One Night

by Sydney Canyon

  "Yes," Tanner sighed. Sometimes she wished she hadn't met Caylen when she was dancing, maybe things would different between them now.

  "You're right, I don't settle down, Tanner. There's a lot about me that you don't know. I'm taking this slow for a number of reasons; the main one being my overpowering attraction to you. I don't think you realize how hard it is for me to sit this close to you and not touch you. Hell, I have a hard time just talking to you on the phone."

  Tanner smiled. "I feel the same way."

  Caylen breathed a sigh of relief as she started the car and drove towards the bar. "I'm glad we have all of that straightened out." We barely scraped the surface. What the hell am I saying?

  Thirteen

  "It's about time you guys got here. I thought you were leaving right behind me?" Margo said from her position at the high top table she was sitting at.

  "We had a slight distraction," Caylen said with a smile. Tanner grinned and turned her head.

  "I ordered a bucket of beer," Margo said as the waitress set the bucket on the table.

  "That's fine." Caylen looked at Tanner who sat on the stool next to her. "We don't drink draft beer."

  Tanner smiled. "Good, me neither, unless I absolutely have to."

  "Yeah, that's what sucks about the basketball stadium. They need to invest in those new plastic bottles or something. Draft beer tastes like rusty ass metal pipes." Margo scrunched her nose. "Hey look, C.J., your favorite karaoke singer is here tonight."

  "Oh God, please tell me she's not singing." Caylen met Tanner's questioning eyes and raised eyebrow. "That redhead over there can't carry a tune in a fucking bucket and she sings at least five or six songs." Caylen shook her head. "Drives me nuts. Sometimes, I go outside just to keep from putting my fingers in my ears." Tanner laughed hysterically. "I promise I'm not usually a mean person, but come on, someone needs to step up and tell her to listen to herself some time," Caylen said.

  "Maybe she has no friends," Margo added.

  "Now who's being mean?" Caylen looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

  "Touché." Margo raised her beer to her mouth. "Besides, there's no karaoke tonight, just the DJ."

  "Thank God," Caylen laughed.

  The women listened to the music as the dance floor filled up in front of them. Tanner ran her hand over Caylen's, interlocking their fingers before reaching for a beer.

  Caylen felt a tug on her heart strings as she watched the low lighting of the bar play across Tanners eyes when she smiled. Her mind drifted back to that night in the hotel as it often did when she was around Tanner. Walking out of that room was the easiest and hardest thing she'd ever done in her life. A one night stand wasn't supposed to be complicated and it wasn't supposed to repeat itself. It was easy to say goodbye knowing she gave everything to the stranger in that bed and would never see her again, but it was hard knowing, for one small instance, she let herself feel love for the first time. She promised to take the memory of that night and keep it with her for the rest of her life as she kissed the stranger's lips one last time.

  Watching Tanner sitting next to her in the crowded bar tapping her foot to the music and smiling at something Margo was saying made Caylen's heart ache. She was scared of losing something as precious as a memory, but she could no longer fight the desire she felt for Tanner. Being in love was uncharted territory for Caylen. She stayed away from relationships because she could never trust someone enough to love them in the first place. She wondered if she was strong enough to trust not only Tanner, but herself as well.

  "Are you okay?" Tanner asked. She noticed the shadows in Caylen's eyes.

  "Yeah," Caylen smiled.

  "You looked deep in thought just now."

  "I'm fine," Caylen said.

  "Hey, look what the cat dragged in," Margo said across the small table.

  Caylen turned her head to see Jasmine walking towards them.

  "I wondered if I'd see you two here," Jasmine said.

  "Margo can't resist cruising the bar." Caylen shrugged. "How have you been?"

  "Good," Jasmine said, noticing how close Tanner and Caylen were sitting. She raised an eyebrow. "You?"

  Caylen smiled and introduced them.

  "You did the right thing," Jasmine said eyeing the way Tanner looked at Caylen. "Take care of yourself," she said before walking away.

  "Do I even want to know what that was about?" Tanner asked.

  "Do you remember the woman I was dating when you first came to town?" Caylen said.

