Page 4 of She Came Upon A Midnight Clear
“Hey, Kathy,” she says, “your wife has been looking for you. She’s over by the bar.”
“Oh, crap,” the drunken Kathy murmurs as she lets me go and makes her way across the room.
“Thanks,” I tell Dru. “I think she’s had a little too much to drink.”
“Yeah, a lot of people here have. You okay? I saw her hands all over you and, well, let’s just say her reputation precedes her.”
“No, I’m good,” I say, and I can hear the hesitance in my own voice. But it’s not about the drunken Kathy hitting on me. It’s that seeing Dru right here in front of me, acting like my knight in shining armor, has my knees going weak.
“I’m really sorry about that. Honestly, it pisses me off, but she’s one of our biggest donors. I hate that I’m dependent on people with too much money to keep this place going, but that’s the nature of running a rescue.”
“You don’t have to be sorry. It wasn’t your fault. Anyway, um, change of subject?”
Dru smiles, and god, I’ve forgotten how strong and white her teeth are. And those dimples. Jesus fucking Christ.
“Yeah, sure,” she says. “Why don’t you tell me what you’ve been up to? Are you living here in Sonoma?”
“No, I’m up north. I’m a university librarian at UC Davis.”
“Ah, cool. I remember you were getting your Master’s at San Francisco State when you and Marcy were roommates. How do you like it up there?”
“It’s fine, I guess. I’ve been there for two years, and my co-workers are nice enough people, but it just doesn’t feel like home to me, you know? Not that San Francisco was ever home for me—I was only there for school. The City is just too relentlessly urban for me.”
“Yeah, I get it. Oakland never felt like home for me. I moved there because, well, all the lesbians in the tech industry in the Bay Area were moving there. But I realized pretty quickly that I don’t like living in a city.”
“And now you’re here, in the country. I envy you. This place is pretty incredible.”
“Isn’t it?” Her eyes light up, reminding me how the color shifts from brownish-gold to green. Not that I should be remembering anything about her eyes. “My grandparents left it to me—not long after the last time I, uh, saw you.”
My cheeks go warm at the memory of that forbidden kiss. The way we sort of came together almost as if we were liquid, made from the ocean. How she leaned down and her lips touched mine. Gently, at first, then she pressed closer and I melted all over as we sort of…merged.
I hear bells ringing, and the moment I come out of my daze I realize it’s the DJ, and Dru is bending toward me, one hand braced on the wood pillar behind me.
She whispers, “Mistletoe,” and points upward before she kisses me.
2
Dru
How are her lips so soft? Even softer than I remembered. She’s kissing me back, and fuck, my body is on fire.
I raise my hand to hold her cheek—I can’t seem to help myself—and she opens her lips under mine and leans into me. I don’t even know how long the kiss goes on before I realize I’m in my place of business and all of my staff and donors are probably in this room right now.
When I pull back, Evie’s face is flushed. I’m certain mine is, too. But God damn, the chemistry is off the charts. Just like it was six years ago. Only now I don’t have a recent ex living in her apartment to get in the way.
She blinks up at me, her long lashes coming down over her big gray eyes, and I notice she still has that little sprinkling of freckles I’ve always found so fucking adorable.
Which is why I’d felt so guilty after that holiday kiss. I wasn’t supposed to be lusting after my ex-girlfriend’s roommate—even though Marcy and I had broken up two months earlier—but the attraction had been instant. Undeniable. I’d thought about herway too much when I was dating Marcy, and even more after we’d kissed. And it was no different now, except now there was no reason not to take it further.
Unless…
“Evie, I—I’m sorry. I should have asked, or…”
“No, it’s okay,” she says, a small smile on her lips. Lips I want to kiss again.
“Please tell me you’re single and I didn’t overstep anyone’s boundaries,” I say with a groan.
She laughs. “Yes. Very much single.”
