Chapter Six
Sid dashed from her bathroom to the front door, disappointed to see only the distorted view of the hallway through the peephole. She swore she’d heard a knock.
Padding closer to her futon, she spied her phone lying face up amid her discarded laundry, the darkened screen taunting her.
“Buzz, damn you.” Text me, call me, do something.
Had Kit resolved to give her time, or had she given up completely?
Two hours had passed since she left the shop, and seeing as how Sid had never experienced a relationship bordering on serious, she didn’t know the protocol for post-fight contact.
Should they hash it out at work tomorrow morning in between customers?
Stab at their phones all night, trading obscene emoji until one of them broke down and called for a truce?
Whatever the procedure, Kit had to call first. She cast down the glove when she drove away. Kit had to pick it up. She liked Kit very much, and knew Kit returned her feelings. All the same, she wanted to be won back.
Back at her closet, Sid tightened the yellow bath towel fastened at her chest and thumbed through her outfits.
She’d gone through the cycle of her favorite shirt and skirt combinations this past week, but for her first night at the Den in a while she wanted to look nice.
She didn’t intend to pick up anybody, but she hoped to make a point with her appearance tonight that she, unlike Kit, was comfortable in her skin, anywhere.
She selected the black shirt emblazoned with two triangles, pink on the left breast and blue on the right, and the multi-striped skirt designed to look like the bisexual pride flag.
Black leggings and high-tops speckled with colored triangles completed the ensemble, and she dressed in silence while listening for the phone.
Anybody running into her at the Den, or even on the elevator ride to her car, would know the score with her.
She couldn’t rid her mind of thoughts of Kit.
Am I asking too much of her? She respected that people chose to live privately, and it wasn’t like she wanted Kit to choreograph a flash mob to declare her love.
Sid wanted a dinner out. A walk to BuzzKill during lunch break to get coffee, arms linked and standing close to each other.
Simple signs of affection. If anybody paid notice, whatever.
More than once she feared she enabled Kit’s hermit mentality, with the sex toys and the dirty texts teasing Kit about things she hoped to try in bed, body parts she loved to lick and suck.
Had she come on too strong? She and Kit set limits, so she believed.
If Kit ever asked to stop play, Sid would.
She grabbed her phone and looked up their last exchange:
Would love to just kiss u for an hour, non-stop.
Mmm, no arguments there.
Tish left out a bag of van frosting, want 2 draw swirls all over and lick u clean.
Starting where?
She re-read the list of body parts she sent to Kit and smiled. Yeah, it made sense that Kit would prefer to stay in after reading this. She realized, too, she hadn’t apologized for pushing the thong vibe on her. Pride kept her from reaching out first. Damn it.
Maybe she ought to text Annalise and send her regrets, or ghost her. Annalise struck her as the type to rebound quickly. If Karaoke Night packed the Den, there was a chance she wouldn’t be missed.
The phone shook in her hand, and Sid’s initial hope faded on seeing Roman’s smiling mug. She took a deep breath before answering.
“I suppose you want to borrow money now that I’m a big time chocolatier.”
“The real money’s in cattle. I’ll buy and sell you on the market,” Roman teased back.
“Chocolate dipped beef jerky? Hey, people like it on bacon.”
“Blech. Don’t quit your day job, okay How’s it going?”
Small talk about their jobs, the weather, and holiday plans carried them for several minutes. Sid appreciated the respite from her romantic woes, however brief. The mention of Roman’s girlfriend triggered a pang in her heart, especially since his voice softened as he spoke of her.
Rhonda held no ambitions beyond living the pioneer life, popping out babies, and homeschooling them while Dear Husband paid the bills.
Good for her, and good for Roman on finding a compatible match.
She thought she had one, too. Rare for both siblings to have happy relationships at the same time, and under other circumstances she could brag about it.
“You’re not listening to me.”
Drawn out of her reverie, she apologized. “I had a tiff with the girl I’m seeing.”
“Kit, right?”
She’d forgotten she mentioned it to Roman earlier in the week.
She wanted to be certain of Kit before talking to her brother.
“Yeah,” she said, and gave him the abridged version.
“I’m supposed to go to this karaoke thing with a new friend, but maybe it’s a mistake, you know?
I don’t like leaving things unresolved with Kit. ”
“So resolve things. Call her.”
