About time, p.10
About Time, page 10
“What is it that you like about your job?” Lydia asked, her lower lip pouting out.
Elle’s breath caught in her throat. She was definitely being seduced, and Lydia knew what she was doing. She instinctively wanted to pull her hand away and place it back in her lap for safekeeping, but she felt pressured into leaving it where it was.
“I like being able to save people—to make a difference, for sure. I don’t think I ever caught what it was you did for a living.” Elle turned the tables on Lydia, hoping the change of conversation would distract her enough to allow her hand to be freed.
Lydia, instead, flipped Elle’s hand over and started running her fingertips over Elle’s palm like she was playing a rare instrument. Heat flared in Elle’s center, and she couldn’t help but lean into the motion.
“I’m an office manager for a small chiropractic office over on the north side of town. Not the greatest job out there, but I enjoy it, and I enjoy the people I work with.”
“That’s more of a blessing than some can hope for.”
Lydia hummed her agreement, still playing the random and interesting tune on the sensitive skin on Elle’s hand. Elle swallowed hard, trying to think of another question to ask. She was so rusty at dating that she had no idea what proper etiquette was, not to mention she normally dated—when she had dated years before—people she’d already known fairly well prior. This was like diving blind into a surgery without going to medical school.
“My ex wasn’t very fond of my working there.”
Elle took the bait. “Why’s that?”
Lydia’s gaze shifted from Elle’s hand to her eyes, and when Lydia looked at her, her eyes were dark and mysterious, like she had the world’s biggest secret to hide.
“I think she didn’t like me being independent, having a job of my own, and my own income. She liked it when I depended on her. But you’re not like that, are you?”
“Oh…uh…no, I don’t suppose I am.” This time Elle did pull her hand away, but it was mostly due to their salads being set before them and her having an excuse to finally free herself from the physical connection. She picked up her fork and made sure to keep her hands as close to herself as possible. Elle ate quietly as she worked through multiple conversations in her mind.
Lydia was once again smiling at her—that uneasy flirtatious smile that made a hard knot in the center of Elle’s chest. She wanted to rub the knot away, but instead, she just ignored it. The conversation seemed stilted, forced, and Elle couldn’t help but think that if she and June were on an actual date, none of it would be happening like this. She smiled at the thought of June and took another bite of her salad.
“What’s got you happy all of a sudden?” Lydia’s sultry voice carried over the din of the room.
“What? Oh…this salad is really good and exactly what I wanted.” She hoped it covered her slipup. She and June were not on good terms, not on friendly terms, and most definitely not on dating terms. That was just a lost thought in the back of her mind, an ever-present hope in a sea of doubt.
Lydia spoke around a full mouth of food as another bite precariously clung onto her fork, “It is a very good salad.”
“That it is,” Elle agreed, thankful Lydia believed her lie.
Once their salads were done, Elle kept her hands out of reach of Lydia, but that didn’t stop her from giving it her all. Elle distinctly felt the slide of a bare foot up her right inner calf. It moved up and down and up and down. Elle attempted to move away, but the foot followed. She moved again. Once more, the foot followed. Annoyed, she turned to just ignoring Lydia’s attempt at seduction. She was not a first date kind of girl, and their date certainly wouldn’t make her break her one hard fast rule she’d always had in life.
Their main meal was set before them, and Elle dug into her steak and grilled rainbow carrots. As soon as the flavors hit her mouth, she moaned and closed her eyes briefly. Jerica hadn’t been lying—the food was amazing even if the company was lacking.
Lydia must have taken her reaction as something else because she moved her bare foot from Elle’s calf to her inner thigh. The move caused Elle to choke on the piece of carrot that was still in her mouth. She held her hand over her lips, coughing and sputtering like an idiot into her hand as she attempted to catch her breath and clear her throat at the same time. Lydia pounced on the opportunity.
“Are you all right?”
Elle nodded and held her hand out in front of her, feigning everything was perfect. She nodded again, trying to convince Lydia nothing was wrong.
“Are you sure? Here. Have some water.” Lydia poured Elle a glass from the crystal carafe that sat sweating in the heat of the room.
Gladly accepting the glass, Elle drank from it and calmed her aching throat. She coughed a few more times before muttering her thanks and wiping her watering eyes.
“Don’t worry about it, honey. Glad it was nothing serious.”
Elle cringed at the term of endearment, one she hated to hear from anyone. Sighing, she resigned herself to the fact that this date was not going well and she likely would not have a second date with the mysterious Lydia. Once she was feeling well enough, Elle began consuming her meal once more, reveling in the flavors so perfectly melded together on her plate.
“What do you do for fun?” Elle asked, hoping they’d find something in common there.
Lydia thought for a moment before answering and resuming running her bare foot along Elle’s inner thigh. Elle jumped at first contact, banging her knee against the top of the table. Lydia completely ignored it.
“A little of this and a little of that. I do love to read, though.”
There. That was the connection Elle needed. “I do too. I love to read historical fiction and autobiographies.”
Lydia pursed her lips. “I tend to err more on the side of romance.”
