Keep Tahoe Blue

by Nicole Pyland

  “Babe, I’m here,” she greeted as she opened the door. “Oh!” She quickly turned her head away.

  “Hey there,” Reese returned the greeting and quickly threw on her tank top. “Kellan, you act like you’ve never seen me in my bra before.” She laughed.

  “That was different. You were freezing. You needed the body heat.”

  “Get in here!” Reese tugged on Kellan’s hand and pulled her into the bedroom. “I just got home and wanted to change. Someone forgot to knock.” She moved into Kellan’s arms and placed her own around Kellan’s neck. “This is getting ridiculous, isn’t it?” She kissed Kellan on the lips.

  “What?”

  “This waiting thing. It’s like we both put it out there and agreed to it. Now, neither of us will take anything further. We make out like two teenagers in the basement game room, but the moment one of us goes to grab a boob, we stop because my parents might come downstairs and find us.” She laughed again.

  “So, you want me to grab your boobs? That’s what I took from that.” Kellan backed her up until Reese’s legs were against the end of the bed.

  “Well, not right now. Everyone’s about to come over.” Reese laughed as Kellan shoved at her shoulders until she fell back against the mattress. “Kellan!” She laughed out as Kellan climbed on top of her.

  “Tonight, all your friends are coming over. We’ve both had exhausting days. Tomorrow, we’re camping. I’m not sure I want our first time to be in a tent. But maybe Sunday? What do you think?”

  “Sunday? After football? I kind of told Morgan we’d help her out.”

  “With what exactly?” Kellan leaned down and placed a kiss to Reese’s neck.

  “There’s this woman she’s seen at a bar. She hasn’t actually talked to her yet, but she wants to try. I told her we’d go and be her wing women.”

  “Morgan wants you and I to help her get a date?”

  “She’d settle for a conversation, but we thought it might be a good place for us to start. She wants to spend more time with you. I thought we could all go for a drink, maybe we help her meet the girl, and they fall madly in love. Now that you’re suggesting we have sex on Sunday, I think I’ll tell her no when she gets here.”

  Kellan chuckled against Reese’s skin and pulled back up to look down at her.

  “Don’t do that. It’s important that Morgan likes me.”

  “I’m pretty sure that was one of our original problems there, dear. Morgan does like you.” She held Kellan’s face in her hands.

  “You know what I mean,” Kellan argued. “I want to be friends with her. I want to be friends with all your friends.”

  “What about your friends?” Reese let go of Kellan’s face.

  “They already like me. We’re friends,” she teased and moved to slide off Reese.

  “When can I meet them?”

  “Your first visit to the city, if you want.”

  “We should talk about that,” Reese said.

  “Hey, are you guys naked?” Ryan asked from the other side of the door.

  “No, Ryan.” Reese stood up in front of Kellan and placed her hand over Kellan’s stomach. “You look really good in professional, doctor’s clothes.” She kissed Kellan again.

  “This is your shirt.”

  “And it looks good on you, but take it off. Game night rule number one is no professional attire.”

  “That’s really a rule?”

  “Remy said you have to get the games out,” Ryan instructed as he opened the door slightly. “They’re in your closet.”

  “I’ll grab them,” Reese offered and walked toward the closet.

  “Want some help?” Kellan asked as she unbuttoned the shirt and walked behind her.

  Reese turned around as she opened the closet door. Her eyes drifted down to the new view provided by the open shirt. Kellan’s bra was black. It matched the shirt she’d borrowed. Reese gulped silently and turned back around.

  “I’ve got it,” she told her.

  “Problem?” Kellan wrapped her arms around Reese’s waist from behind.

  “You’re a cruel woman, Kellan Cobb,” she replied.

  ◆◆◆

  “You are bankrupt!” Stacy laughed at her husband, who had gone bankrupt in their game of Monopoly that had been never-ending.

  “Thank God,” Reese announced and quickly reached for the piles of fake money to put the game away. “That took forever.”

  “Not a Monopoly fan?” Kellan asked from her seat on the floor next to Reese.

  “She hates it,” Ryan offered.

  “Because she sucks at it,” Remy added. “She’s not ruthless enough.”

