by Parker, Syd
“So, marathon sessions of making love are out? Check.” Remy made a tick mark in the air.
“Well, not out, per se.” Sarah sat up and crossed her legs under her. “Just not every night.”
“Oh yeah? I seem to remember someone couldn’t take no for an answer last night.” Remy waggled her eyebrows at Sarah and was rewarded with a punch in the arm. “It’s true. I remember trying to cut you off after the fifth time last night.”
Sarah set her coffee on the nightstand and pushed herself up on her knees. Her breasts brushed against Remy’s face provocatively. She rubbed her nipple over Remy’s lips, pulling away when Remy tried to capture it in her mouth. “Are you thinking of saying no now?”
Remy groaned loudly and wrapped her arms around Sarah, pulling her body against hers. She mumbled something unintelligible into her breasts. She flicked her tongue over Sarah’s nipple, feeling her shudder in her arms. “No is the furthest thing from my mind right now.”
A loud knock on the door made them both jump. “Damn it. Saved by the bell, but you’re in a lot of trouble later.”
Remy kissed her on the lips. “I’ll hold you to that.” She watched Sarah grab her clothes and run into the bathroom before she opened the door. She blushed at the smirk on Parker’s face.
“Good morning.” Parker teased. She followed Remy into the room and paused by the bed, her eyes taking in the mess. “Guess you found overnight accommodations.”
“Uh, yeah. Sarah was nice enough to let me sleep here. Thought you two could use a night alone.”
“Well, wasn’t that sweet of her?” Parker ran her hand over the comforter with another smirk. “Looks like you were nice and cozy.”
Remy felt the heat rise in her face. She pulled at her collar, suddenly hot. She cleared her throat loudly. “Yep, nice and cozy. Slept like a baby.”
“Uh—huh.” Parker saw the panties lying on the floor, discarded haphazardly in last night’s haste. She crossed her arms over her chest and pierced Remy with a sharp gaze, her eyes dancing mischievously.
Remy glanced at Sarah’s panties and swallowed nervously. She knew that Parker knew what had happened, and there was no point in trying to deny it. One look at Parker, and Remy knew she was enjoying making her uncomfortable. “Umm, I should probably get going. Sarah, Parker is here.”
Sarah left her at Parker’s mercy for several more minutes before she came out to rescue her. “Hey, Parker.”
A look passed between them and had it been anyone besides Remy, they may have passed it off as an innocent look between cousins. But, Remy saw the meaning buried underneath the exchange, and she knew without words that Parker had given her silent approval. She shot Sarah an apologetic smile, sorry that they had been interrupted. “I should go. Thanks for last night.”
Sarah saw the emotions in Remy’s eyes, and she wished they were alone so she could give her a proper goodbye. They ran into each other frequently, but there was no guarantee they would always end up in the same place. It could be weeks before she saw her again, much less had the chance to kiss her. She shot Parker a look.
Parker got her meaning. “I’m gonna grab some coffee.” She nodded towards the cups on the nightstand. “You want anything?”
“A Dew please.” Sarah looked up at Remy. “You want more coffee since yours is cold now?”
“Nah, I’m good. Thanks, though.”
Parker walked out and left the two women alone.
Remy cleared her throat. “Seriously, thank you for last night.”
Without a word, Sarah slipped into her arms and snuggled her cheek against Remy’s shoulder. “You’re welcome. I, I forgot how good you feel.”
Remy’s heart thudded against her chest. It wasn’t a confession of love, but she would take it. She knew Sarah was still struggling with her feelings for her, and she wasn’t ready to accept that she was in love with Remy. “Don’t forget.”
Sarah pulled back and smiled up at Remy. “I won’t, not this time.” She kissed Remy quickly and stepped away. “Goodbye, Remy.”
Remy leaned against the doorframe and sent Sarah a smile that made Sarah’s knees buckle. In that moment, Sarah thought her devastatingly handsome, and she knew her heart was no longer hers.
“See ya next trip, Bonneville.”
