3. Chapter 3
Ceth stared at Krystal, too stunned to speak.
In many ways, she hadn’t changed since the last time Ceth had seen her.
Her blue-green eyes were still as bright and attentive.
Her blonde hair was maybe a shade darker and an inch or two longer than she’d worn it before, but it was still as flowing and full as Ceth remembered, with a softness that had made her long to run her fingers through it more than once during those two years they’d lived together.
Her face was a little fuller than it once was, making the roundness of her cheeks more apparent, even when she was only giving a half smile like she was now.
And those curves…Ceth swallowed, suddenly recalling how she’d done her best not to notice them too much when they’d lived together.
Not when Krystal was dressed in a skirt and heels to go out or when she was lounging around the apartment in those yoga pants that clung to her thighs so deliciously.
But Ceth couldn’t stop her gaze from roaming up and down now; for a moment, at least. Today, Krystal was wearing a simple sleeveless dress that hugged her waist then flowed outward.
It was wavy and soft and pretty, like Krystal herself.
Eight years. Eight years had passed since the last time they’d laid eyes on each other, and Ceth had been certain they never would again. That thought had grieved her more than she’d ever admit, but she’d done her best to accept it. But now, here they were, in the same hotel room and…how?
“Do you work for FunDaze too?” Ceth finally managed to ask. The answer was obvious, because why else would Krystal be sharing a room with her? But she needed something to jolt her out of this heady, surreal state of shock.
Krystal nodded. “That’s right. For almost a year now. What about you?”
“Six years.”
The silence returned for a beat. Then another.
Then Krystal stepped forward and burst out: “We don’t have to share a room, if you don’t want to.
I mean, I get it. Really. The last time we talked, I was so awful to you.
And I know that was eight years ago, but I don’t want to presume that it’s water under the bridge.
Especially since I never even apologized.
Not that I’m doing that now, although I want to, but first I want to make sure you’re not uncomfortable or—”
In a breathless second, Ceth closed the distance between them and engulfed Krystal in a firm embrace.
She’d done it without thinking. On impulse, really.
She’d only wanted to stop Krystal from spiraling into a knot of self-recrimination she had no business being entangled in.
But now that Krystal was in her arms, completely motionless, Ceth realized how inappropriate the move had been.
She hadn’t asked for consent. It’s not like they were friends anymore. They hadn’t seen each other in years! Shit, they might as well be strangers! What had she been thinking? She was about to pull back when Krystal’s arms came up and slid around Ceth, bringing them closer together.
Ceth’s eyes closed and the tension in her body seeped away.
Krystal was warm. So warm. The tightness of her arms steadied Ceth, even as the press of Krystal’s ample chest against hers made her heartbeat thrum erratically.
“It’s so good to see you,” Ceth murmured. “You look incredible.”
Was that too much?
“So do you,” Krystal whispered back, and Ceth’s heart sped up a little more.
After another moment of soft, heated stillness, Ceth reluctantly pulled back and dropped her arms. She couldn’t keep herself from studying Krystal still.
Stepping back a little more, Ceth said, “Wow. It really has been a while. W-would you wanna grab lunch and catch up? The restaurant here was pretty good during last year’s conference.”
Krystal smiled in that delighted and half-surprised way she always would when Ceth would bring home a loaded pizza with extra mushrooms for both of them to share after a long day or hand her the chai latte she’d made on the mornings when she was the first one up and about.
“I’d love that!” Then she ran a hand through her hair. “Can you give me a minute to freshen up first? That drive kind of took it out of me.”
“Sure. Take your time. I need to check my email anyway.”
Krystal nodded, sweeping a long, searching look over Ceth’s face before disappearing into the bathroom with her cosmetic case.
Ceth stared after her for a second too long before making her way to the room’s single desk chair and plopping into it.
Dutifully, she pulled her laptop from its bag and opened it up.
She even powered it on and connected to Wi-Fi, but her mind wasn’t focused on her email.
It was half with the woman in the bathroom and half stuck in a stuffy Oklahoma apartment years in the past.
The day Ceth had moved in had been challenging and embarrassing…or it could have been embarrassing if Krystal hadn’t been…Krystal.
