Chapter Twenty-Seven
Six days till the show
Lola woke in Annie’s bed with a smile already lifting her lips.
The morning sun was a cracked yolk, spilling rich and golden through Annie’s funky floral curtains—Lola wanted to scoop it up with toast. Her body felt buoyant, but there was no fear of floating away, not when she was curled around a very naked Annie Lightfoot, the girl of her teenage and adult dreams. Snuggling closer, she kissed Annie’s bare shoulder, letting her lips linger.
Annie let out a happy mmm in response, rolling over to meet Lola’s gaze, her blue eyes soft and sleepy.
“Morning, pretty,” Lola murmured, brushing a lock of pink out of Annie’s face.
“Morning.” Annie yawned, cuddling into Lola, their bare flesh pressing close. “God, I slept so well. Like, corpse level. Usually, when someone else is in bed with me, I…ask them to leave immediately, of course.”
Lola made her voice mock outraged. “There have been others?!”
“No.” Annie played along, wide-eyed. “I’m a virgin, but my father will sell me to you for a few sheep.”
Lola giggled. “What a baa-rgain. Well, I hope you sleep as well in New York. It’s a lot noisier.”
A spark of excitement lit up Annie’s eyes. “When am I going to New York?”
“Soon, I hope.” They hadn’t talked explicitly about the future.
But Lola hadn’t missed Sal’s not-so-subtle comment about returning to the city.
It was time to start the conversation. “I know you have work,” Lola went on, “and things will hopefully pick up for me, too, but I’d like for us not to go more than a few days without seeing each other. ”
“Really? I’d like that, too,” Annie said, her face alive with hopeful excitement. “Sal’s been handling the extra work great, so maybe I can drop back to five days. Spend the weekend, or something.”
“That’d be wonderful!” Lola scooted up a little.
“We can get bagels for breakfast, go to the MoMA, stroll in Central Park. Go out for dinner. See a Generation Women show at Joe’s Pub.
And, I can stay here some nights,” Lola added, wanting to ensure they both traveled equally.
“I’ve loved being back. The balance would be… ”
“Perfect,” Annie finished, gazing at Lola with so much adoration, Lola might explode. “I just don’t want you to disappear again.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Lola told her. “I promise.”
Lola was done with second-guessing or flat-out denying her own feelings and desires.
Her whole life was about playing by rules she didn’t write for a game she didn’t even enjoy playing.
Society told her she was winning but her life didn’t feel like a victory.
This felt right. This felt important, the most important. The truth was all that mattered.
Lola sat up, facing Annie. “We promised to be honest, so here goes: I don’t want a fling or just ‘summer fun.’ I’ve been so lonely, for so many years.
I don’t want that anymore. I want a girlfriend.
A partner. I want you, Annie. Because you make me feel like I’m enough.
You make me feel like someone I like. Someone who’s whole.
Who’s happy just being herself. I haven’t felt that in years.
Maybe twenty years. So, I don’t want next weekend to be our ending.
I want it to be the start of something that lasts. ”
Tears filled Annie’s eyes. “Jeez Louise, that’s the most beautiful thing anyone’s ever said to me,” she whispered. “I want to write it down so I never forget it.”
Lola laughed softly, tugging her closer until Annie was straddling her and they were staring at each other with fresh wonder. “You won’t need to write it down. I’ll say it on command.”
Annie smiled, looking lovestruck. “You get me, Lollie,” she whispered. “I don’t have to pretend I’m more interesting, or more successful, or more anything. You make me feel special just the way I am.”
They sank into a kiss, the kind of kiss that buzzed through Lola’s bloodstream like champagne.
There was no denying it. She was falling in love.
And she was certain Annie was feeling the exact same thing.
Joy flooded Lola with the same intensity as the hot morning sun streaming through the window.
She wanted to bottle this moment and savor it forever.
“Come to my premiere,” she blurted.
Annie pulled back, eyes blinking open. “What?”
“Saturn Rising,” Lola said. Why hadn’t she thought of it sooner?
“Truly, I am not looking forward to it. The film is…not good. But it’ll be better if you’re there.
We’ll dress up. You’ll sit with me for the screening, then there’s an after-party.
It’ll be fun. If we’re gonna do this—you and me—then let’s do it. Come to my premiere.”
It was next Thursday, two days before the show. Lola was leaving midafternoon, staying the night in the city before coming back for their final dress rehearsal on Friday.
“A movie premiere…” Annie looked adorably stunned. “I’ve never been.”
“We wouldn’t go as an official couple,” Lola qualified. “Not because I don’t want to—it’s just too soon to be public. But I want you there, if you’re okay with that. I’ve seen where you work,” she added, gesturing in the direction of the downstairs salon, “now you can see where I work.”
Annie was quiet for a full minute, thoughts racing behind her eyes. And then: “Okay.” A small, cautious smile. “As long as I won’t stick out like a sore thumb, I’m in.”
“Perfect.” Lola sighed with relief, drawing her girl close, already imagining it: Annie, all dressed up, whispering hilarious things throughout the screening, their fingers brushing in the dark.
This summer wasn’t their final act. It wasn’t even intermission. The curtain was rising on something new.
And Lola wanted Annie in every single scene.