Chapter Three
CHAPTER THREE
AUDREY
Did I seriously just imply to Toni that I want to go down on her? If Toni’s darkened eyes, slightly gaping mouth, and searching expression when she settles into the booth are any indication then yes, yes I did.
Who in the world am I tonight?
My only excuse is that I’m still riding the adrenaline high from being on stage. I can’t believe I sang to a bar full of people. Not only sang but rocked out. I think about all the times I sat in the audience with Shae, embarrassed for the singers who were, by and large, terrible. Watching them makes my palms sweat and my heart race, and why in the world would I want to sit through hours of torture every single week? So, I avoided karaoke nights as much as possible. I occasionally went to make Shae happy, and to disturb her plans to take her latest side piece. But mostly I went to see Toni. I’ve lusted after her for a while, though before tonight she never gave me a second glance. And, despite what Toni said, I’m sure I looked ridiculous up there, but what’s done is done. Thank God Willa wasn’t there to see it. I’d never live it down.
My phone buzzes. Speak of the devil.
Willa 11:34 p.m. All clear.
That’s my cue to stop surveilling Shae and meet Willa at our new townhome. But coffee with Toni is too good to pass up. I text Willa that I’m going to be late. She’ll understand. There’s also a text from Shae.
Shae 10:15 p.m. I always knew you should get up on stage. You were amazing. Call me so we can talk.
I shake my head, put my phone in airplane mode, and stuff it in my purse. Not gonna happen, Shae with an E.
I look at Toni and smile. God, she’s young, gorgeous, and completely not my type, physically at least. She’s earthy and real, with curly dark hair that is constantly flying out of whatever ponytail or braid she’s wearing at the time, and she’s always dressed as if she might run across a hiking trail and wants to be prepared.
As gorgeous as she is, though, what’s drawn me to her, has made me brave a few hours of horrible singing every so often, is her charisma. There’s no other word for it. Quick with a smile and a laugh, Toni always struck me as someone who would be, well, fun . Shae, for all her intelligence and sophistication, is not fun.
So, here I am. Suddenly nervous about finally having a conversation with Toni because I’m not an idiot. She was hitting on me back at the bar. Who am I to turn down the attentions of a beautiful woman? It’s not like it will go anywhere. We’ll flirt a little (I hope), eat our breakfast for dinner, and say goodbye. Maybe exchange numbers. The last thing I need, or want, is to start dating someone right now.
“Is Toni short for anything?” I ask, jumping right in with the stupidest question imaginable.
Toni is staring at me with an expression that sends a rush of blood south. She drapes one arm across the back of the booth. Her forearm is toned and tanned, and my mouth waters at the thought of what the rest of her arm looks like. I haven’t had definition like that on my arms in…well, never. I lick my lips, hope Toni doesn’t see, and am thankful when the waitress brings us coffee so I can pretend my mouth is watering for that and not this sporty young woman sitting across from me dressed like a mountain guide. I cross my legs and hope my face isn’t turning red.
Get a grip, Audrey.
“Antonia. My dad’s from Italy. Mom’s from Germany. Italian first name, German last name. My sister got the reverse.”
“Different last names? That must have been difficult during school.”
“Eh, not really. We grew up in a small community and everyone knew us. How ’bout you? Named after Audrey Hepburn?”
“Guilty as charged.”
Toni nods with a small smile on her face.
“I look nothing like her.”
“No, you’re more beautiful than she is. Your name fits you.”
I hate blushing because I don’t blush so much as blotch. From the burning on my face, I know I am blotching from forehead to neck. “How do you figure that?”
“You’re classically beautiful. A bit reserved. Not standoffish, not into meaningless chitchat.”
“Hmm,” I say, not wanting to admit how on the nose she is. About the chitchat. Not that first part. “How could you possibly know anything about me when we spoke for the first time thirty minutes ago?”
“I’ve noticed you,” Toni says.
My stomach flutters in a way it hasn’t in years. “Hmm,” I hum again, and sip my coffee. This is news to me. Very pleasant news. My gaze keeps wandering to that arm draped over the back of the booth and now it’s wandering down her firm forearm and to her hands. Strong hands. Fingers that make me wan?—
“What kind of consultant are you?” Toni asks.
I meet Toni’s eyes and she’s grinning, her eyebrows lifted. Busted. I clear my throat.
“Operational. I help businesses reorganize and update their policies and processes to be more efficient and cost effective.”
Toni closes her eyes and snores loudly.
