Page 30 of A Fine Line

My hesitation doesn’t stem from an aversion to the idea of kissing another woman; I don’t mind that at all. It has more to do with my inexperience with my own sexuality, given most of my adult life was spent playing whore to a man who never gave one fuck about my own wants and desires. I was a virgin when I was given to Vincent, and since then, even though I’ve had more sexual partners than I care to count, none of it was ever for me.

I swallow the lump in my throat, exhilaration running up my spine, a giggle escaping as I lift a shoulder and say, “Okay.”

She beams at me, and my giggles intensify at her blatant excitement that I accepted her proposal. She turns so she’s seated beside me but facing me, then her hands are cupping my face, and she leans in, her lips brushing over mine tentatively. My breath catches, and I giggle against her lips before clearing my throat and getting control of my nervousness.

This is Antoinette. She won’t hurt me.

I relax in her hold, allowing her to angle my head a bit to the side as she presses her lips more firmly against mine—once, twice. Then her tongue comes out, and she licks my lips, inching closer and taking my mouth more firmly as she sighs into my mouth, eliciting a low moan from me as she sinks closer, urging my lips to open for her.

Then, through the fog in my brain, Darius shouts, “Everyone get the fuck out!”

Chapter Twelve

Tony

Dariushasbeenboringme for what feels like hours about the finer details of his very anti-climactic interrogation of that motherfucker who put his hands on Carolina. All this talk about micro-expressions, tells, and nuances is enough to make me puke. I’d rather rip out his fingernails and shove them into his eyeballs to get some answers, but Darius says I lack style in my methods.

He can fuck off, but I suppose there’s something to be said for variety in the workplace.

He’s in the middle of lecturing me on the various reasons why I might need a chill pill when he suddenly stops speaking. His eyes widen, and a look of sheer confusion settles over his features. He tilts his head to the side and mutters, “What the actual fuck?”

I whip my head around to see what has him so flummoxed and immediately do a double-take as I spot Carolina and Nettie on the sofa across the room. Nettie is kneeling over Carolina, her hands cupping her face as she presses her mouth against hers, her tongue coming out to lick over her lips teasingly.

They’re already drawing the attention of others in the room, and I whistle, managing to get Anton’s attention, who follows my gaze and then immediately barks out orders to his people to avert their eyes.

Dare rushes to his feet and bellows, “Everyone, get the fuck out!”

They all scurry to the door, with Anton and Erik ushering them out, and within seconds, the door is being shut behind them. Silence echoes throughout the room, but neither Carolina nor Nettie took notice of the initial uproar or the current silence.

Dare sits in his chair again, and we look at each other in puzzlement before Dare says, “Don’t fucking ask me, man.”

“Do you think we should go over there?”

“I don’t think this is an invitation or anything,” Darius replies. “It’s probably best to enjoy the view from over here and not draw attention to ourselves.”

I adjust my chair, so I don’t have to crane my neck to see what’s going on behind me. “Nettie has a thing for women?”

Dare lifts a shoulder dismissively and states, “Maybe. It’s never really come up. But Antoinette doesn’t do anything without a reason, so I’ll sit back and wait till I find out what that is.”

“You’re not jealous?”

He laughs, shaking his head before giving me a dirty look. “Not at all. Why the fuck would I be jealous?”

I make a face, failing at keeping the confusion out of my voice when I reply, “I don’t fucking know. You got all these ‘touch her and die vibes’, so it’s hard to keep up.”

“This is a little bit different than some motherfucker putting his hands on my woman without permission. Not that I would give a man permission to put his hands on my woman, but if she chooses to have a dalliance with another woman, I’m not gonna stand in her way.”

This is highly confusing for me, which must be evident on my face because he laughs again and then continues, “Listen, Tony. I’m a man. I’m good at many things, but I’m also terrible at many things. I am 100% certain that Antoinette could get an infinite number of things from a woman that I could not provide. And if that’s what she wants, that’s what she gets.” He pauses, glancing over at the two women who are now whispering and giggling, and his features soften, his lips curving up in a small smile. “I’m slightly surprised she’s never mentioned it to me before. But I’m sure she has her reasons.”

I look back at the two women on the sofa. Nettie turns as if she’s going to move off the couch to kneel in front of Carolina, but the reclined woman stiffens, and Nettie stops moving. Carolina looks down at Nettie, who pats her on the leg and says something that has Carolina visibly relaxing while her hands come up and cover her cheeks.

A pained noise escapes from her lips, and I move to rise, but Dare’s hand on my shoulder stops me. “Not unless you’re asked, Tony. Antoinette won’t do anything to hurt her.”

I nod because I know he’s right, and then it dawns on me what may be going on over there. So, I say, “I bet this has to do with something that happened to Carolina in the past. Carolina must have talked to Nettie about it, and Nettie wanted to flip the script.”

“Is that what you’ve been doing for her?” Dare asks. “Have you been helping her work through her trauma?”

I inhale deeply through my nose, nodding as I turn my gaze back across the room. Nettie is now kneeling on the floor between Carolina’s legs, and Carolina is watching her intently, her hands folded across her stomach as they continue to speak to each other.

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