Disclaimers: Whilst the leading ladies come across as very familiar, they are in fact products of my over active imagination, as is the whole story. No infringement is intended.
Sex/Violence: There is love between two women (or there will be eventually) in this, so if that’s not your cup of tea, I wouldn’t bother with this. The sex won’t be graphic, but the violence might be when it pops up.
While this isn’t my first fanfic, it is the first one to be posted. It’s also the longest one I’ve ever written, and that’s just the first part. So, there is lots more to come, and please don’t get too impatient. Take a long view when reading it, cause that’s how it’s written.
Feedback: Please, don’t hold back. Good, bad or indifferent, I would like to hear your views. After all, it’s all about the readers. fishbulbgeek@yahoo.co.uk
Chapter 3
June, 2005
Blue was worried about his friend. He had hoped that her mood would improve over the weekend. He knew that she was planning on meeting some friends from school, and that almost always guaranteed a good mood. What could possibly have gone so wrong? He was concentrating so hard he didn’t hear Junior stand next to him.
“I finished with the Benson’s truck, Boss.” He said quietly.
“What the fu-“ Blue jerked up so fast that he hit his head on the hood of the car, nearly biting his tongue. He rubbed his head and glared at the young apprentice. “You shouldn’t sneak up on people like that.”
“Sorry Boss.” Junior muttered. “But I finished the Benson truck. Someone needs to look over my work before signing it off.”
“Why didn’t you ask Chris?” There was a curse in the background, and the sound of metal bouncing off a wall. “Right.” He rubbed his head again, and went over to the truck. He grabbed the paperwork, glancing through it. Both the paperwork and the truck seemed fine. “Looks good to me. Move the truck to one of slots outside, and leave this on Chris’s desk.”
He left Junior to finish the job, and glanced at the clock. Ten o’clock. He wasn’t sure how long Chris had been there, but a lot of work had been completed since they shut up shop on Friday afternoon. From the look of things, she’d been in almost all weekend. He’d pretended not to notice how tired she looked, but if she was scaring Junior to the point he couldn’t approach her himself, it was time to have a quiet word. He walked over to her, only to stop when he was a few feet away. She had her head in her hands, and looked thoroughly dejected. He debated with himself for a few seconds, then turned and walked away.
Chris threw the spanner away angrily. She pulled herself from under the car easily, sitting up on the trolley and putting her head in her hands. The headache she’d had since Saturday morning wasn’t getting any better. After Taylor had left the bar she had gotten drunk. Very drunk. After lying around most of Saturday feeling sorry for herself, she had called her mother to report how the date with the terminally boring Kevin had gone. It had not gone well.
“So how was the movie dear?”
“The movie was fine Mother. We went for coffee afterwards.”
“Yes, he mentioned that.” Chris bit off a groan. Didn’t Kevin have anything better to do than visit her mother? He was young, and it was a Saturday for chrissake! Her mother carried on, oblivious. “Who’s David?”
“What?” Bafflement replaced nausea for a second. Then she remembered.
“Look, Kevin. I’ve had a really good time tonight, but it’s been a long week. I need to go home and rest.” He looked surprised, and then disappointed.
“Oh. Okay. Give me a second to get the bill and I’ll drive you home.” She managed to repress the shudder at the thought of travelling in the car he had borrowed from his cousins for the night. It had been devoid of rubbish, but the lingering smell of fast food and stale beer had put her off. She was glad that she only had the bike for just that reason.
“No, it’s out of your way. I’ll just grab a cab.”
“But-” She stood, pulling her jacket on.
“Honestly, It’s okay. Here’s some money for the coffee.” She dropped a note onto the table. “See you later David.” She walked away as quickly as she could without looking like she rushing.
Oh lord, I used the wrong name. How do I get out of this? She struggled to think of something to say. Her mother saved her.
“Are you seeing someone else?”
“Yes!” She jumped on the excuse, possibly a little too quickly. “I mean, yes Mother. I am.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about him before? What’s he do? When can I meet him?”
“Uh well, I only met him a couple of weeks ago, and I didn’t want to say anything until I knew if it was serious or not.” She lied, wincing. David I hope you never find out about this conversation. David was an old friend who ran the pool competition at the Commercial. A screaming queen, he had been in a relationship with his taller, more stoic partner Paul for years. Her mind had obviously drifted to the competition when she was saying goodbye to Kevin.
