Miss Match

by Fiona Riley

  “Samantha Monteiro, are you asking me to go steady?” She tickled her fingers along Samantha’s side, deciding to take a chance and see where this might lead.

  She choked back a laugh as she unsuccessfully glared at Lucinda. “Fuck you, Lucy.”

  “Did that, multiple times now.” Lucinda giggled as she continued to torture a squirming Samantha before pressing their lips together, quieting the moment. “I’d like to date you, exclusively, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  Samantha sighed and held her lips against Lucinda’s for a while before speaking. “Okay. Good. I want that too.”

  Lucinda laughed and pecked her lips quickly before settling down on top of Samantha, intertwining their fingers again, and making sheet angels in the bed. Samantha laughed and wriggled under her, enjoying the pressure of Lucinda’s lean body on top of her and the playfulness that she brought to the moment. A soft buzzing beside them, somewhere deep in the linens, interrupted their play.

  Lucinda frowned and rolled to her side, reaching blindly toward the noise as Samantha captured her lips once again, cradling her head between her hands. The buzzing stopped and was quickly forgotten, until it buzzed again, louder this time, more insistent.

  “Ugh. Is that mine or yours?” Lucinda asked.

  “Probably yours. Mine is in my purse, which I think is in the kitchen, with your underwear.” She nipped at Lucinda’s bottom lip with a laugh.

  Lucinda groaned and reached around for the intrusive object. She found it on the floor under a displaced pillow, next to a gorgeous high-heeled shoe that belonged to the damsel currently sucking on her neck. She pressed the screen, silencing the alarm and displaying the time. She groaned again, this time because reality was settling in. She had to get ready for work—their playtime was ending much too soon. “Hey, babe”—she gently nudged Samantha off her neck—“it’s late.”

  A warm hum vibrated against her neck as Samantha relinquished her kissing duties and sighed, rolling onto her back and staring up at the ceiling. She chewed her bottom lip softly as she seemed to mull something over. Lucinda felt her gaze as she scrolled through emails on her phone, assessing the day’s responsibilities.

  “Call out today.”

  “What?” Lucinda glanced over at her, confused, thumb still idly scrolling the touch screen.

  “Call out today. Spend the day with me.”

  Lucinda ran through the day’s schedule in her mind, ticking off the to-do list as she went. There was a conference call at noon she couldn’t really get out of, but everything else could be moved. The prospect of taking a day off hadn’t even crossed her mind. The last day she called in was… “You’ve been my girlfriend less than fifteen minutes and you’re already asking me to play hooky from work?” she teased.

  “Well, girlfriend”—Samantha laughed—“we didn’t get a ton of sleep last night and I can’t honestly tell you I have any ambition to leave this bed for any reason other than food or a house fire.”

  “Well let’s hope it’s not the latter.” Lucinda looked around with wide eyes, surveying her room. “I’m fond of this place.”

  “So will you play hooky with me?”

  Lucinda pretended to mull it over. “Well…sure. I’d love to.” She was immediately wrapped up in warm limbs. She tossed the phone to the side and refocused on the best thing that had wandered into her life in a long time.

  *

  Lucinda asked Amanda to reschedule her day and have her conference call forwarded to her cell phone. Samantha escaped the bed long enough to call Andrew and reschedule her own meetings to later in the week. She was pleased to find that Andrew was not surprised in the least and fully endorsed Samantha’s absence and demanded a blow-by-blow of the night’s activities at lunch the next day.

  They emerged from the bedroom a few hours later, well-rested and playful. It was late morning by the time Lucinda and Samantha sat at the kitchen island fighting over fruit salad and sipping coffee. Samantha found herself grinning as she adjusted her borrowed shirt.

  “What are you smiling about?” Lucinda asked, stealing the last blueberry from the fruit salad before leaning in to peck Samantha on the lips.

  “I was just thinking that this feels so terribly normal—like we eat fruit out of the same bowl for breakfast all the time. And how odd that is.”

  “Odd because of the other things we did on this surface or…” Lucinda teased with a wink.