“I’m not the one who started this, though. I think she should reach out first. I only wanted a bit of recognition outside our homes that we are together, and instead she’d rather…” Well, she wasn’t about to go into detail about her sex life with her brother. “She ticked me off, she has to call me.”
Roman was silent for a beat, breathing hard over the phone. Finally, “You don’t think you’re asking too much of her? A woman who probably lived in that small town all her life and doesn’t think her sexual identity is anybody’s business?”
“She’s not from here. She’s from North Carolina.”
“That’s not really the point, Sid. I know you, and you’ve always been outgoing and open. Other people need to go at their own pace. You’re mad at Kit for not even acknowledging your relationship to your boss, but have you talked to the lady about it?”
“No,” she grumbled. No skin off her nose to come out to Tish about her and Kit, but she stayed quiet out of respect to Kit. “I even suggested we go to our boss together, but she’s skittish.”
“You like this Kit person?”
She closed her eyes and called up an image of Kit in the Tish’s Riches kitchen, stirring ganache for truffles and prepping candy molds.
She recalled a day when business on the shop floor was slow.
She paused at the edge of the work area and studied her lover’s expressions.
Kit put her all into baking treats and decorating special orders.
Her eyes took on a warm glow and, when deep in the zone, the tip of her tongue poked from a corner and held.
Sid had to turn away when that happened, because thoughts of that tongue on her clit were certain to cloud her focus, and she didn’t need to have sex on the brain while serving customers.
“I do. It’s only been a month, but I feel we could have something long-term.” Forever? She hated to picture herself as an old woman, but if she and Kit ended up as golden gals with benefits that would be fine by her.
“Swallow your pride, and don’t worry about who is the bigger person here. Everybody’s afraid to call because they automatically suspect it’s the end, and they want to prolong that dose of pain. Take her off the hook.”
Roman made a good point, much as Sid cringed to admit it. Kit could interpret her silence as reluctance to move forward and heal the rift. Years from now, and she wanted to believe they’d still be a couple then, this should be a faded memory.
“Okay. Thanks for listening, Roman. I’ll let you know what happens, love you.” After their goodbyes she auto-dialed Kit’s phone and waited. Five rings, then six, and she canceled without leaving voice mail. Kit would see her number and hopefully call back.
Maybe I should go there first? Kit’s duplex was on the way to the Den. It meant taking a different route and adding a mile to the drive, but she’d burn the extra gas to make things right with Kit.
About five minutes later she slowed near the driveway of Kit’s half of the house, then resumed minimum speed. The car wasn’t there. Where could she be if she wasn’t answering? Except for a few bars, Dareville pretty much shut down after dark. Kit might have driven to Virginia Beach, or…
Her heart lifted. Maybe she’d gone to the Den to surprise her.
She braked at a stop sign and sent Kit a text. Are you coming to the Den? I hope so. Let’s make this better. She wanted Kit to join her, have a few drinks, and maybe they’d dance like the first time.
More than that, she wanted Kit next to her. She turned back to the main road with a confident heart.
~*~
Tish emerged from her office and let out a yelp. “Oh lord, Kit. Why are you still here? I thought you left when Sid did.”
Kit looked up from the sink, from where she had several baking sheets in soak. A quick glance at the wall clock told them it was close to seven. Vinnie’s errand for Uncle Dom had exceeded a few minutes, and this realization jarred Kit’s memory.
“Right,” she said. “Your office door was closed and I didn’t want to bother you. Vinnie’s going to be late.”
“I’m aware of that. He texted not long ago and I checked this time. Score one for me.” Tish glanced toward her open office door, from where her favorite oldies playlist flowed. “I appreciate you staying on to help, Kit, but I like my employees to have lives. Go home.”
Kit picked up a sudsy muffin tin from the left tub and dunked it into the right for a rinse. “I don’t have anywhere to be, Tish. Any shows, I can stream later. I’m good..”
“Have you been cleaning all this time? You’d think the health inspector was coming.
I’m not planning a white-glove test, Kit, you can relax.
Oh, hell. Hang on.” She disappeared into her office to silence her music, but Kit joined her after drying her hands.
She rubbed away the wrinkles on her fingerpads.
“Tish, can I be honest with you for a second?”
Tish’s smile, earlier borne of surprise, fell slack as she regarded Kit. “Always. Have a seat. Is something wrong with your family, or you?”