Stef was excited about lunch. It had been two weeks since she had seen Lena and she was looking forward to their lunch. She arrived first and asked for a table near the window. She was actually 10 minutes early, but she didn't want to be late. She was gazing out the window when she saw Lena pull up and park. She watched as Lena walked toward the restaurant, noticing that Lena had a smile on her face. Was she as excited as Stef was for their lunch date. Wait, Stef thought a moment, was this a date? She had never dated a woman before. What was she doing here; she didn't even know if Lena was gay, she didn't know for sure if she herself was gay. The only thing she knew was that she wanted to see Lena. Their talks over the last few nights only made Stef think about Lena more and she just wanted to touch her hand.
When Lena walked in the restaurant she saw Stef sitting by the window. The sunlight radiated off her blonde hair making her look even more beautiful. Lena paused for moment as the breath literally left her. After taking a second to regain her composure, she walked over to Stef. When Stef stood to greet her, she took the opportunity to hug her. She could feel the energy pass between them and as they pulled away she momentarily lost herself in Stef's eyes. She didn't know how long she stood there before Stef's words brought her back to reality. "Hi, it's good to see you again. How was your drive home?"
"It was great, I took the scenic route and it was beautiful."
"Did your Mom make it home ok?"
"She did, but she wasn't happy that I left the next day. I told her I had things to do here", Lena said as she gazed into Stef's eyes again.
"Well, that's nice you were able to see them. So, what's good here".
They both perused the menu and when the waitress came, Lena ordered a Soup and Salad and Stef ordered a Tuna melt. They fell into easy conversation. After their meals had been cleared, Lena was telling a funny story about her first year of teaching and as she finished, she laughed and laid her hand on Stef's hand which had been resting on the table. She let it linger there for a few moments as she gazed into Stef's eyes. They both were really enjoying this tiny bit of intimacy when the waitress appeared and placed the check on the table. Lena squeezed Stef's hand before she let go and reached for the check.
"My treat. I owe you from the coffee anyway".
Stef laughed and said, "your coffee didn't cost as much as my sandwich".
"It's ok, it's my pleasure. By the way, where's Brandon?"
"His Dad took him to the park. It's such a nice day to be outside. I was going to do a little window shopping while I'm here, do you want to join me?"
"I'd love to".
They walked along the promenade commenting on the expensive boutiques and the women they saw walking around with multiple shopping bags. After an hour, they headed back to their cars.
Stef stopped in front of hers and said, "This is my ride. Thanks for a great afternoon".
Lena responded "Your welcome" and she leaned in and hugged Stef again, this time, kissing her cheek lightly as she pulled away. She saw the shock on Stef's face and for a moment thought she had just made a big mistake. Then she saw Stef smile shyly, even blush a bit, before she sighed.
"I have to go. I'm meeting Mike in 15 minutes". Lena's heart sank as she smiled at Stef and said, Good bye. She walked back to her car and argued with herself the whole way home. How could she do this, Stef was married. She already knew that she was falling for this woman and knew it was going to end badly. The only thing she could do was not see Stef again.
Over the next week, Stef called her several times, but she never returned her calls. She cried after listening to Stef's hurt voice on the 3rd and 4th messages. How could she explain to Stef that she couldn't see her again because she was falling in love with her. She needed to avoid Stef Foster and get over it. She decided to take a trip with her friends down to Mexico for a long weekend and for the first time in a long time Lena got drunk. Jenna and Kelly kept quizzing her about what was going on, but she just blamed it on a delayed reaction to her break up with Gretchen. They bought her story, so she just kept using that as an excuse.
Stef was so confused. She thought that she and Lena had hit it off and she couldn't understand why she wasn't calling her back. Stef even went to the coffee shop at the Promenade a couple times hoping to run into Lena, but she never did. She knew Lena wouldn't be at the school, so she wasn't sure how else she could get a hold of her. After two weeks, she gave up. She picked up a few OT shifts at work trying to keep her mind off Lena.