Chapter 13 #3
“There’s always the option to drink if you aren’t comfortable answering,” Scottie repeated what Willow had offered before.
But Scottie had laid herself bare, and it didn’t seem fair to offer only silence in return for that kind of honesty. Even though Willow couldn’t give her the whole truth, she could at least give her something. “No, I’m not dating.”
“Not currently or not at all?” Scottie asked.
“Not at all.” Willow kept her gaze on the seam where the doors met so she wouldn’t have to see Scottie’s reaction. “I guess I’m the opposite of you when it comes to relationships. I never believed that they would last forever. That makes it less painful when they don’t.”
“Who says they won’t?” Scottie asked.
“Experience,” Willow replied. Her relationships had rarely lasted longer than her electronic devices. Most of them had fizzled out after a short time like a draining battery, while a few had exploded spectacularly, like a power bank overheating and bursting into flames.
Unlike Scottie, who thought she hadn’t been enough, Willow had always been too much—too weird, too much of a hassle.
“Did…did someone break your heart too?” Scottie’s voice was soft, hesitant, as if she thought Willow might crack under that question.
Willow waved it off with a swipe of her hand. “No. Not someone. Half a dozen someones. But they never broke my heart,” she quickly added. “I never fully invested it. I didn’t see the point when I knew it would end the same way all over again.”
Scottie was quiet for a moment. “That sounds—”
“Cynical?” Willow shook her head. “No, just realistic.”
“I meant to say it sounds lonely.”
Usually, defensiveness crept up whenever Fiona said something similar, but now a twinge of something else stirred in Willow. She pushed it down and forced a teasing smile. “Says the woman who’s given up on dating too.”
“I haven’t given up on it. I’m just taking a break.”
Willow sighed. Taking a break might heal Scottie’s broken heart, but it wouldn’t change her own situation.
“Let’s make a deal,” Scottie said.
Willow turned her head and eyed her warily. “What deal?”
That steady, optimistic look was back in Scottie’s eyes. “When we make it out of here”—she gestured at the stuck elevator—“I’ll go out on a date. No pressure. It doesn’t have to result in anything. Just to meet someone and open myself up to the possibility again.”
Willow’s stomach tightened at the thought of Scottie facing some woman across a restaurant table, laughing at something her date said.
But Scottie deserved a happy ending. She was too great to stay single forever. If anyone could make it work, it was her. Willow gave her an encouraging nod, accepting that part of the deal.
Scottie nodded back. “And you…”
Willow tensed. She knew what Scottie was about to suggest—for Willow to go out with someone new too. In an instant, all of her shields went up.
“You’ll start playing the bass again,” Scottie finished her sentence.
The tension in Willow’s shoulders eased a fraction. She suspected that Scottie had meant to say something else but had changed course when she’d sensed that Willow wouldn’t agree to that kind of deal.
Could she agree to the adjusted suggestion?
What she hadn’t told Scottie earlier was that the falling out with her friends hadn’t been the only reason she no longer played. After Mia—her former best friend and the band’s singer—had stopped talking to her, she had tried to continue playing in the band.
But seeing Mia at practice had upset her so much that her weird effect on electronics had flared. The amp and the speaker had kept cutting out. She’d been terrified of accidentally destroying the band’s expensive devices, the way she had Mia’s camera, so she’d quit.
She didn’t think it was a good idea to join another band. At least not right now while she was not yet settled in this new city or her new job.
However, Scottie hadn’t said “play in a band again,” just “play the bass.”
That was something she could do without setting herself up for another disappointment. She could dig out the dusty hardshell case from wherever she and Fiona had stowed it and play her acoustic bass without bothering the neighbors or making any tech implode.
Willow took a steadying breath. “Okay. I can do that.”
Scottie’s mouth curved up into a warm smile.
For a few seconds, they just sat there, smiling at each other.
“Last round of questions,” Scottie finally said. “What’s the most impulsive, spontaneous thing you’ve ever done?”
It was her turn to ask a question, not Scottie’s, but Willow didn’t point it out. It didn’t matter because, for once, the question was an easy one to answer. “This,” she replied without hesitation.
Scottie tilted her head. “Getting stuck in an elevator?”
