“Let me let you in on a little secret,” Skye said.
Loch smiled. She knew what was coming.
“You don’t have to do shit. Get that agent of yours to call them and get you the hell out of it.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Only because you haven’t picked up the phone yet.”
“I’ll think about it.” Loch smiled and rubbed her temples. “I promise.”
“Are you still staying up till all hours?”
“Actually, I’m sleeping like a normal person these days.”
“If you ask me, you need to stay there long enough to catch up on a few years of shuteye, then find some hot girl to keep you awake at night.” Skye paused for effect, and Loch heard her smile. “I’m just saying.”
Loch laughed, watching the bats fly out from under the eaves and scatter, stirring streaks of lavender dusk into the night falling around her. “I can’t believe my little sister is lecturing me about my sex life.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Skye said. “I’m lecturing you about your lack of a sex life. Totally different.”
Loch smiled and watched a seagull land on the porch railing, then seem to think better of it, darting off toward the harbor as quickly as she came.
“How’s Danny, by the way?”
Skye had been seeing a New York University med student for the last few months, and she’d brought him to dinner in the city once so Loch could meet him. He was nice. In the same way unflavored oatmeal was nice. The only thing she’d liked about him was that he had no idea who she was.
“God, I don’t know. I mean, I’m still seeing him, but I swear, I’m only with him because I’m in love with his family. In fact, I might have a thing for his sister.”
“I can’t say I’m faint with shock over here.” Loch’s voice was teasing as she went inside to get a beer and brought it back out to the porch, propping her feet on the railing. “So, how’s the sex? Is that good at least?”
“It’s actually great.” Skye paused. “As long as he’s not in the room.”
Loch laughed, and they chatted for a few more minutes before Skye had to run to swim practice.
“But call me tomorrow, okay?”
Loch promised she would and clicked off the phone, only to pick it up and dial a minute later. It rang twice before Amir answered.
“Yes, Ms. Battersby?”
“I’ve heard you’re the one to call for everything here,” Loch said. “I know it’s after hours, but I have a problem.”
“And what’s that?”
Loch smiled and leaned on the porch railing, looking up at the crescent moon just visible over the now dark surface of the sea. “I just went out to the back deck, and there’s no fire.”
Amir laughed, reaching for her jacket on the way out the door. “I might be able to handle that for you. Don’t touch anything. I’ll be there in five minutes.”
Loch smiled as she put the phone down and went inside to change.
A few minutes later, Amir pulled up to the house and cut the engine. She gripped the steering wheel with her hands, watching her fingers turn white around it. It had been all she could do not to kiss Loch on the dock that morning when she was soaking wet and wrapped up in her jacket. She was trying like hell to be respectful of the fact that this was a vulnerable time for her, but Loch was making that more and more difficult.
Amir sighed as she got out of the truck and walked up the hill to the porch. All she had to do was not kiss her. Sure, Amir muttered to herself. Just don’t kiss the most gorgeous woman she’d ever seen who just happened to be cool as hell and gay as fuck. Right.
Loch opened the door wearing gray men’s chinos that sat on her hips, barefoot, with a blue cashmere hoodie the color of her eyes zipped low enough to see she was bare underneath. It stopped at her waist, leaving a few inches of bare skin between the soft edge of it and the chinos.
“Come in,” she said, raking her hand through her hair and leaning out to turn on the porch light. “But we have a problem.”
Amir smiled and rubbed her forehead with the heel of her hand before she looked up and swept Loch with her gaze. “Well, I certainly do.”
“Why?” Loch tilted her head to the side. “You forgot to bring it?”
Amir looked at her for a second before she realized they were talking about two different things. She pulled Loch’s lighter that she’d left by her fireplace out of her jacket pocket and held it up. “Is this what you’re talking about?”
“Yep.” Loch took it from her and dropped it into her pocket. “And it turns out, you were right. I couldn’t find another lighter anywhere in the house.”
Loch stepped aside as Amir came in, bringing the cold air in on her jacket. “But what were you talking about?”
“Nothing,” Amir said, then stopped and shook her head, smiling. “But you look beautiful.”
Loch took her hand and led her out the back door to the deck.
“Look, I have it all set up.”
She stopped just past the door and pointed at the very tall and perilously balanced pile of logs and newspaper in the firepit, then tipped her head to the side.
“Although now that I’m looking at it, that doesn’t look right.”
Amir walked ahead to the firepit so Loch wouldn’t be able to see her trying not to laugh. The contrast between Loch, the wildly talented supermodel, and her earnest inner Boy Scout made it hard to keep a straight face.
“Almost,” Amir said, kneeling by the firepit and concentrating on the pile. “You have everything we need here, but we might have better luck taking it in a few stages.”
She took the pile of logs off the top and set them aside, then switched the kindling from the bottom to a teepee shape over the newspaper. She handed the lighter to Loch.
“For this kind of fire at least, it’s usually easiest to do it in three stages, and you have to be sure you have a solid flame with each one before you go on to the next.”
