Sun Catcher

by Giselle Fox

  “Probably the same thing I am. What are we doing starting an affair when I’m leaving the day after tomorrow?”

  “Good instinct.”

  “Is it accurate?”

  Lexi looked up at the ceiling again. “I should know better, but for some reason...”

  “For some reason,” Cate repeated. Perhaps it was the same reason that made it not matter to her as well. She knew she wouldn’t be able to do anything about it anyway. The point of no return was far behind them.

  Lexi watched her eyes and seemed to understand. She kissed her again. “Let’s move. I want to make you breakfast before we get into more trouble.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Once the decision had been made to move, relocation happened quickly. Lexi only had a soggy pair of shorts and a white t-shirt to put on which she left until the final moments of Cate’s preparation. Cate packed a little bag, her toiletries and a change of clothes in case they showered or went out. A pair of sandals and sneakers for either beach, town or forest walking. Even a jacket, since the nights could get cool in the interior of the green. Lexi looked on with amusement as each article was considered carefully.

  “I don’t want to have to come back down if I don’t have to,” Cate said. She didn’t want to have the conversation with Alice at all that day, in fact. She hoped her absence would say enough about what was going on and that they would just move on from it. She didn’t know why she was so concerned with what Alice thought when she was up to no good as well.

  Cate wrote her a simple note: Out for the day and maybe the night. Don’t wait up. Cate. She left it on the little stucco ledge in the hall and then moved it onto the kitchen counter. After she’d closed her balcony door, she opened the front door and peered out into the hallway. She looked in the direction of Ambrose’s apartment, half expecting to hear signs of life from the two of them. But the hall and even the whole building seemed silent.

  Lexi led the way up the stairs to the attic apartment. Lexi’s was the only one up there which made it seem as if the stairway itself belonged to her. The old wooden steps creaked and groaned beneath her feet.

  “Hard to sneak up here,” Cate said as she tried to tread more softly.

  Lexi turned and smiled at her. “It’s better than an alarm.”

  Beyond the creaky wooden steps was a small landing. Lexi pulled her keys from her damp pocket and grinned. “Almost didn’t bring these.”

  She slid one gold key into the deadbolt and then a silver key into another. Then she pushed the heavy door open.

  The layout was wide open since its design had come decades after the rest of the building. The first thing Cate noticed was the heat.

  “Phewf,” Lexi said as she kicked off her shoes. “It’ll get better once the windows are open.”

  She swung out each wood framed window until Cate could feel the cross breeze. Lexi walked to the end and pulled open her patio door. “Come see.”

  Cate had gotten stuck admiring the view from the front of the building, the one that looked clear over the little town and toward the lush green mountains beyond. The view from the other side was over the few streets before the cliff and out to the blue water beyond.

  “This is incredible,” Cate whispered. The windows running along the sides looked east and west. In front of her was south and behind were the hills and north. “You can see everything.”

  “Pretty much,” Lexi said. She was smiling as Cate walked from wall to wall and end to end, marveling at the landscape, townscape and seascape from each vantage point. But Cate’s attention was pulled away by another view, that of Lexi removing her wet t-shirt. She put her bag down between the undefined lines of the living room and bedroom. There were no walls, only furniture gave shape to things. Lexi pulled open a drawer in a long wood dresser and pulled some dry things from inside.

  “Make yourself comfortable,” she said as she pulled a loose-fitting tank top over her shoulders. She remained bra-less. Her breasts were modest and buoyant as they were and hardly needed one. The t-back of the tank top showed off the muscles in her shoulders and upper back. The shorts she pulled on were thin, snug and very short.

  Cate looked around for the best place to sit. She considered the bed since that’s really where she wanted to be, reclining in the deep aubergine sheets with a pillow or two fluffed behind her back. Lexi smiled at her as she watched from the other side of the bed. Cate looked around her, at the woven wicker barstools in the kitchen, at the love seat in the living room and even at the workspace beneath the windows on the east wall, the long tables, the monitors and the metal cases beneath.

