Blessed Twice Read online

  Willa was already rushing to the French doors that led to her back patio and the path that would take us to her basketball court. The protests began, but Quinn silenced them all.

  “Enough,” she said firmly before slowly heading toward the front door to let in her guest.

  “I’ll kick their asses for you,” Jessie informed me as Lauren slid her hand into mine.

  “Sorry about this,” Willa apologized as we reached the back door, but it sounded more like, “Sorry about them.” From what I knew, Willa and Quinn were the most recent additions to this tight-knit group, arriving four years before me, and her private nature often put her at odds with the group’s actions and intentions.

  “I’m sorry I snapped,” I offered to the co-host of tonight’s dinner party. I knew I was overreacting, but I still felt justified.

  “Are you kidding? You’re now my hero,” Willa confided in a low voice with a smile before shuttling us out the door.

  “That went as badly as I thought it would,” Lauren told me as we passed by the pool. “Caroline called me on my way home from the office, and I told Jessie as soon as I walked in the door. She almost sprinted up here without me.”

  “Thank you. I wish I hadn’t reacted that way, but…” She stopped me after we’d cleared the view from the house.

  The sound of a bouncing ball from the sport court a hundred feet away wafted over us. “Don’t be sorry for that. I’ve known most of them for nine years, and there’s a reason that my best friends in the group are the two I’d made on my own back in college. The group can be overbearing and inappropriate. They were both to you tonight.”

  I let a relieved smile touch my face as I stared up at her.

  “Thanks for understanding.”

  “Jess and I think of you as a good friend. And I owe you for helping Jessie become the love of my life.” She must have recognized the confusion in my expression because she explained,

  “Jessie was already on her way to making some changes in her life, but she told me that dating you made her understand just how much she’d been missing. I consider myself very lucky that the timing was wrong for you two.”

  I sucked in a deep breath. “That’s…I don’t know what to say.” I really didn’t. The partner of the woman I’d dated briefly was thanking me for preparing said woman for marriage? I couldn’t take credit for that. “I hope you know that even if the timing had been perfect, we weren’t right for each other. I suspected that even before I’d seen her interact with you; then I knew it for sure.”

  She beamed at a wattage level that only hopelessly-in-love people are capable of reaching. “Well, it only took me eleven years of friendship to figure it out,” she poked fun at herself as we started toward the sport court. “None of them think you’re incapable of getting a date, by the way. They just think a little push now and then isn’t such a bad thing.”

  Before we stepped onto the court, she turned toward me again. “Is it? Jess told me she thought you might be ready to start dating again. We’d be happy to introduce you to some women we know. Just introduce, not a blind date.”

  “Thanks, Lauren, I’ll think about it.” I squeezed the hand that was still gripping mine. Turning to the kids, I called out, “Caleb?

  Hey, bucko, I’m sorry, but I forgot about some papers I need to grade before class tomorrow morning. We’ll have to beat feet out of here without staying for dinner. We can grab something on the way home.” Not entirely a lie since I did have some work to do.

  “Oh.” He shot a disappointed look at Zalika, but because the sit down dinner was his least favorite part, he didn’t stay disappointed too long. “Can we get burgers?”

  “Sure.” It was the least I could do, since I was cutting his “date” short and all.

  * * *

  After four groveling phone calls, I relented and headed down to Caroline’s café for lunch and to clear the air. I hadn’t handled the situation well. I could have been more cordial in my expression of worry over a blind date with my son as a tag along.

  But that they’d put me in the position where I reacted poorly still trumped any bad behavior on my part. Either way, three of the offending members had called, Caroline twice, and the least I could do was hand in an empty apology just to move past it.

  I wasn’t stupid enough to go alone, though. Javier rode shotgun as we found parking near the café. He was hoping to get a ringside seat to my humiliation and a free lunch. I just needed the buffer.

  The café crowd bustled loudly. Javier grabbed a table while I went up to place our orders. Thankfully, it was busy enough that Caroline would be preoccupied at best. Someone at the counter took my order, and I was turning back to the table when Caroline came through from the kitchen.

