Benched, page 29
“Tonight was…unexpected. And perfect.”
Tori caressed her cheek and smiled. “Who knew I wouldn’t fall into a black hole if I kissed you in front of other people?”
Genevieve’s heart swelled, and she took Tori’s hands in hers. “I think that’s what makes tonight so special to me. You made everything about what I wanted, and you took risks because you knew it would make me happy.”
“Everything about being with you feels risky, Genevieve. But everything about you also feels satisfying.”
“Essentially, you’re saying I’m worth it, right?”
“You say potato…”
“Genevieve!” Bethany bellowed from across the room. Genevieve turned to find her standing on the stage twirling the microphone by its cord. “It’s way past your turn. Get your sorry ass up here and sing to us.”
Tori gently pushed her shoulder. “Go on, birthday girl. Give us a performance we’ll remember.”
Genevieve flipped through the binder until she found the song she’d been looking for. Bethany gave her a kiss on the cheek and pinched her ass as she handed off the microphone.
“I’m going to need a little help with this one,” Genevieve announced. She curled her index finger at Tori, who laughed and headed toward the stage.
As “Take Me For What I Am” from Rent came through the speakers, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind who would sing Maureen’s part and who would sing Joanne’s.
When the song was over and they left the stage, Heather and Crystal took their place to sing a duet of their own. Genevieve got pulled into most people’s performances and spent most of the night laughing and dancing with everyone but Tori, who was making the rounds chatting with guests. But everywhere she went, she felt Tori’s eyes on her, felt the brilliance of Tori’s smile directed at her. Tori, who wasn’t making any effort to hide her love—Tori, who was the same, but also so, so different.
Kind of like their relationship.
When the night was over, Genevieve and Tori stood side by side, hugging and kissing their friends good-bye. The last to leave, they walked down the sidewalk together, Tori’s hand warm and soft in Genevieve’s. Underneath a streetlight, Tori stopped and pulled her into a deep kiss that sent tingles all through her.
Maybe someone was photographing them. Maybe they’d need to talk about their renewed relationship in an interview. Maybe no one would care.
One thing was for sure: the only thing Genevieve cared about in that moment was in her arms.
###
About Blythe Rippon
Blythe Rippon is the author of Barring Complications (GCLS finalist for best dramatic fiction), Stowe Away, and the short story “S. Claus” in the holiday anthology Do You Feel What I Feel. She holds a PhD in the humanities and teaches academic writing to undergraduates. When not grading papers or imagining plots for future novels, she is usually holding forth about the political injustice of the day, hiking, or experimenting in the kitchen. She has lived all over the United States and at present can be found in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she lives with her wife and children.
CONNECT WITH BLYTHE:
Website: www.blytherippon.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/blythe.rippon
E-Mail: blythe.rippon@gmail.com
Other Books from Ylva Publishing
www.ylva-publishing.com
Barring Complications
(The Love and Law Series – Book 1)
Blythe Rippon
ISBN: 978-3-95533-192-4 (mobi), 978-3-95533-193-1 (epub)
Length: 77,000 words (374 pages)
It’s an open secret that the newest justice on the Supreme Court is a lesbian. So when the Court decides to hear a case about gay marriage, Justice Victoria Willoughby must navigate the press, sway at least one of her conservative colleagues, and confront her own fraught feelings about coming out.
Just when she decides she’s up to the challenge, she learns that the very brilliant, very out Genevieve Fornier will be lead counsel on the case.
Genevieve isn’t sure which is causing her more sleepless nights: the prospect of losing the case, or the thought of who will be sitting on the bench when she argues it.
The Lavender List
Meg Harrington
ISBN: 978-3-95533-624-0 (mobi), 978-3-95533-625-7 (epub)
Length: 62,000 words (249 pages)
After the Second World War, Amelia Maldonado opts to live a quiet life bussing tables at a diner during the day and going out for auditions at night. The one bright spot is her friendship with the charming Laura Wright, a well-heeled woman with a mysterious war-related past.
