“Okay,” Naomi began, “first of all, this doesn’t mean you’re gay. So, don’t start panicking yet.”
Morgan nodded. She felt relieved, not because Naomi was telling her she wasn’t gay but because Naomi didn’t seem to be upset.
“On the other hand, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re not gay.”
Morgan slumped against the back of the couch.
“Fuck, Naomi! I’m thirty-six! Don’t you think I’d know if I was gay by now?”
“Maybe? Not really?” Naomi said. “Look, honey…this kind of shit happens more often than you think.”
“Wait…seriously?” Morgan asked.
“Google it later,” Naomi instructed. “That’s your homework assignment. In the meantime, have you ever felt attracted to women before?”
Morgan thought about that. She wanted to give Naomi a good and complete answer and so she really mulled it over, Naomi staying silent as she did so.
The short answer to Naomi’s question, Morgan knew, was yes. Morgan had always been able to appreciate the beauty of certain women. She had even been aware, at times, that she felt attracted to certain women. She called these her “little crushes” but she never took them seriously and she had always chalked them up to having gone too long without sex.
“Fine,” she huffed. “Sometimes, yes, I have been attracted to women; but it’s only because of the various dry spells I’ve endured in my dating life.”
“Ah!” Naomi exclaimed. “Let’s talk about that.”
Morgan rolled her eyes. She knew where this was going.
“Yes, Naomi,” she began, “I have a shitty track record when it comes to dating.”
“When it comes to dating men,” Naomi added, a knowing smirk on her face.
Morgan felt as if cold water had just been splashed on her soul, waking her up from the inside out.
Fuck my life!
Naomi patted Morgan’s knee.
“I’m just saying, that if we were having this conversation in a room with, say, a dozen lesbians, a dozen lesbians would ask you if you’re sure you’ve been dating the right gender all these years.”
Another gulp of wine. Fuck, she was going to be miserable tomorrow morning but she was also wishing that she had brought the bottle with her from the kitchen.
“What I’m also saying,” Naomi continued, “is that whatever it is you’re feeling for Chloë doesn’t mean you’re now a card-carrying lesbian. Maybe you’re bi, have you ever thought about that? Or maybe, just maybe, Chloë makes you feel something you’ve been looking for all these years in a man.”
“But what do I do?” Morgan asked quietly.
Naomi shrugged.
“Do you like spending time with Chloë?”
Morgan smiled.
“I do. A lot.”
“Would you be happy just being friends with her?”
“Absolutely.”
“There you go! Just do that. For now. Maybe you’re right…maybe this attraction you feel for Chloë is just the result of a dry spell. Just get laid and see if that theory holds water.”
“That’s why Clint was here, Naomi! But then when it was game time, I…I couldn’t!”