Page 2 of Together at Ruby's

2

After wrapping up one of the best workouts Tate had in quite a while, she helped Nikki rack all the weights they used. She felt excellent. The perfect mixture of worked muscles and sense of accomplishment. “Hey, do you have time to grab a smoothie at the counter, or do you have to head out?” Nikki asked once they finished their task. “Because if you have an extra minute, I have a question to ask you.”

Tate checked her watch. The time wasn’t much past four o’clock, so she had at least a half an hour before heading home to take a hot shower. With Liza shopping, she was pretty confident there was a little time to kill before her girlfriend got home. Besides, if Nikki needed something, she always wanted to help her. Considering how generous Nikki was, it was the least Tate could do.

“Absolutely,” Tate said. “Everything okay?”

“Oh yeah,” Nikki replied. “I need some of your business wisdom is all.”

Curious, while not sure what to make of Nikki’s comment about needing advice, Tate followed her to the smoothie counter. “You know I deal with mostly international finance, right?” she asked. “Business school was a long time ago.”

After they ordered two protein and fruit smoothies and stepped aside to wait, Nikki nodded. “I know. But it’s an investment type question,” she said. “I’ve come into a hefty sum of money and want to put it somewhere useful.”

Hefty sum of money? Like what?she thought while keeping her face neutral. Always known for her reserved personality, being nosey was way outside of Tate’s norm, even with a close friend. “Well,” she started. “There are numerous options, of course. It will depend on how much risk you want to take with it mostly.”

“I see.” Nikki looked thoughtful. “I’ll have to think about that.”

“Do you want me to run through the options with you?” Tate asked as their order was called. “I can have my assistant set up an appointment.”

Finding them a small table, Nikki furrowed her brow. “That might be too formal at this stage,” she said and grinned. “I was thinking maybe over beers at Ruby’s sometime soon?”

“Even better,” Tate answered. “I wish more of my clients were open to that.” Taking a drink through the straw, she relished the sweet taste of the thick liquid for a moment before the phone in her pocket buzzed.Maybe that’s Liza home already?she thought.Or running late?She smiled a bit, knowing that was most likely. The text was from Allie, though, and for a second she felt a pang of worry only to read the women were running late.

“A fender bender is holding us up at the 217 exit,” Allie wrote. “Liza says she’s sorry but will make it up to you.”

Tate wasn’t surprised since that area of the freeway was notorious for delays. “No problem. Tell her I’ll meet her at home,” she typed but hesitated with her thumb in the air before adding, “and tell her thank you for not texting while driving.”

Allie sent back a smiley face. “Everything okay?” Nikki asked, and Tate nodded as she put away the phone.

“Stuck in traffic,” she said, suddenly having an idea since they had extra time to hang out.

The topic was something she had been meaning to ask Nikki for a while, but the whole subject made her nervous. “So, if you have a few more minutes, now I have a question for you.”

Swallowing a drink of her smoothie, Nikki winked. “You know me,” she said. “I have nothing but time.” It was true. Tate did know Nikki was generally available at any time day or night. She had no idea how the woman earned a living or what she did for work, and whenever anyone started to raise the question, Tate noticed Nikki avoided the topic every time.Just another facet of the mysterious Nikki, she thought, before building up the courage to ask her question.

She stalled by taking another drink, and Nikki apparently noticed because she raised an eyebrow. “Okay, okay,” Tate said, taking a deep breath. “It’s about Liza.” She cleared her throat but then pushed on. “I want to propose to her, but I have no idea how to do it.”

Sittingin the car as traffic crawled along excruciatingly slow, Liza practiced keeping her impatience in check. There was nothing to be done but limp along with everyone else as they all squeezed into one lane to pass the site of the three-car accident.At least I am here with Allie and Rey to keep me company, she thought, half listening to their chatter about Portland’s upcoming Pride festival and parade. “It lands on your birthday this year though,” Rey said, and it took a second for Liza to clue in that the statement was directed toward her. “Will you and Tate be in town for that weekend? Or do you have other plans to do something special?”

“Especially since it’s your big-three-oh,” Allie added making Liza wince. Her friend was only being playful, but Liza wasn’t particularly excited about turning thirty. Her dislike for the significant event wasn’t something she elaborated on with her circle, usually choosing to laugh it off as no big deal. But deep down, the upcoming date unsettled her. Clearly, this time Allie noticed her reaction. “Hey, I didn’t say that to upset you.” Her voice turned gentle. “Are you not looking forward to your birthday? Normally, you love them.”

“I know you didn’t,” Liza said with a sigh. “And no, I’m not looking forward to it this year.” Allie was right, Liza did love her birthdays normally. Being the center of attention and showered with gifts made her extremely happy. But leaving her twenties behind was a big deal, and if she was honest, scared her. “I just don’t know how I feel about turning thirty. I mean, I expected my life to be a lot different by now.”

Always the comforting one, Rey rubbed Liza’s leg from beside her in the passenger seat. “In what ways?” she asked. “Married to Tate?”

Nodding, Liza was relieved to finally be moving past the accident on the freeway. “Yes, married for sure,” she replied as she accelerated to the normal sixty-five with all three lanes open again. “And, well, if I’m being honest, I hoped to have a kid or two as well.” She felt her eyes well with tears. “But I don’t have any of that.” A tiny tear slipped out.

Leaning forward, Allie touched Liza’s shoulder from the backseat. “Liza, I’m so sorry you’re feeling sad about it,” Allie said. “But all of that is going to change soon. You already said you were sure Tate would propose any day now.”

Frustrated at her emotional reaction, Liza swallowed down her sadness and plastered on a smile. “Yes, she will,” she said, thinking again of how she wished she could tell her friends about Tate’s upcoming promotion.But I promised, she thought and let it go.For now.“And I absolutely can’t wait.”

Lettingherself into the three-bedroom house she shared with Liza, Tate was happy to see her girlfriend wasn’t home yet. With her gym bag over one shoulder, she carried a bouquet of colorful roses and other summer flowers in her other hand as she crossed the living room. By getting home first, Tate would have time to grab the shower she hoped for as well as be able to leave the surprise arrangement on the kitchen table for Liza to find. No one liked flowers and other tokens of affection more than the woman she lived with. The romantic gesture would be a great way to start their standing date night.

After stashing her bag in the bedroom they had converted into Tate’s office, she started to strip while she walked down the hall. By the time she was at the master bathroom, only her briefs and sports bra remained. A shower would feel fantastic on her slightly sore muscles. Not that she minded the feeling of exertion, in fact, she relished it. The sensation meant she had worked hard and that was what Tate did best whether in the gym or at her job. Turning on the water and letting it run warm, she stripped the rest of the way and climbed into the spray. The sting of the hot droplets made her shiver with pleasure.It’s been such a fantastic day,she thought, reaching for the shampoo. Only a few hours of work this morning, then a long session at her favorite gym, followed by a good talk with Nikki, leading to date night all added up to near perfection.

Thinking back, when Tate asked for help at the gym, she wasn’t sure her friend would help her. Nikki had raised her hands as if to ward off Tate’s statement and implied question. “Hold on a second, buddy,” Nikki had said. “If you’re asking me for advice on how to pull off a wedding proposal, you got the wrong gal.” She had grinned her devilish smile. “I love ‘em and leave ‘em, remember? No marriages for me. Not ever.”

“I know,” Tate admitted. “But you’re also one of the most romantic people I’ve ever met, so try to stretch your imagination for a few minutes.”

---