Peaches and Cream, page 14
But it did matter. And she did care, goddamn it.
The day was stupid hot already, and her suit jacket didn’t help. She took it off and draped it over her arm as she walked Sprinkles. Well, an acceptable facsimile of walking. It was more a series of stutter starts and stops, as he was still learning the leash. He’d pull out way ahead of her, and then she’d have to tug him. But they’d get it. She was actually surprised by the amount of patience she had with him. She’d never had a dog before, so she was getting as much of an education as Sprinkles was.
Her phone rang in the pocket of her dress pants, and she considered letting it go to voice mail. It was likely Bryce. Or her mother. Or somebody at the shop calling with a problem. She didn’t have to respond right this second. But responsibility won out as she heard her mother’s voice in her head saying, “Yes, you actually do need to answer right this second because that’s your job.” And the voice wasn’t wrong.
With a sigh, she slid the phone out, surprised to see Teagan’s face on the screen.
“Hey, bitch. What are you doing calling instead of texting? Everything okay?” She was stopped at a tree that Sprinkles found especially interesting.
“I don’t know. Woke up with an odd feeling, so decided I needed to hear your voice. Everything okay with you?” Teagan got what they called their pokes, feelings that woke them up or interrupted their day and made them feel like they needed to touch base with a certain loved one for whatever reason. On occasion, their pokes had been alarmingly accurate. Once, their dad had just been in a car accident and suffered a broken arm. Another time, their sister had an allergic reaction to a bee sting. And they always seemed to know when Sabrina was struggling in some way.
“Yeah.” Then she made the mistake of letting a quiet sigh slip out, and Teagan was on it like a cat on a plate of tuna.
“I knew it. I knew something didn’t feel right. What’s going on?”
“I honestly don’t even know how to explain it, T.” And she didn’t. How did she put into words what she’d been feeling lately? How strangely her mindset had shifted? “I’m feeling really unbalanced. If that makes sense.”
“How so? Can you pinpoint it for me?”
Talking to Teagan had always made Sabrina feel better. Nobody got her like Teagan did. Even after they’d broken up. Even after Teagan had met and married Kyra. Sabrina would be lying if she didn’t say that there’d been some jealousy—or maybe envy was the better word. Teagan had found someone, settled down, and was now about to become a parent, while Sabrina did the same thing she’d always done. Alone. But still, they had a connection that would never be severed. When Teagan was hurting, Sabrina always knew it. And when Sabrina was floundering, Teagan could feel it.
She spent the next twenty minutes strolling with Sprinkles, letting him sniff and pee and pee and sniff to his little heart’s content while she tried to explain to Teagan everything that had happened and everything she’d felt about it over the past couple of weeks. Concluding with, “I feel like I’ve lost my passion for so much,” she felt her eyes well up, and she made a frustrated sound. “And I’m on the verge of fucking tears half the time.”
“Holy shit, this is serious.” Teagan was only half joking, and Sabrina knew it. “You are so not a crier.”
“Apparently, I am now.” She told Teagan about the night before at the networking meeting, when Adley had almost made her cry. “What is happening to me? Why am I struggling so much here? And honestly, T, why has it been so easy for me to just machete through all the competition for Sweet Heaven up until now? What kind of person is okay doing that?” She practically wailed the question, then nodded at the woman walking by who looked at her questioningly and put a couple extra steps between them. “Sorry,” she muttered to her. “I’m fine.”
“Babe, you are clearly not fine, and you need to figure this out.”
“That’s your sage advice? I need to figure this out? Listen, don’t bother sending me a bill for this session. I’m not paying it.”
Teagan’s laugh was husky. “Sorry about that. You know what I mean, though. None of this is like you. None of it. The Universe is talking to you. That’s what I think.” Never one for religion, Teagan preferred to think of their hunches and feelings and pokes as signs from the Universe. They didn’t believe in God per se, but they believed there was something guiding them.
“Yeah? Well, I’d like to request that it speak a little more clearly because I have no idea what the fuck is going on with me, and I don’t like it. Not one bit.”
“Okay, okay, I can see that. Just…don’t panic.”
