Time of Day Read online

  “I did. I’m not crazy, I promise. I was just curious.”

  Riley took another drink of her wine, felt the immediate hit of it to her already tipsy brain, and set the glass down next to Kinsley’s on the table.

  “Yes, she’s forty-six. She was forty-three when we met. And yes, I was her first serious girlfriend. She’d dated women but hadn’t found anything real until me.”

  “She waited a long time for you,” Kinsley said with an expression Riley couldn’t read.

  “And now I’m waiting a long time for her,” Riley replied. “I don’t know if I can do it, honestly.”

  “Can I just say something and you won’t hate me?”

  Riley laughed and said, “Of course.”

  “You deserve better,” Kinsley said and shifted closer to her on the couch.

  Or maybe it just seemed like that to Riley.

  “She hasn’t even called you in what? A week? If I had a girlfriend like you, and we had to be apart like that, I’d call you every night. I’d call you every morning, too, probably. I’d also probably text you a lot. Like, if I found a cute animal video online or something, I’d have to send it to you. If something funny happened at work, or even something bad happened, I’d have to tell you about it. I don’t know… That’s what a relationship is to me, I guess. I’d want to make dinner for you and sit by the fire. Maybe even just go out on the patio and sit in the evenings while the sun goes down.”

  Riley thought she heard Kinsley gulp from where she was sitting.

  “I’m sorry,” Kinsley said then.

  Riley could only sit and stare as Kinsley’s expressive eyes lowered to her wine glass. She lifted it up to her lips, finished the wine, and lowered the empty glass back to the table.

  CHAPTER 6

  Kinsley hadn’t meant to say all that. She hadn’t meant to say anything at all. She’d just planned on listening as Riley spoke about her relationship. But hearing how Elena had been treating Riley had Kinsley’s blood boiling. She’d tried to hide it, but then she’d blurted all that out. Now, Riley was staring at her.

  “That sounds nice,” Riley said so softly, Kinsley almost didn’t hear it.

  “I guess I just meant that you deserve someone that makes you a priority. I don’t know Elena, and I don’t know much about your relationship, but from what you’ve told me, I’m not seeing that from her. I mean, it’s a home she’s buying with you. It’s not just a building made of wood and stone, right?” Kinsley asked, feeling fired up again.

  “Right.”

  “It’s a place you’ll share with the person in your life. You’ll build onto it. Your blood, sweat, and tears will be in that home. You might even raise children there. It’s not just a house.”

  “No, it’s not.”

  “I know I wouldn’t want my partner to find a house for us on her own. It would be something we’d share together, just like the house itself.”

  “But you have this perfect place,” Riley said and looked around.

  “Yeah?” Kinsley asked and followed Riley’s eyes.

  “It’s gorgeous, Kinsley. I wish I could find and afford a place like this.”

  “You’ll find something you love,” Kinsley said.

  “You know what the hardest part is?” Riley asked.

  “What?”

  “Finding someone I love to share it with,” Riley replied.

  Kinsley didn’t know what to make of that statement. Did that mean Riley no longer loved her girlfriend? Did that mean she did love her girlfriend, but that said girlfriend likely wouldn’t be living in that house with her?

  “More?” she asked nodding toward the wine.

  “No, I shouldn’t. I can’t even drive myself home. Looks like I’ll be calling for a ride,” Riley said.

  “I’d offer to drive you, but I’ve had a couple of glasses myself.” Kinsley didn’t feel drunk, but she also didn’t trust herself on these windy mountain roads after drinking a couple of glasses. “You can stay,” she suggested softly.

  Riley met her eyes and replied, “I shouldn’t.”

  “I have the space. I have this nice, big house to myself. Sometimes, it gets lonely.” Kinsley lowered her eyes, trying not to think about what it might feel like to fall asleep next to Riley. “You can take the guest room.”

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have driven over here and then basically got drunk.” Riley laid her head back on the sofa and closed her eyes. “I always seem to be messing up around you, don’t I?”

