I walked the girls home after they finished swimming, but didn't stay at the Castro house for dinner. As appealing as a home-cooked meal and the company of family might be, I really did have work to catch up on and the California workday ran until eight at night there in Cartagena time.

Promising to come over for dinner the next night, I grabbed some street food on my way back to my place.

'My place,' I mused as I walked. I'd barely spent a week in the new-to-us house, but it was starting to feel like home. At least as much as the condo in San Jose did, if not as much as the London apartment.

Pondering why the place in San Jose didn't feel like home even though I'd stayed there plenty, I waved absently to a couple of Night Children street vendors that were completely makeup-free. It seemed to me that I probably should have gone over to talk to them, but on the other hand, maybe acknowledging them but not making a big deal of it was just as good an approach.

After wrapping up my last phone conference and replying to my last email, I made myself a Cuba Libre. The rum was from Jamaica, and very good. The Coke they sell in Colombia is sweetened with cane sugar, and has a slightly different taste than the American stuff, or even the Mexican Coke I liked to use for drinks back in California. Of course, the lime was fresh- probably picked the day before. Add a dash of Angostura bitters (a trick Theo in San Jose had taught me) and the drink was a great way to unwind and relax at the end of the day.

I finished it off all too quickly, and soon found myself in the kitchen mixing myself another.

I took it up to the rooftop to enjoy the ocean breeze and the sounds of the city. Cartagena had a certain sound at night that was different than any other city I'd spent any time in, and I found it soothing.

Leaning against the parapet on the upper roof, looking out towards the Caribbean, I found myself wondering what it would be like to grow up in Colombia. Cecilia was going to have a hard time adjusting to life in Los Angeles, never mind the transition to a new school. Although nobody had exactly spelled it out, I'd gotten the impression that Cecilia (and Angela before her) had gone to that same private school from kindergarten all the way through high school. She'd had the same friends for years, so making new friends was going to be a shock to her system.

Not that I didn't think she could handle it, but it was going to be difficult and emotionally challenging. Sure, Dulce could come to visit, maybe more than once, but still… Cecilia was going to have some challenges ahead of her.

Realizing my drink had somehow evaporated, I was debating on whether or not I should make myself another or just take a bath and go to bed. After a moment or two of consideration, I said out loud, "Why not both?" with a shrug.

Drink within reach, candles lit and lights off, a Brazilian jazz internet radio station playing on my phone, I settled down in the hot water to soak away the day.

It took me a moment to recognize that the quiet buzz I was hearing was my phone's silenced ring.

"Hey, Kat," I said as I answered. "What's up?"

"I said I was going to call tonight," she replied.

"Oh, yeah. About the tattoo," I said, setting the phone on speaker so I could rest it on the side of the tub. "Are you really thinking about getting one?"

"Well, maybe," Katrina admitted. "You don't like the idea?"

"It's your body," I replied, leaning back and splashing water on my chest. "I don't get a say in it."

"What's that noise?" Katrina asked.

"I'm taking a bath," I told her. "And drinking a rum and Coke. And I was listening to Stan Getz before you called. It was all very relaxing."

"Sounds nice," Katrina said with a sigh. "Wish I was there. I mean, I wish I-" she started to say, when she realized what she had just said.

Laughing, I told her that it was nice. "This tub is plenty roomy enough for two," I added.

Katrina let out a breath. "Leah, what are we?" she asked, her voice quiet. "I mean…"

I waited for her to finish her thought while I had another sip of my tasty alcoholic beverage.

"So, like, I was talking to my friend Trina and she was talking about how we should get tattoos, and, like, my first thought was how you would feel about it. Is that fucked-up of me? I've been thinking about it all day."

"Kat," I said, my voice gentle. "Why does it matter what I think of any tattoo you might get?"

"I won't get one if you don't want me to," she answered, her voice soft. "Were you serious about my tan lines?"

"I do love your tan lines," I told her. "But I am one hundred per cent serious about it being your body, your choice. I have no say over you. Only you do."

There was a long pause, then a sigh. "I guess that answers my question, doesn't it?"

"Which question?" I asked.

"What we are to each other," Katrina replied so quietly I could barely hear her.

"Kat," I said. "I… I don't know what we are to each other. I know I enjoy your company. I know I like you. I know I think you're fun to be around. I like to think you feel the same about me," I said. "What prompted all this?" I asked, my voice as gentle as I could make it.