I laugh. “Exactly. Sometimes I feel the same way. But my work is project based and I’m starting a new project on Monday. Actually, it’s my first project as a consultant.”
“Really? What made you decide to go that route?”
I grimace, not sure why I opened this conversational door. But Toni’s expression is open and guileless. She’s curious, but I can tell if I drew a line, she wouldn’t press me. Somehow, this makes me want to tell her everything.
“I was passed over for a promotion, a big one.” Toni lifts her eyebrows, intrigued. “It was politics. I’d blown the whistle on an inter-office affair the year before. Not getting the role was payback, apparently.”
Toni leans forward. “You could sue them for that, couldn’t you?”
I shrug. “They promoted a woman who was qualified, just not as good as I am. It would be a hard case to prove. Besides, I’m really excited about this next chapter.”
“Big changes personally and professionally, huh?”
I chuckle. “Yeah. Might as well blow up my life all at once. So,” I say, wanting to stop talking about me. “Did you do your Christmas shopping today?”
Toni scoffs. “God no. I avoid retail at all costs, and retail on Black Friday? Seventh circle of hell for me.”
I laugh. “I hate shopping, except going to the grocery store.”
“Ugh. I hate all forms of shopping. Which is why I never have anything worth eating in the apartment.”
“What do you do for a living?”
For all my admiration of Toni I’d never asked anyone about her. As soon as I showed any curiosity about a woman, Shae’s antenna would have been up.
“I’m a dirtbag.”
“Obviously.”
Toni smiles, but as I stare at her without smiling, she furrows her brows. The waitress arrives and asks for our order. I order a short stack of buttermilk pancakes and Toni orders eggs, bacon, and pancakes.
“I’m an outdoor guide. That kind of dirtbag.”
“I knew what you meant. But the expression on your face when you thought I didn’t was priceless.”
Toni relaxes and smiles. “Well, you did make the comment about how many women I pick up.”
I wave my hand. “I don’t judge that. I haven’t always been in a relationship, you know. How did you get into guiding?”
“I grew up in the mountains. Skiing in the winter, hiking in the summer. I started guiding when I was young, with my dad. Eventually I led my own tours. I’ve been doing it ever since. I love being outside, which is why I’ve resisted taking over from my parents. It’s a bunch of paperwork and I’m going to hate it, but my family thinks it’s time I join the family business properly. And Mom and Dad want to transition from semi-retired to fully retired.” Toni shrugs. “I’ll still be a guide, but only as a fill-in, and there is always the weekend.”
“Good point.”
“I’m definitely not going to be a workaholic like my sister. Are you a workaholic?”
“Sometimes it comes with the job, unfortunately. That’s why my sister and I decided to start our own consultancy business, so we could take the jobs we wanted, for companies we believe in, and if we want to take a month off between projects, we can.”
“Good for you.” Toni drubs her fingers on the table. “Do you want to talk about it? Your ex and singing and all that? I did come here to talk, to be an ear if you need one, not to pick you up.”
“How disappointing,” I say, staring straight into Toni’s hypnotic blue eyes.
“I wouldn’t object if it led to that, of course,” she clarifies.
“Hmm,” I say again. “Your eyes are beautiful.”
“Thank you.” She smiles politely, as if she’s heard this compliment a thousand times before, and she probably has, but I mean my God. Her eyes are a clear, bright blue and framed by long, dark eyelashes and dark brows. With her olive skin, dark curly hair, and strong jaw, Toni is nothing short of striking. Complimenting her eyes is low-hanging fruit, I know, but I can’t very well tell her I want to trace the muscles in her forearm with the tip of my tongue, now, can I?
No, really. Could I tell her that?
No. I used up my reserve of courage on that stage tonight, and implying I wanted to go down on her.
I clear my throat. “I heard Alanis Morissette on the radio and I remembered listening to her album when it first came out, all that rage and anger on full display, with no apologies. I remembered how empowered I felt listening to it and I wondered where my empowerment went. In my personal life, at least. I’ve been thinking about it for a couple of months, but never thought I’d get the courage.”
“Well, you sure picked a good night for it. Go big or go home.”
I chuckle and watch as I twist my mug around on the table. “I’m just glad it’s over.”
Toni hums noncommittally.
“What?” I asked.
“Are you sure Shae won’t be waiting at home to beg you to take her back?”
“She’s already texted me. Somehow taking credit for how well I did on stage tonight. I ignored it. She’ll arrive home to a half-empty apartment. My sister and four moonlighting firemen just moved my stuff out and into our new place.”
