Summer Love

Chapter 6

***

"Like she uses women for a nice place to live and pretends to be in love with them." The words sounded bitter, which she supposed, they should. "Sorry."

"You were together how long? Five years? That's a long time to pretend," Roseanne said. "On her part, I mean."

"Yes, it is. I guess that's why she was cheating on me. Minnie wasn't the first. And if I hadn't caught them in bed, I doubt she would have been the last either."

"So you kicked her out. Then what?"

"She started dating an attorney, someone I had actually dated in my twenties. She even moved in with her shortly after."

Roseanne laughed quietly. "Actually, the 'then what' was meant for you."

"Oh. Well, then nothing. I hate women, remember."

"So, you haven't dated since?" The blonde was amazed.

"No. And I don't plan to."

"You're only thirty-five. That's way too early to give up on dating," Roseanne said.

"Thirty-four, thank you," Lisa corrected. "And what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Are you single?"

Roseanne laughed again. "I must be doing a horrible job at flirting if you think I'm involved with someone."

"Well, as my recent experience shows, being involved with someone doesn't seem to matter to some people," she said dismissively.

"Yeah, well, I'm not guilty of that," Roseanne said. "I've never been in a real relationship. I dated in college. And it appears that I am still dating college students. They tend to graduate and move on, though. No time for a real relationship."

"So you went to college?"

"Yeah."

"Is that where you learned how to paint?" Lisa said with a flirty smile.

Roseanne laughed yet again, and Lisa loved the sound of it. "No," was all she said as she rolled onto her back too.

They were quiet, and Lisa listened to the sound of the surf, the gulls, the faraway sounds of laughter coming from others on the beach. She had no idea how long they'd been out, but it was one of the most enjoyable afternoons she'd spent in a long, long time.

"Thank you," Lisa said.

"For what?"

"I had fun today."

Roseanne nodded. "Yeah, it's fun playing on the beach."

"I can't even remember the last time I played Frisbee," she admitted.

"Well, you were pretty good. When you said you were an accountant, I was afraid you wouldn't even know what a Frisbee was," Roseanne teased.

Lisa smiled, not taking offense. "Well, you were clearly a lot better than me. I can see you are athletic."

Roseanne rolled to her side and leaned on her elbow, her eyes dancing with amusement. "As you know, I'm a painter. I'm outside, up and down ladders. And I swim a lot." She wiggled her eyebrows. "Skinny-dipping. I'm very limber and flexible," she continued. "I also play on a softball team." She smiled broadly. "Did I mention I'm flexible?"

Lisa laughed out loud but didn't dare reply.

Roseanne sat up, still smiling. "I guess on that note, we should wrap it up," she said. "I think I've had enough sun for the day."