Tropical Storm - DK1

by Melissa Good

  Kerry realized where she was before she opened her eyes this time. She caught her breath, but resisted panic when she felt the secure hold wrapped around her and realized Dar knew she was there, and hadn’t minded. So she relaxed and enjoyed the sensation, her head pillowed on a very nice shoulder and her ear pressed against Dar’s chest, letting her senses absorb the closeness, and the distinctive scent of her—faint traces of perfume, of soap, the clean cotton smell of her pajamas. Each one was ordinary, but in combination they painted a unique portrait of her new friend. Kerry decided she liked it.

  She could hear the heartbeat, slow and steady, and feel the movement as 242 Melissa Good Dar breathed, and decided it was a really comforting sound to wake up to. She opened her eyes and shifted a little, peering up at the angular face above her to see Dar completely relaxed in sleep.

  Jesus…she looks so young like that, Kerry mused in faint surprise. Without the wary intelligence that so characterized Dar’s face, and the tensions life had put there, she appeared no older than Kerry herself, and the blonde woman found herself wondering just how true that was. Surely someone who was in a position like hers had to be older, had to be more experienced. Right? And yet, there was no hint of silver in that dark head, and the creases along her eyes were those Kerry had seen in even the youngest adults in Miami, from the constant squinting into the brilliant sunlight. It would be easy enough to find out, of course. Just send a query for her graduation date from public school into the Dade County archives.

  Her more practical side tapped her on the shoulder. Or you could just ask. I mean, Jesus, Kerry, you’re practically sleeping on top of her. I don’t think she’d mind you asking how old she is. She put her head back down with a wry smile . I’m not sure this is how it’s supposed to work, though. Aren’t you supposed to go through stages like meeting, dating, having drinks, going to parties in large groups, before you end up sleeping together?

  She let her fingers flex gently against the soft surface. She could feel the bumps that were Dar’s ribs moving under her hand and found her thumb rubbing the skin that sloped down towards her navel. It didn’t feel strange to be touching her like this. In fact, it seemed so normal to her it was sort of scary.

  How had the barriers that existed between any two people broken down so quickly between them? Kerry was a touch-sensitive person in any case. She spoke with her hands, and she tended to reach out and make contact with whoever she was dealing with, but this… It was almost like they’d known each other for a long time, it was that kind of comfortableness. Weird.

  She absently traced a line down Dar’s belly. Oh well, I always was a fast learner. I hope I can learn fast enough, though. I have absolutely no idea in the world what to do with her beyond kissing. I wonder if there are books, she mused, considering the thought. She let Dar’s warm scent enter her lungs. I bet I can find something on the Internet. Let’s see… Yahoo, Search, keyword: Sex and women but not kinky. Response: We have found six zillion seven hundred million references, please refine your search parameters. Kerry giggled softly to herself.

  “What’s so funny?”

  The low, vibrant voice rumbled through the surface on which her head was resting. Kerry managed not to jump, but she glanced up to see sleepy blue eyes regarding her in amusement. “Um…” She muffled another giggle.

  “Didn’t mean to wake you up. It was nothing, really. I was…just, um, thinking of cartoons.”

  Both dark brows lifted. “Cartoons?” Dar’s voice replied in disbelief.

  “Yeah, you know, like Space Ghost.” Kerry thought fast. “Did you know he interviewed Emeril Lagasse the other night?” She started to back away. “I have no idea why we always end up like this. I don’t, um…”

  “Hey.” Dar patted her back. “It’s okay, you just do it in your sleep. It doesn’t bother me.” She released the smaller woman, though, sensing her Tropical Storm 243

  discomfort. They had time, and Kerry was going to need it, to get used to the physical dimension they were developing. That was all right. It was going to take Dar some getting used to also.

  Kerry rolled over onto her back and stretched. “You’re right though—it is comfortable.” She smiled at Dar. “I’ll have to think about getting one of these.” Then she sighed. “After I figure out what I’m going to do about my parents.”

  Dar rolled onto her side, and cocked her head. “Your parents? What do they have to do with a waterbed?” she inquired curiously.

