The Truth

by Erica Lee

  When she looked back over at me, she plastered a smile across her face, immediately rebounding. “Anyway, I find you very fascinating, Miss Foster. I’m sorry if I’m coming off a little strong, but I’d love to see you again.”

  I moved my hand out from under hers and used it to trace my fingers along her arm. The chemistry between the two of us was undeniable, and it made my temperature rise just thinking about what the future might have in store for us. When I looked into her eyes, I saw the same desire I was feeling.

  “Trust me, you’re not coming off too strong. I really want to see you again too. Do you think I could have your number?”

  “Oh… Yeah. I mean, of course,” Diana replied, while fumbling for her phone. I didn’t miss the moment of hesitation she had and cursed myself for being so overbearing.

  I continued to scold myself as I walked back to the practice. I was starting to accept the fact that I had royally messed up when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. To my surprise, it was a text from Diana.

  So how does drinks on Friday night sound? ;)

  I immediately accepted and then tried my best to wipe the goofy grin off my face. I must have failed because as soon as Samantha saw me, she twisted her face into a look of confusion. “What’s with the face? Did you eat something funky for lunch?”

  “Nope. Lunch was fine. It was great actually.”

  I could tell Samantha wasn’t convinced. “Then what the… Oh my God. You met someone, didn’t you? You just dumped your last crazy girlfriend three days ago and you can’t even take a lunch break without letting some girl sweep you off your feet?”

  “This wasn’t just some girl. I know I sound crazy, but I think there is something special about her.”

  Samantha threw her head back and let out a loud cackle. “Okay, Carly. Just please do me a favor and hide all of your credit cards, house keys, and Mr. Bubble containers until we know for sure what this girl’s deal is.”

  I scowled at her attempt at a joke. My track record may have been awful, but I just knew Diana was going to be different. Samantha would see that soon enough.

  Chapter 3

  The week dragged by, and I thought I was going to lose it by the time Friday rolled around. Much to my dismay, Diana didn’t text me at all during the week. I was convinced that I had been ghosted when a text finally came through Friday afternoon.

  Is 9:00 okay? I’m thinking Jake’s Tavern if that’s okay with you.

  This girl could’ve asked me to meet her in an abandoned alley at midnight and I would’ve agreed. At 8:45, I was already settled up at the bar at Jake’s nursing my first drink. Like clockwork, Diana strolled in right at 9:00. One point for being punctual. Her outfit earned her about a million points though. As much as I enjoyed how she looked in scrubs, that didn’t even begin to compare to her current outfit. She was wearing tight black jeans with holes in the knees, short gray boots, and a loose gray T-shirt. Over the T-shirt, she wore a tight leather jacket. It was the perfect fall outfit, and I had to remind myself not to drool. I stood up as she approached the bar, but then questioned how I was supposed to greet her. Lucky for me, she didn’t have any reservations at all as she pulled me into a tight hug. Our bodies melted together perfectly, and my thoughts immediately became dirty as I wondered just how much better this would feel without so many layers of clothing between us.

  Once we separated, Diana pointed to the dim area at the back of the bar. “How about we take the booth back there? It will give us much more privacy.”

  I followed her back through the bar and slid into the booth across from her. As we waited for our drinks, I took in the rundown bar. “So, why this place?” I asked. “Do you live around here?” The bar was a good half-hour drive from my apartment without traffic, but I guess the distance between us could be much worse than that.

  “No. I actually live about an hour from here,” Diana admitted, while taking a few sips of her beer. “I just like how quiet it is. Plus, I try to find places that aren’t close to where I live or work. I’m a fairly social person when I want to be, but I also prefer to avoid the people I’d have to make unwanted small talk with.”

  I nodded my head. “That makes sense. So, tell me more about yourself.”

  “What do you want to know?” Diana asked, raising a seductive eyebrow.

  I decided I didn’t want to hold back with her, so I answered honestly. “Anything. Everything.”