“Would you like to bring him along on Tuesday? I’d love to meet him.”
“Uh, well. I’m not sure if he’s working on Tuesday or not.”
“Why not?” her mother asked imperiously. Of course she always knew what Daddy was doing.
“Well, you know how it is. His work schedule changes at short notice sometimes. Look Mother, I don’t really want to talk about it.” Chris pleaded, willing her not to ask just where it was he worked.
“Of course dear. Well, I wish I’d known earlier, I wouldn’t have asked you to escort Kevin about town.”
“I’m sorry Mother. It won’t happen again.” Chris said, feeling properly admonished. “I have to go now, I have plans this evening.” She hung up after saying goodbye, and flopped back on the couch, throwing an arm across her face. She hated lying like that. All because he was so boring I forgot his name.
She came back to the present, and sighed deeply. Quit thinking about that woman and get on with it. She told herself sternly. I doubt she’s thought about you at all. She stood abruptly, determined to forget about Taylor once and for all. She threw herself back into her work, ignoring Blue and Junior throughout the day. She did keep the curses to a minimum after her pity party, and managed to stop herself throwing anything else. She was too professional to let her personal life affect her work too much. Eventually the end of the day came round. She was at her desk trudging through a mountain of paperwork when Blue came up, already changed out of his overalls.
“Heading home now little bit.”
“Alright, see you tomorrow.” She replied, without lifting her head. Blue shifted uneasily across from her, and she lifted her head in irritation. “What?” She asked crossly.
“Shouldn’t you be heading home yourself?” He asked tentatively.
“I have a lot of work to do here Blue. We’ve been letting it slid these past few weeks.” She said archly. Strictly speaking, the paperwork was his job. After all, he was the senior mechanic. But ever since she had started to help, he had let her do more and more, until one day she was doing it all. He looked at his feet. She suddenly felt bad about trying to get on his case about it. After all, she’d never complained before. She sat back. “Go home to your wife and kids Benny. This won’t take me long. “ She lied.
“You could join us ya know. Mel’s been wondering when you were gonna come round for dinner again.” He said, sitting down on the corner of the desk.
“Thanks, but I really should get this done. Dad’s gonna start asking about it soon.” Seeing that he still look reluctant to go, she carried on. “Look, I’ve been a bear all day. Let me do this to make up for it. Please?”
“All right. I’ll see you tomorrow then.” He left, shaking his head. As soon as the door slammed shut Chris leant back, putting her feet up. She snagged a file and started going through it, sipping lukewarm coffee, blue eyes firmly put out of her thoughts. It was close to two am by the time she had finished, and she could barely keep her eyes open. She contemplated going home, but the couch in the locker room was much more appealing, and she happily stretched out on the stained and threadbare frame, falling asleep almost as soon she dragged a blanket over her.
Blue woke her up gently the next day, giving her a gentle shake and placing a fresh brew next to the couch. She groaned as she sat up and stretched, regretting the night at the garage as her muscles protested. She picked up her cup and padded barefoot through the garage to the picnic bench. She extracted her cigarettes, now sadly crushed, and lit up before pushing the packet in Blue’s direction. “So today looks like it’s pretty slow.” She mumbled, running a hand through already messy blonde locks.
“I take it you finished all the paperwork then.” Blue said. She shrugged. Blue shook his head. “Dinner tonight, at mine.” She opened her mouth to protest, but her glared at her. “Mel misses you, so do the kids. And you need a night away from this place.” He softened his look, and touched her on the arm. “I know it’s been hard for all of us since that chop shop opened up, but even you need to take a break sometimes.” She nodded slowly, already turning her thoughts to what excuse she could give for not turning up to the family dinner. They finished their cigarettes in silence, both minds busy on different subjects. Work that day was much quieter than on Monday, with none of the joking around that normally occurred when it was quiet.
It was late in the afternoon before Chris went to see her father in his office. She changed into the cleanest overalls she had and even managed to get her hair in order, although it was stained from where she’d run dirty hands through it. She did it again nervously before knocking on his door, waiting quietly until she heard him shout “Come in.” She stood in front of his desk, waiting for him to look up from his computer and properly acknowledge her. It was a minute or so before he stopped what he was doing, and sat back in his obnoxiously expensive leather chair. “What can I do for you Chris?”
