time to regroup. Plus, her silence was driving Suzie crazy. Resting the neat pile of clothes on her bed, she spritzed herself with CK One. She was almost out the door when Suzie’s words stopped her.
“Don’t you want to know where we’re going?”
Desiree didn’t bother turning back as she already knew the smug expressions she would find. “Surprise me.”
Chapter Twelve
The Crooked Arrow
Northampton, MA
Rowan’s mind wandered as she cleaned up the lemon juice and sugar left on the bar after the last round of lemon shots. Her thoughts were drawn back to the drive from Magnum Kennel. She’d been off her game from the moment she turned the key in the ignition. At least the shakes had waited until Desiree left the truck.
Her behavior had scared Desiree. So much for the good deed of giving her a ride home. Rowan tucked the bar rag in her back pocket and started cleaning and sanitizing the glasses. She was nearly done with the pint glasses when Jodeci appeared. She expected teasing and torture, but Jodeci’s eyes were soft and compassionate.
“It was bad, huh?” Jodeci set two cases of beer on the bar, restocked the ice chest, then swapped out the boxes filled with empties. “I thought I was helping cupid along. I didn’t mean to put you in a bad place or make things awkward with Desiree.”
Rowan nodded. “How could you know? I haven’t had a flashback in years.” She poured a half-pint of Guinness and left it to settle as she started a round of margaritas. “Besides, I get the feeling she thinks I’m below her station.”
“Uptown Girl” blared from the jukebox. Rowan glared at her friend.
Jodeci put up her hands in defense. “Don’t look at me! Besides, I need to get you more ice.” The beer bottles rattled in the case as she whisked it away.
Rowan stared at the front door. It was late, only two hours from last call. Desiree wasn’t coming. Relief was eclipsed by a deep pang of disappointment.
The drag show ended, patrons swarmed the bar, and she was too busy for the blues.
“Pint of Stella, please,” Desiree said loud enough to be heard over the crowd.
“Stella!” Jodeci shouted, as she always did when she heard someone order that brand. It only got worse after she’d auditioned for A Streetcar Named Desire last week.
Desiree seemed so startled she dropped her cell on the counter and looked dismayed when it landed in a puddle from whatever drink had been spilled there. Rowan snapped it right up, wiped it down, and placed it in a clean plastic cup half filled with rice. “First aid kit, the bar edition.” She handed the cup to Desiree. “My solution for smartphone casualties.”
Desiree’s brown eyes lit up. “Wow, that’s a great idea. Bet they could use it in coffee shops too.”
“True, but I’m not sure they have cups big enough for laptop emergencies.” Rowan smiled, enjoying the lighthearted moment. She handed her a pint, then refused to take her money. “My fault for not keeping the bar clean. Consider it a peace offering.”
“Thank you.” Desiree put her money away.
“I can put your cell in the cabinet under the register. It’ll be safe there.”
Desiree hesitated.
“Or not, it’s your choice.” Rowan probably wouldn’t have surrendered her own phone, but this was Northampton, not New York. Though latent street smarts weren’t likely holding Desiree back, most college students would rather cut off an arm than be parted from their phones. “I’ll even give you visitation rights.”
The hearty laugh Desiree gave her made her feel warm inside. She would have reveled a bit more in the sensation, but the natives were getting restless, especially since it was close to last call. Places closed down early in this neck of the woods, so people tried to squeeze in as many kicks as possible.
Suzie and Maggie appeared and tugged Desiree toward the dance floor.
“Come on, Dez, we need to dance before midnight. Can’t risk turning into pumpkins.” Suzie swiveled her hips for emphasis. “Orange is so not my color.”
“That’s not what you were saying when we binge-watched Orange is the New Black last weekend,” Maggie teased, her Irish brogue always thicker when she was on a roll. “After you saw Ruby Rose’s lady bits, you were contemplating felonies to get a one-way ticket to Litchfield Penitentiary.”
Suzie gave a girly sigh, then murmured, “Ruby Rose is just dreamy. Did you see that short film she did?”
“You had it on a continuous loop…of course I did.” Maggie fanned herself. “When she was pouring buckets of water over her head, I think I nearly lost consciousness.”
Jodeci snuck up behind Suzie, which made her squeal. “Jodeci, you trying to kill me?”
“Nope, just trying to rattle Ruby Rose out of that sexy blond head of yours.” Jodeci pulled Suzie in for a steamy kiss, which went on forever until the cheers and catcalls from the pool table made them laugh too hard to continue. Rowan wished she could spend more time with her friends, but the birthday celebration of a newly legal coed required her services. She thought of Desiree’s unusual raw honey-colored eyes and sweet smile as she poured two rounds of shots. She cut them off after that. Besides, it was last call. By the time she cleaned up after them, Desiree was gone. It stung that she didn’t say good-bye.
Rowan was counting out the till when she realized Desiree had left something important behind. “Jodeci, is Suzie out back?” They usually shepherded the customers through the front door before they closed down the bar, but Suzie and her friends often stuck around to give Jodeci a
ride home.
“You mean is Desiree out back?”
Rowan flicked an ice cube at her friend. “Desiree forgot her cell.” She took it out of the rice and was happy to see that the touch screen was no longer fogged.
Jodeci smirked as if she’d set this little trap. Which was impossible, but Rowan was suspicious all the same, especially with the set up at the Magnum Kennel that morning.
“Guess you’ll have to stop by her dorm and drop it off.” Jodeci tied the garbage bag with excessive cheer. Even when she wasn’t up to something, she was up to something.
“Or, you could stop by and give Suzie a proper kiss good night.” Desiree didn’t seem to appreciate bumping into her at the library, nor would she appreciate it if Rowan showed up at her room in the middle of the night, especially this late.
Jodeci started sweeping with flourish, singing “Jailhouse Rock.” She was so campy when not playing it cool, it made Rowan laugh. She was pretty sure Jodeci had no idea why she was singing that Elvis song, but Rowan figured it had something to do with showing up Ruby Rose.
“Jennifer dragged Violet over to her Smithie lair, so I’d need a ride,” Jodeci called over her shoulder as she put away the broom and dustpan. “Besides, they have Starbucks coffee in their room.”
Coffee and a chance to see Desiree again. Rowan was caving fast but pretended otherwise. “I’ll drop you off. I’m sure Suzie wouldn’t mind sharing her bed for the night.”
Jodeci leaned against the bar, her expression completely sober. “Just come with me, and if Desiree is uncomfortable, I’ll make an excuse for us to exit stage left.” She rested her hand on Rowan’s forearm. “There has to be something to this. I don’t think the panic attack was an accident. Desiree could mean something to you.”
Equally serious, Rowan responded. “Suzie means something to you. What’s your excuse?”
Jodeci’s face dropped. “I’m not good enough for her.”
