Chapter 37 #2
“It’s not a party; it’s family,” Scottie corrected with a grin.
Willow huffed. “Any gathering of more than two people for social reasons is a party. But I admit this one wasn’t too bad.
Your mom and dad…everyone, really…they were all very nice and went out of their way to make me feel welcome.
I still can’t believe they didn’t care when the lights started to flicker and the smart speaker cut out. ”
Scottie shrugged. “That’s just how we roll. We’ve always been the go-with-the-flow type of family.” She shifted a little closer and lowered her voice. “Are you sure you don’t want to tell them the truth? If you did, I promise they’d take it in stride.”
Willow’s entire body went still, and her expression shuttered as if she’d closed a door somewhere inside of herself. “I thought we already talked about this. I’m not comfortable with anyone but you knowing.”
“I just hate to see how much pressure keeping it a secret puts on you,” Scottie answered quietly. “That has to be exhausting.”
“It is. But what are the options?” Willow held up her hand before Scottie could say anything. “It’s very important to me to make a good first impression on your family. I don’t want them to think I’m weird or making stuff up to appear more interesting than I really am.”
Scottie could tell there was a lot of painful history packed into that one sentence.
Clearly, that was exactly what had happened in the past. Someone—a friend, a family member, or a lover—had dismissed Willow’s effect on tech as an attention-seeking lie or something that only happened in fantasy movies.
She wrestled down her anger at that person—or, more likely, multiple people—from Willow’s past. “All right. It’s totally up to you.
I won’t tell them anything if you’re not comfortable with it, and I won’t bring it up again.
I just want you to know that I’m here for you, no matter what.
” Slowly, she reached out, keeping her gaze on Willow’s face so she could retreat if Willow’s body language told her she didn’t want to be touched.
When Willow’s expression invited the contact, she put one hand on her hip and gently tugged her closer. “Okay?”
Willow’s tension seemed to drain away beneath her touch. “Okay,” she whispered and leaned her forehead against Scottie’s shoulder.
Scottie closed her arms around Willow and held her tightly.
Willow’s arms wrapped around her too, and she sank against Scottie with her full weight, obviously trusting her to keep them from pitching backward.
They stood there for a while until Scottie’s eyes drifted closed.
“Come on.” She gently rubbed Willow’s back. “Let’s go to bed before we fall asleep standing up.”
They took turns getting ready for bed in the small attached bathroom.
The sight of Willow’s toothbrush in the cupholder next to hers brought a smile to Scottie’s face. She gave the frosted glass a gentle tap. This was what she wanted in the long term. The thought made her roll her eyes at herself. God, such a U-Haul lesbian!
Quickly, she changed into her favorite pajama bottoms and a white T-shirt, then held the bathroom door open for Willow. “All yours.”
A few minutes later, when Willow emerged, Scottie nearly lost her ability to form a coherent thought.
Willow was wearing an oversized gray cotton sleep shirt with a cartoon reindeer on the front.
The hem ended mid-thigh, leaving an expanse of long, elegant legs exposed.
The wide neckline had slipped off one shoulder, revealing the elegant arc of her collarbone and a stretch of fair, soft-looking skin.
Her effortless grace took Scottie’s breath away.
“Wow,” she murmured through a dry mouth. “I didn’t think you’d bring the sexy sleepwear on a family visit!” She was only half-joking.
A lovely deep pink flooded Willow’s cheeks. She glanced down at the shirt, then at Scottie, giving her an incredulous look. “You think Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is sexy?” She pointed at the cartoon character plastered across the front of her sleep shirt.
“No,” Scottie murmured, and for a second, she allowed her gaze to sweep down those endless-looking legs. “I think you are sexy.”
Willow’s blush deepened. “Scottie.” Her groan sounded like a mix between an admonishment and a plea for more. “I don’t know if tonight…if I’m…”
“Relax. I promise to be on my best behavior. It’s been a long day for both of us, and knowing you, you’re totally depleted from being around so many people.”
Willow blinked. She looked caught between being deeply touched that Scottie understood this fundamental part of her and terrified that Scottie already knew her so well and could effortlessly see through her armor.
A faint pink rose in Willow’s cheeks again, but then she met Scottie’s gaze, and one corner of her mouth lifted into a grin. “You’re right. We’re both tired, so I’ll try my best to keep my hands to myself too.”