When Parker came back, she found Sarah towel drying her hair. She set her Mt. Dew on the bathroom counter and leaned against the door watching her cousin. She almost chuckled at the faraway look in Sarah’s eyes, but she stopped herself in time. “Sleep well?”
“What?” Sarah regarded Parker quizzically, as if just realizing she wasn’t alone in the room. “Oh yeah, slept great.”
Parker shoved off the door and rubbed a spot on Sarah’s chin.
Sarah quirked an eyebrow. “What was that for?”
“Wiping off the drool.” Parker smirked, her eyes dancing. “You’re going to have to wipe the smile off your face, if you want us to believe nothing happened.”
“Nothing did…” Sarah stopped and she caught her reflection in the mirror. She may be able to tell a lie, but her eyes couldn’t. They were silently televising all her innermost thoughts. “Okay, fine. We slept together. Are you happy?”
“Depends.” Parker shrugged. “Are you happy?”
Sarah’s smile grew wider. “Yeah, I am. She makes me happy.”
“Bueno. You deserve to be happy, Chica.”
“My, my, bilingual now, eh?”
“My, my, Canadian now, eh?” Parker teased. “I guess I have a little Spanish in me.”
Sarah rolled her eyes. “Really?”
Parker smirked. “Hey, you might be into total non—disclosure, but I’m proud of my Puerto Rican and her umm, Latin sex drive. I can’t help it if she makes me want to brag a little.”
“Or, a lot.” Sarah ran a brush through her hair and pulled it into a small ponytail. “So, you’re in love, huh?”
Parker blushed and shook her head. She couldn’t keep the smile from creeping across her face. “Very much so. She’s the one.”
“So you’ve said.” Sarah squeezed past Parker and stopped in front of her small suitcase. “Kind of quick, don’t you think?”
Parker shrugged. “What’s time when it’s right? I knew the second I met Carmen.” She could feel the heat in her cheeks and she didn’t care. “She’s different, Sarah. Not like the women back home. You know how it is.”
Sarah nodded. She was well aware of the lesbian scene in her hometown. She liked to tease that she lived in a very green town. Most of the lesbians liked to recycle their women, which meant that everyone in the small town they lived in had slept with everyone else. It reminded her of the old game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, only she could link them all in two to three steps. “I forget about that being on the road all the time. Evan should have been a good reminder of that though.”
“True. She’s a bitch.” Parker’s tone was venomous.
“Wow, tell me how you really feel.” Sarah pulled a clean tee shirt on.
Parker smiled ruefully. “Well, she is.” She watched Sarah’s face for her reaction. When she saw none, she smiled. Obviously, she was good and over Evan. “Remy’s good people, you know.”
Sarah looked up surprise on her face. “I’m starting to realize that.”
Parker narrowed her eyes. “She loves you, you know? You should be careful not to mess this up.”
“What do you mean?” Sarah’s brow wrinkled in confusion. “Mess this up how?”
“I know you, Cuz. You don’t let people in. You barely let me in and that’s only because I bugged the crap out of you till you caved. Don’t put up the famous Sarah wall and push her away.”
“I do not do that!” Sarah stopped suddenly. Was Parker right? Did she keep herself locked up and not let anyone in? She thought back to her previous relationships, romantic or otherwise, and she couldn’t pick one that was more than skin deep. “Oh.”
“Oh is right.” Parker smiled apologetically. “Don’t end up a
n old lady, lonely and alone, because you can’t let her in.”
Sarah opened her mouth to object then shut it quickly. She didn’t want to admit it, but Parker was right. She didn’t let people in. She had kept Remy at arms’ length. Remy said she was in love with her, and she couldn’t reciprocate it. She made love with her all night long, and she had kept a part of herself locked away. She hadn’t given Remy all of herself, and she was suddenly left wondering if she could do that. Could she open up and let her in completely?
Sarah shook her head. She wasn’t sure. She knew she needed to, or Parker’s words would be more than idle chatter. They would be a foreboding harbinger of her life to come. She realized, for the first time, that growing up in a household that never shared their feelings had left her facing life with a gigantic cocoon around her and wondering if she had the strength to break free from it and let someone love her completely.
