by Jae
“Just the fire,” Drew murmured. Her voice rumbled through Annie, since she was lying half on top of Drew, half on top of the comfortable leather couch. Drew combed her fingers through Annie’s hair and traced patterns on Annie’s forehead and cheek with her fingertips.
The gentle touches made Annie close her eyes and snuggle her head more tightly against Drew’s shoulder.
Two weeks before, it had felt strange to have Drew hold her, but now Annie enjoyed lying in Drew’s arms. It was a place where she could let her guard down and be herself.
She buried her nose against Drew’s neck and breathed in the scent of her skin. Mmmhm. In an attempt to feel even more of Drew, she pressed her lips to Drew’s throat.
Drew stretched beneath her, giving Annie more room to maneuver. Her moan made Annie tingle all over.
Annie touched her lips to the soft spot below Drew’s ear and trailed the tip of her nose down to Drew’s chin, where she placed a kiss. With a contented sigh, she laid her cheek back on Drew’s shoulder.
“Who knew you’d turn out to be such a cuddle hound,” Drew said. Her breath tickled the top of Annie’s head.
Certainly not me. Annie tipped her head back and tried to make out Drew’s expression. “Is that okay?”
“Okay?” Drew swooped down and captured Annie’s lips in a deep kiss. “It’s,” she panted against Annie’s lips, “more,” a quick kiss, “than okay.”
Drew’s kisses were more than okay too. Annie wasn’t sure whether Drew was a better kisser or if her feelings just ran deeper than they ever had with Patrick. Maybe it was both.
Just when Annie leaned down to get another kiss, the doorbell rang.
Annie jumped. Her heart slammed against her ribs. Jesus.
Cab, who had dozed next to the couch, raced to the door, barking.
With a groan, Drew climbed out from under Annie. She pecked her on the lips and smoothed a strand of hair behind her ear. “Stay put. I’ll get rid of whoever that is and be right back.”
Annie sat up and listened as Drew opened the door.
“Oh, so at least you’re not dead,” a woman said. “What’s your excuse, then?”
That voice sounded familiar. Annie tilted her head. Was that one of Drew’s friends she had met at the Halloween party?
Cab’s excited whining indicated that he knew the visitor well.
“Excuse?” Drew sounded as dazed as Annie felt.
“We haven’t seen hide nor hair of you in at least three weeks,” another woman said. This one’s voice was gentler and not as deep.
Three weeks? Annie felt her cheeks warm. That’s how long we’ve been together.
“I know, I know,” Drew said. “I was pretty busy with work and everything.”
“Drew, we worry about you,” said the gentler-sounding woman.
The voices moved toward the living room.
Annie smoothed wrinkles out of her clothes, wiped her mouth, and tried to look as if she hadn’t just been kissed breathless.
“We won’t let you retreat from us like you did when—” The large woman who had worn a harem lady’s costume at the Halloween party stepped into the living room and stopped abruptly.
Her smaller wife slammed against her muscular back. “Ouch, Becky, you can’t just stop in the middle of—oh!” She stared at Annie, turned, and slapped Drew’s shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell us you have company?”
“I would have, but I couldn’t get a word in edgewise.” Rubbing her shoulder, Drew rounded the coffee table. She sat next to Annie and wrapped one arm around her. “Girls, you remember Annie?”
“Sure,” Becky said. “Hello, Annie. Nice to see you again.”
“Um, yes. Nice to see you too.” Annie struggled not to blush under the women’s curious gazes. She realized she wasn’t wearing shoes, and her shirt had more wrinkles than Methuselah’s face. She peeked over at Drew.
Her clothes were just as rumpled, and her lips looked as if they had been thoroughly kissed.
Oh God, how embarrassing.
The smaller woman giggled and exchanged a long glance with her wife. “It seems we shouldn’t have worried.”
“No,” Drew said. She brushed the back of her fingers over Annie’s cheek. “No need to worry. I’ve never been better.”
For a second, Annie forgot about the two visitors as she looked into Drew’s eyes.
Someone cleared her throat.
“You could have told us, you know?” Becky said. “We would have been happy for you. We are happy for you.”
