It hit her as she prepared to exit the I-5 onto Carlsbad Village Drive.
It was because such curveballs represented one aspect of real life. Mundane, ordinary real life. The part of life which people didn’t Instagram or Snapchat about; like laundry or taking out the trash. A part of life not featured in rom-com movies or lesfic books because in rom-coms, friends always made it out for dinner, didn’t they? In lesfic books, flights never got delayed and girlfriends never got injured having sex.
And even though Ainsley hoped there weren’t too many cancelled dinner plans, sex injuries or car breakdowns in her future (especially considering what she paid for her particular car), the point was that when such mundane, ordinary real life events occurred, she could bear them more as long as Rachel was part of her life’s fabric as well.
“Sorry,” Rachel suddenly said from the passenger seat.
Ainsley blinked. They were stopped at a traffic light and so she looked over at her girlfriend.
“About?” she asked.
“I’m sure the last thing you wanted to do was spend part of Saturday night at your job,” Rachel answered.
“Baby, it’s fine,” Ainsley said, taking Rachel’s hand again. “The only thing which matters to me is that you’re not maimed for life.”
Rachel laughed.
“Oh god,” she said. “How would I explain that to my parents? I haven’t even had the conversation with them yet about me dating a woman. The last thing I need is for them thinking lesbian sex is so dangerous I’ll frequently end up hospitalized.” Her face got serious again. “I mean it, though. Thanks for taking care of me like you did.”
Ainsley felt her heart swell.
“I’ll always want to take care of you, Rachel,” she whispered. She swallowed. “If you’ll let me.”
“Only if you let me take care of you also,” Rachel replied softly, meeting Ainsley’s eyes.
“Fuck, Rach,” Ainsley began, wanting to burst out and say more.
“I know,” Rachel said, biting her bottom lip.
The air between them was charged, not with a sexual energy this time but an emotional one. Ainsley could swear that somehow their hearts were beating in sync and that in some fashion a portal had opened up which was now allowing their spirits to embrace.
But suddenly, Ainsley chuckled.
“Nope, nope, nope!” she said, shaking her head.
Rachel looked confused.
“What?” she asked.
Still chuckling, Ainsley said, “I am not saying anything more while stuck at a traffic light on Pacific Avenue! What is it with you and I, huh?” The light turned green and she started driving again. “We start up these kinda serious conversations in the oddest places lately. The last time was in the bathroom, for Pete’s sake!”
Rachel laughed.
“Well, hurry up and get us back to your place!” she insisted. “I want this conversation to continue!”
***
But when Ainsley turned onto her block less than two minutes later, she frowned and stopped her car in the middle of the street.
Rachel glanced at her, then up ahead, then back at her.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. “Is there a cat in the road or something?”
Ainsley shook her head but didn’t say anything right away.
From where she had stopped the Porsche, her house was two driveways down on the right and clearly visible. The first thing she had noticed when turning onto the block was that there was a white car parked in front of her house. That by itself might not have been such a big deal. For all she knew, the car belonged to someone visiting a neighbor and would be gone by morning, if not sooner.
But something else was unusual also…