Monogamy

by Susan X Meagher

  Reaching across the table, Jordan took her hand and gave it a tug. Mia smiled and moved her chair closer until they were shoulder to shoulder. "Do you have any desire to break up with me to be with one of the guys you notice?"

  "No! Of course not!" She leaned her head against the soft wool of Jordan’s jacket and said, "I apologize for bringing the topic up. It was tacky," she said. "I feel like I’m fixated with sexual desire and orientation these days."

  Stroking her thigh, Jordan leaned in close and asked, "Why, babe?"

  "I’ve been thinking," she sighed. "Sometimes I wish I were gay. It would make things easier."

  Laughing gently, Jordan said, "That’s a new development. You know things have changed when being gay is easier than being straight."

  "Not for everything," Mia said. "But it would be easier for things like telling my parents about us. I think they’d understand if I told them I was a lesbian. It’s this damned mixed-up orientation that I have that’s hard to explain."

  "Baby, you’re not mixed up. You’re perfectly, logically, Mia. You are what you are."

  "I know," she sighed. "But I think it’s gonna be hard to make them understand my Mia-ness."

  "Are you thinking about telling them? I uhm … thought that you were certain that you didn’t want them to know."

  "Things are different now, Jordan," she said, reaching down to grasp her hand. "We’re not merely dating now. I’ve never kept anything important from them – and you’re very, very important."

  "Thanks," she whispered. They sat in silence for a few minutes while each tried to think of a solution. "Maybe you could wait until the summer’s over. That will give you six months to prepare – maybe drop a few subtle hints."

  "That won’t work. I uhm … have to tell them before that because I have to make a decision about grad school."

  "What do you mean?" Jordan asked.

  Mia had been delaying discussing the issue, since she knew Jordan would feel strongly about it. "I’m not sure I’m going to go."

  "Pardon me?" Jordan gasped. "You’ve got to go!"

  "But school starts at the end of August. I’d have to take over a week off to go to the Olympics – and believe me – I’m going to the Olympics!"

  Jordan let out a massive sigh and forced a smile onto her face. "We’ll figure it out, Mia. I’m not sure how we’ll do it – but we’ll figure it out."

  Part 14

  The Saturday softball games went as well as the Friday ones had. Once again, Jackie was toast after the first match, and Ryan ably took her place. They beat the University of Virginia handily, 6-1, with Ryan getting her first home run of the year, a solo shot in the first inning.

  As usual, Jamie was waiting outside of the locker room when Ryan emerged, grimy, sweaty and smiling. The smaller woman tossed a ball at her, which Ryan caught defensively. "What’s this?" she asked.

  "Your home run ball. You don’t think I’m going to let them throw it back in with the rest of the balls, do you?"

  Ryan blinked at her, surprised and puzzled by her feat. "But how …?"

  Jamie smiled and let her in on her scheme. "I saw a kid who works at the facility run out there to retrieve it. I caught him before he entered the clubhouse and gave him $20 for it." She waggled her eyebrows Ryan-style, breaking her partner up, as usual.

  "You’re the best," she said, giving her a sweaty squeeze.

  "I’m inspired to greatness."

  After a quick clean-up, the pair headed to The Mirage to meet up with Jordan and Mia. "Have a nice day?" Ryan whispered into Mia’s ear when they found them playing quarter slots.

  "Yipes!" She turned and gave her a light slap in the gut. "You scared me!"

  "Well, did you?" Ryan asked, unrepentant.

  "Yes, we did, as a matter of fact. We’ve been vertical for nearly an hour now." She had a very pleased smile on her face, and Ryan nodded her approval.

  "Good job. Now I won’t feel bad demanding that you come to the game tomorrow. We swept today, so we’re in the championship game tomorrow. It’s not until two, so you can get your beauty rest."

  "In my case, the correct term is resting with my beauty, but I get your point," Mia said. "We’ll be there. Did you play?"

  "Yep. Started the second game. Hit my first home run."

  "Way to go, boomer!" Jordan said. "You rule!"

  "Thanks. We’ve been playing great. Haven’t lost one yet."

  "We’ll definitely be there to root you on," Jordan said. "I can’t wait to see Heather, too. How’s she doing?"

