To the Moon and Back

by Melissa Brayden

  * * *

  “Where does your mom live?” Lauren asked. “You mentioned the only child thing, and that the two of you are close.”

  Carly sipped her after dinner coffee and Baileys, the house specialty at the little bistro Lauren had picked out for them not far from downtown. “She’s in Portland and works at a boutique winery owned by a really great family. They take care of her. She handles tastings and merchandise, things like that. Tangle Valley Vineyards.”

  “I love that. I had no idea you knew about wine.”

  “Well, she knows a lot more about it than I do. I can tell you the best places to hide in a vineyard. It was a great place to grow up. Hidden away and beautiful.”

  Lauren leaned her hand on her chin. “But somewhere along the way you got the acting bug.”

  She nodded. “From the beginning. I used to act out my own stories with my friends at that very vineyard. My good friend Joey and I would divide up parts. Whichever role I was given, I would always make sure to infuse it with some kind of dramatic twist not indicated in the script. My costars wanted to throttle me.”

  “But knowing you, I’m going to predict they didn’t.”

  Carly set down her glass mug. “No. People let me get away with too much.”

  Lauren appreciated the self-awareness that came with that statement. The Carly of just a month ago would not have been so quick to admit that. “You’re lucky, if you think about it.”

  “Yes, but maybe I’ve ridden that train as far as I should. It seems to have done damage.” She sat back in her chair. They’d each had a glass of wine earlier in the evening, which had helped relax them into easy conversation. There was a flirtatiousness flitting between them every so often, too, that seemed to elevate everything. Lauren’s senses were on high alert. She could feel the air against her skin, smell the amazing aromas wafting in from the kitchen, and appreciate small things like the purple ribbon tied around the candle on their table.

  “I think you’re doing an admirable job of turning it all around, though. Maybe that will extend to your career back home as well.”

  “That’s my hope.”

  Lauren met Carly’s gaze. “I really like tonight,” Lauren confessed.

  Carly leaned in and squeezed Lauren’s hand across the table. “Me, too.”

  Lauren stole a bite of the cheesecake they shared and sank into glory. Clearly, it was sent from an army of angels on a mission from heaven. “Oh, Carly. Here. You gotta try this.”

  “Yeah?” Carly asked. She had this way of smiling sometimes that was actually more half a smile. One side of her mouth would pull, revealing the dimple on her right cheek, and it was the sexiest thing. Lauren had seen it at rehearsal, midscene, but seeing it now for her benefit came with a whole new level of appreciation. Lauren couldn’t resist. She prepped her fork with another bite and held it out to Carly, who smiled and moved in. Watching her eat that decadent dessert was downright erotic. Her lips pulled away from the fork slowly, and she sank into wonder and enjoyment once the cheesecake hit her taste buds. Lauren blinked, imagining her in the throes of another brand of pleasure, which made her uncomfortable in her own chair.

  “Amazing,” Carly said and dabbed her mouth with her cloth napkin.

  “It really was.” They stared at each other, and Lauren swore the temperature in the room doubled.

  “I didn’t get to see much of your place,” Carly said, finally. Lauren was an adult and knew the implication. She didn’t hop into bed easily and wasn’t sure she was ready, even with the surprising feelings she already had for Carly. Okay, the lust factor wasn’t helping her keep a clear head, either. Carly must have picked up on her hesitation. “But we can just hang out. I don’t want you to think that I’m trying to seduce you.”

  “I like you a lot. Let me emphasize the a lot part.”

  Carly grinned. God, she had the best smile when she responded to something that made her genuinely happy. This particular smile was different than the others, the ones that were polite, or friendly, or fun-loving. “I like you, too. I want to keep liking you.”

  “Then, yes, come see my place, and hang out,” Lauren said.

  Their bill arrived and Carly snatched it up. “I’d like to pay for this one.” She opened the leather portfolio and deflated. “Already taken care of.”

  Lauren quirked an eyebrow. “They comped the check because you’re Carly Daniel? Does that happen a lot?”

  Carly looked forlorn. “Yes. But I was hopeful it wouldn’t tonight, outside LA. I really wanted to buy you dinner.” Anguish flashed in her eyes. “That’s part of this.”

