Chapter Twenty-Three

As Gray stood on the stoop of her apartment building, waiting for Veronica to arrive, she worried at first that things would be different between them without the mesmerizing chimes of the Singing Oak. Had it created a special otherworldly place just for them? She'd never even dreamed she'd kiss Veronica, but now that she had, Gray might spontaneously combust if it didn't happen again as soon as possible.

Her worries were quickly assuaged when Veronica appeared around the corner of the brick building, her face lighting up when she spotted Gray waiting with her hands in her pockets. Veronica strode right up to Gray, kissed her on the cheek, and tucked her arm back through Gray's as if nothing had changed since they left City Park.

Gray led Veronica up the stairs to her third-floor unit and unlocked the door. "Ta-da! Not that different from when you last saw it, I guess. But now I have"—she gestured to the boxes and furniture organized in the corners of the room—"a single armchair, a bookshelf, and a throw blanket without a couch to put it on. Oh, and exactly two paintings." She nodded toward a colorful canvas with an impression of the Tulsa skyline and a boxy modernist work she'd picked up at the small-business fair the previous week.

Before Gray finished, Veronica had already left her side to pace around the kitchen and living space. She paused in front of the picture windows facing a row of historic buildings and, if you found exactly the right angle, a slice of the Mississippi River. "The view is even more beautiful at night," Veronica said. She turned around and scanned the apartment from her new angle. "Although the sunlight is nice too. Either way, it's a gorgeous place. A very talented apartment hunter must have helped you find it."

Gray laughed, then joined Veronica by the window, wrapping her arms around Veronica's waist from behind. "The absolute best apartment hunter in town," she said, her voice low.

Veronica twisted them around to both face the room, with Gray still holding her around the middle. "You're going to need more furniture to fill all this space," Veronica said, then began pointing out different areas. "Another bookshelf or maybe a chest over there, on that empty wall. You'll need a couch or at least a sizable love seat there, and a coffee table. What do you think about a big piece of art here? Something colorful. Maybe a hanging tapestry? Or a decorative mirror to reflect the sunlight?"

Gray and Veronica stood like that for a while, using interior design as an excuse to hold each other close. When they ran out of ideas, Gray begrudgingly let go of Veronica's waist and meandered toward the refrigerator. "You were so well prepared for our picnic. I wish I had some food or something to offer you like a good Southerner." Gray dug into the tote bag of cold items she'd shoved onto a shelf without bothering to unpack it. "I've got…half a pint of strawberries and a couple cans of LaCroix?"

"Hostess extraordinaire," Veronica said. "Bring them over. I'll spread out this throw blanket and we'll have a picnic part two."

Before Gray joined Veronica on the floor, she located a Bluetooth speaker in a partially unpacked box and hit play on an album by a local jazz band she'd heard playing on the streets of the French Quarter. With the mood set, Gray and Veronica dug into the strawberries—only slightly past their prime, sweeter for it—and got back to their conversation about decorating Gray's new digs.

Gray froze midway through a sentence about antiques shopping for barstools when Veronica took a bite of a particularly juicy strawberry, leaving a distracting trail of juice dripping from the corner of her lips. Veronica looked at her expectantly and Gray stuttered out, "You've got…uh…s-some strawberry…"

The arch in Veronica's right eyebrow made it clear that she was fully aware of the upper hand she held in the moment. "Where?" She ran her tongue slowly along the opposite side of her lips, then swallowed in a way that made Gray gulp too. "Did I get it?"

"No, it's…the other…" Gray's brain was betraying her, mixing all of her words into a jumbled mess. Or perhaps it wasn't her brain at fault so much as other parts of her body.

Veronica leaned in across their now-empty LaCroix cans, looking intensely into Gray's eyes. "Why don't you get it for me?"

Gray didn't need to be asked twice. She closed the gap between them and licked the sweet and sticky strawberry juice from the corner of Veronica's mouth, then took Veronica's plump bottom lip between her teeth. Veronica responded immediately by pushing aside the remains of their second picnic and climbing into Gray's lap, wrapping her legs around Gray's torso. Their kiss seemed to pick up where their intimate moment under the old oak tree had stopped, bursting into a passionate heat that Gray felt might set her whole apartment aflame.

In her time spent befriending Veronica, Gray had often found herself trying to reconcile the different ways Veronica presented herself to the world: a buttoned-up school principal, a warm and creative mother, an advocate for social change, a skilled chef and cooking teacher, a tenacious apartment hunter. Of all the Veronicas she'd met, the one now tangled up in Gray's limbs, the one sliding a hand up the skin of Gray's lower back beneath her shirt, the one that smelled like strawberries and spring air—she was without a doubt Gray's favorite. The unguarded desire in Veronica's every move seemed to merge all the other Veronicas into a single being, one person who wanted things so desperately, wanted the world to make sense and become a better place, who, above all, at this moment, wanted Gray. And Gray had never wanted someone else so badly. Every other thought and distraction in Gray's head melted away when Veronica kissed the soft skin under the curve of Gray's jaw. Every self-conscious concern or nagging wonder if she was on the right track evaporated when Veronica let out a little moan at Gray's hands tangling into her hair.

