The Best Lines

by Nicole Pyland

  “You don’t have to now. I wanted you to know that I think it’s amazing. It’s a part of you that you should share with people.”

  “My parents never thought so,” Ember finally whispered.

  “Why not?” Eva lifted her head.

  “Zack was the star. He was the golden child. By the time they realized I was a little more advanced than the other kids my age, they were so focused on him, I was sort of left behind.” She paused. “I never did well in school.”

  “Because you were bored?” Eva guessed.

  “That and because it never mattered. I actually tried for one semester when I was in the seventh grade. We were doing the most basic algebra equations. Even though I didn’t have to do the work to know the answer, I did it anyway because it was required. So, on every test, I did the work, got the answers, and I got an A. My parents didn’t even notice. Zack had a baseball game the day the report cards came out. I think they honestly might have just tossed mine in the trash.”

  “Ember…”

  “It didn’t seem like there was any reason to try. I knew the material so why did the tests matter? I got Cs mostly and then when I graduated high school, Zack was going pro. I was the only one who could take over the restaurant. I never bothered applying to college. My parents never even asked about it.”

  “That’s terrible. They’ve wasted your potential.”

  “I dealt with it. I like the restaurant, I do.” She looked at Eva and paused because their faces were inches apart and she could zero in on those lips she’d been dying to kiss.

  “You can like the restaurant, Ember, but you don’t want to work there for the rest of your life, and I know it. I think you do too. It’s why you went to that lecture yesterday.”

  Ember pulled back slightly, but not too far because she was enjoying their closeness.

  “You did see me.” She nodded. “You didn’t say anything earlier.”

  “I hoped you would tell me.”

  “I’m sorry. It’s not about you,” Ember breathed out and saw her breath in the cold. “I wasn’t going to go. I had inventory, but I just felt like I should. I wanted to be there. I wanted to learn more. I spoke with the lecturer afterward. She works locally for an insurance company. I asked if she’d be willing to talk to someone who was considering the job. She gave me some recommendations of universities and courses to take and it felt like I was finally doing something.”

  “That’s what you talked to the speaker about?” Ember wondered why Eva was looking down when she asked this.

  “What did you-” Ember stopped and then reached out from under the blanket. She used her hand to lift Eva’s head to look into her eyes. “Did you think I was hitting on her?”

  “She was pretty and obviously smart.”

  “Eva, I wasn’t. I talked to her about the job. I was going to tell you. I’m still getting used to talking about something like this.” She hadn’t let go of Eva’s chin, but Eva hadn’t turned away either.

  “I’m glad you’re pursuing it.”

  “There’s something else I’ve been wanting to pursue too,” Ember revealed and watched Eva’s eyes darken. “I just don’t know if it’s something you want.”

  “Oh,” Eva swallowed.

  “It’s not. That’s okay.” Ember pulled back. She’d been wrong. Eva didn’t think of her like that. She changed the subject hastily. “I went to more classes. Last week, I went to six classes and then more this week. I’ve been enjoying them, but they’re going too slow. I don’t think I can take four years of-”

  Eva’s lips were on hers. Ember’s eyes widened at first, before she recognized that she was being kissed, and she closed them. Eva’s lips were soft and warm. They still tasted a little like the coffee they’d shared on the ride. Ember’s hands slid around Eva’s neck and pulled her in closer. The warmth of her lips and their softness made Ember feel like she was melting in the middle of winter. She wanted more and reached her tongue out to touch Eva’s bottom lip until Eva’s mouth opened for her and she could meet that tongue she’d been imagining in this way for weeks. Eva’s hands went to Ember’s back and Ember wasted no time. She moved and heard the beans in the bag under her shift. She slid herself on top of Eva, which made Ember’s knees touch the wood, but she didn’t feel the cold because Eva’s body was now pressed to her own. Ember’s hand moved to cup Eva’s cheek and then slid down over her sweater between her breasts, over her abdomen until she could slide it back up under her sweater, caressing the warm skin beneath. Eva’s hands were on Ember’s back and under her sweater. Ember noticed their cold touch only for a second before her brain only registered their softness. They remained like that, getting to know one another in a new way for several more moments until there was a sound that made them snap out of it and detach.

