When Stef got an invitation to an Open House for new parents at Anchor Beach, she quickly decided she needed to go and she conveniently forgot to tell Mike about it.
She arrived at the school and followed the signs for the Open House for the new kindergarten students. As she walked in the room, she looked around and for a moment felt very out of place. There were couples everywhere. Maybe she should have asked Mike to attend with her. She knew that would have been a mistake so she walked over to the refreshments and helped herself to a bottle of water. Then she heard it, that laugh she had been longing to hear for weeks. As she turned around, she saw Lena entering the room with two other ladies. When they made eye contact, Stef smiled shyly and took a sip of water.
As soon as Lena walked in the room and saw Stef standing alone in the corner, she wanted to take her hand again. She wanted to get lost in the eyes of the women she couldn't stop thinking about. The laughs of the ladies she was with brought her back to earth. She remembered she had a job to do. She smiled at Stef and told her friends she wanted to introduce them to someone. "Stef, I'm glad you came, I want to introduce you to some of the other Anchor Beach Parents". "This is Lucy, she has a son in the second grade and her daughter will be in Brandon's class". This is Colleen, she used to be a teacher here with me and now she is a full-time Mom, her oldest son is starting kindergarten too".
Stef responded, "That's great, it's nice to meet you both". The ladies made some comments that Stef didn't pick up on because she was too busy getting lost in Lena. She was confused about the effect this woman had on her. What was going on? It wasn't until Lena put her had on Stef's shoulder and said, "Yeah you should come with us" that Stef heard the other ladies laughing again. She was momentarily lost as she had no idea what they were talking about. Then she heard Lucy say, "girls night out has become pretty tame, but we'd love for you to join us".
Colleen said, "Yeah, I love my husband and kids, but it's nice to have 'girl time' every couple weeks". Stef laughed and said that she would love to join them.
Lena thinking this would be a reason to contact Stef again said, "Great, what's your number and I'll call you with the where and when".
Stef was a little dumbfounded because she knew Lena already had her number, but she played along anyway. She wrote down her number on a napkin and handed it to Lena.
Lena stuffed the napkin in her pocket and then excused herself saying she had to run to the room next door where the other new parents of 1-6 grade students were meeting. Stef was sorry to see Lena go, but enjoyed the conversations she had with Lucy and Colleen. She learned that Colleen's husband was in the Navy and currently serving overseas and that she relied heavily on support of her in-laws and other mothers with her three young kids. Lucy's husband was a doctor and worked long hours, so she looked forward to a few hours each week with her friends. Lucy asked Stef about her husband and Stef responded that she was separated and her husband wasn't able to make it. Lucy laughed and said that they always have more fun without the men anyway.
When Stef got home that night she was surprised at how much she was looking forward to 'girl's night out'. She didn't have many female friends and was looking forward to hanging out with these ladies. What she didn't want to admit to was how much she was looking forward to seeing Lena again and couldn't wait for her to call.
Lena was conflicted when she got home. She wanted to call and talk to Stef again, but wasn't sure she should go down this road again. She had to keep reminding herself that Stef was married and this could only be a friendship. She thought to herself that was ok, she could use a few more friends and she thought that Stef would be a great addition to her "girl's night out group". She decided to wait a few days before calling her with the time and location.
Several times of the next few days, Lena picked up her phone to call Stef and reminded herself that she had no reason to call her without the details of girl's night out. After hearing from Lucy about their plans for the following Friday, Lena decided it was time to call Stef. She poured herself a glass of wine and curled up on her couch. She called Stef's number silently praying she would answer.
Stef had just put Brandon to bed when she heard her phone ring. She assumed it was Mike and she really didn't want to talk to him. He missed calling Brandon before he went to bed and she really didn't want to get into with him again. She went to the fridge for a beer and walked over and picked up her phone seeing a number that she didn't recognize. Her first thought was to ignore it, but when it hit her it might be Lena, she grabbed it saying "hello".
Lena was just about to hang up, not wanting to leave a message when Stef answered. "Oh" she said, "I was just about to hang up".
Stef apologized and said that she had just put Brandon to bed. Lena said that she could call back later and Stef quickly responded, "No, it's ok". Lena asked how Brandon was and they chatted a few minutes about Stef's son. She told Lena how excited Brandon was to start school in a few weeks and she too was excited that Brandon would be at Anchor Beach. They made small talk about the school and Lena talked about how she progressed from being a teacher to Assistant Vice Principal. She shared with Stef about how committed she was to the kids and their education and Stef was so pleased that this woman would have some influence on Brandon's life.
Stef's phone started to beep as her battery was low. She was shocked to see that she and Lena had been talking to 45 minutes. She asked Lena about girl's night and Lena laughed, saying "well that's what I called you about. We are meeting Friday at 8p at Dino's on Vine Street, do you know where that is". Stef responded, "Yeah, I'll drop Brandon off at his Dad's and meet you there." "Ok, I'll see you Friday; enjoy the rest of your week". "Good Night."
Lena hung up the phone and couldn't help smiling. Did Stef just say that she would drop Brandon off at his Dad's? If so, that would meant that they weren't together. Lena felt a little guilty for hoping that was the case. She had to remind herself that just because Stef may not be with her husband; it didn't mean she was gay. She had really enjoyed their conversations and decided that even if they were destined to just be friends, she wanted that to happen.