  “Here,” Lexi said and crossed around to her side of the bed. She stepped close and reached for her face. “First things first.” She bent and kissed her lips. Her hands slid down her body and grasped the bottom edge of her t-shirt. In a second it was pulled over her head and tossed somewhere behind her.

  Lexi pulled the button of her shorts and slid her hand inside. Cate hadn’t bothered to put on any underwear since she assumed they would bathe at some point. Lexi’s hand changed the mood of everything and brought her back to the reason she was there. Cate let herself be caressed as Lexi watched her with a smile on her face, no doubt pleased to discover that her body had been anticipating her touch and was more than ready for it.

  Lexi hovered her lips over Cate’s mouth and closed her eyes. “You know what touching you like this does to me?” she breathed.

  Hearing her say it brought the world down around her. Cate wrapped her arms around her shoulders. She felt her body sway with each feathery touch. Lexi reached down and pulled the back of her thigh until she coiled her leg around her. Then she was nudged gently back against the bed.

  “Breakfast can wait,” Lexi said into her lips before she was laid down again.

  ***

  They lay facing each other. Their axis had shifted many times since they’d fallen into the sheets. Their clothing had landed around the room as if it had all been flung from a cyclone. Cate herself had been wound and released many times before hunger became a distraction.

  “Do you think we can put this on pause while I make us something to eat?” Lexi said. “I skipped dinner last night.”

  Cate stretched against the sheets and then pulled herself closer. The distance between them was virtually non-existent as it was. “I’ll miss you too much,” she said.

  Lexi gripped her hand and pulled it to her lips. “Then maybe I should just eat you some more.” She nibbled on the backs of her fingers as Cate giggled.

  Lexi’s dark eyes shone brighter in the light. Sunshine streamed in from the windows above them and spilled over their shoulders. The sheets by her feet felt hot.

  Cate rolled onto her back and slid a hand up her body. “I feel so... relaxed.”

  Lexi smiled back at her. “Me too.”

  “I have to tell Peter,” Cate said suddenly.

  Lexi frowned and then laughed. “Shit.”

  “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that out loud. I was just thinking about being dishonest. I just want to tell him it’s over and done with.”

  Lexi rolled onto her back. “Maybe it’s better to wait until you’re home.”

  “I don’t want to go home,” Cate whispered. She thought of being back there, going about her life, about how heart-wrenching it felt.

  Lexi looked back at her, silently.

  Cate shook her head. “God! Why am I even thinking about this? I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay. It’s hard to ignore reality.”

  “Reality,” Cate whispered ruefully. “What I want to know is, when did life get so boring?”

  Lexi looked back at her.

  “I guess it’s not for you. You live here, you do amazing things. You live the sort of life that I always imagined I would live back when I had some balls.”

  Lexi laughed. “You don’t need balls. You have ovaries, remember?”

  “You’re right,” Cate said. “I dread going back to work.
I even dread going back to my apartment and that’s what I love the most about my life. It’s going to be cold and miserable and the world will still be the same fucked up place that I left last week.” She looked up at the ceiling. “God! Listen to me whine. Maybe I do need to eat.”

  Lexi shifted onto her elbow and kissed her. “Food will make it all better,” she whispered.

  “Mmm, food and more of you.”

  Lexi pulled away and rose from the bed. Cate watched her walk around and pick up her things. “It’s so interesting,” she said.

  “What is?”

  Cate sat herself up and leaned her back against the headboard. “Just how much your body turns me on.”

  Lexi smiled back at her. Her eyebrow arched.

  “I mean, I was straight last week. Now look at me. I like breasts and pussy.”

  “Labels,” Lexi said. “They don’t define who you are.”

  “No, you’re right. I’ve never felt that straight anyway.”

  “Me neither,” Lexi smiled.

  “Have you ever? Been with a man?”

