Forbidden Fruit

1.

        Lilith sighed as she looked at her phone. This was supposed to be easy. It was supposed to be simple. Use the app to find a cute girl, go on a night out to see if there is anything more than mild physical attraction, see where it goes from there. She already knew they would be into her more than she would initially be interested in them, but that was all due to her little handicap, wasn't it? After all, she had spent how many millennia perfecting her appearance and presence after Eden? After Adam and "He"? After Her?
         No, no, no, no. Do not start fantasising about her! Do not remember her soft lips and that mischievous smile! How good it felt to wake up in her arms, even after the mess with her sons. How her laugh made our heart dance, and how her touch taught us pleasure not even heaven or hell could imagine. The sounds she made the day Adam decided to ruin everything out of jealousy.
        Azroc was right. Kazrathel was right. And when a demon and an angel—exiled or not—both gave the same advice, it was typically the better option to just do what they suggested.
       She needed to move on.
       She needed a wild night in this new world and someone who could make her forget all about the way Eve looked curled up with her favourite wolf during the cool summer nights. After all, the world had changed. Not enough, not nearly enough to feel completely comfortable, but at least they had stopped burning her lovers at the stake and hanging them from trees. It was time to get Eve out of her system for good. It didn't have to be a full relationship yet. She didn't want to be too hasty and cause problems for someone innocent.
         Plus there was that pesky little problem of being immortal. It tended to make people go a little crazy, even though they clearly had no idea how it worked. Had no idea what an afterlife actually was or the first thing about the reality of the multitude of places they could go once they broke out of the temporal cages that was the physical body. She had only learned because of her own experiences. Because being immortal meant she had nothing of value to any of the thousand beings that called themselves deities or devils. Meant they didn't have to care about the pageantry and the big show. They would speak openly with her, because to them... she didn't matter at all.
       At least they had told her how to age herself physically. It was one thing to be pretty for all time. It was another to be a preteen. A fact that seemed lost on everyone. Adam was made to be in his twenties, but Lilith and Eve? They were created to be an age right after puberty. Because God—at least the one that was responsible for Eden—really didn't think of how gross that is. And that sort of age gap—or at least the idea that once a girl goes through the nightmare that is her first period, she is ready to be married off—had continued for far longer than Lilith was comfortable thinking about. Besides Lilith liked how she looked in her thirties, and how Eve had looked even more.
       Fuck, she was a mess.
       Here she was—a living legend from the best parts that had gotten edited out or simply left out of scriptures—with actual millennia of hookups/flings/flirtations/and attempts at dating in her belt, and she was still stuck pining for literally the first pretty girl she had ever seen. But maybe now that things weren't so dangerous—now that finding potential partners was considered easier than ever—she might actually be able to find someone who could break her free from her past.
        That was if her supposed match could be so kind as to arrive for their first date. She didn't care if they were late, but it would be nice to know that she wasn't going to be left waiting the whole night. How the hells was this supposed to go, anyway? Typically speaking, of course. Lilith had no idea what she was doing in this current dating era. It felt distinctly different from the punk occult bar scene of a few decades previous. Oh, she couldn't deny that she got the same hungry looks from nearly everyone in this rather astonishingly expensive restaurant that she had gotten during a Bowie after concert party or even a Dionysian affair with Sappho, but that apparently wasn't the proper way to find a suitable lover anymore.
           Now it was technology. Now it was apps, and picture profiles with barely any actual information about the person, and swiping. It was men being more vulgar than Adam could ever imagine when you happen to match with a woman's profile that says they are married but seeking separate partners only for the man to think maybe they should both be involved.
           Did sapphic, lesbian, dyke, and misandrist all get redefined to mean a bisexual, pansexual, omnisexual or straight girl hoping guys would "try harder"? Because as far as Lilith knew, she had been very clear: no men, never men, ever. Not since the very beginning of time. Not when it came to her love life. Not even Adam when he was the only other person she knew and she was told to be with him. And unlike the so-called enlightened religion that loved to blame Eve for Adam's bullshit, she actually knew that trans women were always women—even before they physically transitioned. There was a beautiful spectrum beyond simply cis man and cis woman, and her tastes were specifically for women. Yet for some reason, that seemed too much for the men she seemed to encounter whenever she walked out of her current abode.
         "Um... hi..."
         Lilith blinked at the sound of a voice just outside her periphery. Turning she saw a woman who seemed to be either just entering her second decade or was—at most—a year and a half away from it. She was cute, and definitely trying to look more mature in what had to be a de-sequinned gown for a modern cotillion. A point for effort, but the potential for this woman to be closer to Lilith's original age was a little too much to ignore. She did have a great smile though. And she even blushed when Lilith met her gaze.
        "Are you Lilia? Or... wait, is that the right—"
        Why are they always so adorable when they get flustered?! How could anyone prefer men to this?
        "It's Lilith."
        "Right! Lilith, sorry. I'm a little nervous."
        "It's alright. And you're..."
         Don't say Eve. Remember what it said on that infernal app. Say her name. It's alright if you get close and mess up that way, but it's not if you say a name not anywhere close to the right one. Focus!
        "Amber, correct?"
