I haven't written in a while because I've been busy. I'm a grad student, a triathlete, and I work two jobs part time, so as it is I don't sleep much, and I certainly don't have time to go out regularly. So even though I enjoy it, writing is the first thing to go when I'm crunched. Mostly I don't do anything worth writing about (in terms of sex) anyway, unless you want to read about me dancing while doing the dishes in the middle of the night listening to Madonna's "Justify My Love" real quiet so I don't wake my roommates.
Anyway, last week Kale called me. We see each other from time to time, and I still get a tingle when I hear her voice on the phone. But she didn't want to fuck this time. She wanted a favor. "It's ladies' night out," she said. "One of the girls is stuck for a sitter."
"Me? With kids? Seriously, Kale?"
"They'll be in bed when you get there. You'll get paid for doing homework or grading papers or whatever you grad students do that you're always complaining about."
"Eat my ass."
"Purrrrr," she said with a giggle, "is that a yes?"
"Hell no."
But in the end she convinced me. That fucking slut can be persuasive when she's desperate. And the money was considerable, I have to say.
"When is it? And where?"
"Next Friday at eight," and she told me the address.
"That's clear across town. Did you forget I don't have a car?"
"That's easy for you on your bike. I'll meet you there after and drive you home."
"Only if you're not trashed."
"Honestly I'm shocked at the idea. When have you ever known me to do anything to excess?"
That made me laugh. We hung up.
By the time Tuesday came around, I was actually looking forward to it. I had a shitload of work to do, and three or four quiet hours was a godsend. My fixie campus bike has a rack, and I Ioaded that fucker down with books and folders, plus my laptop and other shit in my backpack. Then I bundled up and headed across town.
By the time I got to the address an hour later, my ass was killing me from the extra weight on my back, my toes were numb from the cold biting through my sneakers, and I was in a seriously bad mood. What greeted me at the door did not help my disposition.
As soon as the door opened, I knew I was fucked. This was not a woman dressed for a night out. This was a woman dressed for a night in, wearing fuzzy slippers, flannel pajamas, and hugging herself in her black robe against the cold. Her wavy hair was wet and slick. Her freckled face and soft eyes were bare of any makeup. "Yes?" she said with a perplexed look.
"Let me guess. Wrong night, right?" Fucking perfect.
Then she got it. "Oh no! You're Kelly?"
"That's right."
"Angela was supposed to call you! I'm not going out tonight."
Kale. I'm going to fucking kill her.
"You rode your bike from the campus?"
"No, I unloaded it from my limo parked around the corner and then piled all this shit on it to make myself look pathetic." I said, "Tell Kale thanks a fucking lot." I was supremely pissed, thinking about an hour ride home, plus twenty minutes in the shower to warm up, plus trying to find a quiet place to get three hours of work done on a Friday night, not to mention the three hours of work itself. Suddenly this had become an all-nighter, with an early swim workout and work in the morning.
"Wait. Hold on," she said as I started to turn around. "Let me pay you at least."
"I don't need the money (not exactly true). I need my fucking evening back (very true)."
"You were going to work here," she said, thinking.
"Duh."
"Well why don't you come in then? The kids are asleep and I'm just sitting in here moping behind a book. You can have the entire dining room to yourself for as long as you like."
I looked at her. Sunshine through the clouds. I could call Kale and guilt her into driving me home later. This could work out after all, I thought. "Really?"
"Of course. Absolutely." She stepped aside and motioned with her arm. "Come in, it's freezing out there. You can leave your bike here in the hall."
I hesitated and then followed her into the house, leaning my bike next to the front door. "The dining room is this way," she said. She put a finger to her lips and pointed upstairs. The kids. I nodded and followed her down the hall and through the living room. "I'm Grace," she said. I shook her hand. It was warm and soft to my cold fingers.
It was really a nice place, clean and friendly. She'd done each room and the hall a different color, but each subtle and warm and flowing one to the next. The furnishings looked new, but modest and tasteful, with lots of finished, light colored natural woods and fibers. The cushions and pillows were colorful but tuned to one another like the strings of a piano. The TV was large without being obtrusive. Walking through her house made me like her, and I was embarrassed by how I'd acted. "Listen," I said, "sorry about popping off before. I was way out of line."
Her eyes were glistening when she motioned me into the dining room. "It's okay," she said, forcing a smile. "Will this do?" The table was long and clear, the low back chairs comfortable.
"Perfect." I said slinging my backpack onto a chair. "So why aren't you out with the girls tonight?"
"Oh," she said with a dismissive air, "man trouble. You know how it is."
"Actually I don't."
She frowned at me a moment, then the light clicked on. "Oh! So you're..."
"Gay," I said. "Lesbian."