Odd Woman Out (Book 4 of The Triad Series)

5. Try

Emily's cheeks flushed again when she thought of the previous night. It wasn't the offer that caused her the occasional extra color, but the way Sofia had hugged her close, like she was precious and loved, and the way Leo's lips brushed hers before she'd walked the few blocks back home—that was what did it. That flare-up of anywhere from pink to crimson was purely a physical response to the physical attraction they'd both shown her the night before.

The next day, after grabbing a coffee—to-go this time—at Bean There, Done That, they were now in The Haight, window-shopping at a few eclectic stores on the main drag as Kia tried to decide whether or not she should get her belly button pierced. For as long as Emily had known her, it was a point of hers to bring it up at least twice a month.

For the past damn twelve months.

"Just do it if you want," Em griped. "You've been talking about it for at least a year, and it can't take that long for it to heal. Quite being a wuss and just let them poke you before I poke you in the eye and shut you up about it for good."

Kia granted her one long glower. "You're in an awfully foul mood today. What got your panties in a twist?"

Where to begin? Emily could have mentioned that she would have liked to know that Leo and Sofia had been asking Kia about her and had been planning on coming out last night. That would have been a nice little warning. Or, she could mention the proposition they had given her, but she didn't know how even she felt about it right now. Words—they wouldn't come. At least not readily. How do you explain to your best friend that you were considering it, even if you had zero experience with woman as a lover? Add on to the fact that Kia would gloat about how she was right about how Leo felt when constantly teasing her about his flirting, and Emily wavered between letting it all out in one big explosion, or stuffing it back inside, shoving it down so deep it would take another week to dig it all out.

"It's nothing." She heard Kiara scoff at the obvious lie. "I'll tell you about it later."

That would have to be good enough for now, because there was no way she was bringing up the subject in a crowded little boutique filled with tourists and Haight Street regulars. The atmosphere was eccentric, but she didn't want people staring either. Let them do that to all the dog-toting hippies that sprinkled the block like decorative pillows on a sofa.

They refueled with coffee from Happy Donuts, walking toward Golden Gate Park with fresh to-go cups and a couple of small bags in their hands. Retail therapy didn't seem as therapeutic as it should have been, so instead of either of them heading home, they decided for a short walk in the park. By the time they'd passed Kezar Drive and were walking toward the soccer fields, Emily suggested they sit down in Robin Williams meadow, using their light jackets to keep their bottoms from getting grass-stained.

They set down their stuff far enough from anyone nearby before Emily took her half-finished water bottle out of her tote bag and downed a few sips.

"Spill."

Emily sighed at Kia's forceful request. Saying no to Kia sometimes felt like arguing with the Pope about Christianity. Or at least it was somewhat like that. No matter what you said, Kia was always right.

The Gospel according to Kiara.

"So, I went to Leo and Sofia's house last night to have a chat." Her lips twitched as Kia's gaze slid smoothly over to study her face.

"What did you three talk about?"

Loaded question. And it was spoken with every bit of weight that it could be. Kiara was no fool, and she could read her friend well. Emily was like an open book, even the color of her cheeks couldn't lie. Or maybe they lied worst of all. Red could mean anything from excitement to embarrassment, but on Emily, they held the color well and for much longer than needed. Already they were stained a pink that couldn't be attributed to the glare of the sun.

"They had an interesting proposition for me."

"They both want you?"

Her best friend was far, far too observant. "How did you know?" Shock wasn't on the list of emotions she could handle right now. The only thing she had to hand was curiosity.

"Tuck may have mentioned a woman the two of them used to be involved with a few years ago. I don't think Leo and Sofia know that he knows, though. He said that he heard them chatting one night after closing. They were in the back going over inventory and mentioned something about it. He didn't listen for too long, just enough to get the idea that they'd been in a long-term relationship with someone that used to work at the coffee shop before him. He assumed it was a woman since Leo isn't all about the d**k. Tuck mentioned it in passing a week or so ago, don't really remember. I know it was when I was getting us a midday caffeine boost, but otherwise..." She shrugged her shoulders as if the details were of supreme indifference to her.

Figured. You could tell Kia just about anything and her facial expression would be the same. She'd have made an excellent poker player if she ever decided to move to Vegas.

"What do you think I should do?"

Immediately, she knew it was the wrong question to ask. It sounded hollow, trite. And the glance that Kia gave her sank all the way into her bones like the cool breeze that lifted the bottom of her long skirt. She smoothed it down and brought her knee up, resting her chin on it as she watched the wind stir the tree branches at the other end of the meadow.

"What I mean to say, is how do I know what the right answer for me is? I've never been with anyone but a guy, so...how does one know if they can switch-hit?"

Kia snorted into her hand. Emily's lips quirked up a bit, but her heart was too low in her chest to be behind any of the mirth that an upward tilt of the lips was supposed to signify.

"Watch some good old girl-on-girl porn?" Kiara suggested. "I don't know. Maybe it's something you just have to try to know whether or not you like it. It's like sushi, maybe."

