by Kay Bigelow
“Anything but.”
“I’m so sorry, Leah. You deserve this and so much more. I promise you’ll never want for romance in your life ever again.”
“You, my love, are the silver-tongued devil.”
As the water cooled down, Leah reluctantly got out of the tub and let the warm air in the drying tube dry her skin. After a short stop in front of the mirror to ensure that her hair wasn’t in fly-away mode, she let Dani lead her to the bedroom. Dani turned on the ambience lamp and guided Leah down on the bed. She moved up Leah’s body and leaned down to kiss her.
In between kisses, Leah said, “I want to feel all of you on all of me.”
Leah had no idea of time passing nor what time they were finally sated, but she thought she could see the sky turning from dark to light. When she turned over, Dani moved behind her and pressed her body against Leah’s and put an arm over her to cup her breast.
Leah could no longer keep her eyes open. She did, however, hear Dani whisper, “No matter what, I will always love you.” What does that mean? She was asleep before she could find another coherent thought.
Chapter Twenty-nine
The next seven days flew by in a haze of fulfilled lust. They took walks in the coolness of the morning, went swimming in the lake or the lap pool in the evening, listened to beautiful music, read books, and ate most of their meals in the dining room at the big house and occasionally in one of the smaller cafés. They made love any time the feeling moved them.
One evening as they sat next to one another on loungers on the lanai in the heat from the day beginning to dissipate, Dani said, “You know, I think I know you, and then I realize I know you so little.”
“What do you mean?”
“Tell me about your family. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you talk about your family, with the exception of your grandmother.”
“What do you want to know about them?”
“Well, for starters, are they still alive? Do you see them? How many siblings do you have?”
Leah really did not want to talk about her family, but she knew she’d eventually have to. “All right. I had two sisters and three brothers. I was the youngest sister. I have two older brothers and one younger. My father was a sheriff in a small town in the middle of nowhere in the middle of New America. My family died during a particularly vicious blizzard that snuck down from the arctic. The weather service, for some reason, either didn’t see it or didn’t report it. My family lost electricity some time during the early stages of the blizzard, and when they ran out of things to burn, they had no way of heating the house. They were found huddled in the living room near the fireplace, with everything covering them that might provide an ounce of heat. Hundreds of other families were found dead in the same way. My grandmother and I survived. She because she’d traveled to see her sister in Atlanta, and me because I was in New America City, too busy with my own life to worry about my family.”
Dani put her hand on Leah’s arm. “I’m so sorry for your loss, Leah.”
“Thank you,” Leah whispered. She hadn’t told anyone about her family, even Quinn.
“Did you become a cop because your dad was?”
“Initially that was the reason. But I found I really enjoyed the work and I was good at it, so it became less about him and more about what I wanted.”
Before Dani could ask any more questions about her family, Leah said, “Want to go for a dip?”
Dani looked at Leah for a moment and seemed to understand Leah was not going to continue talking about her family. She stood up and led Leah to the steps leading into the pool.
After their dip in the lap pool, they didn’t bother drying off but returned to their loungers to let the warm night air dry them. Leah’s mind returned, as it so often did, to their impending return to Victoria.
Leah knew that all they had on Wild might not survive returning to Xing and the real world. But she refused to think about the real world. She was happy, content, sated, and really in love perhaps for the first time in her life, and for the moment that was all she needed or wanted from life.
On their last evening on Wild and after they’d finished their after-dinner coffee at the big house, Dani stood and reached her hand out to Leah. They walked to their hover-car and headed toward the exit of the parking lot, but instead of turning left, Dani turned right.
“Where are we going?” Leah asked.
“You’ll see.”
Ten minutes later, they pulled into a parking lot at another large building away from the main building. Leah could hear music coming from inside the building.
“You’re taking me dancing.”
“Yes, I am. I promised you nights of lovemaking, good food, warm waters, and dancing. I think I’ve given you everything on that list except the dancing. So here we are. We don’t have to stay long, but you do need to dance with me once.”
Leah smiled. When she’d first met Dani, she’d no idea what a romantic she was. As she had told Dani, her ex-wife didn’t have a romantic bone in her body. When she’d asked Cots if it was only his sister who didn’t have romance in her soul or all the people on his planet, he’d said Devarians were all alike and the word “romantic” wasn’t even in their dictionaries let alone their souls. Leah knew she’d hadn’t thought about the lack of romance in her life until she found Dani.
Dani came around their car and took Leah’s hand, and they walked into the dance hall. The floor was crowded with couples dancing. Dani was greeted by name by the bouncer.
“Come with me. I reserved a table earlier today,” Dani said.
As they moved through the crowds, the hall became noticeably quieter and the women in attendance began moving back so there was space for them to walk to their table.
“What’s going on?” Leah asked.
“You, my love, are now a hero,” Dani said.
“Hardly,” Leah said, uncomfortable with the honorific being used to describe her.
