Page 33 of Learning Curves

“Oh. I didn’t realize.” Michelle hoped she didn’t look as disappointed as she felt, but the realization that she wouldn’t share tea and conversation with Audrey again for nearly a week was devastating. What was she even going to do with herself in the meantime?

“Yeah. My mom and I are going shopping together tomorrow morning. It’s kind of a tradition. Once all the shopping’s done, we come home and make a big pitcher of margaritas and watch cheesy movies for the rest of the day.”

“That sounds ...” Not nice, exactly, because Michelle couldn’t say she enjoyed any of those things, but she could tolerate almost anything if she was with Audrey.

“Horribly American?” Audrey suggested with a cheeky grin.

“It does, but spending time with your mum sounds nice.” Michelle didn’t have that kind of relationship with her own mother.

The idea of drinking margaritas and watching silly movies together was too foreign to even form a mental image.

But the way Audrey talked about her mother made Michelle a bit wistful.

It must be nice, having parents she enjoyed spending time with, parents who loved and supported her unconditionally.

“It’s the best.” Audrey’s expression turned fond. “I haven’t seen my parents since August, so I can’t wait. You’re really going to stay in and read the rest of the week?”

“And do some writing, I’m sure. Probably a little hiking, if the weather’s nice.”

Audrey’s lips quirked. “I don’t picture you as an outdoorsy person.”

“No? I actually do a lot of hiking on my property. I also have a road bike that I ride most mornings, except when there’s snow on the ground. It’s great exercise.”

“Fascinating. I learn something new about you every day.”

“I wouldn’t consider anything about me fascinating.” Michelle tucked the box of tea into her briefcase, aware that she needed to start preparing for her first class but hesitant to end this conversation with Audrey.

“On the contrary.” Audrey stood, smoothing a hand over the front of her dress and inadvertently drawing Michelle’s attention to the way it hugged her body. “I find everything about you fascinating, from your knowledge about obscure female artists to your extensive tea collection.”

Michelle had no idea how to respond to that. She fiddled with the strap to her briefcase.

“You’re terrible at taking compliments, aren’t you?”

Michelle exhaled. “Yes, but I do appreciate them, so thank you. On that note, though, I need to prepare for my first class. I hope you have a wonderful holiday. I’ll see you next week.”

“See you,” Audrey said. “And I’ll probably text you in the meantime, but I hope you enjoy your long weekend alone.”

She would, but she would have enjoyed Audrey’s company more.

“This movie is amazing.” Audrey sipped her margarita as she watched three female assassins plot the demise of the man who’d betrayed them.

She hadn’t been sure she would enjoy it—morally gray heroines weren’t always her thing—but the acting was excellent, and there was a powerful feminist undercurrent.

Plus, the lead actress was incredibly hot. Audrey had always been a fan of Natalie Keane, but today, Natalie kept reminding her of Michelle, with her dark hair and impeccable poise. It also didn’t hurt that Natalie was an out lesbian actress, something Audrey had long admired.

“Much better than I expected,” her mom agreed. She was dressed in yellow today, a color that complemented her mahogany skin. Most colors suited Cynthia Lind, but yellow had always been Audrey’s favorite color on her.

Currently, they were seated on the floor in the living room amid a nest of pillows and blankets, as was their usual pre-Thanksgiving tradition. They’d pick it all up tonight before they went to bed so the house would be ready for guests tomorrow.

“Oh damn, look at her go!” On screen, Natalie’s character executed some impressive martial arts moves to take down a bad guy.

Audrey fanned herself dramatically, aware she’d crossed the line from tipsy to drunk.

She would stop drinking after the movie and load up on water and electrolytes before bed so she wouldn’t be hungover for the holiday.

Benefits of drinking with her mom, who also happened to be a nurse. It was all very responsible.

Her mom snort-laughed, then gave a few air punches in a comical interpretation of what the characters on screen were doing.

They’d been drinking and laughing together for hours at this point, and Audrey was having the best time.

Her dad and Erik were downstairs in the basement—a.k.a.

the man cave—drinking beer and watching football.

When the movie ended, she flopped backward into her nest of pillows. “Michelle would have hated that movie.”

“She doesn’t know what she’s missing, then.”

“Nope.” The word sounded funny as it left her mouth, her lips smacking on the p , and it made her giggle. She was so drunk! “I bet she only watches serious movies, like the ones that win awards.”

“No serious movies allowed at Thanksgiving,” her mom declared.

