Something in the Wine

by Jae

A loud cheer erupted from Annie’s mouth, and she pressed her hand against her lips.

  The other contestants battled for second place.

  Hands still bound, Drew stumbled to her feet and spat out the apple. Her bandana dripped with water.

  Someone handed Annie a towel, and she stepped up to Drew without hesitation. “Come here. You’re a mess.” She pulled up Drew’s eye patch, untied the soaked bandana, and rubbed the towel over Drew’s hair, which fell into her face in wet curls.

  Drew bent her head and held still.

  “You’re really competitive. Did anyone ever tell you that?” Annie shook her head. “I don’t think you’re supposed to dive in with your entire head.”

  “It’s the best technique,” Drew mumbled from beneath the towel. “You need to push the apple against the bottom of the pool to get a good grip on it.”

  “Did you at least win some great prize?”

  The towel swung back and forth as Drew shook her head. “Nope. No great prize. Tradition says that the first one to snag an apple will be the first to marry.” She snorted. “Big chance. Oh, and I get a victory kiss from our esteemed hostess.”

  A picture of Lynn’s nearly bare breasts pressing against Drew as Lynn kissed her flashed through Annie’s mind, and she frowned.

  Drew didn’t seem upset at the thought of Lynn kissing her. Was there still something going on between them?

  “Something wrong?” Drew asked from beneath the towel.

  “No, everything’s fine.” Annie gave Drew’s head one last good rub and then hung the towel around Drew’s shoulders.

  Drew shook her hands, making the handcuffs rattle. “Where’s Lynn with the damn key?”

  No matter how much Annie craned her neck, she couldn’t find Lynn in the crowd around the swimming pool. When she turned back toward Drew, she laughed out loud. Her eyeliner had run together, making her look more like Zorro, and her painted-on goatee was dripping down her chin. “Come with me, Blackbeard. We need to clean you up.” She grasped her upper arm with both hands and guided her through the crowd in the direction of the bathroom she has seen earlier. It felt good to take over and be the one to help Drew for a change.

  The bathroom door was closed and locked. The sound of a flushing toilet came from the other side of the door.

  A muscle twitched in Drew’s face. “Shit. My eyes are starting to burn.”

  Annie rubbed her arm. “I’ll take care of it in a minute.”

  The door opened, and a woman stepped out. A hatchet seemed to be buried in her head, and fake blood was running down her face. As she stepped past them, her gaze fell on Drew’s cuffed hands. “Ooh, kinky. Have fun.”

  Cheeks burning, Annie held open the bathroom door for Drew. “She thought ...?”

  “Yep.” Drew grinned broadly. “She probably thinks the Federation has some very pleasurable torture methods when they capture space pirates.”

  Someone had replaced the lightbulb in the bathroom with a red one, so at least the lighting hid Annie’s blush. “Going to a party with you really is an adventure.”

  “Is that a bad thing?” Drew searched Annie’s face, all hints of laughter now gone.

  Annie felt her expression softening. “No.” With Drew by her side, the adventure didn’t feel as overwhelming. She tugged Drew over to the sink and wet the end of the towel hanging around Drew’s shoulders. “Close your eyes,” she said and smiled when she remembered that Drew had told her the same thing at the wine tasting.

  Drew closed her eyes without hesitation.

  Very gently, Annie wiped away the smeared eyeliner, careful to avoid putting too much pressure on Drew’s eyes in the process. With the dry end of the towel, she dried off the upper part of Drew’s face and then started removing the beard.

  She laid one hand along Drew’s jaw to rub at a stubborn spot just below Drew’s full lower lip. “All done.” She stepped back. “You’re a clean-shaven pirate now.”

  “Thank you.” When Drew opened her eyes, their gazes met. Drew’s eyes looked darker in the reddish light.

  “You’re welcome,” Annie murmured.

  The door opened behind them.

  “Hey, why are you hiding out in here?” Lynn’s voice echoed through the bathroom. “It’s time to award the big prize.” She grinned and pulled Drew away from Annie.

  Drew sighed. She turned her back with her cuffed hands toward Lynn. “Unlock these things, will you?”

