Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
So that just happened.
She hadn’t meant to touch Sam’s hand, but then she didn’t pull it away, and now she was stuffing her face with chips and acting totally fine. Maybe she was just a touchy-feely kind of person? Maybe she did these things all the time and didn’t completely overthink it like Taylor was doing right now. She swallowed. Was it really hot in here?
Then Sam squeezed her hand, a blinding smile aimed right at her.
“Taylor?”
“Huh?” She looked at her, then at everyone around the table.
“We won!”
They all laughed at her spacing out, and she laughed along, but Sam’s hand was still covering hers, and now she really didn’t know what was going on. Also the last thing she needed to be doing was thinking about someone else right now. She’d made herself a promise. It was meant to be Taylor Time. Sam was still glowing with her megawatt smile, looking at Taylor like she was the best person in the universe in that moment. She couldn’t move now. Not even a twitch.
She was doomed.
Heath packed the game away while Marie ran upstairs to grab the next one.
“Everyone good for drinks?” Adam said, extricating himself from Jess and heading over to the kitchen. Everyone shouted their orders, even Marie from the top floor.
“So how is it working at a boat shop? Is it like fishing gear and stuff?” Jess asked Sam.
“It’s more like a hardware shop for marine supplies. Think paint, rope, silicone, nuts and bolts… that sorta thing.”
“Oh cool, you enjoy it?”
Sam’s hand flinched slightly against hers. Taylor understood the reaction. Where Liz was her touchy subject, this was definitely Sam’s.
“I enjoy getting free or cheap parts for my boat.” Sam laughed half-heartedly. Taylor was impressed how she deflected the question.
“Speaking of cheap parts,” Taylor chimed in to help out, “check out this lifejacket I found there for Belle the other day.”
She pulled her hand away from Sam, digging her phone out to show everyone the photos from her recent paddleboarding trip with Belle.
“ Wait , let me see!” Marie wailed as she bolted down the stairs, two huge Dice Throne boxes balanced precariously in her arms.
“It’s even cuter in real life,” Jess piped in, reaching over for more Maltesers.
“That is sick. I can’t believe she stays on the board,” Adam remarked while handing out the drinks around the table.
“She’s my superpup! Plus she hates the water, so it’s a win-win for her. She gets to come out adventuring with her mum AND not get her paws wet. What a princess.”
“I can’t wait to see it in real life,” Sam said as she leaned around Taylor to check out the new game boxes, brushing their shoulders as she moved past.
“Oh, you guys heading out together?” Jess asked Sam.
Taylor caught Jess eyeing her from the couch over her drink, giving her a look she couldn’t decipher.
“Yeah, I’ve never been. Taylor’s going to teach me sometime,” Sam replied. There was that smile aimed at Taylor again.
Once Sam turned back to watch the next game as it was set up, Taylor widened her eyes back at Jess. She just rolled her eyes in return and started up a conversation with Heath about Adam’s bad habit of wearing mismatched socks. Adam, being used to their antics, just sat there smiling all smug while he sipped his drink. Taylor had no idea what that was about, but she’d no doubt be hearing all about it later.
Marie started explaining the rules to Sam, the only one yet to play Dice Throne , as she finished setting it all up. This time, everyone was assigned their own characters in an all-for-one, one-for-all battle.
Taylor was unfortunately taken out first by a very lucky Ultimate roll from Adam. Sam was out soon after. While she’d tried her best, being her first go, she just didn’t know the strategies yet, and Taylor’s friends were monsters when it came to these game nights. There was no holding back, even for new meat.
That left the two of them sitting there, legs under the table, chilling together. Taylor grabbed a spare blanket from the couch and draped it over the both of them while they spectated.
“Thanks.” Sam snuggled in and got comfy. It was amazing how natural they acted around each other; it felt like Sam was an old friend, even as she realised this was the first time they were officially hanging out together in a non-work-related capacity.
They were touching all the way down their sides now, and Taylor wasn’t really sure where to put her arm, so she just left it under the blanket between them, slowly packing up their characters with her free hand. It wasn’t long before she felt Sam’s fingers tentatively brush hers again.
This time, she knew it was deliberate. She heard the intake of breath at the contact, like Sam was testing the waters. She sat still, her whole body felt like it was vibrating at the touch. What was going on with her? She didn’t usually react this way with women, especially just friends. Sam’s finger ever so slowly moved along the edge of Taylor’s hand. She felt her pinky twitch in response, her heart starting to hammer in her chest.
Up.
And down.
“No!” Marie cried, after she went for a roll and missed. Taylor almost jumped at the outburst.
“Thank god!” Jess exclaimed, her character narrowly missing out on losing a bunch of health from Marie’s failed turn.
Taylor watched on in amusement, trying her best to be present but finding it harder and harder. She licked her lips and swallowed, trying to keep her breathing even, eyes still on the game. She carefully turned her hand over as Sam started to trace her palm instead. The movement started sending waves through her body as she felt herself heating up, which was ridiculous. Sam was just touching her hand for god sake.
Two could play at that game.