She and Audrey gathered the pillows and blankets from the floor and put them away, then migrated to the kitchen for snacks. Audrey grabbed a bottle of water and a handful of chips while her mom set out a bowl of pretzels.

“What else have you been up to in Vermont?” Her mom opened a bottle of water and took several big swallows.

She and Audrey had chatted on the phone and by email a lot since she’d started her new job, but it didn’t compare to the in-person heart-to-hearts they usually had.

“Have you been on any dates? Anyone you’re interested in? ”

Audrey shook her head, guzzling more water. “No dates. You know the plan. I don’t have room for anyone else in my life until I’ve found a permanent job.”

“Oh, I know all about your plan, and I respect the hell out of you for being so focused. It just seems like you always have a new benchmark to reach before you’ll let yourself think about settling down.

First it was when you finished grad school, then when you received your PhD; now it’s a permanent job. What next? Not until you have tenure?”

Audrey opened her mouth and then snapped it shut because that thought had crossed her mind once or twice.

“What are you really waiting for, Audrey?”

“I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “I’ve just always been more focused on my career than my love life.”

“And like I said, I respect that. If you’re happy, I’m happy. Just don’t walk away from the right person because you think it’s the wrong time. That’s all I’m saying.”

“What makes you think I might have walked away from someone?” Audrey asked, racking her brain to remember just how much she’d talked about Michelle earlier, but the alcohol had muddied her memory.

“Well, my dear, I like to think I know you pretty well, and you’ve talked nonstop about one person since you moved to Vermont.

In fact, you’ve been talking about her a lot longer than that.

I know she was your favorite teacher when you attended NU, but now that you’re a professor there, too, it feels like she might be more than a friend. ”

Audrey felt herself blushing like crazy. “She’s ... we’ve ... yeah. I like her. A lot.”

“Is the age difference between you a concern?”

“Not for me,” Audrey said. “She’s in her midforties, which doesn’t seem like a big deal.”

“I agree. Your father’s ten years older than me, and it never felt like a big deal for us either. Do you know if Michelle is interested in you too?”

Audrey’s skin flushed hot. “She is. She ... she wanted to give it a try, and I turned her down because I was worried about my job.”

“I love that you’re so committed to your career.

I do. But don’t be afraid to date her, if that’s what you want.

There’s no perfect time to fall in love.

Believe me, life doesn’t get any less complicated or busy the older you get.

Love was the last thing on my mind when I met your father.

I was in the middle of nursing school, half-crazed with sleep deprivation.

I didn’t think I was ready, either, and look how that turned out? ”

“You and dad are magic together,” Audrey murmured. It had felt like magic when she kissed Michelle too. Michelle had offered to fill out HR forms, which seemed like the most romantic thing ever to Audrey’s drunk brain. Had she made a mistake saying no?

Audrey was still pondering the answer to that question the next morning as she sat in the kitchen, waiting for the timer to go off on the pumpkin pie.

She swiped left on her phone to get today’s recommended headlines, and a featured article about Artemisia Gentileschi caught her eye.

She clicked on it, and soon was sucked in to a well-written article that contained some facts she’d never seen before.

And since she was—as always—thinking about Michelle, on a whim she texted the article to her.

Aren’t you supposed to be prepping food right now? Michelle responded. But thanks for the article. I hadn’t read it.

Audrey felt warm and tingly just seeing Michelle’s name on her screen. I’m waiting for a pie to bake. What have you been up to? Lots of reading?

More writing than I’d expected, actually.

Exciting , Audrey replied.

It is. I’m having a lot of fun with it.

Audrey was grinning now because it warmed her heart to see Michelle so enthusiastic about her project. I’m going to bribe you for more pages when I get home.

We’ll see about that.

I can be pretty irresistible when I want to. Well, shit. That came out way more flirtatious than she’d meant for it to.

I’m well aware , Michelle responded, and it was impossible to read her tone via text, so Audrey decided to change the subject before she took this conversation off the rails.

I watched a movie about female assassins last night. You would have hated it.

I’m sure I would have.

Natalie Keane is in it, though. It’s great to see a lesbian actress in such a prominent role.

Yes, although I preferred her in A Case for Love.

Somehow, it made Audrey swoon even harder to know that Michelle liked Natalie Keane too.

They kept chatting until the pie came out of the oven.

From there, Audrey got too busy to keep texting.

She spent a wonderful whirlwind of a day with her family.

It wasn’t until she was getting ready for bed that night that she checked her phone again.

There was an email waiting from Michelle. She’d sent Audrey a new chapter to read.