Pulling Me

Part Four. The Meeting

Y/N hadn't worried about the text after reading it, but did set an 8 am alarm so that they wouldn't forget. The three slept through the night, never stirring.

They woke to their alarm and quickly shut it off, doing their best to not wake Kate or Mariah. Luckily, the two shifted just a bit but did not wake completely. Y/N gathered their things and decided to head back to their apartment to grab some clean clothes and get ready.

Luckily, they only lived a block from their sister, which helped them get ready quickly. As they finished getting dressed, Y/N thought about how they'd just abruptly left Mariah's without saying anything to either of them.

Y/N
Hi sorry. A friend texted me
last night and told me to meet
them at the coffee shop. Please
tell Kate I enjoyed meeting her!

Which they did, greatly. Kate had made them smile in a way that they hadn't in years last night. At some points, they'd even caught her glancing down at their lips, but she was respectful. Kate hadn't once tried to get in their space and let Y/N take full control of whatever might happen.

But nothing did. Y/N still could not shake the other woman from their head. It'd been a week and a half since they saw her, but hadn't caught her since. Until they were able to rid their mind of the stranger, Y/N didn't want to lead Kate on.

Throwing their phone in their bag, they took off through their door and to the coffee shop. They'd put themselves behind in time while spending a bit too long picking out their outfit, which ended up only consisting of black Docs, gray sweatpants, a maroon sweater, and a heavy black jacket.

Fuck it, they thought, it doesn't matter. I'm just getting coffee and then going right back to sleep.

Normally, they'd never leave the house without making sure their outfit was precise. Everything had to match and look good. "You never know who you might meet one day!" They'd always say to people who asked how they managed to always look so put together.

But today, their head was searing with the world's worst headache. On their way down the street, they sifted through their bag to find some medicine to hopefully help get through the next hour until they could go back to sleep.

Nothing.

Guess I'm just gonna suffer.

Y/N finally made it to the coffee shop a minute early. Stepping through, they looked around to find Brandy. Surprisingly, nothing.

"Hey Jane, good morning. Have you seen Brandy this morning?" They asked the barista that normally took their order on Wednesday mornings.

"Nope. Can I get you something while you wait though?"

"The normal, please."

They spent the next few minutes waiting for their friend to arrive, but soon became restless. It was nearing 9:30 when Brandy finally bolted through the door laughing.

Irritated, Y/N wondered why she'd been so late and didn't text. The laughter made it their annoyance grow even more, as well as seeing her stroll in with someone else.

But quickly, that irritation fell away. They noticed the friend that walked through the door with them.

Her.

It was the stranger that had plagued their mind every day for the past week and a half. Brandy walked through with them as though she'd known her for years.

Brandy waved and made her way over to the table that Y/N had saved for the two, "I'm so sorry. If I'd known she was bringing a friend I would've gotten us a bigger table," Y/N spoke as the woman approached next to Brandy.

Their heart rate was accelerating now. Small sweat beads began to form in the creases of their hands and they prayed she wouldn't reach out to shake them.

Luckily, she grabbed a chair from a nearby table and placed it next to Y/N's. Their surface was small and round, leaving almost no space between the two, "No worries," her strong accent came through, "there's always a fix."

"Y/N, this is Yelena," Brandy spoke, "I'm going to grab our drinks and I'll be right back."

The smile pulling across Yelena's face caused an eruption of butterflies the size of eagles to grow in Y/N's stomach. Close up, the woman was even more beautiful than they remembered. A perfect nose, green eyes, and flawless skin.

She must've picked up on how nervous Y/N was as she decided to speak up just as Brandy walked off, "It's nice to meet you, Y/N. You work with my cousin?"

Cousin??? They thought, oh this bitch. Brandy had known who she was all along. This was thoroughly planned out, but Y/N couldn't seem to be bothered by it. Not when someone as fascinating as her sat in front of them.

"Yeah, yes. I do. We're at the same office, I mean. She works more with finance while I work with our social media."

A small smirk ticked up from one side of her mouth, "Interesting. I don't know anything about social media. Maybe you could teach me something?"

"Absolutely," they responded, returning the smile.

Only a minute had passed by when Brandy returned to the table with them. A proud smile had grown across her face knowing what she had done. As she sat, Y/N couldn't help but ask.

"So, cousins?" Their eyebrows raised in joking but accusatory fashion.

Sipping her coffee, she answered, "Yes. Well, kind of. Our parents were coworkers and best friends. We've known each other since we were little and kind of always just called each other that."

"I was adopted," Yelena cut in while staring down at her cup, "So was Brandy."

Y/N caught her quick change in demeanor but noticed that it had switched quickly back as Brandy flipped the conversation to a lighter note, "Anyway, Yelena had actually asked me yesterday if I knew you, Y/N."

Ah, so the interest was mutual, they thought while biting back a smile.

"She'd been hoping to see you as well," with that continuation, Y/N's eyes opened a bit wider at the realization that Brandy had told her about their infatuation. Embarrassed, they laughed a bit, but we're eased down when they caught Yelena's eyes.

She was watching them, calmly. It was as though she was trying her best to take all of them in.

"Usually, I'm the best at finding people," Yelena laughed, "but you snuck out of reach apparently."

Her accent was charming. Though rough and strong, Y/N wanted her to continue talking so they could just listen.

They all sat together talking about their time in New York City. It turns out that Yelena had just visited a few weeks ago, but decided that she really liked the area and enjoyed the idea of living so close to Brandy. At the moment, she was even staying with Brandy until she could find her own place.

An hour had passed before they knew it and Y/N's hangover headache had disappeared. They'd been engulfed in this conversation and didn't ever want to leave it.

"Well, I need to get going," Brandy said as she shuffled around to put her coat back on, "I actually have a lunch date with that guy I've been seeing!"

Y/N's eyebrows scrunched up, "Ew. Randall? From accounting?"

Yelena laughed as her head flew back slightly, "His name is Randall? Oh, sweet Brandy."

Scowling, she retorted, "Shut it before I embarrass you both."

Both Y/N and Yelena's smiles dropped but did not completely fade. The two continued holding down their laughter and smiles.

"I have to leave, but please. You two continue. I'll see you later. Yelena, you have your key, right?"

Jingling it in front of her face, Yelena nodded as Brandy turned to make her way out of the coffee shop. It was clear that she'd planned this whole interaction down to the minute and executed it perfectly. Her walk to the door was one of sheer confidence and pride.

Yelena turned back to Y/N after watching their cousin exit, "You know I've been wanting to see the new and improved Statue of Liberty."