Queen of Love

She should have been excited. Instead, she placed the tablet on the table and sighed.

“Aya will come to the opening, right?” Nyla asked.

Genevieve hadn’t wanted to be the one to broach the subject. “She is invited. As long as she’s interested…”

“Gen.” Nyla tapped her fingers against the sides of her boots. “She’s obsessed with you.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah, I invited her out for drinks a few nights ago. Had a fun girl’s chat with her. You know if I like her, she must be good.”

“What language did you chat with her in? Did your English get that good?”

Nyla shrugged. “Immersion learning. I could pass the TOEFL Level 2, right?”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. It will serve you well in Paradise, though, that’s for sure.”

“Ah, ah, don’t change the subject. We’re talking about Aya.” Nyla pretended to toss some hair that wasn’t there. Her shortcut was fresh enough to be tomboyish but grown-in enough to have that feminine quality that attracted Genevieve to women like her and Aya. “The woman you thought I was.”

“It’s really none of your business.”

“So then why did she tell me she confessed her love to you, and you said nothing?”

Genevieve had to throw up. “She said that? Why would she tell you that?”

“I’m a bartender, duh. I don’t have to be on duty for people to think I’m their therapist.”

“You are a good bartender.”

“I’m one of the best! You always said so yourself.”

“And one of the best girlfriends I ever had.”

“I broke your heart, didn’t I?”

Genevieve winced. “Doesn’t everyone?”

“Yet you’ve got a woman in Tokyo who is willing to stick by you through all this bullshit and is willing to put up with people like Wendy Ahn getting in her business? A woman who was willing to follow you here to Singapore for God knows how long if it meant being with you? A woman who, I may remind you, is exactly what you’re looking for?”

“I wouldn’t say exactly. Long distance is difficult. She’s not… to be truthful, and to completely decimate my own humility, was having to train her in the subtle arts you turned down when we broke up.”

“You mean you were turning her into your kind of freak.”

“You always cut to the chase.”

“Because nobody else does.” Nyla snatched the lime wedge off her water and peeled the rind away from the citrusy flesh. As she shoved the lime bits into her mouth, she said, “It’s so annoying. Kinda like you avoiding what you need to do.”

“What do I have to do? Because I’ve been here rehabbing my image which, I may remind you, is no small feat when there’s a sex tape of you out there.”

“Yeah, but you’ve got being super-hot on your side.”

“Don’t tell me you saw it, too!”

“I watched all sixty seconds, Gen. It was good enough you could have launched a career off it if you weren’t already a regional celebrity.”

“Don’t. Please.” Genevieve hid her face behind her hands.

“Sorry. So, you’re gonna go find Aya and tell her how you feel, right? Take life by the balls and confess your undying love for her?”