Comfy Closets - Chapter 18: Chapter 18

Instantly, I registered what I had said and looked around nervously to see if anyone was listening. Thankfully, everyone was busy with themselves and my co-workers were either in the back or out near the tables cleaning up, nowhere near us to listen.
“Well, yeah. I thought you knew that already since I saw you guys talking last time. I thought you were friends?” Jemma stated, phrasing it more like a question.
Turning to the blonde beside me, all I received was a sheepish smile. “Sorry? Kind of forgot to mention that...”
I was still in a state of disbelief as I looked between the two of them. But now that I knew, I could actually see the resemblance between them. The same dirty blonde hair, face shape, hazel eyes. But in my opinion, Leah's were brighter. No offence to my boss.
“Um... Ah- Would’ve been nice to know that. You know, for... reasons.”
My boss quirked an eyebrow but didn’t comment on that any further. “Anyways, you girls have fun. Enjoy your night.” We took that as our cue to head off, but before we could make it out of the shop, she called for me. “And Alyssa? If you hurt my baby niece in any way, I will hunt you down and teach you a very memorable lesson, you got me?”
Although she sounded all light and joking, I couldn’t help but note the flat seriousness underlying her tone. Nodding quickly, almost intimidated, I walked out of the shop with a breath of relief to have escaped from that.
Leah stood just outside with her hands in her pockets, smiling nervously as she rocked back and forth on her heels. “I should’ve mentioned that earlier...”
“As I said, would’ve been nice to know,” I quipped, marching ahead in the direction of her parked car. Admittedly, I wasn’t really mad, I just had no clue how I should act around my boss now.
I could hear her boots hit the pavement as she jogged to try and catch up. “Lyssa, wait. I’m sorry, I haven’t even thought about it until I came into the shop just now!” I felt her grasp my wrist as she tried to slow down my pace. “Babe, it honestly slipped my mind.”
At that, I came to a stop and turned to her. I couldn’t think about anything else now but the word she just called me with, everything else vanishing from my thoughts. “Babe, huh?” Even saying the word made my insides all giddy.
She seemed confused for a second before her expression changed into one filled with meekness. “Oh. That. I don’t have to call you that if you don’t like it. I could-”
“No, no. It’s fine, Leah. Actually, I like it,” I confessed as I scratched my forehead nervously.
My girlfriend paused her rambling, instead stared at me with such warmth radiating from her eyes. Told you her ones were better than Jemma's. “Good. That’s good. L-lets go grab some food then.”
We walked to her car and got in, turning on the heater before setting off, all the while with large smiles present on our faces.
About two minutes into the drive, I couldn’t hold in my curiosity any longer. “Where are we going to eat?”
“Somewhere.”
Rolling my eyes, I decided to just wait and see. “You know, I haven’t forgotten about just now. I have no idea how to act around my boss now- I mean, your aunt. And now she also knows what’s going on between us,” I remarked, silently stressing myself at the thought.
“Aunt Jem won’t care about what’s happening between us, trust me. She only did that to scare you,” she calmly noted. “Besides, she knows about me liking girls, so she’s cool with it.”
Looking my way, she saw me anxiously fiddle with my fingers. She reached over and took one of my hands, lacing our fingers together and smiling reassuringly. “It’s alright. She’ll keep it to herself. She’s kept my secret for this long, so you have nothing to worry about.”
As she looked ahead and drove, still holding my hand on the centre console, I thought about what she said. I was comforted by the thought, but I also wondered what her reason was for keeping it a secret. She was confident in herself, or seemed to most of the time, and seemed really comfortable with who she was. So why wasn’t she out? I couldn’t exactly say much about that though, given my own hesitance, and there might be an explanation for why, but I didn’t think now was the time to ask.
Instead, I hummed in agreement and chose to focus on the warmth of her hand. Our fingers interlocked gracefully, almost naturally as our hands rested in each others. I used my thumb to gently brush the back of her hand, soft rhythmic strokes going slowly back and forth as I heard a small sigh escape her lips. The rest of the journey to wherever continued like that.
