Page 1 of Bliss

Alex

“Excuse me?” Alex gently touched the shoulder of the brunette in front of her, then immediately withdrew her hand as the woman spun around with narrowed eyes — stunning eyes with a starburst of alternating chocolate, tan, and caramel, which caused Alex’s already jackhammering heartbeat to increase. “Uh, sorry. Are you Callie?”

Her lovely features momentarily softened, but as she quickly crossed her pale, femininely fit arms over her chest, the woman’s eyes narrowed again, and she scanned the length of Alex before meeting her gaze.

“Who’s asking?”

“Oh, uh,” Alex pointed a thumb at her own chest, and apologized, “sorry, I should have…” As the brunette’s left brow quirked in a high arch and her mouth puckered up into her left cheek, Alex’s nerves stole her voice. Suddenly feeling like she couldn’t breathe, she tugged on the collar of her black button-down — unnecessarily since the first two buttons were undone — and cleared her throat. “I’m Alex. Joselynn’s friend.”

The intimidating look of impatient agitation lifted with Callie’s caramel eyes briefly widening, but they narrowed just as quickly as she scanned Alex from head to toe and back up again. While shaking her head, she mumbled, “Unbelievable,” and reached into her small, black purse hanging from her left shoulder. She withdrew a set of keys, then met Alex’s eyes, and flatly said, “I’ve been set up.”

Uncertain, Alex rubbed the back of her neck and tugged on the collar of her shirt again, as she stuttered, “Uh, yeah, I know. I’ve never been on a blind date, but Joselynn insisted we’d get along. It’s kind of…”

“No. Set up, set up, like a joke, set up.” She waved a hand in front of herself like a person on one of those late-night infomercials trying to sell a product, then held her hand palm up, pointing at Alex as her eyes scanned her again. “Joke.”

Alex’s already blushing cheeks reddened as she realized her error. “Oh.”

“What a bitch.”

The loud, crass judgment caused Alex to internally cringe, while Callie’s head snapped around to shoot a menacing glare at a group of six standing a couple of feet away, also waiting outside of the restaurant to be seated for dinner

With her stomach roiling with nausea, Alex mumbled, “Sorry for the mistake,” and quickly turned away from the irritated — yet beautiful — brunette, and practically ran down the sidewalk and turned the corner at the end of the block to get to her car.

What was Joselynn thinking, setting me up with that woman? Was it a joke? Did her friend really manipulate both of them into agreeing to this blind date as a joke? No, Joselynn wouldn’t do that. She’s been practically begging me to put myself out there and start dating again since just a couple months after Tina left. Besides, a joke like that is cruel, and Joselynn is the antithesis of cruel. She’s damn-near saint-like. She’d especially never purposefully hurt or embarrass me. But why did she choose Callie? She clearly wasn’t the kind of woman Alex would date. She was rude and prioritized physical appearance way too much.

Despite being secure with her appearance, the rejection stung, literally. Every nerve in her skin came alive, feeling like she’d been attacked by a swarm of bees. The honey in Callie’s eyes hadn’t appeared to extend beyond the color of her irises; however, she suspected there still must be a decent person in there — Joselynn never would have set Alex up with Callie if she’d witnessed such unprovoked vitriol from her.

When she reached her car, she froze with her hand on the door handle and stared at her reflection in the driver’s window. She was faintly illuminated by a streetlamp near the rear of her car, and although the image wasn’t as clear as looking in a mirror, she could see the familiar oval shape of her face — a plain face with a short, pointed nose, flat cheeks, brown eyes, and straight eyebrows. She looked ridiculous with arched eyebrows. She had poker-straight brown hair to her shoulders that wouldn’t hold a curl even with all the gel and hairspray in the world. Her face was plain and forgettable. She scanned down, looking at the way the black button-down shaped around her small breasts and laid over her flat stomach. It was her favorite dressy shirt because it complemented her tight, fit torso the best. It perfectly hinted at the body she worked so hard in the gym to sculpt.

