Chapter 5

5

LEILANI

L eilani couldn't possibly have been expected to contain the small squeal that slipped past her lips and the involuntary little dance she did when she hung up the phone. She could hardly believe Adaze Banks, CEO of Something Important and Sexy Sugar Mommy said yes!

She knew Sierra had told her countless times she would, but it still felt like such a long shot. After all, they met in such a stressful situation, and Adaze might not have even been into women. They came from different worlds, that much was clear. She might not have liked women or not been looking for a relationship. There were so many reasons she could have said no.

But she really said yes!

Leilani remembered the way Adaze had looked over her body and lingered. Her icy aqua-blue gaze had a predatory appraisal. So, Leilani could deduce that perhaps it was obvious from that that Adaze was into her. It had still seemed like a long shot asking her out, though.

She glanced around the sidewalk outside the cafe to make sure no one saw the dumb grin on her face. As she did, she made eye contact with an old man walking out of the cafe next to the fire station she often popped into for lunch.

"Looks like you just got some good news," he chuckled.

She flushed. "The woman I asked out just said yes."

"Good for you! It can be hard to put yourself out there. I hope the two of you have a great time."

"Thanks, I'll try."

He headed on his way with a smile. Leilani laughed to herself, humming as she made her way back to the station.

With an extra bit of pep in her step, she slipped back into the lounge to wait for their next call. When she got back inside, she took her seat on the sofa, a goofy smile still plastered on her face.

It took less than five minutes for someone to notice.

Kaia Montgomery tilted her head to the side, studying her with dark eyes. "You seem awfully chipper, Silva. That must have been some walk you went on."

She just shrugged with as much nonchalance as she could force. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Kaia snorted. "Sure you don't."

"I don't!" she huffed, leaning back in her seat.

"Right, so this has nothing to do with that woman you were talking about? Sugar Mommy, isn't it?"

Sierra lit up, racing over to lean into her space. "Sugar Mommy? Oh YES! Is it? I bet it is. Did you finally get a call from her?"

"No, I didn't."

Sierra deflated.

Leilani grinned. "But I might have called her, and I might have asked her to dinner this Friday."

Sierra let out an excited squeak.

Kaia rolled her eyes with a soft chuckle. "That's great to hear. I'm guessing she said yes?"

Leilani gasped in shock. "How did you know?"

"Because somehow I doubt you'd be this smiley if she'd turned you down," Kaia said as she rolled her eyes again. On a lot of other people, the gesture might have seemed rude, but they knew from her it was a sign of fondness.

"Oh, well, yeah you're right. She did say yes."

"Good for you. I hope it goes well."

"Thanks! I hope so too."

"Where are you going to take her? When's your date?"

"It's Friday."

"That's only like two days to plan. Are you going to be able to get everything ready?"

"I think so. I've got a few places in mind, and I don't want to plan it out too much. It's only a first date. I want it to feel relaxed, spontaneous."

"I'm sure you'll have no issue with either of those."

"Thank you; I just want it to go well. I know we haven't known each other for long, but I really like her."

"I get it," Kaia said with a soft smile. "Sometimes you just know."

"Should I reserve a U-haul for the third date?" Sierra chuckled.

"I think it's sweet," Rory said. "It's like something out of a movie. Especially with how you saved her life."

Leilani looked away, rubbing the back of her head. "I was just doing my job. It wasn't anything special."

"You've got to start giving yourself more credit."

She rolled her eyes. "You sound like Captain Hunter."

Kaia rolled her eyes. "I wonder why that could be?"

They shared a laugh.

"But the two of you are still doing good?"

Kaia smiled. "We‘re doing great. I think moving here was the best decision we could have made."

"Good, I'm so glad you both decided to move here. It's been great having you both as part of the team."

"Thanks, it's been great being here. We picked a good place to build our lives. You guys are better than we could have hoped for."

The rest of the night was slow. They got a few calls, but nothing serious. There was a slightly out of hand campfire and a call to help locate a kid who wandered off in a nearby park. Fortunately, he hadn't made it far, just past the tree line. Mostly though they just talked and spent time as a team.

When her shift was over, Leilani made the drive back to her place. As much as she loved downtown Phoenix Ridge, when she got home to unwind, she needed to be somewhere away from the hustle and bustle.

Yeah, maybe her commute was a little longer than it needed to be, but it was worth it to have a little place for herself outside the busy city limits.

It was a small one-floor home made of light brown stones with a flat roof. At first glance, it almost seemed to blend into the warm sandy dirt and sparse grass of desert surrounding it. Some of the other houses in the area had traditional grass yards, but there was something about keeping the natural landscape that added to the beauty for Leilani. Her nearest neighbor wasn't far, but the row of thin trees gave the illusion of privacy.

The second she got inside, there was a loud meow and the sound of little paws racing over to her. Jaspurr, her small one-eyed black cat was butting his head against her legs before her shoes were off. He was still in his dark green cable knit sweater Amara had knit for him. He let out another meow, looking up at her with his bright green eyes.

She laughed. "Yes, yes, I've missed you too, my Jazzy boy."

He let out another meow before turning and walking off, losing interest in Leilani once he had been adequately greeted. He would return as soon as she started trying to eat or work on a craft.

For now, she headed off to get a shower then heat herself up some dinner. It wasn't anything special, just leftover meatloaf and mashed potatoes. She brought her plate over to the sofa, turning on a reality competition show and started piling her food on a slice of bread.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, there was a loud meow before Jaspurr hopped up next to her, begging desperately for just a bite.

Leilani chuckled. "Sure, but only a little."

She broke off a piece of meat and offered it to the cat. As she ate, doing her best to force her focus to the show, her thoughts drifted to Adaze.

She couldn't help but wonder what the other woman was doing. The thought of calling or at least texting her crossed her mind, but she hesitated.

They'd only just met. She didn't want to come on too strong or be too clingy. She didn't want to risk scaring her off.

For now, she tossed her phone onto the coffee table where it slid safely out of reach. Temptation inaccessible, she turned her focus back to Jaspurr.

"So what do you think of the cat tree? Did I make the right choice with the green or should I have gone with the brown? That one had the extra hammock, so I thought you'd appreciate that."

He huffed and walked away, but he did lay in the aforementioned hammock, so it felt like a win. She smiled and pulled out a notebook and pen.

She listed out a few restaurants they could go to on Friday then she frowned. Were the restaurants fancy enough for someone like Adaze? Was it enough to just take her out to dinner? Maybe she should plan some kind of activity?

They could go for a walk in the park.

But what if she dressed nice or wore heels? She probably wouldn't want to go for a walk in those kinds of shoes. She seemed like the kind of woman who would absolutely dress up and wear heels for a dinner date.

Did Adaze wear heels?

She shook her head. She could just text her and ask what she wanted to do.

But that felt like a cop out. She was the one who asked her out. She should plan their date.

It wasn't that hard. She'd asked her to dinner. She would just take her to dinner.

With a sigh, she pushed to her feet, walking over to where Jaspurr was trying to sleep.

"I'm overthinking this, aren't I?" she asked, scooping him up.

He let out a big huff.

"You're right. It's getting late. We should just go to bed. There will be plenty of time to overthink it in the morning."

She carried him to her room, sitting him on the bed before climbing in herself. She drifted off with him purring loudly beside her.