“A couple of things actually. The first is about Junior. He’s been with us for a while now, and I think it’s time he got a permanent position here.” If she hadn’t been watching closely, she would have missed the slight narrowing of his eyes which meant she’d said something to upset him. She carried on talking, explaining her recommendation. “Since he’s not on the books as official staff, we have to over-sign all of his work, and it’s time consuming. He’s good at his job, and fits in well here.” He still didn’t look convinced, so she sat down on the chair in front of his desk, leaning forward to look directly into his eyes. “It’s not fair to keep him on part-time rates when he does full-time work. He works hard, and he learns fast. He’s picked up so much in the few months he’s been here. I’d hate to lose him to someone else.” She stopped, not sure what else to say. If he wasn’t convinced yet, he probably wouldn’t be. He drummed his fingers, looking thoughtful.
“I’ll have to think about it.” He said eventually, and although she was disappointed that he hadn’t said yes, she nodded. “What was the other thing you wanted to discuss?”
“I wont be round for dinner tonight. Blue invited me round to his a few weeks ago. I forgot all about it until this morning.” She said with much more nonchalance than she actually felt. It wasn’t until he answered that she released the breath she had been holding.
“That’s okay honey. You don’t need to come round every week ya know.” She smiled at the drawl that slipped out as he relaxed into her father rather than her boss.
“I know that Daddy. But I like to.” She assured him, trying to ignore the stab of guilt she felt at lying to her dad. He sat forward in his seat, face serious again.
“Well if that’s everything?” She stood up as he spoke, slipping into the role of mechanic as he became her boss.
“Yes sir, thanks for taking the time to speak with me.” She left the office and wandered slowly downstairs. She stood in the doorway to the garage floor, watching as Junior and Blue worked on the last job of the day, an oil change on a Chevy. Once it was done, and the place was empty, Chris planned on taking the time to tinker on her own bike. The fuel filter needed to be changed, and it could do with a good clean and polish. She smiled as Junior stopped working and started singing and dancing as a song she couldn’t make out came on, and went to join them.
Taylor sat in the living room, looking at the TV. Or, more appropriately, looking at the unit her TV sat on. She was absurdly proud of how well it had turned out. The longer she had worked on the project, the more comfortable she started to feel. She had even started to fashion jewellery from the off-cuts. A talent nurtured by her grandfather when she was a little girl, it brought back fond memories of lazy Sundays in the cottage in front of the fire.
She leaned back on her new sofa, smiling at the scent of the rich new leather. It was perhaps her most extravagant purchase of the week, but once she had seen it, she couldn’t resist splurging a little. And once it had arrived it had done its job in cheering her up considerably. The house was starting to feel like a home, and she was starting to realise that she lived here now, for better or worse. She stretched her six foot two frame, feeling it from the tips of her fingers to her toes, and smiled. Of course, the deciding factor for the sofa was the fact she could lay on it comfortably to sleep.
She was feeling restless tonight. Nothing held her attention for more than a few minutes. Eventually, with a deep sigh, she came to the conclusion that she wanted to go out. Being cooped up all the time was starting to loose it’s appeal. With that thought in mind, she grabbed the keys to the truck and headed out. The roads were quiet, hardly surprising since it was gone ten in the small town, and raining heavily. She chose her route at random, relying on her innate sense of direction to keep her from getting lost. Avoiding the main street that ran through the centre of town, she skirted the back roads instead, noting the locations of a few shops to be checked out during the day. After an hour of meandering she found herself outside the bar she had visited the week before.
“Dammit.” She muttered, not sure why she was there. A look around the parking lot revealed that there was ample parking to be found this late on a Thursday night. Shrugging, she switched off the engine and got out, almost immediately getting soaked by the heavy rain. After locking the truck, she ran inside the bar. Inside it was quiet, music playing softly. She made her way to the bar, smiling when she saw Brad was working again.
“Hey Brad.” She greeted the young man as she pulled up a bar stool. “How are ya?” She asked as she pulled out her cigarettes and lit one up. He shook his head when she offered one to him.
“I’m alright, you?” He held up a bottle of Carlsberg in silent question, which he opened after Taylor nodded.
“Eh, I’m fine.” She shrugged. “Got bored and found my way here.” She looked around at the small pockets of people around the bar. “Is it always this quiet during the week?” She asked, turning back to Brad.