She turned Sam’s hand over then ever so slowly slid her fingers up to the tips, back down to the palm, then in between her fingers. She repeated the motion, sneaking a glance at Sam’s face. She was playing along watching everyone, but she could see a faint curl of pink making its way up the side of her neck.
Boy, did she just want to push that hair aside and?—
A Malteser smacked her straight between the eyes. “Hey!” Taylor shouted, accidentally whacking one hand on the table, game pieces scattering everywhere, the blanket launching into the air with the other.
“That’ll teach you for spacing out.” Jess popped another Malteser in her mouth, glaring.
“You can talk, Miss Munchies over there.” Taylor folded her arms playfully.
“At least my character is still in the game, so nyeh !” Jess pulled a face, making them both crack up. God, she loved her friends.
“Hey, careful with the game, you two!” Heath scolded, sending them both daggers before cleaning up the table.
“I didn’t even touch anything,” Jess whined. Heath ignored her, planning out which cards to play on his turn.
Taylor changed positions, sitting up on her knees so she could give herself a little space from Sam and somehow try to keep focused. Get her heart rate back down to somewhere in the range of normal. This night was turning out more interesting than she ever anticipated.
Adam ended up the winner, continuing his lucky streak and taking everyone down. Next came a few rounds of various card games, of which Sam managed to win a game or two, then they finished off the night on Wingspan .
Before Taylor knew it, people were stretching, starting to yawn and packing everything away, ready to call it a night.
“Thank you so much for having me! Your house is so lovely. I had such a great night.” Sam looked relaxed and happy, the weariness of a big night starting to show around the edges.
“You’re welcome anytime. Hopefully we see you at the next round. Jess, you guys are hosting next, yeah?” Marie checked, putting a few cans into the recycling.
“Sure are.” Jess swept past Taylor and swung an arm around Sam. “And you better be coming to our games night. You’re not bad for a newbie.”
“Pretty sure that was all Taylor in the first game.”
“Pfft,” Taylor chimed in. “You were the one egging me on to push our luck, and that’s what paid off. Team effort!” She threw up her hand, and Sam high-fived her back.
They said their goodbyes and made their way home. The drive back to Taylor’s house was quiet, neither of them bringing up what had happened back at Marie and Hayley’s. Sam stared out of the window for the most part, and Taylor was busy focusing on the road. While ignoring the obvious, things between them felt relaxed, and she hoped she hadn’t overstepped their friendship… or whatever the hell this was now. Her brain hurt thinking about it. Then her thoughts landed on Liz. Nope. Didn’t want to go there either. She let out a sigh.
“You good?”
“Yep, sorry.” She threw Sam a quick smile. “Game nights always zonk me out. So much thinking and all that jazz. Thanks for coming though. I enjoyed the company.” A lot.
“You were right about the new games; they were awesome. And your friends are great too.” A pause. “I guess your company wasn’t bad either.”
She caught Sam’s smirk out of the corner of her eye as she pulled into her driveway.
They got out, Taylor feeling sad the night was almost over as she walked Sam over to her car.
“Well, thanks again,” Sam said, shuffling her feet. “Have a good night Tay.”
Tay. That was new. She liked it. Especially when it was coming from Sam.
A car door shut behind them as Jess got home too. Aware of her within listening distance, Taylor knew this wasn’t the time to bring up what happened earlier.
“You too, Sam.”
Sam looked over Taylor’s shoulder, giving Jess a quick wave before Jess let herself into the house, Belle loudly declaring how excited she was to have them home from the front window.
“Well, I better get inside and shut my lovable dog up before she wakes the whole damn street.” Taylor chuckled, hooking a thumb over her shoulder.
“Yeah, no, of course.” Sam moved forward and hugged her goodbye, both holding on for a beat longer than necessary.
“Have a safe drive back. Message when you get home?”
“Yes, Mum.”
Taylor grinned as she watched Sam drive off, giving her a final wave she probably couldn’t see.
“What the hell was that all about?” Jess grilled her as soon as she walked in the door. She looked up from patting Belle.
“What do you mean?”
“Night Tay ,” she mimicked Sam. “You never let anyone call you Tay . Do you like her? What happened to Taylor Time?”
“Didn’t realise we were playing twenty questions.” She walked into the lounge, Jess following behind her.
“That’s not an answer.”
“We’re friends.” A sigh. She knew Jess wouldn’t leave her alone until they talked. Really talked. “I am enjoying this time by myself, work’s picking up—which I’m feeling really good about—and I’m not planning on jumping straight into another relationship…” She trailed off.
“But?” Jess prompted, not letting her off the hook.
“But… I’m not going to deny I’m attracted to her, yeah. I don’t even know if she likes girls!”
“She does give off straight vibes,” Jess agreed. “Although you guys did seem pretty close all night.”
“I mean, we were game partners half the time.”
“True. Well,” Jess looked around the room, as if trying to find the right words. “Just be careful okay?” she said finally, biting her lip.
“I will.” She knew what Jess was thinking: one, she shouldn’t be chasing after a straight girl, and two, she didn’t want a repeat of her relationship with Liz.
That made two of them.