Dani led them up the short flight of stairs leading to the second floor. At the far end of the room there was an empty table—their table. They took their seats and Leah noticed, much to her relief, that the stares and whispers began to disappear. A waitress was at Dani’s side almost immediately. They ordered wine and sat watching the crowd of women below them.
They watched the mostly younger women on the dance floor dancing to music Leah had never heard before. She leaned over to Dani and said, “Now I know I’m getting old. I don’t recognize either the songs or the dance movements.”
“You’re not getting old, you’ve just reached your prime,” Dani said.
“Such a silver-tongued devil,” Leah said laughing.
After they finished their wine, Dani asked, “Will you dance with me?”
“I’d love to,” Leah said, wishing it were true. If the truth were known, she hadn’t been on a dance floor since she’d been in college. Quinn hadn’t known how to dance, and Leah had neither the time to teach Quinn how to dance nor the inclination to do so.
Dani led them down the stairs to the dance floor. Luckily for Leah, the minute they walked into the wildly dancing crowd the woman playing the tunes stopped the music, much to the dislike of the crowd, and began playing a much slower tune. Leah recognized the music because it was by her favorite modern band, the Elixir Junkies. She knew Dani had arranged for this dance like she’d arranged for their table upstairs. Leah had told Dani the Elixir Junkies was her favorite modern group, and she’d remembered that tidbit of information.
Dani pulled Leah into her arms and began swaying to the music. Within seconds, Leah was aroused. When the music picked up tempo, Dani began moving to the music. Before Leah could count to ten, the dance floor had become their own with the other dancers now lining the dance floor. Dani was an excellent dancer and soon had them gliding over the floor in an elegant series of steps. Leah followed Dani’s lead, and soon they were dancing as if they’d been doing it together for years.
Dani whispered, “I’m ver
y aroused, just so you know.”
“Me, too,” Leah whispered back. “I can’t wait to get you to bed again.”
“Let’s get out of here, then.”
Dani danced them to the edge of the dance floor closest to the door and had them outside before the crowd realized what they were doing.
Dani didn’t speed home, but didn’t dawdle either. At their bungalow, Dani said, “Let’s go for a midnight swim, shall we?”
“I’d love to,” Leah said. She had almost, but not quite, stopped worrying about what else was swimming in the water with them.
As they walked out of the lake, they again gathered up their clothes and walked naked to the bungalow. Leah had never been naked out of doors since she’d been a small child and, according to her mother, would shed her clothing the moment she was out the door. Her mother said she couldn’t keep her in clothes and had almost postponed her entrance into school for fear she’d strip on the playground. As an adult now with Dani, she felt freer and safer than at any time in her adult life.
Leah even felt safe enough to say, “Dani, this is probably not the time, but I have a question for you that I’ve known I needed to ask.”
“What’s been bothering you, love?”
“Have you given any thought to what’s going to happen when we get back to civilization?”
“Some. You?” Dani asked.
“Some. Want to talk about it?”
“Maybe we should. You go first.”
“I’m concerned that when we get back to Xing and our separate realities, you might have regrets about your proposal of marriage.” Leah sounded more tentative than she wanted to.
“I’ve been wondering about how we can rearrange our lives to allow room for each other.”
“Are we essentially saying the same thing, then?”
“Hang on. We’re almost at the bungalow. Let’s pick up this very important discussion after we’ve get changed and I make us lemon squashes while you put some soothing music on. Okay?”
“Yes. I love you, Dani.”
“I love you, too, babe.”
It didn’t take long for them to put clothes on and get settled in the comfortable chairs on the lanai just as the moon was rising over the mountain. The moonlight reflected brightly off the water in the lap pool, throwing shards of light against the ceiling of the awning. They could easily see one another without additional lights.
“I believe it was your turn to replay what you were going to say earlier,” Leah said. Why am I being so tentative about this conversation. Could it be not a good idea to bring it up while we’re still on Wild? Perhaps I should have waited until we returned to Xing.
“I was about to tell you my proposal was not a spur-of-the-moment outburst. When I first saw you in that park near my father’s house I knew you were someone with whom I wanted to spend time. When we started dating, I knew I was falling in love with you. I was surprised because I never thought I would ever find someone to love who loved me back. When my grandmother fell ill and you came to me, I knew I had found the love of my life.”
Dani paused to take a sip of her drink. She leaned over and kissed Leah softly on the lips. When she leaned back in her chair, she took a deep breath.
“I knew I didn’t ever want to be without you, which led me to wanting to spend my life with you as my wife and my being your wife. So I inelegantly proposed. You evidently misunderstood me, so I proposed again. Thank God, you accepted my proposal.”
“Did you really think I’d turn down the opportunity to spend the rest of my life with you?” Leah asked.
“I confess to holding my breath waiting for your answer. It was then I knew I might have jumped the gun a bit. I mean, we’d never discussed our relationship. We discussed your relationship with Quinn, and since I haven’t been in a relationship since a couple of years after I graduated from college, I didn’t have much to contribute to that conversation. I kind of knew you’d probably want us to be monogamous, but beyond that I didn’t know whether you wanted us to live in your condo or mine, or find an entirely new place for us. I travel some for my work and, in fact, after we get back, I’ll have to go on a short tour with my book, but I don’t have any idea when, exactly, that will be.”
