Jules hung up her coat and tossed her bag on the bed before pulling the curtain to hide it. She spent the next ten minutes or so straightening up since she had company coming over. Then she settled on the couch with a bottle of water and her tablet to read until they got here. About an hour later, the buzzer rang.
Jules hopped up to buzz them in, and a minute later, she pulled the door open to invite Eve and Josie into her apartment. Eve had on a slinky black dress, her brown hair pulled back in a neat twist. Josie wore black pants, a silver top, and more makeup than Jules was used to seeing on her. “Wow, you guys look super fancy tonight.”
“We were at an art exhibition at the Met,” Josie told her. “Eve’s turning me into an amateur art connoisseur.”
“I’m not sure that’s a thing,” Eve said, giving her girlfriend a faux exasperated look.
“It’smything,” Josie countered. “Oh, and we come bearing wine.” She held up a bottle with a shiny blue label.
Jules felt her brow scrunch. She’d only invited them over to see the cats. It hardly called for a hostess gift. “Uh, thanks? I didn’t…”
Josie laughed at her confusion. “We won it in a raffle, and since I own a bar, the last thing I need is more wine, but I thought we could drink it while we play with the kitties, if you like.” Josie’s smile widened. “Oh, hey, sweetie!” She dropped to her knees as Pippin trotted up to her.
“It’s really good wine,” Eve said as she took the bottle from Josie and handed it to Jules.
“Well, in that case, how can I say no?” Jules brought the bottle into the kitchen to get her corkscrew. Once she had it open, she poured three glasses. She carried two into the living room, where Josie now sat in the middle of the floor with Pippin in her lap, talking nonsense at him while she rubbed him under his chin. Eve sat on the couch, watching her in idle amusement.
Jules handed a glass to each of them and went back for her own. She sat in the oversized chair across from the couch, tucking her feet under herself. “Phantom’s probably under my bed. He hides when people come to the door.”
“Well, he’d better get out here and say hello,” Josie said jokingly as she sipped wine while petting Pippin.
“I would say I can’t believe how big they’ve gotten,” Eve commented. “But I can, because mine are just as big.”
“They’ve come a long way since you pulled them out of that trash can.” Jules sipped her own wine, its rich flavor exploding on her tongue. She didn’t drink much red wine, but… “Wow, this is seriously good wine.”
“Told you,” Eve said with a nod.
“They were serving it by the glass at the event,” Josie said. “This is not our first glass of the night.” She let out a slightly tipsy laugh. “So, how are things going with the play?”
“Good,” Jules answered. “Great, really.”
“Oh, here he is,” Josie exclaimed as Phantom darted into the room, flopping belly up a few feet away from her. She leaned over to give him a quick pet.
“Aw, he definitely remembers you,” Jules told her. “He doesn’t do that for any of my other visitors.”
“Of course you remember me, don’t you, sweetie?” Josie cooed over the black cat, and he batted at her playfully with his paws as she rubbed him.
Eve turned to pet Pippin, who had hopped up beside her, affection in her eyes.
“You and Sophie sure looked cozy last night at Dragonfly,” Josie said, giving Jules a sly look. “Anything happening there, or are you just friends?”
Well, here was the opening Jules had been looking for. Instead of taking it, though, she took a rather large gulp of her wine and choked on it.
“I think that’s a yes,” Eve said knowingly.
“It’s an…I have no idea what I’m doing,” Jules said, still spluttering from the wine.
“Well, tell us what’s going on, and maybe we can help,” Josie said from her position on the floor, rubbing Phantom as she sipped her wine.
“We kissed yesterday,” Jules said. “I mean, I had to kiss another actress onstage, for the show. But Sophie helped me with sort of a…practice kiss in my dressing room beforehand.”
“Ooh, do tell,” Josie said, looking delighted.
“A practice kiss like, you just wanted an excuse to kiss for real, or were you actually rehearsing something for the show?” Eve asked, as usual getting right to the point.
Jules’s face felt uncomfortably warm, so she took another sip of her wine. “It was more of an ‘I’ve never kissed a woman before’ kind of kiss.”
“Well, good for you,” Josie said. “Welcome to the club. So, you liked it, I presume?”
