Page 27 of SapphicLover69
While the sexy romance author introduced the perfectly chiseled, firefighting horror author, I turned my attention to Winter, perusing her menu with her. “What looks good to you?”
She shot me a desirous look that implied,You do, before flicking an insecure glance across the table at R.B. and Jeri. I leaned in closer and pointed, drawing her attention back to the food choices.
“I’ve had the debris, and it was fabulous. It’s like a roast beef French dip with au jus.”
Sliding my finger down the menu, incidentally brushing Winter’s hand, I pointed to another item. OK, so that wasn’t an accident; I intended to experience the spark of sensation she gave me. She was like an adorable koala that you just can’t help but love and want to cuddle. And I didn’t want her comparing herself to granite-bodied Jeri Callisto.
“The shrimp creole is excellent, or we could split this bigger combination dinner with a taste of almost everything,” I added, allowing my hand to linger where it touched hers.
“That sounds …” Winter swallowed and, without looking up, completed, “lovely.”
“Excellent!” I praised in a hush, withdrawing my hand. “That way, we’ll have room for dessert.” I smiled and winked at her, making her laugh.
The water came—for which I was eternally grateful—and we all placed our orders. I considered R.B., and the more I got to know her the better I liked her. She wasn’t just the gorgeous, successful epitome of a sapphic romance author—she was a nice person who didn’t consider the rest of us beneath her. I suppose most of the other authors were as well. I just had built her up in my head to be so superior, but she put her shoes on one at a time like everyone else. And now I had the privilege of viewing her as classy in more ways than one. She conversed and laughed with Elaine and Beth as easily as she had with Selina and Catherine. And if she had just picked up Jeri for a weekend conference romance, hadn’t I considered doing the same with Winter? At least Jeri was a full-fledged adult who oozed with the confidence of being experienced. Neither of those two was using each other, and who knew? Maybe they were just friends.
“I have an idea for getting to know each other better,” Jeri proposed. “How about a game of two truths and a lie?”
The thought of that struck me with instant terror. She wanted me to say something truthful about myself? How was this going to work?
Winter must have sensed my resistance because she leaned in and murmured, “I will if you will. And you can always make stuff up. Who’d know?”
I wanted to reach under the table and squeeze my hand around her thigh. I wanted to whisk her off to the restroom for a quickie. No. A quickie wouldn’t do. I wanted to kiss her with six months’—alright, fifteen months’—worth of pent-up passions. Had it been that long? I guess I really was that repressed after the debacle with the last woman I had dated. God, if I could just be Aspen Wolfe all the time instead of stupid Mary Jones, my lifecould be so much different. Winter wasn’t here fawning over me but her image of me. It was depressing. Only Aspen doesn’t get depressed. She takes charge.
“Sure,” I rang out merrily. “Sounds like fun.”
When it got to my turn, I could only think of the most obvious things to say. “I used to be an English teacher; the highlight of my high school was a skiing trip to Colorado; last year I carried the opening banner at Gulfport’s Pride Parade.” Everyone guessed right. I sucked at this.
“Your turn,” R.B. prompted Winter. She looked more nervous than I had been.
“OK.” She flicked her head to settle her brunette halo into a bowl around her neck exactly as it had lain before making the motion. Then she pushed up her glasses, folded her hands on the table in front of her, and stared straight ahead. “I was valedictorian of my senior class.”
That has to be true.
“Last year I flew on a Space X mission.”
Get out! Really?
Winter concluded her three with, “I’m still a virgin.”
Every mouth at the table dropped. I was sure my heart stopped beating. As silence ruled, I remembered to breathe.Which one’s the lie?
“No Space X mission,” I ventured. My whole body felt numb at her list of truths and lies. Maybe she didn’t understand the game.
Winter grinned and shook her head. “It was a commercial launch. I was along to test a new Canadarm or Remote Manipulator System robotic arm our company had developed. I’m not an astronaut or anything, but it was pretty cool.”
“You’ve been in space?” Tammy wore the most incredulous expression I’d ever seen on her.
“Then you must have been salutatorian of your class,” Elaine guessed next.
Winter turned beet red and shook her head. My stomach lurched into my throat.No more picturing sex with Winter!How could I possibly live up to a twenty-six-year-old-virgin’s expectations?
“Speaking of most embarrassing moments,” Elaine aptly segued with an awkwardly forced grin. “Once in high school, I was on stage performing my role in our production ofOklahomaand completely forgot every single line. There was the spotlight blazing down on me, my parents, and hundreds of people in the audience. It was time for Aunt Eller’s speech and, after hemming, hawing, and thinking I’d pass out, I just winged it.”
Elaine, you’re a lifesaver,I thought in appreciation of how she veered attention away from my sweet Winter—I mean Winter, who isn’t mine and won’t be tonight for sure. In that instant, I wished we’d have more time—time to not have to rush but to give her the experience she deserved.
“If we’re confessing most embarrassing moments.” Tammy exhaled, rolled her eyes, and shook her head. “Once I was fly-fishing and caught myself in the ass with a treble hook—and not just my pants, my actual ass. Beth had to take me to the E.R. so the doctors could remove it without causing more tearing. Nowthat’s embarrassing!”
“Harmless,” R.B. voiced with a bittersweet smile. “Might have hurt at the time, but I’ve got everyone at the table beat. I wasn’t just embarrassed but utterly humiliated. I was such a fool.” Her words fell with a despairing finality that tugged at my heart.
