Unexpected Sparks

by Gina Dartt

  “So you feel it, too,” Kate said, a little relief in her voice.

  “Oh yes. I want to go to bed with you every night, wake up in your arms every morning, and spend every spare second in between with you.”

  “But it’s not practical.” Kate sighed slightly.

  “No, it’s not.” Nikki hugged her. “That’s not to say that some relationships don’t work out when the women move in together quickly, but they’re few and far between. Living together is a huge step, and it can make or break a relationship. I’d like to take time to make sure ours is strong before we start thinking about living together.” She kissed the side of Kate’s head. “With us, it might take a while because we’re such different people.”

  Kate entwined her fingers with Nikki’s where their hands rested on her stomach. “What’s the biggest difference between us?” she asked, almost as if she were afraid of the response.

  Nikki suddenly sensed that this was an interesting moment for them. She could gloss over it, indulge in inconsequential talk that would leave it unacknowledged, or she could take the opportunity to be completely honest and reveal her deepest fear right away. It might be too soon, possibly even scare Kate away, but on the other hand, it was an issue they would have to address sooner or later.

  “The whole straight/gay thing,” Nikki said finally. “I knew when I was young that this was who I was and just sort of accepted it, even if I didn’t do much about it while my parents held the reins. But you’ve been straight most of your life, Kate. It’s not easy being different. You might eventually decide that it’s not worth it, no matter how much you care for me.”

  Kate was silent, obviously recognizing that Nikki was prepared to reveal things about herself this night that perhaps she hadn’t expected. But when she finally responded, Nikki was astonished at how she had ferreted out the real truth of the statement.

  “I think you’re less afraid I’ll reject the ‘lifestyle,’” Kate said gently, “than you are that I’ll decide somewhere down the road that it’s men I really want...that I’ll hurt you exactly the same way that Anne did.”

  Nikki felt her heart catch and whispered, “Yes.”

  “I’m not Anne.” Kate turned so that she could look at Nikki. “But I also know it’s not easy for you to accept that fact so soon in our relationship. Even if you know it in your head, a part of your heart will hang back and wait to be proved wrong. It might take a long time to convince that part of you.”

  Ashamed, Nikki bowed her head. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be, Nikki. I’m not going to change my mind, nor am I about to stop loving you. Of course you’re wary. But when it becomes really bad for you, when you’re feeling especially vulnerable, please tell me so that we can try to figure out a way past it together.”

  “I promise.” Kate’s understanding touched Nikki profoundly. “What about you? Does anything frighten you about this?” She raised her head. “You’ll probably come across some cruel and harsh things in the future. It’s not going to be easy to love me in this town...not openly.”

  “I’m aware of that. My ex-husband dropped by today to let me know people are already talking about me and making value judgments on my life that are absolutely none of their concern.”

  Nikki felt sick, knowing that this type of reaction was inevitable, but disappointed that it was happening so soon. “I’m sorry,” she repeated, blinking against the tears stinging her eyes. “Was he very unpleasant to you?”

  Kate shook her head. “Not at all. He was just worried about me.” She sat up so that she could turn to regard Nikki face to face, her intense bluish gray eyes studying her carefully. “Why would you think he’d be unpleasant to me?”

  Nikki felt off balance. “I’ve heard a lot of men don’t like it when they find out that the women they’ve been involved with actually prefer women. I figured he’d be the same.”

  “David’s a very kind and compassionate man. Honestly, Nikki, would I have married anyone who wasn’t decent and honorable? More importantly, if I had, what would that say about me? How could I trust my judgment about you if my judgment about him was so flawed?”

  “I hadn’t thought about it like that,” Nikki said. “I guess I’m just so used to hearing horror stories from other lesbians about the men they married in their effort to be straight that I just assumed that...well, that you had the same experience.”

  “I suppose I can understand that, but it’s not what happened. I married David because I loved him, and he was the best man I had ever met. In a lot of ways, he still is.”

  Nikki didn’t like to hear this assessment but accepted it as Kate’s view of the situation.

