Carmen

"Really? It's just Carmen." I blurted out.

"But I bet you'd like to see those tits." Devra jokingly commented.

I looked up from my phone to see Devra and Brian grinning at me.

"What?!" I questioned. I tried to be serious and act like I was put off by Devra's comment, but I couldn't hold back the giggle that escaped. Damn it, the alcohol had weakened my defenses.

"I knew it! I fucking knew it!" Devra exclaimed.

"So I'd look at her tits? That doesn't mean anything. I've seen yours plenty of times." I replied, returning my attention to my phone.

"True, but...this is different. You don't see what I see when you see her or her name is mentioned." Devra explained.

"You'd better get your eyes checked then." I said.

"Plus, she's straight. And, she deserves more than to be someone's rebound. Brit and I haven't even been broken up that long." I added.

I was starting to feel sleepy. It was dark out and the fire was dying down, so I figured it was a good time to call it a night.

"I think I'm going to go turn in. I'm feeling sleepy." I said as I stretched.

"Are you upset?" Devra asked.

"No. I know you're just giving me shit. I really am tired. Brian, thanks for dinner and the beers. Devs, don't stay up too late. We have a lot of shopping to do tomorrow." I said, leaning over and giving each of them a hug.

"Don't worry about me. Don't stay up all night sexting with your "friend"." Devra teased. I just rolled my eyes.

They both said goodnight and I walked to the room I was staying in. I brushed my teeth and cleaned my face before changing into my pajamas and sliding into bed. I picked up my phone and set an alarm for the morning. It was going to be fun getting out and spending the day with Devra. I was sure I'd have to endure some teasing about Carmen, but I knew it was all in good fun.

Speaking of Carmen, I picked up my phone again and typed a message to her. "In case you were wondering, I did have a great night. I hope yours was too."

I set my phone down and rolled over onto my side to get comfortable. My phone vibrated a minute later and it was a reply from Carmen. "I'm glad you had a great night. Mine was ok. Quiet night at home."

"Aww! I wish you could have been at Devra's. We had a yummy dinner, drinks, and a fire." I typed back.

"That sounds fun." She replied.

"Can I tell you a secret? I'm a little bit buzzed. The beers were too good!" I sent back.

"You naughty girl! I won't tell anyone though. I hope you don't feel rough in the morning." She replied.

"Me too. I have a big day of shopping planned with Devra. Gotta get stuff for my new place." I messaged.

"Girl time is always fun!" She replied.

"Yeah, it is." I sent back.

I lay there waiting for her to respond, but there was nothing. I waited a little while longer and still nothing. It seemed abrupt to end our conversation that way. I hoped that I wasn't being too chatty. Still, I didn't just want to leave off like that.

"I should let you get back to what you were doing. It was nice chatting. I missed you at work today. Good night." I hit send and set my phone on the pillow next to me. I closed my eyes and found a comfortable position. I assumed that it wouldn't take long for me to fall asleep, but my mind was racing. It must have been that I had just been talking with her because I couldn't think of anything but Carmen. So much for being tired. I tried focusing on sleep, but that didn't last long.

After a few more minutes had passed, I felt my phone vibrate and my eyes shot open and I snatched up my phone. It was Carmen.

"Sorry. My cat went berserk and knocked a glass of water off the counter in the kitchen. There was water and glass everywhere.

Also...you missed me? Aww! I missed you too. I had some personal stuff to take care of. I hope you girls have fun tomorrow. Sweet dreams!" She ended her message with a heart emoji.

"Sounds like a typical pussy. Always causing trouble!" I replied.

"So very true. Fun to have around though." She messaged back.

"Night, Grace." was her next text.

I wasn't sure how to take her comment about pussy. Did she mean it like a woman's or... probably as in cats. Yep, most likely. The beer was making me think stupidly. She also said she missed me too! That part made me feel so happy. My night felt complete and I was able to put my phone down and get some sleep.

Despite my best intentions, I hit snooze a few too many times, which caused Devra and I to get a later start than we had planned. Naturally, she gave me a hard time about it. I expected nothing less and would have thought something was wrong if she didn't.

Breakfast was of utmost importance before any shopping was to take place. Once we were fueled up, we hit the first store. I was going to need new furniture, and thankfully my new place was small. A new bed was a must-have item. Devra and Brian were generous enough to give me their current couch, so Devra was doing a little shopping for herself. I tried out several mattresses and Devra helped me narrow it down to a couple of really comfy ones. She left me to decide and went to look at couches. As I lay back on one of the beds, a thought hit me. I took out my phone and snapped a selfie of myself as I laid back. I sent the pic to Carmen along with the message, "picking the right bed is so hard!"

