Page 56 of A Shot at Love
“Fuck, Jules.”
“Maybe that can happen if you finally take me out on that date,” Jules whispered against Frankie’s skin and kissed her way back up to her lips. She leaned back and grinned. “How’s Friday night?”
"I'd take you out right now if you'd let me."
Chapter 26
Jules had never felt this way about another person before. She’d obviously been infatuated by the women she dated in the past, had almost thought she was in love with her last girlfriend but this? WithFrankie?It was so different.
Frankie – 5:15PM
I’ll be at your door in half an hour.I can’t wait to see you.
Was it normal for a simple text message to make your heart go absolutely crazy? Jules didn’t know, because it had never happened before.
She was twenty eight years old but felt like she was dating for the first time in her life and maybe this feeling, this nervous excitement, stemmed from knowing Frankie so well, from a friendship six months in the making.
Was going this slowly the opposite of a lesbian stereotype or did the equal measures of intense sapphic pining cancel it out?
Jules looked at herself in the mirror one last time, admiring her outfit choice. It wasn’t as easy to dress nicely when it was February in Halifax and the weatheroutside was practically arctic but she’d chosen a light pink blouse and a pair of dark blue jeans that accentuated her legs.
She'd opted to wear her hair pinned half up, half down so it was out of her eyes and with a pair of black leather boots and a camel coloured long wool coat to complete the outfit, she would be as warm as she could be while still looking nice for Frankie,.
Frankie, herdate. Frankie, the woman who had walked into her life and cemented a place for herself. Frankie, the woman who made her smile like a lovesick fool, who made her blush with the smallest of compliments. Frankie, her brother’s coach.
That was the one aspect of all of this that Jules hadn’t allowed herself to think about for too long because she didn’t really know what it meant, if anything at all, and until they had to address it? Well, she simply wasn’t going to worry about it.
She applied a little bit of mascara and some pink lip gloss then spritzed herself with her favourite perfume, the expensive stuff she hardly ever used so it would last, and smiled at her reflection.
A knock on her door came thirty minutes later and Frankie was exactly on time, something that didn’t surprise Jules in the slightest.
She ran a hand down her shirt one last time, making sure it met her final standards. This was Frankie, her Frankie, and she had nothing to be nervous about so she took a deep breath and opened the door.
Nerves were the farthest thing she felt when she saw Frankie standing in the hallway with a small bouquet of flowers in her hands, dressed in the same fitted green suit she’d worn behind the bench during a Harbour game. The same suit Jules had said was her favourite and seeing Frankie in it again now just confirmed what she already knew: it looked damn good.
“Wow, Jules…” Frankie looked her up and down, her bottom lip caught between her teeth, and their eyes met. She smiled, bright and wide. “You look gorgeous.”
But Jules glanced down at her own outfit, and her denim, as good quality as it was, seemed far too formal compared to Frankie’s suit. She didn’t know whattheir evening had in store given all Frankie had told her was to be ready at 6:30 but now, taking in the perfectly fitted look of Frankie’s suit, Jules felt like she’d be out of place wherever they were going.
“I should change.”
“What? Why? Your outfit looks great.”
”But look at you.” Jules waved a hand between them. “And look at me.”
“I’m overdressed and I know I’ve worn this for work so maybe it’s weird for me to be wearing it now. I’ve been questioning it since I locked the door behind me but you told me you really liked this suit, and I…well, I wanted to wear something I knew you liked.”
Jules melted at that, the apprehension she’d felt due to her outfit choice quickly forgotten, and she dropped her eyes to the flowers in Frankie’s hand. “Are those for me?”
”Oh, right. Yes.” She held them out for Jules to accept then sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck with her other hand. “I didn't know what your favourite flowers were so I got you carnations because I know they last longer than other flowers and this way you’ll be able to enjoy them longer. But when they die, I can just get you fresh ones.”
“Thank you, that’s very sweet of you. I love carnations. Come in while I put them in some water?”
They walked into the condo’s kitchen and Jules watched out of the corner of her eye as Frankie stood near the edge of the kitchen island, fiddling with the button on the collar of her suit jacket. She might even be more nervous than Jules was and that was saying a lot.
”These are so beautiful,” Jules said as she trimmed the stems and brought down a vase from her cabinet to put the flowers in.
She placed the flowers in the centre of the island beside a floral scented candle and smiled at it. She’d never been much of a fresh flowers type of girl, but maybe that was changing. It was nice to have a live reminder of Frankie when she wasn't in the room.