  “Would you prefer if he were an obnoxious Neanderthal who came by to spout religious text about why I was now on a one-way trip to hell for my choice in lovers?”

  Nikki squirmed. “I think...it bothers me that you’re so complimentary about him,” she said, deciding that since they were being perfectly honest, she would reveal exactly what was on her mind.

  “Ah,” Kate said in that already familiar way of hers, a sort of verbal pause to gather her thoughts. Her expression gentled. “You’re worrying that I’ll change my mind about loving a woman...that if I care for David so much, it might mean that I can’t care for you.”

  Nikki nodded, close to tears, and Kate leaned forward and kissed her.

  “I am who I am, Nikki. I don’t know how to be anything else. I wasn’t always comfortable in my skin when I was married to David, and that’s probably why we divorced, regardless of the issue of children. I do feel comfortable in my skin with you, but I’m not always going to feel at ease with all the things about ‘being gay’ that you probably take for granted. It may seem like I’m disagreeing with ‘the lifestyle’ at times, but it has nothing to do with how I feel for you.”

  “All right,” Nikki said, wanting to believe Kate more than anything else in her life. “It’s still not going to be easy for us.”

  Kate lifted her expressive brows. “Probably not, but nothing worth having ever comes easy, darling. Loving someone, maybe. But staying with them, getting past the obstacles? That’s the true test. Have you forgotten what you told me? That how we deal with the problems we face will determine what our relationship will be?”

  “No. I haven’t forgotten.”

  “As long as we talk things out, then you and I will be able to find a way through all the landmines other people want to plant in front of us.”

  “You’ve been thinking a lot about this.”

  “A little. Definitely since speaking with David this morning.” Kate tilted her head, her features altering slightly as her smile dimmed a little. “You know, being considered ‘gay’ isn’t really what worries me.”

  Nikki stroked Kate’s cheek with her fingertips. “What does?”

  “The fact that you’re twenty-six. I’m forty. How long before you want someone your own age, someone who can share the things with you that I can’t?”

  Astonished, Nikki stared at her. “The age difference doesn’t matter,” she said in complete honesty. She took a breath, knowing she had to be as calm and as rational in diminishing Kate’s fears as her lover had been in helping her. “Kate, you’re probably the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met. I’m not looking for a mother figure. I have a mother, and we get along fine for the most part. And I’m not looking for someone to think for me. Otherwise, I doubt I would be very attractive to you in the first place. I kept coming into your store not necessarily because I wanted you physically, but because our talks stimulated and intrigued me. That need to be with you knows no age boundaries.” She hesitated. “Do you think I’m too young to hold your interest once the passion wears off?”

  “God, no,” Kate said, faltering as she was forced to look at the other side. “I just...I don’t want to ever hold you back.”

  “You won’t,” Nikki said with conviction. “But I guess you’ll worry about it, just like I’ll worry that your loving me will
hurt everything you’ve worked so hard to accomplish.” She took a breath. “We’ll just have to deal with all these things when and if they happen. We can spend all night thinking up potential problems. In the end, it comes down to whether the end result is worth the effort. I believe it is.”

  “I believe it is, too.” Kate smiled, her eyes shading to blue, a clear light color that Nikki now associated with happiness. “You know, for a kid, you’re pretty smart.”

  “For a straight chick, you are, too,” she countered. It was as if, by being able to joke about their fears, they shrank and became more manageable.

  Kate leaned closer and kissed Nikki, gently at first, then with more demand. “I’m sorry,” she said, drawing back. “I know you aren’t in the mood.”

  “I’m quickly changing my mind,” Nikki murmured, pulling her closer and kissing her insistently, feeling her own desire rise quickly. She ran her hands under Kate’s silken teal blouse, feeling her lover tremble as she touched the warm skin of her abdomen and sides. “You’re so beautiful.”

  “In your eyes,” Kate whispered. “That’s all that matters.”