Once she parked and got out of the car, only then did I realise where we would be dining. “Japanese food, huh?”
She came around her car and took my hand in hers just as I was starting to miss the contact we had just now. “I’ve tried it a couple of times and it’s good. Thought you might like it. Unless you don’t like Japanese food in general, then we can go somewhere else if you want,” she rushed out towards the end as I could hear the worry in her tone.
“Relax, Leahbear, I don’t hate Japanese food. Just haven’t had the chance to eat it often, is all. You can introduce me to some stuff, so it’d be great!” I reassured with a smile, receiving a bright one in return. “And by the way, I don’t think I’m going to use Leahbear as your nickname anymore. Now that I just said it, I think it's way too cutesy,” I commented, scrunching up my face at how cheesy I never realised it sounded.
She laughed at the expression I made, nudging my shoulder playfully. “No, I find it adorable! But it is a little mawkish, to be honest,” she said, letting out a chuckle. “Come up with a new one then, and it better be a good one,” she warned as I opened the door to the restaurant.
“It’s hard though! Your name is so short, it doesn’t really need to be shortened.”
“You can be creative. But, no DiaLeah. I never want to hear that again.” She wrinkled her nose in mock disgust.
“Now THAT was creative. A table for two?” I asked the hostess once we entered. The lady nodded and grabbed two menus, leading us to our table. As we were on our way there, the hostess in front of me suddenly said out loud, “Irasshaimase!”
I looked at her weirdly, but then it was like she started a chain reaction because every other staff in the restaurant said the same thing in chorus. I turned to Leah as we sat down, not able to hide my befuddlement. “What did they just say? Is that normal?”
The blonde sitting in front of me smiled amusedly as she looked around the place. “Yes, that’s normal. It basically means ‘Welcome to the restaurant'.”
“How do you even know that?”
“Let’s just say I’ve watched my fair share of anime back in middle school.”
My eyebrows raised in surprise, not expecting that from her. “I guess I’m learning more and more about you every day,” I remarked jokingly.
“It was a phase, nothing too crazy. Anyway, we should order,” she said, trying to change the topic.
“Mhmm.”
Leah ordered for us because I didn’t know what half of the things were on the menu. After giving the waiter our menus, we relaxed into our seats as we waited for our food. Leah rested her elbows on the table, with one hand propping up her chin as she focused her gaze on me. I had gone quiet as my thoughts wandered, drifting back to this morning and what I told her.
She pursed her lips before she asked. “You alright over there?”
I let my hands fall onto the table, clasping them together as I stared at it instead of at her. “I’m good. I just- I was thinking about this morning and what I told you. About me and why I want to keep this a secret.”
Her hand that was resting on the table reached out to mines until the back of her fingers brushed my knuckles gently, her fleeting touch enough to comfort me. “We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. I understand if it’s hard for you to say. You don’t have to.”
“No, I want to,” I insisted, “I want to explain some more.” She didn’t say anything, only nodding encouragingly. “My ex, Izzie- I mean Isabelle, she’s the reason why I’m so hesitant to come out. We started dating in Sophomore year, but she went to a different school than us, so we had completely different friend groups. We kept our relationship quiet because we both weren’t out, but I still had the chance to get to know her friends. One day, she- her friends- Um, sorry,” I apologized as I tried to clear the lump in my throat.
“Lys, you don’t have to continue. It’s alright, you can tell me when you’re ready,” she said, unclasping my hands and taking one of them in hers. I only nodded, not saying anything in response.
Just then, the waiter arrived to serve us our food, and so we let go of each other’s hands for them to place it down. I missed the contact, but I focused on trying to shake off the awful feeling that brought back bad memories. I managed to just enough.
Looking at our meal, it seemed appetizing even if I didn’t know what it exactly was. “What is this bowl filled with?” I asked uncertainly.