It had been a sweltering afternoon in late August, the heat and exertion of lugging her stuff up a flight of stairs already weighing her down. But surprise had zapped away her fatigue the second she’d stepped into the living room.
There on the rug in front of the sofa, sat Krystal beside Ceth’s younger brother, Roan, sharing a package of cookies and drinking milk.
He was eagerly chatting away about an action movie he’d recently seen, while Krystal listened and engaged, seemingly unfazed that the sixteen year old had the mannerisms and communication style of a much younger boy.
Once the two of them noticed Ceth’s presence, Roan hopped up and tackled her in his usual bear hug despite the box between them.
She squeezed him back with her free arm, absorbing that bittersweet mixture of guilt and affection that always swept through her when they hugged.
She looked over his shoulder to find Krystal observing their interaction with a pensive expression.
The seriousness in that look gave Ceth pause.
When they’d first met barely a week ago, Krystal had been talkative, upbeat, and energetic nearly to the point of hyper.
Although Ceth might have found that combination obnoxious from most people, with Krystal, it was kind of cute.
But now, she was getting a glimpse of another facet of Krystal Stevenson, and it was intriguing.
Krystal became aware of Ceth’s regard then and she nodded toward Ceth’s new room. “I think your mom went in there to take a phone call, so Roan and I were having a snack while we waited for her to finish.”
Ceth’s insides fluttered unexpectedly at Krystal’s consideration and welcome. “Thank you.”
Roan let go of Ceth and turned to Krystal. “Yeah, thanks for the cookies, Krystal.”
Then he looked down at the floor. “Um. Sorry if I talked too much.”
Krystal climbed to her feet and bent down low until he raised his gaze back to hers. “There’s nothing to be sorry about! I liked hearing about the movie. And I talk a lot when I’m excited about stuff too. My dad says he wishes I had a ‘mute’ button.”
Roan stood up straighter at that, his frown disappearing into a giggle.
It was then that Ceth saw the full force of Krystal’s radiant smile for the first time. It was directed, first at Roan and then at her, and the kindness and warmth of it seeped into parts of her heart she’d forgotten about. “I hope you’ll come visit us sometimes.”
“Can I, Ceth?” he asked with wide, eager eyes.
Ceth grinned. “Sure. We can have a movie night.”
He pumped his fist. “Yeah!”
Her mother threw open Ceth’s bedroom door then and emerged, shattering the friendly moment and causing Ceth’s blood pressure to spike.
“Oh, there you are, Ceth.” She waved the phone in her hand. “Your father is being his usual asshole self and dragging his feet on the money for Roan. I need you to call him and remind him again. Don’t let him put you off like you always do.”
She swept through the room toward the door motioning for Roan to grab his backpack so they could leave.
“I’ve rescheduled all of Roan’s appointments to coincide with your winter break.
Just because you’ve insisted on coming to grad school two hours away doesn’t mean you can’t help out when you’re free. It’s the least you can do.”
Ceth stiffened and held her breath, hoping her mother wouldn’t go down that road any farther right now. “Okay, Mom. I’ll be there. Thanks for coming by to see my place.”
That last part was more a mix of wishful thinking and a personal joke than a sincere thanks, since her mom had clearly only dropped in to remind Ceth that she may have moved away, but she hadn’t escaped her responsibilities.
Her mom hummed noncommittally before glancing around the room and finally at Krystal. She turned to Ceth and lowered her voice not nearly enough. “Be sure you’re using protection and getting tested regularly. Just because neither of you can get pregnant doesn’t mean you can just ignore safety.”
“Mom!” Ceth coughed out the name over the ball of anger and humiliation clogging her throat. “Krystal has a boyfriend! We are roommates. That’s it. And I’m twenty-four. I don’t need you to lecture me about safety or—”
The bitter scowl on Martha O’Malley’s face silenced Ceth even before she replied in a clipped tone, “I think we both know that’s not true.”
Without another word, she took Roan’s hand and tugged him out the door behind her before letting it shut with a thud.
Ceth faced the door, eyes squeezed shut and face burning before she took a deep breath and turned to face a wide-eyed Krystal. A dozen apologies and explanations cluttered her brain, and she wasn’t sure which to attempt first or if she should just go lock herself in her room.