“I know,” Drew said. “It’s just that it’s all still pretty new for us, especially for Annie.”
“All right. We’ll leave you two lovebirds alone.” Becky tugged on her wife’s hand.
“Yes.” The smaller woman chuckled and tugged back. “We’re going.”
Becky walked toward the couch and hugged Drew. “Don’t be a stranger. Call us, and we’ll all have dinner together.” Then she pulled back and looked at Annie. Her gaze was soft. After a moment, she leaned down again and hugged Annie too.
Annie stiffened, not used to being hugged, then wrapped her arms around the woman’s broad shoulders and gave her an awkward hug.
“Take good care of her,” Becky whispered.
Annie nodded and drew back, only to be pulled into another hug by Becky’s wife. Dazed, she watched as Drew led them to the door.
“I’m sorry,” Drew said as she returned to the couch. “I didn’t want them to find out this way, but I wasn’t sure if you’re ready to have everyone know about us.”
Annie sank back onto the couch and again cuddled up to Drew. “It’s okay,” she mumbled against Drew’s shoulder. No wonder Drew had hesitated to tell her friends. After that disaster when Lynn had found out, Annie hadn’t been eager to face the rest of the world. Coward. It can’t go on like this forever. Drew will run out of patience with you. She tightened her hold on Drew.
“Hey.” Drew rubbed her shoulder. “Why are you so tense? I hope it was okay that Becky and Sam found out about us.”
Annie consciously settled her shoulders into a more relaxed stance. “It’s fine. They seem like really good friends.”
“They are.” Drew looked her in the eyes. “What is it, then? You would tell me if you weren’t comfortable with this, right?” She trailed her hand down Annie’s back.
Annie rested her hand against Drew’s side. For a moment, she allowed herself to enjoy the warmth and the softness and the hint of firmness beneath. “It’s not that. I promise.” Drew had made sure she was comfortable with the progress of their physical relationship. With Drew, kissing hadn’t instantly led to sex. She gave Annie the freedom to explore, go at her own pace, and enjoy the moment.
“Then what’s making you so tense?” Drew asked. “Everything okay at work?”
“Work’s fine.”
“Did your parents say anything to upset you when you talked to them earlier?”
“No.” Annie looked at her mother’s print of vines in winter that hung next to the Moonstone Beach painting on the wall. She smiled when she remembered how nervous she had been the first time she had set foot in Drew’s house. “Nothing like that. I think they’re trying to be more considerate of my feelings lately. When they invited me over for Christmas dinner, they even asked me to bring you.”
“Christmas dinner at the in-laws’ ...” Drew pretended to shiver in horror. “I’m not sure if I’m ready for that. “
Annie pinched her side. “Maybe you need some convincing.”
“Convincing?” Drew’s eyes glittered.
“Mm-hm.” Annie leaned down and kissed Drew. For a few moments, she forgot about her playful teasing before she remembered and pulled back. “Are you ready now?”
“Oh, yeah.” Drew purred. “I’m ready.”
Annie pinched her again.
“Ouch.” Chuckling, Drew pulled her closer. “All right. It’s not work or your parents. Then what is it? Come on, beautiful.” With her fingernails, she
outlined circles on the small of Annie’s back. “Don’t try to tell me it’s nothing.”
Annie swallowed hard. She had promised herself that she would work on overcoming her tendencies to pretend that everything was fine and she could handle any problem on her own. “It’s about the Christmas party.”
“Too short notice? Sarah couldn’t pencil in one more guest?”
Annie sighed.
Drew slid her hand beneath Annie’s shirt and caressed the skin of her back, distracting Annie for a moment. She bit her lip to stop herself from moaning and forced herself to focus on the conversation. “No, that’s not it.”
“Then what is it?” Drew asked, sounding concerned. “Don’t worry about how your colleagues will take it. I’ll ply them with my best wine, so no one will dare make any homophobic comments.”
“Drew, I ...” Annie buried her head against Drew’s shoulder. “I haven’t asked Sarah yet.”
The crackling and popping of the fire sounded loud in the sudden silence.