“Tonkotsu ramen. I swear, it’s really good. You’ll like it,” the blonde reassured as she picked up a pair of chopsticks for her own bowl, holding it with ease.
I picked up the spoon and went to take a sip of the soup, only to drink a spoonful when I discovered its delicious taste. “Damn, that is good.”
“I know, right?”
Conversation after that was lighter as we chatted about everything and nothing. She talked about her group project for drama and the idea she came up with, and I talked about things from soccer to tv shows. It was overall a good night out, just spending some time with her.
After she paid for our bill, which I reluctantly let her pay for after a heated discussion, we decided to take a stroll by the shops before we headed back. We didn’t hold hands, but every now and then, our pinkies would brush against each other with subtle wisps of heated connection. We were walking by a quaint music store when I heard a distant male voice call my name.
Looking around with slight alarm, I spotted two people crossing the street waving in our direction as their long strides made their way towards us. As they got closer, I realised it was none other than my best friend, Ashton, and Riley, Leah’s friend.
“Aly! Hey! I thought it was you I saw. Can’t miss that messy hair from anywhere,” he joked as he ruffled my hair annoyingly once he got close enough.
“Seriously?! You know I hate that!” I exclaimed as I tried to fix the strands that now flew everywhere. “What are you doing out here?”
He seemed to realise Leah was standing beside me just then when he waved at her like an idiot. “Hi, Leah! Oh, I’m just out with Riley on a date.” As he said this, he pulled Riley to his side, wrapping his arm around her waist casually.
I suspected something was going on between them the last time when we all went to the diner together after the game, but I didn’t know that their relationship had progressed this much already. I was surprised, but they did look good together, I’ve got to admit.
“Oh, cool,” was all I could utter out, unsure of how to react in this situation.
The ebony-haired girl had gone to hug Leah before drifting to Ash’s side. She smiled my way as she went to speak, her eyes holding curiosity. “What have you guys been up to tonight?”
My eyes gravitated to my girlfriend for an answer. “Um, we… we just went out to grab dinner together. It was nice.”
Ashton nodded his head, but Riley had a thoughtful expression, looking between the two of us. She must have dismissed the thought when she decided to change the subject. “Well, we were about to head for dessert. You guys can join us if you want.”
“No, it’s alright. We wouldn’t want to bother you guys while on a date,” I said as an excuse, but in reality, I just wanted to spend more time alone with Leah.
“It’s no problem, Al! Come on, let’s go!” Ashton declared, not allowing me to refuse any further. I tried to give him a look to silently say we really didn’t want to, but it seemed to go over his head. I glanced at the blonde beside me to see the same helpless expression that was probably on my face too.
Walking behind the couple, I leant to whisper in her ear. “Did you know about the two of them?”
She shrugged in response. “I had no clue.”
We turned the corner and entered the dessert place that sold mostly ice cream, but they had other things too. Gia, Ashton and I came here a lot, but since it’s been getting colder, I haven’t frequented the place as much.
We found a booth and settled ourselves down next to our original dates, quickly ordering something to share between each pair. I didn’t realise until now, but this was technically the first time I’ve ever had a double date with Ash, even if he didn’t really know it was happening.
“So, where did you guys eat?” Leah asked conversationally.
Riley was the one who excitedly answered. “Ashton brought me to this Italian place that was really good, but we decided to come here for dessert since he swears it’s the best place to get it.”
“It really is. We would come here every other day in the summer and get stuffed, enough to consider it a meal,” I smiled fondly.
“Well, we’ll see if it lives up to our standards,” Riley joked as she glanced Leah’s way.
Our desserts soon arrived, with them sharing a banana split and Leah and I sharing a chocolate lava cake that I swear to god tastes like heaven on your taste buds. My point was proven correct when Leah moaned as soon as she took a bite, unintentionally also sending a warm feeling down to my centre that made me slightly squirm, if you know what I mean…
Meanwhile, Ashton and Riley were in their own world showering each other with affection - feeding each other and inching closer so the proximity between them was almost non-existent. They were cute together.
