Chapter 2
Rain lashed the two women around the ears and soaked their clothes to the bone. Holding hands, they tried to jump over the puddles, although that obviously didn't work.
"Quick babe, open the door", shouted Rachel, as they finally both stepped on the mat.
With cold stiffening fingers, Chloe fumbled the front door key from her jeans that were clinging to her burning skin.
"Come on, god I'm so shit cold" Rachel's teeth chattered and she rubbed her bare arms.
Chloe rattled the lock and then threw herself against the slightly jammed door, the warmth hit them and Rachel breathed a sigh of relief.
"YES," she shouted out and kicked off her shoes on the doorstep. Chloe tripped over Rachel's knee when she tried to get in as quickly as possible and as a result hit her nose on the hallway tiles.
"Fuck! Owww!"
"Oh no" Rachel picked Chloe under the arm pits and helped her up.
The two women laughed and trembled and laughed a little more.
"Can you see my nipples? I think I could cut ice with them." Rachel pulled the white, sticky-from-rain, top from her torso and Chloe was a little too excited helping with that.
A bathtub full of hot water, foam, a subtle scented candle and half a bottle of wine later, Chloe, completely lost in thought, played with Rachel's belly button, her head leaned against Rachel's neck.
"Listen my love, do you want to go on a date with me this weekend? Just you and me?"
Rachel just smiled and then snuggled herself tightly into Chloe's arms.
Later in bed, Chloe caressed Rachel's thighs, telling her she still had this unused gift card, she got from her mom and how they should go to the mall and each pick out a nice outfit for the other to go on their date.
"What are you going to pick for me?", asked Rachel. "Something cute or elegant or... sexy?"
Chloe grinned and moved her fingers a little higher up Rachel's thigh. "You'll see."
"Chloe? Chloe? Chlooooooooeee!" Rachel walked through one rag of clothes to the other.
She just couldn't find it.
Maybe there was a problem with the table in the restaurant and Chloe was on the phone somewhere outside to sort it out, the best thing would be to take the navy blue blouse she had chosen for Chloe and go to the cash register.
When Chloe still hadn't shown up by her side ten minutes later, Rachel began to worry. She was just pulling out her cell phone and dialing Chloe's number when she heard a familiar "amazeballs" followed by "Can I give it a try?"
According to the sound it could be just a few feet away.
Rachel looked around, paced every corner of the mall story without success, she could hear Chloe's laugh though and doubted her sanity just a little, and then she saw the escalator.
She drove down, right to the beginning of the children's section.
Chloe stood next to a rag of children's jackets, one of them navy blue with white plush balls hung over her arm. She made huge bubbles for two prepubescent girls who laughed and tried to catch them with mouths and hands.
Rachel's eyes fell on the children's jacket again, she squinted her eyes, nothing else. Chloe had nothing else taken down here with her or anything around her.
Before anyone could see Rachel, she took the escalator upstairs and as she got off the top step, she texted Chloe.
"Couldn't find you, I'm in the restaurant across the street, waiting for you."
She gave her a minute, two, ten, waited.
The message was sent from her phone but not read by the other. No answer, still none after fifteen minutes.
Rachel half turned and looked down the escalator. She considered just calling Chloe for a moment.
Then she went to the checkout registry again.
"Excuse me, I'd like to return this blouse."
"Oh, but ..."
"I just bought this here for my wife, but uhm, I don't think navy goes well with her."