Love at Last Call

by M. Ullrich

  Lauren let out a strangled laugh, her grip on Berit’s hand tightening. “My reasons for that are pretty shallow.”

  “Tell me,” Berit said, gently encouraging Lauren to open up.

  “You saw her. She’s way out of my league, and I couldn’t understand what she ever saw in me. I was a sucker for the validation having her on my arm gave me.”

  “But she seems pretty terrible on the inside.”

  “Like I said, shallow.” Lauren turned on her side and buried her face in her pillow. “I can’t believe I just admitted that to you,” she said in a small, muffled voice. “I’ve never told anyone that. I always used the excuse of taking her back because I loved her.”

  “Did you love her?” Berit’s voice came out louder, more earnest than before.

  “I was madly in love with the version of Rebecca I forced myself to see, but that faded quickly. The love we felt, what I felt, was never real.”

  “Are you with me for shallow reasons?”

  “No.” Lauren gasped at the touch of Berit’s fingertip along her inner thigh. “You know how beautiful and sexy you are, and you also know we would’ve been in bed after you served me that first night if I was in this for shallow reasons.” Berit’s smile crackled to life in her ear. Berit toyed with the curls at the apex of Lauren’s thighs before spreading her open and rubbing along her growing wetness. Lauren moaned.

  Berit grazed Lauren’s ear with her teeth. “Is that so?” she said in a purr. She slid her middle finger into Lauren slowly, too slowly, before bottoming out with her palm pressed against Lauren’s clit.

  “Yesss,” Lauren hissed. “I won’t do that again. I deserve more.” She was trying to stay of sound mind, but Berit felt so good.

  Berit pulled back and looked down at her with shining eyes. “You do, and don’t you forget it.” Berit kissed her deeply, her tongue mimicking the way her finger moved and explored Lauren’s depths.

  Lauren’s feelings for Berit were anything but shallow. She gripped Berit’s slender hips as her pleasure began to mount. Real feelings were scary, but Lauren’s heart was finally ready to welcome them.

  * * *

  Lauren watched Lou approach her slowly toward the end of her shift. The night had flown by, groups of women coming and going faster than Lauren could keep track of. She had already engaged with nearly every patron who walked into the Dollhouse. She hadn’t gotten much sleep, but she felt energized and knew the smile on her face told a story.

  “Hey, Lou,” she said loudly, straining to be heard over the music and chatter in the bar. “Busy night.”

  “Saturdays usually are.” Lou looked her up and down, a knowing smirk on her lips. “You look happy. Safe to assume everything between you and Berit worked out for the best?”

  Lauren’s cheeks warmed. “I think so.” She focused on collecting tips from the bar and checking the glasses lined up in front of her for any refills. Each action had become second nature. “We’re good.” Lauren could barely contain her smile at just how good they were.

  “I can tell. Ready to start closing up?” Lou switched on the last call light. “I’m happy for you and my sister. I think you’re a good match,” Lou said. She didn’t add another word on the matter and went back to work.

  Together, they took several more drink orders. Lauren filled the ones she knew and handed the more complex drinks over to Lou. Her confidence behind the bar had grown substantially. She mixed up martinis and mojitos with precision, and even managed to perfect the Tom Collins and Manhattan. She’d never bothered to try those drinks in her life, but she now crafted them with ease.

  “Will you run to the stockroom and grab me a bottle of José Cuervo and a bottle of Jack?” Lou called out over her shoulder to Lauren.

  “You got it.” Lauren wiped her hands on a towel she kept with her, a tip she’d learned from watching Berit, and tossed it onto the back counter. She marched toward the back while repeating Lou’s order to herself over and over. She walked past Berit’s office, startled when Berit reached out and pulled her in. She pinned Lauren to the wall next to the door and kissed her deeply before she had the chance to register anything else.

  Berit pulled back and breathed heavily. “Hi.”

  “Hi.” Lauren felt her way up Berit’s loose black T-shirt. She traced the underside of Berit’s ribs lightly and laughed when Berit jumped from a tickle.

  “I didn’t think this would be so hard.”

