A Story of Now (50 page)

Claire watches her chew her lip and stare into the air just beyond Claire.

“It’s just…with this, it all feels so real now or something,” she whispers and turns to Claire with a timid, vulnerable expression.

Claire blinks. A wave of tenderness courses through Claire. She hadn’t really considered how their relationship might throw Mia.
Of course
she’s freaking out. Because for Mia this consolidates something bigger, and it’s life changing in some major ways. It’s a stepping off into a new sense of self. And Claire has to admit it makes her feel a bit melty to comprehend the possibility that Mia’s feelings for her are strong enough that they’ve thrown her into a spin.

She takes hold of Mia’s hand again. “Basically you’re just having a giant freak out?” She smiles at her.

“Yeah, I guess.” She looks at Claire, frowning. “And maybe I’m just a bit overwhelmed by all this?”

Claire blinks, and her stomach drops a little. “Too overwhelmed?”

Mia shakes her head. “No. Suitably overwhelmed. But definitely overwhelmed.”

Claire lets go of her knees and shuffles closer to Mia, contemplating all of this. Then she climbs over her and sits astride Mia’s legs. “Mia, I’m going to tell you this.” She places her hands on Mia’s stomach. “Even if you are an insecure asshole, and you think I’m trashy and—”

“Claire.” Mia grabs her hands and holds them tight. She glares at her.

“What?” Claire counters with a grin. “Don’t interrupt.”

Mia grasps her hands harder and yanks at her arms, frowning. “I do not think you are trashy,” she says, completely serious, her brown eyes fiercer than Claire has ever seen them. “I have never thought you were trashy.
Ever
.”

“Okay, whatever.” Claire shrugs, but is secretly pleased by her ferocity. “But you do seem to think I’m some straight girl who’s going to turn around and freak out about being with a chick. And you’ve decided this without even talking to
me
about it because you are an insecure asshole who refused to return my calls for
nearly a week
.”

Mia tries to interject, but Claire gives her back some of her own treatment from the other night and covers her mouth with her hand. “But you’re actually very lucky you’re saying this to me because being an insecure asshole is something I do very well. So even if you are kind of making me angry with these random unfounded accusations, I can also sympathise. In fact, it’s mildly entertaining seeing it thrown back at me. And I also get it. But you should also know, if we are going to do this, you
cannot
continue to be this high maintenance, Mia. Because
I’m
the high maintenance one in my relationships.” She grins. “That’s my thing. So pull yourself together, okay?”

She can feel the movement of Mia’s cheeks as she smiles under her hand.

“Also, you know, for one, what does it matter who I have been into in the past? I am into
you
now. Right now.” She grabs Mia’s arm with her free hand and shakes it. “Secondly, why would I not want to be with you? Have you met you? You’re kind of a babe. An awesomely geeky babe, but a babe.” She takes her hand off Mia’s mouth, which, once freed, shapes itself into a wider smile. “So,” Claire whispers as she leans closer, staring down fixedly into her dark-brown eyes, “listen to me. I am not going to back out. I am here. So please, please, please stop freaking out, okay?”

Mia’s face dissolves into a tender smile. “I’ll stop. I promise.” She pulls Claire down by the sleeve of her T-shirt.

Claire obeys and folds herself into Mia’s arms.

Mia’s hands slide over her back and pull her into a tight embrace. “I promise,” she whispers in Claire’s ear. “And I’m so sorry.”

“Okay, shut up now. You’re sorry. I get it.”

Mia laughs and squeezes her tighter.

Claire is held captive by a rush of feelings, an intense welling of attraction. How can Mia not get it? That it’s not even a question that Claire wants to be with her? She lifts her head and runs a finger lightly over the skin above Mia’s eyebrow, tracing its arc. “You really are amazing,” she tells her.

Mia’s dark-brown eyes shine as Claire presses her lips against hers. Claire lifts her head again, gazes at Mia, and checks for any more doubt or anxiety. But it’s not there. Mia’s smile is a blend of relief, happiness, and something else directed right at her that makes Claire feel almost unbearably happy. She has no idea what she wants to do with the rest of her life, but she knows she wants Mia and that Mia wants her, and that’s good enough for now.

