With her clutch purse in hand, Oksana followed Annie to the living room, and when she released the lock to the front door, they faced off in the pre-dawn gray of the Venice morning.
“Thanks for bringing me home.” Annie didn’t want to offer an apology. The last thing she wanted Oksana to think was that she didn’t enjoy the time they’d spent together. What she really wanted was for Oksana to stay. She wanted to make her breakfast, or buy her breakfast at least. She wanted to be with her until the last possible second.
“It’s fine,” Oksana said, looking down at her Chucks. “Just be more careful next time.”
“There won’t be a next time.” Annie laughed nervously, then cursed herself. “I didn’t mean—” She took a deep breath.
Okay, dumbass. Use your words.
She could feel it; Oksana was closing up. “I’ll see you again?”
Oksana frowned. “Yeah. Tomorrow morning.”
“Right…” Annie was drawing a blank. What the hell was tomorrow?
Oksana’s eyes flashed wide and she nodded with full meaning at something behind Annie. She turned and looked at her wedding dress hanging from the decorative trellis beside the living room door. She did a quick scan of the room as she turned back to Oksana. There were bridal magazines everywhere, photos of possible hairstyles spread on the coffee table. And her copy of the fucking seating chart was on the couch. Annie had left it there a few days ago. Megan had called before work to tell Annie that Shane’s stepmom had decided to bring a date after all. Oksana was looking over every detail of her wedding. Of course they would still have plans for Saturday morning.
“Our session. Right!” Annie’s stomach turned.
“It’s okay.” Oksana patted her shoulder in understanding, which only made things worse.
Be mad at me,
Annie thought.
Be something; just don’t leave…
But she kept her mouth shut.
Oksana walked to the end table near the couch. When she came back to the front door, she bent low and forced Annie to look her in the eye. There was no animosity. No regret. Any smidge of hopefulness was gone as well. It was all in direct contrast and a perfect complement to the cool metal Oksana softly pressed into the palm of Annie’s hand.
“Really. It’s okay” Annie opened her hand and numbly stared at her engagement ring. With the tip of her finger, Oksana caressed the round diamond as she murmured softly, “Now you won’t be wondering anymore. You’ll
know.
”
Annie did know, but she didn’t know how to say it or even what to say. She had to straighten things out with Jeff first, but clear determination in Oksana’s eyes told her that she wasn’t willing to wait.
Oksana didn’t hang around for the weak good-bye that slipped through Annie’s lips. She was already down the front steps and climbing into a rugged looking Charger when Annie found the skill to breathe.
The loud engine purred its way down the street, and when it was silent again, Annie slumped against the door. And she stared at her dress, wishing for the life of her that Oksana had never seen it.
*
Scooter didn’t ask any questions, just handed Oksana a sweatshirt and turned the radio up. She slumped in her seat and pulled the worn hoodie over her head. That’s why she called him. Scooter was no bullshit. That, and Ronnie would never come out to Venice at six in the morning, and if she did Oksana would never hear the end of it. She was already prepared for a thorough ragging from Ronnie and full-on verbal assault from her grandmother. For now, she needed silence or the best of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Anything but facing the truth.
When they pulled up to the big house twenty minutes later, she kissed Scooter on his stubbled cheek.
“I’m working all weekend, but I want to see you next week,” he rasped out. He’d been working long hours and partying even harder afterward. He glanced at her quickly, his eyes telling her everything she needed to know. Even though he had no clue who Annie was, he understood that Oksana had gotten herself into another sketchy situation. But he wouldn’t judge, and most importantly, if she needed him, he would continue to be there.
“Okay,” she said with a weak smile. She hopped out of his Charger and waved as he drove away. She took one step up the driveway before Baba Inna came out on the porch, Vasily’s leash in hand. Oksana could outrun the old lady for sure, but she couldn’t avoid the third degree forever. Not if she wanted to enjoy her grandmother’s cooking again. Or see her sister.
Baba ambled down the stairs and stopped in front of Oksana.