Veronica used her legs to tighten her hold on Gray, pressing her hips against the gap of skin between Gray's shirt and jeans, which had somehow in the past few minutes come unbuttoned. Gray could feel the warmth of Veronica against her stomach, a heat that she thought might melt her completely. Was this really happening? Gray tried to pinch her left forearm, but Veronica jumped slightly and said, "Ouch!"

"Sorry," Gray said, her voice husky. "I was trying to see if I was dreaming. I must have pinched you on accident."

Veronica pushed the longer part of Gray's hair back from her forehead and, their faces still only a few inches apart, looked back and forth between Gray's two green eyes. "I'm very much awake. You are too."

A hint of Gray's self-awareness returned in the break from making out. "Should we…" she started, then paused to clear her throat. "Is this a good idea?"

"Based on what my body is telling me right now," Veronica said, her eyelids heavy with desire, "it's a phenomenal idea. And if I ask my brain"—she pulled an arm from Gray's lower back to tick off reasons on her fingers—"we're both adults interested in a consensual good time, yes?"

"Yes," Gray said immediately.

"You could use a good housewarming to celebrate your new place."

Gray nodded, her eyes traveling from Veronica's face to her sternum to her heaving chest. "Since you're trying to figure out your chemistry with Aquariuses, it's an important experiment. For scientific purposes."

Gray had completely forgotten about the astrology challenge. It seemed irrelevant to whatever was going on between them at the moment, but she was happy to admit it as evidence in Veronica's growing case. "I love science," she growled.

Veronica raised a fourth finger. "And it's the friendly thing to do. You know, for friendship."

"For friendship!" Gray cheered. With a list of reasons she couldn't possibly refute, Gray dove back into kissing Veronica with even more passion. As her lips strayed from Veronica's mouth to her neck, then her shoulder, then her collarbone, Gray began fumbling with the buttons at the top of Veronica's green sundress. They were tiny and numerous, stretching from the neck of the dress to the bottom hem, and releasing them one by one was an act of incredibly seductive torture for both of them.

Once Gray had unbuttoned enough of Veronica's dress to reveal her silky emerald bra, she froze for a moment, admiring how the glossy fabric shined against the smooth golden skin of Veronica's breasts, rising and falling with each intake of air. "Holy shit," she breathed. "You're a goddess."

"I'm not," Veronica said, breathing roughly through her mouth. "I'm a human being who very much wants you to get this dress off of me as quickly as possible."

"That's too bad," Gray said with a wicked grin. "Because I'm going to take my time." She pushed Veronica down against the blanket by the shoulders, and Veronica let out a pleased gasp. She continued unbuttoning Veronica's dress as she laid a trail of kisses from Veronica's throat down her sternum, then across the swelling landscape of her cleavage. As Gray reached the waist and then approached the hem of the garment, she parted it to reveal Veronica's smooth stomach, the soft curve of her hips, the pearlescent waves of stretch marks that turned her skin into a living work of art. The slowness of Gray's touch and heat of her kisses were making Veronica squirm with desire beneath her. Finally, the dress was opened from top to bottom, and the silky green panties that perfectly matched Veronica's bra were on display. Gray wondered for a moment if Veronica's matching lingerie meant she was expecting their date to take this turn—at least more so than Gray.

"My god, you're stunning," Gray said, leaning back to wonder at the magic of Veronica's mostly naked form on her living room floor, the streetlights from outside casting shadows across her torso.

After a moment, Veronica sat up and gripped the bottom hem of Gray's shirt. "Haven't you made me wait long enough?" Gray's grin was hidden by her Henley as Veronica pulled it up and over her head. Once the shirt was off, Veronica immediately set to work on pulling off Gray's jeans. But it was a difficult task with Veronica between Gray's knees and Gray kneeling over her. "Please, get these off as soon as possible," Veronica said after a moment of struggling.

Gray twisted away from Veronica and stood, then pulled off her jeans and threw them across the room. Now it was Veronica's turn to rest back on her elbows, taking in the expanse of Gray's skin not hidden by her pale-blue jersey bra or black boy-shorts underwear. Veronica's gaze felt almost as physical on Gray's body as her hands and lips had been moments before. Not able to withstand the heat of the tension between them, Gray dropped back to the ground on top of Veronica and kissed her, running her hands down Veronica's sides until they met the elastic of her panties. Veronica unclasped Gray's bra with a flick of her fingers, and it dropped down between them. As Gray shifted to untangle it from her arms, her knee slipped on the blanket against the hardwood floor, and Gray fell onto her hip to Veronica's side.

