“Okay, but what was that a few minutes ago? When she came in? I assume that’s what distracted you.”

  Tracy watched Hannah carry her cocktail outside, onto the deck, without looking in Tracy’s direction.

  “Yeah,” Breanna said. “That’s the look.”

  Two glasses of white wine appeared in front of them, and Tracy took a much-needed drink. “There was a moment.”

  Breanna waited for her to continue. “And…”

  “You know what it’s like when you’re finally twenty-one and you can go out and party. And you get carried away.”

  “Yeah. I remember.”

  “Well, Hannah had too much to drink one night. I was getting ready to head home. She’d attempted to flirt with me maybe an hour before. I don’t know what she was drinking. Shots probably. But things went downhill very quickly. She was a few yards ahead of me, walking home, and she was not steady. So, I jogged up to her, and slid an arm around her waist.”

  “You walked her home?”

  Tracy nodded. “I didn’t trust her to make it all the way back. It’s twenty minutes when you’re sober. Anyway, I helped her.”

  “And did she try again?”

  Tracy pursed her lips. “Yeah. She just told me she thought that I was beautiful. And that she liked having my arm around her waist.” She could still remember that night so clearly.

  “And you turned her down I’m assuming.”

  “Of course. She was incredibly drunk, and I was with Kris back then.”

  “Cheating Kris,” Breanna added, because she could never resist.

  “Yes. Even though I knew that Kris was cheating, at that point, I’d yet to confront her. So, there was no way I was bringing this young woman home, even if it was just to crash on my couch. It would have been too awkward.”

  “So, what did you do with her?”

  Tracy took a drink. “I brought her around the back of her house and helped her onto one of the loungers. And I left her there. She was asleep in seconds. I put her on her side just in case, but what else was I going to do? I wasn’t going to knock on the door. We were all young once. I’d have died of embarrassment if that happened to me when I was her age. I figured she’d wake up in the morning and either pretend that she got up early or that she fell asleep outside. I don’t know.”

  “And what happened after that? Did she come over and apologize the next day?”

  Tracy shook her head. “That’s the thing. That happened towards the end of the summer. I don’t think I saw her after that. I mean, the family was around, but I don’t remember seeing her.”

  “Maybe she was avoiding you.”

  Tracy shrugged. “I don’t know. I wonder if she even remembered what happened. I’ve only been that drunk once. I woke up in my own bed with last night’s clothes on and no idea how I got there.”

  “Do you think she recognized you just now?”

  “Yeah. But whether that was her recognizing her old neighbor or the woman that she’d tried to seduce and who had to practically carry her home? I have no idea.”

  “You should go talk to her.” Breanna brought her glass to her lips and took a drink.

  “No. If she approaches me, I’ll deal with it. Depending on the reception I get. But I’m not going out of my way to talk to her.”

  “Yeah, but if she’s here, she’s your neighbor again. She’s hardly in town and staying somewhere else.”

  “True.”

  The women at a table a few feet away from them broke out in song, joining in for the chorus of an eighties classic that played out over the speakers.

  Breanna leaned in, raising her voice so Tracy could hear her. “Aren’t you curious?”

  “No?”

  “Were you tempted that night? I mean, if she hadn’t been that drunk. You knew Kris was cheating on you then, right? You were already planning on breaking up with her.”

  “No. I know.” Tracy bit the inside of her cheek. “Maybe? I don’t know. It was a strange night. I’d only found out about Kris a week or two before that. I knew I needed to end things. I was flattered. When Hannah came up to me that night. I think I was actually sitting here. At this end of the bar. Because I didn’t want to go home.”

  “You should go talk to her.” Breanna’s expression and voice were serious. “At least clear the air if you’re going to be neighbors again.”

  “No.” Tracy slid off her barstool. “I love that my life has zero drama. I live alone. I come here five or six days a week. I still get to paint on the side and do some volunteer work down at the animal shelter. I do not want to give Hannah any ideas.”

  Breanna shook her head as she reached for her glass. “I’m tired of seeing you alone.”

  “I’m happy alone.” Tracy gave her a quick hug. “See you tomorrow.”

  “Okay. Have a good night.”

  Tracy took her time walking home. She never bothered driving or getting a taxi. She actually looked forward to this stroll every night. The well-maintained beach trail was safe and open until midnight, so that was her preferred route. A commuter rail line ran alongside the dirt trail, and if she was running late during the day or if it was too hot, that was how she made her way into The Lazy Mermaid.

  Life was good. Every once in a while, she would get a pang of loneliness, but it was only when she was around Breanna and Molly. They’d been together for almost seven years, and Tracy could see the change in Breanna. The party girl was long gone. She’d settled down, and despite the fact that she still talked about women like she had earlier when she saw Hannah, it was one hundred percent hypothetical.

  Breanna was entirely committed to Molly, and as much as Tracy said that she was happy on her own, she knew she wanted that someday.

  3

  Hannah’s stride slowed, her sneakers sinking into the damp sand as she headed back towards the house, leaving the swoosh of the waves rolling in behind her.

