No Experience Required

by Kimberly Cooper Griffin

  Sunlight slanted in through the bedroom window and crept across Izzy’s face, waking her from a deep, dreamless sleep. Her hips, her inner thighs, and her glutes protested as she rolled to her back and stretched like a lazy dog. When she reached over for Jane, she encountered a warm furry body. A quick scan of the bed and the room told Izzy that, aside from the two cats who were curled together on Jane’s pillow, she was alone. The rich scent of coffee promised that Jane wasn’t far away, though.

  Izzy extracted herself from the tangled sheets and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. They’d certainly made a mess. She smiled. Raising her arms over her head, she stretched again, enjoying the announcement of muscles she hadn’t used in an extremely long time. She found her jeans and shirt on the floor at the foot of the bed and pulled them on, tucking her panties into her pocket. The cats watched her with unaffected gazes from their fur-limbed huddle. Were they used to overnight guests?

  This isn’t going to last.

  She shook her head to stop her inner voice. Let me just have this moment!

  She straightened the bed around Jane’s cats and scratched behind their ears, knowing she needed to get back to Gus and her own cats. They’d be okay for food, but they were definitely not used to being home alone all night.

  The coffee smelled good, but her bladder told her to make a pit stop before she did anything else. A little mouthwash would be nice, too. A plastic-wrapped toothbrush, the type dentists gave away at appointments, lay on the bathroom counter next to a tube of toothpaste.

  When she finished in the bathroom, Izzy wandered down the short hall to the small kitchen, where she found Jane at the stove wearing a short, flowered robe. She slipped up behind her and wrapped her arms around her waist, nuzzling her neck.

  “Good morning, gorgeous,” she murmured between kisses.

  Jane put down the spatula she was holding and pressed into her, bending her head to the side to give her access to her neck. Izzy grazed her lips along the warm skin. God, she smelled so good.

  “It is a good morning,” Jane said, turning and wrapping her arms around Izzy’s neck. “A very, very good morning.”

  Jane kissed her with all the intensity of the kisses they’d shared throughout the night, and heat filled Izzy. She slid her hands into the robe and let her hands wander over the bare flesh of Jane’s back.

  Jane pulled away, panting. Izzy tried to coax her back, but Jane laughed and retied her robe.

  “I’m going to burn your omelet. You were supposed to sleep until I woke you up with kisses and breakfast in bed.”

  Izzy pulled out the front of her shirt and pretended to fan herself. “Your kiss woke me up. But if you want, I can go back and pretend to sleep.”

  Izzy leaned against the counter while Jane slid the omelet from the pan onto a plate beside two pieces of toast and a sliced orange. Izzy’s stomach growled. It smelled like heaven. Jane handed it to her and picked up an identical plate.

  “Too late. The moment has passed, and breakfast is ready.”

  Jane set her plate on a tray with a carafe of coffee and two yellow ceramic mugs, and led Izzy to a small, wrought-iron table on the patio near the fountain. The gurgling water blocked the sounds of nearby traffic, and the little yard was partitioned off from the main house by a tall trellis with vines growing all over it. More of the fragrant white trumpet flowers hung interspersed with the vibrant green. A pergola with a mesh sun block over it protected them from direct sunlight. The summer morning was already warm.

  “It’s beautiful out here. Have you lived here long?” Izzy settled at the table where Jane had already placed napkins, silverware, and things to doctor their coffee. She spread her napkin over her lap.

  “About five years. It’s perfect for just me and the animals. I’ve been thinking about buying something, though. At my age, it seems like I should own my own home.”

  “There’s something to be said for being able to call someone to fix your garbage disposal or toilet when something goes wrong.” She took a bite of her omelet. “This is so good!”

  Jane smiled. “Omelets are my specialty.” Her brow furrowed. “I hadn’t really thought about not being able to call someone to fix things.”

  “You just need the right friends. I’m pretty handy, but between my dad, my sister, and my brothers, I have plenty of options if I need to call someone when something breaks.”