  “Oh, I don’t know.” The fluffy ears on top of Lynn’s head flopped to one side as she tilted her head. “Maybe I like you better this way.”

  Jesus. Annie narrowed her eyes at the annoying woman. Why can’t she leave Drew alone? Or is Drew still interested in her too? She wasn’t sure, but something about that thought bothered her. From what she had seen of Lynn so far, they just didn’t seem to fit together.

  “Lynn.” The handcuffs rattled. “Unlock them. Now.”

  “Okay, okay.”

  After Lynn unlocked and removed the handcuffs, Drew rubbed her wrists. Reddish lines had been carved into her skin where the metal dug into it.

  Annie glared at Lynn. “You call that keeping a close eye on her?”

  Lynn reached for one of Drew’s wrists and rubbed it. There was an easy familiarity in her touch that spoke of their shared history. “Shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t know they were that tight.” She turned to look at Annie. “You’re awfully protective of her. Are you sure you’re straight?”

  “What, a straight woman can’t worry about a friend?” Friend, Annie repeated to herself. When had Drew become a friend? It had been a long time since Annie had made one of those, but she admitted that Drew had gone from being simply her partner in crime to becoming a friend.

  “Of course,” Lynn said, “but—”

  “Leave her alone, Lynn,” Drew said as she stepped between them. “Just because you switched teams doesn’t mean the whole world is gay.”

  “Okay, okay. Guess my gaydar isn’t in full working order today. Must be the Zombie Punch.”

  Gaydar? Annie furrowed her brow but decided not to ask.

  Lynn opened the bathroom door, and they followed her out.

  When Drew stopped abruptly, Annie ran into her. She clutched two handfuls of Drew’s shirt to regain her balance.

  “Shit!” Drew hissed. “What’s he doing here?”

  Annie peered around Drew.

  Rob, Jake’s best friend and business partner, was holding court in front of the buffet table, regaling half a dozen guests with one of his stories.

  “Oh, Christ.” Annie pulled back her head and ducked to hide behind Drew. “I thought Jake didn’t know most of your friends?”

  “Well, apparently, someone knows Rob. What do we do now?”

  “Want us to beam out of here?”

  Lynn gripped the wide sleeve of Drew’s shirt and tugged to get her attention. “What’s going on, guys?”

  Annie glanced at Drew and then at Lynn’s fingers wrapped around Drew’s sleeve.

  “I thought you liked Rob?” Lynn let go of Drew’s sleeve and glanced toward the buffet table. “He’s a really nice guy. Becky and I started taking rock-climbing lessons with him and his partner last month.”

  “I like him just fine,” Drew said, “but ... it’s complicated.”

  “Ah.” Lynn crossed her arms over her scantily clad chest. “Now I understand. I thought Annie’s last name sounded familiar. She’s Jake Prideaux’s sister, right?” Annie nodded, but Lynn ignored her. She was staring at Drew instead. “Rob is a blabbermouth, and you don’t want him to tell Jake that you’re fucking his sister.”

  “Christ, Lynn! Stop it!” Drew’s voice grew louder. “I’m not f—”

  “Drew!”

  A nudge from Annie made Drew lower her voice. “I’m not sleeping with Annie,” she whispered. “We just want to make Jake believe that there’s something going on between us.”

  “Why would you want to do—”

  “Oh, no!” Now Annie was the
one to tug on Drew’s sleeve. “I think Rob has seen us! What do we do?”

  Rob had stopped in the middle of his story and was staring at them.

  “Relax,” Drew said. “This is our chance. Like Lynn said, Rob is a blabbermouth. If we can convince him that there’s something going on between us, he’ll run to Jake and tell him what he saw. That should be a nice preparation for Thanksgiving.”

  She’s right. Still, Annie wasn’t sure she could pull it off. They’d had no time to practice or to talk about what to do and what not to do. “But I’m completely unprepared. What if I freeze and ... Oh, great, now Rob is coming over!”

  Rob strode away from the buffet table and would be with them in a few seconds.

  Drew grasped Annie’s hand and rubbed it. “Do you trust me?”

  For a long moment, their gazes connected. Annie nodded, her throat too tight to speak.

  “Just follow my lead,” Drew said out of the corner of her mouth.