  “I’m so glad you’re here.” She came around the counter and hugged me. “I’m really sorry about last night. We weren’t thinking, obviously.”

  “I’m sorry I snapped at you all. It’s just I need to be careful with Caleb, handle it on our time.” We smiled apologetically at each other, the tension vanishing. I could still be ticked that they’d tried to ambush me, but I couldn’t be angry with friends who didn’t understand my situation or how Caleb might react.

  “But you could handle getting back out there when Caleb has a sitter?”

  She looked so hopeful I had to throw her a bone. “I’m thinking about it.”

  She broke into a brilliant smile, the scar on her lip stretched wide. She’d gotten a little careless with her knifes in culinary school and had nicked the edge of her top lip. With her mouth resting, the scar was more visible than when she smiled or talked.

  “I’m so glad you said that.” Something in her tone had me canting my head in suspicion. “Hey, Javier,” she greeted him after walking me back to the table. “Done with classes for the day?” I wanted to get back to her shifty tone, but Javier persisted in being the chatty Cathy he could be. I dropped into the seat facing him and looked up at my friend. I didn’t think I was imagining her impish look. “What did you do?” I unleashed all the misgiving I was feeling.

  She turned her best innocent face in my direction. “Nothing.

  I’m just glad to hear you’re open to being set up.”

  “Do tell.” Javier waggled his eyebrows at us.

  “Hold up, I did not say anything about being set up.”

  “Just a meeting, not a blind date,” Caroline assured. “If you had enough warning that you’d be meeting someone and Caleb was squared away, you’d be open to that, right?”

  “I’d rather choose my own dates, but thanks for thinking of me.” I tried for the brush off, but I didn’t hold a candle to her persistence.

  “C’mon, you can meet someone if I tell you in advance. We know a lot of great women.”

  “I can get my own dates,” I grumbled, but they weren’t listening.

  “That’s settled then.” Caroline checked her watch presumably to note how far gone the lunch rush might be. When she didn’t head to the counter right away, I went back on alert. “Would ten minutes be enough of an advance notice?” Javier burst out laughing, causing Caroline to giggle along with him. Nothing like having friends who laugh at your misery.

  “You did not!” I stated emphatically.

  “Hey, you rushed out last night. Erin didn’t get a chance to meet you. We had to give her some lame excuse for you not being there. I told her that I’d try to get you in for lunch today. Y’all could meet now instead.”

  “Car!” I shrieked and glared at the hysterical fit Javier was having. “Help?”

  “Are you nuts? This is priceless. I’m only moving far enough away to get a good view of your little date.”

  “The pain will be physical and long lasting,” I threatened him.

  “You’ll no longer have use of certain muscles.”

  “It’ll be worth it.” He looked unfazed.

  “I’m not doing this, Caroline. Call her and tell her that I didn’t show.”

  “Nope, she’s
already on her way. C’mon, I know y’all will hit it off.”

  “No, no, no. This is not happening. You’ve got to give me fair warning. Tell her I blew you off, had a class, needed emergency acupuncture, got committed to an asylum, anything.”

  “A quick meet, please, Bri?” She batted her eyelashes at me.

  “No. Sorry. Can’t,” I said with absolute finality.

  Which was how ten minutes later, I found myself on a date.

  The woman, Erin, was a bartender who liked action flicks, playing golf, fat Elvis better than young Elvis, old-fashioned arcade games, five card draw, and, you guessed it, long walks on the beach. Oh, and piercings, gauging by the number of holes in her face, ears, belly button—yes, she showed me—and the telltale loops at the peak of her breasts under her glued on tank top. And what ambush blind date meant to drive me to sign my own commitment papers would be complete without knowing her favorite sexual position? Woman on top, in case you were wondering, because I hadn’t been. Her fit of giggles told me she thought that was a keen play on words. All this information within five minutes of plunking her bony frame into the seat my traitorous, one-time friend, Javier, had occupied. Gaawwd!