"Like I said, I was talking to Trina and she suggested we get tattoos, and my first thought was about you. 'Would Leah like me with a tattoo?' I thought. I even started to tell Trina that I couldn't until I talked to my- well, I almost called you my girlfriend without even thinking about it, and that's when I got to wondering, you know? I hadn't even realized that I was maybe subconsciously thinking of you that way…"

"Do you? Think of me as your girlfriend, I mean?" I asked.

"I don't know," Katrina groaned. "If, like, somebody just randomly asked me if I had a girlfriend, or was even, like, gay, I'd say no, you know? But like I said, it just almost came out without me even thinking about it, and that got me wondering what…"

"Katrina, if I came to Miami- let's just put everything else aside- Let's say I came to Miami and called you up. 'Show me a good time,' I said. What would that look like to you?"

"If it was daytime, and not summer, I'd take you to Vizcaya to see the mansion and gardens. I love that place. Maybe we'd go shopping at the Design District, then go clubbing in South Beach afterward," Katrina said, thinking about it.

"Tell me about the dancing," I urged.

"My favorite club is at one of those old Art Deco hotels there in South Beach. They have amazing drinks and the DJs are always really good," she replied.

"No, tell me about how you would dance with me," I instructed.

"Oh! I mean, at first we'd have a few drinks and get our groove on, you know, then as the night progressed we'd, like, dance closer and closer. I'd, like, grind up on you and you'd put your hands on me and hold me close…"

"Yeah?"

"I'd wear my favorite dress, the one with the open back, you know? And your hands would feel my back, and maybe drop down and rest on the top of my butt, and I'd…" Katrina said, lost in her own imagination.

"What would happen when we were done with the club?" I asked, gently prodding.

"There's a sidewalk right along the beach, and if the weather was nice we'd walk and enjoy the night, you know?"

"Would we hold hands?" I asked.

"You'd have your arm around me, and my arm would be around your waist," Katrina answered.

"Would my hand stay in the safe zones?"

"What?" Katrina asked, then understood the question. "Um, no. I mean, mostly, but not always. I- I wouldn't want them to."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Would I kiss you?"

"Yeah, yeah you would," Katrina said, her voice thickening a bit at the thought.

"That favorite dress of yours, does it have easy access?"

"It comes off easy, too," she replied, sounding more confident.. "It would look really good on the floor of your hotel room."

"Is that it? You're just using me for the sex?" I demanded, getting the laugh I was hoping for.

"What are you wearing?" Katrina asked in a deep voice.

"About fifty gallons of water," I replied.

I could hear Katrina was about to say something, but then she paused a moment. "I guess I meant it earlier when I said that I wished I was there," she admitted, her voice wistful. "I could wash your back, and you could wash mine."

"Kat," I said.

"Yeah, I know, and like I said, I wouldn't want to do Emmy dirty," she sighed. "But a girl can dream, can't she? If you ever do decide to maybe open the door just a little bit, I want to be the one you call."

"But you're straight."

"I was, until you got me hot and wet," she replied with a little laugh. "No, I'm serious. You're, like, the first chick I've ever really thought about getting it on with. I don't think I'd want to get it on with any other woman, but you… I can totally imagine it. I'm actually imagining it right now, to be honest. Like, I took a shower in that bathroom of yours. I saw that tub- it's huge. I'm imagining you in that tub, maybe some bubbles, the lights turned off, just those candles lit… Why are you laughing?"

"The lights are turned off and the candles are lit," I said.

"See? All you're missing is a me."

"I'll have to drown my sorrows with alcohol," I moaned.

Just then a text notification came through. Checking my phone, I saw it was a photo from Katrina. She was lying down on her side and using what looked like mirrored sliding closet doors to take a full-body selfie, with no more clothes than I had on at the moment.

"You're turn!" was the caption.

A moment later, "Freaking autocorrect! Your turn!"

Laughing, I took a selfie from a low enough angle that you could tell I was in a tub and naked, but couldn't make anything out. "Here you go" I captioned.

"No fair!" Katrina protested when the picture came through, making me chuckle. "I'm gonna need a better picture than that."

"You've seen me naked plenty," I told her. "Use that imagination of yours."

