Innis Harbor

by Patricia Evans Cox

I think I’d better figure out where to buy tranquilizer darts on the fly.

  Amir looked up to see Loch coming back from the bathrooms.

  Very funny. She typed quickly. Just make yourself useful and be sure he’s had a drink or three before we get there.

  Loch reached the campsite and ran her fingers through Amir’s hair as she knelt by the firepit. “Now how did you know I wanted a fire?”

  “Lucky guess.”

  “Hey, did I see a couple of skillets in the camping gear you have in the back of the truck?” Loch glanced back toward the equipment stacked neatly in the bed of the truck.

  Amir nodded. “Do you need them?”

  “I thought I might cook tonight if that’s okay,” Loch said. “I bought everything I need at the market on our way here.”

  “Hell, yes,” Amir said. “You’ve already eaten the only meal I know how to make.”

  Loch set up a workstation on the water table and sliced onions into rings about a half inch thick while Amir secured the rainfly over the tent. Clouds had moved in sometime that afternoon, and it looked like it might rain overnight. Loch threw another log on the fire and lowered a grill over that, setting the cast iron skillet in the center to heat. Amir walked over and peered into the pan.

  “So, what are you making?”

  “I’m not telling,” Loch said as she walked over to the fire. “That way, if it goes south, I can just call it something else entirely.”

  “Clever.” Amir smiled, watching Loch drop a knob of butter into the sizzling pan and follow that with the whole onion slices placed carefully over the melted butter. She followed that with a generous pour of red wine vinegar and a scattered pinch of dark brown sugar.

  “Actually, it’s really simple. Just wild mushrooms, provolone cheese, baguette, and caramelized onions. Kind of like a vegetarian steak sandwich.” She lifted one of the onion slices with a fork and peered underneath it. “Will you lift that grate up a bit so it doesn’t get too hot?”

  Amir placed it a notch higher over the fire and sat beside the fire. Loch followed and sat in front of her, leaning back into the warmth of Amir’s thighs. Dusk melted into navy night sky as the bats started stirring, swooping down from the trees and disappearing again over their heads. The fire crackled and popped tiny bits of ash into the cool evening air, and Amir wrapped her arms around Loch, resting her chin on the top of her head.

  “So, my Mom called while you were in the market,” she said. “And it looks like I have to go to a family dinner tomorrow night.” She leaned into Loch and kissed her cheek. “I was wondering whether you’d like to go with me.”

  Loch turned to look up at Amir. “I’d love to, but are you sure?”

  Amir kissed her, her hand warm and soft against Loch’s neck as she spoke. “Brace yourself,” she said. “I have no idea how this will go over with my dad, although I know Mom will love you if we give her a minute.”

  Loch leaned forward and flipped the onions, which had turned a delicious caramelly brown on the bottom. She added more butter and scattered a pinch of salt, then sat back down. She was quiet for a moment and Amir waited, listening to her breathe. Loch’s breath had always revealed more of her thoughts than the words she tried to wrap around them. When she finally spoke, she kept her gaze on the fire.

  “Will they know we’re together tomorrow?” she said. “Or should we leave that part out?”

  Amir turned her to face her and held her face in her hands. “I said yes to dinner because I want them to meet my girlfriend.”

  Loch smiled as she stood and sat across Amir’s thighs, hands sliding up her arms to circle her shoulders. “I think that might be the most romantic thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

  After a few minutes, the onions had cooked to a perfect soft caramel brown with crispy edges, and Loch had taken them off the fire and scattered some wild mushrooms into the pan with a splash of white wine. As they warmed, a buttery sauce formed around them, and Loch layered them into two halves of a seared baguette lined with rich provolone cheese, then piled the onions on top of that with steak sauce and a sprinkle of fresh parsley. She handed Amir her plate with a handful of recycled paper napkins.

  “Trust me,” she said. “You’ll need them.”

  “This is amazing.” Amir picked hers up and breathed in the aroma of fresh bread, wine, and butter. “Where did you learn to cook like this?”

  “I’ve never really learned anything specific, I’ve just spent a lot of time in other countries with my job. I love food, so I paid attention.”

