Forbidden Fruit (gxg)

Part 3

"So...how long have you and your kind of girlfriend been a thing?"

Mackenna asked me this the next morning, and as she did, I was very aware that Francine was sitting with us and could overhear.

Let's hope she's not a homophobe.

"About 5 months," I said back to Mackenna.

Before she could answer, Francine looked at me, "Oh, are you gay?"

I nodded, "I am."

Francine smiled at me, and I immediately felt relief, "You know, my daughter is gay. She's married to a woman."

I smiled back at her, "Nice."

Francine continued, "Quite a few people that work here are part of the LGBTQ community. Including the CFO and CIO. They do a lot for pride month around here."

The CIO...Kori.

Well, that's not surprising.

"That's awesome," I said to Francine, "I'm glad I work at such an accepting company."

Mackenna nodded, "They're definitely super inclusive here."

Speaking of Kori, moments later she walked into the building. She had a stoic look on her face, and she wore a white button down tucked into black pants.

"Good morning, Kori!" Mackenna said happily, "How did you enjoy the dinner last night?"

Kori looked a bit taken aback at Mackenna's cheerfulness and she said back in an even tone, "It was very nice, I hope you enjoyed it as well."

"I did," Mackenna smiled and nodded.

"It was lovely," Francine agreed.

"Glad to hear that, Francine," Kori said, still in an even tone.

She then looked right at me and asked, "How about you, Ashley? With being new and all, I hope you enjoyed your time last night."

I looked at Kori and said, "Yes, it was really nice. Thank you for asking, Kori."

Kori nodded and said, "Good. Well, I have to head up. I'll see you ladies around."

I thought I was imagining it at first, but Kori shot me one more glance and then I walked away.

When Kori was out of earshot, Francine laughed, "Oh, Mackenna. It's so funny how you're very cheerful to her. It looked like she didn't know how to respond for a second there."

Mackenna laughed, "Hey, just because she's high up in the company and comes off grumpy, doesn't mean that I won't be my cheerful self toward her!"

"Fair enough," Francine chuckled.

Mackenna then turned to me, "What is your kind of girlfriend's name? So I can stop referring to her as that."

I laughed, "Her name is Gabby."

"What does she do for work?" Francine asked.

"She's a respiratory therapist. I met her at my last job."

"Very admirable career!" Francine nodded, "Seems like you picked a good one, Ashley."

Talking about Gabby made me look forward to seeing her that night. Even if I was tired, I was going to make the effort to see her, as I knew it would upset her if I didn't.

I got home from work, showered, and changed into a cute but comfy outfit.

As I was minutes from walking out, my roommate, Rachel, walked in. She was now working the day shift, so I got to see her more.