As Stef stretched out on her couch, memories of Tess flooded back to her. Tess had been her best friend in high school and one day Stef's father found them cuddling on the couch and went ballistic. He called Tess's parents and suddenly Tess's family moved across town and they never saw each other again. It had been the most difficult time of Stef's young life. Her father sent her to his minister who told her being gay was a sin. At the time, Stef didn't even know if she was gay. She just knew that she loved being with Tess and was a little confused over the feelings she had for her friend. She felt those same feelings the first time she saw Lena and for the first time in a long time, she felt such contentment when she was in Lena's presence.
Stef awakened to Brandon asking her if she was ok. She was startled to realize she had fallen asleep on the couch and slept all night there. She hadn't slept that good in years and wondered if Lena Adams had anything to do with that.
Lena left work on Friday more excited about 'girl's night out' than she had been in months. She chastised herself after she changed outfits 3 times having to remind her self that this wasn't a date. She really enjoyed spending time with these women, especially since it had been months since she and Gretchen broke up and she was a little lonely. She drove to Dino's anxious to spend time with Stef in this casual setting.
Stef was running late. She had to spend some time with Mike before leaving Brandon with him to make sure he hadn't been drinking. Mike had given her the third degree about where she was going and who she was meeting and she had to remind him that they were separated. When she had seen the hurt in his eyes she apologized and told him about the other Moms she met at the school Open House.
As she walked into Dino's she looked around for her new friends. She saw them sitting at a table and was excited to see the empty seat next to Lena. As she slid in the booth, she apologized to all of them about being late and they laughed and told her she had better catch up as they were already on their second pitcher of beer. Lucy poured Stef a glass and introduced her to Nicole and C.J. Nicole was Lucy's neighbor and C.J. was a Navy Wife like Colleen. She noticed that Lena was drinking red wine and C.J. was drinking water.
Lena noticed that after Stef finished her first glass of beer that she hadn't really said much. She knew it was hard to get a word in edgewise with these 4 other women who had a history, so she turned toward Stef, leaned in, and asked her about her week. When Stef mentioned she had a difficult week at work, Lena knew that was her opportunity to ask questions about what Stef did. In all the conversations they had, Stef never talked about work and she had no idea what she did. Lena even thought a few times that maybe Stef was embarrassed about what she did, or maybe she had some super top secret job. She laughed to herself as she remembered a few of the things she pictured Stef doing. When Stef told her she was a cop, Lena was taken aback for a moment as this was not one of the things she thought about. She wasn't sure what she thought Stef did, but she didn't expect her to be a police officer. When Stef described having to rescue a women and child from an abusive husband, she got a little emotional. Lena reached down and put her hand on top of Stef's and told her how brave she was to do that kind or work. Stef smiled shyly and then excused herself to use the restroom.
When Stef returned to the table, Lena had joined into the conversation with the other ladies. C.J. was telling a funny story about her husband which made them all laugh. Nicole asked Stef about her husband. Stef explained that she and her husband had been separated for several months and she was adjusting to being a single mom. Nicole said that she understood that adjustment as she went through that a few years ago when her husband was killed by a drunk driver. Stef said that she was sorry to hear that and was quickly advised that's why Nicole was the night's designated driver. Stef said that she was glad they had worked that out and she herself would just finish the glass she had since she had to work the next day.
It was Lena's turn to excuse herself for the restroom and when she returned, she sat down closer to Stef. The ladies were all talking about college life, when Lena laughed and touched Stef's leg under the table. Stef had the same feeling she did the first time they met and shook hands. She liked this feeling and so she laid her hand on top of Lena's.
Lena didn't make eye contact with Stef, but when Stef's hand covered hers, she took it as a sign that Stef was attracted to her. At least that's what she was hoping but since was on her 3rd glass of wine, she wasn't sure she could trust her senses.
Colleen was the one who first said that she needed to go and Nicole agreed to take the 4 ladies home. Lena said that she needed to call a cab and Stef said that was crazy, she would drop her off. Lena asked if she was sure, and Stef said that it was her job to serve and protect. That got a giggle out of Lena so she opened the door and climbed in. Stef drove as Lena gave directions to her apartment. When they pulled into the complex Stef got out to walk Lena to her door. She said that it was her duty as a police officer to make sure that the lady got home safe. Lena giggled again as she attempted to unlock her door. After Lena dropped her keys, Stef picked them up and opened the door and Lena stumbled over the threshold. Stef reached out to grab Lena before she fell and their eyes locked. Lena straightened herself and reached around Stef's waist and pulled her close. She leaned in and lightly kissed Stef's lips. When she felt Stef relax against her, she deepened the kiss.
Suddenly Stef pulled away and said, "I can't do this". Avoiding eye contact, Stef asked Lena, "Are you going to be ok".
Lena wanted to respond, No, but she said, "Yes, I can make it from here". Stef said good night and returned to her car.
Lena made her way to her room where she collapsed on her bed and began to cry. Why did she just do that? Now, Stef would never want to see her again. How could she be so stupid? She just ruined the possibility of a friendship with Stef, because she was horny. Maybe that was best. She wasn't sure she could just be friends with Stef Foster.