Bouncing (24 page)

“Um, okay,” Brit said. In truth, sleep had come slowly as she wrestled with the knowledge that Alex was only a few feet away.

Alex didn’t seem to notice the hesitancy of her answer, and Brit was grateful. What could she say? I couldn’t sleep because I was wondering what you were wearing? If I had come to your room would you have made love to me?

“Okay, then, let’s get movin’.”

Alex drove, heading north out of Oyster Bay and west on Route 24, toward the Delaware farmlands. Traffic was sparse and they made the trip easily, then found Sal and Sue awaiting them at the door.

After sharing hugs, they retreated to the living room. Looking at the leather club chairs, Brit remembered her first visit here—talking to Alex, seeing her smile, thinking how attractive she was. They’d arrived separately that day, but this time they walked through the door side by side, and it felt perfect.

“So, thanks for bringing winter with you!” Sal said.

“Sal, be nice. How was the drive?” Sue asked.

“Uggh,” Alex replied.

Sue grinned. “Yeah, I kind of remember that. I’m glad I live at the beach now and don’t have to risk my life every weekend commuting.”

“Maybe someday,” Alex said.

Sal answered this time. “I won’t say I don’t miss teaching. Especially at this time of year when the season’s so full of promise.”

“Yes, at this point we still have hope,” Brit deadpanned.

“Oh, c’mon. I thought you said they were going to be good?”

“I think we will, I really do. We just won’t know until we actually play.”

They talked about the schedule and the team before Sue changed the subject a few minutes later.

“Sal, can you give me a hand in the kitchen?”

“Absolutely not,” Brit exclaimed. “I’ve been dying to get into that kitchen since the last time I was here.”

Sal laughed. “Wellll, if you insist.”

“You two can handle cleanup,” Brit reminded them.

Alex watched as Brit disappeared into the kitchen, and when she turned her attention back to Sal, she discovered she was under surveillance. Sal’s lips were pursed and she was squinting.

“What?” Alex asked, feigning innocence.

“So, when did this happen?”

It was Alex’s turn to purse her lips. When did it happen? That amazing first kiss had occurred two weeks earlier, but it was the result of what had been building up for weeks and weeks before. “I guess it happened right here,” Alex said, spreading her hands to indicate Sal’s living room.

“Really?” Sal asked, seeming surprised. “She hasn’t said a word.”

“Well, perhaps I should clarify things. Nothing’s really happened. We’re dating, that’s all. Getting to know each other better. Exclusively.”

“I’m not surprised to see you two together.”

“Why did you wait so long to introduce us?” Alex asked. Lately it’d occurred to her that Sal might have had something more than a business relationship in mind when she introduced her to Brit.

“You weren’t ready for someone like her, Alex. She’s much more mature than you are. You needed to settle down.” Sal’s words were harsh but spoken without criticism. They were just the truth. Still not easy to hear, though.

Alex frowned.

“Don’t take that the wrong way. It’s not a bad thing. Look at all the heterosexual couples who get married at a young age and then divorced. They’re too young. People need to experience life and see the world before they decide what part of it they want to call home.”

“Do you think Brit’s done that?”

“In her own way, she has. Just because she’s done things differently than you have doesn’t mean she wasn’t living her life.”

“And you think I’ve lived enough to settle down?”

“Alex, I don’t think it’s been a matter of living. I think you just needed to accept your illness and realize that you’re still quite lovable, even if you’re not as perfect as you seem. And Brit’s just the sort of well-grounded, good person to make you see that. What did she say when you told her?”

Alex looked to the ceiling, avoiding eye contact, wishing she could sink into the chair and disappear from the intensity of Sal’s gaze.

“Oh, Jesus, Alex! Don’t tell me you haven’t told her.”

“I haven’t told her, Sal.”

“What are you waiting for? The wedding night?”

“I don’t know.”

“You have to tell her.”

“I know.”

“So what’s the problem?”

“I don’t know.”

“Alex, that’s pathetic,” Sal said, but her voice was softer, concerned.

“I know.”

“What do you know?” Brit asked from the doorway.

“That I’m lucky to be seen on the same side of the street as you.”

Brit’s jaw dropped. “You told her? I wanted to tell her!” Brit didn’t sound angry, just surprised.

“She didn’t need to tell me, Brit. All I had to do was look at you. It’s written all over your faces.”

