AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ll see you,” she said before darting out of Carmen’s office and leaving her bewildered.
There was only a moment of confusion before Carmen saw the future splayed out in front of her. Lola was most definitely freaking out.
CHAPTER22
Dressed in a constricting black gown,Lola slipped out of her car and handed the keys to the valet. With only a few hours’ notice, Natalia had invited her to the Prism Gala — a yearly fundraiser for one of the boards Natalia sat on that championed LGBTQ+ rights.
This year, United in PRIDE was raising money for a trans health fund to help people pay for gender-affirming care. A cause Lola was honored to support, but wished she’d had a little heads up about.
The end-of-July night was hot and humid. With more time, she would’ve gotten her hands on a dress that wasn’t made from the heaviest, most unbreathable material known to modern man. She would have been cooler if she’d wrapped herself in a burlap sack rather than the ladened velvet of the only appropriate outfit she had in the closet.
Lola hadn’t considered turning down the invitation. Not for a second. When Natalia walked into her office that afternoon and said she had an extra ticket, Lola had taken her up on it without hesitation. Adriana attended the damn gala every year, and now that Lola was a full agent, she should too.
As soon as she weaved around the lines of cars parked in front of the Pérez Art Museum, the ritziness of the moment overwhelmed her — making her painfully aware that her dress was the wrong material and her jewelry was costume.
Without so much as a breeze, the palm trees lining the path to the ultra-modern white building didn’t move. The strange hanging plants would have been cool if they weren’t so long. They reminded Lola of the creepy girl from The Ring. The gently glowing lights placed around the museum’s facade only made the place feel more dreamlike and more subject to nightmares.
People more elegantly dressed than her filtered from the cemented area and into the glass and steel interior. Lola was grateful for the passing champagne and air conditioning as she made her way through the black-tie crowd. The grand room with its enormous windows had a view of Biscayne Bay for anyone who bothered to check. There was no point at night. Nothing to see but dark water.
The bubbly tided her over until she queued up at one of the bars where she could pay for a proper drink. Something with vodka she could choke down to feel less out of place. For a wild moment, she wondered if Natalia would have let her bring a date. Not that she had anyone in mind.
The lie got stuck in the back of her throat, but she washed it down with the rest of the dry champagne. She hadn’t seen Carmen in two weeks. Hadn’t heard from her either.
Carmen’s email was public and listed on the Florida Bar’s website. On nights when she’d had more wine than sense, she’d considered sending her a message. After all, she had a right to ask how the thing with Fortune was going. To find out whether she’d filed the motion to dismiss or whatever.
Lola took a step closer to the bar when the man ahead of her gave up and left the line. Was it strange that Carmen hadn’t reached out? It’s not like she didn’t know where Lola was. Could send her a message if she wanted.
Chest aching, Lola tried to think about anything other than the last time she’d seen her. Tried to feel anything other than the lingering desire constantly reminding her of the taste of Carmen’s mouth, replaying the sound of her moan against her lips when they kissed.
They’d never shared a moment like that before. Carmen had drawn something out in Lola. Something so deep and powerful and even more uncontrollable than her anger. Lola would never have stopped kissing her if the cleaning crew hadn’t interrupted them. She could have kissed her forever, she admitted to herself before she could stop the feeling from warming her skin.
Well, whatever. Carmen hadn’t said anything to her after the stupid kiss. It wasn’t like she was still thinking about it, or letting it distract her throughout the day, or when she was alone in bed.
Lola reached for the phone inside the Alexander McQueen clutch she found on Poshmark. Email would distract her while she continued her crawl toward real booze. She always had some bullshit to respond to.
Scanning her inbox, Lola clicked the acknowledgment from the toxicology lab. As soon as she had her blood and hair sample results, she’d convince Carmen to threaten Fortune with a countersuit. It was what she’d gone to Carmen’s office to do in the first place, but somehow never got around to saying.
Images of Carmen’s light brown hair tossed back, her legs parted, and her breathless whispers slammed into Lola’s body again. She had to get over it. Find a way to stop thinking about her when all she was doing was torturing herself.
“Hey, you came,” Adriana said when she slid in next to her. In a deep plum gown, Adriana’s eyes were electric blue. She smiled at her, broad and easy and absolutely carefree. It was like Roxy had given her a fucking lobotomy.
Lola looked over her shoulder where several people were waiting behind her. “Trying to cut the line?”
Adriana chuckled before shaking her head. She held up a rocks glass with something light yellow and fizzy. “I have a ginger ale.”
Furrowing her brow, Lola eyed the drink in her hand. “Are you pregnant?”
“What?” Adriana shrieked instead of denying it.
“That’s not a no,” Lola pointed out, scanning Adriana for signs of bloating. “Do I get your office if you go on maternity leave?”
Adriana took a sip of her soda while shooting Lola a look that made it clear she thought she was nuts. She still didn’t deny it, Lola noticed. “Did you bring a date?”
“Natalia only gave me one ticket,” she replied with only the pertinent facts. If Adriana didn’t already know that Natalia invited her as an afterthought, she sure as shit wasn’t going to tell her.
They moved another step closer to sweet social lubrication.
Adriana’s gaze drifted away from Lola and toward a platform set in front of the massive windows. Taking the stage, probably to give some opening remarks, Natalia looked like a goddess in a glinting metallic dress that looked painted on without being the slightest bit profane.
