“How’s everyone doing tonight?” asked the woman at the microphone, and the patrons of the bar erupted into an echoing chorus of hoots and hollers. Elena just barely registered that one of those hooting people was Macy. She was so focused on Allison’s long blonde hair pulled back in a low messy bun. It was incredibly sexy and made only more so when paired with the radiant smile stretched over Allison’s lips as she looked out on the bar crowd.
“All right! That’s what we like to hear. We’re gonna go ahead and get this open-mic night kicked off with one of our regular performers. You all know her. You all love her. You all can’t wait to buy her album when she finally decides to get her ass into a recording studio!”
Elena smiled as she watched Allison chuckle and shake her head as several in the bar cheered once more. Her heart’s racing had yet to cease or even slow, and Elena’s entire body felt electric. She had heard Allison play and even hum a bit once before, but she had never actually heard her sing. She was on the edge of her barstool.
“You’re in for a treat, love,” Macy said.
“Is this for me?” Elena asked and Macy only winked.
She sucked in a deep breath and turned back to face the stage.
The woman at the microphone had taken a moment to remind everyone of half-priced pitchers at the bar before she clapped her hands together and said, “All right, everyone! Give it up for the one and only Allison Sawyer!” The woman then turned and patted Allison on the shoulder before walking off the stage.
Once she was gone, Allison stood and reached for the microphone stand. She wore a white button-up shirt, mostly open to reveal a bit of her chest, adorned with a silver chain necklace, and a bit of her lower stomach. The sleeves of her shirt were rolled up above her elbows, and her dark jeans were practically pasted to her flesh and tucked into black motorcycle boots. Elena found her positively irresistible.
Allison pulled the microphone stand over to her chair and lowered it so that the microphone hung right in front of her when she sat back down. Once she was settled, she offered the crowd an awkward little wave. “Hey everyone.”
Allison tapped her guitar. “I know I usually do a few songs, but I’m only going to do one tonight, because I’ve got a hot date waiting for me at the bar.”
The bar erupted in another round of hoots and hollers, including a particularly loud one from Macy, who even fist-pumped into the air.
“Yeah,” Allison said, grinning. “So, I’m gonna take you back to 1999 with this one. I hope you guys like it.”
Allison began plucking at her guitar, a melody that sounded familiar to Elena but a bit different on acoustic. Elena completely forgot the guitar, though, when Allison actually began to sing. Her voice was soft and even a bit raspy, and it blasted right through Elena’s flesh and straight to her soul.
Mouth hanging slightly open, Elena stared up at the stage, mesmerized. There was a natural effortlessness about Allison’s singing that only added to the beauty of it, and it blew Elena away.
Macy nudged Elena’s side with her elbow. “She’s great, right?”
“She is magnificent.”
Allison put her own little spin on Tal Bachman’s “She’s So High”, which only made it better in Elena’s opinion. It was softer, slower, and somehow more romantic than anything, which surprised Elena, given that the lyrics weren’t terribly deep. That raspy lilt in Allison’s voice made it sound like a lullaby, gently rocking Elena’s heart into submission.
“I think she might like you a bit there, fancy-pants.”
Elena arched a brow at Macy. “I’m wearing jeans,” she countered. “Hardly fancy.”
“Yeah okay.”
Smiling, Elena held a finger to her lips. “Shh. I’m being serenaded.”
As Allison led into the chorus a final time, Elena watched her close her eyes and sing the final bits of the song, plucking her fingers expertly over the strings of her guitar until the music faded into silence. The bar erupted in cheers as Allison’s eyes fluttered open again. She smiled and nodded before rising from her chair and making her way off the stage.
She disappeared behind a door just off from the stage, and a moment later, Elena felt Macy tugging on her arm.
“Come on, love.”
“Where are we going?”
Macy called over her shoulder. “Alli reserved a table for us.”
She led her around the bar to a table tucked into a corner with hardly any view of the stage at all. Elena slid into the small booth, and Macy took the seat opposite her. When the waitress came around, Macy ordered two beers and Elena requested an apple martini.