“
Same girl?”
she asked.
“Yes,”
Oksana replied. Baba glared at her, one eye squeezing almost shut and then the other. That was how she squinted before she came to a decision.
“
One more time and I meet her.”
She held up her hand as Oksana began to assert that there was no way in hell there would be another time. “
One more time and you bring her home. I meet her. Ekaterina meets her, and we settle this. No more games.”
She pressed her hand above Oksana’s heart. “
No more games.”
Baba Inna didn’t wait for an answer. She took their dog and headed off down the street.
Oksana made it all the way back to the little house before she started to cry.
The Facing of Facts Over an Overpriced Salad
Oksana walked into Travar Salon and waited by the front counter. She only set foot in Beverly Hills for two reasons: clients and Ronnie.
“We’ll roll in a sec,” Ronnie called from the sinks near the back. Jan, the owner, didn’t appreciate it when Ronnie yelled, but Ronnie was the best stylist they had, and Jan just had to deal with all parts of Ronnie if she wanted to keep the majority of her clientele.
Ronnie appeared a moment later and wrapped a silk shawl around her shoulders. She and Oksana were the perfect pair, both tatted and pierced with mouths like sailors, but always dressed fresh and professionally. Even though she was in the middle of her sessions, Oksana had on her most fashionable spandex and matching jacket. They threw people off and it was funny.
Oksana followed Ronnie next door to a small cafe. They ordered their lunches, both salads. Ronnie did so because she was a natural size sixteen and maintaining a size ten took some effort, and Oksana because in a little over an hour she had to run a client up to the Griffith Observatory. Puking up a burger and fries, or even a pesto panini on the trail wouldn’t be a good look for Oksana or Elite Fitness.
They slid into a small table by the window and Oksana forced herself to eat.
“You look like shit,” Ronnie said with an eyebrow raised. She was right. Sleeping fitfully for four hours, upright, was not rectified by forty-five perfect minutes of sleep wrapped in Annie’s arms. God, she missed her already.
“I feel like shit.”
“It all adds up then. Well, dish. Another night of earth-shattering sex? Actually…” Ronnie got serious for a second. “Start from the beginning.” Oksana never got to tell Ronnie how she’d ended up sleeping with Annie in the first place, so she started back with Annie’s initial idea. Ronnie agreed that she wouldn’t have passed up that sort of one-night stand either, and they both agreed the texting and the parking lot lip-lock was where she went wrong in terms of the follow-up, but when it came to the incident at The Maypole, Ronnie threw Oksana a real curve.
“How do you feel about her?” Ronnie asked. “And don’t lie. I’m gonna give you shit either way.”
Oksana sighed and pushed her chickpeas around. “I really like her.”
“Beyond the sex?”
“Yeah. I liked her before the sex, before she even brought it up. She’s refreshing. It’s weird. She’s so upbeat and open.” Among a million other things. Oksana couldn’t shake Annie’s face out of her head. Her smile, her skin, her amazing chest, the way her eyes closed when she came, the way she felt pressed against Oksana’s back. It didn’t matter how hard she tried. All morning long, all she could think of was Annie.
“I’m not trying to freak you out here, but on the surface, from what I saw and from what you’ve said, she sounds a little like Vivian,” Ronnie said. She sat back in her chair like she expected Oksana to punch her in the mouth for making such an insulting comparison.
“What?”
“I mean in the beginning. Remember? Vivian was like that. All cheery all the time and bouncing off the walls. She was the poster child for positivity.”
“No, Annie’s different.”
“How do you know that?” Ronnie asked.
“I…” She didn’t. Vivian had been like no one she’d ever met before. She made Oksana feel more alive. Oksana had shared everything with her, secrets she’d never shared with anyone. She’d shared her life, and one day Vivian had literally disappeared. No note. No text. No phone call. Annie would never do something that heartless.
“She’s not like Vivian. She’s honest, for one.”
“Well, that’s a plus.”
