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It wasn’t the kind of crowd Annabelle had expected.
She envisioned white bread yuppie types in khakis and polo shirts, standing in front of a big pad of paper, playing Pictionary or Charades. What she definitely hadn’t expected was for Elizabeth to bring her to a gathering place for her fellow rennies. Yet here they were in all their glory, wearing torn jeans and corset-style shirts, boots and band t-shirts, with multiple tattoos and piercings. People just like Annabelle.
They were loud, they were obnoxious, and they were so much fun.
It seemed Danny wasn’t exaggerating when he called Elizabeth the queen of trivia. She answered more questions than anyone during the first round, and Annabelle was surprised at her range of knowledge. From history to pop culture, she seemed to have a good handle on everything.
As the Dirty Shirley filled her belly, Annabelle finally felt comfortable enough to unzip her coat and bunch it behind her on the sofa. “What’s in this drink?” she asked Elizabeth.
“Just a tiny bit of cherry liqueur. It’s not your childhood Shirley Temple, is it? I don’t like to drink too much, but sometimes it’s nice to have a little buzz.” Elizabeth tossed her long red hair and smiled. Her skin was, indeed, flushed with the bit of alcohol she had ingested. Her eyes sparkled, but Annabelle decided they almost always did that.
For a high-powered career woman who came from a well-to-do family, she certainly had unexpected qualities. When Elizabeth turned to her with a dazzling smile, Annabelle knew she was done for. She could get lost in those eyes, in that contagious joy, just tumble down the rabbit hole and never look back.
Danny asked a question and Annabelle felt bereft when Elizabeth turned from her to squint at him. She dragged herself back to the present moment and realized everyone was looking at Danny, confusion twisting their features.
Surprised no one had answered yet, Annabelle piped up, “Army of Darkness.”
“Right!” Danny pointed at her and made a mark on the board to show her team had accumulated another point.
“How... Crap.” The guy on the sofa across from them threw his hands in the air. “I should have known that. Why’d I say Evil Dead?”
“Because you, Justin, aren’t observant enough to note the nuances from movie to movie.” Danny switched to the next card.
Elizabeth turned to Annabelle again and, this time, Annabelle felt herself flush with happiness. The warmth spread up her neck to her face and she let out a giggle. Not only had her date proven herself to be quite the formidable trivia master, but she also knew how to let her hair down. She nudged Annabelle and said, “Good job,” as Danny gave them the next question.
As it turned out, the rest of the night was fun and she participated fully, answering as many questions as Elizabeth.
At the end of the evening, Danny raised his arms in the air and called in a voice Annabelle knew carried across the bar, “I hereby declare we have two queens of trivia, now – Elizabeth and Annabelle, our queen and her lady-in-waiting!”
The crowd that had gathered to watch cheered, and Elizabeth and Annabelle shook hands with their competitors. Tingles radiated through Annabelle’s body. Whether that was from a few more of the Dirty Shirleys or the high of winning, she didn’t know. At the moment, all she knew was she needed to do what she’d done last night.
So she turned and kissed Elizabeth.
It felt awesome to lay one on her, to feel her date’s strong, slender arms wrap around her. The bar patrons let out a low, drawn-out “Oooh!” of approval and there was more laughter. Annabelle couldn’t help but giggle against Elizabeth’s lips. Her head spun, giddy with triumph.
“Forget that Disney thing. This has got to be the happiest place on earth,” she said when they parted.
Elizabeth let out a chuckle. “For me it is, since you’re here.” She stroked her hands along Annabelle’s arms, those fingers gliding over the sheer sleeves of her floral blouse. It seemed ironic how that kind of warmth gave her shivers, but shiver Annabelle did as she moved a little closer to Elizabeth.
Naturally, her stomach chose that moment to let out a low growl of hunger and Annabelle blushed. “So, um, what are we doing next?”
“How about something to feed that monster you’re hiding somewhere inside of you? Besides, some dinner would counter the effects of the alcohol,” Elizabeth suggested. “I wouldn’t dare try to drive anywhere right now, even with this little buzz. There’s a fantastic pizza place just down the street. Do you like pizza?”
Pizza sounded amazing, as far as Annabelle was concerned. They waved to the ren folks and left the building, hand in hand. The pizza place smelled wonderful, even from a few doors away, and Annabelle’s stomach released another rumble, louder this time. Elizabeth held the door to the pizza place open and a mix of delicious scents hit Annabelle. It was that perfect combination of sauce and spices, and she almost drooled then and there.