Brit smiled. “Is it really?”

“Oh, yes. There’s no hiding this.”

“We’re not hiding, Sal,” Brit said, walking over to kiss the top of Alex’s head. “I just wanted to tell you in person.”

“Tell her what?” Sue asked from the doorway.

All three of them looked her way, and they all laughed. “What? What did I miss?”

When the laughter died down, Alex answered. “Brit and I are dating.”

“Oh, no kidding. I could tell you were going to wind up together when you met right there on my patio.”

“Well, I wish you’d told me,” Alex said. “You’d have saved me a lot of time.”

They enjoyed a wonderful breakfast of fruit and yogurt and applesauce waffles, and talked about the film festival. After breakfast, as promised, Alex and Sal cleaned up while Sue and Brit sat and shared recipes.

“What’s on your agenda?” Sal asked when they were all seated in the living room.

“Movies. And we have a seven o’clock reservation at the steak house. You’re going to join us, right?”

“Of course. We’ll meet you there. What movies are you seeing?”

Alex groaned. “I have no idea.”

“We’re going now to see what’s available.” The only way to pre-order tickets was by purchasing an expensive pass, one that Brit couldn’t afford. They’d have to settle for the less-popular movie choices.

“You should get going, then,” Sal said.

“Why does time fly when we’re together?” Sue asked as they all stood and headed toward the door.

“It does, doesn’t it?” Alex said. “But we’ll see you soon, right? You’re coming for the tip-off tournament?”

Sal beamed. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

“
We
wouldn’t miss it,” Sue added.

“It’ll be good to see you again,” Brit said. And then, remembering the invitation Alex had issued a few months earlier, she replied. “We’ll have lots of time together next summer if I spend it at the beach.”

All three of their faces showed surprised delight. “Let’s make sure of that, Brit,” Sue suggested as they walked to Alex’s car. The frigid air made Brit shiver, and she rubbed her arms for warmth.

First stop was the big tent behind the theater, where they selected tickets to one of the movies their friends were seeing, and another two features that looked somewhat promising.

“Do you think we have time to stop by the beach? Just for a few minutes? I don’t think we’ll have time tomorrow,” Alex asked as she pointed the car toward the condo.

“That sounds great.”

Unlike their last trip to Rehoboth Avenue, this time the place was deserted. Alex found parking close to the beach. Off-season in Rehoboth also meant little foot traffic on the boardwalk. They easily found an empty bench and sat hand in hand, staring out at the ocean. Down on the beach a photographer was taking advantage of the clear sky to shoot pictures, and farther down the boardwalk two men were engaged in conversation, the proximity of their bodies suggesting an intimacy beyond friendship. Otherwise, they had the Atlantic Ocean to themselves.

“I like it like this, when it’s quiet,” Brit said.

“Yeah, me, too. It’s peaceful. Remember our last time here?” Alex asked.

Brit turned to her, horrified.

“Yikes. What a stupid question.” Alex said, grimacing. “I meant before
that
. When we were sitting on the beach. There must have been a million stars in the sky that night.”

Brit nodded. “I didn’t want to stop walking. I wanted our time together to never end.”

“I was wondering if you were gay.”

“Me, too. The evidence was mounting. Sal and Sue, The Frogg Pond, Kim and Tam.”

“I almost forgot. That was the night they kissed on the beach.”

“Yeah. It seems to be working for them. They seem happy.”

“They’re perfect for each other. It just took them some time to figure it out.”

“That’s what dating’s for.”

Alex smiled and pushed a stray hair behind Brit’s ear. “Yeah, that’s what I hear.”

“How do you think it’s going? The dating, I mean?
Our
dating.”

Alex was surprised by the question and not sure she knew how to answer. Slowly? And then she silently chastised herself, because she knew she was enjoying this experience. Getting to know Brit was a delight. “It’s going well, I think. The girl I’m dating can’t keep her hands off me, though, and I’m not sure what to do. I think she’s only after me for my body.”

Brit appeared thoughtful. “I can hardly blame her. You’re a hottie.”

Alex only smiled in response, looking out onto the water, and Brit leaned into her. Alex shifted slightly, and draped her arm over Brit’s shoulder.

A minute later, Brit spoke again. “I never thought I’d date you, after that night. I thought we were too different.”

“What made you change your mind?” Alex asked, turning her head to look at Brit.

