Tell it to My Heart

Lilly and I just stood there, shocked, wondering how he knew Aunt Charlie's as well. The elevator doors opened, Gil stepped out, turned around and said. " Say hi to my sister Gloria for me will ya?"

We all burst out laughing. "Really, Gloria is your sister?" I asked.

"Yeah, I helped her build the place." He said with some pride.

He smiled, then turned and walked away. I looked at Lilly, she jumped high into my arms, her legs wrapped around my waist, the curve of my hips keeping her from sliding lower, and her arms were resting on my shoulders, hands clasped behind my head. Beaming like the sun, she looked at me and said. "You called me your girlfriend!" And just as she said that, Gil popped his head back in, saw us like we were, smiled ear to ear and said. "You kids have fun tonight," then walked away again. We both could hear him laughing as the elevator doors closed.

Turning beet red yet again, this time, to have Gil see us like that. I gave Lilly a stern look , her legs and arms are still wrapped around me. "Oh don't be mad at me Andi, I was just so excited, plus he seems like a good guy, he won't say anything to anyone."

She was right, I had let this one go, put it out of my mind. I gave her a quick kiss, and said, "You're lucky you're so cute, I'll forgive you this time." Then I leaned down so she could jump off of me. I gave her another quick kiss, pushed the button to open the doors and ushered ourselves off the elevator before anyone else walked by.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

We got to Aunt Charlie's about 30 minutes later. As with most weeknights, there were only a few women in there. Lilly and I walked in, hand in hand, because as she said, she wasn't ever going to let go of it. Gloria noticed this right away and gave me a knowing wink. Lilly walked us toward the bar. But I started to walk toward a booth, our arms stretched apart, and with our hands locked together I inadvertently pulled Lilly to me. To the point where she almost stumbled, bumping into some chairs as she kept her balance.

So to try to make it seem like I intended to do that. I kept pulling her next to me, and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. She realized what happened and just played along.

But, of course, Lilly's playful side came out. She reached up with both hands, put them around the back of my neck and wouldn't let me break the kiss. In fact, she pressed harder.

Now, I'm not one for public displays of affection, but Lilly has shown me more commitment sooner than I ever expected. So to reward her, I kissed back just as hard, pushing my tongue into her mouth, right there in the middle of the bar, with every eye watching us. Her eyes flashed open for just one second, surprised by my bold action. Lilly's eyes slowly closed and she redoubled her grip on the back of my neck to keep me right there. The passion of our kiss made the rest of the world disappear. For that moment, the entire world only consisted of me and Lilly. Then, I heard, off in the distance, a smattering of applause.

Oh God heart, what are we doing, look what she's doing to us? WHY, why all of a sudden don't I care what other people think? Lilly's happiness is all I CARE about.

She finally let go of the back of my neck as the applause faded away to nothing. My eyes locked onto Lilly's beautiful sparkling eyes. She looked back at me with appreciation, thrilled at my overt display of affection, and knowing THIS was way outside my comfort zone. We both whispered "thank you" to each other at the exact same time. We giggled, and I just kept looking at Lilly as we walked arm in arm to the dimly lit booth.

Gloria remembered our drinks from last time and brought them over without hesitation.

"Wow! Andi, I've never seen you do anything like that before. Blondie here must be one special girl." She said with a silly ear to ear grin covering her face. I just realized I never properly introduced Gloria to Lilly. Well, I'll fix that right now as I don't want her to call Lilly, Blondie anymore.

"Oh, I'm sorry Gloria, I forgot to introduce you two last time we were here. Gloria, this is my..... oh hell, why not.....girlfriend....Lilly." I looked right at Lilly when I said her name. Making her feel special is so important to me all of a sudden. "

"Lilly, this is Gloria Martin, the proprietor of this fine establishment..... a good friend and a great shoulder to cry on when needed." I said with a grin, but that faded as I recalled the times I really did cry on her shoulder.

"Nice to meet you Lilly" then looking over at me, "I guess you won't be needing that shoulder any more." She Laughed heartily. Lilly uncharacteristically just smiled back at Gloria.

We told her the whole story of how we met her brother Gil in the elevator. She got a good laugh out of it. Then she told us not to worry about anything, her brother knows how to keep his mouth shut.

Gloria smiled at us."You two look so cute together."

We both smiled back, but didn't say anything. It was obvious we just wanted to talk to each other. Gloria took her cue, turned and walked away. We both leaned forward and wrapped our hands around our respective drinks. We both looked down into our glasses, hoping we would each find some magic words to quell the oddly rising tension.

Still looking down at my drink, I spoke first.

"Lilly, let's not make a big deal out of this." I looked up and continued. "You have a past, I have a past, we'll tell each other everything, and then move on."

She finally looked up from her drink and caught my eye as I continued.

"So, let's do this..... we will make this booth our safe, confidential, judgment free zone. Anything that's said here STAYS here. And neither of us will judge each other, no matter what is said. Agreed?" I hoped this would convince both of us to be open and completely honest. She looked back at me, her shoulders dropped, as she leaned back, and I could see some of her tension faded away.

"Agreed!" Was all she said.