Jenna snorted. “I’m not the one sleeping with her.”
“And thank God for that.” Faye smiled sarcastically. “I know you mean well, I really do, but it’s not an issue for us. Whether Talia is at the bistro or the club, I love her just the same.” Faye’s eyes widened at her own admission. “I mean, I will…eventually.”
“Oh, I think you’re already there.” Jenna smiled weakly, shaking her head. “I really hope you know what you’re doing, Faye. This, in my opinion, is only going to end one way. She’s going to break your heart. I can see it coming a mile off.”
Faye nodded slowly. “Talia and I have a great relationship. One that is of no concern to anyone else. She makes me happy. God…she makes me laugh so hard that my body physically aches. And you know, of all the women I’ve ever met in the past, present company excluded, she’s the only one I feel safe with. But it’s not a safety that protects me from the world; it’s a safety I feel protects my heart.Sheprotects my heart. And whether she is a dancer or not doesn’t change that. It doesn’t change the fact that she’s genuine, honest, or downright amazing. Being a dancer is a part of who she is. She’s an artist, in many ways. And if she trusts me to be the one who makes her happy, who shares her achievements and her downfalls with her, I’d be a fool to let that go because she strips down to her underwear on the weekends.”
Jenna held up her hands. “Faye, I’m sorry.”
“I love her, okay? And I’m not interested in how soon it is or what the future holds. I love her and that’s that. She makes me feel…alive. So alive.”
Jenna threw a thumb over her shoulder, edging back towards the door. “I’ll go. I never meant to come here and cause any trouble. I just thought you should know.”
“Thanks for looking out for me; I appreciate it. But it’s not needed. Talia would never hurt me.”
As Faye saw Jenna to the door, she found Talia out in the corridor, the door still slightly ajar. “Oh, hi.”
“Hey,” Talia said, looking past Jenna. Then she turned her gaze to Jenna, frowning. “Since you’ve finished trying to tear my life apart, you can leave.”
“I’m so sorry. I just—”
“Wanted to stick your nose into other people’s business.” Talia nodded, stepping past Jenna. “Piss off!”
Faye glanced back at Talia. Her shoulders were slumped. She cleared her throat, smiling at Jenna. “I should go. She looks like she needs a hug.”
“Faye, I’m really sorry.”
“Yeah, I know.” Faye closed the door, watching Talia as she collapsed down on the couch. She seemed tired. Worn out. “Everything okay?” Faye had no idea how much Talia had heard, but she wasn’t concerned. Everything she’d said was the truth.
“As much as youthinkyou love me, you’re going to want to take that back in a few minutes.”
“Talia, I’m sorry you had to hear it like that.”
Talia reached out a hand, pulling Faye down beside her. “You don’t love me. I can promise you that.”
Faye frowned, her heart dropping to her stomach. She may not have expected to say those words this morning, but she meant them. “Just because you think I don’t doesn’t mean it isn’t true.”
“Phoebe came to the club last night.” Talia wrung her hands in her lap, unable to look Faye in the eye. Faye supposed she should be surprised Phoebe had been to the club, but nothing surprised Faye with her anymore. “She was there…and s-she…she booked me.”
Faye shifted closer, resting a hand on Talia’s knee, but Talia shifted until it fell away. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
“I’m trying to tell you, but you keep being nice to me, and it’s making it really fucking hard, Faye.”
“How else am I supposed to be?”
Talia turned in her seat, taking Faye’s face in her hands. She offered her a sad, heartbreaking smile, then leaned in and pressed her lips to Faye’s. “These last couple of months have been amazing with you. This month more so because I felt like my life was coming full circle. I had myself an amazing woman who supported me in my career, and I’d never felt so stupidly happy. Even when I wasn’t with you, I felt happy. But I can’t take the possibility of being destroyed ever again. I can’t handle the pain I feel when I get kicked to the kerb, and I can’t handle you leaving me. It’s only been a few months since we met, and I still can’t take the thought of you not being in my life.”
Faye’s bottom lip trembled, her eyes damp. “Talia, what’s going on?”
“We shouldn’t be together, Faye. You should be with someone else. I don’t know who, I can’t bear the thought of it, but I’m doing this for you. Because it’s what’s best for you. Take me out of the equation, my love life will always be a total disaster, but you…God, you deserve to be so happy. You really do.”
“But I’m happy with you,” Faye said, whimpering when Talia shook her head.
“It’ll never last. You’ve just had a woman at your door supposedly revealing some huge secret to you. I don’t want you to always defend your reasons for being with me. Life and love should never mean you have to defend yourself against an opinion people have about me.”
Faye’s heart tightened. Everything had been going so well; she hadn’t imagined the potential of it all falling apart.
Talia leaned in once again, placing what felt like a final kiss to Faye’s lips, her hands falling away. “Phoebe came to my room last night and demanded I end things with you. She broke every rule in that room, and now I feel as though I can’t breathe. That’s never happened to me before, and perhaps that makes me lucky, I don’t know…but s-she broke the rules, Faye.”