by Megan Brooks
“Something like that.” Megan wasn’t in the mood to joke around with him. He wasn’t in any position to be quilting her over not calling.
Richard seemed to pick up on the edge of anger in her tone. He was likely to write it off as her still being angry over his having an affair. “So, how goes the vacation?”
“Great,” Megan said, reflexively. “How are things going there?”
“Great,” Richard answered right back. “So, what have you been up to?”
“This and that.” Megan kept her answers brief, making it clear she wasn’t in the mood to humor him with small talk.
“Still hanging around with that friend of yours?” he asked, getting to what was, surely, the main thing on his mind.
“Yep,” said Megan. “I’m meeting with her later today, actually.” She made a point to put a pronoun in there. Surely, he knew Megan was spending time with a ‘she’ by now. If not, maybe letting him know would get him to call the private detective off. She had shown no indication of liking women in the past. He couldn’t think she was interested in Angelina in that way.
“Just don’t have too much fun.” Richard was laughing when he spoke, but there was something else in his tone. It seemed like he did think there was something going on.
“I’ll try.” Megan decided to end the conversation there. “I’m going to let you go, but I’ll talk to you later.” They said their goodbyes, and she hung up.
Megan couldn’t believe that there was a real possibility her husband thought she was cheating on him with another woman. That seemed so patently ridiculous… Didn’t it?
Megan wasn’t so sure how she felt anymore. She liked Angelina more than she probably should have. They had only spent a few days together, and she was already dreading leaving her. Even if she thought Angelina might be less than honest about her motives for being a friend, it would be impossible to deny that she had some less than proper feelings about her.
Megan spent the day wandering through the local shops. She did some shopping but not much else. Mallorca just wasn’t the same without Angelina.
Evening finally rolled around. Megan made the walk back to the tourism office and waited for Angelina outside. She came out right on schedule, putting on a smile the moment she saw Megan.
“How was your day?” she asked, stopping on the sidewalk to greet her. “Did you get to see more of Spain?”
“I guess.” Megan shrugged. “It’s a lot easier when you’re telling me the best places to go, to be honest. I did do some shopping.”
Angelina raised her eyebrows at that. “Sounds fun.” She eyed the bags on Megan’s arm. “Get anything good?”
“I got you this.” She opened one of the bags and pulled out a gauzy blouse. It had reminded Megan of Angelina immediately. The colors were bright. The fabric was light and airy. It suited Angelina. “I hope it fits.”
“Oh, my goodness!” Angelina exclaimed, taking it from Megan and holding it up to herself. “This is gorgeous, Megan! Thank you! You really shouldn’t have.”
Megan shook her head. “It’s the least I can do after you put up with a poor, lonely tourist all week.”
Angelina gave her an odd look at that. “You’re my friend,” she reminded her. “It’s my pleasure to put up with you.” She looked at the blouse again then scanned her surroundings. “I’m going to put this on.”
Megan looked around them. She laughed. “Angelina, there are people here. You can’t!”
“Watch me.” Angelina reached down to the hem of her shirt.
“Let’s, at least, get to a bathroom or something!” In the end, Megan was only able to steer her around to the side of the building. There, she stood in front of her, trying her best to block Angelina’s toplessness from the general public as she changed.
“This is perfect!” Angelina exclaimed, putting the top she had been wearing in her bag.
Megan looked. Angelina was right. The top looked fantastic on her, there was no denying that. “I’m glad it fits. It looks great on you.”
“You have such good taste,” Angelina said, walking back around the building to grin at her reflection in the tourist office front window. “Thank you.” Her smile turned to a frown as she looked back at her. “I still haven’t gotten you anything.”
“You’ve been showing me around all week,” Megan said, shaking her head dismissively. “You don’t owe me a gift.”
Angelina looked down at her shirt. “I hope you didn’t get me this as some sort of payment? How many times do I have to say it? I like you as a person.”
Megan couldn’t help but be uncertain about that. Maybe she had just spent too much time worrying about it. Still, she managed a smile. “Yeah, well, you still don’t have to get me anything.”
“Come on,” said Angelina, rolling her eyes at her. “We need to get going. They get busy as soon as the sun goes down. I took my motorcycle today, so we don’t have to wait for the bus or anything.”
Megan snapped on the spare helmet and rode with Angelina the two or three miles to the restaurant. It was a cute little place, crammed between two buildings. It didn’t look like the nicest place. Maybe that was why it was crowded with people who looked like locals.
There was a lot of outdoor seating. Angelina took a seat there. The menu wasn’t in English, but Angelina assured Megan that she would order her something tasty. “I know what’s best here.”
The waiter came over and Angelina placed an order in what Megan assumed was her native tongue. The waiter brought a bottle of wine over immediately and two glasses.
Megan raised an eyebrow at the choice of beverage. “Fancy,” she said. She had never been brought a bottle of wine in a restaurant before - not even when she had been on her honeymoon with Richard.
“I’ve got this,” Angelina assured her with a wink as she poured for the both of them. “My gift to you.”
Megan made a face at that but accepted the glass anyway. She was no great connoisseur of wine. It tasted as good as far as she was concerned, though. “Mmmm.”
