“You’re going to fly out of this car like a torpedo as soon as it stops, aren’t you?”
“Yup.”
“Thought so,” Macy said. “So whipped.”
“Yup.”
“And apparently proud of it.”
Allison grinned at her. “Yup.”
As soon as the cab stopped, Allison threw a crinkled wad of cash at Macy and then bolted out of the back door. She reached Elena in record time. The woman was bent over a long table of snacks and finger foods when Allison barreled into her, denim-clad arms wrapping firmly around her waist.
“Yeeeeesssss.” Allison sighed as she latched onto Elena’s side like a koala.
Elena laughed and turned in the embrace so that she could wrap her arms fully around her girlfriend. “Well, hello to you, too,” she whispered, pressing a light kiss to Allison’s cheek.
Allison buried her face in the crook of Elena’s neck and breathed in deeply, taking in the familiar scent of the woman she loved. She sighed, warm breath puffing against Elena’s flesh, and whispered, “Hi.”
Elena rubbed her back before trying to pull back. It was a futile attempt, though, because Allison held onto her, squeezing tightly around her and grumbling her obvious disapproval of separating.
Elena settled back into the embrace. “I take it you missed me, dear?”
“If that’s not obvious, love, then I don’t know what it is,” Macy said, walking up and setting the small present she had gotten for Lucas on the table near the snacks.
Elena managed to peel away from Allison just enough so that she could offer Macy a one-armed half pat, half hug and a smile. “Macy,” she said, “I’m so glad you could make it.”
“Yeah, of course. Glad to be here. Thanks for the invite.” She rolled her eyes then as she watched her best friend grip onto Elena a little tighter. “You’re probably going to regret inviting that one by the end of the day, though. She’ll be stuck to you like a leech the entire party.”
“Jealous,” Allison sang from beneath Elena’s hair.
“Psh.”
“Reactions like that, dear, make me quick to agree with Allison.”
“Jealous of your leech?” Macy asked. “Don’t make me laugh.”
A shrill squeal suddenly split the air and caught them all off guard.
“ALSON!”
Lucas sprinted across the grass and barreled into Allison the same way Allison had barreled into Elena.
Allison immediately detached from Elena and swooped down to scoop up the little guy. “Lucas!” She swung him around and hugged him close. “Hey, little man! Happy early birthday!”
Lucas grinned and said, “Come on!”
“Come on where?”
“I’m gonna meet you to my friends!”
“Introduce,” Elena said. “You are going to introduce Allison to your friends.”
“That’s what I said!” Lucas tugged on Allison’s hair. “Come on!”
“Okay, kid, but first, I want you to meet one of my friends.”
His eyes widened. “You got a friend here?”
Allison nodded and pointed toward Macy. “That’s her right there. Her name is Macy, and she’s my best friend.”
Lucas narrowed his eyes at Allison.
“Other than you, of course,” Allison added, grinning.
Lucas smiled shyly when he looked back at Macy. He tucked a little closer into Allison, but she just patted him on the back to encourage him. She knew he had a bit of a shy streak when first meeting new people, but once he opened up, it was instant best-friends-forever, and Allison really wanted him to like Macy.
“Hi Lucas,” Macy said. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”
Lucas frowned as he stared at her. He then leaned into Allison’s hair, cupped his hand around his mouth, and whispered in her ear. “She talks funny.”
Allison nodded along to Lucas’s words and then answered him out loud. “Macy sounds like that because she is from a different country.”
Eyes widening again, Lucas gaped at Macy.
“That’s right,” Macy said. “I sound funny, don’t I?”
Lucas giggled and nodded. “I like it.”
“Well, good, because I like you.”
Lucas smiled at her and then tugged on Allison’s hair again. “Can we go now?”
Allison laughed. “All right, kid. Let’s go.” She leaned over and pecked Elena on the cheek. “I’m off to make some friends.”
“So much for my leech,” Elena said, and Allison kissed her once more.
She winked. “I’ll be back.”
Lucas climbed around onto Allison’s back and cheered when she took off galloping toward the other kids.
* * *
Allison and Lucas barely made it back to the snack table before Macy, who was leaning on Elena like they had been best friends for years, called out to tease her best friend. “Oi! If I send Elena off to get a saddle, will you wear it?”
Allison stuck her tongue out at Macy as she walked over and carefully let Lucas down from her back. As soon as the kid was down, Allison playfully punched Macy’s shoulder and pulled her off of Elena. “Geez,” she said. “I leave for a few minutes and you start trying to make a move on my girl? Not cool.”
“If she finds me more charming, then so be it,” Macy said, pushing Allison back.
