Chapter 9

Nadia already knew what she wanted the moment she sat down. When the same bartender from the other night caught her eye, there was a mutual acknowledgment that Nadia had been through a doozy.

"Long night?" The woman with shorn hair and a nice tank top that showed off her muscles would have been Nadia's type any other night, but she couldn't think of flirting after what she had been through.

"You can say that. My mother-in-law is a certified ass."

The bartender chuckled at Nadia's candidness. "What can I get you to take the edge off?"

"I dunno…" She had a few minutes ago, but now that she stared down the wall of liquor behind the bartender, nothing – and everything – sounded good. "It's like I wanna get drunk, you know? Except I shouldn't. You don't wanna deal with me drunk."

"You're right. I don't, but I also don't mind getting you good and buzzed." The bartender leaned against the counter. "How do you feel about vodka? I can whip you something up that won't leave a mark in the morning."

"Sure. Why not?"

Nadia liked the idea of receiving a mystery drink. Vodka's not my favorite… until it is. There were few drinks she couldn't tolerate anymore. Not since Eva's palate opened her to a world of cocktails and wines that were the perfect way to wind down the week. They never drank much back home. Alcohol was reserved for going out, and staying in was the land of whatever "healthy" liquid Nadia was most recently obsessed with. Eva always goes along with it… She drew the line at kombucha though.

She knew a sea breeze when she saw it, and she expected nothing less from a Malibu bar.

"Ta-da." The bartender presented the cranberry juice-infused cocktail with freshly cut lime on the rim. "The drink of jilted daughters-in-law. Hope you enjoy."

Nadia tipped the tiny straw into the highball glass. "Perfect. Should help me with any oncoming UTIs while I'm at it."

"See? It's good for you."

The first sip was refreshing enough to make Nadia forget everything Isabella had said. Sure, it came right back a moment later, but for that one second? Perfect. Nadia took another sip before checking her phone.

Eva confirmed she had gone back to their hotel room. Nadia texted her that she was getting a drink at the bar down the street and would be back within an hour.

"Hey, you." The bartender was soon distracted by the most recent addition to the counter. "Don't tell me. I've already got your go-to beer chilling for you."

Nadia recognized Kenzie's voice the moment she spoke. "Aw, you! It's because you love those tips I share with you, right?"

"You always come in when you've had decent tips at the diner."

"Girl's gotta have something to look forward to at the end of the day." Kenzie turned her body enough to recognize Nadia at the end of the bar. "Hi. Fancy seeing you here again."

Nadia twiddled her fingers. "Have you had a long day too?"

"Trust me." The bartender brought Kenzie her usual beer. "No matter what happened at work today, you can't beat her mother-in-law bullshit."

"Oh? What happened?"

Nadia laughed onto her dinky straw. "My mother-in-law wants my wife and me to have genetically engineered babies!"

Both the bartender and Kenzie gaped at Nadia as if she had been dared to say that. "No kidding!" the bartender exclaimed. "That's a new one!"

"Are they gonna be engineered to look like you?" Kenzie asked, her thumb instinctively over the opening of her bottle. "Redheads like you are some of the rarest people in the world."

"No, she's trying to remove my genes from the whole process. She's never liked me. I look too Irish."

"Go figure!" Kenzie raised her bottle in Nadia's direction. "Here's to mega-bitches ruining everything good for the rest of us!"

Nadia pretended to raise her sea breeze. "How was work today?"

Kenzie had not expected to be spoken to again, let alone about her mundane waitressing job. "I had this family with six kids come in and trash the corner you guys sat in the other day. We're talking snot on the table and milkshakes spilled on the floor. Did they tell me any of this before they left?" Kenzie took a swig of her beer. "No. Did they tip me for the trouble of cleaning it up? No!"

"Barbarians," the bartender muttered.

"That's terrible." Nadia shook her head. "Are you the only one who works there?"

"Besides the two guys in the kitchen? Of course, I am. Because of services like Dash2Door, they're always busy cooking and cleaning back there even if we don't have actual customers sitting down inside. So while I'm mopping up milkshakes, I've got delivery drivers wandering in looking for orders I haven't had time to hustle from the counter to the front door!"

While the bartender replied with something about how her job runs her ragged, Nadia said, "You really do need that drink."

"Thanks! I swear I don't come here every day, though. Don't need word getting out that I'm always hungover at work."

"But you have been hungover at work before," the bartender said.

"Just once! Only because you made me try the new whiskey you guys got in stock! That shit makes me see stars all the way to bed."

"If I had known you were working the next day, I wouldn't have offered."

On that note, the bartender had to get back to work. Kenzie had turned her whole body toward Nadia while drinking her after-work beer. The bar was busy enough that Saturday night that Kenzie was soon compelled to hop off her stool and move one closer to Nadia so a group of friends could line up along the bar. "Are you in Malibu for much longer?"

