AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What? How? When?” Gwen’s head appears back on the screen, and I quickly relay what happened outside Fiona’s apartment.
“Let me get this straight. She kissed you, and you’re worried about taking advantage of her?” my brother asks, eyebrows knit together.
“Yeah. She wasn’t acting like herself. She’d had a glass of wine with lunch ...”
“How bad was it? Prom bad?” Gwen asks. We’d all gone to my senior prom together, and someone had spiked the punch with plenty of vodka. Fiona had drunk it like it was lemonade, not realizing how potent the stuff was until it was too late. It had been all we could do to get her home and sneak her past her parents to sleep it off.
“Nothing like that. It was one glass of wine. I think it was more the reaction to the allergy medication she took. Mostly, she kept yawning and had a hard time keeping her eyes open.”
“But she was coherent? Talking?” her sister asks.
“Yes, very. I’m pretty sure she answered a couple of work emails on the drive home.”
“Then I’d say you have nothing to worry about. She wanted to kiss you. Question is, how do you feel about it?” She’s looking at me, daring me not to hurt her sister. Again.
“I miss her. I miss us.” I’m surprised how much I mean it.
“Enough to give up your life in California? Cause you know she’s not moving out there.” Gwen raises an eyebrow.
“I know. I’m trying to figure all that out.”
“Then I suggest you do that before you kiss her again. Even better, the two of you should probably talk about all this.”
“Much as I hate to admit it, she’s right,” my brother says. He’s not a big talker, especially when feelings are involved. It’s a family trait we both inherited from our dad.
“I’ll take that under advisement.” Spike is purring in my lap, reminding me that as cute as he is, he’s another obstacle between me and Fiona that I need to get around.
“You do that. And promise you’ll go check on my sister if you don’t hear anything from her in a couple of hours. She’s not usually much of a napper.”
“I know.” I end the call and sit there, stroking Spike. What do I want my life to be like? Fiona in it. That’s the one thing I know for sure. And if that means giving up on Hollywood and building a life here in the Carolinas, so be it. Spending a little time in Rockville made me realize how much I miss spending time with my family. It would be a chance to reconnect with old friends and reinvent myself as an artist and a director.
I ease Spike, who’s fallen asleep, out of my lap and on the cream-colored couch Cara found for me at a thrift store. Walking out on the balcony, I glance at the setting sun and look over at Fiona’s place. It’s bathed in darkness, no beam of light coming out of it. I send her another text when Spike comes striding out.
“Not a good idea, buddy. I’m pretty sure you could squeeze through these rails, and that’s a pretty long fall. See?” I scoop him up and take him back inside.
“Seriously?” The familiar stench of cat urine hits me, and I notice a wet patch on the couch.
15
FIONA
I wake up with a start, my heart pounding in my chest, my shirt soaked in sweat.
“What?” It’s dark outside. I reach for my phone to see what time it is and can’t find it. I must have left it in the kitchen. Dragging myself into the shower, I let the warm water wash away the last residues of sleep. I feel off. Wired. And without a sense of what time or even what day it is.
My memory slowly returns. Lunch with Joe and Charles. Joe driving me home because I couldn’t keep my eyes open despite the Vietnamese Iced coffee. The kiss.
“Oh, boy. That happened.” The memory has a dream-like quality to it, but I’m ninety-nine percent sure it actually happened. I flung myself at Joe, then panicked and crashed.
I shake my head, towel off, and change into a pair of yoga pants and a soft worn-out t-shirt I snagged from Stephan. I have no idea where it came from or what the logo on it means, but it’s the most comfortable item of clothing I own, and after a day like today—or was that yesterday?—I need all the comfort I can get.
I pat into the kitchen and make myself a cup of herbal tea to calm down.
“How much caffeine was in that iced coffee?” I wonder and grab my phone to figure out exactly how the sweet and icy drink is made. The first thing I notice is the time. A little after nine. I must have slept a good six hours, and most of the caffeine should be out of my system. It doesn’t feel like it though. The next thing I notice are several texts from Joe asking if I’m okay.
“No wonder I’m wired.” My afternoon pick-me-up is made with a double shot of espresso and enough sweetened condensed milk to make a pie.
I look through both messages from Joe and decide I can’t deal with him right now. Not until I figure out how to feel about any of this. His reaction to the girls at the restaurant, what it’s been like spending time with him again, and most importantly, that kiss.
