Storm Surge - Part 2 (29 page)

"You a fan?" Alastair asked.

"Not so much." Kerry admitted.

They paused in front of the bar--the big group of them--watching the screens.

"Hey, folks."Alastair addressed them. "Give me an ear, eh?"

Everyone turned to face him. "We've got the whole floor, matter of fact, we took over the concierge lounge up there too. It's got a big screen. How about we all go up there and I'll get some suds in, and we can watch from there."

Big smiles.

"You are a real cool dude," Scuzzy said. "Anyone ever tell you that?"

Alastair managed a brief grin, and then he waved them toward the elevators. "Let's put this plan into action then, shall we?" He waited for the group to start trouping toward the end of the lobby, before he turned to Dar and Kerry. "Feel free to skip the game shindig, ladies. I'm sure you have other things to do."

"Thanks." Dar didn't miss a beat. "We do." She gave Kerry a kiss on the top of her head. "C'mon Ker. You owe me some ice cream."

"Owe you?" Kerry got her arm wrapped around Dar's waist again."Thanks Alastair. We were hoping for a chance to chill for a while."

He winked at them, and strolled ahead. Andrew chuckled and joined him, leaving Dar and Kerry to bring up the rear.

Which they did. "He's a good boss," Kerry commented, as they passed the front desk.

"He is. Or I wouldn't have stayed for fifteen years, and in fact he wouldn't have put up with me that long either." Dar responded. "He's as conservative as they come, and yet, he never turned a hair at my being gay. "

"Never?"

Dar shook her head as the waited for the elevator. "When he was promoting me to Vice President of Operations, I met with him and warned him I was, and that it would probably cause a problem for him. He said he really didn't give a damn who I slept with."

"You think he meant that though? A lot of people say it," Kerry said.

"Then? I think he said it because he thought it was the right thing to say." Dar acknowledged. "But over the years he grew into that statement, and now I absolutely think he means it."

"He sees value in people." Kerry exhaled. "Wonder if his kids know how lucky they are." They got into the elevator and were quiet for the ride up, exchanging mild nods with the three other guests who had joined them.

The floor was already noisy down near the lounge when they got off, a trickle of television sound coming out along with the chatter of many voices.

"Glad we're down at this end." Kerry waited for Dar to key the door open and followed her in, closing it behind them and shutting out the sound. "Ugh."

"Ugh." Dar repeated, trudging across the carpet to her bag. She opened it and took out her bottle of Advil, opening it and shaking out a few of the pills. A warm body bumped into her, and she turned to find Kerry standing there, hand outstretched.

"Share." Kerry bumped her again.

Dar did, and then put the bottle back and rooted in the bag for her swimsuit. She took it out and paused at the credenza, picking up the bottle of water there and uncapping it. "Want some?" She took a swig and passed it over.

Kerry swallowed her handful of pills and wandered over to the book of services, opening the front page. "Dar? Where is the pool?"

Dar pointed up.

"Wow." Kerry went over to her bag and opened it to retrieve her suit."Glad I got into the habit of always packing mine like you do." She commented. "You don't know how many times I've thanked you when I was traveling and ended up in some business hotel with a nice pool and a nice bar and this suit made me pick the virtuous path."

Dar's warm chuckle surprised her with its closeness, and she turned to find Dar standing behind her, already in her suit. "Holy cow how did you change so fast?"

"Lots of practice with you taking my clothes off." Dar gathered Kerry's shirt in her hands and started easing it over her head. "There are robes in the bathroom. We better take them before we end up being entertainment for that crowd in the other room."

Kerry stifled a giggle as Dar's fingers brushed her bare ribs. "Go get the robes," she said. "I'll get changed and we can head down."

"Up." Dar tickled her navel, and then she backed off and headed for the bathroom.

Just ten minutes ago, she'd been toast. Kerry quickly shed her pants and underwear and got into her bathing suit. Ten minutes ago she'd been a little down, a lot tired, and wanting nothing more than to crash.

Now? Kerry looked up from adjusting her strap to find Dar leaning in the doorway, a knowing look in her eye. She felt a surge of sensual energy, a clean, powerful sensation that made her smile. "Ready?"

"Always." Dar tossed her the other robe and held a hand out. "Let's go. I want to get wet."