"Oh, no." Nadia held on to the hem of her dress as she crossed her legs and readjusted her thighs atop her stool. The last thing she wanted was to flash everyone in the bar. Eva may get a kick out of that, but not me. "We're leaving Monday morning. Gotta get the kid back home so she can start school. If she were here right now, she'd proudly tell you that she's in the first grade and going to learn multiplication soon."

"Multiplication? In first grade?" Kenzie gasped. "Why?"

Nadia shrugged. "Blame the Montessori kindergarten she went to. That kid's advanced already. She can read chapter books on her own."

"Absolutely wild. I could barely read until fifth grade." Kenzie tapped a finger on the side of her head. "Dyslexia."

"Let me guess – you vastly prefer audiobooks to text-based entertainment."

"I'm also hard of hearing, so I really love watching TV with the closed captioning on and not being able to understand that either."

Nadia laughed hard enough that her skirt slowly rode up her thigh. She immediately pulled it back down and considered how she might want to readjust her posture, but she caught Kenzie glancing down and realized she was admiring the skin poking out of the red and purple cocktail dress.

"I feel like a whale in this thing…" Nadia muttered. "Only reason I'm wearing it is because my mother-in-law insists that I dress a certain way for dinner. Why do I put up with that woman?" That was rhetorical, but she still felt bad that she said such a thing out loud. "I keep telling myself it's not my wife's fault. Do you have a mother-in-law figure?"

Kenzie's elbow slipped across the counter. Behind her, the gaggle of girlfriends loudly talking about a local club drowned out Nadia's thoughts – but she still heard Kenzie, who replied, "No. I haven't really dated since my boyfriend left. No time. Besides…" Life flickered out behind her eyes. "Guys around here suck. They're so self-absorbed and brain-dead. Or they're the opposite, and not only way smarter than me but know it. I matched with this businessman once who wanted me to be both his tour guide and his dumb playgirl. It's almost as bad as the dudes who think that because I'm a waitress trying to make it in Hollywood, I must also be an escort. Tell me." Kenzie pointed to the bags beneath her eyes. "Do I look like a professional escort to you? Because I see them in here all the time, and I cannot compete."

"You look great. Sure, yeah, I suppose you don't check the boxes for what I consider your run-of-the-mill escort in a place like this."

"I've never once bleached my hair, for one thing."

"Have you ever dyed it red?"

"If I could get my hair color as nice and red as yours, I'd consider it."

Nadia sipped her sea breeze. You can barely taste the vodka. She didn't mind the cranberry aftertaste once she got used to it. Nadia squeezed some of the lime juice into her drink before setting it on a napkin off to the side. "Sounds like you should also consider shaking up your dating life. Have you tried dating women? Changed my life."

She was only half-serious, if only because she knew sexuality didn't work like that. Kinda. I mean, I decided to go full lesbian one day. Nadia had never minded dating her ex-boyfriends, but dating women? Like chucking the cantaloupe out of her melon medleys so she could enjoy nothing but watermelon for the rest of her summer. I don't mind a little cantaloupe, but I'll take the watermelon 99% of the time if given the choice.

She definitely did not expect Kenzie to answer. "Sure, I've thought about it, but don't you think I'd have a girlfriend by now if it were that easy?"

Laughter rang through the bar. Nadia didn't know if it was hers or Kenzie's.

The wildest thing wasn't that Nadia was particularly attracted to Kenzie, who was pretty but far from the type Nadia went for. She usually preferred her partners on the more androgynous side, and Kenzie was the pinnacle of everyday femme. Her long brown hair was kept in a ponytail, she wore a simple skirt with her waitressing uniform, and makeup highlighted the more feminine features adorning her young face. She's also… younger. While Kenzie wasn't fresh from high school, she couldn't be older than twenty-five. That was around the age Nadia had been when she started dating Eva. Lives changed at that age. Sometimes, for the better.

"You okay?" Kenzie asked. "You're like… staring at me."

Nadia was almost too embarrassed to answer. "I wasn't staring at you, I promise. I was spacing out like a weirdo."

Kenzie grinned. "It's okay if you were staring at me, you know. I might not look like much, but I know how to go all out for my auditions. Always nice if someone can give me some makeup tips after I've met them."

Is she flirting with me? That's how long it had been since Nadia was flirted with out in the wild, let alone by someone outside of her usual social circle. In Hawaii, Eva's ex-girlfriend had flirted with her under the assumption the three of them would get up to something. In Vegas, Eva's ex-rival had flirted with her to get back at Eva – and because she had grown genuinely attracted to Nadia. I'm a hot commodity this year, for all the wrong reasons. The woman who worried she wasn't attractive had never been so popular without Eva around.