  "Good. I wish we could have brought her tonight, but she skipped a grade and hasn’t even turned 18 yet – much less 21. Oh, she and Ashley are tutoring Jennie, you know. It’s been going well."

  "Does she get to play much?"

  "Nope. She hasn’t played in a real game yet – but she doesn’t seem to mind. Coach likes to go with a hot hand – and Stephanie and Courtney are mowing people down. She’ll play plenty if she sticks with it next year, though. I think she’ll be good once she matures into her body a little bit. She pitched in the alumni game and did very well."

  "So, what do you guys want to do tonight?" Jamie asked.

  "I wanna go see ‘O’ again," Jordan said. "That show was so totally fine! We can’t thank you guys enough."

  "It was great, wasn’t it?" Jamie asked. "Once Ryan got over her disappointment at not having lions and tigers and bears, she was goofy for it."

  "Speaking of tigers," Mia said, "Let’s see if we can get tickets to see those weird guys with the white tigers."

  Jordan rolled her eyes and Ryan’s mirrored her. "No interest," the blonde said.

  Jamie, however, completely agreed with Mia’s desire. "Come on, you two. It’ll be fun."

  "Doesn’t sound like fun to me," Ryan said. "I don’t like those big, staged shows."

  "You enjoyed ‘O’ more than I’ve ever seen you enjoy anything," Jamie reminded her.

  "It was awesome," Ryan said, "but watching those guys with the tigers is not in the same category. I wanna play poker, blackjack, or maybe craps."

  "Me, too," Jordan said. Turning to Ryan, she asked, "What’s craps?"

  "Fine. We’ll see if we can snare a couple of tickets," Jamie said. "And we won’t tell you any of the cool things that happen."

  Ryan had a perfect mental image of Jamie as a six-year-old, snubbing her little friends for refusing to go along with one of her ideas. Unable to resist her allure, she bent her head and kissed her soundly, pressing their bodies tightly together until Jamie relaxed against her. "I would have loved to have known you when you were a little girl," she murmured into her ear.

  Struggling to get her bearings, Jamie responded, "I didn’t do things like that with my little girl friends. Elizabeth would not have approved."

  "I’m glad she went back to England," Ryan said. "She doesn’t sound like any fun at all."

  Giving the long body a squeeze, Jamie sent the jocks on their way. "You two have fun. The show’s over at ten, so we’ll come find you at either the poker or the blackjack tables."

  "Okay," Ryan said. "Miss you already."

  "Uh-huh. That’s why you don’t want to come with me," she scoffed.

  "How can I miss you if you won’t go away?" Ryan teased over her shoulder, drawing a fierce scowl that quickly turned into a smile and a blown kiss from her partner.

  Ryan’s luck was holding, and she amassed quite a little nest egg from her two hours at the poker table. Jordan stuck with blackjack, making the $100 bankroll she’d started with triple over the course of the evening. It was not yet ten o’clock, but because her concentration was beginning to wander, Ryan decided to cash out. She and Jordan went to the slot machines that bordered the blackjack area, thinking that Jamie and Mia would try that area first.

  Jordan went to fetch some mineral water for them, since the free drinks were slow to come. Ryan wasn’t paying much attention, slowly putting one quarter at a time into the machine. She felt a warm hand on her shoul
der and turned, expecting to find Jamie. To her surprise, the woman now touching her back was part of the reason her concentration had flagged at the poker table, and she swallowed hard when she found herself face to face with the object of her distraction.

  The woman looked like a model or an actress, and Ryan had a very vague sense of having seen her somewhere. She racked her brain, trying to remember any recent movies she’d seen, but came up blank. "You play well," she said in a very friendly voice. Ryan swallowed, trying not to stare at the long, lean legs, shapely body, and generous breasts; or the long, light brown hair held back in a simple braid, showing off the well-defined planes of her face. Her eyes were hazel, and they were gazing avidly at Ryan.

  Ryan shrugged, trying to avoid looking into the woman’s beckoning eyes. "Anybody can pull a handle. The skill is in designing the computer program that sets the random payout for the machine."

  The hand returned to her shoulder and squeezed a bit, sending a shiver down Ryan’s spine. "I meant that you play poker well. I think you saw me watching you … didn’t you."

