Chapter 50
“I couldn’t impose…” Tara started.
“Bullshit.” Delaney wrapped her arms around Tara’s waist and held her tight. “The way I see it, I should probably send your aunt a thank you card or something.”
Tara frowned at her. “What for? Making me an emotional wreck? Yeah, gee, thanks for that.”
“For sending you right here where you belong. With me.” Delaney snuggled against her, as if she didn’t care who might be watching. “And for making my summer a little brighter. And for kicking our date night up a notch.”
A weight seemed to lift off Tara’s chest and she laughed. “The way you’re talking, we’re going to be sending Marlene an invite to ourwedding next.”
That earned her a kiss. “You never know,” Delaney teased. “The boardwalk tonight, tomorrow, the world. Now grab your things and bring ‘em inside. You’re mine for the rest of the weekend. Unless you decide to ditch your real life and never go home.”
“You never know,” Tara echoed.
Delaney held the car door as Tara leaned into the back seat to get her suitcase and purse. While she was gathering everything together, her cell phone dinged with an incoming text message. She was tempted to ignore it, but didn’t. Digging it out of her purse, she checked the screen to make sure it wasn’t work or her parents. She didn’t recognize the number, but the message itself left no doubt as to who had sent it.
RU still on 4 the wedding? Plz come! Bring UR new GF IDC she’s cute! Mom’s old as fuck. Plz come! U2 will B the only cool peeps there & it will PISS HER OFF! U haf 2 come!
Tara still held the phone in her hand as she backed out of the car. “What is it?” Delaney asked.
With a laugh, Tara said, “Either Amanda really wants me at her wedding, or she’s having a stroke. And she wants you to come as my plus one. Problem is, Aunt Marlene will have a coronary if I show up with a girl for a date.”
“Aw, that’s too bad,” Delaney joked. “I’d love to go, then. I’ve never given anyone a heart attack before.”
Pocketing the phone, Tara hefted her suitcase and grinned. “Really? It’s Saturday. I mean, only if you want to…”
Delaney threaded her arms through Tara’s. “With you? I’d love to.”
She led the way to her apartment for the second time, holding Tara close. The weekend stretched ahead of them like a promise, and Tara wouldn’t let herself think of anything but the woman beside her and all they might find in each other before Monday.
THE ENDLike I Love You 1: Not Into Girls
September 1993
By the time she turned nineteen, Dana Kelly had spent all her life watching other girls, but none of them took her breath away until she met Bethany Bartlett.
It was her sophomore year of college, fall semester. Two-thirteen on a rainy Thursday afternoon during the first week back to class, to be specific—Dana remembered little details like that. She was working part-time at the campus library and her shift ended at two, but she somehow got stuck showing an upperclassman how to use the LexisNexis computer system to research a paper for his law class and, as a result, was now running late for English Lit. She had hoped to swing by the Student Union and grab a quick bite to eat before class—lunch seemed so long ago—but now she would barely have enough time to race across campus as it was. Maybe she could get a candy bar from a vending machine, if she had some change…
She pushed through the first set of double glass doors leading out of the library, clutching her books to her chest with one arm as she absently rummaged through her messenger bag/purse/catch-all for a couple of quarters. Outside the sky was overcast, giving the day a steely look, and a light rain misted the quad. Students hurried down grey sidewalks, heads bent against the drizzle, umbrellas punctuating the scenery here and there like periods. If she could’ve avoided going to class at all, she would have skipped it in a heartbeat, the day was that miserable, but it was only the first week school was back in session and she’d promised herself over the summer that she’d try harder this year to show more of an interest in her studies. It was only a little rain, she reasoned. It wasn’t as if she were going to melt.