by Annora Green
Lips still locked, Sophia surrendered as Ari steered her toward a wall, and moments later, she felt her back pressed up against it, her eyes still closed as Ari took a hold of her wrists and gently, so softly, but with confidence, pressed them at shoulder level against the wall. Sophia surrendered to the surprising - but welcome - gesture, shuddering slightly at the sensation of Ari’s firm yet tender strength, and they kissed longer, time standing still. The clock stopped ticking. Nothing mattered except for the two of them, there, at that moment, simply existing.
When the two finally, reluctantly, pulled apart, Ari ran her hands down Sophia’s side. Her fingertip began at her shoulder, tracing a line down her arm, side, and her hip, where she finally, reluctantly, lifted her fingers into the air and brought them back to her own side.
Sophia let out a soft breath right as Ari’s touch lifted, and Ari smiled dreamily. Both fully opened their eyes, at last, the haze in the room that had enveloped them both gradually dissipating into the night.
Sophia’s eyes were wide and brown, still slightly stunned by Ari’s warm reception of her rash, impulsive decision. Her lips parted slightly and she brushed a strand of hair off of her face, holding eye contact with Ari the whole time. The way she moved, the way she melted her back against the wall, her expression dreamlike, it was clear that Sophia desired more.
Ari’s expression, however, was surprisingly nonchalant, as though what had just happened was totally expected, her eyes relaxed and her mouth turned into a slight grin.
Finally, to break the silence that hung in the air after they both recovered, Ari spoke.
“That was...” she started softly.
“I have to go-” Sophia interrupted, her eyes returning to normal, as if she managed to pull herself out of the dream world that they had both accidentally wandered into minutes before.
She turned so that her back was to Ari and delicately wiped her mouth where her red lipstick had smeared slightly.
She walked out of the kitchen.
“I need to go home,” she said firmly, and Ari followed her out into the cafe, where she watched as Sophia put on her coat.
“Okay,” Ari said, standing in the middle of the cafe and watching helplessly as Sophia swung her purse over her shoulder.
Ari pushed her hands into her pockets.
“Goodnight,” Sophia said, giving her a quick, almost silly looking, half-wave.
Sophia left the cafe, the bell on the door rattling slightly in her wake, signaling that the night was over.
6. Family Business
Every time the door chimed the next morning, Ari looked up, expecting a woman in a sleek black pencil skirt, silk blouse, and mile-high heels to walk in. A few times, when she spotted a brunette out of the corner of her eye, her pulse raced a bit, and she would look up and notice it was, alas, not the brunette she wanted to see.
By 9:15, Ari realized that the one individual she hoped to see more than anyone else was not going to stop in. At least not that morning. Sophia usually came in for her morning coffee and beelined towards her work well before 9. Ari’s stomach sank, disappointed.
Yet she was not surprised.
After all - as she had reasoned most of the night and early into the morning when she finally got up after a less-than-restful sleep - there could not be any way that the woman had been into what had happened last night. Their connection had been an impulse, a whim, a momentary thing, and it had probably already dissipated. Or, perhaps, there had not even been a connection at all. Maybe Ari had just imagined the spark.
It had been a weird, wonderful, awkward, amazing moment... that evaporated as quickly as it had materialized.
It was not like Ari could figure it out, anyways. The attraction. Well, okay, fine. She sort of understood it. She understood that she was attracted to the woman. Something about the way Sophia held herself. She was confident, smart, successful, stern, maddening... yeah, the whole package, basically. She had a few drawbacks - Rachel was right, she could be harsh and difficult - but she had other assets.
Shedefinitely had other assets.
By the mid-morning lull, sometime around 10:30, well after Ari had given up any thought that she would be seeing Sophia that day, the front door opened and in she walked.
Sophia was wearing a simple grey sheath dress and a sophisticated black trench coat with conservative heels. No tight pencil skirt or killer heels today, but the way she was carrying herself - focused and serious and confident and, well, enchanting - Ari struggled not to stare.
