“Seventh grade,” Riley said without even having to think about it. “Miss Miller.”
“Really?” She seemed surprised, but then looked as if she were almost contemplative. She nodded after a moment. “Yes, I can understand now that I’m older and able to look back on it. She certainly was attractive.”
Riley let out a nervous laugh and looked away from her. She had a horrible thought pop into her mind, and she didn’t want Vic to see it in her expression. She blamed it on having spent too many years dealing with her and her friends bullying her, but she couldn’t shake it.
“What’s wrong?” Vic asked, sounding concerned.
“How do I know you aren’t here telling me these things, getting me to open up about my life, just to turn around and tell all those idiots you hung out with in high school that they were right? Riley’s a big old dyke. Let the harassment continue.”
“God, we really fucked with your head, didn’t we?” Vic’s voice sounded strangled, causing Riley to look at her again. She saw the tears in her eyes. Vic shook her head and glanced down at her hands. “I’m so sorry, Riley. I swear to you I would never do that. I’d hope you’d believe me, but of course, you have every reason to doubt it. I would also hope you might remember I did try to stand up for you a few times.”
“Half-heartedly at best,” Riley choked out. “Most of the time you joined in on it.”
“You’re right. I won’t make excuses, and I won’t keep apologizing.” Vic stood and began pacing in the small office. “I do want to thank you for something though.”
“Oh?” Riley was intrigued. What could she possibly have to thank her for?
“You saved Vanessa’s life a year ago. It came to my attention recently that no one in my family bothered to acknowledge the fact.” Vic stopped pacing and turned to look at her. “I know how you must feel about her, but she’s one of my best friends as well as my sister. So, I want to thank you for what you did that night. It was a wholly unselfish act, and I can see by the scars on your arm that you didn’t escape the ordeal unscathed.”
Riley looked at her arm, remembering the night it happened as she absently rubbed the scars with her other hand. She hadn’t even thought about what she was doing. It was just instinct to help someone in trouble. If she had thought about it at all, she might not have reached into a car that was burning to save the person. It touched her to hear Vic thank her for what she’d done though, and she nodded her thanks.
“How is she after the accident?”
“Her legs were pretty badly burned. She only recently stopped using a cane or walker to help her get around. She’d been in town that night to tell our parents she’d gotten engaged.” Vic smiled at some memory Riley wasn’t privy to but then shook her head. “He’s a good man. He didn’t hesitate to rush to her side and took a lot of time off work to help her in her recovery.”
“I’m glad she’s all right.” Riley finished her work and powered down the computer before standing. “I’m done here and need to get home now.”
As much as she’d enjoyed chatting with Vic, she was still apprehensive at the motives behind her being there tonight. She wanted to believe the things she was saying, but past experience made her wary.
“Do you have someone waiting for you?” Vic asked. Riley studied her for a moment, wondering why she was asking. Was it possible she was interested in her?
“No.” Riley smiled sadly and shook her head.
“I find that hard to believe.” Vic followed her out of the theater, and they stopped at the edge of the parking lot. There were only a handful of cars still in the lot, so it wasn’t difficult for Riley to determine the Mercedes belonged to Vic.
“Why?” Riley truly wanted to know. Vic looked at her like she was dense.
“Surely you must know how beautiful you are. I thought for sure you’d have settled down and gotten married by now.”
“Yeah, right.” Riley laughed. “It isn’t like Wolf Bay is a hotbed for lesbians. How about you? Do you have a woman waiting for you back in the city?”
“No,” she answered with a humorless chuckle. “No time. It seems as though I’m always working.”
“That’s too bad,” Riley said, even though she was inexplicably happy at her answer. “I really should get going. It was nice to see you again.”
“Thank you for talking with me.” Vic appeared as if she was about to step forward and hug her, but then must have thought better of it. She looked out at the parking lot briefly then back to Riley. “I guess there’s no need to meet for coffee in the morning. Unless you’d like to?”
Riley thought about it for a moment, knowing she should say no, but really wanting to say yes. What the hell was wrong with her? She’d never been nervous around a woman before. What was it about Vic that had her feeling this way?
“We could,” she said with a one-armed shrug she hoped looked indifferent. “If you want to, that is.”
“I do.” Vic smiled again and took her keys out of her pocket. “I’ll see you in the morning then?”
“Yeah. Good night.” Riley watched her walk away and sighed. What was she getting herself into?
Chapter Nine
Riley knew when she pulled into the driveway that Megan had waited up for her despite having told her she wouldn’t. She smiled because she’d expected this. Megan knew she’d want to talk about her evening.
“I’m disappointed you’re home so early,” Megan said from her place on the couch when Riley walked in the front door. “I guess things didn’t go well.”
“As a matter of fact, it did go well. We had a nice chat.”
“Really?” Megan looked excited. She sat up straighter and patted the seat next to her. “Tell me all about it.”
Riley sat and leaned her head back against the couch as she sighed. It had gone amazingly well, and honestly, the more she reflected on it, the less she thought Vic might be doing this as some colossal joke. She seemed sincere, but Riley’s mind was still having trouble reconciling the new Vic with the girl she’d gone to school with.
It was close to one in the morning by the time she finished recounting their conversation, and Megan had sat there, totally captivated by it all. Her smile was so big when Riley finished, she couldn’t help but laugh at her.
“Don’t laugh,” Megan said with a playful slap to her biceps. “You know I’m a total romantic. She sounds interested, don’t you think?”
“Why would someone like her be interested in someone like me?”
“The heart wants what the heart wants, Riley.” Megan shrugged. “Don’t fight it. What would it hurt to see where it goes?”
“My heart wants it, but my head’s telling me it’s a bad idea all the way around.”
“Maybe you should shut your brain off just this once. You once told me you thought the two of you were meant to be together.”
Riley snorted and shook her head. “I was sixteen then, for God’s sake. I didn’t know anything about how life works. I’ve grown up since then.”