Amir led her through the process until fire engulfed two of the logs, the flames shapeshifting into gold sparks that chased one another into the night sky. Amir stacked the rest of the logs a safe distance away and sat by Loch, leaning back on the riser behind them. The smoke curled into the crisp air, the sharp scent of cedar rising around them. The green sap in the wood popped and crackled, sending tiny pieces of delicate ash aloft, and one of them landed silently on Loch’s cheek. Amir gently turned Loch’s face toward her and brushed it away with her thumb.
“Thank you for teaching me to build a fire,” Loch said, her gaze dropping slowly to Amir’s mouth. “And for not laughing.”
“Hey, it’s just not something you’ve done before,” Amir said. “If someone gave me a million dollars, I wouldn’t be able to walk a runway without falling on my ass. Which, by the way, looks a hell of a lot more difficult than starting a fire.”
Loch smiled. “It can be a little tricky.”
“So,” Amir said after a moment. “What are you doing the day after tomorrow?”
“Well.” Loch looked up at the sky as she considered her options. “It’s either walking down to the diner to read the paper or watching the tourists all stand on one side of the dock and sink it. I’ll have to check my calendar.”
Amir laughed out loud and ran a hand through her hair. “Why the hell do they do that? I’ve never understood it.”
“I think they’re scared of falling off, so they figure it’s safer to just all huddle together and sink it instead.”
“Well,” Amir said. “I took this week off to try to get some decent pictures of my work, considering the disaster it turned out to be last time. You knocked it out in six hours, so I have some extra time on my hands.” She got up and put another log on the fire, brushing an ember off the sleeve of her fleece as she sat back down. “Feel like going somewhere with me on Wednesday?”
“That depends,” Loch said, smiling and pretending to consider her options. “Where are we going?”
“Not fair,” Loch said. “You have to tell me something.”
“Okay,” Amir said. “Bring what you need for a night or two and some warm clothes.”
“Ooh,” Loch said, looking instantly thrilled and cute as hell. “Where are we going?”
“That’s all you’re getting, Battersby,” Amir said. “You’ll just have to wait for the rest.”
Loch got up and sat on the riser below Amir, leaning back into her and pulling her knees up to wrap her arms around them. Amir let out a slow breath as she felt the warmth of Loch’s body sink back against the inside of her thighs.
“Are you cold?”
“Kind of,” Loch said. “I can go in and get a jacket. I just don’t want to leave. I’m afraid the fire won’t be like this when I come back.”
Amir shrugged off her jacket and held it in front of Loch, who put her arms through the sleeves backward and held it to her like a blanket. It was a long time before she spoke.
“I’m thinking about taking some time off,” she said finally. “Like a year.”
Amir ran her fingers through Loch’s hair and waited. She knew her well enough by now to know she had more to say.
“I don’t even really know why. I just don’t recognize what I’m doing anymore.”
Loch started to go on and then hesitated, following a burning ember with her eyes as the wind picked it up and lifted it toward the black sky.
“When I started modeling, I loved challenging people’s ideas about what’s perceived as feminine or masculine. It was such a new concept then, and no one knew who I was yet, so that concept really stood out and I sort of faded into the background.”
She watched as the last log finally caught fire, shifting sudden layers of light across them before it settled into a slow burn.
“But now I’ve gotten more recognizable, so the focus is constantly on me as a person, what I’m wearing, who I’m with…I don’t feel like I’m changing anything anymore, I’m just being a celebrity. I didn’t even realize it until I came here.”
Amir squeezed her shoulders. “Want to know what I think?”
“Yeah.” Loch turned around and looked at Amir. “I do.”
“You’re amazing at what you do.” She brushed a stray lock of hair out of Loch’s eyes before she went on. “I think the part you don’t like about it is being famous.”
Loch turned back around and pulled one of Amir’s hands into both of hers, tracing the lines of her palm with her fingertip.
“It’s just started to bother me that I’m not putting anything meaningful into the world anymore.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Amir leaned in and dropped her voice to a whisper, her words warm against Loch’s ear. “I promise you, there are hundreds of queer, trans, or even genderfluid straight kids out there right now in tiny hostile towns that had the courage to be themselves because they saw you do it first.”
“I hope so.” Loch turned around, her blue eyes as dark as the sky. Amir ran her hand through Loch’s hair, then stood slowly and held out her hand.
“I should head home,” Amir said. “Walk me out?”
Loch looked at her for a long moment, then took her hand and stood. “Only if you tell me why you’re really leaving.”
Amir pulled Loch’s body into hers and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she held Loch’s face in her hands and whispered against her lips. “Because if I don’t leave now, I won’t go.”
She slid her hand slowly around the back of Loch’s neck, holding her gaze before she kissed her. Loch melted against her body as Amir slid her hands around her waist and down the curve of her back, pulling Loch’s hips into hers as she kissed down her neck. Loch’s hands slipped under Amir’s shirt and across the warm, bare skin of her back, the strong lines of her body tense under her fingertips. Amir brought her hands back up to Loch’s neck and bit her lip gently, then kissed her until they were both breathless and Amir heard herself groan as she pulled Loch tighter against her. At the last second it was possible, she pulled away just enough to touch Loch’s forehead to hers and whisper before she turned and walked back into the house.
