“Yeah. Nice talking to you. See you later.”
* * *
On Sunday Lily came home with Christy after church.
“Hi again,” she said.
“Long time, no see,” I replied sardonically.
Christy frowned at my tone, although Lily was oblivious.
“Yeah,” she said. “Sorry I missed you yesterday. I had to do laundry, so I went home.”
“Morristown, right?” I said.
“Yeah! I didn’t think you’d remember.”
“How far is that?”
“About an hour.” She shrugged but then brightened. “Christy says you’re going dancing this afternoon. At a local studio or something?”
“She is,” I said. “I’m not good enough yet.”
“Oh. So you aren’t going?”
“No, I’m going. I just won’t be dancing.”
“Do you mind if I come along?”
Christy’s eyes lit up, and I had to swallow a laugh. She’d wanted this all along, which was why she’d invited Lily home after church.
“Sure,” I said. “You wanna invite Will?”
“He went home for the weekend. He goes to church with his family.”
“Ah, okay.” I said. “So, just the three of us today?”
Ooh, a threesome, the little head said.
Not yet, I told him. But that’s what Miss Libido wants. Duh.
Have I told you how much I like her?
I believe you mentioned it, I replied dryly.
Christy read my expression and frowned. She didn’t know exactly what I’d said, but she understood the gist.
So? she said with a look. I have needs too, you know.
I raised an eyebrow, but she broke off with a glare before Lily realized we were talking about her.
“Yeah, totally,” she was saying. “I’m dying to see what it’s like. Will isn’t interested, so it’s probably a good thing he isn’t here.”
“Well,” I said, “as long as you don’t mind hanging out with me.”
“I’d love to. If it’s okay with you,” she asked Christy.
“I don’t mind sharing him.”
Lily didn’t catch the double entendre, but it hadn’t been intended for her anyway.
“Isn’t that right, dear?” Christy added.
“Of course. But we’d better get ready. We need to leave soon.”
“Oh my gosh,” she said to Lily, “wait till you see my dress and shoes.”
I chuckled and slid past them. “I’ll grab my clothes and change upstairs.”
* * *
Terri pulled me aside in the middle of the performance, right as “The Skater’s Waltz” began. We retreated to a corner of the dance studio, where no one could overhear.
“You don’t waste any time,” she accused. Her tone was polite enough, but it had an edge I hadn’t heard from her before.
“About what?” I said.
“Not what. Who.”
“Lily?”
“Who else?”
“Yeah, but she wasn’t my idea,” I said lightly.
“I’m sure.”
My attitude changed abruptly, and I gave her a flat look. “Have I ever lied to you?”
“How would I know if you had?”
“I think you know me well enough. Besides, all you have to do is ask.”
“It’s none of my business.” She took a calming breath and closed her eyes as she exhaled. “Sorry. I’m not like that. The jealous type. Not normally. Besides, I don’t have any right. It’s not like we’re sleeping together.”
“It’s okay. You’re nicer’n some of the women I have slept with.”
She laughed ruefully. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
“Yeah, kinda.”
“It doesn’t.” Her gaze shifted to the dancers, and she tracked Christy. “Doesn’t it bother you? That she can do what she wants but you have to follow the rules?”
“Maybe a little,” I said. “But it’s new to her.”
“What? The open relationship?”
“Yeah. I’ve done it before.”
“For real?”
“I actually had two girlfriends in high school and for a while here. Two girlfriends at the same time, I mean.”
“Typical,” she said derisively. Then she caught herself and visibly calmed down. “I apologize. I don’t have any right to judge you either.”
“Eh, I’ll survive.”
“So, these girlfriends…? They knew about each other?”
“Yeah. But that was part of the problem. It’s a long story—maybe I’ll tell you someday—but the short version is that I didn’t handle it well. It ended badly.”
She snorted agreement.
“Anyway, our arrangement’s still new to Christy, so she’s… testing it out.”
“You’re clearly okay with that.”
“Well, yes and no.”
“What? She doesn’t let you sleep with them too? Sorry,” she said immediately. “What’s wrong with me today? I hate being sarcastic and judgmental.”
“No, it’s okay.”
“I guess I’m still trying to understand.” She sighed in frustration as much as anything.
“That’s fine. I’ll try to explain, but… it’s complicated.” I paused and thought about what I wanted to say. “No, Christy doesn’t mind if I sleep with Lily. The same with you, before she figured out you weren’t interested.”
“But I am interested. Well, I was. But… only in you.”
“Right. And I’m interested in you. But sex is only part of it. I like an emotional connection before I sleep with someone.”
“That’s a new one.”
I kept my expression neutral. “Is it?”
“Yeah. Especially for a guy.”
“Are you like all the other women in the world?”
“Yeah, okay,” she conceded, “you aren’t like most guys.”
“Nope. So, sex is only part of it,” I repeated. “And I want some kind of connection. Friendship at the very least. That usually means having things in common.”
Her eyes followed mine to Lily, who was enthralled by the dancers.
“You don’t have anything in common with her?” Terri said.
“Maybe. But she’s nineteen.”
“You aren’t much older. Twenty-one?”
“Close enough. But I think I’m more mature.”
“Yeah, you are. Still, what does that make me? Old enough to know better.”
“You aren’t that old,” I said. “What? Twenty-six?” I laughed at a sudden thought. “This is gonna sound like a pickup line, but you look my age. Asian women are beautiful till they’re sixty.”
“Thank you. But I’m only half-Asian.” She answered my unspoken question, “Korean.”
“Cool. What’s the other half, Ms. Cortez? Mexican?”
“Not Mexican,” she said immediately. “American. My father makes a big deal about it. His side’s Hispanic, but our roots go back to the conquistadors. We’re probably more American than you.”
“Wow. That’s pretty cool. My family’s Scottish, English, a little Dutch. Who knows what else.” I grinned at her. “You have a pedigree; I’m a mutt. I guess that makes us Lady and the Tramp.”
She tried not to smile. “It doesn’t make us anything.”
“Fair enough. But you still didn’t answer my question.”
“I’m twenty-six.”
“Which is why I like you more than Lily. She’s a girl in a woman’s body. You’re a woman in a girl’s body. Except for those.”
“Why are guys so hung up on breasts?”
“Because we don’t have them?” I suggested.
“And why are we even talking about them? You aren’t going to see mine any time soon. Why’re you grinning?”
“Because you said ‘any time soon.’ That means I might see them. Just not today.”
“Not today, not this week, probably not ever.” She sighed and decided to explain. “Now that I’ve had some time to think about it, I’m glad we didn’t sleep together. You’re my student and you’re about to move away for the summer. So even if we did get involved, it’d only be for a few weeks. I don’t want that.”