I made my way over to my second option and as I laid down on it, my phone buzzed.

"I vote for memory foam. The squishier the better." Was Carmen's advice.

"Both are memory foam. This one is squishier...like me. lol!" I sent back.

"There is nothing more perfect! Squishy is my absolute favorite." She responded. I guess my choice was made. Once we were finished at that store, we stopped at a used furniture store. I wanted a couple of small chairs and a coffee table, and they had the perfect ones. After several more stops and more damage to my savings and credit card, we were done.

Devra helped me haul in the stuff we brought home, like small appliances, utensils, linens, etc. I had the bigger stuff scheduled for delivery the day I took possession of the apartment. It felt good to have it all done and it was such a fun day. We both were worn out and Devra said she was going to take a little nap before dinner. I thought that idea was wonderful, so I changed into some comfy clothes and crawled onto the bed.

Before I closed my eyes, I opened the messaging app and typed out a message to Carmen. "Thanks for the advice on mattresses. I think I'm going to love it!"

A few minutes later I received a reply, "I'm available for advice anytime. I think you will love it. Was the rest of the day a success?"

"Yes! I was able to get pretty much everything I'll need to move in. I'm excited but tired. I'm actually in bed right now." I replied.

"That's great! Get some rest. We can chat later... if you want?" Was her message. Of course I wanted to chat later. I really did need to close my eyes for a bit though. Maybe I'd text her after dinner. I set my phone next to me on the bed and closed my eyes. It didn't take me long to drift off to sleep.

My alarm woke me about 45 minutes later. I cursed the noise that had interrupted a rather pleasant dream. It had been too long since I had been...intimate with anyone, and the dream I was in the middle of, while nice, sure didn't help. Frankly, I was feeling horny.

After taking a few minutes to calm down, I rolled out of bed and wandered out to see what Devra and Brian were up to. I found them in the kitchen preparing dinner. Brian was putting together a large pan of lasagna, while Devra applied a generous amount of garlic to two large halves of bread. We sat and chatted for a while, and once the lasagna was in the oven, we all went to the front room to watch some tv.

Dinner was fantastic and I was stuffed. Afterward, we moved outside to the patio where Brian lit a fire. Devra sat with her glass of wine, and Brian and I each had a beer. We chatted about the day and other random topics, but I found myself more concerned with wondering when I should text Carmen. I assumed she must have had something going on when she mentioned we could chat later. Maybe I should wait for her to text me? I set my phone down, but would occasionally tap the screen to see if I had any notifications. I'm not even sure why, as my phone was right next to me and I would have easily known if I had a message. Of course, my actions didn't go unnoticed.

"Expecting something?" Devra asked.

"What?" I replied.

"You keep checking your phone like you're waiting for something important." She said.

"Nope. Just...it's nothing. No big deal." I told her, hoping she'd move on to talking about something else.

"You sure aren't acting like it's nothing." So much for her letting it go.

"Fine. It's nothing, really. Carmen mentioned earlier that we might chat later. That's all." I explained.

"I'm just going to say... judging by the way you keep checking your phone...you seem very eager to hear from her." Devra replied.

"And I'm going to say that it's not like that. Besides, even if I did have a crush on her, she's so far out of my league... plus I just broke up with Brit and she knows that. She doesn't want to be my rebound fling. Never mind that she's not into women.

"Maybe she's bi?" Devra countered.

"Yeah, right. I couldn't be so lucky." I replied.

"AH HA! I knew it would come out eventually." Devra gloated.

"I meant that figuratively. Like in general, if I did have a crush on a girl, the chances of her not being straight would be slim to none. It's my luck. There is no gotcha." I explained.

"If you say so." Devra replied.

"I do. She's just a friend. An acquaintance, really. We don't really know each other at all." I said.

"Invite her over." Brian spoke.

"Why?" I questioned.

"Why not? Get to know her. Can you ever have too many friends?" Was his reasoning.

"It's getting late. She's probably busy too." It was a pretty weak excuse, but it was all I had.

"We'll, she's welcome here anytime." Grace stated.

I smiled and changed the subject.