“Children, please,” Elena said, laughing, before picking up her son. “Come on, birthday boy. Let’s get you some food.”
Macy smacked Allison’s arm. “Alli, who’s that?”
“Who’s who?”
“Leggy blonde headed this way. Ten o’clock.”
Allison looked where indicated and let out a laugh. “Oh boy,” she said. “That’s trouble.”
“Meaning?”
“That’s Vivian.”
Macy smirked. “No shit?” She didn’t wait for a reply before she took off to meet Vivian halfway.
When she reached Vivian, she dipped into a dramatic bow.
“Um, do I know you?” Vivian asked.
“No, but I know you,” Macy said, straightening again. “Teach me your genius ways.”
Vivian smiled and said, “That would take years. Sorry, stranger.”
Returning the smile, Macy held out her hand. “I’m Macy. Allison’s roommate.”
“Oh!” Vivian said, eyes widening. “Oh right! Macy!” She reached out to shake Macy’s hand. “I’ve actually heard a lot about you. It’s nice to meet you.”
“And you,” Macy replied. “I’m a big fan of your work.”
“My work?”
“Your matchmaking, of course. I heard all about your little scheme from a secondhand recounting of Allison and Elena’s pillow talk. It was a bore beyond the bits about you, all love and rainbows and other sappy shit.”
Chuckling, Vivian slipped her hand into the crook of Macy’s elbow and they made their way toward the others. “Don’t tell me you aren’t a fan of epic romantic moments,” she said. “Allison seems to be a master of them. I find myself swooning over her on a daily basis. It’s disgusting.”
“Eh.” Macy shrugged. She grinned at Allison when they reached the table, now close enough to be heard. “She stumbles into most of those moments. She’s just good at improvising.”
“Is that so?”
“No, I’m totally romantic and, um, dashing and stuff,” Allison said.
Elena leaned over and kissed Allison’s cheek. “Quite dashing, dear.”
“See!” Allison smiled triumphantly, showing all her teeth.
“Sure you are, mate.”
* * *
While the kids were crowded around Allison and Lucas Sr., listening to the two playing guitar, Elena spent time sorting Lucas’s presents and making sure that Vivian had marked each one on the list so that she could send out thank-you cards the following week. She was pulled from her task, though, when Macy approached her.
“Macy,” Elena said. “Are you having—”
“Fun?” Macy asked. “Are you kidding? Watching Allison get trapped in the Bounce House as it deflated was one of the highlights of my life. I’m having a blast.”
Elena chuckled. “It was rather amusing.”
“Right? I’m kind of pissed that I didn’t get it on vid.”
Elena grinned wickedly, glancing at the other woman. “I did.”
“Score!” Macy’s smile was brilliant as she stepped in closer until they stood side-by-side. They turned to lean against the table and look out on the bustle of Lucas’s party. Silence settled between them, stretching on for several moments before Macy sighed and, without looking at Elena, said, “Sorry to get serious, but we need to talk.”
Elena’s stomach knotted instantly, but she kept her composure. “About?”
Crossing her arms tightly over her chest, Macy rocked on her heels a bit as she muttered, “I need to know that you’re not going anywhere.”
Elena turned to look at her. “I’m sorry?” she asked, confused.
“Allison,” Macy said. She smiled almost sadly. “I need to know that you’re not going to leave her. I need to know that you’re not going to abandon her, you know?”
Elena frowned. “What do you mean?” she asked. “I…Macy, I love her. More than I ever thought possible.”
“I know you do,” Macy said, “but sometimes that isn’t enough. I mean, even if you two don’t work out as a couple, I need to know that you won’t just kick her to the curb, Elena. She’s had enough of that in her life, and, with me going back home, she’s going to need someone to lean on. I want to trust you to be that person, but I need you to tell me that no matter what, you won’t just abandon her.”
They held each other’s gazes a long moment before Macy whispered, “Is that a promise that you can make?”
“I can,” Elena said, voice firm. “I can make that promise.”
Macy held out a hand. “Shake on it?”
Elena slipped her hand into Macy’s and shook it firmly.
“Right,” Macy said. “Now that that’s taken care of, I just need one more thing from you.”
“Oh? And what is that?”
“Make sure she doesn’t shut me out,” Macy said, glancing up and looking more vulnerable than Elena had ever seen her. It was almost startling, the need in Macy’s eyes. “That’s what she does, you know? When she thinks things won’t work out or when she’s scared, she isolates. She’ll try to do that when I leave. She’ll assume that we’ll lose touch, so she’ll try to force it to happen quickly. Don’t let her do that, Elena. Don’t let her shut me out. Make sure she calls me and accepts my calls. Make sure she sits her ass down to Skype with me at least once a week. I mean it. She’s my best mate. She’s the most important person in my life, and I don’t want to lose her.”
