Popcorn Love (43 page)

Allison shrugged and scratched awkwardly at the back
of her neck. “Yeah, well, I don’t, but I told you I wanted to
learn.”

“Yes, and I agreed to teach you.”

Allison nodded. “I just wanted to know a little
before we started so that I wouldn’t sound like a total dork. So,
I’ve just been reading on the Internet some.”

“Skilled guitarist,” Lucas Sr. said before his
daughter could speak a word. “And now learning Spanish for my
Elena?”

Allison blushed as the man stepped around Elena in
the store aisle to place a hand on Allison’s shoulder. “Dear, if
you haven’t yet won my daughter’s heart, you have certainly won
mine.”

“Winning over my grandson, my daughter, and now my
husband.” Nora winked at Allison. “You are quite the charmer, Miss
Sawyer.”

Allison chuckled, still red-faced. “Uh, I think
you’re forgetting someone.”

“Oh, am I?” Nora asked.

“Yeah,” Allison told her. “Don’t you remember when I
won
you
over? I charmed you with all my confidence and Elena
Vega adoration.”

“I believe I can clearly recall that as well,
Mother,” Elena said, positively giddy that Allison was joking
around with her
mother
of all people and gaining her
father’s approval as well.

Despite the vast differences in social status and
lifestyle, Allison seemed to fit so easily into the family; and
watching that fluid integration happen right before her eyes was a
privilege Elena cherished deeply. It felt simultaneously like a
rush of adrenaline and a soothing bath—both thrilling and
comforting, and beautiful in its simplicity and delicacy.

Pure and easy and beautiful—that was it. That was she
and Allison since the beginning. In fact, Elena found it
breathtaking just how easy it had actually been and continued to be
with Allison. Even when it should have been hard, it was easy. They
connected instantly, even if there had been a bit of awkwardness
throughout. The transition from strangers to friends had been fast
and fluid, which was rare for Elena. The transition then from
friends to confidants had been faster and even easier, and the
transition from confidants to lovers had felt like the most natural
progression in the world.

“Mhm. I distinctly remember charming you, Nora. It
definitely happened.”

“I believe I remember you mentioning something about
how charming ‘that Sawyer girl’ was as well, dear,” Lucas Sr. said,
and Nora offered him a playful glare.

“Oh, see there,” Allison said, nudging Nora with her
elbow. “You can’t deny it any longer. May as well ‘fess up.”

“Never,” Nora replied, making them all laugh. She
then surprised Allison by nudging her back and whispering,
“
Quite
charmed, my dear.”

Allison smiled. “Same.”

Elena cleared her throat, bringing the attention back
to her. “Does no one here find
me
charming?” She looked over
at her mother. “Are you going to throw me out and adopt Allison
instead, Mother?”

“Of course not, darling,” Nora told her. “How would I
ever see my precious grandson?”

“Oh ha ha.” Elena bounced Lucas and squeezed his
hand. “You hear that, baby? Gram only keeps me around because of
you.”

Lucas completely ignored her, still staring up at the
selection of balloons, his mouth hanging open.

Stepping over, Allison kissed Elena’s temple. “Well,
I
think you’re charming.”

Elena leaned into her touch when Allison wrapped an
arm around her, her hand coming up to rest on Lucas’s warm
back.

“This feels good,” Allison whispered against Elena’s
ear. “All of us together, like a family.”

The sincerity in Allison’s voice made Elena’s chest
ache in the best way. “I—”

“Miss Vega?”

Elena startled, turning to face the end of the aisle.
Her blood ran cold as she saw Elliot standing there, watching
her.

“Elliot.” She tried to offer him a courteous smile,
but she knew it likely looked as tight and forced as it felt. “How
are you?”

Elliot didn’t answer her as his sharp gaze narrowed
and flicked back and forth between her and Allison, zeroing in on
Allison’s arm where it was still wrapped around her body. One thick
eyebrow rose as his gaze tracked the length of Allison’s body,
obviously taking in her attire, and Elena didn’t miss the subtle
way the man shook his head in disapproval.

“Family outing?” Elliot asked, eyes locking onto
Elena’s.

Elena felt her anger begin to boil beneath the
surface. She could see the calculating glint in Elliot’s eyes, the
near-glee at gaining more dirt to spread around her own office
about her. She had never had much patience for people like him.

