Page 53 of Best Served Hot
Alex paused and then cocked her head. ‘Me neither. But I keep thinking about red pandas.’
Nicole was surprised into laughter. ‘What?’
‘I realise that wasn’t the best segue but go with it for a second,’ Alex pleaded charmingly.
Nicole was intrigued. ‘Uh, red panda, lemme think… Yeah, yes. I know them. I’ve seen pictures of them, anyway.’
‘Well, there’s about ten thousand of them left on the planet. And Ilovethem. I always have. I saw a picture when I was eight, and that was that, obsessed with them. This planet will never produce a more beautiful creature, as far as I’m concerned. Present company excluded.’
Nicole thought she might be the first person in history to blush to death.
Luckily, Alex didn’t notice and continued. ‘But I’m never gonna see one in real life. I’ve made peace with that. They live in China, and they’ll probably go extinct before I can get around to it. And it’s like… Meeting you? It was like I was walking along, certainly not thinking about red pandas, and one popped out in front of me. And I wasn’t even in China. I wason my street. It was impossible. And it happened. So what am I gonna do? Chase the red panda for a hug and make all my dreams come true? She’d outrun me for a start. They’ve got little legs, but they canbookit if they need to,’ Alex explained with a grin. ‘And even if Icouldkeep pace, she might get hurt trying to get away from me because she doesn’t know that my intentions are pure. She could run right into traffic or something. Bad idea. So I’m gonna wait and see what happens. And if the red panda wants to come to me and say hi, I’ll die happy. But ultimately, it’s her call.’
Nicole had never heard a sweeter thing in her life. ‘So, I’m a red panda?’
‘Correct. Meeting you and getting to know you underthesecircumstances and having you kiss me in that cupboard was a billion-to-one shot. And I’m not gonna be an idiot and try and chase you. I have to wait and see what you want to do. Because I’m not going to make anything happen that you don’tabsolutelywant to happen as well.’
Nicole's legs felt wobbly. She couldn’t think how to respond, so she took a different tack. ‘How fast can a red panda run? Out of interest.’
‘They can reach a top speed of twenty-three miles per hour,’ Alex told her without hesitation.
Nicole began to laugh. Alex was just too cute. ‘You’re the best,’ she sputtered, still laughing. Everything had seemed hard a minute ago. And now it was easy. It was the Alex effect.
‘I am?’ Alex smiled.
‘God, yes. Seriously. Being around you… It just feels good. I want you to know that. Whatever happens, you need to know that.’
Alex nodded, looking away, grinning. ‘I’ll certainly take that. And now I think I should give you some space. You should take the bed tonight.’
‘Most certainly not,’ Nicole told her flatly.
But Alex was on her feet, going to fetch the spare blanket. She walked back in, unfolding it. ‘Go on, get out of here. Let me make my bed up.’
Nicole stood and tried to take the blanket. ‘That’s mine. You can take your bed.’
But Alex didn’t cave. She kept a grip on the blanket.
‘Stop being so bloody stubborn,’ Nicole said, pulling.
Alex gripped tighter. They were officially playing tug-o-war with a fleece throw. ‘Cut it out. I’m not letting you take the sofa,’ Alex told her.
‘Alex! Just gimme this thing,’ Nicole said, trying to drag it away. It wasn’t a serious fight. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t invested in winning. ‘I demand you take the bed!’
Alex gritted her teeth. ‘Nicole! It’s not happening!’ She gave the blanket one good yank. Just enough to pull Nicole forward with force. They bashed heads slightly. ‘Ow!’ Alex cried, rubbing her forehead.
Nicole’s head was sore, but she ignored it. Without thinking about it, she reached up and took Alex’s face in her hands and pulled her down gently, kissing her booboo.
Alex looked at her, scared. ‘I don’t know what to do right now,’ she said.
‘The red panda is approaching you,’ Nicole told her.
‘She is?’ Alex asked almost fearfully.
‘She most certainly is,’ Nicole said and leaned in.
Alex met her in the middle. They dropped the blanket as they kissed. It would not be needed tonight because no one was gonna be on the couch.
Alex took Nicole’s hand and led her to the bedroom. Her first time with a woman. What would it be like? Would she be OK at it? More questions needed to be answered, but Nicole didn’t let them slow her down this time. It would all be OK. She was with Alex.
