Rewriting the Ending

by H P Tune

  Mia laughed. “Smiley?”

  “Yeah,” Juliet eagerly said, shaking her head shyly. “That was meant to be a compliment. I just think that if it makes you happy, then why not? Don’t worry about me and what suits me. I’m good wherever. Honestly.”

  “Maybe I should get my transcripts then…” Mia’s fingers tapped at Juliet’s legs.

  “You should. And while you organise that, I might get something booked for us. I’m so desperate for a big spa and a few massages and leaving my laptop back here.”

  “Your laptop?” Tilting her head back, Mia laughed. “You’re really going to leave it behind?”

  “Yep!”

  Picking up Juliet’s legs, Mia laughed as she plopped them down on the cushions and straddled her. “I don’t have to share you with a Word doc…your e-mail…the Internet?” Mia held herself above Juliet, her eyes comically wide.

  “Ha ha,” Juliet murmured, hands trailing over Mia’s shoulders and down her arms. “You’re so funny.”

  “I totally am.”

  “I might book you a separate room for that.”

  Mia forged a shocked expression, mouth forming a wide circle. Her eyes sparkled, her dimples on display. “I’ll be good, I promise.”

  Juliet cocked her head. “You sure?”

  “I’m sure.”

  “Okay then,” Juliet conceded with a cheeky grin; she was feeling so playful and relaxed. She sought out Mia’s lips, making a series of air kisses that Mia resisted, laughing as she tapped her nose back and forth against Juliet’s. “You’re so beautiful,” Juliet murmured, the words coming out unfiltered and spontaneous.

  Mia reacted quickly, devouring Juliet’s mouth with fervour, resting her lower body against Juliet’s. “I so like this you, the you that has just finished a novel and has a week completely stress free.”

  “Ah-huh,” Juliet agreed, fingers sliding around the back of Mia’s neck and drawing her back in. “I like this me too,” she said, before returning her lips to Mia’s. “And bring on a week’s getaway,” she added breathlessly.

  * * *

  “This is really where you got my book?” Juliet asked, small backpack over her shoulder as Mia wheeled a suitcase behind them. She glanced at the small café and bookstore next to the bed and breakfast, hesitantly winding her way down a small pathway to the side of the building where they had just checked in for their holiday. The young woman who had checked them in had seemed especially friendly and deferential with Juliet, which had nevertheless done little to improve Mia’s grumbling as they proceeded towards their room. Tall, dry grass and a handful of flowering weeds lined the sandy, rock-filled path along which Mia struggled behind her, case bouncing sporadically. “Why didn’t we bring your large pack instead?”

  Juliet reached the large wooden veranda and awaited her with an amused expression at her complaining. “You want me to take it?”

  “No.” Mia looked up at her. “It’s not that bad. I’m just being grumpy.”

  “We’re here to unwind for a week, remember?”

  “There’s champagne waiting for us, right?” She yanked again at the case’s handle to straighten its direction. “That drive was fucking ridiculous.”

  “My turn, I’ll lift it up the stairs,” Juliet insisted, taking the extended handle off Mia. “Oh, smile, Mia. And yes, there is champagne and wine and a cheese platter. Will that cheer you up?”

  “Maybe.”

  She lifted the case up seven steps, turning away from Mia so she could wince freely. She had been insisting for the past week that her ribs were completely healed, that they weren’t bothering her any more, but the truth was, if she twisted the wrong way, then a quick pull made her notice them. It was merely annoying now, more like a pulled muscle or a sprain, just enough to annoy and frustrate her, to pull her back a little, a reminder not to get too confident.

  “Come on, the drive will be a distant memory in about ten minutes,” Juliet said, puffing as she stopped at the top of the stairs, “and, I want you in a good mood.”

  Mia scoffed, hands on her hips and a handbag over her shoulder. “Well, if you want me in a good mood…” she winked.

  Shaking her head, Juliet laughed. “Now, that was attractive. Can you taste the champagne yet? I think you’ll approve of the request I made.” Stepping inside the door revealed a large room with a four poster bed of dark wood against the far wall. Juliet dumped the heavy case onto the sofa closest to the door, next to the large wide windows. There was an open-hearth fire already lit. “Oh shit,” she said. “You were right. This place is divine.”

