Alice’s throat worked convulsively. She stared up at the ceiling, clearly trying to deal with the confusing mixture of anxiety and arousal that almost certainly coursed through her veins. Taking pity, Rosa cut off the flow of water and pushed past the curtain to grab Alice’s towel. She wrapped Alice’s heaving body in its fluffy depths, then pulled her in for a tight hug. Rosa kissed her cheek and murmured, “The part with all the other people is almost over.”
Alice released a strangled, impatient noise. “You swear?”
Rosa chuckled and held Alice at arm’s length, hands curled around her slim shoulders. She tipped her head, seriously, before breaking into a full-blown grin. “Then the real fun begins.”
And oh, how Rosa hoped that was true.
Chapter Nineteen
Given her eagerness to see Rosa’s apartment and her toy collection, the last thing Alice expected to feel while trading good-bye hugs with Bree and Enid was sad. Yet she did, and really, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Rosa wasn’t the only friend she’d made at Camp Rewind. However, Alice wasn’t sure when or even if she would see Bree or Enid again. Despite her reticence to socialize at the beginning of the weekend, she’d enjoyed getting to know the two kind yet good-naturedly crass women.
As though sensing her melancholy, Bree rocked Alice back and forth in a bear hug and kissed her cheek. “Rosa has my number. Text me sometime. Or, you know, send a naked selfie. If you want.”
“Easy, player,” Rosa said, shooting Bree a lightheartedly stern expression while she gave Enid one last squeeze. “Look all you want, but hear this: I’m planting my flag.”
Enid raised an eyebrow and smirked at Alice. “I’m thinking your reaction to that could go one of two ways…”
Alice’s heart fluttered pleasantly at Rosa’s unambiguous declaration of intent. “I have no objection to being claimed by this woman. She can stick her flagpole in me anytime.”
Rosa fought against an amused grin that ended up taking over her entire face. “Wow.”
“Shy Alice!” Bree raised her hand in an invitation to high-five. “That was excellent.”
Pleased, but blushing, Alice dutifully slapped Bree’s palm. “I try.”
“You know, I like you better and better every day.” Bree’s eyes revealed a deep, affectionate warmth that Alice found more touching than she would have ever anticipated. “Take care of Rosa, all right? Be good to her. Help her give the middle finger to all those assholes.”
Alice nodded seriously. “I will.” Upon realizing how much she would honestly miss her foul-mouthed, flirtatious friend, Alice went back in for another quick hug. “Thank you, for everything. Especially yesterday.”
Bree lifted Alice off her feet, spun her, then set her free with a kiss on the forehead. “I’m just glad you crazy kids were able to work things out.”
Rosa turned to Bree and pulled her into a brief hug. “Yeah, thanks for talking sense into me.”
Alice smiled and walked into Enid’s outstretched arms, surprised by the new, higher tolerance for physical contact she’d acquired over the past twenty-four hours. In the past, she’d hated for people to touch her in social situations, but it was different with these women. She knew Bree and Enid cared about her, even if they’d only just met, and the memories they’d created together this weekend would stay with Alice for a lifetime. It was difficult to express the level of esteem she felt for them out loud, so, instead of eloquence, a physical gesture seemed like the best way for her to demonstrate how much of an impact they’d truly made. “Take care, Enid. I’m sorry you got caught up in our drama, but I really appreciated your friendship and advice yesterday. It meant a lot.”
Enid held her for a long time before letting go. “Like Bree said, I’m glad it all worked out.” She waited until Alice stepped out of her arms to wink. “Thank you for the entertainment last night. To be honest, that was total fantasy fulfillment. I hope I didn’t embarrass you too badly.”
Alice somehow managed not to hide her face behind her hands. She’d sort of hoped they wouldn’t bring up what had happened. “Likewise. I still can’t believe I did that.”
“To be fair, you were pretty high,” Rosa offered.
Bree elbowed Rosa in the side, wide-eyed at the revelation. “Holding out on us?”
