Page 27 of Perfectly Matched

“Well, guess who asked me out on a dinner date tonight?” Payson smiled.

Tegan froze. “Please tell me it’s not Madison.”

“Gee, don’t act so happy for me. And, yes, Madison asked me out. She’s taking me to Antoine Yves.”

“Wow, that’s um…Madison, huh?”

“Okay, first of all, you’re a reporter who can pull words out of her ass at will, and that’s all you’ve got?”

Tegan settled back and took a moment to finish the last of her coffee. “Look, sweetie, I know you’ve been kinda crushing on her a bit from time to time ever since she first came to the station, and it’s not that I don’t know what you see in that woman, but I really don’t know what you see in that woman. I mean, don’t get me wrong, she’s gorgeous and all but seriously disturbed deep down.”

Payson chuckled. “She’s notthatbad.”

“I think the word bad is one of those relative words,” Tegan said. “Look, I just want what’s best for you, and I don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

“Well, Madison is no Julie, that’s for sure.”

“No, but she’s also not good enough for you. Please don’t fill your relationship void right now with another mistake.”

“Ouch, that was a bit harsh, don’t you think?”

Tegan placed a loving hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “I just want what’s best for you.”

Payson snorted at the catchphrase. She had been in survivor mode for so many years, she had no clue what “best for her” was anymore. She thought the tropical vacation she had booked was going to be a good start at finding that, but when it didn’t pan out, the desperate feeling of her life falling apart once againtook hold. But maybe it was for the best. How could she possibly think about her own self-interest when she had a massive credit card debt to pay off? She should just hunker down and not worry about herself until she fixed those loose ends. And even though she had contemplated bankruptcy many times to finally be rid of the bind Julie had put her in, she was too embarrassed and prideful to follow through with the paperwork. No…she’d gotten herself into this mess because she’d trusted someone. She could damn well get herself out of it.

Just keep your head down, do your job, and bit by bit crawl out of the rubble, she reminded herself. And maybe that wasn’t what wasbestfor her, but for now, it was the hand she’d been dealt.

She picked at her sandwich as she thought about Madison. If they did get together, would itreallybe such a bad thing? Madison’s salary was probably two to three times what she was making. How refreshing it would be to be with someone she didn’t have to support. Plus, she was beautiful and had a witty side. But on the flip side, she could also be cold and abrasive around the edges. Payson chuckled to herself. She was already making a pro and con list. As though tonight’s date was really going to lead to anything substantial.

“You must be really enjoying that sandwich because you got pretty quiet all of a sudden.”

“Sorry,” Payson said as she refocused. “I was just thinking about the aftermath of Julie and promising myself to never get in a situation like that again.”

“You won’t because I won’t let you. How much more do you have to pay off?”

“I have three more payments on the one card and more than I want to count on the other two.”

“Well, as soon as I win the lottery, I’ll pay off your cards, and we can run away to Mexico and live on the beach forcheap. We’ll be the two mysterious lesbians everyone whispers about.”

“Sounds intriguing.”

“It does, doesn’t it? And to think, the only thing standing in the way of our dream is six lucky numbers.”

“And that, my friend, is why we’ll be working stiffs for the rest of our lives.”

“Hmm.” Tegan reached over, grabbed Payson’s sandwich, and took a bite. “Such a tragic thought,” she mumbled as she chewed.

Payson smiled as she lifted her cup. “Well, at least we’ll be in it together.”

* * *

An hour later, Payson was distracting herself with the long overdue task of cleaning her house. If her date with Madison went well, would the night end in her bedroom? She let out an uneasy breath as she stripped the sheets, replacing them with clean ones. Why was she so nervous about tonight? She had worked with Madison for almost six months now, so it wasn’t like she was a stranger or anything. But still, spending time with her as a colleague and spending time with her on a date were two totally separate things. Or were her nerves about something else entirely? In the past twenty-four hours, she had experienced such a weird mix of feelings for both Hannah and Madison, she couldn’t quite get a handle on it. Was she doing the right thing going on a date with Madison tonight when her mind kept drifting to Hannah? Her body at times said yes, yet her gut was screaming a totally different answer.

By noon, she was showered, shaved, made-up, and zipped into her best black dress. She checked herself multiple times, changed the color of her lipstick twice and her choice of shoesthree times. Finally calling it good enough, she grabbed her purse and drove to the station.

As she walked into the building, she noticed Hannah sitting in her cubicle, head leaned back in her chair as she shot rubber bands at a stain on the ceiling that resembled a bullseye. Her sleeves were rolled up, and Payson could see the muscles in her arms flex with each movement. The butterflies took a few laps around her stomach as a vision of what those arms would feel like wrapped around her body emerged. As did her nipples, which were rock-hard and standing at attention. Payson glanced at her chest and rolled her eyes. Of all times to wear a sheer bra instead of one whose padding could hide her sexual arousal. “Great,” she whispered as she shook her head and tossed her purse on her desk.

“I’d challenge you to a shooting contest, but we’d have to do it while Jason wasn’t looking,” she said to Hannah. “And I see you brought your dinner today.” She pointed to two large Styrofoam containers sitting on Hannah’s desk.

---