“It was cheapest,” Angelina admitted with a laugh. “All wines taste about the same to me. It does make me feel fancier, though.”
Despite her lousy mood, Megan couldn’t help but laugh at that.
“Do anything today other than some shopping?” asked Angelina, making small talk.
Megan shrugged. She had had a rather uneventful day without Angelina, honestly. “Not really,” she admitted. “Well, my husband called me.”
That got Angelina’s attention. “Did you talk about our friend the detective?”
Megan shook her head. “I mentioned you were a woman, though. I’m hoping that will get him to call off Lance.”
“Why does it matter?” Angelina asked, taking a sip of her wine. “You could still cheat with a woman.”
“Well, yeah.” Megan fidgeted with her napkin, uncertain of quite how she should respond to that. “I wouldn’t, though.”
“Because you don’t cheat or because you don’t like women?” Angelina asked. There was no nervousness at all in her voice.
“I know you like women,” said Megan, stating the obvious. “I’ve never been with one, so-”
“That doesn’t mean you don’t like women,” Angelina interrupted. “Do you?”
Megan couldn’t rightly answer in the negative. Given the number of times and ways she had looked at Angelina, it would be difficult to deny that she was attracted to her. Now, she was afraid that Angelina had noticed. “I don’t know,” she said, because that seemed like the safest answer and the only one that wouldn’t be an outright lie.
Angelina reached out across the table. She brushed Megan’s hair from her face. Her eyes searched Megan’s own. “You know, it wouldn’t hurt to have some fun while you were on vacation.”
Megan wasn’t sure how to respond to that. She shied away, uncertain. She watched Angelina’s hand as it pulled away from her face. Was she hitting on her. “I don’t know,” said Megan. “That doesn’t r
eally make it right, does it? Richard cheated on me, but doesn’t doing the same make me just as bad?”
“Not if you’re going to divorce him,” Angelina said with a shrug. “It doesn’t seem like you much like him anymore, to me. As far as I’m concerned, a person looses any right to complain about that sort of thing when they do it themselves. Anything you do afterward is fair.”
Megan still wasn’t sure what to make of any of this. If Megan’s paranoia was right and Angelina was working for Vince… well, this was exactly the sort of thing she would do. On the other hand, if she was genuinely interested in Megan, that was different. Megan couldn’t say she wasn’t tempted. She was awfully tempted. “I don’t know,” she said again, at a loss for what else to say.
Angelina shrugged and gave her a nod, as if to make it clear that she didn’t mean to push her into anything. “Well, that’s fine,” she said. “That’s probably the right thing to do morally… Though, if you did was to try anything…” Angelina trailed off and took a sip of her wine again. She looked a bit uncertain herself. “Well,” she began, speaking slowly. “I mean, I would be willing.”
There it was. Megan’s heart began to pound in her chest. “You what?” she asked, trying to convince herself that she had just heard her wrong.
“I like you,” said Angelina, being a bit blunter. “I think you’re an attractive woman. I have since I first saw you.” Angelina offered her a smile. “I mean, if you’re not interested, I’m happy to still be your friend. You’re fun to be around.”
Megan looked down at her wine glass. She searched for an answer, found none, picked up the glass and drained it. What was she supposed to say to that? A woman had never hit on her before. She wasn’t sure anyone had been this direct with her before. “I, uh…” she trailed off for a moment. “Thank you?” she managed.
Angelina smiled but she seemed a tad nervous, herself. “Forget I said anything,” she said, as if such a thing was even possible. You couldn’t just take something like that back.
“No,” Megan said, before she had fully realized what it was she was saying. “I like you, too.” If her heart had been pounding before, it was threatening to jump right out of her chest now. Her face burned red. This was such a bad idea. She was sure of it. Even so, she couldn’t just take it back.
Angelina smiled again. She was about to say something when the food came. The dish that was set in front of them was fish and rice. It smelled absolutely amazing. She hadn’t even tasted it yet, and she knew it had been the right call to let Angelina choose. Still, she was frustrated that the waiter had interrupted them at such a crucial moment.
Megan nodded her thanks to the waiter, willing him to leave quickly. Once he had, she looked back to Angelina. It took her aback when Angelina was much closer than she had expected her to be. Suddenly, she was leaning across the table, pressing her mouth to Megan’s.
It was incredible. Megan melted into the kiss. Angelina’s lips were the softest she had ever kissed. Her own yielded to them, parting slightly as she pulled away. She was left there frozen for what felt like ages. A laugh from Angelina was what finally stirred her from her daze.
“Good?” Angelina asked, smiling at her.
Megan started to answer in the affirmative, but she found herself laughing as well. She nodded implicitly instead.
Angelina reached across the table and took Megan’s hand into her own. “I’d been dying to do that,” she confided in her, looking almost embarrassed. “You’re really my type.”
“Your type?” Megan asked, finding that hard to believe. “What? Tourist? Is that your type?”
“Sweet,” Angelina corrected. “You’re really sweet, but you’re still open to new things. I like that in a woman. I like you.”
Megan looked down at their hands. “I like you, too,” she murmured.
