Kerry squirmed around to look up at her. “Hey, BooBoo...” She reached up and gently wiped Dar’s eyelids. “What’samatter?”
“Nothing.” Dar’s lips quirked. “Booboo? You been watching too many cartoons again, Kerrison?”
Kerry poked out her lower lip and grinned sheepishly. She hid her face in Dar’s shoulder as a giggle escaped. “I am so tanked,” she muttered, “I’m channeling an animated bear.”
Dar chuckled. “Tell you what, Yogi, let’s get your clothes off and get you into bed.”
“Is that a plan or an invitation?” Kerry giggled again, but she eased back and rolled over, covering her eyes with her arm. “Too bright in here.”
Dar started with her sneakers, untying them and tugging them off, then working Kerry’s interestingly striped socks off her feet.
“Ooo.” Kerry wiggled her toes. “Can I get drunk more often? I like being undressed.”
“You do, huh?” Dar slid back up her lover’s body and unfastened the button on her shorts, moving the zipper down.
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“Well, just so happens I enjoy undressing you, so that works out great.” She eased the shorts down, aided by a helpful wiggle of Kerry’s hips, then pulled them off and tossed them over onto the chair. “Half down, half to go.”
Kerry put her hands behind her head. “Do your worst,” she grinned.
Dar slipped her hands under Kerry’s T-shirt and slid them up, pulling the fabric with. She leaned over and gently kissed Kerry on the lips, before she bunched up the shirt and eased it over her head, returning for another kiss as she finished.
“Mmm.” Kerry had her eyes closed. “I definitely like being undressed.”
Dar tossed the shirt towards the chair. “I’ll have to remember that.” She slid her hands behind Kerry’s shoulders and rolled her over onto her side so she could undo the catches on her bra. She felt a tug at her waist, and then heard the soft sound as Kerry unbuttoned one of her overall buttons. “Hang on a minute here.”
“Hang on?” Kerry tangled her fingers in the straps and pulled.
“Okay.”
Dar chuckled as she eased her partner’s grip. “Let me get you some water.”
“Water?” Kerry folded her hands on her now bare stomach, watching amiably as Dar moved her half-clad body towards the credenza. “We never needed no water before.”
“To drink.” Dar poured from the bottle on the dresser into a glass, then returned to the bed.
“Is it warm water?”
“No. It’s cold water.”
“I’m cold. Don’t want no cold water.”
Dar set the glass down, then pulled down the covers on the bed and knelt, sliding her arms under Kerry’s knees and shoulders and shifting her over. She pulled up the covers then handed her the glass. “Sweetheart, you gotta trust me on this one. Drink.”
Kerry clasped the glass, studying it seriously. She peered at Dar over the rim, her blonde hair partially in her eyes. “Okay,” she finally said. “If you tell me how come you were crying before.”
Dar blinked, not expecting the question. “Oh.” She cleared her throat a little. “It was just...um...you said something that really touched me, I guess.”
“I did?”
Dar nodded. “Yeah.”
“In a good way, right?”
“Right.”
Kerry stuck her nose in the glass and drank its contents, lifting it up and letting the last drop drip into her mouth before she handed it back to Dar. “Now what?” she inquired. “Do I turn into a pumpkin?”
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“You turn into a beautiful sleeping princess.” Dar quickly stripped out of her own clothing and joined Kerry under the covers.
Kerry giggled. “Does that make you the frog?”
“C’mere.” Dar gathered Kerry into her arms again, and turned the light out. It was quiet for a moment.
“Hey, Dar?”
“Mm?”
“I’m gonna really regret this in the morning, ain’t I?”
“Eeerrrrmm, probably.”
“You are too, huh?”
“Eh.” Dar rubbed Kerry’s neck. “We’ll survive.”
“Dar?”
“Hm?”
“I love you.”
Dar smiled into the darkness. “I love you too, Ker.” She let her eyes close, hoping she could remember her father’s old hangover remedy by the next morning. Though, she wasn’t sure whether Kerry would consider it better or worse than what it was supposed to cure. Or if they had Bosco syrup on St. Johns.
DAR PROWLED THROUGH the aisles of the small grocery, one of the few customers so early in the morning. She had a small basket hanging off her arm that already had a quart of milk in it, along with a box of Oreo cookies. She spied a bottle of chocolate syrup and snagged it, studying the label.