Annie squeezed her eyes shut. God, now I’ve hurt her. Why is it so hard for me to ask Sarah? I should be over it by now.
“Don’t worry about it.” Drew’s warm hand stroked up and down Annie’s back. “We’ve been spending every evening together lately. One evening apart won’t kill us. No big deal.”
“Yes,” Annie murmured into Drew’s shoulder, “it is.” Drew sounded sincere, but to Annie, it wasn’t about spending one evening apart. To her, it was a test to prove that she was worthy of Drew’s love—a test that she had failed every day for three weeks. She had wanted to talk to Sarah since Thanksgiving. Every morning, she went to the office, determined to ask the question, and every night, she headed home, angry with herself for postponing the conversation yet again.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself, okay? If you’re not ready this year, there’s always next Christmas. I won’t take it personally.”
“How can you not?”
Drew combed her fingers through the hair on Annie’s temple. “Everything you’re going through, I’ve been through it too. Coming out at twenty wasn’t easy, so I can only imagine how hard it is for you. Be patient with yourself.”
A weight lifted off Annie’s shoulders. She raised herself up on one elbow and looked down at Drew. “Have I told you lately how wonderful you are?”
“Hmm.” Drew directed her gaze to the ceiling and combed her fingers through Annie’s hair again. “Not since I let you win at that fish-eating computer game you like so much.”
“Let me win?” Annie sputtered. “My score was twice—” She stopped when she realized what Drew was trying to do. She reached down and poked Drew in the side. “Stop distracting me.”
“I thought you liked my distractions.” With a single finger, Drew traced a teasing line up Annie’s neck.
Heat shot through Annie at the thought of how Drew had distracted her from paperwork last weekend. Thank God it was winter, so no one had questioned her wearing a turtleneck to work on Monday. She settled her hot cheek back against Drew’s shoulder and whispered, “I do.”
“Good.” Drew pressed a kiss to Annie’s forehead. “About the party ... I mean it, Annie. I know this isn’t easy for you. Taking me to the Christmas party would mean coming out to your colleagues, to your bosses, probably even to the cleaning ladies. If you prefer telling them one by one, I would understand. Cab and I,” she dangled her hand over the edge of the couch and pointed at the dog bed, “would be fine at home while you go to the party. Really.”
Instead of taking the pressure off, Drew’s generous offer did the opposite. Drew deserved better than to sit at home while everyone else brought their significant other to the party. Okay. Annie clenched her hand around the moonstone that she wore on a chain around her neck. Tomorrow I’ll ask Sarah if it’s the last thing I do.
* * *
Annie closed her car door with more force than necessary, stabbed at the button on her key to lock the car, and marched across the parking lot toward the office building like a soldier about to advance into enemy territory. She swung open the entrance door, mentally repeating the well-rehearsed lines she had practiced every morning on the way to work.
She would knock on Sarah’s door, take a moment to put on her most casual expression, and then she would just ask if she could bring Drew. No big deal.
But as she crossed the lobby and walked toward Sarah’s office, her hands started to shake. She made a detour to the kitchen to fortify herself with a cup of coffee first.
One step into the kitchen, she collided with the object of her mission. She caught herself against the wall with one hand while she helped balance Sarah with the other. “I’m sorry. I didn’t see you.”
“Uff. Don’t worry. No fatalities,” Sarah said.
“What are you doing, standing right in front of the kitchen door?”
“Just trying to put some finishing touches on the decorations for tomorrow.” As this year’s appointed organizer of the office Christmas party, Sarah took her duties much more seriously than Virgil had the year before. The office looked more like Santa’s living room than an accounting business. Sarah leaned up on her tiptoes and tried to fix a sprig of greenery above the door but was too short to reach. “Um ... could you ...?”
Annie took over the task and pinned the branch above the doorway.
“Great.” Sarah smiled up at Annie. “Since you helped me, I’ll let you get away without kissing me.”
“Uh ... what?”
Sarah pointed to the sprig above the door. “Mistletoe.” A large grin spread over her face. “Tradition usually says two people who are beneath it have to kiss.”
Images of the increasingly heated kisses she had shared with Drew flashed through Annie’s mind. Blood rushed to her face.
