Page 106 of Saving Graces
“I’m good-” Kinsey started, but Coral just pointed at her with one long elegant finger.
“Especially you,” she said, fixing her in place with a stern glare. “Get your ass out that door right now or we’re going to have words.”
Kinsey blinked. She didn’t know what she’d done to deserve that level of censure, but she sure as hell knew she wasn’t about to argue with Coral Fucking Sanchez.
Eliza and Franklin had already vanished by the time Kinsey and Cassidy had grabbed their bags from the dressing room, so the two of them, plus Lane, headed out together. They found their way back through the rabbit warren of halls backstage to the performer’s exit. There was a short flight of concrete steps to the parking lot and they were halfway down the exit stairs when Kinsey froze. A lone figure stood waiting at the bottom, fingers tucking back auburn hair in the low streetlight. Rosalie looked up and met Kinsey’s eyes.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“Rosalie?” Cassidy shrieked. “Oh my god! Is Savannah here too?”
Rosalie swallowed. She struggled to drag her eyes off Kinsey, who seemed to have frozen on the stairs. She wore that damn leather jacket she looked so good in, her silky hair spilling over her shoulders, her face perfectly still and her eyes completely unreadable.
“Hey,” Rosalie said, fighting to keep the nerves from showing in her voice. “Uh, no, it’s just me.”
Cassidy hesitated. She’d looked ready to jump down and hug her but Rosalie’s response seemed to give her pause as she clearly picked up on the tension crackling in the air.
“You came all the way up to Connecticut to hear us play?” she asked, frowning slightly.
Rosalie took a breath.
“Actually,” she said, “I’ve come to see Kinsey.”
Lane looked at her, then at Kinsey, then back at her again. She saw understanding dawn in their eyes, their jaw going a little tight. Rosalie had just steeled herself against the weirdness of it when they met her eyes directly and gave one short nod, like okay sure, makes sense. A small flicker of warmth hit her chest.
Cassidy, though, seemed lost. Then her mouth fell open.
“You’re her.” She gaped at Rosalie. “Oh my god, it’s you! You’re the one who kept sleeping with her and refusing to commit.” She whirled and stared open-mouthed at Kinsey. “This whole time, it’s been Rosalie?”
Kinsey gave her a little rueful shrug of acknowledgement. Cassidy looked like she was about to come out of her own skin with agitation.
“That’s… a pretty fair summary,” Rosalie said, trying not to wince. “I’ve not been great,” she acknowledged. “And I’m kind of hoping that I’ll get to talk to Kinsey in private, to go through all the ways I fucked up. But I’m here,” her eyes met Kinsey’s again, her heart in her throat, “to tell her how sorry I am. And that if it’s not too late I want nothing more than the chance to just really try,” her voice cracked, “because every single time I see her, I just fall and fall and fall a little deeper.”
Kinsey physically jolted at that. Her lips parted. She didn’t move though, or say a single word and Rosalie’s heart began to fracture.
“I would love to talk further,” she tried again softly, “if you’ll hear me out.”
There was a long beat of silence.
“I’ve heard all I need to hear,” Kinsey said, shortly.
Rosalie swallowed against the lump in her throat. She felt cold.
Then Kinsey finally moved and all of a sudden she was right there, desperately beautiful, close enough to touch. Then she was kissing her, fingers in her hair and Rosalie was holding her in by her hips, tasting her warm mouth on a cold night, the firm press of her body anchoring her like home.
She found herself smiling against her lips, overwhelmed with the sensation of Kinsey, actually there, her arms around her - incredibly - giving her another chance. The terrible ache of the last few years of her life began to recede like a wave, the low thrum of happiness creeping up inside her in its place. When Kinsey slowly pulled back, Rosalie looked up and started laughing. Kinsey followed her gaze to see Cassidy and Lane had each covered the other’s eyes with a firm hand.
“Oh please,” Kinsey said in amused exasperation, “you’re not that traumatized.”
They both dropped their hands.
“Traumatized?” Cassidy widened her eyes. “No. That was just way too fucking hot. There was no way I was letting Lane watch that, considering they’ve had a crush on Rosalie for literally their whole damn life.”
“Oh my god.” Lane gave her an aggrieved look, their face going pink in the streetlight. “I thought we were just being polite and giving the two of them some privacy!”
Rosalie laughed and Kinsey slipped an arm around her waist, a soft, casual claim that made her heart race in a good way. She found she did not want to be let go of.
“No wonder you wouldn’t tell me about her,” Cassidy looked at Kinsey, her expression gently furious.
