by Giselle Fox
“You need more than just a holiday, it sounds like.”
“I was having an early mid-life crisis too. The thing is, I want to do something about it. I don’t just want to watch another two, three, five years go by. This is my life.”
Lexi was watching her. “Well, you were game to come up here. That shows that you have some ovaries.” A cute smile spread across her face after she’d said it.
Cate snorted with laughter. “Ovaries? They’re key in this adventure business.”
“They are indeed. I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere without mine.”
Cate took another look around the incredible platform that Lexi had built with her bare hands. “No, you wouldn’t have.” She took another sip of her wine but realized her cup was empty.
“Need a refill?” Lexi asked as she lifted the bottle.
“Maybe just a splash. I’m a little wary of drinking too much since I know we’re going to have to get down at some point.”
“I’m done, myself.”
“Well then at least one of us will be sober.”
“We have a couple of hours yet,” Lexi said. “And dinner.”
“Dinner?”
Lexi grinned at her. “I told you I was making dinner.”
“You’re going to make dinner up here? Don’t tell me you have a grill in your bag.”
“I made some ceviche yesterday. It’s been marinating all night. And I have some delicious wild boar carpaccio, fresh bread and some brilliant cheese that I got from a local farmer.”
Cate felt her mouth begin to water. “I can’t believe this. You’re like the perfect date!” She felt her face turn red as soon as she’d said it. It may have been the wine, but Lexi’s cheeks suddenly looked a little pinker too.
“Thank you,” Lexi said and stretched back against her backpack again. Cate let her eyes drift over her lips, down the tiny cleft in her chin and down the soft and smooth skin of her throat. Her eyes drifted further, down to the collar of her shirt and around the single tiny button that was undone at the split of the v-neck, the little button loop on the other side, and the exposed bronze skin of her chest. Her shirt had lifted as she’d stretched back, exposing her abdomen and those stunning muscles that curled around the crests of her hips and down into her jeans. Her jeans were soft and worn, threadbare in some places, patched in one spot at her thigh that had ripped again along its stitches. They hugged her thighs and revealed the definition of her beautiful legs.
For the first time, Cate allowed herself to feast on that vision, to really take it all in. There was nothing like it that she’d ever seen. What would it be like to be her? To be with her? She realized she was probably out of line for thinking that way but she didn’t care. At some point, Lexi must have opened her eyes, and she was watching her quietly. Cate could feel it before she turned her eyes away.
“So, been on any dates lately?” The question was ridiculous and Cate regretted it almost as soon as she’d asked it. “Never mind. You don’t have to answer that.”
Lexi sat up a little. “It’s okay,” she said. “I went on a date with a woman about three months ago.”
“A woman,” Cate said, a little louder than she’d meant to. It wasn’t a surprise. More of a relief, really. She’d begun to think maybe she was imagining things or just being hopeful.
“Yes. She was nice. We had a fine enough time but... “
“Did you bring her here?”
Lexi laughed. “No, I didn’t bring her here. We had dinner at Yolanda’s. I won’t be doing that again.”
“Why?”
“I prefer to keep my business to myself. Everyone in there knows me now since I started helping Yolanda out. Still, it’s some of the best food in town. She wanted to go there.”
“Was she interesting?” Cate asked. Her voice sounded tight even to herself. Lexi must have noticed it too from the way she looked back at her.
“She wasn’t all that interesting, no.”
“Oh,” Cate said. “Good.”
Lexi laughed again. “Good?”
“Yes, good.”
Lexi laid back against her pack again.
“Just the one date?” Cate asked as she swished her wine around in her cup.
Lexi’s eyes flashed open. “You’re very curious all of a sudden.”
“Well?” Cate felt her cheeks get hot. She’d stepped into it now and there wasn’t any point in retreating before she knew what she wanted to know; whether Lexi could be interested in a woman that was just passing through.
“Just the one not very interesting date, yes,” Lexi replied.
