by Nance Sparks
“I’ve dated some, after the divorce, but only on weekends that Scott had the kids.”
“Why only when Scott has the kids?” Riley asked.
“I guess I wanted it to be serious before I’d let anyone meet the girls. I don’t want them meeting someone if it wasn’t going to work out,” Andrea said
“Did anyone ever get to meet the girls?” Riley asked.
“No.”
“What happened? Why nothing serious?”
“A variety of reasons. The feelings didn’t click, or it was too much effort to have a simple conversation. The big tell was that I never caught myself daydreaming about a future. Also, the couple that got to meet Sara didn’t pass the Sara test and then, most importantly, no one totally rocked my world. Serious deal breaker right there.” Andrea looked into Riley’s eyes. Riley totally rocked her world, but this was friendship with some fun. Nothing could come of it. “Your turn, tell me about your last serious relationship. What worked, what didn’t, what you might have liked to have been different?”
Riley seemed to sit there forever, paddling upstream, looking at everything and nothing at the same time. Her lips opened and then closed twice without words. Andrea watched and waited.
“There’s this little authentic Mexican food place down the block from the studio. I’ve developed an addiction to really good Mexican food, in case that’s the next question. Her parents had immigrated from Mexico and started the little café when she was just a kid. She grew up in that building and knew everything about the business.” Riley continued to paddle, looking lost in thought.
“What was her name?” Andrea watched Riley’s expression, but she’d shut down.
“Maria.” Riley looked at the paddle.
Andrea wanted to ask several more questions. Was she pretty? What was she like? Did you love her? She decided to remain quiet and let Riley talk.
“I used to walk over and pick up to-go orders at first. We’d stand at the counter and talk about anything and everything until the food was totally cold and soggy. Then, I started walking down there for lunch or dinner anytime I wasn’t traveling. I’d stay and eat there, and sometimes I’d take my laptop down and work from there. Maria would grab a beer and join me when it was slow. Eventually, I got the courage to ask her out.”
“Where did you go on your first date?” Andrea asked. It hurt in a strange way to hear the details, but she did want to know.
“I have got to ask better questions. I did not get this kind of information on your dates.” Riley smiled. “During a conversation early on she let it slip that Italian was her favorite food, so I took her to a nice Italian restaurant.”
“What did she order? This is important information.”
“She ordered your favorite, chicken piccata with capers.”
“I love that you remember. It’s still a favorite. What did you order?”
“Really? I went to an Italian restaurant Andi, what did I order?”
“You ordered chicken parmesan? That’s still your favorite? Seriously? Okay, did you order wine or a cocktail?”
“We ordered wine that night.”
“If you could pick only one, wine or whiskey?” Andrea asked.
“Whiskey. Have you seen me drinking wine at all this week? You?”
“Oh, sweetheart, I’m all in a whiskey girl. You should know that by now.” Andrea smiled. “How long were you two together?”
Riley looked up, her eyes meeting Andrea’s. “We were together for over a year. It was about the same time that the studio really took off. My travels caused quite a few arguments. I reached out to Jodie to see if she would consider flying out to help. It took the pressure off for a bit, but the jobs were just pouring in. Before I knew it, Jodie and I were both on the road more often than not. When I was home, I spent my time finalizing shoots, catching up on email and inquires, booking flights, reserving hotels, confirming jobs, buying supplies, and trying to keep up with everything. She grew tired of waiting for me to get caught up. It was quite the recipe for disaster.”
“So, that’s what you meant when you said that you travel too much to be with anyone?” Her heart sank and it hurt to breathe.
Riley nodded. “One day I came home from a job and the keys I’d given her were sitting on the kitchen table next to a note. She asked me to let her know when my life settled down and I was ready for a relationship. I knew my life wouldn’t settle down anytime soon, or at least I secretly hoped not if I wanted my business to succeed. After a couple of months, I finally figured out a rhythm and had a little more time. I went down to talk to her, and she was in a booth chatting up another dyke with an addiction to Mexican food. I ducked out before she noticed me. Jodie bumps into her every so often. She’s in a relationship and says she’s happy.”
“Do you miss her?”
“Once upon a time, I thought she was someone who could have made me happy, but that was quite a few years ago. But it was a good lesson. My life is my work, and I can’t promise to be the person someone depends on. And I guess I’ve been fine with that over the years.” She seemed to shake off the weight of the memories. “Somehow the stars lined up and gave me a chance to sit in a boat with you while we enjoy the Alaskan landscape together. Can we be done talking about exes?” Riley held the paddle in her lap and looked at Andrea expectantly. The canoe twisted in the current.
Andrea watched as Riley squared up the boat. She cut the paddle such that they were flowing with the current, back to the resort. She wasn’t ready to go back quite yet because that would mean they only had one day left before her flight home. She wasn’t ready for their time to end.
Chapter Twenty-one
Was it possible to look peaceful and sexy at the same time? Only Andrea could look this amazing while sound asleep. It was cute how she slept with three pillows. One for her head, one to wrap her arms around and one beneath a bent knee. The sheet covered her bare hips. Her torso and legs were exposed in the early morning sunlight. Riley adjusted the settings on the camera and took a few shots from different angles. She zoomed in a bit and took another of her from the shoulders up. She couldn’t resist capturing her sleeping beauty.
