Page 66 of A Little Light

Andi did turn and leave the coffee shop this time. How had her day begun so beautifully, and now it was continuing like this? Why did it feel as though everything was unravelling at a speed she couldn’t comprehend?

Rachel. I need to find Rachel.

* * *

For the first time since she’d moved into the loft, it felt bitterly cold in here. Rachel leaned back against the kitchen island, staring at the tree she had decorated with Andi. As the lights glimmered, she wondered if Andi would show up here ever again. She wondered if she was about to have her Juliet moment all over again.

Only it wasn’t the same thing.

Rachel was far more into Andi than she had been with Juliet.

Her phone started to ring in her pocket. It was probably Andi calling to tell her she didn’t want to see her anymore. Disappointing but understandable. Andi had been through more than enough. She didn’t need to lose friends over this. Over…Rachel.

She took it out and checked the screen. Rachel’s heart settled when she saw Kelly’s name rather than Andi’s. “Hi.”

“Hi, babe. What are you doing this afternoon?”

Rachel scoffed. “Probably nothing. I should be out with Andi right now but…well, never mind.”

“Uh, no. Why aren’t you out with Andi?”

Rachel crossed the room and flopped down on the couch. She felt the tears start to flow, even if she didn’t want them. “Her best friend hates me.”

“Not sure what her best friend has to do with anything. She’s not in the relationship with you.”

“I know, and I appreciate that. But Sally has been through everything with Andi. The loss of her wife, the grief, all of it.”

“She sounds like a remarkable friend, but I still don’t know what that has to do with you, babe.”

“She found out that I’m an escort. Before that, we got on really well. I’d only met her properly once, but at the Christmas party, we were even dancing together. I guess I just got carried away and forgot who I was for a moment. I should have known this was coming.”

“Hold on. You forgot who you are? What the fuck does that mean?”

Rachel’s bottom lip trembled. She never thought she’d be having this conversation today. God, she was supposed to be spending Christmas with Andi in just a few days’ time. That was seeming less likely right now. “You know what I mean. I let myself get carried away with Andi and completely disregarded the fact that people would be bothered by who I am. What I do.”

“No, I’m not having that. Surely Andi doesn’t care. If she did, she wouldn’t have asked you out on a date in the first place. Because correct me if I’m wrong, but she’s always known what your job is.”

“This isn’t about Andi. Andi has been amazing, she is amazing, but her friends are all she has, Kel. There’s no way I’d ever expect her to keep dating me if they’re so against it.”

“Have you spoken to her about it?”

“No. I went to meet Sally with her, but while I was getting coffee, I heard some things I didn’t want to hear. So, I bought Andi coffee and left.”

“What did you hear?” The anger in Kelly’s tone was clear, but people didn’t need to be angry about it. This was who Rachel was, and that had always been true. With her job…came judgement.

“She called me a sex worker.”

As Rachel said that, there was a gentle knock at her door. God, she hoped it was Andi.

“Kel, I have to go. Someone is at the door.”

“If it’s Andi, please figure things out with her.”

Rachel smiled, wanting to do exactly that. “I will if I can. If she wants to. I’m not getting my hopes up, but I can’t bear the thought of her ending things with me.”

“I think you’ll be okay. Both of you.”

“I’ll call you,” Rachel said as there was another knock. “I have to go. Bye, babe.”

---