“I like both, too. More a cat person than a dog person.”
“That’s good,” Gage replied.
“What I said or what I’m doing?” Carrie asked.
“Both,” she answered because Carrie’s hand was rubbing over her abdomen, making it shiver and shake. “Um… We should stop, right? I feel like we should stop.”
“Because you thinkIwant to?” Carrie asked.
“Because I want to,” she said.
Carrie’s hand stopped moving instantly, and she looked worried, like she’d done something that Gage hadn’t wanted, which was the furthest thing from the truth.
“Not because I don’t like it,” she added. “Because if we do this, I don’t want you to be almost drunk, Carrie.”
“Oh.”
“So, not tonight, but that doesn’t mean we can’t.”
“You’re really not bothered by the fact that I’ve never done it before?”
“No, but I also don’t want you to regret or, in your case, not remember it later since you seem to have a pretty crappy memory.”
Carrie laughed and said, “Not normally. Just on alcohol and nerves.”
Hearing her say that, Gage realized then that it had been a very long time since she’d been nervous around a woman, and she was definitely nervous around Carrie, which was both interesting and kind of nice.
“What about kids?” she asked.
“Huh?”
“You asked me about pets.”
“Oh. Um… No,” Carrie replied. “I don’t want them. I never really have, but when I was sleeping with men, that was complicated because I–” She stopped. “You probably don’t want to hear about that, huh?”
“I’ll hear about anything you want to tell me.”
“Another time,” Carrie suggested before she patted her stomach and removed her hand.
“Hey, I liked that there.”
“Another time,” Carrie repeated and smiled at her. “You? Kids?”
Gage shook her head and said, “Not for me. I babysat my niece when I still lived there, and I had to listen to my sister fight with her husband over who was doing what for the baby that day because the other one had done it the day before, and they were so tired. I know it’s supposed to be this whole life-affirming thing or whatever, but I know it’s not for me.”
“Me neither.”
“Really?” Gage asked.
“Not my thing. I’d rather have, like, three cats or something, but that’s way in the future.”
“Why way in the future?”
“Because I want to travel.”
“Travel? Where?”
“Anywhere. Everywhere. I’ve got a list on my phone. I can show you tomorrow when we can check them, if you want. It’s pretty much the whole planet. I want to backpack and bring my art stuff; my iPad, but also my sketchpad and pencils and just fill it up with sketches of what I see.”
