6. Honest Answers
Chapter six
Honest Answers
The silence lingered for only a few seconds.
Meca looked at Miko and smiled—not because the question amused her, but because she could tell Miko had spent days building up the courage to ask it.
Finally, Meca broke the silence.
"You've been wanting to ask me that for a while, haven't you?"
Miko laughed nervously.
"You could tell?"
"I could tell."
"I hope you don't think I was being disrespectful."
"I don't."
"I just..."
Miko searched for the right words.
"I overheard one of your phone conversations."
Meca nodded.
"I figured you might have."
"I wasn't trying to listen."
"I know."
"I honestly thought you were talking to a man."
Meca laughed.
"Most people do."
Miko smiled.
"Then one day I heard you say, 'Girl,' and I wasn't sure if you meant your friend or..."
"My girlfriend?"
Miko nodded.
"Yeah."
For the first time since the conversation began, Meca answered without hesitation.
"Yes."
She didn't whisper it.
She didn't apologize for it.
She simply answered the question.
"I'm a lesbian."
Miko looked at her for a moment before quietly saying,
"Okay."
That one word surprised Meca.
No awkwardness.
No judgment.
No change in expression.
Just...
"Okay."
"You got more questions?" Meca asked.
Miko laughed.
"A whole lot."
"I figured."
"I've just never really talked to anybody about it before."
"You can ask me anything."
"You serious?"
"As long as you're asking to understand and not to judge."
"I would never judge you."
"I know."
Miko leaned back in her chair.
"I just don't know nothing about...that world."
Meca smiled.
"It's just life."
"I know...but it's different."
"It's different because it's unfamiliar."
Miko thought about that for a second.
"Yeah...I guess you're right."
The conversation continued naturally.
Miko asked what it was like dating women.
Meca answered honestly.
She talked about relationships, heartbreak, trust, loyalty, and how every relationship—whether between two women or a man and a woman—still required communication, respect, and commitment.
The more Miko listened, the more one thing surprised her.
Meca wasn't talking about sex.
She was talking about love.
By the time they finished talking, Miko realized something she hadn't expected.
She had spent almost an hour asking questions...
...and Meca had answered every one of them without making her feel foolish.
As they gathered their things to leave for the day, Miko smiled.
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For answering my questions."
Meca shrugged.
"It wasn't a problem."
"I thought it might be."
"It would've only been a problem if you came to judge me."
"I didn't."
"I know."
They walked toward the parking lot together.
Neither woman realized it.
But something had changed.
Not attraction.
Not romance.
Trust.
For the first time, Miko realized she could ask Meca anything.
And for the first time, Meca realized she hoped those questions would never stop.