“Oh,” Elle replied. “I read that as well.” It was only a little lie. The last time she had picked up a romance book was when she was in high school and had stolen one from her mother over summer break. It wasn’t a complete lie. She did read romance—she just hadn’t read it in three decades.
“I just love reading the adventures of someone falling in love with another person. They’re so beautiful and intense.”
“They are. It truly reminds me that love hasn’t died out and there is still hope for some of us out there.”
“Exactly. I know exactly what you mean and completely agree. Those books just remind me to keep my eyes and heart open to the future.”
Finally, they had something to connect with. Elle and Lydia slipped into a quiet conversation about favorite authors and books. Elle had to dig deep into the recesses of her memory to work through some of the authors Lydia was bringing up, but it was worth it in the end. Their conversation flowed easily, and it suddenly was like they were truly on a date and not just some awkward meetup they both were trying to figure out.
Before she knew it, their dinner was over, and the check had been brought to the table. Lydia made no move to pull out her purse and pay for the meal or even part of the meal. After several uncomfortable minutes, Elle reached to her side and pulled out her purse. She slipped a card from it and set it on the table. She was flummoxed. Lydia had asked her on a date, so in her mind, Lydia should pay—that or they would go Dutch. Perhaps the dating scene had changed so drastically since she’d last been in it that she had a whole set of new rules to learn.
Once they were at their vehicles, Lydia grabbed Elle’s hand to stop her and talk to her one last time.
“I had a really good time tonight.”
“Me too.” Elle wanted to add the word “surprisingly” into her statement, but she bit her tongue and reminded herself she was working on being more positive and on complimenting, not tearing down.
“We should do this again sometime. Soon, I suppose.”
“I guess we could.”
Lydia smiled then, a brilliant smile full of hope, joy, and longing. Elle wasn’t prepared for when the smile came closer, for when Lydia took the last couple of steps and closed the distance between them. Instead of a fiery and heated kiss like she’d shared with June, this one was full of tension, insecurity, and hesitation—mostly on her part. Well, if she were honest, all on her part. Lydia clearly wasn’t having a crisis of conscience.
Grabbing a fist of Elle’s hair, Lydia pushed in even more and parted her lips. Elle followed suit, dutifully but regrettably. Lydia guided Elle to her car so they were leaning against it. It was so much the same as with June and yet so very different. Elle couldn’t help her mind working overtime to compare and contrast the two. Shutting it down as rapidly as she could, she pressed a hand to Lydia’s shoulder and moved her backward.
“It really was a pleasant evening. I should be going. I have an early morning.”
“All right, then.”
Lydia pecked Elle’s lips once more before she stepped away and headed to her own vehicle. As soon as Elle sat in her car, she shook her head in confusion. That was either the worst date or the best date, like nothing was going right and then everything was going right. It left her far more confused at the end than when she’d walked into it in the beginning—and she still wasn’t sure if she’d see Lydia again. First because she wasn’t sure Lydia would ask, but second, because she wasn’t sure she’d want to say yes. Heading home, Elle decided a nice, long, and hot bath was in due order to sort through her wayward thoughts and feelings.
Chapter Eleven
This time, June sought out Elle. She stayed late after her shift and paced back and forth through the halls, randomly feigning she had a visitation when a nurse got on her tail, waiting for Elle to show up for her shift. She’d checked with the Emergency Room to make sure Elle was working that night and was pleasantly pleased to find she was right.
She needed to get her life back on track, and she needed at least one ally in this crazy world she was finding herself in, an ally close to home, rather, since all her family lived a plane ride away and as much as they were a constant support, they were not there. Once more turning as she reached the end of a hallway, June started back down it, not daring to raise her gaze in case she caught the eye of a wayward nurse about to change shift.
Her temporary home was set up in the long-stay hotel room, and she was resigned to the fact she’d be living there at least two months before she’d be able to save enough for an apartment. Sometimes it sucked being poor and under a mound of student debt. She turned down another hall and continued her evening walk to find Elle.
Her life was finally finding some semblance of calm. She didn’t have the stress of Lydia looming over her or the fact their relationship had been broken and ended for a long time even if they hadn’t officially acknowledged it. She was finally able to focus on what she wanted and the future she desired, which had been put on hold for far too long. June sighed as she headed down the hallway to the Emergency Room in hopes Elle had arrived a tad early for work.
June was in luck. As soon as she rounded the corner by the nurses’ station, she saw Elle leaning against the counter with a silly look on her face as she laughed at something one of the nurses told her. Nerves bubbled in June’s belly as she halted her steps. She hadn’t really worked through what she wanted to say, not specifically anyway, just through what she wanted to happen. And she hoped Elle was amenable to her goals.
Before she had a chance to gather her wits about her, Elle glanced up for whatever reason and caught her gaze. June forced an awkward smile which probably looked more like a grimace and then managed a small wave. Elle said something to the man she was speaking with and then headed over in her direction. Elle still had her winter jacket on from outside, so no doubt she had just walked into the hospital for her shift.
“Hey,” Elle said.
“Hey,” June replied. “Do you have a minute to talk?”
