Page 156 of Pride High 2: Orange

* * January 15th, 1993 * *

Keisha hustled down Main Street until she reached Right Round Records, her heart already pounding in anticipation. She hadn’t seen Silvia all week, their mutual obligations keeping them both occupied. They had only talked briefly on the phone last night, when Silvia had dropped a potential bombshell.

“I spent some time with Omar, like you suggested. And figured some things out. About who I am.”

That sounded promising. Silvia hadn’t gone into more detail, and no wonder. Hugo had been yammering away in the background, so Keisha offered to swing by her workplace today, and once Silvia agreed, changed the subject. But that hadn’t stopped her from thinking about it endlessly, because this could be the start of everything. The legend of Keisha and Silvia, chapter one!

She went inside the record store and began to browse, not at all troubled that a customer stood at the counter. That gave her the opportunity to see Silvia in professional mode. She was attentive to the man’s needs, listening and responding with polite enthusiasm, and was careful when bagging his order. Keisha appreciated her work ethic. That was a principle her own parents had instilled in her. Any job worth doing is worth doing well. Keisha got a lot of personal satisfaction out of that. Silvia did too, judging from the way she noticed Keisha but didn’t allow it to distract her from her work.

“Thanks for shopping with us,” Silvia said when handing the customer his purchase. She waited until his back was turned before flashing Keisha a bashful smile.

Oh yes, this was the moment she had been dreaming of!

“Should I lock the door?” Keisha asked after the man had left.

Silvia laughed. “I only do that when I need to pee.”

Not the flirtatious response she’d expected, but that was okay. Keisha wanted to set the mood first anyway. “Would you mind putting this on?” she asked, sliding the CD she’d picked out across the counter.

“The Indigo Girls?” Silvia said when reading the cover. “They’re a folk band, aren’t they?”

“Alesbianfolk band,” Keisha stressed before putting on bedroom eyes.

“Oh!” Silvia looked a lot more interested as she turned toward the stereo. “I only know their Galileo song.”

Keisha nodded at the CD. “That one is on there. I like it, but wait until you hear ‘Ghost’ or ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ Both are exceedingly romantic.”

Silvia was blushing again. “That sounds nice. How have you been?”

“Fine. Theater has kept me busy. They need me more than ever now that we’re doingWest Side Story, since it has real choreography. As in dancing. It was hard enough to get people to walk and stand naturally. Teaching a bunch of white people to bust a move might just kill me.”

Silvia laughed. “I hope not. But I need to see rehearsals. It sounds hilarious.”

“You’re welcome any time,” Keisha purred. “So, how have you been?”

“Oh you know,” Silvia said with a casual shrug.

“I don’t,” Keisha said, “but I’m dying to find out.”

She looked slightly uncomfortable. “We do need to talk about that.”

“You mean Omar?”

Silvia nodded.

“Good,” Keisha said, “because I have a new theory. It doesn’t matter if you’re gay, straight, or anything in between. Not when it comes to him.”

Silvia shook her head in response. “What do you mean?”

Keisha rested her elbows on the counter and leaned forward so they were closer. “I might be a lesbian, but I’ve met plenty of girls that I don’t have a spark with. Mindy for instance. She’s incredibly sexy. And sweet. I adore her as a person and we have plenty in common, but I’ve never fallen in love with her. Or had so much as a fleeting crush. Sound familiar?”

“Well actually—” Silvia began to say.

Keisha held up her hand, wanting to finish her point first, because it would simplify everything. “We’ve been putting the cart before the horse. Forget about finding the right label for who you are. That will fall into place naturally once you’ve figured out who you’re attracted to. For now, it obviously isn’t Omar. Break up with him. We’ll explore the rest together.”

Silvia’s lips pressed together.

“Sorry,” Keisha said. “I shouldn’t have interrupted. Go ahead.”