“Don’t think I don’t hear the click, click, click of that camera. Sweetheart, some things are for your eyes only.” Andrea rolled over onto her back and yawned.
Riley snapped one more shot and then set the camera on the table before climbing into the bed. Andrea rolled over and snuggled into her arms.
“Did you ever think in a million years that we’d find each other again?” Andrea asked. She trailed her finger up Riley’s arm.
“I keep thinking I’m going to wake up and it will all have been a dream and yet, here you are, right next to me when my eyes opened this morning. Like a gift I get to enjoy over and over again.” Riley kissed the top of her head. “Being with you feels amazing. Your touch is electric.”
“Do you remember when it all clicked that we were more than the best of friends?”
“I not only remember the exact moment that we admitted it to each other, but also the way my body felt that evening and all that night. I used to listen to girls talk in class about how some guy made them feel all tingly. How their eyes would glass over and a stupid grin would spread across their face. I never understood what they were talking about because I certainly never felt like that. Until that night on the couch sharing that bowl of popcorn. My world tipped off its axis that night.”
“That night also started unedited. You’re the only one in this world I can be one hundred percent unedited with. I remember you saying, ‘Nope, stop overthinking it. Be unedited, Andi. Say exactly what’s on your mind. You can fix the words that don’t work later.’” Andrea chuckled.
“Was that supposed to be my voice? Because I sound like someone’s dad.” Riley laughed. “I haven’t had unedited with anyone else either. I remember every single deta
il of how unedited came to be.”
“Yeah, tell me what you remember. I’ll decide if you’re right.”
“We were freshman in high school. It was a Friday night after a home football game and we were at my parents’ house down in the basement watching a movie. It was chilly down there, and we were sitting next to each other on the couch sharing a blanket. Mom had made us popcorn. We both reached in the bowl at the same time, like we had done a million times before, except this time when our fingers touched, you pulled your hand away superfast. You looked at me, stared really hard, for quite some time.” Riley ran her finger down Andera’s forearm and smiled when the goose bumps erupted.
“That’s when I knew you felt it too. The zing. I craved your touch, craved the zing I’d feel all through my body. The look in your eyes told your secret, but when I asked you what you were feeling, you said hungry and grabbed for a handful of popcorn. I moved the bowl and asked you again. I could see that you were thinking, trying to come up with the words. That’s when I asked you to just say what you feel.” Riley smiled and rolled her shoulders.
“You looked at me and then smiled before you said, ‘It tingles, when I touch you, it tingles everywhere…and I mean everywhere.’ And I said, ‘for me, it’s more of a zing. It zings everywhere,’ and you smiled that sweet, bashful smile. It was the first time we held hands, under the blanket, beneath the bowl of popcorn. We reached into the bowl with our other hand at the same time, on purpose, for the rest of the night and took forever finding a single piece of popcorn just so our fingers could touch for a bit longer. Or at least, that’s how I remember it.”
“Hmmm, that’s a wonderful trip down memory lane. I remember lying in bed with you later that night and you held your arms open for me. I had nervous butterflies in my stomach, but it felt so good to curl up against your body. It wasn’t too long after that when we shared our first kiss, beneath the apple tree. Our freshman year was definitely a year full of firsts for us.”
Riley closed her eyes. Movie reels played in her mind of the time they shared before everything fell apart. The memories were bittersweet. They were talking about a time that they could never get back. So much had changed since then, but she couldn’t resist the chance to hear more.
“What’s your favorite memory of us?” Riley asked.
“There are so many, I don’t know if I could pick just one. Everything we did together was always so much fun. I treasured going camping with your family, especially after we figured out how we felt for one another. Your parents would retire early to the camper and let us have some time out by the campfire. I still think of those nights whenever I smell a campfire burning. The way it felt to be snuggled up in your arms. When the fire was down to a few smoldering coals, we’d cover it up with that metal plate that your dad made and then go to our tent.”
Riley could imagine the smile on Andrea’s face because she could hear it in her voice.
“I loved that we’d get to have our own tent. Those were some pretty great memories. The kisses and the tender touches that would last for hours and hours. You were so good at staying quiet when you came and it was so hard for me, and then afterward, we’d talk and giggle until all hours at night. I loved it when it was cold and we’d zip our sleeping bags together so we could snuggle up inside. Oh, do you remember walking through the woods in the fall? We walked up to the school and cut through the woods to the back of the apple orchard. We’d get a cup of hot cider and a cider doughnut before walking back home. It would take us all day to get there and back. Hand in hand we walked both ways and talked the entire time. Okay, your turn. What are some of your favorite memories?” Andrea nuzzled in closer.
The memories were fun to think about, but suddenly, they reminded Riley of what would never be. Everything changed. The relationship ended and they’d parted ways. Their lives had gone down different paths. Why were they wasting precious minutes talking about experiences long gone?