“Pretty much. Although you did see this place at one of it’s busiest events. Everything’s gonna seem quiet compared to that.” He pointed out, pulling over a stool behind the bar and sitting opposite Taylor, who conceded the point easily.
“I suppose.” When it became obvious that she wasn’t going to continue speaking, Brad grinned.
“So you made quite an impression on Friday.” He said slyly. Taylor took a large swallow of beer, trying to decide what kind of answer he wanted. She took too long, and he tried again. “Lots of girls been asking about you.” He confided confidently. Taylor frowned, not sure she would have rated that kind of attention.
“Asking what?” She wondered aloud. Brad adopted a nonchalant look.
“The usual. What’s your name, where ya from, are you single?” She almost spat out the mouthful of beer she had just taken. He has to be joking. she thought in disbelief.
“And what did you say?” She said eventually, focusing her attention on her beer bottle, and the condensation running down it.
“Well, I was tempted to set you up with a few of the hotter specimens…“ He said teasingly. She glanced up at him, eyebrow raised archly. He just laughed, holding up his hands in a mock defensive manner. “Relax. I didn’t tell them anything except your name and that you just got here from Germany.” She relaxed infinitesimally, until he continued. “Of course, if you share all with Uncle Brad, I’ll be happy to share whatever you want with any interested parties.” She groaned, somehow knowing he wasn’t going to give up.
“I’m not interested in any of your girls Brad.” She stated firmly.
“You’re not telling me you’re straight are you?” He asked in a horrified gasp. She laughed loudly, throwing her head back. His face was a picture.
“No, I’m not straight.” she reassured him, and he visibly relaxed. “I’m just not interested in pursuing anything else right now.” She continued, fixing him with a fierce glare. “And if anyone does ask, you be sure and tell them that. I don’t want the local lothario trying to get another notch for her bed frame, capice?” She slipped into Italian at the end, but he nodded, getting her point nonetheless. “Good. Well, now we’ve got that settled, tell me something about yourself.”
Taylor left the bar at closing, having stayed far longer than she had intended to. Brad turned out to be a great drinking partner, coming out with story after story. She doubted that many of them happened exactly like he had described, he had a tendency to exaggerate, but it had made for an amusing couple of hours. She even managed to relax enough to share some of her more salacious stories from Europe, although she steered away from anything personal out of habit.
She smiled as she switched the TV on. Despite the late hour, she wasn’t feeling tired, instead the evening seemed to have energised her. She had agreed to meet the young bartender for a coffee at the weekend, in what he promised was the best coffee shop in a hundred miles. Given the size of the town and the remoteness of the region, odds were good that it was also the only coffee shop in a hundred miles. She settled for a news channel, settling back with a beer and cigarette, concentrating on the news intently, keen as ever to know what was going on in the world. It would be a few more hours before she wound down enough to slip into a dreamless sleep.
A loud droning broke the silence in the room. Chris groaned from somewhere under the covers. A hand came out and started fumbling around for the source of the noise. It found the alarm clock and slapped at it a few times, until a lucky hit managed to press the snooze button, pausing the alarm. Pale sunlight was creeping in around the thick curtains, indicating that dawn had passed, but not by much. She groaned again, and threw the covers back, exposing her naked body to the chill air. It was enough to spur her into motion.
She sat up slowly, rubbing a hand over her face. Waking up was always a slow process. She grabbed a gown from the back of a nearby chair, and shuffled to the kitchen, wrapping it around herself as she went. A wide yawn threatened to crack her jaw. Still operating on automatic she started the coffee that she always set up the night before. She leaned on the counter, eyes still mostly shut, quite prepared to go back to sleep standing up. Just as the coffee was starting to drip into the jug, she heard her alarm start to go off again. That woke her up some more, and she threw an evil look at her bedroom door, trying to decide whether it was better to get her coffee first, or to switch off the alarm. Checking the level of the coffee, she decided it was better to switch off the alarm.
An hour later, having showered, dressed and caffeinated, Chris felt ready to plan her weekend off. So what am I going to do with 48 glorious hours? She pondered this as she sipped her second cup of coffee. She considered phoning Laura to see what she was up to, but decided to just go out and window shop by herself instead. That way she could do whatever she wanted, and not feel guilty when she got bored after the first half hour like she normally did when being dragged round shops that didn’t get anything new in more than twice a year unless you ordered it. God bless Dunston.
