“Didn’t expect me to be into feng shui, didn’t expect me to be strong… what else have you been miscalculating about me? The number of orgasms I can give a woman in one night? Because I think I disproved that too.”
“Christ,” Saskia barked a laugh, covering her eyes with her hands. “Don’t remindme. I’m surprised I can still walk this morning.”
“Oh, so we are talking about it, then? We’re not going for the‘I-have-drawn-a-veil-over-last-night’approach?”
“Up to you,” Saskia said, still with her hands over her eyes. “I have absolutely no idea what to do in this situation.”
“You’ve never had a one-night stand, then?”
“No, Ihave.” Saskia looked at her reproachfully. “I’ve just never had to face them over coffee and croissants the next morning, with a random stranger talking to them about their dog at the same time.”
“Well, then you haven’t lived,” Kivi grinned, feeling a surge of confidence. She leaned forward, so that her face was inches from Saskia’s, and the woman’s knees dug into her midriff. “What do you say to a repeat performance?”
“Didn’t we establish that last night?” Saskia chuckled. “Didn’t we establish that it was more than a one-night stand?”
“Well, we were pretty high on adrenaline. If you’ve changed your mind, I’ll understand.”
“No! Not in the slightest. I just… you’re sure you’re okay with keeping it on the downlow for now? I have my career to consider as well. Being freelance… if the homophobes find out… they could easily tank my career.”
“They couldn’t, could they?” Kivi frowned, and took half a step back. “They wouldn’t be so… openly homophobic.”
“They wouldn’t,” Saskia confirmed, and Kivi was just opening her mouth to question further when she continued. “They’d just stop choosing me. They’d go for someone else. They’d tell me that my work wasn’t up to scratch, and so they’re looking elsewhere for next time. My work will dry up, and where will that leave me?”
“You could work in the bakery,” Kivi said, trying to bring a little levity to the situation. Saskia looked so downcast suddenly that she was gripped by panic. Would she decide that her career wasn’t worth sacrificing? Would Saskia decide right here and now that the risk wasn’t worth taking? “You said that John was due to retire. Job vacancy right there.”
“Oh, well, my problems are all solved then,” Saskia said dryly, but with a smile that showed she’d caught on to Kivi’s change of subject. “Can you really see me wearing a red tabard and handing people their ciabatta rolls?”
“Well, the red might not be ideal, with your hair,” Kivi said thoughtfully, touching the auburn crop and marvelling at how her hand didn’t burn. “But I have a feeling you’d be good at anything.”
“Anything, huh?” Saskia raised an eyebrow, and suddenly the conversation turned back to innuendos. Kivi found herself smirking.
“Anything. As we found out last night.”
“You ain’t seen nothing yet.”
Kivi inched closer, butjustas their lips were about to meet…
“Why have you got the door shut?”
Eva’s voice was loud as she burst in. Kivi and Saskia sprang apart like two repelled magnets. This proved more successful for Kivi than Saskia, who hit her head on the wall behind her.
“Ow,” Saskia yelped, then stifled it with a hand over her mouth while she shored up her dignity. Kivi, meanwhile, stared at Eva with what she was sure was an expression of pure fury.
Eva, for her part, seemed not to have noticed, hanging up her coat and continuing to jabber on as she went. “Burning scones again, are we? Good idea to shut the door, but if you’re not confident in your ability to-”
She turned around and stopped short when she saw Saskia sitting on the counter, and Kivi’s expression. Her gaze went from Saskia to Kivi and back again, and Kivi watched as the cogs turned in her head.
“Oh my God!” She leapt for the door, slamming it shut before turning back to them. “You two! You two are-”
“Yes, we are,” Kivi snapped. “Tell the world, Evs.”
“Sorry,” Eva said, putting her own hand over her mouth in an obvious attempt to lower her volume. “I’m just so excited! This is the closest you’ve come to love since we moved here!”
“Love is a bold word to use,” Saskia said, at the same time as Kivi said, “Moving a bit fast, aren’t you?”
“Sorry, sorry,” Eva waved her hands at them. “But – oh my God, I’m just so excited!”
“Well, keep a lid on it,” Kivi said. “We’re excited too, but we’re keeping it on the downlow.”