  “Your family lives nearby?” Jane asked.

  “Yep. All of them, aside from my nephew Travis, who’s in the air force and stationed in Germany. My mom and dad are here, as are all seven of my siblings, the rest of their twenty-seven children, and eleven grandchildren.”

  Jane’s eyebrows shot up over the edge of her coffee mug. “Wow! You have a huge family!”

  “It can be a little much at times, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.” Izzy had a sudden image of introducing Jane to her family. A pleasant flutter in her stomach was followed by a major rush of apprehension. Her knee started to bounce, and she had to force herself to hold it still. Too much. Too fast. Slow. Slow. Slow. Stop! “Do you have any brothers and sisters?”

  Jane’s eyes lowered, and she took a sip of her coffee. “One of each. Leticia and Alejandro. They both live out of state.”

  Izzy had expected Jane to close down when the topic of her family came up. However, while her shine dulled a little, Izzy didn’t think she was completely shut down. “Are you close to them?”

  Jane looked up at the sky. “Not as close as we used to be. My sister married a military guy, and they moved out of the country when he got stationed in Japan. My dad was not at all happy about her marrying a marine—especially a non-Latinx marine. And even worse, she got pregnant before they were married. The situation put a lot of stress on the family for a while. Then I came out of the closet, taking the spotlight off her and triggering World War III.” Jane started stacking their breakfast dishes on the tray.

  Izzy helped clear the table. “Oh, no. Are they better about it now?”

  “We don’t talk about it.”

  “About any of it? Or just some parts.”

  “Any of it, really. At least my mom and dad don’t. They barely acknowledge Leticia’s husband, but my mom dotes on their two kids—as much as she can with them living in Oklahoma now. As far as me being a lesbian, my dad went ballistic when he found out, and now it’s a don’t-ask, don’t-tell situation.”

  “How are your brother and sister with it?”

  “They’re cool. In fact, my sister got into a huge fight with my parents about their refusal to acknowledge it. It’s been a big part of the distance between everyone. My brother doesn’t come home. I haven’t seen him or his family in five years.”

  Izzy followed Jane into the kitchen, carrying the coffee carafe. “It must be hard.”

  “At times. I don’t think about it much. Or talk about it. I’m not sure why I am now.”

  Jane seemed a little sad, and Izzy hated it, even though it took her mind off her own anxiety.

  “You know what I’m thinking about?” Izzy placed the carafe on the counter and took the tray from Jane’s hands, setting it beside the carafe.

  Jane’s eyes resumed a little of their earlier twinkle. “What are you thinking about?”

  “I’m thinking this robe has been taunting me all through breakfast.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  “This part here especially.” Izzy traced the opening on her chest, sliding her finger between Jane’s breasts and pulling when she reached the tie around her waist. It came undone easily, and the robe dropped open.

  Jane’s chest rose with quick breaths, and she took Izzy’s hand, leading her out of the kitchen. They didn’t make it to the bedroom. When Izzy stopped to kiss her in the hallway, the walking stopped and the groping happened, and the next thing Izzy knew, she had her fingers inside Jane, grateful the wall was there to hold her up.

  * * *

  Sleeping together is usually seen as a serious step in any relations
hip, regardless of the length of time it took to get there. But does having sex with someone mean you’re dating? Good question. It depends on who you are. Some people are comfortable with casual sex. Other people consider sex a sacred act. The answer depends on the people involved and how they view the act of sex. It’s always good to communicate your views to the person you’re considering having sex with.

  Like everything else, communication is key. Am I sounding like a broken record here? Communication. Communication. Communication. I can’t say it enough. It’s the most important thing in any relationship. No one reads minds. If you expect anyone to anticipate your every need or desire, you’re setting yourself up for failure.

  So, when it comes to determining whether you actually are in a relationship or still just having fun with someone, just ask. It’s the fastest and safest way to figure it out.

