CHAPTER 44
River
“It was great meeting you,” Calista said.
“You too,” Kennedy replied. “We should do this again sometime.”
“Agreed. I can’t wait until I can have some of that amazing wine you brought us.” Ashton added, placing her hand over her stomach.
“Come on, babe. Let’s get you to bed.”
“She’s being an annoyingly overprotective partner to a pregnant woman,” Ashton teased.
“You love it. Come on. Good night, you two.”
“Night,” River said.
“Oh, and Kennedy, nice call with the new table in here. The old one was… Well, old.”
“Hey!” River said.
Kennedy placed her head on River’s shoulder and said, “It was River’s idea. I just helped her pick it out. She only had that tiny table for two up here, but if we’re having people over for dinner, we need more space than that.”
“Can we be done picking on River now?” River asked.
“Just tonight.” Ashton winked at her. “Night.”
“Bye,” River replied with a chuckle, walking them to the door to see them out, and when she turned around, she saw Kennedy standing there, looking at her with a wide smile on her face. “What?”
“Well, it’s my last night here before I’m in pre-production.”
“I know. I’m sorry. They just wanted to meet you before you left, and this was the only night we were all free.”
“No, that’s not what I meant. I like your friends, babe,” Kennedy said. “I just meant that soon, I won’t have all sorts of goodies at my disposal.”
“Did you just call my lady parts goodies?”
Kennedy laughed and said, “No. I meant the literal candy shop beneath our feet. Although, now that you’ve mentioned it, I do love your goodies.”
“You want some now?”
“You or candy?”
“Either one.”
Kennedy took River’s hand and replied, “I want s’mores fudge. A small piece. Then, maybe you’ll let me steal a bag of my lemon-lime candy for the road.”
“I’ll even let you have two if you promise to come back.”
“Hey, it’s just a few days.” Kennedy cupped her cheek with her free hand.
“I know. We’ve just spent every night together since that first one, with very few exceptions, so it’ll be weird without you next to me every night.”
“I will see you Thursday night, babe. Calista is covering this place the whole weekend, but you’re going to talk to her about the possible expansion stuff soon, right?”
“She won’t care about that, but I also don’t need money from her now to make it happen. The shop being so successful will help with any other kind of loan I might need.”
“So, I will see you this weekend, and you can hang out with me on set.”
River nodded and said, “I’ll be there.”
“And after that, we can start talking about whatever we want to do when I’m done filming.”
“Yes.”
“Then, we’re all good, babe. I’ll text you constantly until you’re annoyed with me, and I’ll FaceTime you every night.”
“I won’t be annoyed, trust me,” River replied. “I missed you when we weren’t even dating yet.”
“Me too. Now, come on. Take me downstairs.”
“If I wear that thing you got us, can we use it down there? We still haven’t.”
“You want to put it on now?” Kennedy asked her, and when River nodded, Kennedy laughed and said, “Okay.”
“Should I bring… Will you need lube?”
“Well, if you give a girl a little foreplay first, probably not.”
River nodded again and ran over to the drawer where she’d stored their first strap-on.
First, because Kennedy had already acquired another one that she would keep at her place, which was not the one she had shared with Cameron.
That house had been sold, and Kennedy had decided to rent a storage unit for most of the furniture and stay in a condo near the set, owned by the studio, until she and River decided what they wanted to do with their living situation after she finished filming.
There were still things that they needed to figure out, but River knew that they would and that they’d do it together.
“What?” she asked after she’d gotten ready and turned to see Kennedy staring at her.
“This is part of the foreplay,” Kennedy replied with a wink. “Come on.”
When they went downstairs, River checked the fridge for the fudge she knew Kennedy wanted and, finding none, she tried to decide if she should make a new batch for her or get some from the front display case.
“Babe?” Kennedy wrapped her arms around River from behind and cupped her. “What’s taking so long?”
“I need to go up front to get your fudge. We’re out back here. Thirty seconds, and you’ll have it. Then, I’ll have you.”
Kennedy laughed, and River hurried out of the room and into the front to the counter.
Finding what she needed, she cut a chunk off the larger piece there and was about to go, but she heard something.
She looked up and saw Lacey and Cameron standing outside.
Lacey had just knocked on the glass and was waving at her.
“What the hell?” River asked no one and set the fudge down, knowing she couldn’t just not say hello. “Uh… Kennedy?”
“Yeah?” Kennedy asked back.
“Your ex-girlfriend is here with my ex-girlfriend.”
“What?” Kennedy asked and walked through the door. “Oh.” She waved at them. “What are they doing here?”
“No idea. They just knocked on the glass.”