Brit paused before she spoke, and turned her head up to Alex’s. Her eyes held a devilish twinkle when she finally did. “That kiss.”

Alex nodded in understanding. “I knew you just wanted me for my body.”

They were quiet again, but now they looked at each other, their eyes locking. After a moment Brit spoke again. “You know we really aren’t that different, Alex. We have the same passions. We have the same values. You just hide them well.”

Brit knew Alex was a good person, just as she considered herself to be a good person. And she was beginning to see that she was more like Alex than she ever would have guessed. Suddenly, since that kiss, Alex’s naked body was all Brit could think of.

The night before, all she’d wanted was to be with Alex. She’d tossed and turned, thinking of Alex in the next room, wondering what would happen if she just crawled in next to her and began kissing her. It wasn’t the first time she’d fantasized about making love with Alex, but it was the first time the fantasy could have come true. Just holding Alex would have been great, though. What would Alex think if she told her that?

“I had a rough night,” she confessed at last.

“Really? Why?” Alex sounded concerned.

“I was tormented by the thought of sneaking into your room, just to be with you.”

Alex studied Brit. “That would have been okay.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“We could just cuddle?”

“I’d love to hold you, Brit. And I can’t think of anything better than falling asleep with you in my arms. Well, except waking up next to you.”

Brit wrinkled her nose. It seemed that Alex always knew exactly the right thing to say. Was that a natural instinct or something she’d learned? “You’re so charming, Alex.”

“I’ve never said that to anyone before, I swear.”

“I wasn’t accusing you. I was just observing.”

Alex nodded, and they were quiet for a long while.

“So, Alex. Tonight? Can we spend the night together?”

Alex again pushed the wayward hair behind Brit’s ear. “I’d like that. Your room or mine?”

“Hmm,” Brit said, thinking. “Have you ever had a girl in your room?”

Alex rolled her eyes in admission of guilt.

“Then let’s make it mine.”

And so later, after meals and drinks had been consumed and movies had been watched and showers had been taken, Brit sat on her bed, waiting. She jumped at the knock. “Hi,” Brit said, holding Alex’s gaze for a moment before scanning her long frame approvingly and stepping away to allow her in. She gently closed the door behind her.

“So, I’m nervous,” Brit confessed when she turned to face her. She’d spent the day in a state of controlled anxiety, constantly monitoring her breathing and willing her heart to slow down. She couldn’t believe she’d invited Alex to her room, and she wasn’t sure how she could back out of the offer, or if she wanted to. But the thought of sleeping in the same bed with Alex—even fully clothed—terrified her. The act seemed so intimate, and it was, really. How much more vulnerable could you be than unconscious? Yet the night before, she’d thought of nothing else but falling asleep in Alex’s arms, and she wouldn’t spend another night wondering.

“Would you feel safer if I let you tie me up?”

Brit bit her lip and suppressed a smile. “Well, that would be a memorable first night together.” But the joke managed to relax her, and she suspected that was just what Alex intended. Somehow Brit willed her feet to move until she was standing before Alex, and then she was in her arms. It was a sweet, warm, loving hug. Alex wore fleece sweat pants and a long-sleeve T-shirt that was soft and welcoming, and Brit seemed to melt into her.

Alex wanted to give Brit the reins, but she sensed her faltering. After a minute, she pulled back and kissed Brit softly on the cheek. “Let’s go to bed,” she said, and without waiting for a reply, she took Brit’s hand and led the way. Pulling back the big, fluffy comforter with one hand, she crawled beneath and gave a tug to the hand she still held with the other, beckoning Brit. Brit gracefully sat beside her, then pulled her legs onto the bed and rested her head on the pillow next to Alex.

Alex rolled onto her side, facing her, and Brit did the same. “Welcome to my place,” Brit said.

Alex moved closer, until her face was in Brit’s hair and her arm fell across her middle. Wiggling and squirming, they adjusted positions until they were both comfortable, and Alex closed her eyes and allowed her senses to fill with Brit—her smell, her softness, the sound of her breathing. Brit was tense, but as they lay beside each other, Alex could feel her relax, hear the change in her breathing, and after a few minutes of quiet, Alex thought Brit had fallen asleep. When she tried to place a chaste kiss on her cheek, though, Brit turned her head so it was her mouth Alex met instead.