When Laura shows up outside the diner, barely conscious and spitting lousy lies, Amelia takes it upon herself to figure out the truth. From mobsters to spies, Amelia quickly finds herself forced back into a world of shadows she thought she’d escaped long ago and thrust into partnership with the one person she’s sure can ruin her—the enigmatic Laura Wright.
Cast Me Gently
Caren J Werlinger
ISBN: 978-3-95533-388-1 (mobi), 978-3-95533-389-8 (epub)
Length: 100,000 words (353 pages)
Teresa Benedetto and Ellie Ryan couldn’t be more different, at least on the surface.
Teresa still lives at home. As much as she loves her boisterous Italian family, she feels trapped by them and their plans for her life. Their love is suffocating her.
Ellie has been on her own for years, working hard to save up enough to live her dream of escaping from Pittsburgh to travel the world. Except leaving isn’t that simple when she knows her brother is out on the streets of the city somewhere, back from Vietnam, but not home.
When Teresa and Ellie meet and fall in love, their worlds clash. Ellie would love to be part of Teresa’s family, but they both know that will never happen. Sooner or later, Teresa will have to choose between the two halves of her heart—Ellie or her family.
Set in 1980, the beginning of the Reagan era and the decline of Pittsburgh’s steel empire, Cast Me Gently is a classic lesbian romance.
Four Steps
Wendy Hudson
ISBN: 978-3-95533-691-2 (mobi), 978-3-95533-692-9 (epub)
Length: 92,000 words (343 pages)
Alex Ryan lives a simple life. She has her farm in the Scottish countryside, and the self-imposed seclusion suits her until a crime that has haunted her for years tears through the calm and shatters the fragile peace she’d finally managed to find.
Lori Hunter’s greatest love is the mountains. They’re her escape from the constant hustle and bustle of everyday life. Growing up was neither traditional nor easy for Lori, but now she’s beginning to realise she’s settled for both. A dead-end relationship and little to look forward to. Her solution when the suffocation sets in? Run for the hills.
A chance encounter in the mountains of the Scottish Highlands leads Alex and Lori into a whirlwind of heartache and a fight for survival as they build a formidable bond that will be tested to its ultimate limits.
Coming from Ylva Publishing
www.ylva-publishing.com
Under Parr
(Norfolk Coast Investigation Story – Book 2)
Andrea Bramhall
December 5th, 2013 left its mark on the North Norfolk Coast in more ways than one. A tidal surge and storm swept millennia-old cliff faces into the sea and flooded homes and businesses up and down the coast. It also buried a secret in the WWII bunker hiding under the golf course at Brancaster. A secret kept for years, until it falls squarely into the lap of Detective Sergeant Kate Brannon and her fellow officers.
A skeleton, deep inside the bunker.
How did it get there? Who was he…or she? How did the stranger die—in a tragic accident or something more sinister? Well, that’s Kate’s job to find out.
Pieces
G Benson
Orphaned Carmen is sixteen, newly homeless and will do almost anything to survive and keep her and her kid brother safe, together, and out of foster care. Ollie, also sixteen, has a life that’s all about parents, school pressure, friends and dreams of summer. The two fall into each other's orbit, and one kiss changes everything. Ollie is captivated ... but then Carmen vanishes. When they cross paths months later, everything is different.
A young-adult, queer romance that looks at what we’re prepared to sacrifice for those we care about.
Benched
© 2017 by Blythe Rippon
ISBN (mobi): 978-3-95533- 834-3
ISBN (epub): 978-3-95533- 835-0
Also available as paperback.
Published by Ylva Publishing, legal entity of Ylva Verlag, e.Kfr.
Ylva Verlag, e.Kfr.
Owner: Astrid Ohletz
Am Kirschgarten 2
65830 Kriftel
Germany
www.ylva-publishing.com
First edition: 2017
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.
