Unrequited

Welcome back! This is part two of five. If you haven't read part one yet, you should do that first, or you'll be lost. All characters involved in explicit scenes are, of course, over eighteen.

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Unrequited, Part Two

"No, that's what I wore when I met her at the club."

"The blouse and the slacks?"

"Yeah."

Sally hung my ruby red blouse back up in my little closet. There were a couple of what Sally called 'possibilities' strewn on the bed.

"And you have no idea what you're doing after?"

"Nope. Not a movie. That's all."

"Hm. Okay, so probably something you can move in." Sally rummaged for a moment. "I think we should stick with a really nice pair of jeans. Except, of course, you don't own any really nice jeans."

I harrumphed. "Yes I do."

Sally stepped back into the room. "Fine. Get your best pair." Her arms were crossed in disbelief, so I jumped up and went to my dresser. I thumbed through my jeans drawer and pulled out my favorites.

"These."

Sally scrunched up her nose. "Put them on, let me see."

I slipped out of the work khakis I was wearing and pulled on the jeans. .

"See? They're good." I turned in a circle. Sally and I had been doing this for over a decade, with Sally constantly bemoaning my personal sense of style.

"Bethy, no. And geez, those really are the best you have, aren't they?"

"Why? What's wrong with them? They're cute."

"Maybe they were. But now they're faded, and not in a good way, and this." She walked over to me and pinched a bit of extra material in the seat.

"Hey!"

"They're baggy. You've got a great butt, Beth. You need jeans that show it off, not cover it up." Sally put her hands on her hips. "OK, so, shopping."

"Sal, it's after eight."

"Not tonight. Thursday. And the hair, too, if we have time. We're going to knock this girl's socks off."

"She already knows what I look like, Sal."

"But you want her to know you tried. That you made an effort to look your best for her, right? I mean, if you want to show up in a ratty T-shirt and baggy old jeans it's your call, but..." Sally shrugged.

I whined for a few more minutes before acquiescing. I went into the kitchen and put what was left of my cashew chicken into a container for my lunch tomorrow while Sally plopped down on the couch. I tossed her a fortune cookie as I sat down in my comfy chair nearby.

Usually I sat next to Sally, increasing my chances of touching her or her falling asleep on my shoulder. But those were exactly the things I was trying to put the kibosh on, so I felt distance was a good thing.

"So, tell me about this girl." If Sally thought it was strange I wasn't sitting with her she didn't show it.

I shrugged. "I told you she's a therapist. Oh, I can show you a picture." I pulled up Kayleigh's professional bio from her practice's website. "Here." I handed Sally my tablet.

"Wow, she's pretty."

"She's wearing makeup there, so you can't really see her freckles, which are so cute, and you can't really appreciate how green her eyes are from that picture." I took my tablet back, catching myself gazing at Kayleigh's face. Kind eyes, professional smile. That's not exactly the way she looked at me. Then there was a shine in those eyes, a nervousness in her smile.

"Bethy!" I snapped back to reality, looking over at Sally, who was grinning at me from ear to ear. "You're really crushing on this girl!" Her lip quivered a little and she grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet before wrapping me in a hug. "I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks." My mind was roiling. Sally wasn't that physically affectionate, and I didn't get a lot of full contact Sally hugs, but when I did they were the greatest things in the world. I was hyper aware of her body, her breasts pressed against mine, the skin of her neck soft on my cheek. She smelled so good, her hair tickling my nose.

No! Shit! What the hell was I doing? I made myself pull away. Sally was still smiling innocently, while I pretended not to be breathing heavily. I glanced at the clock, which showed it being almost nine.

"So we're shopping Thursday?"

Sally nodded. "And we're going to make you look amazing. "

"Okay, it's a date." I made a point of turning towards the clock. "It's getting late, Sal."

She followed my eyes. "Oh wow, yeah, I got to get home." She grabbed her purse. "Meet you here at six, Thursday. Okay, love you, bye."

"Night, Sal." As soon as I closed the door behind her I leaned against it and shut my eyes. A deep cleansing breath followed, while I repeated a mantra. I'm going out with Kayleigh; I wanted to be with Kayleigh. A few seconds later my phone chimed. My eyes rolled, wondering what Sally had forgotten.

I picked up my phone and felt a rush of guilt.

Kayleigh -

Hey, beautiful, how was your evening?