  “What? No, you don’t.” Kinsley slid a little closer to her on the couch. “Why do you say that?”

  “You were so cool back in college,” Riley said, apparently changing the subject.

  “What? No, I wasn’t.” Kinsley couldn’t help but laugh at that. “I was a mess back then. I was such a baby gay and didn’t know how to flirt with women. Plus, I was in school for something I didn’t even want to do.”

  “Kinsley, you were gorgeous back then.” The woman paused, and her eyes got big. Kinsley swallowed hard. “You are now, too. I realize how that sounded. Did you really not notice that girls were all over you?”

  “Girls were not all over me. When would you have even noticed that?” Kinsley laughed. “I thought you didn’t remember I was gay.”

  Riley grunted in frustration and stared at her intently before replying, “I said I forgot that I knew that. It’s different than just not knowing. Do you ever hear a song on the radio after, like, a million years, and you sing the lyrics out loud in the car? You realize you’ve forgotten you knew them all this time.”

  “I guess, yeah.”

  “Kinsley, I haven’t talked to you in over a decade. I mean, really talked to you. This is probably the first time we’ve had a conversation that’s lasted this long. It’s definitely the longest we’ve ever been alone.” She paused. “I remember you, Kinsley James. I remember that theta party and that girl that was all over you when you sat on that battered orange sofa. Didn’t she do a body shot off you later?”

  “Oh, yeah.” Kinsley chuckled. “God, what was her name?”

  “Girl number three that night.” Riley lifted an eyebrow. “There were at least two others I remember nodding in your direction or asking me about you when we all walked into the party together. That was just that night.”

  “You remember that now?”

  “I think our talk the other week kind of shook some things loose for me. I felt like a bad person, Kinsley. I don’t want you to think you’re someone I don’t remember.”

  Kinsley gulped again. She smiled sweetly at Riley after hearing those words. It had hit her hard that night. The days that followed weren’t much easier. Riley had been someone she’d cared for. Crush or no crush, they’d been friends. Hearing that Riley hadn’t remembered something so important to Kinsley had been enough to make her cry.

  “You’re not a bad person,” Kinsley replied.

  “I feel like a bad person around you. I brought you bagels and coffee to try to make up for it,” she said with a smile.

  “I ate two of those bagels and drank all of that coffee. I gave the rest to Morgan and the people at her store. I’m sure they enjoyed them.”

  “I’m sorry about Morgan, too,” Riley said. “I was out of line.”

  “What was that?” Kinsley took the chance to speak on this subject since Riley had brought it up. This woman was clearly more open with a few glasses of wine in her. “Why Morgan?”

  “You two used to get along so well in school. You’re still talking to one another now. And it seemed like you were close. You said she makes you work out with her. You also have dinner with her a few times a week, I think.”

  “How do you know that?” Kinsley asked.

  “I see you sometimes. You come into the café, or I’ll see you leaving with Morgan when she’s closing up for the night.”

  “You’ve never said anything,” Kinsley replied.

  “You were always so cool,” Riley said again. “I still sometimes feel
like the lowly freshman around you guys. Even though we’ve been out of college forever.”

  “I’m not cool, Riley.” Kinsley laughed. “I always thought you were so cool. You never seemed to care about us. You never tried to hang out with us or ask to be invited places. You just sometimes showed up and sometimes didn’t. You seemed so comfortable with who you were and in your own skin. Even when you came out, it was just like, ‘Okay, I’m gay, everyone.’ And that was it.”

  “You guys made it so easy. Reese and Morgan were both gay. I knew them a little growing up. Not a lot, but enough that when I got to campus, I reached out. It was like a safe place where I could just be myself. Maybe that’s why I appeared that way. I wasn’t, by the way.”

  “Wasn’t what?”

  “Comfortable in my own skin. I can talk the talk, though. And, apparently, I’m a great actress.” She smiled at Kinsley. “I am also incredibly tired all of a sudden. I’m going to call that ride now.”

