“You all done?” Ellis sat in the chair next to her.
“Yup. Just taking a few minutes before I head out.” Then she sat back in her chair, making no move to leave, and they sipped and listened to the birds. “Gorgeous out today.”
“It sure is. I love days like this.” They were quiet for several minutes before Kendra turned to her. “What’s new with you?” Ellis turned to her and smiled and felt the heat seep into her face. “Oh, there is definitely something new.” Kendra’s laugh filled the space.
“Well,” she said softly, “I spent the night with Cherry last night.” And there was a beat, a moment of stillness, just before Kendra let out what could only be described as a schoolgirl squeal of delight.
“Oh my God, that’s amazing! I’m so happy for you.” Kendra scooted to the edge of her chair. “And? Details, ma’am. I need the details.”
“It was…God, Kendra, it was incredible. She’s so…” She stopped and looked up at the sky as she searched for the right words. “She’s easy. I’m relaxed with her. She makes me feel beautiful. And sexy. And wanted.”
“And when was the last time you felt like that?”
Ellis was flooded by a wonderful warm feeling. “It’s been a long time. A really, really long time.” She told her the whole story. From the hike to the dinner invite to actual dinner to the limb-melting sex. She didn’t stop talking for what felt like hours, couldn’t stop if she wanted to. It was like the words had minds of their own and just kept dropping out of her mouth.
Kendra’s grin made her feel less embarrassed about the babbling, and when she finally was able to get a word in, she reached across to Ellis’s chair and closed her hand over her arm. “Ellis, I amsohappy for you. You deserve this.” She tightened her hold and ducked a bit to catch Ellis’s eyes. “You. Deserve. This.”
Her body kept doing things without her permission, and this time, it was her eyes. They welled up at Kendra’s words, and she gave a quick nod. “I mean, it’s not like we’re in love or getting married. But I like her. I like her a lot.”
“That’s a good start right there.” Kendra loosened her grip, patted Ellis’s arm, and sat back again.
“It is, right?” A deep breath helped her shake off the emotion, and things went back to comfortable silence for a few minutes.
“Hey, how’s the writing job you were talking about?”
A half shrug. “It’s fine. Actually, I got another article to write up. Something about a grocery store that claims their meat is never frozen receiving a frozen meat delivery.”
“Scandalous,” Kendra said with an eye roll.
“I know, right?” She took a sip of her coffee. “You know what, though? It’s kinda fun, writing these articles. I mean, if you don’t want your stuff exposed, don’t lie about it. Pretty simple.”
Kendra snorted a laugh. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my thirty-plus years of life, it’s that nothing is as simple as it should be. Especially lies.”
Later that night, as Ellis sat at her laptop working on the article forThe 11th Commandment, she thought about Kendra’s words. About lies being complicated. Were they, though? Was the truth really that hard? She tried to think about something big she’d lied about in her life. She wasn’t perfect, duh, of course she’d told lies. Who hadn’t? But most of the time, they were to save somebody’s feelings. Like telling somebody their ugly haircut looked nice or that an outfit didnotmake them look frumpy.
Lies were what ruined Michaela. Lies about beauty. Lies about weight. Lies about fitness. Lies about what made a person attractive, popular,worthy. Lies about life in general. They were what made her feel less-than and ugly and gave her impossible, completely unattainable goals. They were what made her decide that not living at all was better than living as she was.
No. She wasn’t convinced.
Life was complicated, yes.
The truth was not.
Chapter Thirteen
Focusing was hard.
It shouldn’t have been. Cherry was good at this. Posting online was her favorite thing. The deciding on which photo worked best. Choosing the best lighting. Editing was a blast. She loved that part. And don’t get her started on filters. They were so much fun to mess with. She’d gone through her park photos already but hadn’t posted yet, so she was back at it. Sifting through. Shots of her feet in the hikers from Peak—damn, they looked good. A few nature shots—sunlight through leaves, the sparkling water of the creek. A few selfies in the park. But there was still that one shot. Of Ellis, rays of sunshine bouncing off her golden hair as she looked up at a maple tree. Cherry swallowed hard. Ellis had been unaware of the photo. Hell, Cherry hadn’t even been aware she was taking it until she’d already pressed the button, heard the shutter click sound.
And now, here it was. That one shot. Taking all her attention. All her focus. Not allowing her to think of anything else except Ellis. Her face. Her hands. Her mouth. God, her mouth…
“Hey, bitch.”
Thank the sweet Lord above for the interruption. She almost got up and kissed Shea becausethank you. “Sup, bitch,” she said back, forcing a smile onto her face and fake cheer into her voice. Which didn’t work on Shea. It never worked on Shea.
“Why are you being a weirdo?”
“What? I’m not.”