I doubt Callie cares that I have a six-pack, can bench press twice my body weight, and can do seventy pull-ups to failure, even if her type is buff butches, according to Joselynn.

She sighed as she shook her head and opened the car door. But before she got in, the sound of a few women laughing caused her to pause and look across the street, illogically expecting pointing and staring. Her heart settled, seeing they had just come out of a bar slightly stumbling with their arms wrapped around each other’s waists. She smiled and thought, they seem to have taken full advantage of happy hour . Her eyes followed them for a few steps, before she looked at the cocktail bar’s pink neon sign with loopy cursive and a blinking martini glass. Bliss, huh? She shrugged as she closed and locked her car, pocketing her keys as she looked both directions and crossed the street.

As soon as she stepped inside, the dim lighting helped her relax, as did the romantic jazz playing from the surround-sound speakers, muffling the conversations and laughter from the crowded high-top tables. There were nearly double the number of people standing around the tall, round tables as there were chairs to seat them, which made it difficult to pass between them.

“Excuse me,” became a mantra as she weaved through the tables to get to the bar. A few people stepped back into her, they both exclaimed, “Excuse me,” then the intoxicated person laughed and moved to allow her to pass. When she reached the bar, she was surprised to see so many free stools at the counter. There was one particularly excited and loud group near the right end of the counter, and they were moving around quite a bit, vigorously gesticulating with their arms and dancing and stomping in place while they laughed. She spied a stool about midway down the counter with three empty stools on either side and the nearest table behind them was positioned more than seven feet away and they seemed sedate. That’s my stool , she thought as she made a beeline for it and planted herself like a flag.

“What can I get for you?”

Alex jumped at the question, quickly blushing and looking down from scanning the bottles on the wall, meeting the darkest pair of eyes she’d ever looked into. The woman continued to stare, unblinking, while she used a white rag to dry a tumbler. Her long, thin, brown braids were pulled up into a coiled knot on the top of her head, and her dark-brown skin seemed to swallow the amber overhead lights with just the edges of her high cheekbones reflecting it back.

As she set the glass upside down on a stack to her right, and slapped the rag down on the counter, Alex jumped an inch, and blurted, “I’m sorry. Uh, drink, yes, uh, I’ll have…” She anxiously scanned the bottles again. “I’ll have that smoked maple whiskey you have over there, please.” Alex pointed to the left, and the woman just continued to stare at her for several breaths, the silence making Alex feel even more awkward.

“ID.”

“Oh, yeah.”

Alex tilted to her left to pull her wallet out of her front, right pocket, pulled her driver’s license out, and passed it to the woman, mentally cursing, damn it , when her hand shook. Alex wasn’t normally a nervous person, even with strangers, but that interaction with Callie really had her knocked off kilter.

The woman took the card and studied it, passing her eyes between the printed plastic and Alex’s face a few times, before passing the license back and turning to fill her order.

As she set an empty lowball glass on the bar in front of her, and began pouring a few ounces of the maple whiskey, she said, “That will be eleven dollars,” and Alex fumbled with her wallet again. She set fifteen dollars on the bar top, and the bartender picked it up as she set her drink down on a coaster in front of her.

“Change?”

“No, thanks.”

The gorgeous bartender nodded, said, “Wave if you need anything else, Alex,” and walked away to help another customer.

Alex’s chest fluttered from hearing her name in the woman’s soulful, raspy voice. She watched her for a few moments, but when the bartender turned to grab a bottle and a shaker cup, and her dark eyes met hers, Alex quickly looked away. She stared down at the brown liquid in the smooth glass nestled between her hands, then quickly lifted it to her lips and gulped half of it in one go. Her face pinched as the liquid burned its way down her throat and pooled like battery acid in her empty belly, reminding her that not only had she just been rejected, she hadn’t eaten dinner yet. She glanced up and down the length of the bar, then looked around at the high tables. Damn , she mentally cursed, when she didn’t spot a single menu, plate, or morsel of food in sight.

“Waiting for someone?”

