Chapter 30

I savored Tina's kiss all the way back to Maryland. That's not to say I was lost in it. I contemplated other things. But I didn't lose the taste of it, either; it just hovered near the back of my brain, warming me in those momentary pauses in my more serious thinking.

The path forward with Tina was clear. Write, be friendly, and be patient. The last of those might be the most difficult, I realized. Fortunately, I wasn't constrained to just sitting around. I could throw myself into my work. I could go out. I could even date.

Hell, I thought, with Sherri around, I could even get laid. Maybe not very often, but certainly enough to take the edge off. Unlike when I was getting over Alicia.

That thought made me frown. How much of the early innuendo with Sharon had just been pent-up sexual tension? On both our parts?

I suspected I'd never know. While alcohol and horniness had certainly helped get Sharon out of her clothes, they hadn't been enough to take it further. And now ... as much as I wanted to have gone further, we probably never would. Especially since both Tina and her dad wanted me to get past that.

I froze and replayed those last words through my brain. "I wanted to have gone further." past tense.

I didn't so much want to be having sex with Sharon as to have had sex with Sharon. With all the posing and teasing and years of fantasies, she'd become the one that just got away. The Great White Whale to my Captain Ahab.

Was that a way out? Could I develop a romantic relationship with Tina and keep my friendship with Sharon?

Tina didn't trust me with Sharon because she knew I had an unscratched itch. What if it had been scratched by the time we got back together?

I was too stunned by the beauty of the idea to immediately over-analyze it. Images of Sharon blowing me flitted through my mind, followed by fantasies of fucking her, perhaps doggie style. Perhaps doggie style in front of a mirror, so I could even take pictures.

My growing erection pushed uncomfortably against my pants. Unfortunately, seat 22B on a full United flight was not the place to adjust myself. I willed myself to think about astrophysics instead. What pictures would we have from Hubble when I got back into the office? I was able to lose myself in those thoughts for quite a while.

Eventually, though, the problem of Sharon drifted back into my forebrain.

It was really three problems, I realized; dealing with Sharon, then convincing Tina that I wasn't still lusting after Sharon, then convincing Mr. Delgado. The last one was probably easy if I succeeded with the second one. Or if not easy, at least I'd have Tina's help.

Convincing Tina would be harder. I'd only get one shot at it and I had no idea what that would take. I thought about various scenarios and then gave up. What I said to Tina depended far too much on how our relationship had developed by then. Not to mention whatever had happened with Sharon by then.

And, given the current data, that might be nothing. Until Sharon wrote back or called, I had no idea what it would take to patch things up with her. Even without trying to resolve them to Tina's satisfaction. All I could do for now was wait.

I hated waiting.

But at least I wouldn't be waiting alone. I could always talk to Sherri. She was probably waiting herself, come to think of it. Waiting for me to get home and call her so she could come over.

Except she wasn't, I discovered, as I left the plane and entered the concourse. She stood there, off to one side, but impossible to miss, with Lisa next to her. They both grinned at my surprised expression.

"Welcome back," Sherri said, as she gave me a hug.

"This is a surprise," I said, looking from her to Lisa. "I thought I'd call you and we'd just meet at my apartment."

"We thought you might like this better," Lisa said.

I nodded, still quietly chuckling to myself.

"Except I drove," I said. "My car's in the shuttle parking lot."

"That's okay," Sherri said. "That's why I brought Lisa. I'll ride with you and she can follow."

As we headed to the cars, I filled them both in on the basics of my trip. Once Sherri and I were alone, I gave her more of the details. She nodded and hmm'ed and asked a few clarification questions, but didn't interrupt. I realized that, despite my earlier fears, there really wasn't any advice I needed or questions I wanted to ask. Telling my story was enough.

I wound things down just as we pulled into my apartment's parking lot. "So why'd Lisa come along tonight?" I asked as I turned off the engine.

"She was curious."

"You haven't told her everything?"

"I haven't told her very much," she said. "You're the one that told her about your conversation with Mr. Delgado, when you talked to her on the phone yesterday."

"Oh." That's right. I'd told Lisa my secrets myself.

"So she wants to hear how your dinner with Tina went. I told her she'd have to ask you herself, and respect your wishes if you said no."

"Ahh." I started to get out of the car, and then her words came back to me. "You said you hadn't told her very much. So what exactly did you tell her?"

Before Sherri could answer, Lisa appeared next to our car.

"Hi, guys!" she said. She shivered. "It's cold. Where's your apartment?"

I exchanged amused looks with Sherri before turning back to Lisa. "Follow me."

