Someone cleared their throat behind us, causing me to break away. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Rachel and Daniel come into the kitchen.
“Good morning, you two,” I said, pulling away from Clay so I could get my friends some coffee.
I watched the two of them closely, trying to gauge the current state of their relationship. They didn’t touch or do anything else that indicated a change in the way things were between them. But I just knew. There was a difference in the way they looked at each other. The air around them seemed to crackle with an electricity that I had never noticed before.
I handed Rachel a cup of coffee and raised my eyebrows at her. She looked back at me blandly. “So, how was the rest of your night?” I asked them pointedly.
Daniel propped himself up on a stool and grabbed a croissant. “Fine. Slept like a brick” was all he said.
I looked over at Clay, but he had gone into the other room to straighten up the couch from the night before. Okay, I was going to have to get Rachel alone if I was going to get any answers. “I’ve got to finish packing up my stuff. Rachel, can you come with?” I asked, pulling her by the arm.
Daniel looked over at her for just a moment and it was then that I saw it. The way his gaze rested on Rachel told me everything I needed to know. They had clearly moved through their impasse. And I wanted details!
“I guess,” Rachel said less than enthusiastically. She must have sensed my inner cobra preparing to strike. I led the way up the stairs and I heard Rachel’s gasp as she came into the gigantic room. “This is where you slept? Dear Jesus,” she said, taking it in.
She walked down the stairs into the sunken area with the whirlpool. “I’m feeling a bit gypped,” she joked, before sitting on the edge of the tub. She looked at me and arched her eyebrows.
“Hmm. There’s something different about you,” she told me coyly.
I blushed a deep and furious red. Crap. She was so going to turn this whole chitchat around on me. Damn her! Rachel tapped her chin with her finger thoughtfully.
“Yes, something is definitely different. But I can’t quite put my finger on it.” Rachel cocked her head to the side and then grinned at me deviously.
“You and Clay totally did it!” Rachel squealed.
I rolled my eyes, trying to hide my embarrassment. “Uh, yeah,” I said. My face was on fire! Of course I wanted to share that important piece of information with my best friend. But I felt a little strange talking about it.
“And... how was it?” she prompted. Rachel was notorious for needing the dirty details and I fully intended to disappoint her.
“Well, he had me hanging naked from the rafters for a little while... and then I decided to use the end of my hairbrush and...”
“You’re so ridiculous, Maggie,” Rachel retorted as she cut me off. She pinched my arm. “You aren’t going to tell me anything, are you?” My friend knew me too well.
I shook my head. “Not a thing.” I grinned, crossing my arms over my chest.
Turning the conversation around, I gave her a look. “So, you and Daniel...” I trailed off, hoping she’d fill in the blanks.
Rachel flushed red and turned away from me, which surprised me. Rachel wasn’t one to skimp on information, so her sudden hesitancy to talk threw me. “What happened last night? Did you guys talk?”
Rachel covered her face with her hands and groaned. “Ugh. I don’t know. I guess we worked through some things. We talked,” she said through her fingers.
I reached out and pulled her hands down. “Why are you so embarrassed? That’s not like you. I mean, is everything okay?” I asked, getting a little worried.
And then I saw the huge grin spread across Rachel’s face and I relaxed. She closed her eyes a moment and touched my arm. “We’re more than okay.” Well, that was good. But she still wasn’t explaining much. Rachel must have seen the frustration on my face, because she suddenly laughed.
“Annoying, isn’t it? Wanting to know something and your best friend not giving an inch?” She raised her eyebrows at me knowingly.
“Yeah, yeah. I get your point. Now, just spill it already before I have a litter of kittens, here.” I smacked her hand playfully.
Rachel flopped back on the bed, pulling me down with her so that we lay side by side. She stared up at the vaulted ceiling for a minute before finally answering me. “Well, I was pissed. No, I take that back. I was bordering on a murderous rage when Daniel came in after talking to you.” I snorted, knowing how true her words were. No one could do vengefully angry like Rachel.
“And...” I said, prodding her.
“And... he apologized and I yelled at him some more and he apologized again. And somewhere in the middle of all that he kissed me.” I sat up and looked down at my friend, questioning whether I’d heard her right. I wasn’t expecting Daniel to take that plunge. At least not yet.
“He kissed you? For real?” I asked her, still in disbelief.
Rachel nodded. “Yeah. And it was beautiful, all right? I know what you’re thinking, that I’ll just get hurt. And I told him as much. But we sort of hashed everything out.”
