“I’m really sorry, I’m just… I’m not gay,” Shiloh said.
Harley wouldn’t look at her, she just nodded her head and stood up.
“I’m gonna go,” Harley mumbled.
“Harley, wait,” Shiloh said. She went to stand up even as Harley walked past her to leave the room.
Harley was gone before she even managed to get to her feet. She sat on her bed and thought about what had just happened. She didn’t understand all this feeling going on in her head. Her body had reacted to the kiss, but she didn’t understand that either. She wasn’t gay, she wasn’t. It was all so confusing! Putting her fingers to her lips she could still feel them tingling from the kiss.
The next day she talked to her best friend, Kim.
“So, she kissed you?” Kim said looking horrified.
“Yeah, but I wanted her to,” Shiloh said, her look wistful.
“Why?” Kim asked looking shocked.
“I don’t know,” Shiloh said, shaking her head. “I just did and when she did it was… I just didn’t know it would feel like that…”
“Shiloh, you aren’t some sick lesbo,” Kim said snidely. “That dirty little piece of white trash needs to be kicked out of this school. She’s never belonged here anyway.”
“Kim, if it wasn’t for her I’d be failing algebra right now,” Shiloh said. “And she’s not trash, she’s really smart.”
“She’s some sick lesbo, she shouldn’t be around decent people,” Kim said, disgusted. “Look what she did to you, who knows who else she’s attacked like that.”
“She didn’t attack me, for God’s sake!” Shiloh said.
Kim put her hand to her throat, her eyes wide, shaking her head, her brown curls bouncing around at she did.
“I cannot believe you just took the Lord’s name in vein!” she said, sounding very much like Shiloh’s mother.
“I need to get to class,” Shiloh said, wishing now that she hadn’t said anything to Kim.
In her algebra class, Shiloh saw Harley but she still wouldn’t look at her. She sat down and pulled out her calculator and pencil in preparation for the test. Harley finished her final before Shiloh and left class before Shiloh could talk to her.
The next day everything went to Hell.
“So after that my dad heard about it and he went on a campaign to get Harley kicked out of his pristine school,” Shiloh said, after telling Devin what had happened. “It was awful, I felt so bad for her.”
“She didn’t tell your dad that you had initiated the kiss?” Devin asked.
Shiloh shook her head. “No, she never said a word about it. I could never figure out why.”
Devin grinned. “’Cause that’s Harley,” she said. “She’s not about revenge. I’m not even sure she has a mean bone in her body.”
Shiloh laughed softly. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”
Devin canted her head. “So did you ever experiment with any other girl?”
“Oh no,” Shiloh said, shaking her head. “My father condemned everything about that lifestyle and he just said such awful things I was too afraid for the longest time. And then I just didn’t, too much turmoil. I worked for my father you see, in the church and all, so starting something like that would have just been bad news.”
Devin nodded. “So can I be really nosey and ask why your parents cut you off?”
Shiloh chewed on the inside of her cheek for a long few moments, looking hesitant. “I was dating a guy that my parents fully approved of, and let’s just say I was way too honest with him one night, about Harley in fact. When he became a complete pig about it, I saw his true nature and was done dating him. And once again, word made it back to my father and he decided I wasn’t the kind of daughter he wanted.”
“Wow, he really hates gays huh?” Devin asked.
“Oh yeah,” Shiloh said, nodding.
“So he’d really hate that you’re now working with Harley, wouldn’t he?” Devin said, grinning.
“Yep,” Shiloh said, not looking the least bit sorry.
“Good,” Devin said, her grin bordering on evil. “Well, I can tell you that I love Harley to death, she’s just one of those people that you can’t help but like. I’m also really glad that you’re helping her out, she worries me sometimes.”
Shiloh nodded. “Yeah, I can understand that.”
“You need to come out and meet the group sometime soon,” Devin said. “I think you’ll find that your father’s attitude about gays is completely unfounded.”
Shiloh smiled, nodding. “Well, I suspected that for a long time, but I definitely would like to meet the group. You all sound like you’re pretty interesting.”
