Falling in love. So it wasn’t one-sided after all. Mary Kate held out her arms. “Come here.” If they were really falling in love, that changed everything. She dropped back onto the bed underneath Addison’s weight. In moments, their towels lay on the floor and they were off to the races again.
When they finally blew out the candle, Mary Kate allowed herself to imagine a different scenario, one that had her jetting off every few months to visit Addison in London. The very idea of that almost freaked her out, but if this was love, then everything was on the table. She would worry later about what to tell people—if she told them anything at all.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Addison closed her eyes to get a moment’s break from the cloud of dust and the blinding sun. She had already decided she would sleep for the entire trip home, and for days after, if necessary, but she wasn’t giving up even a minute of her time with Mary Kate. Last night had been another incredible exchange of touching, soaring and cresting. Mary Kate had abandoned most of her inhibitions, even taking the lead at one point as she rolled them toward the candle to watch her own hand at work.
Today, they were sated. They were also exhausted, reminiscent of the mornings after their sleepless nights on Kili.
Click!
Click!
Click!
“You’re cruel,” she winced as Mary Kate played shutterbug. “I look like death warmed over.”
“Not true. You look much better than you did this time last week.”
“Okay, let’s see. What day is it?”
“Wednesday.”
“Wednesday was Shira Two. That was the day after your flying bath exhibition.” She laughed as she remembered the image.
“You could at least have the decency to cover your mouth again if you’re going to laugh.”
“Sorry, I can’t help it.”
“Cheetah!” John yelled excitedly, veering off the road toward a lone bush in the midst of a speckled plain.
Addison and Mary Kate strained to see what their guide had found so easily, but couldn’t make it out until they were nearly on top of the beautiful creature. The spotted coat blended perfectly into the shaded landscape as the lazy cat posed for the curious onlookers.
Addison got a dozen spectacular pictures before several other safari vehicles joined them. John reversed their vehicle, drifting back to the roadway. Signs all over the park warned them not to stray from the marked trails.
“So what’s been your favorite sight so far?” Mary Kate asked.
She lofted her eyebrows suggestively. “You mean my second- favorite sight?”
Mary Kate no longer blushed. “Okay, your second.”
“I think I liked the baby giraffes best. What about you?”
“I liked seeing all the elephant families, and how they crowded around the little ones to protect them when we came by. I can’t believe poachers kill such beautiful animals for profit.”
“And then there are the ones who kill for sport. There were some guys on my plane from London who had prepaid as much as thirty thousand dollars for a lion or a cheetah.”
“I thought the cheetahs were endangered.”
“They are, but in some places that just means there are limits on the number you can kill, so they’re higher priced.”
“That’s just plain sick. I have a hard time swallowing the fact that half the men in Hurston County live for deer season, but at least they eat what they kill.”
John suddenly veered off the road again, coming to rest in a heavily wooded area beneath a broad shade tree. “Leopard.”
Addison scrambled for her camera, focusing just as the beast sauntered lazily into the woods, his long graceful tail disappearing from view. “Great. Remind me when I download that one that it’s a leopard’s butt.”
“You should get a picture of that,” Mary Kate gestured up into the tree, where a half-eaten Thompson’s gazelle was wedged snugly into a forked branch. “Leopard lunch.”
“Ewww!” Nevertheless, she got a photo.
As quickly as they had veered off, John ventured back onto the roadway, stopping to compare notes with another safari driver. He was clearly proud that his clients had what most safari outfits considered a clean sweep—a rhino, a cheetah and a leopard. The other animals were plentiful and not nearly as elusive.
They got a break from the standard box meal, returning to the Seronera Lodge for the lunch buffet.
“Where do you eat lunch, John?” Mary Kate asked. She made an eating motion.
He gestured to a banana and bottle of water on the front seat, and pointed to a shady parking lot off to the side.
“It isn’t fair how these drivers are treated,” she groused as they walked into the restaurant. “I wonder if Tom Muncie knows that John slept in his car the other night when the temperature went down to freezing, or that he eats bananas while his customers are leaving food on their plates.”
“So let’s buy him lunch,” Addison said.
“I bet they won’t even let him in here.”
“We’ll get it in a box and take it out to him.”
John was the envy of his friends, dining on roast beef and fresh bread, enjoying an ice-cold Coke. “Rhino, cheetah and leopard,” he said with a smile, assuming this was his reward for doing a good job.
“How do you feel about leaving Miami?” Mary Kate asked as they sat down to lunch.
Addison grew wistful at the thought of the sign in her front yard. “It’s funny. I’ve always liked it there because of my friends. But when my parents split up, it honestly didn’t feel as much like home anymore.”
“I think I’d feel the same way if my folks ever left Mooresville.”
“My best friends are probably leaving too, the ones who were supposed to come with me on this trip. They want to raise their family in Puerto Rico. I can’t blame them.”
“You don’t sound all that attached for someone who’s lived there all her life.”
She shrugged. “I’m adaptable. Roots are more about people than places, but I guess I’ll go back for visits.”