Claire lowers her head and kisses Mia again. It starts slowly, but within moments they’re back where they left off, before Mia brought things to a swift halt with her confession and apology, back in that hot, wanting space, hungrily laying claim over each other.

But this time it’s Claire who stops it as she reluctantly lifts her wrist and checks her watch. She presses her face into Mia’s neck and sighs loudly. “Crap.”

“What?”

“I have to leave for work soon. And Mum and Dad could be home any minute too.”

Mia runs her hand along the back of Claire’s neck, under her hair. “Crap,” she echoes.

“Mmm,” Claire moans into her neck. “Why can’t we just have some time?”

“I know.” Mia draws her arms around her and kisses the side of her head.

“I need to move out.”

Mia chuckles. “I don’t want to pressure you or anything, but right now I really want you to as well.”

Claire kisses Mia again and climbs off her.

Mia sits up. “I should go. Let you get ready for work.”

Claire pouts.

Mia pouts right back. “I know. We’ll figure it out.” She reaches out and strokes Claire’s face. “We’ll find a minute.”

“Promise?” Claire grumbles.

“Promise. Or we’ll run away or something equally dramatic.”

“Deal.”

They walk slowly back to the house together, out of the heat and back into the cool, still living room. At the front door, they stop and turn to each other. Mia slips her arms around Claire’s waist. “Bye.”

“Bye,” Claire replies, just a touch sulkily. She wishes again that they had more time to wallow in this newfound security of finding themselves finally, out loud, on the same page.

Mia doesn’t move to leave, though. Instead, she pulls her in closer and rests her forehead against Claire’s. Breathing in slowly, Claire runs her hand up into Mia’s drying hair, aware that the minutes she should be spending getting ready for work are trickling away. But she doesn’t care. She doesn’t want to move just yet. Instead, they stand in the doorway, arms wrapped around each other’s waists, and stare at each other, wallowing in this first precious moment of mutual certainty.

Mia smiles and takes a deep breath. “So, you and me? Does this mean we’re…”

Or what Claire stupidly thought was certainty.

“Oh, Mia.” She throws her head back, rolls her eyes, and laughs. After all that, she has to ask?

“What?” Mia laughs, bashful, clearly completely aware why Claire is rolling her eyes.

Claire pushes out a weary, purposefully melodramatic sigh. “Clearly you need this spelled out for you, what we’re doing here, right?”

Mia nods, looking shy but maybe a bit mischievous too.

“I don’t want to put a label on it or anything,” Claire tells her, faux casual. “But in my head, from here we’re, like, an item.”

“An item?” Mia laughs and raises an eyebrow. “How quaint.”

Claire gives her a superior look. “Well, call it whatever you want, Mia. But considering you seem to be kind of lagging in catching on to this whole dating a lady department or even the whole knowing if she likes you thing, I’m going to explain what that actually means, okay?”

Mia nods, obedient, her eyes twinkling.

“For starters, this thing we have going, whatever it’s called, is going to involve hanging out a lot. A
lot
. Can you handle that, Mia?”

Mia pulls Claire a little closer to her. “I think so.”

“There’ll also be lots of making out, feeling each other up, getting naked.” Claire kisses her lightly and continues, “Then there’ll probably be some serious debate at some point over who gets to be the little spoon if we ever get to, you know, actually sleep in the same bed together again. By the way, it’s
me
, just so we’re clear, okay?”

“Um,
okay
.” Mia chuckles.

“You’re taller. It simply makes logistical sense.”

Mia rolls her eyes. “Okay, Claire.”

“Also, I’m probably going to tease you a lot about what a hot geek you are, pick on your nerdy ways. I’ll also get jealous of your friends and sulk when you don’t pay me enough attention, that kind of thing. And you,” Claire steps back and takes both Mia’s hands in hers, “are probably going to be really nice to me even though I’m a pain, because you are, like, ridiculously lovely. And you’ll probably also make me feel bad about being a pain by being generally awesome. Like, for example,” she runs her hands along Mia’s arms, “if you ever bring me flowers, you’d never bring me roses because you’re the type of person who will remember that I told you that one time that I hate roses. You remember that, don’t you, Mia?”