  Annie took a calming breath. “Okay.”

  “Hey, would you look at that!” Rob stopped in front of them. “If it isn’t Annie Prideaux, out and about on a Saturday night!”

  Drew slid one arm around Annie’s waist and turned toward Rob with a smile. “Hey, Rob.”

  Rob blinked. Even in the dim light, Annie could see that his eyes were glassy, probably an effect of the nearly empty cup of Zombie Punch in his hand. “Oh, hey, Drew. Jake told me that he introduced the two of you.”

  His snickering made Annie clench her teeth as she imagined Jake and Rob laughing about her blind-date with a lesbian.

  “But I didn’t know you still hang out with each other,” Rob said and turned toward Drew. “How did you manage to drag Ms. Annie to a party? She hates parties.”

  “Guess it depends on the company,” Drew said and pulled Annie closer.

  Lynn snorted.

  Sweat broke out along Annie’s spine. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lynn smirk at her. The guests who had been in Rob’s group of fans were looking over at them too. Oh, God. This was a bad idea. I’m not ready for this.

  “Sorry, Rob, I need to steal Drew for a moment. She won first prize in the bobbing-for-apples contest,” Lynn said and again took hold of Drew’s sleeve.

  This time, Annie was glad about it.

  When Lynn dragged Drew to the middle of the room, Annie followed, not wanting to be left alone with Rob and the questions he might ask.

  “Can I have everyone’s attention, please?” Lynn shouted over the din of the party. “It’s time to award the prize to the victor. Drew here was the first one to snag an apple. We all know she’s got a talented mouth.”

  The guests whistled and hooted.

  Annie rubbed her cheek while Drew just rolled her eyes. Why am I the one blushing?

  “So she won one kiss from the second-best kisser in the room. Which would be ...” Lynn paused dramatically and then patted her nearly bare chest. “Me.”

  More hoots and whistles.

  Annie bit her lip. Who’s the best? She remembered Lynn’s comment about Drew’s talented mouth and swallowed.

  Rob clapped, spilling the rest of his Zombie Punch in the process.

  “Unless ...” Lynn turned and looked at Annie with a smirk. “Unless you want to do the honors.”

  What? Me? Annie’s mouth went dry. No, I ... I can’t kiss her.

  “Scared?” Lynn asked in a low voice. “Hmm, maybe you are straight after all.”

  Annie met Lynn’s challenging gaze. This is our chance, she mentally repeated Drew’s words. Rob is well on his way to being drunk. He won’t notice subtle glances and little touches. We need to do something big.

  “Want me to kiss her?” Rob asked. He roared with laughter. “I could do it.”

  “No, thanks,” Lynn said. “We want it to be a reward for Drew, not a punishment.”

  Someone nudged Annie from behind, and she took a stumbling step toward Drew.

  Drew stared at her. Her lips moved in an almost inaudible, “Annie.”

  Lips that Annie would kiss if she went through with this. She couldn’t look away.

  It’s just a kiss. The thought did nothing to slow down her heartbeat or her breathing. Just a kiss. You’ve kissed some of your dates without feeling anything for them. You can do this. Just one simple kiss.

  She took another step closer. Her gaze darted from Drew’s lips to her eyes. The double-time beat of her heart hammered in her ears. When a wave of dizziness swept over her, she steadied herself with her hands against Drew’s shoulders.

  Even through the fabric of her pirate shirt, Drew’s skin felt hot.

  Drew stood stock-still. “You don’t need to—”

  Annie didn’t let her finish. If she did, she knew she would lose her courage. Quickly, she leaned forward and bent her head.

  For a moment, all she saw was Drew’s startled expression; then Annie’s eyelids fluttered shut as their lips met.

  A tingle raced through Annie’s lips and down the rest of her body.

  “Slip her some tongue!” someone called behind Annie, but neither of them tried to deepen the kiss.

  Drew’s warm lips moved gently against hers, then retreated.

  Annie stumbled back and pressed her hand to her lips. Her breath came in quick bursts. I did it. I kissed her. And it felt ... Oh, God.

  “Hey, you okay?” Drew whispered next to her.

  “Yeah.” Come on. Snap out of it. It was just a kiss.

