Chapter 2

“I’ll just decorate it later,” I heard Thea say when they reached the kitchen area. “I need to get going soon. This kid that I’m tutoring has a paper due, and it’s probably going to take us till late afternoon.”

“I thought you’re a nurse?” I couldn’t help but ask at the inconsistency, glancing their way as I took a sip of my water.

Thea’s eyes fell on me for a brief moment, a flicker of amusement entering those brown orbs as she smiled.

“Actually, I’m a physical therapist,” Thea said, addressing everyone, although it seemed both Rachel and Chris already knew that. I looked away, a bit chagrined over my quick assumption as Thea continued. “But I tutor a couple of kids on weekends ’cause, well, I could use the extra.”

“Don’t we all,” I heard Rachel agree and I turned away, unable to keep myself from frowning.

“Oh, by the way,” Chris said belatedly. “Thea, this is Liv. Liv, Thea.”

“We ran into each other at the hall earlier,” Thea told him, grinning at me. I acknowledged her with a curt nod, not appreciating the reminder at all.

I drank the rest of my water quickly and excused myself as the three of them continued to make small talk. I couldn’t deny the tiny bit of jealousy I felt at the way Rachel seemed to respond to the new girl, nor the stab of envy I felt over the way Thea seemed able to draw people in with her easy smile.

I wasn’t going to stick around the room just for more of that.

I was still feeling sluggish by 7 PM that night, so I decided to go for a run to try and sweat it out. It was cold outside, but I had my warmers on and sweating my hangover off actually did the trick. I arrived back at the loft a couple of hours later in high spirits, although still mentally swearing that I would never do tequila shots again.

I wasn’t really expecting anyone to be in the loft when I got back. Chris was probably out and Rachel worked on Saturday nights, so I wasn’t surprised that no one else was there… well, no one except Thea. She was sitting on the living room floor with her profile turned towards me and a bunch of Christmas ornaments laid out in front of her, with some already hanging on the tree.

She had her headset on and was speaking to someone on the phone in what I thought safe to assume was. In any case, Thea was oblivious to my presence at the moment, which gave me the perfect opportunity to covertly size her up.

She was clearly bad at decorating, I noted with some satisfaction, seeing the parts of the tree she had already dressed up. It looked like a five-year-old had worked on it, the placement of the ornaments more chaotic than deliberate which… okay, it was actually kind of cute, the more that I looked at it. Somehow, it reminded me of Christmas back when I was a kid.

Rachel was right. Having a Christmas tree did make the place more home-y, and I was pretty sure that she would like the way it had been decorated, too. The thought was quick to put a damper on my mood.

What could Rachel possibly see in her? I frowned, my eyes narrowing as it drifted from the tree, back to Thea.

Okay, so she was pretty, I guess. Thea maybe slender, but she also seemed toned and not in the least bit dainty. I couldn’t tell much of her figure from what she was wearing, but what I could outline seemed nicely proportioned, and her light tan glowed deeply against the soft yellow of her shirt.

Her straight, dark hair was long and now flowed silkily past her shoulders. She had a button nose that I guessed other people might find adorable, and the same easy smile that I had seen on her full lips earlier. But it was her eyes that were actually striking—almond-shaped with a bit of an upwards slant, and a deep brown that seemed to twinkle even from where I was standing.

Fine, then. She’s kind of hot, I grudgingly admitted. But so what?

I didn’t think I was too shabby myself. Blonde-haired, green-eyed, with a small upturned nose, and thin lips—I actually clean up very nicely, when I want to. I was more athletic than slender, with a figure that I sometimes work hard on by running. My smiles were a little more wry, however, unlike Miss-Chill-and-Breezy in the living room, but I had had no problems winning the ladies over with it.

Well, except maybe one particular lady.

I sighed, knowing it wasn’t a good thing to start comparing myself to another woman. Like I said, I didn’t even know if Rachel liked women too. And even if she did, it didn’t automatically mean that she would be attracted to Thea.

