Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Sophie

I didn’t want to bug her, but I also didn’t want her to forget or get too busy. And part of me really wanted to get started. So much of my anxiety was in the time leading up to an event or situation. Once I got there or whatever it was started, I was absolutely fine. Most of what I had imagined never came to pass. There was a lesson in there somewhere, but I doubt I would ever learn it.

Her question about kissing came totally out of the blue. When I’d laid out my plans to her, I had specifically mentioned that I didn’t think we should do anything physical, at least at first. She could just give me some tips or something.

But then she asked if I’d kissed a woman and I had to be honest and tell her I hadn’t. My kissing experience was all with guys and it had been anywhere from awful to mediocre. In fact, I’d never had a really good kiss. I always told myself that people were making too much out of it. That they couldn’t possibly enjoy it as much as everyone said.

It was going to be so disappointing if I kissed a woman and it wasn’t any better. Just one of the reasons I wanted to put it off as long as possible. I needed to be able to talk to a woman first.

Are you busy on Tuesday evening? I asked her. I was pretty sure she wasn’t at the bar on Tuesday nights. And I got out of work in the afternoon on Tuesdays, so I had the rest of the night free.

Yeah, I can be free, miss padawan.

Every time she called me that, it made me laugh. It was so dorky but cute at the same time.

Great. I’ll have the cupcakes ready for you. I’d made sure I had all the ingredients and I was going to spend Tuesday afternoon making them and frosting them to perfection. I’d also got some cute galaxy sprinkles to use on them to keep with the space theme. I hoped she liked them.

I hadn’t informed Larison of this new plan, so I told her on Monday while I was waiting for the cupcakes to bake and she was trying to do homework, clean the house, and take care of Juni. It was a challenge talking to her, but it was always worth it.

“Wait, hold on,” she said when I explained my new arrangement with Reid. “Let me get this figured out. You asked your sister’s ex-girlfriend to teach you how to date? Where the hell did you get that idea?”

“That’s a grown-up word!” Juniper yelled.

“Exactly. And I’m a grown up. And we’re at home, so I can say it,” Larison said to Juniper.

“Oh,” Juni said before scampering away again.

We both laughed.

“I don’t know where the idea came from. It seemed like a good idea. It might blow up in my face. I don’t know yet. She’ll be here in an hour.” The oven timer went off and I pulled the cupcakes out after checking to make sure that they were fully baked. They’d have to cool before I frosted them using my fancy piping tips and adding the sprinkles. Not only were they chocolate, they also had chocolate chips inside. If she wanted chocolate, she was going to get it and then some.

“This sounds like a terrible idea, but I don’t want to discourage you. Just…promise me that if things get weird, that you’ll stop. Don’t do that thing you do when you try to be too nice to someone and ignore your own discomfort so you don’t have to have a confrontation. And I want a full rundown after of how it went.”

I rolled my eyes at her. “I’m not that bad. If I get uncomfortable, I’ll speak up. This was my idea in the first place.”

“I love you. But not all your ideas are good ones,” she said.

I gasped and then glared at her. “If I was there, I’d smack you.”

“We don’t hit our friends,” Larison said with a smug look. “Hitting isn’t respectful.”

“Are you gentle parenting me right now?”

Larison propped her phone up against something. “Is it working?”

I kept glaring at her. “No.”

She blew out a noisy breath. “Yeah, it doesn’t work on my daughter either.”

The two of us laughed again.

Reid knocked on my door at the exact right time. The cupcakes were frosted and sprinkled and ready. I also made sure I had a variety of fun drinks on hand as well. My place was clean and inviting.

Stomach flipping, I opened the door and smiled at Reid. She held up two glasses filled with pink liquid.

“I made drinks,” she said. “Non-alcoholic.” She also had the bowl I’d given her with the peaches under her arm.

Oh. I hadn’t thought she’d bring anything. She didn’t have to.

“Thanks,” I said, letting her in and closing the door.

She set the glasses and bowl down and went right for the cupcakes.

“Aw, they’re cute,” she said, picking one up and immediately taking a bite.

“I hoped you’d like them,” I said as she rolled her eyes back in her head and let out a little moan as she chewed.

“Ohhh, these are good,” she said, her mouth full with her second bite.

I was glad she enjoyed them.

“Thanks,” I said, picking up one of the drinks and sipping it. I had no idea what was in it, but it was tropical and delicious. It was a challenge not to gulp it down immediately.

“You might have to make another one of these for me,” I said, taking another sip.

Reid shoved the rest of the cupcake in her mouth, getting chocolate all over her lips. I laughed and handed her a napkin.

She wiped the worst of it, but still had a lot left, and she’d smudged some of the frosting onto her chin.

“You’re worse than my goddaughter,” I said, grabbing another napkin. “May I?”

Reid’s brown eyes narrowed a fraction. They were almost golden in this light.

“I guess,” she said, leaning a little bit closer. Before I could wipe her face off, I went to the sink and dampened the napkin before approaching her and cleaning off the frosting.

“There,” I said, giving her chin one last swipe. Just making sure I got all of it.

Our faces were close, and her eyes flicked down to my mouth before she took a step backwards.

“Thanks,” she said, her voice tight before she picked up another cupcake and went to sit on the couch. “So. Are we doing this?”

“Um, yeah,” I said, taking the drinks over.

We were doing this.