  "Yeah? Was that her?" Tanner asked.

  "Yes. We only dated for a few months and never slept together. The night I told her about you, she told me to go after you if that's what I wanted."

  "Wow, that's some girlfriend," Tanner said.

  "I wouldn't exactly call her a girlfriend," Margo added. "They were more like friends that barely made it to second base."

  Caylen laughed. "It's true."

  "I know why she stuck around though." Tanner winked with a grin.

  "If a woman made me wait three months for sex she had better be God's gift to the clitoris!" Margo said.

  Tanner laughed. "Maybe," she teased as her eyes met Caylen's.

  "It can be a few hours or a few months. If it's meant to be it will happen at the exact moment that it's supposed to," Caylen said.

  Tanner nodded in agreement.

  Margo raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you get philosophical when you drink?"

  Caylen laughed. "I don't know. My head's in the clouds tonight, I guess."

  "Well, come back down to our level please," Margo joked. She had seen the handful of looks that passed between the two women at her table. She knew her best friend better than anyone in the world, but this was a side of Caylen that she didn't think Caylen had ever seen herself.

  "Do you want to dance?" Tanner asked.

  Caylen shrugged. She wasn't much of a dancer, but she couldn't resist the temptation of feeling Tanner's body against her. She stood with her hand out. Tanner smiled as Caylen led her to the center of the dance floor.

  The song wasn't exactly slow, but it wasn't fast either. Tanner placed her arms around Caylen's neck as she stepped into her arms, moving her body slowly against Caylen's to the beat of the music. Caylen wrapped her arms around Tanner's waist, meeting her hips seductively as they danced. Tanner's jeans were slung low on her hips. Caylen's hands slid along the silky smooth skin on her sides and back where her shirt rode up. She ran her hands up Tanner's back, under her shirt, feeling the hard muscles under the soft skin.

  "Let's get out of here." Tanner's breath on her neck caused Caylen's knees to weaken. She nodded grabbing Tanner's hand as they walked back to the table.

  "We're going to call it a night," Caylen said to Margo.

  Margo grinned behind the beer bottle she was sipping. "I'll call you tomorrow," she said.

  ~

  Caylen drove silently through town. She had never wanted anything so bad and she had never been so frightened in all of her life. She didn't need to ask Tanner is she wanted to come home with her. The lazy circles she was tracing with her thumb on the inside of Caylen's right hand said it all.

  Caylen parked the car and led Tanner into her condo building. They rode the elevator up to her floor and stepped off into the wide hallway when it stopped. Caylen fumbled her keys trying to get her door open. Tanner grabbed her hands.

  "We don't have to do this, Caylen," she said.

  Caylen found the right key and opened the door, pulling Tanner inside with her. "Do you have any idea how bad I want you?" Caylen asked, finding her courage as she backed Tanner up against the door.

  "If it's as bad as I want you then we're in for a hell of a night," Tanner said, switching positions. She pushed her thigh between Caylen's legs as she kissed her hard.

  Caylen bit her lip, tracing her tongue over the sensitive area as she pulled Tanner's shirt over her head, tossing it on the floor followed by her bra.

  Shoes were tossed and jeans
were pulled down until they found themselves naked on the floor in the foyer. Caylen wasted no time sliding her fingers through Tanner's wetness pushing them deep inside. Tanner's nails were short, but long enough for Caylen to feel them grip the skin of her back as Tanner's hips arched under her.

  "God, Caylen...you feel so good," Tanner breathed huskily against Caylen's face.

  Caylen moved her lips to Tanner's, opening her mouth with her own and dipping her tongue inside and back out again, matching the rhythm of her thrusting fingers. Tanner reached between them with one hand, massaging Caylen's wet center in lazy circles.

  Caylen was already so close. Tanner applied more pressure to the tender spot until she felt Caylen's entire body stiffen on top of her.

  "Come with me, baby..." Tanner growled as the explosion tore through her body. Caylen followed right behind her shuddering until her body relaxed. She rolled half onto her side and realized they were on the cold tile floor.

  "That was..."

