Bailey had been trying—really, really trying—to be better. Although she hadn’t been able to free up many more evenings, she was getting better at setting realistic expectations. And she was pretty sure her new estimator, Alice, was going to be ready to step into Greg’s old role soon. Bailey just wanted to see her run a few more projects, and she’d hand things over to her fully.
This evening, she’d been expecting to work late but had miraculously finished around seven thirty. Skye was meeting with a few of her colleagues that evening but had mentioned she thought they’d wrap up by seven thirty or eight. Bailey was hoping she could grab a drink at the same bar and surreptitiously catch Skye’s eye on her way out. It was Friday night, after all, and she’d certainly earned a drink after the week she’d had.
Bailey smiled, thinking of the look of surprise on Skye’s face when she saw Bailey sitting at the bar before her expression morphed into that sexy smolder. Bailey loved to see Skye go from business mode to sexy-time mode, as she liked to think of it. Perhaps there could even be a little role-playing fun.
The bar was noisy when Bailey pulled open the door, but there were a surprising number of open seats for a Friday night, so she decided to duck into the restroom before grabbing one and shooting Skye a text to make sure they didn’t miss each other. Skye had said she would text on her way out to see when Bailey would be finished, so Bailey felt pretty confident that she was here somewhere.
She scanned the room, both looking for a restroom as well as that telltale lob to make sure Skye didn’t see her prematurely, or at least without Bailey planning it out. She saw neither the restroom nor Skye, but there was a corridor to the left of the bar that seemed the most logical place for the restrooms, so she headed that way. As she headed down the hall, lo and behold, she spotted the back of a perfect blond lob sitting at a high-top booth with three men. The musical tone of Skye’s laugh as she leaned to the side and shoulder bumped the guy she was sitting next to confirmed that Bailey had found her quarry.
She paused as she decided how to play this. Did she want to forgo the restroom and sit at the bar facing Skye, completely surprising her on her way out? Or should she sneak past now and make eyes at her on the way back to the bar. Although a total surprise was appealing, a little heated glance to make sure Skye knew what was waiting for her when she finished up was infinitely more so.
Before she could keep moving, however, Bailey heard a bit of their conversation.
A scruffy-facial-hair guy who looked like he hadn’t shaved in three days yet still could’ve stepped out of a J.Crew ad laughed loudly enough that everyone likely heard him. “Skye, you can’t tell us that you don’t have a trail of men crying into their hankies. You’re too pretty not to.”
The whole table erupted in laughter, and Bailey had to swallow a small amount of bile, but Skye’s retort had her laughing too. “Give me a fucking break, Brad. I’m too pretty? The next thing you’re going to say is that if I smiled more, I’d get more deals.” She threw a paper straw wrapper at him, and Bailey silently cheered her on for calling him out.
The guy next to Skye shook his head and scoffed. “Jesus, Brad. Open mouth, insert foot, douche.”
Brad tried to backpedal. “You know what I mean.”
“No, Brad, actually, I don’t.” Bailey could hear the barest trace of venom in Skye’s voice but doubted anyone else could.
Brad chuckled nervously, and Bailey almost felt bad for him, facing down what she could only assume was Skye’s death stare. However, this guy was clearly an idiot, so she didn’t feel too bad. “Uh, well, uh…You’re a boss at the office, but at the same time you’re really good-looking—”
“Dude,” the guy next to Skye tried to get him to stop, but Brad was like a train about to derail, and nothing could stop it.
“How can you be so attractive but not be seeing anyone? You have to be keeping him secret or something.” Brad’s face was totally red, and he looked like he wished he could crawl into a hole, and yet, he kept digging deeper and deeper.
“Really? I’m attractive, so I have to be seeing someone? Do you hear yourself? Rob is right, you are a douchebag. Firstly, my attractiveness or lack thereof has nothing to do with whether I choose to tie myself to someone. The next thing you’re going to say is I’m too attractive to be a broker or a professional. And not that it’s any of your business, but no, I’m not seeing anyone. How could I possibly have time? I’ve done more than twice the amount of leasing as you this year. And when I’m not leasing, I’m forced to reeducate boneheads like you.”
