Page 57 of Life, Love, and Other Messes

Now, Lisa looked even more horrified. “I assume they are not queer friendly?”

I shook my head. “A bit hellfire and brimstone.”

“That must have been hard.”

“That wasn’t the hard part of it.” I waved that away. “I’m where I am now, I’m good with it, and I just avoid going when I’m home.”

“Good. I’m glad you are where you are now.”

I felt the look she was giving me from head to toe. “I’m glad you’re where you are now.”

This kiss was completely different from those before. Warm and confident and sensual and it didn’t stop. It went on until my fingernails dug into my jeans leg and I could feel my heartbeat everywhere. It went on until I felt a paw thump onto my lap.

“Oh, Ollie,” I groaned, pushing him onto the floor. Veronica and I had spent most of our time at her place or out and I hadn’t been thinking about his fondness for joining in hugs. “God, I’m sorry.”

Lisa was laughing. “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not.” I grabbed a stuffed ferret and threw it into Ollie’s crate. “Go on.”

While we returned to kissing, it wasn’t nearly as serious. We were still laughing, and before I could get back into it, Ollie dropped the ferret back in my lap. I looked at him, wanting to be furious, but his tongue was hanging out sideways and he was panting, very excited about our game.

Lisa slid one finger down my cheek and grinned. “It’s late…I should go anyway.”

“Next time we’re at your house,” I muttered.

“With cake.”

I stopped over at Lisa’s after class Thursday night, where we had chocolate cupcakes. She apologized, saying she would have baked but she’d had a meeting and gotten home late. I didn’t care and they were from the good cupcake place just north of our neighborhood anyway.

The next night, we went out to a little bar and deli in midtown. I drove, and when Lisa turned on my radio to see where it was set, she laughed again to find it on the XM eighties station.

We shared cheese fries that Veronica would have turned her nose up at, ate sloppy sandwiches, and drank beer from the bottle while a local blues band played on the tiny stage by the door. I hadn’t had such a good time out on the town in years. I’d enjoyed being with Veronica, but I’d always felt that I had to be a little bit on guard so as not to do the wrong thing. I felt like I could do or say anything around Lisa and it would be okay, even if I ended up hiding under the table for a few minutes while she laughed.

When a table came open, she nodded to the game room. “Do you play pool?”

I did from time to time with guys like Paulie back when I was able to show my face in that crowd, but not tremendously well. I agreed at once, though, and went up to the bar to switch to Coke. “Do you want another beer? You don’t have to stop just because I did.”

“I guess…”

“Unless, of course, you have somewhere to be.”

Lisa came up to the bar to accept her own beer and swatted me gently on the ass. “Somewhere to be.”

She was good. After I broke, she sank three stripes before it was even my turn again. I wondered if she’d played with Corey or if this was something she’d done in lesbian bars in college. I didn’t ask, but I did watch everything she did.

Oh, she was gorgeous. Her jeans were tight and ripped in the knees, and although her shirt looked fairly conservative upright, I could see ample cleavage when she bent to take a shot. She caught me looking at one point and gave me an eyebrow cock and a little smile that resonated throughout my body. I wanted to be defiant, but I missed my next shot.

To my horror and delight, Lisa came up beside me. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“You could save it for when we’re alone.”

Her eyebrows jumped. “You want to go home?”

It was my turn. “Hmm, I still have half a Coke left and you haven’t cleared the table.”

“Give me one more turn.”

“Shut up.”