At Your Most Beautiful by Harper Bliss (best free ereader .TXT) 📗

burst into a giggle. “Do you know what my first thought was when you just said that?”

Maya shook her head.

“Is it anyone I know or have dated myself?” Quinn clearly had no trouble joking about her own age-gap proclivities.

Maya laughed with her. Now that she’d mentioned her upcoming date, the nerves she felt at its prospect added themselves to the agitation Quinn inspired in her. Laughing eased the tension somewhat. “I really wouldn’t know. Her name’s Beverly and she’s in her fifties like me. But that’s all I know.”

“Hot?” Quinn waggled her eyebrows.

“She looked pretty good in the pictures I’ve seen.” Maya couldn’t believe the conversation had taken this turn. All of a sudden, she was talking to Quinn as close friends did. How had that happened?

“Beverly won’t know what hit her when she meets you.” Quinn looked very sincere as she said that. “Why did the other date not work out, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Maya had only found the courage to install the app—and the patience to find out how it worked—a couple of months ago. She’d kept herself to browsing only for the first few weeks, until she’d chanced upon Kim’s profile. “I guess I just… didn’t feel the spark. She was perfectly lovely. I just didn’t really feel like seeing her again afterward. That I’d rather stay in and babysit my grandson, who, although utterly adorable, is just a baby who demands things by crying his little heart out, told me all I needed to know.”

“Wow.” Quinn sank her teeth into her bottom lip. “I’m sorry, Maya. I’m still processing that you’re dating women now. How did Tommy react when you told him?”

“I haven’t told him,” Maya blurted out. “There hasn’t really been anything to tell.”

“Okay.”

“If I get involved in something serious I will tell him, of course, but I see no reason to upset his image of me while I remain single.”

“His image of you? What would that be?”

“That I’m straight, of course. I’ve never given him reason to think otherwise in all of his twenty-eight years.”

“Maybe the fact that you haven’t had a relationship with a man in more than ten—or is it fifteen years now?—might give something away. Tommy wasn’t born yesterday, Maya. You should know.”

“Look, I know my son. He just… doesn’t think of me in that way. In a way that allows a lot of room for change. I can hardly blame him for that, seeing as I’m the one who raised him.”

“He’s not a homophobe, is he?”

“No, of course not. He’s never had one bad word to say about you, Quinn, and he has plenty of friends who are gay and gender-fluid and all the other things people are these days.”

“But they’re not this mother.”

Maya nodded. This was simply not something she could easily discuss with her son. She’d have a much easier time talking about it with her daughter-in-law. She’d even come close to telling Beth’s mother, Belinda, who had become a friend since she’d moved to the city. But the truth was that she’d only told Angus, her neighbor from across the hall, because he was gay himself.

Maya would worry about Tommy later. She was only exploring. Nothing had even happened with another woman. She’d only kissed Kim on the cheek and while Maya had expected a rush of feel-good hormones to engulf her—the way she remembered it from her night with Quinn—her hormones seemed to have gone on strike.

“You should take all the time you need, of course,” Quinn said.

“I will.” Maya had taken a lot of time already, she realized now that she was sitting here with Quinn.

“The rest will work itself out,” Quinn added.

Maya downed the last of her coffee. “I should probably get going now.”

“Oh.” Quinn looked disappointed. “Already?”

“I have things to do.”

“You’re not running away because of what we just talked about?” Quinn wasn’t one to beat about the bush.

“No. I—” Maya took a deep breath and looked into Quinn’s face. “I’m in this overwhelming new phase of my life and seeing you has… I’ll be honest. It has thrown me a little, Quinn.”

“Believe me, it has thrown me as well.”

“I said it ten years ago and I will say it again now.” Maya tried her best not to sound as though she was preaching. “You will find your way. You’ll get over Morgan, like you got over Rachel. You have your art and your passion and you’re still as wonderful to be around as ever.” Maya almost gave Quinn a maternal pat on the knee.

“How about you, though? Will you find your way?” Quinn asked.

Maya looked squarely into Quinn’s eyes. They were so bright and blue. Not the icy kind of blue some eyes could be, but the warm, azure blue of the ocean on a sun-drenched day.

“I don’t see why not.” Maya injected as much hope into her voice as she could.

“Good luck with Beverly. You’ll knock her socks right off.” Clearly, Quinn couldn’t help some mild flirting, although Maya wasn’t sure she could even interpret it as that. Maybe she was just being encouraging in her own way.

“Thank you.”

“I’ll be in touch about the pictures.” Quinn pushed herself out of her chair.

“I look forward to seeing your work.” Maya rose as well.

“Some of it will be displayed in a gallery in Brooklyn next month. If you’re interested, you should come. I’ll send you an invite to the opening.”

“Okay.” Maya was fairly certain she wouldn’t be crossing the Brooklyn Bridge for a gathering of hipsters half her age.

“Or you can follow me on Instagram. I post a lot of my stuff on there.”

“Sure.” Even though it didn’t really have to be, especially because they both lived in the same city now, it felt like a sort of goodbye again.

“Remember what my mom told you. Call me if you need anything.” Quinn opened her arms.

Maya stepped closer and with Quinn’s hands lightly pressing against her shoulders, kissed her on the cheek.

Her hormones no longer appeared to be on strike.

Chapter