Yeah, that’s right. Wren Parker was her girlfriend. She slid her hand into Wren’s, loving the way they fit so perfectly together. They had officially been girlfriends for five whole months, and Lily still had to remind herself that this was actually real.
Wren gave her three gentle squeezes before letting go to reach for the door, holding it open as Lily breezed through.
The inside of the café was like stepping into a terrarium. The bright white walls were covered in creeping pothos, exactly how Lily remembered them. It had been a few years since she had come here. She looked up and grinned at the large natural log light fixture draped in fake moss and ropes suspended over a large communal table. Yup. Exactly like she remembered it.
“Are those troll dolls?” Wren asked skeptically, examining the log.
“Uh huh, and there’s Polly Pocket, Barbie, and I think that one’s a Bratz doll.” She gestured towards an upside-down doll protruding from the moss decoratively covering the fixture. “They dress them up for all the different holidays.”
The pair approached the counter and placed their order. Wren, of course, insisted that she pay; it was their Sunday ritual after all. Whenever their equally busy schedules allowed, they spent Sunday mornings hunting to find “their” breakfast spot, venturing all over Seattle in their search. This one was promising.
Wren twirled the metal stand holding their order number between her fingers like a baton as they looked around the room. “This place gets weirder the longer you look at it. Like, at least thirty macrame plant holders are hanging from the ceiling, and there’s also a vintage Frogger machine. But also, they’re playing old-school R&B. Also, if the building is yellow, why is it called The Green Room? It’s definitely?—”
“A lot?” Lily offered, giggling. “You love it though, right?”
“I love anywhere I get to be with you,” Wren said quietly, green eyes meeting hers.
Lily felt the heat rise in her cheeks as she fought the sudden onset of shyness. Yeah, that was happening a LOT lately. They were each dancing around saying the L word for the first time.Lily was positive Wren felt it as much as she did. But like PDA, that was against the rules. No “I love yous” until after the Olympics. That’s what they had both agreed to following the kiss on New Year’s that had solidified their relationship.
A café worker appeared beside their table. “I have one mixed berry oatmeal, two slices of whole grain toast, a meatlovers omelet, one Greek yogurt parfait, a farmer’s delight veggie omelet, Ezekiel toast, a side of berries, plain Greek yogurt, and a green tea.” The worker looked at the two of them, then back to the food-laden tray, taken aback at the volume of food they had ordered.
“Yup, that’s us,” Lily said brightly as the waiter set the plates in front of them.
“Your mom called me yesterday, by the way,” Wren said, taking her fork and knife and diving into her omelet.
“Oh yeah? Which one?” Lily answered absently as she watched honey slowly fall from the bottle into her tea. She’d wondered when her mom would reach out to Wren. Lily had been purposefully avoiding her calls.
“Sarah. She wanted to make sure you were doing okay with finals, training, and everything. Said you guys haven’t talked in a few weeks. I, uh, obviously told her you were doing fine, but I think she’s worried about you.”
“She needs to learn how to take a hint.” There was a bite to her words. Lily was annoyed, and there was no use trying to hide that. She had never been good at concealing her feelings.
“She’s your mom, Lil. She loves you, and after…”
Lily shot a glare across the table, knowing exactly what Wren was attempting to bring up. Wren immediately stopped talking, instead choosing to take a large bite.
“I know, but she’s also been a little hover-y the last year. You would think I moved to the other side of the country when I went to school. I’m less than forty-five minutes away. She’s driving meup the wall. I thought her having a girlfriend would eat up some of her time, but you know how my mom is.”
“I’d kill to have a mom that cared that much about me,” Wren deadpanned, reaching across the table and swiping Lily’s mug of tea.
Lily didn’t answer her right away; instead, she held out her hand expectantly as Wren handed over the mug. “I’ll call her when I get back to my dorm today. Okay? Dylan’s last final is on Wednesday, and we still need to pack everything before Mama and Dylan’s dads come to move us out. And on top of all of that, I have training, and I’m just feeling a little overwhelmed.” Wren’s gaze flashed with worry, but only for a moment. “I’m fine. I promise. You know me, I need to spin sometimes, but now I need to lock in. Olympic trials are less than a month away. I need to be at the top of my game.”
“Lily, c’mon,” Wren said through a bite of her parfait. “There’s no way you won’t make the team. You’re coming off an amazing year. You had such a great freshman season. You work harder than any other gymnast I know.”
Lily sipped her tea, looking absently around the café. “Yeah? And how many others do you know so well? I have to keep working hard. Can’t let up now. This year is probably my last Olympics. I’ll be twenty-three for the next one, and I’m sure some new talented senior elite will replace me.”
“Well, with that attitude, probably,” Wren grumbled under her breath.
Lily would be lying if she said that thought hadn’t been at the front of her mind recently. Thiscouldbe her last Olympics. Her dream that had felt so fresh and new and real four years ago could now be winding down. She had tried to talk to Wren about her fears about what would come next for her once gymnastics was no longer the center of her universe, but Wren always took the path of positivity. Lily, however, couldn’t even think aboutit without her stomach hurting. So instead, she decided it was better not to address it at all—but that didn’t mean the thought didn’t linger.
They finished eating, not really chatting about anything in particular, just enjoying time together. This was the first moment all week they had managed to find an overlapping free space in their jam-packed schedules. But if Lily was confident in one thing only, it was that there was no such thing as not enough time, only poorly managed calendars. They always found a way to be there for each other.
Lily’s knee bounced nervously, stilling only when Wren’s hand found hers under the table.
“You sure you’re okay? You seem a little off today.”
“I think I have too much nervous energy. Can we go for a walk? Before heading back to campus?”
Wren agreed and grabbed her jacket, following Lily out of the café and down the neighborhood street.
