11. A better idea

                                    

                                          
The next few days went by in a blur, Juliana was working twelve hour shifts with Javier, allowing Karla a few days off to look after her father, who had become ill. Thankfully he was on the mend and Karla would be back the next day.
The long shifts were exhausting, she had collapsed into bed when she got home the night before and was already looking forward to doing the same tonight. Javier had requested more staff and was promised two new recruits would arrive by next week, they hoped that meant Monday. Javier was praying for young, eager employees with plenty of experience, he didn't want to start training them.
Juliana had spent an unhealthy amount of time thinking about Valentina over the last two days. They hadn't seen each other but the awkwardness seemed to be gone. Valentina continued to text every day, sending funny memes, or asking about her day and of course, sending updates on Guille. Juliana still cringed every time he was mentioned, but she was genuinely interested in his condition now, she wanted him to get better.
When Valentina left that night, her mind replayed the events from their day. She couldn't explain the feeling of having Valentina in her arms as they danced, it just felt right, like she belonged there. The flirting, the teasing and the tickling had all felt natural, but maybe that was just the effect Valentina had on her, everything seemed easier with her around. And of course, there was the overwhelming desire to kiss her.
This was new!
Was it normal to feel this way about someone you just met? In the romantic movies she watched she knew these feelings suggested she was falling for Valentina. But that was ridiculous! And it could never happen. When Guille woke up, their friendship would most likely end. She resigned herself to enjoying the time they spent together while silently praying for a miracle.
* * * * *
Valentina was struggling to stay away from Juliana. She knew the woman was working but she missed her, was that possible? Surely, she hadn't known her long enough to actually miss her! She thought about surprising her at work but wasn't sure how Juliana would react, so she kept her distance and continued to text.
Her feelings for Juliana were clearly not just friendship, she wanted to explore the unusual sensations Juliana produced, but she couldn't. They were friends, and only friends! She wouldn't and couldn't cross that line. She wouldn't betray Guille.
But the brown eyed woman had taken up residence in her mind. She was sure Juliana felt something for her too, the way her body responded to Valentina's touch had to mean something. Didn't it? When her fingers caressed along Juliana's jaw, it was obvious the woman was affected. Her eyes were almost black as she stared at Val's lips. It would've been easy to pull her down and smash their lips together, but she knew she couldn't.
She opened the photo gallery on her phone flicking through the images from their sightseeing morning, pausing on a photograph of Juliana. She had tried to take it secretly, Juliana had been gazing over the balcony, her chin resting on her hand as she enjoyed the view from the castle. The next photo caught the moment Juliana realised Valentina was taking photos, her face a mixture of embarrassment and shock. The next few images showed her reaching for Valentina's phone laughing. She really was the most beautiful woman Valentina had ever met.
"Ay Valentina!" She dropped her phone on to the bed, bringing her hands up to cover her eyes. She had to stop thinking about her like this! It wasn't fair to Juliana, Guille or herself.
* * * * *
The weekends were different in the café; the pace was much slower, everyone seemed more relaxed. There was a steady stream of customers throughout the day and more people lingered to enjoy their coffee in the shop. The usually hectic lunchtime was also much slower, there were more families enjoying time together or friends meeting up after a long week at work. Juliana envied them a little, their lifestyle seemed unattainable somehow.