Page 9 of Bliss

Alex

The sky had been gray and stormy all day, but it waited until an hour before Alex’s date with Callie to start raining — hard. And if the weather app on Alex’s phone was accurate, this storm system was here to stay through the weekend. They’d planned on going to a Book to Film showing of The Notebook at the Alexandria Public Library and grab dinner afterwards. When the weather permitted, the movies were shown on the library’s rooftop, which had beautiful garden beds bursting with vibrant flowers and dwarf Japanese maple trees. But because of another event taking place at the same time, the showing couldn’t be moved indoors, so it was postponed to a date to be determined.

Alex: Hey, beautiful. The Book to Film night has been canceled because of the weather. How do you feel about moving up our dinner plans, then coming back here to make a fire and stream The Notebook on the TV?

Instead of responding to her text message, Callie called her, and Alex answered with a smile. “Hey. I wasn’t sure if you were still driving home from work and didn’t want to distract you by calling.”

“I just walked in the door and was getting ready to call you when your text came through. I was really hoping this storm would miss us, but your solution sounds perfect. I can be ready by seven.”

“I’ll be there. How was your day? Or should I wait to ask that when I see you?”

Callie released a small laugh, and Alex heard what sounded like clothes hangers being shifted side to side in a closet. “We can talk more about it later, but my day was really good. Main Street Brewery loved my designs for their July 4 th campaign. They loved them so much that they sent a courier over to the office to give me four tickets to the Craft Beer Festival two weekends from now in Newton. There’s supposed to be over thirty regional craft brewers there, just as many food vendors, live music, and some carnival games. It sounds like it could be fun, but I’m torn on whether I want to go or just give the tickets to someone else.”

“Because of the crowds?”

“Yes,” Callie sighed. “Most likely drunk crowds. But I was thinking if we got there early, people wouldn’t have hours of drinking under their belts yet, so there should be hardly any drunks at all, and I was told the biggest crowds come later in the afternoon and evening. And I thought since we both have issues with big crowds, there wouldn’t be any pressure if one of us decides we’ve had enough. Are you interested?”

“Yeah, if you really want to go, I’d love to go with you. I went to Oktoberfest with some friends last September and it was a good time, for the most part. But I agree we should go early and bail out when we start seeing people staggering or getting overly energetic.”

With a smile in her voice, Callie answered, “You’ll have to tell me more about that later. I’m going to hop in the shower. Please be careful driving. The rain and wind are really wild.”

“Will do. See you soon.”

With how hard the rain was coming down, Alex knew the water would likely pool in puddles, some of which they may not be able to avoid, so she opted for a pair of rustic brown leather ankle boots that were treated to be water resistant and had a thicker sole than most of her shoes. They’d agreed tonight was going to be more casual than their first date, so she chose relaxed-fit, stonewashed jeans that she cuffed to keep them out of the puddles, and finished the look with a short-sleeved button-down with vertical cream and caramel stripes.

While Alex was testing out the three umbrellas she had, making sure they worked, and wanting to pick the largest of the three for them to share, she remembered that Callie had gotten chilly on their first date. In addition to the umbrella, she brought her nice L.L. Bean rain jacket with a hood, and one of her lighter waterproof windbreakers for herself.

But when she knocked on Callie’s apartment door, and she opened the door, Alex didn’t need to bring the extra jacket. Callie was wearing a black mid-thigh rain jacket over her blush pink chiffon blouse, dark gray skinny jeans, and stylish one-inch-heel gray and black ankle boots.

Alex mumbled, “Oh, shoot,” and deliberately looked Callie up and down. “I mixed up the night of our date with the night of your big magazine photoshoot, didn’t I?”

With an adorable giggle and her cheeks flushing pink, Callie gripped her hand and yanked her inside. “Get in here, goof.”

As soon as Alex stumbled across the threshold, Callie closed the door and looped her arms around the back of Alex’s neck. Beaming, she complimented, “You look really nice too,” then she leaned in, kissing Alex’s smiling lips.

Alex groaned at the velvety contact and parted her lips, tracing her tongue across Callie’s bottom lip. Callie sucked in a sharp breath, and with their lips still brushing, she whispered, “I’ve been daydreaming about kissing you all day,” then slipped her tongue forward, drawing Alex into a sensual kiss.

As Alex’s hands slid from Callie’s hips to wrap around her waist, pulling her in closer, Callie released a whimpering moan and fell into her, as if the strength had been stolen from her legs. Alex easily caught her weight, but when her back hit the front door, Callie suddenly broke from the kiss. Her gorgeous caramel eyes were glossy and unfocused, and her cheeks were nearly as red as her swollen lips.

