And who was she to deny the request of a beautiful woman? She kissed her again, softly, taking her time, sinking in. Nobody interrupted them this time.
The remainder of the walk back to the parking lot was made in very comfortable silence, and they held hands as they went. Ellis laughed to herself about how it felt both schoolgirlish and perfect at the same time, Cherry’s warm, soft hand tucked snugly in hers. And when they finally reached Cherry’s car, which was first in the lot, they turned to face each other, and she actually toed the ground, moved some pebbles around with her shoe, and then looked off into the distance.
“This was really nice,” Cherry said, her voice quiet. “I’m so glad you came.”
“I mean, can’t have you breaking in new hiking shoes all by yourself. If I hadn’t been here, you’d probably still be lying in the woods somewhere.”
Cherry’s laugh was cute, and her dark eyes crinkled at the corners, even as she looked away.
“So…it’s the weekend,” she began. The idea of spending more time with Cherry had been brewing throughout the walk. “Are you busy the rest of the day?”
“I’ve got some stuff to do, but my evening is open.” Cherry leaned back against her car. “Wanna grab dinner?”
“Actually, I’d like to cook you dinner.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“I didn’t realize you cooked. I thought you were all manager-y.”
“Listen, there’s a lot you don’t know about me.” Her voice had turned a bit flirty, and she knew it. Let it happen.
“Yet,” was Cherry’s equally flirty reply. Then she leaned forward and kissed Ellis’s mouth quickly. “Text me when, and what I can bring.” Then she turned and got into her car, and Ellis was left feeling a little bit windblown, kinda tousled by the speed at which the plans had beenmade. She stepped back as Cherry backed her car out and left, and she decided she kind of liked that. The whirlwind. It was invigorating and energizing, and she’d never really been around anybody like that.
A deep inhale through her nose, and she headed for her car. If she was going to cook Cherry dinner tonight, she needed supplies.
Chapter Ten
Cherry hadn’t taken enough photos in the woods. That fact was becoming clear as she sat with her phone and scrolled through the very limited selection. She did get a couple decent shots, both of the hiking shoes Peak had sent her and of the park itself. There was also one of Ellis that had very nearly taken her breath away. They’d been standing in a copse of trees, and the sun had to work hard to break through, individual rays pushing between leaves and branches, almost ethereal in their results. Ellis was standing near a big tree, her hand on its trunk, studying it, and Cherry remembered she’d been trying to ascertain which kind of tree it was. A ray of sunlight streaked across part of her face, leaving the rest shadowed, twinkling off her blond hair, highlighting the very light down on the side of her face near her ear, making her blue eyes sparkle a little extra. It was such a beautiful photo that she could hardly believe she’d taken it herself.
“Hey, bitch.” Shea sauntered in and plopped down next to her on her bed. “Adam’s cooking a late breakfast, so be nice and pretend to be hungry. And then tell him how good it was, even if it sucks, okay?” Before Cherry could answer, Shea leaned over to see what she was doing on her phone. “I am not ashamed to admit, that girl has me questioning my own sexuality.”
The joke tugged Cherry out of her sexy daydream, which she needed because she had work to do before her dinner date. “She’s ridiculously hot, isn’t she? God.”
“And things went well this morning?”
“The hikers were great. I’m about to edit some stuff together and give a little review.”
She could feel Shea’s eyes on her, and she didn’t mean to audibly swallow, but she did.
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.” Shea turned her body so she was facing Cherry. “You told her about Cherry on Top, right? And about the fake girlfriend?”
Another hard swallow before she met Shea’s eyes. “I couldn’t do it.”
“What? Cherry. Comeon. What are you doing?”
“No, you don’t understand. She told me the details of her sister’s accident.” She reiterated the things Ellis had told her, emphasizing the issues her sister had had with body image and all the social media criticism she’d professed. “She hates everything about social media and has no accounts of her own. She hates what it does to women. She thinks people like me set unattainable standards.”
Shea took a beat before saying gently, “I mean, she’s not wrong, is she?”
Cherry was sure her shock was clear on her face. “I’m notdangerous, Shea. I don’t make people want to drive their cars into trees. Jesus.”
Shea put a hand on her leg, which was probably meant as comfort, but felt more like placating instead. “No, no, I don’t mean that. Of course, you’re not dangerous. I think…” She seemed to struggle to find the right words. “I guess I just mean there’s a lot of truth to what Ellis said about social media.”
Cherry wanted to argue. She really did. But the truth was, she hadn’t thought about anything else since she’d left Ellis at the park, and she just didn’t want to anymore. At least for a while. She waved a hand and didn’t care if Shea saw it as agreement or dismissive. “It’s whatever.”
Shea stayed sitting next to her for several moments as she scrolled away from the shot of Ellis and back through photos of the hikers and the park and the trees and the stream. Finally, with a heavy sigh, Shea stood and left the room, and Cherry stopped focusing on her phone. Her gaze moved to the window, and she watched as the new leaves on the tree outside their building rustled in the gentle spring breeze. When she sighed and glanced at the doorway, Shea was there, leaning against the doorjamb, arms folded across her chest, but a sympathetic expression on her face.
