Besides, I’m not sure if I’m comfortable enough with my own sexuality to want to experiment with a girl. Still, if I did want to try anything, I think I’d want it to be with someone like this woman. She’s beautiful, but she also has a bubbly personality. She seems friendly enough and she’s not scared of anything.
“I don’t think you’re a bitch,” I say, licking my lips, hoping she can’t smell my very new emotion: Lust. “I’m just a little bit sensitive. Tessa and I don’t really see eye-to-eye.”
“No shit,” the girl leans against the doorway. “Nobody sees eye-to-eye with Tessa.”
“Language,” Aunt Germaine scolds, and the girl stands up straight and apologizes.
“I’m Karen,” she tells me.
“Scarlett,” I say. “But most everyone calls me Red.”
“Why?”
“It just seemed like a fitting nickname because of my red cloak. I wear it all the time.” I don’t tell her my grandmother gave it to me or that it makes me feel close to her.
“Oh yeah, I noticed that. Weird, you know.”
“What’s weird?”
“Your little cape.”
“Well, maybe it makes me feel like a superhero.”
“In that case,” she turns to Aunt Germaine. “I want one, too. Can you make me one?”
“No,” Aunt Germaine says.
“Hey!” Karen protests. “Why not?”
“Do you need something or not? Because if you don’t, skidaddle.” Aunt Germaine makes a shooing motion toward the door, but Karen is unfazed and I have the distinct impression this isn’t their first dance together. Karen just smiles and turns back to me.
“Like I was saying, they’re back from the hunt.” She wiggles her eyebrows at me. “If you and your man Nash need some, um,” she glances at Aunt Germaine. “Down time, or whatever, I can, um, distract Tessa for awhile.”
“You’d do that for me?” I ask, touched that this stranger would be willing to help me out. Nash and I have been experiencing a lot of interruptions lately, but they’ve always been so reasonable that I didn’t want to jump to the conclusion that Tessa was purposely sabotaging us.
That didn’t seem fair.
“Yeah, sure,” Karen waves her hand. “You seem tense. You could probably use some, um, adult time, you know.”
“I’m old, not deaf,” Aunt Germaine frowns, putting her hands on her hips. “Besides, I’m not that old.”
“What are you saying?” Karen grins.
“I’m saying that handsome wolf Thomas was in here just a few d
ays ago and he-”
“Ew!” Karen screeches, plugging her ears with her fingers. “Enough, enough! I get the picture!”
Aunt Germaine just chuckles.
“Go on then,” she tells me. “Come back in a couple of days and we’ll finish the pinning.”
Giggling like a couple of schoolgirls, I allow Karen to take my hand and pull me from the room and into the hall.
It’s time to go find my man.
***