Chapter Twenty-Two
“ M ic, can Charlie and I go play MarioKart now?”
Debs watched as big brown eyes, which matched Grace’s, looked up at Mica, and she wondered how they ever said no to such a face.
“Have you loaded the dishwasher?”
“Yep. Charlie and Thea helped as well.”
“Okay, but take Thea with you, please.”
Bobby beamed, his hands squeezing under his chin with excitement.
“Thanks, Mic!”
Debs watched on fondly as Bobby, Charlie, and Thea trailed into the living room. If someone had told her two years ago that her best friend would be excelling at parenting, Debs would have told them to fuck off. It’s not that she thought Mica wouldn’t be a great parent—they absolutely would be, the way they had always been with her own two proof enough of that—but that Debs never thought they’d allow themself to have that life. But then again, once Mica had allowed themself to love Grace, all the missing pieces had fallen into place.
“Thanks for dinner, Grace. It was amazing as always.”
“You’re welcome. It was lovely to have you here. It feels like we haven’t seen you properly for ages.”
“That’s because she’s been too preoccupied,” Mica muttered not very inconspicuously.
They were reprimanded with a swift yet gentle slap to their arm, a look of faux-annoyance plastered on their face.
“Be nice!” Grace chided.
“I am! I mean, it’s not like she didn’t take the piss when we started dating.”
They were right. And while Debs had taken full advantage of ridiculing her friend in those early days, she was now understanding just how magical the idea of a new relationship could be.
“I did, and they are more than welcome to repay the favour,” Debs said, taking a sip of her drink. She really wanted a glass of wine, but the downside of single parenting was the fact there was now only one driver. She’d have to wait until she got home.
“See. I tease because I love.”
“Sure, babe, whatever you say.” Grace leaned up, placing a kiss on Mica’s cheek. “How are things going?”
“They are going…” Debs couldn’t stop the smile that split her face, and she cackled when she saw Mica grimace in response.
“Ew, don’t finish that sentence!”
“No. Do.” Grace gave Mica a look, shrugging. “I want to know. The date went well then?”
“It went amazingly well.”
“Yeah? That’s great! You’re going to see each other again, then?”
Debs licked her lips, quickly taking another sip of her drink, unsure how to answer the question. She could just be honest and say they definitely wanted to see each other again; in fact they had arranged to have lunch together tomorrow before Debs had left the centre earlier today. But if she said that, she would be leaving out the fact they had seen each other just this morning. Not to mention Friday morning, which would inevitably lead to—
“Holy fuck, you slept with each other already!” Mica whispered.
How the fuck did they know…
“Don’t be ridiculous, Mic.” Grace looked at Debs, and her face betrayed her, flushing not at the embarrassment of being found out but at the memory that once again flashed through her mind. “Shit, you did!”
“Deborah Brannigan! I did not think you were the type of woman to put out on the first date!” Mica exclaimed.
“Oh, how would you know? I’ve not had a first date for ten years!”
“And to be fair, she also fell pregnant within six months of that one, so maybe we shouldn’t be so shocked.”
The fact the comment came from Grace, and not Mica as she expected, blindsided her, but she couldn’t help the chuckle which rose from deep in her chest.
“I’m not going to apologise for having a sex life. Especially when that sex life involves a very attractive woman.”
“Exactly!” Mica reasoned, their tone still hushed so as to not be overheard by the kids in the next room. “A woman . Your first woman. And you just jumped straight in!”
“What’s the big deal exactly? Look, I get it—it’s not exactly the turn of events I imagined, either. But honestly, it really didn’t matter. I mean, it’s not like I don’t know my way around my own body, fuck knows I’ve been single for over a year, and I still had needs. And at the end of the day, man or woman or whoever they are, it’s all about learning what the other person enjoys.”
Debs watched as Mica stared at her, open-mouthed as if trying and failing to come back with another retort. She really didn’t know why Mica was making such a big deal of this.
“She’s got a point, babe. Why are you hung up on this?”
It seemed Grace also was struggling to understand why Mica was acting this way.
“I don’t have a problem with it; I really don’t. I guess I’m just surprised, that’s all.”
“About what, exactly?”
“You and James were such a constant in my life. And I’d just got used to you not being together, and then there’s this other massive change from you.”
“Is it that big of a change? Really?” Grace asked. “Debs hasn’t changed. She’s just found something else out about herself. And you were the one who spotted it. Back when we first went to The Lighthouse, you were the one who noticed how Debs was around Sienna.”
“I know! And I’m happy for you, I really am! I just…you’d expect a little bit of trepidation around this, wouldn’t you? Wondering what to do?”
“I refer you back to my earlier point of being a woman myself.”
“I really don’t want to think of that,” Mica said, screwing their face up.
“You asked! I like her, Mic. I really like her. I haven’t felt this way in years. Like someone sees me not just as a mother or a businesswoman but who wants to get to know me. And when I’m with her, she makes me laugh and smile, and when she kisses me, she gets me incredibly turned on. For fuck’s sake, this morning, we spent twenty minutes locked in her office making out like some love-sick teenagers! And if I spent time worrying about it, then I would just be delaying something I want. It felt right, it felt good , and I’m not going to apologise for doing what I wanted.”
“Fine. I guess when you put it like that…” Mica conceded. “Sorry.”
“Personally, I think the main reason you’re grumpy is the fact that Debs didn’t freak out, and so you couldn’t take the piss out of her.”
Debs cackled, knowing that Mica would have most definitely relished in the scenario that Grace had just painted.
“That’s not… Okay, fine, that would have been enjoyable!”
Debs and Grace cackled at Mica’s begrudging admittance, grinning as they watched them stomp out of the kitchen to find the kids.