CHAPTER 3

Nothing but a muffled silence came from the other end of Allie's phone.

"Bea? Hello? Are ya there?" Allie questioned.

Silence.

The feelings Bea was feeling as she heard Allie on the other end of the line were foreign to her… they weren't feelings she normally felt towards anybody, especially not an almost stranger. She began to feel frustrated as she tried to push the thoughts from her mind, but they wouldn't go away.

"Bea? Why won't you talk to me?" Allie begged.

Bea opened her mouth the respond, but her overwhelming emotions got the better of her, complicating her already confusing situation. So she hung up.

Beep beep beep. Allie let out a frustrated sigh. She shouldn't have expected much from Bea, I mean she didn't even know the lady properly. But there was something about her that drew Allie's attention immediately. She had an overwhelming urge to pursuit this older woman, but she now knew Bea obviously didn't feel the same. She tossed the phone off the bed, rolled over and covered her head with her pillow, trying to block out the persisting thoughts of this woman she hardly knew before drifting off into a restless sleep.

Bea let out a small gasp when she realised what she had done. She didn't mean to block out the young blonde completely- yes, she hardly knew the girl, but she was the first person besides Maxine to show true care for her in a long time. Disgruntled, she sat the phone on the bench and began shampooing her hair as she tried to shake the thoughts of Allie away- the girl would call back if she truly cared. Instead of focusing on Allie and the strange emotions the girl evoked within her, Bea focused on the relaxing massage she was giving herself as she worked the shampoo through her hair. She felt the strength of her fingers and she massaged her roots, down to the base of her neck. As she relaxed her thoughts began to stray, and without noticing she started to imagine those strong fingers belonged to Allie, not herself. What would Allie's fingers feel like running down her neck, down her- "Ughhh".

Bea sighed. What was going on with her? She felt nothing short of stupid as she evaluated the situation, and realised their encounter probably meant nothing to Allie, otherwise she would have called back, right? Right. Bea quickly rinsed her hair and got out of the bath, drying herself slowly. Maybe, just maybe, it was possible she could see Allie again. "Coincidentally", maybe. That way she could see her in person again, when she was in a better mental state, and surely she would see how dumb she was being and how she was exaggerating her feelings by overthinking the situation. Because she wasn't gay. Definitely not….

Allie spent the day trying to occupy herself, avoiding the thoughts of the those red curls and luxurious brown eyes that kept popping to her head. She helped Kaz get some first-time visitors sorted, helped Mel cook the day's lunch of slop, slop and more slop and then spent some time behind the front desk, busying herself with trivial duties. Occasionally she would find herself daydreaming and glancing out the window, watching the day go by.

Bea, on the other hand, had a slow morning at the salon, with Maxine constantly giving her sly cheeky grins when she could. Bea was not in the mood after her embarrassing chicken-out moment of the night before, so she concentrated as hard as she could on making small talk with her clients and getting their hairstyles exactly perfect. Finally the clock struck midday, and it was time for her lunch break. She grabbed her things and headed out the door, smiling at Liz and avoiding Maxine's gaze.

Bea gripped the steering wheel and swallowed hard as she parked the car. Her hands were shaking visibly. Why was she getting this nervous over a friend- an acquaintance even? She hadn't felt this nervous in a long long time, even when she used to enjoy Harry's company, she never felt like this. It was odd. Swallowing hard, she stepped out of the car before she backed out yet again, and made her way towards the shelter.

Allie's daze was broken as she caught a glimpse of red curls to the side of the window. Was she dreaming again? The figure turned slightly, her face coming into view. She was not dreaming. It looked like Bea, but it couldn't be. Her eyes widened as she tried to get a better view of the figure. Suddenly, the figure turned so that she was fully facing the shopfront, two heavenly brown eyes making complete contact with Allie's. Allie froze to the spot momentarily, her stomach flipping. It was Bea.

With one look into those piercing blue eyes, the feelings Bea had hoped were a figment of her imagination came flooding back, along with a wave of nausea. She felt slightly sickened by her actions- she had a husband for god's sake- but she was also scared sick of what her sudden quickened breaking and feelings tension in her chest meant. Overwhelmed, she turned away, walking a few metres in the opposite direction, surrendering to her nervousness and backing out once again. She shut her eyes in frustration, leaning against the cold concrete wall of a random shopfront, trying to control her breathing. In, out. In, out. In-

"Bea!" She heard Allie call. She shut her eyes tighter, part of her wanting to disappear, but part of her longing to see the girl in front of her once again.

"Bea, I know it's you. Those hot red locks don't belong to everyone".

For a moment Bea smirked, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks. Then, the strong desire to avoid Allie's heated gaze came back, and before she knew it she was walking briskly- in fact she was almost running, in the opposite direction.

Allie laughed slightly. Bea's blush did not go unnoticed by her. She looked so cute when she blushed. It made Allie feel warm inside, and she knew Bea probably felt warm inside, too. Which, was exactly why Allie couldn't let her run from her emotions yet again, and followed her down the street.

"Bea!" Allie called.

She reached her hand out and grabbed Bea's shoulder gently, causing her to gasp at the contact and finally turn to face Allie.

"Bea." Allie smiled.

Bea's gazed lowered, unable to handle the intensity of Allie's eyes. As she felt the blonde scanning her facial features she began to blush once again, and felt herself turn an even darker shade of red when she recalled her mishap with the phone call the night before.

"Uh.." Bea stuttered, "about last night, on the phone, I didn't mean to uh, you know, um, leave you like, I uh, umm" she tried to defend, stumbling over her words.

"I get it", Allie breathed, smiling softly as Bea met her gaze. "It's fine. I honestly didn't even expect to hear from you. I mean I wanted to…". Her eyebrow quirked, sending a shiver down Bea's spine.

This was ridiculous, she was married.

"Anyway.." Bea stammered, "I don't know what I came here for, I…"

Allie could feel the nervous energy radiating off Bea's body, and she sure as hell knew why. She knew there was something there that first day she saw Bea, and now, she knew Bea could feel it too. She also knew Bea was too scared to admit to anything, so she was going to have to be bold. Allie breathed in deeply, and grabbed Bea's hands softly.

Bea felt Allie's gentle touch like a bolt of electricity. She was surprised when she didn't find herself pulling back immediately, and instead looked up to meet Allie's gaze.

Allie drew circles around Bea's palms with her thumbs, eliciting a sharp gasp from the older woman. Allie leaned in, her hot breath on Bea's neck.

"This is what you came for," Allie whispered, planting a light kiss on Bea's neck and pulling back, smiling at a shocked but awe-filled Bea staring into her eyes.

NOTE: Hey everyone, sorry for the delay I have been really busy, but I promise to update regularly now as I have a good vision for this story. I know the build up of their relationship may seem kind of rushed, but as I said I have a good vision so rest assured there is plenty more to come! And keep the reviews coming I love to hear what you all think :)