So, Nadia might be spilling out of her dress and feeling like a "whale," but did it matter if someone as Malibu-local as Kenzie implied she was cute?

I can't believe I'm thinking about this. Nadia was stuck in her head, remembering every relevant conversation she had with her wife that year. From Eva attempting to arrange a threesome with her ex, to another woman being tied to a chair in their Vegas hotel room while Nadia made love to her wife, to the strange jealousy simmering beneath everything Eva did while she talked to Adrienne and Amber…

Nadia had made a deal, hadn't she?

"I… you know…" Nadia placed her hand on the bar between her and Kenzie. "Do you have to work tomorrow?"

Kenzie shook her head. "No. I get Sundays off. I spend most of my time at home scouring the open casting calls. I figure it's better to be an occasional extra than to have nothing at all. Sometimes I get something! I was recently in an episode of Ahsoka if you can believe it! You only see the back of my head, but…"

"That's cool." Nadia had never seen it. "Well… my wife and I… we…"

She couldn't bring herself to say it. Whatever it was. How do you do this? Like, naturally? How do I be the more aggressive one? Nadia couldn't even believe she was considering this. With a waitress she met a couple of times in Malibu! What was she thinking? Kenzie would never go for it. Could Nadia stand the thought of Eva and…

Eva and Kenzie.

Eva and Kenzie.

Nadia dug her phone out of her bag. While Kenzie excused herself to use the bathroom, leaving her half-drunk beer behind, Nadia texted her wife.

"I need you to come down to the bar," she wrote. "There's something I need you to do."

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Eva had thrown her jacket back on before entering the bar. Most eyes turned toward her as she entered, but the groups of women having a "besties" drink, the clumps of businessmen discussing their dealings, and the occasional couple out on a date didn't really care about Eva Warren beyond how she fucked with their perceptions of beauty. Once they decided her a non-entity, they ignored her, and she was free to peruse the rest of the establishment.

Nadia was gone. They had crossed paths outside, Eva incredulous and Nadia talking a mile a minute before rushing back to the hotel room. It was like she attempted to outrun her shame.

Eva spotted the waitress at the bar. She spoke with someone else, a fellow service industry worker from the looks of how she dressed and stood. The bartender kept an eye on the small establishment as she wiped down the side of the counter that was devoid of customers.

Exactly where Eva should be right now.

"Psst. Yes, you." She was tall enough to lean across the bar without her feet leaving the ground. The bartender looked at her as if Eva possessed too much courage, not enough fear. "What can you tell me about the waitress from the diner over there."

The bartender's protective stance told Eva everything she needed to know, but she still desired to hear it for herself. "Why do you want to know?"

"Oh, cool it. I'm only asking because my wife keeps coming in here and bumping into her. You know, the curvy redhead with a great ass?"

One hand hooked on the bartender's hip. "Of course I know her. Great rack, too."

"Why, thank you. Anyway, she's too embarrassed to ask some things directly, which is why I've been sent in on reconnaissance. Believe it or not, it's been a few years since I've done this." She furrowed her brows in consternation. "I know what I'm doing, though. I assure you."

"I can barely follow what you're on about."

"Is she gay?" Eva hissed to the bartender, who was already up to here with Eva's weird shit. "Like, even a bit? Kinsey 2 bisexual? I'm asking for a friend here."

The bartender folded her arms on the counter and shook her head. "You sound like a madwoman. You know that, right?"

"Okay, sure, don't care, but answer the question. Or do I have to talk with my buddies Lincoln and Hamilton?"

"Try Grant."

"Grant?" Eva grunted. "Who carries around Grants anymore?"

"Give me a Grant and I'll save you some pain." The bartender mimicked her fingers rubbing together. "Information about people I like costs you in this place. Come on." She was still going as Eva fussed with her wallet. "I know you can spare me a dead president."

"At least you're not asking about other Founding Fathers."

The only fifty-dollar bill in Eva's wallet landed on the counter. The bartender snatched it away and said, "Don't go in hot. She's stressed out and lonely, but I've never once heard her talking about being attracted to girls before."

"There must be a silver lining if you asked for fifty dollars."

"I ain't finished yet."

"Look." Eva bridged the gap between their noses. I'm closer to kissing this stud than I've been to making out with my wife all day. That was Eva's life in a nutshell – kissing all the wrong women while pining after the right one. "My wife likes her and thinks she's cute. I've been patiently waiting for this all freakin' year. If my super sexy wife says she's ready to do this, I'm going in, and I'm going in hot. I've got no fucking time to waste."

Someone came close enough to the bar that Eva's lifeline almost had to do her job instead of having this conversation. "Focus on your wife, not you. When she was in here earlier, Kenzie was staring at those thighs like she wanted them crushing her face."