  “Eva Rose, you up there?”

  “Oh God!” Eva muttered and covered her mouth with her hand.

  “Is that your mom?” Ember questioned her with a laugh.

  “Yeah, mom,” Eva shouted. Eva’s free hand went to cover Ember’s mouth to stop the laugh. “We’ll be right down.”

  “What are ya’ll doing up there? It’s freezing.”

  “Just showing Ember the tree house.” Eva moved to sit them both up and Ember still had a smile on her face.

  “I think we can say we safely reclaimed the tree house for you.” Ember winked at Eva and Eva gave her a stare.

  “You’re terrible,” Eva insisted and then started making her way down.

  Ember touched her fingers to her still tingling lips and followed behind.

  CHAPTER 11

  “Mom, this is Ember. I was showing her the tree house,” Eva said as they made their way toward the back door where a somewhat plump woman with graying hair waited for them.

  “Why? That old thing’s been there for years. I don’t even let Anna go up there anymore.” Eva’s mother pointed at the wooden structure as her daughter and Ember arrived in front of her. “Hello, honey. How are you?” Her short arms wrapped around Eva and Eva returned the hug. When they pulled apart, the woman looked at Ember. “And Ember, is it? That’s an interesting name. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “You too.” Ember reached out her hand for the woman to shake.

  “Honey, we hug around here,” the woman offered in a slight drawl and then hugged Ember.

  Eva smiled as she watched the two women embrace. Her mother, Gabrielle, seemed a little more comfortable in the hug than Ember.

  “Mom, her full name is November, but she prefers Ember; and Ember, my mom goes by Gabby.”

  “I was waiting for that. I raised you to introduce people properly, Eva Rose.” Gabby wagged a finger at her daughter but offered her a wink and a smile as well.

  “Yes, you did,” Eva said.

  “How was your drive? Your dad’s still over at the house. They’re having some problem with the car.”

  “The car?” Eva asked.

  “Your father and Big Bob-” Gabby started.

  “Robert’s father,” Eva explained to Ember.

  “Let’s get inside. It’s freezing out here.”

  Gabby opened the back screen door, and they walked through, kicking snow off their boots as they did and moved inside the large kitchen. Eva took immediate notice of the massive wood table that resembled a picnic table but was finished properly and offered enough bench seating for their entire family. She’d always liked this table. Due to its size and the size of her family, she could sit on the end of it and hold a book under the table. Her brothers would go on about their days, and her parents would essentially forget that she’d failed to complete her daily farm chores, so she could finish whatever book she was reading or work on her assignments for school. She watched Ember sit on the bench and unlace her boots while Gabby did the same on the other side of the bench.

  “Coffee?”

  “That would be great, mom,” Eva replied and sat next to Ember to remove her own boots.

  Gabby moved to the old-fashion
ed coffee pot, placed the filter inside, grabbed a large Folger’s canister from the counter and dumped a healthy portion of ground beans into the filter.

  “Anyway, those two decided they wanted to restore Big Bob’s old Buick as a wedding gift for the two of them since Robert’s old pickup isn’t doing well and they can’t exactly put the kids in there. The car was working fine yesterday when they test drove it, but now it’s acting up. That’s the car the boys will be decorating tomorrow, and they’ll drive to the hotel for their…” Her words trailed off as she finished pouring the water into the machine.

  “Their wedding night, mom,” Eva finished with a smile while not taking her eyes off Ember.

  “Yes, thank you. I know what I meant,” Gabby retorted. She pressed the button on the machine, and then pulled out three mugs for their coffee. “He’ll be here later to get dressed. I just hope they can fix the damn thing or I’ll never hear the end of it.”

  “I’m sure it will be fine, mom.”

  Gabby sat on the other side of the bench across from the two of them as Ember and Eva swung their legs under the table. “Ember, how did you and Eva meet?”

  “She came into my brother’s bar,” Ember replied purposely leaving out the part about dropping the napkin in Eva’s lap on Valentine’s Day.

  “I was on a break from my classes and just went inside to see if they served lunch,” Eva lied and then glanced in Ember’s direction.

  She hadn’t told her parents that she lost her job. She was hoping she’d line up another one and could tell them then. She knew if she shared the news with them they’d just tell her to move back home or tell her that maybe all that school and all that debt hadn’t been the right choice after all.

  “Well, that’s nice. You two are friends?”

  Eva, unfortunately, did not know how to answer that question now, given what had happened only moments before in the tree house.

  “We’re friends, mom,” Eva told Gabby and hoped Ember would understand why.

  Gabby looked back and forth between the two of them as if trying to verify that statement. Eva heard the coffee begin to dribble down into the pot and wished it would dribble down a little faster, so they could have coffee in front of them. Taking long sips of beverages was a common stall tactic she and most people used when they encountered uncomfortable questions.

  “Good,” Gabby finally said. “Well, I hope you’ll find the guest room okay,” she said to Ember.

  “Oh, it’s great. Thank you for letting me stay here. I really appreciate it.”

  “Of course,” Gabby replied.

  “Mom, what do you need me to do tonight?” Eva asked.

  “Just pay attention at the rehearsal, so you don’t mess it up tomorrow, and then eat the dinner Big Bob and Mary are preparing. I’ll do your final fitting before we go over so if I need to make adjustments, I can do them before the rehearsal and finish up tomorrow morning at the latest. I think you’ll like the dress. It’s red. You look good in red.”

  Eva looked over at Ember who smirked. Eva didn’t know why, but guessed that she was picturing her in something red.

  “I’ve seen a photo, mom. Anna sent it to me. It’s a nice dress.”

  “Coffee’s ready.”

  “I’ll get it, mom.”

  “I’ll help.” Ember stood up with her.

  “Two people to pour coffee?” Gabby stood too. “I’ll grab the dress. We might as well get that part out of the way.” Gabby left the room. “Cream only, Eva.”

  “I remember, mom,” Eva replied and focused her attention on the coffee pot. She poured full mugs and then put the pot back in its place. She felt Ember standing next to her, watching her with those baby blue eyes. “What?” Eva said and laughed.

  Ember moved a piece of Eva’s stray hair behind her ear causing Eva to close her eyes momentarily as she reacted to the touch.

  “You haven’t told your parents about the job,” Ember said.

  “It’s not the right time. Anna’s getting married. I don’t want to steal focus, and they’ll only try to convince me to move back here. I don’t want that kind of attention, and I don’t want to take anything away from Anna this weekend.”

  “You’re a good big sister. What can I do?” she asked.

  “Get the sugar from over there.” She nodded.

  Ember moved to the container near the stove and pulled it over while Eva moved to the fridge to pull out the cream. Eva moved gracefully through the kitchen that she hadn’t been in for years but would always be familiar to her. She made her own coffee and her mother’s coffee just as she liked it and then watched as Ember put her coffee together and made sure to memorize the amount of everything she added because she wanted to get it right in the future.

  “Should we talk about it?” Ember finally asked.

  She put Gabby’s coffee on the table and then moved with her own back to their previously occupied positions. Eva followed. The sides of their bodies touched as they sat slightly closer than they had before.

  “You mean the coffee?” Eva teased.

  “Okay. Here it is. Let’s go.” Gabby walked in carrying a short red dress on a hanger, which was sleeveless and offered a deep V cut in the middle.

  “That looks different than the one she sent me a picture of.” Eva’s eyes remained on the dress.

  “She must have sent you the other one. She’d considered a long one because of the weather, but she and Denise went back to the store and saw this one and fell in love with it. She didn’t ask me or her father how we’d feel about her bridesmaids walking down the aisle in short dresses like this.” Gabby hung the dress on a hook that also had an apron hanging on it. “Let’s go.” She motioned for Eva to stand.

  “I’ll take it to my room.” Eva stood.

  “Try it on here. It’s just us girls. You can stand on the table. I can get measurements if I need too.”