I turned towards the hall, deciding that a warm bath would serve me well at the moment. But a flash of movement caught my eye and I glanced back to see Thea up on her toes as she tried to place an ornament near the top of the tree.

I turned away quickly and continued on my course, shaking my head as I mentally groaned. I did not need to know that Thea had an ass that could make practically any woman gay at this point.

The sight of Rachel laughing greeted me when I bounded off for breakfast on Sunday morning. She was sitting alone at the dining table, and the soft sound of her laugh as it faded into a smile had me stopping in my tracks, smitten by how beautiful she looked in the morning light.

She wore a dark blue top that seemed to make her light blue eyes a bit darker as well as it twinkled with mirth. She held a cup of coffee in her hand and was about to take a sip when her gaze drifted towards me, and I knew I had to say something quick to deflect from the fact that I had been gawking.

Act normal. Just go over there and say ‘Good morning’! Fucking breathe, dumbass! My brain screamed at me in quick succession over the next few seconds until I finally moved.

“Good morning,” I smiled, swiftly averting my gaze and going around Rachel just so she wouldn’t see the blush that slowly crept into my cheeks as she greeted me back.

“What’s so funny?” I asked as I sat down, looking over the table as I continued to avoid Rachel’s gaze.

I was surprised to see a feast before me when the most effort Chris, Rachel, and I had ever previously attempted for breakfast was a bowl of cereals. Now, there were buttered toast and scrambled eggs, but also, sunny-side-up’s and fried rice and what appeared to be some sort of marinated beef strips.

“Oh, nothing,” Rachel told me. “I was just laughing at Thea’s story of how she used to always burn eggs back at home.”

Thea. I should have known.

I glanced over to the kitchen where the dark-haired woman was busily pouring coffee into two cups. She wore her dark hair up again and was wearing a simple white shirt over a pair of jeans.

“My mom didn’t find it so funny at the time,” Thea grinned, glancing over to where we sat. Then she shrugged and continued as she brought the cups over. “I only really learned how to cook once I got here ’cause, well, necessity.”

And then she turned that soft easy grin fully in my direction as she set a cup in front of me.

“Good morning, Liv!” Thea greeted before taking her seat across Rachel. I smiled back politely, still not quite used to and a bit uneasy around the newbie’s presence.

“Where’s Chris?” I asked, turning my head towards Rachel and quickly looking down when I got her attention.

“He left early,” Rachel answered. She put a piece of toast into her mouth and chewed, waiting until she had swallowed before explaining further. “He said he’s got a ton of errands to run before next weekend and he may not have the time to do them during the week.”

I nodded, completely understanding.

Chris was set to go home for the holidays next Saturday and wouldn’t be returning to the loft until the 30th. Rachel, on the other hand, had to work on both Christmas and New Year’s Eve, and would be staying through the holidays which, in turn, opened up a third option for me.

As a child of divorce, I had the choice to either spend Christmas at my dad’s or my mom’s and their respective new families, which, to be honest, had always made me feel a bit awkward and excluded. So I had decided to stick around the loft too, this year, figuring it was the perfect opportunity to spend some time alone with Rachel without Chris as a buffer.

I had always used Chris as a crutch somewhat when dealing with Rachel and I thought, with him gone, then maybe I would be forced to grow some backbone and finally tell Rachel how I felt. Who knew, maybe I would be kissing Rachel come New Year’s Eve, instead of just watching her lock lips with whatever random dude she brings as a date, like last year.

That Thea was here and Rachel and I wouldn’t actually be alone in the next two weeks was only a minor hitch. I was fairly certain that I wouldn’t be tempted to use the dark-haired Filipina as a buffer.

“I wanted one of those pink Barbie convertibles when I was 8 but my parents couldn’t get them,” Rachel was saying to Thea now, snapping me back to attention as I briefly wondered how the conversation got there. “I had this phase when I used to pretend that my Barbie was Sandy after I seeing Grease on the TV.”

