by MK McGowan
She took a cab to the party because she intended to drink tonight. The party was already in full swing by the time she reached Carolyn’s apartment. The elevator doors opened into a hallway that was dripping with holiday decor. For some reason, that pissed Darcy off.
Carolyn’s apartment was huge, and it was full of people. Darcy nodded to the few people she knew. She stopped a waitress making her rounds and asked where the bar was located. The woman smiled and pointed. Darcy thanked her and was rewarded with a wink.
Feeling slightly better, Darcy went off in search of a drink. She spotted Charlotte in line at the bar and walked over. “Long time no see, stranger,” she said.
“Darcy! I’m glad you’re here. Jane’s over there talking with Carolyn and Elizabeth.” Charlotte pointed vaguely in no direction in particular. Darcy recognized that Charlotte was looped. The sight was hilarious, as always.
“How long have you been here?” Darcy asked.
“Mmmm, ‘bout two hours,” Charlotte guessed. “Long enough for a drink.”
“Or three,” Darcy joked. She knew it wasn’t true. Charlotte was notoriously sensitive to alcohol. When it was finally their turn at the bar, Darcy ordered a Cosmopolitan. Cranberries are seasonal, right? She also ordered an orange juice for Charlotte.
“Oh, and get two margaritas for our girls,” Charlotte said, leaning against the bar for support.
“Our girls?”
“Yeah, my girl, Jane. And your girl, Elizabeth,” Charlotte mumbled. Darcy noticed Charlotte had her eyes closed. Darcy kicked her.
“Ow! What was that for?” Charlotte asked.
“Don’t fall asleep, Charlie,” Darcy warned.
The bartender handed Darcy a tray with the drinks on it. She thanked him, and they made way for the next thirsty guest in line. “Now where exactly are ‘our’ girls?” Darcy asked.
Charlotte looked around and led Darcy back toward Carolyn’s study. The three Texans were sitting huddled on a couch looking through a binder They looked up as Darcy came through the door with the drinks.
“Darcy, nice of you to show up. Finally,” Carolyn said.
“Nice of you to invite me,” Darcy replied in a tone that mirrored Carolyn’s. Darcy aimed Charlotte toward a chair then handed out the drinks.
“Thanks, Darcy,” Elizabeth said. She smiled graciously, and Darcy immediately revised her plan to deliver the drinks, say hello to their host, and leave.
“What are you guys looking at?” Darcy asked. She could tell it was a photo album, but she couldn’t see the pictures.
“Family photos. Would you like to see a picture of your boss as a toddler?” Elizabeth had a mischievous glint in her eyes.
“Sure, you never know when something like that might come in handy,” Darcy said. Not many people were brave enough to tease Carolyn, but Darcy was one them.
Elizabeth moved closer to Jane so Darcy could sit beside her on the couch. She held the album out for inspection. Darcy couldn’t contain her grin. Carolyn had been an awfully cute baby. “Can I have a copy of that for the internal website?” Darcy asked.
“Don’t make me have you killed, Darcy,” Carolyn threatened seriously. “I know people.”
Darcy looked down at the bare-assed toddler on the bearskin rug. “It would almost be worth it,” she said with a laugh.
Carolyn slammed the album shut. “That’s enough of that,” she said abruptly. Even Charlotte jumped, and she’d been half asleep on the other side of the room. Elizabeth grinned and took back her photo album. “Catch me later. We’ll talk,” she said in a stage whisper to Darcy as she stood up from the couch.
“I should probably get back to my guests,” Carolyn said, almost regretfully. When she stood up, she enveloped Elizabeth in a fierce hug. “I’ll talk to you later.” She glanced down at Darcy. “If any of those photos show up online, I’m coming after you,” she threatened. She turned and swept regally from the room.
Jane walked over to where Charlotte was lolling in her chair. She knelt down next to the almost unconscious woman and rubbed her knee gently. “Come on, babe. I think it’s time to get you home,” she said softly.
Darcy and Elizabeth watched their friends carefully. Darcy started to explain Charlotte’s condition. For some reason it was important to her that Elizabeth think well of her friend. “Charlie doesn’t usually drink,” she said.
