“You want to play a game?” Juliet fidgeted with the frayed edges of the tablecloth.
“No.”
“Sleep?”
“No.”
“Do you want me to just stop talking so we can sit in silence and pout?” Juliet asked, nudging Sienna with her shoulder.
Sienna ignored her. “Why haven’t they come yet? It’s been too long. It’s been nearly two hours. Do you think something terrible happened?”
Juliet swallowed. Of course, those thoughts had been going through her head relentlessly, and she was sick with worry about Declan. But she couldn’t dwell on it or she’d go crazy. She had to believe that everything was fine, and everyone was working through the damage and would find them shortly. She had to.
“No, I don’t. Our doorknob broke off, maybe theirs did too. We could have a whole town of people trapped behind broken doorknobs.”
Sienna rubbed her arms as though she was chilled. “Come on, Juliet. I’m serious.”
Juliet slid closer to her. “I am too. I mean, obviously we’re not in the middle of a doorknob epidemic, but my point stands. There are a million reasons why no one has come yet. Maybe they’re out there helping people who are in real trouble. They’ll come.”
Every muscle in Juliet’s body tightened as Sienna closed the slight space between them. Juliet had no idea what was going through Sienna’s mind, but her own heartbeat kicked up a few notches. She closed her eyes as she felt Sienna’s head rest on her shoulder. She wasn’t sure how to react. The proverbial butterflies fluttered around in her stomach, but Juliet could easily write that off as part of their current situation. She convinced herself that Sienna just needed some reassurance. She was a warm, familiar body, and Sienna just needed to feel safe. In that vein, Juliet slid her arm out and tucked it around Sienna’s shoulder, pulling her closer. Sienna offered no resistance. They sat there for a few minutes, in total silence, while Juliet contemplated every breath she took. She didn’t want Sienna to move away.
Sienna sighed again but didn’t pull back. “Sometimes I think that I should just suck it up and be grateful for what I have. Isn’t that crazy? I’m blessed with more than I need, all that I want, and a stepson I love dearly. So what if my marriage is mediocre? Isn’t that how most people feel?”
Juliet’s eyes widened in the darkness. She wanted to tell Sienna that she was insane, that she deserved to be loved in every way possible, in a way that would fill her completely. Juliet’s own experience with women was checkered at best, but it didn’t stop her from wondering if Sienna could be the one to fill that void. She’d been in a few relationships that had crossed the one-year mark, but they never made it much further. She’d always concentrated on her son and her work, and if she had anything left to give, she’d fill the time with whoever she’d been seeing at that time, but no one wanted to be the person you spent time with if you didn’t have anything else to do. Even knowing who she was and how she’d acted in the past, things were different this time around. Aside from the fact that there was too much baggage and too many hearts involved. She needed to be satisfied with their friendship.
“No, I don’t think it is,” Juliet said instead. “You should be happy in your relationship. Mediocrity isn’t something to aspire to. I’ve had lots of mediocre relationships over the years. I promised myself a long time ago that I wouldn’t settle ever again. You should do the same. You’re worth more than that, Sienna.”
“Thank you, Juliet,” Sienna whispered. “That means more to me than you can imagine.”
Sienna pulled Juliet into a hug. Juliet responded, pulling Sienna tight to her chest. She closed her eyes and lost herself in the warmth of Sienna’s arms. Because this is what friends do.
Sienna pulled away slowly and resumed her position on Juliet’s shoulder. Juliet took a drink from her expired water and offered it to Sienna. Seemingly forgetting about the dirty urinal in the corner, Sienna also took a long sip.
“So, what are we doing wrong?” Sienna asked quietly. She sat up and made semicircles with her neck, loosening the muscle tightness that had probably developed from her position on Juliet’s shoulder.
Feeling Sienna more than seeing her, Juliet reached out and began massaging Sienna’s neck with her thumb and index finger. Sienna moaned in approval, which made Juliet shift a little.
“I don’t know.” Juliet figured they’d gone back to the relationship question. “I just assumed that since I’m sort of a fuck-up at anything to do with relationships, it’s me. I’m a good mom, and a good friend, but I’ve never been lucky in love, as cliché as that sounds.”
“I always wonder if I expect too much,” Sienna said. “I haven’t been with anyone but Will in a very long time. Maybe that fire and excitement and soul-consuming love that I long for only exists in youth. Maybe I’m yearning for something that I can never have, because it’s the stuff of romance novels, not real life.”
Juliet stilled her fingers. She let them fall slowly to the middle of Sienna’s back, where she turned Sienna toward her slightly. What am I doing, what am I doing, what am I doing? No answers came, but that didn’t stop her. Juliet brought her hand to Sienna’s cheek. She ran her thumb cautiously over Sienna’s jawline. “I think that, maybe…” she said, nearly choking on her words, “it is real.” She inhaled deeply and leaned forward, brushing her lips lightly against Sienna’s.
Sienna gasped lightly, taken by surprise. She didn’t push Juliet away, as Juliet’s chest pounded with about a million feelings. She covered Juliet’s hand with her own and tilted her head slightly, parting her lips in what Juliet took as an invitation. The heat within her rose as she explored the warmth and wetness of Sienna’s mouth. Sienna ran her tongue along Juliet’s bottom lip, teasing her into oblivion. Juliet moved forward again, sliding her hands underneath Sienna, pulling her up and forward so she was straddling Juliet’s lap, contact never broken. She felt Sienna grasp the back of her shirt, the material tightening around her midsection. It was messy and heated and desperate. For a moment, self-control became slippery. It had been so long since she’d been so consumed with anyone, and she forced herself to slow down and enjoy the moment.
She almost didn’t hear the voice from above until it grew frantically closer.
“Mom! Mom? Juliet Mitchell! Are you in here?” Declan’s muffled voice drifted down.
They broke apart immediately, but neither one of them moved. They stayed sitting in the same position as if time had stopped, as still as stone.