Summer Fling Read online

  “I don’t know,” Didi said. “That’s what this tourist magazine says.”

  “Maybe tonight is the night I’ll meet the one.” Viv’s eyes were wide with possibility. “Peace out, Maia.”

  Kate and Didi exchanged looks.

  “I hope so,” Kate said. “But do yourself a favor and wait until you’ve had at least two dates before you move her in.”

  “I don’t do that,” Viv said.

  Kate arched an eyebrow.

  Didi jumped in. “Name one girl in the last twenty years you dated without moving her in.”

  Viv scoured her memory for several moments. “I can’t help that I’m a romantic. Some women actually find that appealing.”

  “There’s a fine line between hopeless romantic and having a Lifetime movie made about your relationship,” Kate said.

  Viv wielded her manicured finger between them. “Don’t be hatin’ on me because I get more play than both of you.”

  “You also get more restraining orders than we do,” Didi said.

  “One. I’ve had one restraining order in my life.” Viv sipped her drink. “We’ve all had that one girl we got a little Glenn Close over. That hardly makes me a stalker.”

  “Right,” Didi said. “The good news is your attorney is right here in case you get a little too Glenn Close again tonight.”

  “This attorney is off the clock, so you both better behave,” Kate said. “Besides, I’m not staying all night.”

  “What do you mean?” Didi said. “You can’t leave early. Look, this hot singer is performing at ten.” She fanned the advertisement in the magazine in Kate’s face.

  “And this concerns me how?” Kate said.

  “Damn, girl,” Viv said. “This doesn’t do anything for you? You must be dead inside.”

  Kate grabbed the magazine. Jordan Squire. She had to admit the girl was hot—wild brown curls, ripped jeans revealing the right amount of thigh, and a guitar. Again, so what? She looked really young and, if she was true to her profession, probably had a girl in every dive she headlined.

  “Of course she does something for me,” Kate admitted. “Look at her. I’m sure she does something for everyone in here. But do you think I want to stick around and climb over you two and everyone else like bridesmaids diving for the wedding bouquet?”

  Didi scoffed. “Kate, don’t be ridiculous. You have just as much of a chance with her as anyone else in this joint.”

  “Yeah,” Viv said. “Don’t worry about me. I don’t want her. I’m tired of white girls.”

  Kate chuckled at her friends. They were a handful, but luckily the size of their hearts eclipsed the collective mass of their insanity.

  “Okay. I’ll stay. I can’t in good conscience bail on a girls’ night out.”

  “That’s the spirit,” Didi said. She sipped her martini as she glanced around. “What a treat to be in a club and not be the oldest one in it for once.” She indicated a trio of silver-haired sisters holding court at the enormous circular bar in the middle of the club. “I feel like we should be carded or something.”

  Kate agreed with a giggle.

  “Hmm, I wonder if Maia will show up,” Viv said. “I’m thinking about asking her to Aruba next month.”

  Kate jerked her head toward her. “Maia. As in Maia, the complainant on the aforementioned restraining order?”

  Didi shot Kate a look and then, “Unless you have a chloroform rag in your purse, how do you propose to convince her to go?”

  Viv rolled her eyes. “It’s all good. I’m seeing a counselor.”

  “Another one?” Didi said.

  “Yes. One more in tune to the needs of lesbian relationships. We’re working on my narcissism issues. I’m quite motivated this time.”

  “That’s great,” Kate said, trying to be supportive. “But maybe you ought to cut your losses with Maia and start fresh with someone new.”

  “That’s a defeatist attitude, Kate,” Viv said. “Nobody ever got anywhere in life by giving up. Where would aviation be without Howard Hughes’s Spruce Goose?”

  Kate pondered that for a moment. “Einstein didn’t give up either, and he ended up with the formula for the nuclear bomb.”

  “Serial killers,” Didi said. “Serial killers don’t give up either.”

  Viv and Kate glared at Didi.

  They had migrated toward the stage for a prime position in the crowd for the evening’s featured event, Jordan Squire and her acoustic guitar. Caught up in their conversation, Kate hadn’t realized she was right in front of the stage until the lights went out and Jordan leaped out with a hard strum of her guitar.

