ore than ten minutes her thirty-five-year-old back would make her regret it. But she didn’t care. Right now, this was feeling so good she wanted to stay here until morning.
Naturally, her back pocket started ringing and vibrating.
“Aargh!” she moaned, reaching behind her and extracting her iPhone from her jeans pocket. She had no intention of answering the call, whoever it was. All she wanted to do was set the phone to silent. Even if it was Megan calling, Vanessa would just text her later. But it was William’s name on the screen, and she and William had a ride-or-die pact, something Vanessa took very seriously because they were both gay people in a still rather homophobic world.
“Are you being chased by Republicans?” Vanessa groaned by way of greeting.
“Not today, so far,” William answered. “Wait, is she there? I’m not interrupting whatever it is girls do to pleasure each other, am I?”
“No, she is not here.”
“What? Why not? First rule of new relationships, honey: the first six months are just one long sex-fest.”
“I’m not in a relationship, for the millionth time. And Megan and I had a sex-fest last night, that’s why I’m exhausted today, and that’s why she’s not here.”
“So? She could still hang out with you. She could give you a foot rub or wash your hair or just let you fall asleep on her lap while watching Netflix.”
“Sweetie, her and I are just about the sex, remember? And even if she was my girlfriend, in the sapphic universe it’s a little too early for the ‘come hang-out with me while I completely ignore you and try to sleep’ phase.”
“Why does your voice sound so funny?”
“Because my face is half-buried in a sofa cushion and I’m too tired to move it.”
William huffed. “Okay, fine. I can tell you’re not going to be any fun today.”
“Then I will respectfully request that you let me pass out in blissful slumber. But call me if Republicans start chasing you. Love you. Bye.”
And Vanessa hung up. She sighed. Passing out in blissful slumber sounded heavenly, and it was so tempting to continue laying where she was, but she knew it was borderline irresponsible. If she fell asleep now, there was a risk she’d wake up in a couple of hours, unable to then fall back to sleep later and get the good night’s rest she desperately needed.
Groaning, she reluctantly pushed herself up to a sitting position and rubbed her eyes. She made up her mind to shower, eat a light dinner and then get to bed by nine o’clock. If she did that, she’d be able to wake up tomorrow, go for her morning jog—something she missed doing this morning after waking up at Megan’s—and open the shop on time.
Half an hour later, Vanessa came out of the master bedroom, hair still damp from her shower, and wearing a favorite pair of old soccer shorts and a blue tank. Returning to the couch, she then started applying lotion to her legs, starting at her thighs and working it down onto her feet as well. She briefly wondered if Megan would enjoy getting a pedicure with her one day if the nail salons reopened soon. A simple act of pampering like that, Vanessa thought, would feel wonderful.
She suddenly stopped applying lotion and just sat there, considering.
Getting a pedicure with Megan sounded fun.
Doing a lot of everyday kind of things with Megan sounded fun. Shopping. Hanging out at the beach. Even just sitting here at home watching movies. Because the truth was, Vanessa was realizing, she enjoyed simply being with Megan. Turns out, they had a chemistry that extended beyond sex and throughout any given day over the past week, Vanessa had found herself daydreaming about a different kind of relationship with Megan. One that could include pedicures, shopping, hanging out at the beach or bingeing Netflix. And when she found herself daydreaming like that, Vanessa would force herself to stop, and that’s what she did now.
Shaking her head in order to force out ridiculous fantasies of a relationship that could never be, Vanessa finished applying lotion to her legs and then considered her next move.
She still felt exhausted but the shower had at least energized her enough to consider eating. On bare feet, she headed into her kitchen, grabbed some leftover pasta salad from the fridge, poured a glass of white wine and returned to the couch.
As she ate, she used her phone to scroll through La Vida Mocha’s social media accounts, gratified to see that customers were posting pictures and tagging the shop on the Big Three: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Amy had even posted a selfie on IG, holding her cappuccino.
Sooooooooooo glad my favorite coffeeshop is open again on Sundays! I’ve missed this awesome place!!!! #lavidamocha #lesbianownedbusiness #coffeeaddict #supportlocalbusiness
Smiling, Vanessa liked the post and tapped out a reply.
@amycoffeeaddict So great to see your gorgeous self again! We’ve missed you too. Can’t wait to see more of you!
She read a few more posts and then decided to get down to the business of unwinding. She put the phone down but within reach on the coffee table, fluffed up one of the colorful throw cushions on the sofa and laid her head down on it, drawing her legs up to her chest as she turned on the TV.
She decided to watch World War Z. She’d lost count of how many times she’d seen it, but at times like this, when her mind just wasn’t capable of following the characters and plot of a new movie, old favorites like this Brad Pitt zombie flick were what Vanessa turned to.
As she settled in to watch the film, she couldn’t help but think of things at La Vida Mocha. She knew that her and Chloë couldn’t keep going like this. And she also knew that it was too risky to stagger their shift times too drastically, say, with Vanessa opening and Chloë coming three hours later or so, and then Vanessa leaving a couple of hours before closing time. One person couldn’t man La Vida Mocha for an extended period, not when the general population was eager to get out of their houses and resume their normal pastimes, like visiting coffeeshops. Besides, there were safety issues with having only one person in the shop. During the lockdown, when she had been in the shop all by herself all day, Vanessa always had pepper spray on her person and a stun gun under the counter. But she had never felt threatened. Customers had been few and far between then, with only the occasional rush of people.
So, she definitely needed to bring at least one more person on; but despite what she had told Megan this morning, about possibly hiring more staff as early as next week, Vanessa was now thinking it would be more realistic to wait awhile before deciding to bring someone else on. What was the point of hiring Luli back or training a new person if California went into lockdown-mode again sometime next week or even the week after?