"You've seen me naked more, but I still supplied fresh, um, imagery," Katrina complained.

"Lucky me!"

"Well, if I was there in that tub with you you'd be getting even luckier," Katrina grumbled.

"Kat, you asked what are we to each other," I said, softening my voice again. "What am I to you? I hate to ask it this way, but am I just your bi-curious crush? Do you just want me to smash you so you can find out what it's like?"

"I was afraid you'd ask that," Katrina admitted. "I don't really know for sure. I mean, maybe? I do want to wake up next to you. That part is for sure. But is it just, I don't know, the lure of the exotic? I don't think so, but I'm self-aware enough to recognize it's possible."

"Use that vivid imagination of yours, Kat. Imagine that I said, 'Hey, Emmy's cool with you and me.' What would your ideal situation look like? I don't just mean what clubs would we go to or whatever. I mean, how would our lives intersect?"

"Horizontally. Yup. Quite frequently horizontally," Katrina said with a smile in her voice.

"It was s serious question, Kat," I said. "Think about it. What would your life and mine look like if we were, well, girlfriends? Lovers? However you want to label it?"

There was a long, thoughtful silence on the other end. "I guess I don't have a really good answer for that," Katrina admitted. "I mean, you've got your life and I've got mine, right? You're in Los Angeles or New York or London or Paris or wherever, and I'm in Miami or Cartagena sometimes. Really, Cartagena is the only place our lives really, um, intersect at all."

"I just want you to think about it," I said.

"Is this your way of saying it wouldn't work?" Katrina asked, deflating.

"No, that's not what I meant," I replied. "I want you to think about how your life would change- for the good as well as the, well, inconvenient, I guess?"

"Inconvenient how?"

"Well, inconvenient in the sense that we wouldn't get to see each other all that often. That's the big one," I said.

"So I'd just be a hookup when we're both in Colombia? Is that what you mean?" Katrina demanded.

"No, I don't mean that at all," I protested. "Imagine that we're, you and me, in a… well, a relationship, right? Maybe I'd fly in to Miami to spend a weekend with you every now and then, or maybe we'd go for a week to Singapore or something, the two of us. But like you said, you have a life in Miami and I have a life in Los Angeles."

"And a wife in Los Angeles," Katrina huffed.

"We're ignoring that for the sake of discussion," I replied.

"I've never been to Singapore. I'd love to spend a week there with you. You know, I've never been to London, either, or Paris, or, well, anyplace, really."

"O.K., it's a plan, then. You, me, a week in, say, Montreal. We do all the touristy stuff-"

"Montreal? What even is there to do there?" Katrina demanded.

"Montreal is a surprisingly beautiful city with an amazing amount of stuff to do. We could go when they have their fireworks competition, or if you like comedy, we could go for the comedy festival. I've never been there for that, but they say it's amazing. So, yeah, we go for the fireworks or whatever, see the sights, eat poutine, and intersect horizontally every night and again every morning. We take baths together and wash each others' backs, and really get to see if it could work out. Or even, if we want to try anything more long-term. How does that sound?"

"Are you- are you being serious?" Katrina asked, her voice so quiet she was almost whispering.

"Kat, what I'm asking you to do is to consider the possibilities and the ramifications. Seriously consider everything that might factor into you and me having a relationship other than just friends who sometimes get to hang out together in Cartagena, or maybe if I'm in Miami or you come to LA. That's what I'm asking."

There was a long silence on the other end, but Katrina eventually asked, "What would you tell Emmy?"

"I'd tell her the truth."

"She'd be O.K. with that? With me and you going to Montreal, knowing you'd be smashing me every night and again every morning? Really?"

"Oh, now, don't be a pillow princess!" I teased. "I expect some reciprocal smashing."

"Trust me, I plan on parting your legs like Moses parted the Red Sea," Katrina rejoined. "But you didn't answer my question. You really would tell Emmy?"

"I tell Emmy about all my girlfriends," I said.

"What's that noise?" Katrina asked.

"Well, the water is getting cold and my adult beverage seems to have mysteriously evaporated, so I'm done in the tub. That noise was me getting out."

"Take another picture, now you're not in the water," Katrina urged. "Quick- before you dry off. I want o see you all wet and dripping with water."

"I will if you agree to my plan," I said. "But promise me you'll give what I said some serious thought before making any sort of commitment."

