Homecoming (27 page)

Alice gave him a lethal look, but that didn’t stop him.

“Are you that out of dating shape?” he continued. “A good-looking woman tells you to call, and you say ‘maybe?’”

Karen’s look was sympathetic, Becky’s gaze avidly switched between Skip and Jill, Alice was glaring at her husband, and Lizzie’s head was cocked, clearly confused.

“I don’t need dating advice, Skip. But thanks for caring.” She put an arm around his shoulders and gave him a rough hug. “Take some of these flowers from Lizzie. She’s about to topple over.”

They divided the remaining flowers into three roughly equal bunches, leaving the last and biggest bunch for Lizzie. Then, Jill saw everyone out, while Lizzie went into the kitchen to put Jill’s portion into vases. A few minutes later, Jill poked her head into the kitchen, ready for, at best, a thorough questioning.

Instead, she found both boys, dancing on the counter, walking by the vase and jumping up on their hind legs to rub their faces on the blooms, purring like mad as they did. Lizzie was talking to them, petting both as they sauntered around the vase. “Who was your mommy flirting with, huh, boys? Does she have pretty ladies over here all the time? Is this booty-call central? Huh? Who’s here when I’m not watching her?”

“I’ve never met that woman in my life,” Jill said, her voice high and strained. “Kathleen brought her over here with—”

Gentle fingers covered her lips, then Lizzie stood up and snuggled into Jill’s embrace. “You don’t owe me any explanations.”

“Yes, I do! I wouldn’t like it if you had some woman over right when we’re trying to figure out if we can—”

Those fingers pressed her lips together, this time holding them tightly. “You don’t owe me an explanation because I trust you. You’re not the type of woman to be juggling a bunch of babes when I’m not watching you. Chill,” she urged.

Jill tightened her hold and rested her chin on Lizzie’s shoulder. “Damn, that’s a relief.”

“Have other women kept you on a tight leash?”

Jill straightened up and took Lizzie’s hand, leading her to the den. They sat down, but not before Jill ran a hand down her skirt. “Pretty dress. You look fantastic in white.”

“Thanks. I think you’ve seen just about all of my summer clothes. You’ll have to wait for a month to see the fall and winter stuff. At least I hope I can hold out for a month. I hate to wear wool until at least mid-September.”

Jill leaned back against the sofa, resting her head. “Becca wasn’t very jealous, but the woman I dated before her was too insecure for my tastes. She thought I was checking out every woman on the street, everybody at the U, and was sure I was going to find someone I liked better. Of course, I
did
,” she said, looking disgusted. “Anyone who’d give me an ounce of oxygen would have been better.”

“I think it takes a lot of oxygen to make an ounce,” Lizzie said, giving Jill a playful elbow. “You’re in trouble when an art history major knows more real world facts than you do.”

“I didn’t take much science,” Jill said. “But I’m never surprised when you know more than I do. You’re super, super smart,” she murmured, leaning against Lizzie and draping her arms around her. “And mature. And worldly. And confident. That’s really sexy.”

“I
am
confident. If you didn’t want to be with me, you’d tell me. You’d feel really shitty about it, but you’d tell me.”

“I would,” Jill agreed, sitting up straight. “But I’m nowhere near wanting to stop seeing you. I want to see more and more and more of you.” She let out a heavy sigh. “As soon as you come out to your parents, I’m ready to take the leap.”

“Really?” Her brow rose again. That was so cute. It made her look like she could see right through Jill, and get into her head. “I wanted to go down this weekend to talk to them, but Donna’s there with her seventy kids. There won’t be a minute for me to have time alone with my folks.”

“I guess it’s not the kind of conversation you want to have on the phone, huh?”

“No. We never have important conversations on the phone. They’d think it was weird, and I want this to be a super normal conversation.”

“Are we heading down to Boston next Friday or waiting for Saturday morning?”

“It’s a Saturday afternoon game, so I thought we could drive down on Friday and save a couple of bucks by staying outside of town. We’ll wander around until the game, then come back Saturday night. Is that cool?”

“Sure. How far out of town are we staying?”

She made a face. “I was trying to get the price below a hundred, so we’re a ways out. I’m paying for everything, so I’m really trying to cut corners. Are you okay with that?”