  "Not the end," Tanner finished her sentence with a sexy grin. "I hope you have a bed in here somewhere or we're going to have bruises in unexplainable places in the morning."

  Caylen smiled and stood up with her hand out to Tanner. They left their clothes all over the floor at the front door as they walked up the spiral staircase to the loft that doubled as Caylen's bedroom. The vertical blinds were open, allowing the light of the full moon to cast a soft glow over the bed.

  Tanner followed Caylen onto the soft sheets, straddling her hips as she lied back. She ran her hands over Caylen's stomach and up her chest to her breasts, massaging them as she rocked her wet center against Caylen's.

  "You're so beautiful," Caylen said huskily. Tanner's nude silhouette in the moonlight was the most breathtaking sight she had ever seen.

  Tanner smiled as Caylen sat up meeting her lips in a searing kiss. Caylen ran her hands up Tanner's back, feeling the silky strands of hair falling over her hands and down her arms as she ran her tongue over Tanner's lips, dipping it back inside. Tanner moved against her involuntarily and Caylen slowly rolled her onto her back, careful not to break the kiss until she began moving down her body. She ran her tongue in lazy lines down Tanner's torso to her hips, kissing the tender skin of her breasts along the way.

  Tanner spread her legs as Caylen moved further settling between them. She couldn't remember ever wanting something so much or having a sensation pass all the way to her core as Caylen's lips and tongue finally touched her. Every nerve ending in her body was on fire.

  Caylen licked and sucked softly, taking her time. Tanner writhed under her pushing her hips up. Caylen continued the languid strokes as she ran her hands over Tanner's stomach up to her breasts and back down again. She could feel Tanner's labored breathing when her hands passed over her. She dipped her tongue lower, sliding it inside of her.

  "Oh, Caylen..." Tanner moaned quietly running her hand along the side of Caylen's face and into her hair.

  Caylen's blue eyes met gray ones in the moonlight. Caylen quickened her pace, giving in to the pleasurable release Tanner was silently asking for. She moved back up hovering over Tanner as she kissed her. Tasting herself on Caylen's lips fueled the fire burning deep inside of her. Tanner pulled Caylen down, rolling on top of her. She mimicked Caylen, placing delicate kisses on her body as she moved down between her legs.

  Caylen's breath hitched and caught in her chest when Tanner's mouth made contact with her. Her body was coiled tightly, like a spring, waiting for the right moment to release. She gripped the sheets for some sort of change in direction, but there was no slowing down. She was racing towards the edge faster than she could breath air into her lungs.

  Tanner licked circles, dipping inside, before sucking her into her mouth tenderly stroke after stroke. Caylen's hips bucked gently under her.

  Caylen cried out as her body shuttered under Tanner.

  "You're amazing," Caylen said breathlessly as Tanner crawled back up to her.

  Tanner grinned. "So are you," she said, kissing her.

  ~

  Caylen awoke alone and found Tanner standing at the sliding glass doors, looking out at the ocean glistening below them. She walked over to her running her arms around Tanner from behind as she placed her body against Tanner's back. She moved her long, wavy hair to the side, kissing the tender spot behind her ear as she whispered, "What are you thinking?"

  Tanner pulled Caylen's arms tightly around her, leaning her head back. "I'm trying not to wake up if I'm dreaming," she said softly. "I've dreamed of this so often, I can't tell the difference between the dream and reality."

  "You're not dreaming. Not this time," Caylen said turning Tanner around to face her. She kissed her softly.

  "How did I get lucky enough to find you twice in one lifetime?" Tanner asked.

  Caylen pushed Tanner's hair back over her shoulder. "Do you believe in soul mates?" she asked.

  "Since I met you I believe in a lot of things I don't understand."

  "Me too," Caylen said, wrapping her arms around Tanner as she kissed her again. She pulled away slightly, looking into Tanner's gray eyes. "I fell in love with you the night we met." Caylen put her finger on Tanner's lips when she tried to speak. "I've never been in love with anyone and to have it happen so suddenly, and with a stranger, scared me to death, Tanner. When you showed up in my office, I wanted to run to you and run away from you at the same time. Over the past few weeks, I've realized I can't run anymore. Every direction leads right back to you."