“Apparently not. She only had one,” Elizabeth said, more amazed than judgmental.
Darcy got up and walked over to where Jane was talking softly to Charlotte. “I can help you get her home,” she offered, and not only because it provided her the perfect excuse to leave the party. “It’d be good if she wasn’t left alone tonight,” she continued. Charlie can thank me later.
“You’re probably right,” Jane said. “We came in her car, but I think I’m going to get a cab to take her home. It’ll be easier than trying to find my way around.”
“I can drive you home,” Darcy said. “Charlotte lives down the street from me.”
“I know. She pointed your building out to me the other night,” Jane said. They stood looking down at the sleeping Charlotte. “She really is a lightweight, isn’t she?” Jane said affectionately.
“Only when it comes to alcohol,” Darcy replied.
“Before you leave, could you call me a cab?” Elizabeth asked, coming up beside them. “I’m ready to go, too. It’s not like I know any of these people, and I have to get up early tomorrow.”
Darcy thought for a second. “We can drop Charlotte and Jane off, and I’ll take you home afterwards,” Darcy offered. “ I might as well make use of Charlotte’s car.”
Elizabeth took a measured look at Darcy. “Okay. That’d be great. Thanks.”
Jane woke Charlotte up, and they started meandering toward the exit. “I’ll meet y’all in the lobby,” Elizabeth said. “I need to tell Carolyn we’re leaving.”
Darcy nodded and rushed to catch up with Charlotte and Jane. She reached them in time to grab Charlotte’s arm and steer her away from the wall.
“Oopsy daisy,” she said as she strengthened her grip on her friend. With Charlotte firmly in hand, Darcy and Jane carefully made their way to the door.
Darcy grabbed Charlotte’s valet ticket out of her coat pocket, and then she and Jane wrestled Charlotte into her coat. Somehow, Charlotte seemed to have sprouted an extra arm. By the time they had Charlotte ready, Elizabeth was back, and they all rode down in the elevator together. They propped Charlotte against the wall while they waited for the valet to bring her car around. It took all three of them to load Charlotte into the backseat.
Everyone was quiet on the ride back to Charlotte’s. Darcy pulled up to the entrance of Charlotte’s building and double-parked. As soon as he saw Darcy pull Charlotte out of the backseat, the doorman, rushed over to help.
“Good evening, ladies,” he said politely. “Can I give you a hand?”
“Thanks, Pete. Charlotte’s had a little too much holiday cheer,” Darcy said. Pete grinned and held Charlotte upright while Jane hugged Elizabeth goodbye.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Elizabeth said when Jane released her from the embrace.
“Bright and early,” Jane agreed. She waved offhandedly as she turned to help guide Charlotte inside.
As Elizabeth got back into the car, Darcy watched her with a puzzled look on her face.
“Jane’s helping me make Thanksgiving dinner for some friends tomorrow,” Elizabeth explained. “You’re invited, remember?”
“That’s right,” Darcy said. “Charlotte told me about that.”
“You were gonna ditch us, weren’t you?” Elizabeth accused.
Darcy hung her head. “Guilty as charged,” she said. “But I think I’ve changed my mind,” she added thoughtfully.
Elizabeth smiled, genuinely pleased. “Good. I hate wasting food, and we’ve already had one cancellation.”
“Who cancelled?”
“Michelle actually. The friend I’m staying wit
h. She was supposed to get home yesterday, but there was a complication. Bad weather closed Heathrow. She can’t get home until Friday.”
“That’s too bad.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Thanks again for giving me a lift home,” Elizabeth said, pulling her coat tighter. “I wasn’t looking forward to a cab ride in this cold.”
“It’s not every day I get to rescue a beautiful woman from the rain,” Darcy said with a grin. She held the car door open.
Elizabeth smiled radiantly.
Suddenly, Darcy’s earlier resolve to cool things with Elizabeth seemed like a very bad decision. What the hell was I thinking?