  She popped a seared mushroom into her mouth and closed her eyes as she ate it.

  “So,” Amir said. “Are you missing it yet?”

  “What, modeling?” Loch looked up, her eyes thoughtful. Amir waited, shrugging off her flannel and draping it around Loch’s shoulders.

  “I loved the influence I was lucky enough to have, and I miss seeing my sister and my friends in the industry. But modeling?” She paused, gaze locked onto the fire. “No. Not at all.”

  Night fell as they ate, the air suddenly crisp and sharp at the edges. Electric blue sky faded slowly into a velvet purple sunset streaked at the edges with fiery copper. The last ribbon of sunlight slipped beyond the sea, and the darkness made the waves against the cliffs louder, as if they’d been waiting for their cue to take the stage.

  “God,” Amir said, giving Loch a look as she reluctantly slid most of her sandwich onto Amir’s plate. “What’s in this? It’s amazing.”

  Loch laughed, glancing over at Amir, who was very focused on her plate. “It’s just veggies. Nothing fancy.”

  “Well, now I’m going to beg you to make these not fancy veggies for me all the time because it’s the best thing I’ve ever eaten.”

  “Actually, I learned a trick from Samia that makes all the difference, I think,” Loch said. “Just as the onions finish cooking, you hold them in the flames for a few seconds to finish them, then make a sauce with some butter and the juices left in the pan to pour over the top.”

  “Well, you’ll be lucky if I don’t eat yours.” Amir leaned over to kiss Loch and put a chunk of sandwich back on her plate. “But thank you for this. It’s seriously the best meal I’ve had in ages.”

  As they were loading the last of the food and clean dishes into the truck, Loch grabbed Amir’s arm and pointed toward the cliffs.

  “I just saw a falling star!” She stared up at the smattering of stars dusted across the sky, dense and shimmering in the still night air. “I think I’ve forgotten how much I miss the stars. It’s so bright in Manhattan you forget they even exist.”

  “You’re in luck.” Amir pulled a blanket from behind the seat and locked up the truck. “We have front row seats.”

  Amir took her hand, and they walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down at the waves, the sea sending silver mist up the face of the cliff to touch their faces like breath. Amir spread the blanket out a few inches from the edge and lay on her back, pulling Loch into her arms beside her. They looked up at the stars for a few minutes before Amir spoke.

  “After I learned to drive my sophomore year in high school, I was almost never home. Mom didn’t really worry about me. I guess she knew I could take care of myself.”

  “And she probably knew on some level she didn’t have to worry too much about boys,” Loch said.

  “Good point.” Amir pulled Loch closer into her chest. “Anyway, I watched the stars from a different cliff every night, just to see if they looked any different.”

  “And were they ever any different?”

  “No,” Amir said. “But I think that’s why I liked it. It was a solid constant, something that was always the same, no matter what was going on at the time.”

  “I understand that.” Loch slid her hand under the hem of Amir’s flannel and held it warm against her skin. “I started really traveling for work when I was sixteen, and I felt like I was in a different bed every night. It was exciting in some respects, but it was also incredibl
y long hours, and sometimes, I just wanted to lock myself in a room for a week and sleep. You never relax when your life changes every day.”

  She let out a long, slow breath, something like dread settling back onto her chest as she thought about her real life.

  “I just got used to it, I guess.”

  “Do you miss New York?” There was tension in Amir’s voice, as if she already knew the answer she didn’t want to hear.

  Loch got up and climbed over Amir’s body, dipping her mouth so close to her ear her lips touched her before the words. “I don’t even remember New York.”

  Amir wrapped her hands around Loch’s hips and held them against her own with one arm as she flipped Loch underneath her and lowered her body onto hers. Her mouth was suddenly everywhere as she unbuttoned Loch’s shirt, then pulled her own over her head and tossed it aside. Amir paused before she slid a thigh between Loch’s and met her gaze, heavy with a desire that tightened its grip with every breath.

