Yeah, she’d left before Darcy had. Toprepare. Obviously. This woman was maddening.
“I have my ways.” She scanned her eyes over Darcy, taking a closer look.
Her hair had been artfully tousled earlier, down in long waves. But it lookedactuallywindblown, now. The tip of her nose was a little pink. And – the dead giveaway – Juliet glanced down at Darcy’s feet to confirm her suspicion. Darcy had worn fucking sneakers, because of course she had. The bottoms that were just visible from her pants had been a pristine white, though, at Shelby’s.
Now, that same white was scuffed and dirty.
“Did youwalkhere?” She asked, incredulously.
“Yeah, why?”
“Darcy.” She stared at her with narrowed eyes, baffled and frustrated. “You’re a public figure. A gorgeous woman, you’re wearing moderately expensive jewelry. It’s after eleven o’clock at night. You’re alone. In a neighborhood you’re not familiar with. Could you not have borrowed the single brain cell you obviously share with your sister and best friend for the night?”
What waswrongwith her! Did she not have an ounce of self-preservation?
“I didn’t realize you cared,” Darcy rolled her eyes. “Who’s going to attack me in this neighborhood? I’d be a terrible target; most people who live here are worth way more than I am.”
“You’re being deliberately stupid, but I suppose it’s your own safety, so – whatever.” She rolled her own eyes right back. “I would have gotten you a car here, if I’d known you were going to walk.”
“So sweet of you,” Darcy’s tone reflected anything but her thinking Juliet was being sweet.
And, in fairness, Juliet wasn’t being sweet. Yes, she thought it was dumb of Darcy to move through the world without a reasonable concern for her safety. But also, she’d been fucking waiting here, driven crazy with wondering if Darcy was going to show up, because she’dwalked?!
“I didn’t even plan on coming here. I figured I’d call for my own car, eventually, after gathering my thoughts. But then… I ended up here.”
Juliet could live with that. “I guess the journey doesn’t matter so much as the destination, in this instance.”
She took a step forward, closer to Darcy.
Who held her hand up, motioning for Juliet to stop. “Juliet, what the hell are you playing at, here?”
She huffed out an impatient breath, but complied. She waved her hand at Darcy. “Elaborate.”
Darcy looked at her like she was crazy. “Back at Shelby’s you looked at me like we’d never met before, like Icompletelyimagined the last time I saw you. But I didn’t imagine anything. You – you…”
“I believe what you said earlier was that I left you unsure as to whether I was taunting you or was hitting on you,” she supplied, rolling her eyes at the very thought.
It had taken everything in her not to engage with Darcy at Shelby’s.
“Yeah, exactly!” Darcy said, like it was a smoking gun.
Juliet narrowed her eyes. “Iwashitting on you. Jesus, Darcy. Then you think the best place to bring it up again is at Shelby’s party, in the bathroom? Are you out of your mind?”
She’d been willing to overlook Darcy’s idiocy, in order to get to the fun part of tonight. She’d been willing to skip berating Darcy for being so foolish. But, apparently, Darcy wanted to be berated!
Darcy’s green eyes glittered at her, narrowing. “Youcame ontomein the bathroom at the studio!”
“And Ilocked the fucking door,” she hissed back, reaching up to rub at her temple. Amateur hour. “If anything had happened at Shelby’s, anyone could have walked in at any moment. Or did you not think about that? Erin, literally, would have walked right in. You’re welcome for shutting the conversation down when I did.”
She had to remind herself: while this wasn’t her first rodeo, itwasDarcy’s. Double-checking her every move to ensure no one heard or saw anything they shouldn’t see was second nature to Juliet, now.
“By your own admission, you haven’t fucked anyone since your life changed so dramatically. Things are different for you now, okay? If you don’t want to be outed, you need to start being more careful. Always lock a door before having a sensitive conversation. And, for fuck’s sake,don’tcome out to someone you’re having a drink with, just because it feels right in the moment.”
… admittedly, Darcy’s naiveté wasn’t nearly as aggravating to her now that she knew she was a lesbian. Not only because Juliet had a possibility of satiating her desire for Darcy, but also because she felt a little sympathy. Just – a bit.
Juliet’s genuine, if not dressed up, advice seemed to rob Darcy of her momentum.
“You do realize that we’re only in this position,” she pointed between them. “Which… you seem to want, because I came out to you?”