Elena placed a hand on Macy’s shoulder and squeezed. “I will make sure of it, Macy,” she said. “I promise.”
Macy let out a soft breath. “Thanks.”
“I was actually hoping that you wouldn’t mind a visit,” Elena said after a moment, and Macy whipped around to face her, brows shooting up.
“Both of you?” she asked, her voice squeaky with obvious excitement.
Elena nodded. “I was thinking sometime this summer. Would that be acceptable?”
She startled when Macy suddenly yanked her into her arms, but quickly sank into the embrace. “Thank you,” Macy whispered. “I would love that. Thank you.”
Elena patted her back and nodded atop her shoulder. When they separated, Macy subtly wiped at her eyes and then turned to put her back to the table so that they were standing side by side again. Elena let her gaze fall on Allison across the park, playing for the kids, and she smiled.
“You will protect her, won’t you?” Macy whispered, and Elena’s smile widened.
“I will do better than that, dear. I will love her.”
* * *
Despite the few snags, Lucas’s party was a great success. Lucas had certainly exhausted himself with an overload of fun. He conked out on Allison’s shoulder halfway to Elena’s car.
“Are you sure you want to come home with us?” Elena asked Allison as she buckled Lucas into his car seat. “Would you not rather spend a bit of extra time with Macy?”
“I’m sure,” Allison said. “I’ve been missing you guys like crazy and, besides, I’m pretty sure Macy has plans to go to the bar tonight to have a little goodbye party with a few of her friends.”
Elena smiled at her. “Excellent. I was hoping I could get you all to myself today.”
“I’m all yours, babe.”
Elena took Lucas to bed once they made it home, and Allison wandered off toward Elena’s bedroom, knowing Elena would want to change clothes before settling in for the night. She stepped into Elena’s room, collapsed onto the massive fluffy bed, and reveled in its softness and the overwhelming smell of Elena wafting up from the sheets. Her gaze scanned over the room, absorbing the details of the little sanctuary she felt she hadn’t seen in decades, even though it had only been a couple of weeks.
It was exactly the same, except…
Allison jumped to her feet and crossed the room to get a better look at an obviously new addition to Elena’s bedroom décor. She stared up at the large photo for several long moments. She found it so beautiful that she could hardly believe it was her in the frame.
But it was.
It was one of the photos Elena had taken that day in the studio. Allison stood front and center in the photo, skinny jeans and tank, hands tucked into her pockets, shoulders drawn tight, but it was her face that drew her in. Caught in a moment of…Allison didn’t know exactly, but she could tell it was genuine. She had never seen herself look so open before, so tender.
Her eyes in the photo were wide and light as she stared directly forward, her cheeks painted a soft pink and her lips slightly parted.
“That one was my favorite.”
Allison jumped as hands slipped around her waist from behind and Elena’s voice whispered against her neck. “Your eyes.”
“Yeah,” Allison breathed. “I look so…”
“Beautiful,” Elena said, and Allison melted into her. “I know that word often seems so terribly generic, but I’ve never seen anyone embody it quite as perfectly as you do in this photo, Allison. It still takes my breath away.”
Allison turned in Elena’s arms and pulled her into an embrace. “I’ve never really felt that way before.”
Elena stroked a hand through Allison’s long hair. “Beautiful?”
“Yeah,” Allison said. She pressed a kiss to Elena’s neck. “But I do with you.”
* * *
“But it even looks pretty,” Allison said, shaking the bowl in Elena’s direction as they lay on opposite ends of the couch, their legs entangled. “How could you not want to eat something so pretty?”
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Allison grinned mischievously and bit her lip.
Elena smirked and gently shook her head. “Your mind just went somewhere else entirely, I take it?”
“Yup.”
Elena clucked her tongue and arched a brow. “Dirty girl.”
“Whatever. It’s your fault.”
“I can live with that.”
“Of course you can.” Allison threw a piece of popcorn at her head, but Elena ducked to the side just in time and it missed her.
“Throwing it at me is hardly the way to make me want to try it, dear,” Elena told her, and Allison shrugged.
“I’m just gonna keep throwing them, and then maybe the next time you open your mouth to say something, BAM! One will land in your mouth, and then you’ll be all, ‘Wow, this is delicious. I want more, except this time, I want to add a piece of candy to it.’”
“My,” Elena drawled, “that is an elaborate plan, and of course, that sounds exactly like something I would say.”
Allison laughed out loud and threw another piece of popcorn at Elena. “Try it, woman!”