The women shed their coats in the living room while I started some coffee in the kitchen. Lisa poked her head in and told me I had a nice place, so, while the coffee was brewing, I gave her the quick tour. Sherri settled in at the kitchen table. She just grinned at some of Lisa's enthusiastic comments about my limited decor before I retrieved the coffee and we all sat down to enjoy its warmth.

"So," Lisa asked, "are you and Tina getting back together?"

"Not in the near term," I said. "We're going to write and stay in contact for a while, and hopefully re-establish our friendship. But she'll be dating other people."

"Will you be?"

I nodded. "It would be foolish for me to not be."

"That's not necessarily true," Sherri interjected. "There's nothing wrong with you just being single for a while."

I chuckled. "I don't think extended celibacy would be good for me. I think that contributed to the problems with Sharon."

"But celibacy and dating aren't necessarily related," Sherri said.

"Yeah," Lisa said. "You can get laid without a relationship."

I raised my eyebrows and looked at her pointedly.

"You can," she said. "Why do you think men call us?"

I glanced at Sherri, who didn't say anything.

"True," I said. "Except I couldn't afford to call you or women like you on a regular basis. Besides, I appear to have ended up in a relationship with you anyway." I gestured to include them both. "It might be a friendship, but it's still a relationship."

"It's always a relationship," Sherri said. "Even if it's just for a night and even if you never see each other again."

Lisa shook her head, obviously disagreeing but Sherri ignored her.

"But you're right," I said. "I can probably get laid without getting into a serious romantic relationship." I was sure Sherri would sleep with me if I asked, but I didn't want to be crass and say so out loud. And since she was a lesbian...

"After all," I continued, "you two manage it."

Sherri tilted her head in acknowledgement, while Lisa frowned.

"Manage it, yeah," she said with a snort. "But finding a guy I want to keep sleeping with is a different story."

I looked at her, amused, not knowing what to say.

"Well," Sherri started, "you could..." She stopped when Lisa glared at her. Once again, I had the disorienting feeling of being in the middle of something.

"I'm sure I can handle being single," I said. "It only sucks sometimes."

"Like Valentine's Day," Lisa said with a sour frown. Which was tomorrow.

I paused. Lisa was lost in her own thoughts, and Sherri just studied her, a benign smile on her lips.

I had an idea. "Well... ," I began, "the three of us could get together for dinner tomorrow. It wouldn't be a romantic date, but it wouldn't be sitting around alone."

"I'd love to!" Lisa said looking up with a broad smile.

"I have a client," Sherri said, more wistful.

"That reminds me," I said, "you mentioned a business deal on the phone. Can you share more about it?"

She paused, and then nodded. "I have a client who wants me to form an agency with him. He'd provide the financial backing to get us started, and the technical side."

"How much of a technical side is there?" I asked.

"Well, he says that computer networking is going to take off. He works for ... this company that provides computer accounts to people, and they're going to start providing graphical interfaces, which means pictures and even photos."

I nodded. She hadn't said the company name, but I knew she was talking about America Online, right across the river in Virginia.

"He may be right," I said. "We've downloaded this new program, Mosaic, at work. It's pretty incredible."

"I'm still thinking about it," Sherri said.

I glanced at Lisa, who frowned and looked like she was about to say something, but then Sherri shot her a look and she didn't.

"Well, good luck," I said.

"Thanks."

The conversation momentarily died. I revived it by bringing up a few more details about my trip to share, but I'd already told Sherri all the important ones in the car, and I didn't feel like repeating them. When it started to idle again, Lisa turned to me.

"So where are we going tomorrow?" Lisa asked.

"I don't know," I said. "It depends on where I can get a reservation, which may be hard to do at the last minute. I also won't have time to pull together a menu to cook." I shrugged my shoulders apologetically.

"That's okay," Lisa said. "I just want to go somewhere that I can get dressed up. And where you can get dressed up."

I laughed. "You want to see me dressed up?"

"Why not? We girls like to look, too."

I glanced at Sherri, who made a confirming nod. I chuckled and rolled my eyes.

"Okay," I said, "I'll investigate and see what I can come up with. Call you tomorrow during the day?"

Lisa nodded enthusiastically. We picked a time and she insisted that I pick her up. I managed to conceal my surprise as she gave me directions to her and Sherri's apartment, but Sherri didn't seem to mind. We talked a little more, but I started to feel the fatigue from the weekend. Sherri noticed, and said they should probably get going. We exchanged hugs at the door, and I sank onto the couch after they'd left. It didn't take much unpacking before I could legitimately sink into bed and then into a deep sleep.