  A faint flush climbed Ryan’s cheeks and she nodded. "Yeah. I thought maybe you were looking at someone else."

  "No. Only you," the woman said. "You held my attention."

  Ryan made a show of holding up her left hand, flexing her ring finger – hoping to blind the woman with her diamonds. "Thanks. Uhm … but my attention is taken. I’m permanently partnered."

  A tiny frown crossed the woman’s face and she said, "You’ve been by yourself all night … I assumed …"

  "That makes perfect sense," Ryan said. She rose from her stool and started to move away, wanting to remove herself from this discussion as soon as possible.

  The woman moved right with her, however, and put a hand on her arm, stopping her. "Are you forbidden to talk to people?"

  "No, no, of course not," Ryan said, slightly flustered. She honestly didn’t know what to do in this situation. She knew that the woman didn’t want to discuss how the program for the slot machine might work, but she didn’t want to be rude. Something inside told her that Jamie wouldn’t be very happy to find her spending time with a beautiful stranger, no matter how innocent the situation. "I can talk to whomever I want, but you’re wasting your time talking to me."

  "You’re pretty fond of yourself, aren’t you?" the woman asked, tilting her head.

  "No, I’m not," Ryan insisted, backing away from the woman. "But I have a lover, I don’t live around here, and we’ll never see each other again; so why not find someone who can show you a better time than I can?"

  The woman tried unsuccessfully to hold back a smirk. "I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone more henpecked than you are. Does she beat you for having fun?"

  Ryan’s eyes darkened, and she gave the woman a withering look. "That’s not even remotely funny. I’m in love with my partner, and I’ve never met a woman who I’d prefer to spend my time with. Including tonight." She brushed past the woman, who followed right along beside her, trying to get in one last dig. But when they got to a small seating area, the stranger tripped on something and violently banged into Ryan. The dark haired woman fell onto the cushion of an overstuffed chair, with the other woman falling right into her lap. Those dangerously long legs were now exposed up to mid thigh, and Ryan struggled to catch her breath.

  "Did I hurt you?" the woman asked, feeling gently around Ryan’s body to check for damage.

  Trying to remove her wandering hands, Ryan sputtered, "No! Now, please get off my lap!"

  "Fine," the woman huffed. "Look, I fell. I’m not trying to assault you! You’re a good-looking woman, but I’ve had better. Get over yourself!"

  Ceasing her attempts to extricate herself from the chair, Ryan gave the woman a chagrined look and said, "I’m sorry if it sounded like that. Really. I’m sorry."

  "That’s okay," the woman said. "You just shot me down awfully quickly. I’m … not used to that." She was sitting across Ryan’s lap, with one arm draped around her shoulders. "Damn, my watch snagged on your sweater. I think I’ve almost got it … okay! I’m free."

  As the woman started to get up, Ryan heard Jamie’s outraged voice. "Ryan! How could you!"

  Grasping the woman by the waist, Ryan pushed her to her feet, crying after her lover’s departing form," Jamie! It’s not what it looks like! She fell!"

  "Is that the best you could come up with?" Mia growled, giving Ryan a menacing look before she ran after her friend.

  Ryan quickly made sure the woman had regained her balance, and ran as fast as she could, barely able to see Jamie’s blonde head in the distance. Her heart was pounding so hard that she felt faint, but she kept going until she lost her partner near the progressive slots. Not having a clue of where to look, she started back for where she had left Jordan. She got no more than ten feet when a pair of hands pushed her into a quiet corner. Now, a very familiar pair of lips met hers, and she immediately relaxed into the kiss. "You got me back, didn’t you," she mumbled as her knees began to weaken.

  "Yep." Jamie kissed her again, ratcheting up the passion. "You’ve been had."

  "You can have me any time you want me," Ryan said, smiling down at her. "And, for the record, I’ll never play another practical joke on you. You’re fucking vicious!"

  "Sure am," she said. "I’ve got to pull out all the stops when I’m dealing with the likes of you."

  Both laughing, they walked back to find their friends, Ryan pausing to ask, "How did you find someone to play that joke on me?"