Emily's nose wrinkled as her lips curled up. "Let's not make any raw fish references here. Not helping, Ki."

"Uhm, right. Okay, it's like when I tried learning to knit. Didn't think I'd enjoy it, but I was a quick learner. I even found it soothing after a while. Made a few scarves and got used to it. Yeah, the first couple were pretty damn lumpy, but—"

"So, beginning a relationship with a female is lumpy scarves. Got it." She rolled her eyes. "Besides, you don't knit anymore. Where's that beanie you said you were going to make for me anwyay?"

Kiara's face brightened. "I actually finished it, but I keep forgetting to bring it to you. Since it's not quite cold out yet, I figured I had some time, Little Miss Impatience." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, I never thought I'd like knitting like some old woman, but I did. As long as you are open to the possibilities, you can think past all the doubts you have. And liquor. Liquor would probably help. Not a glass of wine, either. Do a few shots and all your inhibitions will fall away."

"You are the worst advise-giver ever." Emily groaned. "Sushi, knitting needles, and tequila shots. I'm glad you're not in the business of psychiatry. You'd be making more addicts than curing."

"Girl, if I wanted to help people, I wouldn't be working in a law office."

"True...true."

***

They sat in the sun until Emily could feel her pale skin heating up with something a little more than just a natural glow. Finishing up her water, she shook out her jacket and tucked it into her elbow.

"You wanna hit a place to eat before heading back to the studio or do you want to get delivery?"

"Oooh! Let's order from that Thai place around the corner from your place and pick it up on the way back. I'm dying for spicy noodles."

Emily nodded before they started to make their way back toward Stanyan Street. If they ordered an Uber in about five minutes, they would probably be able to catch it right at the corner and avoid most of the heavy traffic on Haight. More than once, they'd had some i***t walk out into the street without looking first and almost get hit by some poor dude in a Prius with an Uber sticker attached to his window.

They caught their ride on the southeastern corner of the park, and the female driver pulled over to the curb to let the two women in. Kia immediately started in on asking the driver questions, including what her s****l preference was.

No filter. None whatsoever.

"Guys," the woman answered quickly, giving her a confused stare before looking left and pulling into a break in the traffic.

"Damn," Kia muttered. She sat back in her seat like the driver, a woman the app said was named Truvie, had canceled Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's.

"Sorry?" Truvie's lips ticked up in a small smile.

"Ah, not your fault you're into the D."

Still, Kia continued to make small talk, finally bringing the conversation back around to her favorite topic of the day.

"Truvie, if you had to pick one female, who would be your ultimate girl crush?"

"Ooh, that's a good one." If their driver hadn't been so accepting of their discussion so far, Kia probably wouldn't have asked. She read people pretty well, friends and strangers. "I'd have to say Nina Dobrev."

"Vampire Diaries?" Kia asked.

"Yeah, she's got that semi-husky, sexy voice. And I'm not a fan of blonds." She shrugged and pushed her dark hair over her shoulder. "All my exes have had darker hair."

"Maybe you should try a blond if they're all exes." Kia winked, causing Truvie to laugh at her spunk.

"You might be right about that, but you can't help who you find attractive."

"Has a woman ever hit on you?"

"Well, yeah, but I've never said yes. Just told them I liked guys. That usually stopped their advances."

"Have you ever been tempted to take any of them up on their offer?"

"Kia," Emily muttered. "Stop with the twenty questions. She's a driver, not being interviewed by Barbara Walters, for f**k's sake."

Truvie just laughed. "Never really been tempted. Most of the times I was out and got hit on, I was already involved with a guy." She shrugged her shoulders. "I mean, who knows what I would have said if I was unattached at the time. Liquor seems to suppress normal inhibitions, so I might have answered differently if I wasn't being a good little girlfriend to one of my ex-assholes. Lord knows women probably know more what women like than men do."

"Hear hear!"

Emily scoffed at Kia's cheer. "Says the woman who needs to share whenever she tries something new with her boyfriend. You've never complained about his skills between the sheets before!"

Kiara grinned. "I am lucky in that way. Plus, a few threats to withhold s*x usually go a long way." She was unashamed, smiling like the Cheshire Cat as it licked itself in the nook of a tall tree.

"It's like being pansexual, right?" Truvie stated. "A person can be more attracted to personality than looks or s*x or even s****l orientation. For some people, looks aren't as important as the type of people you surround yourself with. Surround yourself with pretty and shallow people, isn't that just limiting yourself to one type of person until that's all you know? Friends, for instance. I have a small group of friends, but they're all quite different in their own ways. Nice, but there's not one who finds vanity to be a benefit over having a good moral compass or caring nature. If any of them started to wax narcissistic, I'd be having a friendtervention f*****g ASAP, man."

"Wise words," Kia agreed.

Emily simply rolled her eyes. "That's because you happen to see where this is going. Find the person's inner beauty. But what if you just can't? What if a physical attraction is something you need in order to...to get started in that direction?"

"You'll never know until you try it," Kia stated. "You can't fail unless you try, and you can't expand your options unless you give it a shot."

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