Rosa gestured at Alice with a grin. “It was hers.”
Bree and Enid looked equally surprised as they turned to regard Alice, seemingly in a new light. “Shy Alice,” Bree exclaimed, “will you never stop delighting me?”
Alice shifted her weight nervously, unsettled to be the center of attention. “It’s medicinal,” she said. “For anxiety.” She looked to Rosa for help. “Plus, I don’t like to drink?”
“I can’t blame you there.” Enid’s face pinched as she turned away, disgusted, from a sight behind Alice’s back. “After this weekend, they may need to change the name of this place to Camp Regurgitate.”
Unable to help herself, Alice looked over to where Enid’s attention had drifted. Bent over a garbage can, flirtatious Derek, Rosa’s admirer from their first morning at camp—and the apparent suitor of Ms. Three Condoms last night—barfed his guts out in an exceedingly unsexy manner. Her nose wrinkled as she returned her focus to their circle of friends. “I’m so glad I’m not hung over.”
“I’ll drink to that.” Rosa shuddered. “I’m also seriously glad I didn’t take that guy up on his offer of a riding lesson.”
“Me, too,” Alice said, then rolled her eyes and scoffed. “Riding lesson? Did he really think that would work on you?”
“Indeed.” Rosa smirked at Bree, then asked Alice, “You know, if you were interested in riding, I do have the appropriate toys and accessories to make that happen, back at my place. I could teach you how to ride me, or maybe show you how it feels to be ridden. Do you think you’d like that? A riding lesson?”
Alice’s face burned at how easily the lame overture affected her, when delivered by Rosa. “Well…yeah.”
Bree guffawed loudly, drawing the attention of a few nearby campers gathered in similar clusters, all bidding their farewells. Alice scurried to Rosa’s side, ducked under her arm, and huddled against her solid form. Her growing self-consciousness eased in the warmth of Rosa’s presence, allowing her to answer Bree’s laughter with a chuckle of her own.
“It all depends on who’s doing the asking, I guess.” Bree winked, then tapped Enid on the elbow and gestured toward the parking lot. “Why don’t we go say good-bye in my car for a few minutes? It’s probably time to let these two go home so they can fuck each other’s brains out anyway.”
Rosa hugged Alice closer. “That’ll take quite a bit of dedicated effort on my part. My girl’s got a big brain.”
Alice was absolutely positive she’d never felt happier. Afraid she was about to get choked up in front of an audience, she locked her attention on her shoes as they traded one last round of good-byes. When Bree and Enid walked away hand-in-hand toward the parking lot, Alice lifted her face and smiled tearily at Rosa. “This really was the best weekend.”
“The best.” Rosa’s eyes shimmered with equally intense emotion. “Even though I nearly ruined it.”
“No. You just turned it into a better story.” Alice took a chance and spoke to the future she hoped they’d have. “You know, for us to tell people when they ask how we met.”
Rosa winced. “Unfortunately, I’m pretty much the bad guy in this story.”
“Or the hero.” Alice took Rosa by the hand and led her toward their cars. They’d loaded their bags before breakfast and planned for Alice to follow Rosa home. “Depending on how you look at it.”
“Depending on how it all turns out,” Rosa muttered, not quite under her breath.
Alice stopped and stared at Rosa. She blinked.
Rosa kissed the corner of Alice’s mouth, then nibbled on her lips. “I’m sorry,” she breathed. “You’re right, it is a good story. Especially the sex parts.”
Alice snorted and pulle
d away. “I’m not sure we’ll tell those parts.”
“Not to our parents, maybe, but—”
“Alice!” Jamal’s deep baritone sliced through the chatter surrounding them. Alice turned on instinct with a warm smile. She’d gotten to know Jamal a little more during their robot-building exercise the day before, and she really did like the guy. He was bright, and personable, and adequately geeky to render him relatively easy to be around. “Wait up!”
Alice stuck out her hand awkwardly as he drew near, unsure how to approach this particular good-bye. “Thanks again for letting me keep the robot we built yesterday. And remember, you have my email address if you have any questions about your curriculum.”