  It took Kate’s eyes about a day to climb Jordan’s long legs to her muscled forearm to her luscious lips pressing against the mic. Jordan had the audience mesmerized through her opening song as she whipped her tresses around and belted out a husky rendition of Dusty Springfield’s “Son of a Preacher Man.”

  As hardened as she thought she was, Kate was by no means immune to her allure.

  “She’s amazing,” Didi shouted to Kate over the cheers. “What a voice.”

  “Yeah,” Kate said, still staring at Jordan.

  “Thank you, ladies,” Jordan said, flipping her hair off her face. “Welcome to Moxy’s Pride Week dance. How y’all feeling tonight?”

  Cheers thundered through the music hall.

  “You mind if I do an original for you?”

  The crowd again cheered their approval. As Jordan strummed the intro to the song, Kate did a double take. Was she making eye contact with her? No, of course not. It was so hard to tell under the flickering lights. She could be looking at anyone or no one at all in the sea of faces. Whatever. She was adorable to stare at regardless.

  A few more songs into the set, Didi turned to Kate. “Is Jordan looking at you?”

  “I don’t know,” Kate said. “I thought she was at one point.”

  “Oh my God,” Didi said, clutching Kate’s shoulders. “She’s flirting with you.”

  “Shut up. No, she’s not.”

  “Yes, she is,” Didi insisted.

  “No, she isn’t.”

  Jordan finished her song and flung her guitar pick at Kate, settling the dispute once and for all. Kate smiled a thank you, Jordan winked a you’re welcome, and off into her next original she went.

  “You lucky bitch,” Didi said. “Where did Viv disappear to? She’s missing this. Kate, you’re finally going to get laid.”

  Appalled at the suggestion, Kate shoved Didi away from her and inadvertently into a cluster of women next to them.

  “I’m sorry,” she mouthed to them as they helped Didi regain her balance.

  Toward the end of Jordan’s first set, Kate needed space and air. She swam through the undulating bodies toward the ladies’ room, hoping to find Viv along the way. What was happening to her? A sexy young woman flirted a little, and suddenly, she was falling apart. Where the hell was Viv?

  She shouldered open the bathroom door, slammed the stall door behind her, and sucked in stagnant air. Maybe the girls were right. Maybe she needed to get back out onto the dating scene—if for no other reason, to get reacquainted with the custom of meeting and interacting with another female. She sat on the toilet and texted Viv. No response.

  As she left the ladies’ room, she contemplated texting them both and sneaking home to New Haven on her own. She veered down an unfamiliar hall and nearly physically ran into Jordan Squire as she was exiting the backstage area.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” Kate said, her eyes locking with Jordan’s.

  “No, that’s okay. My bad,” Jordan said. “Hey, I saw you in the audience before. I hope my singing didn’t drive you away.” Her face broke into the most alarmingly cute smile.

  “Not at all,” Kate said. “You’re fantastic, actually, especially your originals.”

  “Thanks. Well, I’ll be selling copies of my debut CD after my second set. Hang around if you can.”

  “Okay, sure,” Kate said. “I’d
love to get a copy.”

  They held each other in a lingering glance before parting ways. As Kate searched for Didi in the dispersing crowd, she caught herself smiling and promptly relaxed her facial muscles. Then she smiled at having done that.

  “Where have you been,” Didi asked when Kate found her at the bar. “I thought you ditched us.”

  “Believe me, I thought about it. Where’s Viv?”

  “She’s down at the Starbucks two blocks over. She met someone.”

  “Better at Starbucks than a hotel.” Kate pondered the notion for a moment. “Are you sure the Starbucks isn’t in a hotel?”

  Didi shrugged. “Listen. Don’t disappear again. Jordan’s going back on in a few minutes. Maybe we can hang around after the show and you can talk to her.”

  “I just talked to her.”

  “What? What are you saying?”

  “I got lost coming out of the bathroom and ran into her coming off stage. She told me to stick around and buy a CD after.”

  Didi’s eyes bugged with possibilities. “We’ll both get her CD, and you’ll get her number.”

  “No. We’ll get her CD and that’s that.”

  “Kate, ask her for her number. What do you have to lose?”

