Perfectly Matched, page 10
“That’s it?” she disappointedly whispered. Unlike cards, there apparently was no skill required to the game beyond the basic coordination of pressing a button. Oh well. At least it would kill some time while she waited for Piper to finish playing. She leaned, head in hand, on the machine, yawned, and continued the repetitive motion. Red digital numbers went up and down with each push, and her eyes became heavier and heavier as she tried to focus on the spinning images.
“Hey, wake up,” Piper said as she gently nudged her.
Hannah rubbed her eyes. “Is it time to go home?” she asked in a groggy voice.
Piper grabbed her necklace and dangled it in front of Hannah. “Still no glow, which is odd because by now, the star should have definitely been lit,” she slurred and waved a hand. “But you know how stars can be. Sometimes they seem to have a mind of their own,” she said as she stumbled a bit.
“Yeah.” Hannah let out an annoyed sigh. Her body ached from falling asleep on the slot machine, and her heart ached from knowing Payson was probably in the arms of Madison. “Are you saying I’m still stuck here for a while longer?”
“Oriana gave me strict orders to—”
“Not bring me home until we have confirmation that the marks have kissed. Yeah, I know. Meanwhile, you’re not going home either. You’re too tipsy to navigate.”
Piper waved a hand in front of her face. “I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not. Remember the last time we were traveling around the world and had a bit too much to drink in that one pub in Ireland?”
“That place had the best music.” She smiled, then hiccupped.
“Yes, they did. But do you also remember that when it was time to go, you teleported us to three different locations around the world before you finally got us back home?”
“I did, didn’t I?” Piper chuckled.
“Yes, you did.” Hannah wrapped an arm around Piper as she led her toward the elevators. “That’s why I think it’s a good idea for us to go back up to the room and sleep for a few hours. You can sober up, and by then, we’ll surely have confirmation from the stars.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Piper saluted, then handed Hannah a wad of cash.
“Holy shit. Piper, you did great.”
“I’m going to keep some,” she said as she slid several bills into one boot. “For when I come back. There’re a few games here that I want to learn.”
Hannah nodded as she wrapped an arm around Piper, walked her back to the room, undressed her, and gently placed her under the covers. She opened the curtains enough to make sure the sun woke them when it rose and stripped off her own clothes, glad to be free of the clingy, stiff material, and settled on her back next to Piper.
“I like it here,” Piper said in a barely audible mumble.
“It has its moments, I’ll give it that.” Hannah clasped her hands behind her head and stared at the ceiling.
“Make sure…” she said through heavy breaths. “You wake me at dawn.”
“I will,” Hannah said as she heard Piper’s breathing turn to a light snore. She closed her eyes and tried to settle her mind, but when thoughts of Payson and Madison together flashed in her head, a twinge of jealousy took hold.
She peeled the covers off, walked to the window and glanced out over the blinking neon lights. Somewhere out there in the vastness of the city, was Payson. She turned her gaze to the night sky and searched through the haze for a bright new shining star as she wondered if Payson and Madison really had kissed tonight.
She ran her fingers through her hair as she tried to calm her anxiety and hope. She had never in her life both wanted and feared the same outcome. If they hadn’t kissed, she knew herself well enough to know she would probably try to intervene once again, and she also knew Oriana well enough to know what that meant for her cupid status. She sighed in frustration as she shook out a surge of adrenaline. She could probably lap this hotel five times over and not burn through it all. She twisted her upper body around and glanced again at Piper peacefully sleeping. Yeah, that was definitely not going to be her tonight.
* * *
The sun shining in Hannah’s face caused her to drape her arm over her eyes. She sleepily groaned as she rolled on her side. “Wait, what time is—” She sprang out of bed, rushed to the window, and peered through the opening in the drapes. From the position of the sun, she estimated that it was midmorning. “Shit.” She hurried back to the bed and shook Piper. “Piper, wake up.”