“We have a few characters, Sky and me notwithstanding,” Devin said, grinning.
“Sky is your wife, right?” Shiloh asked looking curious.
“Yes,” Devin said, smiling fondly, “and the very love of my life.”
“How did you meet her?” Shiloh asked.
“She came to a party at my house,” Devin said. “And I pursued her relentlessly until she gave in.”
“You pursued her?” Shiloh asked, smiling widely. Then she nodded. “I guess I can see that, you seem like a very upfront person.”
“Oh yeah,” Devin said, rolling her eyes. “And Sky wanted nothing to do with me at first, but I wore her down.” She winked.
Shiloh laughed. “Well it obviously worked if you’re now married.”
“Yes, it did,” Devin said, smiling brightly.
“Well, I should let you get back to your day, and I should get back down there to get Harley to eat lunch,” Shiloh said, moving to stand.
She extended her hand to Devin. “Thank you so much for this,” she said. “I just wanted to get a better idea of how I can help Harley with everything, you know?”
Devin nodded. “Yeah, I know,” she said, smiling. “And feel free to call me anytime. Like I said, I absolutely adore the girl, so if you need my help, you just let me know. Okay?”
“Okay,” Shiloh said.
***
Dakota lay on her stomach, her bare back on full display, and her hair still damp from her shower. Jazmine walked into their bedroom and couldn’t help but smile. It still made her smile every time she saw Dakota, because the woman just plain made her happy. She couldn’t believe how easy their relationship was. They meshed so well, it was almost seamless. She loved the younger woman more than she would have ever have believed possible.
When she’d first met Dakota she was involved with Rayden Black Wolf, a relationship doomed from the start. Rayden was still in love with her dead wife, who hadn’t turned out to be dead. Dakota had been the boi toy of a rich socialite, a partner in a dance studio Jazmine and Natalia had been starting. When Jazmine had found out the woman, Cassandra Billings, was also abusing Dakota, she’d discovered her protective streak. In the end, Jazmine had been the one to lead Dakota’s best friend, Cody, her mother, Lyric, and Rayden to Cassandra’s house to rescue Dakota and then nurse her back to health.
It was during Dakota’s recovery that Jazmine had realized that she was in love with her. She’d seen Dakota’s vulnerability and had wanted nothing more than to protect her from everything that could hurt her. She’d been thrilled to find out that Dakota had also fallen in love with her as well.
Now, staring down at this wild woman she’d been lucky enough to catch, she couldn’t help but smile. Setting her bag on the floor, she climbed onto the bed like a tigress, leaning down to kiss Dakota’s back gently.
“Mmmm…” Dakota murmured as she reached her hand up to touch Jazmine’s face. She turned her head as Jazmine leaned down to kiss her lips.
“Rough day?” Jazmine asked as she moved to sit next to Dakota, reaching her hands out to smooth them over Dakota’s back.
“And then some,” Dakota said, sounding as exhausted as she looked.
“Well, rest. I’m going to go make some dinner, okay?” Jazmine said, moving to kiss Dakota again.
“Mmmhmm,” Dakota murmured.
An hour later, Jazmine brought a plate of food into the bedroom. She sat down on the bed and slid her hand over Dakota’s back.
“Babe?” Jazmine said quietly.
“Mmm?” Dakota murmured.
“Food?” Jazmine queried.
“Yes, please,” Dakota said, turning over with a wide smile.
Jazmine smiled back at her girlfriend, picked up a piece of chicken, and held it out to Dakota, grinning. Dakota moved to sit up, taking the chicken from Jazmine’s hand with her mouth, kissing Jazmine’s fingers as she did. Jazmine handed her the plate and a fork.
“Do you want a beer?” Jazmine asked.
“Sure,” Dakota said. She kissed Jazmine who then got up to get her own plate and a beer for Dakota.
When Jazmine walked back in the room, Dakota was eating sitting naked in the middle of the bed. Again, she couldn’t stop the smile on her face from widening.