Credits
Edited by Michelle Aguilar & Robin J Samuels
Proofread by CK King
Cover Design by Adam Llyod
Blythe Rippon, Benched
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Tori caressed her cheek and smiled. “Who knew I wouldn’t fall into a black hole if I kissed you in front of other people?”
Genevieve’s heart swelled, and she took Tori’s hands in hers. “I think that’s what makes tonight so special to me. You made everything about what I wanted, and you took risks because you knew it would make me happy.”
“Everything about being with you feels risky, Genevieve. But everything about you also feels satisfying.”
“Essentially, you’re saying I’m worth it, right?”
“You say potato…”
“Genevieve!” Bethany bellowed from across the room. Genevieve turned to find her standing on the stage twirling the microphone by its cord. “It’s way past your turn. Get your sorry ass up here and sing to us.”
Tori gently pushed her shoulder. “Go on, birthday girl. Give us a performance we’ll remember.”
Genevieve flipped through the binder until she found the song she’d been looking for. Bethany gave her a kiss on the cheek and pinched her ass as she handed off the microphone.
“I’m going to need a little help with this one,” Genevieve announced. She curled her index finger at Tori, who laughed and headed toward the stage.
As “Take Me For What I Am” from Rent came through the speakers, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind who would sing Maureen’s part and who would sing Joanne’s.
When the song was over and they left the stage, Heather and Crystal took their place to sing a duet of their own. Genevieve got pulled into most people’s performances and spent most of the night laughing and dancing with everyone but Tori, who was making the rounds chatting with guests. But everywhere she went, she felt Tori’s eyes on her, felt the brilliance of Tori’s smile directed at her. Tori, who wasn’t making any effort to hide her love—Tori, who was the same, but also so, so different.
Kind of like their relationship.
When the night was over, Genevieve and Tori stood side by side, hugging and kissing their friends good-bye. The last to leave, they walked down the sidewalk together, Tori’s hand warm and soft in Genevieve’s. Underneath a streetlight, Tori stopped and pulled her into a deep kiss that sent tingles all through her.
Maybe someone was photographing them. Maybe they’d need to talk about their renewed relationship in an interview. Maybe no one would care.
One thing was for sure: the only thing Genevieve cared about in that moment was in her arms.
###
About Blythe Rippon
Blythe Rippon is the author of Barring Complications (GCLS finalist for best dramatic fiction), Stowe Away, and the short story “S. Claus” in the holiday anthology Do You Feel What I Feel. She holds a PhD in the humanities and teaches academic writing to undergraduates. When not grading papers or imagining plots for future novels, she is usually holding forth about the political injustice of the day, hiking, or experimenting in the kitchen. She has lived all over the United States and at present can be found in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she lives with her wife and children.
CONNECT WITH BLYTHE:
Website: www.blytherippon.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/blythe.rippon
E-Mail: blythe.rippon@gmail.com
Other Books from Ylva Publishing
www.ylva-publishing.com
Barring Complications
(The Love and Law Series – Book 1)
Blythe Rippon
ISBN: 978-3-95533-192-4 (mobi), 978-3-95533-193-1 (epub)
Length: 77,000 words (374 pages)
It’s an open secret that the newest justice on the Supreme Court is a lesbian. So when the Court decides to hear a case about gay marriage, Justice Victoria Willoughby must navigate the press, sway at least one of her conservative colleagues, and confront her own fraught feelings about coming out.
Just when she decides she’s up to the challenge, she learns that the very brilliant, very out Genevieve Fornier will be lead counsel on the case.
Genevieve isn’t sure which is causing her more sleepless nights: the prospect of losing the case, or the thought of who will be sitting on the bench when she argues it.
The Lavender List
Meg Harrington
ISBN: 978-3-95533-624-0 (mobi), 978-3-95533-625-7 (epub)
Length: 62,000 words (249 pages)
After the Second World War, Amelia Maldonado opts to live a quiet life bussing tables at a diner during the day and going out for auditions at night. The one bright spot is her friendship with the charming Laura Wright, a well-heeled woman with a mysterious war-related past.
