Lumberjill

Seventeen

Maddie sat back. These chairs were so uncomfortable in the Printing Solutions waiting room. Her studio chairs were never this cheap. Tony walked past her handing her a coffee as he sat beside her. He’d noticed the cold chill in her the moment she’d arrived at his apartment earlier. She was closed up like a calm on a stormy day. He could swear he could see the rain cloud over her head.
“Wanna talk about it yet?”
“No.” Maddie huffed, her arms crossed against her chest. Her knee unconsciously tapped against the frame of her seat.
“Okay,” Tony sipped his coffee, crossing his leg. “So, how many print runs are you getting?”
“probably way too many!” She stood up, the agitation clear in her tone.
“Okay!” Tony leant forward, trying to calm her. She sat back down. “I take it this wasn’t your plan today?”
“No.” Maddie sat forward, her hands grabbing her hair a moment as she battled this anxiety attack. Tony was watching her closely.
“Hey,” He touched her shoulder. The worry started to set in. “Maddie. Come on, breathe. You gotta breathe through this. Relax.” She looked over at him. The pounding in her chest had happened so suddenly. His warm eyes leaned closer. “Babe, you’ve gotta let it out.” His eyes quickly flicked over the empty reception desk checking they were alone. “You can tell me anything.” She exhaled, turning to mentally face the workload she was giving herself.
“This campaign of mine is..” She exhaled again out her nose. “just messing my head up.” Tony sat back, his lip curling into a smile.
“Oh, I see. Your hot lesbian lumberjill becoming too much of a distraction?” He heard her nasal exhale hard.
“Tony, she’s my cousin!”
“Kind of.” He sat forward. “Come on, I’ve known you for years, and you’ve never mentioned her. Suddenly, Tony is out of your life, and you’re back home with the sexy axe wielder. I’m sure she’s doing more than clouding your mind.” Maddie shook her head. Closing her eyes, she sat back.
“That’s what I want.” She muttered. “But I can’t.” Hearing Tony’s silence, she turned her head. His eyebrow rose. Then he noticed her eyes begin to water as she broke down.
“Oh, hey, hey.” He shimmied closer, throwing his arm around her and pulling her into a hug. “Sorry, I was only playing, I didn’t realise you were serious!” He pursed his lip. “She’s your cousin, though; isn’t that against the rules or something?” Maddie’s chest rose as she exhaled.
“I know it’s incest.” She sat back, brushing her tears away. “We’re trying to find some evidence to say she’s not. Doesn’t matter anyway,” She adjusted herself, crossing her arms again, the tension back in her shoulders. “She’s happy screwing her new lawyer friend so,” She exhaled. “I just need to get on with it. Find the same kind of distraction for myself.” She bit her lip, shaking her head a little. “And take some time out from this campaign.”

Tony was watching her as they opened the boxes back at his apartment. “I have to say, your design skills are still amazing, Maddie; these T-shirts are gold.”
“Yeah I have to admit,” She held up the hoodie. “These are really good.” She turned around, holding it against her. “How much would you pay for this?”
“Hmm,” He looked it over. “$60. Though if you had Quinn wearing it and probably signed over $100 bucks, you’d get for sure.” On hearing her name, Maddie dropped the hoodie.
“Yeah, I know that would have a real impact.” Her eye fell over the merchandise she had just spent a fortune designing. This was her passion. This should be making her feel excited, but...
“Can’t do it?” Tony’s voice broke her thoughts. She scratched her head.
“I just need a break from Quinnlee; she just...” She held up a poster tube. “Is consuming my life right now.”
“Alright, come on.” Tony threw down the shirts, grabbing his car keys. “We need a break from this!” He picked up his phone. “Let’s get out of here!”
“Where are we going?” Maddie grabbed her shoulder bag. “You’ll see.”

“Isn’t it a bit early to be having shots? Maddie commented, counting Tony’s four extra shot glasses in front of them. She had only just started on her wine.
“These are not all for us.” He sat back down across from her at the bar. “I’ve invited some people to join us for a drink.”
“Tony, I can’t drive back drunk.”
“Then don’t.” He sipped his cocktail. “Stay at mine. You’re all good. Or maybe.” His eyebrow rose. “We can find you a playdate.” Seeing his eyebrows flick at her, she caught movement over her shoulder. It was Tyler!
“Hey,” Tyler smiled back at her, seeing her recognise him.
“Hey, mate.” He shook Tony’s hand, taking a seat. Maddie mentally kicked herself; she had forgotten they knew each other. She could feel Tyler’s eyes on her, suspiciously like Tony had said something about her. She smiled back, taking a sip of her wine. At least she did find Tyler extremely handsome. And now that Mark was out of the way, she smiled to herself; her chances of hooking up with him were definitely looking good.
“So, who else is joining this party?” She was curious. Surely now, it was a double date.
“aw,” Tony shrugged, looking at Tyler. “Just someone I thought you might be interested in getting to know.” He sipped his cocktail, smiling back at her. “I have a feeling she could really help you out.”
“She?” Maddie questioned, putting down her wine.
“speak of the devil.” Maddie followed his eyes over her shoulder. She instantly met the interest of the familiar young woman heading their way. Her body warmed up suddenly as she bit her lip, turning back to sip her wine. Tony grinned, leaning closer. “I’m sure you remember Bethany from the vape store. The one next to the coffee shop.” Maddie felt her come up beside her. Her musky perfume and swept-over short hairstyle complemented her deep-coloured eyes. She was prettier than she realized. “Beth, do you remember Maddie, who I worked with at the studio?” Maddie faced her sweet smile. She noticed her eyes look her over. She blushed a little.
“I do,” She put her hand out.
“Nice to finally know your name.”
“Same. I used to see you heading next door to the coffee shop every afternoon at about 2pm.” She leant closer. “Never came in my door, though.”
“Hmm, no.” Maddie’s eyes fell on Tyler, who was enjoying the show. She was used to men flirting with her, but Beth, strangely, made her uncomfortable. Maybe the whole lesbian vibe was why.
“Do you two know each other?” She broke the silence, indicating to Tyler to take the focus off her.
“No, hi.” Tyler reached across the table to shake Beth’s hand. Maddie slipped hers over his shoulder.
“Tyler is a talented painter and graphic designer.” She smiled at him. “Gives me a run for my business.” She sipped her wine.
“And doing fantastically fine since you’ve moved out of town.”
“Ahh, I still have my crew in town, thank you.”
“Yes, I know. But now that you are focused on this Lumberjill campaign of yours, my workload has definitely increased.”
“Lumberjill?” Beth leaned over the table, reaching for a shot glass. “That wouldn’t be that hot, Xena, like lumberjill everyone is talking about?” Maddie looked over her shoulder at her as Beth scrolled through her phone.
“You’ve heard of her?”
“Yeah, have I what!” She turned around her phone, and an amateur video of Quinn on the stage from Morgantown was playing. “Now, she is hot property.” Beth’s eyes fell on her. “She’s yours?” Maddie heard the double meaning, whether it was there or not. She looked from Tony to Tyler, her eyes falling back on Beth, representing Quinn’s wider lesbian following.
“Yes.” She grabbed a shot glass, downing it. “She’s mine.”