“You are really good at that,” Callie groaned, as she slowly pushed back, putting a few inches between them without dropping her arms. She brushed her hand over Alex’s hair, and asked, “How’d you get from your car to the apartment building without getting wet?”

With a laugh bouncing in her throat, Alex asked, “Are you setting me up right now?”

Callie’s brows drew together for just a split second, then her eyes widened, and her mouth fell open with a scoffing laugh. Lightly slapping Alex’s right pectoral muscle, she scolded, “Alex Coleman, you are very naughty,” then she grinned, bit her bottom lip, and asked, “What’s your answer?”

Alex chuckled and licked her lips as Callie’s eyes zeroed in on them, leaning in more, as if waiting to devour them. “You hadn’t kissed me yet,” Alex answered, and Callie’s smile grew.

“Good answer,” Callie cooed, then drew her back into a deep, passionate kiss that left Alex breathless. And when her head fell against the front door, eyes still closed, swimming in bliss, Callie gently rubbed the sides of their noses together, giving Alex a nose kiss, and making Alex’s smile widen and her chest to swell with emotion.

The gesture was extremely intimate and spoke volumes of the level of affection Callie held for Alex after just a week of dating. When she opened her eyes, she saw that affection smiling back at her, mirroring what she felt in her own heart. She wasn’t ready to call it love, but she cared a great deal for Callie, and she liked the way she felt when they were together. Hell, she liked the way she felt when they were apart — she liked thinking about Callie, wondering how her day was going, knowing Callie was wondering the same, and looking forward to the next time they’d get to talk and see each other. She liked the feeling of getting to know each other, the joy in their shared interests and values, and respecting each other’s differences.

“Okay, real answer. Did the rain stop?”

Shaking her head, Alex jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “I left the umbrella propped up outside the door.”

“Alex…” Callie pulled her off of the door, gently shoving her to the side, and opened the door, looking side to side, then released a relieved sigh as she turned to face her, shaking her head. “Someone could have stolen that.”

“True. But I forgot all about it as soon as you opened that door.”

Callie’s look of concern lifted with a sweet smile. “Come on, let’s go to dinner.” She grabbed her purse and keys off a side table, and after locking up, she slipped her hand in Alex’s and they walked down the hallway to the elevator.

“How was the rest of your day?”

“Not bad,” Alex answered, as they stopped in front of the brushed stainless-steel doors, and she pressed the down arrow. “My last client had to cancel, so I was able to get my errands done, clearing my whole weekend.”

“That’s good.” Callie’s eyes drifted to Alex’s lips, then blushed as she quickly looked away, watching the elevator doors slide open. They stepped into the empty car, and after Alex pressed the button for the ground level, and the doors closed, Callie cleared her throat and brushed her hair behind her left ear. “So, uh, what are you going to do with your extra time?”

Alex tilted her head up, as if deep in thought, then met Callie’s hesitant gaze, and drawing inspiration from last Friday night’s conversation and how Callie wanted to approach life and their relationship, she answered, “I’m just going to live in the present and see where each moment leads me.”

Callie bit her bottom lip to tug down her smile and quickly looked down at the floor. When she looked up, and saw Alex watching her with a smile, she released a cute, bashful laugh and bumped shoulders with her.

When they reached the lobby, Alex quickened her pace to open the door for Callie and opened the umbrella, holding it above her head so she wouldn’t get wet when she stepped outside.

“Wow, it picked up since I got home.”

The strong wind was driving the heavy rain at a forty-five-degree angle, so when Callie pressed in close to Alex so they could share the broad umbrella, Alex slightly tilted it to the left so the wind wouldn’t grab and turn the umbrella inside out. The parking lot had at least a quarter-inch of standing water that was jumping with the rapidly falling fat raindrops plummeting into it. While the rain also hammered down on their umbrella, they tried to be light-footed to reduce the amount of water splashing their shoes and pants. When they reached Alex’s Jeep , she helped Callie climb into the passenger seat, making sure she didn’t get wet. But after Alex climbed in on the driver’s side, and she had to lean out some to close the umbrella, her arms were dripping wet after she closed her door and leaned back to put the umbrella on the floorboard of the back seat.

“Come here.” Callie took Alex’s right arm and wiped it with a tissue she’d taken from a pocket-pack from her purse.

For at least the second time in just ten minutes, Alex’s chest swelled with emotions. The act was thoughtful and intimate. It also made Alex feel appreciated in a way that was hard to explain. Or maybe she just wasn’t used to a partner reciprocating to something that most just expected to be done for them, especially not so quickly. Even when Alex was a kid, before she understood herself and had identified as a lesbian, she’d always felt inclined to do the stereotypically masculine things, like holding doors for people. She liked doing it and it never bothered her that her partners expected it of her. But Callie’s reactions to when she did those things felt more like gratitude than expectation.