  Carefully, Nikki unbuttoned the blouse as Kate leaned back, straddling her hips. Their eyes locked as Nikki slipped the blouse off the smooth shoulders, letting it fall to the sofa, then slipped her fingers underneath the bra straps and pulled them down. She loved the convenience of the front fastener, and she broke off her gaze with Kate to look as she opened the bra slowly, her mouth going dry at the sight of the small breasts.

  “Beautiful,” she said again, drawing her fingers lightly over them.

  Kate shivered. “If you only knew what that does to me. No one’s ever made me feel this way, Nikki.”

  Reassured, Nikki used her mouth on the swells, enjoying the soft sounds of delight that issued from Kate, inflamed by the way the velvet tips hardened beneath her lips, how Kate wrapped her arms around her head and held her to her chest. It was slightly difficult to breathe, being hugged so tightly, but it was exciting as well, knowing how much pleasure she was providing her lover.

  “Let’s go in the bedroom,” Kate urged, drawing away.

  Requiring little convincing, Nikki rose from the sofa, pausing briefly as Kate switched off the stereo, and then followed her into the bedroom. She had never been in this room, and like the rest it was decorated with antiques and feminine touches. The tiny teddy bear sitting on the nightstand didn’t look at all out of place, and Nikki smiled as she saw it. She was even more amused as Kate drew back the covers to reveal a familiar garment tucked beneath the pillow. “You slept in it?” She nodded at the T-shirt.

  “You realize, of course, that you’re never getting it back,” Kate said as she turned around.

  Nikki rested her hands lightly on her lover’s waist and gazed at her. “I’m glad I didn’t give you my favorite shirt, then.”

  “Which one is your favorite?” Kate asked, slipping Nikki’s sweatshirt off, along with her bra, her hands warm and gentle as they stroked Nikki’s body.

  “The black one.” Nikki unbuttoned Kate’s trousers and pushed them, along with her underwear, over her hips and down her legs.

  “Ah, the one that’s too small and shows everything you have?” Kate asked, stepping lightly out of the clothing crumpled around her feet. She tugged at Nikki’s jeans, having a little more difficulty removing them than Nikki had found with her garments, but persisting nonetheless.

  “You noticed?” Nikki said, pleased, as both of them finally crawled into the large bed where they settled into the center, side by side, hands exploring avidly, immediately seeking out the places on each other they had learned provided the most pleasure.

  “You were wearing it the first day you walked into the store,” Kate said huskily. “How could I not? It might just be my favorite of all your shirts as well.”

  “I’ll remember that. I’ll wear it for you on our next date.”

  “When might that be?” Kate laughed, a little shakily, Nikki noticed, as she stroked Kate lightly between her legs.

  “Soon,” Nikki promised, leaning close to capture her lover’s mouth in a searing kiss. “Very, very soon.” She kissed her again and then nibbled a line along her jaw. “Lie back.”

  She urged Kate down onto the mattress. Kate didn’t resist, taking a shuddering breath and offering no objection as Nikki kissed down her throat and over her chest.

  Nikki smiled briefly as she bent over her lover, brushing her lips over the soft texture of Kate’s right nipple. Licking it gently, she was rewarded by a quiet gasp and an even deeper moan when she closed her lips around it and sucked lightly. Kate tangled her fingers in Nikki’s short, blond hair, holding her lover’s head to her as Nikki paid worshipful attention to her breasts, alternating back and forth between them in an effort to make sure neither felt neglected.

  After several lovely moments, as Kate expressed her appreciation with a series of throaty whimpers and moans, Nikki resumed her meandering trail down the compact body, brushing her lips over the slight swell of stomach and nuzzling gently in the thin thatch of auburn hair. Kate shifted and groaned, spreading her legs in open invitation that Nikki wasn’t slow in accepting. Settling comfortably on her belly between the smooth thighs, Nikki glanced at the treasure offered, grateful that they had not turned off the bedside lamp and prevented her from seeing the delicate shades of pink, glistening with the moisture her attentions had inspired.