  Aside from the woman being way too young for me both in age, ten years, and attitude, twenty years, I had to wonder what my friends were thinking. This setup was as bad as any that my straight friends might attempt when they’d suggest I meet the only other lesbian they knew, thinking, hey, they’re both lesbians; they’ll be perfect for each other. Honestly, someone help me.

  The high maintenance, pale blond hair, lanky form, plump lips, and narrow nose were attractive enough, but I suddenly wondered if my friends thought I had a type. Not that Erin looked like Megan, but Meg wore her pale blond hair the same length and had a fit frame, too. Healthy, not bone thin like this one.

  Perhaps this was the best they could do on short notice? I shuddered to think about how many pale blondies they’d shove my way.

  Sorry, Meg, I had nothing to do with this. I felt like I needed to at least think that in case she’d just heard me drag her into this fiasco. I caught Caroline bussing a table behind Erin, taking her sweet time picking up the one coffee cup left behind. I made a mental note to ask Lauren, the lawyer in the group, if juries took into account the people that you kill in a murder trial. As in, if they deserved it, maybe the sentence wouldn’t be so endless. She stopped by Javier’s new table, and they proceeded to have a quiet yet enthusiastic conversation that involved a ton of furtive glances in my direction.

  Erin came up for a breath to take an audible gulp—pet peeve number one—of her cappuccino and bite into her carrot cake. “Of course,” she started, talking with her mouth full—pet peeve number two along with any disregard of table manners—and continued, “everyone’s dying to know how you managed to stay friends with Jessie after going out with her?” Huh? How did we go from discussing the restrained jealousy her sisters had for her freewheeling lifestyle—her words not mine—to verifying a rumor about me? Thinking she’d just continue to mow down any attempt at a response on my part, I sat silent, waiting for the next shift in topics.

  Perfect. On this, she was waiting for an answer. “Why wouldn’t we stay friends?” Basic psychology: echo the question you don’t want to answer.

  “Because Jessie never stays friends with the women she fuc—” Her blue eyes snapped away then back to me. “Um, dates. I mean, she’d always stay friendly in case she wanted to go back for more, but somehow you managed to break into the inner sanctum of her group of friends. What’s your secret?” So Jessie hadn’t told anyone other than Lauren and maybe Quinn that we hadn’t slept together? I doubted it had anything to do with wanting to maintain a reputation and more to do with the fact that she was a lot more private than most people realized.

  She certainly wouldn’t invade my privacy by sharing intimate, albeit G-rated, details of our relationship.

  “Don’t know.” I wasn’t about to offer anything more to one of the bartenders at the only gay and lesbian club in town.

  “So,” she began, leaning in too close. “Is she as good as everyone says?”

  Please, she did not just ask that. What would make this woman think I’d talk about my sex life—or nonexistent sex life, rather—with a stranger?

  She carried on, “I’ve heard all types of stuff about her. Like whatever you ask for, any fantasy, she’ll deliver. Is it true? C’mon, you won’t shock me.”

  Somehow I had the sneaking suspicion I could. Rather than attempt it, I made a big show of looking at my watch. “Oh, wow, I’ve got a class to teach in fifteen minutes. I’ll just make it to north campus if I leave now. It’s been nice,” I knew I stumbled over that word, “to meet you, Erin.”

  “Okay?” She stared up at me, startled by my sudden change in elevation. “When can we do this again?” She must have been on a different date than I’d been on because she couldn’t think my not saying anything for twenty minutes straight and her clear envy slash unhealthy interest in Jessie, a recently married woman, was worth repeating.

  “You know,” I began, “Caroline didn’t really tell me she’d arranged this meeting between us. If I’d known, I would have told her that my summer class schedule is going to take up all my free time. I tried to get her to call you, but you were only minutes away. It’s been so nice getting to know you, though. I’m sure we’ll see each other around town.”

