Bliss (14 page)

"So was she any good?"

"What?"

"I hoped you got some nights of good loving out of her before she turned her back on you. Sometimes that's the only
consolation a girl can have."

Sinclair flashed Hunter a look in the dark, at her bare leg
rising like a dark mountain in the hammock, the color of her
skin disappearing and appearing again in the inky darkness
of night.

"We were good together." Images of her and Regina entwined bombarded her brain. "But in the end it wasn't enough."

"Did you want more than that?"

"I don't know. I think I just expected more. Before her I
was with a boy, and he and I met, we went out for drinks,
then dinner, then we slept together. After that we just kept
seeing each other, building toward something for the future. I
suppose that I expected the same thing to happen with her."

"Not every love affair ends up like that, you know."

"Obviously. Some people just want to fuck and dump
you." She looked across at Hunter. "Sorry."

"It's all right. If you can't say these things to a stranger,
then who else can you tell them to?"

Sinclair laughed wryly. "Thanks for listening to me go on
about this. I know it's boring."

Hunter chuckled. "It's life. It's not always squeals and giggles."

"That's an interesting way of putting it." Sinclair reached
for her cup then, remembering too late that it was empty,
drained it dry of its last few drops of punch anyway. "What
about you? Is there something troubling your soul that you
need to vent about?"

"No, not really. I tend to meditate for that sort of release."

"What about your other kind of release." Shit! Sinclair almost bit her tongue off. "I didn't mean to ask you that,
sorry."

Hunter laughed softly in the dark. "It's OK. I didn't take
offense. You'll find out soon enough that it takes a lot to offend me." She moved in the hammock, popping the vertebrae
in her back before settling once again into the cushions.
"These days it's me and my own right hand. Lydia and I
aren't quite there yet. It takes a lot for her to become intimate
with somebody."

Really? Sinclair would have thought the opposite. She
eyed the other woman again. "Your patience is admirable."

"Hey, you asked."

"Yes, I did, didn't I?" Sinclair murmured, amused.

"I'll be sure to hold back next time."

"Don't be too hasty now." They both laughed.

The night fell in gracious silence around them, bathing
their stillness with meaning and possibility. She's your sister's
woman, be careful.

Sinclair shook her head. Hunter was like a cliche. Dark,
stormy, and wicked. She'd be the one in those old black-and white movies to twirl her mustache and smile viciously. Sinclair
took strange comfort in that. She wasn't the type to fall for a
cliche. She needed depth in a woman. Something that would
make her interest last beyond the frantic fuckfest of the first
few weeks. Her eyes slid to where she imagined Hunter's
mouth to be. Hmm, but what a fuck fest that would be....

"So what do you do in the big city?" Hunter asked.

Sinclair swallowed past a suddenly dry throat. "Accounting."

She laughed. "Seriously?"

"Why is that so funny?"

"Maybe I watch too much American TV like a lot of my
neighbors." She laughed again. "I thought model or actress
or escort would be the default job for people who looked like
ff
you.

"Are you saying I look like a whore? I'm insulted." But
she couldn't get the energy to appear truly so. The best she
could do was a narrowed gaze, which Hunter couldn't see
anyway.

"You'll be fine," Hunter said, chuckling.

Sinclair closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair. "I
should go back in," she said, not moving a muscle. The rum
punch spun her head faster than any number of gin and tonics
she'd ever had. Sitting at this table seemed the best cure for
her spinning head and lack of judgment.

Fabric rustled as Hunter turned to her. "I thought you
were leaving?" Laughter rubbed against her voice like a mischievous cat.

"I was, but my legs weren't ready to go yet."

"I've been there a time or two myself. Let me guess, rum
punch?"

"Yep. Right on the money."

In the darkness, Hunter laughed again. The sound dragged
like silk over Sinclair's sensitized pleasure centers. "What is it
with you Americans and money metaphors and cliches?"

"You Americans," Sinclair mocked. "Don't try that conde scending tripe with me. Like you are above needing or wanting money."

"I didn't say that, but I don't incorporate it into my everyday speech."

"A girl makes one comment and she's indicted along with
the rest of a capitalist society for being too fiscally focused."
She rolled her eyes. "You're no fun. This time I am going inside." She stood. "Goodbye."

But it was deadly boring inside. People were talking, though
not about anything interesting. The truth was that Hunter's
company was far too interesting. Even if she was drunk and
had a dirty mouth. Instead of going back out to the back verandah, she crawled into the queen sized bed with Nikki and
Xavier, hoping that neither of them snored.

"Wake up, sleepyheads."

Sinclair rolled over when she heard Lydia's voice but didn't
immediately get up. She opened an eye. "What time is it?"

"Not that early. Come on, we made breakfast."

Hunter poked her head through the open door. "Actually,
I made breakfast. She just made the tea."

Sinclair blinked at the unexpected treat of seeing her first
thing in the morning. Of course, she looked divine. Their
eyes met briefly and Hunter winked. Did she spend the night
on the couch or in Lydia's bed? Had last night been the night
to wear down her girlfriend's chastity?

"Come into the dining room, ladies. Breakfast has been
served." Hunter's head disappeared from the doorway.

Lydia poked Nikki's shoulder. Sinclair's stepmother had
slept like the dead. Even after she'd joined her in the bed last
night, she hadn't moved from her position in the center of the
bed. By morning they had ended up in the spoon position
with Sinclair, being the taller one, behind her. Nikki groaned
and slowly woke under Lydia's unkind ministrations.

"Hey," she said, blinking up at Sinclair. "Where is Xavier?"

"At the breakfast table with the rest of the family like you
should be."

