She shot Nell a glance. “You know I’m on the fence about Renee. There’s something…” She searched for the right words. “Closed off about her. You know? Kind of cold, but she hides it well. That political media training has certainly paid off.”
Nell grinned at her response. “That was my first impression of her, too. Renee is an acquired taste. Her upfront ambition can be a little off-putting, but she grows on you. I promise,” she said, slipping her hands into her long, dark brown leather jacket.
“Didn’t you two have dinner last month? What was that about?” Sarah had tried to ask Nell about that dinner the day after it happened, but Nell had shut her down, saying she would fill her in when the time was right. Which was incredibly annoying, but also so very Nell.
Nell pursed her lips together, stopping on the sidewalk, and Sarah stopped with her. “I’m not sure it’s time to loop you in fully.” She looked at Sarah with steely eyes. She knew Nell well enough to know that if she had a plan in mind, it was best that Sarah let her do her thing.
“Well, whenever it is time, I’m waiting with bated breath over here. Promise me it’s nothingtooout there.”
“Where would be the fun in that?” Nell smirked as they approached the terminal, but Sarah held out her arm, stopping Nell. “What is it?”
Sarah nodded to two people standing at the base of the stairs leading up to the ticketing area. One of whom had blond hair she’d recognize anywhere.
“It’s Beth,” Sarah said, gesturing with her chin towards the pair of women ahead of them.
She watched Beth over Nell’s shoulder, intrigued. Sarah didn’t recognize the woman Beth was with, but Beth seemed to be enjoying herself, laughing at something the woman had just said, a hand on her forearm. Sarah could almost feel the heat of the gesture on her own skin.
Nell looked over her shoulder at the exact moment the woman leaned in and placed a kiss on Beth’s lips.
“Oh, well—that’s…” Nell’s voice trailed off as she turned back to face Sarah, watching her with those assessing eyes.
Sarah’s stomach clenched, the unfamiliar feeling of jealousy rising inside of her like a hot wave in a way she had only experienced a handful of times before. Why was that happening now? She shouldn’t be staring. She looked away, not wanting to invade this private moment for Beth.
“Are you okay?” Nell asked, concern in her voice as she rested a hand on Sarah’s bicep.
“Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
Nell raised a sharp eyebrow, pressing her lips together, forming an even thinner line.
“I moved on, Nell. You know that. Beth is free to see whomever she wants to. She’s dating. I’m dating. We’re good,” Sarah supplied, but the words felt half-hearted as she said them, and she wasn’t quite sure why.
“Sure, whatever you say.” Nell looped her arm through Sarah’s as they turned, moving towards the stairs. “It’s a public sidewalk; she can’t hog it all for a makeout session,” she said dryly.
But by the time they reached the bottom of the stairs, Beth and her date had disappeared, each heading off in different directions, which was somehow comforting to Sarah.
Sarah scanned their passes, and together they boarded the boat. As they walked through the interior of the ship, she spotted Beth sitting alone in one of the booths.
Beth looked up as they drew closer, her delight instantly playing on her lips when she recognized them.
“Nell! Sarah! Hey.” Her smile was bright. She was absolutely radiating that quiet power Sarah had known was there all along. There was that damn twinge pulling in her chest again, but this time she knew it wasn’t jealousy. It was more familiar than that—it was the feeling of enamorment that had only ever been tied to one person—Beth. But this time it had completely snuck up on her because what thehellwas that about?
“Mind if we join you?” Nell asked.
“Please.” Beth motioned to the seat across from her.
Sarah slid across the bench first, positioning herself face-to-face with Beth. She swallowed hard, meeting her eyes and smiling quickly before glancing out the window at the downtown Seattle Skyline.
“How long are you in town, Nell?” Beth asked, crossing one denim-clad leg over the other, foot bouncing slightly.
Over the two and a half years Sarah and Nell had dated, Beth and Nell had developed a friendship of sorts. Sarah hesitated even to call it that. It was more like they were two planets that happened to orbit the same sun. She couldn’t think of two people less likely to seek out friendship with each other than Nell and Beth.
“Flying out on Sunday. I had a leadership conference in town this week and I promised Sarah some quality time over the weekend.”
“We’re going to try that goat yoga place, you know, the one we were talking about the other week that Lily found?” Sarah added.
“Sounds like a fun time,” Beth said, smiling.
“Anything exciting for you this weekend?” Nell asked.