“The usual?” Ari asked casually as Sophia reached the counter.
Ari desperately wanted the interaction to be normal. She wanted to give Sophia a chance to see that things could be fine between them. Relaxed. They never needed to acknowledge...anything. Not if she did not want to.
It was not like Ari was not experienced in this domain, after all. She had had plenty of little, frivolous flings in her day. Stolen kisses or heated touches that had seemed like a good idea at the moment but, later, were simply not meant to be.
“Yes, thank you,” Sophia replied simply, not meeting Ari’s eyes.
Ari got to work making her Americano. She watched Sophia out of her peripheral vision as she worked. Sophia was, in typical Sophia fashion, glued to her phone as she waited.
Ari was paranoid that the woman would dash away again like a skittish cat in the night. Who knows when she would reappear if she did that. However, when she searched her mind for things to say, she could not think of anything that might be remotely charming or alluring. Mid-day in the cafe after a busy morning with a brain that had not had much sleep the night before was not exactly a prime moment for her to come up with clever conversation.
So, Ari tried as hard as she could to act normal. Just make the coffee, pour it into the paper cup, put a lid on it, a sleeve, and...
When she set it down on the counter, Sophia had the exact change ready and waiting.
“It’s complimentary,” Ari said.
Sophia pushed the money toward her. “I insist.”
Ari shook her head in defeat, and took the money. “Have a good day Sophia.”
“You too, Ms. Little.”
So. They were back to that Ms. Little thing.
Ari dropped the cash Sophia had paid her into the tip jar for Rachel and Athena to split up at the end of the day. Then, she began zealously wiping down the counter around the espresso machine, where there were tons of tiny coffee grounds that had spilled that morning.
“That was weird,” Rachel commented as she put a tray of raspberry-lemon muffins into the refrigerated case near the cash register, stocking up before the lunch crowds began.
“It was nothing,” Ari grumbled.
“No banter? Quippy remarks? What’s going on with you two? You act like...” Rachel stopped, studied Ari, who started to focus even harder on gathering up every last one of the pesky coffee grounds.
“No,” she said quietly, her jaw dropping open. “Did... you two... did something happen?”
“Sssh,” Ari hissed, scowling.
“It did,” Rachel said in an incredulous whisper. “What... why?! And when?”
“Keep it down,” Ari whispered, and then steered a half-surprised, half-laughing Rachel into the back.
“Seriously? With her?” Rachel asked, her eyes wide.
“I don’t really want to talk about it. You’re just gonna judge.”
“Oh come on. I am not. The woman might be a royal pain in the ass, but look at her... well, ass. I can’t really hold it against you. Plus, she designs lingerie. That’s kinda hot, my friend.”
Ari did not respond to that.
“So what happened?” Rachel prodded again.
Ari sighed, defeated. “She came in yesterday, complaining about the strawberry turnovers, and she offered to show me how she makes her family’s vastly superior turnover recipe. Then she came back last night, after closing, and we baked and talked. It was nice. Friendly.”
“You bake
d together,” Rachel teased. “What a nice little domestic scene from a romantic comedy you two must have made.”
Ari cringed. “Well, when you say it like that, it sounds really lame. But it was actually pretty interesting. She made a great batch of turnovers. And then, well...”
Rachel raised her eyebrows. “Wow. Wait, here? On the-”
Ari held up a hand. “No, not that. Nothing happened. Nothing... much.Notthat much.”
Rachel leaned against the counter and laughed. “Fine, but how long until it does?”
“Not really any of your business, is it?” Ari muttered.
“It’s not, but... you don’t seem overly happy about it. Did she have second thoughts or something?” Rachel pressed.
Ari shook her head and crossed her arms, her eyes darting to the door where Sophia had left a few minutes ago. “I dunno. She seemed... eager to escape. And, well, she came in just now, which is good, but based on the way she just acted, she clearly wants to ignore that anything ever happened. I don’t know what to do next. If anything.”
