Anne made an amused little “hmm” sound. “I do like to travel, and I am a pretty cool chick. Unfortunately, I never really stuck around long enough to make girlfriends.” She turned around and sat down on the couch, and I followed her. “And now that I do stay in one place, it seems that I don't know how to meet people anymore.”
I had heard the same about people after they left college. Where do you go to meet friends after classes are over? I didn't have a good answer to that. As I sat down on the couch next to her, my fingers brushed up against my belly and it made me smile. Parents found friends at their kids' preschools anyway, I knew.
“I did have one girlfriend since moving here,” she continued. “Unfortunately, I learned very quickly that she didn't trust bisexual women.”
“Really?” I asked, kind of incredulous. How could anyone not trust Anne?
“Yeah. It's actually pretty common in the LGBT community, bel
ieve it or not. You either have to be super gay or super straight. Anyway, I never even felt comfortable mentioning if I found a guy handsome around her. But she was the jealous type, and one day she discovered I had slept with a guy in high school and enjoyed it. She said that it was a lie by omission.”
“Wow.”
Anne still managed to smile. “Yeah, so she broke up with me immediately. It was a blessing in disguise, really. I can't imagine not even being able to talk about who I found attractive or not.”
I thought about it for a moment. The way she phrased it made it sound different to my situation, but somehow still the same. James hadn't taken any action to encourage Nicole at all, and I could definitely admit that she was hot as hell. From the way I was acting, James couldn't tell me who he found attractive either.
At that moment, I felt like a lousy girlfriend, or whatever I was to James.
Still, I smiled. “Yeah, I can't imagine it either. I think we are going to find you a girl, Anne.”
She rolled her eyes. “I don't need some eighteen year old from out of town to play matchmaker for me.”
My jaw dropped, then I smiled. “See, that's exactly the kind of wit we're going to sell. The girls from your band aren't down?”
Her eyes rolled. “Worse. Two of them are in a relationship with each other, and the third is the ex I was just talking about.”
“You still hang out with her even though she dumped you like that?” I asked. “I don't think I would be so easy-going about it.”
Anne shrugged. “I love the band and, besides...” She looked at me with a conspiratorial grin. “Sometimes crazy-ex sex is better than committed-relationship sex.”
I laughed at that and high fived her.
Chapter Thirty-Six
“Hey, what do you know about Ryan?” I asked after a few minutes of talking about crazy ex's.
Anne shrugged. “You mean Ol' Lefty? He's my boss, but he's not super responsible. I can tell you that people tried to set us up when I first moved here and before they knew I was gay.”
I laughed. “Both musicians, they must be meant for each other.”
She laughed back. “But seriously, even if I were attracted to guys, that guy would skeeve me out. He never stays with a girl for too long, often breaking their hearts when he's done with them. Loyal isn't exactly in his vocabulary.”
“Is he with anyone right now?” I asked.
She thought about it. “I think so, but I'm not sure. He's wealthy enough that he manages to impress some ladies. Why, are you interested in him?”
“No, actually. He got pretty handsy with me last night.”
Anne put her hand on her forehead, like she was disappointed with herself for not stopping it. “Really?”
“Yeah. If James hadn't walked in, I'm not sure what would have happened.”
Anne sighed. “I can't believe this shit. Yeah, I totally expect it out of him. I mean I can't afford to quit my job under him over this...”
“No, of course not,” I interjected quickly. “This wasn't your responsibility.”
“Yeah, but I should look out for girls around him. I'll make sure to keep an eye on him if any other new girls ever go to one of his after parties. Thanks for confiding in me.”