Tasting Temptation: A Sapphic Age-Gap Romance by J.J. Arias

Author:J.J. Arias [Arias, J.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UPHAUS Press
Published: 2024-08-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter

Thirty-Two

Pulling up to her mother’s apartment building, Slade was sure her bones had been replaced with lead pipes while she’d slept. In a visitor’s spot, she threw Margaret into park and crumpled against her headrest.

While she slept.

Slade closed her eyes, transported to the bed she’d shared with Marissa only hours earlier. She could still smell her on her skin and taste her on her lips, but that only made her miss her more.

Glancing at the phone in her cupholder, Slade debated texting her. Just to see if she’d made it home. Just to make sure was okay. It’s not like they’d broken up — they were never dating. Not exactly. She could text her. They were friends.

Just friends. Good buddies. Just like her and Tina. She’d text Tina after a trip to make sure she’d gotten home safe. That wasn’t weird.

She closed her eyes again, shut them tight enough to see a constellation of tiny silver dots in the dark. There was no lying to herself. It didn’t matter that they hadn’t slapped a label on it. Slade liked her. Liked her too much. And she missed her and it sucked and there was nothing she could do about it.

Leaving her bags in the trunk, she made the short walk from her car to her mother’s first-floor apartment. As soon as she opened the door, she heard Tina’s voice — fully engaged in a kitchen story — the scent of browning butter and charred pepper instantly making Slade’s empty stomach grumble against her will.

“There she is!” Slade’s mom darted out of the small kitchen, brown hair in a messy bun after a long day of working at a mechanic shop.

As soon as she saw her and pulled her into a crushing hug, the discomfort in her chest eased. “I’ve missed you, Ma.”

“Oh, honey, I’ve missed you so much.” She squeezed her back just as hard.

Slade had only just let go of her mother when Tina slipped in for her turn. Black hair styled in her trademark spiky mullet, Tina was taller and leaner than Slade.

“I thought you were coming over later,” Slade said while hanging on a little tighter than she usually would.

“Tina thought you might need a little break from cooking,” her mom explained.

“Yeah, dude. And I can’t let your mom work any harder than she already does.” Tina, eyes heavily lined with black makeup, tossed a wink at Slade’s mother.

“Or maybe she just couldn’t wait to hear all about your two weeks in Palm Beach,” her mom guessed while crossing the small apartment back to the fridge to bring Slade a bottle of her favorite craft beer. “Did you run into James Patterson?”

Slade took the stool in the kitchen next to her mom while Tina went back to slicing green onions. It took all of Slade’s self-control not to get up and help. She sipped her beer instead and chuckled at the question.

“Unfortunately, I did not run into him,” she said, trying to sound disappointed. “I did… um…

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