“Might be a little late for that.” She scoffed as she turned a corner and headed back toward the house, noting that Sprinkles was slowing down, his little legs probably tiring. “I accused Bryce of stealing Adley’s flavors this morning.”
“Oh, wow.”
“Yeah.” She cleared her throat. “I mean, he did steal them. But as he pointed out, nobody owns taste combinations.”
“He’s such a dick.” Teagan had heard many, many stories from Sabrina. Enough so they’d formed their own opinion about the asshole that was Bryce Carter.
“Truth.” She walked on, and the conversation stopped for a moment or two. There was always something comforting about just being on the line with Teagan, even if they weren’t talking.
“You okay, kiddo?” Teagan asked as Sabrina and Sprinkles turned onto their street again.
She sighed. “I guess. I just…I don’t like not understanding what’s going on with me. I’m usually very routine when I do a new opening. Come into town, scope out the area, the competition, do some marketing, meet local businesses, get things set up, do the grand opening, head home for a week or two until the next. I do it in the same order every time. I’ve done it—what?—ten times now? Fifteen? I have it down to a normal, repetitive routine.”
“You’ve never hooked up with a girl before while you’re away.” Teagan said it quietly. Gently. It was the elephant in the room, the thing Sabrina had been purposely not factoring in. “That’s not part of the normal, repetitive routine. Have you thought about that?”
“Of course I’ve thought about that. I also have tried really, really hard not to think about that.” They’d arrived home, and Sabrina pushed through the front door and unclipped Sprinkles, who rushed to his water bowl and gulped down almost the entire thing, then flopped on his side like he’d run a marathon. “She hates me now, T. I could see it on her face last night. She hates me, so why can’t I just let go of it all and move on?”
“Not sure you’re ready for the answer to that one yet, babe.” Teagan added a chuckle, probably so they didn’t sound too serious. “I think, just do your best to breathe. Focus on your work. How much longer until the grand opening?”
“Fifteen days.”
“There you go. See? Fifteen days. You can manage that, can’t you?”
Could she?
“I’ll do my best.” She thanked Teagan for listening and hung up, bummed to realize she didn’t really feel all that much better. She needed to get her ass over to the new location, had things that needed to be dealt with, and for the first time since landing in Northwood more than a month ago, she was glad for Bryce’s presence because she knew he’d be all over it. How unlike her to suddenly be grateful for the guy who wanted her job so badly, he could probably taste it.
She sat down on the floor next to Sprinkles and stroked him as he panted, feeling more confused and unlike herself than she could remember. Like, ever.
“I don’t know what to do,” she whispered into the air.
Chapter Fourteen
“It’s just not something we want to spend our money on, honey. You understand.”
Those words, spoken by Adley’s mother exactly three hours and seventeen minutes ago, continued to reverberate through Adley’s head. Echoing, like they were shouted from the top of a mountain. And they might as well have been, given how loud they were in her brain.
She sipped her pinot grigio as she sat at the bar in Martini’s. She’d been there for an hour now, and this was her third glass. Yes, she was overdoing it. No, she didn’t care.
“You understand.” She said it softly to herself, but in a mocking tone. Sneery. Raised lip and everything. Which was not how her mother had said it, but that was exactly how it had felt. Did her parents have any idea how hard it had been for her to ask them for financial help? Any idea at all? She had never, not once, asked for money from them. Not for college. Not for her first car. Not when she’d purchased the Scoop from her grandfather. Not ever. She hinted that she could use it and they’d hinted back that they weren’t interested in helping, but didn’t they know how hard it had been for her to approach them today? To beg? With tears in her eyes because she was facing the reality of losing the Scoop altogether?
She finished her glass and signaled the bartender with the pink streak in her hair for another. She should probably ease up, but for the first time in years and years, all she wanted was to get drunk and forget about the entire day. Or, honestly, the entire summer so far. Yeah, that’d be better. She’d like to rewind back to April, before things started on a downhill trajectory. Or wait. Maybe she’d rather fast-forward. To winter. Ice cream would be gone. The Scoop would probably be gone. Sabrina would definitely be gone…
Ugh.
Her eyes found the doorway that led to the ladies’ room and she stared. Remembered.
Sabrina.