  "Something happened to me that night, too. I don't think I really knew what it was until I saw you again. I was drawn to you when I danced for you that night. I've never gone home with someone from the bar before or after you. I had to see you again. That's why I looked you up when I was in town. I had to know if you felt the same way," Tanner placed her hand on Caylen's cheek. "Caylen, I love you so much it scares me."

  "Good, then we can be scared together for the rest of our lives because I'm never saying goodbye to you again," Caylen said, kissing her once again.

  Fourteen

  Monday morning, Caylen walked into her office, stretching her sore muscles as she sat down behind her desk. She had more than a full day of work scheduled with multiple conference calls and other mundane tasks to keep her mind from racing back to the weekend she spent with Tanner in her arms. I'm never going to get any work done with images of her naked body rolling around in my head.

  The ringing cell phone in her pocket brought her back to reality. She retrieved it, smiling when she saw the name on the caller ID.

  "Good morning," Caylen said.

  "Good morning to you, too. I was just making sure you made it to the office on time," Tanner teased.

  Caylen laughed. "I was punctual as always, but that doesn't mean I'm thrilled to be here."

  "I didn't exactly want to get out of bed this morning either. I'm sorry I left you last night. It took me two hours to get my laundry done. I was definitely not prepared to be away from home the entire weekend," Tanner said.

  "I need to do laundry too, but it looks like I have a long week ahead of me, so who knows when I will get to it. Maybe we should move in together and hire a maid. Then, we can stay in bed all weekend every weekend and she can clean and do the laundry."

  "That sounds too good to be true. Besides, if we lived together the excitement of seeing me would wear off," Tanner teased.

  "When is your lease up?" Caylen asked seriously.

  "Not for another ten months."

  "That's way too long," Caylen yelped.

  Tanner laughed. "Maybe I can look into subleasing it in a couple months."

  "That sounds a hell of a lot better," Caylen said as the intercom on her desk phone buzzed. "I need to go. I have a meeting with my uncle this morning. If I can find a break in my schedule maybe we can meet for lunch."

  "That sounds good. I'm pretty busy today too. Good luck with your uncle. I love you," Tanner said.

  "How did you know I was going to tell
him about you?"

  "Educated guess?"

  Caylen laughed. "I love you, too," she said before ending the call and pushing the intercom button.

  "Good morning, Uncle Herb. Can we meet in your office instead of the conference room?" she asked.

  "Sure."

  "I'll see you in a minute," she said.

  ~

  Caylen sat across from her uncle at his massive wooden desk. He reminded her so much of her father.

  "You look a little tired. Are you feeling okay?" he asked.

  "Yeah. I had a long weekend, so I'm a little tired this morning."

  He nodded. "I was going over the Olsen Manufacturing file this morning..."

  "Actually, before we start talking about that, there's something I need to tell you," Caylen said.

  "Okay."

  "I'm seeing someone. Wait, let me start from the beginning. Do you remember meeting a woman at the convention that worked for Intelitech, Tanner Bryce?"

  "Yes, our software programmer?"

  "Correct. I told you we were old friends. Well, we actually met when I was in Houston, meeting with Roger Kent."

  "Oh really? Was she working for him?"

  "Not exactly," Caylen said, adjusting her position in the chair. "I'm telling you all of this because she and I are together. I want you to know the truth in case it ever comes out."

  Herb chewed his mustache. "I knew you were acting strange. Is it safe to say you're in love with this woman?"

  "Yes. For the first time in my life I'm head over heels in love. She will probably move in with me sometime in the next few months."

  "I'm happy for you and your Aunt Viv will be over the moon. Have you told your mother?"

  "No. You're the first person, well besides Margo."

  "Why all the secrecy? We are your family, Caylen, and we're all completely fine with your lifestyle. We've been waiting for you to find a woman to settle down with. She's very beautiful, by the way."

  Caylen smiled, then sighed. "The secrecy is because she was a topless dancer that I had a one night stand with, Uncle Herb."