16 Gemma
B urrito lets out a little chirp of greeting before squirming out of Kiara’s arms. My friends and I silently watch as he lands gracefully on the floor and starts sniffing Celeste’s stained shirt. Before he can get to her bra, I swiftly pick up Celeste’s things and hide them behind my back, as if that could somehow undo what were the ten most embarrassing seconds of my life.
Is this how James felt when I walked in on him and Daphne? I think. Holy shit, is this karma?
“And you’re sure there isn’t anything going on between you two?” Kiara asks with a teasing smile.
Oh, there’s something going on between Celeste and me, all right. No matter how much I wish there wasn’t.
“Positive,” I lie.
“Why don’t you toss the shirt in the laundry hamper and come talk with us?” Val asks, sounding every bit like a dad.
I do what she says. Clementine is unfortunately the only piece of furniture in the living room that can fit all three of us. So in a cruel twist of fate, my friends and I sit together on the same orange sofa where I was making out with Celeste not even five minutes ago. Thank God we’d kept most of our clothes on.
I try my best to ignore the ever-growing urge to Febreze the shit out of the couch on the off chance that it’ll smell like Celeste.
“I’m so, so sorry,” I say. “Everything just kind of happened. I feel horrible. You guys were nice enough to give me a place to stay while I figure things out and I completely disrespected your property. I understand if you want me to—”
Val and Kiara look at each other and burst into giggles. I’m confused, but I’m mostly relieved. Laughter is much better than the alternative.
“Gemma, you’re fine,” Kiara says. “I mean, it was a bit of a shock for sure, but it’s not like you guys were flat out having sex in our living room or anything.”
But it could have easily gone there. My face heats up, and I’m not sure from what. Shame? Arousal? All of the above?
“Still,” I say. “Sorry. I lost control. It was the first time we’ve been that physical since college.”
Val raises her eyebrows. “I wouldn’t expect any less. She’s the girl that made you realize you’re bi, right?”
“Yeah.”
My friends laugh again, and this time, I join in. From an outsider’s point of view, I guess my current situation is funny. I can see that now that some of the embarrassment has faded away.
“So… what are you going to do now, Gemma?” Kiara asks, her voice gentle and careful.
I check my phone. Celeste and I don’t text regularly. Or at least, not anymore. After what happened today, though, it feels like I should get some kind of message from her. But there’s nothing. Not even a “Hey, do you have my shirt?”
“Well, if what happened today doesn’t scare her off, I’ll just have to keep working with her,” I reply. “It’s way too late to get someone else, and also, she’s really good at her job.”
Kiara smiles, and Val declares, “You know, I think this will be good for you. This project will help your career and be the perfect, hot distraction after your traumatizing breakup with James. What more can you want?”
Kiara and I make a face at her.
“Babe!” Kiara exclaims, at the same time I say, “I don’t know, an actually healthy and happy relationship? A job assignment that doesn’t involve working with my unfortunately sexy ex?”
Val holds out a hand. “Wait, hear me out. Are you even ready to get into another serious relationship, though? After what happened with James? I mean, come on, Gemma. It’s been barely over a month, and you dated him for seven years.”
Just the sound of James’s name makes my jaw clench. But I see Val’s point.
She takes one long good look at my thoughtful expression. “It’s like what we talked about yesterday. Just have fun with it and go with the flow. Is she the type to get attached easily?”
I think back to what Celeste told Gretchen. “No, from what I’ve heard, she’s the opposite. She doesn’t do relationships anymore, apparently.”
“Then that’s perfect!” Val exclaims. “Come on, if James already has a sexy rebound, why can’t you have one, too?”
I spend the rest of the day thinking about what Val said as I go about my usual Sunday routine of checking out apartment listings around the city, shopping for groceries, and doing laundry whenever my friends aren’t using the washer or dryer. Every time I finish a task, I check my phone, hoping to see an email or a message from Celeste.
Nothing.
Since I only know her number from college and I most certainly don’t want to send her an email about what happened between us today, I message her on KakaoTalk before I’m about to go to bed.
Hey , I write. Sorry about earlier. You left your shirt here. And your bra. I’ll give them to you the next time we see each other.
The little “1” disappears almost instantly. For a split second, I’m afraid Celeste will ghost me like she did many years ago. But then she replies, Thanks .
I wait for her to say more, but she doesn’t.
Well, I guess that’s that.
Did you like it as much as I did? I type, and then delete almost immediately.
I groan, lying face down on Clementine. The orange sofa thankfully does not have to be Febrezed.
Burrito jumps up onto the couch, rubbing his head against my legs. I sit up and gently grab him, in desperate need of some cat therapy. Many head scratches and purrs later, I check my phone to see another message from Celeste.
See you later, Gem.
It’s a simple enough sentence, but it’s enough for me to fall asleep with a smile on my face.
On Monday morning, I submit everything from the first session to Evelyn for review. Evelyn responds not even fifteen minutes later with This is beautiful. Excellent work. Looking forward to seeing the others.
I send a quick message to Celeste.
Hey, Evelyn loved what we did for the first part. She said keep up the good work.
Celeste responds with a thumbs-up emoji.
And listen… I add. I’m sorry if what happened yesterday made you uncomfortable. It won’t happen again, I promise.
Not even a minute after I press send, Celeste replies with Don’t be. I started it.
My face heats up, like we’re making out on the sofa again. I let out a quick breath and get up from my desk to grab some water. When I come back, I’m surprised to see I’ve received another text from Celeste.
Were your friends mad? it reads.
Oh. No? They were amused. We laughed it off.
That’s good, Celeste replies. I was embarrassed.
I hesitate, and then send Celeste an emoticon of a cat gaping in surprise. I know, me too. Is that why you ran off?
Yeah.
She sends back an emoticon of a dog sweating nervously.
I grin. They were cool with it, don’t worry.
Another pause. And then: Were you?
I blink and swipe at my eyes, making sure I’m reading Celeste’s message correctly.
Yeah , I reply. You?
A few seconds later, Celeste says, Yeah.
I bite my lip, wondering what’ll happen the next time we’ll work together.