Goddamn her.
Why? Why did it have to be this way? Why did the one person she’d connected with in longer than she cared to remember have to end up being the enemy? Why couldn’t she be traveling to set up a mall? Or an office building? Or because she was selling flooring? Why did she have to be competition?
The fourth glass of wine went down too smoothly. And way too fast. And now she was a little blurry. Her vision. Her thoughts. Her emotions. All of it was…blurry.
She needed to see Sabrina. Yes. That was the best idea right now. She would see her and tell her what she thought of her. Perfect. Let’s do that.
She paid her bill and slid off the stool. Not completely trashed, but very, very tipsy. Too tipsy to drive, which was fine because she knew where Sabrina lived and she could walk there. Too tipsy to make rational choices regarding life, and she knew that, too, but didn’t give a crap.
So she walked. Muttered a little bit as she did. In less than a few minutes, she was away from the bustle of Jefferson Square on a Saturday night and turning the corner onto Sabrina’s street. And then she was in front of her house without a whole lot of recollection of actually walking down the street. Okay, maybe she was a little drunker than she’d thought. And now she was up the front steps and standing at the door with her hand up, fist closed, ready to knock, and all right, maybe this wasn’t the best idea. Like, maybe Sabrina wasn’t even home. Sure, her car was in the driveway, but that didn’t mean she was here. Then another thought hit her. Hit her hard, like a Mack track coming out of nowhere at full speed. What if Sabrina had company? What if there was somebody else in there with her?
Her brain screamed at her that this was a terrible idea and she should turn around and go. And she was just about to do that because oh God, what if Sabrina had somebody else in there with her, when the door opened, surprising her so much that her entire body flinched. She let out a tiny squeak and blurted, “But what if you have somebody else in there with you?”
Sabrina stood there, one hand on the doorknob, blinking in obvious confusion for just a second or two before her entire expression softened, and was that a smile? A gentle turning up of the corners of her mouth? “There’s nobody else in here with me,” she said quietly. “It’s just me and Sprinkles.” As if hearing his name gave him permission, the puppy started to bark, a tiny, high-pitched sound that made Adley grin. But only for a second. Then she remembered why she was here.
“I am here to tell you what I think of you.” She made sure to furrow her brow so she looked angry and intimidating. She also shook a finger in Sabrina’s direction.
“Again? Okay,” Sabrina said, drawing the word out.
And wait—Sabrina was smiling at her, wasn’t she?
“No. No smiling. There is to be…no smiling. Stop it.”
Sabrina rolled her lips in and bit down on them for a minute before saying, “Oh, okay. No smiling. Sorry. Are you drunk?”
“I…” The world tilted a bit, and Adley grabbed the doorframe for balance. “I have had some wine. That’s all you need to know.” She pointed again. “’Cause I’m so mad at you.”
Sabrina nodded, and the shadow of a smile was back, and it made Adley growl in her throat. Sabrina held out a hand. “How about you come in? Okay? You can say hi to Sprinkles so he’ll stop making so much noise, and I’ll get you some water, and you can tell me how mad you are at me. Yeah?”
“Fine,” Adley said, because a glass of water actually sounded really good right about now.
Sabrina stuck her head out and looked up and down the street. “You didn’t drive like this, did you?”
Adley snorted her insult. “I’m drunk. I’m not a fool.”
“Well, thank God for that. Come in.” She ushered Adley inside with a warm hand on her elbow. Adley wanted to shake it off, but it felt so nice. Warm. Solid. Once inside, the door shut behind her, and Sabrina held up a finger. “Let me get Sprinkles out of his crate. I put him in there when I saw a shadow on the front porch. Didn’t want him scooting out.”
Adley followed Sabrina into the living room and watched as she opened the door to the small crate in the corner. Sprinkles shot out of it like he was launched, running headlong into Adley’s legs, then jumping, jumping, jumping, until she really had no choice but to sit on the floor with him. He jumped right into her lap and began to kiss her face off, clearly so excited to see her. “Well, hello there, handsome,” she said. “Hello. Hello. Hello. How are you?” The puppy answered her by continuing to jump and lick and bounce and wiggle and waggle and do all the things that made puppies irresistible. Plus, sitting on the floor felt a lot safer than standing. Less precarious.
