Page 68 of September

Juliet didn’t care that they were in the parking lot of a seafood restaurant that had zydeco music playing loudly behind them. She kissed Gwen deeply and ran her hands over her back as Gwen did the same to her. When the loud song playing from the outdoor speakers ended and they naturally pulled apart, they stared at one another for a minute before Juliet ran her thumb over Gwen’s lower lip, pulled Gwen’s phone out of her pocket, and handed it to her.

“Ready?” she asked.

“Uh… Yeah,” Gwen replied, looking a little out of it.

Juliet smiled at her and took Gwen’s hand again, walking them to her car, where she opened the door for her date to be extra chivalrous. She took Gwen’s hand back once they hit the road, and they drove in relative silence to Gwen’s place, where Juliet parked and waited to see what Gwen would do.

“So… You can come up,” Gwen told her. “If you want. I have coffee. Well, you already know that. Wait… Maybe you can’t. Carly.”

Gwen turned to her.

“Molly wanted to spend some time with her, and I told her that I was going out with you, so she took her for me.”

“You just got home. You should be with her.”

“Gwen?”

“Yeah?”

“Molly needed the emotional support, and Carly loves the attention, so it all worked out. I can go pick up my dog now and take her home, or I can come upstairs with you. We can make coffee together andnottalk about my dog, which was your request.”

Gwen smiled and said, “Right. Yeah. Sorry. I think I got nervous all of a sudden.”

“Do you want me to go?”

“No, I want you to stay,” Gwen replied, taking Juliet’s hand. “I mean,stay, Jules.”

“Stay over?”

“Yeah, if you want,” Gwen said. “We could just sleep. I know it’s only our first date, but I feel like we’ve been on, like, seven dates already since we’ve talked so much.”

“And you only want to sleep if we’re on our seventh date?” Juliet teased.

“I’d like to curl up on the sofa with you and watch something or talk for a while. Then, if you want, we can go to bed. It’s an office day for you tomorrow, so you don’t have to be up super early, do you?”

“I’m usually in the office by nine,” she said.

“Could you stay tonight?”

Juliet nodded and replied, “I’d love to.”

They made their way up to Gwen’s apartment, and when they got inside, Gwen removed her hat and placed it on the kitchen table. Juliet took hers off, too, and placed it next to Gwen’s.

“Shame. I really liked that look on you,” Gwen said with a lifted eyebrow aimed at her.

“The hat?”

“The total tomboy look about you when you wear it backward like that. Like, I expect you to be wearing a sports bra under that shirt, and I love that sweater tied around your waist, too.” Gwen then pulled on her sweater until Juliet was inches away. “I can do this with it.”

“I can wear the hat for the rest of the night, if you want. And Iamwearing a sports bra under this shirt.”

“What? Really?”

Juliet pulled back and lifted her shirt, revealing a white sports bra and hard nipples beneath.

“Jesus,” Gwen said, taking a step back and running into a chair. “You’re trying to kill me.”

Juliet laughed and let her shirt fall back into place.