Free The Love Sucks Club by Beth Burnett

takes one
man’s hand and drags him over.
    “Dana, this is Thomas,” she gushes.
    Shaking his hand, I size him up, surprised. He’s about my height
and kind of muscled. Behind geeky horn-rimmed glasses, his eyes look
intelligent and open. He gives me a warm smile as he squeezes my hand. His
handshake is firm, but not tight. Touching his hand, I look into his eyes and
for an instant, I’m reminded of my father.
    “Nice to meet you, Thomas.”
    “It’s a pleasure to meet you, too. I’m a big fan of your work.”
    “You read lesbian romance novels,” I say, raising my eyebrows.
    “Since you’re a local celebrity, I figured I better see what the
fuss is about.”
    Olivia is clinging to the hand of another man, but since she
doesn’t make a move to introduce him, I simply nod in their direction and turn
back to Susannah. “We’re on our way home. What are you up to?”
    “Olivia and Gary are going to a movie. Thomas and I would rather
get some ice cream and walk on the beach.”
    Her voice is firm and I wonder if that is really what Thomas would
rather do, or if it is what Susannah would rather do.
    “Well, be careful to stay on the beaches in front of the
restaurants,” I caution. “Strange things happen on secluded beaches after
dark.”
    “Don’t I know it,” the man with Olivia leers. Thomas gives him a
dismissive look. I think I like him already.
    “Come on, Thomas,” Susannah tugs on his hand. “I want ice cream.”
    She practically drags him away as we say goodbye. Watching them
go, I’m suddenly hit by a wave of sadness. As my ears start ringing, I can see
Thomas and Susannah, many years in the future. Susannah is berating Thomas for
not fixing something. Her face is still pretty, but it has become drawn and
sharp. She’s simultaneously herself and my mother. I lean against Roxanne’s SUV
and close my eyes.
    “Dana? You all right?” Sam’s voice seems
to come from far away.
    I drag myself out of the vision and look at my two friends. “I’m
fine. I’m fine.” I don’t know whether I really had a vision, or if I can just
see so much of my mother in Susannah that it scares me. Either way, I send up a
small prayer that Thomas isn’t as much like my father as he seems.
    Roxanne puts her arm around me as Sam opens the passenger side
door for me. “I really am fine,” I insist.
    “I’m not saying you’re not fine,” Roxanne says. “But you looked
really gone for a minute.”
    “Everything changes,” I reply, blinking at her. “And yet,
everything always seems to stay exactly the same.”
    “That’s life, buddy,” Sam says, climbing into the backseat.
“That’s life.”
    Roxanne straps herself in to the driver’s seat and reaches over to
pat my leg again. “Change is the only constant in life, sweetie,” she says,
smiling gently. “But you can’t change anything or anyone but yourself.”
    We drop Sam off at the resort so she can pick up her car. When we
get to my house, Roxanne pulls up in front of the door and turns to look at me.
“Are you going to be all right?” she asks me one more time.
    Leaning my head back against the seat, I look over at her. Her
face, though lined, is still incredibly beautiful. Age has done nothing to
diminish the beauty of her blue eyes and her smiling mouth. Aware that I’m
feeling lonely and vulnerable, I think about what it would be like to go to bed
with Roxanne. She’s not a casual sex kind of woman, but then, neither am I.
Since neither of us is in the market for a relationship, maybe we could be
lovers, just this once. A sort of easing of the loneliness
for an evening. I reach out for her hand and she lets me take it.
    “Roxanne?”
    “Yes, Dana?”
    “Do you want to come in?”
    She looks at me for a long moment before taking my face in both of
her hands. She leans forward and kisses me gently on the mouth.
    “Go to bed, Dana,” she says softly. “You’ll feel better tomorrow.”
    Sighing, I squeeze her hand and get out of