She spun around at the sound of that wonderful, earthy voice again, and swallowed hard as her heart jumped into her throat. She shook her head, and mumbled, “Oh, uh, no. I’ve never been here before. I was just taking it all in.”

The bartender’s head slightly tilted to the right, as she asked, “Taking all of what in?”

“Uh, well…” As her stomach rumbled, she blushed, momentarily forgetting it was too loud in there and there was no way the stunning bartender could have heard it. Unlike the look of agitation and disgust that Callie had bestowed upon her not too many minutes ago, the bartender looked patient and maybe intrigued. When her stomach rumbled again, she released a brief laugh and rubbed the back of her neck. “Well, truthfully, I was trying to figure out if you served food here. My dinner date was a bust and I’m starving.”

The bartender’s dark eyes softened and her full lips gently curled at the edges. “Sorry to further disappoint you, but the kitchen is being renovated and won’t reopen for a few more weeks.”

“So, what you’re saying is you normally serve food, but I just happened to walk in here starving at a time that you’re not?”

Slowly nodding and offering a sympathetic smile, the bartender confirmed, “You’re batting with two strikes down tonight,” and Alex laughed and rolled her eyes, tilting her drink back to gulp the rest of the hot whiskey.

“Refill?” The bartender asked, as she set her glass down.

Alex considered it for a few moments, then shook her head. “No, thanks. I should go…”

“Yes, give her a refill.” Alex’s head spun around to see Callie taking a seat on her left, leaving a stool between them. Without looking at her, and while she dug a feminine, lavender leather wallet out of her purse, producing her ID and a couple of twenty-dollar bills, she added, “I’ll take a French 75.” As she looked up, placing her ID and cash on the bar top, she looked directly at the bartender, still not looking at Alex, and asked, “You know how to make that, right? It’s gin, champagne, lemon juice, simple…”

“Yes, I know how to mix a French 75,” the bartender flatly cut through her, then looked at Alex, and asked, “Do you want that refill?”

It took Alex a few moments to register the question and to snap out of her moment of shock from seeing Callie here. She vigorously shook her head and slid off the barstool. “Uh, no. Thanks. I need to go.”

“Sit down, Alex.” Callie didn’t look at her until after she returned her driver’s license to her wallet and put it back in her purse. She was giving nothing away — no agitation, no impatience, no snobby air of being better than Alex, and definitely no regret. Her face was absolutely expressionless and it sent a shiver down Alex’s spine. She looked at the stool she’d previously occupied, then over her shoulder, trying to see the exit through the mass of happy and carefree patrons at the tall tables.

“Sit, Alex.”

Alex remained standing and shook her head. “Yeah, uh, no, I don’t…” Her brow furrowed as the question that had been niggling the back of her brain finally jumped to the tip of her tongue. “What are you doing here? How did you find me?”

Callie rolled her eyes and sharply pointed to the stool. “I’m not talking to you while you stand over me like that. Sit.”

While rubbing the sudden rise of tension in the back of her neck, Alex looked over her shoulder again, then at her vacated stool. As the bartender leaned forward to place a slightly cloudy drink with a curled lemon peel in it in front of Callie, their eyes locked, and Alex’s clenched and empty stomach roiled. The previous look of kindness and sympathy had been replaced with one of warning and seemed to almost challenge her. The expression asked, “Are you really going to let this woman boss you around?”

And when Alex broke and slid back onto the stool, the disappointment and judgment were immediate. She momentarily clenched her jaw, and asked, “Would you like something else to drink, Alex?”

There was a hard edge to her earthy voice that wasn’t there before, and even though Alex didn’t know this woman, didn’t even know her name, it caused her heart to drop into her boiling cauldron of a stomach. She mumbled, “Water, please,” and the bartender silently filled the glass, then walked a few paces to help another patron.

Alex quickly took a sip of water to cool and quench her hot and dry mouth and throat, then hazarded a glance at Callie, who was blankly watching her. Alex cleared her throat, and asked, “Why are you here?”

