Mia stirred sugar into her cup of Earl Grey, enjoying the fragrant steam that wafted her way. Sky sat on the couch, scrolling through her phone listlessly. She’d gotten more erratic as of late, tenser, as if she expected a tripwire around every corner.
Mia had asked her a couple of times if she was okay, to which she got a gruff “Fine” every time. It hadn’t been until Mia looked at the calendar and a certain date stuck out—April seventeenth—that she realized what was coming up.
Next week would be the anniversary of Jamie’s death.
She’d been around for the one-year anniversary of Sky’s sister’s death, and those disquieting days wouldn’t leave her if she tried. Sky would get more and more withdrawn. After all their time apart, the heavy cloud of depression that descended during these days hadn’t changed. Guilt pulsed through her at all of the years she should’ve reached out to Sky during this month. Instead, she’d gotten so self-involved, so hell-bent on escaping her mom that she’d left Sky behind.
The cool spring air swept in from the balcony, bringing the fresh scent of magnolias and blossoming cherry trees. As much as Sky might want to shut her out, and maybe she deserved the closed door, the woman needed someone right now.
Mia sat on the couch beside her and plucked the phone from Sky’s hands.
Sky let out a noise of protest. “What was that for?”
“You’ve been losing yourself in the thing for the past hour, so why don’t you take a break? Grab a blanket. We’re going to sit on the balcony and enjoy the beautiful night.”
“Maybe I was in the middle of an in-depth conversation,” Sky shot back. A second later, she pushed up from her seat. “Or that could be a lie and boredom took over.” She glanced at Mia’s steaming mug. “If we’re sitting outside, I’m grabbing tea too.”
“See you out there,” Mia said, stopping to snag one of the cozy blankets from the futon. She stepped out onto the concrete balcony, and Shelley and Byron approached to greet her, weaving between her legs. Her hands were too full for pets, but once she set the tea on the small glass table and spread the blanket out, she skimmed her fingers through the fur of Byron who’d come to nestle by her.
Out past the balcony lay a fringe of trees and tall buildings further past, but beyond all of that, the sky was clear, featuring a canopy of stars. The delicate fragrances swept her way, swirling through her like fresh hope, and she couldn’t help how her heart lurched as she stared into the distance, all the crystalline light so far away. It reminded her of this dance between her and Sky, powerful, intense, yet untouchable.
Every time she tried to grasp at what this connection between them meant, she found herself scooping up air, and she didn’t know how to change that. Mia sucked in a deep breath.
One day at a time.
She’d always been soaring down the highway toward her future at a hundred miles an hour, but where had that gotten her? She’d wasted years with Derek and squandered plenty of friendships back home by throwing her full focus into her Seattle group. The one thing she didn’t regret was distance from her mother. Taking the time away from Carol Brownstone had given Mia a chance to breathe and figure herself out.
Mia took a sip of her tea, the warm liquid rolling through her body like a kiss.
The soft pad of footsteps came from the sliding door, and Sky stepped out, dragging a chenille blanket and holding a mug of tea. Sky paused for a moment to stare ahead of her.
“Damn, it is pretty tonight, though a little colder than I expected.” She strode over to where Mia sat, and seconds later, she settled beside her, popping her porcelain mug on the same table. Sky brought the soft blanket around both of their shoulders, and Mia leaned in against her.
“Lucky for me, I’ve got you to cuddle with,” Mia said, snuggling in closer.
Sky wrapped an arm around her with a possessive grip that made Mia’s stomach curl with warmth. “Lucky for me, I’ve got a best friend who knows when I’m sinking and drags me out anyway.”
Mia’s cheeks flushed. Apparently, she wasn’t as crafty as she thought. “Sometimes you just need a little push.”
Sky pressed a kiss on the top of her head. “And you’ve always been the one to give it.”
“Remember when we used to go camping in your backyard?” Mia asked, knowing she kicked right into a subject Sky might recoil from. “You, me, and Jamie would sit there thinking we were so damn cool telling lame-ass horror stories and downing way more sugar than we ever should’ve. We’d spill out of the cramped tent and spread our sleeping bags on the grass to look up at the stars, just the way they are tonight.”
Sky’s shoulders tensed, but a soft sigh came from her lips, skating over Mia’s skin. “Those were amazing nights. Makes you wish we could go back to them, even for a little bit.”
Mia wove her fingers through Sky’s, bringing her hand up to press a soft kiss to it. “I miss her,” she murmured.