        "That's me! Glad one of us is on point tonight. And now I'm rambling and sounding like a dork, so I'm going to shut up now."
         "With such a lovely voice as yours? That would be a tragedy."
         Lilith's attempt at a joke did not have the effect she had been expecting. Amber squealed and had to sit down before she collapsed to the ground.
         "Are you alright?"
         "Huh?!"
        Amber's expression was like a deer in headlights, or a lovesick puppy. Lilith couldn't ignore the plea in those eyes.
         "Would you like something to drink to help calm your nerves?"
           "You. I mean— wow, did I really just... sorry, I'm not usually this... I'll have some water, thank you."
          It was impossible for Lilith to not smile at the Freudian slip. The woman was young and clearly out of sorts at this first meeting. Though the decision of getting just water could mean she's not old enough to drink, which would be the end of the romantic atmosphere though Lilith would still treat her to dinner. The food smelled too good to pass up.
          "If it's a matter of being carded, I—"
          "What?! No, ohmygod. No, I'm 23. Though I guess I can't blame you when I'm over here acting like a horny school girl on her first date. And I just can't stop talking around you. Please kill me now."
         Lilith did her best not to chuckle. Now that she knew she wasn't talking to a child, it was easier to appreciate how cute Amber was when she was struggling to keep her composure.
        "There's no need for prayers of violence. I wasn't sure because you're so cute and acting so adorable. I thought you were maybe younger. I'm sure you make every one of your friends jealous because of how beautiful you are, especially when you act all bashful like that."
         Amber's face was an adorable shade of pink as she peered at Lilith from beneath her thick lashes, and Lilith fought the urge to see where else she might turn pink when blushing. Amber even batted her eyes at Lilith in disbelief.
         "You think I'm beautiful?!"
         "I'm sure I'm not the only person to ever say that, especially when you wear a dress like that."
        Lilith motioned towards the extravagant gown. Even though Lilith was in a beautiful midnight indigo velvet slit skirt and a silk blouse with a dark wine vest with silvered embroidery along the edges. Something she had been given by Marie before the end. A keepsake from France that made Lilith feel beautiful and desirable. After a beat, Amber looked down at her gown.
        "Oh, this? Yeah, it's... I used to do pageants in my teens and haven't changed sizes so... I kept some of my gowns."
         "A former beauty contestant..."
         That revelation caused Lilith's lips to twitch up at the corner. Why was she always finding herself the object of desire for the type of women that were prized for their desirability?
          "No wonder you keep having every single person glancing your way."
         "Maybe they're all looking at... you."
         "Me?! I'm not the former model between the two of us."
         And again—thanks to how I am officially represented by the prevailing religions—I tend to be in the honourable mentions in the attractive category, barely.
          The thought would normally have made Lilith scoff, but the look that Amber gave her—like it's insane to even doubt her suggestion— stopped Lilith in her tracks.
          "Don't you... you must..."
          Lilith felt her pulse jump. This hesitation seemed different than the mild flustering of before. So she didn't let it go without a push.
          "What?"
          At Lilith's simple question, Amber whimpered and shook her head before taking a steadying breath. Adorable.
          "I've been doing beauty pageants since I was a child. I still watch all the competitions I can from around the world. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen."
          Lilith smiled at her date. It had been a while since she had flirted like this. So she decided not to hold back.
          "I highly doubt that. I'm not saying I'm not pretty or that I think I'm ugly. But there are billions of women in the world, and that's just currently. That's not counting the icons of the past. That's quite the high pedestal you're trying to put me on and you haven't even seen me naked. Besides I happen to think you're prettier than me, so what does that mean your title would be?"
        "That's not fair!"
        Amber pouted as she whined and blushed, causing Lilith to smile fondly. She was growing comfortable with this woman. Comfortable enough to even reach out and lay her hand over the back of Amber's, tracing a small circle on the back of her wrist.
        "I don't play fair, I play honestly."
       After a moment of staring, Amber shuddered. Her eyes were soft and there was a deep blush that swept down into the neckline of her gown. When she spoke, her voice was quiet and thick with want.
        "Can we skip dinner and go back to my place?! Please?!"
        Lilith looked at Amber, considering if it is really a good idea to skip dinner. The smells from this restaurant were just so tempting that she wasn't sure even good sex would be worth missing. So instead Lilith took Amber's hand and kissed her knuckles, a quote from Eve escaping her lips before she could stop herself.
        "Patience makes the pleasure all the better."
        No! Don't think about her! Don't think about how she'd say that when we'd stop over when she was preparing a meal. The way she smiled when I'd whine like a brat and kiss her neck without caring who was around. Just play it off.
        "Also, good food can be an aphrodisiac if that's what you're hoping for. The food at this place is supposed to be really good."
        That earned another adorable whimper from Amber, who even bounced in her seat like a child trying not to throw a tantrum. Lilith kept her eyes on the woman until she was rewarded with a nod and a smile. At that she let go of Amber's hand and picked up her menu. All the while she snuck her foot to tenderly rub against Amber's bare calf and inner ankle. It wasn't like being with Eve, but Lilith had to admit... she was at least attracted to Amber in a physical sense.