“Yeah.” Elle shifted on her feet. “What’s up?”
June glanced around, noting all the people surrounding them. She did not want this conversation to take place in public. As an intensely private person, she wanted to grovel at Elle’s feet alone where no one else could see her. Skimming her gaze up Elle’s form from her toes to her eyes, she opened her mouth to speak finally.
“Know anywhere private in here we can talk? I don’t particularly want to have this conversation out here.”
Giving her a confused look, Elle nodded. “This way.”
June was led into one of the small consulting rooms that happened to be empty. It was located just off the waiting room and obviously was there for not-so-happy situations. It seemed to fit what June was about to bring up perfectly. After shutting the door, June turned to Elle, ready to plead her case.
“I…first, I’m so sorry about everything that’s happened between us. My life was crazy, and it really had nothing to do with you and everything to do with me just figuring out my own stuff.” It took until that moment for June to realize she was staring at Elle’s feet and not her face. Forcing her gaze up, June let out a sigh. “I would like to rekindle what we had, maybe try to keep going where we left off.”
Before June knew what was happening, Elle was grinning ear to ear and had wrapped June in a giant hug. June tensed at first, but shortly after, she relaxed into the comforting embrace, wrapped her arms around Elle’s middle, and hugged her back. Relief washed through her, relaxing every tensed muscle she didn’t know was tightened.
Elle pulled away and was still grinning. “Absolutely. I’ve missed you this past week.”
“Thank God. I was worried you’d hate me or think this was super awkward or something.”
“Well, to be fair, it is a bit awkward, but I like you, so I can’t just ignore our friendship, can I?”
“I guess…”
Elle grabbed June’s hand and squeezed her fingers lightly. “Let’s do something this weekend.”
“Sure.”
“I’ll figure it out and let you know, okay?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“I’ve got to go. My shift is starting soon.”
“Oh. Okay. I’ll see you soon then.”
“Absolutely.”
Elle left June in the tiny consultation room. Everything seemed to be clicking back into place, but there was still something nagging at her, something she couldn’t name or quite put her finger on. Shaking herself out of it, June left the room and made her way to her car.
Turning the engine, she drove to her new “home” and sat alone on the edge of her bed. Loneliness set in. Each time she looked around her temporary residence, she couldn’t help but be reminded of how alone she truly was there. Sure, she had friends, but they weren’t good enough friends that she felt she could call on them for a room at their place. A shoulder to cry on maybe with Kevin, but he was so busy with his new baby and taking parental leave that she did not want to bother him.
She headed to the small kitchenette her room boasted and pulled a microwave meal out of the freezer. She’d certainly get tired of these before her time was up there. Sighing heavily, she popped it in the microwave, pushed a few buttons, then stood in front of it while it heated her evening meal. Soon she was lost in her thoughts again, wondering exactly what that small thing nagging at her after her conversation with Elle was.
June was brought back to attention when the loud beeping from the microwave signaled the end to cooking her meal. She pulled it out, hissing when she burned her hand on the bottom of the plastic packaging before she set it on the tiny counter. She’d have to buy oven mitts, not just for her current situation but for when she got a real apartment. Gosh, that seemed overwhelming. She’d have to buy just about everything.
All she had were clothes, family mementoes, and a few pictures she’d managed to keep throughout the years. She’d always lived sparsely, so that didn’t bother her, but this was taking sparse to an extreme. She literally had nothing to her name.
But she was beginning anew. That’s what this whole chapter of her life was about. Starting fresh, starting over, getting back on her own two feet, and moving toward the future she wanted, not the future someone else wanted. She wanted to be a chaplain, and she wasn’t willing to give up that calling for anyone. She wanted to work at the hospital, and she wasn’t willing to switch jobs just because someone thought it better for her. She loved her job, and it was a perfect fit for her.
Rebuilding her confidence, June grabbed her dinner and gritted her teeth against the heat of the plastic plate.
“Oven mitts…definitely need to get those,” she said to herself.
★
Sunday afternoon came quickly, but June couldn’t have been more excited. She and Elle had decided to meet up at the local coffee joint they had been at together before as a way of beginning what they’d already experienced over again. It was a busy Sunday afternoon on Main Street, and June had to park four blocks away to even find a spot close to where she wanted to be.
By the time she got there, Elle was already seated and waiting for her arrival with two hot steaming mugs of coffee. The grin on June’s face wasn’t easily wiped off as she slid into the seat across from Elle. June leaned back in the chair, grabbed her cup of coffee, and sniffed it.
“What’s this?”
“Cinnamon twist latte or something like that. I forget, but it sounded amazing.”
“It smells amazing, thanks.”
Elle took a drink from her cup before she glanced at June. Awkward tension settled between the two of them, like neither was sure where to start a conversation without going back to painful memories. June hesitated before buying herself time by taking her own sip of coffee. She swallowed. It was as if everything was moving in slow motion, and she had no idea where to hit pause and jump into old times.
June started, “So…uh…how was your day?”
Elle smiled, wrinkling her nose slightly. “Good. Slept most of it as I normally do.”