“Before I answer that, let me make something perfectly clear.” Alex saw the bartender glance over out of the corner of her eye, but she refused to look at her and her judgment. Callie held up her hand, as if to silence Alex, despite her mouth being painfully clenched shut. “This is not a date and you and I will never go on a date.”

Before she could hold it in, Alex scoffed, mumbled, “Unbelievable,” under her breath, and stood up again. “You made yourself perfectly clear outside of the restaurant that I’m not attractive enough or good enough for you and you think our mutual friend pranked you by setting us up. You didn’t need to follow me to drill it in.”

This time, Alex wasn’t able to resist the magnetic pull of the bartender’s dark gaze, which wasn’t trained on her at all — she was staring daggers at the back of Callie’s head.

“Sit down, Alex. We need to talk.”

“Yeah, I don’t think we do.”

She started walking away, but when Callie called out, “Are you stable?” she abruptly stopped and turned back.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” When Callie didn’t answer and just pointed to the stool, Alex released a growl of frustration under her breath and walked back over to sit down.

With her voice almost too low for her to hear, Callie rephrased her question. “Are you suicidal?”

“What?” Alex blurted much too loudly, causing a few people to glance in her direction. She blushed crimson, then vigorously shook her head and reached for her sweating water glass, gulping half of it in one go. After setting it back down on the coaster, she looked solidly at Callie, and resolutely answered, “No, Callie, your very rude and humiliating rejection did not make me suicidal. I know this,” she circled her hand in front of her own face, “isn’t as attractive as you or her,” she motioned to the bartender, who was still watching them, ignoring customers vying for her attention, then motioned to a table of men and woman behind her, “or them, but I’m secure in my own skin. Are you?”

“Excuse me?” Callie’s light caramel eyes widened, and she tilted backwards, as if Alex had physically struck her. She quickly regained her composure, sitting ramrod straight and picked up her glass. After taking a sip of her cocktail, she turned narrowed eyes on Alex, and sneered, “You’re an asshole.”

“I’m a… Are you serious? I… Wow.” Alex shook her head and turned forward, reaching for her glass of water, then set it down without drinking and her eyes zeroed in on the bottle of smoked maple whiskey. Before she could turn and wave her over, the bartender moved.

As she set the glass down on a fresh coaster in front of her, and gave her a generous pour, Alex pulled her wallet out, but the bartender held up her hand and jerked her thumb at Callie. “She already paid.”

“Yeah, no.” Alex shook her head. “She’s not buying me a drink. Put that towards her next, if she stays.”

The right corner of the bartender’s mouth quirked with a hint of a grin, as she accepted Alex’s money, and said, “All right, then,” and Alex’s stomach fluttered with a bit of joy or relief or something akin to both. It seemed she’d earned back some respect from the gorgeous and attentive bartender.

“Thank you,” she said, as she lifted the glass and took a sip. After setting the drink down, and as the bartender started to walk away, Alex was about to ask for her name.

But Callie snapped, “What’s your problem?” drawing her attention back to her.

While staring into the glass of amber brown liquor cradled between her hands, Alex considered the question and measured her response. When she met Callie’s hard stare, she saw something new swirling deep in the dark ink pools of her pupils. Insecurity. She sighed as she shook her head and rubbed the back of her neck.

“Look, Callie, I understand I’m not what you were hoping for tonight, but I’m okay with that. We can’t help who we’re attracted to, nor can we help that someone else isn’t attracted to us. I don’t know why you thought you had to, but I appreciate you checking in. I’m good. Yeah, the way you handled the situation was shitty and offensive, but it’s not going to break me. I’m good. Are we good?”

Callie held her gaze unblinking for a few moments, mumbled, “Fine,” then picked up her glass and took a couple of sips before setting it down.

They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, sipping their drinks and staring straight ahead at the many bottles of wine and spirits lining the shelves behind the bar. When Callie spoke again, it somewhat startled Alex out of the soft, calming haze the alcohol was shrouding her in.