  It had been chilly when she’d set out, the sun barely above the horizon, but she was glad she’d gone with shorts and a tank top, because she’d worked up a bit of a sweat. She’d had to pick up the pace for the last half mile because she hadn’t thought to check the tide times. She had no idea how much sand, if any, would be left at high tide, so she’d pushed herself to get back just in case.

  Turns out, Hannah was back with plenty of time to spare, but if she wanted to make morning runs a thing, she’d have to think about the tides. She shook her head as she climbed the stone steps to the deck area. The only thing she’d worried about when she went running in New York was going out in the daylight.

  A pair of seagulls shrieked somewhere above her as she stayed out on the deck to do some stretching, balancing on one leg as she grabbed a hold of her sneaker and pulled it behind her.

  Hannah wasn’t entirely sure what to make of last night. She knew if she was going to see Tracy, The Lazy Mermaid was the place to go. Hannah could have kept coming out here, hoping to catch a glimpse of Tracy out on her own deck or taking a walk on the beach. And now, she was pretty sure that was Tracy who she’d seen down by the water’s edge yesterday. Plus, she didn’t want to be a total creep.

  But Hannah was curious. And after she’d found her way to a seafood restaurant she used to go to and had the most delicious grilled swordfish, she wandered back to The Lazy Mermaid, not actually believing that she’d see Tracy. Not on her first attempt, anyway.

  Yet, there she was. It was almost a déjà vu moment. Hannah wished she could remember that night more clearly, when she’d entered the bar and locked eyes with Tracy, and after a few drinks found the courage to talk to her.

  Hannah had searched her memory more than once, closing her eyes and imagining seeing Tracy at the bar, but when Hannah tried to remember the rest of the night, tried reaching into the past for some hint of what they’d spoken about, Hannah always came up empty.

  That was probably because it was an insignificant conversation. Nothing more than a quick chat. They already knew each other’s names. They’d spoken maybe a dozen times, when Tracy was coming back from the beach, or Hannah was out back barbecuing, but it was always brief and polite.

  Hannah would do anything to remember what had happened at The Lazy Mermaid all those years ago. Had she attempted to flirt with Tracy? Probably not. Hannah had always maintained that until she saw otherwise, she would assume that Tracy was straight. It was easier that way. Thinking that she had no chance with her at all.

  Hannah switched legs, feeling a slight tug in her quad as she stretched. She was a little proud of herself after last night. She’d somehow managed to play it cool, even when Tracy’s eyes had met her own. Hannah had wanted to acknowledge her, to wave at the very least, but before she did, she wondered if Tracy would even remember her. It had been ten years. And no doubt, she’d changed. Twenty-one to thirty-one.

  Hannah smiled to herself as she went inside and took a bottle of water from the fridge. It was probably for the best that she’d never tried anything with Tracy back then, even if she was gay. How would that have gone exactly? She was so young. Pretty inexperienced.

  Hannah took a long drink. Now, after seeing Tracy again, she was almost certain that Tracy was gay. She couldn’t put her finger on it, other than trusting her gut. But that didn’t really matter if the woman she’d been chatting to was her girlfriend, which she easily could have been.

  She rested her hands on the cool counter. She wouldn’t go back tonight, but maybe Friday or Saturday she would. See what it was like on the weekend.

  And maybe, see if she could find the courage to talk to Tracy. Unless, of course, they saw each other outside before then.

  Hannah’s phone chimed from the other end of the counter, and she went over to see who the message was from. Erin.

  I hope you meant it when you invited me because I just booked flights for Friday!!

  Hannah smiled as she typed back a reply. It would be so good to see Erin in person. They never let more than a week or two go by without a text or phone call, but it had been more than a year since they’d spent any time together.

  For two people who didn’t work traditional jobs, they somehow still managed to miss each other. When Hannah was in New York, Erin was in Florida or Mexico. Not that she was complaining. They both knew how lucky they were to be able to work for themselves, but Hannah would make the most of however many days they got together.

  4

  Tracy put her pencil down, resting it between the pages of her well-worn black sketchbook, the gentle breeze ruffling the pages as she reached for her coffee and watched the waves roll in.

  Normally, she took photos to work out how she was going to approach her next painting, but lately, she’d been exploring sketching her ideas out first, working from her imagination rather than a photo, and if nothing else, it was relaxing. Especially doing it here, at the bar.

  Tracy could have easily sat out on her back deck to sketch, but she liked being here, around people. And the coffee was better.

  “Go home,” Breanna said from somewhere behind her.

  Tracy turned, raising an eyebrow.

  “You’re avoiding her.” Breanna scooped up her empty mug and added it to the tray she was carrying.

  “What?”

  “You’re spending an unreasonable amount of time here this week, and I’m going to assume it’s because you’re avoiding Hannah.”

  Tracy scoffed. “That is ridiculous. I saw her here three days ago. I could just as easily run into her here as I could at home.”

  “That’s bullshit, and you know it.” Breanna cleared another table before coming back to hers. “You need to, at the very least, say hello.”

  “You’re making this into a much bigger deal than it is.”

  “I know what I saw,” Breanna said before disappearing inside.