“Good,” Cate said satisfied with the answer.
Lexi raised her eyebrows.”That pleases you?”
“I wouldn’t say that it pleases me as much as it gives me hope that I may be able to offer a more interesting evening.”
“I think you’ve already passed the point of just being interesting, Cate.” Lexi managed to look at her seriously and with humor all at once.
“I’m happy to hear that,” Cate said and looked out over the hills again. “What else do you like to do?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, what else do you like to do with women… that you take out on dates?” Cate had her eyes closed when she asked the question. The sun was straight in front of them now and blazing into her eyes. She heard Lexi chuckling beside her and when she opened her eyes again, Lexi was staring back at her.
“Is that a serious question?”
“Well, yes. Don’t I sound serious?”
“You sound curious again, I’m not sure whether that counts as serious too.”
“Was this, for example, your first date with a woman?”
Lexi shook her head and laughed. “No. Far from it.”
“Far, hey?”
Lexi stared back at her. “Far. Let me ask you a question now.”
“Okay, go ahead.”
“Why are you so curious?”
Cate thought about that for a second since she didn’t expect Lexi to ask. “I can’t help it, I guess.” She looked back at Lexi. She looked into her eyes and at her lips. She looked at the pulse at her throat and watched as her tongue slid slowly across her lips. She licked her own lips in response and suddenly felt powerfully thirsty. For what, was yet to be decided.
“Hmm,” said Lexi softly. Her eyes dropped to Cate’s lips and rested there. Cate felt as if they were being measured for thickness and perhaps velocity. Everything around them suddenly seemed to be moving very fast.
Lexi sat up suddenly, her face was very close now, close enough to touch with the end of her nose if Cate had leaned forward just a little. Certainly close enough to kiss. The thought of that, of kissing Lexi in that place, high above the tropical forest floor as they watched the sun set over a pristine valley, the thought of that was exhilarating.
But they didn’t kiss. The moment abruptly came to an end when Lexi suddenly stood up. Cate was left locked in the same expectant position she’d been sitting in since their banter had begun. What happened, she didn’t know, but whatever it was was over. She cleared her throat and then stood up too.
“Are we leaving?” she asked quietly. Lexi’s sudden movement had seemed so final that she was sure that was the end of it. Had she said too much, been too curious?
“No,” Lexi said as she glanced back at her. She seemed to be considering something or many things. Whatever they were, she wouldn’t meet Cate’s eye for long. “I thought I might get dinner ready. Are you hungry?”
Cate shook herself out of her embarrassment because it obviously wasn’t going to help either of them. “Yes!” she said as enthusiastically and non-flirtatiously as she could. She watched Lexi without watching her. “I apologize if I got too personal. I was only playing. I blame the wine.”
“It’s okay, really. It’s totally okay,” Lexi said. She looked up from the containers she’d pulled from her bag. “I was playing too. Wine…” she said and shrugged.
The
re was no way it was just the wine, Cate thought to herself. She’d felt the electricity between them, she was there. But whatever may have happened, didn’t and now it was time to move on.
“I’m starving and that looks incredible,” Cate said as she sat down on the mat again. She kept a friendly distance and they both dug in.
The sun had begun to set by the time they’d finished their meal. The tension, if she could have even called it that, had passed and they’d slipped into a friendly banter about food and restaurant patrons, tourists and locals and almost everything in between. Everything except them, that was. The conversation, whenever it veered toward the personal, was expertly guided back onto a neutral course. Both of them had done it as much as the other. Both had spent their dinner being charming and professional. Why it had turned to that was as strange as anything that had happened already that evening, but Cate went with it as if it had a mind of its own.
The sky had turned brilliant shades of orange and pink and the sun a fiery yellow ball in the center of it all. They both sat back and watched. Cate felt totally relaxed. When thunder boomed somewhere behind them, she bolted up on the mat. Lexi shot to her feet and then up onto her tiptoes to look at the sky behind them.