  “She’s plenty ruthless,” Morgan said. “I think she’s just strategic with it. She knows Risk is later.”

  “So, reel them in with Monopoly so you can steal all their shit with Risk?” Kinsley, their friend who had spent the past several weeks away from Tahoe, suggested.

  “I like it.” Kellan ran her hand up and down Reese’s back. “I’ve never played Risk.”

  “What?” Reese stopped stacking money and turned to her in surprise.

  “Oh, shit just got real,” Ryan stated and stood. “I’m getting another beer.”

  “She’s Risk master.” Remy took a drink from her own beer before handing the empty bottle to Ryan. “No one here has ever beaten her.”

  “Really?” Kellan said to Reese and then leaned in to whisper, “That’s kind of hot.”

  “Remy and I started playing with our dad when we were young. It’s how I met Kinsley, actually.” She nodded in the woman’s direction.

  “Risk tournament when we were in college,” Kinsley explained. “Yeah, we were nerds.”

  “Still are,” Morgan argued and poked Kinsley in the arm.

  “Shut up, Burns.” Kinsley laughed at her.

  “We’re playing Risk now?” Kellan asked Reese.

  “No, charades come first. Then, Risk,” Remy explained as Ryan brought her another beer. “We haven’t played couples charades in a while.”

  “Because we aren’t all couples,” Kinsley reminded.

  “You and Morgan have known each other long enough. You can be a couple tonight.”

  “Fine. But Kinsley is clearly a top, and so am I. I don’t see this coupling lasting past tonight,” Morgan said, and Kinsley shoved her, nearly topping her over.

  “Hey! I am not a top,” she disagreed. “I have no problem being a pillow princess every now and then.” She laughed as Morgan recovered.

  Reese smiled over at Kellan, as Kellan watched on and laughed with her friends. Kellan’s hand was on the small of her back under her shirt. The touch of the warm palm on her skin was enough to ignite that fire that having Kellan’s arms around her earlier had created. Kellan’s blue eyes met her gray ones, which only intensified that fire.

  “Are you having fun?” Reese asked softly.

  “I am having a lot of fun,” Kellan confirmed and leaned in, offering a sweet kiss to her cheek.

  They played several rounds of charades. Reese wondered if Kellan would get scared off by how competitive all her friends were. Morgan could not get Kinsley’s interpretation of Ocean’s 11. Stacy couldn’t believe her husband had acted as Donald Trump so poorly. Remy and Ryan had done well and took the lead early on. Surprisingly, Reese and Kellan had held their own. Second place wasn’t terrible for the pair that had known one another the least amount of time.

  They took a break after that. Stacy called the sitter to check on the kids. Remy got more of her famous seven-layer dip. Morgan popped some popcorn, telling Kellan that she didn’t play Risk with Reese anymore because she almost lost a tooth once. Reese explained that Morgan had nearly lost that tooth because she shoved Reese first and Reese shoved her back. Kellan laughed and sat on the floor on the other side of the coffee table while Reese set up the board.

  “The object of the game is to conquer the world by controlling every territory on the board,” Reese began. “You have to defend
your lands while trying to take others.”

  “Sounds extreme. What if I just like my little slice of the world and don’t want any more?” Kellan asked.

  Morgan and Kinsley both cackled. Kellan couldn’t help but laugh as well because Reese’s face must have shown them all that that was not an option.

  “That’s not how the game works,” Reese replied.

  “Should I be nervous? Are you like a despot in training?” Kellan asked playfully.

  “Yes!” Remy yelled and sat between Kellan and Reese. “She totally is.”

  “Back to the rules,” Reese ordered with a slight smile.

  She continued to explain, mainly to Kellan, how the game worked while the rest of the players situated themselves around the table. Those who were merely watching sat on the sofa and shared Morgan’s popcorn.

  “So, the goal of this is to lose all the territories, right?” Kellan jested with Remy silently laughing next to her.

  “What? No!” Reese replied, causing everyone to laugh.

  “Babe, you’re hilarious,” Kellan told her and placed a hand on her thigh.

