Chapter 5

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 471.

Andi had been aware of her same sex attraction from as early on as Junior High, maybe even before that. In the time between then and when she had met Lana, she had had her share of girlfriends. Actually, she laughed inwardly, if she was truthful probably her share and a few other peoples as well! She hadn't used her Business and Accounting qualifications straight out of college. Sick to death of sitting in a classroom she'd preferred to turn her hand to a variety of jobs that kept her outside and on the go; amongst others a security guard at a shopping mall, park gardener, bike courier and even a stint as a postal worker. Back then fitness and strength had come easily and her image as a tanned, strong, soft-butch meant she had found no shortage of gals to play with, and occasionally, stay with, for short periods of time. And they'd been all shapes and sizes and colors as the younger Andi's catchphrase at the time had been ‘So many beautiful women, so little time'. But the one hard and fast rule she had made for herself and adhered to almost like a religion was ‘No Straight Gals‘, no how - no way. She'd seen the chaos that generally followed in the wake of these ‘I'll try anything once' types. Had seen them flirt and engage and play with the gay gals, only to run back to men when their curiosity was sated or their partner had got serious and suddenly they couldn't handle being in a minority spotlight. It was a sensible rule and it had served Andi well, so why on earth now, at this age, was she blushing and yearning for a woman on the other side of the fence?

“Whew, it's gonna be a hot one today!” Gill said as she tumbled down beside her; all the charged air and chemistry that had flared between them seemingly dissipated. “Ten minutes rest then I need to skedaddle for home; I've got to study for a few hours before work.” She grinned happily. “God I know this might sound insane, but I enjoy study and I love going to school.”

Andi laughed good-naturedly with her. “You are insane,” she replied, “who ever likes having to study, much less loves it? But seriously Gill, getting back to what you were saying earlier about your ex and the settlement, surely you should have got more than that? I mean, where did you live, what area?” Gill named an up market suburb of Sacramento and Andi gave a low whistle. “Holy shit gal, how could you let him get away that easy? You had to be entitled to at least half of everything, if not more.”

Gill sat up, hugging her knees and looking pained. “I know it doesn't make sense to you but when I finally got the nerve to leave, I just didn't want anything from him. I'd been trapped for eighteen years in a marriage with a man who decided every aspect of my life, from what I ate for breakfast down to the clothes I wore and the friends I could see. I just wanted enough so I could be independent and make my own way in life.” Her words were interrupted by Andi's exclamation of disbelief.

“Eighteen years! How could you be possibly have been married for that long, were you a child bride or what? I mean, how old are you Gill?”

She was dumfounded and guessed that her mouth was probably hanging open.

Gill's eyes danced as she surveyed the shocked look on Andi's face. “Not quite a child bride though we did get married just after my seventeenth birthday. I was still in high school -- in fact I never went back and competed my final year. He made enough money and didn't see the need if he was gonna look after me. I was a little bimbo back then, I thought it a great lark to play house and be grown up - no study and no curfews. Or so I imagined in the beginning.” She snorted regretfully. “Anyhow Ms. Accountant, you do the math. Eighteen plus seventeen makes me…?”

“Thirty five? Hell, I thought you, well, I mean I assumed you were not much more than mid twenties. You wear it well hon.”

Andi's senses were whirling. So she was only twelve years older than Gill, that wasn't so bad; the same as the gap between her and Lana. Suddenly she pulled her thoughts up with a jerk. What was she thinking? Didn't she still blame the difference in their ages for a lot of what had happened in that relationship, though when they initially met it hadn't seemed such a big deal. She remembered Lana laughing and commenting that Andi was the youngest thirty five year old she had ever met. Something had shifted inside her that day. She was sure Lana was ‘the one' and all of Andi's protect and provide qualities had come rushing to the forefront; she couldn't mess around with her life anymore, it was time to get serious. And she had; renewing her qualifications, taking a clerking position in a large accountancy firm, studying on the weekends, moving up through the ranks. Then came the mortgage and bills and her own company and…oh hell! It was a light bulb moment and Andi couldn't escape the illumination it was throwing all over her past. It was so patently clear to her now. Quite simply, she had stopped being fun. Stopped being the very person Lana had fallen in love with and got so damn mired down in being an adult and taking responsibility for everything. She had stuffed her inner child so far back in its box, she had never again seen the light of day. She had only been thirty five, the same age Gill was now, and she had become… Old!

Gill sat quietly, watching the shadow that swept across Andi's face and wondered at its cause, yet didn't comment. She may have been a chatterbox but she also knew when to shut up. A quiet voice whispered that there was much more to Andi than met the eye and carefully, carefully was going to have to be the order of the day if she was to get any closer to this woman. Oh, but she intended to get very close indeed. From the first moment she had watched Andi getting into her truck outside their units, she had been intrigued and from the day they had spoken their first words, it had been a lost cause. Gill had spent most of her life doing what other people wanted of her but now it was time to have a little of what she desired for herself. And she desired Andi, big-time!

They jogged companionably back towards home, parting company on the front walk. As Gill bounded up the steps she stopped and turned back to address Andi who was retrieving the door key from her trainer.

“I have to work till two pm, and then I'm going to rewrite this assignment one last time. If I make dinner for you tonight do you think maybe you could check it over for me? Seriously, I really need a good mark on this one.

” Seeing Andi's initial hesitation she ramped up the pleading tone and added exaggerated sad puppy dog eyes for effect. “Please Andi, I'll make lasagna!” She knew the way to a man's heart was through his stomach and figured that would most likely work for soft butches too. And it did. She grinned as she watched Andi fight and lose an inner battle with herself.

“OK you got me.” Andi said smiling. “What time shall I come over, seven pm? No worries, I'll bring the wine this time.”