Chapter Sixteen
Shae
Halavant Street brought a feeling of nostalgia that Shae hadn’t felt since High School.
It transported her right back to those pre- and post-adolescent days.
She had had her first kiss on this street with Conner Hamilton.
The most adored, most attractive boy in their class, according to the High School yearbook.
She hadn’t been particularly interested in Conner, though.
No, she was more interested in his older sister by one year, Natalie, who was the opposite of her brother in every way.
Natalie Hamilton was the first girl Shae ever had a crush on.
The first girl who made Shae feel that maybe it was okay to like girls.
The first queer woman she’d ever met, now that she was thinking about it, before she met Amber in High School.
She was smitten. That was, until Emmaline Lauchner moved into town from California and stole the show.
So when Shae rounded the corner to Kira’s, she was dumbfounded to see none other than Natalie lounging with Kira on her front step, her back perched against the railing.
Her raven hair lifted like feathers in front of her face, a stark contrast to her piercing blue eyes.
She was in all black, which was so her, and tattoos lined both her arms. A true bad girl if she’d ever known one.
“What the actual?” Shae threw the car in park and hopped out, her hand covering her mouth in disbelief. “It cannot be! Natalie Hamilton?”
“Shae fucking Hemingway.” Natalie raised her arms out for a hug.
“Bring it in, Italy.” Natalie squeezed Shae, lifting her from the ground, grunting.
“Girl, you’re like a fucking stone.” She tested Shae’s biceps.
“And tattoos now, huh? Okay then.” Natalie leaned against the stone exterior of Kira’s house.
“Kira here was just telling me all about your time abroad.”
The last time Shae had seen Natalie was right before she left for Italy. She was making out with a random girl at a party, and Natalie came and sat next to them, tapping her elbow against her back until Shae acknowledged her.
“I know what you're doing.” She’d asserted. They chatted the rest of the night. She told Shae that she had nothing to prove to anyone. Reminded her to take a step back and remember who she was.
That stuck with Shae. After everything that had happened with Em, Shae was hell-bent on showing Em exactly how betrayal felt. She was making out with someone new every week, in front of Em, preferably.
But no girl could satisfy the feeling. Nothing cured the ache or the bitterness.
When Natalie said that it resonated. It changed how she moved into her next chapter.
“Yeah, it was wild!” Shae gave her a once-over, her arms clasped behind her head, breathless from the excitement. “What the hell,” she said, still stunned. “What are you doing here?”
“Girl, I live here now. I ran into Kira at Moe’s Bar and Grill, and she talked me into coming out with you all to the city tonight.”
“Yeah, you should!”
“Hell yeah! We are going to fucking run this city tonight.” Natalie said this as if it were written in prophecy; she held herself with such confidence and security that if Natalie said it, you believed it.
“Whew whew,” Kira cheered, throwing her hands up in the air, her cropped black netted shirt lifting even higher to show the edge of her bra.
Shae jingled her keys in front of them. “What are we waiting for?”
She popped in behind the steering wheel of her car and yelled out the window. “Get in, hotties, we’re going to Boston.”
“Let’s drive.” Kira squealed, stomping her feet on the floor of the passenger seat. Natalie leaned against Kira’s seat, wrapping her arms around Kira’s shoulders and squeezing tight.
? · ? · ?
Back in Chatham, the beach house was less chaotic in a way that was now unfamiliar.
Em had claimed the balcony swing sometime after lunch, after leaving the office.
She had gone into Harbor Light for a little bit today so she could return the umbrella to Luna that she’d forgotten to bring at their last meet-up and thank her again for being so kind, but she was still on call, and the balcony was the quietest place in the house.
One of her legs dangled over the edge of the swing, her toes pushing against the ridged wood, attempting to keep the momentum of her sway. The ocean was a blur in the distance. She and Shae’s almost kiss burned vividly in her mind. She could almost feel the subtle brush of Shae’s lips against hers.
“There you are. I was looking for you.” Lennon let the door slam shut behind her as she hurried over to Em, plopping down beside her on the swing.
“Hey. Sorry, I’m on call until six. I thought I would slip up here, instead of camping out in my room all afternoon.”
“That’s okay.” Lennon smiled over at her. “You thinking about Shae?” She winked.
“Ugh,” Em groaned. “The other night!”
She crossed her arms over her face, covering her eyes with her forearms.
“I know. I am so sorry,” Lennon stressed. “I totally thought you were alone in there. I did not expect that!”
“No, it’s ok.” Em shifted to look at Lennon, propping herself up on one elbow. “I don’t think anyone expected that. I sure didn’t.”
“So now what?” Lennon pulled her legs in, crossing them. “Have you guys talked about it?”
“Ha! This is your sister we’re talking about.”
“Right, right!”
“We texted a bit this morning, but I haven’t heard from her since. She was going to meet up with Kira, said she’d probably be back tomorrow.”
“Hmmm. Well, I’m going to text her,” Lennon said, wiggling her phone free from her back pocket.
“What should I say?” She squinted at Em.
“Nothing about me!”
Lennon (5:23 PM): What’s up, little sis? How are Mom and Dad?
Shae (5:31 PM): Umm, you can barely call me your little sis. 6 minutes, Len? Really?
Shae (5:32 PM): Mom and Dad are good. They say hi.
Lennon (5:33 PM): What are you doing?
Shae (5:35 PM): I’m getting ready to meet up with Kira.
Lennon (5:36 PM): Hmmm, sounds fun! What are you guys getting into?
Shae (5:39 PM): Is everyone bored there without me or something?
Shae (5:40 PM): We are just going into the city. Bar hopping, I guess.
Lennon (5:41 PM): Lovely. I’m in!
Shae (5:43 PM): What? Aren’t you in Chatham?
Lennon (5:44 PM): Does it matter?
Lennon (5:45 PM): We decided to come into the city for the night.
Shae (5:48 PM): Oh-kay?
Lennon (5:49 PM): What? Do you not want us to come?
Shae (5:52 PM): No, it’s cool. Is it everybody?
Shae (5:53 PM): I should probably let Mom and Dad know if everyone is planning to stay.
Lennon (5:54 PM): Yeah, probably everyone.
Lennon (5:55 PM): It’ll be a blast.
Shae (5:57 PM): ????
Shae (5:57 PM): Well, text me when you get close. I’ll let you know where we are.
Lennon (5:58 PM): Yep. On it.
Lennon's face lit up as she shifted toward Em.
“What? What’d she say?” Em’s eyes flared.
“Time to get you dolled up. We’re going to Boston!”