“What?” Dakota asked, grinning at her.
Jazmine sighed. “Just feeling really disgustingly happy today.”
“That’s a good thing, isn’t it?” Dakota asked. She took a drink of the beer and set it aside on the nightstand.
“Yes, yes it is,” Jazmine said, sitting down to eat her own dinner.
They ate in companionable silence for a while and Dakota checked emails. At one point, she was reading an email and stopped chewing. She reached her hand out to touch Jazmine’s hand, looking shocked.
“Holy hell…” Dakota said, her tone awed
“What?” Jazmine asked.
“There’s a client wants a bid to work on a Craftsman…” Dakota said, her voice trailing off as she grinned.
Jazmine looked back at her for a long moment, her look blank.
Dakota shook her head, and pulled up Google. She looked up a picture of a Craftsman-style house and showed it to Jazmine.
“A Craftsman is a style of house,” Dakota told her. “They started building them in the late 1800s. I loved this style when I was in school. I’ve always wanted to work on one, but there aren’t a lot of them here in LA so I never really thought I’d get the chance.”
Jazmine looked at the pictures. “Wow, these are beautiful…” she said sliding her finger over the iPad to change pictures.
“See all that woodwork?” Dakota said, pointing to one of the pictures. “That’s what I want to work with… Restoring it or learning to duplicate the style.”
Jazmine could see the excited light in Dakota’s eyes.
“So you’re going to bid on the job, right?” Jazmine asked.
Dakota looked at the email again, and narrowed her eyes slightly. Then she nodded.
“There’s a walk-through of the house in three days. I need to see what kind of work they need done before I know if I’m even qualified to do it.”
“Why wouldn’t you be qualified?”
“It’s pretty specialized. I’m not sure I know the right people I’d need to get the job done, but I’m definitely going to check it out.”
“Good,” Jazmine said nodding. She didn’t like the idea that Dakota wouldn’t get this opportunity that she so desperately wanted.
Three nights later, Dakota arrived home and was on her computer for hours. Jazmine made a point of leaving her alone, knowing that she needed the time and the concentration to work on the project. She made dinner and took it the office Dakota had created for the two of them.
Dakota had created a custom office, giving each of them their own workspace. She’d built a desk with file drawers and cabinets that ran from floor to ceiling. She’d used sage greens and plum colors for Jazmine’s area. She’d also created filing space for Jazmine for the studio schedules, invoices, and account information. She’d even done some custom work to create an area for them to sit and bounce ideas off each other or for Natalia and Jazmine to work on things together. It was a big room, but Dakota had utilized the space to give it a cozy feel without it feeling crowded.
Dakota’s area had custom counter space for her to lay out plans and drawings. She had a drafting table, and had built a drawer setup to lay out plans for her various projects. The colors on her side of the office were caramels, browns, and a rich navy blue; it was very much Dakota. They both had computers and a printer that they shared. Dakota had also invested in a plotter to print out drawing and plans for various projects. It was a true office that worked great for both of them.
Jazmine set the plate of food down next to Dakota’s computer, waving a beer in front of the computer screen. Dakota grinned and took the beer, clicking on another screen as she took a drink.
“You need to eat too, babe,” Jazmine said smiling.
“Mmmhmm,” Dakota murmured.
“Oh Lord, I see I’m going to lose you on this one, huh?” Jazmine said, grinning.
“What?” Dakota asked, glancing over at her. “No, babe, no,” she said, smiling and reaching her hand up to touch Jazmine’s cheek. “I just want to get my bid in and be done for the time being on it.”
“So, is it a lot of work?” Jazmine asked.
Dakota blew her breath out, nodding. “Yeah, it’s literally a top to bottom restore. There’s a lot to work with, but there’s going to be some serious creativity involved.”
“Which you totally love,” Jazmine said, smiling.
“Which I totally love,” Dakota said, smiling too.
“Okay, well, please eat, and I’ll leave you alone so you can get your bid in.”
“Thanks, babe. You’re always taking care of me…” Dakota said, moving to stand to kiss Jazmine’s lips.
