Without You (gxg)

Part 27- The Years In-Between

4 months later
It was now the end of September. And part of me could still feel Noelle's lips lingering on mine from when I last saw her. That night still felt like a dream to me. Something I didn't want to wake up from either.
I think part of me wanted something to come from it- but nothing did. Noelle sent me a text the day after saying she was sorry we got split up and she would've spent the rest of the night with me. I asked her if she was still going to Rome in the fall. She said yes- for a year. I told her to have a nice time- which killed me inside. And she told me to take care of myself. Which killed me inside even more.
I was now finished with cosmetology school. I still worked at Ulta part time and interned at a salon called Salon 45 part time as well. I knew I wanted to learn as much about hair color as possible. That was going to be my goal- to become a master stylist and colorist. I was going to get there- I knew I was going to.
The summer was nice because Priya came home and I got to see her a lot. She had a boyfriend now too- a nice Indian guy named Raj, who her parents approves of. I introduced her to Olivia, and the three of us would hang out.
I still always felt like something was missing. I still missed Noelle and I feel so dumb- but still thought of her every day. How damn long was she going to be on my mind for? I noticed that she seemed to be completely off social media- I thought she would've posted since arriving in Italy.
I was at work the last day of September- when things took a turn.
Shifts were always painful without Olivia. I had gotten friendly with some of the other girls- but Olivia was my best friend. I wanted to work with her.
"An hour left until close. Can't come soon enough." my co worker, Samantha said to me.
"You're telling me." I said.
Then, two girls walked into Ulta. One of them was taller, with long dark hair that was gorgeous and curled at the ends. She had on jeans and a black t-shirt. The other girl, however, she caught my eye. Her hair was also long and dark, and it was in a high ponytail. She had on a red and white sports jacket, a white t-shirt, and jeans. She looked like a tomboy version of the other girl- they had to be sisters.
Right when they walked in I made eye contact with the girl who had her hair up in a ponytail. And I felt...something. She made eye contact with me for a second longer than most humans would. And it caught me off guard.
The two of them walked around for a bit. The girl whose hair was down seemed to be much more interested in the makeup.
I was making sure some of the displays looked okay when I heard a voice behind me say, "Can you suggest a perfume?"
I turned around. It was her. The girl with the ponytail. The first thing I noticed when I looked at her up close were her eyes. She had the brightest blue eyes. I immediately thought about Noelle. Her eyes.
"Oh, um...well it depends which kind of scent you would be looking for." I said.
"Something more musky, I think. I don't want anything real sweet." she said, holding eye contact with me.
"Okay...do you have a price limit? I can make a few suggestions." I said. I was feeling a bit shy. This girl had a bit of an intimidating presence. I could tell she was confident.
"No price limit."
"Okay...you might like Black Orchid by Tom Ford. That's one of my favorite scents that's more musky. Follow me, I'll show it to you." I said, and I led her over to the perfume section. I sprayed some of it on a little card for her.
She lifted it up to her nose. A minute later she nodded. "This is nice." she said, "I'll take a bottle of this one for sure."
"Good, I'm glad I was able to help you." I said to her.
"We'll thank you. I didn't catch your name, what was it?" she said to me.
"Anytime. And it's Harley." I said to her.
"I don't think I've ever met anyone named Harley. I like it." she said, "My name is Allie. Allie Hammonton."
"Is that short for anything?" I asked her.
"Alexandra. I'm sure you've met plenty of Alexandra's before."
"You know, I'm sure I have- but none really come to mind." I said back.
"Well, then I'm glad to be one that can." she said, "Look, I'll just cut to the chase her. I think you're really pretty- and I know this may be forward, but are you by some chance into women?"
I was stunned at her straight-forwardness. "Oh...wow, thank you. And yes...I am. I'm gay." I said to her.
I saw her blue eyes light up. "Would you by some chance be interested in grabbing dinner or coffee with me sometime? Or a drink...depending on how old you are."
"I'm 19, so I think it would have to be coffee or dinner." I said. I was sure I was blushing. Was I really agreeing to a date?
"Sounds great. I'll give you my number." Allie said to me.
Guess I was going on a date.
Allie and I decided to grab coffee two days later. We texted a little, but I could tell she was the type to want to talk in person. I was able to gather some information about her. She was 22 years old- so three years older than me. She worked as a manager at Parker House- which was a really nice restaurant about a half hour away from me. And the girl she was with was her sister, Victoria.
She had off on October 2nd, that Friday, and I ended at the salon earlier, at 2 PM. So we decided to meet for coffee mid-day. I didn't tell anyone in my family I was meeting up with Allie. But I did tell Olivia- and she seemed happy for me. And of course, afterwards she wanted all the details.
Allie had her long, dark hair down and straight, and she was wearing a blue and white plaid shirt with black jeans. A plaid shirt. What Noelle always wore.
Was I ready for this?
Allie and I stood in line next to each other.
"You look really nice." she said to me. I had on a cranberry colored sweater, black leggings, and boots. My hair was curled and in a ponytail.
"Oh, thank you." I smiled at her, "So do you."
We got our drinks, and sat down at a table. We started talking about our lives in general. I found out she went to culinary school in New York, but realized she wanted to go into management. She had two brothers as well as her sister. She lived in an apartment two towns over with her sister.
I told her about me. How I just graduated from cosmetology school. How I lived with my mom, stepdad, and sister. How my older sister was married and I had a niece and nephew.
"Would you like to go for a walk in the park close by?" she asked me, "It's so nice out."
"Oh, sure." I said to her, "It's about a 5 or so minute drive. Would you like me to take us?"
"I can. I'll drive us." she said, and in my head I wondered if it was stupid to get in her car.
"Can I meet you there? Im sorry...I am just being cautious." I gave her a small smile.
She chuckled, "I'm not going to hurt you- but I understand. I'll see you shortly."
When we started walking in the park, is when we really started talking. The topic of family got brought up, and she asked me if my parents were divorced- since I said Juan was my stepfather.
"It's...a long story." I said to her as we walked in the brisk October air.
"I'm all ears if you want me to be." she said to me. Side by side, she was about two inches or so taller than me.
"Okay. So, my mom is actually my stepmom as well. Even though she adopted me." I started.
"Oh, really?" she looked at me, curious.
"Yeah...so...this usually isn't something I talk about first time meeting someone. But my biological parents passed away." I said. I always felt slightly numb when I spoke about it. Like it was someone else's story I was telling.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry." Allie said to me.
I told her the whole story. About how my mom and dad were both addicts. My dad an alcoholic. And my mom a heroin addict. How my dad and stepmom got married when I was four- and then they got divorced years later. My biological mother and father reunited- and I lived with them for a while. Until they got in a car crash that killed them- my biological father was drunk while driving.
Allie listened, wide eyed as I spoke. I told her about how living with my parents when they were together was awful. They neglected me. They barely fed me. And after they died, no other family members wanted to take me in. But my stepmom heard what happened, and took me in as her own.
"Your mother sounds like an amazing woman." Allie said to me.
"She truly is. She saved me." I said.
Allie stopped walking for a moment. "And you're pretty amazing yourself, Harley. For going through all of that and still being so strong."
"Thank you." I smiled at her. I could feel myself blushing. Something about the way she looked at me was making me feel something. Something I hadn't felt for a while.
"Can I kiss you? I really want to kiss you." Allie said.
I nodded. And right in the middle of the empty trail we were walking down, she put her hand on the back of my neck, pulled me in, and kissed me.
I felt some guilt. Like I was doing something wrong. But at the same time- it felt right to me.
I could do this again.