With that thought in mind she threw her oldest, softest bike jacket over a t-shirt with the Chevrolet ‘rock solid’ slogan on the back, pulled on her bike boots, grabbed her gloves and helmet and headed out to cruise the town centre, whistling as she went.
Taylor drove into town, a little early for her coffee date with Brad. Impulsively, she had decided to go shopping first to pick up a few things to brighten up the house. She parked on a quiet road off the main street, making sure the disabled sign was clearly visible to any traffic warden who cared enough to check. With that taken care of, she started the walk into town. She took her time, glancing in stores and noting where she was every time something caught her eye. Eventually she found herself outside the coffee shop. Peering inside she couldn’t see Brad, so she took a seat at an empty table, soaking up the sun while she waited.
Her quiet observation of the people around her was broken when a tall cup of coffee was placed in front of her, shortly followed by packets of sugar and a spoon wrapped up in a napkin. She looked up at her benefactor and smiled.
“Hey Brad.” He smiled, sipping at his own drink, a sweating glass of iced tea with lemon. She pulled the coffee towards her and started emptying sachets into it, stopping at her usual three. She was surprised that Brad had remembered how many sugars she took, and sipped it gratefully. “How’d you remember?” she asked, gesturing towards the now empty sachets.
“It’s my job to remember stuff like that.” He said, laughing.
“Still, I’ve only been in there twice. Isn’t it supposed to take longer before I can start asking for my usual?” she said, leaning back and cradling her cup in both hands.
“Hon, I think you’re the only person to ask for coffee after five o’clock in about five years.” He explained, still chuckling. Taylor raised an eyebrow, but didn’t know what to say to that. His explanation of why her order was so memorable made her feel very old, especially when he himself didn’t look a day over twenty-five. “So what are your plans for the day?” He asked once he had stopped laughing to himself.
“Probably work in the garden this afternoon. I’ve been putting it off since I got here, and it’s looking a little jungle-like now.” Taylor admitted, grimacing. This just set Brad off again, until she fixed him with a glare that could melt glass. He coughed into his iced tea, looking down. Taylor kept the look up until he glanced up at her, and she couldn’t help but smile. He smiled again as she continued. “Laugh it up kid, I’ll get my revenge.” She warned.
“Kid?” He looked affronted, one hand comically raised to his heart. “I haven’t been called kid for years!” He exclaimed. She just looked at him evenly.
“So what did you have planned today kid?” She asked, smiling sweetly.
“I’m working in a few hours, so not much.” He replied. “Bloody kid.” He mumbled, mock glaring at her. She just continued smiling sweetly, as innocent as could be. They didn’t say much after that, sipping their drinks and watching the people pass by. Brad offered a few acerbic comments about some of them, which left Taylor just shaking her head, amused and trying not to show it. It was relaxing, just sitting there, in companiable silence. After an hour both drinks had long since gone, and she was feeling thirsty again, so she got up to get them both another drink, leaving Brad to eye up the pedestrians on his own.
Stepping inside she blinked, trying to get used to the darkness inside, but before she could, she collided with something. She registered a small warm body pressed up against her, before her momentum forced the other person to bounce off her and fall to the floor. Fuck. Her eyes finally adjusted, and she swore again, this time out loud, when she saw who she’d knocked to the ground. Chris was sitting on the floor, cursing up a storm and holding a crushed cup of. . . something that was now covering the both of them.
“God, I’m so sorry.” Taylor said, leaning down and holding a hand out to help her up. Chris glanced up, looking confused, but took her hand and used it to pull herself up anyway. “Are you okay?” Taylor asked quietly, acutely aware of everyone staring at them. She put a hand on Chris’s shoulder and leaned in, trying to create a semblance of privacy. Chris nodded, then looked around. People looked away as she glared at them. Taylor took the opportunity to steer them out of the way of the door, towards an empty table.
“Can I get you another cup of whatever that was?” She asked, waving vaguely at the cup Chris still held. Chris stared at the cup in her hand, and smiled as she put it down on the table.
