Thirteen Hours by Meghan O'Brien Page A

inarticulate idiot in the world right now.
    “Will you do me a favor?” Laurel lifted her hand from Dana’s knee. “Be yourself. That’s who I want to be trapped in an elevator with tonight. The real Dana Watts, not just the woman you want me to think she is.” At Dana’s nervous nod, she asked, “Are you afraid?”
    Of course, Dana raged inside. Her “for other people” voice, when it emerged, was a lot more subdued than her inner voice. “A little.”
    Laurel held her gaze. “Don’t be afraid, okay? I really do like you. I’m having a good time tonight…strangely.”
    “So am I.” There was no going back now. Dana knew Laurel didn’t absolutely hate being stuck in here with her. Admitting the truth felt a lot like surrendering. “I have another question,” she said.
    “Ask anything you want.”
    Dana spoke from her heart. “What do you look for in a woman? I mean, what do you find attractive in a potential date?”
    “What do I notice first?” Laurel was still staring at Dana’s face.
    “Eyes,” she said. “Freckles…are a plus. Lips. I like redheads…and brunettes.”
    Freckles are a plus? Dana thought, feeling every one of the brownish marks sprinkled across her burning cheeks. Redheads?
    “I like smart women,” Laurel continued. “Motivated women. A good sense of humor. Considerate. Sweet, at least with me. I really love a woman who loves sex. Both as something intimate to share, and also fun to do.”
    Dana listened with rapt attention. Smart: check. Motivated: check.
    That other stuff: not so sure.
    “I’m looking for a woman who’s interested in me. Just me. I want to find someone I can spend a lazy Sunday with at home, or sit down and have dinner after work, and talk about our day. Someone who makes going to the grocery store fun, just because I’m with her.” Laurel stopped talking and raised a dark eyebrow at Dana. “Do you think I’m looking for too much?”
    Dana shook her head. “You deserve to find what you want, and I think she’s out there.” In fact, I’m so jealous of her that I’d wring the skinny bitch’s neck in a heartbeat.
    Laurel’s gaze seemed inwardly focused, and an odd uncertainty passed across her face. Hesitantly, she said, “Dana, I’m really sorry about what I said earlier. About getting laid, and how long it might have been. I was just pissed off at you. It was a stupid thing to say.” She paused, her blue eyes troubled. “Has it really been eleven years since you were…with someone?”
    “Yes.” It was an embarrassing admission, one she’d never made to anyone out loud.
    “Why?”
    “I don’t know,” Dana said, and the truth was that in a way, she didn’t. She assumed that no one would be interested. And given that her only experience had been an unsatisfying one, why put herself out there? Why open her heart for rejection?
    After these last few hours with Laurel, that seemed a weak rationale for having shut herself off from the pleasure of connecting with another human being. She wanted to kick herself for wasting so much time being afraid. When had she last felt as happy as she did right now? To hell with it. Starting right now, she was determined to let go and enjoy this.
    “I think it’s high time we injected a little levity into this game,” Laurel said. “Give me a dare.”
    Levity, right. Dana considered that for a moment, then broke into an evil grin. “Okay, then. I dare you to show me, over your clothes, how you masturbate.” Her stomach turned over in pleasurable anticipation at the thought. “And…fake an orgasm at the end.”
    Laurel’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, I see how it is. Getting down and dirty, are we? I’ll remember that when it’s my turn to dole out the dares.”
    Dana felt strangely excited by the promise. Sick to her stomach, but excited. “Less complaining, more complying.”
    Laurel unzipped her backpack, smiling as she withdrew her blanket in a bag. “Oh, a woman who knows how to give orders,”