Traffic was fairly heavy for a weeknight. Darcy figured folks were taking advantage of having the next day off to get in some last-minute revelry. Which isn’t a bad idea, she thought, glancing at Elizabeth in the seat beside her. “Would you like to go somewhere and get a drink?” she asked hopefully.
Elizabeth shook her head. “No, thank you. I really do have to get up early in the morning.”
Darcy nodded. After her abrupt departure two nights ago, she deserved that response. “You know, I’ve always wanted to learn how to cook a turkey,” she said, trying to sound sincere.
Elizabeth looked at her doubtfully.
“No, seriously,” Darcy said. “I could use some cooking pointers.” She pulled to a stop near the apartment where Elizabeth was staying. She searched the street and, amazingly, there was an open parking space not far from her door. It was a sign. Darcy zipped into it. Charlotte would kill her for parking her beloved car on the street, but she’d deal with that later.
Darcy quickly got out of the car and opened the passenger door. She was at least going to see Elizabeth home. She held out her hand and helped Elizabeth from the car. Instead of dropping her hand, Darcy held it all the way to the outer door of the building. Finally, desperation won out over good sense. “I could come by in the morning and help you cook,” Darcy offered.
Elizabeth smiled seductively and leaned back against the doorframe. She pulled Darcy close, but she didn’t take it any further. It was up to Darcy to make the next move.
***
Darcy woke to the blare of an unfamiliar alarm. Mercifully, it shut off quickly. She peered out from underneath the blanket. The room was chilly, and it was still dark outside. Disoriented, she groaned and rolled over. She burrowed back under the blanket and moved closer to the tantalizing warmth of the woman in bed with her. She slipped her arms around the deliciously nude form and wiggled even closer. She nuzzled the skin within reach and started to go back to sleep.
The alarm went off again. “Can’t you turn that thing off?” she said crankily. “It’s not even daylight yet.”
“No, we have to get up,” Elizabeth said. She rolled over and slapped the alarm into silence. She rolled back over and slid her arms around Darcy.
“Get up?” Darcy asked with a distinct whine. She placed small kisses along Elizabeth’s collarbone. “No, no, no. We just got to sleep,” she protested. She snuggled back into the warmth of Elizabeth’s body.
Elizabeth sighed and kissed Darcy’s bare shoulder. “The last thing I want is to get out of this bed, but we are expecting 10 people for lunch. And they are expecting a turkey, a cooked turkey. Sorry, I had hot sex all night and blew off my alarm,” isn’t going to cut it with them.”
Darcy lay there unmoved and unmoving.
Elizabeth rolled over on top of Darcy, pushed up on her elbows, and leaned in for a kiss. That was more effective than the alarm at waking Darcy up. And much more pleasant. Suddenly, Elizabeth rolled off Darcy, taking the blanket with her, which left Darcy both aroused and exposed to the morning chill. She yelped and scrambled to get back under the blanket.
Elizabeth tossed the covers back quickly. “Sorry about that,” she said. She grabbed her robe from the end of the bed and walked over to the bureau. She flipped on a small lamp and rummaged through a drawer until she found a pair of fluffy socks, which she quickly slipped on. She grabbed a second pair and tossed them to the muttering lump in the bed.
“I don’t think you are sorry,” Darcy grumbled. “Not one bit.”
Elizabeth leapt back on the bed and straddled the blanket-clad form. She pulled the covers down until Darcy’s head was exposed. “You promised you’d help me cook this morning,” Elizabeth said. “Or was that a ploy to get me to let you stay the night?”
Darcy looked at her askance. “Of course it was a ploy. I don’t know how to cook, remember?”
Elizabeth grinned and leaned in for another kiss. When they finally broke for air, she whispered, “That’s about to change.” She climbed off Darcy, again taking the blankets with her. This time deliberately.
“Argh!” Darcy yelled. She shot a venomous look at Elizabeth, surprised that she was capable of such underhanded tactics.
Undaunted, Elizabeth held out a second robe. Darcy had no choice but to climb into it.
