Double Grades

by Kristine Robinson

  “No, nothing like that," Beverly said. "But I am a doctor. I help people recover from trauma and addiction. It's a very rewarding field, but if I don't produce results then people start to wonder what exactly is going on. Because sometimes there is a great deal of money involved, and sometimes it is state money. That means that the state is breathing down my neck, usually always, trying to figure out if the money if being well spent."

  “Can you produce results? I'm not sure if that's the right way to put it,” Vanessa said. “But you know what I mean.”

  “I can,” Beverly said. “And I do.”

  They both fell silent as the approached the falls very top. Its roar was so mighty they would have had to have shouted right into each other's ears to be heard. The mist soaked their clothes all the way through, so soon it was as if they wore nothing. Neither of them had worn a sports bra thick enough to hide the nipples poking up underneath the fabric. They looked like two Amazons, beautiful and primal, surveying their forgotten land. Beverly especially felt like they were all alone in the world, having never been out to the falls before, but it wasn't just her. Even Vanessa, who had been to the falls many times, felt the feeling of solitude. It was the kind of place that made a person feel small, made a person feel as if they were somehow an alien from another planet here as a voyeur, while at the same time making the gaze of the beholder so ingrained in the scene it was impossible to separate.

  Chapter 4

  They tarried at the top of the waterfall for a time neither kept track of. When they decided to turn around and head back to the resort, both of them were surprised to see how much the weather had changed above where the water met the shore. There were clouds high overhead which were heavy with water, dark with the promise of an impending squall. Neither of the women was dressed to handle a sudden drop in temperature, and they both knew that.

  At once, Vanessa took the lead, and they moved across the terrain with a purpose they initially hadn't possessed, coming out to see the falls. Now there was a clear need for both of them to perform, a reason that they had to hot foot it like their lives depended on it. Because, although Vanessa hadn't said anything to Beverly like that, Beverly knew that if they weren't careful and did get caught out in the elements, there was a very real chance that one of them could succumb to the mountainside's harsh environment. Beverly didn't like to think it would be her, but realistically, she was the person with the least amount of experience moving around the terrain. Often times Vanessa would have to stop and wait while Beverly untangled herself from some ankle high obstruction, whether it was briars or thistles or thorns. There was always something just waiting to trip Beverly up. By the time they needed to be under shelter they were still out in the open on the mountainside.

  “Come here,” Vanessa said. “We'll have to huddle together for warmth.”

  Beverly knew that she wasn't kidding, and they both wrapped their arms around the other while squeezing into a crevice in the rocks. Before they knew it, the squall was passing over them, and the temperature had dropped nearly forty degrees. Both of the women were freezing, and Beverly was glad that Vanessa had brought a pack with her. Inside of it not only had Vanessa had the weapons and flare gun, but she'd also had a small poncho blanket that was waterproof. But with it as their only way to keep warm, both of their mouths chattered their jaws together. And with their teeth clacking, and their bodies trembling, they held each other close. Neither one of them wanted to let the other go. The winds which passed over their bodies had to be going at least fifty miles an hour. It really was gale force, Beverly realized, as one of the smaller tried near them tore out of the ground and was flung away from them, soaring high into the air for a moment before plunging down the rocky slopes.

  “Holy shit,” Beverly said. “I can't believe how crazy the weather is right now!”

  The storm passed over quickly, though, and when it was over, Vanessa gave Beverly a small peck on the lips. Before Vanessa had a chance to try and pull the old turn and walk away routine she'd used earlier, Beverly kissed her back full on the lips as hard as she could. Both of them held each other for a moment before they released and just held each other's hands, staring into the other's eyes like they'd never seen anyone as beautiful. They stood that way for a while, and then gently their hands dropped to their sides, and Vanessa turned to lead them down the path back to the resort. They didn't have long to go, maybe forty minutes at the maximum, but if they didn't get moving it was going to take longer than either of them wanted.