  Amir leaned into her slowly, rhythmically, until she heard Loch’s breath start to beg. She scraped Loch’s nipples slowly with her teeth, pulling them hard into the warmth of her mouth when she felt Loch’s hand at the back of her neck. Then, suddenly, Amir gave her what she wanted. Loch’s hands tightened on Amir’s back as she stroked her thigh hard and heavy against Loch. She let Loch set the pace until her breath caught and she started making the soft moans that Amir remembered from the previous night. She put one hand under Loch’s head and bit her neck gently as she rocked her hips against hers. A rock from the edge of the cliff gave way and clattered down the cliff face to splash into the sea. It had been just inches beyond Loch’s head. Amir slid her arms underneath her body and lifted her.

  “Hang on, I need to move you down from the edge of the cliff.”

  “No.” The word was quick and breathless, and Loch’s gaze was locked on Amir’s. “I want you to fuck me on the edge.”

  Amir paused, then her fingers found the button of Loch’s jeans, her breath raw and deep against Loch’s neck. Her fingertips brushed across the wet heat of her, then sank deep and strong inside. She slid the heel of her hand across Loch’s clit and rocked against her, falling into an intense, steady rhythm until she felt Loch’s walls tighten around her fingers. Her clit was tense against Amir’s hand, nails digging into the backs of her arms, begging her for more. Amir paused, holding Loch’s gaze just long enough to rip open her own jeans, then lowered herself back down, her own clit slick and tight against the same hand she was using to fuck Loch. Neither noticed the warm rain that had started to fall fast, sliding from Amir’s body to Loch’s.

  Loch’s hips followed every thrust Amir gave her, her breath shallow and fast. Amir moaned and sank deeper into her, bringer them both closer with every stroke. They moved together, silent and strong, until Loch raised her hands above her head and grasped the raw edge of the cliff behind it, feeling the sharp earth crumble and give way under her fingers. Loch arched her back, grinding her hips hard against Amir’s hand until she forgot how to breathe and shuddered to a blindingly intense orgasm.

  Amir’s voice was a growl against her neck as she rocked Loch between the edge of the cliff and her body, crying out suddenly as she came. The sound echoed over the water, fading into the crashing waves before Amir finally pulled away with a soft bite and collapsed beside her.

  Loch sat up and looked toward the tent, looking suddenly worried as Amir pulled her back on top of her body and smiled.

  “Don’t worry,” Amir said. “I checked the weather and put up the rainfly before you woke up this morning.”

  Loch glanced over her shoulder. “How did you even think of that this morning? The weather was beautiful.”

  Amir smiled and stood, offering her hand to Loch. “Not my first camping trip, baby.”

  They raced back to the tent, and Loch went on to the bathrooms, splashing through the puddles that were forming at the sides of the trail. Amir brushed her teeth and dove into the front vestibule of the tent, taking off her clothes and boots and leaving them outside the main room. Loch did the same a few minutes later, dropping her clothes in a soaked pile by Amir’s and climbing naked into bed beside her.

  Amir rolled over on top of her, pressing the warm length of her body against Loch, trying to stop her shivering. “I shouldn’t have let you stay outside in the rain.”

  “There’s no way I would’ve let you stop.”

  Loch ran her hands down Amir’s shoulders and back to her ass. She looked up at her and whispered, pressing her hips into Amir’s. “I see you didn’t take everything off.”

  Amir ran the tip of her tongue down the side of Loch’s neck. “Not everything,” she whispered.

  Loch brushed the buckles of the harness with her fingertips. Amir bit her shoulder lightly and moved to her nipples, her tongue hot against the chill of Loch’s skin. The warmth of Amir’s breath was intense as she pulled it into her mouth, her hand strong under Loch’s back, holding her body hard against her own.

  “Amir…” Loch said, her eyes shut tight. “Jesus.”

  Amir reached back and pulled her knee up on one side, her fingertips trailing softly down the inside of Loch’s thigh. She slid down her body, slicking her tongue across Loch’s clit, then back again when she felt Loch hold her breath. Amir looked up, then held Loch’s gaze as she settled between her thighs and waited for Loch to whisper please twice before she slid slowly inside her. Amir waited, eyes closed and breath still, fighting the urge to come as she felt Loch tighten around her. Loch arched, hands sliding to Amir’s hips, pulling her deeper inside.