Skye laughed, but Bailey felt like she’d been stabbed in the chest. She knew Skye was never going to announce that they were seeing each other, but she also hadn’t expected Skye to lie about them, either. Deny Bailey’s existence. The existence of their entire relationship. Skye could have easily continued deflecting, but she hadn’t. How could that lie roll so easily off her tongue?
Skye might be more like Mary than Bailey had realized. The thought made her sick to her stomach.
She couldn’t catch her breath and didn’t feel like playing anymore, so she backed out of the hall and headed for the exit. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do, but she definitely wasn’t waiting around. She needed some space to think.
* * *
By the time Skye had made her excuses and escaped, she was exhausted. She’d been playing the guy’s guy for what felt like an eternity, and she wanted to get the hell home and catch up with Bailey, though she was beginning to wonder what was going on since Bailey hadn’t texted her back yet. Bailey was supposed to be working late, but even when doing so, she always responded to Skye’s texts right away.
She was staring at her phone when it started ringing. Her first thought was that maybe Bailey was finally calling, but alas, no. “Hey, Tasha. What’s up?”
“Oh, nothing. It feels like forever since I saw you.”
That was ridiculous. They’d just seen each other…when? Tasha was supposed to have been at a dinner with Bailey’s family the week before, but she hadn’t been feeling well, so she’d canceled. Was it the week before that? Shit. Two weeks? She couldn’t remember for certain. She normally spoke to Tasha every few days and saw her at least once a week, if not more. “Crap, sorry, I’ve been busy.”
“Doing what? Or should I say, doing whom?” All of Tasha’s neighbors could probably hear her guffaw at her own joke. Which wasn’t nearly as funny as she thought it was.
Skye rolled her eyes but laughed with her. “It is an interesting predicament that I have found myself in.”
“Is that what you call a relationship these days? A predicament? Relationship isn’t a dirty word.” A flicker of irritation flared in Skye at her patronizing tone.
“I don’t know.” Skye was walking aimlessly, not really paying attention to her surroundings other than that she was generally heading toward the lake. Bailey had been trying to be more respectful of Skye and not ditching her at the last minute, but relationships were still dicey. And she was still so cautious about her personal life at work. This evening with that idiot Brad was just more evidence that being a lesbian wasn’t compatible with her career.
“What don’t you know?”
Skye sighed and tried to work out what she wanted to say. “It’s…I don’t know. Hard.”
“Most things worth your time are hard.”
Skye laughed. “That’s probably true. And I love spending time with Bailey, I really do. When we’re together, things are nearly perfect, but sometimes, it’s like work will always be her number-one priority. And I shouldn’t be surprised. She told me from the start that she didn’t have time for dating, but I just thought…I don’t know.” She kicked a paper cup from the sidewalk into the street with the toe of her Valentino caged pump and wondered why she was trying to scuff her shoe on litter. “I just don’t know if I’m important enough to her. And I’m tired of lying about her.”
“Why are you lying?” Tasha’s voice was laced with disbelief. “Who are you lying about her to?”
“Ugh, the idiot bros I deal with at work.”
“Why?”
“They don’t need to know everything about me and my personal life.” Skye tried to release the tension in her jaw at how unfair it all was.
“That may be true, but seriously, Skye. You shouldn’t feel like you have to lie to anyone about who you are.”
“I know, I know. But this is such a man’s world, and I’m already seen as an outsider. I don’t want to be that dyke bitch broker.” That was the piece of it that was so frustrating. It really didn’t matter how good she was. If she got blackballed, she’d be ruined.
“Who cares, Skye? They can think what they want as long as you keep getting your job done.”
Skye clenched her jaw, annoyed that Tasha didn’t get it. “But that’s the point. I need to work with them in order to close deals. I’m very good, but I need them too.”
“Kind of sounds like an excuse because you’re scared, but giving you a hard time isn’t actually why I called.”
Clearly, Natasha didn’t understand because she was a writer, not a businessperson. Regardless, Skye was relieved that she was moving on to a new topic. “So you didn’t call me to be a pain in my ass? Pray tell, why did you call?”
“To see if you wanted to meet me at SoulCycle in the morning and get brunch after. It’s been a while.”
Skye’s guilt pressed on her chest. If Tasha was calling to go to a class, something that she only ever reluctantly agreed to, she must really be missing her. “Yes, absolutely. Eight a.m.?”