  “I dated a little when I was a teenager. It was fine. I just liked girls more.”

  “Have you ever had a long-term relationship?”

  Lexi pulled her tank-top over her head. “Not really long term, no.”

  “Why?”

  Lexi laughed. “That’s a good question. I think maybe because I’ve moved around a lot. I work a lot. There’s not exactly a bevy of interested women running around in the expat community.”

  “But there have been some, right?”

  Lexi sighed. “Yes.”

  “So?”

  “So what?”

  “So none of them made you want to settle down?”

  “I’m pretty settled already,” Lexi said.

  “This is a very nice place,” Cate said.

  “I know.”

  “Has anyone ever been up here? Other than you.”

  Lexi leaned her body over the bed and rested her weight on her knuckles. “You want to know if I’ve ever brought a woman here.”

  “Kind of.”

  “The answer is no, never.”

  Cate couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across her face.

  “That makes you happy, does it?” Lexi grinned.

  “I’m not going to lie.”

  “No,” Lexi said as she lifted herself up again. “Against my better judgment … here you are.”

  “I doubt your judgment is that good.”

  “It’s not like I had much choice.”

  “No?”

  “I regret leaving you the other night.”

  “Where were you taking us, when we left the party?”

  Lexi grinned again. “I was taking you to the restaurant.”

  “You were going to fuck me in the restaurant? That’s kinky.”

  “Who said anything about fucking?” Lexi grinned.

  Cate laughed. “You expect me to believe you were going to make me something to eat?!”

  “I was hoping we could talk.”

  “Talk? Seriously?”

  Lexi nodded. “I’m not saying it was the most thought out plan but that’s what I was hoping would happen.” She began to pull things from her little fridge and place them on the counter. “Huevos?”

  Cate frowned. “What did you want to talk about?”

  Lexi looked over at her. “I was going to tell you how much I liked you but that it probably wasn’t a good idea for us to get together.”

  Cate shook her head. “You don’t make any sense to me.”

  Lexi grinned. “You’ve mentioned.”

  “No, really, you don’t. I mean, I’m here, we’ve been fucking for at least - I don’t know - ten hours straight? You invited me up to your bed so that we could spend the rest of the day and possibly all night together. And yet -”

  “Hey,” Lexi said. She walked back to the bed and sat down beside her. “I want you here, that’s what’s freaking me out. You don’t live here.”

  “I don’t want to leave,” Cate whispered. “It feels too soon.”

  “It does,” Lexi said softly. “But… it’s two days away.”

  The thought of it made Cate sad. “Shit. Reality.”

  “Reality,” Lexi repeated.

  “What’s so special about seeing things how they really are again?”

  Lexi studied her face for a moment and then dropped her eyes to the bed. “Seeing things clearly is what made me come see you last night.” She looked back at her and smiled sadly. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

  Cate could feel that reality somewhere deep inside her chest. “I was waiting for you, even though I was so mad.”

  “A lot can happen in 48 hours, Cate. You might get mad at me again.” Lexi gripped her hand and brought it to her lips. “I have to feed us.”

  “Will you come back to bed after?”

  Lexi kissed her shoulder. “As soon as I’m finished.”

  Cate tucked back against the headboard and watched her get up. She could tell there was a lot on her mind and a lot to be said. It seemed there were volumes, in fact.

  “Tell me about you,” Cate said. She decided she liked the wide open layout when she could see everything Lexi was doing.

  “Like what? You know everything already,” Lexi said.

  Cate made a face. “I know a little about what you do for work and a little about what you do in your spare time. But, like… do you have a family? Where are they?”

  Lexi frowned. “Of course, I have a family.”

  “So… where are they? Tell me about them.”

  “You haven’t told me anything about yours,” Lexi laughed.

  Cate thought about that. “I guess you’re right. They’re in Chicago. My sister is in Scotland right now doing her masters.”

  “In what?”

  “Water law.”

  Lexi nodded. “Interesting.”

