“I do, just not officially right now. And you just said we spend every night together anyway.”
“I guess you’re right, but, River, I want to live with you. I want us to have a place together and make it our home. I get that you don’t want that now, and I don’t want to rush you, but I know what I want. You know what I want.”
“I know. I’m not saying it’ll be forever, Lace.”
“Okay,” she’d said, and they’d finished the rest of their meal in an awkward silence.
Things had been a bit off between them ever since, and Lacey was hoping a date night would help them get back to normal. She’d thought dinner and a movie would be fun and simple, and they could go home and make love after. She’d hoped that she could ask River to move in again and get that yes that she had been searching for, but as River drove them back to Lacey’s apartment, she doubted either of those things would happen.
“Hey, do you mind if I crash at my place tonight? I’ve got that big order I need to get started on super early tomorrow morning,” River said when she pulled the car up to her building.
“What about that dinner you ordered for us?”
“I wasn’t really hungry. Can you save mine? Just put it in the fridge, and I’ll eat it tomorrow or something.”
“I guess so.” Lacey shook her head. “You’re not even going to walk me up? It’s a date, River.”
“I can. But is that really necessary? Can I just kiss you goodnight here? This car was pretty romantic not all that long ago, remember?”
She was referring to the sex they’d had in it once, but that was over nine months ago and didn’t really meet the not-all-that-long-ago timeframe, but Lacey didn’t want to argue with her.
“Fine. Good night,” she replied and kissed her on the cheek. “Please drive safe and text me when you get home.”
“You’re mad, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I’m mad, River. First, you didn’t want to go to the movie, and it felt like I basically had to force you to have a date night with me. You didn’t try to hold my hand or touch me at all during the whole two hours we were sitting there. Then, you couldn’t get out of the theater fast enough, teased me abouteating too much, which was whatever, ordered us dinner in, even though I wanted to go out and have a mealwithyou at a table where someone brings it to us and we’re not pulling plastic forks out of bags and eating on the couch, and now you don’t even want to dothat. You have a big order to handle? Fine. But you knew thatbeforeyou pulled up here, and this is the first I’m hearing about it. So, yeah, I’m mad. And I don’t like being mad at you, so I’m going to go now, but you better text me when you get home so that I know you’re okay.”
Lacey opened the car door.
“Come on, Lace… I’m sorry. I messed up.”
“Just go home, River. It’s clearly where you want to be anyway.”
Lacey got out of the car and slammed the door. Then, she realized that she’d forgotten her purse inside on the floorboard, so she pulled the door back open and grabbed it.
“This would’ve been much more effective had I not left my purse in your car,” she stated before slamming the door again.
She walked to her building, looked back, and saw River still sitting in her car, staring straight ahead as if trying to figure out what she was supposed to do before she pulled out of the lot and back on the street.
Lacey couldn’t believe her night had ended this way. She had worn her nicest bra and matching pair of panties, and now, they’d go to waste. Having nothing better to do now while she waited for the food to get there, she checked her mail in the mailroom and remained downstairs since it was easier to just wait instead of trying to buzz someone up to her apartment. When her order arrived, she thanked the delivery guy and took the food upstairs.
She wasn’t really hungry anymore, so she shoved all of it in its original containers inside the fridge and sat down on her sofa, waiting for River’s text. Her girlfriend didn’t live that far away,so within the next five minutes, she should have a message. If River waited longer, that would say something to Lacey. When they had ended a date with one of them going home after they’d first gotten together, they couldn’t wait to text the other person that they’d arrived safely because they’d known that it would only be the start of the conversation and they’d end up texting for hours before they would finally go to sleep.
Getting the message ten minutes later, she tried to give her girlfriend the benefit of the doubt. She didn’t think traffic at this hour would’ve been a problem, but maybe River had gotten caught in some, and that was why it had taken her five extra minutes to send the message.
Lacey Keller: I’m glad you’re home safe.
River Ervin: I’m sorry, Lace. I fucked up. I just wanted to say that again. I know how you get when you’re mad, so I know talking now isn’t the best option, but I am sorry.
Lacey Keller: Okay. Good night. Good luck with your order tomorrow.
Thinking that was the best way she could end their conversation, Lacey moved from her messages to social media to scroll for a bit because she wasn’t yet tired and didn’t want to go to bed. She’d also set out a few toys and some of the lube she liked in the bedroom, thinking they’d be in there using it all tonight, so now, it would all just act as reminders that she wasn’t getting laid after all. She leaned back against her sofa and thought about the last time they’d had sex. It had been at least a month ago, maybe longer, and it had been there, not at River’s place. It felt like forever ago.
She scrolled aimlessly for a while and paused when she saw a familiar face on her screen. It was the woman she’d just seen on the big screen, along with her own girlfriend. Cameron Levine and Kennedy Gannon both smiled as the video playedautomatically. Curious, because she’d never seen them together like this before, Lacey turned the volume up to listen.
“So, we’re partnering with them to help kids around the country who are struggling with cancer. One hundred percent of your donation will go to the organization conducting important research into ending kids’ cancer,” Kennedy said.
“And one lucky winner will get the best double date you have ever been on,” Cameron added.