  “I don’t want her number. She’s clearly too young for me, and I’m not schlepping all the way down to the city to date someone.”

  “Are you kidding? Long-distance relationships are the best. Think of all the me-time you’ll have. You can do whatever you want but still have someone to have sex and dinner with. It’s brill.”

  “It’s not brill. All that back-and-forth is a pain in the ass.”

  “You’re a pain in the ass.”

  “There it is.” Kate rolled her eyes. “Real mature.”

  Didi grabbed her by the arm. “C’mon. Let’s go elbow our way back to our spot near the stage. Jordan’ll be looking for you.”

  As strong as Kate’s outward protests were, she was actually amused by Didi’s throwback to high school chase games. It had been decades since Kate had embraced such innocent fun. Not that she was going to admit that to Didi.

  After the show, Jordan might not have been looking for Kate, but she certainly seemed pleased when Kate’s and Didi’s turn in line came up. Her sage eyes flowered with apparent delight.

  “Hi again. I’m glad you could stay,” she said. “Would you like me to sign it?”

  “Of course,” Kate said.

  “You can sign mine, too,” Didi said. When Jordan finally peeled her eyes away from Kate, Didi gave her a petit wave.

  “Thank you again,” Jordan said to Kate. “I hope you can check out another show sometime.”

  Another lingering glance, this one awkward.

  Kate exhaled. “Sure, I’ll definitely try. But I live in Connecticut and don’t make it into the City too often.”

  “She will,” Didi said. “We’ll check out your website for dates and stuff.”

  “Connecticut?” Jordan said to Kate. “I do a lot of shows there. That’s because I live there, too.” That smile again.

  Women grumbled behind them, waiting for their chance at Jordan.

  “Okay, well, uh, like she said, we’ll watch your website for upcoming shows,” Kate stammered.

  “How about I let you know when I’m in the New Haven area,” Jordan replied. “Got a card?”

  Kate’s lips parted but nothing came out.

  “Yes, she does.” Didi sprang into action, digging in her purse until she unearthed one at the bottom. “She’d love to hear from you,” she said, handing her the crinkled card. “My cell’s on there, too, just in case I can help you with anything.”

  Jordan smiled uncomfortably at Didi and then flashed Kate a wildly flirtatious grin that turned her to mush.

  “Pleasure to meet you,” Kate said. “See you around.”

  She grabbed Didi’s sleeve and dragged her away. “We have to find Viv before she ends up engaged,” she said.

  Didi stopped before they reached the exit. “Kate, hang on. Don’t you think you should wait until she’s done?”

  “No. Why would I do that?”

  “You can’t be that dense. She’s totally into you.”

  “Didi, it was a little flirting. That’s what she does. She’s a lesbian singer trying to build a following. She’s friendly with everyone.”

  “Yes, she was friendly with everyone, but she was into you. She wasn’t looking at anyone else the way she was gazing into your gorgeous baby blues.”

  “Forget it,” Kate said. “She’s gotta be twenty years younger than me. I’m a stable, mature attorney. She’s a kid who travels around singing at nightclubs. I like to be in bed by the time she takes the stage. Not exactly the ingredients for a successful match.”

  Didi scoffed. “Is there no end to your excuse-making? Let’s go find Viv.”

  They walked the two city blocks to the location of Viv’s last known whereabouts, the Village still vibrant and sweaty with Pride revelers after one a.m.

  “I just found Jordan’s artist page on Facebook,” Didi said. “Wow. She’s got a lot of followers. Go on it and like it.”

  “I will.” Kate stared ahead pensively as Didi strolled beside her, preoccupied with her phone.

  “It says she’s from Westport.”

  “Yeah?”

  “What’s that, like a forty-minute ride for you,” Didi said, her voice climbing a few octaves. “You guys are practically neighbors.”

  “Didi, I don’t want to talk about her anymore.” Kate’s thoughts were still spinning from her interaction with Jordan. “Hey, is that Viv?” she said.

  Viv was perched on a cement wall a block down from Starbucks, looking quite unlike an exotic, sophisticated cosmetics company heiress-slash-executive.

  “What’s the matter?” Kate said.

