Dawn of the Dance by Marianne K. Martin

Author:Marianne K. Martin [Martin, Marianne K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, General, Lesbian, Romance, Lesbians
ISBN: 1932859055
Google: 8xJbAAAAMAAJ
Amazon: B004THDSOA
Publisher: Naiad Press
Published: 1999-01-01T23:00:00+00:00

"Is it that difficult for you to accept that I just don't want to date you?"

"But it isn't just that, is it Katherine?" He turned a chilling gaze squarely at Moni.

Katherine quickly interjected. "I don't know what you're talking about, and I'm at the end of my patience." She grabbed her purse and moved to the edge of the booth, with Moni following.

David blocked her exit. "You're a lesbian, aren't you? How can you think that can take the place of a real man?"

"Sorry, David, but I have no difficulty recognizing the real thing. Unlike you, a real man can accept no with dignity." She stood abruptly, forcing him back a step, and spoke quietly but sternly in his face. "Be careful, Mr. Shanks, or I'll be forced to bring charges against you."

"I wouldn't do that," he called to their backs as they started for the door. "You'd be betting your career on academia's tolerance." He followed and stopped at the door. "I'll be having my own talk with Dr. Penley," he shouted into the parking lot.

Chapter 19

She was in over her head, floundering in twelve feet of water with her hands and feet tied. Her body paced the length of her empty apartment, but her mind was drowning. If she stopped moving, maybe time would too. Moni looked at the clock. It glared back its stubborn message: one o'clock. Three o'clock was longer than pacing time away, but she needed to be in motion.

Her roommates returned, and Moni confined her pacing to her bedroom. Every fear she'd ever felt about this relationship was now at its pinnacle. Three o'clock would bring her to Katherine, but probably for the last time. Pacing kept her tears at bay only temporarily, and stopping really wouldn't stop time. She realized there was nothing all her anxiety could do to change it; she must face the very thing she was sure she could not. And she had less than two hours to prepare for it.

If, in fact, Katherine was now seeing things with her head instead of her heart she would end it tonight. She must realize that losing her job and jeopardizing the career she'd worked so hard for would only lead her to resent the very thing for which she had sacrificed it. Her love for Moni would never survive it. To think any differently, to hope against the odds, would be fatally unrealistic.

Every relationship involved a risk of the heart, but Moni had known from the onset that this one involved so much more. Because of her, Katherine's career was in jeopardy. All along she'd thought decisions regarding their involvement had to be Katherine's. She was wrong. How much do I really love this woman? Enough to let her take this kind of risk? Enough to prevent her from taking it? Without Moni, it was clear, Katherine had a chance to fight David Shanks.

Tears now made their way slowly down Moni's cheeks. She sat catatonically on the edge of her bed, unable to look at the clock.

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