  She stood, seemingly understanding that the dating version of awkward TMI was coming to a close. “I understand busy. The bar gets slammed during the summer. So, um, I’d be all right with a casual…buddy understanding.” She hunched closer, using air quotes around the word “buddy” before finishing with, “Help blow off a little tension from the busy days. You down?” Like I’d agree to a NSA arrangement with a total stranger who said things like “you down?” Even my ten-year-old son thought that phrase was out of style. Was this what dating was going to be like?

  To do list: purchase gun, brandish in front of friends for fair warning, keep handy to put me out of my misery.

  Chapter 14

  Even though it wasn’t my day teaching the symposium, I headed over to the classroom to see if M would take my advisory committee meetings next week so that I could take Caleb to the airport a couple days earlier than planned. One of his aunts was going on vacation with her family and wanted to see him before my parents packed him off to camp.

  Two steps from the door, I heard a booming voice from inside. “That hardly seems efficient, Dr. Desiderius.” M’s reply was too soft to overhear before the voice sounded again. “Really?

  Is any of this relevant to launching a business? I was hoping that the university’s resources had been placed in the proper hands.” Goddamn bastard! I recognized Dr. Wagner’s voice as the one intentionally giving M a hard time in front of our students. The lowest form of low. Without trying to be quiet, I yanked open the classroom door. M stood behind the never before used podium.

  Her hands gripped the edges; if not I would bet they’d be clenched in anger. Mine sure were.

  “Excuse me, Professor,” I addressed M formally. “Class, sorry for the interruption. Dr. Wagner, I didn’t realize you’d be auditing our symposium today. May I have a word, please?”

  “After class, Professor,” he nearly choked on the title.

  “Now, please. I’m meeting with Dr. Goudy soon. I’d hate to keep him waiting because you couldn’t pry yourself away from our engaging symposium.” I smiled conspiratorially with the class.

  He looked like he wanted to object again but knew I’d probably blame him for my delay in meeting with the dean. With a pointed stare of disdain at M, he stalked down the steps and brushed past me to the door.

  I waved at the class in parting and glanced at my colleague in silent support. What I saw kept me from immediately following the Big Ass out the door. Rather than look relieved to have that menace leave her classroom, she looked visibly shaken. In a show of forgetting something, I headed
back toward the center of the room. “One last interruption if you don’t mind, Professor.” She nodded as shyly as she had during our first few weeks of knowing one another. “We’ve got a change to the line up of entrepreneurs for Thursday’s class. I think you’ll all be impressed by the guest speakers.”

  “Who’d you get, Prof?” Avery prompted.

  “You want to spoil the surprise for the rest of the class, young man?” I bluffed, hoping the extra time would help wipe away Dr. Wagner’s comments. “Have some questions prepared on something that isn’t the cocktail napkin from the bar you go to tonight.” They laughed at my warning, and I gestured for M to continue with the class. She looked a damn sight more sure of herself than when I’d first entered the room.

  Dr. Wagner barely waited for the door to close behind us before demanding, “What’s this about, Briony?” I continued down the hallway to get us out of earshot. “Do not ever do that again.”

  He huffed at my menacing tone. “What are you talking about?”

  “Your little power play in M’s class. How would you like it if we slinked into your class and started questioning your expertise?”

  “I did no such thing!” he proclaimed like he’d suddenly become a member of the royal family.

  “You were purposefully trying to undermine her authority and question the validity of this program. Dr. Goudy won’t be happy to hear that one of his faculty members was trying to stir up disquiet among the student body.”

  “You’re exaggerating.” Blotches of red appeared on his neck and face. “Besides, you weren’t even there.”

  “I heard enough to know that you crossed the boundaries of professional decorum in an effort to make a colleague look foolish. That’s unacceptable.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about. I asked a valid question, and she had no answer. I’ve heard how your little symposium is going.” He sneered pompously. “You’re letting the students take over. This project isn’t a student club; it’s serious money to fund serious businesses.”