“Absolutely. But if you’d rather I chipped in…”

“I’ve got this,” Lizzie said. “I’ve been putting away a hundred bucks a month since spring. I wanted to take my dad somewhere, and, luckily, he doesn’t want to go to Australia. The air fare would murder me!”

Jill pulled her close and tucked an arm around her. They were getting so comfortable with each other, this was starting to seem normal. It wasn’t, but her body thought this was all just super.

Lizzie looked into her eyes, her grin thoroughly charming. “Wanna make out?”

“Uh-huh,” Jill said, nuzzling her nose against Lizzie’s. “But I’d rather wait a little bit. I’ll feel much, much better about this after you talk to your parents.”

Lizzie pulled away so she could get a good look at Jill’s face. “What’s going to change then? Do you think they’re going to say, ‘Oh, wow, you like women? Why not grab Jill and marry her?’”

“I’m not delusional. I just think it’s wise to do this in stages. If they know you’re into women, it won’t be as big a surprise when you say you’re into me.”

Lizzie put a hand on her chest, gazing into her eyes for a minute. “I think you want to make sure I’m committed to this.”

“That’s part of it,” she admitted. “But only a small part. I trust you,” she said, holding Lizzie’s hand. “I truly do.”

“Okay. We’ll do it your way.” She leaned forward and gave her a tiny kiss. “But once we’re together, we’ll do everything my way. Fair warning.”

She stood, fluffed her skirt out and started for the kitchen. Jill watched her walk, her eyes widening when the light caught her dress and filtered right through it. Lizzie turned to find her staring. She walked back over and said, “Now you know why I wear tap pants.” She took her skirt and started to lift it, making Jill’s eyes go wide. When it was dangerously high, she put Jill’s hand on her thigh, where her fingers brushed the lacy hem. “See? They give me some coverage when I wear a thin skirt, without being hot like Spanx. They keep me cool.”

“Cool,” Jill parroted. “Really cool.”

“I think you like my undies,” Lizzie said, leaning over for a quick kiss.

“I do. And I’m so glad you came by tonight. My whole house smells good now. Peonies are my new favorite flower.”

“I’ll be back in the morning for yard work. Maybe not nine on the button, but I won’t be too late.”

“I’ll be waiting. Patiently.” Jill stood, grasped her and placed a long, gentle kiss to her lips, then stayed right there, the need to be close almost overpowering. “I wish you didn’t have to go.”

Lizzie didn’t reply. She just gazed at Jill with that foxy look, then patted her on the cheek and started for the back door. “See you in the morning,” she said, waving as she exited.

“Can’t wait. I want to see some work boots, buddy.”

“They will make their first appearance. And the Danish will be prune and apricot free.”

Jill stood on the porch, watching until Lizzie walked behind some parked cars and disappeared from view. As she went back inside, the boys wound themselves around her ankles, crying like they were waiting for dinner. “I know. I wanted her to stay too.”

***

Jill heard gravel crunching on the driveway at nine-fifteen, the only noise Lizzie’s electric car made. Jill put her cereal bowl away, unwilling to reveal her doubts about the Danish delivery.

Heading out to stand on the front porch, Jill saw that the work boots were in the house—with Lizzie’s tight jeans rolled up until they just skimmed the boots. The black tank top she wore showed lots of skin—skin that Jill knew would distract her all day. Lizzie walked across the grass, and offered up a square white box. “Your breakfast is served.”

Jill placed a kiss on her cheek. “Coffee?”

“Sure. Milk and sugar. Use a heavy hand.”

They entered the house and headed for the kitchen. “Your thank-you present’s right there,” Jill said, indicating a shopping bag on the counter.

“I get a thank you present? How do you know I’m going to do anything?” Two cats appeared, both crying for attention.

Lizzie squatted down to lavish attention on the boys. “Did you miss me?” she murmured. “I missed you too. Such good boys you are.”

Jill handed her a mug, very pale and very sweet. “Need a hand up?”

Lizzie tilted her chin to look up at her. “I can handle it.” She made a sweeping gesture with her hands as she rose, effortlessly. “Ta da!”

“You look really cute in your work boots.”

Lizzie looked down pointedly. “So do you. You’re a damned sexy landscaper.” She grasped the pockets of Jill’s cargo shorts and twitched them around, making the shorts glide around her waist. “I like roomy shorts on a woman.”

Jill took the bag and snapped her wrist, making a crinkling noise when the contents shifted around. “Open your present. I think you’ll like it.”