  “She has a Canadian boyfriend. I think they’re going to move to the Maritimes when she’s done.”

  “It’s a nice place. Too cold for me though.”

  “Where is your family?”

  “All over.”

  Cate stared at her.

  Lexi looked back. “What?”

  “All over meaning?”

  “My grandparents are in Africa right now. They like to travel. I have a sister back in the town I grew up in and another in Manhattan.”

  “You have two sisters?”

  “Yep.”

  “Are you the oldest, youngest, what?”

  Lexi smiled. “I’m the oldest.”

  “I knew it.”

  Lexi’s smile widened. “By seven minutes and twelve minutes.”

  Cate let her jaw drop. “You’re a triplet?”

  Lexi nodded. “Fraternal, not identical.”

  “Holy shit, your poor mother!”

  Lexi sighed and went back to the pan of eggs.

  Cate sensed there was some pain there and decided to tread lightly. “Are your … parents still around?”

  “My mother died when we were young. My father was never really in the picture.”

  “Oh my God! I’m so sorry.”

  Lexi looked away. “Reality.”

  Cate felt terrible. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”

  “It’s okay. We’d lived with my grandparents. They have a big house. They’re great. We were okay. We had each other.”

  Cate watched Lexi move around the kitchen and felt so sad for her. Lexi looked up and smiled. “You like spice, right?”

  Cate nodded. “I like whatever you’re making. It smells delicious.”

  She didn’t ask any more about Lexi’s family or where she grew up. She let all the questions she had about her sisters wait since Lexi seemed to want to leave the conversation behind her. A few minutes later, Lexi carried two plates in one hand and grabbed a tray of condiments and cutlery in the other. She walked over and laid it all on the bed.

  Cate sat up and
carefully pulled the sheet up to cover herself.

  Lexi took a seat on the bed and then slowly pulled the sheet back down. “Are you shy?” she asked with a gentle smile.

  Cate let the sheet go, mindful of the fact that her breasts were exposed. “No, I guess I’ve just never really eaten breakfast naked before.”

  “No?” Lexi said in disbelief. She leaned over slowly and kissed Cate’s shoulder, then dipped her head lower and kissed her nipple. “I think eating breakfast in bed with a lover is one of the great thrills in life,” she said. “Besides, we’ve earned this meal.”

  “Yes, we have,” Cate smiled. She dug her fork into the steaming plate of eggs and sauteed greens, salsa, cheese, and avocado as she watched Lexi find a comfortable spot and strip off her shirt.

  “Naked in solidarity,” Lexi said and grabbed her plate. They ate their food while quietly watching each other.

  “This is really good,” Cate said. She’d been trying not to inhale it as she was accustomed to doing when she was both nervous and hungry. She looked down at her body again. When she looked up, Lexi was watching her.

  “It’s hard not to be self-conscious,” she said.

  “Do you want to know what I see?” Lexi asked.

  “Okay.”

  Lexi put her fork on her plate. “I see an incredibly beautiful woman with bruises on her knees from climbing a rock wall for the first time. I see the sun on her cheeks from the time we spent relaxing on my boat and watching the sunset from the tree house. I see the lips that I’ve been kissing all night and the breasts I’ve been holding in my hands and my mouth. If I let my eyes wander even lower, what I see makes me want to put my plate down … even though we made love less than a half hour ago.” She put down her plate. “You’re incredibly beautiful, Cate. Don’t be shy.”

  Cate sighed happily. “That was really nice. Thank you.”

  Lexi leaned forward and kissed her again.

  “I can’t believe I’m here,” Cate said and shook her head. “I mean, I can. But... I just never expected this to happen on this trip.”

  “That’s the good thing about adventure, you never know what you’re going to get,” Lexi said softly. She picked up her plate and scooted her body closer. They both leaned back against the headboard of the bed, their legs pressed together. It was sultry and warm up in the open room but a breeze blew through from the ocean.