Rachel nodded sympathetically. “Give it a day or two. Let it settle in, then go back to her and suggest you two go out somewhere, away from work, so you can talk.”
Ari nodded, then glanced out towards the cafe.
“Speaking of work, we’ve gotta get back out there,” Ari said, snapping back into boss mode. “The lunch crowd’s going to start soon.”
¨°¨
Ari was distracted the rest of the day. She screwed up three orders, which were three more than she normally got wrong. Luckily, Rachel was the world’s best employee and picked up some of the slack while Ari plodded through the remainder of the day.
Sophia came in the next morning, and their interaction was similar. The following day would be Saturday, and Ari was not sure Sophia would be in again until Monday. Too antsy to wait a few more days, Ari decided to go over to FORBIDDEN and see if she could invite her out for a bite to eat on the weekend. Nothing too threatening - lunch, maybe, or even just a drink - and she would make it clear that they could go as friends. She just wanted to clear the air.
On Friday night, she asked Athena to close up so she could do something rare: leave early.
When Ari stepped into Sophia’s shop, she saw that the merchandise had changed over, and the decor was fresh and pretty. There were little pots of grass and orchids set throughout the store. It looked brighter than usual.
“Good evening,” a man wearing a suit and a narrow tie said as Ari stepped in. She had seen the man stop in The Little Cafe a few times. Seth, she thought his name was.
“Can I help you find anything?” he asked.
“Actually, I was just wondering if Sophia’s still around?”
“She’s upstairs, but her sister dropped by, so it might not be the best-”
As he spoke, Ari heard voices in the stairs. There was the sound of a shrill, almost sickly-sweet voice of a woman mixed with the familiar, lower, and much more even-toned sound of Sophia speaking.
“But you have to come this weekend, it’s my bridal shower luncheon. And then after that I hope you’re planning my bachelorette weekend. You do know my wedding is coming up, and you are my maid of honor-” the high-pitched woman giggled, “-and so you must plan something truly wicked for my last weekend as a single woman.”
“I highly doubt it will be your last weekend ever as a single woman,” Sophia grumbled.
The woman clutched her heart as they reached the bottom of the stairs, her mouth popping open dramatically. “How utterly unromantic and sad for you that you think that’s how all marriages go, doomed for failure. Not all of our love lives follow your dismal patterns, sis.”
“I’m not the one who is on my third marriage, Sabrina,” Sophia said, a hand on her hip.
“Oh, those were just to test the waters. This one is for real,” Sabrina said, waving the comment off.
Sophia rolled her eyes. “Right. Well, this is also bridal shower luncheon number three, and bachelorette weekend number four...”
“Four?” Sabrina asked.
“Don’t you remember? When you were going to run off and elope with... whatshisface... you made us throw you a bachelorette party before you left. And then you met the person who actually ended up as husband number one that night.”
“Oh, yes,” Sabrina said wistfully. “Those were simpler times...”
“I really don’t have time to go to your bridal shower this weekend. Sabrina, I hardly see Percy as it is,” Sophia said.
“And whose fault is that? You’re the one working all of the time. I can’t control the 52 weekends a year you do that. All I am asking for is one weekend.”
“Working is productive. Sitting around with obscure relatives watching you get more gifts you don’t need is not.”
Sabrina scowled. “Come this weekend, or I’ll get mother involved. And you and I both know you don’t want to endure a painful call from our mother.”
Ari, who was pretending to look through a row of short silk robes, cringed as she heard Sabrina speak to Sophia. Sabrina was clearly a real piece of work. She did not have siblings, but if she did... ugh. She did not think anyone deserved to have a sister who was so rude.
She guessed the brash, abrasive nature ran in the family. A few months ago, she could not have imagined someone more abrasive than Sophia. But this auburn-haired woman was a serious contender.
