Popcorn Love (41 page)

An image of Allison playing with Lucas flitted
through her mind, and a smile tugged at her lips. It definitely
might
be.

“Relax,” Macy said. “Before your face overheats and
explodes.”

Elena’s eyes fluttered open again. She swallowed and
smiled at Macy, who leaned over and nudged her with her elbow. “But
just so you know, if you
do
hurt her, I’ll have to come
after you, and I used to wrestle dingoes in Oz. So you would be
lucky to live to tell the tale.”

Elena started to laugh but fell silent and gaped when
Macy simply stared at her, serious as ever.

“Is that…are you being serious?”

Macy stared at her only a moment longer before she
grinned and shook her head. “Your face, love. That was
priceless.”

Elena inclined her head and pointed at the woman.
“You had me for a moment.”

“Americans think Australia is literally just a ton of
blokes in board shorts, shrimp on the barbie, and dingoes stealing
our babies or something. Thanks, Meryl Streep, for that last one,
even if it
was
based on a true story.” Macy barked out a
loud laugh. “So, it’s easy to pull one over on most of you.”

“I would imagine so. I would love to visit
Australia.”

“Alli wants to go too. I’m thinking of asking her
along after graduation.”

“Oh?” Elena was about to inquire for further details
when the lights in the bar dimmed considerably and the static
sounds of a woman tapping on a microphone distracted her.

“What’s this?” Elena glanced up at the stage.

Macy grinned and pointed to a very familiar blonde
walking onto the stage behind the woman at the microphone and
sitting down with an acoustic guitar. “Your date just arrived,” she
said, and Elena’s heart began to race.

“How’s everyone doing tonight?” asked the woman at
the microphone, and the patrons of the bar erupted into an echoing
chorus of hoots and hollers. Elena just barely registered that one
of those hooting people was Macy. She was so focused on Allison’s
long blonde hair pulled back in a low messy bun. It was incredibly
sexy and made only more so when paired with the radiant smile
stretched over Allison’s lips as she looked out on the bar
crowd.

“All right! That’s what we like to hear. We’re gonna
go ahead and get this open-mic night kicked off with one of our
regular performers. You all know her. You all love her. You all
can’t wait to buy her album when she finally decides to get her ass
into a recording studio!”

Elena smiled as she watched Allison chuckle and shake
her head as several in the bar cheered once more. Her heart’s
racing had yet to cease or even slow, and Elena’s entire body felt
electric. She had heard Allison play and even hum a bit once
before, but she had never actually heard her sing. She was on the
edge of her barstool.

“You’re in for a treat, love,” Macy said.

“Is this for me?” Elena asked and Macy only
winked.

She sucked in a deep breath and turned back to face
the stage.

The woman at the microphone had taken a moment to
remind everyone of half-priced pitchers at the bar before she
clapped her hands together and said, “All right, everyone! Give it
up for the one and only Allison Sawyer!” The woman then turned and
patted Allison on the shoulder before walking off the stage.

Once she was gone, Allison stood and reached for the
microphone stand. She wore a white button-up shirt, mostly open to
reveal a bit of her chest, adorned with a silver chain necklace,
and a bit of her lower stomach. The sleeves of her shirt were
rolled up above her elbows, and her dark jeans were practically
pasted to her flesh and tucked into black motorcycle boots. Elena
found her positively irresistible.

Allison pulled the microphone stand over to her chair
and lowered it so that the microphone hung right in front of her
when she sat back down. Once she was settled, she offered the crowd
an awkward little wave. “Hey everyone.”

Allison tapped her guitar. “I know I usually do a few
songs, but I’m only going to do one tonight, because I’ve got a hot
date waiting for me at the bar.”

The bar erupted in another round of hoots and
hollers, including a particularly loud one from Macy, who even
fist-pumped into the air.

“Yeah,” Allison said, grinning. “So, I’m gonna take
you back to 1999 with this one. I hope you guys like it.”

Allison began plucking at her guitar, a melody that
sounded familiar to Elena but a bit different on acoustic. Elena
completely forgot the guitar, though, when Allison actually began
to sing. Her voice was soft and even a bit raspy, and it blasted
right through Elena’s flesh and straight to her soul.

