She kicked off her Docs and fell onto the end of her bed, blinking back tears, when her phone lit up with Grace’s name.
Grace
You’re finally home!
Relief and longing hit her at once.
Alix
Stalker.
She hit call before she could think twice.
Grace’s voice came through the speaker low and warm. “Hey, beautiful.”
Alix smiled despite herself. “Hello, gorgeous.”
“Rough day?”
“Long day,” Alix said. “So many bleach fumes that I blacked out and bought a family size bag of Reese’s plant-based mini cups at the convenience store on the way home.”
Grace laughed. Laughed that soft, belly laugh that made Alix’s chest hurt. “I’m not sure if those sound very good.”
“I sure hope so, because I’ve really committed to the size of this bag,” Alix joked.
“That settles it. I could never go vegan because of Reese’s alone. That, and your tofu scramble.”
Alix faked a gasp. “You love it.”
“I do.” Grace’s laugh was like a wind chime on the front porch of a place Alix always wanted to call home.
The silence that followed was the comfortable kind — or it used to be. Lately it felt loaded. Too full of things they weren’t saying. Grace sighed, and Alix could practically picture her in bed, hair in a messy bun, face lit by her phone.
“I miss you,” Grace said quietly.
“I miss you more.”
“You can’t know that.”
“Objection, your honor,” Alix teased.
“On what grounds?” Grace’s voice dipped to a lower register that had Alix pressing her thighs together.
“Uh, leading the witness?”
“Objection sustained.”
“I don’t know what that means,” Alix admitted. “Did I just win?”
Grace chuckled, and something in the sound loosened Alix’s spine.
“Your lawyer voice drives me crazy,” Alix whispered.
“You know,” Grace said, voice dropping an octave, “we could do something about that.”
“Oh?” Alix teased. “You mean… what, like emotional, verbal scissoring?”
“I was thinking something a little more fun.”