After Callie had dried both of her arms and hands for her, Alex leaned over to kiss her lips, and told her, “Thank you.”

Callie’s smile was tender and caused another pleasant twinge in Alex’s chest.

While Alex pulled out of the parking space, she asked Callie more about the rest of her day. And while Callie was telling her about having to go back and forth with a client on a dozen different font changes for a marketing campaign, traffic came to an abrupt stop, as did Callie.

“Uh, this doesn’t look good. I see flashing red and blue lights up ahead.”

Alex leaned forward, squinting to see through the rain that her fast-moving wiper blades could barely keep up with. “Looks like they’re on both sides, blocking both directions of traffic. Must be a bad accident.” She looked over her shoulder and checked her mirrors. “I’m going to turn around and go another way.”

There wasn’t any oncoming traffic because of the police barricade up ahead, but Alex wasn’t the only person with the idea to turn around. She had to wait a couple of minutes for a car further ahead to make a three-point turn, and as soon as they passed her, she was able to do the same.

While Alex braked and waited for a few cars that had been behind them to finish turning around, the rain and wind picked up. In the absence of the radio, the rain sounded like they were in an automatic car wash, and the strength of the gusts of wind made it feel like a giant kept flicking the side of the Jeep . The vehicle wasn’t at risk of tipping over or anything, but it was shocking.

“Shit.” Callie’s eyes widened and her hand shot out, landing on Alex’s thigh with a firm grip. “Alex, maybe we should just go somewhere close to your house. Or we can skip a restaurant tonight. I don’t mind cooking. I’d suggest just going back to my place since it’s closer, but I don’t want to leave Daphne alone.” Just then a loud crack of thunder startled them both, quickly followed by a brilliant spider web of lightning that lit everything up. “Oh, God. Daphne. How is she in storms?”

It was touching that Callie was thinking of Alex’s beloved cat, and her concern made her smile. “Heavy rain and wind don’t faze her, but she doesn’t like thunder and lightning. I have a full fridge and pantry, so we can go back to my place and cook something.”

“Yes, let’s do that.” Callie’s grip loosened on Alex’s thigh, but she didn’t remove her hand. “I’m glad you’re driving. I can barely see.”

Although Alex’s wiper blades were working at full speed, the rate at which the heavy rain was falling meant the windshield was covered before the blades could do a full sweep. Visibility was almost non-existent.

“If it picks up any more, I won’t be able to see anything at all. I’ll have to pull over and wait it out, see if it lets up some.”

Callie’s thumb started absently brushing the side of Alex’s thigh. “If you don’t feel comfortable driving in this, we can go back to my place, then go to yours to be with Daphne when the rain slows down.”

Alex considered it for a few moments. Going back to Callie’s would give her an opportunity to learn more about her through her choices of décor, such as photographs and artwork. And she wanted to peruse her bookshelves. But more importantly, it was dangerous to be on the roads in this weather. Alex had perfect vision and could barely see, but she still trusted in her ability to drive and deliver them to their destination safely. She just didn’t trust other drivers to be able to do the same. She felt guilty leaving Daphne alone for too long while the thunder and lightning continued to rage, but Daphne was safe. She couldn’t guarantee the same for themselves.

“I’d prefer not to have another driver plow into us out of impatience or lack of visibility, so we’ll go back to your place for now.”

“Okay, good,” Callie said, sounding very relieved.

Alex removed her right hand from the steering wheel to grab Callie’s hand resting on her thigh, bringing it to her mouth. After kissing her knuckles, she returned her hand to her thigh and gripped the steering wheel again. “Callie, for future reference, if you’re ever uncomfortable or scared in a situation, please let me know. I won’t be upset. I never want you to force yourself to go along with something that makes you feel unsafe in any way.”

“I didn’t wa…” Callie sighed as she broke off and started brushing her thumb over Alex’s thigh again. “I’ll try to remember that. Thank you.”

Alex didn’t need to press her to know her hesitation to admit she was uncomfortable or scared was because of whatever her ex-girlfriend had put her through. Alex had some experience in that as well — being manipulated into doing things or going places she didn’t want to — but it seemed Callie’s experiences were far worse than her own. She knew she’d have to remember to check in with Callie to make sure she was truly onboard with whatever their plans were so she felt reassured in prioritizing her needs and comfort level above appeasing her or anyone else. Alex knew they’d have to make compromises for each other from time to time, but she didn’t want Callie compromising on anything that threatened her own mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing.