We spent seven glorious days in Maui before returning home to our lives that were forever changed. When I'd gone to work the following week, my boss had made a wise crack about my being off the market and getting married because I was pregnant. Maybe I shouldn't have told Collier, but in hindsight, it was the best thing I ever did. He insisted I quit and that led me to be a stay-at-home wife until the baby came. I spent time helping Collier out at work, menial tasks like putting packages together or stuffing envelopes, but it gave me something to do, and I got to see my sister-in-law all the time-and my husband wasn't a bad consolation prize, either. Six months later, we welcomed Garrett Collier West to the world. I didn't have a clue what to do with a little boy and was completely lost with the parts that made him different from me. But together, Collier and I figured it out-even if it took us a couple years. Our friends adored him, and as the only child in the group, he was spoiled
"Do you want to come in?" The evening hadn't been spectacular. He'd used a coupon to pay for dinner at an already cheap restaurant, ordered us both water, and insisted we split an entrée. Skinny jeans on a man just didn't do it for me, and he wasn't fooling anyone with the way he combed his hair over the thinning spot near his forehead-but overall, he'd been pleasant. Minus the horrible clothing and bad hair, he appeared to be fit. He wasn't awful looking if I squinted in the right light-just a bit of a loser-and truth be told, my vibrator needed new batteries. The only positive thing about my previous marriage was my ex-husband's ability to thoroughly satisfy me seven ways to Sunday. I held on to the relationship far longer than I should have, but women peaked later in life than men, and when I had a man who filled that void, it made up for a lot-especially when he was creative. I won't go into the depths of all I forgave, but let's just say it led me here to a single life where th
I was done. Done with men. Women say it all the time; they get fed up, throw their hands in the air, and vow a life of celibacy-until the next chiseled chest comes into view, and then they're foaming at the mouth and wiping the drool from their chin. But this was different, I really meant it. I'd been manhandled by the last pig that would ever bring his sausage near me. After one of the nastiest divorces in history, followed by some of the crudest and raunchiest dates, I'd decided to bat for the other team. Ronnie roared with laughter as I made my proclamation. Just before her features cleared, she realized my mind was set. "Giselle, you don't just decide to become a lesbian. You either are, or you aren't, and based on the fact you've been sucking stick instead of going down to Taco Town since puberty, it's unlikely you just missed the signs."My best friend, Veronica, would know. She was the girl every guy wanted, every girl wanted to be, and in the end, she preferred f
I decided to start over with my dating profiles. None of them had worked for heterosexual relationships, so I doubted just switching the bubble to female looking for female would be beneficial. I needed to totally redesign myself and be honest about what I was after. The truth was, at this point in my life, my girlfriends were more important than dating. I valued my tried and true friendships more than money, but all I was really after was gratifying sex. I wasn't ashamed to admit that, either. I didn't want to whore myself out to the highest bidder, but I wasn't opposed to having an exclusive sexual relationship with no strings attached. In fact, I'd prefer it-I just no longer wanted to do it with men.When I got to the questions about the physical characteristics of the partners I sought, I drew a blank. I'd always found women attractive-I could admire their beauty and praise their assets-but if I were to outline my perfect woman, I had nothing. I saved my incomplete profile and st
It didn't take me long to become totally immersed in the online dating world of women. The conversations were easier, I related to things going on in their lives, and we all had similar interests. I chastised myself for not giving this a shot years ago instead of picking off one loser after another with a penis. Once I'd gotten rid of the duck-lipped selfies, and what I thought appealed to women, I took off on a path to an endless world of females. True, my standards were ridiculously high, but thus far, I'd had no problems attracting the Jessica Rabbits of the online community. What I had yet to do was meet any of them.It turned out females were just as eager as males to actually get together in person and not just spend hours talking on the phone, texting, or exchanging "get to know you" emails. Foolishly, I'd assumed women would drag out the whole introductory phase instead of diving right in. But when the rubber met the road, I was the one who got gun shy. I found reasons not to
It was early in the evening, and the after-work crowd still mingled after happy hour before the night owls would stroll in. Beck stood out like a beacon in the night amongst the suits and ties. And it didn't take long for me to notice the men staring her down from their seats at the bar. Her pictures online hadn't done her justice. Beck was stunning-model gorgeous with exotic, green eyes. Instead of the sight of her intimidating me, it fueled my fire. I straightened my spine, pulled my shoulders back, and sashayed with one leather boot-clad foot in front of the other until I reached her side. And then I promptly fell apart. I didn't have a clue what to do or how to handle an introduction. I wasn't sure if I should extend my hand, lean in for a hug, or peck her on the cheek, and instead, it ended up being an awkward handshake-hug with a kiss on the ear. I stumbled into her almost knocking her over before I could pull myself back. "Jesus, I'm sorry." I tried to bite my tongue and r