Mia laughs. “I remember.”

Claire raises her hands and gives her a look as if to say “see?” She goes on. “But you’ll also pick on me plenty in that nice but smart-ass way you do, so that I’ll know you’re completely aware that I’m a jerk, but also that you can’t help liking me.”

Mia nods. “Sounds about right.”

“So, in summary, I guess, whatever all that means to you, we’re doing that, okay?” Claire folds an arm around Mia’s neck and kisses her fiercely. “You up for it?”

Mia tips her head back and laughs. “Strangely, yes.”

###

E
ND
B
OOK
O
NE

T
HE
S
TORY
C
ONTINUES
I
N:

T
HE
S
UM OF
T
HESE
T
HINGS

C
OMING IN
W
INTER
2015

Thirteen-year-old Emily woke up one morning with a sudden itch to write her first novel. All day, she sat through her classes, feverishly scribbling away (her rare silence probably a cherished respite for her teachers). And by the time the last bell rang, she had penned fifteen handwritten pages of angsty drivel, replete with blood-red sunsets, moody saxophone music playing somewhere far off in the night, and abandoned whiskey bottles rolling across tables.  Needless to say, that singular literary accomplishment is buried in a box somewhere, ready for her later amusement.

From Melbourne, Australia, Emily was recently granted her PhD. She works part-time in academia, where she hates marking papers but loves working with her students. She also loves where she lives but travels as much as possible and tends to harbour crushes on cities more than on people.

Connect with Emily online:

Website:
www.emilyobeirne.com

Tumblr:
http://it-used-to-be-fun.tumblr.com/

Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/Emily-O-Beirne

www.ylva-publishing.com

Departure from the Script

Jae

ISBN: 978-3-95533-196-2 (mobi), 978-3-95533-197-9 (epub)

Length: 52,000 words (240 pages)

Aspiring actress Amanda Clark and photographer Michelle Osinski are two women burned by love and not looking to test the fire again. And even if they were, it certainly wouldn’t be with each other.

Amanda has never been attracted to a butch woman before, and Michelle personifies the term butch. Having just landed a role on a hot new TV show, she’s determined to focus on her career and doesn’t need any complications in her life.

After a turbulent breakup with her starlet ex, Michelle swore she would never get involved with an actress again. Another high-maintenance woman is the last thing she wants, and her first encounter with Amanda certainly makes her appear the type.

But after a date that is not a date and some meddling from Amanda’s grandmother, they both begin to wonder if it’s not time for a departure from their usual dating scripts.

Turning for Home

Caren J. Werlinger

ISBN: 978-3-95533-324-9 (mobi), 978-3-95533-325-6 (epub)

Length: 85,000 words (345 pages)

Like her mother before her, Jules Calhoon couldn’t wait to escape her small Ohio town. Unlike her mother, though, Jules couldn’t disappear forever. When she’s called back for her grandfather’s funeral, the visit unleashes a flood of memories and starts her on a lonely—and familiar—path.

Her partner, Kelli, feels Jules slipping away but can’t figure out how to pull her back. In desperation, she turns to Jules’s oldest friend—and her ex—Donna. The problem is, Donna never could figure out why her relationship with Jules ended so long ago, and she never stopped loving Jules.

When a lonely, confused teenager reaches out to Jules for help, the past and present are set on a collision course, igniting a chain of events that will leave none of them unscathed.

The Caphenon

Fletcher DeLancey

ISBN: 978-3-95533-254-9 (mobi), 978-3-95533-255-6 (epub)

Length: 165,000 words (374 pages)

On a summer night like any other, an emergency call sounds in the quarters of Andira Tal, Lancer of Alsea. The news is shocking: not only is there other intelligent life in the universe, but it’s landing on the planet right now.

Tal leads the first responding team and ends up rescuing aliens who have a frightening story to tell. They protected Alsea from a terrible fate—but the reprieve is only temporary.

Captain Ekatya Serrado of the Fleet ship
Caphenon
serves the Protectorate, a confederation of worlds with a common political philosophy. She has just sacrificed her ship to save Alsea, yet political maneuvering may mean she did it all for nothing.