“I might not be able to stay up all night like in Philly, but I was a fool to think I could have you in my apartment and not touch you,” Kaelee confessed sheepishly.
“Thentouchme. I’m yours now.” Greta reached down to untie her wrap dress, but Kaelee caught her wrist.
“I prefer unwrapping this present myself.”
26Kaelee
Waking up and not being alone in her bed seemed like something that would unsettle her, but as Kaelee opened her eyes to stare at a naked, sleeping woman nestled against her, that wasn’t the emotion that filled her. Kaelee’s arm and leg were tossed over Greta like she was a body pillow, holding her close. Instead of feeling panicked, Kaelee felt languid and comfortable, ready to cancel everything and stay in bed. Kaelee shifted the leg that was pinning her.
“Morning,” Greta said in a sleep-raspy voice.
Kaelee kissed the side of Greta’s neck just under her ear and whispered, “Good morning. I need to shower and get ready, or I’m not going to want to get out of bed at all.”
“Can I use your bathroom first?” Greta asked, looking over her shoulder. The braid she’d put her hair in before bed had started to unravel, so her hair was a chaotic mix of contained and wild. “Then I’ll shower after you.”
“Tea or coffee? I’ll start something so we can have a cup before we leave.” Kaelee balled her hand to keep from undoing the remains of the braid. There was something addictive about grabbing hold of that mass of waves. “I picked up a few types of tea, coffee beans, and a couple types of juice. I could make breakfast if—”
“Just juice. I’d feel guilty working in a café and not buying coffee and a pastry.” Greta scooted out of Kaelee’s arms. “Be right back.”
The apartment rarely felt too big. It was a cramped studio, although Kaelee had a guest room of sorts—the futon—for when Cherie stayed over. This morning, though, it felt too big. Greta walking away for even a few minutes made Kaelee tense. She darted a look at the bathroom door a few times as she made coffee. Generally, she was low-key agitated when Cherie was here, and she was the only regular guest. With Greta, however, agitation was not the emotion rolling through Kaelee.
Kaelee loved that even her cheap coffeepot had an auto-brew function. She concentrated on her routine, pouring a cup of coffee, stopping the machine mid-perc to do so. Fix coffee. Grab shower. Drink now cool coffee. Routines were grounding, and the temptation to ignore her responsibility to stay with Greta made Kaelee well aware that she needed to be grounded just then.
Greta came out of the bathroom, her hair slightly less chaotic now that the braid had been released. “All yours.”
“Thank fuck.” Kaelee walked away from the coffee machine and pulled Greta into her arms.
Greta laughed. “I meant the bathroom.”
“If I had planned ahead, I wouldn’t be busy today, but I told a professor I’d grade for her.” Kaelee pointedly did not name which prof. “I can walk you to the coffee shop nearest when we get to campus and then…”
“Do I know the professor?”
“Yes.” Kaelee kissed Greta quickly and darted away. “I’m not thinking about that,” she called before going into the bathroom. “I’m really not ready to listen to Toni’s thoughts on us.”
After a quick shower, Kaelee downed her now temperate coffee. Greta was sitting at the table looking at her email as if everything were casual and normal. Maybe to her this wasn’t a big deal.
“How often do you spend the night with people you meet at bars or on the app?” Kaelee blurted out.
“Over the last year?”
“Yes.”
“Counting Philly and last night?” Greta stood up and stepped closer.
“Yes.” Kaelee braced herself for the proof that she wasn’t special, that this wasn’t a big deal.
Greta held up one hand. “Four nights in Philly. Plus last night. That’s… five.”
“So only me?”
“Do you want me to include the year before?” Greta asked softly. She paused, holding the same number of fingers up. “Only you. Before that I was with a fiancée, so that was every night.”
“Am I a rebound, then?”
Greta gave her a strange look. “A rebound? Two years and change later? No, not at all. You’re someone I like, someone I care about, someone who woke my heart up after I thought it was irreparably shattered.”
“Oh.”