“Fine,” Sophia conceded. “I’ll do it. But under one condition: this is the last time. The last shower luncheon I’ll attend, the last bachelorette party I’ll plan, and the last wedding of yours I’ll ever be at!”
“Honestly, sis, it’s sad you’re not more of a romantic. You won’t need to attend any more, because this will be my last wedding. William and I will have beautiful children, with little green eyes like mine and blonde curls like his...”
“Spare me the details. Let’s take it one step at a time,” Sophia interrupted.
“Oh, and don’t forget, you still need to find a date for my wedding. Time’s running out, sis! Let me know if you want me to give cousin Phil a call,” she laughed to herself as she was distracted by emerald green silk slips on a table. She delicately held one up.
“I quite like this, sis. Not bad,” she said.
Sophia watched her warily.
“80 dollars,” she said.
“This would be the perfect gift for you to give me for my bridal shower, then,” Sabrina grinned.
“Maybe,” Sophia said.
“Be a dear and wrap it up, won’t you?” she carried it to the desk.
“I haven’t decided if I’m going to give you that yet,” Sophia said through gritted teeth.
“Oh, that’s all right. Everyone knows you aren’t good at making decisions, so I’ll make one for you. You are giving me this, and I’ll take it with me today. William should enjoy getting a preview of what the wedding night will be like...”
Ari cringed as she pretended to study the sleeve of a floral-patterned robe. What was up with this woman?
Sophia silently took the silk slip and wrapped it in black tissue and placed it in one of her crisp white paper shopping bags.
Sabrina giggled as Sophia handed it to her. “Lovely. Thank you ever so much. I’ll see you this weekend at mummy’s house.”
The awful woman finally left the shop.
After she had gone, Sophia let out an audible sigh of relief.
“Dreadful woman,” Seth muttered.
“Tell me about it,” Sophia said, pulling a bottle of water out from underneath the counter and taking a sip.
“What was that she was saying about your cousin Phil?” Seth asked.
Sophia shook her head. “She likes to tease me about it. It’s stupid. He’s not really my - our - cousin. He might be a distant relative, tough to say. He’s this man who is in his, I don’t know, late 40s, lives at home, twice divorced, he’s odd and we used to make fun of him when we were kids. She always threatens to make me go out with him. Finds
it hilarious, for whatever reason.”
“She’s a real piece of work,” Seth said, shaking his head.
Sophia cleared her throat, turning her attention to the blonde who had tried to make herself invisible in the far corner of the store while she was talking to her sister.
“Ms. Little. We’re closing soon. Can I help you find something?” Sophia said, a bit of the usual edge missing in her voice.
Ari stopped looking through the robes. That damn “Ms. Little” thing again. Like nothing at all had happened between them.
She took a breath. “I just dropped in to...”
Her voice trailed off as she glanced towards Seth, who was looking at her and listening closely.
Sophia caught her drift.
“Seth, I just remembered there are a few parcels that I need to drop off at the post office on my way home. Would you mind running upstairs and getting them off my desk?” she asked him, smiling a little too widely.
He nodded. “Of course.”
After they waited for Seth to disappear upstairs, Ari stepped closer to Sophia.
“I wanted to know if you’d have a little time this weekend to go somewhere and talk. For lunch, coffee, a drink, whatever. As friends.”
“Well, as you heard, I have a social engagement this weekend. Between that, and work, and Percy, I don’t know if I will have any spare time.”
Ari nodded sympathetically. “Sure, but-”
Sophia interrupted her, continuing. “You can be certain, however, that I will have time to go out for a drink after my sister’s dreadful shower/bridal lunch/whatever it is on Saturday. I like to go to a place called Alice’s. It’s on the coast. And should you also happen to be there, on Saturday, at around 5, for a drink... you’d be more than welcome to join me.”
“That sounds like a plan,” Ari said, surprised.
She had been prepared to have to convince Sophia a little more than that.
“Good. I’ll text you an hour or so before I leave. Perhaps I will see you then, Ms. Little.”