“Appletini,” Macy said. “You are definitely fancy.”
“I have a feeling you would say as much if I ordered anything other than a beer.”
“True.” Macy tapped her fingers against the table top. “So, when is the wedding?”
“Pardon?”
“You and Alli.”
Elena smirked. “Very funny.”
“It’s only a matter of time.” Before Elena could respond to the teasing, Allison’s shadow clouded over their table.
“Allison,” she murmured, a gentle smile touching her lips. She stood up quickly.
Allison grinned at her. “Hey.”
They stood a few inches apart, just staring at one another for a moment, before Macy sighed. “Just kiss already,” she said.
Leaning in, Allison planted a soft whisper of a kiss to the corner of Elena’s mouth before pulling the woman into an unexpected embrace.
Elena went willingly, wrapping her arms around Allison’s waist and sighing into the embrace. It felt nice to be in Allison’s arms again, even though it had only been a few hours since they were last together. It seemed like much longer.
“What did you think?” Allison whispered into Elena’s ear as they hugged.
“You were incredible. Thank you for singing to me.” They slipped out of the embrace, and Elena kissed Allison’s cheek. She then smiled and reached up with her thumb to wipe away the evidence of her lipstick. “But I am not high above you, dear.”
“Yeah, actually, mate, it looks like she might be a bit shorter than you if she took those monster heels off.”
They laughed as Elena and Allison slid into the booth, Elena’s hand finding Allison’s under the table. Their fingers laced together as they settled in, and Macy rolled her eyes.
“You two and your lovey looks are gross.”
“Jealous,” Allison sing-songed.
“Agreed,” Elena said.
“Maybe a little,” Macy said, like it was an admission.
The waitress arrived with their drinks, and Macy handed one of her beers over to Allison. “So, Alli, you’ll be happy to know that your lady here passed my test with flying colors.”
“Your test?”
“She hit on me,” Elena said, and Allison cracked up.
“Did she call you ‘Elena-r’?” Allison asked.
Macy glared.
“I can’t help it, you arse!” Macy laughed as she slid her moist hand from her sweating beer bottle and flicked the cold water droplets at her best friend.
“She did, but only once,” Elena said. “She mostly called me ‘love’.”
“Oh yeah,” Allison said. “She called me that a lot when we first met.”
“But she didn’t like it,” Macy said. “She likes ‘mate’ better, so it’s been that for years now.”
“So, you two met at NYU?” Elena asked as she sipped her martini. Both Allison and Macy nodded.
“And we’ve been inseparable ever since,” Macy said.
“Pretty much.”
“That’s nice,” Elena said. “My best friend Vivian and I are much the same.”
With Allison by her side, Elena felt incredibly at ease, and she was quite pleased with how well she and Macy clicked. There wasn’t an awkward moment the entire night, and Elena found Macy charming and amusing, much like Allison. She could only hope that Macy liked her as well.
* * *
Elena passed a wad of cash to the cab driver as the taxi came to a stop in front of her house. Allison stepped out first and reached for Elena’s hand to help her exit the vehicle.
They walked silently toward the door, Allison’s pulse racing and her skin prickling with the tense anticipation that seemed to live in the air around them. She trailed a bit behind Elena, led by the other woman as the fingertips of her right hand barely dusted through the spaces between those of Elena’s left.
Elena pulled Allison into the house and down the hall. Allison’s heart thundered in her chest as she followed Elena into her bedroom.
The air felt electric as Elena opened the door to her bedroom and, leaving the light off, pulled Allison inside. Their free hands found their way together so that they were connected like shy little girls on the verge of singing “Ring Around the Rosy”.
They stood at the foot of Elena’s enormous bed, and Allison could just make out Elena’s features as her eyes began to adjust to the dark. Elena released one of Allison’s hands and let her fingers trail slowly up the length of Allison’s arm, dusting along her collarbone through her shirt, and up her slender neck to rest around Allison’s cheek.
