Chapter Ten #2
“Cheating. I think she slept with every woman in Portland except me.” Ria’s shoulders rounded as she sank into herself. “It was my own fault though. I worked really long hours.”
“Please don’t tell me you believe that?” Lissa could only assume Ria’s ex was blind and lobotomized to not recognize how incredible the witch was.
Ria shrugged. “It is what it is. She actually dumped me around Christmas last year and left me unable to pay my rent. I mean, who does that? Who breaks up with someone at Christmas?”
Lissa choked on her drink, the burn from the alcohol scraping down her throat painfully.
Ria thumped her on the back. “Hey, are you okay?”
“Sorry,” Lissa managed to get out between coughs. “Went down the wrong pipe.”
“Ooh, I hate when that happens.”
Lissa fished an ice cube out of her drink and sucked on it for a second, letting the chill soothe her raw throat. “So, not to be nosy or anything, but was that the reason you left your marketing job?”
She felt like an ass for leveraging Ria’s past heartbreak to sniff out exactly when she quit Mercer Marketing, but an opening was an opening, and she needed to stick to the game plan.
“Yes and no,” Ria replied hesitantly. “I did move back to Seacliff shortly after the breakup, but it’s complicated. As life often is.”
Complicated? Was that code for Ria got her heart broken and bailed on her work responsibilities?
“But we’re not here to talk about me,” Ria said quickly, once again shutting down Lissa’s chance to get a straight answer.
“We’re supposed to be letting destiny guide you.
I’ve never been to Pride before, which means you’re going to have to show me around.
So, what sounds like fun? What is calling to you? ”
Lissa pondered the question for a second.
Maybe it was the margarita whispering sweet nothings into her ear, but she suddenly felt like setting her mission aside for the day to just have a little fun.
Besides, Ria wouldn’t tell her anything until they bonded a bit more.
So what Pride activity would be the most fun and help Ria loosen up in the process?
Lissa grinned.
“Uh-oh,” Ria said. “That looks like the kind of smile that’s going to get me in trouble.”
“Oh, my little Elixir Enchantress. You have no idea.”
Hours later, Lissa flung herself into a booth at the back of BB’s Bar, dragging Ria down beside her. In a fit of giggles, both women struggled to sit upright.
“Oh my gosh,” Ria breathed out between hiccups of laughter. “I don’t think I’ve ever been in a bounce house before. Now I know why kids love them so much.”
“Right?” Lissa gasped out. “Though I was surprised you didn’t lose it when your boob popped out!” Gosh knows Lissa’s jaw had hit the floor and bounced back up.
Ria’s hands flew to her chest. “I might have if that one lady wasn’t full-blown naked! Nobody cared about my tiny titties with her massive jugs flopping around!”
They both collapsed against each other, unable to talk through their boisterous laughter.
Lissa couldn’t even remember the last time she had so much fun.
In the past, Pride tended to be all about Daria desperately trying to prove how much of an ally she was while Lissa kind of took a back seat to decision-making.
Getting to drag Ria through the festival and actually indulge in all the fun activities though?
Fuck, she’d missed this—living and laughing and saying screw it to her responsibilities for a little while.
Unfortunately, the reminder of those responsibilities sobered her up enough to feel the twinge of guilt tugging at her chest. Lissa might have started the day off with less than honorable intentions, but she hadn’t expected to have so much fun with Ria.
She’d thought for sure the shy, awkward woman would protest doing things like going down the giant waterslide headfirst or doing shots off the drag queen’s chest. After that first margarita, Ria became a whole different person.
As fun as the day had been, though, she actually found herself glad to be tucked into a quiet booth so they could talk.
Wild Ria was fun, but she was fun in the way Lexi was fun.
Great in small doses, but eventually Lissa wanted to come back to earth.
And earth was where she needed to be before she forgot her entire plan.
A task that would be a lot easier if her head would stop spinning.
“I’m so glad you invited me today,” Ria said, leaning back against the booth and rolling her head over to look at Lissa. “I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun in my life. It was just so freeing.”
“Kind of like those naked moonlight rituals?” Lissa waggled her eyebrows.
Ria laughed. “You know, you’re probably not far off.”
Leaning back against the booth to mirror Ria’s position, Lissa stared at her, letting her gaze drift down the witch’s body in a much slower perusal than she allowed herself earlier.
Before she could stop herself, she reached out and traced her fingers over one of the rainbow starbursts on Ria’s shoulder.
“These are so gorgeous,” she murmured.
Ria glanced down and smiled. “Thanks. They were pretty much my only contribution to this ensemble. I had a glass sculpture in my old apartment that would cast a burst of color on my kitchen wall. My ex stole it when she left, but I always loved the way the light shone through, like science and magic coming together to create something incredible.” Ria looked up, then quickly dropped her gaze.
“Sorry, that’s probably a little too woo-woo for you. ”
Lissa used one finger to tip Ria’s face back up. “Not at all. I know exactly what you mean. In fact, I think I’m starting to come around on this whole witchy stuff. Today was definitely something special.”
Ria nibbled on her lip, drawing Lissa’s attention to it. “Yeah, today was incredible, except I was supposed to be helping you find your true love,” she pointed out. “You didn’t talk to anyone except me all day.”
Lissa watched, hypnotized, while Ria chewed on her lower lip a bit longer before letting it pop back out, all red and puffy, her rainbow lipstick long faded away. Inching closer to the witch, Lissa’s fishnet-clad thigh rubbed up against Ria’s bare one.
Ria glanced down at their touching legs but didn’t move away. Maybe Lissa was dreaming, but Ria seemed to lean into it a little.
When Ria looked back up, Lissa saw something in her eyes. Something heated. Something that told her she wasn’t the only one feeling the pull.
It’s just the alcohol, her buzzkill brain argued. Don’t do anything stupid because of a pretty face.
And a rocking body, her vagina added.
And an incredibly sweet personality that couldn’t possibly be responsible for your studio’s downfall, her heart cooed from the background.
“Lissa?”
Ria’s voice pulled Lissa’s attention out of her head and back to the conversation at hand. “I’m sorry, what did you say? I think the fifth margarita still has me a little fuzzy brained.”
“I said I’m sorry I didn’t do a better job of helping you find your person,” Ria replied, and it killed Lissa to see her sink back in disappointment. “I thought for sure today would be the day destiny worked its magic.”
“Maybe it has,” Lissa murmured, this time loud enough for Ria to hear, not that she cared.
Magic wasn’t real, and while she accepted Ria might follow a Wiccan faith, Lissa didn’t believe she had any actual witchy powers.
There was no destined love out there waiting to be found, but there was a flesh and blood woman right in front of her.
One Lissa knew was feeling at least a little of what she felt.
If she could disregard all the lies she’d told Ria, then maybe…
I said don’t do it, her brain argued.
Oh, go fuck yourself, her heart replied.
The last bit of resistance in Lissa snapped, and she leaned forward to press her lips to Ria’s, immediately sinking into the sweet ambrosia taste that made her forget every reason they shouldn’t be together.
Good luck walking away now, her brain taunted.