“Lys,” Leah said, drawing my attention to her. “You have some chocolate just- there.” She pointed to the corner of her own lip.
I tried to wipe it off with a napkin but was apparently unsuccessful when she shook her head amusedly. “No, let me.” She took the napkin and gently wiped it off, her hazel eyes focused on the spot. “You know, I would lick it off, if it wasn’t indecent to do so in public,” she teasingly whispered so only I could hear, now gazing into my blue orbs with an intensity I wanted to drown in.
Deciding now was the perfect opportunity to tease her back, I went for it, whispering, “I’d gladly let you.” I subtly licked my lips for good measure.
Her pupils dilated as they focused on my lips, clouding with lust as she looked like she was ready to jump me. “I’m going to the toilet. Want to join me Alyssa?” she announced, shooting me a hinting look.
I could only nod before she marched off into the direction of the bathroom, not waiting for a response from the others. Following in suit, I opened the bathroom door to see her checking the stalls for anyone before she turned back to me and locked the door. Once done, she grabbed me by the waist, pushing me against the wall.
“You are such a tease, Alyssa Woods,” she muttered, slowly closing the gap between us.
“You- you were the one that started it,” I breathed out, my breaths getting shorter the closer she got.
“Shush.” With that, she put either hand on the wall beside me, trapping me in place. I thought she was going to kiss me right then, but her head tilted and missed my lips, instead placing a soft peck on my jaw. She continued to give me butterfly kisses, slowly moving up my jaw until she reached my lips, and only then just kissing the corner. I had to hold her hips in order to support myself, the wall behind me not enough to help me stand “You wanted me to lick it off, didn’t you?” the blonde seductively sighed out.
“Y-yes. Please,” I whispered, nodding slightly as I tried to hold back a moan.
She moved closer again, and I closed my eyes, ready for her lips. All I felt was a small kitten lick on the corner of my mouth before I felt her presence pull away. Opening my eyes again, I saw Leah with a teasing smirk on her lips, a few steps away from me already. “There, done,” was her simple answer.
Frustration clouded my mind, not satisfied with just that. “Oh, no you don’t. That’s not it,” I whined softly as I pushed myself off the wall. I approached the blonde and wrapped my arms around her neck. “You’re the tease.”
I pressed my lips against hers, finally allowing the pleasure to course through me. She responded instantly, moving her lips against mines and plunging her tongue into my mouth to deepen the kiss. I moaned at the intimate contact, causing her to moan too as I led her to lean against the door. Our tongues fought in a beautiful dance, moving in a synchronized motion against each other. My hands were about to explore further into the territory under her shirt when a jiggling of the knob interrupted us.
“Hey! Why is this door locked?”
Instantly, our lips separated as we panted heavily, trying to catch our breaths. I rested my forehead on her shoulder, our gulps of air slowly growing longer and deeper. “We- we should head back to the others,” Leah panted.
I nodded against her shoulder in acknowledgement. Eventually, I lifted my head, kissing her jaw on the way before facing her. I loved the intimacy I got to share with her in these moments. “Okay, let’s go.”
With one more quick peck, we opened the door and hustled out, the older woman waiting outside giving us judging looks as we walked by. Seating back at the table, we saw that the other two were already done and were just giving each other googly eyes, not acknowledging our presence.
Finally, when I cleared my throat, they snapped out of it and looked our way a little confused and unfocused. “That took you guys a while. Were you having a party in there without us?” Ashton joked as he rubbed his jaw unconsciously, trying to cover up whatever they were doing. Telepathic conversation?
“Haha, totally,” I said sarcastically. Riley was looking at us with narrowed eyes, the look of a detective present in her features. I didn’t know what she was thinking, but it couldn’t be good.
Looking to the side, I met hazel eyes that held the same thought - she might already know.