Page 59 of Full Court Crush
She didn’t know what to say. They hadn’t explicitly said it was a date, but they’d sure been acting like it was.
“I thought we were both on the same page.” Keira’s voice was sad as she looked down at her feet. Amelia stepped forward and placed her hands on Keira’s, gently teasing apart her folded arms, so she could take her hand.
“We are,” Amelia pleaded. “I like you. Ireallylike you,” she continued, though her chest tightened. She felt like she was stepping out on a ledge, but she didn’t know if Keira would catch her. “But this is very new, and you know Lucy would not be able to keep it to herself. I don’t think we need that kind of pressure.”
Keira still looked at the ground, so Amelia lifted her hands and dusted a gentle kiss on the backs of them. When her gaze came up, Amelia searched her eyes for any sign of the affection from earlier. “Okay?”
“Okay.” Keira gave her a half smile.
“Good.” Amelia leant forwards slowly, checking somewhat for permission before kissing Keira chastely on the lips.
The queue shifted in front of them, and they moved forward with it, lapsing into silence, but still holding hands. The once comfortable silence was now a little unnerving, but she took comfort in the fact that Keira hadn’t taken her hand away. Their hands hung between them, a connecting strand of unspoken promises. Amelia hoped the strand wouldn’t start to fray.
Just when they got to the front of the queue, Amelia’s phone vibrated in her pocket. She took it out and scowled.
“You can get that if you need to. I can order our food,” Keira offered. Amelia glanced at Keira, then looked at her phone again. She wasn’t sure why her mother was ringing her again, but it was unlikely to be anything good. She looked at Keira talking jovially with the worker behind the food stand, making them laugh. Light danced on her face, giving her a radiant appearance.
Amelia rejected her mother’s call and put her phone back in her pocket. She wouldn’t let anything else taint their night.
As the evening wound down, Amelia and Keira joined Asha and Lucy at a nearby pub for a round of drinks before their night ended. It was early enough the bar wasn’t too rowdy, though Asha kept a hand on her ear defenders as they sat on the table. The bar was long and narrow, squeezed between two buildings, like it had popped up and expanded, forcing the other two buildings apart. The floor was slightly sticky, but the solid oak furniture and good music made up for it. Amelia, sat next to Keira on one side of the booth, was painfully aware of her proximity as well as the questioning looks Asha had been sending her all evening.
It wasn’t fair; Asha and Lucy were basically glued at the hip, but no one ever accused them of dating. She didn’t know why Evie, and now Asha, were jumping to that conclusion, even if it might be true. When Keira shifted in her seat, her calf gently grazed Amelia’s. She kept her face neutral, even when it flared on her skin. Lucy was telling them a story about her undergraduate adventures. Incrementally, she moved her leg closer to Keira’s. It felt nice knowing they shared a secret and were exploiting it in front of their friends, even though the last thing Amelia wanted was to get caught. Her conflicting emotions were making her head spin.
Asha pulled her ear defenders towards her. A glazed look had come over her face.
“Do you want to head out?” Lucy asked, concern apparent on her face.
Amelia noticed Asha’s sluggish body language. Asha just nodded. Lucy gathered their coats, and the two of them slid out of the booth.
“We’ll see you guys at training,” Lucy said before she ushered Asha outside. Amelia watched them go, noticing how Lucy used her body as a human shield to stop anyone from accidentally touching Asha or bumping into her.
“Lucy is a good friend,” Keira remarked, taking a sip of her beer.
“She is. She and Asha balance each other out quite well. Asha keeps her grounded when her head is in space.”
“Is that even possible?” Keira laughed.
The pair descended into an awkward silence, their calves still touching under the table. Amelia wanted to reach out and take Keira’s hand, but she wasn’t sure of the reaction. Keira took her half-drunk pint and nursed it with both hands, removing the option. Amelia didn’t know if it was intentional.
“I’ve had a really nice time tonight,” Amelia said shyly.
Keira smiled, staring down at her beer. Amelia thought it was a rueful, wistful smile; it didn’t light up her eyes the way Amelia knew was possible.
“Until Asha and Lucy showed up, and we nearly got caught?” Keira questioned.
Amelia squirmed in her seat; Keira took another drink.
This time, though, Amelia reached out and pried Keira’s hand off her glass, taking it in both of her own.
“I really did have a good time,” she said, her voice pleading with Keira to at least look at her. Keira hesitated, then turned sideways on the seat, tucking her legs up and facing Amelia.
“I had a nice time, too.” She smiled.
Amelia reached across, put her hand on the side of Keira’s face, and pulled her in for a gentle kiss. She slowly brushed her lips on Keira’s, memorising the way they felt as they moved against her own. The softness made Amelia feel like she was floating.
When they pulled apart, they both smiled bashfully. Amelia didn’t know why this seemed so hard. They were both consenting adults; they knew what they were doing. But it felt like someone was trying to take a bulldozer to her carefully constructed walls, and she wasn’t necessarily ready for the fortifications to come down. A brick at a time, maybe, but all at once was too much.
“We should probably head out soon, too. I’m working tomorrow,” Amelia said softly, still gazing at Keira.