“From what I remember, you went through the rainbow when we lived together.” She let the hair drop.
“Yeah, I was having a bit of an identity crisis. Or maybe I just can’t make up my mind on what hair color I like.” One shoulder lifted in a shrug.
“The red was good,” I told her. At one point she’d done this darker red that was almost like blood and for some reason it had worked.
“Oh yeah, I liked that too. Maybe I’ll go back to it. What about you? We could do something with yours. Maybe a few streaks, right in front?” I hadn’t touched her hair, but she was touching mine. Tucking a few strands behind my ear and just barely brushing along the edge of it. A caress so light that I might have imagined it. But I hadn’t.
Vail pulled her hand back and set it in her lap. As if she’d done something naughty.
“Sorry,” she said.
“It’s okay.”
She didn’t have to apologize for touching me. She could touch me again if she wanted. She could do a lot of things if she wanted.
Something had shifted between us in the last few seconds. Heat rose between us.
Breathing got a little more challenging as our eyes locked and everything around us, even the kittens twitching in their sleep, faded away.
I almost jumped out of my skin when my phone went off.
“Jesus,” I said, putting my hand on my chest to calm my heart. It was just a message from James, checking in. That clued me in to what time it was and the fact that I had been here for far too long. Again.
“I should probably go.” I scrambled off the couch on legs that weren’t working as well as they should.
“I’ll walk you out,” Vail said, following me to the front door where I’d left my bag and coat and shoes.
“Thanks for dinner. I’m pretty pumped about the leftovers.”
I slid my shoes on and stood up, finding her body closer than I’d anticipated.
“You’re welcome,” I said, my voice breathless. “I’m glad you liked it.”
“It was amazing,” she said, and for some reason I didn’t think she was just talking about the pasta.
“It wasn’t that good,” I mumbled, fishing for my keys that had tumbled to the bottom of my bag.
“It was,” she insisted, making me look up. Her face was inches away from mine and there was a light in her eyes that froze me to the spot.
I couldn’t move, but did I really want to? Not particularly.
“It’s… It’s really good to have you back in my life, Lea,” she said, her voice deep and low in a way that made my spine and the back of my neck tingle. Did she use that voice when she was narrating her books?
“Thanks,” I said, even though that wasn’t the right response. I couldn’t remember what she’d said. Just the way she’d said it.
Vail smiled softly and then did something unexpected: she stepped back, giving me space. Cool air whooshed into my lungs and I wavered a little on my feet.
What was she doing to me? It was ridiculous that her proximity could cause me to completely malfunction.
“I’m gonna go,” I said again, squeezing my keys so hard that they cut into my fingers. I needed to get myself together so I didn’t crash my car leaving her house. That was an embarrassment that I’d never recover from.
“Drive safe, PT,” she said, getting in one last blow by using the nickname.
“You too,” I said before I closed the door. That wasn’t the right response, but it was too late to take it back. My only recourse was to get in my car and leave before I could make an even bigger fool of myself around her.
There were no further incidents as I backed my car out of her driveway and headed back toward the city. I made it home in one piece, but it wasn’t until I was inside my apartment, leaning up against the door, that my heart seemed to slow down.
My phone started going off again and I realized I’d never answered James. Vail had also sent me a picture of the kittens sleeping.