Smiling, Lizzie reached inside and pulled out four pairs of shorts, one navy, one chalk, and two leaf green. “Are you trying to tell me something?” she asked, smirking.

“I am. August is no time for jeans.” Jill picked up the green ones and held them up to Lizzie’s face. “I knew that color would match your eyes. That’s why I bought them in two sizes.”

Lizzie took a peek at the labels. “Four pairs, but only two sizes.”

“I thought you needed two pair, but wasn’t sure what size you wore. So I bought a variety to show you the colors. I’ll exchange them for the right size. If you like them, that is. No problem if you don’t.”

Lizzie moved to stand in front of her, snuggling close when Jill’s arms naturally slid around her body. “No one’s ever bought me shorts. I think I’ll put a pair on right now.”

“Okay. I’ll plate our breakfast.”

Lizzie started to unlace her boots. Then she twitched her hips as she peeled the jeans off, with Jill staring at her, unblinking.

“You don’t mind, do you?” Lizzie asked. “I’m wearing underwear.”

“No. Please.” She moved—or shuffled—over to where she stored her plates, and took down a couple of small ones. Lizzie’s jeans were so tight she had to remove them like they were an adhesive film. Gone were the silky tap pants, replaced by gray boy shorts, also skin tight. Jill couldn’t imagine wearing underwear that fit that snugly, but she was really glad Lizzie did.

After checking the labels for size, Lizzie slipped a green pair on. Once they were zipped, she put her hands in the pockets and rocked back on her heels. “I think these work. What do you think?”

Before Jill could reply, Lizzie was in the bathroom, where her voice called out, “Yeah, these are good. Not too short, and not too long.”

When she returned, Jill was gazing at her vacantly. “I like your undies,” she said, not even caring that she looked like a dunce.

Lizzie reached down and tugged on her waistband. “What am I wearing? Oh, yeah. My boxers. Wedgie protection for when I’m going to be bending over a lot.”

“You look really cute,” Jill said, still staring.

“Thanks to you.” Lizzie moved to her and gave her a long hug. “It was very sweet of you to buy me something to keep me cool while we worked.”

Jill dropped a kiss to her cheek. “I bought you something so I could stare at your legs. Full disclosure.”

“I don’t mind your reasons. You’re still very sweet to think of me.” She cuddled against her, with neither of them in any hurry to drink their coffee, eat their Danish, or cut the grass. Why ruin a perfect moment?

***

On Friday afternoon, Jill drove to Lizzie’s apartment just after lunch. It was easy for her to get away on a summer Friday, but she knew this weekend trip had required a lot of juggling and trading with co-workers for Lizzie.

She came bounding down the steps a few seconds after Jill texted her arrival. Cute as a pinch and always prompt. That alone made her the perfect choice for a girlfriend.

Lizzie tossed open the door and slid in. “Hello, Freyja.” She patted the dash, then turned and nodded soberly. “Jill.”

Jill could see the playfulness hidden behind those pale eyes. “That’s all I get?”

“I’m practicing for how I’m going to behave around my parents.” She slid her hand onto Jill’s thigh, a habit they’d have to break that afternoon. “This is going to be really hard.”

“I know.” Jill didn’t want to admit how worried she’d been about that, but Lizzie could probably tell. “Our timing sucks. Ideally, you’d talk to them about us this weekend, then we’d go to a game in September.”

“I had to pull out all the stops to get these tickets,” she said. “September was out of the question.”

“We’ll just have to act like friends. They know we do stuff together, right?”

“Uh-huh. I’ve told my mom about almost every time we’ve been together.” She rolled her eyes. “Not about my coming by after a late night at work, just to kiss you goodnight, but all of the times that don’t make me sound like a stalker. Oh! I almost forgot. Will you go by my charging station? I don’t want to leave my car plugged in all weekend. They only have two ports.”

Jill did a U-turn and went back towards Lizzie’s apartment, finding the car patiently sipping electricity. “Be right back,” Lizzie said, getting out to jog over to it and move it.

Jill watched her go, daydreaming about the day they could be open—with everyone—about their relationship. She was so crazy about Lizzie, she wanted to shout it from the rooftops. But her patient, careful nature just couldn’t let go. This was too important to screw up because of impatience.

It took Lizzie a while to find a spot, and she was out of breath when she ran back to the car. “Lots of people around today. We’re good to go.”