Ah well, it will have to do.
She made her way to the soda aisle and selected two bottles, then analyzed the contents of her basket and retraced her steps to the refrigerated case, swapping her quart of milk for a half gallon.
Satisfied, she walked up to the single register and set down her selections.
The cashier picked up each item and punched its price into the old-fashioned cash register. “Got you some kids, huh?” She smiled at Dar.
Dar peered at her over the top of her sunglasses. “No.” She handed the woman a twenty dollar bill and accepted her change.
“It’s my breakfast.”
The woman looked at the bag, then at Dar.
Dar pushed her sunglasses back up and took her bags, heading for the door as a young couple entered, stopping short when they recognized her and reacted.
“Hi,” Todd said. “Sorry about last night.”
In an instant, every ear in the place seemed to turn their way.
Dar suppressed a wry grin. “Don’t worry about it.”
Rachel put a hand on Todd’s arm. “We’ve heard a lot about you.”
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Erf.
“I can imagine,” Dar replied. “Take it with a grain of salt.”
“Well, we just came in to get some breakfast.” Todd glanced around. “Maybe if you’re not busy later, we can sit down and talk?”
“Sure.” Dar eased around them and slipped out the door.
Rachel gazed after her. “She’s weird, Todd.”
Todd steered her towards the grocery aisles. “No, she’s not.
You’re just freaked out because she’s gay.”
“I am not,” Rachel protested, noticing the looks they were getting from the cashier. “Don’t make like I’m some white-bread JAP.”
“Oreos on the left there.” The cashier pointed helpfully. “Got lots of ’em.”
Todd and Rachel exchanged puzzled glances, then shrugged.
DAR WRAPPED THE handles of the plastic bags around her hands and started on her trek back to the room. She’d left Kerry asleep, though they’d both stirred before dawn and she’d heard the pathetic moan as Kerry regretted opening her eyes.
It was clouding over, Dar noticed, and far off she could hear a faint rumble of thunder. That was good, because a stormy morning gave her a chance to pamper her ailing sweetie and not have Kerry feel too awful about missing out on any fun.
Dar glanced up as a faint, first spattering of rain hit her shoulders. She gauged the distance back to their section of the resort, and broke into a jog. She took a tighter hold on the bags to keep them from swinging, and crossed the expansive grounds at a very fair clip. She hurdled a hedge, taking it in stride, and then turned toward the building. Halfway there, seeing someone coming in the opposite direction, she moved to one side of the path. The tall man, however, saw her shift and moved directly into her way, holding up a hand.
Dar contemplated simply running him down. He was tall, but relatively thin, and she calculated she probably outweighed him.
She studied his face as she approached, seeing a chiseled, hawk-like visage, clean-shaven, with a cap of graying dark hair. The suit he was wearing was silk, and his attitude projected the fact that he expected her to do whatever it was he wanted.
Dar grinned recklessly and didn’t slow down. She focused her gaze on the man and kept up her pace, her hands slowly curling into fists without conscious direction. She got closer, but his expression didn’t change and he didn’t so much as flinch, so Dar steeled herself for the impact, ready to twist her body to the right and lower her shoulder. Her dad had taught her to play chicken right around the time she’d gotten her first bicycle. The roadblock waited until she knew he could feel the vibration of her footsteps, 144
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and then just as it almost became too late, he jumped aside.
Hah
, Dar snorted silently, brushing past him without a word.
She almost missed seeing the quick lunge as he reached for her, but he’d misjudged his grab, and her speed, and she was already past him by the time he made the attempt. She waited until she was certain he knew he’d screwed up, and then she slowed and stopped, turning to regard him icily.
He seemed surprised. “You don’t take direction well, do you, Ms. Roberts?”
Dar just laughed. “Not in this lifetime,” she replied. “You want something, or do you just grab women for fun?”
He collected himself and put his hands behind his back. “My name is John DeSalliers,” he announced. “And I believe we need to talk.”
Dar peered at him and then glanced up. Rain spattered her sunglasses. “Maybe, but not now.” She turned. “I’ve got important stuff to do.”
“Ms. Roberts.”
Dar looked over her shoulder. “If you want to deal with me, you do it on my terms,” she told him flatly. “Have a great day.”