“Shit!” was all she said.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“What is it?” Cate asked.
“There’s heavy clouds coming in right behind us. We need to pack up.”
But the wind began to whip the trees around them within minutes.
“Okay, plan B.”
Cate stared at her. “What’s plan B?”
“We hunker down until this is over. I don’t want you climbing down in this wind.”
A few minutes later they heard the first drops of rain begin to pelt the canopy behind them. In seconds, Cate felt the drops. Lexi had already pulled a tarp from her pack and was fastening it to hooks on the branches above them. “I’m glad I left these here,” she said. She worked fast and in no time, the tarp was hooked and stretched over top of the lower platform. Both women sat beneath and looked out into the heavily misted valley below. The sun was still blazing through the clouds and the sheets of rain that fell over the valley were lit into thousands of crystals. But the thunderheads moved in fast, pushed by the wind. Soon, the valley was blanketed in storm.
The tarp was pelted above them like thousands of tiny needles bearing down.
“Thank God you have this tarp!” Cate said. She pulled her jacket from her bag since the wind and rain had made the air chilling. Lexi pulled on a thin fleece and shell from her bag. “This might last awhile,” she said. Her calm smile had been replaced with concern.
“Is this thing going to hold in the wind?” Cate said. She rapped the platform with her knuckles.
“It’s solid. The wind will blow right through it.” She said. She cast her eyes upward. “It’s what’s above us I’m more concerned about.
Right, Cate thought to herself. They were in a tree with branches after all.
They sat quietly and watched the rain pour down. Lexi adjusted the mat they sat on and tucked the tablecloth under at the edges to help prevent water from pooling on top. The rain seemed to be coming from all directions with each gust of wind and pretty soon, even the area under the tarp was wet.
“Are you warm enough?” Lexi asked.
Cate inspected her jacket and wished she’d brought something heavier. “I’m fine right now,” she said. Truthfully, she was on the edge. After being warm all day, the sudden damp chill seemed to go straight to the center of her bones.
Lexi slid a little closer to Cate. “We’ll be okay,” she said softly.
But a half an hour passed and things had only gotten worse. Water poured over the slats of the platform. There was no point in sitting on the table cloth anymore since the water only collected on it. Cate put on her backpack and strapped it around her back for added warmth. Lexi had ransacked her pack and found a beanie which she’d offered to Cate. Cate had taken it since she was beginning to shiver. Whether from fear or chill or both, she couldn’t be sure. They sat next to each other with their bare legs touching. Their prickled and cold skin tried desperately to stay warm.
“Okay, this has got to stop soon,” Lexi said.
“It seems longer than usual,” Cate said. Not that she was an expert. It just seemed that for the previous two nights on the coast, the rain had only lasted about a half an hour.
“The mountain country is different,” Lexi said ruefully. “Shit, I can’t believe I didn’t see this. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault it rained,” Cate said. But she knew they were in a predicament. The last of the light was leaving them and they still had to get down. With the wind and rain buffeting the trees like it was, there was no chance of that happening safely. Cate shuddered at the thought of swinging down the rope in the dark. She didn’t even know how to. She tried not to think about that part. She could tell that Lexi was doing enough thinking for the both of them. So she sat and hoped that it would all end soon.
Twenty minutes later and they were in full-on darkness. The only light was the sudden and terrifying flashes of lightening over the valley. Lexi pulled a headlamp from her pack and fastened it around her head. She worked at the tarp above them a little, making adjustments where the weight of the rain had threatened to cave parts of it in. In the process, she got more wet and cold.
She tucked back in beside Cate and rubbed her hands together.
“Cold?” Cate said. It was obvious they were both cold now. Cate didn’t know what hypothermia felt like, and she didn’t want to find out. Lexi nodded and blew warm air into her hands.
“Okay enough of this,” Cate said. She shifted and wrapped her legs around Lexi’s hips where she sat. “We need to start taking advantage of our body heat while we still have any.”
