Page 55 of So Not My Type
So many options filled the menu and Ella wanted to eat everything. Was she always this hungry or was this the result of sitting in a cloud of sesame, garlic, and dough? Fried pork wontons, soup dumplings, cucumber salad, xiao long bao… Her mouth watered so much she needed to swallow.
After ordering and digging into their first few bites, Sophie lowered her chopsticks. “Did your dad take the day off, too?”
Ella snorted. “My dad never takes a day off.” She added more soy sauce into the ginger, and dipped a cucumber. “Sometimes I wonder when he’ll retire. Not to sound crass, but the family money comes from my mom’s side. I think growing up the way he did, he always feels the need for a backup plan or something. He wouldn’t have to work if he didn’t want to, so he must really, really want to.”
“I swear, the more I learn about your dad, the more I resonate with him. Words I never thought I’d ever say.” Sophie grinned as pork-scented steam rose from the soup dumplings. She popped the whole thing in her mouth, and cleaned a drip of soup from the corner of her lip. “Why do you work? I mean, I’m so glad you do, but do you get a personal fulfillment from project managing or something?”
“Nope, sure don’t.” Ella laughed. She loved being in the office, part of a team, and she actually didn’t mind the work. But her dreams, what fulfilled her, were not found in the office. “I can see how much joy you get from work. All your organizing, and keeping the ship running, and commanding a room, is really impressive.”And hot AF, but I digress.“The only thing that fulfills me is art.”
“Why didn’t you major in art?”
“My parents thought a business major would be more practical. Which is kind of funny, because they also never wanted me to work.” She shrugged. “I essentially had to force my dad to hire me.”
The reason for wanting to work, to escape her parents and have her own place, had faded in the past month, though. An urgency to leave no longer seemed as all-consuming as it had several months ago. A few weeks had even passed since she’d looked at apartments online. She thought it was because she was so busy at work that when she got home, she had zero interest in looking at a screen. But maybe there was more to it.
Sophie’s mouth had dropped open, and she closed it. “You forced your dad to hire you? I just assumed… I guess I thought he just handed the job to you.”
“Hell no. He respects his company too much to just toss this job to me.” She bit into her steamed bun and chewed. “But he was scared of me, for me, and I… well, I didn’t really give him a choice.”
Ella spent the next hour polishing off wontons, potstickers, and finishing the final bite of sweet taro bun, while she told Sophie everything. How claustrophobic she’d felt, about the meltdown that led to her chopping off her braid, how her parents were terrified. Sophie listened, peppered in minimal questions, and let her talk. She didn’t try to say she couldn’t believe it happened, or that Ella had overreacted, or that her feelings weren’t valid. She didn’t try to point out her amazing house, or Thomas, or her bank account. When she was done, Ella felt raw and exposed.
“Thank you so much for sharing that with me.” Sophie rested her hand on top of Ella’s. “Honestly, I feel really honored you trusted me enough to tell me all of this.”
Ella swallowed, her skin flushed and hot. Never had she opened up like this and she tried to read Sophie’s eyes to see if she went too far. Sophie leaned over as if she knew what Ella was thinking and gave her a soft, reassuring kiss. And when she did, Ella exhaled.
This was better than any date she’d had before.
TWENTY-ONE
SOPHIE
This day was for the record books. Dim sum, a water taxi ride to Alki Beach, a visit to Golden Gardens, and a late dinner. Sophie drove up I-5 with the sunset fading in the west, and a comfortable silence filled the space. No more spinning thoughts, no more wondering how Ella felt, no more second-guessing everything. She felt closer to Ella right now than everyone in her life except her parents and Maya.
She threaded her fingers with Ella’s and kissed the top of her hand. When she released it, and Ella leaned her head against Sophie’s shoulder, the most real of all realities hit. This was what happiness looked like. This was what happinessfeltlike—all warm and gushy, with belly tingles and jumping heartbeats. But there was a calmness, a stillness, to the happiness. For once, she was beautifully content.
Ella’s eyes furrowed as Sophie pulled into a parking lot. “We’re going golfing?” She turned her head toward the window. “There aren’t any cars here.”
“Yeah, they’re closed for the night.” Sophie turned off the ignition. “Do you trust me?”
“Of course,” Ella responded, but cocked an eyebrow. “Why?”
Sophie’s eyes dashed across the parking lot and to the building. “Come with me, but we have to be super quiet.”
A slow grin spread across Ella’s face and she hopped out of the car. Sophie interlocked their fingers and guided Ella down the stairs. The sprawling, lush, green golf course was so peaceful, she barely registered they were still in a city. She tugged Ella against the side of the building and put her finger to her mouth in a “shhhhh” motion.
The office door was on their left, and Sophie saluted her palms to peer through the window. She squinted, making out a faint light in the distance. She jiggled the door. Unlocked.Whew.Her hand froze on the handle. “Still trust me?” When Ella nodded with a grin, Sophie squeezed her hand. “Once we’re inside, we have to be totally silent. But if you hear or see someone coming, get my attention and we’ll bolt.”
Sophie squeaked open the door and tiptoed inside, then waved in Ella. She motioned her to stay put as she Pink Panther-ed her way to the office. Her heart pounded against her chest wall as she stepped inside the office door and stared at the wall of keys hanging from tiny hooks.
Ella was in the corner, her face flushed, her chest lifted, and Sophie flooded with the thrill of seeing Ella with what seemed to be a similar adrenaline rush. Already, this was going better than she expected. No alarms, no unexpected facility person, no lingering golfers who could question what she was doing here after-hours.
After plucking key #16, she crept backwards, and her gaze flickered across the hall. “Got it,” she whispered, and crossed the room back toward the door.
Ella tossed her a confused glance, but followed her outside, down the opposite side of the building and back up the hill. Sophie spoke no words until they were a good fifty feet from theclubhouse. She escorted Ella past a few sheds and moved to the cart barn, where rows of parked golf carts waited. “Here.”
“Huh?” Ella palmed the keys in her hand. “What are we doing?”
“You’ve always wanted to drive, right?” Sophie licked the edge of her lip ring. “Let’s drive.”