“Like you’re a child or like you act like a child. There’s a difference.”
“You’re hilarious.”
Sabrina laughed softly, then took a deep breath. “Okay. So, I meet this girl, Adley is her name, at a bar the first night I’m here. And I swear, Teag, the chemistry? Oh my God.”
“Off the charts?”
“Off the charts. Like, the second I saw her, I was drawn to her. And I watched her with her friend—I actually thought she was with her until another girl came in and kissed the second girl. Then they left together, and Adley was alone at her table. So I bought a glass of wine and took it to her.”
Teagan sprang up and comically spun in a circle, clearly shocked. “You did what?”
“I know! It was so unlike me. But I didn’t hesitate. I just did it, and I took it over to her, and she invited me to sit. And, Teag, I swear to God, I’ve never been so physically attracted to somebody in my life. In. My. Life.”
“Gee, thanks.” But before Sabrina could backpedal, Teagan grinned through the phone. “I’m teasing you. So then what happened?”
“It was like serendipity. She complimented my eyes. I complimented her hair. And then…”
“And then what?And then what?You’re killing me with this story, you know.”
“And then we went into the ladies’ room and made out.”
Sabrina’s blunt delivery had the intended effect because Teagan gasped loudly and then burst into hysterical laughter. “You didnot.”
“Oh, I most certainly did. And it was incredible. I…” She looked around the room as if the right words were hiding behind the couch or something. Then she shook her head and shrugged toward the phone. “I don’t even understand it. Any of it.”
“Any of it…wait. Has there been more? More making out?”
Sabrina sighed, knowing how this all was going to sound. “Okay, you can’t judge me. I mean it.”
Teagan’s face grew serious. They looked directly through the screen at her. “Babe. No judgment. You know me. I don’t judge.”
That was a very true statement, and Sabrina nodded. “Okay. There have been two other times. We text when we’re free. We don’t talk about our jobs. I don’t even know her last name. We were so weirdly on the same page with this. We both just wanted…” She shook her head, again struggling to find the right descriptions to explain to her best friend what was happening in her life right then.
“You both just want some release.”
Sabrina blinked, then slowly began to nod. “Yeah, I think that’s a good way of describing it. She seems to be as stressed as I am over her day-to-day, so we meet when we can, we talk a little, we have a make-out session, we go on our merry separate ways.” Another shrug. Just to prove how very nonchalant it all was, right?
“Listen,” Teagan said, their eyes boring into her through FaceTime, “all I want is for you to be happy. If this is helping with that, more power to you. Just…watch yourself, okay? I don’t want you finding yourself in a place you didn’t think you were. I don’t want you getting hurt.”
“Like I said, I don’t even know her last name.”
“Yet.”
It was a fair response, and Sabrina nodded her understanding. “I promise to watch myself.”
“Good. Now.” Teagan sat back and propped their socked feet up onto the table. “Tell me about the new store.”
“I’m going over there today to see how things are going.” Theyspent the next half hour chatting about the new Sweet Heaven shop—the location, the few local ice cream shops she’d visited, especially Get the Scoop and its super creative flavor combinations. Kyra also made an appearance over Teagan’s shoulder, kissing them on the cheek, then showing Sabrina her baby bump.
Sabrina had had that once with Teagan. That partnership. That loyalty. That camaraderie. But she hadn’t been ready for it then.
What about now? Was she ready for it now?
* * *
This was where Adley was happiest, alone in the kitchen of Get the Scoop, experimenting with new flavor combinations. Nothing thrilled her more than coming up with something that worked. Sometimes, it was subtle and lovely, coated her tongue, and gently made itself known. Sometimes, it exploded in her mouth like a symphony of tastes, blasting her with flavor. Either way worked, and she never knew which direction a new combination would go until she tried it.
Her speaker played soft tones of classical music. That was her choice today. She listened to everything, but her mood always dictated the style for the day. She was pretty sure it was Vivaldi playing right now as she chopped up some figs and then put them in hot water on the stove to cook them down into a chutney of sorts. What she was going to mix it into, she wasn’t sure yet. Vanilla? Caramel? Apple? All three?
