Chapter Thirty-Two
Some distant part of Barrett had been certain, for years, that she had good reasons not to get emotionally involved with people—great reasons, even.
However, as she stood to meet Iris and watched her walk across the room, she couldn’t remember a single one of them.
They felt like rules that existed for another world, for people who were not, and never would be, Iris Dean.
By the time they made it to each other, Iris was blushing beautifully but she didn’t look away.
There was something fierce in her eyes, something Barrett had always known resided inside her, something she’d been desperate to get her hands on.
And now, it was here, when Iris looked at her.
She genuinely could have cheered. The group probably already thought she was weird enough, however.
Ruby, either simply by virtue of being the sweetest person Barrett had ever met or because she knew Barrett needed one moment of existing only with Iris, jumped up to introduce herself to Anya.
Barrett would thank her profusely later.
Probably with that ridiculously overpriced yellow kitchen mixer she wanted.
She almost laughed wondering whether Iris would like that shade of yellow.
Barrett hadn’t told her friends what happened at Tea and Sympathy.
She wasn’t ashamed or embarrassed, she just hadn’t wanted to face the questions she’d get before she knew how to answer them.
However, the way she and Iris were standing a little too close together, simply looking at each other, probably spelled out exactly what they were to each other to every single person in the bar.
Interestingly, she couldn’t find it in herself to feel uncomfortable about that. It felt very much like when they’d been outside the restaurant on Thursday and she’d felt tingly at the idea of people seeing them as a couple.
Orion was going to lose their shit when she told them. Or, maybe they wouldn’t, and she was the one losing her shit. It turned out, it wasn’t half as bad as she’d expected.
“Hello, princess,” she said eventually, the familiar words taking on a whole new world of meaning as her hands itched to reach out for Iris. She could feel the place on Iris’ waist that they’d fit perfectly.
Iris smiled, trying unsuccessfully to clamp down on it. She had the prettiest smile Barrett had ever seen.
“I told you black and purple look great together,” she said, gesturing to the room around them and wondering whether Iris had even registered the decor in the place.
Her eyes had been locked on Barrett seemingly from the second she stepped inside.
She was making Barrett feel like the center of the universe and, for maybe the first time, it was a good feeling.
Iris glanced cursorily around and hummed. “And I told you it was kind of witchy.”
“No arguments from me, princess.” She looked Iris up and down, a fire roaring in her stomach. “You look great.”
“You too.” She reached out and rubbed the material of Barrett’s sleeve between her fingers. “Very pirate-y.”
Barrett laughed. She wasn’t wrong. The black shirt had billowing sleeves that were commonplace in pirate cosplay, but she liked it. And Iris didn’t seem to be complaining.
Some part of her was aware they were here to celebrate Ruby and Deepti, that they had people to socialize with, but she couldn’t bring herself to move back or to even consider anyone else. She wanted to stare at Iris all night long.
There had been a time that would have been terrifying, would have had her bolting from the building, and it was still a little unnerving, but she felt like herself.
Just the version of herself that wanted to stare endlessly at Iris.
In many ways, it felt like the most her version of Barrett Campbell that had ever existed.
It felt like the voice that remained after everything else had fallen away.
It felt like the way Ruby and Deepti looked at each other.
Like people really hadn’t been lying when they talked about how loving someone was the truest thing they could do.
A tiny part of her mind balked at the thought.
She’d sworn off love when she was very young, yet she was falling in love with Iris.
Adrenaline coursed through her body but she held her ground and simply looked at Iris—brown eyes and blonde hair, soft cheeks and full lips, and those goddamn eyebrows.
It was becoming a problem how much she wanted to touch them—to touch all of her—but the biggest problem of all was how much it felt like love.
There wasn’t a single part of her Barrett didn’t adore, didn’t want more of.
She wanted to give Iris everything she’d ever wanted and spend her life telling the world how spectacular she was.
And it wasn’t really a problem at all because it felt right. She felt safe.
Did love always make people feel like they were going to vomit?
It was far more overwhelming than she’d expected.
Someone cleared their throat from beside them and they turned together to see who it was.
Anya was beaming at them, giving Barrett a knowing look.