  “Why are you sitting here alone?” Didi said.

  Viv sighed. “Tonight was a disaster. Maia didn’t show up at the club like I’d hoped, and this lovely young woman, Greta, I met at the bar turned out to be a straight woman scouting a third party for her husband’s fiftieth birthday.”

  Kate called up patience from her dwindling reserve. “Viv, you need to reevaluate your criteria for what constitutes a disaster.”

  “And in all likelihood, Maia did show up tonight,” Didi said. “But she saw you first.”

  Didi and Kate stifled a duet of giggles out of respect.

  “Listen, it’s late.” Kate held out her hand to Viv. “Let’s go to your place. We’ll stay over. You’ll feel better in the morning after a sleepover with your besties.”

  Viv slid off the wall, still pouty. “I’d feel better after a sleepover with Halle Berry and Charlize Theron.”

  “You’re not exactly my first choice for a pajama party either,” Didi said.

  “Well, we’re all we’ve got tonight,” Kate said. “It’ll have to be enough.”

  Viv melted into a smile. “It is.”

  They all looped arms together and walked to the corner to wait for Viv’s driver to whisk them off to her posh apartment on the Upper West Side.

  “Which rooms do you want us in?” Kate yawned as they walked into Viv’s apartment.

  “Can we all sleep in my bed tonight?” Viv said.

  “Come on. Really?” Kate glanced around, still awed by the lavish digs overlooking Central Park she’d seen a hundred times before. “You have four bedrooms, and we all have to cram into your bed?”

  “What you mean, cram? I’ve got a California king. Please?” She pouted. “I don’t want to be alone.”

  “I’m not sleeping in the middle,” Didi said. “I don’t trust Viv. She’s been single for like six months now.”

  Viv raised an eyebrow at her. “Bitch, please. You wish you could have a taste of this dulce de leche.”

  Kate stopped at the bedroom door and glanced back and forth between them. “I think I’ll go sleep on the couch in the living room.”

  “No way,” Viv said. “You�
�re not leaving me in here with this thirsty old bag.”

  Kate rolled her eyes. “Why don’t you two just do each other and get it over with?”

  “Ewww,” Viv and Didi yelled in unison.

  “That’ll never happen,” Didi said. “We know too much about each other.”

  “Word,” Viv said. “She’s practically a virgin. I ain’t got time for that.”

  “I am not a virgin,” Didi said. “I’ve had steamy romances with women.”

  “Girl, you still got your training wheels on.”

  “No. I’ve slept with a whole slew of women,” Didi said.

  “I wouldn’t go around advertising that,” Viv said.

  Kate watched them, fighting a smile. “I’m serious. I’ll sleep down the hall. You two just get in bed and let it happen.”

  “Eh, why not?” Didi said to Kate. “You slept with her. Viv, we can complete the circle jerk.”

  Kate stared at Viv in horror. “You told her?”

  With no defense, all Viv could do was shrug.

  “I thought we’d agreed long ago to pretend that drunken college cliché never happened.”

  “I’m the one who should be offended, not you,” Didi said. “I’ve known you since high school, and I had to hear it from Viv.”

  “Didi, take this as a lesson being that you’ve come late to the lesbian party,” Kate said. “Don’t sleep with your friends. And don’t kiss and tell, especially if you sleep with your friends.”

  Viv raised her palms toward the vaulted ceiling. “Amen.”

  “Look, I’m really tired,” Kate said. “I need some sleep.”

  “Okay,” Viv said. “We’re tired, too. Let’s just all go to sleep. Kate, you’re in the middle.”

  After their nightly beauty regimens, they got into bed in the agreed-upon order, and Viv shut off the light. After some throat-clearing and sheet-rustling, they settled into their positions. A dainty fart broke the silence. Didi and Viv giggled.

  “Come on,” Kate said. “Not while we’re in the same bed. We’re forty-seven years old, for God’s sake.”

  Viv giggled louder. “We checked our maturity at the door when we all put on jammies and piled into one bed.”

  Kate threw the covers off her. “I’m going to sleep in the lobby.”

  She tried to get up, but Viv and Didi grabbed her arms and yanked her down.