“Let me know what they say about your apartment,” Drew said. She grabbed her leather jacket and threw it on.
“I will. Do you think Pearl could stay at your place today? She isn’t destructive, and I can work out the litter box situation before I leave for work.”
“Of course. Pearl is welcome to hang out,” Drew smiled at the cat. Pearl gave a lazy yawn then strode off for the bedroom.
Drew leaned in and gave Brooke one final kiss before turning towards the door. So far the day had been going in a positive direction. She couldn’t wait to get Tatum’s feedback on this new development. Drew was sure that her friend would have plenty to say. She ran across the street to her tattoo shop with a smile played out across her lips.Did I really just ask Brooke out, and did Brooke really say yes?Drew wasn’t exactly sure what to expect from their date, but she did have an inkling that her life was about to get more interesting.
Tatum hadn’t been this invested in Drew’s life since she’d dated a woman who was on probation and wearing an ankle monitor. Her friend had peppered her with questions all morning. Now, as Drew’s tattoo gun was poised over a nervous looking guy in his early twenties Tatum’s questions continued.
“How are you going to break the news to Robin?” Tatum asked.
“What do you mean? I’m not breaking up with her,” Drew laughed.
“Drew, come on,” Tatum rolled her eyes.
“What? We’re not committed. Why should it matter if I’m dating her and someone else?”
“Because you’ve been out on four dates,” Tatum responded. The exasperation in her friend’s tone was palpable.
“Is four dates significant?” Drew asked. Tatumn pinned her with a glare.
“Four dates is around the time in lesbian dating where you start taking things seriously. The fact that you’re now starting to date someone else is a clear indication that you are not taking things with Robin seriously.”
Drew focused in on the long line she was currently tattooing. While purposefully ignoring Tatumn’s observation she couldn’t help seeing the truthfulness of it. Four dates couldbe considered purposeful dating. Drew hadn’t considered her interactions with Robin to be purposeful. Their conversations had never gone below the surface. On two of their dates Robin hadn’t asked Drew a single question about herself.
Drew emboldened herself by the remembrance that she and Robin hadn’t experienced any of the typical markers. They hadn’t kissed or even held hands. How could she possibly consider the thing between them as serious. Tatum still fixed her with a sardonic smile. Drew held her gun above her client’s arm and pinned Tatumn with a glare of her own.
“Oh, don’t give me that look,” Tatumn whined. When Drew rolled her eyes Tatumn continued her thought.
“All I mean is look at you. Somehow you went from not wanting to date anyone to dating two beautiful women at the same time. I’m impressed.”
Drew knew that Tatumn was being genuine. Try as she might, Drew wasn’t sure how she felt about being congratulated for dating both women. She had never been the sort to have something going with more than one woman at a time. Brooke had held a strong place in her mind ever since they’d met. Drew had been drawn to the woman like a moth to a candle. Unfortunately, like a month to a candle Drew had come to expect a little pain in their interactions. It wasn’t all warmth; there was a burning to Brooke. Robin on the other hand was everything that Drew had been told that she should like. Robin was talented and driven. She was the kind of woman who was going to geteverything she’d ever wanted by the sheer power of her will and hard work. Robin had many admirable qualities. But Drew couldn’t help feeling as though Robin liked keeping her around for arm candy. She was everything Drew was supposed to want, but Drew wasn’t sure that she wanted Robin. She wasn’t even sure that Robin truly wanted her. How had she ended up dating two women who were equally hard to figure out?
Chapter 11
A dull throbbing pain had begun to form behind Brooke’s eyes. The day had started favorably with the talk between herself and Drew. Everything since this morning had seemed designed to bother and fluster her. The plumber was late by several hours. Now he was inside her apartment doing heaven only knew what. Brooke glanced up as the plumber emerged from the bathroom.
“She’s all fixed. You won’t have any more problems with your pipes.”
Brooke took in the sight of the plumber. The man had an unmanageable mass of blonde curls on the top of his head. The name badge on his uniform shirt was Jack.
“Thank goodness,” Brooke breathed a sigh of relief.
“You’ll have to have someone come out to fix the damage to your floors though,” Jack suggested.
“What?”
“Well yeah, the water damage is pretty apparent.”
Brooke fixed the man with a desperate stare, but he offered only a shrug in response.
“It’ll be okay. They’ll probably just replace the damaged sections,” Jack offered.
Brooke was utterly unsoothed despite Jack’s reassurances.
She called her landlord, who insisted that the damage would be worked on and fixed as soon as possible, though he offered no timeline. Frustrated, Brooke sent Drew a text message.
“Well, the pipes are fixed. Looks like I’ll have to wait on them to fix the floors though.”