  “This?” Lauren squinted. “You’ll have to explain.”

  “You know.” Carly stared hard, like it was apparent. Finally, she lifted a shoulder. “The wooing.”

  “Oh. The wooing.” A pause. Lauren frowned and had to run that by herself again. “You’re wooing me?”

  “I was trying. How’s it going? Be honest.”

  Just when Lauren thought Carly couldn’t get any cuter, she got an eager look on her face that made Lauren want to kiss all over it. Instead, she maintained her composure. “I suppose, on evaluation, I would say it’s going well. There were flowers, doors opened, and now an attempt at paying the bill. Yes, now I can see the wooing quite clearly.”

  Carly leaned in. “Sorry for the epic check failure. Next time, it’s on me. Trust me. I’m good for it.”

  Lauren nearly spat out her Baileys. “I’ve heard that somewhere. Oh yes, I think it was Fortune magazine.” Underneath her amusement, Lauren was beginning to understand that Carly had a very specific idea of what would impress her, when really, all she needed was a nice night out with Carly, talking, laughing, stealing glances. The kind of date they were having truly fed her soul. “You know what, though? You don’t have to woo me. I’m happy to just sit with you.”

  Carly exhaled. “Good. Wooing is hard. You have to think several steps ahead, which I must admit, has never been my strong suit.” She glanced at the door. “Shall we get out of here?”

  Lauren nodded. Once they hit the parking lot, it was clear a cold front had moved in. She scrunched her shoulders to her ears and took Carly’s hand in hers. Whoa. How was it that they fit together so effortlessly, as if those hands had been holding each other for a long time now?

  “Hey, Carly D, marry me!” a man yelled from the window of a passing SUV. Carly ignored him, focusing entirely on Lauren, and when Carly focused on someone, it felt like they were the most noteworthy person on the planet. Lauren felt that way now.

  It wasn’t a long drive to Lauren’s place, but now that the sun was down, it was getting colder by the minute. They were expecting rain that night, and Minneapolis was ready to introduce Carly to its infamous lower temperatures. Carly’s jacket was light at best, and she seemed to cling to it for dear life. Lauren cranked the heat and placed a hand on Carly’s knee. “You okay?”

  “Just getting used to what September can feel like here. I’m not in California anymore, Toto.”

  “That’s for sure. Do you miss it?”

  Carly nodded. “Would you want to visit me there sometime?”

  Lauren took in the question. She hadn’t imagined that whatever this was would extend beyond the here and now of the show. Like it or not, she knew the game. She saw the showmances crop up, and she saw them recess as soon as the show closed. Everyone moved on to their next project. Sometimes, the inevitable breakup left one of the two heartbroken. That was the hard part. “Could be fun,” Lauren said, keeping it vague, guarding her heart, but underneath thinking how much fun it would be for Carly to show her around LA. She decided to amend her answer. “I’d like that.”

  The temperature seemed to have dropped even more as they made their way up Lauren’s walk.

  “Holy hell full of icicles and frozen witches.” The first cold front of the season was not messing around, but Carly was also a bit hyperbolic in her reaction.

  “I wouldn’t go that far,” Lauren said
. “You’re kind of a baby.”

  Carly did a freezing little dance up the walk. “I don’t even care. It’s Santa’s workshop weather. Are the elves in the bushes? Send them out here.”

  Lauren laughed. “While this is cold for a Minneapolis September, there’s no ice or snow to be seen.” Lauren estimated the temperatures to be in the forties. Not a big deal.

  “I think Minnesota is hazing me,” Carly shouted, as the wind whistled past. “Minnesota is laughing with its northern friends about my frozen ears. They’re probably tossing back hot toddies and high-fiving.” The wind picked up and the branches of the trees in front of Lauren’s house swayed noticeably. “Ahhh! Get me inside. I’ll die!”

  “Working on it.” Lauren landed on the front porch just behind Carly and put her key in the lock. “Do you think it’s possible that you might be overreacting just a little bit?”

  “No,” Carly said, her expression dialed to panic, and her nose red. She shifted from one foot to the other in a ridiculous looking march, waiting for Lauren to get the door open.