“Yes, actually,” she replied, and, had it been anyone
else, she might have actually moved to introduce everyone, but this
was Elliot. She knew the man did not care beyond gaining more
gossip material, which meant he was only interested in one of
Elena’s companions—Allison.

“I see,” he said, smirking. He then pointed to
Allison. “And who’s this?”

Elena sucked in a sharp breath through her nose. Her
jaw remained rigid as she grit her teeth before straightening her
back, readjusting Lucas on her hip, and moving closer to Allison.
“This is Allison,” she said, hesitating only a moment before
adding, “my partner.”

She felt Allison stiffen beside her, and Elena bit
the inside of her cheek. She hoped the term wasn’t too much too
soon.

“Partner.” Elliot’s eyes flicked back and forth
between them again. His gaze scanned down Allison once more, and
then Elena nearly burst into flame as the man snickered softly.

Her stomach lurched and then bottomed out when she
felt Allison practically concave beside her. She saw her shoulders
slump out of the corner of her eye, deflating. Elena wanted to
scream, mentally damning Elliot to all kinds of hell.

“Well,” Elliot said. “I won’t hold you up.” He nodded
at Elena. “Miss Vega.”

He disappeared around the end of the aisle.

Silence flooded the aisle for several long moments
before Nora smacked her lips and drawled, “Well, he was
quite
the delight.”

Elena’s jaw hurt from clenching her teeth. She placed
a hand on Allison’s arm but it was gently shrugged off as Allison
took a shaky breath and quickly walked off.

“Allison, wait!” Elena quickly passed Lucas off to
her mother before chasing after her.

She caught Allison a few aisles over. “Allison,
please don’t go.” She grabbed her hands.

Allison avoided her eyes. “I wasn’t going to leave,”
she said. “I just needed a minute.”

Elena’s eyes stung when before she could get a word
out, Allison looked up at her and whispered, “It’s always going to
be like this, isn’t it?”

“I’m so sorry,” Elena whispered.

“So am I.” Allison sighed. “People are always going
to think you’re crazy for being with me. I mean, you saw the way he
looked at me. You look like you just stepped out of a magazine. I
mean, your clothes and your jewelry…everything about you screams
money, but I look like I just walked out of the thrift shop, and
that’s never bothered me. Not once in my life has that ever
bothered me, but it did just now.” A quiet strangled sob escaped
her, and she wiped hard at her eyes. “He laughed at the idea of us
together, Elena. He laughed!”

Elena’s throat burned, and no matter how many times
she swallowed, she never found any relief. Her chest felt tight.
Her eyes welled with tears as she let go of Allison’s hands and
cupped her cheeks instead. “I don’t care what he thinks,” she said.
“That man is not worth your emotions or even a second thought. That
was not about you. It was about me. I told you the man despises
me.”

“But it’s not just him,” Allison argued, pulling
Elena’s hands from her face. “Those people at your office looked at
me the same way. People are always going to look at us like that,
because you’re, you know,
you
, and I’m—”

“You are every bit as good as me.” Elena latched onto
her again. “Look at me, Allison.”

Allison struggled against her hands for a second
before sighing and relenting.

“You are every bit as good as me,” Elena repeated
when Allison looked into her eyes. “Every bit, and please don’t
ever let anyone make you feel otherwise.” She wiped at the tears
escaping Allison’s glossy green eyes. “I don’t give a damn what he
or
anyone
thinks. Do you hear me?”

Allison huffed and leaned into Elena’s palm, her
hands coming up to gently grip her wrists. “Yeah, I hear you.”

A smile slowly stretched Elena’s lips. “I am so proud
to be with you, Allison,” she said. “
So
proud.”

“Really?”

Elena nodded and kissed her lips. “Really.”

* * *

When Allison and Elena reentered the balloon aisle,
Nora wrapped an arm around Allison’s back and squeezed her. “I
believe Lucas has made a decision,” she said, and Allison
appreciated that she didn’t bring up what happened with Elliot.

“Oh yeah?” Allison asked, leaning into Nora’s embrace
as Lucas dove from his grandmother’s hip to Allison’s. “Which one,
buddy?”

