Crossed Lines - Short Story

Fiction, Sapphic

Found on Pinterest by Andreea Dumuta

I’m supposed to be waiting tables, but the entire time, all I can think about is Ally. How we dance around each other, glancing at one another with flirtatious smiles. So far from innocent because I know exactly what her moans sound like—A sultry gasp for air. By the end of the night it’s a fun secretive game of cat and mouse, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I wouldn’t be able to anyway.

After the restaurant empties and the lights are turned off, I head to her office. I’ve been waiting all day to finally have her to myself.

“Knock, knock,” I say, tapping the door with my knuckles.

“Come in,” Ally says.

I pop my head in as she hunches over, putting away todays earning in a safe behind her desk. She runs her fingers through her shaggy brown hair before facing me.

“Could you, by any chance, give me a ride home?” My lips curl into a gentle smile.

Ally slides off her reading glasses and sighs. “Carmen…I thought we said we weren’t going to keep doing this.”

I jerk back, caught off guard. I swear her eyes pined for me all night, I can’t possibly be that delusional. My heart sinks to be reminded that I’m still the other woman.

“It’s just a ride home,” I say, my smile slowly fading into a thin line.

“Okay, just this one last time, if that’s all it is.”

I nod. “I’ll wait for you outside.” I knew she couldn’t resist me.

As I try to suppress an excitable smile, I slither out of her office. She may not realize it or want to admit it, but we both know her husband can’t touch her the way that I do.

The night summer breeze kisses my skin when I make it outside. My black curly hair dances in the wind as I walk to her minivan. I wonder if she will ever leave him for me, grinning at the thought. I hold myself in by the waist, taking in the night sky as I wait for her. As I always do.

The soft jangle of keys perks my ears and draws my attention. I watch Ally lock the front door of the restaurant, and the moment she turns around, our eyes lock. The corner of her lips twitch, as if she’s fighting a smile. I flash her a bashful smirk and admire how the moonlight casts purple hues onto her porcelain skin. She unlocks her car and I slide inside, watching her as she walks around the back and gets situated in the drivers seat.

My body burns with desire for her and my pulse quickens. I wonder if she feels it too. The crevices of her hands are shadowed perfectly as she holds the gear stick, and puts the car into reverse. Meanwhile, every inch of my being wants to touch her so badly it almost hurts.

The start of the drive is silent. I stare at her, and weakly sigh. She glances at me, her shoulders relaxing.

She hyper focuses on the road. “Please… don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?” I ask, tucking away my curls.

She pauses, slowly shaking her head. “With those doe eyes.”

“I can’t help it.”

“Yes you can…” she pleas.

“But why?”

“Because I’m married to a wonderful man and have three beautiful children, Carmen.”

I sink into the passenger’s seat, biting my cheek.

“I’m also your boss and old enough to be your mother.”

I sit up straight and lean towards her, hesitantly placing my hand on her upper thigh. “That never stopped you before,” I whisper into her ear.

Ally grips the steering wheel, and the hairs of her arms raise as my lips graze her neck. I trail my fingertips up and down her thigh. Her chest sinks as she breathes heavily.

“Do you want me to stop?” I ask quietly, pressing my lips onto her neck.

Ally’s breath staggers, and her legs tense up. “No,” she says, giving into me.

She parks the car in front of my apartment, and turns to face me, placing her strong, but gentle hands on my neck. Looking deep inside of me with her hazel eyes. She pulls me in for a passionate kiss. Our lips fitting perfectly together, and our tongues flirting with each other.

“Come inside,” I say, inches from her lips.

She looks at me, conflicted, and hesitant. My heart drops into my stomach as she struggles to claw her self out of ambivalence.

“I can’t,” she says, pulling away from me. Her words slicing into the night.

The warmth of her touch disappears as she retracts her love from me. My breathing hitches and I lean in for another kiss, as if I didn’t hear her. She doesn’t fail to remind me by jerking away. I quietly gasp when she avoids the heart break written all over my face.

I sit back into my seat and look down. My hands trembling as I fidget with my fingertips. Tears dance on my waterline and there is a burning in my chest of sudden anger.

“Oh so, he comes back after being gone for months and now I am nothing to you? As if every time you said ‘no one has ever made me feel this way’ and that you’re falling for me meant nothing.” I pause, lips quivering and then raise my voice, “You don’t say things like that to people and toss them out like fucking trash.”

“Carmen… Please—”

“No. Don’t fucking ‘please’ me,” I scoff. “Ally, I would do anything for you. Anything.” I take in a fiery breath and her eyes build up with tears. “But you know what. Fine. You win. Go be happy with your conventional and heteronormative life.” I shake my head. “I honestly feel bad for you. Having to hide who you truly are…that’s a lot of damn work.”

Ally sits there, speechless, with tears trailing down her cheeks as I slam the door shut. I sniffle and wipe the tip of my nose as I head for my apartment. I don’t deserve this. I deserve someone who loves me, who would stop the world for me if they could. Not someone who sobs in their minivan, driving back home to a husband they don’t love.