Mouth hanging slightly open, Elena stared up at the
stage, mesmerized. There was a natural effortlessness about
Allison’s singing that only added to the beauty of it, and it blew
Elena away.

Macy nudged Elena’s side with her elbow. “She’s
great, right?”

“She is magnificent.”

Allison put her own little spin on Tal Bachman’s
“She’s So High”, which only made it better in Elena’s opinion. It
was softer, slower, and somehow more romantic than anything, which
surprised Elena, given that the lyrics weren’t terribly deep. That
raspy lilt in Allison’s voice made it sound like a lullaby, gently
rocking Elena’s heart into submission.

“I think she might like you a bit there,
fancy-pants.”

Elena arched a brow at Macy. “I’m wearing jeans,” she
countered. “Hardly fancy.”

“Yeah okay.”

Smiling, Elena held a finger to her lips. “Shh. I’m
being serenaded.”

As Allison led into the chorus a final time, Elena
watched her close her eyes and sing the final bits of the song,
plucking her fingers expertly over the strings of her guitar until
the music faded into silence. The bar erupted in cheers as
Allison’s eyes fluttered open again. She smiled and nodded before
rising from her chair and making her way off the stage.

She disappeared behind a door just off from the
stage, and a moment later, Elena felt Macy tugging on her arm.

“Come on, love.”

“Where are we going?”

Macy called over her shoulder. “Alli reserved a table
for us.”

She led her around the bar to a table tucked into a
corner with hardly any view of the stage at all. Elena slid into
the small booth, and Macy took the seat opposite her. When the
waitress came around, Macy ordered two beers and Elena requested an
apple martini.

“Appletini,” Macy said. “You are
definitely
fancy.”

“I have a feeling you would say as much if I ordered
anything
other than a beer.”

“True.” Macy tapped her fingers against the table
top. “So, when is the wedding?”

“Pardon?”

“You and Alli.”

Elena smirked. “Very funny.”

“It’s only a matter of time.” Before Elena could
respond to the teasing, Allison’s shadow clouded over their
table.

“Allison,” she murmured, a gentle smile touching her
lips. She stood up quickly.

Allison grinned at her. “Hey.”

They stood a few inches apart, just staring at one
another for a moment, before Macy sighed. “Just kiss already,” she
said.

Leaning in, Allison planted a soft whisper of a kiss
to the corner of Elena’s mouth before pulling the woman into an
unexpected embrace.

Elena went willingly, wrapping her arms around
Allison’s waist and sighing into the embrace. It felt nice to be in
Allison’s arms again, even though it had only been a few hours
since they were last together. It seemed like much longer.

“What did you think?” Allison whispered into Elena’s
ear as they hugged.

“You were incredible. Thank you for singing to me.”
They slipped out of the embrace, and Elena kissed Allison’s cheek.
She then smiled and reached up with her thumb to wipe away the
evidence of her lipstick. “But I am not high above you, dear.”

“Yeah, actually, mate, it looks like she might be a
bit shorter than you if she took those monster heels off.”

They laughed as Elena and Allison slid into the
booth, Elena’s hand finding Allison’s under the table. Their
fingers laced together as they settled in, and Macy rolled her
eyes.

“You two and your lovey looks are gross.”

“Jealous,” Allison sing-songed.

“Agreed,” Elena said.

“Maybe a little,” Macy said, like it was an
admission.

The waitress arrived with their drinks, and Macy
handed one of her beers over to Allison. “So, Alli, you’ll be happy
to know that your lady here passed my test with flying colors.”

“Your test?”

“She hit on me,” Elena said, and Allison cracked
up.

“Did she call you ‘Elena-r’?” Allison asked.

Macy glared.

“I can’t help it, you arse!” Macy laughed as she slid
her moist hand from her sweating beer bottle and flicked the cold
water droplets at her best friend.

“She did, but only once,” Elena said. “She mostly
called me ‘love’.”

“Oh yeah,” Allison said. “She called me that a lot
when we first met.”

“But she didn’t like it,” Macy said. “She likes
‘mate’ better, so it’s been that for years now.”

