Page 106 of Whatever Lola Wants

Lola glanced at Ginger as she spooned up more ice cream. “What’s that?”

“That you either get the person you want, or the relationship you want.”

Anna frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Well, there are always things you compromise on when you decide to be with someone. Like, maybe you really want a guy who’ll go rock climbing with you, but the guy you like is a klutz and hurts himself getting the mail. So, you decide a non-rock-climbing boyfriend is okay.”

Lola nodded. “Okay, I’m with you.”

“Sometimes the things you compromise on are about the person. He doesn’t rock climb, or he’s overly attached to his mother, or he leaves whiskers in the sink when he shaves.”

“I hate that one,” Anna grumbled. “Grant sucks at that.”

“Case in point,” Ginger said. “Sometimes it’s something little, like the whiskers?—”

“Have you seen my man’s beard?” Anna demanded. “That’s no little thing.”

Lola snorted into her ice cream as Ginger went on.

“And sometimes they’re big things, like living in a city when you prefer small towns because the man you’re with is a city guy, or vice versa.”

Ginger picked up her wine. “But then sometimes the things you make allowances for are relationship things instead of person things. Like the guy you’re with is a Dom, and you’re not a submissive. But you like him enough to make some adjustments to your relationship expectations to give him some of what he wants.”

Lola set her ice cream aside and shifted so she was facing Ginger.

“If you get the relationship you want—in Simon’s case, a D/s relationship with a submissive—then you’ll make allowances for the person to be less than ideal. And if you get the person you want, then you’ll make allowances for the relationship to be less than ideal.”

Ginger finished her wine and reached for the bottle. “But there are always compromises to be made. No relationship, and no person, is perfect.”

Anna frowned. “I don’t see how that helps Lola.”

“I do.”

As both women turned to look at her, Lola nodded. “I do. Simon’s priority is the type of relationship he wants. And no matter how much I love him, or how much he might care about me, I can’t give him that. I could try to be submissive?—"

Anna snorted.

“—but it wouldn’t work, and we’d both know I was pretending. It would just make us both miserable.”

Ginger nodded and passed Lola the wine. “Yeah.”

Lola took a deep breath, feeling herself settle a little. Knowing that love wasn’t enough to fix the problem was disheartening—shouldn’t love be enough?—but it was also a relief. There was nothing she could do.

“There’s nothing I can do if he’s not willing to compromise on the type of relationship he wants.” She shrugged, and though her smile was a little sad and wobbly, it was there.

Anna’s face fell. “Fuck. This sucks.”

Lola laughed, a genuine laugh, and felt better. Not great, but better. She looked at the faces of her friends, and her heavy heart felt just a little bit lighter. “Thank you for being here.”

“Honey.” Anna leaned over and laid a hand on Lola’s. “There’s nowhere else I’d be.”

“Me neither,” Ginger said, curling her fingers over Anna’s so the three of them were linked. “I still wish I would’ve stun gunned his balls.”

Lola laughed again. “Well, at least now I don’t have to worry about the consequences of that story getting out.”

Anna’s face lit with pure joy. “Oh yes. I want to tell it. Let me tell it, please!”

Lola raised her glass in a toast. “Go for it.”

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