“Oh, I loved Grease!” Thea gushed and I watched as the two of them launched into an easy talk about musicals and theater. Their banter was light, both women seemingly in sync with what the other was saying, and I tried my best to keep up as they bounced off each other. Still, I couldn’t help but feel like I was increasingly being left behind.

“I like Barbie’s!” I burst out suddenly, a bit desperate to join in on the conversation, and the two women stopped to look at me blankly.

Rachel resumed talking to Thea after what was probably the most embarrassingly awkward beat of my life, and Thea gave me a little smile before turning back to Rachel.

I tried my best not to pout, concentrating instead on putting scrambled eggs on my plate. How was it that, within less than a week of coming into our lives, Thea now seemed closer to Rachel than I had ever been?

I stabbed at the eggs with my fork in frustration before shoving some into my mouth, and found myself wishing that they didn’t taste exactly as good as Chris and Rachel had both told me they would. It would be easier to dislike Thea if that wasn’t the case.

I put my fork down and reached for my cup instead, slumping back in my chair and wincing as soon as I took a sip.

The coffee was incredible, too. Damn it.

I came home later that night to the smell of food being cooked. I had gone out earlier in the afternoon to meet a friend over coffee, and then dinner, yet still found myself still tempted by the delicious smells wafting through the loft.

I glanced towards the kitchen, somehow not really surprised to find Thea there. She wore a dark-colored apron over a white tank top, her hair pulled up in a loose bun this time and her profile turned to me as she stood over the stove stirring a pot.

But then my eyes noticed the counter, which was littered with several ingredients and spices and other kitchen stuff I wouldn’t know about. There was even an already-cooked dish laid out, which Thea seemed to be setting aside. I recognized it as Adobo, but only because Chris and I had tried the Filipino restaurant in the city once.

“What’s all this?” I wondered aloud as I closed the door behind me. Thea glanced over, smiling as I walked towards the kitchen.

“I’m just preparing my food for the week. I don’t really have much time to cook during weekdays.” Thea answered before she dipped the ladle a bit into the pot, holding it out as she walked over to me. “Here try this.”

I could do little else but obey as she held the ladle to my mouth. It was some sort of soup and, at first, the sour taste of it had me wincing. But it wasn’t long until the flavors swirled over my tongue, with a bit of spiciness adding to it.

“Mmmm,” I said as I nodded my approval. Still I had to ask. “You’re cooking for the whole week?”

Thea grinned again as she set the ladle down and turned towards the counter. “Yeah, I’m just cooking three dishes, actually, and preparing some egg rolls that I can easily fry.”

She glanced up to find me still looking at her quizzically, and gave a soft little laugh.

“It’s cheaper than eating out all week and, well, I could really use the extra.” Thea shrugged. “I’ll be keeping them in the fridge, but feel free to have some if you’d like.”

“Be careful saying that stuff to Chris or Rach, or all this food might not last the week.” I found myself grinning at her. “Apparently, they love your cooking.”

“But you don’t?” Thea asked lightly, glancing sideways at me.

“Well, I’ve only really tasted the eggs,” I sighed jokingly. “It takes a lot more than that to impress me.”

“Then all the more you should help yourself to these,” Thea laughed. “I’ll win you over yet.”

She gave me a smug grin before turning back to check on what was in the stove, and I had to laugh a little.

“I’ll leave you to it, then,” I told her, pushing off the counter and heading to my room before I did something I wasn’t sure I wanted to do just yet. Like start thinking the new girl wasn’t so bad, after all.

This was a bad idea.

I was in the park, Thursday night after work, where Chris had invited me to check out the new night bazaar that had sprung up there this December. I had agreed easily enough when he had suggested that we have dinner at the bar where Rachel tended afterwards, but knowing now that I would have to find Chris’ tall, blond, and lean frame in this coat-and-hat-wearing crowd had me wishing that the two of us had agreed to meet somewhere else first.