I felt like I'd been caught cheating. But I hadn't been. Sally was part of my life and I needed to find a balance. I needed to not get so worked up over this. I mean, we hadn't even been on a real date yet. It had been just one crazy night of sex. Amazing, mind blowing sex, but just sex. We may not even get along as a couple. OK, pressure's off. Yeah, right.

Me -

Not too bad, better now.

Kayleigh -

What happened?

Me -

I'm talking to you and my best friend just left.

Kayleigh -

Something happen?

Me -

No, but she determined I have no suitable clothes to wear on our date Friday. She's making me go shopping. *Salvador Dali horror face*

Kayleigh -

Remind me to thank her.

:P

Me -

Brat

Kayleigh sent back a big smiley emoji. Suddenly I really wanted to hear her voice. I closed the text string and pulled up my favorites. Yes, I'd already put her in my favorites.

She answered immediately. "Hi!"

"Hi. My thumbs were getting tired."

"Are you not much of a texter?"

"I do, of course, but, I mean, if I'm going to have a real conversation with someone, I'd rather actually talk to them." I sat down and pulled my knees up to my chest. "I guess that's not very millennial of me, huh?"

"It's sweet. Old-fashioned."

I laughed. "God, when did talking on a cell phone make me Great Aunt Tessie?"

"2007. Get with the times."

"Hey!"

Kayleigh giggled. God, I love that sound. "You're so much fun to tease."

"I'm glad I amuse you. I'd fire back but I was taught to respect my elders."

"Am I really older than you?"

"Your bio online says you're thirty, right?"

"Yeah, I turned thirty in April. You?"

"Twenty-eight in November, on the thirteenth."

"God, I'm robbing the cradle."

We ended up talking for over an hour, right up until I climbed into bed. I shook my head. First time I'd thought about her since Kayleigh and I had started talking. I heard a loud yawn from the other end of the phone.

"I think someone needs to get to bed."

Kayleigh sighed. "Yeah, full day tomorrow."

I smiled into the phone. "Me, too. I had a nice time, you know, just talking."

"Me, too. Did I tell you I'm looking forward to Friday?"

"You might've mentioned it." God, why couldn't I stop smiling? "Once or twice. And you're not the only one. Good night."

"Good night, Bethany."

I made myself close the call before flopping back onto my pillows. She was amazing. Easy to talk to, funny, and so, so sweet. In fact, the only person in my life that was as easy to talk to was Sally. But that wasn't quite true. With Sally I always had to be on guard, never revealing my true feelings. But I kind of had to hide that from Kayleigh, too. I mean, who wants 'I love this other person, but you'll do as a Plan B'? Kayleigh wasn't a Plan B, she deserved better, way better. Not for the first time, I promised myself I'd try to give that to her. It took me a long time to get to sleep that night.

*****

Thursday's shopping trip was a complete success, according to Sally at least. I came home with two new pairs of jeans, which, I have to admit, looked way better on me than anything I owned. A little tight, maybe, but they moved well and really hugged my curves perfectly. The top took a little longer, but we finally settled on a burnt orange wrap-around blouse with elbow wing sleeves.

I stared at myself in the mirror as Sally stood back, voicing her approval. "Oh, heck, yeah."

It showed a decent amount of cleavage, and I turned slightly to look at my profile. "It's not too much?"

"No sweetie, it's not. It's time to weaponize those things."

I blushed. "Stop it." At the same time, though, I pushed my arms together a little, deepening the effect of the blouse. I remembered how much Kayleigh had said she liked my breasts.

"Beth, do you have any idea how many girls would kill for your curves? You put me to shame."

I looked at my best friend in the mirror and quirked up the corner of my mouth. It was true I was bigger, but Sally hadn't been cheated in the boob department. Or the nice ass department, or the hourglass figure department, or the, well, you get my point.

"It's not bad, but I'm not beautiful like you."

Sally grabbed me by the shoulder and turned, dialing up her sternest eyes and voice. "Bethany Houser, you are a strong, intelligent, gorgeous woman, and this girl would be nuts not to fall for you on the spot. Especially in that outfit."

"I...uh,". Lava flowed through my cheeks as I tried to dissemble. "No..."

"No, you are. Do you have any idea how many hearts you've broken over the years?"

I sat down on my bed. "None of them wanted me."

"The hell they didn't."

My eyes went wide. That was about as close to swearing Sally ever got.

"Leaving out all the disappointed boys, there was Abigail at SLU. She mooned after you for two years, and you never gave her the time of day."

"Abi never..."