Tasha laughed. “I said brunch after class, not breakfast. Let’s do the ten thirty. Don’t you have plans tonight? Do you really want to drag yourself out of the arms of a beautiful woman at seven a.m. to meet me?”
Good point. She was hoping she would be waking up next to a beautiful woman. Why hadn’t Bailey texted yet? “I do have plans. At least, I think I have plans…anyway, fine, you slacker. Can you make the reservations? Front row if they’re available.”
When Skye hung up, she felt listless. She had walked until she’d hit Michigan Ave. and then back to get her car. She texted Bailey again and stared at her phone, willing Bailey to respond. What the hell was going on? Was Bailey ignoring her? Avoiding her? Bailey was likely still at work, but she never ignored Skye. Could something be wrong?
Maybe she should swing by Bailey’s house and make sure everything was fine. If Bailey wasn’t there, she would head home, but something felt off, and she couldn’t shake it.
There was no parking on the street in front of Bailey’s house, though the lights were on inside, so after a brief war with herself, Skye circled around until she found an open spot on the next block. She hated feeling like a little puppy following Bailey around and begging for attention, but she believed in confronting problems head-on and wasn’t willing to sit at home and stew over what might be wrong.
Bailey’s eyes widened when she opened the door after Skye’s short knock. She stared at her for a brief moment before saying, “Uh, hey.”
That was all she got? Bailey had been ghosting her all evening, and she got a hey? Before Skye could say anything, Patsy shoved her nose between Bailey’s legging-clad leg and the door and licked Skye’s hand. Rather than addressing Bailey, Skye leaned over to pet Patsy. “Hey, sweet Patsy. It’s good to see you.”
“Do…you…want to come in?” Bailey wiped her palms on her leggings. Why was this so awkward? What was Bailey so nervous about?
Only one way to find out. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
Bailey stepped back and let her into the house. It didn’t look like Bailey had just gotten home. She had changed out of her work clothes, but there were other subtleties. She had a glass of wine sitting on the coffee table, her laptop was open, and the screen was on. And sitting right next to it was her phone. Bailey had been ignoring her. What the hell?
She knew Bailey could see the thoughts running through her head before she even got a question out. “Let me get you a glass of wine, and then let’s talk.”
“Okay,” Skye whispered. She hated how unsure she felt. She wasn’t a tentative person, but this was new territory, this whole relationship thing. And something weird was going on, but she’d just spoken to Bailey that morning, and everything had been fine.
“Here you go.” Bailey handed her a glass and squeezed her other hand before sitting on the couch and grabbing her own glass. Skye’s hand shook as she sank onto a chair across from the couch.
“How was your day?” That was a pretty safe place to start. Perhaps Bailey’s mood had nothing to do with her.
“It was good until the end. Productive. I actually got out a little earlier than I thought.”
Ouch. She’d gotten out early, hadn’t reached out, and had dodged Skye’s calls and texts all evening? That was fucked up. A response escaped Skye entirely, so she took a sip of wine and stared, hoping Bailey would elaborate. Waiting to see what she could possibly say to explain herself.
Bailey looked into her wine, back up at Skye, and then quickly away.
The silence technique seemingly wasn’t going to work that night, so Skye said, “So why the complete radio silence?”
“I was…processing.”
“Processing what?”
“When I got out of work, I was going to surprise you. Just happen to be sitting at the bar when you finished happy hour and were on your way out. I thought, maybe there could be a little role-play…something fun and spontaneous. I had no intention of intruding.”
Skye’s stomach started to churn, suspecting what Bailey must have heard, wishing she could go back in time.
“But I went down the hallway toward the restroom and saw the back of your head, so I paused to decide how I wanted to play it, and I overheard you with those guys. I wasn’t trying to spy on you or eavesdrop. I only paused for a second and heard…” She pointedly looked away again.
Skye couldn’t quite swallow. She’d already felt guilty about what she’d said to her colleagues, but knowing that Bailey had heard it—probably all of it—was worse. Much worse. “I’m sorry. You weren’t supposed to hear that.”
“That’s all you have to say?” Bailey’s face grew red, and she shoved off the couch and stalked around the room.
