Page 29 of Welcome to Ero-TEA-Ca: We’re Open!

Harriet

H arriet was baffled. Cass’s behaviour was baffling. An agonising day passed, and nothing, not one word, had been uttered about their kiss. A kiss that shook Harriet’s foundations and had her running out the battery of her favourite toy when she got home that night.

Was she supposed to mention it? Cass didn’t seem likely to. Although, Harriet surmised Cass was still processing, and after all, the ball was in her court, right?

What if Cass didn’t want the ball in her court? What if she wanted to forget there was a ball at all? Crap, Harriet was spinning out. The confidence she’d valiantly summoned to give Cass what turned out to be a life-altering kiss had waned somewhere around twelve hours post-snog.

When she told Cass the ball was in her court, she kind of thought it would be a two-to-ten-hour kind of timeframe. I mean, who knew a person could share a kiss like that and then completely ignore it? Because that was what it felt like Cass was doing.

The morning after—with no communication from Cass—Harriet assumed she’d be confronted with a surly Cassandra Beaufort.

She waited—yes, with bated breath, like a walking cliché—for Cass to turn up.

When she did, they’d shared their usual morning greeting, all very normal and completely confusing.

Cass was entirely her usual self. Not a hint of… anything!

All day, Harriet waited for the other shoe to drop, for Cass to storm out or tell Harriet the kiss had been inappropriate and there had to be boundaries because they were colleagues. She’d expected Cass to retreat to the stockroom, only to emerge when the tearoom suffered a rush.

But Cass didn’t storm out or retreat. She happily stood side by side with Harriet, serving customers, asking questions about the different teas, and baking pastries.

It was infuriating! Harriet felt like crawling out of her skin by the end of the day, especially when Cass laid a gentle hand on her arm and wished her a good night. What the bloody-chuffing-hell was that?

Of two minds whether to go to Cass’s house and force a conversation, Harriet locked up Ero-Tea-Ca for the night. Her mind was buzzing, and the likelihood of sleeping tonight seemed slim.

“Hey, bestie! Miss me yet?” Nabi’s voice was like a rush of warm, comforting water over her cold bones. Swirling on the spot, Harriet grabbed Nabi by the dungaree shoulder straps and pulled her in for a mammoth hug.

“I’ve missed you so much!”

Feeling Nabi’s arms tighten, Harriet sunk further into the embrace. “So, shit’s going down then?”

“I don’t know what you mean.” It came out a mumble as Harriet spoke into Nabi’s neck.

“Yeah, okay. Want a movie and beer night?” Harriet simply nodded. She couldn’t be alone with her thoughts right now. She’d end up doing something stupid, like stand outside Cass’s place with a boombox and a sack of coffee beans as a sort of desperate lesbian mating dance.

With provisions bought, Nabi hopped on the back of Harriet’s scooter.

They were only two minutes away from a night of frozen pizza, Belgian beer, and The Goonies .

Nabi refrained from asking any questions until they were appropriately situated on the sofa.

She had a lollipop sticking out the top of her dungaree pouch pocket, a red swizzler rammed into the back of her hair like a pencil, and a candy bracelet on her left arm.

“Nabs, do you have a wholesale card or something? Where the hell do you get all the sweets?”

Nabi nibbled on the bracelet. “My uncle has a membership at one of the stores in Leeds. Brings me loads of goodies.”

“You’re going to have no teeth by the time you’re fifty!”

Nabi scoffed. “I’ll have you know I have perfect teeth. Ask my hottie dentist. And I have the metabolism of a child. And…is this really what you want to discuss?”

“No, but I do think you need regular diabetes tests.”

Waving a dismissive hand in the air, Nabi arched both eyebrows. “C’mon, spill. What’s happened? Cass isn’t being an arse, is she? I’ll hex her if you want.”

Tutting, Harriet curled her feet up, getting comfy. “No, she isn’t being an arse, and you couldn’t hex someone. You’d feel too guilty.”

Nabi shrugged and smiled. “I could hide all her coffee, though.”

Laughing, Harriet shook her head. “I don’t want you to do that either. Cass has been great. She’s really coming out of herself.”

“And you still won’t tell me what this whole swapping thing is about?”

“It’s not for me to say, Nabs.”

“Alright, alright. So…”

“I kissed her!” Harriet covered her rapidly heating face with her hands.

A bark of laughter ricocheted around Harriet’s living room. “Go, Harriet! Was it good? Tongue or just a peck?”

Still covering her face, Harriet mumbled her answer, “Slip of tongue, and it was fantastic.”