Sally cut me off. "Oh. My. God. She did. It was pathetic. And Trinity. She was devastated when you broke up. Erin, Frankie..."

"Frankie broke up with me, remember?"

Sally didn't soften her stern look, just continuing in that firm, annoyingly reasonable tone of hers. "Because you shut down on her. It was so obvious, every time I saw you two she was working so hard to build a connection. And you pushed her away."

My head was hanging, tears burning in my eyes as Sally sat down next to me, putting her hand on my knee. I usually reveled in any chance I got to touch Sally, but this time I felt so conflicted. Part of me wanted to grab Sally and kiss her, just like always. The other part of me was just angry. Angry that I couldn't control myself around Sally, that she had this power over me, and angry that she had no idea how desperately hard it was for me to be around her, but at the same time how much I wanted it.

"So, tomorrow, try, for me, OK? Open up, really be yourself?"

I pushed my warring emotions down, feeling suddenly exhausted. "Yeah, I will, promise." Sally's face said she wasn't sure she believed me. "Really, I will."

"OK. Well, I'm going to go home." Sally stood up, and I forced out a smile.

"I'll call and give you the details, promise."

"You better. And have fun, OK?"

I nodded and she left. After dressing for bed I flopped down on my mattress and pulled my covers up to my neck. I rolled towards my bed stand, checking my alarm clock, and making sure my phone was charging on it stand. As I touched it it buzzed. A smile spreading across my face as I saw the text.

Kayleigh -

Goodnight, Bethany. I can't wait for tomorrow. *kissing emoji*

Me -

Me, too. Sleep tight.

After setting the phone down I pulled my second pillow to me and hugged it to my chest. With any luck, in twenty-four hours it would be Kayleigh in my arms as I fell asleep, and that thought made my soul purr in happiness.

*****

I made myself get up early, and I was at work by seven. The nice thing about that, being on salary, is that you could duck out early if your work was done, and I was able to beat a hasty retreat by quarter 'til four. Half an hour later I was standing in my bathrobe, staring at myself in the mirror as I pulled the rollers out of my hair. I turned to the side appreciating the extra bounce in my natural waves. I'd let it grow out, and it was down to the middle of my shoulder blades. The color was just my natural medium brown, my highlights from the spring having long faded, and I cursed at myself for not taking the time to get to the salon for more. Dark brown eyes stared back at me. They were pretty enough, like Jennifer Ehle's.

My mother, my sister, even Sally, had always told me I was pretty, but spending my life next to my best friend had always made me feel a bit plain. Whenever we were at parties or straight bars together she got lots of attention. The only time I got talked to was when someone was wing-manning for a friend. Obviously I wasn't jealous of the male attention, but it did teach me something about the pecking order.

But away from Sally, I'd always done OK, especially with other girls. Kayleigh found me attractive, and that's really all that matters, right?

I sat down at my little vanity, which had been a present from my grandmother when I got in my apartment. Apparently every young lady needed one. I know Nat still uses hers.

Foundation, lipstick, eye shadow, and mascara, using the light touch my mom had taught me, my face seem to light up in the mirror.

I pulled on the jeans Sally and I had bought and wrapped my new top around myself. The bra I'd chosen gave me nice lift, and I knew Kayleigh's eyes would go wide at the decent amount of cleavage I had going on. I admired my jeans in the mirror, a trim waist and a nice round butt. I looked good. I did. And I couldn't wait to see Kayleigh, to hold her hand, to just be near her again.

I stopped to pick up flowers on my way. I wasn't sure about it, the old fashioned-ness of it, but my heart told me it was the right move.

Kayleigh lived in a cute little development of two-story condos. I parked along the street, double and triple checking the address. I started up the driveway, clutching Kayleigh's flowers tight to my chest.

I stepped onto a welcome mat decorated with vines and frogs. I took a few deep breaths and pressed the doorbell.

"Just a sec!"

I relaxed a bit, as that was clearly Kayleigh's soprano voice. I heard the door latch click, and there she was.

I could feel my eyes widen as I took her in. She was wearing a pink summer dress that fell loosely to her knees. The halter-top framed her modest bust perfectly. She was a vision.

I swallowed heavily and held out the flowers, trying desperately to be suave. Kayleigh's eyes lit up, which tempered my nervousness.

"Are those for me?" A bright smile spread across her expressive mouth.

I manage to nod. "Yeah."