“No, that’s not what I…” Skye needed Bailey to look at her as she tried to explain, even though it wasn’t easy. She grabbed Bailey’s hands. “That’s not how I meant it. Those guys are just colleagues. They aren’t friends. I’m not obligated to tell them anything, and I don’t talk about my personal life at work. It drives them nuts, but I don’t do it. It’s none of their business.”
“I’m not trying to say it is their business, but you blatantly lied. You could have evaded, but you actually said, and I quote, ‘I’m not seeing anyone.’ Do you understand how that feels? To be reduced to no one of importance in your life?” Bailey looked at the floor.
“That’s not true. At all.” She touched Bailey’s chin with her thumb and forefinger and guided her gaze back up. “You are so very important to me. I’m not sure why I lied the way I did. I think I panicked because it scares me just how important you’ve become to me. You mean so much more to me than I thought you could. I’m sorry I hurt you. I’m sorry I said that, and I’m sorry you heard it. It was shitty. He pissed me off, and I said something stupid, but I didn’t mean it. Not at all.” She brushed her lips lightly across Bailey’s. “I’m so sorry. Please believe me.”
“You’re better than that. You’re an amazing woman, smart, funny, charismatic, you have impeccable taste—”
“I have heard that last one before.” Skye chuckled.
“Not just the last one. All of them, and you don’t need to hide who you are in order to succeed. I’m not trying to force you to be more open or anything. I hate that you underestimate yourself and your abilities. And I hate feeling like I don’t mean anything to you. I’m scared too. This isn’t something I do.”
Skye’s heart cracked knowing how badly she’d hurt Bailey that evening. “I know. I don’t do this, either. I feel like I’m fumbling along, trying to figure it all out as we go. But I never want to hurt you. You mean so much to me.” She rubbed her thumbs over the back of Bailey’s hands. “I promise, I’ll try to be more truthful. Maybe not totally open, but no more lying. And never about you. I promise.”
The corners of Bailey’s mouth lifted, and relief ran through Skye’s body like warm honey in her veins. She loved that quarter smile. A little shy, a little smug, a lot sexy. And she knew she’d been forgiven. “You swear?”
“I do.” Skye meant it, but she also had to get a little something off her chest as well. If she was going to be open and expose herself completely, she couldn’t hold anything back. “Will you promise to not ignore me when you’re upset? You had reason to be angry, but I hate that you stonewalled me all evening. It made me feel insignificant too, and I didn’t even know what I’d done wrong.”
“I promise.” She pulled Skye into her arms, and Skye placed her head on Bailey’s shoulder as her fingers traced paths up and down Skye’s back. “I’m sorry.”
It struck her as odd that Bailey was soothing her when she was the one who’d said something stupid. But Skye tightened her arms around Bailey as she realized how lucky she was. Bailey was one of a kind, and all of Skye’s tension drained away. What was it about Bailey that soothed her soul?
* * *
While Skye lay sleeping upstairs, Bailey sat on the edge of her planter box and grimaced as she pulled weed after weed from around her squash vines. She’d been neglecting her garden again, and it was, unfortunately, showing. The weeds were stealing valuable nutrients from the soil that should be going into her plants, and the vines were suffering as a result. But things had been hectic. She’d been trying to balance the demands of work with her family and with spending time with Skye, but it was hard. And moments like yesterday evening, when Skye had completely denied her existence, made Bailey second-guess herself.
The trouble was that she loved spending time with Skye. She made Bailey laugh like no one else, and when they weren’t laughing, there was a comfort level between them that was like being wrapped in a warm hug. They just fit together. It felt like she’d known Skye for years and not a handful of months. She wanted to rearrange her life to spend more time with Skye, but she couldn’t. Things at work were…dicey. A lot of people depended on her for their livelihoods.
But, God, Skye. She was beautiful, hilarious, not nearly as stuck-up as Bailey had originally thought, and loved her family in a way Bailey would have never believed if she hadn’t been spending so much time with all of them. Bailey slid down her planter box and went to work on the weeds around the base of her tomato plants as she thought back to last night.