Barrett wasn’t obtuse enough to miss what she was getting at, particularly when her own mind was being consumed by the slide of Iris’ fingers down her shirt and the way they danced across her own as Iris dropped her hand.
She’d never wanted to explode just from someone touching her, but she was ready to go full supernova over the barest skim of Iris’ skin against her own.
She no longer had questions about why people seemed to lose their heads when they fell in love for the first time.
Particularly since most people were teenagers when it happened and they already had enough going on.
She was a full adult and Iris had still somehow crept into her heart and set up home there, and it was…
indescribable. Something she wanted to spend a lifetime attempting to describe even while knowing she’d never achieve a single word for what she was experiencing.
“Barrett,” Anya said, narrowing her eyes accusingly.
“Anya.” Barrett had to hold back her laughter, both at Anya’s treatment of her and at the ridiculous delirium that seemed to be taking over her body as she acknowledged her feelings for Iris.
“So nice to officially meet you. Finally.” She shot Iris a look, but Iris seemed unconcerned, still looking at Barrett.
“You, too.” Barrett knew her smile was bigger than it needed to be. She genuinely was happy to meet Anya officially, but she was mostly bursting with the way Iris was watching her.
“Great. So, we can chat.” She turned to Iris. “Why don’t you go meet the others?”
Iris recoiled, her brow furrowed as she looked at Anya like she’d been betrayed. “Excuse me?”
“Of course.” Anya gestured as if Iris had meant that as a request to leave the conversation and not as a what the fuck is going on?
Barrett laughed, unable to resist reaching out for Iris as Ruby, having heard the exchange, swept in to capture Iris’ attention. Her hand trailed down Iris’ arm, to her hand, and her entire being erupted as Iris’ fingers grasped hers for one lingering moment before she was out of reach.
“I saw that.” Anya crossed her arms as she stood in front of Barrett, blocking the view of Iris.
Barrett snorted. “I assumed you would, you know, since you’re right there.”
“Hm. Surprised you noticed with the way your eyes were trying to bore a hole through Iris.”
“I wouldn’t do that. It would hurt her and I’m not about that.”
Anya smiled unexpectedly. “Exactly what I’m counting on. Which is why I’m here to do the best friend investigation.”
From everything Iris had mentioned about Anya, Barrett had not been expecting this. From Iris’ expression, she hadn’t either. And, while it was a little odd, Barrett could respect it. Anya cared about Iris and knew she’d been through a lot. There was no harm in worrying about her.
“Okay,” she allowed, gesturing for Anya to do her worst. “Shoot.”
Anya liked that response. “What are you working on right now?”
Barrett had not been expecting that question at all, let alone first. “A… community living endeavor for a bunch of retired, single women who want to spend their golden years living in the same building as their best friends. Which, honestly, sounds like a great way to do it.”
“Yeah, it does. That’s cool. If Iris wanted to live in the same building as me when we were seventy, how would you feel about that?”
Barrett laughed. “Fantastic. I know you mean a lot to her and she’d love having you close.”
“Correct answer.”
“Thank you so much for your approval.”
“I didn’t say that yet.” Her smirk said she had, though, long before they’d even started this conversation.
“I’m also thinking of putting together a proposal for a newly announced affordable housing complex.”
“Oh, right. The one Iris was talking about when we were getting ready.”
Barrett blinked. She said it so casually, so concretely.
But she’d only just heard about it, hadn’t even had an opportunity to mention it to Iris.
It would be a big project, one they’d probably need the entire team to commit to.
She’d been planning to tell Iris, to ask if it seemed like something Penn would be on board with. And Iris already knew?
She leaned around Anya to find Iris.
“She’s fine, don’t worry,” Anya assured her. “It’s cute how much you care, though.”
Iris did seem fine. More than fine. She was chatting and laughing with Ruby, Deepti, and two of Deepti’s friends. And Barrett’s heart felt so full, so whole. She wasn’t sure it had ever felt whole before, not like this.
“Do you think you’re going to ask her out at some point?” Anya asked.
Barrett straightened up, looking directly at her again. “So, this is you giving me your approval?”
“Yeah. I guess so. She really likes you and you seem like a good one, even outside of wanting her.”
“You got that from my work?”