Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
brIANNA
Seven Months Later
Waking up in her girlfriend’s arms, Brianna could not remember the last time she had been so relaxed leading up to a big event. She definitely should be getting up now, but after moving to her bedside table to silence her alarm, she promptly went back under the covers to cuddle with Audrey.
Trying to get some more sleep, Brianna closed her eyes and tried to think relaxing thoughts.
She had a hard time focusing on anything other than last night, though, and it seemed Audrey had woken with similar thoughts, as she felt a hand stroking her thigh from where she had it wrapped around Audrey.
“Morning, babe,” Brianna said, opening her eyes to find Audrey smiling at her.
“Morning, gorgeous.”
Though they had been dating for months now, Brianna was still as obsessed with their nicknames for each other as she always had been.
“Last night was unbelievable,” Audrey said, still smiling.
“I know,” Brianna responded. They had tried out some new scenarios in the kitchen, and Brianna could still feel the cold marble on her chest…
Audrey groaned and rolled away from Brianna. “I really need to get up and shower. We have an important event today.”
“Same.”
“Quick shower session?” Audrey proposed, turning to Brianna again with that mischievous look on her face that Brianna loved so much.
“Absolutely.”
For all their panicking, it didn’t take the women nearly as long to get ready as they anticipated, and they even had time to stop for coffee on their way to the library.
Having set up another author event just a month ago, the Festival of Local Authors, combined with her morning, Brianna’s typical anxiety around events was greatly reduced, considering just how high the stakes were today.
Despite no guarantees, she was certain today would go well.
All the author panel tickets had sold out, the vendors were all excited and setting up already (at least, Wren’s text said that was the case) and she was being driven to the event by her amazing girlfriend, who had also secured an amazing sponsorship for the event.
God, she was the luckiest librarian in the world.
“What are you thinking up there?” Audrey asked. They were close to the library, and Brianna realized she had been in her own world for majority of her commute, which was odd for her when she was around Audrey.
“Just how lucky I am,” Brianna decided to answer truthfully.
“To be running the event today?”
They had made it to the library parking lot, which was overwhelmingly fuller than normal, with cars parked along the street too.
The conversation quieted as Audrey clearly concentrated on getting to a free staff parking spot without running over the many pedestrians.
It was unusual to see Beaver Creek so busy, but it was wonderful to see lots of book lovers milling about.
As she got out of the car, Brianna remembered Audrey’s questions. “No, about how lucky I am to be here with you.”
“Huh?” Audrey had the most adorable, puzzled expression on her face, and Brianna laughed as she met her on the sidewalk.
Brianna grabbed her hand, wanting to take a moment to breathe before the chaos that would undoubtably unfold. “Your earlier question, about what I was thinking? I was just thinking about how lucky I am to love you.”
Audrey’s puzzled expression turned to what Brianna now recognized as love mush; though she was nowhere near as expressive as Brianna, she had started to soften the longer they dated.
Audrey leaned down to kiss Brianna softly, a quick peck that felt like understanding and all the love in the world right back.
They started walking towards the library then, still hand in hand.
“To be clear, though,” Audrey said, interrupting the show of heart eyes Brianna was making, “I’m the lucky one. I still can’t believe I get to be with you, the girl who was my lesbian awakening.”
Brianna stopped them just before the library doors, not wanting the conversation to end already, not when she just learned this important fact. “No way. That is so not true.”
“Very true.” Audrey blushed.
Oh. Brianna had so many questions, and so much more she wanted to know, but she would not let herself be distracted by mind-blowing confessions from her girlfriend.
“Let’s talk about it later, because I think once we go down that rabbit hole, we won’t escape it…” Brianna trailed off and shook her head.
“Sure. The convo’s been long overdue anyway. I just had to let you know. Really, I am the lucky one.”
“We’ll see who’s lucky at the end of the night,” Brianna said instead and winked. It wasn’t her usual way of flirting, but the line had the intended effect, as she could see Audrey start to blush.
Audrey groaned slightly and hugged Brianna. “I love you, gorgeous.”
Brianna was about to reply when a loud, hurried clap interrupted them. She turned around to find Wren with a hand on her hips, a smirk on her face.
“Enough canoodling with your girlfriend, Brianna! We have an event to run!”
Laughing, Audrey and Brianna broke apart. They managed to make it through the event calmly and without too much panic, and when they got to their apartment that night, they agreed it didn’t matter who felt the most lucky, because they were fortunate to be able to spend every day together.