by Nona Raines
A no-brainer. “The Honeymooners.”
Latisha’s eyebrows winged up. “Seriously?”
Tania leaned back in her chair and grinned. “You don’t approve.”
“That bus driver’s terrible, always threatening to send his wife to Mars.”
“To the moon. Oh, I know it’s not politically correct. But he’s just a big mouth,” Tania laughed. Big mouths didn’t bother her—hell, she was quite the mouth herself. “He never hurt Alice, never touched her on the show. Deep down, he knew she was always right. She was his rock, and he couldn’t make it without her. They always ended the show in a lip lock.”
And man, would she like to end this evening in a liplock with Latisha. Her lips tingled as if they’d already been kissed.
In another minute or two, the bell would ring, signaling the men to rise and move to the next table in the circle. The muscle-bound guy, mirror man, would claim the next seven minutes of her time. But she didn’t want to waste a second on him. Not when she could be getting to know Tisha better.
Her empty score card fluttered to the floor. She didn’t need to write anything down. Latisha’s score was a big fat ten, an A double-plus, in every category—beauty, personality, and intelligence.
But how would she rate Tania?
Only one way to find out.
She leaned forward again. “Listen, I’m having more fun with you than I’d have with any man here. Why don’t we just ditch this and go to the bar for a drink. Or get something to eat. There’s a Chinese place down the block. You like Chinese.”
****
You like Chinese.
Recognition flashed in Latisha’s brain. She’d had a niggling feeling of déjà vu, as though she’d seen Tania somewhere before. And of course. Of course she had. At the Eighth Moon Buffet.
They’d bumped against each other while filling plates. As soon as Latisha looked into Tania’s lovely face, a surge of heat rose through her. Heat that had nothing to do with the steam table.
Tania had spoken, said something about being clumsy, and Latisha had replied. But she couldn’t remember now what she’d said. A buzz had filled her ears and her legs felt unsteady as she’d headed back to the table she shared with Amira and their friend Carol. Her entire body vibrated with awareness, a response she’d only experienced once before.
When she’d been with Danielle.
So why did she only now recognize Tania from that Saturday? Maybe because she’d tried to push the memory away, just as she’d done with memories of Danni.
But now the floodgates were open. She wanted to go with Tania, just as she’d wanted to return to the Eighth Moon a few months ago. Hoping to see the pretty redhead there again. She’d lost her courage, though, especially when she remembered how things ended with Danielle. She’d decided it was best to put the encounter out of her mind for good, let it fade away.
Which it almost had, until today.
Would she let fear win again?
“Let’s go.” The words burst from her lips. The bell rang and she stood just as a heavily-muscled man reached Tania’s table.
The redhead stood and shrugged apologetically. “Sorry.”
He turned to Latisha in confusion.
She shook her head, feeling just a twinge of guilt. “Sorry.” Swinging her purse over her shoulder, she accompanied Tania out of the room.
They found a table in the cocktail lounge and ordered a couple of drinks that Tania insisted on paying for. As they chatted and laughed Latisha again felt that sensation vibrate through her body, that combination of nerves and sexual longing. She was light-headed with anticipation and weak with fear.
Of course, the alcohol didn’t help. But as Tania shared some funny stories about her experiences working with the public, all Latisha could think about was leaning forward and pressing her lips to Tania’s pink mouth.
Don’t go there.
Tania grew blurry as Danielle’s face floated in front of her. “I’m not in love with you.” The words echoed in her memory.
Tania’s voice brought her back to the present. “Latisha? You all right?”
“Excuse me.” Latisha stood so abruptly she bumped the table and made the glasses jiggle. “I need to use the bathroom.”
“Is everything okay?” Tania’s eyes were wide with concern. “These drinks are delish, but they pack a pretty good kick.”
“I’m not drunk.”
“I never said—”
She had to get away. “Excuse me.”
She brushed past a waitress with a tray of drinks and several others in her rush to the Ladies’ Room. Once there, she washed her hands and patted her cheeks with a damp paper towel, trying to collect herself.
