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“Do you?”
“Not really!” At least Paige had it in her to be honest about that. “Gives me flashbacks to some crazy sorority parties I’d rather forget.” She thought of one girlfriend who had been a higher-up in the powerful echelons of the biggest sorority on campus. While banging her blind in the sorority president’s office had been a wild ride, Paige would rather not think about how she was almost recruited into something that felt alotlike sex trafficking. The fact her girlfriend could never explain what was going on at those parties was a big reason Paige dumped her senior year.When I started to get really jaded about dating.The only girls who dated her were either in the closet and using her for their personal fun, orcrazy.Like mob boss levels of crazy!
When the light became green, Rhea swerved their car toward their street. Paige grabbed the handle above her head and braced herself for possible impact into someone’s Jeep. Her adrenaline only settled when they coasted through their neighborhood right at the speed limit.
“It always comes back to that, doesn’t it?” Rhea sounded half-crazed enough to remind Paige of those same ex-girlfriends. “Whatyoudid in college. Whoyoufucked in college!”
“Hey!” Paige snapped back. “No, it doesn’t!”
“Maybe you don’t mean it that way, but it does. Itreallydoes. Not all of us got to live our best ho lives in a big state college, Paige!”
“Is that what this is about?” The seatbelt once again threatened to end Paige’s life. The fact that she could see their neighbor walking his dog down their sidewalk didn’t make her feel better. That meant they were almost home!Just because I can get out of this car doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.“That you didn’t get to be a big ho like me when we were in our twenties?”
Rhea glared at her finger tapping on the steering wheel. She was half paying attention to the road, half tearing her wife down with another scalding look. “Did Isaythat?”
“You’ve basically been saying it out of the corner of your mouth for the past few months.” Paige banged her head against the window. “Fine. Let’s go back this weekend so you can live out your craziest fantasies. We’ll put on our old alma mater sweatshirts and, I dunno, pretend we’re at a party!”
“You’re simply saying random shit now.”
“I feel like I’mlivingrandom shit! What the hell is even happening right now?”
Paige didn’t know when they ended up in their driveway, but she detested the idea of getting into her car and driving to West Hollywood.Why bother?Two clients? She didn’t care if one of them was the star of a primetime action drama or the other desperately needed to get back in shape to make her grand return as a champion cyclist. They could either be passed to another trainer or reschedule for tomorrow. Her mornings were wide open!
The car shut off. Both Paige and Rhea sat in silence, neither moving.
Paige could have punched the tension. “This is ridiculous. Why are we fighting?”
She didn’t realize until then that there were a few tears in her wife’s eyes. Rhea wiped them away and put on a brave face as she confidently said, “I don’t know.”
“Guess we’ve got some stuff buried between us.”
“Guess so.”
The air inside of the car already heated up now that the AC was off. “So…” Paige cleared her throat. “What do we do? I don’t feel like talking it out right now. Do you?”
Rhea shook her head. “I don’t even know what I’m thinking. I feel like shit.”
“Me too. Also, you need to go to work.” Rhea took her keys out of the ignition and removed her seatbelt. “I’ll feel better when you get home. I promise.”
“Rhea…” Paige missed her chance to say something right then. Rhea was already at the front door, fumbling for the house key. If Paige wanted to catch up to her before she went inside, then fighting with her own seatbelt and passenger-side door was imminent.
She wanted to talk. Even if they couldn’t decide what to say, she at least wanted that channel of open communication to remain between them.
Paige found Rhea in the living room, leaning against the couch. She had forgotten to remove her shoes. They both had.
“Rhea.” Paige left the front door open as she went straight to her wife and refrained from embracing her. She didn’t want to scare away the only person she had truly loved. “I’m sorry.”
“No… I’m sorry.” Rhea rubbed her eye again. “I’ve been such a baby lately.” She shook her head. “More like a bratty teenager. God. Insufferable.”
“I don’t think you’re insufferable.” Paige’s hands twisted together as she attempted to push down the lump in her throat. “I think you’re the coolest person I’ve ever known.”
Rhea scoffed. “Please. How am I cooler than a woman who has met more celebrities than the D-listers?”
“Um, says the woman who has written like seven novelsandbeen on the bestseller list, let alone picked up by a major publisher. How many people can ever say that? You and I both know this town is full of wannabe scriptwriters who never get past the pitch stage. They go straight to ‘so-and-so stole my idea.’”
Slowly, Rhea nodded. “Yeaaah.”
Paige sheepishly shrugged. “Guess we’re both pretty cool right now in our lives.”
