Please, someone tell Tonya to ***** off.
“Why don’t you mind your own business, Tonya,” Shane says wearily.
“Shane!” Dana says. “You don’t need to be nasty.”
I tense, ready to pounce on anyone criticizing my girl. But Shane just scratches her head, and calmly says “Lacey’s a nice girl. She can’t help that she’s so fucked up. And I know you wouldn’t want someone talking about you like that if you were in her place.”
I smile quietly at Shane. The girl stalks her, makes posters and banners to slam her, and here she is coming to her defense. Another reason why I love her. I squeeze her knee under the table. In response she puts her arm around the back of my chair. Kit comes over with a carafe of coffee and a double shot for Shane, which she downs happily.
“Who else is coming, girls?” Kit asks.
“Um, Jenny should be here, and Tee.”
“I’ll leave you three menus, just in case.”
Uneasy quiet descends over our table as everyone browses their menu. I glance at Shane, and she catches me looking. A tiny smile flickers over her lips. She strokes my hair with her thumb, then turns to her menu.
“Sorry I’m late,” Tina says, breezing in, smelling sweet. “Is anyone sitting here?”
“Knock yourself out,” Al says.
“Good morning,” Tina looks at all of us, unaware of the tension that has preceded her. She glances at Shane’s arm on my shoulder. This is weird, they should be saying something about us. But everyone’s looking surprised.
“Is that… that girl Robin,” Dana says, craning her neck to look out the window. I turn and see Jenny approaching the Planet with a lanky blonde. They are laughing happily. The blonde opens the door for Jen with a smile.
“I didn’t know she was dating her again.”
“I always liked her,” Tina says.
We make room for them. I scoot closer to Shane happily, stroking her back. Tina watches us, amused, as Jenny introduces everyone to Robin. Robin is cute, very earthy. I can see why Tina liked her.
Tina, meanwhile, glances from Dana, who is glowering at her menu, to Tonya, whois happily oblivious, then back again to me and Shane, then to Alice, who is sitting with her arms crossed. She’s clearly befuddled by the different tensions at the table and how they relate to each other.
I smile when I feel Shane’s hand on my leg, moving slowly upward. I try not to, but I can’t not smile. Alice smirks at us, making me wonder if I’m missing something. From the kitchen I hear Kit sending an employee to take our orders.
After everyone has ordered, Alice looks at me and Shane with a smirk, and says “So, you guys look unusually affectionate.”
I look at Shane. Her lips part slightly, as if she’s thinking “the *****?” Everyone is staring at us.
I shrug at Alice. She grins like a cat.
“And you guys think I can’t keep secrets,” she grins, stirring sugar into her coffee.
Everyone is quiet. Jenny starts to giggle.
“Guys? What the heck is going on?” Tina asks.
“It’s not for me to say,” Alice says, breaking into a grin. “None of my business.”
“Dammit, Al, the one time we trust you to be your usual gossipy self!” I throw a packet of sugar at her head, completely unable to stop smiling.
“You guys are acting really weird,” Dana says.
“Okay,” Jenny says. “Shane and Darah are totally twitterpated.”
“Huh?” Dana asks.
“Twitter – what?” Shane says.
“Twitterpated. You know, all aflutter.”
“Okay Jenny, now you’re just making words up,” Al says.
“No, twitterpated, I get it.” Tina says, nodding. “Like Bambi. Good for you guys.”
“Thank you, Tina.” I say graciously.
“What are you guys talking about?” Dana says.
“Dana, Darah and I are now a couple,” Shane says evenly and loudly, and giddy shivers rise through my skull. I bite down on both of my lips to avoid grinning like a goofball. “Pass the creamer.”
Everyone is quiet for a minute. Shane pours herself a coffee with cream, her entire body a deliberate lax nonchalance, while below the table, her other hand clenches my knee. She’s gonna be a jittery wreck, drinking that on top of her double shot, but I know she feels the need for physical motions to deflect her anxiety.
“So, what, you don’t have ***** with other women?” Dana asks, looking almost crestfallen.
“Only on the second Tuesday of the month.” I say, getting annoyed. “How’s your love life, Dana?”
Dana presses her lips together, clearly irked. “Just great, Darah.”
Tonya snorts, as if to say yeah, right. And Alice grins like the cat who got the canary.