  “What?” Lauren gave Berit’s sides a squeeze before touching her face. She ran her thumbs along Berit’s cheekbones and over her plump lips. “What’s so hard?”

  “Not being with you while being around you. I always want to be touching you,” Berit said while gripping Lauren’s ass. “I want to talk and learn more about you.”

  Lauren’s heart melted. “Unfortunately, I was on my way back to grab a few things from the stockroom. Maybe we could steal a few hours after work?”

  Berit’s hot gaze turned apologetic. “Some of the girls are hanging around for a few drinks after lockup. Join us?”

  “Of course.” Lauren moved forward for a kiss but held back a second to relish the warmth of Berit’s mouth near hers. “I can’t promise I’ll keep my hands to myself.”

  “I’d hate that kind of promise.” Berit bit at Lauren’s lower lip. “If you’re worried about the staff knowing about us, don’t be. They’ll be cool. I know it.”

  “I’ll follow your lead. One request, though.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Will you make a drink for me?”

  “Anything you want.”

  “I’ve mixed about twenty mojitos tonight and now I want one,” Lauren said with a salacious smirk.

  Berit pressed into her body. “Top, bottom, or switch?”

  Lauren’s hips had a mind of their own as she ground her pelvis into Berit. “You already know the answer to that.” Lauren indulged in one last, long kiss before pushing Berit away. “Let me get those bottles for Lou.” Lauren sauntered away, trying her best to ignore Berit’s low comments about what she’d rather be doing with Lauren.

  An hour later, Lauren sat with Bellamy, Lou, and Monica around a small table and laughed with drinks in hand. She loved listening to tales from the Dollhouse. The bar had seen its fair share of shenanigans over the years. “For some reason, brief nudity doesn’t shock me around here,” Lauren said before sipping her mojito. The subtle peach flavor settled on the back of her tongue.

  Bellamy held up her hand. “This wasn’t brief nudity. The woman walked out of the restroom with her skirt pushed up around her waist. Completely commando.”

  Lauren looked at Monica, who was red in the face and had tears in her eyes. “Drunk or promiscuous?” Her question was met with more laughter.

  “A combination of both,” Bellamy said confidently. “A stone butch walked out right before her and was wearing a huge shit-eating grin. I think that woman was drunk and fucked senseless. The last thing she was thinking about was her skirt.”

  “Does that happen often? Sex in the bathroom?” Lauren tried to feign innocence as she drank, but her mind was alive with pictures of Berit taking her against the stall. She shivered when Berit tangled her long fingers into the back of her hair.

  “We catch people fairly often,” Monica said, “but more often than not we just let them be. As long as they’re not breaking anything, making a mess, or keeping other people from using the bathroom, who am I to stop two people from getting some?” She downed the rest of her beer and started to twirl her long blond ponytail.

  “Fair point,” Berit chimed in, clinking her beer bottle against Monica’s.

  “So, Lauren, I hear you’re from England,” Lou said.

  Lauren wasn’t expecting this turn of conversation. She wasn’t always comfortable being the center of attention. “Yes, uh, Birmingham to be exact.”

  “Really?” Monica sat up straighter. “How long have you lived in America?”

  “My family moved here when I was
six. Now it’s just me and my mum.” Lauren made sure her accent grew thick, knowing it made Berit’s knees weak. “My parents divorced when I was twenty, my dad went back to England and my brother followed.”

  “That must’ve been hard for you,” Bellamy said sympathetically.

  Lauren shook her head. “Not really. I was an adult and had established so much of my life by then, and I was always a little closer to my mum than my dad. I love him, and our relationship is good, but my mum and I have always been like friends.”

  Lou leaned on her elbows and asked, “Do you ever think about going back?”

  “Only for vacations.”

  “Do you miss it?”

  “No,” Lauren said with certainty. “I’m American. I love this country and its people, even when they’re not at their best.” Everyone laughed. “I do miss one thing about England.”

  “What’s that?” Berit said.

  “They have beautiful botanical gardens. We spent a good portion of every summer exploring them all. I guess I miss that time more than the actual gardens, although being surrounded by so much greenery and color was spectacular.”