“That one!”

Everyone followed his finger, and Allison burst into
laughter upon seeing it while Elena merely sighed and shook her
head. It wasn’t a green balloon at all. It was a white balloon with
a green dinosaur on it.

“Son, that balloon is not even green,” Elena
said.

“Uh-huh! I want it.”

“Kid, I showed you that same green a minute ago and
you said it was too dark,” Allison said.

“But
this
green is a dinosaur!” Because
apparently that made all the difference in the world. “I want
it!”

“Very well, Lucas.” Elena looked to her mother. “We
should thank Vivian for beginning this obsession of Lucas’s.”

“Eh,” Allison said, shrugging. “The kid loves
dinosaurs. Don’t most little boys?”

“Alson likes dinosaurs too,” Lucas sang, a large
smile spreading over his lips.

“
Yeah
I do.” Allison high-fived him. “We play
dinosaurs together a lot, don’t we buddy?”

“Yup!”

“Were you one of those young girls who preferred G.I.
Joe’s to Barbies, dear?” Nora gave a small laugh. “Elena loved her
Barbies.”

“I didn’t really get into either,” Allison said. “I
didn’t have toys when I was a kid.”

“None?” Lucas Sr. asked. “Were your parents
strict?”

Nora nudged him with her elbow, hard, and Allison
chuckled as the elder woman pinned her husband with a glare. Face
purpling, he cleared his throat.

“My apologies, Allison,” he offered, and Allison
shook her head to dismiss the apology.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s not something you guys
have to tiptoe around, you know. People always seem to do that, and
maybe it’s just because I don’t really talk about my time in the
system, but you don’t have to. If you want to know things, just ask
me. I’ll tell you.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Elena whispered,
reaching over to squeeze Allison’s hand that was wrapped around
Lucas’s leg.

“It’s okay,” Allison said, shrugging and giving Lucas
a small bounce. She took a deep breath and let it out in a soft
sigh. “Anyway, there’s not a ton to tell. Like I said, I didn’t
have toys. I never really had
anything
of my own. I remember
a few stuffed animals but that’s it. The few group homes I spent
some time in had toy chests, but most of the toys were broken. And
I rotated families pretty often, so I never got much there
either.”

Everything in the aisle drew her eye as she spoke,
unable to really hold anyone’s gaze. Her throat felt too tight to
speak but she labored through it. She wanted to share with these
people, even the parts that were hard to talk about and even harder
to recall.

“I had nine different families just by the time I was
sixteen. They never felt like families to me, though. Family is
supposed to be permanent, and they were all so temporary. No one
ever kept me for long, because either they ended up having a baby
of their own or I was too much of a troublemaker or the house was
just overcrowded.” She swiped a hand down her face, lingering for a
moment under her left eye. “So, yeah, anyway, I never really had
any toys or a family, for that matter. I guess I was never very
good at finding one.”

Nora’s fingers pressed tightly against Allison’s
shoulder as she was pulled even closer to the woman. “You have
found one now, dear.”

Eyes glossy but alight with affection, Elena stepped
closer and wrapped her arm around Allison from the other side,
Lucas tucked snugly between them. Her voice was slightly choked as
she said, “You have.”

“Absolutely,” Lucas Sr. said with a firm nod.

Allison closed her eyes a moment and let those words
sink in so deep that she knew they would always remain. Her breath
released in a staggered sigh before she whispered, “Thank you.”

“Of course,” Nora said, giving Allison one last
squeeze before stepping away and clapping her hands together. “Now,
how about we place an order for some balloons? We are going to need
more than what is available here.”

“Yes,” Elena said, clearing her throat and sniffling.
“Could you and Daddy take care of that with the clerk, please?”

Nora nodded before she and her husband took off for
the front of the store. Once they were out of sight, Elena slipped
her hand into Allison’s and smirked. “So, tell me, what else have
you learned in Spanish?”

“Uh, a few things. Mostly simple stuff like colors
and some items and then, like, family terms. But there is one
sentence I learned that I want to say to you.”

“Oh? And what is that, dear?”

Allison ducked her head. “I, uh, maybe now isn’t the
best time or place.”

Smile widening, Elena’s tone turned lascivious.
“Well, well, Miss Sawyer.”