Page 54 of Shifting Gears

Nora pauses. Her half-formed speech and apology evaporates. “You do?”

Dani nods, leaning forwards onto the island on her forearms. Whatever Nora had seen on her face is gone, now—her usual easy smile is back. “You’re leaving at the end of the summer, Nora. You should know that I’m not expecting anything serious from you. Nothing needs to change.”

Nothing needs to change. Even though this is what Nora should want—a reset, a chance to roll back what was probably a mistake and salvage their budding friendship before she goes back to the city—the reality of it sucks the air out of the room.

“Oh. Right,” Nora says tightly. “Good. Friends, then. That makes sense.”

“I mean. Maybe notjustfriends,” Dani says, drumming out a little beat with her fingers on the countertop. “I agree that last night was kind of fucking awesome. I’d hate for it to be a one-time thing.”

Nora’s mood, which had been succumbing slowly to a dark cloud, clears up like magic.

It seems too good to be true, really. Dani is absurdly attractive, gave Nora frankly incredible sex last night, and doesn’t want anything else to change. It’s like someone wrapped her up with a little bow and left her on the doorstep for a perfect vacation.

Maybe Nora doesn’t need to reveal everything. Maybe she can just have this, if it’s what Dani wants, too. Maybe she can be a little bit selfish.

“You genuinely just want something casual?” Nora ventures, skeptical that her luck could possibly be this good.

“Relationships are complicated,” Dani says vaguely. “Honestly, it’s better for both of us this way.”

Nora raises an eyebrow. “Sounds like there’s a story there.”

“Not an interesting one.” Dani rubs her hands together in a fidget that Nora has come to recognize. It only makes Nora more curious. Dani seems so idealistic, so perfectly the type to be open to love, and the idea of her shying away from romance seems out of character. Nora needs to understand.

“Come on, Dani,” Nora says encouragingly, moving to the stool next to Dani and scooting closer. “That dog won’t hunt; isn’t that what you say around here?”

“No, it definitely isn’t.” Dani chuckles, covering her face while Nora pokes at her shoulder. “It’s not very exciting. I’ve just gotten my heart broken a couple of times. Broken a couple of hearts, too. It’s easier if nobody gets too invested.”

“A couple of times?” Nora says. Dani’s life before they met, what made her the woman she is today, is genuinely intriguing.

“You know about my ex from high school. That hit me hard,” Dani says, uncovering her face. “Then I took a year off before I went to university, and Jen and I were sort of…together. Vaguely.”

“Jen?” Nora says, conjuring up the only person she knows with that name in town. “You don’t meanJenny, do you?”

The surly bartender at the River Run is about the most unlikely person on the planet Nora would pair with Dani, but Dani nods. In Nora’s experience, Jenny’s abrasive personality borders on rude, and she can’t imagine how sweet, funny Dani might have ended up with her.

“She doesn’t seem your type,” Nora says.

Dani shrugs. “It’s a small town. Being gay limits the dating pool.”

Nora snorts, but she concedes the point. Riverwalk seems to have a large queer population by percentage, but, even so, it’s extremely limited.

“The breakup was bad,” Dani continues, swirling her coffee in the mug. “Turns out we had different expectations. She wanted me to come with her when she went to college. Make a go of it. But I didn’t feel the same way.”

“Yikes,” Nora says with a wince. Dani gives a self-deprecating smile.

“Yeah. And then when I came back here, it turns out she dropped out and took over the bar.” Dani stares into her mug. “The whole thing totally wrecked our friendship.”

Nora nods. She’s been there, that horrible grey space when every face-to-face meeting reminds you of the best and worst times. Nora is typically the less interested party, too, and it can definitely make for awkwardness.

“I don’t ever want to be that person again, on either side of it. It’s easier to be clear from the start and not get in too deep,” Dani says. “That’s worked a lot better for me since.”

“That makes sense.” Nora leans forward on the counter, bending so that she’s in Dani’s eyeline. “How’s this sound—I promise I won’t beg you to come with me when I leave.”

Finally, Dani’s melancholy breaks. The sparkle returns to her eyes, and she leans forward, too, meeting Nora with a firm, decisive kiss. “Good. I feel like a summer fling will do you good, and I’m happy to serve.”

The unintentional use of Kayla’ssummer flingwording should make Nora roll her eyes, but she’s distracted by one kiss turning into several. Dani slides off her chair to slot between Nora’s open legs and pin her to the island, and although Nora is still deliciously sore, her body reacts despite it all. She fires up like a kiln.

Dani seems just as ready, her hands sliding down to cup Nora’s thighs and her teeth sinking into Nora’s lower lip, until Nora accidentally puts her elbow into the pile of grated Parmesan on the cutting board.

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