Silence followed, but Mia expected as much. She needed Sky to know, to understand she hadn’t forgotten about Jamie. The younger Jenkins sister had been the polar opposite of Sky—all pluck with a bright personality that made the world glitter around you. She’d also been annoyingly optimistic and used to piss them off so bad with her constant series of pranks.
“Fuck, I miss her too,” Sky mouthed out at last, her voice hoarse. “Every damn day.”
Mia squeezed Sky’s hand entwined with hers. “I know I was off being a garbage friend in Seattle, and I should’ve reached out. But every April, I remembered.”
Sky’s legs sprawled out around her, and Sky clutched to her like the cords of a parachute mid freefall. Mia nuzzled against her, knowing how much the woman needed the affection right now, even if she’d never ask.
“What do you think Jamie would’ve thought about this whole arrangement?” Mia asked. Talking about Jamie should’ve hurt more, but being with Sky and reminiscing like this? All she could remember were those beautiful memories the three of them had shared.
Sky snorted. “The initial response would’ve been ‘ew,’ because you were like a sister to her too. No one wants to imagine their sibling getting down and dirty with one of their best friends.”
Sky rested her chin on Mia’s head, something she’d started doing ever since they’d kissed. Honestly, how right it felt made Mia a little faint around the edges. Mia held onto Sky’s arms wrapped around her, basking in the warmth between them and the scent of Sky mingling with the sweet fragrances of a spring night.
“But,” Sky continued, her tone dropping an octave, “she would’ve been thrilled. Jamie was the only one who knew I had a crush on you back in high school.”
“God, I wish I hadn’t been so blind in high school,” Mia mumbled. “Who knows what might’ve happened if we’d gotten together back then. I wouldn’t have gone to Seattle, that’s for sure.”
Sky’s thighs surrounded her, reminding her how good bare skin felt pressed against hers. Fuck, she’d become obsessed.
“Maybe we’d be together, or maybe we would’ve fucked it all up,” Sky said. “I might’ve known I was a lesbian by the ripe age of eleven when every single crush was on another girl, but not everyone figures themselves out as fast. Besides, we weren’t in a super gay-friendly school—I was one of the only out kids there, so what other comparisons did you have? Freddie and Jason?”
“Still sucks,” Mia muttered, even though her chest stirred at the understanding Sky offered. Honestly, Sky had been nothing but understanding from the moment she returned home, but something had grown off-kilter between them. Like some dam in Sky needed to burst, but the woman had walled off her pain for too many years for even a trickle to push through. “If you’re mad about me leaving then, you know I can take the truth, right?”
Sky shrugged. “Ever consider I dropped off for my own reasons? I can’t get mad at you unless I’m going to get mad at myself too.”
Mia let out a low huff. “You are a stubborn ass, Skylar Jenkins.” One day she’d be able to pry out the answers from her best friend.
“Back atcha, Mia B,” Sky responded, her voice husky and teasing. That tone always did something to her, a tingle down her spine, like bottled sex.
“Well, I guess we’ll have to make up for all our lost time,” Mia said, pulling away from Sky to turn around and face her.
Sky sat before her, legs wide open in those basketball shorts that’d be far too easy to pull off. The soft breezes rolling through swept the woman’s short hair to the side, and her eyes were the puppy-dog vulnerable that sent Mia tripping head over heels.
Mia approached in front of her on her hands and knees until she slipped her palm beneath Sky’s shirt.
“You’re insatiable, babe,” Sky said, her eyes crinkling at the edges as she let out a laugh. “Up here?”
Mia offered her a half-smile. “Fucking you under the stars on this gorgeous night? I couldn’t think of anything better.” She met her eyes, her expression turning serious for a moment. “Life’s moving on, whether we like it or not, and we’ve got new memories to make, beautiful.”
Sky’s features sobered for a moment, and Mia hesitated, worried she’d crossed a line. However, a second later, Sky grabbed the front of her shirt, hauling her forward to meet her lips in a crushing kiss.
I love you. I love you. I love you.
The words bubbled to her lips again and again, but she never managed to get them out. Instead, she sank into Sky’s kiss, caressing her with lips, tongue, and teeth, until they lost themselves in one another.
The stars shone overhead in the night sky, silver, remote, and delicate. Yet as she surrendered to the waves of heat and pleasure with Sky, her body floating higher and higher, maybe those distant stars had grown closer than she’d believed after all.