  “Whoa.” Mia’s eyes creased, and she exhaled with a lengthy breath. “What did you do, promise to do a book signing or something? This is stunning.”

  “Hmmm, well, you mentioned that she was a fan, so I may have made sure that she knew who I was. Is that bad?”

  “Bad? This is all good.” Mia walked into the room. It was cut off from the main area of the establishment where the rooms with water views were. But it was quiet and inaccessible to other guests, so it was their own sanctuary in an already decadent area. And the extra touches—fresh fruit in a bowl, a range of food on the bench, a tiny kitchen against the far wall with a fridge, made it only more so.

  Juliet poked her head through two double doors that led to a bathroom with a huge open shower in one corner and a spa bath in the other. A shelving unit held a range of organic body products and plush towels and robes were folded with precision. Back by the bed were two pairs of slippers, despite the fact that the hearth warmed the wooden floorboards.

  “Seems almost a shame to mess this up,” Juliet said quietly, indicating loosely to a line of rose petals that littered the top of the duvet.

  Mia slipped behind Juliet and rested her chin on her shoulder. “Is it in the shape of some kind of bird?” She indicated towards the petals.

  “A dove, maybe? It looks like wings right? Angel wings?”

  “I don’t think we should be too concerned about messing it up.”

  “A traditional heart shape might have been easier.”

  “Ya think?”

  Juliet laughed. “It’s kind of cute, whatever it is.”

  “Mmm, like you’re cute,” Mia said, nuzzling into Juliet’s neck and kissing along her jaw.

  “I thought you wanted some champagne?”

  “I do, but I can multitask.”

  Tilting her head back to rest on Mia’s shoulder, Juliet briefly closed her eyes. She felt peaceful, and she wasn’t so sure about the last time that she could have used that term to describe herself. Never, probably. “We should fill some glasses, unpack a little, and fill the tub.”

  “Ah-huh,” Mia said. “I’m all for those things, with the exception of the unpacking.” Sliding her hands back to rest on Juliet’s hips, Mia kissed the corner of her eye.

  “But we might need some clothes and…stuff,” Juliet placed a childish hint in her tone.

  “Nope, clothes are definitely not going to be needed. Besides, we have robes. That’s all we need for at least a few days, until we get bored.”

  “Bored of…?” Juliet teased.

  “Playing Scrabble. I put a travel version in the suitcase. Why? Did you think I meant bored of nakedness and brilliant sex?”

  “I do like a girl who can play Scrabble.”

  “I’m having bad flashbacks to teenaged drinking games.”

  Juliet laughed and turned around in Mia’s arms, hands joining behind Mia’s neck. “Drinking games with Scrabble?”

  Grinning, Mia nodded, pulling Juliet tighter against her pelvis. “Yep, did they not teach that at writing school?”

  Juliet rolled her eyes. “So I’m thinking something to do with shots and…what? Certain words? Scores?”

  “I'll admit the rules were a little flexible. But generally, yep, double or triple word score equalled double or triple shot. Or dirty Scrabble: if you couldn’t make a dirty word, then you had to drink a shot…or whatever was going.”

&n
bsp; Juliet screwed up her face, and Mia laughed. “Is it bad if I’m too old for that shit?” Juliet asked. “I just want to drink wine—more than a bottle preferably—all afternoon and night. But still…I’m old, aren’t I?”

  “You don’t look old to me.” Mia gave her a long kiss. Her eager tongue found a willing recipient. “If it makes you feel better,” she said, “I think I’m too old for drinking games too.”

  “Not too old for this though,” Juliet insisted, tugging Mia closer, her fingers splaying across the back of Mia’s neck, applying pressure and keeping Mia in place. “And, you want to know what else?”

  Mia nodded, pupils dilated. “I’m thinking you in the spa—candles, champagne, some music…”

  “Fucking awesome idea.” Mia grinned and stepped away from Juliet, who grazed her fingertips over Mia’s shoulder and down her side, trailing lightly across her stomach as they parted. “I’ll sort the music, and you sort the drinks.”

  Licking her lips, Juliet nodded her approval, smiling too as she turned away. “Done.”