  “Well, isn’t that broad?” she flirted. “Let me see. I’m originally from the Philadelphia area, but went to UCLA for nursing and ended up living in California until I bought a house here six years ago. I like to read a lot in my free time. Not that I have much of that, but I’ll read during any little break I get at the hospital. Unfortunately, I’m a workaholic, but when I’m not working, I do coach a tee-ball team and volunteer at an animal shelter by my house.”

  I laughed. “You seem too good to be true. Please tell me one negative thing about you so I know that you’re human.”

  Diana tapped her chin in mock wonder. “Hmm… Oh! I got it! I secretly, or I guess not-so-secretly, hate Philly. I think the city is trash and I can’t stand the sports teams or the fans.”

  “Ouch,” I joked, placing my hand over my heart. “You’re right. That might be a deal breaker. I am one of those fans, you know. E-A-G-L-E-S Eagles! But it’s fine. You know what they say—nobody likes us and we don’t care.”

  Dimples formed on Diana’s cheeks as she smiled at me. “Want to throw anymore lame catch phrases at me? Fly Eagles Fly? Or perhaps you’d rather sit there and brag about how you finally won a Super Bowl last year after the whole country doubted you?”

  I shook my head at her jabs. “I guess this would be a bad time to admit that I actually cried when they won the Super Bowl, like full on ugly tears, because I was so happy.”

  “You didn’t.”

  “I did.”

  After completing our little banter, Diana and I simply smiled at each other from across the table. Diana reached out her hand and ran one finger up and down my arm, flirtatiously biting her lip but never saying a word. My eyes jumped back and forth between those lips and her eyes, which were burning into mine as if I had somehow lit a fire inside of her. I could feel the flames building inside of me as well. We stayed lost in that moment for a few minutes, our only form of communication being light touches and searing looks. I broke the spell because I was afraid I might jump across the booth and attack her right in the bar. The amount of sexual tension burning between us was almost unbearable.

  “So, if you hate Philly so much, then why’d you move back?” I asked, trying to calm down the feelings pulsing through my whole body.

  Diana shrugged. “The suburbs are alright… I guess. Plus, family is here.”

  “I thought you didn’t get along with your family?”

  “I don’t really,” Diana groaned. “My mom has never agreed with the way I live my life and it’s exhausting. I honestly don’t even know how my dad feels since we hardly talk. But at the end of the day, they are still my family. Do you know what I mean?”

  I knew what she meant all too well. “Totally. When I came out to my parents right before my high school graduation, they told me I wasn’t allowed to live under their roof as long as I was living that lifestyle. They didn’t even blink as I packed my bags and left broken-hearted. Yet, I still visit them every few months. And like a broken record, every single time they ask me if I’ve given up the wicked ways of homosexuality and every time there’s a blow up over the fact that I haven’t.”

  Diana reached for my hand just as she had at lunch the other day. “I’m so sorry you have to go through that.”

  “It’s okay. Like I said, Samantha’s family has been great. They’ve kept me sane through all of this.”

  Diana smiled at me and squeezed my hand. “That’s really sweet. I’m glad you have them.”

  After another minute of staring at each other, Diana looked down at her watch and her eyes went wide.
“Wow. It’s late. I can’t believe we talked so long. I wish I could stay longer, but I work the early shift tomorrow.”

  “I’m sorry,” I apologized. “I had no idea. Let’s get out of here.”

  Even though she had to get up for work in just a few hours, Diana still offered to walk me to my car. Once we were there, she didn’t even hesitate before pinning me to the driver side door and taking my mouth with hers. Before I even had time to process exactly what was happening, she was already deepening the kiss. The feel of her tongue made me weak in the knees and just when I thought I could collapse, I felt her hips grinding up against mine. My God. This woman was going to kill me. Either that or give me an orgasm right here in the parking garage. Before I could reach that point, she pulled away from me, licking her lips in a way that almost sent me over the edge. Everything about her was so sexy that it was painful.