Jamal gave her a friendly handshake, then a tentative pat on the back. “You’ll definitely be hearing from me. I wanted to say good-bye before you left and ask you again to think about coming back to teach a session in the future. Marcia said she’d even pay you a little, on top of waiving the registration fee.”
Alice’s throat closed at the mere thought of standing in front of a classroom of students and teaching anything, even a subject she knew cold. Careful to remain vague, she hedged. “I’ll think about it. For now, I’ll send you instructions for a few suitable projects to get you started.”
“I’d appreciate that.” Jamal grinned toothily as he turned to Rosa. “Lila, it was a pleasure to meet you. I hope to see you at camp again.”
“If Alice decides to take you up on that teaching offer, you might.” Rosa shook his hand, then put her arm around Alice’s shoulders and gave her a squeeze. “For the record, I hope she does. That would be super cool.”
“I totally agree.” Jamal stuck out his hand and gave them both another amiable shake. “Anyway, drive safe, both of you. Don’t steal any boats on your way home.”
Rosa laughed. “I’ll keep her out of trouble, don’t worry.”
Alice followed Rosa, hands linked, as they resumed the short walk to their cars. Once in front of Rosa’s ride, they stopped to face each other. Alice looped her arms around Rosa’s neck; Rosa encircled Alice’s waist and drew her into a close embrace. When Rosa tried to gather her even nearer, Alice rested her head upon her strong shoulder and closed her eyes, reveling in the sound of the distant heartbeat thumping in her ear. “I wish we didn’t have to take separate cars.”
“Tell me about it.” Rosa kissed her hair, then placed her hand on Alice’s lower back to bring their hips together. “If you’ve got hands-free capabilities in your car, you could call my cell. We can talk during the drive, assuming the reception holds out.”
“I’ll do that.” Alice eased away, worried that if she didn’t stop touching Rosa soon, she’d never convince herself to make the three-hour trek back to the East Bay. “What will we talk about? Riding lessons? Toys?”
Rosa offered an apologetic smile. “That might distract you too much. Your safety is my top priority.”
Fair point. Alice smiled back. “Then what?”
Rosa shrugged, her expression as shy as Alice usually felt. “Everything?” Refusing to look away despite an obvious bout of nerves, she gazed steadfastly into Alice’s eyes with adoration bordering on love. “I want to know everything about you, Alice Wu.”
“I’m not sure there’s much to tell.” The steady confidence Alice had maintained since their reunion wavered as she considered whether she would prove interesting enough to hold Rosa’s attention for longer than a weekend. Compared to Rosa, Alice led a painfully dull life. Most of her anecdotes fell into the category of sad or awkward, but rarely amusing, and never charming. She didn’t go many places or do all that many things, outside family and professional obligations. Her lonely, isolated childhood had left her with little basis to relate to others. What did she have to talk about? Her newfound predilection for porn and lesbian romance novels, and her desire to recreate the scenes that had kept her company on far too many lonely nights? A wave of doubt about their ability to successfully transition from a weekend fling to a real-world relationship struck Alice squarely for the first time, delivering a devastating blow to her heart. “Honestly, I’m pretty…boring.”
“Not to me.” Rosa initiated a lingering kiss. Without pulling away, she whispered against Alice’s lips, “Anyway, my life could stand to be a little more boring. Boring sounds wonderful, to tell you the truth.”
Alice had to smile. She knew Rosa was wholly sincere about that sentiment, at least for now. “Well, I could tell you about my cat. I’m not really a ‘tell people about my cat’ person, to be honest, but Schrödinger is quite sweet. He’s a polydactyl, or as my neighbor’s toddler calls him, a ‘pterodactyl.’”
Rosa almost knocked the wind out of her with the swiftness and suddenness of her enthusiastic hug. “Schrödinger? I am falling in love.”