Elena took a deep breath and whispered, “I am so crazy about you.”
Allison’s breath escaped her in a rush. “Really?” she asked, her voice strained with the magnitude of all that she felt in that moment. She was astounded by the way this woman could make her feel so much with so few words, with a gentle touch, with a quiet connection in a dark room.
Elena nodded. Her hand slipped down from Allison’s cheek to rest on her chest, just over her heart. “And I think I deserve this,” she whispered. “I think we deserve this.”
“This?” Allison asked, her own hands settling on Elena’s waist.
“This,” Elena repeated, tapping her index and middle fingers lightly over Allison’s heart. “Whatever this is.”
Allison swallowed, her breath coming out in a shaky whisper. “Feels like…”
She hesitated as she searched for the right word. Her throat felt like it was on fire, her eyes stinging just as horribly as Elena’s, but for the first time in her life, Allison didn’t fight the tears that sprang up and spilled over. They were soft, like a release, because she wasn’t running. She was standing still. Finally, she was standing still, and Elena was standing with her. “Feels big.”
Elena’s eyes shimmered in the dark as the small bit of light shining through the window caught them in fractured movement. Allison’s fingertips slipped beneath the hem of Elena’s shirt and danced across the flesh beneath. “You don’t think it’s too fast, all of this?” she asked as she began to slowly lift the garment, slipping it up the length of Elena’s torso.
“Yes,” Elena whispered, and Allison’s hands halted on her flesh. “It feels fast, but it feels right as well, to me, at least.” She brought her own hands back to rest over Allison’s just under her bra. “I am so tired of being afraid, Allison.” She slipped her fingers under Allison’s and latched onto her own shirt. She lifted it the rest of the way up and over her head before letting it fall to the floor. “I’m so tired of being afraid of reaching for something that I know I deserve, something that I have denied myself for such a long time now.”
“Me too,” Allison choked out as Elena’s fingers then slipped over the buttons of her shirt and slowly began to pop them open, one by one. “I just…I’m not used to being…” Her voice cracked as she let out a shaky breath. Her hands came up to cup around Elena’s wrists and halt the other woman’s task. “Elena,” she whispered. She hated the feeling of being vulnerable. She had hated it her entire life, but, in this one moment, Allison didn’t care. She could be vulnerable with this woman. She could be afraid. She could be honest. She trusted Elena to remain. “I’m not used to being wanted, not like this.”
“Like what?” Elena asked, turning her wrists in Allison’s hands so that she could tangle their fingers together.
Allison took a deep, steadying breath and squeezed Elena’s hands. “Like you might actually want to keep me.”
Elena pulled Allison to her, releasing her hands, and wrapping her arms around Allison’s neck. She peppered kisses along Allison’s jaw and then pressed two soft kisses to her lips. “I do,” she promised, and those quiet words blasted through Allison’s heart.
Allison let out a shaky sigh as she dove forward to capture Elena’s lips again.
“Stay, Allison,” Elena whispered. She kissed Allison again, hands returning to the buttons on her shirt. “Stay with me.”
Allison knew she would. She would stay forever if Elena asked her.
* * *
Allison’s brows furrowed in her sleep as the distinct feeling that she was being watched trickled in through the haze of dreaming and brought her to the surface. She rubbed at her eyes before opening them, and then yelped as she came face to face with the wide eyes of a toddler.
“Hi!” Lucas’s face was so close to hers that their noses brushed.
She chuckled and shifted back in the bed, the memories of the previous night flooding back to her in a rushing wave. She was in Elena’s house, in Elena’s bed with Elena’s son sprawled out next to her and smiling so big that it looked like it had to hurt, but Elena herself was nowhere in sight. She then realized that under the thin blanket and sheet covering her, she was completely naked.
Well, this is awkward, she thought.
“Hey buddy,” she said, pulling the covers a little higher. “Where did you come from?”
