I stood up and wiped the crumbs off my dress, I looked across East Houston Street and nearly choked on my spit. I suddenly had to sit down or faint.
Robin looked alarmed. “What is it?”
I coughed, cleared my throat, and soon found a new composure I hadn’t thought possible. Across East Houston Street had been Faith coming out of a shop alone. Not a hair on her head had changed in all these years. Perhaps she did look a bit tired from where I sat, but the most startling difference was how little effect she had on me, once I’d gotten over the shock. Gone was any spark of interest. Gone were all the emotions I had harbored about her for years—the anger, the hurt, the love. It hit me that I had felt all these things for a person I really didn’t know.
Most surprisingly, I realized that I had absolutely no regrets about it. In fact, I silently thanked Faith for giving me the strength and basis for comparison as I was about to embark on a new and greatly improved relationship with Robin. Faith had done me the greatest favor by making me dump her. I pitied any woman who fell victim to her charms the way I did, but I also knew she’d get hers someday.
I was so over her.
Fueled beyond words, I gave Robin the grandest smile. “Oh, nothing. Just realized what a blessing you are.”
“That’s a relief. You looked like you were about to choke.”
She took most of our packages, while I grabbed what was left off the bench, and without a free hand, we ventured to the subway for the quickest way home, my thoughts only on what ways I could seduce the love of my life over an indoor picnic on my bed.
Waking up with Robin in my bed was bliss. I blinked several times to check that she was really there. She fought not to let me go in the shower, but agreed after my promises to make us a full Russ and Daughters feast. With the lox, eggs and onion ready and warming on plates in the oven at low temperature, I toasted bagels, and then washed the cooking utensils, pans and dishes. Unable to remember all the words from the popular ‘70s tunes, I sang, “Skippity-do-da,” swaying my hips in time to the rhythm in my head. I placed the clean frying pan on the drain board, belting out every song that popped into my mind from Donna Fargo and Karen Carpenter tunes popular in my youth when Robin wrapped her arms around me from behind.
I jumped. “Robin! You scared the bejesus out of me.”
“I had no idea you liked to sing and make up your own words. Is there anything else I should know about?”
“I don’t think so,” I replied. “Except for maybe my middle name is Melody.”
“That explains it. I see I’m going to have to get used to jam and song. This is good news since I already have the woman.”
That was not the only thing she was going to have to get used to because we’d both have to make adjustments. We couldn’t exactly compromise by living in the middle of the ocean, so deciding on who would move would be a major hurdle. Then there would be all the little decisions in between—how often the phone calls would be, where we would celebrate the holidays, when and how we would meet each other’s families when they were a plane ride away from each other? The biggest hurdle was: would a long-distance relationship be enough? But being together forever meant visas, sacrifices, commitment, and lifestyle changes for at least her or me. It was all so very complicated and expensive and emotionally risky if it didn’t work out.
There was much about being together that would be hard, and there’d be adjustments to make on both our ends.
But we were not going to let a little pond stand in our way.
ABOUT CHERI CRYSTAL
Cheri Crystal is a healthcare professional by day and writes erotic romances by night. She was born and raised in New York and lives in the United Kingdom with her wife. Cheri began writing fiction in 2003 after reviewing for Lambda Book Report, Just About Write, Independent Gay Writer and other e-zines. She is the author of Attractions of the Heart, a 2010 Golden Crown Literary Winner for lesbian erotica. In her spare time, she enjoys swimming, hiking, viewing wildlife, cooking, jigsaw puzzles and spending quality time with family and friends. Visit www.chericrystal.com and friend her on Facebook for the latest news.
CONNECT WITH CHERI CRYSTAL:
Webseite: www.chericrystal.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/chericrystal
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© 2015 by Cheri Crystal
ISBN (mobi): 978-3-95533-384-3
ISBN (epub): 978-3-95533-385-0
Also available as paperback.
Published by Ylva Publishing, legal entity of Ylva Verlag, e.Kfr.
Ylva Verlag, e.Kfr.
Owner: Astrid Ohletz
Am Kirschgarten 2
65830 Kriftel
Germany
www.ylva-publishing.com
First edition: December 2015
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.
Credits
Edited by Michelle Aguilar
Proofread by Joan Bassler
Cover Design & Printlayout by Streetlight Graphics
Across the Pond Page 21