Page 35 of A Shot at Love
“There could be someone out thererightnow who loves to be annoyed all the time by their partner. Maybe this Mackenzie girl is into that.”
”I guess anything is possible,” Jules mused, glancing towards the glow of the Christmas Tree. She wished there was a gift beneath it, even something small, but the small red tree skirt sat bare beneath the decoration.
”What about you?” Frankie asked, drawing her attention back to the far side of the couch.
”What about me?” Jules reached for her glass of wine again and took a sip, letting the alcohol warm her as it settled in her stomach.
“Any crazy dating stories? A long term boyfriend with a broken heart who threw a fit when you told him you were moving to the east coast, maybe?”
“Ah, not exactly,” she said. “I dated someone for a few months a couple of years ago but me being so attached to Cam and his career, especially because the sports physiotherapy work I do is something I can do anywhere, was something they didn’t like. They thought it was stupid of me to work for my brother when he has a whole team of professionals at his disposal anytime he shows up at the rink and yeah, they were probably right to find it odd but…Cam and I are kind of a package deal.”
“Damn, he sounds like a dick.”
Jules wanted to laugh because she didn’t think the first time her dating history came up in conversation with Frankie would be because of her brother but they’d settled on the topic now and there was no need to skirt around it.
It wasn't that she was fearful to discuss this part of herself, not when Frankie confessed to Jules that her first kiss was with a girl in high school, even if her experience with women didn’t go beyond that. Just knowing the kiss had happened and holding onto that tidbit of information for weeks had driven Jules crazy.
Frankie had called it a religious experience and even if they had different definitions of what that meant, Jules would have to agree.
But being a lesbian always brought with it a hint of uncertainty no matter the situation. Gay panic was a very real thing and right now, as she sat on Frankie’s couch, as Frankie watched her with a kind of curiosity Jules didn’t think she’d seen on her face before, she was panicking.
She liked Frankie…a lot, and she didn’t know what to do with those emotions, where to store them for safe keeping, but the was hopeful return of their budding friendship mattered to her and honesty needed to come with it.
Friends talked about their relationships, they joked about their exes, they trusted one another with parts of themselves other people weren’t privy to and it had been a long, long time since there had been anyone in her life that Jules could genuinely open up to that way.
She glanced down at her lap and toyed with the stem of the wineglass in her hand.
“She was a dick.”
When she finally glanced up again, the look of surprise she found on Frankie’s face filled her with a sense of satisfaction she wasn’t prepared for and she wanted to live inside of the look, the way Frankie’s eyes were wide but bright with a kind of realization that was impossible to miss. She was looking at Jules, not for the first time since they’d met, like she was seeing something in her that she didn’t see in herself.
“And I’ve totally moved on,” Jules added, laughing it off in the self-deprecating way people do when they’re unsure of what else to do or say.
“She’s an idiot,” Frankie finally said, her voice reassuring with the same commanding inflection to it that she used when speaking to the players on her team.
It was a voice Jules had heard Frankie use when she wanted her team to reallyhearher, to ensure her words stuck, and Jules felt a swooping sensation low in her belly at the sound of it, her breath coming in small shaky inhales and exhales as she watched Frankie ball one of her hands into a fist then flexed it open and laid it flat against her own thigh.
“And you deserve better, Jules.”
“Well…thank you.” Jules wondered what better for her looked like. Did it have fiery red hair, green eyes and a smile that gave you butterflies? Did it have passion and confidence? Did it make you feel like the only person in a crowd of thousands when it caught your eye? “It’s very kind of you to say that.”
Frankie smiled and propped her elbow up on the back of the couch then rested her head on her hand. “Do you want to do something fun with me tomorrow?”
The shift in conversation was a surprise but Jules didn’t mind because it gave her a chance to quell her racing thoughts, to take her mind off of how easy it would be to set her wine glass down, move across the couch and let her heart take control in ways she would probably regret in the morning.
She narrowed her eyes. “Why does that sound so suspicious?”
“Jules…” Frankie teased. “Don’t you trust me?”
She did trust her and that trust meant she would probably allow Frankie to lead her anywhere. She sighed and smiled, shaking her head in disbelief.
“You’re trouble, Frankie, but I’m in.”
Chapter 19
The roads were empty as Frankie’s tires rolled over slushy snow on a narrow single lane highway and out of the corner of her eye, she took in the sight of Jules watching the Nova Scotia landscape pass by, the reflection of her face visible in the passenger’s side window.
Something had shifted between them the day before…or it had slotted back into place after Frankie had made a mess of things. When the idea of asking Jules to join her in doing something she was going to go on her own anyway came to mind, it felt right to offer.