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Midmorning on Monday, Izzy and Jane entered the elevator and headed to the Traveling Bean coffee truck. They were supposed to meet Audie, who was probably already there, and Hector was just a few minutes behind them. They needed the caffeine, since neither of them had gotten much sleep over the weekend. They were the only ones on the elevator, and Izzy stole a quick kiss before she thought about Cliff watching the video feed at the front desk. She had no regrets and waved at the camera.

  Jane looked over her shoulder. “What are you waving at?”

  “Cliff in security. I forgot about the camera when I kissed you.”

  “Oops! We said we’d be discreet.” Jane put her fingers over her mouth. She looked like a kid caught stealing a cookie.

  “You mean like you were when you attacked me in the breakroom last week?” Izzy teased. Flares of anxiety occasionally hit her when she thought too hard about what was happening between them, but the newness and excitement were keeping her on an endorphin high, and she felt better than she had in years. It could be mania, but blaming it on endorphins kept her anxiety from tipping into the red zone.

  Jane swatted her arm as the elevator doors opened. Cliff was nowhere to be seen, and the receptionist was just walking up with a replenished candy bowl.

  “Do you think we should tell Hector and Audie?” Jane whispered as they headed out the main doors.

  Izzy thought about it. “What do you think? I have no experience with this kind of thing.”

  Jane shrugged. “You know them way better than I do.”

  “An official announcement would be weird, but we shouldn’t hide it from them. Let’s just act normal around them and let them figure it out.” Izzy bumped against Jane as they walked and grinned.

  Jane gave Izzy a playful push. “Well, they won’t figure it out at work, then. Because it’s not like we’re going to be pawing all over each other here.”

  Izzy pretended to straighten an invisible tie. “That would be unforgiveably unprofessional.”

  They both looked over at the parking garage, then at each other, and laughed.

  “I’ll never go into a parking garage and not remember your mouth on my—”

  “Shut up!” Jane said, and the push wasn’t as playful this time, even though she still smiled.

  “You two are far too chipper for a Monday morning,” Audie said as they approached the food truck.

  “It’s a beautiful day. What’s not to be chipper about?” Izzy asked.

  Audie pointed a wooden stirrer at her. “See what I mean? It’s Monday. You need to ease into it. How can you sustain the same kind of energy through the rest of the week if you start like that on Monday? There are rules.”

  “I forgot the rules,” said Izzy, pretending to frown. “I meant to say ‘meh.’”

  “Better.” Audie put the stirrer into her mouth and leaned against the truck.

  “What’s better?” Hector came up beside Izzy.

  Izzy put a hand on Hector’s shoulder. “Our broken spirits and utter despair.”

  “Huh?”

  “Audie is not having any good moods today. She says they’re reserved for later in the week.”

  “Did someone not get laid this weekend?” Hector asked. His eyes were on Audie.

  Audie rolled her eyes, and she accepted the coffee the barista handed her. It was a barista Izzy had never seen, a young man who looked as if he was playing hooky from high school.

  “I think she’s just being cranky because Tarin isn’t working today,” Izzy said.

  “No one makes a vanilla latte like Tarin.” Audie didn’t deny Izzy’s statement.

  They spent the rest of the break teasing Audie about her crush on Tarin. Izzy stole a few glances at Jane, but no one seemed to sense anything had changed between them, which was a relief. Seeing Hector bait Audie gave her a little trepidation about giving either one of them fuel to do the same to her.

  * * *

  A few hours later, Audie appeared next to Izzy’s desk.

  “Hey, do you know where the design-review meeting is supposed to be? I forgot my laptop, but I’m pretty sure it’s on this floor.” Audie tapped her fingers on the top of the cubicle wall; her bad mood from the morning seemed to have left.

  Izzy consulted her online calendar. “Yep. It’s in the corner conference room. We’ll be a little early, but I’ll go with you.”

  The conference room was empty when they arrived. They took seats across the table from one another.

  “You look all sorts of happy today. What’s up?” Audie asked.