“So you weren’t waffling for those two months, you were planning.”
I grin and shrug one shoulder before sipping my coffee.
“My sister would totally do that, too.”
“Oh, Willa wants to do much more than humiliate Shae. She wants to punch her in the face.”
“Could she?”
I laugh. “She’s scrappy and got the attitude to match, so yeah, probably.”
“She sounds awesome.”
“She would agree. So do I. Are you close with your sister?”
“Not as close as I’d like to be. We’re very different and have never quite met the other’s expectations.”
I never know how to respond when I hear about sisters who don’t get along well. I twist my mug on the table, trying to think of something to say before the silence stretches too long. “I liked your Halloween costume last year,” I blurt.
“The construction worker?”
I nod.
Toni laughs and says, “Yeah. I’ve been dressing as the members of the Village People for the last four years. This year I was the biker.”
“Oh,” I say. I lick my lips and shift in my seat at the visuals rolling through my head. Somehow, I get the courage to look Toni in the eyes. “I’m sorry I missed that.”
Toni’s eyes darken. “It was popular, for sure.”
We hold eye contact for a very long time.
“I just pull things from the closet,” she adds.
“Your biker-chick drag is hanging in your closet?”
“It is.”
“Waiting to be worn again.”
“It is.”
“Hmm.”
This isn’t like me, to be so forward, so suggestive. I’ve never been a great flirter, but if the expression on Toni’s face is any indication, I’m doing something right. The silence between us is full of sexual tension, a pull I haven’t felt in a very, very long time. And the eye contact, my God. I refuse to be the one to look away first.
Toni is good at this. Very, very good.
I wonder what Toni is like in bed. What she would let me do…
I’m jarred out of my thoughts when the waitress puts our plates in front of us. We thank her and eat. I barely taste my pancakes and don’t see my food at all. My mind is on other things. I can’t bring myself to meet Toni’s gaze again, sure she will see every thought written on my face.
“What do you do when you aren’t working?” Toni asks.
“I’ve spent most of the last ten years working, climbing the corporate ladder. It didn’t leave much free time.” I cut a square out of the center of my pancakes and spear it on my fork. I take a bite of my pancakes, soaked through with fresh butter and warm syrup, and groan. I open my eyes and Toni is watching me, her mouth slightly open, her eyes dark, and I know all I have to do is ask to get what I want. “I hope that working for myself will give me more free time for…extracurricular activities.”
Toni raises an eyebrow and starts to eat again. “What kind of extracurricular activities do you think you’ll be participating in?”
“Yoga. Reading. Photography.”
“Hiking?”
“I’m not much of a hiker.”
Toni leans back and grasps her chest. “Right through the heart,” she says.
I laugh. “I’m not a complete couch potato. I like to kayak.”
“White water?” Toni asks, hope in her voice.
“More like a calm lake in the middle of the city at sunrise.”
“Well, it’s better than nothing, I guess,” Toni says. “You know, I can help you with your hiking aversion.”
“Can you?”
“Yes, I’m a professional, you know. One of the best in my field.”
“Oh are you?”
“Absolutely. I’ve climbed every fourteener in the state.”
My fork clatters on my plate. “Seriously?”
“Yep.”
“You’ve climbed all fifty-eight peaks over fourteen thousand feet in Colorado? I mean, I know people do that, I’ve just never met one.”
Toni laughs. “We’re a strange breed, no doubt. I’ve been hiking since I was two. It’s not that big of an accomplishment, though I did beat my sister’s record as the youngest to complete them all by a month.”
“How old were you?”
“Eleven.”
“Eleven?”
“My record was broken later that year. But I’ll always be above my sister in the record books.”
“Wow.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t take you on a fourteener for a while.”
I laugh. “You’ll never get me on a fourteener, Toni.”
“Never say never.”
She wiggles her eyebrows, and I laugh again.
“Thank you for making me laugh,” I say.
“You have a wonderful laugh.”
A pleasant warmth starts in my stomach and spreads through me. “Thank you.”
Toni leans over the table. “I have a confession to make.”
I swallow. “Oh? About what?”
“I’ve wanted you since I saw you walking through the bar.”
I give her what I hope is a mischievous smile. “And I left my jacket hoping you would follow me.”
Toni licks her lips. “Wanna get out of here?”
I could draw this out, flirt a little more, tease her, but why? I want her as much as she wants me. I motion to the waitress for our check.