“No, don’t worry about it.” Taylor stared at the wet patch on Chris’s chest, and blushed when she realised that Chris’s t-shirt was clearly showing off the other woman’s generous cleavage. She yanked her eyes up to look the other woman in the face, not wanting to be caught ogling like a horny teenager. Is it hot in here, or just me?
“You know, I was hoping to ‘bump’ into you actually.” Taylor said after it became clear Chris wasn’t going to say anything else. She smiled as Chris’s head jerked up. “Not like this obviously.” She continued, gesturing between them.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. I was wandering around town this morning, feeling a little lost. I remembered your offer to show me around?” She waited for Chris’s answer, hoping her behaviour the other night hadn’t put her off. She stopped worrying when Chris’s face lit up.
“Really? I thought when you left that you weren’t interested.” Chris said, sounding nervous.
“Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I had to get home and take my painkillers.” Taylor explained awkwardly. Chris immediately looked contrite, and Taylor hurriedly continued, not wanting her to feel bad. “I had surgery on my knee not long ago, and it still hurts every now and again. It kind of snuck up on me that night, and I just wanted to get away.” She admitted, looking down at the table. A small tanned hand crept into view, covering her own. She looked up, surprised to see nothing but compassion in Chris’s eyes.
“Are you okay now?” She asked softly. Taylor just nodded, too busy cataloguing how nice Chris’s hand felt in hers.
“I was fine after I put my leg up and took something for the pain.” She reassured the younger woman. I could get lost in those eyes, she thought as warm green eyes seemed to look right though her. “So. This guided tour of Dunston.” She said, sitting up slightly, dragging the conversation onto more mundane matters. “When are you free?”
“How about tomorrow?”
“That sounds great. But I wouldn’t want to put you out.” Taylor said, worrying that she was interrupting plans she had made.
“Trust me darlin’, you aren’t putting me out.” Chris burred, looking at her coyly from hooded eyes. “The only thing I had planned was a bike ride I can do anytime.”
“Well in that case-“
“Taylor.” Brad called out from behind her, and she suddenly remembered why she had entered the coffee shop in the first place. “Ah there you are. I was starting to worry what was taking so long.” He continued, stepping up next to her. She looked up at him, about to apologise, when he noticed who she was sitting with. “Chris, hi.” His eyes narrowed, looking at her t-shirt. He raised an eyebrow. “What happened to you?”
“Oh nothing.” She breezed.
“Uh, that was my fault. I’m sorry I forgot about you Brad, do you still want something to drink?” Taylor asked, standing up.
“No, I have to go get ready for work now. I just came in to say goodbye.”
“Oh, right. Well, it was nice seeing you.” Taylor replied automatically.
“Sure. Will you be at the bar tonight?”
“Maybe, I don’t know.” Taylor shrugged.
“Cool. Catch you later Chris.” He waved at the still seated Chris and wandered out. Taylor watched the door shutting behind him before sitting back down.
“God, I can’t believe I forgot about Brad.” She said, mortified. What kind of idiot do I look like now? Chris just laughed. Taylor shook her head, and looked at her watch. It was far later than she had thought. “Actually, I should be going as well.” She said apologetically. “I’m sorry again.”
“Really, don’t worry about it. Listen, here’s my number. Call me later and we’ll sort out the details for tomorrow.” Chris held out a napkin with a phone number scrawled on it. Taylor took it and put it in her pocket.
“I’ll phone you tonight.” Taylor promised, standing again. “Have a nice afternoon Chris.”
“You too Taylor. Try not to bowl over too many women, ‘kay?” Chris teased. Taylor just laughed, and left the shop, stepping into the bright afternoon sun, a bounce to her step.
“You will never guess what happened to me this afternoon!” Chris proclaimed as soon as Laura’s door opened. Laura, wrapped in an old tatty robe that had seen better days, just looked at her blearily. Chris beamed widely, bouncing on her toes, waiting for a response. Laura just turned around and went inside, and Chris followed her, still bouncing. Following Laura into the small apartment, perching on the arm of the sofa as Laura sat back down, cradling a large mug of coffee to her chest.
“Is there a reason you’re here this early on my day off?” Laura asked sleepily. Chris glanced at the clock, and frowned. It was two in the afternoon. When she pointed that out Laura just glared. Not put off by the lack of enthusiasm shown so far, after all she had more than enough for the both of them, she carried on heckling her best friend.
“Well, are ya gonna guess?” She asked again.