When Laura shows up outside the diner, barely conscious and spitting lousy lies, Amelia takes it upon herself to figure out the truth. From mobsters to spies, Amelia quickly finds herself forced back into a world of shadows she thought she’d escaped long ago and thrust into partnership with the one person she’s sure can ruin her—the enigmatic Laura Wright.
Cast Me Gently
Caren J Werlinger
ISBN: 978-3-95533-388-1 (mobi), 978-3-95533-389-8 (epub)
Length: 100,000 words (353 pages)
Teresa Benedetto and Ellie Ryan couldn’t be more different, at least on the surface.
Teresa still lives at home. As much as she loves her boisterous Italian family, she feels trapped by them and their plans for her life. Their love is suffocating her.
Ellie has been on her own for years, working hard to save up enough to live her dream of escaping from Pittsburgh to travel the world. Except leaving isn’t that simple when she knows her brother is out on the streets of the city somewhere, back from Vietnam, but not home.
When Teresa and Ellie meet and fall in love, their worlds clash. Ellie would love to be part of Teresa’s family, but they both know that will never happen. Sooner or later, Teresa will have to choose between the two halves of her heart—Ellie or her family.
Set in 1980, the beginning of the Reagan era and the decline of Pittsburgh’s steel empire, Cast Me Gently is a classic lesbian romance.
Four Steps
Wendy Hudson
ISBN: 978-3-95533-691-2 (mobi), 978-3-95533-692-9 (epub)
Length: 92,000 words (343 pages)
Alex Ryan lives a simple life. She has her farm in the Scottish countryside, and the self-imposed seclusion suits her until a crime that has haunted her for years tears through the calm and shatters the fragile peace she’d finally managed to find.
Lori Hunter’s greatest love is the mountains. They’re her escape from the constant hustle and bustle of everyday life. Growing up was neither traditional nor easy for Lori, but now she’s beginning to realise she’s settled for both. A dead-end relationship and little to look forward to. Her solution when the suffocation sets in? Run for the hills.
A chance encounter in the mountains of the Scottish Highlands leads Alex and Lori into a whirlwind of heartache and a fight for survival as they build a formidable bond that will be tested to its ultimate limits.
Coming from Ylva Publishing
www.ylva-publishing.com
Under Parr
(Norfolk Coast Investigation Story – Book 2)
Andrea Bramhall
December 5th, 2013 left its mark on the North Norfolk Coast in more ways than one. A tidal surge and storm swept millennia-old cliff faces into the sea and flooded homes and businesses up and down the coast. It also buried a secret in the WWII bunker hiding under the golf course at Brancaster. A secret kept for years, until it falls squarely into the lap of Detective Sergeant Kate Brannon and her fellow officers.
A skeleton, deep inside the bunker.
How did it get there? Who was he…or she? How did the stranger die—in a tragic accident or something more sinister? Well, that’s Kate’s job to find out.
Pieces
G Benson
Orphaned Carmen is sixteen, newly homeless and will do almost anything to survive and keep her and her kid brother safe, together, and out of foster care. Ollie, also sixteen, has a life that’s all about parents, school pressure, friends and dreams of summer. The two fall into each other's orbit, and one kiss changes everything. Ollie is captivated ... but then Carmen vanishes. When they cross paths months later, everything is different.
A young-adult, queer romance that looks at what we’re prepared to sacrifice for those we care about.
Benched
© 2017 by Blythe Rippon
ISBN (mobi): 978-3-95533- 834-3
ISBN (epub): 978-3-95533- 835-0
Also available as paperback.
Published by Ylva Publishing, legal entity of Ylva Verlag, e.Kfr.
Ylva Verlag, e.Kfr.
Owner: Astrid Ohletz
Am Kirschgarten 2
65830 Kriftel
Germany
www.ylva-publishing.com
First edition: 2017
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.
Credits
Edited by Michelle Aguilar & Robin J Samuels
Proofread by CK King
Cover Design by Adam Llyod
Blythe Rippon, Benched
