Page 62 of August
“The sex thing? Mom, you had us. I know you’ve had sex before.”
Elisa laughed and said, “Yes. But, honey, that’s different. I knew I was a lesbian, and I wasn’t ready to admit it to people, so I got myself a date with a boy, and not long after that, you two were born.”
“But Dad was young, so did it like get…”
“Better?” Elisa asked. “That’s a little more complicated, but yes, it can get better. No matter who you have sex with, it’s about the two of you, okay? If the person you do that with doesn’t know that you don’t like it, you need to tell them to give them a chance to do something youdolike. Sex isn’t just someone doing something to another person. Both of youare there. So, whether it’s Tucker or Wendy or someone else, when you’re ready to take that step with someone, you have to communicate what you want, what you don’t want, and they should do the same with you.”
Adele nodded and said, “Yeah, okay.”
“So, what are you going to do about Tucker?”
“I don’t think I want to try again. If we’re meant to be, we’ll be, right? It would just be really hard, with the distance. And I don’t know that I can totally trust him to be with me and not be with anyone else, so that’s a big problem for me.”
“Makes sense. What about Wendy?”
“I have no idea,” Adele replied, resting her head back against the sofa. “She’s such a good kisser, Mom. Is this what kissing girls is like? I’m, like, obsessed with her lips now. I thought about them the whole drive here.”
Elisa laughed and said, “Probably notallgirls.”
She thought about Myra and wondered if that was true, but she had been thinking about Myra’s lips since their first kiss, too.
“I think I want to maybe ask her out before we go to school.”
“You should.”
“Yeah,” Adele stated with a confident nod. “I will. I’m going to call her now, actually.”
“Good luck,” Elisa replied with a smile.
“Don’t tell AJ?”
Elisa laughed again and said, “I won’t becauseyouwill if this goes anywhere.”
Adele laughed and said, “He’s going to be so pissed.”
CHAPTER 21
Myra didn’t usually wander around town. She knew the streets of New Orleans like the back of her hand, but she wasn’t one to drive, park her truck somewhere, get out, and just start walking. Tonight, though, that was exactly what she had done. Finishing work at five for the first time ever, Myra hadn’t wanted to go home because she had some thoughts she needed to work out, and with Elisa living next door, parking the truck in the driveway would give away the fact that she was home, and Myra wasn’t ready to see or talk to her. In fact, she’d even sent someone else over to the house around four to do some of the work in the kitchen. Elisa had texted her to verify that, and Myra had explained that she’d gotten held up in the office. Well, she had lied. She hadn’t been able to focus on the work much lately because they’d gone out two nights in a row, so sending someone else would only help Elisa get her house back in order faster. Myra considered it a good thing.
“Hello.”
Myra heard someone say the word, and she looked up from her own feet to see an older woman standing there.
“Hello,” she replied, looking around, trying to see if this woman, who was staring right at her, was actually talking to someone else. “Did you need directions?”
The woman laughed and said, “I’ve lived here my entire life, so I don’t need direction. Butyoumight.”
“Me?” Myra asked. “No, I’m good.”
“You are?” the old woman asked.
“Yes, I am. I was just walking to–”
“Nowhere,” the woman interrupted her. “You were just wandering.”
Myra’s eyes went wide.
“Yes, I get that expression a lot.” The woman chuckled. “But I mean well, I promise.”