“They don’t do anything fancy here,” Elizabeth told her, “but you won’t find better pizza elsewhere.”
“Pepperoni works for me. I’m not picky.” How could Annabelle be picky when the place smelled so amazing and she was walking on Cloud Nine? Even though she searched her memories, she couldn’t recall feeling like this with anyone else ever before – none of her friends or girlfriends. Everything about Elizabeth was better than she’d expected.
They placed their order, filled their cups with soda, and sat down at a table. “It was priceless, you know,” Elizabeth told her. “Everyone’s faces when you answered that Army of Darkness question was just the best. I love that you know stuff even they don’t know.”
“Thanks. It was nice to hang out somewhere like that. I probably would have visited sooner if I’d known it existed.”
Elizabeth lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “There’s so much great stuff to do in the city, you can’t discover all of it.”
“Well, I guess...” Annabelle bit her lip.
“You guess what?”
Annabelle squeezed her eyes shut. “I was about to say the cheesiest thing possible, but the only cheesy thing in here should be the pizza.”
“Oh, come on.” She felt Elizabeth’s hand curl around hers. “Go ahead and say it. I won’t hold it against you.”
Eyes fluttering open, Annabelle looked first at the hand atop hers, then up at Elizabeth’s face. “I was going to say I’m glad you discovered me.”
A light flush suffused Elizabeth’s cheeks as she smiled. “That is not cheesy. That’s beautiful.”
Before she could say anymore, the server set the pizza between them. Steam rose from it in fading swirls and the aroma filled Annabelle’s senses. Her mouth watered once again and she reached for a piece.
“I love this kind of pizza,” she declared, lifting a slice from the hot pan and moving it onto a paper plate.
“Me too. Like, it’s hot and the cheese is melty and the sauce is like lava.” Elizabeth sucked the sauce off her fingers after transferring a slice to her own paper plate.
“Yeah, and the crust is thin, but not too thin...” Annabelle trailed off, her gaze transfixed on the way Elizabeth’s lips molded around her index finger. She imagined those lips doing other things, things she hadn’t enjoyed since... She swallowed and lowered her gaze to the pizza, still steaming hot on her plate.
“Hey. Are you okay?” The concern in Elizabeth’s voice made her eyes prickle with tears.
She blinked them away and then nodded. “Yeah. I was just thinking about my ex, but only for a second. Like, it’s not a thing, but I was thinking about what I miss as far as being in a relationship.”
“Why don’t you tell me about it?” Apparently, Elizabeth was more adventurous than Annabelle, because she nibbled off the tip of her slice, lava-hot sauce and all.
It was a fairly broad question, but Annabelle knew exactly what she missed. “Sex,” she said bluntly.
Elizabeth barked out a laugh. “You get zero points for subtlety.”
“I’m okay with that. Being subtle is overrated.” Annabelle gave a dismissive little wave of her hand before continuing. “But, yeah, I miss the sex and everything that comes with it. I know I seem kind of prickly, but I’m a snuggler. And then there’s waking up next to someone and being happy to have them beside you. I really miss that feeling, like knowing everything will be okay because there’s someone to love me, no matter what happens, no matter how my day goes.”
Revealing this on a second date felt just right. It wasn’t like she was going on and on about her ex, specifically. In fact, Annabelle wondered what Elizabeth’s thoughts were on relationships. Setting romantic expectations from the start might be a good idea. The last thing she wanted was to get involved in a relationship, only to get hurt by something she should have realized early on. Like if Elizabeth was married to her work or looking for less romance and more of a sexual connection.
Elizabeth saved her the trouble of asking. “I know what you mean. I work, gosh, more than any human should and it’s been bad for relationships. I want those things, too – the sex and snuggles and waking up next to someone I love. But I need someone flexible enough to realize there will be times I can’t do certain things, usually because of work.”
“And my schedule sucks. I mean, really sucks,” Annabelle pointed out. “It’s just the way they do things, but there you have it. So I need someone who’s going to accept that.”
“I think we’re both looking for the same thing in a relationship, so that’s a start. But what about in a person. Do you want to go first or me?”
Annabelle considered and then gestured at Elizabeth’s pizza. “You eat. Let me see...” She let her gaze wander around the restaurant as she pondered the subject. “I mean, I want the general things, like someone who shares my interests and views. I have a lot of strong feelings on things and that can be a little tough for some people to handle. Then I also need someone capable of giving me space, while still supporting me. You should know I’m not the easiest person in the world to deal with at times.”
