“Hi, babe!” she cheered. “I was in the neighborhood and I thought I’d drop by and bring you lunch.” She was carrying to take-away salads in their transparent plastic bowls. “You’ve been incommunicado for days now and—”
She stopped, and stared at Carmel, that was standing by the kitchen door.
“Oh—I didn’t know—” Missy blurted.
“Easy,” Emma said, finally closing the front door. “This is Carmel—”
“A friend of the family,” the blonde smiled. She offered her hand. Her bracelets jingled.
“I am Missy. I am sorry. I did not mean to barge in—I mean, I didn’t know—” she stopped and looked hard at Emma. “You are smoking!”
Emma exhaled a cloud of smoke and held her half cigarette up, frowning at it. “Looks like I am, yes.”
She offered her packet to Missy.
“You smoke menthol?” Missy looked at her, and then at Carmel, and then back. “What is happening here?”
She picked a cigarette, and Carmel lit her up. Missy took a hard drag and grimaced. “How can you stand this minty stuff? And when did you start smoking?!”
Emma snorted. “Come on, it’s not like I never shared a cig with you.”
“Yes, once in a blue moon, usually after I got you drunk! Are you drunk?”
Emma laughed. “No, I’m not. But yes, I think I’m a smoker now.”
Missy turned to Carmel. “Whatever you did to her is working,” she winked.
“It’s been a tough time,” Emma said.
“But she’s finally learning to relax,” Carmel added. She was staring at Missy. The dark-skinned girl ran a hand through her hair, and then turned sharply, and handed the two salads to Emma. “Here, I better be going,” she said hurriedly.
She cast a glance at Carmel.
“But—” Emma said.
“No, really. You girls have lunch, I’ll drop by another time.” She glanced at the screen of her smartphone. “I’m terribly late, really.”
“What about dinner one of these nights?” Carmel asked.
She was standing really close to Missy.
“Uh—yeah, why not? I mean, it would be nice—”
“Saturday night?” Carmel asked. “Are you free?”
“Yeah, I am. I mean, not much of a social life.”
“That’s surprising,” Carmel smiled.
Emma took a step back and looked at the two women, the blonde in a rock tee and the prim office girl in her blouse and jacket.
“What about we have a girl’s own night, then?” Carmel said. “We could order Chinese, put on some music, and hang together—”
Missy eyed Emma. “Sure. It would be great. I mean, I love Chinese—!”
“Monday night, say half past eight?” Carmel asked. She crossed her arms under her breasts.
“Would it be OK?” Missy asked Emma.
“Sure,” Emma said.
Missy nodded, energetically. “It sounds like a great idea,” she beamed. She leaned closer to Emma. “Then you will tell me everything that’s going on,” she stage-whispered.
And with two air-kisses and a wave at Carmel, she was gone.
Emma watched her bounce down the lane, and then closed the door. She accepted one of Carmel’s cigarettes.
“What was that all about?” she asked.
Carmel chuckled. “Oh, come on—”
“No, really, what just happened?”
“Looks like your friend Missy is a lot into you,” Carmel said smugly.
“Into—?” Emma’s eyes widened. “You mean she’s gay?”
“Or at least a very definite bi, yes. She’s cute.”
Emma looked at the door, like she could see Missy out there. “I don’t think—no, you are wrong.”
“About her being gay, or about her having the hots for you?”
“About both.”
“Oh, come on. The way she acts, the way she looks at you, the way she flutters around you. The way she accepted a cigarette from you like it was Christmas morning, and then tried to act tough—” She pushed her elbow in Emma’s side. “You’ve made an impression.”
Emma sucked on her cigarette. “You did. She kept staring at you.”
Carmel grinned. “She kept staring at my boobs.”
“Everybody stares at your boobs,” Emma snorted.
“Yeah, have you noticed?” She cupped her breasts in her hands and hefted them, stretching the t-shirt. “They’d stare at yours, too, if you only were a little more—you know. Outgoing.”
Emma’s froze. “Oh, shit!” she blurted. “You mean Missy thought you and I—?”
Carmel started laughing. “Bingo.”
“Oh, shit!”
“Come on, Em, she’s an absolute babe, and sweet.”
Emma stared at her wide eyed.
“And we just made her happy,” Carmel went on, smiling wickedly. “Jealous, but happy.”
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