"I will," Katrina agreed. "But quit stalling!"

Amused, I stepped over to the vanity and posed, holding my phone with both hands. Flexing a bit to make my muscles really stand out, I took the shot, carefully composed so that my arms blocked the view of my breasts and the vanity countertop just hid my lady parts. It was nude and sexy, but showed nothing that a bikini would normally cover.

"O.K., that is smoking hot, but now take two steps farther back. Better yet, set the phone's camera on timer so you don't need a mirror at all, and can get your whole body in the frame," Katrina instructed.

"You want to see what you're missing? You're gonna have to spend that week in Montreal," I replied. "I can promise you that if you do, you'll get to see every bit of me up very close and personal."

"I can't tell if you're messing with me," Katrina admitted. "You've told me all along that you think I'm hot and you've made no effort to hide that you've been checking me out, but you've also, like, on the other hand, also been telling me that was as far as it was ever going to go. You had me thinking this was just a sort of game we've been playing, you know? But now you're coming across as serious about wanting to hook up. I don't even know what to think anymore."

"Honestly, neither do I," I admitted as I made my way downstairs to fix myself another drink. "I'm going to be completely honest with you. I think- no, I pretty much know for sure- that Emmy wants me to hook up with you. She knows I'm attracted to you and you've certainly made it seem mutual, right? So, she's been encouraging me to explore options with you, let's say."

"You're joking," Katrina breathed.

"No, I'm not. You asked earlier what I would tell Emmy, and I told you I'd tell her the truth. In fact, I sent her your selfies earlier."

"The one I just sent you?" Katrina asked, her voice rising.

"No, not yet, but the tan line shots. But I am going to send her the bed shot, too, when she lands in LA."

"That picture was for you only!" Katrina protested.

"I don't keep any secrets from her, I've told you that," I replied as I decided to skip the Coke and just have a rum and rum, pouring myself a healthy measure of that tasty aged Appleton.

"Is it just me, or is this kinda weird?"

"No, it is," I agreed. "There's some stuff going on that really isn't mine to tell, but I do believe that Emmy does mean it. She has more or less directly told me that she would approve of me having, um, extracurricular activities, so to speak."

"So, you really are serious about Montreal? Like, really, really serious?" Katrina asked.

"Well, it doesn't have to be Montreal," I said with a shrug that she obviously couldn't see. "I just picked Montreal because it's a city I like that isn't Miami or New York or Los Angeles."

"I'm gonna ask one more time, just so I can be totally clear," Katrina said. "You're asking me to take a week off to go to Montreal or wherever with you. While there, we would do tourist stuff, but also have tons of sex, and your wife would be totally O.K. with it. So, like, if I called her up on the phone and asked her if it would be cool if you and me spent all day in bed doing the nasty, she'd say yes?"

"Yes. In fact, reading between the lines, she's been dropping hints for months now that I should have, um, taken advantage of the situation with you a while back."

There was a long pause, then Katrina said, "You could have had me any time," so quietly I could barely hear her. "Um, Leah, you've given me a lot to think about."

"Kat, this thing between us, whatever it is now, I guess I want you to think about what you want it to be. This is… a crossroads, I guess. I think I've made my… well, my position clear. I want you to think about how you would like things to go. The proverbial ball is in your proverbial court."

"The whole Montreal thing- it seems like you want to take me out for a test drive or something," Katrina grumbled.

"That's not a really bad way to look at it," I agreed. "But it's even more of a test drive for you, too. We'd both be getting to know each other better, but you'll also be getting to explore something totally new- a relationship with another woman."

"You mean girl-on-girl sex?"

"Well, yeah, but also girl-on-girl kissing, girl-on-girl holding hands in public, girl-on-girl going out to dinner and having people pretend they aren't staring… There's a whole lot more to a lesbian relationship that you might not be ready for. That's part of why I don't think this should happen in Miami or Cartagena, but it should be in a place that's pretty cosmopolitan."

"This is really a lot to take in," Katrina replied.

"That's what she said," I joked, getting a groan.

"I think I need to think about this," Katrina said. "Um, I'll give you a call sometime soon."

"If you call me later in the week you can talk to Emmy about it, too," I suggested.

"Leah, I've got to tell you that I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around this whole thing."

"Yeah, me, too," I agreed.

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