“Of course,” Jazmine said, smiling.
“I love you,” Dakota whispered against Jazmine’s lips.
“And I love you,” Jazmine said, staring back into Dakota’s eyes. “Now get back to that bid, so you can beat everyone else out and get that job.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Dakota said chuckling.
Jazmine left the room and Dakota stared at the door for a full minute. She knew just how lucky she really was to have found Jazmine. Her life had been a series of women who didn’t give a crap about her, but they’d been rich and they’d taken care of her financially, so she’d taken care of them sexually. It was the way things were for her for years.
Her mother had been addicted to crack cocaine and had started selling her daughter at the age of two to perverts and men who wanted little girls. At the age of twelve, Dakota had decided she’d had enough of being used by her mother, and ran away. She’d started selling herself and keeping the money she made. Even helping other girls along the way to be smart about how they hooked. She’d met Cody Wyatt, another young runaway living on the streets, and had helped her escape from a man who was trying to be Cody’s pimp. Dakota taught Cody to be street smart and how to be safe when hooking. They’d become friends and Dakota had become Cody’s first female lover.
Unfortunately a year into their relationship they were squatting in an abandoned house. Dakota had caught a cold and, bound and determined to get Dakota medicine, Cody had gone out to work that night to make enough to buy what Dakota needed. That was the night Cody was arrested for prostitution and since she was only thirteen at the time, she was taken to juvenile hall.
Things sucked without Cody around. Dakota hated being out on the streets without her trusty sidekick to watch her back. She was worried about Cody not making bail, so she knew she really needed to hustle to make enough money to bail her out if they even let her bail out at all. She’d already been with two johns that night when an expensive-looking car pulled up alongside her. The windows were dark so she couldn’t see the driver until he opened the passenger window. She leaned down, glancing around the car’s interior. It was an import, not an American car, usually a good sign it wasn’t a cop.
“Hi,” she said casually, “are ya lost?” She knew that was a good way to ask what he wanted, without being overt.
The man smiled at her. He was in his forties and was kind of fat, but not
overly so. He was also balding slightly in the front and trying to hide it. Dakota didn’t care, he was driving an expensive car, which meant he could afford more.
“I was wondering if you’d want to come hang out with my wife and me,” he said. His voice was friendly, like he was just inviting her to a party.
“Sure, I could do that,” she said, nodding. “But I’m kind of looking for help to bail a friend of mine out of trouble. Do you think you could help me with that?” she asked, her blue eyes shining with feigned innocence.
“Oh sure,” he said, nodding. “How much does your friend need?”
“Well, it really depends on how much trouble she’s in, but I’m sure that fifty would go a long way to helping her. If I find out that she’s in more trouble than that we can see what else you can help with,” she said, thinking fast. She needed to know what she was agreeing to before she set an actual price, but the guy hadn’t even blinked at fifty, so she figured she was good to go.
“That sounds like a good plan,” he said, smiling again. “Hop in.” He unlocked the passenger door.
Dakota climbed into the car, and looked around again. The man put his hand on her leg, clad in tight shorts. Dakota had to force back her instant revulsion at the look of open lust in his eyes. She wondered if there was a “wife” at all. He put the car in gear again and drove off.
Dakota was really surprised when he drove west on the Sunset Strip and continued past the Beverly Hills Hotel. He then took a right onto a road that took them up into the hills.
‘Holy hell,’ Dakota thought to herself. ‘Is this guy like some totally rich dude?’
When he finally reached his destination, the man clicked a button in the car and a gate opened up. The house he drove up to wasn’t huge, but it was definitely nice. Dakota thought she must have been dreaming or something.
They got out of the car and he led her inside. She walked into the foyer of the house looking around and doing her best not to look completely shocked by where she was. This was far from some quick fuck in a back alley in the guy’s car.
“Do you want a drink?” he asked. He walked through the foyer into a sunken living room to a bar in front of a whole wall of windows.
Everything to Everyone Page 4