A wash of embarrassment poured over her as she thought of how she’d run from poor Tania. But it was only from herself she was running. She prided herself on facing issues head on. But this issue, this part of herself, was something she’d avoided for a long time.
“I’m marrying Jackson.” Danielle’s voice was firm, but her tone was expressionless, her eyes empty. She resembled an automaton who’d been programmed to say those words. A robot. Or one of those pod-people from that old sci-fi movie.
Latisha was so stunned that the announcement barely penetrated her mind. She couldn’t think. All she could do was react. “No. You can’t. I’m in love with you.”
“No, you’re not. And I don’t love you. I love Jackson. You and I were just, we were just experimenting.”
How could Danni say that her feelings weren’t real? “A year and a half is not an experiment. It’s a relationship.” As the numbness receded, pain filled the void, pain unlike anything Latisha had ever known. She wrapped her arms around herself to hold it in. Hold herself together.
Danielle shook her head. “You knew Jackson and I were engaged, that we’d get married after graduation—”
“And you kept telling me you’d break it off when the right time came.” She and Danni had been lovers since their junior year of college, but always on the low. Latisha hated living a lie, but Danielle was frightened of her parents’ reaction to her “lifestyle.” She was terrified they’d disown her, refuse to continue funding her education. “You told me you’d only gotten engaged to make your families happy—”
“That’s not true.” Danielle cut her off sharply.
Tears burned Latisha’s eyes. “Danni, you know it’s true. You can’t do this. It’s not fair to us or to him.”
“Next month we’ll graduate. Jackson and I will move in together. He’ll join his father’s business, I’ll get a job teaching, and we’ll start planning our wedding.” Danielle blinked, her eyes as lifeless as a doll’s. She spoke the lines as though she’d memorized them. Without emotion. “I don’t love you.”
The bathroom door opened, and Tania entered. “Tisha, I was worried…”
Latisha turned away to grab another paper towel. “No need. I’m fine.”
“Have you been crying?”
“Of course not.”
Tania stepped closer. “Yes, you have.” She gently cupped Latisha’s face and turned it toward her. At Tania’s touch, a thrill zinged through Latisha. Her lips tingled, her nipples bunched.
“You are crying.” Taking the paper towel, Tania carefully blotted the wet tracks on Latisha’s cheeks. Their gazes met, and the crumpled wad of paper fell from Tania’s hand into the sink. Latisha’s heart hammered as Tania drew her close and claimed her lips in a kiss.
Tania’s lips were sweet and fruity like her mai tai. Delicious. She smelled delicious, too, her scent light and flowery. Latisha sighed as all the tension flowed out of her, and she sank into the embrace.
Tania moved in closer, pressing her full breasts against Latisha. Tania’s own nipples were hard. She sighed as her mouth opened, and her tongue flicked Latisha’s lips, teasing them apart. With a moan, Latisha surrendered and welcomed Tania’s seduction.
Their tongues caressed sinuously. Tania slid her hand up Latisha’s waist and
cupped her breast, brushed her thumb over the beaded nipple. Latisha’s knees wobbled as the sensation streaked straight to her clit. Tania’s kiss had awakened something in her that had lain dormant for years.
As they kissed, Latisha felt the edge of the counter against her ass and hitched herself up until she was sitting on it. Her skirt had worked its way up her thighs, nearly to the lacy tops of her thigh high stockings.
They broke the embrace, both of them breathing hard. Their gazes locked as Tania lightly caressed her knee, smoothed her hand up Latisha’s thigh. Another spark of need crackled through Latisha. Her pussy was creamy and moist, her panties wet. Tania’s face was flushed, her lips full with arousal.
“Tisha.” As Tania softly spoke her name, there was a question in her gaze. Do you want this?
She did. It had been so long…so long since she’d been touched. Since she’d had an orgasm not delivered by her own hand.
“Yes.” She took Tania’s hand and placed it to the juncture of her thighs, over her panties. Tania groaned and swooped in to kiss her hungrily. As their lips and tongues melded, Tania flicked and played with Latisha’s hard, needy clit. The sense of urgency, the knowledge that anyone could walk in on them, fired Latisha’s desire even more.