“I called Joselynn when I was walking to my car. I saw you standing outside of yours. You were just standing there with the door open for the longest time, then you closed the door and darted across the street and came in here. I told Joselynn what I saw, and she cursed me out. She said if something happens to you because of me, she’ll kill me. I thought she meant you were… She didn’t say that. I just assumed. But now I’m thinking maybe she thought you might drink and drive and get in an accident.”

“I wouldn’t do that either. I was planning on walking to one of the many restaurants around here and having dinner before heading home.”

Callie slowly nodded, still looking ahead. Another few minutes of silence passed, before she softly said, “I’m sorry.”

Alex stared at her, waiting for her to either look at her or elaborate. When she did neither, she decided to give her a break. She knew she probably meant about her earlier rejection; Alex’s ego didn’t need her to force Callie to say it. She nodded, said, “Accepted,” then turned forward and took a drink of whiskey.

As she was setting her glass down, a man similarly dressed to her — he was also sporting a nice red and silver paisley bow tie in the collar of his black button-down — placed his hands on the bar and tilted his body to sit on the stool between her and Callie.

Before his ass met the wood, Callie scoffed, “Really? With all the empty stools, do you have to sit between us?” She agitatedly motioned between Alex and herself.

The man stood upright, taking one step back, and looked between them. Alex didn’t look at either of them, just took another sip of whiskey and watched with her peripheral vision.

“Sorry. I didn’t realize you were together.”

“Together?” Callie blurted, “We are not together, we’re just … talking.”

Alex couldn’t stop the small laugh that escaped her lips. Callie had punched the word not so hard that she imagined it flying off the page of their story’s transcript, only to come limping back, bruised and leaking ink but ready to uphold its mistress’ conviction. She looked up at the man, complimented, “Nice bow tie,” and the confusion creasing his light brown brow smoothed and he flashed a cheesy grin as he lightly gripped both ends and puffed his chest out.

“I thought it made me look dashing.”

She nodded, and agreed, “That it does.”

“Thank you.” He lowered his hands, then looked side to side and jerked a thumb to the left. “I’ll just go sit over here so the two of you can continue … not being together.” They shared a laugh, which inspired a renewed expression of annoyance from Callie.

After he walked away, Callie rolled her eyes and shook her head, lifting her drink and draining it in one gulp. She waved at the bartender and pointed to her drink, silently asking for a second. They watched the bartender mix her drink, but Callie broke the silence after she set the drink on a coaster in front of her and turned to walk away.

“That was rude.”

“Yeah, it was,” Alex agreed. “You could have just asked him not to sit between us.” She glanced at her watch on her left wrist, before adding, “It’s still early and this place is packed. The longer we sit here not being together ,” she grinned, “eventually, this seat between us will be the last one in here and someone is going to take it.”

Callie released a loud breath through her nose as she snapped her head around to face forward. They sat in silence for a few minutes, then Callie abruptly stood up and moved her drink across the high-gloss black bar top and sat down on the stool next to Alex.

“This is not a date,” she reaffirmed, without looking at Alex, then immediately lifted her drink to take a sip.

“Definitely not,” Alex agreed, earning her yet another scowl from her not-a-date drinking companion.

“Why did you say it like that? Like you wouldn’t want to be on a date with me.”

“Same reason you rejected me and keep insisting this isn’t a date.” Callie didn’t seem to understand, so Alex sighed, and explained, “Neither of us are attracted to each other.”

Callie tilted back, looking as if Alex had slapped her. “Excuse me? You aren’t attracted to me? That’s just…” She pointed to her previously occupied stool, and argued, “When I was sitting there, you told me I’m attractive. And now you’re trying to take it back? You’re such an asshole. I can’t believe Joselynn thought we’d be a good match.”

“To be clear, I meant what I said and I’m not taking back the compliment. You are physically attractive, and I did feel an initial attraction to you. But…”

“But, what?” Callie quickly cut in.

“Sustainable attraction depends on more than what’s on the surface.”

“So, you think I have an ugly personality?”

