Can’t Look Away

Trying her hardest to stifle a grin, Sasha’s fingers moved across the screen of her phone, composing her reply to the text message that Lionel had sent to her. They hadn’t had the chance to get together again. A combination of her shift pattern and his having travelled for an away match in the middle of the week meant that they hadn’t had another opportunity to see one another, but they had texted a lot and spoken a few times on the phone, something which Sasha had enjoyed more than she thought she would. It still wasn’t quite anything. The kiss that they had shared hadn’t been repeated or talked about, but it also hadn’t made things uncomfortable, something Sasha had feared when she had gone for it. They still spoke easily, they made each other laugh, and whilst they hadn’t made any concrete plans to get together again, Sasha knew it’d be only a matter of time and couldn’t wait.

“Earth to Sasha”

Sasha’s head snapped up away from her phone, her stare landing on Leila who stood in front of her, a teasing smirk on her lips. “Sorry” she spluttered “I was...I didn’t see you approaching” she added.

Leila adjusted her carry-on bag on her shoulder before she opened her arms, encouraging Sasha to step forwards and hug her tightly. “It’s so good to see you, Sasha” Leila mused softly “Thanks for coming to get us” she added.

Sasha shrugged nonchalantly, her stare briefly moving over Olivier who stood at Leila’s side, before she quirked a small smile. “What are little sisters for if not for lifts from the airport?” she prodded.

“We appreciate it” Olivier said, flashing her a small smile

“Yes, you saved Ollie from having to pay for parking” Leila chirped, trying to alleviate the tension that had seeped into the conversation.

It happened a lot. Despite the fact that Sasha’s relationship with Olivier had never progressed much beyond a couple of dates, the two of them were still awkward around one another, and Leila always tried to ease the tension. She knew why it was hard. Whilst she and Olivier hadn’t done anything aside from talk behind Sasha’s back, there was still a sense that they’d hurt her, and whilst it wasn’t going away, Leila tried to ease the tension whenever she could. She couldn’t undo it, and she wasn’t about to let Olivier slip out of her life, but she could try and make sure that he and Sasha were, at worst, able to coexist.

Sasha let out a soft laugh, shaking her head amusedly. “I didn’t realise that you were so stingy, Olivier” she teased.

Olivier rolled his eyes playfully before he leant over, pressing a kiss to Leila’s cheek. “I’m going to go and find our bags” he mused “I’ll meet the two of you at the car?” he added.

“Alright” Leila mused.

Olivier smiled before he walked away. Leila watched him away before she turned to Sasha, gently looping her arm through her younger sister’s. “So” she mused as they started to walk towards the exit “How’ve you been?” she prodded.

“The same as ever” Sasha replied with a shrug.

“Working too hard?” Leila prodded with a smile.

“I like my job” Sasha replied.

“I know you do” Leila said “But I’ve been gone for two weeks. You must have done something other than work, Sasha” she added, nudging her sister’s ribs lightly.

Sasha laughed gently, the tops of her cheeks flushing a soft shade of pink, before she shook her head.

“You’re blushing!” Leila squealed excitedly “Is there a boy, Sasha?” she prodded.

Sasha was quiet for a moment before she lifted a shoulder, offering her sister a non-committal shrug. “It’s not really anything yet, so I don’t want to say too much” she said.

She knew that it was a conversation that they would eventually have to have. If something developed between her and Lionel, something more than a couple of dinner dates and a kiss in her kitchen, then they’d have to confront the fact that he had had a relationship of sorts with her sister, but Sasha didn’t want to get ahead of herself and tell Leila before there was really anything to tell. It could easily have been nothing.

Leila nudged Sasha’s ribs again. “But it could be something?” she prodded.

“Maybe” Sasha replied “We’ve only been out a couple of times, so I am hesitant to get ahead of myself, but he’s...he’s nice. I like him” she added, smiling down her feet bashfully.

Leila smiled warmly. It had been a long time since she had seen her sister smile as she was then. “Where’d you meet him?” she asked.

Sasha rolled her eyes playfully. “What part of I don’t want to say too much didn’t you get?” she teased.

“I’m just curious” Leila defended with a laugh “It’s not like this happens every day. Can’t you give me a little something to go on?” she prodded, feigning a pout.

Sasha looked at her sister for a moment before she heaved out a sigh, shaking her head playfully. “I might have met him at your wedding” she mused “And, no, before you ask, he wasn’t someone our parents tried to set us up with. We spent some of the reception together...”

“Leo” Leila interrupted.

Sasha blinked a couple of times, surprised by the interruption. “How’d you get that so quickly?” she prodded.

“You spent most of the afternoon holed up by the bar together” Leila replied “I walked past the two of you a couple of times” she added.

Sasha fell quiet, watching as Leila mulled the news over, before the older woman turned to look at her again, a smile on her lips that Sasha knew immediately was pushed there and hadn’t necessarily come naturally. Loosening her arm from Leila’s grasp, she placed her hands in her coat pockets, walking for a few more moments in silence before Leila spoke. “He is nice” she said gently “Leo. He’s really lovely. You could do a lot worse” she added.

Sasha just nodded her head, watching her own feet as she walked.

“Sasha...”

“It might not be anything” Sasha interjected “As I said, we’ve only been out a couple of times, it might just be a fleeting crush or something. There’s no reason to make things weird over something that might be nothing. Let’s talk about something else. How was the honeymoon?” she prodded.

Leila opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, tempted to push the subject, but she thought better of it. Once Sasha got an idea in her head, talking her out of it was hard, and if she thought that the conversation about her and Lionel would be awkward, Leila wouldn’t be able to convince her otherwise then. It was something Sasha did to make excuses, she jumped to the worst conclusion and went with it no matter what anyone else said, and Leila knew that she’d need to leave it a while before she told her that as long as Sasha was happy, then she was too.