  “Um, no.” Reese removed her hand. “We’re at war.” She met Kellan’s eyes. Kellan couldn’t help but smile at how serious Reese was taking this game. “I rolled the highest number. I choose an open territory and place one soldier there. Now, Kellan goes.”

  “I choose the ocean. I fight for Atlantis.” She placed a player on the board in the middle of the water.

  Everyone burst out laughing save Reese, who Kellan could tell was trying not to laugh but really wanted to let it out.

  “You can’t fight for Atlantis. That’s not how the game works,” she instructed.

  “The rookie is so not getting laid tonight,” Kinsley said from her position on the sofa.

  “The rookie is likely sleeping outside tonight,” Morgan added. “Like, outside on the porch swing. Because Reese isn’t letting her in the house after this.”

  The game began. Kellan found the rules were simple enough, but that the game was ultimately about strategy. Early on, she attacked at every opportunity and dominated Stacy until she was out of the game. Dave was close behind. Then, it was Ryan and Remy left, along with Reese, who was dominating. She knew she had to do something if she was going to beat her. She leaned over to Remy when Reese was paying particular attention to her armies on the board. They shared a whisper. Remy leaned over to share the plan with Ryan. Reese took her turn. Kellan went next. She gained one of Remy’s territories. Then, Remy attacked Reese in Europe, causing her to lose several armies. Ryan repeated the attack on Reese. Reese, herself, looked confused for a moment before she glanced at each of them in turn and it dawned on her.

  “Oh, I see how it is. I thought we had a no alliance rule in this house, but I guess I was wrong,” she said.

  Everyone laughed as Reese took her turn. The dice didn’t roll as she wished. She ended up losing some troops. It appeared, the entire group was watching her and silently laughing as she began to fall behind. It didn’t take long after that for Remy to lose. Ryan, despite his alliance with Kellan, took his leave, too. That left Reese, Kellan, and the board. Kellan had to admit to herself, and would likely tell Reese later, that she was unbelievably turned on.

  Reese’s game face was serious. With her jaw slightly clenched and her tongue emerging every so often to lick her lips, Kellan had to shift her body to try to get more comfortable due to the wetness growing between her clenched legs. She wasn’t sure how much longer she’d be able to wait. She wanted Reese so badly it hurt sometimes. Reese ran a hand through her hair for the thousandth time that night. Each time she did it, Kellan wanted Reese hovering over her. She wanted to watch Reese do that from above while the woman rocked her hips into her and drove her fingers further into Kellan’s body.

  “Kell?”

  “Huh?”

  “It’s your turn, babe,” Reese said with a quizzical expression. “Or are you giving up?”

  “Never,” Kellan replied.

  A few minutes later, there was a ridiculous number of yells and loud laughter in the small house as Kellan defeated Reese, the former Risk champion of South Lake Tahoe. Everyone was on their feet. Remy was bowing down to Kellan, who still sat next to Reese on the floor.

  “Should she pack her things and go?” Stacy teased Reese. “I have a pull-out sofa if you need it, Kellan.”

  “You can crash in my guest room,” Kinsley offered.

  “Guys, she still has that rental cabin. Not that she’s been there recently… Do you even remember what it looks like, Kellan?” Remy teased. “Or how to get back to it? You might need to sleep there.”

  Reese just kept staring at her, until finally, her smile emerged, and it extended wide across her face.

  “I think I’m okay,” Kellan replied.

  “She’s more than okay,” Reese announced, leaned in and kissed her deeply.

  It didn’t take long for Kellan to end up on her back, with Reese on top of her. Reese’s tongue was in Kellan’s mouth. Kellan’s hands were on Reese’s back.

  “Well, damn!” Dave remarked.

  “Hey!” Stacy smacked him on the arm. “That’s our cue.”

  “Is this weird for you?” Kellan heard Remy ask Morgan.

  “It should be weirder for you,” Morgan told her. “You’re basically watching yourself make out with Kellan.”

  “Gross,” Remy countered. “No offense, Kellan.”

  Kellan didn’t reply. Reese had slowed their kiss, but their lips continued to find one another time and time again, until she apparently snapped out of it and pulled back, realizing they were lying on her living room floor, making out in front of everyone.