Reaching over, Nabi pulled Harriet’s hands away. “Start from the beginning. I knew you fancied her, but I didn’t expect this.”

Sighing, Harriet recounted the whole situation from the first time she and Cass had met.

The story didn’t seem complete without filling in the background leading up to the kiss.

There were layers and intricacies Harriet needed Nabi to understand.

Kissing Cass hadn’t been a spur of the moment, lust getting the better of her, thing.

It had been a buildup of many, many things, sort of thing.

“But she kissed you back?” Nabi’s reaction to the whole thing was predictably neutral.

“Sort of. I think she was in shock, but I definitely felt some reciprocation.”

“But she hasn’t said anything since?”

“Not a dickie-bird!”

Swiping the lolly from her pocket, Nabi popped it in her mouth. Several minutes passed by with only the soft sucking sound of the lolly breaking the silence.

“Okay,” Nabi finally announced, causing Harriet to jump slightly. “The choice is simple: Either continue as you have today by ignoring it, or confront her.”

“Geez, thanks for such wisdom,” Harriet deadpanned. “It’s all so clear now.”

Nabi rolled her eyes. “It is that clear. Overthinking won’t get you anywhere. Decide what you want and do it. She’ll either run away, which gives you your answer, or she’ll talk, which will also give you an answer.”

“But what if it’s awkward? We still have the rest of the week working together.”

Leaning forward, Nabi smacked Harriet square on the forehead.

“It’s already awkward, dumbass. I should have given you a lecture about shitting where you eat, but that boat’s sunk.

Now you need to grow a pair and communicate.

Cass doesn’t come across as the world’s most forthright person, so you’ll have to handle that part. But you have to talk.”

“Cass is very forthright!” Why was that the point she was arguing?

“No, Cass likes to complain. When it comes to intimate communications, she sucks. We both know it.”

“You don’t know her!”

Navi laughed. “She’s not exactly difficult to read, Harriet. Plus, Kendal told me, so…”

“You’ve been talking to Kendal about Cass?” A sliver of anger rose in Harriet’s chest. “That’s not cool, Nabs.”

“Whoa, dial it down, Lancelot. No need to plan a rescue mission just yet. Cass was mentioned in the grand scheme of getting to know Kendal, is all. Relax, we weren’t gossiping.”

Calming slightly, Harriet chugged half her glass of beer. “She confuses me. One minute I think we’re thinking the same thing. The next, her walls go back up.”

“Well, can you deal with that? If it’s part of her character, you need to think long and hard if you can be with someone with those kinds of traits.”

She shouldn’t ask, but it was too tempting. “Did Kendal say anything? About Cass’s predilection for moodiness?”

“No. She just said Cass was a complicated and special person. She said it would take an equally special person to be her partner.”

Harriet knew about Cass’s upbringing. They’d touched on Cass differing from the other kids growing up and about her introverted ways.

She was a complicated and special woman.

And yes, Harriet wanted to be the person who stood by her.

She needed Cass to know she’d be there for the hard times as well as the good, if they were given the chance to become more than friends.

Finishing off the rest of her beer, Harriet turned to Nabi. “I’ll talk to her tomorrow after the shop’s closed.”

“Cool. So, what’s your choice? Sticking with her? Or bailing?”

“Sticking.”

Nabi playfully punched her on the shoulder. “Knew you’d choose the right one. Keep me updated.”

“Will you not tell Kendal? I’d prefer Cass to be the one to spill any beans—good or bad.”

“Lips are sealed.”

Ero-Tea-Ca was ready to open an hour earlier than usual. Harriet’s attempt at sleep ended around half-three. Tossing and turning just wound her up further, so she’d got up and come to the shop. Nothing like paperwork to dull the mind.

Already through three pots of camomile, and half a pot of lavender tea, Harriet almost stalked the clock, anxiously counting down Cass’s arrival.

She had it all planned out. If Cass hadn’t mentioned anything by the end of the day, Harriet would invite her somewhere public for a drink.

That way, she wouldn’t be tempted to kiss her again.

The back door clinking shut drew Harriet’s attention. Cass was here! “Okay, nice and chill, Harriet. Nice and chill.”

“Morning,” Cass greeted from the open office doorway. Instead of a calm reply, Harriet squeaked—actually squeaked. What the fuck? Sheer mortification was what, especially when she noticed Cass stifling a laugh.

Clearing her throat, Harriet randomly shuffled the paperwork on her desk, which had taken her ages to organise in the first place. “Morning.”

“Can I come in?”