And then another message.
Did I scare you off?
Billie smiled as she closed her eyes. She didn’t know the last time another woman had been worried about scaring her off, or even caring if they had.
Absolutely not. I had a call come through. I’m at work.
Billie stared down at the screen. That message hadn’t been enough.
I was also choosing my words carefully.
Billie exhaled a sigh of relief when Debra started to reply.
Go on then. Choose them.
Oh, this was going to be an interesting time with Debra Allen. Even if Billie knew she should slow down and actually take stock of the last twenty-four hours, she could admit that Debra made her feel alive.
If you keep texting me like this, I’m not going to last the morning without needing to hear your voice.
Billie immediately winced. That had been far too much.
And then her phone pinged again.
And if I want you to need that?
Billie rolled her lips inward and breathed deeply through her nose.
Then call me. Before I lose the last of my self-control and do it myself.
The silence stretched longer than it had since they’d started this conversation. Maybe she’d been the one to scare Debra off in the end.
Debra?
Still nothing.
She could hear Nina’s voice outside the office, professional but carrying the faintest edge of spite as she answered the phone. Billie simply let it fade into background noise. Because right now, she was dealing with the fact that she’d done something uncalculated and real…and for once, she wasn’t afraid of Debra’s response when it eventually came.
But first, she had a full service to decline.
Debra stareddown at the last message Billie had sent her. Truth be told, she hadn’t expected to hear from Billie so soon, but she was glad she had. It meant last night hadn’t been for nothing. It meant last night had meant something to Billie, too.
Then call me. Before I lose the last of my self-control and do it myself.
Her pulse had been steady during their back-and-forth messages, but now there was a storm of electricity pumping through her veins. She moved slowly through her flat, her mind buzzing with the same question she’d been stuck on all morning.
What am I doing?
She knew what calling Billie meant. It wasn’t harmless, and it wasn’t casual; it was stepping deliberately into the gravitational pull of a woman who both unsettled her and made her feel more awake than she had in years.
Debra set her phone down on the kitchen counter and gave herself a moment to breathe. Last night had been everything shecould have dreamed of with Billie, but Debra wasn’t sure just how ‘in’ she would be if things progressed. Craving more was one thing, but accepting it into your life was another. Billie didn’t strike her as someone who accepted anything easily.
Still, as she pulled herself up onto a stool at the breakfast bar, she found herself smiling. She felt like she was in her twenties all over again. She took a deep breath and pressed the call button.
It rang out a few times, and then Billie’s voice slid through the speaker, sending a blaze of fire up her spine. “Debra.”
It was simple. Her name. But the way Billie said it made her skin prickle. She swallowed as she settled her palms on her thighs. “Hi. I didn’t know if you really wanted me to call or not.”
“Oh, I did. But I wasn’t sure if you’d listen or not.”