  Lauren laughed. Actresses were dramatic. She’d always known that part. She liked it on Carly, though. It felt playful, and fun. “Well, then come inside. I hear there’s no wind.” With the door unlocked, she held it open for Carly, who raced through as the wind howled behind her. Lauren closed the door and joined Carly in the dimly lit entryway, bringing them to silence, having left the escalating weather outside. Well, silence except for the very quiet sound of Rocky snoring on the couch on top of his favorite plaid blanket.

  “You lived,” Lauren said quietly. Her smile receded and her heart thudded.

  “You saved me.” Their voices seemed so quiet, the air thick and heavy. She could almost hear the snap, crackle, and pop of the tension coiled between them. “I owe you for that. Come here.” Carly held out her hand, and Lauren took it, allowing herself to be pulled in. Every part of her hummed with wonderful anticipation. She wanted to be close to Carly, to take in her scent, and touch her skin, and feel Carly’s lips beneath hers. They’d kissed in rehearsal, and one drunken night out. Nothing came with the same level of intent as right this moment.

  Carly was shorter, but with her wearing heels, and Lauren in flats, they were square. Carly made the move. She turned her head to the side and hovered just shy of Lauren’s mouth. “You do things to me,” she whispered.

  Lauren closed her eyes, waiting for the kiss, desperately wanting. “You do them to me, too,” she whispered back. At those words, Carly’s lips were on hers, softly at first, and even that made Lauren’s knees shake and her muscles melt. When Carly deepened the kiss and ran her tongue along Lauren’s bottom lip, requesting entry, Lauren thought her brain might explode in the best way. She parted her lips and accepted Carly’s tongue, which lightly explored her mouth with soft, fleeting touches. It was like everything Carly did was designed to make her crave more, and oh, she very much did. Carly, clearly on a mission, walked Lauren backward as they kissed until her back met the wall of the entryway with a soft thud. Her hands moved up Lauren’s body to her shoulders, her neck, until they cradled her face. With her thigh pressed between Lauren’s, they made out like fourteen-year-olds against that wall. It was so different, kissing Carly this time. Yes, she knew what she tasted like, how their mouths fit, but this kiss? Had no destination. Outside, the wind sang. Inside, the heat tripled. Somehow, without fully planning on it, she was pulling Carly’s yellow blouse out of her jeans. This hadn’t been the plan, yet here they were. Carly pulled away from the kiss and watched her do it. God, she had such a sexy look on her face. Her eyes were dark and her lips were swollen from all the kissing.

  A crack of thunder hit, loud. Carly stepped into her space and slid her arms around Lauren’s neck. She kissed just below her ear and down, sending a shiver all through Lauren. “I want you so badly,” she murmured between kisses. “I can’t stop thinking about you, touching you. God, you smell so good.”

  Lauren’s eyes fluttered closed again as she attempted to deal with the sensations that flooded her from every direction. She could feel Carly’s breasts through her shirt. She wanted to see them, touch them, lick them. Another crack of thunder. What were they doing? Was this maybe too soon? This was technically just a first date. Carly felt amazing in her arms, warm and sexy and ready. Should we stop? She wanted to get her out of these clothes. She cupped Carly’s ass, which was firm and tight. Not at all surprising from the way it looked in every pair of pants she wore. Maybe we should log some more time together first. Lauren was on fire. Her bikinis were wet and her center throbbed. She slid her hands up to the small of Carly’s back and under her shirt. Carly gasped quietly when she touched her skin. Maybe slow down. There was her brain again, ruining all her damn fun. She pulled her mouth away and turned to the side. She heard the sound of her own ragged breaths, of Carly’s.

  “You okay?” Carly asked, touching her lips.

  “I need just a minute,” Lauren said, walking down the hall into the kitchen, and holding up one finger over her head. Carly waited a moment before following. Lauren could hear the soft click of her heels and turned to her, speaking across the granite island in her kitchen. Rocky raised his head, surveyed them, and dropped it again, returning to his midevening snooze. “Is it bad that I’m not a quick hookup kind of girl?”