“Maybe. I don’t know. I don’t know you. All this,” Alex juggled her hands, looking for the right words, “hostility, annoyance, better-than-you attitude, I don’t know if this is who you are or if this is your defense mechanism. Most people’s defense mechanisms are pretty unattractive and downright ugly; which is the whole point, right? It’s meant to keep people at bay, push them away, and cause them to lose interest.” Alex shrugged and drained the last gulp of her whiskey. “Anyway, we can both agree this is not a date without offending each other.”

Callie’s gaze fell to her hands resting on the bar top, watching as she twirled a thin gold ring on her left forefinger. Alex couldn’t be sure due to the dimness of the bar, but it appeared to be engraved with writing.

Curious, and anxious to change the subject, she asked, “Special ring?”

Callie slowly nodded and rested her elbows on the bar, bringing her cradled left hand to eye level. The amber lights above them caught in the thin groves of the engravings, but Alex still couldn’t read it, and Callie didn’t offer her any explanation before resting her hands on the bar top.

The bartender broke the silence a few minutes later. “I was paid a nice tip to come over and repeat this word for word.” The right corner of her mouth curled as Alex met her eyes, and sounding as if reading from a script, she stated, “The nice gentleman in the dashing bow tie at the end of the bar would like to buy the unhappy couple a drink with the hope that it greases the wheels and changes the trajectory of your plan to not be together.” She set two martini glasses filled to the brim with ruby red liquid up on the bar top. “It’s called Cupid’s Broken Arrow. It has mango vodka, Triple Sec, cranberry juice, and lime juice.”

Alex released a small chuckle as she leaned back, looking for the man, and he was also leaning back, wearing the biggest shit-eating grin. She couldn’t help but laugh harder. She waved her thanks, and he winked before she leaned forward.

“Can you please pass our thanks along?”

“Your thanks,” Callie interjected. “I’m not drinking that, so you can send one back to him. I don’t appreciate being the object of his jokes.”

“Callie,” Alex tentatively intoned, “I think it was meant more as a gesture of goodwill, to ease the tension, you know?”

“Cupid’s Broken Arrow? If he wanted to offer a gesture of goodwill, he could have just paid for our next round. He sent a drink that would give him a good laugh at our situation.”

Alex couldn’t help but smile. “I think he meant for all of us to have a good laugh at our situation.” Callie glared at her, so Alex held up a hand, and insisted, “Laughter is good medicine, right? It’s a cure-all. And in really tense situations with no pressure valve in sight, it’s like having a bomb squad come in to defuse a bomb before everything explodes.”

“I don’t like being laughed at,” Callie grumbled as she crossed her arms over her chest and stared just to the left of the bartender, who was still standing directly in front of them, seemingly riveted to their drama.

“Well, I can’t speak for Bow Tie, but I promise I wasn’t laughing at you,” Alex said, as she picked up the bright cocktail and took a small sip. “This is tasty. You should try it.”

“No,” Callie quietly answered, still not looking at her.

The bartender shrugged, then picked up Callie’s drink, and told her, “I’ll bring it back to Bow Tie. Just wave if you want anything else.”

When the bartender had reached the end of the bar, and was passing the drink back to the man in the nice bow tie, Callie turned to face Alex. Her expression was hard to read as her eyes passed between hers and swept every inch of her face, making Alex feel like she was being scanned by one of those robots in the Terminator movies.

“You really aggravate me.”

Alex chuckled and nodded. “I know, Callie, I know.” She shrugged, and told her, “I’m just being me. I’m not trying to hurt or offend you.”

“I know that.”

“Good.” She offered her the red cocktail, and asked, “Are you sure you don’t want to try this?”

“I’m sure. I’m already feeling the two drinks I’ve had.”

“Yeah.” Alex nodded and grinned as the soft, hazy cloak of the alcohol seemed to wrap her tighter in its fluffy warmth. “I’m not a big drinker, but I recognize I’m close to that fine line between a pleasant buzz and shit-faced. I need to find something to eat soon.”

As Callie’s cheeks crimsoned, and her gaze dropped to the counter, Alex’s head fell back with a loud laugh, and because of the effects of the alcohol, she almost fell off her stool. Callie gripped her shoulder to steady her, and as Alex grabbed the edge of the bar for balance, Callie lightly slapped her shoulder, which just made Alex laugh even harder.

