The Space Between Us Read online

  “Who, Charlie?” I rolled onto my belly to face her. “Really, it’s okay.”

  Clearly, it wasn’t. She sighed and wriggled deeper into the pillows. She brushed her fingers over the tips of my hair. I’d kept it blond but added some dark streaks at the ends. “I like your hair.”

  I laughed. “Thanks.”

  “I’m serious. I do.” She sat up and looked over at the mirror on the dresser as she ran her fingers through her own shoulder-length waves. “Maybe I should get it cut.”

  “If you want. But I love your hair the way it is.” I sat up to shift closer to her. I touched it, curling one long strand around my finger before trailing my fingers over her shoulder. When I leaned in to kiss her neck, though, she moved away just enough to stop me.

  “But yours seems so easy to take care of. You never have to fuss with it. Mine takes forever to look good.” Her eyes met mine in the mirror.

  In the reflection I saw two women, both blonde, though my hair was platinum and hers honey. She was full-breasted and flat-bellied; I had curves in my hips and thighs and ass. I saw two women sitting close enough to touch, but with a canyon-size space between them nonetheless.

  “Your hair is beautiful,” I told her.

  A slow smile curved her mouth. “You’re just saying that.”

  I shook my head. In the bathroom, the sound of the shower stopped. I heard Charlie humming. In the mirror, Meredith’s eyes never left mine.

  “I…I had a fight with Vic. A pretty bad one. I told him I wasn’t coming back tonight.”

  “What’s his problem?”

  I shrugged, not wanting to discuss it. “It was time for me to get out of there anyway.”

  “You’re moving out?” Meredith pursed her lips.

  I shrugged again.

  Her mouth parted. The pink tip of her tongue peeked out, just barely, touching the center of her top lip before disappearing. “You should stay here.”

  “Tonight,” I said.

  “You could stay longer than that, Tesla.”

  “What about Charlie?”

  “Charlie adores you.”

  “Yeah. When I’m sucking his cock.” I figured there was no point in sugarcoating it. “Living here’s a totally different thing. For you, too, Meredith.”

  “It would be great. We’d see so much more of you. And what could be bad about that?” She gave me the smile that got her what she wanted every time.

  “Having a third person living with you isn’t the same as having a guest. Your house, your kitchen, your washing machine. Your things.” I ticked off the list on my fingers. “There’s a share of utilities to consider. Who buys groceries? Where would I sleep?”

  “You make it sound so complicated.” She touched my hair again, toying with the fringe against my cheek.

  “If you don’t talk about this stuff up front…” I took a breath to keep my voice steady. “You told me you talked about me with Charlie before you asked if I’d join you.”

  She had a blank look for a second. “Yeah?”

  “You had to, right? To make sure everything was set up? So that nothing went wrong, nobody got hurt or jealous. Right?” I thought that’s what they’d done. It was what I’d have done.

  “I thought you liked being part of us.” Meredith frowned and the crease appeared between her eyes.

  I took her hand and brought it to my lips. I kissed her knuckles. “I do. I like it a lot.”

  “What, then?” She shifted closer. “What’s the problem?”

  “I like being with you. Both of you. And I adore Charlie.” I deliberately used the term she’d used. “That’s the thing, isn’t it? Being with you? Both of you,” I added. “But I’m really not.”

  She frowned but didn’t look away from the mirror. “What’s that mean?”

  “It means that I’m with Charlie, and Charlie’s with you, and you’re with Charlie. But you’re not with me.” I brushed my lips over her shoulder, not lingering. “And I need to know if that’s going to change.”

  She kissed me.

  After all the months of imagining it, fantasizing about the softness of her lips and how she’d taste, this kiss nevertheless caught me completely unawares. I drew in a breath, startled, and she put a hand on the back of my neck to hold me still. It didn’t last long, that kiss, but it was long enough to promise something more.

  She drew back just enough to look me in the eyes. “I made the offer. Think about it.”

  “About what?” Charlie asked, entering the room with a towel around his hips. He went to the dresser, not the one with the mirror, and pulled out a pair of pajama bottoms.

  “Tesla moving in with us.”

  I could see him in the reflection, too, as he turned. I didn’t want to tell them I’d already decided. That in fact I had almost no choice, at least in the short term, until I could find something else. That I was flattered and grateful she wanted me, afraid he didn’t, worried about how it would all change. Or not change.

  “Oh?” Charlie asked.

  Meredith and I didn’t look away from the reflection as he crawled onto the bed behind us. She leaned back a little toward me. He moved to her other side.

  “But Tesla has some issues with how things have been going between us, Charlie.”

  He let out a slow breath, appearing confused. This was between us, the women in the mirror. I gave my head the tiniest shake.

  “I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to,” I told her. “But if you kissed a girl…”

  Charlie gave her a slightly startled look.

  “And you liked it,” I added, “I’m just wondering why you don’t want to kiss me.”

  “We never talked about that.” Meredith glanced at Charlie in the mirror’s reflection. “We talked about him being with you.”

  I nuzzled her shoulder again. “Like you said, there’s always something to talk about.”

  “I thought you didn’t want to, that’s all,” Charlie said. “I never wanted you to think I’d have a problem with it, Meredith.”

  “Do you?” I asked him.

  We looked at each other face-to-face. Without the mirror bridging us. Charlie shook his head.

  “No. Of course not. Hell,” he admitted with a sheepish grin, “it would be hot. You know, what guy doesn’t want to watch two women together, right?”

  From this angle I could see Meredith only in the mirror, but I thought that made it easier somehow. That distance. She shivered when I touched her.

  “I guess I have to ask the question. Why do you want me to move in with you? What would make that better than what we’re doing now?”

  That earned a smile from her. “You need a place to stay. And we have a good time together. Don’t we?”

  “Sure.” Charlie rubbed my back. “I do, anyway.”

  I smiled. “Me, too. But living together is a big step.”

  Meredith relaxed, leaning back against me. “You spend so much time with us already, I just thought it would be easier. And fun.”

  I put my chin on her shoulder, my hands on her belly. “I just want to be sure, before I say yes....”

  “Say yes,” Meredith said.

  Charlie’s rubbing hand slowed and came up to cup the back of my neck. “Say yes, Tesla.”

  “I want to know if you want me, Meredith.” Said aloud, the words weren’t scary. And if she said no, at least we’d have it out between us. “Because I’m never sure where to go with you.”

  She drew in a slightly stuttering breath and put her hand over mine. The three of us sat very still. Charlie’s fingers squeezed my neck gently before sliding down my spine again, and he moved away from us, back against the pillows.

  “How about all the way?” Meredith said finally.

  Tension that had coiled in my gut got a little tighter. “Are you sure?”

  Her lips parted and the pink hint of her tongue appeared, delicately touching her top lip. “I guess we’ll find out.”

  I grinned and pressed my mou