"Ouch," she said, wincing. Remembering her hopeful preparations for the evening, Gray said, "You know, I did put the good sheets on my bed. Should we move somewhere a little more comfortable?"

Veronica pushed herself up from the ground with one hand on Gray's leg. "The good sheets, you say?" She raised an eyebrow and smirked seductively, then took a few steps backward toward the door to Gray's bedroom. Along the way, Veronica reached behind her back and unclasped her bra, letting the straps slide down her shoulders and the cups pull away from her breasts. But before Gray could see any new skin, Veronica disappeared into the bedroom, then tossed the bra around the doorframe so it landed near Gray's feet. Gray was still staring at it, stunned by her luck, when Veronica's green silky panties landed next to them.

Leaping up from the blanket, Gray shed her own underwear and raced to join Veronica in her bedroom. She found Veronica sprawled across her bed, completely naked, Gray's quilt thrown aside so she could luxuriate in the soft sheets. Gray wanted to spend a moment, a day, a week, taking in the picture of Veronica on her bed, but her desire to touch every square inch of bare skin on Veronica's body won out. Gray climbed onto the mattress above Veronica, pressing one thigh against the heat between Veronica's legs, and took one of Veronica's pert nipples in her mouth. Veronica's sharp intake of breath was the most erotic thing Gray had heard in her entire life. The way she arched her back and pressed her body against Gray's was a revelation. The bed felt like a raft adrift on a vast ocean, the rest of the world melting away to leave only this, only the static electricity sparking between their skin, only the salty taste of Veronica on Gray's tongue.

Somewhere between getting in bed and Gray's third (or was it fourth?) orgasm of the evening, she'd completely lost track of time, place, even her own name. Once her brain had reorganized itself, Gray and Veronica were clutching each other, limbs tangled in a nest of wrinkled sheets and pillows. Their breathing slowed into a matching rhythm, and Veronica turned her head to look at Gray, a look of bliss on her face as she traced the outline of Gray's lower lip with her thumb.

"So," Veronica said, her light touch roaming to the outer curve of Gray's ear. "I think we can conclude that Aries and Aquarius have sexual chemistry."

"Thank god for the scientific method," Gray said.

Veronica's pupils shifted between Gray's lips, forehead, cheeks, and chin before settling on her eyes. "It's late. I should probably head out."

"Do you have to?" Gray breathed.

"I wish I didn't," Veronica said. "But I've got to be at school before the buses. It's my morning to greet the students as they arrive."

"Right." The rest of the world and their responsibilities slowly took shape around Gray. "It's good for morale."

Veronica lifted her hand from Gray's head, and Gray felt an empty coldness immediately take its place. The mattress shifted as Veronica stood, and Gray watched her naked form retreat to the living room and return shortly afterward, her underwear and bra back on and her dress hanging open in the front. "These buttons really are difficult. I usually just pull the dress on and off over my head without dealing with them." Veronica walked around the bed, fiddling with the buttons at her neck. "Can I get a hand?"

Gray sat up on the edge of the mattress and started closing the buttons at the bottom hem. "Do you think we might do this again sometime?" she ventured lightly, secretly dreading their night together coming to an end.

"I suppose we should," Veronica said. "See if the experiment is replicable, if we get the same satisfactory results?" She bent her leg to bump her knee against Gray's hands.

Gray's heart lightened at the idea that this might not be the last time she held Veronica in her arms. "It does seem like the responsible thing to do."

They worked at Veronica's buttons in silence for a few minutes until their hands met around the level of her hips, only a small slice of skin peeking between the fabric. Unable to watch Veronica's midriff disappear so quickly, Gray grabbed Veronica's wrists to stop their movement, then placed a tender kiss below Veronica's belly button, right above the top of her underwear. She pulled back ever so slowly, and Veronica leaned down to press her lips to Gray's. They held each other for one more beat, Gray feeling Veronica's pulse under her thumbs. When they separated, their eyes both seemed to say that they wished time could stop and they could stay in this room forever. But they wordlessly nodded at each other to communicate that they understood life had to go on as normal.

Gray followed Veronica into the main room of her apartment, then pulled on her underwear and Henley. She walked Veronica to the door and grabbed her hand before she could reach for the handle, lacing their fingers together. "You know, I'm glad I got ghosted by that other Aquarius," she said. "This was so perfect, I can't imagine the universe wanted it any other way."

Veronica rolled her eyes playfully. "You and your universe talk," she said, her voice soft as the Singing Oak's chimes.

Gray lifted Veronica's hand to her lips and left a kiss on her knuckles. "Good night, Principal Taylor," she said.

Veronica's mouth twitched as she looked down at their intertwined hands, then back at Gray's face. "Good night, Ms. Young." And with that, she swept through Gray's door, leaving Gray to spend the remainder of her first night in her apartment alone.