"Me too." Kerry answered, with a frank grin. "Let's hope no one else in the hotel does."

"Let's hope they don't have lifeguards."

THE WATER FELT unspeakably good closing over her as she dove in. There was that moment of silence, quickly overwhelmed by bubbles as she headed for the surface and felt the agitation next to her of Dar's tall form plunging in one step behind.

She surfaced and sucked in a lung full of chlorine-tinted air, blinking droplets out of her eyes as she flipped over onto her back and relaxed. "Ahhh."

Dar emerged from underwater next to her, shaking her head to clear her hair from her eyes. "Not overheated. Nice."

"Nice." Kerry agreed, enjoying the pleasantly cool liquid cradling her body as she floated. The pool was reasonably large, a rectangle of clear water against a painted blue background with lanes marked on the bottom.

There were no slides to go down, or diving boards to tempt Dar's quirky daredevil side. Just a placid expanse of water inside a glassed in space that would be pleasantly sunny in the daytime but now was full of watery shadows and highlights.

Around the pool were chaise lounges, and on one side was a bar that was currently closed.

That was fine with Kerry. It was nice to have the pool and Dar to herself. She rolled over and dove under again, pulling herself along with her arms and kicking from one side of the pool to the other, the chlorine only stinging her eyes a little as she swam along.

She rose to the surface again and exhaled, then turned when she heard splashing behind her.

Dar was swimming along the length of the pool with smooth, efficient strokes, barely creating any wake as she reached the end of the pool, disappeared underwater to turn, and then surfaced again still in motion.

Kerry didn't feel so ambitious. She stroked forward slowly in a lazy frog motion, blowing bubbles as she meandered around in a circle, going from side to side as Dar turned and came back again.

She took a breath and ducked underwater again, diving down to the bottom of the pool and swimming along the bottom, enjoying the silence and the sensation of weightless gliding. She reached the wall and turned, heading back across the width of the pool in the other direction.

Halfway there, she felt something snag her suit. She turned to find Dar turning with her underwater, those blue eyes glinting with mischief.

Kerry twisted free and shook a finger at her mockingly and headed for the surface as she ran out of air.

Dar went with her and they broke the surface together inches apart. "Hey, it's a fish." Dar smiled.

"Was that a fishhook that caught my suit?" Kerry splashed her a tiny bit. "Boy this feels great."

"It does." Dar agreed. "Wish it was in the pool back home, but I'll take it." She eased over onto her back and stretched her arms along the pool edge, gripping the tile rim with her hands.

Kerry swam slowly around in a circle, the sound of her displacing water the only echo in the large space. "So, where's the first place in Europe we're going to visit? You want to go the Alps?"

Dar's face relaxed. "Thank you for not talking about work," she replied, simply. "I can't take any more thinking about it right now."

"Me either." Kerry paddled over to her. "So, where?"

"Where do you want to go?" Dar countered. "It's going to probably be near your birthday."

"Oo." Kerry put her hands behind her head and floated, bumping Dar gently and then moving away. "Where do I want to be for my birthday this year? Let me think."

Dar was content to do just that. She tilted her head to one side and admired Kerry's lithe body, glad to enjoy the moment.

"Dar?"

"Uh?" She straightened up and stifled a grin at Kerry's raised eyebrows. "Sorry. Drifted off there."

"Ah hah." Kerry looked skeptical. "Maybe it was mentioning it earlier, but you know, I think I'd like to go to Scotland," she said. "Could we start there?"

"That would be cool." Dar agreed. "I'm up for that."

"That's what I'd like to do for my birthday this year. Go to Scotland and have a blast with you. Climb some mountains, see some castles, and just hang out. I hadn't really thought about it before, when we were talking about the Alps and everything. That would have been fun too."

"But?"

Kerry gazed up at the glass ceiling, the smoked surface barely showing the fuzzy outline of the moon overhead. "But I don't know. It would be so easy to go to all those ritzy places. We could afford it."

"We could afford damn near anything we want." Dar agreed. "You'd look good in a Swiss chalet."

Kerry smiled. "That's the point, I think. I want to be touched by the places we go to, not just by a nice vacation. I think that'll happen in Scotland." She turned her head to look at Dar. "I'd like to see Antarctica, and maybe the Sahara desert."

"How about climbing Everest?"

