The Best Part Of You (Sapphic In Seattle #3)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

KAIA

“Hello, is this Kaia Rhodes?” a gravely, masculine voice asked on the other end of the phone. It was a number I didn’t recognize, and I furrowed my brows in confusion.

“Yes, this is her. Can I ask who’s calling, please?”

“This is Ray from the Medical West Emergency Department. We’re calling about Charlie Rhodes.”

Instantly, my lunch from earlier threatened to reappear. Hearing someone say those words was never a good sign. I steadied myself and tried to take a breath. I shouldn’t always expect the worst.

“My dad? What happened? Is he okay?”

I looked over to Drea who had just returned from the back of the store with her girlfriend, Blair. I gave them both a small smile and returned to the man on the phone.

“One of his neighbors called. They saw him falling outside in his yard. He had a heart attack…”

The rest of his words faded into a loud hum. I was waiting for him to tell me he was okay, that he was asking for me. But he hadn’t yet.

“A heart attack? Is he okay?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper as I reached for my bag under the counter.

The long pause on the other end of the line stopped me just before I reached the door. “I’m sorry, ma’am, he passed away.”

The phone dropped from my hand and crashed to the floor. All I could do was stand there blinking. I didn’t believe it. I didn’t want to believe it was true. Eventually, my brain started to catch up, and tears poured down my cheeks.

I dropped to the floor and covered my face, hoping that once I got up, it would all be a nightmare.

An arm wrapped around my shoulder in a soft embrace and I knew who it was without having to look.

The way that touch warmed my entire body.

The way it quieted down the noise going on in my head.

The way she drew idle circles on my shoulder.

I opened my eyes to see a confused Daisy looking at me with her soft green eyes, bringing her hands up to sign. “Doodle, what’s going on? What happened?”

It was moments like this when I was thankful I didn’t have to speak. I didn’t think I would’ve been able to if I tried. “My dad. He had another heart attack. He… he’s gone,” I replied.

Her mouth opened in shock and she wrapped me in her arms, forcing more tears to spill. She held me like that for the longest time, and I let her, feeling the love and comfort of my best friend wash over me.

My mind was running restless with thoughts of what to do next and how to proceed. I had to take care of funeral arrangements and his house and insurance and all kinds of other things I had no clue about.

Finally, after what felt like hours, I let Daisy help me stand. I needed to get back to work. I couldn’t disappoint Drea.

“I’m fine,” I said, smiling at Daisy. I cleared my throat and turned to Drea to relay what had just happened. “Uh, my dad. He passed away. He had another heart attack. Give me five minutes to clean up, and I’ll be good as new.” There would be time for grieving later.

Drea gave me a look and shook her head. “Don’t even think about it. You are clocking out and going home. I’ve got it handled—”

“We’ve got it handled, babe,” Blair interrupted with an elbow to Drea’s side.

“Right. We’ve got it handled, Kaia. Go home.” Her voice was stern. Authoritative. And even though we were partners, she was still older than me and I respected her. It was still hard sometimes, shifting from former employee to business partner.

Going home was the last thing I wanted to do. That was the last place I could be. How could I walk through that front door and not see his jolly face sitting in his favorite chair? Where the only living parent I had had left the house and never came back?

“Home. I can’t go home. Oh my God, what am I going to do?!” I spoke and signed at the same time so Daisy could be included in the conversation.

Daisy tapped me on the shoulder and I turned my head to her. “You can come home with me. We’ll get some stuff and you can stay with me for a while until you get things figured out.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to impose.”

“You’re my best friend, doodle. You’re not imposing.” She bopped me on the nose, making me smile softly. Even after two years of friendship, her touches never failed to send a flutter through me.

After a little more back-and-forth with my thoughts, I sighed. I didn’t see any other options. There was no way I could’ve stayed in that house tonight, or maybe ever. I didn’t know what I was going to do, and I didn’t have the energy to figure it out.

We said our goodbyes and I only shed a few more tears after Drea and Blair hugged me goodbye.

Blair told me if I needed someone to talk to, she was there when I was ready.

I appreciated the gesture and thanked her.