"Aww, they're beautiful." She cocked her head to the side, her bright green eyes meeting mine. She dropped her gaze, taking me in. "And you're breathtaking." She lingered a moment on my cleavage, just like I'd hoped.

"Come in, let me put these in some water before we go." Kayleigh turned and retreated into her home, and I stepped shyly after her. Kayleigh's place just felt, well, warm. There were pictures on the walls, shelves with knick-knacks, paint and furniture done in browns and tans, with bright splashes of color everywhere.

"I like your place."

Kayleigh smiled. God, she was adorable when she did that. "Thanks. Can you get me the vase from off that shelf?"

I turned around and scanned the contents there. There were two pictures, one of a young, East Asian woman in a wedding dress standing next to a tall, ginger haired white man in a tux. The other featured four people standing in front of a scenic background of huge trees decked out in their autumn finery. In the latter I recognized Kayleigh right away, along with her brother, whom I'd met at the fair. I was guessing the other two were her sisters.

"Bethany?"

I jerked out of my reverie. "Oh, sorry, here." I handed her the vase as she looked over my shoulder to see what I've been staring at.

"My mom and dad, and brother and sisters."

"I thought so. Looks like a nice family."

Kayleigh filled the vase with water, pouring in the plant food packet. "Yeah, I got really lucky."

I watched as Kayleigh snipped the ends off the stems and arranged them just so in the crystal vessel. Just seeing her move was lovely. She stepped back against me and I couldn't help myself from slipping my arms around her. She didn't shy away from the contact.

"They really are beautiful, Bethany." She leaned her head back and kissed my cheek. "I can't remember the last time I got flowers. Thank you."

My skin tingled where her lips had been, and I pulled her a little tighter. "You're very welcome. Would you like to go to dinner now?"

"Absolutely. I'm starving." She grabbed a small bag and we headed out.

When she'd shut and locked the door behind us her hand slipped into mine, natural as breathing, as we walked down to my car. I opened the door for her, earning another sweet smile. As I went to the other side I thought that I could get very used to those.

She looked at me as I climbed into the driver's side. "So where are we going?"

"Bonefish Grill? I've never been there."

"Oh, Yum. Do you do spicy?"

"Not like, melt your face spicy, but yeah."

"Awesome. We're getting the Bang Bang Shrimp then."

"I saw those on their website. It looked amazing."

"It is, best reason to go to Bonefish. Have you been to Ocean Shores?"

"Is that a restaurant?"

Kayleigh giggled. "I'll take that as a no. It's in Creve Coeur. It's great, a really big menu. I'll take you there next time. "

I looked aside at her. "So you think there's going to be a second date already? I haven't even had a chance to screw this one up yet."

Kayleigh laughed and grinned at me. "I have faith in you." She reached out and put her hand in mine, and I immediately opened my palm to accept the gesture. Her skin was warm and soft in my grip, and I could feel energy radiating up my arm from her touch.

I glanced over, meeting her gorgeous green eyes for a moment before turning back to the road.

She gave my hand a squeeze. "So, what are your favorite restaurants?"

I was stunned by the question. How could she ask something so normal with the magic happening through her touch? I managed to recover with a coherent answer.

"I'm a bad person to ask. I don't go out to eat much, except with Sally, and she's not much of a foodie."

"That's too bad."

"Yeah, with the exception of Indian food she'd be happy to stick with a rotation of Applebee's to Chili's to Red Robin and back." I gave myself a mental shake and vowed not to bring up Sally anymore for the rest of the evening. "I'd like to try new places, though. You look beautiful, by the way. "

Kayleigh blushed, making her freckles stand out more vividly on her naturally tan skin. God, she was cute.

"You do, too." Her smile filled me with warmth, and we went hand-in-hand the rest of the way

We got to the restaurant about five minutes before our seven o'clock reservation. The seating hostess told us it would be a few minutes and handed us one of those signaling devices, so we headed outside and away from the crowded lobby.

A family was occupying a bench nearby, and their buzzer went off just as we passed, so I grabbed their spot as they left, looking up at Kayleigh in invitation as I sat down.

I let my gaze linger on her lithe body as she turned to sit, and I was still gazing at her when our eyes met, making her grin and blush.

"What?"

"Kayleigh, have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?"

The red in her cheeks deepened as she looked down. "Yes." Her hands were folded in her lap, ankles crossed like a proper lady.

"Kayleigh?"

"Yes, Bethany?" She raised her eyes, and I placed my hand on hers.