“No.”
“Try it because I’m so cute when I ask.”
“No.”
“Try it because you love me.”
“I do love you,” Elena told her, leaning forward to kiss the side of Allison’s calf.
Allison threw a piece of popcorn at her head. “I love you too.”
“I’m still not trying it.”
Allison threw a whole handful at her. “Try it!”
“You’re going to wake my son,” Elena said, grinning, so Allison whispered as loud as she could so that she sounded like she was hissing the words.
“Try it!”
Elena let out an exaggerated sigh. “Why is it so important that I try this ridiculous concoction of yours?”
“Because it is delicious.” She then put on a straight face, as solemn as could manage, and clasped a hand around Elena’s ankle. “It’s because I love you, Elena.” She stressed the words dramatically. “I don’t want you to miss out on the delicious things in life.”
“Well, it looks disgusting to me.” Elena shook her head and poked Allison’s side with her toes. “Even the description of it sounds disgusting.”
Allison smiled. “That’s the thing, though, you know? It’s part of why I love it, even more so now that you and I are together.”
“What do you mean?”
Allison popped another handful of her popcorn and Reese’s into her mouth before crunching it down to nothing and swallowing. She then pulled Elena’s foot up toward her face and pressed a kiss to the inside of the brunette’s exposed ankle. “It’s us,” she said.
Elena stared at her curiously, and Allison pointed to the popcorn. “This stuff,” she said. “It’s us, you and me.”
“You and I are popcorn and candy?” Elena asked.
“Totally.”
“Dear, you are going to have to elaborate.”
“Two things that maybe were never meant to go together,” Allison said, one hand rubbing up and down Elena’s shin. “Two things that people look at or even just hear about and automatically sneer at or assume it won’t work. It’s two things that are completely different and that shouldn’t go so well together, but they do.” Allison squeezed Elena’s leg. “It’s us. You get it?”
Elena stared at her for a moment and then a soft sigh escaped her. She shifted on the couch and climbed over Allison’s legs to get to the bowl in her lap. Reaching in, she pulled out a small handful and funneled it into her mouth. She chomped it down, somehow managing to make it look graceful, and then shrugged a shoulder. “It isn’t terrible,” she said, “but it isn’t heavenly either.”
Allison laughed and pulled her down into a long kiss. “I can’t believe you tried it.”
Elena grabbed the bowl of popcorn and moved it to the small table nearby before settling more comfortably in her lap. She rested a hand over Allison’s heart and pressed a kiss to her lips. “You’ve always had a way of winning me over.”
Allison ran her hands down Elena’s back. “Same.”
They kissed each other, long and languid. Their fingers tangled together, squeezing and holding tight, as those slow, soft kisses grew deeper and hotter. Their bodies moved together, slowly beginning to grind to the rhythm of Allison’s quickening pulse.
“Momma?”
Elena instantly jerked up at the sleepy sound of her son’s voice, slipping off of Allison’s lap, and Allison followed. They turned to find the sweaty, pajama-clad toddler standing a few feet away and watching them as he rubbed at his eyes.
Clearing her throat, Elena patted at her hair and pulled her shirt down where it had ridden up. “What’s wrong, baby?”
“I’m thirsty.”
Elena let out a soft breath, and Allison began to shake with muted laughter. A few moments later and Lucas probably would have walked in on something a little more heated than a quiet kissing session. “Okay, munchkin,” Elena said. “Let’s get you some water.”
She smacked Allison’s shoulder as she rose from the couch and scooped up her son.
Allison just continued to laugh as she pushed off the couch. “Maybe we should hire a babysitter,” she said as she followed Elena.
Elena glanced over her shoulder and smiled, arching a brow.
Allison narrowed her eyes at the look. “No, not a hot one. I’m the only hot babysitter allowed.”
Elena let out a soft laugh and disappeared into the kitchen.
Allison shook her head, smiled, and followed.
She knew she had a lot of trying times ahead. Graduation was looming, and that meant the end of the last four years of her life. That meant saying goodbye to Macy, her closest friend and the only family she had ever had in her life before taking the babysitting gig that turned her world upside down and gave her more than she could have ever dreamed possible for her.
She knew she and Elena would face challenges, and that things wouldn’t always be like this, so easy, so perfect, but those thoughts faded from Allison’s mind as Elena’s laughter spilled into her ears. Her heart was so full in that moment that she could feel it in every part of her, beating out the rhythm of this new life and this new hope. This was only the beginning. Whatever the future held, she wasn’t concerned. She wouldn’t face it alone, and neither would Elena.
Whatever it was that had always been missing, she knew they had found it in one another.
They found home.
