As she looked out at Lake Michigan glittering in the sunshine, she let out a small laugh. Things were most definitely moving in the right direction.
“You did what?” Marina stood outside Carrera’s, a light breeze making her little black dress stick to her. “Rob, we were going to celebrate. Why on Godzilla’s green earth would you set me up on a blind date?”
“Because I can’t make it. Jeff has a stomach bug, and I need to stay home to baby him. And I knew I wouldn’t catch you before you got there. At least give her a chance. Jeff said she’s super cute and likes a bit of kink. Just the way you like them.”
“You haven’t even met her?” Marina squeezed her eyes shut for a second and then started looking for a taxi to wave down. “No. No way in hell. Jeff is a great guy, but?—”
“You should probably stop that sentence there, my love.” Rob’s voice was the kind of firm it only became when she was about to cross a line. “Stay or don’t, but it isn’t like you have anyone to run home to.” He said something to Jeff in the background. “Gotta go. Love you. Get laid.”
She ended the call and looked around. No. This wasn’t going to happen?—
“Oh my gosh. You’re just as beautiful as Jeff said you’d be.”
She turned and looked at the young person who’d sidled up beside her. Wide-eyed innocence of a different generation looked back at her. Longish hair on top was pulled back to show an undercut with a peace symbol shaved into the side. She sighed internally.Fucking Jeff.“Sorry, I wasn’t given your name.”
“Totally, no worries. It’s Binky. Like inky, but with a B.” She ran her hand over her undercut and winked. “Nickname, obvs. But it’s what everyone calls me.”
Marina stared at her, counting off options in her head. One: turn around and leave, hopefully never to see baby masc Binky ever again. Two: see how things went and maybe accept the use of a lithe body for the night to work out some tension.Fuck it. “Shall we go in?”
Binky hurried up the stairs and pulled open the door, waving her in ceremoniously. “After you.”
Marina tried not to grimace at the overdone act of chivalry. “Thank you.” They were seated quickly, and she was glad she’d stayed if only so she could eat. The scent of cilantro and paprika, the tang of lime…she was practically salivating. And at least she wouldn’t have to eat alone. She ordered a glass of white wine and didn’t miss the flash of judgment in Binky’s eyes.
“Just a bottle of water for me, thanks.” She grinned a little as the waiter left. “I treat my body like a temple, and alcohol is a kind of poison, you know?” When Marina failed to respond, she continued. “Anyway, Jeff said you’re a really powerful attorney. Tell me about it. What do you love about what you do?”
Marina took a breath to answer, then stopped as she found there wasn’t an answer ready. “I like to win,” she finally said. “I like to argue, and I like to win. And I’m damn good at it. What do you do?”
Binky’s perfectly trimmed eyebrows drew in. “That seems like a really aggressive reason to enjoy a career. I mean, doesn’t all that negative vibing get you down? Like, I volunteer at a charity for underappreciated cats, and it’s all about the love.”
Something stronger than wine might be needed to get through this meal. “How do you underappreciate a cat? They’re little assholes who want to be fed and stroked occasionally after destroying your house just for the fun of it.”
Binky’s eyes widened like Marina had suggested feline extinction as an option to better living. “All animals are incredible, and cats have beautiful personalities. They’re full of fun and love, and they’re so independent.”
Marina looked toward the kitchen, praying for their food to come out so she didn’t have to continue talking. Or listening. “You said you volunteer there. What’s your day job?”
Binky shook her head. “I haven’t found my truth yet. I’m still working on figuring out who I am and what I want to be when I grow up. Not that I ever want to! I’m hoping to stay young at heart forever.”
“I’m guessing you live with a couple of queer roommates?”
Binky sat back to allow the server to put down her avocado salad. “That’s next. Right now I’m still living with my parents. They’re happy to have me there, but I’m hoping to have a place to call my own by the time I’m thirty.”
Dear god, I hope I choke to death on this food.Marina nodded as though that was normal. “Why not. Who wouldn’t want their kid under their roof for an extra ten or so years? No point in having freedom when their adorable progeny turns eighteen, is there? What would they do with all that spare time anyway?”
She dug into the tamales and was transported home, to her mother’s kitchen where she and her grandmother would make them from scratch. These were nearly as good, and she looked around at the half-circle booths, the ceiling that mimicked fabric blowing in the wind, and wished for just a second that she was back in Pilsen, eating with family and friends in a raucous, lively arena of banter and bad jokes. That felt like a different lifetime though. One she didn’t let herself think about.
“So, you’re a meat-eater, too?” Binky seemed to add this to the growing pile of bad attributes. “You know, a single cow needs at least eight acres of land. Cattle farming is so bad for the environment, and so cruel, too.”
Marina took a too large bite and chewed in an exaggerated manner. “But they taste so good,” she said after swallowing and dabbing at her lips with a napkin.
Binky just shook her head, looking as dejected as a child who’s been told there’s no Santa.
Marina continued to eat, savoring every bite and continuing to people watch. When she finished, she took out her phone and sipped her wine as she checked her email.
“So…” Binky set her fork down noisily. “Did you want to get a drink somewhere after this?”
Marina closed her email and weighed her options again. One: go home alone and enjoy a night on the couch with her vibrator followed by a Netflix binge. Two: go get drunk with Binky and have a night of tender, kink-adjacent, consensually formatted sex filled with endearments and screaming the nameBinky. “I think I’ll pass. I’m sure you can find someone on your wavelength. A cat-loving vegan with no ambition must be waiting just around the corner.”
Binky’s cheeks turned pink. “No need to be rude.” She fumbled out a wallet with a cartoon character on it.
