Page 22 of Now and Again

Riley shrugged. ‘Oh god, I wouldn’t know. My gaydar is terrible.’ Riley paused for a moment and then added, ‘Which is tough when you meet a girl you like.’

Juliet’s coffee cup slipped out of her hand and smashed onto the tile. Coffee splattered everywhere, some of it dribbling into the pool. ‘Oh shit!’ Juliet cried, jumping to her feet, trying to pick up the pieces of the broken cup. Riley got up too, putting a hand on Juliet’s shoulder. ‘Relax. Have you seen all these beer cans?’

Juliet looked around the pool at the massive mess that had accrued in the space of a few hours. The place was a pigsty. Juliet looked back shyly at Riley. ‘Yeah, I guess no one’s gonna notice.’

Riley checked around her to see that everyone had dribbled inside. She could distantly hear everyone chanting about shots. ‘Yeah, I don’t think anyone’s gonna noticeanythingthat happens out here,’ she said, with the merest hint of suggestion. She knew she was pushing it. She just needed a signal, and she was going for it.

She didn’t get it. Juliet, terrified a second ago, now looked a bit peeved. ‘Are you… Am I about to get hit with a bucket of pig’s blood here or something?’

Riley’s mouth dropped open. ‘W-what?’ she said through a shocked laugh.

Juliet’s face flushed. ‘Because I’mme. And I’mhere. And you’reyou. And this all seems too…’ Juliet looked away, mortified. ‘Never mind.’

Riley decided what she needed to do right now was cut through the talking. She’d kissed a few people in her time, but there had always been a sense of, ‘OK, so this is literally the only thing that can happen at this juncture, so let’s just get on with it.’ But when she went toward Juliet, it had more urgency than that. She didn’t just want to. Shehadto.

She leaned in and Juliet looked up at the very last second of approach. Riley had an idea she might be about to get a slap. But Juliet let her come that last, crucial inch, and Riley pressed her lips, ever so softly, to that wonderful mouth. Juliet kissed her back, just as softly. It was a sweet, tender kiss. Riley hadn’t had too many sweet kisses. None so intense, either. Riley was surprised to find she was having the best kiss of her life.

NOW

Riley realised she’d completely tuned out the dating show because somehow, two guys were having a huge fight about a girl they’d both picked, and Riley hadn’t seen any of the ramp-up to it. The first she knew, one of the guys was yelling, ‘You don’t even know her parakeet’s name!’ Riley skipped back to see how it had gotten to that. She’d missed about ten minutes.

She knew why she’d zoned out. She’d been thinking about that party and the kiss. That wasn’t a good idea. She and Juliet had only just agreed to be friendly. Thinking of their very hot kiss was definitely not a friendly thing to do.

But maybe the new accord was the reason her brain had trundled down this path in the first place. It had been so awkward; Riley had built a wall out of that awkwardness and hid behind it. But Juliet had just, however unknowingly, knocked quite a few bricks out of that wall.

But Riley really did have to stop thinking about that kiss. It was a long time ago, so there was every chance she was romanticising it anyway. It couldn’t have been allthat, could it? Because the thing was, Riley still kind of thought of it as the best first kiss she’d ever had with anyone.

But if she started getting all dreamy about their past, she’d fuck this truce before it had even started. She had to stop it. In a minute. After she’d just finished with what she had unconsciously started doing as she closed her eyes and slapped the laptop shut. She was almost there. Silly to stop this second.

Eleven

Juliet and Mia were in the pool. Juliet had her hands around the kid’s small waist, but there wasn’t a need. Mia was quite the little frog, paddling herself across capably and confidently. ‘That’s it, look at you go!’ Juliet called as the child swam along, laughing.

When they reached the other side, Mia said, ‘Hungry!’ and clambered up the ladder. The second she hit terra firma, she was making a break for the kitchen. Juliet got up behind her, grabbing a towel. ‘Mia, hang on!’

But the wet toddler was sprinting through the pool gate, across the grass. This was all Juliet needed. Mike doing another drop by and seeing a sopping kitchen floor. Juliet was still wary of him, even though she’d been there a while now and very rarely had contact. She didn’t know if he was avoiding her or if he was just never home. He did give off serious workaholic vibes.

Riley, though? She’d seen her a few times. They were polite with each other, but it wasn’t the forced politeness of before. It had a lot more ease about it. Though Juliet couldn’t say it was breezy because the past couldn’t be erased with one conversation.

‘Mia!’ she cried out as the kid reached the doors, ‘Freeze!’ Mia turned into a statue. This was a game that Juliet had taught her. Because if you just said ‘stop,’ she would gleefully carry on doing whatever it was she knew full well she wasn’t supposed to. Juliet caught up with her and towelled her dry while she stayed locked in position. As Juliet got to her feet, Mia whispered out of the side of her mouth, ‘Can I move?’

‘Not yet,’ Juliet said. ‘I’m just gonna lift this foot and dry it off.’ Mia let Juliet lift her feet as though she were a posable action figure. Once the undersides of her feet were bone dry, Juliet said, ‘Annnnd… Unfreeze!’

Mia was off and running, straight into the kitchen. She made a beeline for the fridge, which she could just about get open. ‘Can I have banana?’

‘Yes. No bananas in the fridge though. Makes them go funny,’ Juliet said, grabbing one from the bowl on the counter and starting to peel. ‘I’LL DO THAT!’ Mia said irritably. Juliet, only a few centimetres into peeling the first part, stopped immediately. ‘Sorry,’ she smiled and handed Mia the banana. She was glad Mia wanted to do things for herself. Even if she didn’t have the manners part down yet. But they were working on that. ‘What do you say?’ Juliet asked.

Mia, mouth jammed full of banana, said, ‘THANK YOU!’

‘Very good,’ Juliet said, ruffling her hair.

Riley walked in. ‘That looks nice,’ she said and took a banana from the fruit bowl. She began to eat, sitting down at the counter.

‘Nice,’ Mia agreed.

Juliet watched the sisters enjoying bananas together, and she noticed that they looked more alike than she’d initially realised. Same nose, same eyes, same chin. Which meant Riley was a promise in looks of what Mia would become. Juliet thought that was going to work out pretty well for Mia. Her older sister was even better looking than she’d been at eighteen. Those dark amber eyes held even more mystery. Her long hair was a little shorter now, but still wild and gorgeous, and her clothes, always well-chosen, hung on an even more curvy frame nowadays.

Juliet wondered if Riley was dating. She never saw her with anyone. But there was no reason she should. They had a crossover of about ten minutes at the end of the day if Riley came straight back from work, which she often didn’t. Whether that meant she was working late or having fun, again, Juliet couldn’t have said. They didn’t talk about their private lives to one another. It wasn’t the way things had shaken out between them. Probably for the best. It was a way to keep the past in the past.

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