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“I’m too old for you,” Charlotte said with a sigh, forcing herself to say what was really bothering her, her heart racing as she waited for Lara to say something.
9
Lara searched Charlotte’s blue eyes, her heart racing with both anticipation and nervousness, her lips still tingling after another amazing but brief kiss.
“I’m too old for you,” Charlotte said with a sigh.
Lara sucked in a breath, relief washing over her. She hated seeing Charlotte this conflicted, but they both knew how feeble that protest was. Lara could hear it, and they both had plenty of examples in their own social circle of happy couples in age-gap relationships.
Lara had already done the math, although it had been years ago, long before she’d ever moved to Los Angeles, and could have predicted that someday they’d be at the same parties and have the same friends.
Nineteen years.
Lara had always been attracted to older women. Her exes were all about ten to fourteen years older than her, and while Ada and Sydney were great together, and Kerri and Rachel… They were just such a perfect fit. While there were years between them, the age gap wasn’t that significant.
So, Lara got where Charlotte was coming from. She really did, but that kiss… Was Charlotte really going to deny that there was something going on here? And that she’d let it go without another thought because there were nineteen years between them?
Lara wasn’t about to leave without getting more from Charlotte. “I don’t think you are,” Lara said, her hand still on Charlotte’s hip, the other on her neck, her thumb gently moving across her jaw as she held her gaze.
“I’m fifty-one.” Charlotte visibly swallowed. “Our lives are in completely different places.”
Lara was still trying to process that Charlotte had actually kissed her. She wasn’t prepared for a full-on campaign of why their age didn’t matter.
“Do you have plans for tomorrow evening?” Lara asked.
“I don’t think so. Why?”
“Have dinner with me.” Lara’s hands rested on Charlotte’s hips, almost afraid to let go of her because she might run away from this conversation. “At a restaurant or at my place or here. Wherever you’d be more comfortable.”
Charlotte exhaled, and Lara got the sense that she was about to say something like, ‘What’s the point?’
“Have you thought about our age difference at any point tonight?” Lara asked.
“Yes,” Charlotte answered without hesitation.
“Before or after you kissed me.”
“After.”
“So, you weren’t thinking about it before that happened.”
Charlotte looked away. “Well, I did. But only that you seemed mature.”
Lara’s pulse jumped. “So, your opinion of me changed after you decided to kiss me?”
Charlotte stepped back, putting some space between them. “I didn’t mean for that to happen. And no, my opinion didn’t change. I’m just trying to be realistic here. Since I came out, I’ve been on a few dates, and for one reason or another things didn’t work out, so I’m trying to stop myself from setting myself up for disappointment again.”
“Because you think you’re too old for me?” Lara guessed.
“Look, I’m aware that age-gap relationships are all the rage. We don’t have to go far to see it. And it’s a whole thing, a trope, a fantasy almost that our industry has only helped fuel. But that’s always for the younger woman. No woman my age is actively out there trying to meet someone half their age.”
Lara leaned against the arm of the sofa, her arms folded across her chest. “Have dinner with me tomorrow. No pressure. No expectations. Just dinner. And maybe by the end of it, you’ll see that the few years between us don’t really matter that much.”
Charlotte smiled as she shook her head. “Few years, huh? How many is a few?”
“Not enough to worry about.”
“Just tell me. You know I can look it up.”
