“Oh, working on group projects sucks. You didn’t miss out on anything.”
Kennedy looked over at River and asked, “Yeah? Had a lot of those in pastry school?”
River laughed and replied, “Yeah. But now that I think about it, you probably would’ve been just fine with group projects.”
“Why do you say that?” she asked, very interested.
“Well, you’re type A, clearly.”
“What?” Kennedy laughed loudly.
“Oh, come on. You know it’s true. You like things just so. So do I, if it makes you feel any better.”
“I suppose that’s fairly… accurate.”
“So, you would’ve been the leader, taking control. You would’ve dished out assignments, pestered everyone to make sure they got done on time, and if they didn’t, you would’ve unleashed unholy hell on them until they did.”
Kennedy laughed louder and asked, “I wouldn’t have just done itforthem, like most people do in group projects?”
“No way. I can’t see you doing that. You would’ve made them get it done to teach them responsibility or something.”
“Thatdoessound like me,” she agreed. “What about you and group projects? Which role do you play?”
“Similar but not the same. There was a time when we had to work in groups of three on this chocolate thing. One of the people in my group could not temper chocolate worth a damn. She kept letting it burn, which was driving me nuts. I suggested she tackle another part, and I’d work on that. She agreed. I got the chocolate just right, and we finished.”
“So you’re type A, but on the spectrum? You’d put me all the way at one end and yourself a little bit down?” Kennedy teased.
“I have my own type-A ways; trust me. They drive Lacey crazy.”
“Like what?”
“Well, I load the dishwasher a certain way. I don’t run it until the dishes are in the right place for me.”
“Go on.”
“Well, you already know I don’t like to hang things on the shower because it drips. I wake up early every day, for the most part, and when I’m up, I’m up. I like to start my workdays the same way every day if I can, which isn’t always possible withLace because she’s not one for routine unless it’s with work. She might want me to… you know.” River cleared her throat. “And then go to work, or she might want me to stay there instead of at my place, which is fine; it’s just not my routine. I like to control everything in my shop, too.”
“You have a business partner. How does that work?”
“Oh, Calista is more the money than an active partner. She’s my best friend and a full-time writer. She helped me secure the small business loan I needed and made it a lot smaller for me, but she only owns fifteen percent. The plan was for me to pay the loan off and then buy her out when I can afford it. She stops by mostly to help when I need her and leaves all the decisions to me, which is how I like it.”
“Well, it’s your dream, so I get it.”
Kennedy looked down then and saw River’s hand resting between them on the towel. She was sure it was there for no other reason than that was where it landed, but it made her feel like a teenager who hoped that if she set her hand next to it, River would take it.
“How didyoucome out?” she asked instead of doing something very inappropriate.
“Oh, I just did,” River said, shrugging a shoulder. “I was never reallyinall that well to begin with. I was a tomboy who hated wearing dresses, and while that doesn’t mean you’re gay, I pretty much knew from birth, so I’m sure I just exuded it. I had my first girlfriend in high school. I introduced her to my parents one day, and that was that; I was out. We talked about it later, obviously, and I confirmed it, but it was easy as far as coming outs go. I wasn’t outorin at school – I was just me. But even when I was me with a girlfriend, I wasn’t a big fan of PDA in school, so we mainly kept it to ourselves. Then, it ended, and I grew more and more comfortable with who I was and what I wanted in a person.” River turned her head to Kennedy andadded, “Hey, you told me how you came out to the world, but not your family.”
“Oh, I guess I do that.”
“Do what?”
“Assume people are asking me questions about that and not the other side of it. If you’re me, coming out has always meant coming out to the world, not to the people who actually knew me. After the rumors started, I told my parents, and they weren’t thrilled. My mom was worse than my dad, but that wasn’t about her being a mom, really. It was about–”
“Your career,” River guessed.
“Yes,” Kennedy confirmed. “She worried I wouldn’t get parts. And she was right for a minute: I didn’t get film offers for a couple of years after that. But I was on the show, and it was fine, so eventually, things settled down. They’re fine with it now. Cam’s the first girlfriend they’ve met, though. It took me a while to feel comfortable bringing a woman home, and I still worried my mom would say or do something to make them feel like they might not be right for me, and by that, she would mean they weren’t right for mycareer, not me. With Cam, I wasn’t worried about that. We met when she was on the rise, so to speak, and I knew my mom would be charmed by her, so I introduced them. My mom asked when we were getting married that very day.”
