Slowing down her pace, Giselle eventually stopped and looked up at the clouds again. The sky had a thin cloud cover and was brightly illuminated by the setting sun. A light breeze played with her curls and wafted through her tee. Annie stopped next to her and followed her gaze. There was nothing to see, nothing to discover. It was Giselle's way to gather her thoughts. Like earlier that day, there was rage within her. She fought it and quenched her need to lash out. Laury hadn't deserved it and neither does Annie now. She said, "You're right, I guess". Her voice faded and was carried away by the breeze.

Her neighbor shifted her arms behind her body and intertwined her fingers, "Why did you do it then?". The woman emanated curiosity, mixed with a bit of judgement. The brunette shrugged helplessly, "Something felt right maybe? There is something off about you that gets to me". Being honest to herself felt right. Saying it out loud allowed her to sort through her emotions. "That's a weird way of telling me that you like me", Annie smirked and raised an eyebrow. Both women locked eyes and Giselle chuckled, "Laury says I'm in love. Maybe she's right". Now her neighbor just frowned. Disbelief all across the face. "In love? With me? That feels a bit far fetched, doesn't it? Is that why you took me along to see Ian's ex?", the blonde said while trying her best to make sense of things.

Giselle offered a weak smile, "I don't know, Annie. Going there was a stupid idea. Probably sleeping with you was a stupid idea in the scheme of things. I'm not good at this. I'm not! I just meant that something about us feels right". The other woman laughed out loud, mockingly. Her hands gestured as she spoke, "What am I going to do with that now?". Just as helpless as her neighbor, Giselle said, "I don't know. I don't have all the answers. When Ian left me, I was devastated. I'm not ready to throw my marriage overboard. So.... can't we stay friends?".

Slowly putting one foot in front of the next, Annie started walking back the way they came. After a while of mulling it over, she surprised Giselle, "You haven't once asked what I want... do you care enough to know?". Not only the surprise hit her, also the realization how far she was caught up in her own mind games. When talking to Laury, this topic always revolved around her. When talking to Ian, she considered his position since she wanted to fix the marriage. That the blonde woman had different stakes in this, it hadn't crossed her mind.

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In defeat, she admitted while catching up to her neighbor, "I'm really bad at this. I'm sorry. I care, yes. So please tell me!". Annie had been prepared for this. That or she was incredible at improvisation. She spoke softly and didn't even throw a glance at Giselle, "I love your kind, motherly side. It was what drew me to you in the first place. When you're not occupied in your head, you are interested in what others have to tell you.". She paused to sigh and then continued, "Well, and I do like older, beautiful women. I didn't just sleep with you because I needed a fuck. Honestly I had a moment when I thought we could be together, but I suppose that was a little naive. I don't know if I can be friends now. Just friends I mean. It would make me constantly question what I could do, should do. Does that make sense to you?".

By the time Annie finished, they were back in the stretch of greenery. Birds still caused a huge ruckus up in the tree tops. An older lady came down the path with a brown, short-furred dog on a short leash. All three of them exchanged a friendly greeting and went their own way. Giselle realized that she wore a blush. She turned her head away shyly and said, "Fuck, Annie. What am I supposed to do now? I get it. There is something between us. But this doesn't make any of this easier!". She wanted to hide somewhere, bury her face in her hands and not come out until it all had gone away. The words barely registered in her head as the younger woman answered, "Guess we'll say hello in the stairwell, act as if nothing had happened and once you've sorted things out, we can still check where we stand? Best I can offer right now".

Giselle hated it, she wanted to have everything like a kid in a toy shop. When they entered the apartment building, she submitted, "Alright. Thanks for having this talk. I'm not happy with _us_, but I'm glad we did it anyway". Her neighbor nodded and smiled weakly, "At least we're not fighting anymore. Sleep tight, Giselle". "You too", the brunette said and both vanished into their respective homes. Except that Ian still wasn't home and there was no message on her phone.