  Eva turned to see Ember nodding with a mischievous grin.

  “Mom, I’ll take it upstairs. You can do whatever you need to it there.”

  “Hush.” She motioned toward Ember.

  “Just us girls,” Ember repeated and nodded.

  “Fine,” Eva said.

  “Let me get my sewing kit.” Gabby bent over and reached down into a drawer of an old-fashioned hutch that was next to the pantry door.

  Eva felt Ember’s eyes on her as she began pulling off her sweatshirt. She tossed it on the bench. Ember picked it up, holding it in her hands. Eva glanced at Ember’s hands and then delivered her own mischievous grin as she realized Ember was actually clutching the sweater rather than merely holding it. She found Ember’s eyes again and pulled off her t-shirt. Her heart was pounding as she watched Ember’s eyes move from her own gray ones down to her breasts covered by her black bra and then back up to her eyes.

  Something was going on because Ember’s smirk had disappeared. Her eyes had darkened with desire, but then lightened almost immediately after Eva noticed the initial change. Eva wondered what had happened. They’d been teasing one another only seconds prior, but Ember’s face showed no signs of the teasing now.

  “Pants too, Eva. Come on. I don’t have all day.”

  “I have to use the bathroom. I’ll be right back.” Ember made her way out of the kitchen.

  “Just down the hall, dear.” Gabby pointed and then placed her sewing kit on the table. “Nice girl.”

  “Yes, she is,” Eva replied and then tried to catch a glimpse of Ember before she entered the bathroom but had missed her chance.

  “Okay, pants. Let’s go, Eva. I said I don’t have all day.”

  Eva stripped down to her underwear and then slid the dress on her body. Gabby stood on the bench seat while Eva took her place on the top of the table. She had a flash to her junior prom when she’d stood on this exact table and done the same thing. Her mother had made her prom dress, and they’d used this setup to ensure it fit properly.

  “I thought you gave me your measurements. This can’t look like t
his tomorrow.”

  “I told you my measurements, mom. I’ve been this tall for about ten years now.”

  “Well, maybe if you came home more often, I’d know just how tall you are,” Gabby fired back and then Eva saw Ember standing in the doorway to the kitchen watching Gabby pin the dress. Eva saw the muscles of Ember’s throat move as she swallowed.

  ◆◆◆

  Ember had to stop her jaw from dropping when she re-entered the kitchen. The bathroom trip wasn’t really necessary. She just needed to get out of that room until Eva was dressed. The kiss they’d shared had gotten her turned on, but even without that, seeing Eva in just a bra and about to take her pants off got her started well enough. She wanted to see more. She wanted to see everything, but she didn’t want it like that. Eva’s mother was in the room, and Eva wasn’t taking her clothes off for Ember. She was doing it to try on a dress. Ember wanted to keep staring, but it was wrong. The situation was wrong, and the first time she’d get to see Eva in the nude, if that ever happened at all, she wanted it to be for her; for the two of them, because they were taking that step together.

  She watched as Eva tried to keep her feet still, but was unable to, and she wondered about how whatever shoes she’d wear would work to accentuate those legs even further. Then, her eyes scrolled up to Eva’s hips. The dress held tightly to them as Ember wanted to do. She considered how ridiculous it was to be jealous of a dress and the fact that it could touch her skin like that. She kept her eyes on that deep V that put Eva’s ample cleavage on more of a display. Ember both enjoyed it and didn’t want her to wear it at the same time, because a dress like that and a body like that meant that all eyes would be on Eva at the wedding. Sure, they’d look at the bride too, but Eva was drop dead gorgeous. Ember couldn’t see how anyone could keep their eyes off her.

  “You’re all done.” Gabby stood up. “Take it off now so I can fix it. Shouldn’t take too long. I’ll have you try it back on after dinner.”

  “Okay.” Eva went to move off the table. Gabby was bent over her sewing kit replacing pins and Ember moved quickly to the edge of the table. She placed her hands-on Eva’s hips and helped lower her to the ground. “Whoa,” Eva said with a smile when she met Ember’s eyes.