“You do not.” And with that, Cherry began packing up her things. “I will pick you up at six thirty on Friday. Yeah?”
“Sounds great. I can’t wait.” And she couldn’t.
“Good.” Laptop in its case, purse closed, money on the table, Cherry stood and shouldered her bags. Then warm fingers grasped Ellis’s chin, and Cherry kissed her softly on the mouth.
Ellis watched her walk away, lips tingling. Cherry went out the door with a little wave, and she tried to recall if she’d ever had a woman kiss her in public like that. Not that she wasn’t out. She totally was. But there was something freeing about that kiss. Something natural. Something wonderful.
With a sigh that bordered on dreamy, she picked up Cherry’s dishes and headed back to the kitchen.
“Well, that was adorable and sweet,” Kitty said.
“I have a date on Friday,” was her reply, and she could feel the lovesick grin taking over her face.
“Oh, nice. Where?” Kitty wet a rag in the sink under the counter and began wiping up the remnants of breakfast from the people who’d sat there earlier.
“I have no idea.”
The rag stopped. Kitty looked at her, eyes wide. “Asurprisedate? Okay, that’s romantic.”
Ellis let go of a big sigh.
Kitty studied Ellis with her dark eyes for a beat before asking, “What’s that face for?”
“I think we went backward.”
Back to wiping, Kitty said, “Because you did the nasty right away.”
She gritted her teeth and made a face. “Yeah…”
“So what?”
Blinking.So what?Lots of blinking.
Kitty glanced at her, then stopped wiping again and focused her gaze on Ellis. “Are there rules I don’t know about? Something that says you can’t have sex first and get to know each other later?”
Her shoes were very interesting all of a sudden. “I mean, no, I guess not. It just seems like…” She looked back up. “We’re going about it wrong?” She said it like a question because that’s what it was.
“Says who?”
“I don’t know!” She gave a little foot stomp that made Kitty smile.
“Just breathe, baby. That’s all you have to do. Okay? Just breathe. And let a beautiful woman take you on a date. And if you feel like it after that?” Kitty lowered her voice to a whisper. “Take her to bed. Again.”
Ellis pursed her lips and slowly nodded as she pointed a finger at Kitty. “I’m rather fond of this idea. Good suggestion.” Then she broke into a laugh.
“Hey, I only have your best interests at heart, you know.”
* * *
The early May day had been beautiful, but by the time Cherry picked up Ellis at her apartment, the clouds had rolled in and the sky had turned the slate gray of old ductwork. But it didn’t matter because Ellis was in the passenger seat, and she looked absolutely edible in ripped jeans and a gray short-sleeved sweater. Her blond hair was down and held a gentle curl, and she smelled like peaches. Fresh, juicy, ripe—
“Now can you tell me where we’re going?” Ellis asked, gazing out the window, but her hand on Cherry’s thigh. And that hand was warm. No. Hot. So very hot. Driving became slightly more difficult with that hand there.
“I don’t have to because we’re here.” Cherry slid the car into a parking spot and killed the engine.
Ellis was looking at the storefront of Vineyard. “I’ve heard of this place. It’s a wine bar, yes?”
Cherry nodded.