“So let’s suppose we met someday in Miami—I’m not saying we will, but if we did—what would we do?”
“Everything. We’d go to the Everglades, to the Keys. We’d hit South Beach and Little Havana. We’d snorkel, sail. Something different every day.”
“Sounds wonderful.”
“And what would we do if I came to Mooresville?”
“Nothing that exciting, that’s for sure.” Still, her face lit up as she talked. “First, I’d drag you over to meet my Aunt Jean. She’d get a kick out of you, especially if you were telling her stories about me busting my ass in the water. She’d love that.”
Addison laughed. “I’d enjoy that too.”
“And then I’d show you all of the sights, like my grandpa’s barn where we used to play when we were kids, and my school.” She stole a piece of mango from Addison’s plate. “We’d drive up to Lake Hampton and make out.”
“Is that where you went with all your boyfriends?”
“Just one.” She visibly shuddered. “For a second there, I went back. It was horrible.”
“When do you start back to school?”
“Third week in August.”
Addison did a few mental calculations. “Maybe I can come for a few days before then, before I go to London.”
“That soon?” By the look on her face, she was alarmed.
Addison backpedaled. “Or some other time, or maybe we just meet somewhere like Jacksonville.”
“Sorry, I was just trying to think what else I have to do before school starts. Most of all I need to settle things with Bobby.”
The specter of Bobby reared its ugly head again, as it had done nearly every time Mary Kate started thinking about going home. Addison couldn’t imagine feeling so oppressed, not even under her father’s schemes.
What twisted her stomach was Mary Kate’s subtle reluctance to make firm plans, as if she feared she would chang
e her mind once she got home. Only last night, they had confessed to one another they were falling in love, and today Mary Kate was doling out hospitality as if it were in short supply. Something was bothering her. Perhaps it was only the anxiety of the breakup. Maybe she needed to get that behind her before she could let herself think about a new life.
Addison’s rational side told her to give Mary Kate the time to work this out on her own. It was wrong to push her, even if giving her too much space meant this new love they felt would fizzle. If it truly was real, it would persevere. If not, she would have to accept that she was only a player in Mary Kate’s self-discovery. A bittersweet memory for both of them.
The lodge staged a show in the bar after dinner, much like the one they had seen their first night, with costumed African dancers moving gracefully to a drumbeat. Addison was so distracted by her thoughts that she was suddenly compelled to leave.
“I’m going back to the room. Enjoy the show.”
She was lighting the candle in anticipation of lights out when Mary Kate came through the door. “What’s wrong?”
She shook her head, unable to articulate her concerns. “It just doesn’t feel right, Mary Kate. I don’t think we’re being honest with each other about what this means.”
“I’m being as honest as I can. What do you want?”
Addison sighed. “We should be talking about what we’re going to do about our feelings. But when I said that about coming to see you, you acted like—”
“I know where you’re going with this. I can explain…probably not very well, but I swear to you I’m being honest.”
“That’s all I ask.”
“I freaked out. I tried to imagine how I was going to explain to my family who you were, and why you were coming to visit so soon when we’d just spent two weeks together.”
“Do they know every little thing you do?”
Mary Kate threw up her arms in frustration. “You don’t understand. We talk to each other practically every day.”
So the issue wasn’t Bobby, but paranoia about what to tell her family. “I don’t want to sneak around, Mary Kate. I already had one girlfriend who kept me shoved in her closet, and I don’t deal with it very well.”
“Well, I’ve never had a girlfriend at all, so pardon me if it takes a few minutes to get used to the idea.”
Addison slumped on the bed, feeling ridiculous. “You’re right. I’m just hauling around old baggage.”
Mary Kate knelt in front of her and grasped her hands. “I don’t want things to end here, Addison. We’ve started something that feels better than anything that’s ever happened to me, and I want to see where it goes. But I have to figure out how to make all the pieces fit. And it doesn’t help matters that you’re getting ready to move to London.”
“I know, but we have to find a way to do this.” How ironic that her father was as much a problem as Mary Kate’s family. “I’ve never felt like this before, Mary Kate. I always knew the other women I was with were temporary, but I feel like you and I really have something. I don’t want to screw anything up by—”
Mary Kate cut her off with a searing kiss, and Addison suddenly found herself being driven backward onto the bed. She abandoned trying to understand what was happening in favor of helping it happen. In only seconds, both of them were nude with Mary Kate still on top, kissing her ravenously. A hand slid through her wetness and she gasped, aching for the touch.
Mary Kate’s mouth followed her hand, and before Addison knew what was happening, a warm tongue stroked the length of her center. For her first time, Mary Kate seemed to know exactly what she was doing.
Addison moaned her encouragement, and writhed in utter bliss when Mary Kate found a rhythm with her tongue that matched the pumping of her two fingers inside. She held out as long as she could to enjoy the sensations, but finally spilled over when Mary Kate added clitoris sucking to her sexual repertoire.
“Oh, my God…oh, my God.” She held out an arm as Mary Kate scooted up to lie beside her. “You’ve killed me.”