  Samantha scoffed and nudged Lucinda’s hand away from the last piece of pineapple. “No. Odd because it feels like déjà vu. Like we’ve done this before.” That was true. This felt deceptively easy. Almost too easy. And yet, foreign to her at the same time.

  “Well, I can’t ever recall anyone looking so good in my shirt and shorts before this morning, so that seems doubtful.” Lucinda laughed and poked Samantha in the ribs before reaching for her phone. “I have to step into my office and make this work call. It won’t be too long. You gonna be okay by your lonesome?”

  “I intend to snoop around and find out what weird quirks you’re hiding from me.” Samantha stole the last melon. “So as long as we both know that’s what’s happening, I won’t feel bad about it.”

  Lucinda reached for her work bag and pulled out her tablet, headset, and some folders. “Have fun snooping. I plead the fifth on all things that may appear self-incriminating.”

  Samantha narrowed her eyes in a playful taunt. “I have my ways of uncovering the truth, don’t you worry.”

  “Oh, that sounds delightful. Let me know how it all goes.” Lucinda winked and walked toward the office off the kitchen. Ornate French doors led into a room full of natural light with a view of Lucinda’s small but private backyard. The oak desk Lucinda settled into after shutting the door was large but appropriate for the space. Samantha watched as Lucinda sat quietly, powering up her tablet and plugging in her headset. She pulled some papers from a drawer over here, moved her folders there. A keypad emerged at some point and a soft bell rang, indicating she was connected to the call.

  Lucinda wore a loose fitting yoga shirt and soft black pants, one knee brought up to her chest while the other swung comfortably from the chair. Although Samantha couldn’t hear what Lucinda was saying, she could tell her tone was very different from the one she engaged Samantha with. It was businesslike and assertive. She moved the mouse over the desktop quickly and shifted her position, sitting up straighter as she responded to something. Samantha wasn’t sure how long she had been staring, lost in her own thoughts, when a familiar ring drew her attention to her purse. She fumbled around for it while keeping her eyes on Lucinda behind the glass in the other room. On her third attempt to free it from the confines of her purse, she touched the screen tentatively; this wasn’t a ring she often answered purposely.

  “Hello?” She tried to swallow the anxiety that bubbled up as she answered.

  “Mija, I called work and was told you were out today, is everything okay?”

  Samantha stifled a sigh. “Yeah, Ma, I just took a day off.”

  “Oh, good. You know, a business won’t run itself, mija.” Samantha could hear the disgruntled cluck through the phone as if her mother were chastising her in person. “I hope you aren’t making this a habit.”

  “Is that really why you called, Ma? To make sure I was successfully running my business?”

  Her mother was quiet for a moment, no doubt contemplating whether to attack or let it slide. Samantha’s relationship with her parents wasn’t exactly what she would describe as smooth.

  “Samantha. Honestly. I was hoping you’d outgrow your attitude after we sent you to that expensive prep school—”

  “Guess not,” she bit back. “What can I do for you on this lovely afternoon, Mother?”

  *

  Lucinda wrapped up her call and cracked her neck. She was happy to be done with work for the day. She finished off a quick email and packed up her work supplies, organizing her desk before stepping out of the office. She heard the soft murmurings of
a conversation coming from the couch. She assumed Samantha was on a call. As she stepped closer to her bag to put away her supplies she caught a mix of English and Spanish hurriedly tumbling from her favorite pouty lips.

  Lucinda shuffled around the kitchen, pouring a glass of water and trying not to eavesdrop. Really, she couldn’t. Half of the conversation was foreign to her, although from the bits she could hear, it sounded like Samantha was going to get some unwanted visitors at some point. She grabbed the glass and walked into the living room, poking her head over the couch to offer the water to Samantha.

  Samantha was stretched out on the sofa, her eyes shut and her hand pinching the bridge of her nose. Lucinda lightly touched her leg to alert her of her presence; Samantha opened weary eyes and frowned, mouthing an apology as she pulled the phone from her ear. Lucinda chuckled at the sound of angry Spanish flying through the speaker.

