Page 92 of This Could Be Us
“Did Yas lie?” Hendrix challenges. “Be honest, and remember I haven’t even told Lola yet how he ordered your focaccia basket so he could see you when you delivered it.”
“He didn’t even know I would be the one who brought it,” I say lamely. “He just wanted… he wanted to support me.”
“Awwwww.” Lola presses one hand over her heart. “Sol, why haven’t you told me and Nay about this man?”
“There’s nothing to tell,” I lie, picking up a decorative pillow to give my hands something to do. “He’s a great guy. I admit there’san attraction.” I close my eyes and lick my lips, memory tasting the scorching heat of Judah’s kiss at the Christmas party. “But I’m dating myself right now,” I remind them… and myself.
“You can’t fuck yourself,” Hendrix blurts.
“Well, technically…,” Lola ventures with a wicked note in her voice.
“If you mention that strap-on again,” I hiss, “and Lottie walks in here, your ass is mine.”
Hendrix and I fall back into the cushions laughing, and Lola bends over, shoulders shaking with her own mirth. And I needed this. Talking with them feels like a gasket has been twisted loose so all the emotions and doubts I’ve bottled up can finally fly free.
“I really like him,” I whisper in the after-quiet of our bawdy laughter, swiping my hands over my face. “I mean… likereallylike him.”
I look up to find both women watching me with a mix of curiosity and surprise.
“We kissed,” I confess.
“Bitch, when?” Hendrix demands, sitting up straight and poking my shoulder.
“Owwww.” I massage the sore spot. “Hen, I hate it when you do that. What the hell?”
“No, you what the hell,” Hendrix fires back. “How you not gon’ tell me and Yas you kissed the accountant?”
“Or your sisters.” Lola reaches toward me.
“If you pinch me,” I warn her, “I swear I’ll put you in a headlock.”
Lola slowly withdraws her hand. “She’s small, but wriggly. I never won a wrestling match on our living room floor with this one.”
“When did you kiss the accountant?” Hendrix asks.
“Shhh.” I crane my neck to peer down the hall. “I don’t want the girls to hear. We’ve gone through too much over the last year. Too much transition and all the confusion with Edward for me to even think about dating this soon. Not to mention Inez still blames Judah for Edward being in prison.”
“Okay,” Hendrix says, her voice lowered. “But when did it happen?”
Single-minded heifer.
“At the CalPot Christmas party last week,” I admit.
“How was it?” Lola whispers.
“It was… good.” I understate, unwilling to go much further for fear of revealing how many times I’ve replayed that kiss. “Really good.”
“He knows you’re on the self-partnering tip right now?” Lola asks.
“Yeah. He said he’ll wait for me.” I hazard a look from one to the other, finding the swoon response I knew would be there. “That’s good, right?”
“Well, yeah.” Hendrix shrugs. “But only if you’re into patient, kind men who look like Idris and could save you thousands on your taxes.”
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me this was going on,” Lola says.
“It’s not going on exactly.” I twist my fingers in my lap. “It’s not something that can happen, at least not right now, for several reasons, so I don’t talk about it much because it might make me want it to happen even more andnow.”
“If it’s like that”—Lola grabs my hand and squeezes—“maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to explore a little of what it could be.”