I knew I would probably get Ronnie in trouble, but Trish would have to get over it. Surely, from one lesbian to another, she could appreciate the newness of the situation. "Hey, Giselle. Hang on. I'll get Veronica." I wondered why Trish answered her phone if she was so put off by people actually calling the person it belonged to, but I kept my mouth shut and waited. "So, how'd it go? Your lips still wet from your first muff?"Of course, my friend had to turn this into a locker room chat. "No, heifer. We had drinks. It was nice.""Then why do you sound so unsure?""She paid the bill.""She digs you. And if you let her, I assume you thought she was pretty kinky, too."I rolled my eyes. In the last two weeks, my best friend had gone from this well-put-together, gorgeous woman to a horny teenager with a crass mouth. "We're having dinner on Friday. She's cooking.""Wow." Here's where things got sticky. Since my divorce, I wasn't interested in relationships. I rarely saw
Work flew by surprisingly fast. Normally, an eight-hour day felt like twelve, but somehow, my nervous anticipation helped the clock tick faster on the wall instead of dragging it out. I'd been with Stearns and Wilkes since I got out of college. I have a degree in business from the state university, but I hadn't had a clue what I wanted to do with it when I graduated. I just knew I had to have one-a degree that is. The law firm was one of the largest on the East Coast, and I'd started as the receptionist. The guy who'd hired me hadn't even pretended it was based on my potential-he flat out told me I'd appeal to their male clientele. That was seventeen years ago, which still did not put me at forty-close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades-and I still held that same special clout...appeal for the male clientele. Only now, I was the Executive Secretary for one of the firm's managing partners. That sounded fancy, but there were paralegals who did the actual paperwork and grun
We spent seven glorious days in Maui before returning home to our lives that were forever changed. When I'd gone to work the following week, my boss had made a wise crack about my being off the market and getting married because I was pregnant. Maybe I shouldn't have told Collier, but in hindsight, it was the best thing I ever did. He insisted I quit and that led me to be a stay-at-home wife until the baby came. I spent time helping Collier out at work, menial tasks like putting packages together or stuffing envelopes, but it gave me something to do, and I got to see my sister-in-law all the time-and my husband wasn't a bad consolation prize, either. Six months later, we welcomed Garrett Collier West to the world. I didn't have a clue what to do with a little boy and was completely lost with the parts that made him different from me. But together, Collier and I figured it out-even if it took us a couple years. Our friends adored him, and as the only child in the group, he was spoiled
It might have been an hour or thirty seconds, I didn't know, but when the song changed, my feet moved. I didn't know where I was going or what I was doing, I just knew that silver runner ended at my future. A cloud hid the sun perfectly, still providing a gorgeous day but shielding our guests from the heat of midday. I couldn't take in all the details in the short walk, but our friends were all gathered near the pergola to the side of the pool. There were so many flowers I wondered where they'd all come from, but then Collier came into view. And nothing else mattered. He stood in a black tux at the side of the minister with his hands clasped in front of him. The smile on his face radiated happiness, and I almost took off running to meet him, but I thought he might frown upon my wrapping my legs around his waist in a full-body hug at this particular moment. Everything about him was sheer perfection for me. I'd waited over thirty-nine years, but the man of my dreams had been well wor
Collier had been all kinds of secretive Friday night, and Saturday morning, he shipped me off to a spa for a couple of hours of pampering. I took my new bottle of OPI with me and enjoyed the royal treatment-manicure, pedicure, massage, hair, and makeup. As the girl finished setting my face with some mist to hold her work in place, my nerves set in. Or maybe it was morning sickness. Whichever it was sent me flying to the bathroom to empty my stomach. I wiped my mouth and dreaded looking in the mirror for fear of what my retching had done to the paint on my face. To my surprise, every bit of it held, including the mascara when my eyes watered. The only thing that needed a touch-up was my lips. This girl was good.She fixed my lipstick and seemed as pleased as I was. I'd opted for a more casual up-do and added fresh flowers to make it special. But with the natural appearance of my makeup, the high ponytail with large curls fit perfectly. I hadn't wanted to break the bank on a dress I'd w
"Hey, whore." Ronnie had been trying to catch me by phone for days, but I'd successfully managed to avoid her and pacified her with the occasional text message. She'd know instantly if I lied to her, and I couldn't risk her asking questions. She'd finally caught me and showed up just before lunch on Friday."What are you doing here?" Shit. Shit. Shit. I couldn't keep anything from her. She'd know just by looking at me that I didn't have just one secret but two. That was the problem with having a friend who knows you better than you knew yourself. And then there was the whole eye twitch thing she swore by."Playing detective." Her smirk reached her eyes, and they glimmered with mischief."I don't know what you're talking about." I tried to play coy, act like I had no clue what she referred to. At this rate, she'd have every bit of intel I had to offer in a matter of minutes. It was a good thing no one had ever given me a key to Fort Knox."What are you hiding, Gizzy?""I hate you."