“So, you two met at NYU?” Elena asked as she sipped
her martini. Both Allison and Macy nodded.

“And we’ve been inseparable ever since,” Macy
said.

“Pretty much.”

“That’s nice,” Elena said. “My best friend Vivian and
I are much the same.”

With Allison by her side, Elena felt incredibly at
ease, and she was quite pleased with how well she and Macy clicked.
There wasn’t an awkward moment the entire night, and Elena found
Macy charming and amusing, much like Allison. She could only hope
that Macy liked her as well.

* * *

Elena passed a wad of cash to the cab driver as the
taxi came to a stop in front of her house. Allison stepped out
first and reached for Elena’s hand to help her exit the
vehicle.

They walked silently toward the door, Allison’s pulse
racing and her skin prickling with the tense anticipation that
seemed to live in the air around them. She trailed a bit behind
Elena, led by the other woman as the fingertips of her right hand
barely dusted through the spaces between those of Elena’s left.

Elena pulled Allison into the house and down the
hall. Allison’s heart thundered in her chest as she followed Elena
into her bedroom.

The air felt electric as Elena opened the door to her
bedroom and, leaving the light off, pulled Allison inside. Their
free hands found their way together so that they were connected
like shy little girls on the verge of singing “Ring Around the
Rosy”.

They stood at the foot of Elena’s enormous bed, and
Allison could just make out Elena’s features as her eyes began to
adjust to the dark. Elena released one of Allison’s hands and let
her fingers trail slowly up the length of Allison’s arm, dusting
along her collarbone through her shirt, and up her slender neck to
rest around Allison’s cheek.

Elena took a deep breath and whispered, “I am so
crazy about you.”

Allison’s breath escaped her in a rush. “Really?” she
asked, her voice strained with the magnitude of all that she felt
in that moment. She was astounded by the way this woman could make
her feel so much with so few words, with a gentle touch, with a
quiet connection in a dark room.

Elena nodded. Her hand slipped down from Allison’s
cheek to rest on her chest, just over her heart. “And I think I
deserve this,” she whispered. “I think
we
deserve this.”

“This?” Allison asked, her own hands settling on
Elena’s waist.

“This,” Elena repeated, tapping her index and middle
fingers lightly over Allison’s heart. “Whatever this is.”

Allison swallowed, her breath coming out in a shaky
whisper. “Feels like…”

She hesitated as she searched for the right word. Her
throat felt like it was on fire, her eyes stinging just as horribly
as Elena’s, but for the first time in her life, Allison didn’t
fight the tears that sprang up and spilled over. They were soft,
like a release, because she wasn’t running. She was standing still.
Finally, she was standing still, and Elena was standing with her.
“Feels big.”

Elena’s eyes shimmered in the dark as the small bit
of light shining through the window caught them in fractured
movement. Allison’s fingertips slipped beneath the hem of Elena’s
shirt and danced across the flesh beneath. “You don’t think it’s
too fast, all of this?” she asked as she began to slowly lift the
garment, slipping it up the length of Elena’s torso.

“Yes,” Elena whispered, and Allison’s hands halted on
her flesh. “It feels fast, but it feels right as well, to
me
, at least.” She brought her own hands back to rest over
Allison’s just under her bra. “I am so tired of being afraid,
Allison.” She slipped her fingers under Allison’s and latched onto
her own shirt. She lifted it the rest of the way up and over her
head before letting it fall to the floor. “I’m so tired of being
afraid of reaching for something that I know I deserve, something
that I have denied myself for such a long time now.”

“Me too,” Allison choked out as Elena’s fingers then
slipped over the buttons of her shirt and slowly began to pop them
open, one by one. “I just…I’m not used to being…” Her voice cracked
as she let out a shaky breath. Her hands came up to cup around
Elena’s wrists and halt the other woman’s task. “Elena,” she
whispered. She hated the feeling of being vulnerable. She had hated
it her entire life, but, in this one moment, Allison didn’t care.
She could be vulnerable with this woman. She could be afraid. She
could be honest. She trusted Elena to remain. “I’m not used to
being wanted, not like this.”

“Like what?” Elena asked, turning her wrists in
Allison’s hands so that she could tangle their fingers
together.