Alice hugged back, fiercely, more than a little stunned by Rosa’s sincere appreciation for the geeky reference. Reaching for the obvious joke, she said, “I’m worried I forgot to fill his food dish before I left. Until I get home to check, I postulate that he’s simultaneously alive and dead, and not simply in my anxious mind.”
Rosa quaked with laughter and nearly cut off Alice’s air supply by crushing her to her chest. “Alice, you’re so not boring.” After more laughter, she drew back and wiped the tears from her eyes. “Did you really forget to feed Schrodie?”
Alice bit her lip and shook her head. “No. I just wanted to make you laugh.”
Rosa grinned and kissed her again, slower this time. “I really like you, Al. Never doubt that.”
Alice shivered at the nickname, both the way it sounded on Rosa’s lips and the memories it evoked of their lovemaking the night before. She loved it. “I like you, too.”
“Then come on.” Rosa gave her one last hug before urging her toward her car. “Let’s go be brave in the real world, together.”
“And have sex?”
Rosa called out to her as she backed away. “Lots of sex.”
Alice mustered a playful leer, then, face on fire, walked to her car. As she passed the sedan parked next to hers, the question of when she would see Bree or Enid again was answered in a blinding flash of naked skin, tantalizing curves, and half-fogged windows. She tore her gaze away immediately and scurried into the driver’s seat of her car. She had her cell phone in her hand and Rosa on the line within seconds. “Bree and Enid are fucking in the car next to me.”
Rosa’s chuckle floated over the slightly fuzzy reception of the call. Alice watched as she backed out of her parking spot and steered down the driveway toward the road that would lead them back to their normal lives. “So much for not having you drive distracted.”
Alice started her car and pulled up behind Rosa, casting one last glance into the rearview mirror as they drove away from Camp Rewind. “So…may I ask you a question?”
“Anything.”
Alice opened her mouth to say one thing, only to have another spill out. “If this works out, will I be, like, your girlfriend?” The instant she put the query out there, she rushed to clarify its meaning, faltering as she strained to recall Bree’s terminology from the night before. “Or just…a special friend?”
“I don’t want to be your fuck-buddy, Alice. I want to be your person.” Rosa paused. Her voice sounded startlingly vulnerable and young, tinged with uncharacteristic optimism. “Your life person, not just your camp person.”
With that type of potential reward on the line, Alice found it shockingly easy to move forward with bravery. “Good. Me, too.”
“Now, talk geeky to me while we drive,” Rosa said. “Consider it foreplay.”
Having never before felt at ease chatting over the phone, Alice couldn’t believe how easy it was to sit back, relax, and do exactly that. As she regaled Rosa with the mundanities of her life, holding back no part of her true self, Alice gradually came to an unquestionable, somewhat uncomfortable conclusion.
Her therapist Dawn had known exactly what she was doing. She’d actually been right. Mo
st likely, she usually was.
Well, damn it, Alice thought. Thank goodness.
Chapter Twenty
One year later
Rosa pushed play on a video she’d downloaded to her cell phone in preparation for exactly the situation in which she and Alice now found themselves. Reclining in the driver’s seat of her car, parked in the distantly familiar lot outside Camp Rewind, she angled the screen toward the passenger seat where Alice Wu fought not to succumb to her visibly growing panic. “Here, watch these baby goats.”
Alice inhaled and exhaled slowly, and deeply, her mouth eventually quirking as she stared at the screen. “Awww,” she cooed, in a voice that still made Rosa’s tummy flip-flop even now, one year in. “They’re so fuzzy.”
“Right?” Rosa paused, anticipating the moment the video would become epic enough to break through Alice’s unprecedented case of nerves. “Wait for it…” On cue, a tiny pink pig trotted with clumsy enthusiasm into the center of the trio of baby goats who danced around in play, where she was instantly, cheerfully accepted into the fold. “Huh?” She raised an eyebrow at Alice as the delicate features she’d come to know by heart dissolved under the onslaught of cute overload. “How can you feel anything but happy in a world where that pig and those goats are best friends forever?”
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