Page 122 of Voyeur
Silver sat across from Honor at the table and watched her laugh at something Devin had said. She was beautiful, and Silver could not only see them moving in together when Honor’s lease was up, she could see Honor walking toward her down an aisle one day. That was new. They still had a ways to go before Silver would even think about buying a ring, but after months of being together and Honor not having any issues with Silver sleeping with other women, and Silver not having issues with Honor doing the same, it felt to Silver like she’d found the one for herself.
Growing up, she’d always believed that there could be several people meant for one person. The world had billions of people in it, and there were slim odds, in Silver’s opinion, that the one person she was meant to be with happened to be age-appropriate, which, for her, just meant over eighteen, lived in the same general area or happened to be in the same place, even if that place was a website where she met them, would be a woman into women, and then on top of that, would be okay with Silver sleeping with other women and maybe occasionally joining her with those women. There had to be more than one person on the planet that she could be happy with. It just meant that she’d have to give here and there. Like, if the woman she was with didn’t want to be with other people as well, Silver could’ve gotten by with that. She knew it would’ve made her feel guilty from time to time, coming home after fucking someone, knowing that her partner didn’t also do that, but that would’ve been her partner’s choice not to sleep with other people herself.
Brandi laughed at something Honor said, and Silver felt like somehow, she’d been wrong. Maybe she could be with other people, but Honor was the one for her. She understood Silver in a way no other woman had, and she wanted the same things that Silver did. They hadn’t been together for years yet, like Devin and Brandi, and Silver expected that there were issues to come for them still, but she wasn’t sure those issues would ever be enough to get her to leave this woman. She also hoped they wouldn’t be enough to get Honor to leave her.
“Right, Silver?” Devin asked.
“Um… Yeah,” Silver said, having no idea what they’d been talking about.
“She wasn’t listening.” Honor laughed. “Babe? Are you okay?”
Yes, Honor knew her so well.
“I’m good,” she said with a smile. “And thanks for cooking, Dev. It was delicious.”
“No problem,” Devin replied. “I’m glad we could all finally get together like this. We’ve all been so busy. Brandi’s back in season, Honor seems to be occupied with work, and, well, you – you’re just somehow always busy.”
“Not always,” Silver said with a small laugh. “And Honor got this massive donor last month. He basically gave them a blank check. Right, babe?”
“Silver was the one who convinced him, really. I’d been working on him for years, but she worked that charm of hers, and he finally sat down to talk to me. We’re going to be able to help so many people now.”
“That’s amazing,” Brandi chimed in. “Hey, maybe I can talk to someone at the ballet, and we can do some kind of joint thing? Event or fundraiser or something like that. Ballet fans tend to have deep pockets.”
“Not me,” Devin said with a laugh.
“I’m not marrying you for your money, baby.”
“Hold on. Did you just say…” Silver leaned over the table.
“She asked me last night,” Brandi revealed as she pulled a ring out of her jeans pocket and slipped it on her finger. “I was looking for the right time to tell you. It’s been killing me all night, having this thing in my pocket.”
Devin beamed at Brandi from across the table.
“Congratulations!” Honor spoke.
“Check out what my girl got me,” Brandi said, holding out her hand to Honor.
“Congrats, Dev,” Silver added. “You finally did it, huh?”
“We were about to fall asleep, and she just looked so beautiful. I’d planned a whole thing for it, but I just decided that it doesn’t matter; I just want to marry her. So, I asked her, and thankfully, she said yes.”
“It was very sweet. Devin is very sweet,” Brandi said after Honor took a look at her ring.
“It’s beautiful, Devin,” Honor noted, nodding to it.
“Thanks. It’s not huge or anything, but I thought it was something she might like.”
“I love it,” Brandi replied. “Never taking it off again.”
Devin and Brandi started talking about their wedding day, which would be far off from today, but Silver could only focus on Honor, who was also focusing on her. They shared a smile, and Honor didn’t seem worried, concerned, or even nervous that the idea of marriage had just been brought up. Silver thought she’d probably talk to Honor soon about what to do with their housing situation. She wanted to keep her apartment but use it more as an art studio, and she could possibly afford it if she and Honor were sharing rent on a one-bedroom place, whether it be Honor’s or a new apartment entirely. They’d never be wealthy, given their career choices, but they’d have more than enough. They’d have each other, and Silver knew that was all she wanted now.
“Let’s go to the living room with our wine,” Devin suggested. “I’ll clean this up later.” She motioned to the table.
“I’m on dishes. You cooked,” Brandi replied.
“Yes, dear,” Devin said and stood up, holding on to her glass of red wine.
Brandi carried her own glass and the new bottle she’d just opened over to the sofa. Silver carried her glass and placed her hand on the small of Honor’s back, who walked to the living room with her own in hand. Glasses were set on the coffee table, and Silver was surprised to see Honor sit down in the middle of the sofa. Devin looked at Silver in confusion, but Silver could only shrug. She sat down in the chair next to the sofa and watched as Brandi and Devin sat on either side of Honor.