Chapter 21
Carmen flipped the computer off and got out to stretch her legs. “Can you believe this shit? Two weeks and nothing. It’s like the storms decided to go on vacation.”
Remy shrugged. “It’s nothing new. We’ve seen that before.”
“Not that long, Chica.”
“2006.” Remy offered nonchalantly. They went five weeks without seeing a tornado at all. She knew what was eating at Carmen. It had been three weeks since they had met up with Sarah and Parker. Phone sex just wasn’t cutting it for Carmen anymore. Remy hadn’t even had the luxury of that, which given how wound up she was right now, she would have settled for that.
What she had gotten plenty of was long phone conversations with Sarah. Just thinking of her voice on the other end of the line made her stomach tighten. There wasn’t much they didn’t know about each other at this point. That thought made Remy smile.
Remy glanced up at Carmen, who was tapping her foot impatiently against the curb, watching Remy pump gas. “You know you don’t have to stand there bitching about it, you could make yourself useful.”
Carmen quirked an eyebrow threateningly, and Remy had to cover a smirk. Much as Carmen wanted to be a badass, she was the furthest thing from that. Certainly, she could shout with the best of them, and even that wasn’t scary since Remy didn’t understand half of what she was saying anyway.
“You can finish filling up Thor or grab me a coke…pretty please.” Remy saw her eyes narrow and decided softening her up a little might help.
“Oh, fine.” Carmen said with a huff. She pushed off the truck and headed into the gas station, a string of Spanish profanities trailing over her shoulder.
Remy could only shake her head and laugh. She watched the meter inch its way towards one hundred dollars, silently cursing the cost of diesel these days. She was just tightening the gas gap when her pocket started vibrating. Dusting off her hands, she pulled her phone out and hit the accept button, a huge grin on her face. “Hey.”
“Straw.”
“Huh?” Remy wrinkled her brow.
“Sorry.” Sarah said with a chuckle. “I thought we were playing the word game. You know, say something, and I say the first thing that comes to my mind.”
“Sounds fun.” Remy stepped into the truck and rested her foot on the doorjamb. “Dessert.”
A low rumble of laughter teased Remy through the phone. “Cherry.”
“Pie.” Remy’s skin was starting to tingle.
“Clit.”
“Lick.” The sound of short, raspy breaths came through the phone, and Remy knew that Sarah’s mind was in the same gutter hers was in. “As in, I need to taste you again. I want to fuck you with my tongue. I want to suck your clit and make you scream my name.”
“Wow! I can’t remember the last time words got me this hot and bothered.” Sarah took several deep breaths, willing the pounding ache in her aroused core away. “Where are you?”
“Missouri. Springfield. You?”
“Tulsa.” Sarah answered breathily, her heart still pounding.
“Hang on.”
Remy’s tone was just husky enough to send Sarah’s libido into overdrive. It shouldn’t affect her this way, but it did. No way someone’s voice should send shivers down her spine, but Remy’s did. Actually, if just talking to someone could give a person an orgasm, Sarah would bet money that Remy had made hundreds of women come just from saying hello.
Sarah heard papers rustling in the background. “Meet me.” Remy said quietly.
There it was again, the flutter in her stomach. “Where?” Right now, Remy could say the moon and Sarah would figure out a way to get there.
“Joplin. That’s halfway for both of us.” Remy’s tone was matter—of—fact. She wouldn’t take no for an answer, not after three weeks anyway. Her body had a mind of its own, and right now it was telling her if she didn’t see Sarah soon, there might be problems.
“Yes.” One word, and Sarah’s nerves took over. She needed to see Remy, needed to feel her body pressed against hers, wanted another night like before, but she felt the doubt start to feather its way into her subconscious. Would it be that magical again or had it been a fluke? Two times are amazing, but what if the third time the truth comes out. She shook her head. “I can’t wait to see you.”
“Until tonight.” Remy’s voice was even huskier than before and Sarah could hear the naked longing in her tone. “And, Bonneville?”
“Uh-huh?”
“Don’t forget.” It was Remy’s way of telling her she loved her. Sarah hadn’t been able to respond in kind to her earlier proclamation, but Remy still needed her to know, and this was the second best way she knew how to get her meaning across.
