Page 6 of Lisa's Unexpected Valentine's Day

Lisa stared down into her tea, face flushed. “I’m used to being the one people go toforhelp, not the other way around. I don’t know. I just—eldest child syndrome, I guess.”

Maya snorted. “Sounds like an ego issue. Either that or insecurities.”

Lisa’s head snapped up. “It is not.”

“Sure it is. You either think you’re too good to let anyone help you, or you don’t think anyone will come through when you need them. And I’m insulted, cause I totally would have been thereifI’d known.” She let the disappointment ring in her tone.

She wasn’t actually disappointed. It was more like sadness that Lisa hadn’t felt like she could come to her. Taking it personally would be pointless when she knew it wasn’t about her, but it was hard not to.

“I—I…” Lisa trailed off, scowling. She seemed to be struggling with a response and a couple of minutes passed before her shoulders slumped. “Okay, maybe a little bit of both.”

“I’m sorry you didn’t think you could trust me, Lisa, but I know I’ve never done anything to make you think that, so I’m pretty sure this is a you problem. Right?”

Her friend nodded. “I’ve never really been able to ask for help.”

“Okay.” Maya took a long sip of her tea. It had cooled enough now that it didn’t burn her lips. “So, let’s move past that and consider it a lesson learned for the future.”

A small smile curved Lisa’s mouth up at one corner. “Sort of like the lesson you learned about haunted houses?” There was just a hint of teasing in her voice.

Maya was glad to hear it, because if Lisa was teasing, then she was feeling better. “Yeah, just like that. You should be happy that your lesson didn’t include getting your butt spanked like mine did. If you had a Dom he’d probably be pretty mad right now. Maybe it’s time you started looking for someone to help you work on your trust issues,” she suggested.

“You talking about a therapist or a Dom?” Lisa asked.

“I meant a Dom, but most people could use a little therapy.”

It was obvious that Lisa needed a Dom, but she never made any attempt to find one. Maya didn’t really get it because she knew her friend wanted one. Sometimes she could hear the envy in Lisa’s tone when she asked questions about her dynamic with Rick.

Assuming that she needed some encouragement to start looking, Maya never missed an opportunity to point out that she really should.

“Yeah, well, Doms aren’t really in the cards for me, Maya.”

“Why?” Maya squinted at her. “There are plenty of them around if you know where to look. I can give you some websites and—”

“Maya… I’m literally homeless right now, so I really don’t think this is the time for a discussion about BDSM.” Lisa’s voice had gotten tense, and her knuckles were turning white from how tightly her hands were wrapped around the mug she held.

Oh. Right. “Sorry, yeah.” She pushed her hair back and sucked her teeth as she thought about the more pressing issues. “Okay, so… obviously you’re staying here. The guest room is already made up. Rick’s sister visited a couple weeks ago, and I changed the sheets after she left, so it should be fine for you.”

Lisa’s eyes widened. “Um, don’t you need to check with your Daddy first? I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

Maya shook her head. “Don’t be silly. He’d never say no to something like this. It’s an emergency.”

Lisa chewed on her bottom lip and then finally nodded. “Okay, but if he’s upset about it, I’ll go.” There was a firm note in her voice.

“Yeah, yeah.” She rolled her eyes. Lisa was always the responsible one. Unlike Maya, who could be… a little bit impulsive at times. But in this case, it would be fine.

“Listen… I really hate to do this to you when you’ve been through so much, but would you mind if I left you here alone? There’s plenty of food in the fridge, drinks, whatever you need. It’s just that Rick is meeting me at the restaurant, and it took so much work to talk him into it.” Maya felt horrible about it, but if she rushed, she could still have a lightning fast shower, be dressed, and out the door almost on time.

Well, she probably wouldn’t be more than ten minutes late meeting him, which was close enough to being on time.

“Oh hell, yes, of course. I’m so sorry, Maya this is terrible timing.” Lisa looked like she might burst into tears all over again.

Maya came around the counter and threw her arms around her friend. “Don’t be silly. Emergencies always choose bad times, otherwise they wouldn’t be emergencies, right? I feel awful about leaving you it’s just…”

“No, no it’s okay. Honestly. I’ll camp out in your guest room. It’s warm and comfortable and that’s all I need. I spent the night in my car last night and—”

“You what?” Maya’s eyes widened as her voice rose. “Are you out of your mind? It’s winter! It was below freezing last night!”

Lisa winced. “Just barely, and I had plenty of blankets. It really wasn’t that bad, except I couldn’t recline the seat because of all the stuff packed in back.”

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