“Never?”
“Never!” She responded.
“Let me get this straight. You went to college, right?”
“And grad school!” She added.
“You were athletic and played on any number of teams?”
“Oh yea, field hockey, softball, track, even sailing.” She listed.
“These were all women groups, often coached by other women, right?”
“Yes, nearly 100% female.” She confirmed to me.
“And you have never even kissed a girl, let alone did more?”
She replied, “Nope, never. Never had the urge. Even when some of the girls did, it was never my thing.”
I sat there for a moment letting it sink in. Sitting across from me on the hotel room couch was one of my favorite people. Bets and I worked together for the past several years. We got along great but never had much of a personal relationship. She happened to see me kiss my wife at the airport before this trip and realized I was a lesbian. I didn’t hide it, but I also didn’t advertise it. Some people get weirded out by it.
I realized she saw it when she made a small mention of my wife after dinner. She didn’t make it a big deal, but it did take our conversation in directions it had never gone before.
I wasn’t sure what to say. She wasn’t acting like someone interested or what we like to call ‘bi-curious’. She was being so matter-of-fact about it. As I said, she was one of my favorite people in so many ways. Which also means I have always had a slight crush on her. If, a few years ago, I thought she had the slightest interest in walking on my side of the street, I would have been happy to be her crossing guard.
I slid closer to her on the couch. Bets looked at me, more curiously that nervously. I leaned in close and stopped a couple of inches away from her face.
“What are you doing?” Now she sounded a little nervous. But I knew she trusted me.
“I’m going to kiss you.”
“But, you are married?”
“It’s only a kiss. This way if the topic comes up, you can honestly say you have kissed a girl.”
She didn’t reply, but she also didn’t pull away. I just stayed right there and touched her face gently, stroking her cheek. She just looked me right in the eye, no sign of a problem, any embarrassment, or nervousness. She just waited.
I studied her face, her lovely face. She had an oval face, a slight tilt to her eyes, a small nose, and wide, sensuous lips. She had a face made to appreciate and enjoy. Her skin was nearly flawless, but there was a small bump under her make-up. I knew she had a little scattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose, but her concealer covered them. I always like that little spray and thought they looked cute the few times I had seen her without the make-up.
She had a touch of color over her eyes and a light lipstick. She looked amazing to me. Her dark hair was pulled back. After our meetings for the day, she let it down and then put it in a light ponytail to keep it out of her way.
I stroked her cheek very lightly. I was hoping she might close her eyes, but she didn’t react in any way. I wondered if I was stepping too far over the line, but I got nothing from her at all. Then she said, “I thought you were going to kiss me?”