  Tracy picked up her pencil and assessed the drawing she’d spent the last hour working on, a mermaid sitting on the pier, the waves jumping up to meet her. She could already see the colors she’d use. A deep, vibrant teal for the tail with a sea green for the highlights on the scales. She’d have long, blond hair that would cascade down her back.

  “I hope that’s not supposed to be Hannah.”

  Tracy jumped at the sound of Breanna’s voice, and Tracy had to close her eyes for a second as her heart pounded in her chest.

  Breanna’s arm reached over her shoulder, pointing at the drawing as Tracy tossed the pencil back onto the open sketchbook. “I can see the resemblance.”

  Tracy frowned as she turned to look up at her. “It’s a pencil sketch with no color and a profile view. How could you possibly see a resemblance?”

  Breanna smirked. “I was joking, but clearly, a touchy subject.” And then she was gone again, leaving Tracy wondering why that woman was her best friend.

  Tracy studied the drawing again. No. There was nothing there that would even remotely resemble Hannah. Maybe, the hair, once Tracy had painted it, but it was longer than Hannah’s was.

  She shook her head. She regularly painted mermaids, and two of her paintings were hanging up inside. This had nothing to do with Hannah, but Breanna was right about it being a touchy subject.

  Maybe, she should just get that first conversation out of the way, and hopefully, it wouldn’t be as awkward as she was imagining it to be.

  She’d go over there this evening. That was it. Get it over with. They were neighbors for the next week or two or however long Hannah was staying for. They should be able to say hello from across their back decks like they used to.

  5

  Hannah wiped the sweat away from her forehead as she took a break from cleaning the barbecue. The cleaner had done a thorough job with the house and the outdoor area, but understandably, that didn’t cover the barbecue itself, and Hannah had a craving for some grilled salmon.

  Erin would be arriving soon depending on traffic, and Hannah wanted to be able to start dinner if she was hungry. She had vegetable skewers already done and ready to go. The salmon was inside marinating in some soy sauce and brown sugar. She just had to get this cleaned up first.

  Hannah stood back to see how much more she had to do, her favorite song coming through her earbuds, making the job so much easier. The inside looked fine, but the outside needed some more attention. She crouched down, running the cloth over the legs, and when she stood to close the lid and work on the last bit, she nearly fell backwards, grabbing onto the barbecue to stay upright.

  There was Tracy coming towards her, just a few feet away, her mouth moving, but Hannah couldn’t hear her. She reached up to pull one earbud out, shoving it in her pocket, her heart racing as she attempted to recover.

  “Oh, sorry.” Tracy shook her head, her eyebrows furrowed. “I didn’t see you had them in. Sorry.”

  Hannah took the other one out. “No. It’s fine.” She only noticed now that Tracy was holding a bottle of white wine.

  “What a way to say hello.” Tracy’s eyes drifted over her as she apologized again, but all Hannah could think of was how grubby she was, covered in grease and sweat, pieces of hair falling from her ponytail, her white tank top splattered with grime or water or both.

  “I was going to say hi at the bar, but I didn’t want to disturb you…” Hannah refrained from saying ‘you and your girlfriend,’ because the more she thought about it, the more certain she was that they were together. Hannah would rather not know for certain though.

  “Oh, you should have.” Tracy handed her the bottle. “I just wanted to stop by. It’s been… What? Five or six years?”

  “Thanks. And it’s been ten years.”

  “Wow.” Tracy laughed softly. “I would never have guessed it was that long ago.”

  Hannah swallowed, shuffling her weight onto her other foot. Why did she have to be in the middle of cleaning the grill when this happened? Any other time. Even coming back after a run covered in sweat would have been better than this.

  “So, who’s here with you? Your parents?”

  “No. They’re actually in Portugal. Newly retired.”

  “Portugal?” Tracy smiled. “Well, they deserve it. I know they both worked hard. They used to lament about not getting out here more.”

  “Yeah. They did. And I’m sorry I didn’t get here more often too.” Hannah tore her eyes away from Tracy who somehow managed to look effortlessly gorgeous in just khaki shorts and a black tank top, her hair falling across her shoulders. “I’ve been all over, but there’s just something about this place.”

  “I know what you mean. I came here nineteen years ago with no intention of staying more than a year or two.”

  Hannah quirked an eyebrow. She just assumed that Tracy was from here, but that did explain how she could live somewhere like this without being a millionaire. Unless she was. Not that it mattered. It just showed how little Hannah knew about her.

  They both turned when the creak of the side gate broke the silence.

  “There you are!” Erin left her suitcase and strode towards Hannah, wrapping her up in a big hug, throwing her arms around Hannah’s shoulders. “I did try the front door.”

  “Hey.” Hannah smiled as she pulled away, aware of Tracy standing right beside them. “I’m disgusting,” she said to Erin.

  “You know I don’t care,” Erin said with a warm smile. “Hey,” she said to Tracy.

  “Hi.” Tracy’s eyes shifted between them. “I’m Tracy. I live next door.”

  “Erin. Nice to meet you,” she said, extending her hand.

  Hannah watched the exchange, not quite sure what either of them was thinking. She hoped that Erin wouldn’t say anything embarrassing, anything that even remotely alluded to her crush, but there was something odd about the way that Tracy was looking at her.

 

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