She did the same, running her hand over the buzzed portion. “Yours is way more badass.”
“You can thank Alicia. She buzzed it before the show.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I’m not this cool.”
“I doubt that. You are so confident. I wish I had that. You’re enigmatic.”
“Enigmatic!?”
“Don’t look so surprised!” She pulled back, my hand dropping to her breast on accident but continued as if she didn’t mind. “I mean, you’re amusician.”
“How, then?”
“Well, when I saw you up there, you had this huge presence. I thought you were super tall, Mary. But like… you’re only a smidge taller than me—not by much—and that speaks volumes in my opinion. I say this, coming from a family of really tall dudes.”
I couldn’t fight the urge to kiss her. Her glossy pink lips sparkled under the light coming off the emergency exit. It wasn’t glamorous, but somehow, I liked it.
“Could I kiss you?” I tried to cover all my bases. “It’s just?—”
Before I could finish, she leaned in with the answer, our lips meeting in a way that sealed any doubts Bea had about Betty’s motivations. I pulled her closer, gripping the roots of her hair slightly, then tighter as our tongues tangled. I breathed her in, not minding the obvious fake strawberry of her lip gloss.
When I pulled away, she said, “Yeah. You’re still enigmatic, Mary. Sorry, not sorry.”
I giggled. “Well, what now?”
“I’d let you take me for a drink somewhere quieter or…”
“Or what?”
Please say you want to take me home. Please, please, please.
Before she answered, my phone buzzed in my jeans pocket. I wanted to ignore it, but the fact that it bypassed donot disturb worried me. There were only a few people that applied to—never a good sign.
“Shit,” I pulled it out. “Uh, I have to take this.”
“Oh.” Betty’s face signaled confusion.
“Just a sec. I’m so sorry!”
I ducked into the hallway by the loo and answered. “Yes, Mum?”
She groaned. “I’m… I’m feeling sick. I fell and?—”
“Mum, that is what Stacy?—”
“Well, I sent her home because I was doing alright.”
I ran my hands through my hair, frustrated.Thwarted again.Her home health aide was supposed to stay the night so I could live like a normal thirty-something.
“I’m sorry, darling. I am so sorry.” I could tell she’d been crying.
“How did you land?”
“I’m stuck on my back,” she said. “I think I hurt my hip.”
Of fucking course you did!
