Chapter Six #3
“Get it, girl,” Charlotte agreed. “Now, let’s find you someone to date.”
“Oh boy.” Marin reached for her wineglass, which was nearly empty.
They’d polished off the bottle of Riesling, and Charlotte was feeling pretty tipsy.
She suspected Marin was, too, based on the frequency of her laughter and her increasingly relaxed posture.
“All right, let’s see who it suggests for me. ”
Charlotte scooted closer, so she could see Marin’s search results. She pointed to a blond woman in a purple jacket. “She’s pretty.”
Marin exhaled audibly as she clicked on the woman’s profile. “Damn. I think it just hit me that I’m really doing this.”
“You really are.”
“I don’t think you realize . . .” She glanced at Charlotte. “Just how long I’ve waited for this moment. I’ve been thinking about it, wanting to date a woman for twenty years. This feels . . . I don’t know. Momentous. But also, weirdly anticlimactic browsing profile pictures.”
“I imagine anything’s going to feel anticlimactic after you’ve built it up in your head for that long,” Charlotte said. “But it’ll be worth it when you kiss a woman for the first time.”
Marin’s breath hitched as if she’d just imagined it. “Yes. It will.”
“So . . . can you imagine kissing Tammy?” Charlotte gestured to the woman displayed on Marin’s phone.
Marin studied Tammy’s profile for a minute in silence, then shrugged. “To be honest, I have no idea. I think online dating might be tricky for me. It feels so impersonal.” She sighed. “But unfortunately, I searched the other night, and the nearest gay bar is in Albany.”
“Damn.”
“Right. That’s what, an hour and a half from here?”
“About that, yeah,” Charlotte confirmed.
“I’m not likely to meet anyone local there, so it’s not a good option if I’m looking for a relationship, not a hookup, which means . . . online dating it is.” Marin backed out of Tammy’s profile and kept scrolling.
“No worries. We’re going to find you the perfect woman.”
Thirty minutes later, they’d narrowed it down to three women, all of whom seemed promising and lived within an hour of Middleton.
“Personally, I think you should message all three,” Charlotte said.
Marin frowned. “Really? That feels like . . . cheating.”
“Nah. You aren’t dating yet. You’re just exchanging messages to see if you want to date.
Chances are, if you message all three, one won’t respond, one will turn out to be looking for a hookup or say something really obnoxious in response to your message, but maybe, if you’re lucky, one of them will interest you enough to keep chatting. ”
“That doesn’t sound very encouraging.” Marin pressed her lips together.
“It’s the reality of online dating,” Charlotte said with a shrug.
“You’ll probably strike out a lot before you meet anyone in person, so shoot all three of them a quick message, and take it from there.
I like to start with something innocuous like ‘How are you handling this cold weather?’ or something like that. ”
“Are you using an online-dating site right now too?”
Charlotte shook her head. “No, but I have in the past. I just went through a pretty messy breakup, so I’m taking a breather from dating this year while I focus on family stuff.”
“Gotcha.”
“You know, there is an app I’ve been thinking of reinstalling, though.” Charlotte darted a hesitant glance at Marin.
“Which one?”
“My horoscope app. I was feeling pretty disillusioned with the universe for a while, but maybe . . . I’m starting to have faith in the stars again.”
Marin reached over and touched her hand. “I’m so glad.”
Charlotte unlocked her phone and opened the app store. “Okay. I’m doing it. Now you message those women.”
“Deal.” Marin’s thumbs flew over her screen.
She typed for such a long time that Charlotte wondered if she’d done more than send a simple introductory question.
Finally, she sat back, looking satisfied.
“I messaged all three of them, said I was new to Vermont, and asked if they had any tips for handling the cold weather.”
Charlotte laughed. “I’m waiting for someone to write back offering to keep you warm.”
Marin cringed. “I walked right into that one, didn’t I?”
“Yes, but it’ll be a good way of weeding out the women who’re only interested in sex.”
“Let’s hope. And hey, if you ever want to talk about that messy breakup, I’m here to listen. Anytime.”
“I appreciate that, and I’ll definitely take you up on it, but not tonight. I’m in too good of a mood.” Charlotte looked at her newly reinstalled app, then put her phone down. The same thinking applied to horoscopes. She’d look at hers soon, but not tonight.
Marin’s phone buzzed in her hand. “Oh my god. Someone already responded.” She squinted at the screen. “And you called it. She says her favorite way to keep warm in the wintertime is by exercising in the bedroom. Delete.” Marin tapped her screen.
“It’s okay. Just laugh and move on.”
“Even more anticlimactic now, but still . . . I’m glad we did this. It’s a step. A big one.”
“Damn straight.” Charlotte giggled, embracing the tipsiness. “Or not straight. You know what I mean.”
Marin rolled her eyes, but she was smiling too. “Thanks again for your help. You made this a lot more fun than it would have been if I’d done it by myself.”
“I’m glad.” Charlotte smiled. She and Marin both moved to put their empty wineglasses down on the coffee table in front of them, and the cushion shifted beneath them.
Charlotte lost her balance and thrust a hand out to catch herself before she pitched face first onto the carpet. Her hand landed on Marin’s thigh.
For some reason, Charlotte’s heart was pounding as she righted herself.
She never would have thought anything about having her hand on a straight friend’s thigh, and she hated herself for feeling weird about it just because Marin was a lesbian.
Charlotte had had gay friends before and never second-guessed herself, but right now, as she shuffled back to her previous spot, she was hyperaware of the warmth of Marin’s skin through her jeans.
Marin wasn’t even looking at her. She was laughing, completely unruffled by Charlotte’s blunder. Charlotte was being weird about nothing. She got up and went into the kitchen for a glass of water. Maybe that would help clear her head.
From the living room, Marin’s phone chimed again. “Oh wow. Someone just messaged me through the app . . . someone new. Not one of the women I contacted.”
“Sound promising?” Charlotte asked as she filled her glass. She took several gulps of cold water.
“Actually . . . yes.” Marin was staring at her phone with a giddy expression on her face. “She says she noticed I’m new to Vermont and that she is too. She wondered if I’d like to do some exploring together, and . . . she says she loves my smile.”
“Okay, you’re right. That’s a good one.” Charlotte rejoined her on the couch.
Marin didn’t even look up from her phone. Her thumbs were flying as she responded to the message. Finally, she looked up. Her eyes were sparkling. Her whole demeanor seemed lighter. Energized. “I just wrote her back.”
“Awesome. What’s her name?”
“Laura.” Marin was positively beaming.
Charlotte pulled out her phone and snapped a quick picture, then texted it to Marin. “I want you to remember exactly how you feel in this moment, because you’re glowing, Marin. I’m so happy for you.”
“Thanks.” Marin looked down at her phone, then back at Charlotte. “This just got exciting. In fact, I feel like celebrating. Let’s break out the champagne.”