Page 27

“Y ou’re going out again, so why are you mad at me?” Sophie asked.

“I’m not mad,” Asher said into the phone.

“You sound mad.”

“No, I’m busy. I’m looking for something to wear on my second date with my best friend, and I can’t find anything.”

“Asher, you have a closet of designer clothes,” Sophie reminded her.

“Yes, but none of them will work for a date with Linden.”

She pushed coat hangers aside, stared at one dress, and then moved it away to glance at another.

“All of them will work. She’s probably seen you in all of them anyway, right?”

“Yes.” Asher stopped moving. “That’s the problem.”

“Problem?”

“She’s seen me in everything I own. I should’ve gone shopping after work and bought something. Why didn’t I think of that?”

Sophie laughed and replied, “Asher, she doesn’t care what you wear. She just wants to be your date, okay?”

“But I’ve never dated a friend before.”

“You went out with her last night.”

“I didn’t know we were going out because you and your girlfriend tricked us.”

Asher sat on the edge of her bed.

“So what? You couldn’t be nervous because you didn’t know?”

“Exactly,” she said loudly into the phone. “Sophie, she’s Linden. I’ve known her forever. I don’t even know what to talk to her about. Standard date rules don’t apply here. She’s already seen me in the morning with my messy hair and dealt with me before I’ve had my coffee.”

“And she still wants you,” Sophie said softly. “That’s all you need to know, Asher. She’s been there for ten years, and she hasn’t run yet. Why would she now?”

“Because I don’t know what I’m doing. And she goes out with women who know what they’re doing.”

“Are we talking about sex here?”

“Not only sex,” she said.

“You’re worried she’s had a lot of it recently, and you won’t compare or something?”

“Yes. Wouldn’t you be?”

“She wants you , Asher,” Sophie repeated slowly.

“But that’s a recent thing. She could change her mind, and I’d end up losing her.”

“Asher, you don’t just like Linden. I could see it on your face that night at the bar. This may be your second date, but it’s not, really. It’s more than that for both of you.”

“Thanks for layering on the pressure there, Soph,” she replied sarcastically.

“It’s not pressure; it’s just a fact, Ash. Put on what you’d normally wear on a night when you and Linden would hang out. Be comfortable. Just let the night go where it goes, okay? Stop putting this intense pressure on it, and you’ll be fine. Jill said you two practically made out at lunch today, by the way. So, I assume that part of your relationship is going well.”

“We’ve kissed several times, yes,” she said with a smile.

“And…”

“Are you fishing for information for yourself or your girlfriend?”

“Both,” Sophie said with a light laugh.

“She’s a really good kisser,” Asher replied.

“Yeah?”

“Yes.”

“Hey, Ash!”

Asher froze when she heard a voice coming from downstairs.

“Shit,” she said into the phone.

“What?”

“She’s here.”

“Who? Linden?”

“Ash?” Linden yelled from downstairs.

“Yes,” Asher replied to Sophie. “She has a key. She’s early, and she’s inside. I thought she’d ring the bell. I have to go.”

“Good luck,” Sophie said.

Asher hung up the phone and tossed it on the bed. Seconds later, Linden was standing in her doorway with her hand on the open door, knocking.

“Oh, hey,” Linden greeted. “I yelled for you.”

“You’re early,” Asher said. “Very early.”

“I was… excited about tonight. Sorry.” Linden shrugged a shoulder, looking adorable in a pair of gray slacks and a white, short-sleeved button-down.

“I thought you were picking me up,” Asher said.

“I am. I’m right here.”

“Linden, you were supposed to ring the doorbell.”

“Oh.” It dawned on Linden then. “Shit. Sorry. Should I go outside, and we do this again? I can go home and come back if–”

“You’re being really, really cute right now,” Asher interrupted.

“Yeah?” Linden asked with a smile.

Asher nodded.

“So, I’m not going home and coming back?”

“No,” Asher replied.

“Do you want to get dinner first, and then we can go to a movie? I’m hungry now, but we can walk around a bit first, if you want.”

“I need to get dressed. Can you give me thirty minutes?”

“You are dressed,” Linden noted.

“I’m wearing jeans,” she argued, looking down at herself. “And an old pair, at that. I just tossed these on when I got home while I looked for something else to wear.”

