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Chloë wondered if this is what love felt like. She wasn’t certain she had ever been in love before, not really. In lust, sure; plenty of times. And, okay, she thought she had been in love with Kelly Nessman, the first girl she had sex with but that didn’t count because didn’t most people fall in love with their first?

Well, if she was falling in love with Morgan, she wasn’t going to say anything now! Morgan—older, more sensible—would probably think she was just being a silly young girl. Nope. Best to keep it under wraps for now.

Instead, Chloë captured Morgan’s lips for a deep kiss.

“Now that we’ve established that we’re both nuts for each other,” Morgan said when their mouths separated, “can we please get up off this floor? I’m thirty-six-years-old; I don’t do hard tile floors anymore.”

Chapter 34

The next morning, back at her house after spending the night at Chloë’s, Morgan got a jolt of anxiety which woke her up more than the coffee she was drinking. The inbox of her school email account contained an invitation to have a formal interview a week from today with the Barrington Woods board of directors for her chance to secure the position of Head of the Fine Literature Department.

Shit!

She had known it was coming, of course, but still…she hated job interviews. It also wasn’t helping that she knew the board had been interviewing other candidates for the past couple of weeks, candidates who most assuredly had more experience running departments than her and who also most assuredly had more academic qualifications than her. Knowing this, the horrible idea entered her mind that the board’s interview invitation was nothing more than a courtesy, a kindness extended to poor little her as a way of saying “Thanks for holding down the fort, private, but a new general will be taking over soon.”

Nonetheless, even if that was the case, she wanted to prepare properly. At the very least, the interview would be good practice, allowing her to hone her skills for a future opportunity she would have a better shot at. Besides, it would also give her a chance to mention her ideas about running the department to the board and Dr. Kenworthy because she had plenty of ideas, good ones too!

It wasn’t until nearly lunchtime when her responsibilities to her job began tapering off somewhat, enough to allow thoughts of Chloë to creep in. After signing off a Zoom meeting, she leaned back in her office chair, absentmindedly tapping a pencil against her chin as she looked out the window at her backyard.

Last night, laying with Chloë on that hard floor after that amazing sex they’d had, she had almost told Chloë she loved her. Like, the words were right there in her mouth just begging to be released. Somehow, she had stopped herself, thank goodness, because, well, was it too soon? Not only that but was it true?

I want it to be true!

That revelation alone was startling but she wanted to unpack it. No, she needed to unpack it! After all, what if it was just all the orgasms talking? Her sex life now was off the charts good! It was the kind of sex life she had always wanted and never had, so what if it was only her vagina in love with Chloë?

That thought made her laugh out loud but then she forced herself to get serious once again.

Yes, her vagina certainly was deeply infatuated with Chloë (more laughing), no mistaking that, but what about her heart? What if her heart was just confused by the novelty of Chloë being a woman instead of a man? That was a possibility. But she had meant what she said to Chloë last night

. She did like doing mundane things with her. She did look forward to simply seeing her and talking to her, even without all the amazing sex. The very thought of Chloë always made her smile and waking up next to her always made Morgan feel as if a missing puzzle piece in her life had been found.

Shit, I am falling in love!

But, wait…

Could Chloë feel the same way? Was that even possible? Chloë was so young! Why would she fall in love with a woman who now had a recurring prescription for omeprazole because she suffered from acid reflux?

Morgan sighed, realizing this was getting her nowhere.

The best thing to do, she considered, was to just enjoy the ride while it lasted, however long it lasted.

Hopefully forever!

She shook her head to dispel such storybook thoughts. Forever would be nice, but for the time being, she’d concentrate on the more immediate future.

A thought occurred to her. She checked the time and fired off a text to Naomi.

Can you talk?

In lieu of replying, Naomi called.

“What’s up?” her best friend asked.

“What are the drawbacks to dating a woman long-term?” Morgan asked.

Naomi chuckled.

“Long term, huh? Are you and Chloë getting serious?”