Tania slid her lips to Latisha’s cheek, then down her throat to the open collar of her blouse. With her free hand, she cupped Latisha’s breast and pinched her nipple. Red-hot sparks shot through her. “Yes. Oh.”
Latisha’s thighs stiffened as her need stretched to the breaking point. Her breath caught when Tania’s fingers slipped beneath the elastic of her panties to stroke the tiny kernel of flesh. The climax that had shimmered in the distance suddenly crashed over her, and Latisha came in a delicious rush of warmth. Contractions pulsed through her, her nipples tightened, her lips tingled. Prickles raced to the palms of her hands and the soles of her feet.
She burrowed her face against Tania’s neck, breathing in her floral scent. “Ohh…”
As she came back to earth, Latisha felt Tania’s soft lips pressed to her moist hairline. Then she was aware of being wedged inelegantly next to the sink, the counter cold underneath her ass, her skirt bunched almost to her waist. What was she doing? What had she done?
Then she remembered Danni and went cold. She couldn’t go down this road again. “No.”
“No?” Tania drew back in surprise.
“This is not…no.” She shook her head, pushed herself off the counter, and righted her skirt. She straightened the rest of her clothing, trying to avoid looking at her guilty reflection in the mirror. Trying not to see the hurt in Tania’s face. “I have to go. I have to get back to my cousin. I’m sorry.” She edged past Tania and almost bumped into a woman coming through the door.
****
What the hell just happened?
Tania felt dizzy with bewilderment. I know she was feeling me. What did I do wrong?
Finding Tisha in tears, Tania had given in to the impulse to kiss her and make it better. Had she pressured Latisha into something she hadn’t wanted? But she told me yes. And I know she enjoyed it. So there had to be another reason why Tisha had suddenly freaked out. Why had she been crying?
Flooded with self-doubt, Tania knew only one thing. She had to find Latisha and make sure she was all right.
They almost collided in the lobby, as Tania headed toward the Van Buren Room and Latisha hurried out of it.
“Amira’s not there.” Tisha’s expression was taut with worry. “The coordinator said she left in a hurry.”
“Maybe she took a bathroom break—”
“She left at least twenty minutes ago. She wouldn’t have taken that long.”
“Could she have gone home?”
Latisha huffed in frustration. “She would have told me.”
“Well, try calling her.”
Latisha gave Tania a do-you-think-I’m-stupid look. “I’ve tried, and there’s no answer. I have no idea where she is. I don’t know what I was thinking, leaving her alone. I never should have let you talk me into—”
“Wait a minute.” Tania’s eyes bulged as her head filled with steam. She took Latisha’s arm and practically marched her behind a stout pillar where they wouldn’t be seen. “You just hold on. First of all, I didn’t talk you into anything. I invited you for a drink and you agreed. Secondly, your cousin is not a child. She’s a grown woman. If she chose to leave that BS dating thing, that’s on her. Not you, and certainly not me.”
Latisha glanced away, her face turning dark with embarrassment. When Tania calmed a bit, she spoke again, her voice softer. “Let’s not even pretend we don’t know what this is about. If I came on too strong before, I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.” Latisha’s gaze flitted around the lobby, landing everywhere but Tania. “But it was a mistake.”
Tisha’s refusal to look her in the face told Tania everything she needed to know. You’re lying, she wanted to say. Instead, she took a deep steadying breath. It wasn’t her job to force anyone to confront her sexuality. “All right. But let’s just get one thing straight, so to speak. You kissed me back.”
She might even have reminded Tisha how she’d encouraged Tania to touch her. But Latisha looked so unhappy that Tania didn’t have the heart to embarrass her more.
Latisha, still avoiding Tania’s gaze, refused to answer.
Tania released a deep sigh of sadness. “You know it’s true.” She gripped the handle of her purse so tightly, her fingers went numb. “But I guess there’s nothing more to say.”
