Page 8 of March

“No, you’re definitely moving with me.” Bryce’s hands moved back to Sophie’s hips, sliding a little under the blazer and shirt and resting on her hip bones. “Trust me. I can feel them.”

“Fuck,” Sophie whispered to herself but knew Bryce could hear her.

“I know,” Bryce said.

Sophie tried to reach for Bryce and pull her in closer. She had never wanted to kiss a woman she’d just met before, but as her hand moved into Bryce’s short hair at the back of her neck, she wanted to move Bryce’s lips to her own and kiss her until Bryce would turn her around and they’d end up making out on the sofa that was still, thankfully, empty, or else she’d be giving the people sitting there quite a show.

“Sophie, you…” Bryce’s hand slipped up a little higher and moved across Sophie’s stomach.

She didn’t finish her sentence, though, as the song finished instead, and they were left there for a beat before the next song started up, but it was a loud and fast rock song with no bass, not one they could dance to like this. Sophie felt Bryce’s hips thrust a few times, and she wished she were alone with a complete stranger because she wanted them to be doing this back at her apartment. She wanted Bryce to take everything off and climb on top of her. Never in her life had she thought that about a woman she’d barely known for ten minutes before.

“We should probably sit back down,” Bryce whispered, pulling Sophie out of the moment.

Then, Bryce kissed her neck and removed her hands from Sophie’s body, and Sophie felt empty, as if a part of her had just disappeared. What was going on right now?

Bryce walked around her, grabbed Sophie’s drink off the table, and handed it to her before she took her own and sat back down. Sophie just stood there and stared at her for a long moment before she finally sat down beside her.

“Now what?” Bryce asked with a smile. “I guess now that we’ve danced, I need to buy you another drink.”

“I’m not done with this one,” Sophie said, holding up her beer that was only half-finished.

“But if I buy you another one, will you stay longer?”

“You don’t have to buy me a drink to get me to stay.”

“No?” Bryce asked as she moved her arm around the sofa, with her fingers landing in Sophie’s hair. “Grapefruit.”

“What?” Sophie asked.

“Your shampoo or conditioner has grapefruit in it.”

“Oh. Yeah, I guess,” she replied.

“I could smell it.” Bryce ran her finger into the strands. “I like it.”

Sophie took a chance and leaned forward. She placed her hand on Bryce’s thigh and turned more so that they were facing one another. Bryce’s free hand ended up on top of her own, and quickly, their fingers were entwined and playing together as they continued to talk. Sophie lost all concept of time. She’d placed her beer on the floor, and at some point, someone had picked it up and tossed it out. She didn’t care. Bryce had long ago finished her drink and hadn’t ordered another one because that would mean that one or both of them would have to take a trip to the bar, and neither of them wanted to leave their cozy corner where they continued to get closer and closer as the night went on.

“I think I would like to move into a travel blog one day soon,” Bryce shared. “Food and travel just go together, and if I’m already driving to restaurants, I can easily write about the journey, too. I think it’s a natural progression.”

“It sounds nice,” Sophie replied with a smile. “Long drives with your soundtrack of choice. Something energetic when you’re tired and something calming when you’re contemplative.”

“Oh, I’d like that. I’ll have to make some good playlists.”

“And you like working for yourself?”

“Yes,” Bryce said as she shifted a bit and ran her hand through Sophie’s hair again.

Sophie had been closing her eyes nearly every time Bryce had done that because it felt too good to keep her eyes open.

“I don’t know that I’d want that. I like having a steady paycheck. And I think I’d crumble under pressure if I had to own everything, you know?”

“I think you’d handle it just fine,” Bryce said softly. “But it’s not for everyone; that’s true. It was hard at the beginning. I probably quit my job a few months too soon, but I needed to do it, and I was ready for the challenge. Still, there were a few nights of ramen noodles on the couch while I hoped people would click on my webpage and then click on the ads I had there to earn me some commissions while I watched the analytics on my laptop, but it’s all paid off.”

“I think that’s brave,” Sophie said as she leaned in a bit.

“Yeah? Do I get bravery points?” Bryce smiled at her.

“Do youneedthem?”

---