Kerry's brow twitched. "Ahhhh--no." She grinned briefly. "That idea doesn't thrill me. I don't mind working for my fun but that's way too much work, hon."

"Phew." Dar chuckled. "For me too. I'd like to see the Mayan ruins in Central America though." She paused, thoughtfully. "It's hard for me to think about going somewhere for a month. There are so many places I'd like to go."

Kerry rolled over and swam back. "You know what the truth is,Paladar?" She went nose to nose with her partner, stretching her hands out and bracing them on either side of Dar's head. "Just going with you anywhere for a month is something I very badly want to do."

Dar released the wall and settled her arms around Kerry instead. "Me too. We need to do this," she added, in a softer tone. "I wonder how many of those people in those towers were telling themselves someday I'll do that."

Kerry remained still and quiet, listening.

"Someday I'll see that." Dar went on. "Someday. Bob wanted to buy a sailboat someday, he told me."

"No more somedays." Kerry let her forehead rest against Dar's. "We so easily could have been in harm's way in this, Dar. I want to savor every minute living my life with you from now on."

Dar kissed her. "Scotland it is." She promised. "That's going to be a blast. Maybe I'll get a suit of armor there to match that old sword I've got"

"Maybe we'll try haggis." Kerry suggested.

"Maybe we won't." Dar smiled anyway, and then paused. "Or what the hell. If Alastair can try sushi, I can try oatmeal in sheep innards." She kissed Kerry again, and then she nipped her nose and surged forward, taking them both underwater.

"Bwwflhh--" Kerry spluttered, as they surfaced. "Dar!"

"Tag." Dar pinched her in a sensitive spot. "You're it."

"Yowch!" Kerry yelped, grabbing for her partner who was no longer there. "You pissant!"

Dar took off, diving under the water to escape, barely eluding Kerry's outstretched fingers. "Slowpoke!"

"Oh, I don't think so, madam." Kerry plunged after her. "This ain't no forty foot piece of ocean." She dove under the water and swam after her elusive tormentor, reaching for skin or any bit of bathing suit.

The moon slid behind the clouds overhead, wisely hiding its eyes.

"I'VE GOT WATER in my ears thanks to you." Kerry hopped on one foot, as they waited for the elevator to deposit them on their floor. "That was fun though."

"It was." Dar felt very pleasantly tired after two hours of water horseplay. She put a hand on Kerry's back to steady her, as the elevator slowed to a halt and the doors opened. "We're here."

Cheers echoed through the hall as they exited, and they could see the doors to the lounge still open. "Sounds like a good game," Kerry said, as she removed the room key from the pocket of her robe. "Glade everyone's enjoying it. They needed a mind break."

"Yeah." Dar agreed. "Tomorrow's probably going to be rough. I'm glad Alastair thought of it." She glanced down the hall. "Speaking of."

Alastair had just come out of the lounge, and was heading toward his room. He saw them and paused, then continued past his door and approached them instead. "Well, what have you two been up to?"

"Really want to know?" Dar asked, folding her arms over her terrycloth-covered chest and leaning against the wall.

He paused and considered. "Am I going to have to speak to the hotel manager tomorrow because of it?" he asked cautiously.

"Probably not." Kerry ran her fingers through her wet hair somewhat self-consciously. "We were swimming in the pool."

"Ah." Alastair nodded. "That sounds pretty innocuous." He leaned against the wall himself. "Game's about done. I'm going to let all these kids finish the night out. I'm bushed." He stifled a yawn. "Good bunch there."

"Glad they had a chance to relax," Dar said. "I think tomorrow is going to be a little different."

Alastair eyed her shrewdly. "Even with our challenges?"

Dar shrugged. "Who the hell knows? Maybe we'll get lucky." She straightened up and started for their hotel room door. "Anyway, good night, Alastair. See you in the morning."

"Bye." Alastair waggled his fingers and turned to head back to his own room.

Kerry opened the door and held it for Dar to enter, and then followed her inside. The room was dimly lit, and she caught the scent of chocolate wafting in the space, along with something a little spicier. "Did you send a telepathic message to room service again?"

Dar was by the desk, investigating the tray resting there. "Sorry to disappoint you, babe. I used the phone by the pool while you were doing that last set of laps. Hot chocolate, Thai chicken soup, and baked Brie with some crackers and fruit. Sound all right to you?"