  When they got back to the resort, Vanessa walked Beverly to her room. It was clear there was a lot of sexual tension between them, but they were both fairly exhausted from the day's events. Beverly certainly didn't feel confident enough to make the first move. They stood talking in front of her door when, suddenly, it was Beverly's turn to peck Vanessa on the lips and turn and walk away.

  Vanessa didn't say anything, didn't cry out in protest as the door swung closed. Beverly was glad for that because she wasn't sure that she would have been able to resist. There was something about Vanessa that was so irresistible that Beverly would have been helpless. But Vanessa stood in stunned silent as the door closed, and Beverly's body sagged against it on the other side as if she'd just released a great weight.

  It was amazing how much she was reacting to Vanessa, Beverly later thought as she stood in the warm shower. Vanessa was a hell of a woman, someone that you didn't meet every day. It had really gotten bad out there on the mountainside, for a moment, but Vanessa hadn't panicked. She'd remained professional and calm. And the way that kissed afterward! Beverly's toes curled just thinking about it. Vanessa had something about her, that much was certain, and Beverly was having trouble keeping perspective when it came to how much she wanted her. But maybe that was the point of being on vacation, losing perspective. Maybe the point of leaving the old life behind was to get away from it and the thinking that went along with it.

  As Beverly stepped out of the shower and toweled herself off, she couldn't help but look at her naked body in the giant mirror which took up half the wall. She was gorgeous, and she knew it. The gentle curves of her tear drop shaped breasts and the way her hips met her thighs, it was all part of something which every woman has, an allure that goes beyond just curves. Beverly couldn't help but think of Vanessa as she looked at her own naked body. Vanessa's body had been lithe, as she'd held her today. She hadn't had much more than small breasts, the kind that didn't need to have a bra, not really, but decorum dictated be held in place at all times in civilized settings. There was so much about Vanessa that Beverly wanted to know, so much of her that Beverly wanted to see and feel. It was crazy to feel this way about someone, to feel like they were the person that spending the rest of a lifetime with sounded like a good idea.

  Beverly knew that it was premature to have those thoughts, but it was late in the night, and she was having a glass of wine before bed, so she didn't feel too silly for thinking thoughts that typically stayed far from her mind. The only reason she'd gotten so hung up on Sean was that they'd invested nearly a year and a half's worth of time into one another, so it was hard to see that much of him and herself just walk out the door to pick the same old substance that had nearly pulled him under so many times before. Along the way, there had been plenty of times that Sean had wanted to secretly date, but Beverly had always shot the idea down. Now, though, she didn't feel as if she had to keep a constant guard up. In fact, the idea felt so tiresome she didn't even want to think about trying. It took so much effort to always be skeptical of everything everyone did.

  As she slipped into bed and drifted off to sleep, Beverly didn't think of anything but the jungle, the way that everything had been alive and moving. And she also thought about the way that she had been alive and moving, how it wasn't every day that she felt like she'd been able to accomplish something that she really held dear. It was hard to be able to accept all of the emotions sweeping over her at the same time, so in her dreams, Beverly dreamed
of a darkness impermeable. She didn't really worry so much about anything except where existence and reality had gone. And then, she woke up.

  Beverly's next few days were completely filled with spending time with Vanessa. Her clients were friendly, and completely open to the idea of Beverly coming along. The male clients especially were open to the idea, something that always made Beverly and Vanessa laugh behind their backs. Some of the guys were nice guys, so they didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but it was always funny to them how much the men would puff up their chests and walk around semi-flexed in an effort to draw a glance from one of the women.

  There was a client who did it nearly the entire time the three of them were out hiking. It wasn't until they hike was over, and the man was walking away from them that he finally let his body relax.

  “How much energy do you think he just expended trying to gain a couple of inches on his chest? It had to have been a lot,” Vanessa said. “It's not every day that I see someone go to such lengths to impress a lady.”

