Popcorn Love

by KL Hughes

  Allison snorted at the typical hung-over-Macy text. Though Allison couldn’t hear her voice or see her expression, she knew Macy was grumpy. She had never seen anyone as grumpy when not feeling well as Macy.

  “Macy just texted me,” Allison informed Elena, turning the phone around to show her the message.

  Elena arched a brow, confused, and Allison laughed.

  “Yeah, I know. Just wait until you meet her.”

  “And when will that be?” Elena asked, brows knitting together and eyes widening. It somehow managed to make her look both nervous and excited about the idea.

  “Do you actually want to meet her?”

  “Of course,” Elena replied. “It’s the least I could do after unleashing the storm that is my mother and Vivian on you.”

  “Well, really, it was more like they unleashed themselves.”

  “True.”

  “I get that you think you should meet her,” Allison said after a moment, “but I mean do you really want to? Because I won’t make you; at least not so soon.”

  “No, no,” Elena told her, shaking her head and pulling Allison close again. “I want to. She’s important to you, so this is important to me.”

  Allison hated the burning sensation in her throat as Elena’s words actually managed to choke her up. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep any tears from welling up in her eyes, but they came anyway. She sucked in a cool breath and nodded, not wanting to say anything, for fear that her voice would crack. But when Elena stroked her cheek, Allison’s chest practically concaved, and she knew she had to get away for a minute. She moved quickly and wordlessly away from Elena and into the private bathroom attached to the woman’s office, closing the door behind her.

  * * *

  Allison cursed at herself in the mirror of Elena’s office bathroom as the woman’s words echoed through her mind over and over. She blamed her stupid post-sex hormones or whatever for the sudden urge to cry, but Allison knew it was really just because it was incredibly nice to have someone who cared about the things and the people that she cared about simply because she cared about them.

  She glanced around the bathroom and was surprised to see that the room was fully stocked, and not just with the typical items. There were two complete makeup kits, the top-dollar stuff of course; makeup cleansing wipes; face and body lotions and exfoliating washes; various nail polishes and remover; cotton swabs; Q-tips; nail clippers; toothbrushes; toothpaste; mouthwash; and more. Allison was pretty impressed. She reached for the makeup cleansing wipes and pulled one out. Her makeup was a little smudged from the sweating in the studio and now the watery eyes that Allison refused to deem as crying. She contemplated simply cleaning away the smudged bits and touching up her makeup afterwards but decided to just wash her face bare and leave it that way until later. It wasn’t like she ever wore very much makeup anyway—foundation, a thin layer of eyeliner, a bit of eye shadow, and some mascara.

  Allison scrubbed her face clean and took a deep breath before heading back into the office where Elena was busy typing away on her computer, a thin pair of crimson-rimmed glasses perched on her nose. Allison’s stomach bubbled and fizzled pleasantly at the adorable sight.

  Elena glanced up at the sound of the bathroom door opening and smiled at Allison. She pulled the glasses off her face and laid them on her desk before swiveling in her chair to face Allison. “Hi.”

  “Hi,” Allison murmured.

  “I see you utilized a few of my many supplies.”

  Allison nodded. “Yeah. You have a whole arsenal in there.”

  “I used to spend many nights here when I first took the position,” Elena said. “The restroom is actually quite tame. I used to have an entire section of my office blocked off with a crib and changing table for Lucas.”

  “Yeah? I bet that was cute.”

  “I don’t know about ‘cute’.” Elena said. “Convenient, though, yes.”

  Allison crossed the distance between them and dropped to her knees in front of Elena’s chair to be more level with her; that, and it made it easier to slip her hands over Elena’s thighs.

  Elena smiled at her, eyes roaming over Allison’s face, and Allison felt full of so much in that moment that she could hardly breathe. Elena reached out, and Allison felt her brush her fingertips over the faint bruise between her eyes.

  “Almost completely gone,” Allison said. “I keep bruises for a long time. I guess because I’m so pale. I don’t know.”

