Kahli awoke to multiple tinging sounds. She grumbled to herself as she turned over, blinking in the sunlight as her eyes opened. It took her a moment before she realized the sound was coming from her window. She trudged over with a yawn and peered out to see Emily tossing pebbles at it. She opened it and leaned out, glaring at her through the messy locks that fell over her eyes like she was a possessed girl in an old horror film. Emily had to stifle back a laugh.
"You gonna sleep all day?"
Kahli blinked at her, unaware of just how late in the morning it was. She could tell by Star's impatient nicker, however, that it was well past breakfast time for the animals.
"Maybe," Kahli grunted.
"Come on. I'll buy you coffee."
Kahli grunted in response. "Two minutes." She closed the window and dressed, then regarded herself in the mirror with a blank expression. She sighed and quickly ran a brush through her hair. She moved to pull it back, then decided against it, and let her hair fall around her shoulders. She looked around her room for a jacket, then saw Arlo's still on her bed.
"Oh, fuck," she muttered to herself. She moved to the side of the bed, picking it up and holding it to her nose. She inhaled, sighed, and smiled, then threw it on quickly before trotting down the stairs and meeting Emily by the front door.
"What a transformation," Emily laughed. "Hungry?"
"Not as hungry as Star," Kahli said as the horse kicked at the barn door impatiently.
"You take care of her," Emily said. "I'll throw some grain for the girls."
Within twenty minutes, the animals were fed, and Kahli and Emily headed to the Round Table, sitting at the bar and making conversation with Sonia and Django.
"You're usually an early riser," Emily commented. She put her chin in her hand and grinned at her. "Late night?"
Kahli hesitated, then shrugged. She averted her gaze and sipped at her coffee. "I dunno. Not really."
Emily turned her eyes to the ceiling and scoffed.
"Do you have something you want to say?" Kahli sneered, glancing at her.
Emily shrugged. "I dunno. Do I?"
Kahli sighed. "I'm too tired."
"I'm asking you! I hadn't seen you at all yesterday. I'm just curious as to what was more important than hanging out with your best friend."
Kahli didn't know how to respond. She wasn't sure if she was ready to tell them what had happened. She wasn't even sure what had happened. What did this mean for her and Arlo, anyway? Were they a thing? Or was it just a one time... thing? What kind of thing was this thing supposed to be?
To her relief, the door opened, and Emily turned her attention to Sam as she strode in.
"There she is," Sam said, grinning at Kahli. She moved toward the bar, pausing for a moment. "Oh, that looks like Arlo's jacket." She took the seat beside Kahli while both Emily and Sonia stared wide eyed at Kahli.
"Okay, just one cup today," Sam said. "Arlo's making me run around like a -" She paused and glanced up at Sonia, who was still staring at Kahli. Sam turned her gaze to Emily, then followed her gaze to Kahli. She blinked, her brows furrowed.
"Uh," she started. "What's going on?"
"Kahli slept with Arlo!" Emily blurted out.
Sam nearly jumped at this, standing upright and knocking her stool back. "Oh my god!" She shouted. "That's where he was all night!" She bounced on her toes as the pieces came together. "Oh my god. Remi said he was out. He was out all damn night. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god!"
"Oh my god," Kahli moaned, and she buried her face in her hands. "We didn't!"
Sam stopped bouncing. "What?"
"We didn't... sleep together."
"Oh." Sam pouted, then picked up her stool and sat once more. "Wait. Bullshit. Why do you have his jacket?"
"Maybe it's mine," Kahli muttered.
Emily pulled the jacket and sniffed it. "Nah. Smells like dude."
Sonia put a hand on her hip and grinned at Kahli.
Kahli sneered at Emily, then yanked the jacket out of her hands and tossed it to Sam.
Sam held it for a moment, then nodded. "Yup. Definitely Arlo's."
"There was no sleeping," Kahli insisted.
"Right," Emily said. "Because you were too busy fu-"
"Well, that's enough for me," Django said. He stepped around the bar. "I'm gonna go clean a table or something."
"Coming to Portia was the worst decision I've ever made," Kahli muttered.
"C'mon, then," Sonia said. "Details!"
Kahli sighed. "There are no details."
"Something happened," Sam said.
"It was nothing." Kahli hesitated. "Just a kiss."
The three women 'ooh'd' enthusiastically and Kahli's cheeks flushed.
"Just a kiss?" Emily pressed.
Kahli shrugged. "Yeah. I dunno. We talked."
"About what?" Sonia asked.
"Well, we discussed having a June wedding. And we talked about how many kids we wanted to have."
Sam rolled her eyes. "Hilarious."
"Just. You know. Talked. Isn't that what people do?"
"So, what?" Sonia asked. "Are you guys a thing?"
Kahli hesitated. She looked into her mug. "I dunno."
"Doesn't sound like you talked to me," Emily said.
"What is he supposed to do?" Kahli snapped. "Get on one knee and declare me his girlfriend or something?"
"Is that what people do these days?" Sam asked. "I've been kind of out of the loop in the whole dating world."
Emily frowned. "Yeah. I think the last time I was someone's girlfriend was in high school. It was very awkward. He just came right out and asked me to be his girlfriend. And then we were. And then we weren't. The end." She sighed.
Sonia shook her head. "Doesn't have to be quite that blunt," she started. "But it's definitely something you guys need to talk about. Make sure you're on the same page with what you want."