  “I’m happy you’re here.” Berit held Lauren’s gaze. Her eyes seemed a darker shade of hazel in the dim lighting.

  “Me too,” Lauren said quietly, intimately.

  Monica and Lou went on to talk about their favorite flowers and the power a perfectly crafted floral arrangement held. Lauren heard bits and pieces of the conversation, but her attention was mostly on the way Berit’s fingertips teased the nape of her neck. Berit’s arm was around the back of her chair so casually, Lauren felt at home. She closed her eyes for a moment, relishing the therapeutic touch, and when she reopened them, she realized they had an audience. She had hoped the other women would let her and Berit’s closeness go unacknowledged, but Bellamy had other ideas.

  Bellamy watched Berit and Lauren over the rim of her tumbler glass. She drank straight whiskey, a drink Lauren thought suited her perfectly. “This is new.” She pointed to the cozy couple.

  Lauren felt worried embarrassment. She considered Bellamy’s past with Berit and grew concerned their connection was more than an innocent hookup on Bellamy’s part, but Bellamy’s smile soothed her apprehension.

  “Is this her?” Bellamy said directly to Berit with a tilt of her glass toward Lauren.

  Berit nodded shyly. “This is her.”

  “Her who?” Lauren felt like she’d been shut out of some exclusive joke.

  “Berit told me she had someone on her mind.” Bellamy took a long sip of her whiskey, her eyes never wavering from Lauren. “I’m happy it’s you.”

  Lauren was shocked to see Berit blushing. “I was on your mind?”

  “You always are,” she said in a whisper so the sentiment remained between them. “And have been for a while.”

  “I thought something was up the other night. You guys are so cute,” Monica said.

  Lou added a gag. “And disgusting.”

  “We should call it a night,” Bellamy said as she tossed back the rest of her drink. “Leave these lovebirds alone.”

  Lauren was disappointed. They’d been having so much fun. It’d been a long time since Lauren felt like she was part of a group. “Really? It’s still so early.” Lauren checked her watch and her eyes nearly bulged when she noticed it was closer to four in the morning than she thought.

  “Time flies with us,” Lou said with a wink. She stood and stretched.

  “Good night,” Berit said from where she remained seated. “I can’t wait to do it all again tomorrow.”

  Lauren followed Berit’s lead and made no move to get up and leave. “Good night, everyone.” Lauren watched as they all placed their glasses in the dishwasher and filed out the back. She looked back to Berit just in time to catch her hazel eyes on her. “You really told Bellamy about me?”

  “Not in so many words,” Berit said. “She knew I had feelings for someone. We were planning on spending the night together, but I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

  Lauren held her hand up. “Wait.”

  “I know. I’m sure that’s not the detail you wanted to hear. I’m sorry for that.”

  “No, that doesn’t bother me.” Lauren almost laughed at the confusion on Berit’s face. “I’m trying to understand this. You were with Bellamy—gorgeous, sexy Bellamy, and you couldn’t stop thinking about me?”

  “You shouldn’t sound so surprised. Instead of Bellamy, I was thinking about gorgeous, sexy you.”

  Lauren snorted.

  “Stop that,” Berit said as she gently ran her fingers through Lauren’s hair. “Believe me when I tell you you’re incredible to me, inside and out.”

  Lauren felt her emotions swell. She wanted to cry because of Berit’s kindness, while her body ignited at Berit’s touch. She stood and threw her leg over Berit, lowering herself to straddle her. Lauren poured every emotion she felt into a kiss because the words were too scary to say aloud. She pulled back and said, “I think you’re pretty incredible, too.”

  Berit caressed and massaged Lauren’s thighs before moving up to her lower back. She pulled Lauren’s body flush against hers. “Stay with me tonight,” Berit said breathily.

  “I can’t.” Lauren’s tone was filled with dismay. “I have so much to do at home.” She wished she could avoid her house forever, but she hadn’t seen Jorge in over a week, and her laundry had been piling up. If she didn’t check in soon, who knew what she’d go home to next.

  “You can go home early in the morning.” Berit felt under the hem of Lauren’s navy tank top and skimmed the plane of her back.

  Lauren smiled against Berit’s mouth. “You know that won’t happen.”