  “I still feel terrible about that.” Elena rubbed over the flesh again.

  “Don’t,” Allison said. “It’s a funny story that we can tell people one of these days.”

  “One of these days,” Elena whispered. “Do you plan on being around for a while?”

  Allison reached up and caught Elena’s wrist. She pulled the woman’s hand down from her forehead and pressed a kiss to the center of Elena’s palm. “Is that what you want?”

  Elena was silent for a long moment, her gaze intense as she held Allison’s eyes. “In this moment, Allison,” she whispered, rubbing her thumb gently against Allison’s chin, “it is all that I want.”

  Allison let out a gentle sigh, relieved. She had always been a runner. The system had taught her how to detach, how to remain at a distance. It taught her to love only the sounds of things and people fading into the distance as she moved forward, moved on. It taught her to be on her own, but with Elena, it felt easy to stay. It felt natural. The woman had come blazing into her life like a wildfire in a sensible pantsuit, and Allison had been willing to burn ever since.

  Allison leaned her head into the soft flesh of Elena’s palm and nodded. “Then yeah,” she whispered, “I plan on being here.”

  * * *

  “Are you sure you don’t wanna walk me down to the first floor?” Allison asked, offering Elena a mischievous little grin. “Another loooooong ride on the elevator.” She waggled her eyebrows.

  A loud laugh left Elena’s lips. “I think it is best if we avoid the elevator for the time being.”

  “True,” Allison said. She rocked on her heels, stalling. She wasn’t quite ready to leave. “I should probably take the stairs. Last time I rode in that elevator, some hot brunette attacked my mouth.”

  Elena pinched Allison’s arm. “Rumor has it that you did not resist.”

  With a cluck of her tongue, Allison shook her head. “I don’t know who told you that, but they were totally telling the truth.”

  Elena smiled and pulled Allison into a gentle embrace. “Thank you for today.”

  Allison shook her head in answer. “Thank you, Elena. This was all you, and I loved every second of it.”

  “I did as well.”

  “Well, good.”

  They pulled apart and stared at one another a moment longer before Allison said, “All right. I’m gonna go hang with Macy, but when you’re finished up here, give me a call, yeah? I’d like to see you again before the night is over, if that’s okay with you.”

  Elena nodded. “I will call you.”

  “Okay good.” Allison pressed a quick kiss to Elena’s lips before turning to go. She turned back just before she stepped out of the woman’s office and said, “Oh, and Elena?”

  “Yes dear?”

  “We should visit your studio more often.” She winked as a wide smile stretched between Elena’s crimson cheeks, and then slipped out of the office.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  “You did what?!” Vivian hissed through the phone, and Elena winced as it echoed loudly in her ear.

  “Vivian, I am not going to repeat myself,” Elena said, glancing up and around her office nervously. Despite knowing that no one could hear her, Elena still felt as if every ear in the entire universe was currently tuned in to her very private admission of secret studio sex with her lesbian babysitter-turned-lover.

  “Oh my God!” Vivian exclaimed. “Elena!”

  “Feel free to stop shrieking in my ear any time, Viv.”

  “I will not
sto—What?” Midway through Vivian’s response, Elena heard another voice echo from the other end of the line. She couldn’t be sure, but it sounded like Vivian’s assistant, which meant that Vivian had gone in to work today as well. It didn’t surprise Elena. She and Vivian both were workaholics, though Elena herself had slowed way, way down in the last two years in order to spend as much time with Lucas as possible. “Jeanine, I don’t give a damn about that right now, because my best friend just got laid for the first time in four years, okay? Four years, and it was with a woman. Okay? Do you see the importance of this conversation now? The new spread can wait.”

  Elena’s entire body felt like it caught fire in that moment as she fumed. “Vivian Warren! Shut your mouth this instant!”

  “What? It’s true, and besides, I didn’t say your name, so relax.”