Piper waved her hand at Hannah. “Go away,” she grumbled.
“Piper, it’s midmorning.”
Piper’s eyes flew open, and she jumped out of bed. “What? Why didn’t you wake me at sunrise?”
“I only just woke up myself,” Hannah said as they danced around each other, grabbing clothes and getting dressed.
“Shit, Isabella’s going to have my head if I’m late for this class.”
“Did they kiss, Piper?” Hannah said as she shrugged on her clothes.
“What?”
“Your stone. I can’t tell if it’s glowing.”
Piper paused, glanced at her stone, then stared at Hannah. “They didn’t kiss.”
Hannah’s knees felt weak as her heart pounded with second-chance possibilities. “Are you sure?” she asked.
“Yes. The star would have definitely been lit by now. There’s never been this much of a delay in confirmation. I’m so sorry, Hannah. Looks like you’ll be here another day.”
“Another day…” Hannah smiled as her stomach tightened with excitement.
“Wait a second, hold up. I know that look,” Piper said as she sat on the bed zipping up her boots. “Please tell me you’re not still intrigued by this mortal.”
Hannah averted her eyes. “What? No, I, um…it’s just that it’ll be nice to see her again, that’s all.”
Piper approached Hannah and stared her down. “Don’t even think about it. I’m serious, Hannah, don’t go there.”
“I’m not thinking about—”
“Yeah, you are. I’ve known you my entire life, and I can read you like a book. Your wheels are spinning, I can tell.”
Hannah let out a sigh as she hunched her shoulders. “If you could feel what I feel when I’m around her. There’s something between us, Piper. Something that whispers to me and says she’s the one.”
“What are you saying, the wind’s now talking to you about your mark?”
“No, this is something that’s coming from deep down in my gut.”
Piper snorted in a dismissive way. “Look, I gotta go. But my advice to you, and I suggest you take it, is finish what you started and leave her be. You’ve already made one mistake by missing her with the arrow, don’t make another. Especially one that you’ll regret.” Piper stood. “Listen to me. Hannah, don’t do anything foolish and don’t go chasing her.” She snapped her fingers and disappeared.
“Yeah…sure.” Hannah sighed. There was some truth in what Piper said, but damnit, it looked as if the universe was giving her a second chance with Payson. And because of that, today she would approach Payson and not hold her feelings back.
But as Piper’s last words echoed in her head about not chasing her, she remembered a time when she was a child, running through the wildflowers in a field, when she’d seen a particularly beautiful butterfly. She’d chased it all day, wanting so badly to hold it in her hands and pet it, but the butterfly always flew away before she was able to capture it. When she’d told her mom about it over dinner, her mom had told her to stop chasing it. “If the butterfly wants to be friends with you, it’ll come to you,” her mom had said. “Sometimes, Hannah, chasing the things we so desperately want only scares them away. Next time, let the butterfly decide what it wants.” And sure enough, the next day, when Hannah had sat calmy in that same field, the butterfly had eventually come to her.
And with a renewed sense of purpose, Hannah smiled. She’d give Payson her space, and let Payson determine what she wanted…and who she wanted. If Payson came to her, she’d have her answer.
Chapter Eight
Payson woke at dawn needing to pee, and by the time she returned to the couch, her mind had already done several laps around her day’s to-do list. She rubbed the back of her neck and yawned. It was another reminder that she really needed to wean herself off the whole couch and TV crutch she’d developed in her latest bout of feeling lonely and sorry for herself. Add that to a job that was taking too much of a toll on her life and it was no wonder she had been feeling a bit melancholy lately. She lay there for a few more minutes, willing herself to go back to sleep, but her jumble of thoughts wouldn’t release their grip.
“Fine.” She huffed through a frustrated breath as she rolled off the couch. “I’ll go for a run.” She had been scolding herself for weeks for slacking off on exercising. Today would be as good a day as any to reset that routine.