======X*X======

For the next few weeks, things were basically the same- work, chatting with Carmen at work, home to Devra and Brian's for dinner, and usually hanging out for a while, then messaging Carmen until bedtime. I had plenty of things to occupy my time, and I didn't really think about Brittany much anymore. It really helped to be around people all the time. If I'd have had to be alone with my thoughts this whole time, I'm sure my head would have been in a different place.

It was another evening of sitting around the fire after dinner. The three of us were laughing and having a great time when B made a suggestion.

"Gracie. Are we ever going to meet Carmen?" He asked.

"Uhm...I don't...know?" I answered.

"Call her. Tell her to come over. It's not like you don't talk to her all the time as it is. She might as well join us." Devra added.

"She might be busy." I said.

Devra jumped up and swiped my phone off the arm of the Adirondack chair I was sitting in.

"What are you doing?" I questioned.

"I'm going to invite her over here. I just need her contact info." Devra explained.

"No! Please don't." I begged.

"Why? Gracie, it's obvious that talking to her makes you happy. Just go for it." She argued.

"Please just give me back my phone. Please." I begged again.

"Gracie..." Devra said as she handed me back my device.

I clutched my phone in my hand and stared into the fire.

"Gracie?" I heard Devra say. I looked up at her.

"I'm sorry. I just..." she began.

"I know. You just want to help, but..." I took a deep breath.

"Fuck it... the truth is, you're right, I do have feelings for Carmen. Go on, gloat!" I laughed.

Devra grinned and raised her arms in the air.

"Ok...and how is that a problem?" She asked.

"It's THE problem. She's a coworker, which would be an issue regardless. But, it's not just that. I like her, ok? A lot. I really, really like her. And..."

"I'm failing to see the problem here?" Devra interjected.

"Ok, let me put it another way. What is the one thing about me that could possibly be a huge deal breaker? Regardless of its actual size?" I asked.

Devra looked at me for a second then it clicked, "OH!"

"Yeah. Oh." I replied.

"I've known you for so long that I just forget about it. I'm sorry." Devra admitted.

"Yeah, Gracie. You're just... you're just Gracie to us." Brian added.

"And you don't know how much I love you for feeling like that." I told them both.

"So you don't want to even be friends with her?" Devra asked.

"I do. I just... I know that's all it will ever be, ok? I just want you to know that." I insisted.

"Ok. We understand." Devra said, with Brian nodding in agreement.

The conversation had come to a halt after that and I was feeling a little tired. I hugged them both and retired to my room. I didn't text Carmen that night.

======X*X======

The following weekend was my next to last weekend at Devra and Brian's. I guess it was technically my last, but the soonest my new bed could be delivered was the Monday after next weekend. I planned on spending that last weekend in their spare room, even though I'd be moved into my apartment. Since the next weekend would likely be hectic, we decided to celebrate my new start this weekend. Brian had gone out and picked up huge steaks to grill Saturday evening. Early Saturday afternoon was spent preparing for our meal that night. Potatoes were peeled, boiled, and smashed, homemade mac and cheese was made extra cheesy, and our favorite beverages were chilling in the fridge.

I stepped out onto the back patio to see if B needed any help with grilling. Four enormous steaks were placed on the grill and were looking and smelling so delicious.

"Are going to attempt to eat two steaks?" I asked as he usually only grilled three of anything.

"No way. I'd never even attempt it." Just as he said that, the smart doorbell app on his phone chimed.

"Devs, can you get that!" He hollered into the house.

"On it!" She yelled back.

I looked at him with a quizzical look and he just grinned.

"I heard there was going to be a party here tonight?" Her voice called out.

Oh my god! I turned and there stood Carmen. Beer in hand, standing next to Devra.

Uhm...you're here?" That was all I could utter.

"So it appears." She replied.

"She's a quick one, isn't she?" Devra joked at my expense.

I moved to hug Carmen, but not before flipping Devra the bird.

"Hi!" I spoke as I leaned in to embrace Carmen.

"Good to see you!" She replied.

"Devra spoke to me at work and she invited me to this little event. How could I pass it up?" She said.

"We're glad you're here Carmen. It's great to finally meet you. It won't be much longer. Make yourself at home." Brian told her.

I finally got my brain and my mouth to cooperate together and was able to converse with Carmen. After we stuffed ourselves full of food, Brian lit a fire and we sat around all night and talked. It felt unreal having Carmen sitting just inches from me. We all laughed until we hurt, and we learned more about who Carmen was, as I'm sure she did about all of us as well.

