“There’s table service.” Marie lifted a hand to the cocktail waitress, so Kaelee took the seat next to Marie rather than sitting across from her. The petite woman’s comfort with control was alluring, and Kaelee had to wonder if she’d stay that way if they went upstairs. Though she only rarely managed it, Kaelee appreciated a woman who could perhaps take control from her.
It’s been so long,Kaelee mused. Typically, most women saw her masculine haircut and gym-addicted body and assumed that she was only interested in giving. She was often happy to allow that assumption, but she wasn’t a true stone top. With the right woman, or enough alcohol, she could sometimes let go.
After they ordered—a vodka tonic for Marie and a cognac for Kaelee—there was a not-unpleasant silence. A good drink, a gorgeous woman, and a nice atmosphere, these were the things that improved any day.
“Are you here alone?” Kaelee asked, glancing toward the lobby.
“Aside from you, yes.” Marie flashed an empathetic smile. “Afraid there’s a third person?”
“It’s happened, and I don’t want to end up going upstairs to find an unwelcome surprise.”
“I’ve been there. Not my interest, so no worries.” Marie leaned forward, and the motion rather expertly drew Kaelee’s eye to the cleavage before her. “What do you do in such situations? I’ll admit to being a diva about it. I’m not someone’s unicorn to add spice to their marriage.”
“I leave. Not big on scenes or dramatics, but men aren’t of interest to me.” Kaelee thought back to the years she’d been forced to attempt a heteronormative life, to the times that she’d forced herself to try to find a man’s awkward fumbling exciting. She added lightly, “I tried years ago. It didn’t take.”
“I’ve never tried, but…” She paused as the waitress dropped off their drinks. “I’m in room 212. Can you bill them to my room?”
“Flag me down to sign before you go.” The waitress smiled. “Or if you need another round.”
“No. You can close the tab,” Marie said firmly.
The waitress nodded. “I’ll grab it now.”
“So… you’re here just tonight?” Kaelee asked when they were alone again.
Marie shrugged. “Maybe tomorrow night or even the weekend. It depends.”
“On?”
“My mood, mostly.” Marie sipped her drink, and Kaelee appreciated the flirtatious way Marie paused and licked the rim of her glass when she noticed Kaelee’s attention. A flirty smile followed, and then Marie added, “There’s no one waiting at home—by my choice—so I can stay or go back at my whim. No pets. No work over the weekend. Why not stay here a couple days?”
“Where’s home?”
“New York.”
“Not bad,” Kaelee murmured. “No girlfriend or boyfriend there, then?”
“I wouldn’t be planning on taking you to my room if there were. I have never been unfaithful,” Marie said mildly, but there was a bite there. Someone in her life had, maybe cheated on her, maybe cheated on a friend, but Marie was hostile over it. Her tone was unflinching, as was her gaze, as she asked, “And you?”
The waitress returned, and Marie signed.
Kaelee was grateful for the interruption. She’d almost laughed at the thought of a relationship. She was terrified of anything evenremotely commitment-shaped, personal or career. She’d switched her academic focus from history to lit, and she’d stalled on shopping her book to the point that she already had severalother booksdrafted and edited. She’d hadonerelationship in her life, but that was honestly more platonic than relationship. Branson had been one of her best friends, and he knew that she was not into men, but he’d mysteriously ended their faux relationship one day. Without Bran’s protection, she’d been forced to come out.
A year later, he watched while Kyle Gray—almost ten years her senior—dropped to a knee and slid a ring on her hand while their families stood around smiling and clapping.
Those thoughts went to bad places, so all Kaelee said was, “I don’t do that.”
“Serious relationships?”
“Date,” Kaelee clarified. “Ever. I have friends, and sometimes I have one-night connections. That’s it. Once or twice I had fuck friends. But… I’m not relationship inclined.”
Marie raised a delicately shaped brow. “I see.”
“I was pretty clear on my profile, so if you’re looking for something else, I should go before this gets awkward.” Kaelee felt regret as she said it, but there would be no confusion here. She couldn’t handle getting entangled with a woman who thought a hookup was a prelude to more.
“You should stay.” Marie reached out and put a hand on Kaelee’s wrist, not gripping it but resting there with purpose. “I don’t date either. I have in the past, but it’s been years. I don’t have the time for that currently, but sometimes I want a bit of affection.”
“Same.”