With that, she started off toward the building again, picking up speed as the rain started to come down harder. As she reached the door, the skies opened, and she ducked inside just in time. Turning, she looked back and saw a satisfying vision of DeSalliers bolting through the rain, running awkwardly in his silk trousers. “Jackass.”
She let the door close with a snick and hastened back to the room.
It wasn’t really the way she’d wanted to approach, or deal with DeSalliers, but sometimes, Dar had learned, you just had to take what life offered and make the best of it. She slid her key into the door lock and turned it carefully, pushing the door open and slipping inside.
It was dark. Dar had prudently closed the shutters before she’d left, leaving the room in soothing dimness. She set the bags down on the credenza and took her sandals off, then she padded silently over to the bed and knelt down.
Kerry’s eyes were still closed and she was sleeping on her side, one arm wrapped around her pillow. Her mussed hair half-obscured her face, and Dar only just kept herself from smoothing it back. Instead, she stood up and tiptoed back to the credenza, removing the items from it and trying very hard to keep the Oreo bag from making noise.
“Uugh.” A soft groan came from the bed.
“Hey, cute stuff.” Dar set down a glass and opened the milk.
“Ugh.” Kerry lifted her head a little and peered around. “S’dark in here,” she muttered. “What time is it?”
“Eight.” Dar continued mixing her potion. “I closed the blinds.”
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“You’re a goddess.” Kerry rolled onto her back, throwing her arm over her eyes. “Jesus. I feel like a horse kicked me in the head.”
Dar finished mixing and picked up the glass, crossing back over to the bed and sitting down on the edge of it. “I’ve got something to make you feel better.”
Kerry peeked at her, seeing the glass. “Noooooo.” She pulled the covers over her head. “No…no…not…stuff.”
“C’mon.” Dar gently untangled the covers. “Kerry, honest—
it’ll work.”
“Dar, if I try to put anything in my stomach, that and everything already in there is coming up into your lap. Wanna risk it?”
“Yes. Just take a sip,” Dar coaxed.
Kerry rolled onto her side, giving Dar a piteous, miserable look. “I can’t.”
Undeterred, Dar put the glass down and eased her partner into more of an upright position. Then she picked up the glass and offered Kerry the straw she’d stuck in it.
Kerry stared dubiously at the mixture. “What is it?” All she could see was foam and dark streaks. “It doesn’t have Worcestershire sauce in it, does it?”
“No.”
Kerry put a hand over her stomach. “Dar, I really don’t think I can.”
Dar studied her, seeing the pale tinge to her skin. “Give it one try,” she requested. “Just one sip. You need to get fluids into you, love.”
Kerry sighed in resignation and maneuvered the straw over.
“How can I resist when you ask me like that?” She held her breath and took the tiniest sip possible, hoping to swallow it before her system had time to analyze what it was.
It was cold and effervescent, and it slid down a lot easier than she’d imagined it would. Cautiously, she inhaled, and then licked her lips. The taste was sweet and rich and bubbly, all at the same time, not at all what she’d expected. “What is that?”
Dar was cautiously pleased with the response. “Something my daddy taught me to make.”
Kerry took another sip, swallowed it. “Have I mentioned lately how much I love your daddy?” She felt her stomach settle and she took the glass, leaning against Dar as she sucked at its contents.
“You know what? I don’t care what it is. It’s great.”
Dar grinned in satisfaction. “Glad you like it.” She set to work gently massaging Kerry’s neck and shoulders. “Looks like it’s fixing to storm out there for a while.”
“Mm?” Kerry kept drinking, peering around Dar’s body at the closed shutters. A rumble of thunder rattled them, and she settled 146
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back against Dar with a contented grunt. The concoction really was helping, and she felt the aching nausea ease, along with the painful cramps that had almost sent her diving for the bathroom. And why wouldn’t it? she reasoned. Along with its other ingredients, the concoction had been laced with love.
Her head still hurt, though, a dull pounding that thrummed through her body and made her resolve never to experiment with rum again. “Stick to beer, Kerry,” she murmured. “Worst thing that does is make you piddle.”
Dar massaged Kerry’s neck, working out small knots she could feel with her sensitive fingertips. “Guess who I met on the way back?”
“Not those scumbucket sneaks?”
“No. Their boss,” Dar informed her. “He wanted me to stop and talk to him.”