  Amir groaned, raw and urgent, her mouth hot against Loch’s neck. Still deep inside her, she angled her hips so Loch’s clit slid hard against the front of the leather harness and pulled her hands above her head, keeping them there with one of hers. Amir felt Loch’s legs wrap around her waist and her body move with hers as she rocked against her. She tightened her hands against Loch’s as she bit the soft skin at the base of her neck. Loch shifted, and Amir held her eyes as she tightened her grip on her wrists to keep her arms above her head.

  “Baby,” Amir said. “I’ll always stop the second you tell me to. But until then, I’m going to take you like you’re mine.”

  Amir pressed her wrists harder against the bed when Loch shifted underneath her, and Loch smiled, holding her gaze.

  “I am yours.” Loch bit her lip and looked at Amir’s mouth as she spoke. “I need you to fuck me like you know that.”

  Amir closed her eyes as she slid hard and deep inside Loch, letting her wrists go and holding her against the bed with her hand just below the base of her neck. She felt herself fall, felt her orgasm crash over her like a seventh wave, Loch’s words shimmering in her mind as her climax shook the breath from her lungs.

  She touched her forehead to Loch’s for a moment, then flipped her over on top and wrapped her hands around her hips. Loch’s hair fell wild across her face as she looked down with soft eyes, slicking her tongue across her lower lip. Amir lifted her and slid deep inside, using her thumb to stroke her swollen clit as she started to move Loch’s hips back and forth.

  “Lean back, baby,” Amir said. “Hands behind you on my thighs.”

  A slow flush moved across the damp skin of Loch’s breasts as she leaned back, her hands tight around Amir’s thighs as she pulled one of her knees up to let her rock her hips harder against the harness. Loch’s eyes closed as Amir stroked her clit, steady and constant, her other hand strong at the base of her back, pulling Loch harder against her body.

  It was only a few seconds before Loch started to tremble, her rhythm faltering as she started to come. Amir took over and thrust deeper into her as Loch’s orgasm moved through her body, her head thrown back as she rode her, thighs tight against Amir’s hips, muscles taut and straining.

  After the last waves had faded, Amir pulled Loch down into her arms, kissing every inch of her as she slowly settled onto her body. Loch’s breath relaxed into sleep after a fe
w moments, and Amir held her close while she listened to the waves break and shatter against the rocks below. Then a weight the size of the cliffs settled onto her chest as she closed her eyes against it.

  Loch rolled her eyes as she sifted through the closet for her navy cashmere crewneck, balancing the phone between her cheek and shoulder. Amir was picking her up for dinner with her parents in ten minutes, and all she’d managed to put on was a pair of white jeans.

  “Harvey,” she said, struggling to keep her voice even. “You signed me at fifteen, and I’ve been working every day since. I need some time.”

  “Loch, you can’t just take a year off in this business, you know that.” Loch listened to him take a slow breath and choose his words. “If you put your career on a shelf, it’ll stay there. I’ve seen it happen.”

  “I know it’s a risk.” Loch pulled the missing navy sweater out from the bottom of a stack that threatened to tumble without it. “But I can’t keep doing this.”

  “I can get you out of what you have booked at this point, but let’s give it some time and revisit this, okay?” Harvey paused. “You’ve never been more in demand than you are right now, and at this point, you have the freedom to take your career in a whole different direction if you want to. You don’t want to lose that.”

  Loch pulled the sweater over her head and rubbed her temples slowly before she answered. “Okay.”

  “Just get some rest, and I’ll call you in a few weeks.”

  The phone clicked off just as Amir knocked on the front door. Loch ran a hand through her hair, took a last look in the mirror, and slipped into the shoes she was carrying as she opened the door. Amir stepped in and immediately picked her up, wrapping Loch’s legs around her waist. She held her against the door as she ran her tongue slowly down the side of her neck, pulling away with a soft bite on her shoulder.

  “Can’t we just skip this and stay in bed?”

  Loch laughed as Amir put her down and glanced back to the bedroom for emphasis. Loch just handed her a dish from the side table as she grabbed her keys and jacket, pulling the door shut behind them.