Elizabeth tied the robe tightly in front and wrapped her arms around Darcy to help warm her back up. After a few minutes, she nuzzled Darcy’s neck and whispered, “Now that you’re up, let’s go make a turkey.” She dropped her arms and started for the kitchen.
“You’re a tease. You know that, don’t you?” Darcy called after at Elizabeth’s retreating form. She grabbed the socks from the bed.
“I didn’t hear any complaints last night,” Elizabeth tossed over her shoulder.
Darcy sat on the bed and slipped the socks on. She thought about last night and smiled. For once, she had to agree with Elizabeth. She certainly didn’t have any complaints.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Darcy followed the burble of an electric coffeemaker down the hallway to the kitchen. She peeked in. Elizabeth had her head in the refrigerator. The soft material of her robe accentuated her curves. Darcy stopped in the doorway to enjoy the view. Maybe this cooking thing won’t be too bad after all.
“Don’t just stand there,” Elizabeth said. “Give me a hand.”
Darcy raised an eyebrow. Never ignore a direct request. She walked over to where Elizabeth was sorting through the contents of the vegetable drawer. “Do you prefer the right?” Darcy asked before she cupped a handful of flesh and squeezed lightly. Elizabeth gasped in surprise. “Or the left?” Darcy repeated that maneuver with her left hand.
Elizabeth straightened up and backed out of the doorway of the refrigerator. She kicked the door closed. She held a bunch of celery in one hand and a green pepper in the other. She tossed both items carelessly toward the sink and grabbed Darcy by the lapels of her robe. She kissed her like there was no tomorrow, and, before Darcy could complain, Elizabeth had her pinned against the kitchen table.
Elizabeth ripped open the tie on Darcy’s robe and slid her hand up the inside of the garment. Her hands were cold, and she felt Darcy shiver. No matter, she’d warm up soon enough. She brushed the sides of Darcy’s breasts and elicited a gasp of her own, which wasn’t nearly as satisfying as the appreciative groans that followed when Elizabeth sank to her knees and showed Darcy exactly how well she could perform in the kitchen.
Twenty minutes later, Darcy was naked and half-sprawled on the table. Elizabeth smiled smugly and washed her hands at the sink. Pouring herself a cup of coffee, she watched Darcy struggle to catch her breath. She poured a cup for her, too.
“I liked that cooking lesson,” Darcy said, sitting up and slipping her robe back on. Without Elizabeth nearby she was getting chilly again. “What’s next?”
“Next, we get this bird cooking,” Elizabeth said. “Would you turn on the oven so it can preheat?”
Darcy approached the stove like she was approaching a wild animal. She looked at it warily.
“It’s the knob in the middle,” Elizabeth said, watching carefully. “You really don’t know how to cook, do you?”
Darcy shook her head. “No, I wasn’t kidding.”
Elizabeth didn’t make fun of Darcy. She walked over to the stove and turned the
knob in the middle of the control panel. “This controls the oven temperature. For turkey, we want it to reach about 325 degrees.”
She opened the oven door and pointed inside. “We also want to check the racks. We want to make sure they’re set to allow our roasting pan to fit.” Elizabeth grabbed the roasting pan that was sitting on the stovetop and tried to slide it in place. It fit, but she wasn’t satisfied. She pulled it out and showed Darcy how to adjust the oven racks.
“You want the turkey to sit as close to the middle of the oven as possible,” she explained. Finally satisfied, she set the pan on the counter and walked back to the sink. Darcy followed along.
“How long does it take to cook a turkey? I mean, it’s practically dawn,” Darcy said.
“Depends on the size of the bird. Ours is about 15 pounds, so it’ll take about 4 hours, give or take.”
“So we can put it in the oven and go back to bed?” Darcy asked.
“Well, we have to make the dressing and the pies first. But after that, it’s pretty much just waiting around,” Elizabeth said.
“Well, let’s get this bird in the oven,” Darcy said, rolling up her sleeves. She liked to have clear-cut goals, and she worked well with deadlines.
Darcy froze when Elizabeth stuck her hand in the turkey’s chest cavity and pulled out the bag of innards.
“That’s gross,” Darcy said. “What are those, and what do you do with them?”