  “Riley, sleep in the guest room. I’ll get you towels and stuff. You can sleep it off.” Kinsley stood. “And I’m not taking no for an answer.”

  “Fine. But you’re the one that’ll have to deal with my bed head and hangover in the morning,” Riley replied as she stood, too.

  “Really not a problem,” Kinsley said mostly to herself as the butterflies in her stomach flew around in there, bashing into walls, apparently, trying to escape at the thought of seeing Riley Sanders and her bed head in the morning.

  Kinsley laid out a few towels in the guest bathroom after lending Riley something to sleep in. She also found a new toothbrush deep in the recesses of her own bathroom drawer. She usually had one or two travel toothbrushes from when she’d go on a work trip and forget she already had one, ending up buying one she didn’t need. She made sure there were toothpaste and a hairbrush in there, too, before checking to see that the bathtub was stocked with guest soaps and shampoo. When she left the bathroom to make her way down the short hall and say a quick good night to Riley, she overheard Riley on the phone and stopped in her tracks.

  “Elena, we haven’t talked in a week. I’m starting to wonder if I even have a girlfriend.” There was a pause. “I’m starting to wonder if I even want one.” There was a second pause that came with an exasperated sigh. “Do you want one? I’m going to sleep. Call me tomorrow.”

  Kinsley waited another few moments before she knocked on the door and said, “I just wanted to say good night. Do you have everything you need?”

  “No, but that’s not your fault.” Riley tossed her cell phone on the bed and sat on the end of it, wearing an old t-shirt of Kinsley’s and a pair of her workout pants. “I’m sorry. Yes, I have everything I need. Thank you. I had a great time tonight, Kinsley.”

  “You’re just never going to call me James, like everyone else, are you?”

  “Why? Your name is beautiful,” Riley answered so sweetly, Kinsley had to lower her eyes and look away from her. “Where does it come from?”

  “My name? I don’t know.”

  “You don’t know where your name came from?” Riley asked.

  “Where did your name come from?” she asked back and sat next to Riley on the bed.

  “I had another brother once. He was a year older than me, but he died when he was a month old.” The woman lowered her head and clasped her hands together. “Riley was his middle name.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I didn’t get a chance to meet him. I think that giving me his middle name was my parents’ way of keeping his memory alive.”

  “What’s your middle name?” Kinsley asked.

  She couldn’t help herself. Riley’s long hair was down around her face. Kinsley couldn’t see her. She had to reach out and slide Riley’s hair back behind her ear. When she did, Riley immediately looked up and over at her. Kinsley’s eyes went wide when she realized she’d made a mistake. She opened her mouth to say something, but Riley smiled at her.

  “What’s your middle name?” Riley asked.

  “Elizabeth. Nothing fancy,” Kinsley replied.

  “Kinsley Elizabeth James,” Riley said it to try it out.

  “You’re not getting off that easily.” She shoved at Riley’s shoulder lightly. “What’s your middle name, Riles?”

  “Riles?” The woman laughed and fell back onto the bed, still somewhat tipsy, apparently. “My middle name is Hope. Riley Hope Sanders. I guess it’s Riles Hope now.” She chuckled again.

  “Okay, it’s time for bed there, Riles.” Kinsley stood.

  For a moment she just stared down at Riley, who was still laughing to herself. Then, she realized she probably looked creepy. She moved to the top of the bed and pulled down the blanket and sheet for Riley before moving the decorative pillows out of the way.

  “Hey, Kinsley?”

  “Yeah?” she asked and turned her head.

  Riley was still lying down, face up on the bed, but her eyes were on Kinsley now.

  “Thank you for taking care of me tonight.”

  CHAPTER 7

  Riley woke up the following morning in a strange bed. It took her several minutes to remember where she was. Then, the splitting headache took over her thoughts. She opened her eyes halfway to find that the curtains on the window had been closed. She turned slightly and noticed there was a full glass of water along with a couple of pills on the table next to the bed. She smiled, took the pills, and climbed regretfully out of bed. She showered, enjoyed the soft towels Kinsley had left behind, and dressed in the clothes she’d arrived in. She left the clothes Kinsley had lent her folded neatly on the bed. That was when her nostrils smelled the most delicious smell in the world.