“Damn,” Scottie said with a playful pout. She walked to the bed and pulled back the comforter. “Which side do you prefer?”
“I don’t really have a side since I sleep alone.”
Scottie paused. “But you have slept…stayed the night with someone before, right?”
“Yes, of course,” Willow said. “Just never long enough to have a side.”
Scottie cleared her throat, not sure what to say to that. “Well, you’ll have one now. You get to pick.” She searched Willow’s face. “If you want to.”
Willow caught her lower lip between her teeth in a gesture that looked much too sexy. Finally, she nodded. She glanced back and forth between both sides of the bed, then pointed to the right one.
Scottie had assumed she’d go for the other side, where the bedside table with the lamp was, so she could turn on the light if she had to get up during the night.
Then she understood. Willow had avoided that side for exactly that reason—because it was where the lamp and the small digital clock were.
She made a mental note to remove all electronics from her bedroom at home. “Right side it is.” She walked around to the left.
As they slid beneath the covers, Scottie’s heart raced, but she reminded herself that nothing would happen tonight.
She wasn’t going to have their first time be a rushed thing in her childhood bedroom, with her nosy cousin and her parents right next door.
She wanted a chance to worship Willow all night, take her time, and see if she could make her let go of her reserve and cry out her name.
Dammit. She mentally slapped herself. Now was not the time to think about that, not with Willow in bed next to her, so close they were almost touching.
She reached out and turned off the bedside lamp.
Darkness enveloped them. Only a streetlight and the neighborhood’s Christmas decorations cast a faint glow on the bed.
Scottie lay still, intensely aware of Willow’s warm presence mere inches away. Was Willow a cuddler? Would she allow Scottie to spoon her while they fell asleep?
She didn’t ask, not wanting to pressure Willow into something she might not be comfortable with.
They lay next to each other in silence for a few seconds.
The sheets rustled as Willow rolled over to face her. “Scottie?”
Scottie tried to make out her expression in the faint light. If she wasn’t mistaken, Willow looked tense, her teeth tugging on her lower lip. “Yes?”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Of course,” Scottie said without hesitation.
“When you were a kid, did you ever mess up?” Willow asked, her voice lowered to a whisper. “I mean, really mess up?”
Scottie wasn’t sure what she had expected her to ask, but not that. She sensed that this question wasn’t just a way to get to know her better. This might not even be about her.
“Ever?” She forced a chuckle. “Try all the time. My daycare siblings got me in trouble a lot. Of course, if you ask them, they’ll say it was the other way around. But it wasn’t anything mean or overly dangerous, just silly stuff.”
“Like what?” Willow asked.
“As a kid, I thought tattoos were the coolest thing ever. So one Christmas, when I was about six, I asked for one. But when Christmas morning came and my parents didn’t gift me with a visit to a tattoo studio, I locked myself in the bathroom and tattooed myself with a permanent marker until I looked like a tiny little biker. Even put one on my forehead.”
Willow laughed so hard, the bed shook. Then she sobered. “What did your parents do?”
“Oh, they were big into letting me experience the natural consequences of my actions. The next day, they sent me outside to play covered in Sharpie tattoos, knowing the neighborhood kids would tease me. Another time, Hazel, Jen, and I were playing with the Barbie house, and I insisted Barbie needed to mow the lawn. I got my mom’s sewing scissors and cut off an inch of the flokati rug around the dollhouse. ”
Willow laughed again, and the carefree sound made the entire flokati debacle worth it. “Nooo!”
“Yes.” Scottie nodded gravely.
“What did your parents do about that one?” Willow asked.
“Nothing,” Scottie said. “They left the carpet that way for the next five years. Every time a new daycare kid arrived, I had to explain why the carpet had a bald spot. That consequences-of-your-own-actions thing really worked on me. By the time I hit puberty, I was the best-behaved kid ever.”
“Meaning you didn’t get a tattoo, even later?”
Scottie chuckled. “Nope. No tattoos.” She was silent for a few moments. “How about you?”
“No tattoos either,” Willow replied. “I considered it once, but I was too afraid the tattoo machine would turn off when the tattoo artist approached me with an inked-up needle.”
“No, I meant…” Scottie tried to remember Willow’s exact words. “Did you ever mess up when you were a kid?”
Willow’s entire body went rigid next to her. “I did. Really badly.”
Scottie held her breath. “What happened?”