  * * *

  With her head resting back against the porcelain rim of the tall tub, Juliet had a hand towel folded comfortably under the back of her neck, and her eyes were closed. Mia was settled in between Juliet’s legs and flush against her chest, long wet dark hair drifting loosely under the surface of the water, brushing against Juliet’s bare breasts.

  Mia sipped quietly on her champagne, glass precariously close to empty as she hummed along to the soft music that emanated from a dock out by their bed. Juliet’s fingers sporadically stopped and started working at her neck for a few minutes until she felt them slacken and come to rest on Mia’s arms as Juliet drifted into a blissful state of semi-consciousness.

  Mia tried to close her eyes and relax too, but the drive still had her wired from the concentration that it had taken and the strange amount of road works they’d had to negotiate, not to mention a few overenthusiastic drivers who’d insisted on sitting right behind her, then overtaking her with the smallest of margins.

  She sighed. That was all behind them now. She had nothing but a week of relaxing and spending time with Juliet, who not only seemed happy but calm and light too.

  Nor could she stop touching Mia. After the weeks of Juliet withdrawing and them slowly edging back to a good place, even the random, platonic touches Juliet gave her mid-speech filled Mia with a sense of belonging, as if things were finally right.

  Pointing her toes to just touch the other end of the expansive spa, Mia braced her body to allow herself to sit up slightly. The movement made Juliet jump, sending her elbow flying and her champagne glass tapping the tiled wall before tumbling straight into the bath.

  “Was just going for a refill,” Mia explained sheepishly, looking back at Juliet’s quickly blinking eyes. “Guess you need another now too, probably without the oils.”

  “Crap, was I just asleep?” Juliet raked a hand through her loose hair. When she dropped her hand to scoop out her glass, her bangs pointed haphazardly upright, making Mia grin.

  “I would be going with ‘yes.’” Mia took the glass out of Juliet’s hands and leaning forward, turned on the faucet and rinsed the glass. She paused as Juliet’s hands cupped warm water and trickled it down her exposed back.

  “Sorry,” Juliet said.

  “For being relaxed? I was quite happy. My glass just got empty. I tried to hold off on a refill.”

  Chuckling, Juliet rolled her neck before leaning back, hands still outstretched and trailing down Mia’s spine whilst Mia twisted and refilled their glasses from the ice bucket on the small table next to them. Differently sized candles on wooden frames flickered, casting intermingling shadows. Juliet drank a couple of gulps from the glass Mia had handed to her, her fingertips still exploring the ridges of Mia’s spine. “You have, the most beautiful skin, you know that?” she said after a moment.

  Brushing the tender compliment off, Mia felt heat blush her cheeks. She placed her glass on the corner rim, slowly lowering herself back into Juliet’s embrace. “It’s nice to hear you happy,” she said, turning her face and kissing the wet skin at the front of Juliet’s shoulder. “I was worried you wouldn’t be.”

  With her arms wrapping around Mia, Juliet smiled as water lapped and spilled over the rim of the tub. Her fingertips grazed Mia’s abdomen, muscles tensing as she reacted to the ticklish sensation. “I feel…” Juliet paused, “weirdly settled. And yeah, happy. Without the book deadline looming and all the family crap becoming a bit more background noise, it’s good to be able to just live in the moment. I’m not really trying, but that’s sort of how it is. I’m just trying to enjoy the now.”

  Mia grinned. “So maybe I’m a little bit wise?”

  “What? You mean all that rambling about not stressing about the future? Maybe.”

  “I’m totally wise.” Mia’s chest jiggled with laughter under Juliet’s arms. “I’m pretty proud of you,” she said after a moment, “for having the guts to, well, to not be all crazy-like but to actually confront your fears. How many people can say they do that? Or say that they will but never do? I wasn’t so sure you would, to be honest.”

  Juliet’s eyes drifted up to the ceiling, and she sighed. “I wasn’t so sure either. But you were…You are too important not to. I just clearly needed a shove—a reality check. I didn’t really think through what it would be like to not be with you.”

  “Completely boring, right?”

  Laughing, Juliet bowed her head and kissed the curve of Mia’s ear. “Completely. And, you know, lonely, painful.” She pressed a few more scattered kisses into Mia’s hair and onto the side of her face. “Besides,” she said, her voice deliberately lighter and teasing, “you’re the only one I want naked and between my legs.” She pressed at Mia’s thighs as if in evidence.