Mary Kate chuckled. “I understand you now.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s about the things I want to do to you that define who I am, not the things you do to me.” She snuggled closer and let out a contented sigh. “But those things matter too.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Mary Kate relaxed in the backseat as John took a circuitous route from the park, apparently hoping to spot something of interest on their last day of safari. They were headed to Tanganiere, a game preserve in the rainforest that was dominated by a few hundred elephants. The safari had been everything she hoped. Now that they had seen the rarest of species, anything else would be a bonus.
That bonus came in the form of another cheetah, sunning herself on a boulder. John parked within thirty yards of the magnificent spectacle, and Mary Kate used Addison’s zoom lens to snap one picture after another.
Addison watched through binoculars, and was the first to spot the two cubs tumbling in the bush nearby. If they saw nothing else today, this made the whole day worth it.
Mary Kate traded that camera for her own and clicked off several photos of Addison as she watched the family at play. Her growing feelings were undeniable, as was the fact that she could never feel sexual excitement for any man the way she did for Addison. Learning that about herself had been worth it, no matter what happened to them next.
No matter what happened…
The anxiety about what to do with this discovery once she returned to Mooresville roiled her stomach. If there was one thing she wanted less than a life with Bobby, it was a life like Deb’s. Even if she could learn to handle the gossip and constant fear of harassment, she couldn’t stand the thought of inflicting that on her family. And while her mother would almost certainly stand up for her, she would always feel like a disappointment.
Then there was the matter of her job, which she would probably lose. And she would never be able to show her face at—
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything sweeter than that,” Addison said, lowering herself back into the vehicle.
John drove well away from the mother cat before stopping to close the hatch. Then for the next two hours they drove through the savanna, which was home to herds of zebras, impalas and Thomson’s gazelles.
Addison scrolled through the photos on her digital camera. “Remember that first day when we were so disappointed because the zebras ran into the bush before we could get a picture?”
Mary Kate chuckled. “How many have we seen since then? Five thousand?”
“Easily.”
John stopped for lunch at a roadside tourist stand, where a throng of women pressed against their car offering handmade beaded and leather bracelets. She and Addison bought several at a few dollars each, spreading their business to everyone in the group.
“So tell me how we’re going to do this, you with the big ideas,” Mary Kate said as they sat down at a table in the corner.
“How we’re going to do what?”
“How we’re going to take all of this back home and make it work.”
Addison smiled. “For starters, I think you should come to Miami for a week or two before my house sells. Can you do that?”
“My folks will go nuts if I leave town again.” That was an indisputable fact of life, as was her paltry bank account.
“Do you have a better idea?”
She sighed dejectedly. “No. They’re going to be nuts anyway after I dump Bobby, so it probably won’t make any difference. How long do you think it would take me to hitchhike?”
“I have a shitload of frequent flyer miles. I’ll send you a ticket.”
“Those are yours.”
“To spend however I like. If you want me to come to Mooresville instead, I’ll do it.”
“You’ll be bored out of your mind.”
“I’m coming to see you, not the barn. In fact, I won’t care if we don’t even leave your apartment.”
<
br /> Mary Kate was already thinking ahead about the hoops she and Bobby had jumped through to keep everyone out of their business. For one thing, there was Mrs. Winkler, who had the apartment right underneath. She went to their church and knew practically everyone in town. Then there was Donna Rogers, who taught third grade at her school. Their front doors were caddy-corner, so Donna could watch everyone who came and went. “Maybe we should go camping.”
Addison looked at her as if she had grown a second head. “I do not plan on camping again in this decade, thank you very much.” She reached over and squeezed her wrist. “I know you dread this, Mary Kate.” She held up a hand. “Not that I blame you. I’m sure it’s hard. But if this is who you are, you’re going to have to own up to it eventually.”
“Or hide it.”
Addison shook her head. “I can’t handle the hiding part again.”
Though she understood Addison’s frustration about secrecy, she didn’t think it was unreasonable to want a little time to ease into things. “This isn’t going to be the first thing out of my mouth when I get home. It has to be the right time.”
“I know, I know.” Her face softened. “Let’s make a deal, okay? This is our last day here, and I don’t want us to spend it getting worked up about this. I’ll promise not to push for too much too soon, and you promise not to freak out.”
Mary Kate was grateful for the reprieve. Harping on this all day was almost as bad as Bobby telling her to think about him while she was gone. It just wasn’t how she wanted to spend her time. “I think having fun today is a great idea.”
The afternoon tour took them through jungle-like terrain, where they saw families of elephants at every turn. John pointed out a lion in the distance which neither of them could see, even with binoculars.
Mary Kate was glad to arrive at Sopa, their final lodge, and by far the most luxurious. The rooms were large, with two double beds encased in mosquito netting, a sofa, and the most modern bathroom they had seen.
Addison dropped her bag beside the couch. “Why don’t we go for an early dinner? Then we can come back and relax. We have to be ready for John at six thirty.”
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