  Kerry remained silent for a moment, then she looked up. “They’re putting a lot of pressure on me to come home.” She paused in thought. “And I’m not going to go. It’s just that I have to find a way to tell them without causing a family nuclear holocaust.”

  Dar scratched her nose. “They still want you to marry that guy?” Her blue eyes watched Kerry’s face intently.

  The blonde woman nodded grimly. “Oh yeah. Brian is graduating from law school this semester. He’ll be done by the holidays, and that…was what they were waiting for.”

  “I take it they don’t know you, um…” Dar gestured between the two of them.

  “Uh, no.” Kerry winced. “That’s a relatively new development.” A pause.

  “I, um, I mean, I always just did what everyone else does—the prom, the whole deal—but I never really…I mean, I couldn’t figure out what the big deal was, you know?”

  Dar muffled a grin. “I know.” She gave Kerry an understanding look.

  “Been there, done that.”

  Kerry smiled at her. “Yeah, I guess you have. So…when I moved down here, everything was just so different. And one Saturday a bunch of my new friends took me to South Beach.”

  “Oh.” Dar clapped a hand over her mouth. “I guess that was a revelation.”

  “For someone from Saugatuck? Uh huh.” Kerry started to laugh and then exhaled. “Most outlandish thing I’d seen until then was the Saugatuck Duck Festival. Let’s just say my horizons were considerably broadened that weekend.”

  “C’mon, Kerry, even in Saugatuck I’m sure there were gay people.” Dar chuckled.

  “Well, sure. In fact, when I think back, and I know now what I was seeing, I can remember that. But no one talked about it. It was kept, like the cliché, in the closet,” Kerry explained. “Certainly, in my family, it wasn’t discussed.” She exhaled. “But then I…well, it took me a while, but I eventually figured out what I was feeling, and why I was having such a hard time dealing with the thought of settling down with Brian and having a couple of kids.”

  “That must have been rough for you,” Dar sympathized. “My father guessed, and he took me aside one day and talked to me about it. I had already figured it out, so it was kind of a relief.”

  Kerry looked at her. “He didn’t mind?”

  A shake of the dark head. “No. That surprised me. I’d been scared to tell 244 Melissa Good him, because he was military, and you know that doesn’t really breed liberal thinking. But when I think about it now, knowing what he was…I shouldn’t have been surprised.”

  Kerry got off track. “What was he?” she asked softly.

  “Navy Seal.” Dar smiled at her wide-eyed reaction.

  “Wow. I can’t imagine what that would be like.” Kerry breathed. “It would be…very different for me. They wouldn’t understand that.”

  “Ah.” Dar nodded. “That’s tough.” She thought a moment. “Certainly your career is more likely to advance here than in Michigan. The Troy office really doesn’t do what you’re good at.”

  Kerry sat up and crossed her legs, pushing her hair behind her ears.

  “They don’t care about that. My mother left this message on my machine last night that said I could get some secretarial position in the Troy office, so I could keep my little hands busy while I waited to get pregnant.”

  “What?” Dar leaned forward. “Kerry, did anyone tell them this is the 1990s, going on the year 2000?”

  “Not in my family,” she responded quietly. “I think they’re firml
y entrenched in the 1940s.” Kerry nibbled her lip. “I could just tell them, I guess.”

  “Maybe you should start slow…like telling them you’re staying in Miami first,” Dar replied, reasonably. “Before you spring the ‘I’m not marrying what’s-his-face’ and ‘oh yeah, by the way, I’m dating my boss’ on them.” she added with a wry smile. “Before you add, the ‘and she’s a woman.’ ”

  “Mmm, you’re probably right,” Kerry acknowledged. “Though I’d get a point for dating my boss, for all of the twenty seconds or so it would take him before he remembered who that was.” It‘s a tempting thought, though.

  “You…aren’t close with your father, I take it?” Dar asked gently.

  Kerry stared at the wall, holding down the wave of sick reaction. “You could say that,” she finally muttered.