  "I recognized her from the Bimbo Express," the blonde said. "Cost me $100." She cocked her head at Ryan and said, "See how serious I am about getting revenge? I could have had sex with her for twenty minutes, but I spent my whole allotment getting back at you."

  "Uhm … thanks, I think," Ryan gulped.

  "She assured me that she was the best in the business, but she’s a rank amateur compared to you, babe. You’re the tops."

  "Even though your opinion is based on pure speculation, I’m very glad to hear it," Ryan said, giving her lover a blissful smile.

  After they saw Jamie and Ryan off, Mia grinned up at her partner and asked, "Where to now?"

  Jordan shrugged. "I don’t want to gamble any more. I’m up $500, and I’m using it for a plane ticket." At Mia’s raised eyebrow, Jordan tapped the brunette’s nose with her finger, then placed a tiny kiss there. "A plane ticket to come see you. I can’t bear to be away from you for longer than a month."

  "Let’s not talk about being apart right now, okay?" Mia asked gently, her face reflecting her sadness over their separation. "Let’s try to stay upbeat. I hate to waste a minute that we have together."

  "You’re right," Jordan said. "Let’s go back to our room. There’s nothing that appeals to me more than being alone with you."

  When they reached the room, Mia said, "Let’s fire up that spa tub. Jamie said they didn’t have time to use it, and I hate to see it go to waste."

  "Good deal. I’ll go get us some ice while you fill it. I brought a bottle of white wine for us to share."

  Several minutes later, the pair was comfortably ensconced in the deep, whirling waters of the tub, sipping at the wine Jordan had brought. "I’ve been thinking about what you said last night," the blonde said. "I hope you know that I’ll do anything I can to help you if you decide to tell your parents."

  "I do," she said quietly, "but I don’t know how to do it. I need to think about it for a while."

  "What about Peter? Could he tell them first?"

  "Mmm … I’ve considered that, but I think it would hurt them to think I was afraid of telling them. I’m sure he’d do it, though. He’s always willing to go to bat for me."

  "I can’t wait to meet him," Jordan said. "He sounds like a great brother."

  "He is," Mia said. "You know, I think you’ll like my parents, too. They’re nice people, Jordy; and once they get over their shock, I’m sure they’ll be fine." She gave her a squeeze and said, "Someday we’ll be sitting ar
ound the dinner table at their house, laughing about how afraid we were to tell them about our relationship."

  Jordan had been cupping her hand and pouring water over Mia’s shoulders, but she stopped abruptly. "Do you honestly see that happening?"

  "Uhm … yeah," Mia said tentatively. "What’s wrong? Don’t you want to have a relationship with them?"

  Letting out a relieved sigh, Jordan closed her eyes and shook her head. "Of course, I do. I just didn’t know that you wanted to have a … normal relationship. You know, like Ryan has with her family, and like Jamie has with her mom."

  "Normal?"

  "I don’t even know what I’m talking about," Jordan said quickly, her head shaking roughly. "Forget it."

  Grasping her arm, Mia held her still and said, "No, I don’t want to forget it. What did you mean?"

  Jordan looked chagrined, but she completed her thought. "I guess I’m still fixated on what you told me when we were in L.A. with Ryan and Jamie. You were so clear that you didn’t want anyone to know about us, and it throws me when you talk about things like we’re a regular couple."

  Mia leaned back against her, murmuring, "We are a regular couple, sweetheart." She turned as much as she could so that she could look into Jordan’s eyes. "When I said those things in L.A., I was in a very different place. I thought we were only playing, and I didn’t want things to get complicated between us. It seemed to me that if no one knew, it wouldn’t be a big deal if it didn’t work out. Do you know what I mean?"

  Nodding briefly, Jordan waited for her to continue.

  "We’re not playing any more," Mia whispered, snuggling closer as she tilted her head upwards. Her breath was warm and sweet, and Jordan was drawn towards her, their noses nearly touching. "I’m deeply in love with you, Jordan, and you can take everything I said in L.A. and trash it. I want to tell my parents about us. I want to tell my friends about us. I want everyone I know to know how special you are, and how much you mean to me." A few hot tears slid down Jordan’s face and Mia kissed them away as they fell. "I love you," she whispered between kisses. "I want to share my life, and all of the people in my life, with you."