“You look great,” Linden replied.

“But you’re all dressed up.”

“No, I’m not.” Linden laughed. “I mean, I’m not crazy casual, but I don’t dress up how you dress up. I thought maybe this would be okay for a spring night in New Orleans with a beautiful girl on my arm.”

Asher felt the blush creep up her neck and said, “I’m not beautiful yet. I need thirty minutes, Linden.”

“Stand up,” Linden requested, walking toward her.

“What?”

“Just go with me here.”

Asher stood up and watched as Linden sat down in the spot on the bed she’d just occupied. Then, Linden’s hands moved to her hips, and she pulled Asher in.

“Better,” Linden said more to herself than to her. “I do not need you to dress up for me. I like you in my old LSU shirt and those sweats you bought online last year. I like you in anything and everything you wear, really.” She rubbed her hands up and down Asher’s back under her T-shirt. “We’ll go somewhere casual for dinner tonight, okay? Then, we’ll find a movie we both want to see and go for a walk after, if you want. Or, we can just come back here. Either way, I don’t need you to put on makeup or wear heels. I just need you , Ash. I need our second date already.” She smiled up at Asher.

“Already?”

“Yeah. In a way, it feels like I’ve wanted this for ten years. I just didn’t know it.” Linden’s hands disappeared from Asher’s back and moved to her hips. “So, can you just put on some shoes, and we get out of here? Or are you going to make me wait for you to put on some fancy dress?”

“I’d need socks first,” Asher replied.

“Wear the ones I got you for Christmas,” Linden said of the stocking stuffer she’d gotten her the previous year.

“They have dancing skeletons on them, Linden. I still have no idea why you got them for me. And for Christmas, too,” she noted, moving to her dresser and opening her sock drawer.

“I thought they were cute,” Linden said, moving behind her now and wrapping her arms around her. “Like you.” She pressed her lips to Asher’s neck. “I will now go down to the living room and wait for my date to walk down the stairs so that we can go on our second date.”

She left the room, and Asher stared down at her neatly organized dress socks, casual socks, and then the playful socks that Linden had gotten for her, which were in their own little row at the right side of the drawer because she had no other playful socks to go with them. Asher grabbed them, deciding to just go with it after all, and put them on before she found her comfortable tennis shoes in her closet and slipped into them. Then, in the bathroom, she took a look at her hair and face in the mirror. Her hair was still pinned back and looked okay. Her face was nearly clear of makeup, as usual, but she reached for her lipstick and slid it across her lower lip, blotting her lips together and smiling at herself.

“This will have to do,” she said.

She walked down the stairs, and when Linden looked up at her and smiled, she lifted a pant leg for good measure.

“Cute,” Linden said of the socks as she laughed. “Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

Linden stood up, made her way over to her, and before Asher knew it, her lips were on Asher’s own. Linden’s hands went to her back again, and Asher wrapped hers around Linden’s neck, pulling her in.

“You put on lipstick,” Linden noted against her neck when she pulled away.

“Yes.”

“I just messed it up.” Linden kissed her neck.

“Yes,” Asher replied with a small laugh. “But I’m okay with it.”

Linden pulled back and looked into Asher’s blue eyes.

“Sorry. I couldn’t wait until the end of the date.”

Asher smiled, took Linden’s hand, and said, “Let’s go.”

◆◆◆

“So, I showed up early and used my key instead of picking you up at your door. Now, I’m dropping you off and wondering if this should be it because it’s only our second date, or if I could maybe come in, and we could relax on the sofa,” Linden said.

They’d gone to a seafood place by the water for dinner. It had been the kind of establishment that had plastic bibs for customers to wear, but despite how ridiculous they’d looked, Asher had worn one along with Linden. They’d shared their entrées how they always did and peppered one another with questions about things they’d never asked for whatever reason. For part of the night, they’d also talked about work but left Dallas out of the conversation completely, choosing to focus on the weddings they both had to run the following day.

Dinner done, they’d driven to a movie theater and had chosen the film on the spot, grabbing popcorn with extra butter for Linden and one with no butter for Asher. Linden had held her hand and moved it into her lap almost right away, and Asher had just stared at their linked hands for a long time, unaware of the movie playing in front of her.