"If you didn't talk about that," Emily started, "then what the hell did you talk about?"
"Our... feelings."
Sam pressed a palm to her forehead and shook her head. "So, let me get this straight. You professed your love -"
"You guys are in love?" Emily shouted.
"You professed your like?" Sam attempted to correct herself. "You're in like?"
Kahli's lips pressed together and her head tilted slightly. "Um."
Sam nodded. "Okay. So you professed your love." She ignored Emily's squeal of delight. "You kissed."
"What kind of kiss?" Sonia asked.
"Well, the first one -"
"You kissed a lot," Sam confirmed. She grinned. "Made out. And then... you went home and that was it?"
"Pretty much."
"And you stole his jacket," Emily pointed out.
"I forgot I was wearing it," Kahli muttered. "It's cold at night, yanno."
Emily sighed dreamily. "That's so damn romantic."
Sonia nodded. "I'm a little jealous."
Sam stood. She held Arlo's jacket. "I'd say this mystery is solved," Sam said. "Well, almost. As soon as you guys admit that you're gonna be together forever."
Sonia and Emily nodded in agreement.
"I'm not really good at the whole relationship thing," Kahli said.
Sam scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I'll bring ya boy his jacket," she said with a grin, but it quickly turned to a frown. "Aw, man, he's gonna make me run a hundred laps around Amber Island I bet."
"Why would he do that?" Emily asked.
"Because he always does when I try to get in his business!" She huffed and pointed a finger at Kahli. "Next time just sleep with him so I don't have to deal with him in the morning."
"Anything for you, Sam," Kahli muttered.
Sam winked at her, then flipped the jacket over her shoulder and left the restaurant.
"So, speaking of sex," Emily started, and Kahli groaned.
"I don't want to think about it," she said. "It's been like, a year. I'd probably be terrible. I don't remember where things go."
Sonia laughed. "Stop being so dramatic." She made a circle with her index finger and thumb on one hand, then moved the index finger on her other hand into the circle, then out again.
"Crude," Emily said. "But she's right. No where else for it to go."
"Well," Sonia started.
"Please stop," Kahli muttered.
"Yes, please stop," Django called from across the restaurant. "This isn't Sex Ed."
"Ah," Emily said, waving Kahli off. "You guys'll figure it out."
"They need to figure out what they're doing, first," Sonia said, and Emily nodded.
Kahli finished her coffee and stood. "Thanks for the coffee, Em," Kahli said with a grin.
Emily rolled her eyes, then counted her change and slid it across the bar to Sonia, but Sonia waved her off.
"Coffee and therapy is on me today, ladies. At least one of us is getting laid."
"Not yet," Kahli said.
Emily giggled. "Not yet, huh? Feeling pretty confident, are we?"
Kahli shrugged. "He could barely keep his hands off of me." She grinned, then turned toward the door, waving over her shoulder.
She wished she felt as confident as she pretended to be, but the moment she stepped out into the plaza, she felt exposed. She looked up and met Nora's gaze, and Nora smiled and waved. Feeling guilty, Kahli offered her a quick smile in greeting, then pulled her gaze away and hurried to the commerce building. Antoine spoke the moment the door closed behind her.
"Kahli and Arlo sitting in a tree," he sang.
"What the fuck," Kahli muttered. "How did you find out already?"
Antoine laughed. "Come on, Kahl," he started. "Rumors spread like wildfire here."
"I only told Sam, Em, and Sonia!"
Antoine shrugged. "I heard from Erwa who said that Dawa saw you two last night looking awfully cozy together."
"For the love of shit." Kahli sighed. "Does the whole damn town know?"
Antoine shrugged. He leaned forward. "Is it a secret?"
"I dunno what it is," Kahli said.
"Well, you better figure that out."
"Thank you, Dr. Love." Kahli rolled her eyes. She swiped a commission from the board and without another word to Antoine, she left, hurrying quickly across the plaza before she met any other watchful gaze.
She had never been more grateful for her workshop, then, as she closed the door to the outside world and stood in the dim light for a moment. She didn't particularly feel like working, but she didn't know what else to do with her time, and it seemed like hanging around town would only make her the center of attention, which was the last thing she wanted. In fact, she was sure that word would reach all of Portia by the end of the day, and she wasn't sure if she would be able to even step into the plaza without everyone watching her.
It probably wouldn't have been so bad if she knew what they were supposed to be. Despite the fact that they had admitted their feelings to one another, it didn't seem right to just assume they were in a relationship. Even though that's what people in relationships did. But she still couldn't wrap her brain around it. She hadn't seen Arlo since last night. Maybe something changed. Maybe he decided that he didn't want to be with her. Maybe it was just all some fluke. Whatever it was, Sonia was right; they would need to talk about their future, if they even had one together.
It felt so... strange... to think that they would talk about their future. Like they had one. Did they have one? Could they have one? She had never been in a serious relationship before. Would this be serious? She supposed it would be. How could two people be in love and not be serious?
The thoughts came in rapid fire, and it all felt overwhelming, clouding her mind and causing her to panic. She desperately tried to push them all aside; she would have her answers soon enough, she was sure. So, she set to work on her latest job, falling into the rhythm of her workshop once more. Her mind slowed and quieted, and soon, all she could think about was kissing Arlo again.