The night breeze made it quite chilly, so Victoria puts her coat over Joy's bare shoulders. Joy turns to her, smiling and then rests her head gently against Victoria's shoulder. They stood out on the balcony, facing the skyline of Cleveland, which at night was amazingly beautiful. They lived in a fairly gorgeous high-rise condo, which gave them a beautiful view of Lake Erie, and the city that surrounded it. Victoria could admit that the only reason she and Joy chose the place was because of the view. The beautiful condo was chosen also because of gorgeous window treatments, and was exquisite for the two women who loved the best of things. It was three bedrooms, two baths; one of the rooms was Victoria's study, which was designed by Joy because she knew how much Victoria enjoyed having an office of her own. Victoria reciprocated the gift Joy gave her; by giving Joy a beautiful kitchen to work in, to enjoy her newfound obsession with cooking. They spent many months, picking the color scheme, the interior designing, everything just to make their condo that much more a home for the two of them. Joy and Victoria were happily together, it was a dream for them. They never thought that they would be in love, but somehow, they made it work for each other. In their spare time, they enjoyed cooking together; swinging in the tire swing at the park, riding horses, and just overall being together. Joy and Victoria had decided that it was time they had their own place, as the other place was owned by Melanie. Melanie still came to visit them both, and so did Elka, as their new place was not very far from where they had lived with Melanie and Elka. It was a short drive away, and they enjoyed living there.
Joy applied for a cosmetology license in Ohio, so she could continue her business from Los Angeles and expand to Ohio. Determined to make a good living, she cut the prices down, which made her customers happy and more able to afford her services. It made her happy that she could go back to doing what she loved, even if it wasn't working with celebrities. The closest she got was local celebrities, such as Victoria's coworkers. Victoria was always telling them all to go to Joy when they needed their hair done or their eyebrows groomed. She knew how skilled Joy was, hell; Joy saved Elka from a hair crisis, and helped Victoria when it came to makeup and styling. Victoria was still working at the news station, which she enjoyed. In addition to her morning show, she also was offered to host telethons, and apparently was skilled at getting the best guests for the telethons, thanks to her connections to Hollywood. Victoria missed acting, but she always still auditioned, with hopes that one day, Victoria Chase would return, and blow everyone all away. She tried for local theatres, but with no luck. So she decided to just continue to send out her resume and headshot, hoping for the best to come to her.
Swinging her arms gently around Victoria's waist, she is smiling as she leans in to kiss her against her cheek. Joy had never felt this way before, every moment she laid eyes on Victoria; she felt butterflies in her stomach. Looking into Victoria's eyes, she saw her friend's happiness by being with her. Joy wanted this too. She wanted to know what it felt like to be loved, and ultimately she got it. Victoria was a caring lover, surprisingly a very attentive one at that. One would think that Victoria was self-absorbed, but Joy did not see that trait, especially when it was just them alone. Joy saw a woman who underneath that personality was a very sensitive, caring, attentive lover who would do anything for Joy just to make her the happiest in the world.
'Remember how we confessed to each other we loved each other?' Joy says, smiling.
Victoria smiles at the memory. Of all times to tell your best friend that you loved her more than just a friend, it was during a girls' night out, and with Glee on the television, and just the two of them there.
Joy walks in, clad in her pajamas and t-shirt. She carries a bowl of popcorn, and Victoria follows, holding martini glasses and vodka.
'Did you remember the olives, Tori? You know they are essential to the martini…'
Victoria looks at her, smiling. Her friend's British accent was music to her ears. She always loved the way Joy said certain words, her pronunciations and all. Victoria actually could listen all day to Joy's voice.
'Of course, Joy,' she says, holding up a small jar of olives. The two of them sit on the couch, and turn on the television, and go straight to Netflix. She clicks on Glee in the instant queue, and as soon as she finds the particular episode, the show begins, the two women avidly watching each line, singing along to some of the songs, just having a girls' night out with the two of them. In between episodes, Joy was about to click the next episode, but then Victoria spoke. She was nervous as to what Joy may think. Would Joy find it weird that she had a crush on her? Victoria highly doubted it. She sensed that Joy was crushing on her too. A few times in the last week or so, whenever she bent over to pick something up, or even when they were talking, she noticed Joy was eying her, eying her in a way she never had before. And just as she thought that, she felt something touch her hand. Looking down, she noticed it was Joy's hand. Victoria didn't fidget, she just smiled.
'Are you trying to tell me something?'
Joy looks down, and then looks up at Victoria.
'Oh, that…well, this is hard to say, and it's a tad bit awkward…'
Victoria smiled sweetly, and put an arm around her friend for reassurance. 'Go ahead, I'm listening.'
Joy clears her throat, and smiles.
'What if I said that I was in love with someone, but I didn't know how to say it because I don't know what that person might think? She might think it's a bit weird.'
Victoria tried to stifle her shock to find out that Joy was crushing on the same sex. Actually, she wasn't surprised that with all the failed heterosexual relationships that Joy was questioning her ability to land a man. She herself had been doing the same since the last marriage.
'I don't think she would find it weird…so who is it? You can tell me.' Victoria says, smiling as she continued to comfort her best friend.
Joy smiled sweetly, 'I knew you'd understand. Victoria, it's you I've fallen for.'
Victoria was speechless. She just knew Joy had been crushing on her for a while. Victoria didn't want to say anything, because she knew how hard it had been for her to accept herself. So when she heard the news, she was touched.
'Well, to be honest…I've fallen for you too. I've known for a while, just didn't know if you'd be okay with it. I know what it's like to be questioning, it takes a long time to come to terms with everything.'
Joy smiled, pressing her friend into her arms, pressing her into a long hug.
'I think I finally have come to terms with this, I'm starting to accept that it's okay. How long has it been for you?'
Victoria shrugs, and says, 'Ten to fifteen years. I started questioning shortly after my last divorce, did some experimentation, and found that maybe I did like the thought of dating women. But, I still liked guys equally as much, and I think I still do.'
She looks over at Joy, touching her hand gently.
'Joy, I want you to know that I'm here for you. I won't leave you hanging.'