Page 62 of XX Love Affair

“Twenty-one is too young for me? I’m barely thirty. Isn’t Blair, like, twenty-three?”

“Mid-twenties.”

“Really? I had no idea.”

“We met after she graduated. Not that it matters, because we’re a lot closer in age.”

“Please, don’t imply there’s something unsavory about my relationship. She’s more than old enough to know what she wants from me, and it’s not just money.”

“Yes, I’m sure the sex keeps her around too.”

“Wouldn’t you know? You must have seen us making fools out of ourselves at The Dark Hour party two weekends ago. Although I didn’t know you were there, Whitfield.”

“Your girl was the talk of my next meeting. Apparently, she won the wet T-shirt contest.”

“We had a lot of takers that night,” Delia fondly said. “Do you know how much fun we could have had if we weren’t too tired to stand up by the time we got back to my place?”

Mira scoffed. “I’m assuming this is going somewhere, and not you bragging to me about your hot new girlfriend.”

“Actually, yes. There’s something I need your consultation on.” Delia checked her phone for any pertinent alerts before shoving the whole thing into her bag. She desired to give Mira her full attention. Otherwise, why invite her out for midafternoon drinks? They were both busy women. Busy women with girlfriends waiting for us somewhere. That had been true when Delia and Mira met in college, and it was true ten years later. “As you’ve probably gathered, Helena isn’t exactly a sheltered girl, but she does come from an unexciting background. Military brat. Somewhat rigid upbringing. School sports and academic achievements in a mid-tier Washington high school.” She left out Helena’s history with her teacher. While Delia knew it had something to do with the conversation, that was the last thing she’d talk to anyone else about. Even with a gun to my head. It had taken weeks for Helena to accept that Delia didn’t see her any differently after that confession. Delia accepted it for what it was. Intimacy. Vulnerability. Things Delia didn’t often receive from women. “She’s taking a gap year from college to get all of this oat-sowing out of her system, but if you ask me, she’s the real deal.”

It took Mira a moment to realize what that meant. “You mean she genuinely likes it?”

“That was never the question. Here I was, ready to settle down with the right vanilla-ish girlfriend if she came along, and God granted me a super vixen with the libido of a poor thing struck by every one of Cupid’s arrows. It reminds me of me at that age, especially when I experimented with the more submissive side of the equation. Now, I’ve got some reservations about it, but that’s neither here nor there. We’re working on it, as long as we keep being a couple.” She meant what it meant emotionally to Helena, someone who was slowly coming around to the idea of a therapist if Delia was paying for it. I can’t do a long-term thing with someone who is using this to deal with trauma and nothing more. This was when things got complicated with new girlfriends. Women like Helena… even if they thought they were completely in control… so mature… ah, it was a sign that they weren’t, wasn’t it? When it came to maturity, Delia could take some things while leaving others. She didn’t mind if Helena was working through shit that happened in her past as long as she behaved in public and didn’t pretend she was anything but who she was. Already, they had partied it up in a few cities when Delia could spare a weekend, but it was their upcoming trip to Monaco that had them excited.

Delia had some connections there to catch up with. It was also on Helena’s bucket list. Monte Carlo would be a fun experience.

And they could make love with a view of the Mediterranean fit for Grace Kelly.

“The thing about Helena is that I worry she’s chasing too many things at once. She’s got this list – her bucket list – that’s full of the things you’d expect, like traveling to certain places, gaining certain achievements, blah blah blah… many of them are surprisingly sexual. Only instead of being nighttime fantasies of a young lady who would never actually do them in real life, she’s determined to accomplish whatever she can. Some of the things she’s checked off already… well, I helped with a couple. She did win her first wet T-shirt contest, after all.”

“Who the hell puts that on a bucket list?”

Delia shrugged. “I’ve never had an actual list I wrote down in my notebook, so I wouldn’t know. Maybe I would have been that way when I was her age.”

Mira smirked.

“What?”

The moment her refreshed iced tea was placed before her, Mira said, “The fact that you have to say, ‘when I was her age’ carries a lot in this conversation.”

“You’re loving this, aren’t you?”

“What? That you’re running around with someone barely old enough to drink? That it makes you look ‘cringe,’ as someone her age would say? Yes. Yes, I am loving it.”

“Why?”

“Because people talk. You and I, we like it when people are talking about each other.”

Delia had to give her that. “Well, right now, I’m coming to you as a friend, not your rival. I’ve hit a wall with her that you’re in a unique position to help me with.”

“Is that so?”

“One of Helena’s bucket list items is starring in adult entertainment. She had interviews with Electric Star and everything. You do business with them sometimes, yes?”

“I’ve done private parties for the boardroom. But our businesses match up too well for them to pay what I’m worth now. For recording rights, I mean.”

“Yes, I’m sure you make a lot more money from your FansOnly account.”

---