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Authors: Karin Kallmaker
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gnocchi.
“Who’s this?”
Holly looked Murphy in the eye, at first because she found the woman’s tone overly familiar, and then because Murphy’s hand was on her knee. She did not like being pawed by men and saw no reason not to resent it just as much from a woman. “Remove your hand.”
The hand retreated, but Murphy winked.
“Leave, Murph,” Tori snapped. “I mean it.”
“Your new squeeze. Did you finally leave Geena? I’d almost respect you if you have.”
“Do the right thing, for once, and just go.”
Murphy turned in the booth toward Holly, leaning toward her with an air of shared intimacy. “She was crazy about me once.” She made a leisurely examination of her right hand, flexing and curling her fingers and examining her cuticles. “Make that twice.”
Tori flushed and turned her head away.
“Whereas you obviously disliked and disrespected her,” Holly observed, as congenially as if they were discussing the weather. She had always hated conflict, but apparently she was getting over that. “Otherwise you would never go out of your way to embarrass her in front of a friend in this manner. Or is this a schoolyard thing, where you punch the one you love?”
For just a moment Murphy looked nonplussed, then her mocking smile returned. “The mouse that roared, I see. Catch you later, T.” She slid out of the booth with a graceful push and went back the way she had come.
“I am so sorry about that, Holly.”
“It’s no big deal,” Holly answered, though she was miffed. Mouse that roared, indeed.
“Geena and I called it quits once, about three years ago. I was miserable and let Murphy too close one night”
“You don’t have to explain. I’m not judging you. I just didn’t know lesbians could be boors.”
“I just didn’t want you to think I’m something I’m not.”
Remembering Clay’s comment that no one looked like their sex life, Holly tried to put Tori back at ease. “It isn’t really any of my business, is it? To each her own. I sincerely believe that.”
“I know you do.” Tori hesitated, then said slowly, “Alpha rewarded people who worked hard, and we both worked pretty damned hard. I think if we’d spent a little more time away from our desks, we might have been friends, you know what I mean?”
“Yes, I do. I was thinking that myself, just a few minutes ago.”
Tori was still choosing her words with care. “And part of my feeling is that we have some values in common, impressions I have of the kind of person you are and you must have of me. Like I said, I just don’t want you to think I’m something I’m not. Murphy was such a mistake. I knew it at the time, but I was so unhappy. She taught me something about myself I didn’t know, but that wasn’t worth the trouble she’s been since.” Tori flushed. “Geena knows it happened. I told her everything Murphy” She broke off, but her color continued to rise. “Anyway…”
Eager to turn the subject away from sex, Holly asked, “What did you fight about, if you don’t mind my asking.”
“Money. Long and short of it.” Tori grabbed at the subject as if it were a lifeline. “I made more of it than she did at the time, and we were both pigheaded about it. She would always make a point of telling me when something she bought me had come from her money. I always said that we were a couple and what was mine was hers. But then I would decide to do something extravagant and excuse it by saying it was with my money. We had a knockdown drag out about buying a new car. I wanted to spend more than she did and acted like my higher salary ought to be the tiebreaker. Things were said that we both resented.”
“But you patched it up.”
“Yeah.” Tori’s color was back to normal and she scooped up her last spoonful of gnocchi and sauce. She swallowed quickly and added, “After I was with Murphy I realized that I had been playing house with Geena. Pretending to commitment. We lived together and
“Who’s this?”
Holly looked Murphy in the eye, at first because she found the woman’s tone overly familiar, and then because Murphy’s hand was on her knee. She did not like being pawed by men and saw no reason not to resent it just as much from a woman. “Remove your hand.”
The hand retreated, but Murphy winked.
“Leave, Murph,” Tori snapped. “I mean it.”
“Your new squeeze. Did you finally leave Geena? I’d almost respect you if you have.”
“Do the right thing, for once, and just go.”
Murphy turned in the booth toward Holly, leaning toward her with an air of shared intimacy. “She was crazy about me once.” She made a leisurely examination of her right hand, flexing and curling her fingers and examining her cuticles. “Make that twice.”
Tori flushed and turned her head away.
“Whereas you obviously disliked and disrespected her,” Holly observed, as congenially as if they were discussing the weather. She had always hated conflict, but apparently she was getting over that. “Otherwise you would never go out of your way to embarrass her in front of a friend in this manner. Or is this a schoolyard thing, where you punch the one you love?”
For just a moment Murphy looked nonplussed, then her mocking smile returned. “The mouse that roared, I see. Catch you later, T.” She slid out of the booth with a graceful push and went back the way she had come.
“I am so sorry about that, Holly.”
“It’s no big deal,” Holly answered, though she was miffed. Mouse that roared, indeed.
“Geena and I called it quits once, about three years ago. I was miserable and let Murphy too close one night”
“You don’t have to explain. I’m not judging you. I just didn’t know lesbians could be boors.”
“I just didn’t want you to think I’m something I’m not.”
Remembering Clay’s comment that no one looked like their sex life, Holly tried to put Tori back at ease. “It isn’t really any of my business, is it? To each her own. I sincerely believe that.”
“I know you do.” Tori hesitated, then said slowly, “Alpha rewarded people who worked hard, and we both worked pretty damned hard. I think if we’d spent a little more time away from our desks, we might have been friends, you know what I mean?”
“Yes, I do. I was thinking that myself, just a few minutes ago.”
Tori was still choosing her words with care. “And part of my feeling is that we have some values in common, impressions I have of the kind of person you are and you must have of me. Like I said, I just don’t want you to think I’m something I’m not. Murphy was such a mistake. I knew it at the time, but I was so unhappy. She taught me something about myself I didn’t know, but that wasn’t worth the trouble she’s been since.” Tori flushed. “Geena knows it happened. I told her everything Murphy” She broke off, but her color continued to rise. “Anyway…”
Eager to turn the subject away from sex, Holly asked, “What did you fight about, if you don’t mind my asking.”
“Money. Long and short of it.” Tori grabbed at the subject as if it were a lifeline. “I made more of it than she did at the time, and we were both pigheaded about it. She would always make a point of telling me when something she bought me had come from her money. I always said that we were a couple and what was mine was hers. But then I would decide to do something extravagant and excuse it by saying it was with my money. We had a knockdown drag out about buying a new car. I wanted to spend more than she did and acted like my higher salary ought to be the tiebreaker. Things were said that we both resented.”
“But you patched it up.”
“Yeah.” Tori’s color was back to normal and she scooped up her last spoonful of gnocchi and sauce. She swallowed quickly and added, “After I was with Murphy I realized that I had been playing house with Geena. Pretending to commitment. We lived together and
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