Oddly, I hadn't been the one who'd had a difficult time keeping her mouth shut. Collier almost slipped just about every time we were with any of our friends. I'd made him agree not to share our news until after I'd made it past the first trimester. I was older, and there were more risks. I didn't want to have to break that news, too, so he had agreed to wait. Except that every time I turned around, he was gawking at a dad with a baby, or commenting on how cute a family was. And when he cut off pool time, our friends thought he was certifiably insane."They're going to know something's up...or think we hate them, West. You can't cut off the pool. They all live in our backyard.""Giselle, you said yourself that Ronnie has suspicions, and she and I both commented on the fact your body had already changed some. I know you don't want to hear this, but your tummy is a little rounded. It wouldn't be noticeable except you're normally flat as can be. You have better abs than most men I know.
Twenty-six. That's the number of pregnancy tests I took the following day when I called in to work after Collier left for the office. After three trips to three different drug stores to buy other brands, I'd ended up with twenty-six inaccurate sticks lying on our bathroom counter. Each arranged in neat rows and columns, and all screaming at me. I hurt for women who bought into the lies these companies propagated to hopeful mothers-to-be. There should be laws against faulty products.I rubbed my temples and closed my eyes, not wanting to acknowledge what was before me. Ignorance was bliss, and I could lie to myself for ages...or at least nine months until the pains of labor started. "Fuck, fuck, fuck." In my haste to repeat a string of explicative words under my breath, I apparently tuned out the house around me. And the man who'd entered our bedroom."Babe?"The sound of Collier's voice brought me out of my chant, and I waited to see if I'd really heard him or if it was my imagina
The driver remained silent, didn't leave me with instructions on what to do, nothing. He abandoned me amongst the headstones and mausoleums. Collier hadn't turned around, but I was sure he'd heard the limo pull up. There wasn't a car around, and the only sounds in the air were the birds chirping. The grass went on for miles, a thick, lush green I thought would be a perfect OPI color for St. Patrick's Day, and flowers dotted the markers with splashes of life. I took a deep breath and started on the path to Collier hoping I was meant to join him. My heels marked the walkway in time with my steps, and I worried foolishly about how loud I was being. It wasn't like I was in a library, these people were dead-the sound of my footsteps wasn't going to bother them. Just before I reached his side, Collier turned around.My breath hitched at the sight of the man I loved in a tuxedo holding two red roses in one hand and the other stuffed in his pocket. I had not a clue what was going on or why
The next day, I went back to my mind-numbing job where I spent another eight hours staring at the walls hoping someone would come in to entertain me...or possibly shoot me. When that hadn't happened by ten, I started messaging my friends, none of which responded because they all had jobs that required them to actually do something. I surfed Facebook but quickly grew tired of that as well. A girl can only read so many posts about politics and how great other peoples' lives are before wanting to clobber herself in the head with the heel of her shoe. I tried never to bother Collier at work. I still wasn't sure I fully understood what he did, but I knew he ran a huge company that required his attention, and if I sent him a text, he would stop to respond.Me: Are you busy?Collier: Never too busy for you, Elle. What's up?Me: I'm bored.Collier: Haha. I can hear your whining from here. Me: Not funny.Collier: Babe, why don't you find a job you actually enjoy? I didn't know how to s
I stole her flip-flops to keep from scalding my feet again-only Ronnie would have heels on pool shoes. Collier had gotten in the water, and his skin glistened when he broke the surface. Once I reached the steps, I kicked off my borrowed shoes and stepped into the shallow end. The cool feel of the water against my skin was refreshing and washed away the unease the discussion of money brought. I took a deep breath before going under and swimming between West and the wall. He stepped back to allow me room to maneuver my body into the narrow space, and his smile welcomed me when I stood in front of him."Hey, babe."The feel of his chest beneath my fingers spurred me on. His nipples were firm and masculine as my palms grazed them. While my touch continued north, he snaked his arms around my lower back. The moment I laced my fingers behind his neck, he took my mouth with his in an inappropriate kiss. My legs crawled up his like a monkey on a tree before settling around his waist."Get a