After they’d cleared the air and gone to bed, something had felt different from the other times they’d been together. Bailey couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but it seemed more intimate. The orgasms had been as fantastic as always, but when they both came at the same time right before they’d fallen asleep, Bailey didn’t think she’d ever felt closer to another person in her life. It was like she could feel Skye’s orgasm, and it had intensified her own. It sounded woo-woo crazy even as she thought it, but she would have sworn it had happened.
It was as though she was looking over the precipice and could easily slip off the edge and tumble into love with Skye, and that was terrifying. Could she truly make room in her life for Skye full-time? Was Skye committed enough for that? Could she be trusted? Did she want something more too? Or if Bailey let herself go over that ledge, would she hit the bottom all alone?
“Hey, you.” Skye’s sleepy voice pulled her out of the very unhappy vision of her broken body lying alone at the bottom of a ravine. She’d gone very dark very quickly. Jesus.
Bailey felt an immediate jolt at seeing Skye standing in her backyard, wearing one of her T-shirts as well as the booty shorts that, if she recalled correctly, were the same ones Bailey had been wearing the first time Skye had come to her house unexpectedly early. She certainly had the legs to pull them off. Bailey was surprised she was wearing them outside where the neighbors could see but wasn’t going to complain. “Good morning, sleepyhead.”
“I wasn’t expecting you to sneak out of bed this morning to do yard work.” Skye scratched at a spot just above her ear, causing her small but messy bun to shift around on top of her head. Bailey was struck with a strong desire to pull that bun all the way out and run her fingers through those tresses again.
“I wouldn’t call it sneaking. I woke up early and wanted to let you sleep. Plus, I figured I could do a little cleanup out here and then get a few things to go in omelets for breakfast.” That was nearly true. While Bailey did want a little room to think, which the garden always gave her, she really did plan to make them breakfast as well.
“Oh, shoot, I told Tasha that I would go to SoulCycle with her this morning and then hit brunch, so I can’t do breakfast.”
Bailey’s heart fell. The weekends were when she and Skye were able to spend actual time together rather than just grabbing stolen moments. Then she silently chastised herself for being clingy.
“You could come with us if you want.”
“No, I can’t do that. You and Natasha haven’t seen each other in weeks. You should go have fun. We can catch up later today if you have time and want to.”
Skye stepped into the garden and leaned down for a quick kiss. “Oh, I want.”
“You taste minty.”
“I brushed my teeth before I came out here. I wasn’t raised in a barn.”
Her devilish smile had Bailey thinking of all the things they could do in a barn. Or in her garage, which they were next to. “I never said you were. Though I am a little surprised at your choice of shorts.”
“Do you not like me borrowing your clothes?” Skye’s brows furrowed.
“Goodness, not that at all. I love, love seeing you in my clothes.” Bailey wrapped an arm around Skye’s legs. “They might be a little, tiny bit short.” She ran her thumb just under the bottom edge of the shorts and was surprised to discover Skye wasn’t wearing any underwear. Need flooded Bailey’s body. Her mouth ached to taste, her fingers itched to feel, her skin burned to be touched. It was times like this that she wished she lived out in the country and didn’t have any neighbors who could see or hear anything.
Skye swatted her hand away. “What are you doing? We’re outside.”
“I was simply illustrating why those shorts were a surprising choice. As is the lack of underwear. Not at all an unpleasant surprise. You should feel free to wear them like this anytime you like. I think they’re perfect.”
“Hmm.” Skye stared at her with squinty eyes in the morning sun. Even that was gorgeous.
“What time do you have to leave?” Bailey asked, hoping she’d have time for the activities running through her mind.
“Probably an hour.”
“Plenty of time.”
“For what?” Skye said.
“I think you’ve asked me that question before, but let’s go inside, and I’ll show you again. Quickly, before we scandalize Mrs. Martin.” Although Bailey had dropped her arm lower when Skye shooed it away, she hadn’t let go and was still running her thumb along the back of Skye’s thigh.
“You are incorrigible but sexy as hell in your little gardener’s outfit.” Skye swirled her finger at Bailey’s knee-length leggings, tank top, and sun hat. She grabbed both of Bailey’s hands and pulled her up.
“It’s the sun hat that really gets you hot and bothered, isn’t it?”
Skye’s tongue darted out, moistening her lower lip. “It really does. You might need to keep that on for what I have in mind.”
They both broke out into laughter and raced toward the back door.