  “Sorry.” Reese sat up and straddled her.

  “Why?” Kellan laughed as Reese climbed off and stood, holding out her hands for Kellan to use them to get up. “I didn’t exactly mind.”

  “Neither did the guys.” Remy pointed at Ryan and Dave.

  “Hey, I didn’t say a word,” Ryan argued.

  “And we’re leaving.” Dave grabbed Stacy’s jacket and passed it to her. “That way, I can’t get into any more trouble.” He slid his own jacket over his shoulders. “See you guys on Sunday.”

  “Good night,” Reese said, wrapping an arm around Kellan’s waist.

  “Night,” Stacy replied.

  “I think I’m going to call it a night too,” Kinsley shared. “Morgan and I are headed up to North Lake tomorrow. We’re getting an early start.”

  “We’re going to check out some possible locations for another store,” Morgan informed, sliding on her own coat. “My parents don’t exactly know of my plan yet, but I’m hoping to expand to a second store instead of just the outposts. Full brick and mortar location, if we’re lucky.”

  “That’s great, Mo,” Reese told her.

  She pulled away from Kellan to give both Morgan and Kinsley a hug. They all waved as their four guests left the house, leaving the two couples alone in the living room.

  “I vote we do the cleanup tomorrow,” Remy suggested.

  “I agree.” Ryan raised his hand in support. “It’s late.”

  “Or early,” Kellan said, noting the hour. It was well past one in the morning. “And we have a long day tomorrow.”

  “Ah, camping. Sounds like no fun at all and a lot of hard work.” Remy grabbed a few beer bottles and carried them to the kitchen. “Do you guys have everything?”

  “We haven’t fully packed yet, but we have what we need,” Kellan stated.

  “Reese?” Remy asked when she returned. Kellan noted that something was happening between them. “Are you good?”

  “I’m good,” Reese let out in annoyance.

  “Are you bringing extra–”

  “Remy, we know what we’re doing,” she insisted. “We’re leaving early. We might not see you before we go. Have a good weekend.” She grabbed Kellan’s hand and rushed them into the bedroom.

  “Is she still worried because of the
whole accident thing? You’ve gone hiking with me since, and you’re putting yourself back out there,” Kellan said the moment the door was closed.

  “She’s a protective older sister.”

  “By four minutes,” Kellan reminded and sat on the bed while Reese moved into her closet.

  “Damn it,” Reese whisper-yelled, and Kellan moved to the closet.

  “What happened?”

  “I ran into this stupid box,” she remarked and then stood to promptly kick the box with the same foot. “Damn it!”

  “Hey, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?” Kellan went to her and reached for her hips.

  “I’m fine. Nothing’s wrong. It’s late, and I’m tired. I just want to go to bed.”

  Kellan took a few steps back and leaned against the doorframe of the closet with her arms across her chest.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Kell, can you go into the bedroom or something? I have to change.”

  “You didn’t seem to have a problem earlier, with me watching you change.”

  “Kellan, please,” she requested softly.

  “Okay.” Kellan left the closet, grabbed her bag to pull out her sleepwear, and went into the bathroom to change for the night.

  CHAPTER 22

  “Kell, can you grab the pole?” Reese asked as she pulled out all the parts to their tent and placed them in an orderly fashion in front of her.

  “We don’t have to stay out here, Reese. We can just go back to the house or to the cabin,” Kellan replied but passed Reese one of the poles.

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because you haven’t seemed all that interested in anything we’ve done today.” Kellan grabbed her water bottle and took a long drink.

  They’d been hiking all day, finally arriving at their campsite only about half an hour ago. They’d gone slow because Kellan had insisted they take their time. This was the longest hike Reese had been on since her fall. And she hated that Kellan felt they needed to go slow. It was true that she’d been a bear most of the day. She didn’t mean to take things out on Kellan. None of this was Kellan’s fault. Remy’s comments the previous night had pissed her off. She knew Remy was seconds away from slipping up and revealing her true concern for Reese going on this overnight trip. She’d said as much once it was planned and they’d had a few moments alone while Kellan was showering in Reese’s shower. Reese had fought with her sister then as well.