Eva could work with this. "My wife does have fantastic thighs. Best in the world, really."

"Make her feel like a princess." The bartender stood back up. "If she still turns you down, try to remember I appreciate other kinds of tips, too. But I don't get off work until two."

"Sweetie." Eva scoffed. "You're married."

The bartender was as white as the towel in her hand. "How do you know that?"

"Trust me," she rounded the corner of the bar, careful not to startle Kenzie. "I can tell."

"I can go get my wife, you know…."

Eva ignored the bartender when she finally caught Kenzie's attention. As the shock slowly drained from her face, she gestured for Eva to go ahead and join her on the nearby stool.

"Hi." Eva turned up the charm that flowed as naturally as beer from the tap. "You remember me, right? Eva Warren."

She extended her hand. Kenzie was compelled to shake it.

"Sure. You're Nadia's wife."

"I'm the one who gave you the Band-Aid the other day."

"What can I do for you?"

"Oh, this is too formal." Eva fanned her white jacket as she leaned forward, one foot bracing against the base of Kenzie's stool. "You don't mind, do you?"

She shrugged out of her jacket and unbuttoned the top of her vest. Kenzie was about as confused as Eva expected, but so far, the plan had not been altered.

"Kenzie, right? Kenzie from Pocatello." The more Eva made small talk, the easier it was for her to gauge Kenzie's interest. Right now? Kenzie was mostly confused, but that might work in Eva's favor. She's not disgusted yet, that's good. Nor was she asking questions and throwing Eva off her game. I still have game, right? Of course she did! "My wife talks a lot about you. You ask me, she's a bit smitten."

Eva could see why. Kenzie had a unique face. She sat with open body language that worked well in these flirtatious situations, as well as getting her tips at work – or so Eva assumed. Her style was simple, but it worked for her, and what woman didn't go for the "girl next door" look once in a while? Personally, I love it. If Eva were single and on the prowl, she might gravitate toward Kenzie, assuming they had a good interaction. Oh, be real, Eva. You'd end up in the back office with a married bartender. Fighting over who got to be on top, of course.

Except no bartenders were coming back to Eva's hotel suite tonight. Nadia hadn't singled out that woman.

No, she had texted Eva about Kenzie, so Kenzie it was.

"You're Eva from… back east." Kenzie laughed. "Yup. Waitress brain comes in handy sometimes."

"Good to know you remember ol' me. I hope it's good things you remember, too."

"What do you mean?"

The bar grew louder and more crowded. The hour grew later, and Eva grew tired as she realized she was deep into her thirties and no longer had the patience for a nightlong courtship when her wife's happiness was on the line.

"Would you be fine if I'm a bit blunt, Kenzie? I don't have a lot of time."

Kenzie pulled herself back, instinctively holding her arms close and her thighs together. "Huh?" she whispered.

"How about we get out of here? Our hotel suite is a lot quieter."

Eva timed her knowing smile for the moment her words sank into Kenzie's skull. Not just the sounds themselves, but the meaning. Because one woman did not invite another back to her hotel suite at this time of night to watch Netflix and not chill.

Smile. Coy look. Compliment. Confident, assertive invitation.

It had worked on Nadia several years ago. Why wouldn't it work on Kenzie now?

"Your… hotel."

We are very close here, Nads. That's why Eva was sent in when Nadia choked. If they both knew one thing, it was that Eva was the closer in the negotiations of sapphic sex and love. I'll do anything to any woman that my wife wants. For Nadia, the woman whose body Eva could get lost in for days.

"We've got a great and quiet view of the ocean." Eva's hand snaked across the counter but did not come close enough to touch Kenzie, who still put off vibes that she wasn't sure what Eva wanted. Happens to the best straight girls. No, Eva wasn't shaken by that prospect. Nor was she here to judge anyone's labels for themselves. She was only here to perform the song and dance of seduction, a choreography she had perfected when she was younger, dumber, and full of misplaced bravado. She also rarely failed to get laid. Nadia knew this, too. "It's about a ten-minute walk away. We've got a hot tub, too."

Kenzie hopped off her stool. Her blank countenance almost made Eva balk at how much edge she had lost over the years.

"Never mind," Eva muttered. She did not look forward to explaining this to Nadia.

Yet that was a curious look now meeting her from a few feet away. Kenzie stood with her purse strap over her shoulder and her hand in her pocket.

"You had me at the hot tub," Kenzie said.

"Did I, now?"

Kenzie glanced at the bartender who was busy mixing another round of drinks for a group of friends. "You can tell me what's your game on our way there. Also, I want to know what you asked her, and what she told you."

She gestured to the bartender when she said that. As it so happened, the bartender saw it go down, and the look on her face was priceless.

Yet not as good as when Eva followed Kenzie out of the bar, her ego running a victory lap in her head.