No sex with Greta. She said so.
“What are you scowling at?” Cherie threw a dart with laser precision. “I have another date coming in thirty minutes, so talk fast before you wander off to sulk in the corner.”
Maybe it was odd, but Kaelee had started going on a few of Cherie’s date meetups. Not on the actual date, but just to the location as a backup to be sure Cherie was safe. Cherie had one couple show up seeking their unicorn, and one creepy man who had posed as a woman on an app because he wanted to “convert” a lesbian, so Kaelee had taken to going out to wherever Cherie was meeting her date to make sure the person or situation wasn’t something problematic.
I can edit in a bar as easily as my office,Kaelee told herself.
“Are your edit notes awful? You keep scowling that hard, you’ll wrinkle.” Cherie pouted as if the thought of wrinkling was sad.
“No. Edits are actually done. I’m tinkering at this point,” Kaelee confessed.
“Is it your celibacy problem?” Cherie’s next dart was tight enough to the one in the bull’s-eye that the first dart that was there wobbled and fell. “Don’t think I don’t know themy girl isn’t getting anylook.”
“Maybe? I’m not used to wanting things but not going after them.” Kaelee scanned the bar, mostly out of habit. “I wanted Marie, but that ship sailed. And no one else…” She shrugged. “And I’m feeling paranoid this week, I guess. My door was unlocked the other day. I’m probably just forgetful and left it that way, but…”
“Anything missing?”
“No. I could have forgotten, or maybe the super was up, or…”
Cherie plopped into the chair opposite her. “Trust your gut. You know that. Whatever the secret you don’t tell me is, it’s enough that you have four locks. That speaks.Trust your gut.”
Kaelee nodded. “I am getting it rekeyed.”
“Good.” Cherie eyed her and said, “You need to figure out how to get that smile back, too. You have the career, the TA, the first of two degrees. So, what are you missing? What would make you smile? New car? Wasn’t your book deal…significant?”
Kaelee flipped her off. “My car still runs fine. I’m not going to replace her just because I got a check.”
Her book deal wasn’t the sort of money Toni had made, but she had been paid one hundred twenty-five thousand a book. Signing for two books meant she had been paid sixty thousand, less her agent’s fifteen percent, already. That left her with fifty grand in her account, which replaced almost all her living expenses during the years she finished college and her master’s degree. Then there would be a check when the book was accepted. That covered the rest and gave a slight cushion. Her teaching assistantship had already kept her withdrawals low, but the first publishing checks replaced all that she had withdrawn.
The on-print check would put her balanceabovethe original figure.
“Okay, your car runs, and your clothes aren’t that tattered.” Cherie gave her a once-over. “And even if they were, you are so cheap you squeak.”
“What does that even mean?”
“I don’t know. Cheap shoes? Ass clenched so tight it’s rubbing?” Cherie waved her hand. “How am I to know? Do I look like a linguist to you?”
“Don’t knock linguists. They’re often good with their tongues.” Kaelee kept a straight face as she made this declaration. “Worth looking for if you’re dating…”
“Perv.” Cherie rolled her eyes. “You talk like this when you’re defensive, you know.”
“Ouch.” Kaelee put a hand over her heart. “You’re brutal, Cher.”
“Call a locksmith.” Cherie poked at her phone. “Now. Leave a message. I can stay there tonight, and we’ll move something in front of the door. Do you have pepper spray?”
“You have a date.”
“I also have a friend who is anxious and opening up. Do you know how often that happens?” Cherie marched over to an empty table. “You sit here until my date ends. Then we go home. Research locksmiths while I’m busy.”
Kaelee followed her gaze to the doorway, where a very femme young woman was pushing up her glasses as she fumbled for a wallet, obviously being carded. As Cherie walked away, Kaelee cringed. This was not the chivalrous woman Cherie was seeking. She certainly wasn’t thethrow her down and ravish hersort either. At least she seemed like she was actually in the right age group for Cherie. There had been one man who showed up with a girl young enough to be his kid, and the pedo vibes were intense. They’d separated the man from her long enough to check that the young woman wasn’t being sex trafficked. It was all sorts of ick.
Tonight, at least, there was nothing creepy or potentially illegal.And hey, maybe Cherie would click with the awkward woman and reassess what she wanted.
Like I did with Greta.
That was the other thought that was worrying Kaelee. She wasn’t sure who she could talk to about that. Certainly not Toni!Oh hey, I’ve been naked with our editor, and I can’t stop missing her.That sounded like a horrible conversation. And she thought maybe she could talk to Addie, but since Toni and Addie had zero secrets, telling Addie was telling Toni.
Cherie was new to dating women, but not new todating.
