Page 23 of Everybody Needs a Hero

“Of course,” Drew said, not realizing until that moment how hard it might be for Tess to go out for dinner. Once recognized, Tess drew attention. She remembered the crowd forming on the street around Tess after the baby was delivered. The pair literally had to flee to avoid a scene.What an interesting life, she thought, glad that as an author she could be moderately famous, but no one would ever know that was the case by looking at her. Then, a new thought occurred to her. If Tess lived a life where everyone watched her every move, her confession in the trailer was an even bigger deal.She risked a lot telling me how she felt.As they made their way to the restaurant, the realization only confused Drew more.

With a bit of luck,they were able to park nearby and slip in through the restaurant’s backdoor without a scene. “Irasshaimase,” the owner said as he ushered them to a special secluded space where gold silk curtains hid the entry. A discrete entry was an arrangement set up years ago with the restaurant and used by several celebrities. She was glad the space was available on such short notice.

Once they sat on the plush, red cushions around a short black table, with sake poured and their order given, Tess prepared herself. Addressing the elephant in the room sooner rather than later would hopefully allow them to enjoy the meal together. Taking a deep breath, she got straight to the point. “Drew, I want to apologize for earlier in my trailer,” she said, trying to catch her eye. “I never intended to make you uncomfortable. I am sorry.” For a moment, Drew didn’t react other than to study Tess’s face while her eyes gave nothing away. “Can we put it behind us?”

Slowly, Drew shook her head. “Please don’t apologize,” she finally replied. “I was rude to leave like I did while you were only being honest.” Tess watched her swallow hard. “You were being honest, right?”

Unable to help herself, Tess reached across the table to take Drew’s hand. “Yes,” she said in a rush, relishing the feel of Drew’s warm skin. “Every single word.” Drew continued to shake her head but didn’t pull back her hand.

After a second, she gently returned the caress, rubbing her thumb over the back of Tess’s hand. “It just I… I can’t do this…” she managed to say, pausing for a second while she looked at their clasped hands.

Tess guessed a million thoughts were running through Drew’s head, because the same was happening to her. The words ‘I can’t’ hung in the air while Drew exhaled a long breath. She was clearly trying to gather herself to say something more. Tess forced herself to be patient but struggled because Drew’s answer mattered so much. No matter what it was. Finally, Drew looked ready to speak again.

“No, that’s not what I want to say. It’s not that I can’t. It’s that I don’t know how to do what you’re wanting.”

To be sure she understood, Tess leaned closer. “What do you mean?”

Drew held Tess’s hand tighter. “I mean, I’m incredibly attracted to you too,” she said. “But I don’t know what to do about it. I’ve never… I mean…” She sighed. “Why is it so hard to explain? I’m a writer for crying out loud. I’m trying to say, I’ve never had a relationship with a woman, or really with anybody.”

Her heart pounding, Tess had so many things she wanted to say, she didn’t know where to start. The moment she began to tell Drew they could work it out, the restaurant owner whisked in between the curtains. He carried two white ceramic plates of sushi. Drew jerked her hand back as if she had been burned while Tess politely smiled at the man’s entrance.

Out of the corner of her eye, Tess saw Drew blushing. “Here you are,” the owner said, setting multiple dishes on the table. A variety of delicacies filled them. “Will there be anything else at the moment?”

Keeping her frustration in check at the unlucky timing, Tess shook her head. “Thank you,” she said. “We’re fine for now.”

“More sake?” the owner asked, pushing the edge of Tess’s patience. She could almost feel Drew withdrawing into her shell.

“No, thank you.”

The owner nodded, backing through the curtains. “Enjoy your dinner.” As soon as he disappeared, Tess looked at Drew, seeing what she was afraid she would. The woman had dropped her eyes to study the food, neither hand on the table. Everything about her posture let Tess know the previous conversation was over.

Watching Drew pick up a bite of sushi with her chopsticks, Tess let out a sigh. “Are we ignoring what we were saying?” she asked. “Because I don’t want that.”

Lifting her napkin to cover her mouth while she chewed, Drew wouldn’t meet Tess’s eye. “I think we should focus on why we came here and get busy with the script,” she said. “Okay?”

Remembering how Drew fled her trailer earlier, Tess didn’t want to press, so all she could do was nod and start on her dinner.

19

Grabbing her phone from the nightstand to check the time, Ashley sighed with disappointment when the thing read seven a.m. She was hoping the time was earlier, and the fact the sky was dark outside wasn’t because of the weather. Pausing to listen, she heard the patter of rain hitting her bedroom windows. Groaning, Ashley turned to face Bryce as the woman stirred beside her. “What’s wrong, babe?” she asked, rubbing her eyes with her fists in a way that Ashley found adorable. Her badass Marine was trying to wake up with a serious case of bedhead.

“It’s still raining like crazy,” Ashley answered. “Honestly, I think the whole city is going to wash away if the weather doesn’t let up.” Three days of rain in March wasn’t necessarily unexpected in Los Angeles, but thunderstorms with torrential rain were unusual. Especially since anything other than blue skies and sunshine made people act silly. No one was quite sure how to handle it and the news was having a field day. Accounts of swamped cars blocking streets, and even some freeway exchanges, had sent driver’s tempers escalating out of control. The chaos turned into epic traffic jams. Not that Ashley intended to drive anywhere, but she itched to go for a run. The weather made that unappetizing. Plodding along in wet running shoes was incredibly unpleasant. Not that she minded being cooped up with Bryce in her mom’s giant house. They binge-watched seasons of detective stories, ate whatever was near enough that they were willing to go out and get, and had a lot of sex.

“I’ll go make coffee,” Bryce said with a yawn, but Ashley pushed her back onto the bed. Seeing the woman lying there wrapped in the silk sheet, Ashley was tempted to slide under the covers and give Bryce a proper wakeup. The sexy woman, even looking sleepy, turned on Ashley pretty much all the time. That morning was no different. Only the hope she would catch her mom before she left for the studio kept their pajamas on for the moment.

Giving Bryce a peck on the lips, she sprang out of bed. “I’ll go grab us coffee,” she said. “I want to see if Mom’s still here.”

Bryce nodded. “I’ll check the weather forecast,” she said. “Maybe we can catch a break.”

“Thank you,” Ashley said over her shoulder before wandering down the hall to the kitchen. Stepping inside, she saw her mom rinsing a cup. “Good morning.”

“Well, good morning,” Tess said as Ashley walked over to hug her. “If I had known you were up, I’d have waited to see if I could talk you into making me a latte.”

Ashley smiled as she let go. “Are you in a rush?” she asked, turning to the expresso machine. “It will only take a second, and you can always take it to go.”

Clearly not needing to be talked into saying yes, Tess sank into one of the chairs at the kitchen table. “If you insist,” she said with a laugh. “So, how are you? We haven’t had time to talk the last few days, and I miss you.”

“I miss you too,” Ashley said. “We talked more when I wasn’t living here.” She worked the levers to build up steam for the milk. “But honestly, I’m excellent. Bryce is wonderful.” She added the espresso. “Although the rain is making us both nuts. We want to go for a run or something. Anything to get out of here for at least a few hours.” Ashley finished the latte, added a fun bit of artwork to the foam, and set it in front of her mother. “Ta-dah.”

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