“Did Lacey text you or something?”
“Nope. And in case you forgot, I’m wearing a strap-on right now.”
“Oh, shit.” Kennedy laughed.
“Babe, not helping.”
“Just stay behind the counter. I’ll let them in.” Kennedy continued to laugh as she walked to the door. “It’s a big one, too.”
“Kennedy!”
But Kennedy didn’t stop laughing until she opened the door and let them inside.
“Hey. What are you two doing here?”
Kennedy locked the door back up after Lacey and Cameron walked in.
“We wanted to grab ice cream, and I realized we were down the street from the shop. Cam has never seen this place, but I figured you’d be closed by now, so I was just going to show her from the outside,” Lacey said. “Hey.”
“Hey, Lace,” River greeted with a smile.
“What are you doing down here?” Lacey asked, walking over to the counter.
“We just finished dinner upstairs, and Kennedy wanted s’mores fudge, but I only had it out here.”
River held up the piece she’d cut.
“Yes, thank you,” Kennedy said and came around behind the counter to take it from her.
“Don’t you have pre-production starting soon?” Cameron asked, leaning over the counter.
“I’m heading back to LA tomorrow,” Kennedy replied, leaning against River’s side, and then she bit into her fudge.
“I laughed when Zane first told me you’d agreed to do the mom movie.”
“Shut up.” Kennedy chuckled.
“How are things?” River asked Lacey.
“Uh… Yeah, things are good,” she replied awkwardly. “You?”
“Good, yeah. I’m going to LA this weekend to be with Kennedy, so that’ll be my first time on a movie set.”
“It’s pre-production. Stuff’s not even set up yet. We’re rehearsing.”
“Still cool,” River said.
“Cam never takes me to film sets,” Lacey joked.
“I’m not working on one right now, but I promise you, I’ll take you to the next one.”
“Still taking a break?” Kennedy asked.
“Until next year, yeah. I think it’s best for everyone, honestly.
The press has time to stop caring that we broke up, Lace and I get to have time together before the whole world finds out about us, and you two get the same, you know?
I feel lucky that I can just afford to take a long break like this, but Lacey’s put me to work, too. ”
“She has, huh?” Kennedy teased.
“Not like that,” Cameron replied. “I mean– Well, that, too, yeah.”
“Cam!” Lacey exclaimed.
“I meant that I’m helping her with her massage business. I have been an excellent administrative assistant if I do say so myself.”
“You’re an admin for someone?” Kennedy laughed.
“Yes, I am. I answer calls and take bookings for her.”
“Do the people who call know who they’re talking to?” Kennedy asked.
“No way. I made up a name. When I’m working for Lace, I’m Rhonda.”
“Rhonda?” River laughed a little and took in her ex.
She hadn’t seen Lacey in a while, and they texted every so often now, but they had both been so busy with their jobs and new relationships that it hadn’t been a regular thing or anything.
Lacey looked good, though. She looked really happy.
Cameron looked happy, too. River then looked over at her own girlfriend, and she thought Kennedy looked happy as well.
“It works. Plus, I’ve been looking at houses,” Cameron shared.
“Where?” Kennedy asked.
“Here. Well, I’m looking at condos here. I’ll find something in LA when I go back to work. Lace and I have been talking about maybe moving up there.”
“Moving? What about your clients?” River asked.
“Not right now. She means, like, next year maybe. And I don’t know. I think I can make it work, going back and forth for a while until I get new clients up there and phase out the ones down here.”
“I thought you wanted an office at some point,” River said. “Not driving forever.”
“I do, yeah. That’s one of the things we’ll figure out, but I think I can find something small in a decent spot up there and take out a loan if I need it.”
“Wow! I guess I never expected you to leave here.”
“I didn’t think I would, but Cam’s job is primarily up there.”
“Condo would be an investment?” Kennedy asked.
Cameron nodded and said, “We’d rent it out after we move, if we do. Technically, I haven’t officially asked Lacey to move in with me yet, but her lease will be up, and I’m looking at three-bedroom condos so that we have space and can get the air hockey table we both want.” She winked at Lacey.
“She just loves kicking my ass at that ridiculous game,” Lacey said, laughing.
“I’m glad, Cam,” Kennedy said. “You’re getting all the things you want. I’m happy for you.”
“Yeah, me too. You good?”
Kennedy looked at River and replied, “All good, yeah. We’ve basically been living together since we started dating, haven’t we?”
“Kind of, yeah,” River said.
“The times have changed, huh?” Lacey joked.
“I’m growing as a person,” she said and rolled her eyes at herself. “Hey, do you guys want something? Did you get the ice cream yet?”