A glass of water appeared in front of her face, and she realized she hadn’t even noticed Sabrina leave the room and come back. She took the water from Sabrina’s hand, when the other appeared and handed her four small, orange tablets. She looked up into those gorgeous blue eyes.
“Motrin. You’re gonna need it, trust me.” Sabrina pointed at the glass. “Drink all of that, and I’ll get you some more.”
She did as she was told, popped the Motrin into her mouth, and downed the entire glass in one go. She handed it back to Sabrina and went back to her puppy lovin’.
“I’ll set this right here.” Sabrina put a second glass of water on the coffee table, then sat on the couch and simply watched as Adley and Sprinkles played and played.
The puppy made everything better. It was true and she hadn’t expected it. It was like he bounced in and stole all the angry wind from her pissed-off sails. Now she was just floating, still sad, but not nearly as furious as before. Still a little inebriated, though. She sighed loudly.
“I’m sorry I showed up out of the blue like this.”
“I’m not.” Sabrina’s gaze was intense. She sat on the couch, her legs crossed, just watching. For the first time since she got there, Adley took stock of what she looked like tonight. Blond hair in a messy bun, escapee strands brushing her face. Denim blue joggers, a white V-neck T-shirt that looked like it was loved—worn and soft and stretched out. Nearly see-through, which was probably why there was a tank on underneath it. No bra. Adley could see that easily, Sabrina’s nipples greeting her happily.
Fuck.
Adley hadn’t accounted for how good Casual-at-Home Sabrina would look. How tempting. Her throat went dry in a split second, and she reached for the water glass, nearly spilling it before she managed a good grip. She drank half of it, forcing herself to look anywhere but at Sabrina. Oh God, what was she doing there? Her head still swam a bit, and she knew she was moving through the stages of being drunk. She was about to leave the bravado stage, where things that are terrible ideas seem to be fantastic ideas, and on to the stage where you regret everything you’ve done so far.
“I shouldn’t be here,” she said, only realizing belatedly that she’d actually said it out loud. Okay, maybe she was a little drunker than she’d thought. “I should go.” Sabrina stood and was next to her in what seemed like a flash. Was she The Flash? “How’d you get next to me so quick?”
Sabrina’s grin was back as she held a hand down to her. “These things called feet. You have them, too.”
“Ha ha. Hilarious. You shouldn’t be joking with me.” She poked Sabrina in the shin. “I’m mad at you.”
“So you keep saying.” Sabrina wiggled her fingers. “Come on, let’s get you settled.”
“I can settle myself, thank you very much.” She put her hand in Sabrina’s and needed three tries before she was able to stand up.
“I see that.”
“Shut up,” she said, but there was no venom in it. Her body leaned into Sabrina’s all on its own. She wasn’t trying to do that. Didn’t want to. But Sabrina was right there in all her warm, see-through-T-shirt-wearing glory, and Adley’s body clearly wanted to be next to her.
“Let’s get you into bed, okay?”
Adley didn’t argue. She wanted to. She really, really did. But then they were in Sabrina’s bedroom, and it smelled like her, and instead of shouting her anger, she just wanted to cry. Her eyes welled up, and she clenched her jaw so hard to keep from crying that it started to ache. She felt hands at the hem of her shirt.
“Here. Take this off. I’ll give you something to wear.” And like a little kid, Adley lifted her arms up, and Sabrina pulled her shirt over her head so she stood there in her bra and jeans. Warm fingers were suddenly at the fly of her pants, unfastening, then pushing them off. Adley put her hands on Sabrina’s shoulders for balance as Sabrina pushed the jeans to the floor and told Adley to step out of them. “I’ll get you a shirt,” Sabrina said and turned to the nearby dresser. Adley unfastened her own bra and let it drop to the floor. When Sabrina turned back, she stopped in her tracks, eyes wide. Adley heard her swallow, and then she handed her an old Atlanta Falcons T-shirt. It was black and soft and worn almost as thoroughly as the shirt Sabrina was wearing, and it smelled like her. Adley put it over her head, pushed her arms in, and inhaled deeply.
