Rising Shards

I was pretty drained by the end of our little luncheon. After saying bye to Pippi, we took another cab back home.

"I was surprised how hard the booze was there." I said, still feeling the effects of them.

Stella climbed into the recliner and mumbled something.

“Dude, you are drunk.” I said. I was too, but she had a lot more than I did at a much faster rate.

“It’s just a bit of old timey liquors, I’m fiiiiiine.” Stella stood up, twirled around, and fell over. “I had a long day. That was so fun, though.” I helped her to a seated position.

“I should’ve probably helped you not fall there.” I said.

“I spun too fast. Too spun-ly.” Stella said.

“Uh huh.”

“Did you like Pippi?”

“She’s great! I can see why you two are friends.”

“Babe.” Stella said.

“Yes?”

“Dude, like.” Stella blinked a few times, including one where she blinked on her left side first then her right a few seconds later which was just delightfully dopey. “Like dude. You’re fucking hot, alright? Hang on, let me. I have a point here.”

“OK Stel,” I said, holding back laughter. “You want me to get you to bed?”

“Sure yeah, that’d be good.” Stella said. “I just had a few drinks today, but yeah. But like but yeah. Babe.”

“Uh huh?”

“Thank you for helping me to bed.” Stella said.

I got Stella onto our bed and sat down beside her. Stella waved her arms around, almost like a turtle turned on its back.

“Dude.” Stella said.

“What’s up, Stels?” I asked.

“I uh, can I tell you something?” Stella said. “C’mere.”

Stella wrapped her arms around me and pulled me close.

“So listen,” Stella said, breathing into my ear. “I have a little secret to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“I kind of love this one girl,” Stella said. “She’s a hot doctor and like she’s really fucking rad, dude.”

“You love her?” I asked.

“Uh huh,” Stella said. “I love her lots. I don’t know if I’ve said that to her before, buuuuut yeah. Dude. She’s so cool. She’s got short red hair, she’s way taller than me, she’s so funny dude. She’s so hot.”

“Oh yeah?” I asked. “You think she loves you back?”

Stella blushed, then buried her face in her hands. “Ahhhhh. That’d be so cool if she did.”

“I might have a secret there just for you, Stels.” I said. I leaned in and kissed Stella’s forehead. “I love you too.”

Stella squealed and rolled back and forth. “How’d you see through my riddle? I thought I was being sneaky!”

“I get better at solving riddles with old timey ancient, microwaved meals within me,” I said.

Stella sat up. She put her thumb on my lower lip and let out a little whine.

“Dude, you are making me feel very intense things when you do that.” I said.

“Sorry…I’m just…feeling really intense about you right now.” Stella said. “That this is a face I get to kiss. Fuck, dude. You can’t tell anyone about this, OK? But here’s something.”

“What is it?”

“I’ve loved you for like a really long time.” Stella said. She blinked a few times. “I don’t want to say like the first time I saw you that I was super in love with you. You were kinda chatty and you were telling me to like buy a school pass or whatever for Zeta that was like really expensive.”

“Uh huh, that’s the spiel I gotta give.” I said.

“And I wasn’t used to your chattiness so like as a doctor it kind of struck me as strange and a bit unprofesh.”

“Didn’t you say something like ‘you’re a doctor and you talk like that’? It was probably nerves around you making me even chattier, honestly. It was definitely that.”

“Yeah, probably. But yeah. Once I started talking to you on the phone and stuff. That’s what did me in, babe.”

“Same here.” I said.

“For real?” Stella asked, probably way too loudly and eagerly for what she was saying, but the drunkenness overwhelmed her normal speaking volumes.

“Yeah, I really fell for you on those phone calls.” I said. “I’ve loved you for a long time, too.”

Maybe our drunkenness made it easier to say that out loud. Maybe it was just something I really had to say out loud, too.

“You got a hot as fuck voice, dude,” Stella said. “And that’s like not even counting the confidence, dude. And that hot as fuck body, mmhm, dude.”

“Oh yeah, dude?” I asked.

“Yeppers,” Stella said. “I love getting my tongue all up in that, babe.”

I tried to not burst out laughing at that, and failed.

“I’m gonna get you some water,” I said. “Otherwise, you’re going to have a rough first day of work.”

“Noooo,” Stella said. “Don’t leave meeeeeeee.”

“I’ll be right back.” I said. I quickly got Stella a big jar of water with ice, and one for myself. When I returned, Stella was sitting up, holding her arms out, but hugged me instead of grabbing the water.

“I be fine,” Stella said.

“I’m just saying, your tomorrow will be better if you get plenty of water with all the drinkage you had.”

“Yeah, but, my tomorrow will be better,” Stella said. She raised her eyebrows. “Because you there.”

“Awwww,” I said. I somehow convinced Stella to have some sips of water.

After we hydrated up, I sat behind Stella, with Stella sitting between my legs and me hugging onto her waist.

“And you

fine,” Stella said. “Girl, them hips though.”

“What are you saying even?”

“Hey Stella,” Stella said. “Wait, shit, I’m Stella, I’m so drunk…Evy. Evy.”

“Uh huh?”

“I adore you. Like with all my being.”

“I adore you too, Stella.”

“And by adore…”

“Uh huh…”

“I mean love. I big time love you, Evy.”

“Big time, huh?”

“Yeah…” Stella said sleepily. “Big time.”

"I big time love you too, Stel."

* * *

After a big time nap, we both woke up late in the evening definitely hungover, but not disastrously so. Stella’s first day at Rising Shards didn’t feel completely lost by our escapade.

"Ugh, I can't believe I forgot it's an afternoon shift tomorrow," Stella called to me from the kitchen. "I could have slept in! I'm gonna go to bed early, I'm still beat. You want anything?"

"Maybe some orange juice?" I asked.

Stella looked a bit sheepish when she got back with my juice.

“Hey.” Stella said. “Sorry if I said a bunch of weird shit last night? Or. Earlier today, I guess.”

“No, you were cute,” I said.

“OK, cuz I don’t remember any of it after the speakeasy.” Stella said. “But I’m pretty sure I said some stuff. I wasn’t too embarrassing, was I?”

“’I love getting my tongue all up in that, babe.’” I quoted.

“…did I say that?” Stella asked. She shoved me lightly. “Shut up, I didn’t say that. Did I?”

I could only slyly smile.

“Did I really?” Stella asked. “Evy, you have to tell me.”

“You did,” I said.

Stella groaned. “Please tell me if I said anything else that’s embarrassing? Please? So I don’t think about this all day?”

“I think that was the biggie that made me laugh,” I said. “I was pretty gone too.”

“Next time you get more drunk than me and say weird shit so I can tell you afterwards!” Stella said.

After dinner, we weren’t sure how much sleep we’d be able to get, but I was still beat after our nap so I was optimistic. We cuddled and watched TV until we got really sleepy, though.

“This one wasn’t too embarrassing, but you should probably know,” I said. “You said you loved me.”

We were both very quiet for a long while after that. I wasn’t sure what Stella was going to say. I probably could have skipped saying that and we’d be fine.

“Well, I do.” Stella said matter-of-factly. “What did you say back?”

“I told you I love you too.” I said.

“Good.” Stella said. “I really do love you."

She hugged me more tightly. I think for Stella, a handshake is the common thing you had to do no matter what your relationship was, and a hug is the “I care about you deeply” thing whether it’s blood or by bond. And an "I love you" out loud is a tier even higher, and I was incredibly honored to reach that tier with Stella.