Cindy glanced at me across the truck. "Are you having fun now, Charlotte? You seem a lot better."
I looked at her, and she grinned at me. I realized she was right. I'd been getting into a deeper funk since the guys started drinking at the diner, and then the whole time we'd been bowling.
Actually, I'd been stewing at Jay all week. We'd rented this place in the woods from Cindy and Don. So we could talk about our marriage, I thought. Instead he'd been fishing with Don every day and then trying to seduce me in the nights. No talking, just trying to kiss me, sweet talk me into bed. As if everything was all right and we didn't have any issues.
After bowling, we herded the guys into the back of Cindy's truck and in less than a mile they were asleep. It was a lot better without them being stupid. Although Cindy and I had only met last week, and she was really private, she was easy to be with. I could feel the dreary feelings melting away.
"You're right, Cindy. I hated that whole bowling scene. I'm looking forward to being back at the house. Between Jay trying to feel me up there in the alley and your husband Don egging him on, I was just getting more and more pissed off."
She slapped the steering wheel and guffawed loudly. "Husband? That jerk?" She laughed again. "Nah, he's my brother. I got rid of the husband."
I was laughing too. "Sorry, I just assumed. You must think I'm really stupid, but we haven't really talked. And, well, you listed the house together. We emailed both of you when we were renting it from you. We sent the check to Cindy and Don March, and you live together, and you do wear a wedding band, so...."
"So, naturally, I'm married to the jerk. I wonder why your husband never figured it out. Jay's been fishing with Don for four days, you'd think he'd know, but he was still pumping him for what our sex life was like even this afternoon."
"I figured it was nonexistent, pretty much like ours. You only have to see your face when you're with him to realize you're not interested."
"You got that right. He lives in the basement, with his hunting and fishing stuff, beer, and porn."
"God, he sounds just like my husband." I hesitated. "What happened to yours?"
She grimaced. "He was this real charmer. I met him when he was in the middle of a horrible divorce. Had this cute little girl. Laura. She asked me to be her mommy. First and only time I ever fell for anybody. Laura, that is, not Jerko. Then, when he moved in, he started drinking and screaming at me. I got my out my daddy's shotgun the one and only time he tried to lay hands on me. He left and never came back, especially after I told him the sheriff might be interested in his meth lab. The divorce was final 6 months later, and I got custody of Laura. I kept the ring to keep the creeps away."
"Sounds like you got the best possible deal out of a bad situation. And nobody since then? I can't believe you don't have a boyfriend, so pretty and all." She was pretty. She had short dark hair, a winning smile, beautiful eyes, graceful strong hands. I'd loved watching her moving about, her skirts in a whirl.
"No." She was silent for a long time, driving. Then quietly, she added, "Besides, I'm only interested in women these days." She glanced at me before looking back at the road. "That all right with you?" She paused. "I'm not trying to put the make on you."
"I know." Guiltily, I glanced at her. In fact, I'd been trying not to stare at her body since we'd gotten there. Been watching her bowling. Watching her watching me. I'd never been with a woman, although I'd been fantasizing about women for years. Chatting with women online for over a year. Flirting online. I'd never told Jay. Never told anybody.
"Although, now that I think about it," I said, "you already have a girlfriend, right? That cute Asian woman who came by today? She kind of looked like she was undressing me with her eyes when she said she was looking for you."
She was slapping the wheel again with laughter. "May? Nah, she's a fudgie. She came by for a massage."
"Fudgie?"
"You know, a tourist. Fishing widow, like you. Her fiance is out on the lake all day too. The fudgies take over all the fudge shops and antique stores all day while their guys are out on the lake. I'm guessing May's thinking about whether she'd like to seduce the massage girl but hasn't ever been with a girl. She's had three massages this week. I might have to let her."
"Let her? You mean, like, let her seduce you?"
She glanced at me and nodded with a grin. "She's cute, don't you think? Gymnast's body, muscular and flexible. Mischievous smile. And she's gotta sow her wild oats before she marries her fishing boy in the fall."
I swallowed. "How often do you do that?" I asked, as nonchalantly as my pounding heart would allow.
"What, you mean sleep with a fudgie?" She hesitated. "Maybe a one or two times a summer. It kind of gets old, having to get used to a new girl so often. I haven't had a real girlfriend in maybe nine or ten years. Just sex, no connection. It's just the winters get so lonely, nobody but me and my fingers and a few cybersex friends. And the occasional girl/girl video." She glanced at me again, and I blushed in the dark, looked away.
"Girl/girl video?" Would I never stop blushing?
"Yeah. You know, porn, but without any boys."
It was my turn to hesitate. "I, uh, watched a couple of those online, but they're not very sexy."
Now she was looking at me hard for a few seconds, then back at the road. "You did? What for?"
I had to force myself to breathe. "I guess to see if it was interesting," I said slowly. Suddenly the words were tumbling out. "They all seem to be made by guys. I mean, what real women have sex in high heels and stockings and a ton of makeup, making sure that their crotches are visible to someone who's not in the bed with them? Oh, and they're always shaved!"