Megan’s face fell, but Emma was somewhat relieved.It can’t be super comfortable bunking with me for the weekend.They were heading out the next afternoon, but wouldn’t it be nice if the birthday girl could canoodle her girlfriend of two years? Thelma already felt like she was holding back the festivities by not having her own room.
Besides… maybeshewanted to canoodle someone that weekend!
“Who?” Megan asked. “Someone from your FBI group?”
Thelma’s nose wrinkled at the implication. “I do have friends from group therapy and my history classes, you know. You’ve met Pauline.” She had been to the house with her husband for dinner a couple of times.And Megan sat there asking about the twenties all evening.No, Pauline had not been a Flapper.No,she didn’t know how to dance the Charleston!
Nodding, Megan timidly agreed that it might be nice to have dinner with just Emma. They had reservations at Nobu—a gift from Robbie—and Thelma wasn’t even sure she could handle it that night.Sounds like quite the thing.
Thelma hurriedly replied to Gretchen, agreeing to meet with her in the Bellagio lobby in an hour. They weren’t too far, and Thelma wanted to freshen up in the room before heading back down now that she knew her way around the hotel, at least. And she had her phone, so nobody had to worry about her.
Even so, Megan was overly involved in ensuring her grandmother’s safety as they headed back to the room.
“Everything’s a scam, Thel,” she said in the elevator. “If they take your picture, it’s a scam. If they give you something, it’s a scam. Absolutely don’t follow anyone any—”
Thelma cut her off. “Do you think I was born yesterday, sweetheart? Just because I Jitterbugged after the war doesn’t mean I don’t know how to watch out for a scam. In fact, I think it makes me more aware of them! Do you even know what the Jitterbug is?”
“Something we’re too fat and heavy for now?” Emma asked.
“Well, I wouldn’t say it out loud like that…”
She changed into a dress but kept her denim jacket, a look that Megan declared wastres chic.Thelma swapped her makeup from red lips and bright eyes to a more demure, natural looksince she was now more acquainted with modern fashion.The hair doesn’t change.Short of taking a shower, there wasn’t much else she could do with it, anyway.
Her flats from earlier completed the look.
“You girls have fun tonight,” she said before grabbing her green purse and heading out. “I’d tell you to be ‘safe,’ but that’s the thing about two girls. Thank God you can’t get pregnant.”
Emma fell over on the bed laughing; Megan looked mortified. “Thelma!” she exclaimed.
But Thelma was already gone, tucking her keycard into her purse and heading toward the elevator, a smile of mischief on her freshly made face.
Chapter twenty
Let Go
“They want you to think there’s some trick to it.” Gretchen held Thelma close as she pulled the lever on the slot machine. “Like you’ve got to touch it juuuust right. Which is bogus, of course.” The images whirled by at impossible speeds as everything lit up around them. The sea-themed machine slowed the pictures of starfish, mermaids, and pirate captains. Thelma didn’t totally understand, but they were informed that they won two bucks from that pull. “As you can see, it does not matter.”
Giggling, Thelma wanted a turn. She reached across Gretchen and pulled the lever. The cost was deducted from the two dollars they had just won.
“Yup,” Gretchen said. “You really can just do whatever, huh?”
Thelma cuddled up closer to the woman sharing the small leather bench with her. Gretchen smelled like the cigarette cloud she had walked through to get there, but somewhere, beneath her jacket and shirt, was the scent of a woman Thelma wanted to get to know better.I’ll find it.Good thing it had been establishedthat they were allowed to be rather handsy with each other now, because Thelma was inclined to wrap her arm beneath Gretchen’s jacket and lean her head on her shoulder. Gretchen stiffened in confidence as Thelma deferred to her on all things gambling.She’s cute when she’s in charge.What could Thelma say? No matter when, no matter what gender, she was attracted to potential partners who knew what was what—including what they were doing.
Thelma’s pull resulted in a loss. She didn’t care.
They had spent the better part of an hour on the casino floor shortly after meeting up.No, not in the hotel where I’m staying.No, not in the hotel where Gretchen was staying. They met in the middle, in the Flamingo, where hopefully nobody either woman traveled with would wander by and recognize them. While Gretchen was out to everyone she worked with, they were almost all men, and she didn’t want their constant teasing or even potential harassment because she was with such a “pretty gal” like Thelma.
She thinks I’m pretty…And hot. That had been established a few times.I like being hot…
Her lips brushed against Gretchen’s cheek. She deployed a soft breath the moment Gretchen next pulled the lever.
The luck worked. They won five dollars in one pull.
“That was a lot of money when I was a kid,” Thelma said directly into her date’s ear, one hand now on Gretchen’s knee. “You could pay rent with that.”
“You could, huh? With five bucks?”
“At the clubhouse, you sure could.”
