Yet Sette was plenty awake when she saw the woman before her. No, she wasn’t swept away. Nor was she overwhelmed. Just acutely aware of how lovely Miquela was. Very womanly, in her own way.
“You are not usually attracted to women like me,” Miquela said.
Sette choked on a laugh. “Excuse me?”
“You look at me as if I am a puzzle,” Miquela continued, unfazed. “Not a desire.”
Sette’s mouth went dry. “That’s presumptuous,” she said.
“Is it wrong?”
Sette considered lying. “It’s not typical,” she admitted. “For me.”
“Ah.”
“But you’re not exactly subtle,” Sette added, to regain ground.
“I do not wish to be subtle.” The words were spoken with such calm certainty that the air thinned between them. Miquela set down her cup with some of that careful certainty. “I should be direct,” she said.
“Should you?”
“Yes.” Miquela’s gaze held hers, steady and bright. “You are interesting. I would like to take you to dinner.”
Ah, there it was. The interest of a lusty woman who set her sights on another.
Sette’s first instinct was to say yes. The second was to say no. The third was to stall while she made up her mind.
She thought of the way her thoughts had been orbiting June for weeks now. The intensity.The cost!The way she felt both powerful and unmoored in June’s heavy orbit.
Something like this was easy in comparison.
“How do you know I’m not seeing someone?” Sette asked, buying time.
Miquela’s smile softened. “I do not.”
“And that doesn’t bother you?”
“It would,” Miquela admitted. “If you said yes too quickly.” When Sette paused, confused, Miquela leaned forward with a conspiratorial tone. “But you hesitate,” she said. “Which tells me you are thinking. I prefer women who think.”
The compliment slid past Sette’s defenses like it was nothing. She inhaled slowly. “This is very efficient of you,” she said, clinging to dry humor.
“I told you,” Miquela replied. “I like to earn things.”
Sette stared at her for a long moment.Dinner. It was so simple.Dinner…Nothing more. They could be friends. They didn’t have to spend the night anywhere, let alone together.Like I’m good at that.Sette didn’t date often, but when she did, sheliked to see how far she could push it on the first date. The only reason she held back with June was because of the cost involved.I bet this woman doesn’t cost a thing besides time and sanity.
“No thanks,” Sette said at last, firm.
Miquela was not necessarily offended. She simply tilted her head, studying Sette’s face as if evaluating her brushstrokes.
“Some other time?” she asked.
“I don’t know.”
Miquela nodded once, accepting rejection without drama. “As you wish,” she said.
She finished her coffee in two measured swallows and rose smoothly from her chair. Miquela slid her jacket sleeve down, smoothing the cuff.
“It was a pleasure, Sette,” she said.
