I'm Normally Perfect (re-upload)

Chapter Sixty-Four

She nodded, 'Yes.'

'You said you still...noticed men...but that was normal.'

She shrugged, 'One can't help fleeting thoughts.'

I nodded, 'Right.'

'What's wrong?'

I shook my head, 'Nothing.'

She smiled, 'Liar. Have you found someone you fancy?'

'No.'

'Is it Rita?' She guessed the truth from my shocked expression and laughed, 'It's all right.'

I gaped at her, 'You're not jealous?'

'Are you planning on immigrating here and taking up with her?'

I snorted, 'No. I just...', I lowered my voice and looked away from her, 'She reminds me of you.'

She seemed amused. 'It's all right. I'm not upset. These things happen. I'm glad, actually.'

'Why?' I wasn't glad she still liked men that way, that was for certain.

She said softly, 'I'm glad that you're comfortable with yourself enough to notice other people. It's good to know you're no longer terrified of the prospect. I'm an advocate of experience for experience's sake, you know.'

'You're not worried I'm going to find someone attractive and run off?'

'Should I worry about that?'

'NO!'

She laughed, 'I thought not.'

I lowered my voice, 'I'm not an advocate of experience for experience's sake.'

'Lucky for me.' I chuckled and she asked, 'You needn't worry that I'm going to run off, either, you know. I'm not going anywhere.' I took her hand.

By the end of the trip I was exhausted, but in a good way. I was also ready to be home again. Travel is all well and good, but one of the things it makes one realise is how much one appreciates home. Before we left Rita gave me a hug and two kisses goodbye and I enjoyed it more than I wanted to. Alex was standing right there, which made me blush, but she only seemed amused by my embarrassment. Rita put it down to my being American. 'You do not kiss hello and goodbye there, do you?' I shook my head, thinking that the best way to go. 'Well, there's nothing wrong with it.' And to demonstrate she did so again, which of course nearly killed me.

Once we were alone in the taxi I asked Alex, 'Do you think she would have done that if she knew about us?'

Alex looked over at me. 'She does know.'

'B-but. You said you hadn't told her.'

She shrugged, 'She figured it out on her own.' I sat in shock and she said, 'She doesn't care. She thinks you're darling.' I was suddenly embarrassed about Alex, something I had never been before. I suppose because it hadn't been my decision to come out to Rita and I'd thought she hadn't known. If a person did know about us then I wanted to be aware of it so I could be on my guard in case he or she said something critical. But Rita hadn't said anything critical. She'd only been lovely. That gave me hope for the other people in our lives.

Another thought occurred to me, 'Oh, God.'

Alarm passed over Alex's face, 'What?'

I asked softly, 'She didn't figure out about...me...did she?'

Alex tried to hide her amusement, 'About you liking her? No, I don't think so. She wouldn't have been offended, though. She's very liberal that way. Americans are much more uptight about that sort of thing. Most Europeans don't think nearly as much of it. Sex is just sex to a lot of people, you know.'