Sarah took a deep breath, her heart clenching in her chest. “I won’t…I promise.”
Remy smiled widely. She was one hundred percent, head over heels in love, and by her calculations, a mere three hours from seeing Sarah again. “Until tonight, Bonneville.”
She hung up the phone as Carmen made her way back to the truck. Remy couldn’t get the shit—eating grin off her face in time to avoid arousing suspicion, so it was no surprise Carmen gave her hell about it.
“Chica, you are smiling like the bear that ate a canary. Que pasa?”
Remy shook her head, laughing out loud. “It’s cat.”
“Huh? You are smiling about a cat?” Carmen looked confused, which made Remy laugh even louder.
“No, I’m not smiling about a cat. It’s the cat that ate the canary, not the bear. How on earth would a bear get a hold of a canary?”
“No se, Chica. How would I know? You are the one that keeps talking about a cat.” Carmen was glaring by now, and none too happy when Remy could not stop laughing.
When Remy finally got herself under control, she shot Carmen a devilish grin. “Never mind the cat, guess where we are going?”
Carmen’s brows furrowed. “Disney World. You know I always wanted to go there, but my momma wouldn’t take me. How the hell should I know where we are going?”
Her tone was so sarcastic, Remy couldn’t help but laugh. “Joplin.”
“Missouri?”
“Si, Chica. I’ve got a little surprise for you.” Remy started the truck and eased it away from the station, a mysterious smile on her face. “Just sit back, drink your Coke and enjoy the ride.”
Two and a half hours later, Remy pulled into a Holiday Inn and got out, stretching her long legs. She shut the door and poked her head through the window. “Tell Parker we are at the Holiday Inn on Range Line.”
Thirty minutes later, Sarah’s battered Chevy pulled into the parking lot, and Remy bounded outside to greet her. Rather than stay in their room, she had stalked the hotel lobby. She pulled Sarah’s door open hastily, and her eyes raked over Sarah’s body hungrily. She finally met her amused gaze, a guilty smile on her face. “Hey.”
“Okay, tell me we aren’t playing that game again.” Sarah’s tone was teasing, but her eyes were dark with hunger. “Besides, you know I’d rather do it with you than talk about it anyway.”
Rem
y’s mouth opened and closed several times before she could manage a coherent thought. “I, um, got you guys a room already. I didn’t want to take a chance there wouldn’t be one by the time you got here.”
Parker cleared her throat loudly, her eyes dancing with amusement.
“Oh hey, Parker.” Remy didn’t even pretend to be embarrassed. They were all adults and clearly all aware of the new situation between her and Sarah. “Carmen’s upstairs already. Room 230. Here’s the key.”
Parker grabbed the key before Remy could even blink and headed towards the hotel. “Guess we won’t be seeing them till tomorrow.”
“That’s okay. I’ve seen enough of her to last me a while.” Sarah popped the trunk and started to grab her bag. Remy took it from her hand, and she caught her scent on the breeze. She felt her knees quiver. Just Remy’s scent spiked her blood pressure. Get a hold of yourself Sarah. She put some space between them and smiled. “Thanks.”
If Remy noticed her withdrawal, she didn’t mention it. Nothing was going to ruin her mood today. “Sure. Come on, let’s take your bag up and let you get settled.”
Sarah nodded and followed Remy into the lobby, her eyes never leaving her tight bottom.
Chapter 22
Remy held the door open, her eyes never leaving Sarah’s as she walked in the room. She shut the door and set Sarah’s bag on the end of the bed. She tucked her hands in her back pockets and rocked back and forth, unable to pull her gaze away from Sarah’s face.
There was an awkward silence between them, the solitude of the room making them uncomfortable. This was the first time they had been alone since the morning of their aborted lovemaking. It was evident in their eyes what they were thinking. A continuation of that morning but neither one was sure how to start it. The only sound in the quiet room was the sound of their quickened breathing.
Remy finally laughed nervously. “I bet you’re tired. You want me to give you some privacy so you can relax a bit.”