Catching Rainbows

26

The testosterone king left for his hunting trip with his male relatives the following day, and suddenly everything was right in my world.

The night he left Chloe invited me over to watch a movie, which I overthought and stressed out about for the time it took me to put Hailie to bed and get out of the house.

I finally stood on her porch, not far from where I'd punctured the tires of his truck, nervous and excited in a way I hadn't been in a long time. In a way I'd almost forgotten about. I made myself knock, hoping it wasn't too loud. Doorbells were so impersonal and kind of alarming.

The door opened almost immediately, and she stood there grinning at me in blue track shorts and a white spaghetti-strap tank top. "Hi."

"Hi," I said back, wanting to hug her but kind of momentarily frozen.

"I'm so glad you came," she said, reaching for my hand and tugging me forward, into the house and her arms. She smelled like blueberry muffins and brown sugar and summer, and I marveled at how we fit together so perfectly.

"Me too," I told her as she finally let go and locked the door. "What's his face doesn't have, like, security cameras spying on us or anything, right?" I tried to sound like I was joking but it was sort of a valid concern. I didn't want him to burn my house down or something if he found out I'd been there.

She laughed a little, gesturing for me to follow her, and shook her head. "He's not smart enough to attempt that," she said scornfully as she led me to the living room. There was a half-empty bottle of pink wine open on the ornate coffee table, an empty glass next to it. "He's not exactly what you'd call tech savvy."

"I parked at the shopping center so if he has his friends come by to check, they won't see my car." It only made sense.

She glanced at me admiringly. "Sorry for the drama, but I'm impressed by your dedication."

The house was nice, but had enough guy stuff around to make it look almost trashy. Oily car parts sat on a sheet in the corner. A gaming computer and its desk took up another corner, and the bad energy radiating from there was almost tangible. Empty cans and chip bags and candy wrappers were strewn around the area.

"He knows it drives me crazy, but I refuse to clean up after him," she said, almost apologetically but with a steel glint in her eye. "So please excuse the mess."

I admired her tenacity in not giving in. "I don't even see it," I assured her.

We sat on the flower-patterned blue couch, on the middle cushion, in front of the enormous flat screen TV on the wall.

"Damn," I said of it, putting my purse on the floor. "That is one big TV."

She rolled her eyes. "Right? I mean it's okay, but kind of ridiculous."

The ceiling was high, the room too big as well. "It's like a mini movie theater," I agreed. It would have been fine if his things weren't all over. But it felt awkward, uncomfortable.

She could tell. "You know what, forget this room," she said, standing again and picking up the bottle. "You want some, or anything else to drink?"

I shook my head. "I don't really drink much, but thanks. Feel free and all."

"C'mon." She picked up the glass and motioned me toward her. Intrigued, I followed her down a hall and into a bedroom that was clearly all hers. The decor was purple and white, with books everywhere, and a more normal sized TV. "This is better."

"Much better," I agreed, sitting on the closest side of the queen bed because there was nowhere else to sit. Not that I minded.

"Yeah, he never comes in here." She didn't turn on a light but left the door open so some from the hall spilled in. She sat on the other side of the bed, filling the glass halfway and putting it and the bottle on the little nightstand. "You want to watch something?"

I wanted to watch her but I just said, "Sure." I was nervous but she was calming and it was balancing me out.

She got the remote and turned on the TV. A DVD automatically started and she stopped it, getting up again. "What do you want to watch?"

"What's that?" I gestured to the one she'd just taken out.

She smiled, rolling her eyes a little. "Lilo and Stitch," she admitted, opening the case for it.

Another sign. "One of my favorite movies," I said happily, not even bothering to try and hide it. She made me happy, no use hiding it. She knew. "Let's watch it."

"Really?" She thought I was messing with her, and was half anticipating mockery.

She didn't know yet that I would never give her cause to doubt herself.

"Really," I assured her, kicking off my shoes and scooting back. She had a bunch of pillows and I made myself at home, getting comfortable. The comforter was super soft. For a moment I felt sure I was about to wake up because this was like a nice dream, where everything just feels good and you marvel at how well things are going.

She got back on the bed and lay back, her arm just touching mine, which I felt all the way to my toes. Over the next few minutes we both relaxed enough to be pressed together in a way that was just right. I wanted to kiss her, sure, but I didn't want it to seem like that was all I'd come over for.

It was at the top of the list though.

Halfway through the movie, we paused it and went to raid the kitchen. I watched as she opened the freezer and began pulling out pink Baskin Robbins pints. She'd finished the glass of wine and was a little faded but not drunk. 

"Wait, is that peanut butter and chocolate?" I reached for it. "How do you have my favorite ice cream?"

She pulled open a drawer and handed me a spoon, smiling. "It's mine too."

Things did not cosmically line up like this just to go terribly wrong, I told myself firmly. I refused to let the anxiety argue with that. Loudly, at least. "I'll share it with you," I offered.

"It goes perfectly with this black forest cake." She pulled it out of the fridge and cut a thick slice, the syrupy sweet smell of the cherries filling the room.

"I like the way you think," I told her, as she trailed me back to the bedroom.

"I like the way you look," she said from behind me, just loud enough for me to hear.

I felt my eyes widen in something like amazement, mouthing wow to myself, pleased and suddenly shy as I set down the ice cream on her dresser. It was lined with miniature, realistic animals. I picked one up, a raccoon, and studied it while I tried not to show how flustered I was.

She took it wrong. "Sorry, maybe you don't want me to--"

I shut her up by kissing her, which neither of us were expecting, though she recovered a moment later and put the cake down. I stopped to look at her from an inch away and she was so damn beautiful, my breath caught. "I definitely want you to," I whispered, touching my lips to hers once, twice, a third time. "Whatever you want, I want."

She began to smile and someone pounded on the front door, making both of us start.