  Dar leaned forward and took her hand. “Don’t worry, we’ll think of something,” she promised. “Hell, worst comes to worst, I’ll route his IRS

  records to MSNBC.”

  Kerry rolled her eyes. “That would be hilarious, but useless. He’s a pillar of moral rectitude. I doubt he even claimed us as dependents until we were a year old, just to prove we were viable.” She sighed. “But thanks, Dar. It helps just to talk to someone about it.” She gave her boss a smile, and squeezed the fingers holding hers. “And I’ll keep your threat in reserve.”

  Dar laughed, then rolled over and stretched, arching her back and extending both arms out. “Okay. Well, now that it’s afternoon…” She shook her head at the ceiling. “I guess I’d better check on the office. I’m sure there’s going to be a half dozen emergency staff meetings tomorrow to discuss why our fallback procedures—which don’t exist—don’t work.”

  Kerry considered that, and considered all the undone things she had to do at home, and sighed. She’d rather spend the day here with Dar. “Listen, why don’t we get together next weekend sometime?” she suggested regretfully. “Since I wasn’t home the last few days, I have a ton of laundry and everything else to do.”

  Dar felt a jolt of disappointment, but knew Kerry was right. They both Tropical Storm 245

  had things to do, and a new week of work to prepare for. “Sounds like a good idea,” she admitted. “Much as I hate to admit it. Are you still interested in the gym? That class starts on Wednesday.”

  Kerry had almost forgotten about that. “Oh, right! Absolutely. God, yes!

  If I keep hanging around with you, I’m going to need it desperately.” She gave Dar a grin. “Thanks for reminding me.”

  The executive rolled out of bed and stood up. “Well, let’s get going then. I think I have some extra Frosted Flakes if you’re interested.”

  “See what I mean?” Kerry shook her head and laughed as she joined the taller woman.

  Chapter

  Twenty

  THE ALARM WENT off in the pre-dawn darkness, startling Dar out of sleep. She stared at it in confusion for a moment, then rubbed her face and slapped at it, turning off the loud buzzer. It was very quiet in the condo, and she rested her chin on her pillow for a moment, wistfully thinking of how much nicer it had been to wake up the day before.

  Funny. Dar sighed and rolled out of bed, mechanically trudging to the bathroom. She had never considered herself to be lonely before. Her life had been busy, true, but now she wondered how many of her activities had just been a way to fill up the time. It had been unexpectedly nice just to have someone to talk to over their very impromptu brunch yesterday, and she couldn’t even begin to remember what it was that they’d talked about.

  Puppies? Politics?

  Dar splashed water on her face, and shook her head as she exchanged her pajamas for her running clothes and sat down in the silent living room to put on her sneakers. Whatever it had been, she’d spent most of the time laughing, something she didn’t remember doing a lot of in the past few years. She sat thinking about that for a minute, then prodded herself to her feet. “C’mon, Dar, get moving. Two extra laps around the island this morning, remember?”

  To make up for missing out the last couple of days, she’d decided, waking up an extra hour early for it.

  It was very quiet as she closed the door behind her and exited into the cool air, crisp with the wetness of dew and the breeze from the sea. Her sneakers sounded loud on the gravel as she turned off onto the small path, then she took a deep breath and broke into a slow jog to give her muscles a chance to wake up and stretch before she pushed them.

  The water sloshed against the seawall as she turned into the onshore wind, which was bringing the scent of brine and salt to her lungs. There was no other sound, save the far-off clanking of the port and a soft hoot of a tugboat chugging by in the channel. She could see the running lights of the boat and left it behind her as she headed off into the south.

  On the sixth ring around, she could feel the strain start to shorten her breathing, and it pissed her off. Instead of stopping, she pushed herself on, speeding up her pace and forcing herself to complete eight rings, by which time the sun was pouring over the horizon, and she was sweating freely.

  She slowed as she came around the northern edge of the island for the eighth time, dropping down into a jog and letting her heartbeat begin to slow.

  She ended up on the seawall, staring out into the dawn light and letting the Tropical Storm 247

  sea breeze blow her damp hair back off her forehead. Slowly, she sat down on the concrete wall and let her legs dangle over into the light spray from the waves.

