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Finishing up brushing their teeth, the two walked into the living room. Riley had set several blankets on the couch for Harlow, along with a couple of pillows and a glass of water. Harlow was so sleepy that sleeping literally anywhere would have been fine by her.
“I’m going to go up on the roof for a bit.”
“The roof?” Harlow wasn’t sure she’d heard Riley right.
“Yeah,” she giggled, “it’s nice and quiet up there and I like to look out over the city and see the ocean. You can come, if you want.”
While Harlow would have preferred to be asked outright to join Riley on the roof, she decided not to overthink it and head up there with her. She followed Riley through what she had originally assumed was a closet but was in fact another set of stairs. The staircase was narrow and dark, so Harlow stayed close behind Riley so as to not stumble on the stairs. But once Riley pushed open the heavy door, the soft glow of the city filled the staircase. Harlow stepped onto the roof and immediately looked around at the view.
The ocean was still beyond one block of businesses and apartments, but the smell of the salt air made it feel like it was closer. To the left was the town square, which was silent now compared to when they’d walked through town earlier. Harlow looked down at the row of businesses beneath them, enjoying the way it was so quiet and peaceful there now. Riley walked over to her, leaning up against the wrought iron railing.
“I love it up here.” She dreamily looked out at the view as she smiled contentedly. “There’s just something so peaceful about the town at night.”
Harlow nodded in agreement. “It’s really nice up here. I love seeing the world above the building. The view is spectacular.”
“It really is.”
But Riley wasn’t looking at the view when she made the comment.
No.
She was looking right at Harlow.
Harlow swallowed the lump in her throat as she smiled at Riley. She wasn’t sure what was on Riley’s mind, but she had her suspicions and even possibly shared the same thoughts as Riley. If Harlow was more secure in herself and Riley’s feelings, she would have closed the space between them and kissed her then and there. That fact no longer scared or confused her but instead it exhilarated her. So much so that Harlow thought she had enough courage to actually kiss Riley.
But Riley seemed to be beating her to it.
Taking a step closer to Harlow, Riley reached out and took hold of Harlow’s hands. She held them tight as she took one more step closer. Riley was so close to Harlow that she could smell that same peach scent she’d grown to associate with Riley.
Riley.
Those green eyes were looking at Harlow in a way they never had before. Harlow had seen glimpses of the look before, but there was something different in Riley’s expression tonight. Maybe the fresh air outside the bus allowed them to see things more clearly. Perhaps Riley had really been feeling all the feelings Harlow had been confused by for weeks.
“Harlow?” Riley’s voice was barely a whisper.
“Mhmm?”
“May I kiss you?”
Harlow could only nod. Words weren’t going to happen as she watched Riley lean in slowly. So slowly that Harlow resisted the urge to lean in herself to kiss her quicker. When Riley’s lips met hers, Harlow felt she had new life breathed into her soul. Riley dropped her hands as she wrapped her arms around Harlow’s waist to pull her closer to her body. Unsure of what to do with her own hands, Harlow put them on Riley’s hips.
Time seemed to stand still as she kissed Riley in the soft glow of the moonlight. Harlow had no idea if the kiss was ten seconds or ten minutes, but she didn’t care. Kissing Riley was better than anything Harlow could have imagined. She’d kissed women before but none of them ever felt the way it did as she kissed Riley. Something was clearly different about Riley, but instead of letting that scare her away, Harlow decided to embrace it.
Never in her life had Harlow been as attracted to someone as she was to Riley. She had been confused by those emotions at first, but now Harlow understood it better. Riley was different from anyone Harlow had ever dated. Not once did Riley pretend to be someone she wasn’t and she never expected Harlow to act differently either. They had a mutual respect for each other which probably stemmed out of their work relationship, but had slowly morphed into something more without them noticing.
Or, well, Harlow hadn’t noticed until that moment.
And there was no going back now.
Riley pressed her forehead onto Harlow’s as they smiled happily at each other. They were slightly breathless from this kissing, and it made Harlow nervously giggle.
“I hope that isn’t a laugh at my kissing skills, or lack thereof.”
“Never,” Harlow chuckled and pulled Riley closer to her. Their bodies fit together better than Harlow would have anticipated. They were roughly the same height, and Riley nuzzled her nose against Harlow’s ear. “That was great.”
“I’m glad it wasn’t just me thinking there was something between us.”
“You definitely weren’t.”
