Carmen returned the kiss quickly and tried to calm herself down. “You went to get breakfast?”

Shane averted her eyes at Carmen’s tone and took a sip of her double espresso. “Yeah, you know me, I’m useless till I get some caffeine in me.”

Carmen sighed, she had a feeling Shane wasn’t driven awake by a need for coffee, but rather a need for space. ‘Is she having regrets? Or was she only attracted to me because she couldn’t have me? And now that she has…’ Carmen was tempted to just come out and ask Shane what the hell was going on, but suddenly thought better of it. “Well, thank you, I could use some coffee myself today.”

Shane relaxed a little, it seemed that whatever was on Carmen’s mind she was willing to let it go for now. “Right, moving day. Do you want me to bring my truck over later to move your bed and stuff?”

Carmen smiled slightly, “That would be great, I was planning on renting a UHaul. Wait, don’t you have to work?”

“I have a few clients this morning but I should be able to cut out early this afternoon.”

Carmen’s smile grew and she leaned into Shane, she was still a little worried about the way Shane was acting. But at least now she knew she’d see her again, much sooner than she had thought. That had to be a good sign. ‘Maybe I should just try to relax.’ She knew Shane hadn’t dated anyone seriously in God knows how long. ‘Maybe she just needs to ease into this. Or maybe I’m just deluding myself.’

——————————————————————————-

Shane tried to focus on her client’s incessant babble, normally hearing the intimate details of people’s lives was a favorite part of her job. Sometimes people would tell her things that they wouldn’t even tell their best friends. She had often thought of her job as 70% therapist and 30% hairstylist. She tried to make sure everyone who sat in her chair left feeling better then when they arrived. Only a small part of that feeling came from leaving with a good haircut. People needed someone who knew how to really listen, which came easily to Shane… most days.

Today all she could think about was last night. Or more to the point, this morning. She had been prepared to wake up feeling trapped. Before she had fallen asleep she had resigned herself to that possibility. And told herself that she would just have to grow up and deal with it. But when she woke up in Carmen’s arms she hadn’t felt trapped. She felt content, incredibly happy, and content. It was an unfamiliar sensation. The few times in her life she had felt it before were always followed closely by pain. This morning it had been slowly replaced by a growing panic. Carmen had the power to hurt her now. Honestly, Carmen had that power almost from the beginning. Shane wasn’t sure how to deal with that. When she decided to leave Carmen and go for a walk, she knew it was a mistake. That all of the doubts that Carmen rightfully had about her would surface. Even knowing that, she couldn’t make herself stay. She couldn’t have Carmen wake up and see in her eyes what she was sure was blatantly obvious. That Shane was falling in love with her.