  “I was about to ask you the same thing! It was crazy,” Beverly said. “I thought for sure there was going to be at least one occasion where he was going to pass out, especially when he picked up some of the larger rocks and started to throw them around.”

  “Right!?,” Vanessa said. “That was so unnecessary. I just wanted to be like, seriously dude, no one gives a flying fuck how far you can throw a big rock. That's not even a skill. It's not like he was even throwing it very far!”

  They both doubled over laughing. The man had been a little bit older than either of them were really attracted to. He'd been nice, even overly nice in some moments, but both of the women could definitely tell that there was something up with the guy.

  “Yeah, he's an odd one,” Vanessa said. “One of the rich eccentric types who spend all of their free time here at this resort. I mean, I could totally get coming maybe once a year. But there are some rich people who become filthy rich and then, after a little self-reflection, realize they have absolutely no friends. I guess this probably isn't a new phenomenon or anything, I'm just telling you to explain why I tolerate it, I guess.”

  Beverly nodded.

  “I'll bet there are a lot of those types in this day in age,” Beverly said. “I think that American culture is kind of strangely backward from European in that, in Europe, people hardly have any friends, but they're the best friends they've ever had, and in America, people have a bunch of friends, but none of them are real.”

  “I know what you mean,” Vanessa said. “Let's head up to the cafe and get a bite to eat quickly, before the crowd thins out, and we're obviously the people who are just being contrary and eating there in workout clothes far after all of the yoga sessions have ended.”

  Beverly laughed at this and followed Vanessa's lead. It was amazing to have such a great friend to hang out with, and a strong, beautiful woman, on top of that.

  Chapter 5

  But not everything was so certain in Vanessa's mind. She had been thinking about the relationship that she and Beverly were forming, and she thought that there was a chance that Beverly might just be leading her on. The only way to see for sure would be to come on to her. The reasoning behind this thought process was that Beverly was a former straight girl who had recently taken a liking to women like Vanessa, who were easy to relate to, and beautiful in the eyes of both sexes. There was always the chance that that was as far as it would go, though, and Vanessa wasn't willing to have it just fizzle out.

  So, instead, she would bring things to a head, and either seduce Beverly or implode the friendship. Vanessa had to be real with herself that if she did ruin the friendship, she would most certainly feel bad because of it. She had come to think of Beverly as a real friend, not just someone who she was extremely attracted to. This was a huge step for Vanessa, who usually only saw people for the moment, not the future possibilities. And that was another reason that Vanessa wanted to see if Beverly was going to be open to a real relationship, because if she wasn't, then Vanessa needed to just move on and not invest any more emotional energy into someone who was never going to give her any of that energy back.

  Vanessa wasn't sure what Beverly would say when she invited her out on the town, but Beverly didn't hesitate when she said yes. So Vanessa took her out to the nearest village in her Jeep, keeping the top down like she usually did. There was so much beautiful country to see, and it was such a great day out, that they blared music, danced, and sang while Vanessa drove them. Vanessa wondered if she was doing the right thing in not having a serious talk about her intentions, but at the same time didn't want this to break down into someone constantly explaining themselves to the other person who is clearly going along with it because they want to. Vanessa had to remind herself that some people really were looking for a partner in not just crime, but love as well. They wouldn't be the ones to initiate anything.

  When they got to the village, Vanessa planned on taking them to dinner. The village only had one place they could choose from, but it was the perfect spot. The only problem was that it looked like rain, and the venue always shut down when it rained.

  “Well, hopefully, it doesn't rain,” Vanessa said. “Because the place we're headed to eat is one of the best mom and pop places in the world, but the problem for us is that it shuts down when it rains.”

  “It shuts down? It must be an open air eatery, then,” Beverly said. “So I totally understand why it can't stay open. I hope it doesn't rain! Remember when we got caught out in the rain, last time?”

