“I think ...” She exhaled. She’d been working up the courage to say these three little words for weeks now, but they were terrifying, and she’d never been good at expressing her emotions. The lift lurched beneath her, and she lost her balance, hands flailing.
“Whoa,” Audrey squeaked as they swayed in the breeze.
The lift resumed its steady climb, but Michelle’s stomach was still caught in an adrenaline-fueled swoop. “What I’m trying to say is ... I love you.”
Someone grabbed her arm, and Michelle jumped, startled to realize they’d arrived at the summit. The lift operator was reaching for her hand to guide her off the bench. She stumbled forward on shaky legs as Audrey jumped after her, both of them hurrying out of the way of the moving lifts.
“Michelle, oh my god ...” Audrey grabbed her hand, and they went down in the snow in a jumble of limbs. “You can’t just say something like that right as we’re getting off the lift!”
“I didn’t know we were.” She sat up, dusting snow from her jacket.
“Well, shit. I love you too.” Audrey’s eyes sparkled behind her goggles. “Telling you that while I’m sitting on my ass in a snowdrift wearing a balaclava is not how I imagined it, though.”
Michelle laughed, even as her chest clenched to hear those words on Audrey’s lips. That warm feeling was back, and now she wasn’t afraid toacknowledge what it meant. It was love. She loved Audrey, and Audrey loved her back.
What else mattered?
She clicked out of her skis and climbed to her feet, feeling lighter than air as she extended a hand to pull Audrey up beside her. “Actually, I think it was perfect because it wasn’t how I imagined it, either, but nothing with you has been what I imagined. It’s been better.”
“Tell me more about deciding to stay in Vermont?” Audrey leaned forward in the bubbly water, facing Michelle in the tub. “Because I don’t want you to do anything you’ll regret, like give up your dreams because you’ve fallen in love.”
“Maybe I won’t stay here forever.” Michelle shrugged, watching as a glob of bubbles clung to Audrey’s breast. The hot water felt like heaven on her sore muscles, although at this point they’d been in the bath long enough that her fingers were starting to prune. “But right now, I’m staying in Vermont because it’s what I want. Whether that means I stay at NU or pursue a career as an author is a separate decision entirely.”
“I just want you to do what makes you happy,” Audrey said. “I’ve been thinking a lot about the future lately too. Falling in love will do that to a person, I guess.”
Michelle smiled. “At least for us academic types. We love to overthink things.”
“So we do.” Audrey’s feet bracketed Michelle’s hips in a wonderfully distracting way. “I still don’t know if I’ll have a job at NU after this year, but whatever happens, I’m willing to be flexible. If you change your mind and decide youdowant to move to London, I could look for a job there too.”
Michelle took a moment to absorb those words. Early in her marriage, she’d been so homesick for London. She’dbeggedto go home, but Kelly had refused to even consider moving to the UK. Just knowingthat Audrey was willing to discuss it was huge, and it felt so freeing. “I really appreciate you saying that, and it’s definitely something to consider if the time comes, but let’s enjoy where we are for now, okay?”
“Okay.” Audrey leaned in to kiss her. “By the way, your cat is watching us.”
Michelle turned her head to find the cat sitting in the doorway to the bathroom, staring at them with contempt. “Muse, I swear to god.”
“Cats like to watch people. It’s what they do.”
“You seem to know more about cats than I do.”
“I grew up with cats,” Audrey told her. “They’re quirky and weird, but I think that makes them awesome.”
“She’s quirky and weird, all right.” Michelle looked at the cat, who was still staring unblinkingly at her and Audrey in the tub.
“You just reminded me that I got something for her,” Audrey said, reaching for a towel. “It’s been in my bag for like a week, but I kept forgetting to get it out while I was here.”
“Because I’m so good at distracting you?” Michelle trailed a hand down Audrey’s thigh as she stood, reveling in the way that simple touch could awaken her body. Then she reached for her own towel. She’d been chilled from the slopes when she got into the bath, but now she was in danger of overheating, and not just because of Audrey’s proximity.
“You’reverygood at distracting me, but I got a little toy for Muse. Let’s see if we can bring out her inner kitten.” Audrey wrapped the towel around herself and walked to the doorway, where she bent and stroked Muse below her chin. To Michelle’s surprise, Muse let out a little meow and then rubbed her body against Audrey’s legs.
“Aww, Muse. Aren’t you a sweetie?” Audrey cooed as the cat wound herself around and between Audrey’s legs in a figure eight pattern.
“That’s how she used to act with Kelly.” Michelle tried and failed to keep the bitterness out of her tone.
Audrey looked up at her. “How often do you rub her like this?”
Michelle sighed as she began to towel the water from her body. “Never.”
“You and Muse have a communication problem, I think. She used to interact primarily with Kelly, and you’ve never had a cat before, so when Kelly left, you and Muse were sort of left together without speaking the same language, but Michelle ... shedoeslove you.”