“I’m serious. This whole thing is fucked. I won’t pretend it isn’t, but she has told me everything from the start.” Oksana smiled to herself, thinking of Annie trying to weigh her gayness. “Even the embarrassing stuff. She could have lied to me about what she wanted, about her fiancé, but she didn’t. Vivian just told me what I wanted to hear. She was a yes-man.”
“Now that shit is true.” Ronnie shuddered, sharing Oksana’s disgust. “Man, she was psycho. Anyway, you gonna hit it again?” Ronnie laughed.
“God, no. Baba was up when I got home this morning and she gave me this whole ultimatum.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. If I see Annie again outside of our workouts, I have to bring her home so Baba can meet her. She thinks I’m playing games with her.”
“You are.”
“No, I’m—”
“You are. You’ve slept with her twice in three days, and if you keep sleeping with her,
you’re
going to get hurt. If you like her.”
Oksana knew Ronnie was right. Annie had a wedding, a fucking husband waiting for her on the other side of their tryst. Oksana saw the proof of it all over her living room. She’d briefly held it in her hand. Great sex was not enough to end an engagement over. Once Annie was done with her, Oksana had a new client and an endless number of lonely nights ahead of her, but she didn’t see how she was the one playing games. Annie was engaged, not her. She explained that to Ronnie, but still they didn’t agree.
“You’re putting up with this, Sana. Sex is fun, but you’ve never been the type to sleep around. You’re a relationship person. But since you like her, you’re taking what you can get. It’s not as bad as Captain Abandon, but it’s pretty close.” Oksana fought like crazy not to cry, but her lip still trembled. How had she let herself get wrapped up in such a shitty situation? Where was the fun she’d been looking for? The easy opening into a new phase in her love life?
Ronnie reached across the table and took her hand, rubbing the ridge of her knuckles. She wasn’t much on friend PDA, but she knew when Oksana needed it.
“Hey.” Oksana looked up into Ronnie’s eyes. “I’m not trying to make you upset, I just want you to look at the red flags. If they’re there, you can’t ignore them. You deserve better. You are worth more.”
And hadn’t that been the mantra? It took some serious personal analysis, but Oksana was finally able to admit to herself that her crappy relationship with her parents left her feeling, in some ways, unworthy. That shitty feeling had only been compounded by Vivian’s swift exit. She’d had her breakthrough moment and Oksana was able to see that she couldn’t weigh her personal value against the people who felt they were too good to be a part of her life.
“What if she has genuine feelings for you?” Ronnie asked as if she could feel Oksana’s mood really starting to plummet.
“Yeah, right” Oksana wiped her eyes. “And what if she weren’t getting married and what if—”
“I’m serious. Let’s forget Vivian for a moment because we both
know
she’s crazy. This new chick was drunk, but she was pumped to see you. That much was real. She went down on you?”
“Like it was her last supper.”
Ronnie frowned for a moment. She was really thinking this over, which bothered Oksana a little. She loved that Ronnie cared, but there was nothing to think about. Things with Annie were over and done with. Period. The gorgeous A-line gown hanging in her den was proof of that.
“I can’t speak on her feelings for her man, but I think she likes you. What would you do if she did?”
“I’d date her, if—
if
—she wasn’t engaged.”
“Which she is.”
“Which. She. Is.”
“Sucks, comrade. What’s the non-hypothetical plan?”
“I haven’t heard from her today, so I’m guessing we’re still on for our hike tomorrow. We’ll see how it goes. If she’s willing to end our hot, steamy affair, I’ll stick with her schedule. She’s paid up through July.”
“Jesus. Can you do that?” Oksana shrugged. “And if you can’t?”
“Hopefully, she’ll go with another trainer without any drama.”
“Hmm. Good luck.”
“Thanks.” Oksana made a real effort to finish her lunch then. She had to get over Annie. There was no hope for them, and the sooner Annie was out of her life in every sense, the sooner she could try at love again. With a normal, single, gay woman. With absolutely no baggage or sociopathic disorders. If a woman like that even existed.