“Whoa! I thought you lesbians didn’t like using the G-word so quickly! At least, that’s what I read.”
Ainsley laughed.
“Don’t believe everything you read in Sally’s books!” she said. “This lesbian dates one woman at a time and calls that woman her girlfriend.”
“God, that’s hot,” Rachel murmured.
“But…” Ainsley quickly added.
Rachel’s eyes went wide.
“But?”
Ainsley took a sip of her wine, more to buy time than because she wanted a drink. She needed to set Rachel straight about some things but she also didn’t want to scare her off.
Putting down her wine glass, she said, “Rach, I think you know I need to be careful, right? I mean…I want so much to be your girlfriend.”
“Okay, go on.”
“But, Rach, I’m used to dating lesbians—genuine, out and proud lesbians. The advantage of dating lesbians is that I don’t have to wonder if their lesbianism is going to wear off after a week or two.”
Now it was Rachel who took a sip of wine. When she was done, she nodded.
“I get it,” she said.
“So, what should I do?” Ainsley asked. “How much should I invest in this? I mean, it seemed like you had a lot of fun in the limo…”
“I did!” Rachel interrupted. “And I want more of that!”
“Okay, I believe you,” Ainsley assured her, stroking the top of Rachel’s hand with her thumb. “I’ll give you all you can take, trust me. But, I need time to believe that your sudden…interest, so to speak, of having a same-sex relationship is going to stick.”
“I get it,” Rachel repeated.
“Do you? Because what I’m saying is, fine, I won’t date anyone else and I won’t go looking for anyone else, but I’m going to need time to be convinced that you’re for real with this before I start to consider this as more than just some fun.”
Rachel nodded vigorously.
“Ains, I understand, okay? Right now, I’m just this weird chick who is suddenly, like, ‘Oh my god, I want to fuck women!’”
Ainsley laughed.
“So, I get what you’re worried about,” Rachel went on. “And I should probably take time to figure all this out for myself anyway.”
“Good point,” Ainsley agreed.
“So, fine…let’s treat it as something fun now and see how it develops.”
“And you’re sure you’re okay with that?”
Rachel smiled.
“I get to spend more time with you,” she said. “That’s what I wanted ever since I met you.”
Ainsley gave a surprised laugh.
“Oh my god! Why do you have to say such perfect shit like that?”
Rachel shrugged.