“Gram’s!” He kicked his legs up and down on the mattress as he lay on his belly next to Allison. “What you doing in Momma’s bed?”
“Uh.” Allison mulled that one over. “I had a sleepover.”
“Oh,” he said, drawing out the word. “Where are your clothes?”
A soft pink dusted Allison’s cheeks as she said, “Um, on the floor, I think.”
“Why?”
“Because I took them off.”
“Why?”
“Uh, because I was hot.”
“Why?”
“Because it was hot in here.” Lucas’s goofy grin made it clear that he was enjoying this little game.
“Enough questions kid,” she said and ruffled his hair. “Did you have a good time at your Gram’s?”
“Time to get ready for my birthday.”
“Huh?” Allison asked. “What? Your birthday?”
“Yeah!” He leaned on his elbows and held up four fingers. “I’m gonna be four.”
“Wow,” Allison said, doing her best to sound super excited. “When is your birthday?”
Lucas’s face scrunched. “Uh, um…” He then shrugged and said, “I don’t know.”
Allison chuckled, the sound still a bit raspy from having just woken up. “I see. So why are we getting ready then?”
“Gram’s taking us shopping!” He cheered, but Allison’s stomach dropped.
“Your, um, your Gram is here?” she asked. “Right now?”
“Uh-huh.” He resumed kicking his legs on the mattress, smiling. “And Pop!”
“Shit,” Allison muttered. Lucas didn’t hear her, though, as his mother arrived in that moment to distract him.
Elena slipped into the room, dressed in a silken robe. She smiled apologetically at Allison before catching Lucas as he jumped to his feet, hopped on the bed twice, and then leapt at his mother. She swung him around before setting him on his feet on the floor and patting his bottom. “Baby, why don’t you go play dinosaurs with Gram and Pop while Momma gets dressed, okay?”
“Okay!” He ran out of the room and down the hall.
Elena closed the door behind him and let out a sigh. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I completely forgot that I made plans with my parents to take Lucas shopping today for party supplies.”
“Oh.” Allison sat up and held the sheet to her chest. “It’s cool.”
“I didn’t remember until the doorbell woke me up. I didn’t tell them that you were here, but apparently Lucas snuck off while I was talking to my parents and discovered it all on his own.”
“Yeah, I woke up to his nose pressed against mine. Thankfully I was covered up.”
Elena leaned her back against the door as silence developed between them, and then a smile broke over both their faces.
“I had a great time last night,” Allison said, and Elena nodded.
“I did as well.”
“Good.” Allison pointed to Elena’s hair. “Your bedhead isn’t bad at all.”
Elena ducked her head. “I brushed it.”
“Cheater.” Allison laughed as she threw aside the covers and climbed out of the bed. She stood up, stark naked, and stretched her arms over her head, coming up on her tiptoes and groaning with the stretch.
“My God,” Elena whispered.
“What?” Allison asked, bending to grab her clothes from the floor. Thankfully her shirt was only slightly wrinkled. She didn’t want to look like Elena’s sloppy one-night stand when she inevitably encountered the woman’s parents.
“You are beautiful.”
Allison smiled and tucked a rogue strand of hair behind her ear. “So are you.”
Elena stared a moment longer before asking, “Would you like to join us today?”
“Shopping for birthday supplies?”
“Yes. With my parents, Lucas, and I.”
Allison hesitated. “Would your parents be cool with that?”
“I believe so, yes,” Elena replied. “I’m sure Lucas has already informed them that you are here, and you know my mother will insist. She has taken quite the shine to you. Lucas will insist as well, I’m sure.”
“All right,” Allison agreed. “As long as you don’t mind me wearing the same clothes I wore last night. Otherwise, I can catch a cab back to campus and change. I’m sure I probably smell like a bar.”
Elena crossed the room and wrapped her arms around Allison’s waist. She sniffed her shirt and shook her head. “You smell fine. But you can borrow some perfume if you would like.”