The early morning air was already warm but thankfully, not yet blazing. And even though her body felt sluggish, thoughts about her dinner date with Madison sent a surge of well-needed energy through her. She settled into a comfortable pace and rhythm while her mind drifted once again from Madison to Hannah. There was something so enticingly alluring and organic about her, a definite connection that she’d felt from the first time she’d looked in her eyes and again every time they touched.
“Hannah.” The name tasted sweet on her lips. “I don’t know who you are or where you come from, but you’re definitely the most interesting thing that has happened in my life for a long time.”
Thirty minutes into her run, Tegan’s name appeared on her watch. “Yeah?” she said through heavy breaths.
“You out running?”
“Yeah.” Payson repeated as she rounded the neighborhood tree that signaled her halfway mark.
“Wanna get breakfast?” Tegan asked. “I can drive you back to your house afterward.”
“Yes, I’m starving. Meet me at Bunches of Bagels in about twenty minutes. It’ll take me that long to jog over there.”
“See you then.”
Her twenty-minute ETA took over thirty. She just couldn’t shake the sluggish fatigue that had become her constant companion. As she opened the door to the bagel shop, she welcomed the smells of toasted bread and roasting coffee beans.
She ordered her usual, and five minutes later she settled into the chair next to Tegan, one hand wrapped around a cup of double-shot, almond milk cappuccino and the other gripping an egg and cheese bagel sandwich.
“How was your run?” Tegan asked.
“Horrible.” She groaned. “My body just couldn’t quite shift into gear.”
“And that surprises you? After all the hours you’ve been working, it’s kinda amazing you’re still upright and functioning.”
Payson took a sip of coffee. “I really need a new career.” She exhaled and closed her eyes in a moment of Zen as she let the caffeine begin to work its magic.
“I heard Mandalay has an open marketing position,” Tegan said.
Payson peeled an eye open as she tilted her head. “Oh, I don’t know. Part of me wants out of Vegas as much as I want out of news. But I’ll look into it though, thanks.” She grabbed her sandwich and took a bite. “Did you end up playing cards after I left?”
“Yep.” Tegan’s eyes lit up as she bent forward. “And guess who I ran into at the blackjack table late last night?”
“Who?”
“Hannah and her very delightful friend, Piper.”
A stab of jealousy and disappointment surprised Payson. As exhausted as she was last night, the thought of spending some leisurely one-on-one time with Hannah was appealing. “Delightful? Really? Do I detect a twinge of lust?” She raised a brow.
“More like a surge, but I wasn’t catching the same vibe from Piper. She seemed more interested in the cards.”
“Oh yeah? Is she as good as you?” Payson had been gambling with Tegan enough to know she could be a professional player if she wanted. She had never meet anyone who had such an intimate relationship with Lady Luck.
“Better. She cashed out at least triple what she originally had on the table.”
“Wow. Sounds like you’ve met your match. Did you guys exchange numbers?”
“No, but she did say she’d love to get together for a game of poker next time around. So there you go.” Tegan smiled.
Payson smiled, knowing that if Tegan and Piper did hook up, it would probably never last more than a few months, a year tops. It wasn’t that Tegan had a wandering eye; it was more that she had yet to find a girlfriend who shared in her love of gambling. Someone who understood the thrill of a card game and didn’t complain when she didn’t want to go home, sit in front of a TV, and do the homebody thing.
“Maybe.” Tegan shrugged as she took another sip. “How about you? What’d you do after you left? I noticed Madison walked you out last night. What was that all about?”
“Well, guess who asked me out on a dinner date tonight?” Payson smiled.
Tegan froze. “Please tell me it’s not Madison.”
“Gee, don’t act so happy for me. And, yes, Madison asked me out. She’s taking me to Antoine Yves.”
“Wow, that’s um…Madison, huh?”
“Okay, first of all, you’re a reporter who can pull words out of her ass at will, and that’s all you’ve got?”