  Kate’s scent was ripe and womanly, heady in its richness, and Nikki inhaled deeply before lowering her head and extending the tip of her tongue, drawing lightly along the tiny erection of flesh, tracing its outline with careful precision.

  “Nikki…” The name was a whispered benediction, utter adoration wrapped up in a single word of aching desire.

  Nikki smiled again and leaned closer, sinking her mouth happily into the moist folds as Kate’s thighs closed about her ears and her fingers raked through Nikki’s hair, urging and loving at the same time. She loved how Kate tasted; the warm, musky flavor of her was better than the finest of wines, and she drank deeply. Her tongue never ceased laving the sensitive ridge, and before long, Kate was shuddering beneath her, a soft rush of additional moisture and a single, incoherent cry giving evidence of the deep pleasure she felt as she peaked.

  Nikki offered a few final kisses to the over-stimulated flesh, making Kate twitch helplessly, before kissing her way back up the sated body, to be welcomed into loving arms and a woman thoroughly intent on paying back tenfold every bit of pleasure she’d been granted.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Supremely content, Kate turned off the light. As she settled back onto the pillows, she felt Nikki wrap around her from behind and thought it was impossible to feel any more satisfied and fulfilled than she did. She sighed contentedly as she snuggled back against the warm embrace. “Happy?”

  “Ecstatic. This is a really nice bed.”

  Kate laughed. “With no one to share it, comfort was the only thing I had in mind when I bought it.”

  “Well, I like it a lot, but I don’t think I could ever buy one.”

  Kate felt a tiny uncertainty, aware of the difference in their financial situation, wondering if Nikki felt it too. They hadn’t discussed it earlier, and she wondered if they should have. “It wasn’t that expensive,” she said, though she realized it probably would be for Nikki,

  “I wasn’t referring to the cost. Just that I could never find another one that came with what I like most about it.”

  “What’s that?”

  “A sheet warmer that also knows how to make a killer turkey sandwich.”

  Caught, Kate nudged Nikki’s ribs with her elbow as she laughed. “Fiend.”

  “I am, aren’t I? But you love me anyway.”

  “Totally.” Kate yawned, the day and the exertion of their lovemaking catching up to her. “I also love having you spend the night.”

  “Hmm, I love being here,” Nikki said, pressing against her. “There’s something spe
cial about being able to wake up in your arms.” The quiet of darkness surrounded them like a warm shroud. A passing car hummed softly on the street outside. Suddenly Nikki asked, “What time did you go to bed last Wednesday night?”

  Kate forced herself awake. “Around nine-thirty. I read for about an hour, until I couldn’t stay awake any longer.”

  “So you were asleep by ten-thirty or eleven?”

  “Hmm, I’m not sure.” Kate wondered at Nikki’s interest. She sounded as if she had a specific purpose in mind. “Probably. Why?”

  “You don’t really notice the sound of cars, do you? I mean, cars go by all night on Prince Street. After awhile, you’d have to tune them out to get any sleep at all.”

  “I suppose so.”

  Nikki hugged her lover closer. “Is it possible that Rushton did drive away around eleven-thirty, and another car parked there afterward? That a second car is what you heard when it drove away?”

  “Ah,” Kate said, realizing where this was going now. “It’s possible.”

  “Then maybe Rushton is telling the truth.”

  Kate felt a touch of annoyance. “Maybe. Or maybe she’s lying through her teeth. Who else would want to kill Sam?”

  “His wife?”

  That statement woke Kate fully and she sat up, turning to Nikki in the darkness. Unable to make out anything, she reached over and switched on the light, blinking painfully as her eyes adjusted. When she could see again, she noticed that Nikki looked absolutely delightful tangled in the bed linens, blinking as well in the sudden illumination. “Margaret?” She considered it. “I don’t think so.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because...well, what possible reason would she have?”

  “Sam lost all their money on a bad deal,” Nikki suggested. “Or maybe it’s a little closer to home than that.”

  “Such as?”

  “Maybe Sam’s affair with Rushton wasn’t just an affair. Maybe this time, it was for real, and he wasn’t going to come back to her.”