- New life, new beginnings and new love -01
- New life, new beginnings and new love – 02
This is a lesbian story named “New life, new beginnings and new love “. I hope you guys enjoy…
“You’re a grown woman. You can do this. This is not a hard task.”
The naked woman in the mirror did not agree. Zoe tried a new tactic. “There’s nothing to be nervous about. She’s just a woman, for God’s sake.”
The naked woman in the mirror looked out at Zoe as if Zoe was nuts.
“Okay, so there’s no such thing as ‘just a woman’. And, okay, so this woman is funny, sexy, and different from nearly every other woman you’ve ever met. But, Jesus, Kathryn, you’re not exactly a virgin. Going on a date is nothing new to you.”
The naked woman in the mirror reminded Zoe, mentally, that while going on a date was nothing new, going on a date, sober, was new. Zoe closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She replayed the events of the morning on her mental recorder, starting with the phone call at half past nine.
“Zoe?”
“Lucy!”
“I’m calling because… I spoke with Stella this morning.”
Zoe’s stomach had knotted up. At 7 am, Zoe had arrived at her usual weekday AA meeting, finding Stella sitting all alone without her roommate, which was unusual. When Zoe had gotten a cup of coffee and settled in on the folding chair beside the tall blonde, she’d leaned over and whispered, “Where’s Lucy?”
“Sleeping,” Stella whispered back, keeping her eyes fixed on the secretary. “How did your ‘day out’ go, yesterday?”
Zoe had flushed from her neck to her ears. “It was fine,” she’d whispered. Stella turned and looked at Zoe.
“Oh my God. You’ve really got it bad, don’t you? What happened yesterday? I want details.” The secretary and two other men glared at them. Zoe waited till they looked away and leaned close to Stella’s ear.
“Nothing happened. And I mean, nothing. She picked me up at ten, we spent the day together as friends, she dropped me off at 9:30 at night. And Stella, I’m telling you, I said a total of five sentences the entire damn day. I was so nervous….” Zoe sat back in her chair and looked down at her coffee.
When the meeting was over, Zoe and Stella stood outside of the episcopal church it was held in, and smoked while Stella pressed the problem.
“You like her a lot, don’t you?”
Zoe nodded. “More than a lot, Stella. God, the woman sends electric ripples through my body and soul. However strange that sounds.”
“Doesn’t sound strange at all. She likes you, too, baby.”
Zoe shook her head. “Trust me, she doesn’t. A woman can tell these things.”
“Yeah, well, your female intuition needs a tune-up. I’m telling you, she thinks you’re amazing. And very hot. Which, of course, you are.”
“I’m also a newcomer, and I’m eleven years her junior. Trust me, the woman is not looking at me as a potential candidate for romance. She’s kept the entire thing as ‘just another friend in Recovery.’ “
“Stick around Lucy for a little while, honey. You will quickly learn what is ‘Lucy being real’, and what is ‘Lucy acting blase and tough just to protect her heart’. She’s a lot more transparent than she thinks she is.”
They had left it at that, and Zoe had returned home to yawn sleepily and continue her job search on the computer. At 9:30, her phone had rung, whereupon Lucy had informed her that she and Stella had discussed that morning’s conversation.
“Lucy…”
“Now, just hold on. Breathe. I’m calling because you’re wrong, and Stella’s right. I do like you, Zoe. Very much. Do you know that you’re the reason I started going to this meeting?”
“I am?”
“You think I love sobriety enough to get my ass out of bed at 6:30 every weekday morning?” Zoe could hear her smile over the phone lines. “I’m not working right now. Believe me, I’d much rather catch up on my beauty sleep. Durita told me about you, said that I should come and meet you. So I did. I wasn’t expecting anything. I knew you were a newcomer, only sober for about four months. I was only thinking it would be nice to meet another lesbian in Recovery in the area. Hell, there’s only about four of us, and I’ve already fucked the other three.”
Zoe burst into laughter.
“But when I met you… Zoe, you take my breath away. You’re beautiful, you’re warm, you are, hands down, the most loving and gentle person I’ve ever met. You remind me of an angel. So… I know that you’re new. But I would like to take you out, to dinner, or a meeting. Take it slow. See where this leads.”
“That would be nice, I’d like that.”
“I need to let you know… This is a little awkward… I tend to move slowly. As in, at a snail’s pace. I was with my last girlfriend for six months before we slept together.”
SIX MONTHS?!!?! “Oh, that’s not a prob, Lucy.” SIX MONTHS?!?!?! WITH AN ASS LIKE THAT, SHE KEPT HER HANDS OFF YOU FOR SIX MONTHS?!?!?! WAS SHE BLIND?!?! “Really, it’s not.” God I hope I mean that.
“How about I pick you up at 7? We can go to the evening NA meeting, if that’s alright with you.”
“Isn’t it your birthday today? Are you sure you don’t have other plans?”
“It is my birthday. And I’m giving myself a present, of an evening with you.”
Oh. Hell. Zoe melted into a puddle of warm chocolate at the soft and easy tone in Lucy’s voice. “I’ll be ready,” she said quietly.
So there she was, at a quarter past six, staring at her reflection in the mirror and trying to pep-talk her way through the first Pre-Date Routine she’d gone through without booze in fifteen years. Luckily, her dark brown hair was cut short, and she never had bothered to style it. As for make-up, Zoe had a rule.
No make-up. Ever. It had started because she couldn’t see the benefit to getting out of bed half an hour earlier every morning just to put on war paint. She figured, if this face is good enough for God to give it to me, it’s good enough for me to leave alone. Therefore, her little routine didn’t take too long. Unless of course you counted all the agonizing minutes spent locked in turmoil and panic.
She turned the shower on and reached past the curtain, holding her hand beneath the stream of water. When it was just below scalding, she got in. She lived for hot showers; almost the same way she’d once lived for hot women. As she soaped up her body and washed her hair, she tried not to think too hard about Lucy or where this was going to lead.
When she had first gotten sober, she knew the General Rule: don’t date for the first year. She had had no problem whatsoever with that rule; in fact, she’d welcomed it. She’d welcomed it, because she was tired. She was tired of The Script. She was tired of The Roles.
She was tired of every passionate kiss HAVING to lead to the bedroom. She was tired of The Game. She’d played it for years, and God she had been good at it. She knew what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. She knew when to tilt her head, when to give her crooked smile, what looks with what intensity to shoot from across the room. She knew every line, every nuance.