Page 15 of Balancing Act

Beth took another bite of her ice cream, her gaze drifting to Sarah as she laughed with Lily. For a moment, she let herself remember how Sarah had been the one to step up when parenting felt overwhelming, her steady presence a sharp contrast to Beth’s self-doubt. Sarah had never seemed fazed byany of it. She had always made it appear so effortless—planning playdates, signing Lily up for swim lessons, knowing exactly what to say when Lily scraped her knee. Meanwhile, Beth had stumbled her way through, always wondering if she was enough.

“Look, it’s Jamie!” Lily said, snapping Beth’s attention back to the present moment. Jamie was approaching their spot on the bench with their ice cream. Beth couldn’t help how her eyes swept over Jamie for the briefest of moments. Tonight, her hair was pulled back in a wild ponytail tucked under a faded and worn purple University of Washington baseball cap with a small rip across the bill, a few dark curls framing her face.

Beth wanted so badly to reach out and tuck the one above her right ear back into place, to feel the softness of her curls against her skin again. How was it possible for one person to be so effortlessly hot all the time? How did anyone make going to get ice cream sexy?

Okay, so maybe Beth had made it a point to get into the habit of getting to the gym a little early for Lily’s pickups so she could sit in the parents’ viewing gallery under the guise of watching her daughter, which she was. Still, she might havealsostolen a glance (or two, or many) at Jamie over the last two weeks. She couldn’t help herself. Jamie was incredibly intriguing, but she couldn’t put her finger on why exactly.

“Hey, Lily!” Jamie said, her voice matching Lily’s enthusiasm. “Sarah, Beth.” She gave a small nod and a wave as she approached.

A wide smile stretched across Lily’s face, and an equally wide one stretched across Jamie’s, exposing those perfect dimples. Her brown eyes sparkled under the twinkling lights above.

The two weeks since Beth and Jamie’s encounter in the gym stairwell had been quiet, punctuated only by scattered thoughts of Jamie that she couldn’t quite shake. Their brief exchanges—polite acknowledgments, at first—slowly evolved into somethingwarmer, with greetings stretching into inquiries about each other’s day. Despite this subtle shift, Beth was cautious. The memory of Jamie’s clear stance on keeping things strictly professional lingered in her mind, tempering her impulses. She wasn’t eager to risk overstepping, to extend herself only to face potential rejection, even though she wanted to so badly.

Beth could feel her pulse quickening as she unconsciously scooted away from Sarah, where they had been sitting beside each other, their thighs touching.

“What are you doing here?” Lily asked.

“Same thing you’re doing,” Jamie said, wiggling her eyebrows at Lily. “My sweet tooth won tonight. I love the lavender ice cream here.” Jamie looked first at Sarah and then right at Beth. She paused momentarily, and Beth felt like Jamie slowly drank her in. “It’s locally sourced from a nearby farm.”

“That’s my favorite, too! And Mama’s. You should join us!” Lily said excitedly.

“Lily, we don’t want to be rude. Jamie probably has plans,” Beth said quickly.

“Nope, no plans.” Jamie offered Beth a smile, her eyes sparkling in that same devilish way they had the night they met. “I was taking myself out on a little ice cream date. I’d love to join you guys, if you don’t mind?”

“We’d love that,” Sarah said, beaming.

Jamie ducked into the ice cream shop with the promise that she’d return in a few minutes.

Beth felt a cold, sticky trail of melting ice cream winding down her hand, followed by a smallplopas a large drop landed on her pants.

“Oh shit,” she said quickly, taking a lick of her melting ice cream. “I need a napkin.” She shot up and entered the shop.

Jamie turned around from the counter and took one long, languorous lick with her cone of lavender ice cream in hand.Beth froze. She couldn’t help how her eyes locked on Jamie’s tongue as it lapped at the ice cream.

“Beth?” She hadn’t realized Jamie had been talking to her as she had let her mind wander to other things Jamie’s tongue could be exploring. “You okay?”

“Yup, just sticky,” Beth said. She flushed. “Sticky fingers. From the ice cream. I need a napkin.” She peered around and spotted the napkin holder on the counter. Reaching around Jamie, she grabbed a few and wiped the remnants of sticky liquid from her fingers.

“You sure it’s okay if I join you? I don’t want to intrude on family time.”

“Why wouldn’t it be okay?”

Jamie paused for a moment before taking another lick of her ice cream, subtler this time, and Beth could have sworn she saw the slightest hint of that playful, cocky smile she had seen the night at the gallery. “I want to make sure I’m not making things awkward for you.”

“It’s fine, Jamie.” Jamie’s name left her lips softly before she could catch herself. “We’re all adults here. I’m fine,” she assured her.

“Okay, then. After you,” Jamie said, holding the door open for her, and they rejoined Lily and Sarah.

They chatted as Lily asked Jamie all sorts of questions. Beth leaned back against the bench, watching her daughter’s face light up as she chatted animatedly with Jamie and Sarah about everything from the Puget Sound Pride soccer team to Taylor Swift. It turned out Jamie was a big fan of both.

“Do you have a boyfriend?” Lily asked, with genuine curiosity. That caught Beth’s attention. She perked up.

“Lily, love,” Beth warned, shooting Jamie a glance that saidI’m so sorry.

“What? Do you?” Lily asked again.

Jamie laughed and looked down at the ground before looking up at them again.