Page 69 of Push & Pull
“What does that mean?”
“You guys totally aren’t compatible.”
“How would you know?” Petra tossed her cigarette onto the wet concrete. “She seems open to the idea.” Never mind Petra was assuming that about another woman who hadn’t been super talkative about what she wanted in a relationship.Only what she wants in the bedroom.Worked for Petra! They were basically the same thing in her mind. “Is it because I’m poor and she’s not? You’ve never cared about that as long as I can take care of myself.”
“You’re the one putting words into my mouth. We’ve known each other a long time, Petra.” When Hailey decided to don the condescending attitude, she really went for it, didn’t she? “I’m telling you, as your friend, that you don’t want to get mixed up with Simone. She’s nothing but trouble.”
“Would you tell her the same thing about me?”
“I’m hanging up now,” Hailey said. “I’ve got Pilates in an hour.”
“Pilates! Hail, come on…” Before Petra could protest much more, the line went dead, complete with an unsatisfying click on Hailey’s end. “What the absolute fuck?”
She was fine with Hailey’s incredulity over the situation, but Petra never guessed that her oldest friend would be so antagonistic toward a relationship with Simone.Does she know something I don’t? Or is she completely misunderstanding where Simone is at in her life?Petra didn’t dare suggest she now knew Simone better than others, but she would also be damned if she thought they were complete strangers.
Petra almost forgot to pick up her discarded cigarette as she headed back to the hotel. Although her rendezvous with Earl Olivier wasn’t for several more hours, she needed time to psych herself up. After tonight, however, she was done with everything.Done with my uncle. Done with men like Earl. Done with pickpocketing and lying to everyone who might give me money.Even if Petra didn’t spend another day with Simone, she knew this much about herself.
“I’ve had a helluva week,” Simone said with a smile as she hugged the woman who had come to dine with her that night. Although their reservation had been last minute, Elena Zelenko scored them an intimate table that gave them privacy in place of much dining space. “How about you? What’s business like in New York this week?”
She sat in the other chair while a waiter brought her fresh water and a short menu. Elena was already settled into her seat and on what would surely be only the first glass of wine. Simone settled on iced tea for her beverage. “Dreadfully boring,” Elena said with her usual deadpan candor. “In-person film festivals are starting up again this year and I have a record number of titles I want in the line up. It’s good for buzz.”
Simone chuckled. “I’m guessing these are the cultural statements coming out of your arthouse productions. Not the porn.”
Was she one of the few people who could put Elena’s film career into those boxes andnotpiss her off? Probably. “Yes. Nobody cares about awards in erotic films. The independentarthousestuff, though… ugh. It’s a headache. To get the common denominator of this world to take a second look at your movie includes two things: awards from the film festivals, and a streaming deal that comes with a hefty marketing budget. A contract with Hulu to offer everything at a viewer’s touch means nothing without front-page placement or a guaranteed number of ad slots. Who cares if you can watch a movie about a Millennial and the special needs kid they meet next door if you don’t know it exists? That’s how we make money back now, because it’s not in ticket sales.”
“Unlike the porn.”
“Yes.” Elena got comfortable in her chair long before the waiter returned with Simone’s iced tea. “Porn’s easy, even in this day and age. Give the people what they want, a deal of a subscription plan, and enough free tastes to get them over toyoursite for the money shot. It’s website SEO marketing. Fucking peachy compared to Sundance and Cannes.”
Although Simone liked her iced tea devoid of outside substance, she stirred the ice in her drink as if it were filled with sugar or lemon juice. “I simply find it fortuitous that you’re in New York while I am too. Your wife couldn’t join us tonight?”
“She’s exhausted from a long day of entertaining her mother in the city. Yes, my mother-in-law is with us. We have a two-bedroom suite a few blocks from here. I have to keep the noise to a minimum to not embarrass my new family. You know how much Ilovethat.”
“You’re telling me that you’ve been married for months and still going at iteverynight?”
“Hmph, no, but you know me. I like the element of surprise. The potential what-ifs. Knowing that I won’t get any because my wife is too embarrassed with her mother one wall away takes all the fun out of things.”
Simone certainly saw that point of view. “Hotel sex really is the best sex, too.”
“Oh? I’m not partial either way.”
“I mean… I may know a thing or two about hotel sex.”
Elena studied Simone’s averted gaze before responding. “Is that so? Things must be going well with that girl you texted me about the other night. For some reason, I thought that was a one-time thing.”
“We’ve been traveling together this past week. Her name is…”
Elena shook her head. “You know I won’t remember it unless I meet her no fewer than three times.”
“You’re right. I probably shouldn’t talk about her like she’s a sure thing, anyway. We’re heading back to my place tomorrow. After that… I don’t know what to expect. Everything is being played by ear. She’s not from the area.”
“Is that so?”
“She’s from Chicago. I don’t know what part, exactly. She said something about growing up in Forest Glen.”
That clearly meant nothing to Elena, who probably knew Chicago as well as she knew Los Angeles.
“I think about something you told me a few months ago. It was here in New York, in fact. You know. When you eloped?”
