“That’s awesome. You deserve all the happiness, and now that tax season is finally almost over, maybe I can drive up and see your new house and meet Ember ... and your girlfriend.”
“I’d like that.”
“Great. Oh, and leave Mom to me. I’ll get through to her,” Jen said. “She’s not hopeless, at least I don’t think she is. She’s just set in her ways, which is a lame excuse, I know, but she loves you. I’ll make her realize how ridiculous she’s being.”
Marin sighed. “I appreciate that, but please ... I don’t want to come between you and your mom.”
“You aren’t. This is all on her, but I’m going to fix it.”
Marin heard the sound of Charlotte’s SUV pulling into the driveway. “Thank you. I really appreciate that, and I wish I could talk longer, but my girlfriend just got here. We’re going out to dinner with another couple tonight.”
“Ooh, a lesbian double date,” Jen said with a laugh. “Sounds awesome. Okay, enjoy dinner, and email me with some dates that work for me to visit. My schedule’s about to be wide open, so let’s plan something.”
“Count on it. And good luck getting everyone’s taxes filed on time.”
Jen groaned. “I’ll need it. Thanks.”
Marin ended the call feeling cautiously hopeful. Whether or not Jen could get through to Nancy, her support meant a lot. Marin hurried to the front door. She saw Charlotte almost every day, and yet the anticipation and the chemistry she felt in Charlotte’s presence never seemed to diminish. Charlotte was the highlight of her day, every day.
Marin opened the front door. Charlotte had on a green knit dress and black boots. The pink-and-green scarf she’d been wearing when they met on the bus was at her throat. It went perfectly with the dress while evoking an avalanche of memories. “You look amazing.”
“Thanks. You look great too.” Charlotte pulled her in for a quick kiss as Ember darted out the front door and began to run in circles around her. “And hi to you, too, Ember.”
“At this point, it’s hard to say who’s more excited to see you,” Marin joked. She felt pleasantly warm just from having Charlotte’s hand on her hip.
“You, I hope.” Charlotte kissed her again, and Marin’s pulse got even faster.
“Keep that up, and I won’t even want to go to dinner.”
“Liar.” Charlotte’s eyes sparkled. “You’ve talked about nothing but our double date with Audrey and Michelle all week.”
“That’s true,” Marin admitted. “But afterward ... stay here tonight?”
Charlotte nodded. “I brought an overnight bag with me.”
Marin pulled her in for another kiss. “Perfect.”
Charlotte had been a little bit intimidated about going on a double date with another sapphic couple, but she needn’t have been, because Michelle and Audrey were great. Charlotte was really enjoying herself. Although she was the only person at the table without a background in academia, her parents were both professors, so she could hold her own when the conversation inevitably turned to Northshire University.
“I don’t miss it a bit,” Michelle said as she lifted her wineglass. “That place was sucking me dry.”
That drew a surprised chuckle from Charlotte. “Really? I thought everyone loved teaching there.”
Michelle shook her head. “Not me.”
“You loved it once upon a time ...” Audrey gave her fiancée a bump with her shoulder.
Their dessert arrived before Michelle could respond. She and Audrey had ordered an enormous slice of carrot cake to share, while Charlotte and Marin had chosen separate desserts, a chocolate torte for Marin and crème brûlée for Charlotte. Marin had asked if she wanted to share something, but that felt too much like a date activity. Charlotte was still wary of people she knew seeing her and realizing this was a date instead of an outing with friends.
She hated feeling like she had one foot in the closet and the other one out, double-dating with Marin while not being ready to acknowledge Marin as her girlfriend to anyone else she knew. She had to make up her mind about coming out, and soon.
While they ate dessert, Audrey entertained them with tales of mishaps at the pottery wheel, and then they split the check and walked outside. It had begun to rain, and the temperature had dropped. Charlotte shivered as they lingered under the awning to say good night.
“We should do this again sometime,” Audrey said. “It’s so fun having another sapphic couple to hang out with.”
“Definitely,” Marin agreed, then darted a hesitant glance at Charlotte. “If you think so too?”
“I do.” Charlotte grabbed Marin’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “That sounds really nice.”