The next morning, Amir was up early; she’d promised her brother, Hamid, she’d show him the pictures they’d taken the previous day before he had to go to work. His wife, Anna, answered the door with a cup of coffee for her, and Amir kissed her cheek on her way into the living room. Hamid was on the couch leaning over his laptop.
“I’m hard at work on your website already.” He stared at the screen as Amir walked up behind him and set her computer beside his on the coffee table.
“Dude,” she said, nodding toward his screen. “Those are the basketball scores from last night.”
“Actually, you’re right, we should get on it.” He pulled up her website on his computer.
“We’ll need all the time we can get considering your last photos looked like rejects from The Blair Witch Project.”
“Hey, you know I’m not a photographer, which is good since you seem to break shit in your house every two days.”
He smiled and took a sip of her coffee. “Fair point.”
Amir brought the photos from the day before up on her computer and clicked through them one by one. She got through three before Hamid stopped her and leaned in closer.
“Who is that?” He was looking at the first photo of Loch diving. “And I’m not complaining, but how did you get her in the picture? She looks like a model.”
The close shot she’d taken of Loch came up next, water streaming down her body as she leaned into the camera and smiled. Amir clicked past it quickly, but Hamid nudged her laptop over so it was in front of him.
“Hang on. You know this girl, don’t you?”
“Yeah,” Loch said. “But what do you think of the pictures?”
“It looks like you got smart and hired a professional this time. They’re amazing photos, which makes my job easy.” He leaned back against the couch and smiled. “So, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, you can spill it about this girl.”
He looked at Amir, but she just shook her head and smiled. She and Hamid had always been close, but she wasn’t ready to talk about it just yet. He scrolled through the next few photographs until he came to the one of Amir, arms across the tailgate of her truck, looking off into the distance.
“If you tell anyone I said this, I’ll deny it, but that’s a great picture. We should put it on the front page.”
“Hell no.” Amir tried to grab at her computer but failed. “There’s no chance that’s even going on the site, much less the front page.”
Anna called just then from the kitchen to ask Amir if she wanted a muffin.
“Hey, baby,” Hamid called back, looking at Amir. “Can you come here for a second?”
“Don’t you dare show her that.”
“Shut it, it’s not like you’re naked,” he said. “Let’s let Anna decide.”
“Seriously, Hamid? Jesus.”
Anna walked up behind them with a chocolate chip muffin just as Hamid was closing the computer.
“Okay,” Hamid said. “You know how many rich housewives have summer homes on the coast, right? Especially Bar Harbor?”
“A lot,” Anna said with a nod. “In fact, I think they may be solely responsible for keeping California’s chardonnay vineyards in business.”
“So, imagine you’re one of them, and you’re looking for someone to come and fix something at the house or maybe install something on the boat.”
Amir groaned and reached for the muffin. She knew him well enough to know there was no way he was going to let it go at this point, so she’d might as well eat something while he dragged it out to torture her.
“So, you’re looking for someone to hire, and there’s the couple of old guys that do marine repair at the Bar Harbor docks,” he said, opening the laptop a
nd turning it around to Anna. “Or there’s her.”
She leaned in to look at the screen, then looked slowly over at Amir. “Holy shit.”
“Right?” Hamid said. “But she doesn’t want me to use the picture.”
“Look,” Anna said. “If I was one of those women, I’d break a faucet or something just to get a closer look at those arms. And I’m straight.”
“Oh, my god.” Amir took another bite of muffin and sank farther down into the sofa. “I can’t believe I’m having this conversation.”
“You’re not.” Hamid clicked the picture into place on the front page of Amir’s site. “We’re using it.”
He emailed himself the rest of the photos before he handed the laptop back to Amir. Anna winked and squeezed Amir’s biceps as she left, and Amir threw one of the couch pillows at her as she disappeared around the corner.
“Hey,” she said, looking at Hamid. “Are you guys grilling out tonight?”
“Yep,” Hamid said. “It’s Tuesday. The kids threaten to do it themselves if we even try to plan something else.”
“Do you mind if I come over?”
“Hell no, I might actually get to have some adult conversation for a change.” Hamid looked over at her and paused. “Why, are you bringing someone with you?”
“Maybe. Only if Mom and Dad aren’t coming.”
“Mom has that book club in town tonight that she never misses, and Dad’s at that work thing in Portland.”
“So, in Vegas with his buddies playing poker?”
“Exactly. Bring her over. I’ll try to keep the kids from scaring her off completely.”
They managed to work out a few more details about the website text before Hamid had to leave for work. He stood and wedged his computer into his bag.
“She must be special.” He glanced over at Amir. “I’ve never met one of your girlfriends.”
Amir pulled on her jacket and nodded. “She is.”
“Well, let me know if you get serious about her. I’ll try to work on Dad.”
Loch turned slowly around Samia’s bedroom, double-checking she hadn’t missed anything she wanted to put aside before the movers from the shelter arrived Sunday. She’d gone through the entire house in the last few days, with the exception of Samia’s art studio, trying to keep in mind that her aunt had specifically told her to clear out the house. It was hard to think about letting it all go. Maybe she’d just leave them to it and sit at the dock until it was over.
Innis Harbor Page 6
