Page 39 of Just For Her

“You’ve gotta be too if you want to make a life out of this. Especially since the family isawareof women like us. Sugar babies and trophy wives have been spoiling the Fredriksson batch since Marilyn sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to JFK.”

“Naturally.”

“And you’ve got a bigger age gap working against you and Tove. Kiersten’s gonna make a move against you sometime in the next few months if things look like they’re lasting between you two. So lock it down. Convince her to elope with you if it comes down to it.”

“Do you think she would?”

“I already said she’s older, gay, and now dating again. I bet this is the best chance you’ve got. Give her some of that classic sugar whenever she wants it until she’s hooked on thinking this is the rest of your life. Nothing makes them weaker than the promise of great ass.”

“My assisgreat.”

“There you go! You know what you’ve gotta do.”

“Do you think it’s worth it? This family?”

Thomas called Polly’s name from the other side of the patio. Before she got up, she said, “Babe, they’ve got a billion dollars between them all. You tell me if it’s worth the occasional slur from that old witch.”

The jury was still out on that, but this off-the-record conversation certainly had Kayla thinking about new possibilities.Elopement before the end of the year?It might be more likely than she thought.

“Whew.” Tove gripped the steering wheel of her car but was in no hurry to put on her seatbelt. Kayla made herself cozy in the passenger seat while using the opportunity to touch herself up in the visor’s mirror. “What a day. I feel bad for making you sit through all of that. If I knew that my aunt and June would want to talk for hours, I wouldn’t have bothered.”

Kayla smacked her lips and raised the visor. “I didn’t mind at all. The more I learn about your family, the more interesting they are.”

“You think so?” Tove snorted, phone falling from her hand and into the space between the front seats. “I find my family to be the opposite of interesting, but I guess that’s because I grew up in this mess.”

You also grew up with a lot of money.Kayla would never say that out loud. Not when she was attempting to seduce Tove into making this a more permanent thing. “To be fair, your aunt is rather intimidating.”

“That’s how she’s learned to get by in life.”

“Uh-huh.”

Tove’s deep breath was loud enough to spring Kayla into the next thought, but her older girlfriend interrupted the air with more out-loud thoughts. “So, do we want to head back to my place? Or would you rather go somewhere else? It’s a nice day.”

“What did you have in mind?” Kayla knew what would happen if they went back to Tove’s. While she wasn’t opposed, she wouldn’t mind being around (nice) people before committing to the next twenty-four hours being nothing buther and Tove.

“I haven’t been to the bookstore in a while. Maybe there’s something good waiting.”

“Oh, you mean the Barnes & Noble by Whole Foods?”

“Actually, there’s an indie place much closer to us. Are you a big reader?”

Kayla pushed her shoulders up high toward her shoulders. “I haven’t had that much time lately.” Which was true. She was so absorbed in the daily minutiae of her new life and dating a woman thatreadingwas beyond her. What did she even like to read? Kayla couldn’t remember. The most she usually read were social media screeds and erotic fan fiction about her favorite TV shows.That reminds me, I gotta catch up on YvesStWarrant’s latest installment in her “Succession” saga…

“Do you want to go with me?”

Kayla wouldn’t say no, of course, but Polly’s words echoed in the back of her mind.“Lock it down.”What normally would have been easier said than done now didn’t seem so difficult. After all, Kayla had made it this far.

How far could they go, though? What did she have to do to keep Tove hooked?

“I’d love to go. I’ve never been on a date to a bookstore before.”

Tove’s face instantly lit up. “You’ll love it. They have old bestsellers as well as these weird esoteric pieces that will either make you laugh or bask in their off-base glory. I almost changed my religion based on a book I found there once.”

“Really? What stopped you from committing?”

Tove pursed her lips. “In the end, I’m too agnostic to commit to anything like that. Must be the stoic Scandinavian in me.”

While Tove moved to start the car, Kayla pushed her hair behind her ear. “It is a shame, though,” she lamented with a schoolgirl’s fervor, “that we’re missing out on some fun by not going straight back to your place.”

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