“Okay, okay, don’t have a stroke. I was just kidding.” Sarah lifted both hands as if Annie were about to shoot her. “And before you start shouting at me again, I’m not implying you’re gay.”
Annie squirmed. She still didn’t like the label, but being with Drew made her gay, didn’t it? “Sarah ...” It was now or never. She sucked in a breath and opened her mouth.
One of their colleagues, Virgil, walked by on his way to the copier. He frowned when he saw the mistletoe. “You’d better take that down, Sarah. That’s a sexual harassment complaint just waiting to happen.”
“It’s just for the party,” Sarah said. “I’ll take it down afterwards.” She directed her attention back at Annie.
Annie paused until Virgil walked away.
“You were saying?” Sarah asked.
The well-rehearsed lines were gone. Annie inhaled deeply and closed her hand around the moonstone pendant. “I know it’s short notice, and I know I said I wouldn’t be bringing anyone to the party, and you might not be able to make last-minute changes, but ...” She sucked a breath into oxygen-starved lungs. “I’d like to bring Drew to the Christmas party.”
There. It was out.
Annie steadied herself with one hand against a wall.
“Drew ... the friend who sent you roses, right?”
Of course Sarah would remember that. Annie nodded. “She owns a vineyard, so she could even bring the wine for the party if you haven’t bought it yet.”
“Sure, bring her.” Sarah gave a casual shrug. “The more, the merrier, and no one said you need to bring your significant other. I guess bringing a friend is okay too, especially one that has good wine.”
Friend. Sarah was giving her an easy way out. She could bring Drew to the party without having to come out to her bosses and colleagues.
No. She shook her head at herself. This isn’t about being gay. It’s about standing up for yourself. And for Drew. Finally letting go of the moonstone, Annie squared her shoulders. “She’s more than a friend. She’s my ... my girlfriend. My partner.”
Sarah froze. She stared at Annie for so long that Annie started to squirm.
The noises from the copier stopped.
Uh-oh
. Annie realized she had spoken rather loudly.
With a horde of butterflies in her stomach, she turned and discovered that Virgil was staring at her too.
Sarah rushed over and engulfed Annie in a warm hug.
Annie stood stiffly. Slowly, she raised her arms and put her hands on Sarah’s back.
“Wonderful,” Sarah said. “Congratulations.”
Annie pulled back to stare at her. No teasing? No “I told you so”? No questions invading my privacy? Just congratulations?
After a moment, Sarah let go of Annie and studied her. “I take it that’s a rather recent development?”
Not used to discussing her private life—or having one—Annie just nodded.
“Do you want me to keep it quiet for now?” Sarah asked.
With one glance at Virgil, Annie shook her head. No use. Knowing Virgil and his big mouth, it will be all over the office before lunch anyway.
“Great,” Sarah said. “Then I look forward to meeting Drew at the party tomorrow.”
And so does the rest of the office. Annie tried to smile but failed miserably.
* * *
“This wasn’t here the last time I met with my tax consultant,” Drew said, pointing to a potted palm tree in the lobby.
A lump formed in Annie’s throat. She had never asked before, but now she needed to know. “Who’s your consultant?”
“Mr. Hargrave.”
Great. Annie rubbed her forehead. Virgil.
Drew stopped and turned toward her. “Will dating one of the firm’s clients cause any problems for you?”
“I don’t think so,” Annie said. At least she hoped it wouldn’t be an issue as long as she wasn’t working on Drew’s account. “But please whatever you do,” she lowered her voice to a whisper, “stay away from the mistletoe.”
“Mistletoe?”
Annie pointed upward, to the sprig that dangled over the entrance to the kitchen, where a few of her colleagues were jostling each other to get to the punch bowl.
“Ah.” Drew grinned and shifted the box of wine she was carrying. “Of course. Although the thought of shocking your nerdy colleagues with a hot lesbian kiss is tempting.”
“Oh, you!” Annie pinched Drew’s side but couldn’t help smiling. “Do you want to see my office?” That would give them a minute before they had to face her colleagues, who were mingling in the kitchen, the conference room, and the lobby where a buffet had been set up.
