went on for some time, not an overwrought, sloppy meeting of tongues and lips, but this perfect caressing of mouths. Holy shit, Annie could kiss, and if they had been somewhere else, Oksana never would have stopped.
“You tell that sweet Bettino I say hello,” Mrs. Barstone yelled from across the parking lot. Oksana jumped back, separating herself from Annie, and was instantly relieved that Annie seemed to understand what was happening. They were breathing heavy, smoothing their clothes, Annie fixing her hair. Mrs. Barstone climbed in her Volvo without a glance in their direction.
“I should probably get going,” Annie said as she exhaled.
“Yeah, okay. I’ll see you later.” Before things got really awkward, Oksana hugged her and left her to dig for her keys, but instead of walking calmly back into the gym, Oksana ran. She didn’t want to be left outside alone.
*
Hours later, Oksana was still lost in the fog of that kiss. She wondered how it happened, how she could be so careless to kiss Annie back, right out in the open like that. Mostly, though, she was unnerved by the kiss itself.
The kiss was loaded. The whole situation had been filled with danger, but the kiss changed the name of the game. This was no longer innocent fun. They had both achieved their initial purpose. Annie knew what it was like to be with a woman and Oksana had banished an embarrassingly long sexual drought. But that kiss—Oksana could feel it the moment Annie pressed against her—it was a kiss that was asking for more.
Oksana did the one thing she knew she shouldn’t; she thought about the possibility of more. But what could they have? Nothing. Annie was capitalizing on her free pass. She was taking advantage of that freedom, and Oksana was playing right into that selfishness. Not that it was wrong for Annie to explore herself before she settled down for good, but it was wrong for Oksana to be a part of it.
Annie’s whole existence was dangerous, and the more aggressive she became the more Oksana saw Vivian in her. Vivian had pursued her the same way.
Things with Annie wouldn’t end the same way they had with Vivian, mostly because Oksana and Annie weren’t really together, but Oksana saw herself getting hurt if she wasn’t careful.
“Sana.”
“Hmm?” Oksana blinked, looking away from their mastiff, Vasily, who had been the focus of her blank stare.
“Baba’s talking to you.” Her grandmother, Inna, was a great caretaker and guardian, but she was slightly terrifying. She was exactly five feet tall and she was almost as wide. Like Kat, she liked coloring her hair. Tonight her pumpkin-shaped head was adorned with fruit punch red waves, cropped short. She rarely stopped smoking, and she only spoke English if she absolutely had to. And she didn’t like being ignored.
“Oh.” She switched to Russian as she addressed her grandmother. She glanced at Oksana over the laundry basket between them. “ I’m sorry. What did you say? ”
“ You have a girlfriend now. ”
“ What? ”
“ Give me that shirt. You’ll never fold it. ”
Oksana handed the shirt over and grabbed for a towel out of the basket. “ Who says I have a girlfriend and how come I don’t know about it? ”
“ Ekaterina tells me there’s a girl, and I believe her because all night you’ve been out in space. ”
Oksana turned to her sister, who was half hanging off the recliner and shot the brat her own look. A look that said Kat had violated the sister code.
Kat shrugged and spoke in Russian, the little suck up. “ What do you want me to say? You’ve been out in space all night. You daydream. You ignore your baba when she is speaking to you. ”
Oksana narrowed her eyes and switched to English. “I’m going to kill you.” She turned to Baba Inna. “ I’m not seeing anyone. ”
“ You are thinking of someone. ”
Oksana didn’t answer or lie. She knew her grandmother could interpret her every expression.
“ Give me your
“You tell that sweet Bettino I say hello,” Mrs. Barstone yelled from across the parking lot. Oksana jumped back, separating herself from Annie, and was instantly relieved that Annie seemed to understand what was happening. They were breathing heavy, smoothing their clothes, Annie fixing her hair. Mrs. Barstone climbed in her Volvo without a glance in their direction.
“I should probably get going,” Annie said as she exhaled.
“Yeah, okay. I’ll see you later.” Before things got really awkward, Oksana hugged her and left her to dig for her keys, but instead of walking calmly back into the gym, Oksana ran. She didn’t want to be left outside alone.
*
Hours later, Oksana was still lost in the fog of that kiss. She wondered how it happened, how she could be so careless to kiss Annie back, right out in the open like that. Mostly, though, she was unnerved by the kiss itself.
The kiss was loaded. The whole situation had been filled with danger, but the kiss changed the name of the game. This was no longer innocent fun. They had both achieved their initial purpose. Annie knew what it was like to be with a woman and Oksana had banished an embarrassingly long sexual drought. But that kiss—Oksana could feel it the moment Annie pressed against her—it was a kiss that was asking for more.
Oksana did the one thing she knew she shouldn’t; she thought about the possibility of more. But what could they have? Nothing. Annie was capitalizing on her free pass. She was taking advantage of that freedom, and Oksana was playing right into that selfishness. Not that it was wrong for Annie to explore herself before she settled down for good, but it was wrong for Oksana to be a part of it.
Annie’s whole existence was dangerous, and the more aggressive she became the more Oksana saw Vivian in her. Vivian had pursued her the same way.
Things with Annie wouldn’t end the same way they had with Vivian, mostly because Oksana and Annie weren’t really together, but Oksana saw herself getting hurt if she wasn’t careful.
“Sana.”
“Hmm?” Oksana blinked, looking away from their mastiff, Vasily, who had been the focus of her blank stare.
“Baba’s talking to you.” Her grandmother, Inna, was a great caretaker and guardian, but she was slightly terrifying. She was exactly five feet tall and she was almost as wide. Like Kat, she liked coloring her hair. Tonight her pumpkin-shaped head was adorned with fruit punch red waves, cropped short. She rarely stopped smoking, and she only spoke English if she absolutely had to. And she didn’t like being ignored.
“Oh.” She switched to Russian as she addressed her grandmother. She glanced at Oksana over the laundry basket between them. “ I’m sorry. What did you say? ”
“ You have a girlfriend now. ”
“ What? ”
“ Give me that shirt. You’ll never fold it. ”
Oksana handed the shirt over and grabbed for a towel out of the basket. “ Who says I have a girlfriend and how come I don’t know about it? ”
“ Ekaterina tells me there’s a girl, and I believe her because all night you’ve been out in space. ”
Oksana turned to her sister, who was half hanging off the recliner and shot the brat her own look. A look that said Kat had violated the sister code.
Kat shrugged and spoke in Russian, the little suck up. “ What do you want me to say? You’ve been out in space all night. You daydream. You ignore your baba when she is speaking to you. ”
Oksana narrowed her eyes and switched to English. “I’m going to kill you.” She turned to Baba Inna. “ I’m not seeing anyone. ”
“ You are thinking of someone. ”
Oksana didn’t answer or lie. She knew her grandmother could interpret her every expression.
“ Give me your
Similar Books
Crappy Christmas
Rebecca Hillary
An Ideal Wife
Sanjay Grover
Infinite in Between
Carolyn Mackler
Brilliant
Denise Roig
Ghosts of War
George Mann
Dessi's Romance
Goldie Alexander
Where The Heart Lives
Marjorie Liu
Lake of Tears
Mary Logue
Athenais
Lisa Hilton