“No.”
Damn it. Tania ground her teeth and turned away. With anyone else she’d have blown up, lost her shit for sure. But she just couldn’t bring herself to do that with Tisha.
She should be angry. Anger would have protected her from the sickening sense of disappointment and loss flooding her. Now what? Head home and spend the rest of the night feeling sorry for herself?
No. What she really wanted was to head back to the lounge and have two or three more cocktails. But since she had to drive, that was not going to happen. Unless the bar offered virgin mai tais.
****
Latisha’s chest throbbed with guilt while her mind whirled with confusion. She’d lied. She had kissed Tania back, had wanted Tania to touch her. Had even encouraged it. But she couldn’t admit it, not even to herself when confronted.
Tania was the first woman who’d touched her sexually since she and Danni broke up. Oh, she hadn’t been celibate all this time. She’d dated men, gone to bed with some of them, and it had been…nice. Nothing more. With Tania, it had been fireworks, skyrockets, waves crashing on the shore, every movie cliché and then some. It had been amazing. Her body was still feeling the aftershocks.
Not only had she hurt Tania, but worse, she’d blamed her for Amira’s sudden disappearance. Amira was grown. Tania told the truth about that, too.
She couldn’t bear to think of the pain on Tania’s face when they’d parted, so instead she focused on locating Amira. One thing at a time. Once she found her cousin, there would be plenty of time for guilt and regret. She’d had a second chance today and played the fool. There’d be no third chance.
She hurried through the lobby out the front door. Maybe Amira had gone to her car? She held her coat closed as a cold gust of wind tried to rip it from her—a perfect example of upstate New York weather on the first day of Spring.
A young man in a down parka approached her. “Do you have your ticket, miss?”
She turned toward him. “No. Actually, I was wondering if—”
“Latisha.” Amira emerged from behind a stone column, a plastic thermos cup cradled in her hands.
“What happened to you?” Latisha’s voice was shriller than she intended as a spark of anger flashed through her. “I was looking everywhere.”
“I’m sorry.” But Amira didn’t look sorry in the least. She looked loopy, her lips curved in a dreamy smile.
“What are you drinking?” Latisha demande
d.
Amira blinked. “Hot chocolate.” She directed a tender glance at the young parking valet. “Carlos shared it with me.”
Carlos flushed and smiled back, looking pretty loopy himself. Latisha realized she was in the presence of love at first sight.
She turned back to her cousin. “What made you come out here?”
Amira grimaced. “That muscle bound dude inside. He came to my table and at first he seemed all right, but then he started talking about all the,” her voice sank to a whisper, “positions he’d like to get me in. He was really gross.”
Righteous anger blazed through Latisha. “You should have reported him.”
“I didn’t know what to do. I felt like I couldn’t breathe, so I just ran out here. Carlos saw how upset I was. He’s such a gentleman.” She sent another loving look his way. “He calmed me down, and we started talking. He shared his cocoa with me.”
Oh God, the girl’s gone. Well, she could do a lot worse than the kind-hearted Carlos.
The valet was speaking to another customer when Amira pulled her aside.
“He’s a full time college student,” she confided. “He works here nights and weekends to help pay for school. He’s cute, don’t you think?” Amira’s round face glowed with happiness. “He asked for my number and said he’d call.”
So Amira had found her prince after all. So what if he wore a valet’s uniform instead of a golden crown?
She smiled and patted Amira’s arm. “If I head home now, will you be all right here with Carlos?”
Amira nodded. “I’m going to stay and finish my cocoa. He said he’ll see me to my car.”
Latisha headed down the walk toward the parking garage, trying to feel happy for her cousin. Well, at least one of us got lucky.
She frowned. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. You got lucky, too, but you had to mess it up.
****
Tania’s non-alcoholic cocktail did nothing to improve her mood. Her emotions were a stew of anger and disappointment as she stalked into the parking garage to get her car.
I know she wanted me. I’m not crazy.
She didn’t go around putting the moves on women who were strictly dickly. So why was Latisha gas-lighting her?