  Elena rolled her eyes as she pressed her fingertips to her temples. “Everyone in your office knows exactly who your best friend is, you idiot,” she said.

  “Oh.” Vivian laughed. “That’s true. Sorry, but hey, don’t be embarrassed. It’s something to celebrate not something to be embarrassed about.”

  “Thank you for that encouraging pep talk, dear.”

  “You are quite welcome. So, spill. I need details, and when I say I need details, I mean details along the lines of trashy-romance-novel details. Catch my drift?”

  “Go buy a book then, Viv, because you won’t get any details out of me, and you know it.”

  Vivian sighed heavily into the phone. “I’m demoting you. You no longer hold the position of best friend, because best friends share everything with each other. I even tell people that Lucas is my son sometimes.”

  “Oh, you do not,” Elena said. “And I can’t be demoted. It’s in the contract.”

  “We wrote that stupid best-friend contract when we were seven, Elena.”

  “Yes, and it still stands,” Elena told her. “It clearly states that none but me can hold the position of best friend in your life and none but you can hold it in mine.”

  “It also says that you will always share your gummy bears with me, and I will always share my Milk Duds with you,” Vivian countered.

  “Yes, well, have I ever broken that sacred covenant? I do believe I have always shared my gummy bears with you.”

  “True, even though you hardly ever eat candy anymore.” Vivian sighed again. “I love gummy bears.”

  Elena chuckled as she leaned back in her office chair and twirled a pen between her fingers. “I know you do.”

  “So, you’re not going to tell me anything?” Vivian asked. “Not even a little bit? Are you at least going to tell me if it was good?”

  “Very well, but this is all you get,” Elena said.

  “Spit it out already!”

  “It was amazing.”

  Vivian giggled like a little girl. “I want to squeal again.”

  “Please don’t.”

  “So how amazing are we talking here, Elena?”

  “Nice try, Viv.”

  Vivian huffed out a breath. “What kind of best friend calls just to say that sex has occurred but then refuses to share any details of the occurrence?”

  “The evil kind.” Elena let out a low, playful laugh to suit the statement. “Besides, I am still in the office.”

  “Oh, so you can have sex in the office, but you can’t talk about sex in the office? I call bullshit, but I will let it slide for now. You do realize, though, that you will likely end up telling me more at some point, right?”

  “Most likely,” Elena admitted, knowing the chances were pretty high. They had never been good at keeping things from one another, and Elena would likely feel the need to gush to someone at some point, given how incredible the sex with Allison had actually been.

  They stayed on the phone with one another for a long time, even after they both fell silent. It was something they had done many times in their lives. After a long silence, Vivian quietly asked, “You really like her, don’t you?”

  Elena sighed. “I really do, Vivian,” she whispered. “I really, really do.”

  * * *

  Hey gorgeous! You up for an adventure tonight, or do you have to pick the little man up?

  Elena’s body erupted in tingles as she read Allison’s text. It amazed her how easily all things Allison Sawyer seemed to do that to her. She contemplated her mysterious offer as she stared at her phone, her thumbs stilled over her keypad. She had already informed her parents and Lucas that it was likely he might have to spend the night there, thus it would be easy for Elena to simply use that to her advantage and take Allison up on her offer.

  What sort of adventure?

  You’ll see. The next text sent an address and told Elena to meet her there at nine that night. Elena laughed softly when she read the end of the message. Oh, and wear jeans, Elena, because damn. Just damn.

  Elena didn’t have a clue what adventure the other woman had in mind, but she found she hardly cared. She just wanted to be there, wherever Allison was.

  * * *

  The night air was warm and wonderfully breezy as Elena stepped out of the cab and onto the curb. The address Allison had given her was that of a small bar; it was small, but from the looks of it, lively. A large poster plastered across the window right next to the door read OPEN MIC-NIGHT! Intrigued, Elena made her way inside, her black pumps tapping as she walked.