  “Go out with me tomorrow night instead, then. I already know you don’t have work.” Berit kissed Lauren again.

  Lauren was losing the war against Berit’s persuasion. “Okay.” Suddenly, Berit lifted her and placed her onto the table. Lauren was very surprised by Berit’s leg strength.

  “Tomorrow night we’ll go on a date, but I need a small taste before then.” Berit unbuttoned and removed Lauren’s jeans.

  “What if someone comes back?” Lauren’s concern was only halfhearted as she spread her legs willingly for Berit.

  “They won’t. Trust me.” Berit wiggled her eyebrows and licked her lips.

  Lauren felt Berit’s tongue tease her inner thighs before diving into her. The last thing Lauren saw before losing herself to pleasure was the rainbow of colors behind the bar. The sight was beautiful, but nothing in comparison to the woman between her legs.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Berit blew into her hand to check her breath and second-guessed the action immediately. She laughed and rolled her eyes at herself. After popping a mint in her mouth, she rang Lauren’s doorbell. They had agreed to a six o’clock date, but Berit showed up twenty minutes early thanks to the nervous excitement building in her. She straightened her light green button-up and ran her damp palms along her slim, dark jeans. Berit didn’t know why her nerves were kicking in now, but she guessed it had an awful lot to do with the woman leaving her to wait on the doorstep.

  The door cracked open a fraction. “Can I help you?” a deep voice said.

  “Hey, hi, is Lauren around?” The door opened an inch more. Berit saw a chubby man’s face clearly now. “I’m Berit. You must be Jorge.” She held out her hand.

  He smiled. “I hope you’ve only heard good things.” Jorge ushered Berit inside. She surveyed her surroundings, noting the general disarray of the space. A woman stood with her back to Berit, searching through the cabinets with a huff. “I’m embarrassed to admit, Lauren hasn’t told me much about you, but she’s also not around much.” Berit looked to her left and recognized Rebecca, sprawled across the couch channel-surfing. “I guess you’re the one responsible for her working so much.”

  “She works full-time just as she would at any other job.” Berit’s attention was still on Lauren’s ex-girlfriend, when the
woman in the kitchen grew louder.

  “Why do we never have snacks around here? Has Lauren even bothered to go to the store recently?” Her voice sounded entitled. Berit despised entitled people. “She’s off all day now.”

  “Briana, babe, come here and meet Lauren’s boss—girlfriend.” Jorge looked at Berit with a question twinkling in his dark eyes. “Boss and girlfriend?”

  “I’m here as her girlfriend tonight, so let’s just stick with that.” Where is Lauren?

  Briana peeled herself away from the empty cabinets, shuffling in her oversized sweats to where Berit stood with Jorge in the hall separating the living room from the kitchen. “You must be Bridget.”

  “My name’s Berit,” she said evenly in spite of her growing frustration.

  “Oh.” Briana seemed clueless and nearly lost. Like she had to count the facts in front of her on her fingers. “But Rebecca told me your name was—”

  “Nice to see you again.” Rebecca appeared at Berit’s side.

  Berit hardly spared her a glance. “Hi, Rebecca. Could someone direct me to Lauren’s room? I’d like to tell her I’m here.”

  “I’ll tell her,” Rebecca said, sauntering off toward the back of the house and letting herself into a closed room. Berit took a deep breath to calm herself, her nostrils flaring widely.

  Jorge clapped Berit’s shoulder, and she swayed slightly from the force. “Can I get you something to drink while you wait? Could be a while. Women, am I right?” His full cheeks grew with a smile.

  Berit reminded herself this guy was Lauren’s friend before answering. “I think it’s flattering to know a woman is taking her time getting ready to see me.” Against her better judgment and control, she shot a quick glance at Briana in her sweats. “There’s something sexy and respectful about the person I’m with making an effort.” These people brought out the worst in her. “I’m actually going to wait in the car. Just let Lauren know I’m here.” Without another word, Berit left the house and nearly ran for her Jeep. She leaned back against the passenger side door and waited. Her mind was running a mile a minute with all she’d witnessed and experienced in the short five minutes she’d been in Lauren’s home.