  For so long, she’d believed she didn’t need anyone to complete her life.

  Maybe because she hadn’t had a choice. It had been easy to confuse sterile isolation for happiness, since she hadn’t really known the difference. She’d dealt with loneliness by ignoring it and convincing herself that keeping busy was the key to a satisfying life. Now… Dar exhaled into the mist. Kerry’s innocently held-out hand of friendship had shaken loose that belief and forced her to look at herself objectively for the first time in a long while.

  The past week had shown her just how much of a lie her complacency really was. Going forward with Kerry would add a complicated, difficult, troublesome facet to her life, and the potential for pain and personal problems was likely to disrupt her ordered existence beyond repair.

  The intelligent and rational view told her to put a halt to their budding relationship. It could only bring trouble to both her and Kerry, and might result in a professional disaster for both of them. It would be better, smarter, for her to sit Kerry down, and just…tell her no. Back off. Push their relationship back to a strictly professional level.

  Dar was startled by the sudden sting of tears and the wave of misery that accompanied the thought. Confused, she rubbed her face and clamped an arm over her suddenly aching chest. Just the thought of giving up that smile… Dar imagined the hurt, and then the pain in the green eyes as she turned her away, and knew she couldn’t stand it. I can’t do that to Kerry. Hell, I can’t do that to myself.

  With a shaking hand, she wiped the tears from her face and ran her fingers through her damp hair. Somehow, she’d find a way to make it work.

  Her heartbeat settled, and she took a few deep breaths, letting the salt spray cool her down. Okay. It’s just another challenge, Dar. Remember what Dad always told you. Break your challenges up into tiny bites, and by the time you’ve finished, you’ve eaten a buffalo, tail and all.

  That brought a wry, shaky smile to her face, and she got to her feet, stretching out her legs and straightening her shoulders. Time to start the day.

  MARIA LIKED THE early morning. She made it a point to enter the building at seven AM, before even the most virtuous of the other administrative assistants, and she used the time to catch up on the piles of correspondence Dar’s position generated, along with the volume of electronic mail, requests of all sorts, papers to review, and other matters that fell under her jurisdiction. It gave her nearly an hour, sometimes a little more, before her mercurial boss appeared, bringing with her a
whirlwind of activity, and she enjoyed the quiet time, thinking it was a good way to start the day out.

  Especially on a Monday, which was never a good day, and most especially since Dar had been gone most of the previous week and items had been stacking up, awaiting her attention.

  She heard the elevator open, and the soft sound of footsteps traveling down the tiled hallway and continuing on past her door. A smile crossed her 248 Melissa Good face as she recognized them as being more than likely Kerry’s, who came in early for much the same reason she did. The young woman was still getting used to her new position and was anxious to make a good impression.

  Maria approved of that. She liked Kerry, and was glad her supervisor had found someone she felt she could work with, and who seemed to be willing to put in the same kind of effort that Dar herself did. And as an added bonus, Kerry seemed to also like the sometimes difficult, often impatient and aggressive vice president, which was quite a surprise to the secretary, given where Kerry had come from.

  She wondered if Kerry knew just how close she’d come to being fired?

  With a sigh, Maria turned her attention to a stack of reports, sorting them and notating the ones Dar would want to see first thing. She noticed the lengthy report regarding the massive outage on Saturday and put that one on top.

  After a few minutes, the door opened, and Kerry poked her fair head in.

  “Good morning, Maria.”

  “Buenos días, Kerrisita,” the secretary replied with a smile. “Dios mío, did you spend the weekend at the beach?” The younger woman’s face was a rosy pink, and her arms held a tinge of the same color.

  Kerry entered the outer office and walked over, carrying a steaming mug.

  “Not exactly.” She gave Maria a conspiratorial smile. “I got the boss to take a few hours off in Orlando.”

  “Did you now? Bueno, bueno.” Maria laughed. “I hear things went good there.” She applauded. “Did you get to see the Mickey Mouse?”