“Talking to you like this.” Willow gestured back and forth between them. “Opening up. I don’t normally do that.”
“Thank you for doing it now,” Scottie said, her voice sincere and a little husky. “For trusting me.”
Willow had been staring down at her own hands during her quiet confession, but now she lifted her gaze.
Scottie was studying her with that calm, soft look.
The warm brown of her eyes seemed to draw Willow in.
What she saw in them was a deep understanding, as if Scottie knew exactly how uncharacteristic and how hard this had been for her.
Being seen like that felt comforting and unsettling at the same time.
Willow didn’t know what to say. A tightness in her throat made it hard to speak. Finally, she got out: “How about you?” She didn’t look away from Scottie’s eyes. “What’s the most impulsive thing you’ve ever done?”
“This,” Scottie rasped. Very slowly, she leaned forward on her knees. Her gaze dipped to Willow’s mouth.
Oh God. Willow’s pulse sped up. She was very aware of how close they were sitting, no longer shoulder to shoulder but facing each other. Scottie’s knee almost brushed hers, and she could feel the heat emanating from it—and from Scottie’s lips, which were moving closer and closer.
With only inches between them, Scottie paused. “Willow,” she whispered. Her breath teased Willow’s mouth, sending shivers down her body. “Tell me if you don’t—”
But Willow didn’t want to say anything. She didn’t want to think or to keep her usual distance. She wanted to feel more of Scottie’s heat, more of that connection that had formed between them. Not allowing herself time to reconsider, she leaned forward and closed the remaining space between them.
Their lips brushed in a gentle, tentative kiss.
Before one of them could press closer—or withdraw, a sharp jolt zinged through Willow’s lips like a tiny lightning strike.
Both jerked back with a gasp and stared at each other.
Willow pressed her hand to her mouth. She couldn’t tell if her lips were tingling from the painful zap or from that tender kiss. She couldn’t tell anything anymore. Her head spun as she tried to process what had just happened—what she had done. She had kissed Scottie!
Scottie looked as shocked as Willow felt, not only at being zapped but also about the fact that they had kissed. She reached up and traced her own bottom lip with her fingertips.
The much-too-sensual movement did nothing to calm Willow’s raw nerves.
“That was—”
“I—”
They spoke at the same time.
But before either could finish her sentence, the intercom crackled. “Hello in there,” the same male voice from before said. “Our maintenance team is there now. They’re going to manually lower the elevator car to the nearest floor and get you out.”
“Thank God,” Willow whispered. Suddenly, she couldn’t wait to escape.
Maybe Scottie felt the same because she scrambled to her feet too.
Willow’s legs had gone stiff after sitting on the floor for so long. How long had they been in here?
“It’ll be a little bumpy, and there’ll be some clanks, but that’s normal. You’re perfectly safe,” the maintenance employee continued. “Hang tight and stay away from the doors until our guys tell you otherwise.”
Willow busied herself picking up the empty wrappers and stuffing them into her purse, along with their impromptu picnic blanket.
Neither looked at the other.
Within seconds, creaking, grinding noises drifted through the metal walls, interrupted by occasional clanks. The elevator vibrated and shook as it was slowly lowered.
Willow grabbed hold of the railing. She remembered the way she had accidentally clutched Scottie’s arm when the elevator had jerked to a stop. That seemed to have happened days, not just a couple of hours, ago.
Finally, the downward movement stopped with a soft thud.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Scottie shifted. She was gripping the railing with both hands.
Was she afraid that they were stuck again?
But before Willow could say anything to calm her, a sliver of light fell through the tiny gap between the doors. A jingle sounded, then a scraping noise came from the other side.
They were opening the doors!
Willow held her breath until the doors scraped open.
Cool air rushed in.
A technician in a blue jumpsuit stood in front of them.
The light from his headlamp made Willow squint against the sudden brightness. The section of hallway behind him was dimly lit by an emergency light. Apparently, the power was still out.
He offered a hand to help her out.
On wobbly legs, Willow stepped into the hallway.
Scottie followed close behind. “Thank you,” she said to the maintenance worker.
“You’re welcome. You two all right?”
They glanced at each other, then away.
Willow nodded, even though she wasn’t sure that was the truth.