  Carly blinked, and rolled her lips in as if waiting for her wits to return after all the kissing. It was also possible she had whiplash from Lauren’s about-face. “No.”

  “No? Okay, good, because as much as I want to…keep going, I’m worried I’m not her.” Lauren ran a hand through what had to be disheveled hair, from the wind, and the making out. She attempted to fluff it back into place.

  “Your hair is sexy like that. Don’t touch it?” It was a request, not an order. Carly was watching her with interest. No, that was appreciation. But she also gave Lauren space, and that helped Lauren’s mind slow down.

  Finally, Lauren gestured between them. “This is…good.” She blew out a steadying breath and leaned one arm on the counter in front of her. “The way we kiss…” Lauren shook her head in wonder.

  Carly nodded.

  The rain that she’d predicted was on the way was here and began to pelt the side of the house. They were in the midst of a storm, and Lauren could identify. Why wouldn’t her brain just shut up and let her enjoy this woman whom she very much wanted to undress?

  “Lauren? We don’t have to jump into bed.”

  “I want to.”

  Carly grinned, but her eyes also held understanding. “But you also want to get your feet underneath you when it comes to me.”

  “Is it that obvious?”

  “It’s how you work. You like order, and processes, and all your pencils sharpened for the day.” Carly had been paying attention. Lauren, as stage manager, started every rehearsal with four sharpened pencils. When she’d taken on the role of Mandy, she’d kept the practice. Carly came around the island and faced her. “I’m not quite sharp yet.” She shrugged. “I’ll get there. Hopefully. But I’m not in a hurry.”

  With Carly so close to her, Lauren’s body began to wake up all over again. She moved closer and touched Carly’s bottom lip lightly with her thumb. “Maybe we could wait a little bit?”

  Carly nodded. “We can wait. I can wait.” She nodded about eight times and Lauren had to laugh and kiss her again. And oh, that led to a lot more kissing. God, they were advanced placement when it came to it. She’d never enjoyed kissing another human so much in all of her life.

  “I’m regretting that decision about now,” she confessed between kisses.

  “It’s okay. We can do this instead. I really like doing this.” Carly breathed, and dove back in, this time backing Lauren against the counter.

  “You like me up against things.”

  “Because you’re fucking hot up against things.” A kiss. “And up against me, too.” Another kiss. “Really anywhere, you’re hot.” More kissing. “Have you seen yourself play p
ool? God. It’s hard to stop kissing you. Distract me.”

  “Tell me a joke,” Lauren said.

  Carly paused mid-kiss. “That’s your solution? Stand-up?”

  Lauren ran her hands up and down Carly’s shoulders. “I’ll try anything.”

  “Who do you call when you need your pants hemmed tomorrow?”

  Lauren’s gaze drifted to Carly’s collarbone. She touched it and traced it lower, to the glimpse of cleavage peeking out of her top. “I don’t know. Who should I call?”

  Carly watched the progress of Lauren’s finger, her breathing rapid. “Taylor Swift,” she said and offered a half-hearted smile followed by a desperate swallow.

  Lauren grinned and a portion of the tension eased. “That was a pretty good one.” She dropped her finger, knowing she’d been playing with fire and should back away from the ready-to-ignite flame.

  “New idea,” Carly said. “Separate countertops, one fact each.” Carly pointed to the counter across from her. “Your back goes there. Mine will stay here.”

  “Bossy, all of a sudden. I thought I was the stage manager.” She did as Carly commanded and stood across from her, back against the opposite countertop.

  Carly mirrored her stance against her own counter. “Tell me one fact about you.”

  Lauren looked to the ceiling as she combed her brain. “Office supply stores turn me on.”

  “Really?” Carly nodded and touched her temple. “Filing that one away.”

  “Your turn. One fact.”

  Carly didn’t hesitate. “I love it when food is burned a little.”

  “Oh, you mean like cookies.”

  “No, I mean anything. A little bit of char on my vegetables, my fries, my burger, anything.”

  Lauren balked. “Blasphemous. Your burger? No, no, no.”

  Carly extended her hand and shook her finger. “No judgment. Only facts. Go.”