  Samantha took a sip of the offered drink before handing it back and motioning for Lucinda to sit on the couch. Lucinda smiled, placing the glass down and lifting Samantha’s legs onto her lap. She absentmindedly started to massage the toned legs in front of her as Samantha responded to the female voice on the phone. Lucinda smiled when she noticed that the conversation started to slow as her hands moved farther up Samantha’s thigh. A quick glance at her face revealed that Samantha had checked out of the conversation and was attentively watching Lucinda’s hands.

  “Mija!” An angry bark echoed from the phone.

  “What?” Samantha replied distractedly as Lucinda shuffled her legs to the side so she could crawl up her body, naughty intentions abounding.

  Lucinda slowly pushed up the fabric of Samantha’s borrowed shirt, kissing the exposed flesh of her stomach, teasing it with her tongue as she slid her hands up and down Samantha’s side.

  An angry growl erupted from the phone, drawing Samantha’s now hooded eyes back to focus before narrowing slightly. She ran her fingers through Lucinda’s hair before turning her head to the side and responding, fast and agitated. “God. Fine. Relax. I’m busy…I’ll talk to you later. Adiós.” She tossed the phone to the side and pulled Lucinda’s face up to hers. “I’m sorry,” she murmured against soft lips, kissing her apologies into an eager mouth.

  Lucinda continued to nudge the soft cotton shirt up, exposing the underside of Samantha’s breasts to warm hands gently kneading the skin. She kissed away from her lips and worked her way to Samantha’s neck. “Everything all right?”

  Samantha moaned at the sensation of Lucinda’s hands and mouth on her skin. She was resisting the urge to gently rock up into the body over her. “Yeah, fine. Just my mother terrorizing me on my day off. Nothing new.” She breathed out slowly, willing her heartbeat to slow down a bit.

  Lucinda continued to tease her mouth along Samantha’s neck, kneading her hands where they were, not advancing them any higher, much to Samantha’s frustration. “Tell me about her.”

  “Oh, um, she’s sort of the typical overbearing mother. Always sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong, insulting me casually, you know…” Her eyes were closed as she continued to talk. Her honest reply was rewarded with tender kisses along her collarbone and warm palms on her breasts. She sighed contentedly.

  “What else? Do you have a big family?” Lucinda hands continuing their slow teasing.

  “I have an older brother. He’s the golden child, has two point five kids, wife, successful doctor, blah-blah-blah…” Lucinda pulled Samantha’s shirt up over her breasts, leaving it balled under her neck as she dragged her lips lower.

  “Your father? What’s he like?” Lucinda’s soft lips made their way to Samantha’s nipple.

  A steady vibration wound its way through Samantha’s center as she slowed her breathing as best she could. “He’s a doctor, like my brother. A surgeon. Works a lot. Absent most of the time. Agrees with my mother always, even if she’s dead wrong.” She paused as Lucinda swirled her tongue around the sensitive flesh.

  Lucinda stopped and looked up. Samantha cleared her throat and continued, immediately rewarded with lips on skin.

  “They live in New York, outside of the city. They don’t approve of my life choices, so we only speak when necessary. My career path is sort of a—” She gasped as Lucinda gently bit down before moving to her other breast. “They think what I do is foolish and don’t understand it. My father thinks he wasted money on an education for me, my mother thinks I’ll die alone with fifty cats…” Her voice trailed off as she let herself enjoy the gentle sucking. The sudden rush of cold on her nipple refocused her thought process.

  “Things have gotten progressively worse over the past year.” Lucinda returned her lips to Samantha’s skin, slowly kissing up the length of her sternum, her body pressing against Samantha’s naked torso. Samantha gasped, this time not from the warm flesh on her own, but from a shameful admission she couldn’t stop from spilling from her lips. “They liked Eric, they thought he was perfect. They blame me for it ending. My mother thinks I’m a failure.”

  Lucinda stopped her hands, her mouth, her breathing. She stopped and just looked at Samantha, her eyes open now and sad, staring vacantly up at the ceiling. Lucinda knew that Samantha had stumbled upon something during their play. It pained her to see the self-doubt spread across Samantha’s perfect features. She pressed a soft kiss to Samantha’s lips. She wanted to know everything about this woman, even the painful things. But she would be patient. She wouldn’t pry.