The next day, to my surprise, I was able to get reservations at a well-regarded French restaurant on Wisconsin Avenue. While it was a little more expensive than I'd planned, I'd always wanted to eat there. I figured Lisa wouldn't mind, and in fact she was delighted when I called her to let her know she did indeed get to dress up.

Sherri let me into their apartment. I tried not to let my surprise show—she was in a sweatshirt and jeans and looking far more plain than I'd ever seen her.

"She'll be ready in a minute," she said as she looked me up and down, smiling.

"That's okay," I said. "I thought you had plans."

"I do," she said, "later. Right now I'm working on my thesis. And helping Lisa get ready."

I raised an eyebrow and looked her a question.

"I feel like a mom on date night," she said, rolling her eyes.

"It's not a date," I said.

"She knows that. But she's still looking forward to it. It's been a while since she was out with a guy who was more interested in dinner with her than what came after."

I chuckled at that. But only for a moment, before Lisa came around the corner from the hallway, and my chin dropped. She looked good.

I noticed her beaming smile first. It lit up the room. She'd also spent some time on her hair, which hung in waves down to her shoulders and framed her face with a golden glow. It also accented the gold necklace that plunged down her cleavage, ending in a single deep blue gem that hung between her breasts. That was the only color she wore, as her dress was a classic curve hugging little black dress ending just above the knee, with black hose and fuck me pumps.

"Wow," I said.

"I told you I wanted to dress up."

"You certainly did. You look great."

She beamed. "You really think so?"

"You're beautiful," I said, which earned me another smile.

"Have fun, kids," Sherri said, as she headed back to the kitchen area, where I could see books and papers spread out on the table. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Fortunately, that's not much," Lisa said, wetting her lips as she smirked. I decided she was teasing and just rolled my eyes before extending my arm. She took it and we walked to the car.

On the drive, Lisa talked about how excited she was, and about some of the restaurants she'd eaten at and really enjoyed. She mentioned the names of a couple of the guys that had taken her, without explaining who they were beyond a couple of quips like "he liked seafood—couldn't get enough," or "David always wanted to make an entrance, and have everyone notice he had a beautiful girl on his arm." I didn't say anything other than the polite, please continue type noises, even when I could no longer track the names and stories.

Her patter slowed at the restaurant, to my relief. She asked me a couple of questions about some of the menu items, and listened attentively when I described the wines that would go with each, drawing me out to explain what I knew. She slowed even further when the waiter approached, letting me order for her, while sitting demurely with a sweet smile. After the waiter left, she turned to me.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I've been monopolizing the conversation. What would you like to talk about?"

"Well ... how did you meet Sherri?"

"Through the agency. Toni likes to send new girls out on doubles for their first call, so the more experienced girl can show her the ropes. Sherri was my partner."

"Oh."

"We worked together a couple more times," she continued, "and then one day she mentioned she was looking for a roommate who wouldn't have a problem with her job. I needed to get out of where I was living, so we talked and I moved in."

"Ah, so you didn't meet at school."

She shook her head. "Sherri encouraged me to go back to school—I'd dropped out after my first year. Once I'd gotten my credit cards paid off, I decided to give it a try. That's when I switched to working the phones."

"Why'd you drop out?"

"It was either that or flunk out," she said with a shrug. "I didn't know what I wanted to do, and I was partying a lot. Besides, I met David, and he wanted me to spend all my time with him."

"And David was... ?"

"An asshole and a player," she said, almost spitting the words. "He had a trust fund and used to brag about all these big financial deals he was doing. Later, I found out they were crap. He gave me all these expensive presents when we first got together, but when I moved in with him, he insisted we split all expenses 50/50. That was bullshit. I was working as a waitress in a club and he was blowing money left and right with his buds. Including that tramp Becky."

"He cheated on you?"

She gave a firm nod.

"So I threw him out. Good riddance."

"He sounds like a bum."

She shrugged. "Yeah. The sex was good." She paused to take a sip of water. "Anyway, I couldn't make the rent on my paycheck, and that's when one of the other waitresses suggested I talk to this woman that came in a lot. That was Toni and, well, I decided what the heck and started the next week."

"Was it hard?"

She looked pained. "Not really. At least the first couple of times. I mean, it wasn't much different that going home with a guy I'd met at a club, except they weren't as hot. And the money was real good."

"But you switched to the phones."

She shrugged. "Not everyone wants to be a sacred whore like Sherri. Most girls don't, they just want the money."