“I’m gonna go with drugs since you haven’t stopped squirming since you came in.” Laura drawled. Chris huffed. Here she was with the best gossip since she came out to her friend all those years ago, and she didn’t seem interested.
“No, I got a date. Well, not a date per se, you see I was downtown this morning, doing a spot of shopping and-“ Laura held up a hand.
“Stop. Take a breath.” Chris realised she had been babbling, and obeyed the order, taking a nice deep breath. As she did she forced herself to calm down just a smidge before she exploded. God I haven’t been this excited about anything since dad hired me as a full time mechanic. “Okay. What’s this about a date?” Laura asked, looking at her interestedly. They both moved closer on the sofa, sitting cross-legged and facing each other, just like they had when they were teenagers.
“Do you remember Taylor?” Chris asked.
“That tall hunk of humanity that kicked everyone’s ass at pool? The one you were drooling over all night?” Laura grinned. “Yeah I think I remember her.” Chris ignored the jibe at her expense and carried on.
“I ran into her this morning at the coffee shop.”
“Is that what that is?” Laura asked, poking at her chest. Chris glanced down at the stain on her top. “’Cause it’s not like you to go out looking so sloppy.”
“Yeah, when I say ran into her, I mean, I ran into her. Ended up on my ass with coffee all over both of us in the middle of One Stop.” She admitted wryly. “Not my best moment, but that’s not the point. We were talking afterwards, and I have the extreme pleasure to be showing her round our lovely armpit of a town.” Chris paused after saying this, and reminded herself that it was just a friendly gesture on her part and that nothing more should be read into it. Even though the tall dark haired beauty had drifted into her thoughts more often than not over the past week. Her face fell slightly as she realised that Taylor had probably taken her offer at face value, especially since she had fobbed off her ‘date’ with Kevin as the same thing. “Ugh I’m an idiot.” She moaned, and collapsed against the back of the sofa.
“Whoa, I think I missed something.” Laura hurriedly set her mug down on the coffee table. “How did we get from a date with tall, dark and gorgeous to you being an idiot? Something I whole heartedly agree with by the way.” Laura kidded. Chris shot her a dark look, which quickly turned into a smile when she saw Laura was smiling at her.
“Because she doesn’t see it as a date. Why would she after Friday? She probably just sees it as someone being nice to her because she’s new in town, and why would someone like her want to go out with me anyway? She’s been all over the world, and I’m just a mechanic in a small town who’s never been anywhere and-“ She stopped when Laura put a finger on her lips.
“Now just stop right there. You are not just a mechanic in a small town, you are the best mechanic in this town. Not to mention bright, and witty, and gorgeous, and impossibly charming, and-“
“Alright, alright, I get it.” Chris stopped her friend before she really started to blush. “But that doesn’t take away the fact that this is probably about as far away from a date as you could get in her eyes.” She sighed again, wondering how it was possible to go from deliriously happy to just delirious in less than a few minutes. “What am I gonna do?”
“Well first of all, you should calm down before you give yourself a coronary. And next, you should finish your story, with details, so I can properly advise you on a course of action.” Laura said seriously. So Chris settled down comfortably, and related the whole story. When she had finished she buried her head in her hands. Laura left her alone to stew for a few minutes, until a hot brew was shoved under her nose, making her raise her head and automatically take hold.
“Here.”
“Thanks.” They sat in silence while Chris enjoyed her coffee. “So what’s the verdict? Am I as insane as I feel right now?” Chris asked imploringly. She felt a little put out when Laura just laughed, so she hit her hard on the arm.
“Sorry. Yes you are insane. That has never been in any doubt has it?” When Chris chose not to say anything in her defence, Laura just nodded sagely and carried on. “I think you might be getting worked up over nothing my friend. You have spent maybe an hour talking to this woman, correct?” Chris thought about it, and nodded. Laura carried on. “So maybe you should chill out, and just take the time to get to know her before you start trying for anything more. She could be an axe murderer on the run for all you know!” Chris burst out laughing, just the reaction the Laura had been hoping for. “I think you should just wait for her to phone you, and take it from there.” Chris nodded, and relaxed.
“Thanks buddy. It’s nice to know you’re here to let me vent.”
“Anytime darlin’. That’s what best friends are for after all.” They shared a hug, and Chris smiled, thankful for good friends.