“Juaarez going with you?” Leah asked with a smile. Juaarez was one of Dani’s many exes and her co-author on a book on forensic psychology.
“She’s the co-author. She has to be there. Surely you aren’t jealous?” Dani asked. “Are you?”
“No, love, I’m not. If you say there’s nothing between you, I believe you.”
“I’ve told you there’s nothing between us, sweetie.”
Just like that, the conversation Leah had wanted to have had veered off topic and Leah was unsure whether it was on purpose or by accident. Does this mean Dani doesn’t want to talk about their relationship going forward, or does it mean she talked about it and thinks there’s no more to be said? Did their relationship really boil down to whose condo they would live in going forward? Was it just that simple? Leah had no idea. Their conversation moved on to more mundane things like waiting to pack until the morning since their shuttle wasn’t leaving until noon.
Leah was unsettled because she didn’t feel like the conversation she’d started about what their relationship would look like when they returned home had answered any of her questions. She fully understood that Dani loved her, but they hadn’t really talked about how their relationship would evolve from what it was on Wild. Maybe they’d go back to the way they’d been before Wild, or maybe they’d take it to the next level. Who knew? Leah certainly didn’t feel like she did. She knew she hadn’t made a commitment to be monogamous, and she was very much aware that neither had Dani.
Leah tried not to think about it being their last night on Wild, and was able to dispel the thought each time it invaded her mind.
After making love, Dani moved into her arms and put her head on Leah’s shoulder. “It feels like one phase of our life together is ending, and another is beginning. I’m excited about what will be,” Dani said as sleep overtook her.
Chapter Thirty
The next morning, the last morning of their vacation, they didn’t change their routine. Dani got up first to swim laps. Leah followed her after making coffee for them. Leah sat in the shade provided by the lanai and watched Dani swim.
An incredible sadness overcame her and tears sprang to her eyes. She knew they couldn’t stay on Wild, while at the same time she knew that their relationship would change once they were back in Victoria—whether it would continue to grow or become non-existent was what she had no way of knowing. The feeling of deep sadness told her she thought it wouldn’t survive being away from Wild.
Leah rose from her chair and went to take a shower. When she came out of the shower, Dani was standing in the doorway. She smiled at Leah, but something was different about it. Leah wasn’t sure what it was, and maybe she was imagining it, but she was sure she saw it nevertheless. Maybe I’m only seeing what my heart is afraid it will see. Maybe nothing’s changed for Dani and it’s me changing, pulling away before Dani can.
“I’m feeling sad at having to leave Wild,” Leah said.
“Nothing will change just because we’re returning to Victoria. You know that, don’t you?”
“Of course things will change, Dani.”
“Like what?”
“Like not being together twenty-four seven. Like not sleeping and waking up with one another. Like not making love when the desire hits us. Want more?”
“No, those are sufficient. I’ve been thinking about those things, too.”
“And?”
“And I think we should move in together. I’m not particularly attached to my condo, so if it’s okay with you, I’d like us to live in your condo. I mean, if you want to live together.”
“I do want to live with you, Dani. But I think we should spend time being a couple in Victoria before making that decision.”
“Okay,” Dani said w
ith a furrowed brow, obviously disappointed that Leah hadn’t jumped at her idea of living together. “But at least think about it a lot. What do you think is going to happen when we get back?”
“I don’t know. I just know we both need to be sure. Very, very sure.”
“I am very, very sure, Leah. And I thought you were, too.”
“I am very, very sure I love you more than I’ve ever loved another person. I want to give you enough space and time to make sure you want to be in a relationship with me.”
“I thought that asking you to marry me would tell you just how sure I am that we belong together.”
“It did. It does.”
“But?”
“But let’s see what it feels like in Victoria.”
“You think I’m going to have a change of heart? You think I’m going to return to my wicked ways, don’t you? And you’re going to pull away because you think you won’t get hurt if you do it first?”
“The thought occurred to me.”
“I wish it hadn’t.”
“Me, too. Do you mind if I put clothes on? We both need to pack.”
“The shuttle isn’t leaving until noon, and that gives us five hours to pack. And since we’re going to be the only passengers, we could probably push that by an hour or so.”
Leah needed something to do because she sensed how frustrated and maybe a little angry Dani had become. She did not want to prolong the conversation about who was going to leave first, but couldn’t think of another topic more important than that one, and didn’t want to discuss any of the many mundane topics that leapt to her mind.
It didn’t take either of them very long to pack their suitcases. Luckily for Leah, she hadn’t purchased anything at the resort’s store and only had the polo shirt with the Wild Security logo on it so she could still get the suitcase closed even without Rusty’s help. Dani took the luggage and put it in the hover-car.
Leah and Dani went to the big house for breakfast. After a light breakfast, they went out on the front verandah to have their coffee. Leah enjoyed the downtime as she watched the other guests heading in to the big house. No one approached them, which was nice.
