Page 33 of August Heat
Siobhan came dangerously close to making that a reality. Not until she reopened her eyes and gave Krys a pout did her lover realize that a kiss was, indeed, beseeched.
There’s a five-dollar word right there…Krys was quite smug as she leaned in for that kiss.
They didn’t stop with one simple kiss. It wasn’t that kind of day.
Chapter 16
SIOBHAN
One of the signs hanging in the darkened windows was half blown out. The yellow signadvertising a popular local IPA couldn’t quite get all its words out anymore. The half that had blown out took out the important letters in CASCADE LOCKS and made it look like something completely different and tongue in cheek.
Yet another sign that Siobhan should probably not go inside. This wasn’t a place for her. She was too delicate, too sensitive to handle the kind of rowdy crowd that hung out at a dive bar on Friday night. Siobhan took a deep breath and turned around, prepared to return to her car and text Krys that she couldn’t make it.
She had withdrawn her phone from her back pocket when something else replaced it. Namely, a hand lightly tapping her ass.
“Hello, gorgeous.” Krys wrapped her arm around Siobhan before she had the chance to round on her assailant and give them what for.Just because I let you smack my butt in the privacy of your bedroom doesn’t mean you can smack my butt in a dimly lit parking lot!Yet how could Siobhan stay miffed at the woman nuzzling her cheek and calling her gorgeous? “You ready to go in? It’s wings night. Let me tell you, they ain’t too bad.”
“I… I thought you would already be in there.”
“Nope. Running a bit late because we had a call late this afternoon and I needed a damn shower. Some punk burned down another barn a few miles out of town.”
“That’s terrible!” Did that mean that the fire marshal’s suspicions of arson at the Longfellows’ farm were true? Did Paradise Valley have a fire bug on the loose? “But did you find a basket of bunnies or puppies this time?”
“Hon, if I had found such a thing, you’d be the first to know. As always.”
Krys kept her arm wrapped around Siobhan’s shoulder as they approached the bar. Tom Petty blasted from the speakers.The only thing I know about him is that he played onKing of the Hill. I think. Was that him, or Huey Lewis? Oh, God, I don’t know which is which.Would this be on a test later? Was karaoke expected at the lesbian dive bar?Straight people karaoke all the time… I can only imagine…
What did it mean if her extent of ‘80s music knowledge was focused on Tiffany, Heart, and not much else? Did knowing one song from the Bangles and Pat Benatar help?
“You look like there’s a ghost standing in the doorway.” Krys lowered her arm to open the door for Siobhan to step through. “Come on, Chev, it’s a bar, not a ritzy ballroom.”
I think I’d feel more at home in a ballroom…“I really don’t know much about these places.”
“What’s there to know?” Siobhan barely heard Krys over the blast of music, clacks of the pool tables, and rabble of voices coming from both the bar and the booths in the back. For every couple on a date, there was a small group of friends shooting the shit or challenging old, bitter rivals to a round of pool.Not a karaoke machine in sight…The strangest thing, of course, was the presence of men. A whole group of them sat in a corner booth. Construction, from the looks of it. ‘Twas the season of road and roof repairs, but Siobhan never expected to see them in a lesbian bar. Yet nobody paid them any mind, and the waitress bringing them wings and beer went as far as to shove her tray against her hip and brag that her favorite football team was gonna whoop theirs that upcoming season.
I don’t understand anything anymore…Siobhan kept her head craned around as Krys led her to the bar. Because heaven forbid they grab a booth and be allowed to hear each other over the racket.
If she thought she was about to be saved, she could have another think. Because once Lorri and Jalen caught sight of her, they waved them down and asked if they should move to a booth. Krys was the one who insisted they stay at the bar because, according to her, it was easier to hear everyone there.
Her friends may have found it strange that Krys and Siobhan were still dating, but they didn’t say anything. Nothing besides greetings, polite questions about her work and her aunt’s health, and that she was a pretty sight for sore eyes. Siobhan was certainly more “country” than the other partners at the bar, but that didn’t say much. When Jalen dated a literal Hollywood starlet and Lorri was attached to Paradise Valley’s own Susie Homemaker, all Siobhan had to do was put on a pair of sturdy boots to get called semi-butch.I know they’re joking, but it’s so weird they talk about these things… let alone right in front of me.Would Siobhan ever get used to it?
Right. She was here for Krys, who made it one of her missions to include Siobhan in everything. Sometimes, like tonight, she agreed. This was part of her self-improvement to go into town more often and socialize with people who weren’t named Gabriella O’Connor. Aunt Gabby loved it, of course. When Siobhan announced she was going out with Krys to the bar that night, Gabriella practically handed her a jacket and a condom.I don’t think she knows how this works…
The best thing everyone could do was not completely ignore her while also foregoing any forced interactions. Siobhan had a soft drink alongside her wings while Krys pounded back a beer and her friends drank more.Suspicions say she drinks more than that… when I’m not around.Did this mean Krys was putting on sober airs for her the new girlfriend? Or that she wanted to stay sober for the end of their date?
When would the date end? When they left the bar? Or would Siobhan once again find herself in front of Krys’s house, kissing her while fighting the temptation to head inside?Again?
Krys did have a nice, comfortable bed. Siobhan sank into it so easily that she turned into a true pillow princess for the first time since she could remember. She also embarrassed herself around Krys’s roommate, Lucas, when she stepped out to use the bathroom the next morning wearing nothing but one of Krys’s T-shirts. She had totally forgotten that Krys lived with anyone, let alone a guy!
But, if that were the most embarrassing thing to happen so far, she must not be doing too poorly. Their short relationship had already survived an emergency call for Krys during one date and one for Siobhan in the middle of a sleepover. Whether a car was overturned on the highway or a barnyard animal had fought off a cougar, they were well versed in the meaning of,“Sorry, got a call. Have to go.”
So far, it hadn’t presented too much of a problem. Krys said it helped that there were no wildfires. Yet. They still had to survive September.
“You know what?” Lorri pointed to Krys after they finished their dinners. “I think this is the first time the three of us have all had steady partners at the same time. I mean, you guys have been catching up to me for however many years, buuuuuut…”
“Oh, get over yourself, Lor.” Krys laughed. “We’ve always been dating. To some extent.” She cleared her throat for Siobhan’s benefit.
“Maybe you have, but Jay was the unluckiest person at getting more than one date with someone until that actress came along. That was around the time you had stopped dating altogether, so it was like the universe had spun on its head and no longer made any sense. To my humble, coupled ass, anyway.”