After chatting for several hours, Carmen announced that she was going to head home.

"Thank you both for inviting me to your home and for such a delicious meal. I had a wonderful time!" Carmen said

"It was our pleasure to have you. We should do this again soon." Devra offered.

"Just tell me when and I'll be here." Carmen replied.

I stood and offered to walk Carmen to the front door.

"Thanks for coming over. It was nice to spend time with you." I told her.

"I had such a good time! I hope we can do this again?" She's replied.

"I'd love to. Once I get settled in at my new place, I'll have to have a house...well, apartment warming party." I suggested.

"Count me in." She said.

"Great! Well...I guess...goodnight, Carmen." Great, here I was being awkward.

"Yep. Goodnight, Grace." Carmen said, leaning towards me. Oh my god?! Was she going to kiss me?

Her arms wrapped around my back and pulled me in for a hug. Ok, that made more sense. A kiss? What was I thinking? Still, my heart was thumping and I'd hoped she couldn't feel it. I put my arms around her and melted into the embrace. The mixture of whatever scent she was wearing and the smoke from the fire was surprisingly very pleasant.

The hug felt like it lasted a bit longer than a normal goodbye between friends, but I was not complaining. She thanked me for a lovely time and mentioned that we'd talk soon. I watched from the front door as she pulled away.

======X*X======

"The look on your face when you first saw her was hilarious."

"She was the last person I would have expected to be standing there."

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't help it. I hope you're not mad"

"At first I was really nervous, but I'm so happy you did."

I wrapped Devra in my arms and held her tight. She was such a good friend and I'd have been lost without her.

"Please don't take this the wrong way, but it never hurts to have more friends. I'm in no way implying that you and I aren't going to be absolutely inseparable best friends forever and ever, but having another friend will be good for you."

"You're so right, as usual. Thank you. You mean so much to me."

"I know. You're welcome, and I feel the same way. Right now though, I've got to turn it in. I'm worn out. Good nice, Grace.

"Night Devra."

======X*X======

My new landlord called me Friday afternoon and let me know that my new apartment was ready and that I could pick up the keys. I rushed over after work and got the keys and began packing up stuff when I got to Devra's.

We arrived early Saturday morning and the three of us managed to maneuver the couch into my new place. We placed boxes in the rooms where the items would go, and Devra and Brian helped me start unpacking. A few pieces of furniture had arrived and I was just waiting on a few more deliveries. As we were working, the doorbell rang.

I ran to answer it and when I opened the door, Carmen stood on the other side.

"On my god! Hello!" I said.

"Hi! Need some help? I brought refreshments." Carmen held up two six packs of beer and had a bottle of wine in her purse.

"Definitely. Come on in!" I stood back and motioned her in.

"Another delivery?" Brian asked as he popped his head out from around the corner.

"Yep. Beer girl!" Carmen replied.

"Stand back, I've got this one myself!" He joked.

We all gathered in the kitchen for a break and to grab a beverage. Thankfully. Devra had put the glasses away in a cabinet already, so we didn't have to dig around for them. After our drinks, we got back to unpacking and putting away my stuff. I didn't have a lot of stuff, but there was more than I realized.

Carmen and I teamed up in getting the dining table and chairs built, and by the time we were done, we had worked up an appetite. Everything was pretty much put away and the place was looking like a home. I offered to buy everyone dinner, and we all decided that pizza was on the menu.

After eating, Devra was helping me clean up in the kitchen

"B and I are going to get out of here and give you some space."

"You don't have to go."

"What's the matter? Are you afraid to be here by yourself with her?"

"No? Why would I be? She's just a friend and coworker."

"I've seen the way you've been acting tonight."

"Oh really? And how is that?"

"Happy. More... upbeat and lively than you have been in a while."

"It's just the excitement of being in my new place, is all. Besides...I still don't have a bed."

"Oh, you naughty girl!"

"I'm joking, Devs."

She shook her head and grinned.

======X*X======

I spent Sunday in my new apartment getting things organized and set up how I liked. Brian had my tv and internet all hooked up, and I streamed some music through my soundbar as I worked. I took a few extended breaks to text with Carmen and to just sit and enjoy my new space. I made use of the laundry facilities and made a trip to the store for some groceries. Before I knew it, it was getting dark out, I was tired and I needed a shower.