But before she could make a decision, Krystal blurted out, “Wow. You don’t look anything like your mom or brother.”
Ceth blinked several times.
Even though she’d had twenty-four years to learn to deal with it, whenever someone pointed out or asked questions about the difference between her and the rest of her family with their reddish hair and fair complexions, Ceth’s stomach would still drop and her skin prickle feverishly.
But none of those messy feelings materialized this time. Maybe it was because Krystal had clearly been trying to deflect from the cloud of awkwardness Ceth’s mom had left looming in her wake.
When Ceth only stared at her, Krystal winced. “Sorry, that’s none of my business. Do you know any place that sells mute buttons for humans?”
The question, combined with the sheepish grin and tinge of red on Krystal’s cheeks served to untangle some of the tension still lingering over Ceth.
She chuckled and held up her hand. “No, don’t mute for my sake.
” Then, after a pause, she continued. “I was adopted when I was about a month old. My bio parents were Native American. Then Roan came along as a surprise pregnancy eight years later. That’s why I look like I wandered into the wrong family’s session at the portrait studio. ”
Krystal threw her head back in a full-bodied laugh that made tingles spread through Ceth’s chest for causing it.
Once Krystal had quieted down, she looked at Ceth. “That’s really interesting, and I’d love to hear more while we unpack…if you’re okay with sharing.”
Her new roommate’s frank yet genuine curiosity continued to disarm Ceth, and she ended up telling her more than she would have ever found herself telling a new acquaintance.
As they sorted through the various household items each of them had brought, Ceth talked about her biological mom, Sierra, who had also been adopted into the O’Malley clan back when there were fewer laws about tribal children being adopted by non-Native parents.
Sierra had grown up to be a drifter of sorts, often moving from place to place, job to job, and relationship to relationship.
Ceth suspected Sierra’s unsettled habits may have had to do with her sense of never fully fitting into the family that raised her.
But, while the family always stepped up to help when she needed it, they struggled to understand her.
To Grandma O’Malley and the aunts and uncles, Sierra was reckless and irresponsible.
Sierra had eventually gotten pregnant by a man passing through the hotel where she was working at the time.
She’d said he was Lakota, but none of the other relatives ever met him.
She’d been in her late thirties at the time, so the pregnancy was difficult, and she’d died in childbirth.
Sierra’s cousin Jacob O’Malley and his wife Linda, who had struggled to have children themselves, decided to adopt the infant Ceth.
“Gee, that’s a…complicated story,” Krystal said once Ceth was finished.
Ceth smiled faintly. “It is. Thanks for recognizing that. I don’t talk about it much, but when it comes up, most people only focus on how lucky my mom and I both were to have loving families who chose us.
And I am grateful, for sure. I love my parents and the rest of my family.
They’ve always taken care of me. But it’s hard not knowing so much about my own history.
Every time someone looks at me and asks what tribe I’m from or who my relatives are, well, it feels a little raw. ”
“And I’m sure you’ve been asked that plenty of times growing up in Oklahoma.”
“Yeah.”
Krystal shuffled her feet. “Well thank you for talking about it with me. I didn’t mean to pry or make you uncomfortable, though.”
“You didn’t,” Ceth answered honestly. “But I think I’ve hit my limit of family drama talk today.”
“You got it!” Krystal said with a nod. “How do you feel about pizza talk? I’m starving!”
When Ceth agreed, Krystal went off in search of her phone to call in an order, but as she brushed past Ceth, she reached out and squeezed her arm. “I’m really glad you’re my new roommate. I’m excited to keep getting to know you.”
“Same here,” Ceth said, her voice a tad bit rough. She told herself she only felt gratitude at the time, but the truth was, a tiny part of her heart had crumbled at Krystal Stevenson’s feet on that first day of living together.
Thud! The abrupt sound of the bathroom door opening and hitting a wall nearly made Ceth jump from the desk chair, reminding her she was in a guest room at the Middle Waters Resort and not in that apartment anymore. And her mom was nowhere around. Thankfully.
But Krystal was.
Krystal was here. They were sharing a room for a week. And they were going to catch up. Ceth’s chest expanded with an indistinct yet bright sensation she hadn’t felt in so long that she almost didn’t recognize it at first: Hope.