  “Mmm.” Mia exposed her neck as if to encourage Juliet’s ministrations. “Let’s see what else you want.”

  “Ah-huh. Let’s.”

  CHAPTER 22

  “I think we should rock, paper, scissors for it,” Mia said, her voice muffled as she unburied her face from the pillow.

  “I’m not sure I can move.” Juliet lay prone on the bed, arms limp by her sides. She groaned. Her muscles felt like they were made of rubber—rubber that had been stretched to nearly its breaking point. “It’s hard to say what hurts most, my head or my muscles. Everything aches. I genuinely think I’ve pulled a hammy.”

  “Really?” Mia reached across the space between them and dragged her hand over Juliet’s bare stomach and down her leg, which sent all Juliet’s nerve endings into a fabulous tingle. “I don’t remember you complaining last night.”

  “Hmmm, I think it was the shower session. Or maybe it was the time against the fridge.”

  Mia curled into Juliet’s side, pressing her forehead to Juliet’s shoulder. “Oh God, we fell from the bed. Do you remember that?”

  “We fell from the bed? That could explain the bruise on my arm.”

  “It’s possibly not the only one,” Mia said.

  “So, I’m never drinking again. You?”

  “Moderation has never been my strong point. Yeah, definitely never drinking again—until maybe tomorrow.”

  “Water and paracetamol and, umm…fried goodness. That’s what we need. Recovery breakfast and coffee. Words cannot describe how much I need coffee.”

  Mia just offered a series of prolonged blinks and then said, “Yes, we’re rock, paper, scissoring for it, and the winner gets to laze in bed.”

  Juliet dragged a weak arm out from under the thick duvet, holding a fist up in the air. A distinct inch-long bruise lined the underside of her forearm. “I always lose. All right, one…two…three.”

  They both pumped their fists, Juliet’s hand flattening to become paper and Mia’s staying curled in rock formation.

  “Shit,” was all Mia had to say about the results.

  Grinning, Juliet relaxed back into the pillow with a heavy sigh. “Thank fuck for that. I’
m not convinced I can stand yet.”

  “I thought you always lose rock, paper, scissors.”

  “Maybe it’s like billiards—I improve with alcohol.”

  Mia laughed, curling up a little and nuzzling into Juliet, nibbling at her neck. “Hmmm, you smell good.”

  “You know what else will smell good? Coffee and bacon.”

  “Okay, okay. I’ll get up.”

  Juliet pulled her in for a long kiss. Mia grinned when they finally broke apart.

  “God, I’d die for those kisses.”

  “I think we just about did,” Juliet said with a short, surprised laugh.

  “Ha ha,” Mia mocked, running a hand through her matted hair. As she shuffled up into a seated position, she rested back against the bedhead, and the sheets fell down to expose some very pleasing, full breasts. “Now I know we didn’t unpack, but I did have clothes on when I arrived.”

  “I think those cute lace panties of yours are hanging over the lamp.”

  Mia clapped loudly and then quickly winced. She stood up. “When we’re old, I still want to be having mind-blowing sex where we have to find our underwear in the morning. Deal?”

  “When we’re wearing those gigantic white cotton things? Do you think that will have the same effect?”

  “Oh yeah, completely. I find white cotton very hot.”

  Juliet tried crawling upright a little before slumping back against the bedhead in defeat. She stared at Mia as Mia walked barefoot and naked across the room. Images from the night before flooded her mind, and one side of her mouth crooked up with pleasure.

  She could explore that body forever.

  Pulling on her panties, Mia put her hands on her hips and scanned the room doing a search for the rest of her clothes.

  “Ah, I’m actually happy for you to stay just in those,” Juliet said, at which Mia immediately swayed her hips and then rubbed the bridge of her nose. “But I think your clothes are still in the bathroom. Oh, there’s a robe over there on the chair.”

  Mia nodded, slipped it on, securing the tie at her waist.

  “Okay. Let’s start with water.” Mia balanced carefully as she walked across to the kitchen, feet kicking a number of items presumably swept to the ground in their intoxicated passion the previous night. “So we’re going to stay in bed all day, right? Watch trashy DVDs or talk shows?”