  It sort of terrified her—a recent ex, who was so important as to plan marriage with, a man no less. She broke the kiss, pulling down Samantha’s shirt before she pressed her head to Samantha’s chest, settling her body on top of her. “Do you want to talk about him? About what happened?”

  Samantha settled her hands at Lucinda’s nape, gently stroking. “Not particularly.”

  Lucinda nodded and hugged her arms the best she could around Samantha. She lay there silent, letting the slowing beats of Samantha’s heart soothe her sudden anxiety over the moment. She felt surprisingly vulnerable.

  After a few minutes, Samantha whispered, “How much do you know?”

  Lucinda considered her answer carefully. After the wedding she had pulled the file at work and scanned the final outcome. The details regarding the indiscretion were very limited; the less people knew the better. Curiosity might have tempted her, but her own morals and high regard for privacy made her close the folder before she got the answers she was looking for.

  “I don’t know anything, truthfully. Nor do I need to.” Lucinda picked her head up and looked into Samantha’s sad eyes. “I don’t need to know anything you don’t want to share.”

  Samantha swallowed. Lucinda realized she had just given her a pass, much like the one Samantha had extended to her earlier that morning. She wanted to know the whole truth, but she wasn’t quite sure if their roles had been reversed she would share her own pain.

  “I was with him for six years. I met him shortly after college one night at some silly auction I was doing for my best friend.” Her tone was flat, but she kept Lucinda’s gaze. “It was sort of heavenly to start, all giggles and romance. He swept me off my feet in every sense of the word, everything was grandiose and perfect. We moved in together about a year and half afterward and were happy. I thought we were happy.”

  Lucinda swept a dark hair off Samantha’s forehead as she listened, doing her best to remain calm and patient.

  “We were in no rush to get married. I had started the business with Andrew and was working long hours getting it off the ground. Eric was a pharmaceutical rep and spent a good deal of time traveling along the East Coast for work. After the company launched and we had a few big clients under our belt, Eric proposed.” She sighed before adding, “The months to the wedding were winding down and I was getting a little nervous, admittedly. Things had been a little rocky for me and Eric. It seemed that the wedding was pushing us apart instead of bringing us closer together. Business had blossomed for Perfect Match, all the little piece
s we had set in motion were falling into place, all at once. It was overwhelming and gratifying at the same time.” Her eyes shone brightly for a moment as she remembered. She spared a small smile to Lucinda before continuing, her hands gently caressing Lucinda’s shoulders as she went, as if she was trying to calm herself through touching Lucinda.

  “I had been sort of harried one day leaving the house. In my rush I left my laptop on the counter.” She paused, stilling her hands and blinking slowly up at Lucinda before pressing their lips together. She held the contact, before sighing and finishing. “I came home at lunchtime to retrieve it and caught Eric in bed with someone else. Needless to say it wasn’t received well by any of the parties involved. I tossed him out on the spot and Andrew came by to help me pick up the pieces.” She shook her head sadly. “It was like a bad made-for-TV movie. New up and coming matchmaker’s fiancé cheats, ending fairy-tale romance.

  “Andrew and I silenced it for as long as we could but it was sort of like a ticking time bomb. We had to make sure Eric didn’t breathe a word of the indiscretion for fear that it would ruin the business. That’s where your company came in, crisis management and public relations megastars to sweep this whole ordeal under the rug and secure my freedom from him. He agreed to silence, for money of course, and also to stay as far away from me as possible. Eric and I released a statement to the press amicably splitting and wishing each other great love and health. Andrew worked some kind of fairy gaymother magic and canceled the wedding and handled the press without any real waves. It was so embarrassing. I was ashamed and felt so terribly guilty. A failure at love when that’s all I do—how could people trust me to find them happiness when I couldn’t even find my own?” She sort of sighed the last statement before studying Lucinda’s face for a moment. “My mother jumped on the breakup like a lion on injured prey. She’s been relentless in her verbal assaults and unplanned visits of late. It’s like this was the exact type of justice she had secretly been hoping would come my way for disobeying their wishes. My successes mean nothing to them if I’m not married with children. A point they like to remind me of regularly.”