  Drew looked at her, her brown eyes darkened to almost black. “Want to get out of here?”

  Annie nodded and glanced at Rob, who looked just as shell-shocked as she felt. With any luck, he would think they were hurrying off to do more than just kiss.

  Chapter 9

  Drew opened the passenger door for Annie and went to the back of the car to put the saber and eye patch in the trunk, glad to have a moment alone before she got into the car with Annie. Her lips still tingled, and all she wanted was to kiss Annie again.

  Cut it out! You’re just friends, remember? Get yourself together.

  She wasn’t about to destroy her fragile friendship with Annie by giving in to her attraction.

  After taking a deep breath, she climbed into the driver’s seat, started the car, and pretended to need her full attention for driving.

  The silence between them was awkward.

  Drew peeked over at Annie, who stared out of the side window. Passing streetlamps bathed her face in a succession of lights and shadows. Between glances at the road, Drew admired the gentle curve of her cheek and the shape of her li—

  Stop thinking like that! Her lips are none of your business.

  She wrenched her gaze away and turned on the radio to fill the silence between them.

  A female singer sang about kissing a girl.

  Jesus Christ! Can’t I get a break here?

  Drew turned off the radio.

  Tick-tick-tick. The rhythmic sound of the turn signal filled the car as Drew made a right turn. She glanced over at the passenger seat again, just as Annie peeked at her.

  Their gazes met and then veered away like billiard balls bouncing off each other.

  This is ridiculous.

  Determined to clear the air between them, Drew turned back toward Annie. “I think we should—”

  “I’m sorry if I—”

  They spoke simultaneously and then looked at each other as their words trailed off.

  The headlights of another car made Drew redirect her attention toward the road. “Want to come over to my place so we can talk? I don’t want things to be awkward between us just because ...”

  Annie fingered the golden rank insignia on her uniform collar. “All right,” she said after a moment. “We need to decide what to say when Jake calls anyway.”

  Jake. Drew groaned. Of course. That’s why she kissed you in the first place, idiot.

  When Drew parked the car in front of the house, Annie got out before Drew could walk around and open the car door for h
er.

  Drew sighed and followed Annie to the front door.

  Cab bounded up to them from somewhere behind the fermentation barn. He circled Drew, then Annie, sniffing and whining excitedly, as if she were a long-lost buddy. When Annie returned his enthusiastic greeting by rubbing his shaggy head, Cab jumped up and planted his front paws on Annie’s chest.

  “Cab, off!” Drew grabbed his collar and dragged him away from Annie, but the damage was already done.

  Muddy paw prints covered the black pants and the red uniform top.

  “Shit, Annie, I’m sorry.”

  Annie rubbed at the mud stains with her fingers, managing to smear them even more. “It’s not that bad. I’m sure it’ll all come out in the wash.”

  “Come on in and let me soak it for you before the stains set,” Drew said. “I’ll give you a pair of sweats.”

  “Do you have something that will fit me?” Annie asked. A small smile darted across her face. “No offense, but you’re not exactly my height.”

  “Hey, are you calling me vertically challenged?” Drew narrowed her eyes at Annie, glad to be able to lighten the mood and introduce some playfulness into the evening again.

  Annie shrugged. “If the size-six shoe fits.”

  “I’m not a size six, Bigfoot,” Drew said. Secretly, she was pleased that Annie felt relaxed enough with her to joke and tease. She led Annie through the house. When she stopped in front of the guest room and turned toward Annie, she had to grin. “You somehow managed to get mud on your chin.”

  “Here?” Annie rubbed at the wrong side of her chin. Now a second mud stain covered her face.

  “Um, no.” Drew’s fingers were itching to reach out and rub the mud off Annie’s face, but she resisted. “If you want, you can get washed up. The guest room has its own bath. I’m going to clean up Cab, soak your uniform, and change out of this costume too, so take your time. I’ll leave a pair of sweat pants and a T-shirt in front of the door.”

  Maybe a moment alone would help them both overcome the awkwardness.

  * * *

  When Drew returned to the living room, she found Annie on the couch with Cab next to her, his head and now clean front paws resting on her lap. The dog sighed contentedly as Annie ran her long fingers through his shaggy fur.