The smile that spread across Elizabeth’s face was both smug and endearing. “That’s an understatement. I’d say you’re stubborn as heck. It’s in your nature.” There was something sweet in the way she said it, so Annabelle let herself smile in return.
“I think you mean that as a compliment, so thanks. Yes, I’m stubborn. Maybe I even do things because, I don’t know, I just want to be the opposite of what everyone else wants.”
“Such as?”
This was getting into thorny territory and Annabelle took a bite out of her pizza to keep from answering.
Elizabeth seemed to catch on because she nodded. “I get it. Can I just ask if it has something to do with family?”
“Why would you think that?” The way Annabelle’s heart thumped against her chest threatened to shove the just-swallowed pizza back up, but she managed to keep it down.
“It’s just a guess based on the fact that you went to a private school, but haven’t said anything else about your life growing up. I know what that tuition costs and you said you have a sister, right?”
Despite the fact that she was squirming in the booth seat, Annabelle nodded. What was Elizabeth getting at?
“So two children sent to a private school at a rate of a mid to high five figures a year. You come from money.” Elizabeth said it with such conviction, Annabelle almost wondered if she’d actually dug into her past. “Now, why you’re running from that, I don’t know. Maybe your family lost their money in a scandal or accumulated it in a way that pisses you off. Or maybe you just don’t fit in with them or their expectations of you. No matter what, that’s not going to change how I see you.”
Annabelle cleared her throat. “And how is that?”
Elizabeth rose to her feet and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Like I said, stubborn, but you’re smart, sweeter than you let on, determined, and I think you’re finding yourself. I’d like to be there for you as you do and see how things turn out.”
It was the most romantic thing anyone had ever said to her and Annabelle bit down on the straw in her soda. “Damn,” she muttered around the plastic, “I feel like I’m going to have a hard time shaking you.”
“Yes, you are,” Elizabeth declared, sitting back down and picking up her pizza. “Do you want to tell me more about it? If not, I’m okay with that. I can wait until you’re ready.”
“I want to know why you like me. I mean, in specifics, beyond thinking I’m all the things you just said.”
The way Elizabeth looked at her, Annabelle thought she might tell her it was a crazy question. Annabelle supposed it was. But Elizabeth seemed ready to answer.
“The first time I realized I liked you was when I met you at the dress fittings. You were really quiet, but looked excited, like a kid in a candy store. I could tell being a player at the faire was fulfilling a dream for you. Then I saw your break-up with your girlfriend during the first couple weeks and realized I had a chance. I liked how you could easily behave the way we needed for performances, but in a way that was still very much you. Does that make sense?”
“Kind of,” Annabelle said. She wasn’t quite sure what Elizabeth meant, but she wondered if questioning it might make her look dense.
Elizabeth reached out and traced her finger around Annabelle’s ear. “These piercings came out for performances, but you always left in this pair.” She ran her finger gently over a skull in the very bottom hole. The earrings were small enough not to be noticed from afar, but distinct up close.
“These were the first pair I bought when I earned my own money.” Annabelle leaned into Elizabeth’s touch. “They’re special because I didn’t have to ask my father for anything after I started working.”
“I like that about you. You could probably have anything you wanted, but instead you chose a thankless retail job at one of the worst companies to work for, all so you could be independent. So you wear these as a sort of badge of pride and honor. That alone tells me a lot about you.”
Annabelle wished Elizabeth would touch her again, but her date had withdrawn her hand to pick up her pizza again. For a few silent moments, they assuaged their hunger. The pizza was, indeed, fantastic. Annabelle wished she could eat it morning, noon, and night, but that might have been a little much, even for her.
“And then, of course, there’s just basic chemistry,” Elizabeth said as she picked up a napkin and dabbed it against her lips. “I mean, science can explain it all they want, but the human heart knows what it wants, you know? My heart wanted you. Well, so did my body, I have to admit.”
It was an admission Annabelle certainly didn’t mind. She’d wanted Elizabeth, too. Even with her hair pulled back severely from her face and the pale white powder covering her flawless, creamy skin, she’d still been a beautiful queen.
“Now I can’t let you go until we’ve figured this out,” Elizabeth stated.
“Figured what out?” It was a confusing sentiment. Was Elizabeth already admitting to being in love?
“Us.” Elizabeth indicated Annabelle and then herself. “Now in addition to lusting after you and having fun with you, I’m intrigued by whatever it was that’s driven you to reject your family’s wealth. So I have to tell you I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. You’re stuck with me, Annabelle. Get used to the idea.”