Page 21 of Doll Face

“What if I want more than a week with you?” Barbie asks carefully.

“I-I don’t know.” Her face falls and I reach for her hand. “I’m not saying no, I just know how hard long distance was on both of us last time.” She sighs.

“I know.” She looks solemn. I wish I had more to offer her than a lousy I don’t know.

“Second chances aren’t real,” she says like it’s obvious.

“I don’t believe that. I don’t think I found you again for no reason,” I admit.

“Second chances are for movies and books.” She huffs.

We finish eating lunch, and I pay before we start heading back to her office. The car is waiting for us, and we’re both quiet on the drive back to her office. I wish I had a better answer for her. Because more than anything, I want this to be our second chance at being together. I want this time to be the time it works out for us. I know I’m only here for a week but it isn’t like I can’t come back. She could visit me, too. We’re just looking at it from all the wrong angles, and I need to show her that.

“Barbie, I’m telling you this could be our second chance because I believe we were made for each other. We’re like Ken and Barbie—literally. We found each other in this life, and I never stopped thinking about you. I never stopped loving you, honestly. So I know it’s a lot, and it’s fast, but I also know how I feel about you, and I want to spend my life with you, however that may look.” If she’s going to end this, I need her to know all the facts about how I feel first.

“Kenzie.” Her eyes are brimming with tears, and I pull her in for a hug.

“I love you,” I whisper into her hair. Holding onto her tightly, I can’t help but not want to let go. I’m afraid this might be the last time I hold her.

“I-I love you too,” she whispers back. I pull back and look at her face. Her mascara is running, and her lipstick is smudged, but fuck if she isn’t the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.

“You do?”

“God, of course I do,” Barbie says, smiling.

“We’re not wrong for each other, and I promise to prove that to you.” I smile.

“Promise?” she asks.

“Promise.” I nod. “Now, let’s get you cleaned up so you can be a bad bitch at work.” I smile. I take a napkin out of my purse and dry her tears. She fixes her smudged lipstick and wipes her face clean.

“I’ll see you after work, just shoot me a text.”

“Okay.” She looks at her Apple watch. “You got me back here with a minute to spare. How did you do that?”

“I promised I would,” I say with a mischievous wink.

With that, I turn to go but Barbie pulls me back in. She plants a kiss on my lips, and I feel an ease run through me. She smiles before walking in the building, and I feel better about leaving her. As much I want to ask her to skip work and spend the rest of the day with me, I don’t want to get in the way of her job. I know she’s trying to do the same for me, too.

Chapter 9

Barbie

5 years ago…

“Come on! We’re not going to get into trouble!” Kenzie says with a squeal.

“Excuse me, but I know when you’re lying!” I shake my head.

“You’re already naked! You’re more likely to get caught now,” she points out.

It was her idea to sneak into our neighbor’s pool and go skinny dipping. It’s a way too hot California night, and our pool hasn’t been cleaned from the party we threw last week. Covered in red cups and God knows what else, I wasn’t daring to get in that cesspool. But then my adventurous girlfriend decided going skinny dipping was a good idea. Sometimes I wonder how much trouble she’d get into without me reining her in. But then again, how much fun would I get into without her?

“Come. On,” she says again.

“Okay!” I squeal and jump in before I can think twice about it. I hit the warm water seconds later with it crashing around us. It was warmer than I expected it to be. It was almost like jumping into an oversized hot tub.

“Shit, I didn’t think you’d do it.” She giggles.

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