Lexi accepted, quietly, as Cate curled her arms around her waist and lay her head on her back.
“I can feel you already,” Lexi said.
“Good, because you’re freezing,” Cate said. She was shivering now, so much that her teeth were chattering.
As helpful as the tarp above them was, it wasn’t nearly big enough. Gaps between it and the platform allowed wind and rain to come in with each gust. They were exposed on one side and took the brunt of every gust of wind head-on.
“I have an idea,” Lexi said as she tried to shift her body around. She looked back at Cate. Even in the darkness, Cate could tell she was deliberating over something.
“I’m all for hearing ideas.”
“We have the table cloth, it’s vinyl, it’ll help keep the wind off us if we wrap it around our shoulders.”
“Let’s use it.”
“Or I have something else. It’s a two-person emergency bag, made of reflective silver.”
“Shit, what are you waiting for? Pull it out.” Cate had the feeling that they’d been slowly freezing simply to avoid close body contact, but this was getting ridiculous.
“If we lay down, I can probably clip the tarp to the platform, that will also cut the wind.”
Lexi was thinking fast now. Cate pushed her up and helped her as much as she could without quite knowing what to do. If they were going to lie down together, inside a silver bag, then that meant they needed enough space under the tarp to do so. She shifted the mat so that their heads would be higher. No one wanted to roll off.
Things got very cramped under the tarp once Lexi fastened it to a lower branch. There was only enough room beneath it to prop herself up on an elbow without touching the top with her head. Cate rummaged through Lexi’s bag but let her take over once she crept back under their makeshift roof.
“That’s better already,” Lexi said. Her rain shell was soaking wet, so she stripped it off and tied it to the hip belt of her pack.
“Take off your jacket,” she said to Cate.
Cate did right away. The shoulders of her t-shirt were wet but the rest was okay. Her shorts were soaked through from sitting on the wet pl
atform.
Lexi rummaged through her bag and pulled out a small bundle from a ziplock bag.
“Hold this,” she said and handed it to Cate.
Cate slid her thumbs along the slippery surface of the silver bag. It seemed very small, all bundled tight like that. She hoped it would work. Lexi pulled the vinyl tablecloth from the outside mesh pocket and unrolled it. It was wet but might still be of some use, Cate thought.
“Okay, shoes off,” Lexi said. They both pulled off their footwear and Lexi tucked them inside a plastic bag in her pack.
Cate had found the edge of the silver bag already and was slowly working the tight bundle open. “You’ve never used this before,” she said.
“No, never had to,” Lexi replied.
When it was finally unfurled, it didn’t look that small after all.
“You climb in first,” Lexi said. Cate looked down at her shorts. “I... feel like I should take these off. They’re soaked.”
Lexi paused for a moment and all of the tension from earlier in the evening suddenly came rushing back.
“I don’t care, I’m taking them off,” Cate said and pulled them from her body. The heavy cotton slapped against the platform when she pulled them from her legs. She was happy she was wearing her bathing suit bottoms at least. They were bound to dry at some point. She slipped inside the cold crackling bag and tried to imagine it was a lot warmer than it really was.
“Hurry up and get in,” she said as she tried to hold the billowing edge open.
Lexi pulled off her sweater and then at the last minute removed her shorts too.
“Are they wet?” Cate grinned. She was shivering but already starting to feel warmer just from nervous energy alone.
“They were wet enough. I figured since...” She didn’t need to finish her sentence after that. Her legs slid in beside Cate’s. After a little jostling and jousting with elbows, they found their position. The bag was long, long enough for them to stretch out in and still have a lot of room above their heads. Lexi pulled the drawstring closure and everything was suddenly very dark and close feeling. She flipped on the tiny red light on her headlamp and placed it in the narrow space between their chests. They faced each other, lying on their sides. Lexi held the top of the bag up to create a small vacuous space above them. Cate could feel a small rush of cool air come through the hole at the drawstring closure.