After the movie, they had taken a walk, but not a long one, because they both needed to get some sleep. Linden had driven them back to Asher’s apartment, and while it wasn’t late, it also wasn’t early, and they both needed to be up by six the following morning to get their respective weddings going.

Now, they stood on Asher’s stoop, facing one another, with their hands joined between them.

“You want to come in?” Asher asked, swallowing hard.

“Yes,” Linden said.

Asher lowered her gaze to their hands, but Linden let go of one and used her thumb and forefinger on Asher’s chin to lift her eyes back.

“I can just snuggle you on the couch, okay?”

Asher didn’t know what to say, so she just nodded.

“But I’d really like to stay the night, if you let me,” Linden added. “I woke up this morning, and it felt weird because you weren’t there. I’ve hardly ever woken up next to you, but we’ve done that a few times recently, and I didn’t like that you weren’t there this morning.”

“That’s sweet, Linden,” she said.

“If you want me to go, though, I will. I know we both have a long day tomorrow, and it’s been a longer week with everything that’s happened. I don’t–”

“Stay, Linden,” she said, interrupting her.

“Yeah?”

Asher nodded.

“There’s one problem.”

“What?”

“Well, I wore the extra clothes I keep here last night.”

Asher shook her head and said, “I guess you’ll have to sleep naked, then.”

“Are you sleeping naked, too?” Linden asked, looking very interested in the answer to this question.

“No, I have clothes here,” she replied, laughing as she unlocked the front door.

“Do you want me to sleep naked?” Linden asked her as they walked inside.

“This feels like a weighted question,” Asher noted.

Linden closed and locked the door behind them.

“It’s not.”

“No?” she asked.

“Okay. Maybe a little,” Linden admitted.

“Go on,” she said, kicking off her shoes and watching Linden do the same.

“Well, I just meant that… You mentioned you thought I was… sexy, I guess, but I–” Linden stopped. “I don’t know what I’m saying.” She laughed nervously.

“Linden?”

When Linden looked at her, Asher said, “Yes, I want to see you naked. No, I don’t think it should be tonight. Not for the first time, when we both have to get up early and go to work.”

“But you want that? The us being naked together part?”

Asher laughed and asked, “Is this how you get women to sleep with you? I’d assumed you turn on that sexy charm, but when you get them alone, do you go all shy and adorable? Is that what does it?”

Linden’s face fell, and she said, “I’m not doing that anymore, Ash. And no, I’m only this way with you. I told you: you matter.”

Asher nodded seriously and replied, “Yes. I very much want to make love with you, Linden.” She cupped Linden’s cheek. “Because that’s what it would be between us, right? It wouldn’t just be sex.”

Linden shook her head before she turned into Asher’s palm and kissed it.

“So, let me find you some of my clothes to wear, and we can go to bed and snuggle.”

Linden took Asher’s hand and said, “Lead the way.”

Minutes later, Asher handed Linden some clothes to sleep in and went into the bathroom. She stared at herself in the mirror and took her hair out of its clip, shaking it out before carefully brushing it. Normally, she’d take a shower now so that she wouldn’t have to wake up so early tomorrow, but she was too tired to stand for much longer anyway and knew the shower would help her wake up tomorrow. When she was ready, she opened the door and walked into her bedroom, seeing Linden sitting on the side of the bed.

“Hey,” Linden spoke.

“Hey,” she replied, chuckling because she had no idea why they were greeting each other just before bed.

“I did all my stuff in the guest bathroom, so I’m ready if you are.”

“What? Why?” Asher asked as she walked toward her and placed her hands on Linden’s shoulders.

“Two birds. One stone. More time to snuggle.” Linden pulled Asher into her and pressed her face to Asher’s chest.

“You’re that into snuggling? Is that something I should know about you?”

“Honestly, I never have been.” Linden looked up at her but didn’t pull away. “But since you’ve told me about the woman thing, I’ve been touching you more and more. Have you noticed?”

“A little, yeah.”

“And since last night, I just can’t stop thinking about holding you. It’s all I want to do.”

Asher ran her hands into Linden’s hair and said, “I’d love it if you held me all night long.”