  “I had a good weekend,” Izzy said.

  “What was so good about it? Did you meet a new woman online or something?”

  Izzy snorted. She’d told Audie the whole story about Anaya when she’d dropped by last Thursday. “I think I’m done with online dating. I spent most of it with Jane, actually.” She knew Audie would be curious, but she just realized she wanted someone to know.

  She was right. Audie squinted. “I see. What did you two do?”

  She decided to be casual about it, not make it seem like a big deal. It was probably a futile attempt since Audie always seemed to pick up on things, but it was worth a shot. “Let’s see. We went to dinner and saw some live music. Oh, and we watched a movie.”

  Audie pointed at her. “You slept with her, didn’t you? I knew I noticed something different. And it wasn’t just you. Jane is all giddy with sex energy, too. You two are totally getting it on!”

  Izzy looked behind her at the open conference-room door. “Yes. We slept together,” she whispered.

  Audie got her phone out and typed something into it.

  “What are you doing? You’re not posting this on social media, are you?”

  Audie kept her eyes on the phone. “Of course not. I’m texting Hector to tell him I owe him twenty bucks.”

  “What?”

  “About a month ago he bet me you’d be dating Jane by the end of the month. I said it wouldn’t happen until at least the end of next month. I was banking on your inability to pick up on when a beautiful woman is throwing herself at you.”

  Audie finished texting and put her phone on the conference table.

  Izzy was speechless. “You were betting on this? How did you know? I didn’t even know.”

  “Of course you didn’t. You never do.”

  “What do you mean never? This is the first time—”

  “Tricia in human resources.”

  Izzy looked over her shoulder at the door. “Where?”

  Audie looked confused. “What do you mean where?”

  Izzy was confused. “You said Tricia was here.”

  “No. I said Tricia has been hitting on you for nearly three years.”

  “She has not!”

  Audie grabbed her head in frustration. “Okay, you just made my point.”

  “What point?”

  “Tarin,” Audie said after a pause.

  Izzy snorted. “Now you’re just smoking crack. You have a thing for Tarin, not me.”

  “I didn’t say you had a thing for her. I’m saying she has a thing for you, or
at least she did.”

  Izzy flapped her hand in dismissal. “Ridiculous.”

  “Girl, she told me herself.” Audie leaned back, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “I don’t believe it.”

  Audie smiled and looked away. “Ganesh.”

  “Ganesh? Now I know you’re crazy. I’m certain Ganesh isn’t into me. Number one, he’s married. Number two—”

  The chair to her right was pulled out, and Ganesh sat next to her. “My wife would be pleased with your honor toward our marriage, Izzy.” The deep lines around his eyes were creased, and his sixty-seven-year-old eyes glistened with amusement.

  “I meant Ganesh was behind you.” Audie snorted into her closed fist.

  “Oh, Ganesh.” Izzy reached to touch his arm and thought better of it, dropping her hand to the table. “You walked in at an awkward moment. Audie was—” Ugh! She didn’t want to explain. “She was just pulling my leg.” She turned back to Audie, who had her head on her arms, and her shoulders were shaking. “I hate you,” Izzy said to her as others began to enter the room.

  “We haven’t even started talking about action items yet, Izzy,” Hector said, sitting at the end of the table.

  Audie just laughed harder, and Izzy sat back in her chair with her arms crossed and glared at her.

  * * *

  Ah, the age-old question: What is love?

  Poets and songwriters have been asking this question for centuries.

  How do you know when you fall in love? For some, it’s a gradual thing. They’re going along feeling good about being with a certain someone, and then one day it just dawns on them they don’t want to spend another day without that specific person in their life. That’s when they know they’re in love. For others, it’s a whack-you-in-the-face kind of thing. They’re minding their own business, doing their own thing, and then they meet someone and, bam, they’re in love. No warning, no buildup, it’s just there.

  What about love at first sight? Is there such a thing? Some people don’t believe in it, but others swear by it. Who are we to judge?