They smiled at each other for a while after that. Finally, Angelina let her go. “Eat your food before it gets cold,” she said. “I wasn’t lying. This place really is amazing.”
Reluctantly, Megan did just that. Angelina wasn’t wrong, though. It was the best meal she had ever had.
Chapter Seven
No one seemed quite sure what to do after dinner. Angelina left it up to Megan, but Megan felt torn. Part of her wanted to go back to Angelina’s place. She was sure she would be up for it. They would have a fun night doing all sorts of things. She had seen the way Angelina had been openly looking at her since Megan had taken her up on the offer of having fun together. That was the face of a woman who would absolutely not say no to sex.
At the same time, Megan had never really been one to move quickly in a relationship. Even with Richard, things had started a bit slow. She wasn’t a first or even a third date kind of girl. She didn’t have sex with a person unless there was the very real potential of them starting something special.
There wasn’t much to start with Angelina, unfortunately. However, they felt about each other, Megan would have to go back home at the end of this week. Then there was the rather distressing matter of not trusting her. There was still a very real possibility that she was working with that private detective.
Megan tried not to think about either of those things too much. Frankly, they were just depressing.
Despite everything, Megan still found herself torn. Sleeping with Angelina might have been the worst idea ever, but she still found herself conflicted. There was something about Angelina that drove her to be more adventurous, to try new things. Something wouldn’t let her rush into this particular knew thing, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want to.
To Angelina’s credit, she never pressured her. “Don’t do anything you aren’t comfortable with,” Angelina said as they walked along the sidewalk hand in hand. “I would hate it if I forced you into anything.”
“I’d like to wait,” said Megan. Really, she wasn’t sure she should do anything at all. “Isn’t it just a waste of time and energy, though?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I’m going to have to go back home soon,” Megan said. She thought that should have been obvious. Surely, Angelina had considered this already. “The week I’m here is more than half over already.”
Angelina only shrugged, like this was no big deal at all. “Everything is temporary.”
“Yes, but not this temporary,” Megan complained. “I’m only here for a week and, now, that’s more than half over. We don’t have that much time together.”
“I know,” said Angelina, giving her hand a squeeze. “We should make the most of it then, right?”
“Do you do this often?” Megan couldn’t help but ask. “Do you have relationships with tourists?” It seemed like a pretty good idea. You just played the part of someone’s lover for a little while. After a week or two, they went home and you got to move on to someone new. It sounded like paradise for a serial dater. She just hoped the question wasn’t a terribly insulting one. She didn’t really have room to judge Angelina for stuff like that. After all, she was the one who was still married.
“A few,” Angelina said, as if this too was no big deal. “Like I said, everything ends. And I do work with tourists, so… sometimes these things happen.
That seemed a bit unprofessional to Megan, but who was she to judge? What really worried her was the idea that Angelina might be lying to her even now. She didn’t think she was, but she just couldn’t shake it. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. “What about the private detective?”
“What about him?”
Megan raised an eyebrow at how unconcerned she seemed. “Well, if he photographs the two of us together, that’s going to be trouble.”
Angelina grinned. It was a mischievous grin but not without charm. “The risk is part of the fun, isn’t it?”
“Maybe for you.” Megan was a librarian. She didn’t take many risks.
“We’ll just have to be careful.” Angelina looked around. She stopped walking suddenly and pulled Megan into a nearby alley. “We’ll
just have to be lovers in secret.”
The word “lovers” sent a thrill down Megan’s spine. She couldn’t help but put on a grin of her own as Angelina pushed her against a stone wall and kissed her again. It was a rather chaste kiss, but it still felt scandalous. “Do you have to work tomorrow?” Megan asked, keeping her voice low since they were so close to one another.
“I’m all free,” said Angelina, letting her hands settle on Megan’s waist. “We can spend all day together, if you want.”
“I’d like that,” Megan said, unable to tear her eyes from Angelina’s.
“Any requests on how to spend the day?” Angelina asked.
“I’d like to go to the beach again, I guess. We only went swimming the one time.”
Angelina’s eyes lit up at that suggestion. “Your wish is my command,” she said, leaning in to kiss Megan yet again.
Megan lost herself in that kiss as she had both times before. She was in over her head and she knew it. How in the world was she going to get herself out of this mess? More importantly, did she even want to?
Chapter Eight
Megan actually thought to bring a bathing suit today. Angelina complained when she realized Megan was wearing it under her clothes. No doubt she had hoped for a repeat performance of all the fun they had had skinny dipping. Not that they were even swimming on a beach away from the prying eye of the public this time.
They went to the beach just outside of Angelina’s house. Angelina actually invited her inside this time. She had a cozy little place. It was the sort of home Megan had imagined Angelina to live in - all creatively decorated with kitsch and draped with exotic looking fabrics. She had a quirky sense of interior design that matched her personality.
There wasn’t a whole lot in the way of furniture. Angelina had a pretty minimalist lifestyle, it seemed. Megan couldn’t help but wonder if that somehow reflected her nature as well. All evidence pointed toward Angelina not being particularly skilled with anything too long term.
They went out to the beach after Angelina changed into her own swimsuit. It was revealing, of course. Anything more would have done her fantastic body a disservice.