  Diana leaned in to give me one more quick kiss, then ran her thumb along my lip to rid me of her residual lipstick. “I’ll see you soon, Carly,” she said with a wink, before sauntering out of the parking garage and right into my heart.

  Chapter 4

  I skipped up the sidewalk toward the Phillips’ house on Sunday night feeling lighter than I had in a really long time. I hadn’t spoken to Diana since our date on Friday, but I wasn’t worried. I had called her earlier in the day, hoping we could chat and set up another time to meet. When she didn’t answer, I left her a message telling her to get back to me whenever she could. I knew she had a busy schedule, and by the way she had said she’d see me soon when she left me on Friday night, I knew that she meant it.

  When I made it to the front door, I didn’t hesitate before walking right in. The Phillips’ house might as well have been my own at this point. I was pleasantly surprised when I walked into the kitchen and saw Samantha’s little sister, Molly. “Hey there, Little Phillips,” I yelled to her.

  “Is it really necessary to call me ‘Little Phillips’ still? I am taller than you.”

  She had that right. As a college basketball forward, towering over me at five foot eleven, she was far from little.

  “You’ll always be Little Phillips to me,” I swooned, while placing my hand over my heart then opening my arms to her.

  “I’m so mad that I met you before my growth spurt.” She shook her head before heading over to me to accept my hug.

  “You just home for the weekend?” I asked her, while pushing myself up to sit on the kitchen bar.

  Molly nodded her head. “It’s fall break, but I have to be back by tomorrow afternoon for practice.”

  “Awesome. Season starts next month, right? Make sure you send me your schedule so I can get to some games.” Molly went to school about an hour from where we lived so I always tried to make it to as many of her home basketball games as possible.

  Her face lit up at my request. “I totally will.”

  “Ew. Get off the counter,” Samantha lectured when she joined us in the kitchen.

  “Your parents don’t care if I sit here and technically, it belongs to them.”

  “Well, technically, I have to eat food that has been sitting right where you have your tush and I’d prefer not to.”

  “It’s a cute tush at least,” I joked, while wiggling on the counter.

  Samantha turned away from me, clearly not impressed with my antics. I raised an eyebrow at Molly who just shrugged her shoulders in response.

  “There’re my girls,” Mr. Phillips cooed, as he entered the room with Mrs. Phillips close behind him.

  I hopped off the counter to give them both a hug. “What’s for dinner, Pops?” I asked playfully.

  “You mean you didn’t bring it?” he joked back. “I’m just kidding. We would all starve if we were relying on you. I ordered pizza about a half-hour ago. It should be here soon. By the way, I see you survived your first week. What did you think?”

  “I really enjoyed it. Three days a week I get to hang out with my favorite family in the world, socialize with the locals, and earn some extra cash on top of all of that. It’s a pretty sweet gig for an office job.” I was sure to stick my tongue out after that last part. Samantha’s whole family knew how I felt about typical nine-to-five jobs.

  I felt a hand on my arm and turned to find Samantha standing beside me with a serious look on her face. “Could I talk to you?” she asked softly.

  As I followed her out of the kitchen, I was sure to dramatically roll my eyes to the rest of her family to show them just how much I wanted to have this seemingly serious conversation.

  “So, what’s up?” I asked once we were all the way in her bedroom.

  “It’s October now…” Samantha started, clearly trying to prompt me.

  So that’s where this conversation was going. “It is.”

  “And this year will be the five-year anniversary…” she continued.

  I cringed at Samantha’s words and willed myself not to get upset. I don’t know why she insisted on talking about this. Couldn’t she see that I clearly didn’t want to?

  “Sam…” I warned. It wasn’t often that I was stern with her, but this was one of those times that I needed to be.

  “I know. I know. You don’t want to talk about it. But you haven’t talked about your sister since that night, and I don’t think that’s good for you.”

  “This is how I handle it,” I snapped. “You’re just going to have to accept that.”