She had lost both of her parents and her grandmother, so she understood what it was like.

I knew I could talk to her before this, but it was nice to hear it again.

In the car, I fidgeted with my dress and tried not to cry. The thoughts of losing my dad were warring with the fact that I was going to be staying the night with Daisy. We’d been friends for two years, and our bond had gotten stronger the more we learned about each other.

She started coming into the store about four years ago, and I had noticed her from the second she walked into the store. Her bright stunning smile took my breath away. I was too scared to go up to her. Every time I welcomed her in the store, I got a bright smile, but no response.

When Drea told me she was deaf and used sign language, it all started to make sense, and I was embarrassed. I was nervous to talk to her, but I was always that way around pretty women. But a beautiful femme? Forget about it.

Drea said she was really friendly and since I wouldn’t have to worry about stuttering or nothing coming out, I decided to be brave and go for it.

“Hi, welcome to Open Book. My name is Kaia and I’m the manager here,” was the first thing I’d wanted to say to her. What came out was “Your eyes are green.” Very smooth, I know.

The whole walk over to her, I had practiced what I was going to say, but as soon as she looked up at me and smiled, my brain had to rewire itself.

Green was my favorite color, and her eyes were the most gorgeous shade of forest green I’d ever seen.

They took me by surprise, and when she smiled, I couldn’t think.

She gave me a quizzical look, but her smile never faltered. “They are. Thank you for noticing. Your eyes are brown. Like a Hershey’s kiss.” That made me blush, and it took me a while to recover.

“Well, I’m sorry to bother you, I just wanted to introduce myself. Drea, the owner, said she came over a while ago, and she told me you sign. My dad is deaf, so I grew up learning it. Not that you needed to know any of that. Anyway, my name is Kaia.”

She nodded, her smile never leaving. “Well, hi, Kaia. I’m Daisy, like the flower. Yes, I met Drea. She was very sweet.”

Seeing my name spelled out by her fingers gave me confusing feelings, but I brushed them away. She was a stranger, and I had no idea if she even liked women.

“Again, I’m sorry to bother you. I just wanted to introduce myself. I’m the manager, so if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to come find me.”

“I will. Thanks again. It was nice meeting you, and I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around.” I waved goodbye and returned to the register.

In the two years since I first walked up to her, we had become inseparable. All around, she was the best person I knew. She was creative and smart and such a ball of sunshine all the time, but she never let people walk all over her or treat her differently because of her disability.

She was the strongest woman I knew, and she had helped me over the years become a stronger person just by knowing her. She taught me that while I can be a good person, what I want matters too, and I shouldn’t let people take advantage of me.

As someone with a disability, she knew first hand how someone could underestimate you just by how you looked.

Because I was sweet and wanted to be helpful, some people, including my friends, thought they could take advantage of me, and I let them because I was too nice.

Since meeting Daisy, I’ve learned that I can stand my ground and still be a good friend.

And I could admit, in a platonic way, she was easy to look at. Very easy to look at. Okay, so she was the most perfect human to ever exist.

But none of that mattered. Of course we hung out all the time, almost daily. She was my best friend, and I always wanted to spend time with her. I just hadn’t really ever spent the night with her.

Since my dad got sick right after we met, I didn’t like leaving him alone at night. I wanted to be there just in case something happened, so we never had sleepovers.

I didn’t know what to expect, but I did know that sleeping in the same house as Daisy wasn’t going to be easy.

Luckily, she had two bedrooms, and if I could just keep my thoughts to myself and get some sleep, I might survive the night. I just had to figure out my next move tomorrow. Then I’d be out of her house and everything would be just fine.

She turned off the engine, causing my thoughts to stop spiraling. This was it. I’d be fine. Probably.

“I’ll just be a second.” I smiled softly and got out of the car. I turned back around before I shut the door. “Thank you.”

“Take your time. I’ll be right here.”

I nodded and retreated into the house that once held laughter and love. The house that would never be the same again.

The first steps inside were slow and shaky. I kept expecting to see him sitting in his chair watching the news with the captions on, or his favorite weird sci-fi show I never understood. All I saw when I walked into the house were memories and silence.