  Vanessa chuckled. Boy did she ever remember the last time. She'd been cursing herself lately for not making a move on Beverly back then, at the end of the night. She should have, because the time was right, and ripe, for the two of them to start getting together physically. But Vanessa hadn't wanted to move too fast and scare Beverly away. That kind of thinking is what got them to the position the were in now, though, where Vanessa wasn't sure how much of a friend she was to Beverly, and whether or not Beverly was staying a little removed because there was a chance that they could be more than friends, maybe lovers, and that scared Beverly.

  “If it gets shut down by the weather,” Vanessa said. “I've got an idea of what we can do.”

  “What's that? I bet I know what,” Beverly said. “I bet you're talking about going SCUBA diving, or something like that. I've heard it's more fun to go when it's raining than when it's not.”

  “Where did you hear that? I've never heard that" Vanessa said. "And it's a secret, what I want to do if the place gets shut down. If I tell you now, it'll ruin the surprise!"

  “So there is an element of surprise, now,” Beverly said. “I see how it is. Well, maybe I'll have surprises of my own.”

  They both laughed, and Vanessa secretly hoped that it would rain cats and dogs. The food at the place they were going was good, but it wasn't as good as the ideas floating around in her head of what could replace dinner activities. And as they got closer to the diner, the clouds overhead darkened and thickened. It was obvious to Vanessa, who was more familiar with the weather, that rain was coming. Whether or not it rained out the place they wanted to eat, it was too soon to tell.

  “Holy cow,” Beverly said. “It sure does look like rain. For a while, I thought the weather might hold, and maybe the sun would burn off all the clouds, but it seems like the opposite has happened instead. Instead of dissipating the clouds the sun has heated up the shallows and now a storm is feeding off the humidity. What strange and wonderful weather you have here. Do you ever get sick of it?”

  “Not really,” Vanessa said. “It can get a little annoying, but at the same time, there are way worse ways the weather could act than how it's behaving right now. Remember how fast the winds were during that squall? That was crazy. We're both lucky that neither of us was hurt during that.”

  Little rain droplets started to pelt the window, something that made Vanessa's heart soar.

  “Oh, no!”,” Beverly said. “It looks like
the rain might be a for sure thing!”

  “Well,” Vanessa said. “Perhaps the best thing to do is just carry on and see what happens. I've found that there is little else to do, really, when a potential storm is moving in. Either the storm will pour on us, or it'll pass over. But I'm not really willing to cancel plans in order to avoid a hypothetical outcome, you know what I mean?”

  “I do,” Beverly said. “And I'm sure you're right. It would be hard to live here and always bow to the whims of the storms. I mean, I've only been here, what, maybe two weeks and things have already gotten way out of control once while I've been here. You're right, we were lucky that neither of us got hurt during that squall.”

  There was a moment of silence in which Vanessa could feel that Beverly had come close to saying something else but then stopped herself. That was all right with Vanessa, because if it did rain whatever Beverly had wanted to say would have plenty of time to be said. That is if Beverly ended up trying to stall. If she did, well, then it would be good for her to have something to say that would really fill the air.

  The storm welled up in front of them, filling the sky. Lightning split the storm in two with its crackle as it streaked jagged across the sky.

  “Well, it looks like we'll not only be missing dinner, but we'll need to pull over while this passes through,” Vanessa said. “I'd hate to get in some kind of completely avoidable accident.”

  Vanessa pulled the car over, and the two woman chatted as the storm rocked the car. For an instant, things were so turbulent that Beverly reached out and took Vanessa' hand. Without pause, Vanessa put her lips against Beverly's and pushed her back against her window. Beverly wrapped both of her arms around Vanessa's neck and thrust her ample bust into Vanessa's face. It wasn't long until both of them had somehow stripped completely naked and were nearly rolling around with each other in the back seat. Things were passionate, and even though it was Beverly's first time being with a woman, Vanessa couldn't tell.