“So very aggravating,” Callie mumbled, and shook her head.

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Alex quickly gulped the rest of the red cocktail and stood up. “Come on, let’s go find something for dinner. I’m starving.” She held up a hand. “And, yes, I remember this isn’t a date. But we both need to eat. Might as well do it together but not together.”

“Fine,” Callie sighed as she stood up.

“You leaving?” the bartender asked, as she started clearing their glasses and coasters and wiped up a few stray drops.

“Yeah,” Alex placed a hand on her stomach, “I need to feed the beast.” She grinned and lightly bumped shoulders with Callie. “Don’t worry, I didn’t mean you.”

While Callie puckered her lips to the side and narrowed her eyes, the bartender released a hearty laugh, said, “I’ll be looking forward to hearing how this non-date ends the next time you come in for a drink,” winked, then turned to help another patron.

Callie whispered, “Unbelievable,” under her breath, and gripped the back of Alex’s left elbow. “Let’s get out of here.”

Alex chuckled again, earning her another harmless slap on the arm. “Oh, come on, you know this is funny.” Alex threw her arm around her shoulders, pulling her out of the way of a woman who suddenly took a few dancing steps backwards from her raucous table of friends. Instead of stiffening or trying to pull away to walk in front of or behind her, Callie seemed to melt against her side and stayed there until they reached the sidewalk.

As she dropped her arm and put her hands in her pockets, Alex extended a long, “So,” and glanced up and down the street, looking at the illuminated signs above the storefronts. “What are you in the mood for? There’s a little bit of everything within a couple of blocks of here.”

“I don’t know.” Callie folded her arms over her chest and rubbed her creamy arms, which had erupted in goose bumps.

“Cold?”

“No, I… Yes, a little.”

Callie’s blushing cheeks and abrupt change in answer caused Alex’s chest to flutter. It felt like Callie had just slightly lowered the huge, seemingly impenetrable wall she had around herself, giving Alex just a glimpse of the real Callie.

Interesting.

“I have a blazer in my car. Come on.” She wrapped her arm around Callie’s shoulders, and after looking both ways, they stepped off the curb and walked across the street. “What do you think of Moroccan?”

“I like the food, but I don’t like that they don’t give you silverware and make you eat with your fingers and pita bread. The food is too hot and burns my fingers.”

“You can ask for silverware. I always do.”

Callie scoffed and tilted her head to look up at Alex. “Are you serious? They gave you silverware? Where did you go?”

“Marrakesh Tajine a block that way.” She motioned behind them.

Callie scoffed again. “That’s where I’ve been. They wouldn’t give me silverware.”

Alex hummed hmmm , as she dropped her arm from around Callie’s shoulders to unlock her car. She had brought the charcoal blazer but decided against wearing it because she was worried the extra layer and her nerves would turn her into a sweaty mess. As she held it up, Callie turned and slid her arms into the silk-lined sleeves. When she turned back to face her, Alex smiled, and Callie blushed as she looked down at herself.

“What? Do I look ridiculous?”

The blazer was a modern slim-fit cut, which fit Alex perfectly, accentuating her strong shoulders and arms and trim torso. But it swallowed Callie’s femininely thin arms and hung relaxed past her narrow waist.

“Nope. It’s probably at least three sizes too big for you, and definitely not your style, but you look adorable.” Alex locked the car and pocketed her keys. And as they started walking up the sidewalk, Callie surprised her by looping her right arm through Alex’s left.

It has to be the alcohol. There’s no way she’s interested in me. She’s just tipsy. She’s holding on for balance.

“If you can promise I’ll be able to eat with silverware, we can go to Marrakesh Tajine.”

“I’ll make it happen.”

As Callie leaned in closer, transferring her heat to Alex, and filling her nostrils with the incredible scent of her orange blossom and jasmine perfume, Alex’s chest fluttered again and her eyes momentarily slanted in pleasure.

Definitely the alcohol.