  Patrons packed the place, filling tables in front of a large stage at the far end of the building as well as standing around the bar waiting for drinks. She took a moment to glance around for a flash of wild golden hair, but it was useless. There was no way Elena would find Allison in this crowd, so she made her way to the bar instead.

  Weaving through the bodies, Elena felt several people brush against her, and some in ways that obviously could not be deemed as accidents. As always, she shuddered at the contact and did her best to weave through the crowd a little faster. When she found a thankfully empty stool at the bar, she plopped down and waited for the bartender to take notice of her. Familiar with the routine of being a well-dressed woman sitting alone at a bar, she counted in her head, avoiding the urge to roll her eyes:

  And in 3, 2, 1…

  “Hey there, pretty lady.”

  Elena didn’t even bother making eye contact with the man who approached her nearly as soon as she sat down. Anyone who started with “pretty lady” was doomed from the beginning. She avoided his gaze, straightened her back, and said, “No, thank you.”

  “Oh come on. Don’t be like that.”

  Elena did make eye contact with him then. “Don’t be like what?” she asked. “I said ‘No, thank you’. Would you prefer I rudely turn you down?”

  “You’re a sassy one.” He let out a nervous laugh and pulled a bit at the collar of his wrinkled navy button-up shirt.

  “No. Currently, I’m being quite polite. You, on the other hand, are not.”

  He ran a hand over his buzzed dirty-blonde hair and offered up what Elena assumed he considered to be a charming smile. It came off as more predatory than anything. “Don’t like compliments?”

  “I don’t care for men who don’t understand the meaning of the word ‘no’.”

  His eyes hardened as he simply stared at her for a moment.

  She thought he might actually try another pass at her before he finally just sneered “whatever” and walked off.

  The bartender showed up a moment later. “What can I get ya, ma’am?”

  “Absolut neat.” She was going to need something with a little kick to start her off, especially if it was going to take a while to find her date. As she waited for her drink, she pulled her phone from her clutch and typed out a text to Allison, letting her know where she was.

  “Well, well.” Another voice spoke from behind her, and Elena closed her eyes and sighed at the deep register. “Beautiful woman alone at the bar?”

  The man stepped around her and into view. “That’s a crime.”

  Elena arched a brow as her
gaze scanned down his body. He was a younger guy, barely out of high school from the look of him, and Elena was appalled to see that he was actually attempting to rock the circa-early-2000s frat-boy look of khaki cargo shorts, a bright pink polo with a popped collar, and a white ball cap only partially on his head. Her lip curled as she shook her head. “So is your attire, dear.”

  The guy had a typical “psh” reaction before muttering that she was a bitch and stalking off.

  The bartender arrived with her drink, and Elena took a sip, reveling in the slight burn as the vodka slithered down her throat.

  It wasn’t long before she was approached again. This man, at least, was dressed well. He wore a lovely dark gray button-up and black slacks. His face was nicely groomed, and the soft blue of his eyes paired beautifully with his dark hair. “Hello.” He greeted her with an incline of his head.

  Elena narrowed her eyes and did her best to appear confused as she stared at the man’s lips.

  “Something in my teeth?” he asked.

  She did her best to appear even more confused at that, and then she let out a sigh and shook her head. She offered him a strained smile and said, “Lo siento. No hablo inglés.”

  The guy stared at her for a moment, as if contemplating whether or not to believe her, but then he just nodded, mumbled a “sorry” and wandered off.

  Elena had a few moments of merciful peace before she noticed a woman with auburn hair and strikingly bright eyes making her way toward her. She wondered for a moment if she truly was the intended target of the other woman, but given the way those bright eyes were pinned on her, Elena would bet almost anything that she was. While Elena wished that she could avoid come-ons entirely, she did prefer those made by women. She had encountered a few women who had seemed to take on that whole playa persona, but for the most part, Elena had much more respectful encounters with women than she did with men. They typically accepted a “No, thank you” with much more grace and ease than the men did.