Tegan settled back and took a moment to finish the last of her coffee. “Look, sweetie, I know you’ve been kinda crushing on her a bit from time to time ever since she first came to the station, and it’s not that I don’t know what you see in that woman, but I really don’t know what you see in that woman. I mean, don’t get me wrong, she’s gorgeous and all but seriously disturbed deep down.”
Payson chuckled. “She’s not that bad.”
“I think the word bad is one of those relative words,” Tegan said. “Look, I just want what’s best for you, and I don’t want to see you get hurt again.”
“Well, Madison is no Julie, that’s for sure.”
“No, but she’s also not good enough for you. Please don’t fill your relationship void right now with another mistake.”
“Ouch, that was a bit harsh, don’t you think?”
Tegan placed a loving hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “I just want what’s best for you.”
Payson snorted at the catchphrase. She had been in survivor mode for so many years, she had no clue what “best for her” was anymore. She thought the tropical vacation she had booked was going to be a good start at finding that, but when it didn’t pan out, the desperate feeling of her life falling apart once again took hold. But maybe it was for the best. How could she possibly think about her own self-interest when she had a massive credit card debt to pay off? She should just hunker down and not worry about herself until she fixed those loose ends. And even though she had contemplated bankruptcy many times to finally be rid of the bind Julie had put her in, she was too embarrassed and prideful to follow through with the paperwork. No…she’d gotten herself into this mess because she’d trusted someone. She could damn well get herself out of it.
Just keep your head down, do your job, and bit by bit crawl out of the rubble, she reminded herself. And maybe that wasn’t what was best for her, but for now, it was the hand she’d been dealt.
She picked at her sandwich as she thought about Madison. If they did get together, would it really be such a bad thing? Madison’s salary was probably two to three times what she was making. How refreshing it would be to be with someone she didn’t have to support. Plus, she was beautiful and had a witty side. But on the flip side, she could also be cold and abrasive around the edges. Payson chuckled to herself. She was already making a pro and con list. As though tonight’s date was really going to lead to anything substantial.
“You must be really enjoying that sandwich because you got pretty quiet all of a sudden.”
“Sorry,” Payson said as she refocused. “I was just thinking about the aftermath of Julie and promising myself to never get in a situation like that again.”
“You won’t because I won’t let you. How much more do you have to pay off?”
“I have three more payments on the one card and more than I want to count on the other two.”
“Well, as soon as I win the lottery, I’ll pay off your cards, and we can run away to Mexico and live on the beach for cheap. We’ll be the two mysterious lesbians everyone whispers about.”
“Sounds intriguing.”
“It does, doesn’t it? And to think, the only thing standing in the way of our dream is six lucky numbers.”
“And that, my friend, is why we’ll be working stiffs for the rest of our lives.”
“Hmm.” Tegan reached over, grabbed Payson’s sandwich, and took a bite. “Such a tragic thought,” she mumbled as she chewed.
Payson smiled as she lifted her cup. “Well, at least we’ll be in it together.”
* * *
An hour later, Payson was distracting herself with the long overdue task of cleaning her house. If her date with Madison went well, would the night end in her bedroom? She let out an uneasy breath as she stripped the sheets, replacing them with clean ones. Why was she so nervous about tonight? She had worked with Madison for almost six months now, so it wasn’t like she was a stranger or anything. But still, spending time with her as a colleague and spending time with her on a date were two totally separate things. Or were her nerves about something else entirely? In the past twenty-four hours, she had experienced such a weird mix of feelings for both Hannah and Madison, she couldn’t quite get a handle on it. Was she doing the right thing going on a date with Madison tonight when her mind kept drifting to Hannah? Her body at times said yes, yet her gut was screaming a totally different answer.
By noon, she was showered, shaved, made-up, and zipped into her best black dress. She checked herself multiple times, changed the color of her lipstick twice and her choice of shoes three times. Finally calling it good enough, she grabbed her purse and drove to the station.
