“Well, I don’t mean to brag but…” She sank her teeth into her bottom lip.
“I didn’t sleep with anyone else, Micky.” Robin’s voice was suddenly low and serious. “I told you. I couldn’t stop thinking about you. And then you told me about this other woman, which was a genius move, by the way.”
“You were jealous.” Micky’s eyes widened.
Robin cocked her head. “I was.” She transferred a slice of pizza from the serving dish to her plate. “That day you took me to the beach, I had such an amazing time. I don’t just mean us sleeping together afterward. I mean the entire weekend. I only realized it too late. We have a ton of chemistry between us, that’s for sure, but I also just like being with you. Just sitting here with you, talking, getting to know you better. I want to know everything about you, in fact.”
“But, er, isn’t that against your… policy?”
“I wouldn’t call it a policy. It’s more me trying to rely on common sense. I have no business falling for someone when there’s no future for us, but you know, the heart wants what the heart wants. Last night, I was sitting at home, feeling very sorry for myself. The classic image of a woman by herself gazing out of the window, watching the clouds gather before the storm rolls in, with a half-empty bottle of wine by my side. This life I lead, it can get very lonely. Moving from city to city, starting over again every two years, building a social life from scratch. Which is why I asked to go back to the US after my stint in Sydney. I’ve had enough of this life. This last year away from home was going to be my craziest one. I mean, this is Sydney. Diversity will always need to be promoted anywhere in the world, at least for a good long while to come, but this isn’t Asia. Spending a year here is basically a working sabbatical for me. I have work to do, for sure, but it’s not as strenuous and frustrating as what I was trying to accomplish in Hong Kong and Singapore. And I had one rule only: have as much fun as possible and don’t fall in love.” She paused, picked up the slice of pizza, then put it back. “My plan was working pretty well. Then I met you.”
Micky’s pulse picked up speed. Her mind focused on the very last sentence Robin had spoken, from which Micky deduced that Robin was falling in love with her as well. This, however, didn’t change anything about their situation in the long run. Robin would still be leaving at the end of the year. But it was only March. There were nine more months in the year. Perhaps Robin could take some time off after. At this point, everything was still possible. Micky had no other choice but to believe that.
“I wish I could say I was sorry, but I’m really not,” Micky said.
Robin smiled, but only briefly. “What I did last night, running over to your house in a frenzy like that, was surely impulsive. That was me not abiding by common sense at all. But I don’t regret it in the slightest. I was overcome by this urge to see you, to tell you that I didn’t just want to be friends either, with benefits or not. I want more. I want to date you. It might have been foolish, but I couldn’t stop myself.”
“Then let’s date,” Micky said. “Let’s be foolish and date.”
Robin bent over the table. “On the sly, you mean? I can’t leave my panties lying around at your house, I presume?”
Micky chuckled nervously. “I know you lesbians are very quick about these things and all that, but we’ve only just met, so let’s hold off on the U-Haul for now.”
“Good lord, don’t tell me you just made a U-Haul joke.” Robin banged her hands on the table. “Not even out of the closet yet, but already making the joke.”
Micky glanced at Robin, trying to figure out if, somewhere during this line of banter, she had become serious about the matter, or if she was just teasing Micky for being a forty-four-year-old woman in the closet.
Robin sat smiling, picked up the slice of pizza again, and finally took a bite.
“I met my ex-husband’s new partner the other weekend. I was at the cinema with the kids and we ran into them.”
“Oh yes, Lisa, right? I happen to have met a Lisa at work this week.” She wiggled her eyebrows.
“What?” Micky asked, though she knew very well what Robin was getting at.
“P.Y.T.,” Robin said.
“What?” Now Micky really was confused.
“Pretty young thing? Michael Jackson song? No?” Robin gave her an amused expression. “But don’t worry, Micky, she’s actually older than me. I looked her up on the company’s intraweb. We can double-date some time, if you like.”