  Sadness swept across Samantha’s face and I was afraid she might cry. I hated upsetting her, even if it was the residual effect of her upsetting me first. I reached out for her hand and she reluctantly allowed me to grab it. “Sorry for yelling. You just have to understand that I can’t talk about this. I just can’t, Sam.”

  She squeezed my hand and looked back into my eyes, seeming to be searching for something in them. “I know. I just need you to answer one question for me. How are you?”

  How was I? That was quite the loaded question. Life was going well lately. On the surface, everything was great. Life would always be hard for me though, and I think Samantha already knew that.

  “I’m doing well,” I said as cheerfully as possible. “No. Scratch that. I’m doing great. The freeloader is officially out of my life, and I had a super hot date on Friday night that ended with the sexiest make-out session of my life. Can you really get better than that?”

  The look on Samantha’s face told me she didn’t appreciate my blase response. “That’s not what I meant and you know it. How are you? Really?”

  I sunk onto her bed, where Samantha joined me and put her arm around me. I leaned in to her side. It always felt good to have her there. She made me feel protected, since I knew that she was the one constant in my life that I could always count on.

  “I’m getting by,” I admitted. “This time of year always takes its toll on me, but I know I can get through. You always get me through.”

  Samantha took a deep breath beside me, then pulled me in closer, enveloping me with her warmth. “You can always count on me.” After a few seconds, she cleared her throat and added, “I’m sure a few more steamy make-out sessions won’t hurt either.”

  I snorted in response. “Nope. Those definitely don’t hurt.”

  Chapter 5

  I was getting ready to head to lunch the next day when I heard someone come through the front door of Phillips Family Eyecare.

  “I’m guessing you’re part of the Phillips family,” Phyllis, the somewhat new receptionist, greeted.

  Hm. That was strange. I figured Molly would have headed back to school by now.

  I walked out front to say hello to her and was surprised to find Diana standing there. “Hey you,” I greeted, the goofy grin very apparent on my face.

  Diana smiled at me in a way that made my stomach go into knots. “Hello to you, too.”

  The trance between the two of us was broken when Phyllis started to cackle. “Oh dear. I’m sorry. You’re not a Phillips girl, are you?”

  When Diana shook her head
in confusion, Phyllis started to laugh again. “Well, you certainly look like you could be.”

  Did she? Sure, she and Samantha had the same color hair and those dark eyes, but I didn’t see any striking resemblance. Diana was super sexy and Samantha… Well, she was just Sam. She was also ridiculously good looking, but I didn’t want her looks compared to the woman who I was constantly undressing with my eyes. It seemed so wrong. I decided not to think about it too much though. Phyllis was well into her seventies, and I’d overheard Mr. Phillips telling her the other day that she was in desperate need of cataract surgery. If an animal somehow wandered into the practice, the woman probably would’ve tried to ask if it had an eye exam scheduled.

  “So, to what do I owe the pleasure of you showing up here?” I asked as flirtatiously as I was willing to in front of Phyllis.

  Diana smiled again. “I was hoping it was close to your break, so we could get lunch together. Also, I thought maybe I could meet my apparent doppelganger while I’m here.”

  I leaned in close. “She’s not your doppelganger, trust me,” I whispered, before adding a bit more loudly, “Samantha is actually busy with a patient right now, but I was just about to go on break.”

  Diana smirked. “Perfect.”

  Once we were outside, she turned to me with a smoldering look. “So, how long is your break?” she asked, while running a finger up and down my arm which caused goosebumps to rise everywhere she touched.

  I looked at my watch. “Looks like I have about forty-five minutes.”

  “Awesome. I know just the place to go.”

  We picked up sandwiches at the cafe that we had gone to last week and then got into Diana’s car. After just a five-minute drive, we arrived at a small park and got out to sit on a bench by the water.

  Diana took a deep breath as she took in our surroundings. “This is one of my favorite places to be alone.”

  “You’re not alone now.”

  “I’m alone with you,” she replied seductively. Heat pulsed through my body from her words.