Page 44 of One Golden Summer

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Saffron chewed on her bottom lip.

“I positively would.” Kirsty nodded enthusiastically.

“That’s good, right? Remember, I’m bad at maths. Being in the positive is the right direction.”

“Depends on the direction you’re aiming for.”

Saffron stared into Kirsty’s eyes. “Would you like to take this back to mine? Sit on the deck? Listen to the waves? Contemplate if positive or negative is the correct course?”Or why my heart skips every third beat when around you?

“Sounds deep. I’m in.”

* * *

“Would you like a glass of wine?”Saffron stood in her kitchen, unable to make eye contact with Kirsty. “Or water? I have sparkling? Bubbles. I like bubbles on my throat. Let’s have bubbles.”

“I’m making a mental note of that, and I’ll include some bubbly in your next delivery.” Kirsty’s nervous laugh piled onto Saffron’s inability to shut off her meltdown valve in the part of her brain that controlled her speech.

So what if there was a woman in her home looking at Saffron like she wanted to get to know her in a biblical way? Were there lesbians in the bible? If so, probably not the right example for the moment. She couldn’t imagine happy dyke stories from that time period.

This was real life and Saffron didn’t know how to act around normal people. It was possible, this was the absolute worst time to learn this fact about herself. Normal terrified her more than anything she’d faced up until then.

Saffron wheeled about to the fridge, the swirling sensation behind her eyes not stopping with her body.

Kirsty stepped closer. “Let me help.”

“I’ve got it.” Saffron placed a hand on the metal door to steady herself.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but you don’t, and that’s okay. We can do it together.”

Needing more support, Saffron threaded her fingers through the handle of the fridge. “It’s just sparkling water.”

“It is.” Kirsty inched closer. “Nothing to be nervous about.”

“People drink it every day.”

“They do.” Kirsty placed her hand over Saffron’s, unfurling her fingers.

“What if you don’t want it, though? After you find out it’s simply water with bubbles. That’s the secret to fancy water. Frivolous bubbles. No substance.”Shut up, shut up, shut up!

Kirsty’s laugh was sweet, sexy, and everything in between. “You’re putting a lot of pressure on this beverage you won’t let out of the fridge.”

“It’s what I do. Fret about the big picture.”Like how I’ll wreck everything in a Saffron-Fucking-Oliver way.

“I’m seeing that.” Kirsty’s fingers intertwined with Saffron’s. “What if I told you I’m not the type to judge anything by its sparkle factor?”

“I have zero reference point for that.” Saffron closed her eyes, sinking into the feeling of having Kirsty standing so close.

“Does that mean you don’t believe me?”

“I want to.”Oh God, did I want to.

“How can I convince you to give me a chance?”

Saffron turned around, her back pressed against the fridge. “I want to,” she repeated, unable to find other words.

Their faces were so close together, but the tiniest of space between their lips seemed impossible to breach. Because if Saffron did, it’d only ignite her self-destruct button and Kirsty didn’t deserve that.

Yet, a force pulled them closer and closer until their lips met. Softly at first. With all the tenderness, but the nerves bubbled under the surface.