“Thanks.” Allison bent and pressed a kiss to Elena’s nose. “Wanna take a quick shower with me anyway?”
Elena kissed her neck. “Absolutely, but we have to hurry.”
“Okay. You can start the shower and set the temperature. I’m gonna brush my teeth first, though.”
“Good plan.” Allison laughed and smacked Elena on the ass.
“So when is the kid’s birthday?” Allison asked as they entered the bathroom and she grabbed a spare toothbrush from the drawer.
“Not for another month.” Elena slid back the shower door and reached for the knob, “But we’re having his party in two weeks, because Vivian will be out of state on his actual birthday, and she insists on being at his party.”
“Oh, okay,” Allison said, her words muffled from the toothpaste now foaming in her mouth. “Makes sense.”
They showered and readied themselves quickly, Allison in the same clothes from the night before but otherwise fresh. She knotted her damp hair in a tight bun at the base of her head and watched Elena, looking as immaculate as ever, slip into a set of heels. Allison admired her from across the room until they were ready to go out and face the family together.
* * *
When Elena and Allison stepped into Lucas’s playroom, Nora instantly stood from the small chair she was seated in and made her way over to them.
“Allison, dear!” She leaned in to kiss Allison’s cheek, which made Allison blush, before Nora pulled her into a quick embrace. “It’s lovely to see you again.”
“You too,” Allison said, patting Nora’s back. “I hope it’s okay if I tag along with you all today.”
Nora pulled out of the embrace and squeezed Allison’s bicep. “Of course it is, dear. Of course.” She then led Allison over to where Elena’s father was playing with his grandson. The man’s gray hair was a bit ruffled from Lucas climbing on him, and he patted it down as he stood and offered his hand to Allison.
“This is my husband,” Nora said.
“Lucas Vega.” He shook Allison’s hand, and it was gentler than Allison expected, more of a soft squeeze than anything.
“Allison Sawyer. It’s nice to meet you, sir.”
“Oh, there’s no need for formalities. You can call me Lucas.”
“Okay then, Lucas.”
The toddler on the floor looked up. “What?”
“Uh-oh. That might be a bit of a problem.”
Lucas Sr. laughed as he nodded. “Good point.”
“You can call him ‘Dad’,” Nora said, a knowing smile decorating her lips. “Vivian does.”
“Vivian’s known him since she was six, Mother.” Elena said.
“I’m almost four!” Lucas shouted.
Elena rested a hand on Allison’s back. “You don’t have to call him ‘Dad’. Lucas is fine. We will figure something out.”
A strange mixture of nerves and excitement swirled through Allison’s gut. The thought of Elena’s family becoming her family flitted through her mind, and Allison couldn’t deny how good it felt even inside her head, though she said nothing of it aloud. Maybe someday, though.
“Can we go now?” Lucas asked, jumping to his feet and tucking one of his dinosaurs to his chest.
“Yes we can, munchkin,” Elena said. “Do you want to ride with Allison and me or with Gram and Pop?”
“Alson!”
Nora gasped. “I think you may have replaced me as his favorite, Allison.”
“Nah.” Allison patted the top of Lucas’s head. “I’m just a novelty.”
“Oh my dear,” Nora said. “You are much more than that.” She squeezed Allison’s arm before turning and heading toward the door. “Come along, dears. We have much to do.”
Allison turned to look at Elena, and Elena smiled at her before reaching out to cup her cheek, sliding her thumb over the smooth skin. She motioned for Allison to go ahead as she hoisted Lucas up onto her hip.
Lucas Sr. surprised Allison by stepping over and putting his arm around her shoulders to lead her toward the door. “So, Allison,” he said. “I hear you are quite the musician.”
“Uh, yes, sir.” She cleared her throat. “Sorry, yes. I play guitar.”
“That’s what my darling daughter tells me,” he said. “You’ve seen my collection, yes?”
“Oh yeah.” They made their way toward the front of the house, Elena trailing behind them. “It’s incredible.”