  She made her way toward the kitchen, where there was, undoubtedly, coffee brewing. But after her nose adjusted to the smell of that, her eyes took in something else, too. Kinsley was standing at her stove, cooking something. Her hair was pulled up. She was wearing dark jeans and a nice long-sleeved shirt that, Riley guessed, was a button-down. She watched Kinsley cook for a moment. There was something elegant about the way she held the spatula. Riley watched her for another moment before she cleared her throat and smiled when Kinsley turned around. She smirked when Kinsley’s cheek turned a soft shade of pink.

  “How long have you been standing there?” she asked.

  “Only a minute or two. What are you making?” Riley asked as she moved over toward the stove.

  “French toast.”

  “God, Kinsley.” She hovered over the pan and took in the sights and smells of French toast. “Some woman is going to be lucky when she gets you; some lucky woman you’ll undoubtedly fatten up with all this cooking.”

  “Well, whoever she is, she’s not here right now. So, this is for you,” Kinsley replied with a smile so genuine, Riley had to take a step back, because it almost hurt to look at it.

  Elena’s smile recently had been that fake one Riley had seen on her campaign commercials or at the occasional party they’d attended together, but not together. Riley had gotten very used to being the ‘friend’ Elena had in town, staying for the weekend. It had become almost second nature to her, to be holding Elena’s hand one minute in private, only to let it go the instant someone else entered a room. She’d also gotten used to seeing that false smile directed at herself the last few times she’d been able to see her girlfriend on FaceTime and, unfortunately, even in person. As she took in Kinsley James, though, there was just nothing about her that was fake.

  ◆◆◆

  “Once all the paperwork is signed by him, we’ll wrap this up for you,” Riley told her client.

  “Thank you. I never should have gone to Vegas. I went there a single woman and came back a married one, with a man I hardly know.”

  “It’s happened more than you’d think,” Riley said as the woman stood. She stood with her and shook her hand. “I’ll call you when I receive it.”

  The woman nodded at Riley and left her office. Riley sat back down in her desk chair and stared at the flashing scre
en on her phone. She actually rolled her eyes and then picked it up.

  “Hi,” she said.

  “Hey, babe.”

  “Elena, you can’t just ‘hey, babe’ me right now,” she retorted.

  “I called to talk to my girlfriend. I can’t lead with hello?”

  “You haven’t called your girlfriend in over a week.”

  “Riley, don’t start. I’m exhausted. I’ve had a crazy week. I just called to say hello.”

  “You just called to say hello? Are you kidding, Elena?”

  “Well, I didn’t call to get yelled at.” The woman paused. “Jesus, Riley. I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I’ve been so busy trying to figure out if I’m going to run for governor. Things are moving quickly here.”

  “You’re just deciding?” Riley asked softly. “Like, you’re just deciding on your own?”

  “Well, not on my own. I’m working with–”

  “For a woman who is so intelligent, you are so dumb sometimes, Elena.” Riley paused. “What the hell happened to us?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “We were crazy about each other when we first met. Do you remember that?”

  “Of course, I do.”

  “Well, what happened?”

  “Are you saying you’re not crazy about me anymore?” Elena asked.

  “I’m saying I don’t understand how it got this far.” She breathed out and leaned back in her chair. “Do you even love me?”

  “Riley…”

  “Do you?”

  “Yes, I love you.”

  “Then, why are you acting like this?” Riley asked.

  “Like I’m trying to make a huge life decision?”

  “Like you already made one, and now you’re thinking about backing out of it. Oh, and you’re not even talking to your girlfriend of three years about it. You’re talking to advisors, party leaders, and politicians. I’m your girlfriend. This impacts my entire life, Elena. Don’t you get that? If you run, that’s at least six more years of you living there and me living here.”

  “You could move here instead. I own my place here. It would be so much easier.”