"I guess that's a strong hint then, huh?" Sinclair slid off
the bed. "Do you have a spare toothbrush or something that
I could use on this breath?"

"Everything you need is in the bathroom cabinet." She
motioned toward a door to the right of the bed. "Use whatever you want."

"Thanks."

By the time she made it out to the dining room with clean
teeth and face, everyone was sitting at the table eating, including Nikki who looked much more alert than she had earlier.

"There's water for tea on the stove," Lydia said as she
reached for the platter of scrambled eggs. "Coffee is in the
machine on the counter, you can get cold water from the dispenser on the fridge. Everything else is on the table."

"Thanks."

Sinclair sat beside Nikki with her glass of water. "Pass me
a plate, please. Thanks."

"Did you have a good time last night, Sinclair?"

"It was great. I haven't had a birthday party in years."

"Good. It was Papa's idea." Lydia smiled over at their
father.

"Thank you for having it at your house. I know how hard
it must be cleaning up after a party."

"Well, that's what family and friends are for." She looked
pointedly around the table. "Hint, hint."

"We can definitely stay to help you," Nikki said.

"So can I."

Sinclair didn't miss the look that her father threw Hunter
as the woman volunteered her time.

"You don't have to stay, Hunter," he said. "We can manage. "

"I'll take all the help I can get, Papa," Lydia said. "The
sooner we finish then the sooner we can enjoy the rest of this gorgeous day. Maybe we can have a cookout on the beach or
something."

Hunter and Victor exchanged a glance of cool understanding. Sinclair watched the two of them, wondering what that
was all about.

inclair dreamed about her sister's girlfriend. She woke up
(swimming in rapidly disintegrating visions of Hunter smiling and stretched out on a forest floor on a bed of thick green
leaves, her dark skin glistening with moisture from Sinclair's
tongue.

"I think she's dreaming."

A weight pressed down on the bed beside her. From the
light scent of honeysuckle, she could tell that it wasn't her father
or Nikki. Sinclair opened her eyes.

"Papa told me to take you out for the day." Lydia watched
her with a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. She
looked like she'd been up for hours in her white cotton dress
that showcased her gorgeous cleavage and narrow waist.

"'Morning," Sinclair croaked from beneath the parting
layers of sleep.

"'Morning." Hunter's voice greeted her from the doorway.
Even in a white A-shirt tucked into belted slim-fitting jeans
she managed to look like a dyke's wet dream.

Sinclair resisted the urge to grab the sheets up to her chest
like a shy virgin, and instead sat up, baring her oversized
Sesame Street T-shirt. She just knew that her braids were flat
against her head. Not sexy. "Hey. I get the pleasure of both
your company today, huh?"

"Two for one," Lydia chimed in. "Today only."

"Unless you'd rather have Lydia to yourself. I can disappear
if you want."

"No, it's fine. You can even come sit on the bed if you
want," Sinclair, even with her bad breath, dared to tease.

The woman called her bluff and came in to sit down on
the other side of her.

Sinclair's body temperature started to rise. "I don't suppose either of you made breakfast?"

"Not yet. But Hunter could."

Hunter cleared her throat to get their attention. "Actually
Hunter had just planned on buying you ladies something to
eat after we leave here. So the sooner you," she looked at
Sinclair, "shower and dress, the sooner you can eat."

Sinclair turned to her sister. "She's harsh, huh?"

"Yes, usually."

Sinclair left the women in her room and went to shower
and dress. Twenty minutes later, with her camera bag and
purse slung over her shoulder, she was ready. "Where are we
going?"

"To find food."

They climbed in Lydia's car, an old Cadillac convertible
with a blood-red paint job and black-and-white leather seats
that looked like they'd just been peeled off a cow.

"Nice car," Sinclair murmured appreciatively, sinking into
the spacious backseat. Lydia pressed a button and the roof
slid back. The cool morning air snuggled into the car with
them. This was the indefinable quality to mornings that
Sinclair had always loved-the brightening light, the slowmoving shadows that spoke of the beginning of things, and
especially the crispness that lay in the air before the filth of
the day could get a chance to set in. Sinclair inhaled a deep
lungful of that air and sank deeper into the suede seats. She
could have fit at least two other people back there with her.
"Very nice."

"Don't get any ideas about my backseat, young woman."

"Don't worry. I'm sure it's nothing that you haven't thought of or done before." Sinclair met Lydia's smiling gaze
in the rearview mirror.

After a sinfully good breakfast at one of Hunter's favorite
restaurants, they drove through town, pointing out sights of
interest, and keeping up a running commentary meant to amuse
Sinclair. At times the two women were like a married couple,
bickering back and forth with a spontaneous ribaldry that made
Sinclair laugh, despite her minor crush on Hunter. After almost two hours driving around the island, Hunter got bored.

She turned to Lydia. "Let's go find someplace for a snack,
then head over to the market in Winslow."

"You hungry already?" Sinclair turned to her in surprise.

"I'm a growing girl. This body needs its vitamins and protein."

Even though she knew better, Sinclair took a close look at
the body Hunter indicated. It was perfect. Just like the last
time she checked.

They stopped for food at a patty stand near the beach then
leaned against the hood of the Cadillac to drink their sodas
and eat the thick pastries filled with spiced ground beef. The
sea lapped up on the sand a dozen feet or so away from
where they stood. Only a hillock of pearl gray sand, bits of
dried seaweed, and a few coconut trees separated them from
the water.

"So how long do you plan on being here?" Lydia asked.

"Just four weeks, although I wish I could stay longer." Her
family's warm acceptance and the resurfacing of childhood
memories were making this trip even more fun than she
thought it would be.

"Anybody special waiting for you back in your big city?"