“And what?”
“And it wasn’t just about sex,” Megan continued shyly. “It was, like, I was being told I would so enjoy just being with you.”
Vanessa felt her heartrate increase and warmth flood through her entire body.
“I know what you mean,” she said softly.
“You’re not making fun of me?” Megan asked.
“No, I promise, I’m not. I know what you mean because when I first laid eyes on you, I felt, not a message, but a boom.”
Megan giggled and pulled away to have a better look at Vanessa, cocking an eyebrow.
“A boom?”
Now Vanessa felt like Megan was going to think she was the one being silly. Not to mention that this was a dangerous conversation to have. But it was too late to stop now.
“Yeah, a boom,” she insisted, staring at a point beyond Megan’s shoulder as she remembered. “I don’t know how else to describe it, but it was like suddenly the air around me imploded. I swear it was something I actually felt. Like something was signaling to me that one day I’d find myself here in bed with you, or sitting on the couch, or out at the beach having a conversation like this.”
“And that I’d be the best sex you ever had,” Megan stated.
“Well, I mean, duh, of course!” Vanessa said with a grin, tickling Megan. The younger woman shrieked and struggled and somehow Vanessa ended up on top of her, staring down into her eyes.
“Ooh, topping me, Miss Murray?”
Vanessa grinned.
“Only to find out if you’re as hungry as I am,” she asked.
“Fucking starving!”
***
“By the way, I’ve been thinking,” Vanessa told Megan the next morning.
“Uh-oh, we know how dangerous that can be,” Megan retorted, earning a playful smack on the arm.
They were in Vanessa’s Jeep, driving south from Carlsbad to the Airbnb beach house. Vanessa would have just enough time to drop off Megan and their things and maybe hang out for a bit before having to leave with Chloë to open La Vida Mocha.
“What do you think about hanging some of your artwork in the coffeeshop?”
Megan looked at her.
“What, seriously?”
“Yeah,” Vanessa continued, “why not? Before I met you, I was thinking about reaching out to local artists to showcase some of their work in the shop anyway. Now, all of a sudden, I know a local artist! How perfect is that? And I love your stuff!”
“And if you didn’t love my stuff?” Megan teased.
“Then we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” Vanessa admitted with a laugh. “What do you think?”
Megan took a moment before responding.
“I say, yes, but I’m so fucking nervous about it.”
“What? Why?”
“I’ve never showed my art publicly. My website hardly counts, neither does posting it on Instagram. It makes me nervous that people will actually see it in person.”