“How much time before we have to be ready?” Andrea seemed to sense Riley’s shift in mood.
“It’s our vacation, there’s no timeline. We decide.” Riley smiled faintly.
“So, there’s time to see if my touch still gives you the zings?” Andrea pushed herself up and straddled Riley.
“There’s always time for a little zing.” Riley pulled the sheet away. It didn’t matter what sightseeing option they were missing if it meant they could spend the morning in bed making love. She wanted to experience everything they could now because it wouldn’t be long before their time was up and this fantasy world would be confronted by harsh reality. They had one day left before Andrea went back to her life. One day before Riley would be all alone once again.
Chapter Twenty-two
Andrea sat in the passenger seat looking out the side window. It was almost dark outside. She heard the blinker click on and knew they were close. This was the last stop on their list. The grand finale scenic tour. That said, the building didn’t look like much from the outside. It was a large white building with impressions on the siding to make it look like a giant igloo. Riley assured her that she’d enjoy it, but at the moment she was melting beneath the several layers of clothing that Riley insisted she wear to stay warm.
Andrea knew she was just tired and a little crabby, so she kept it to herself that the car felt like a fucking sauna. She’d spent much of the night tossing and turning, trying to find a solution when there wasn’t one.
Riley pulled into a parking spot and shut off the car. Andrea stuffed her hands into her gloves and picked up her camera. Time to buck up and pretend like she was having fun, when really, she just wanted to spend her last evening in Alaska in bed making love and memorizing every inch of Riley’s body. She shook her head and silently scolded herself. It wasn’t like she’d been denied. They hadn’t slept much that was for sure, but then that wasn’t why she was crabby either. She knew why she was crabby. Their time together was coming to an end and she wasn’t ready for it to be over. She wasn’t ready to trade this in for her mundane life of work and cooking and groceries and taxi service. Riley’s life was filled with travel and adventures, and she couldn’t help but be envious. She’d had so many first-time experiences on this trip. Her first time soaking in a natural hot spring, hell, first time making love in a hot spring. Oh, and the glorious northern lights, another first, and probably the only time she’d get to see that brilliant display.
It had been an incredible few days, with enough time together to fall into the semblance of a routine too, just like a normal couple. Even that was magical. Sitting side by side on the couch, legs tangled up on the ottoman, sipping on a cocktail in the evening while sorting through photographs and chatting freely about the day’s experiences. Everything about their short time together was amazing, and she wasn’t ready to let it go. Riley had been up-front with her. She’d been honest that her life didn’t have room for a relationship. The problem was that Andrea had a feeling they’d be perfect together, and she wanted a chance to find out if she was right. Maybe, just maybe, what they had could alter the plans and routines they’d created for themselves.
“Are you okay?” Riley stood outside her open car door looking at her.
“Are you sure we’re at the right place? This doesn’t look like a museum.” Andrea draped her camera strap over her neck when she climbed out of the car. The thick gloves made it hard to hang on to anything.
“This is the right place. Do you want to skip it?” Riley’s expression was full of concern.
“No, I’d like to go inside. I really am looking forward to seeing this. What I’m not looking forward to is the first morning that I don’t get to wake up in your arms.” Andrea was mad at herself for saying it out loud. She’d meant to keep the serious stuff to herself, so the trip wasn’t ruined.
“Believe me, I understand completely.” Riley held her arm up, and Andrea tucked hers inside it.
While the outsi
de of the building was lackluster at best, the inside was completely breathtaking from the moment she stepped in the door. Suddenly, she understood why Riley had suggested the layers of clothing. It was cold, absolutely frigid. So cold that she could see her own breath. The building, all of it, even the artwork was glistening and glowing, the lighting shifting between the different colors of the northern lights. Greens morphed to purple, to pink and then to a blue to green again. Everything in the building was created out of ice. Crystal clear ice etched perfectly for depth and dimension. About ten feet inside the doorway were two life-sized knights, jousting on horseback, made entirely of ice. The sculpture was huge with unbelievable detail. Andrea heard the shutter clicking on Riley’s camera and remembered that she was carrying one too. She couldn’t even turn it on with the bulky gloves. She seriously needed an attitude adjustment. If she were one of her girls, she’d be sitting in the car until that frown was turned upside down. The thought made her smile.
“Andi, look this way.” Riley had the camera at her eye and kept taking pictures.
Andrea wanted a picture on her camera of the two of them. Time to stop being a sourpuss. She looked around and spotted another couple looking around too.
“Excuse me, I’d be happy to take a photo of the two of you by the knights.” Andrea pulled off her gloves and tucked them into her pocket.
“Oh, would you?” The woman’s eyes lit up.
Andrea accepted their camera and the short tutorial from the gentleman. She framed the couple and took a few pictures.
“Would you like us to take a photo of you two?” the man asked while accepting his camera back.
“I’d love that, thank you.” Andrea handed her camera over. “Riley, come here. They’re going to take our picture.”
Andrea didn’t care that she looked like an abominable snowwoman. She wrapped her arm around Riley’s waist and snuggled in close for the photograph. There would be tons of pictures of her, but few of the two of them together.