“Uh-huh,” the woman said, using her best therapist voice. “You had a number of friends last year, but the report says you’ve been keeping to yourself. Why’s that?”
“No reason.” She shrugged, the blank smile still firmly in place. No reason other than trying to stay away from people who had more drugs hidden around campus than you’d find in a DEA warehouse.
“You’ve been to your Substance Mastery meetings every day this week.” Her owl-like eyes opened wide as a smile settled onto her face. “Good for you.”
“I keep going back,” she replied, twisting an oft-repeated AA maxim slightly. “It works.”
“Good. Good.” Mrs. Markham scanned her notes, the computer-generated report that showed every room Townsend entered, and how long she stayed. “I am worried about that wrestling though.”
“We’ve agreed to stop that kind of thing.” That wasn’t exactly accurate, but it was close. She told Jason she’d gut him if he touched her again and he seemed to believe her.
“Good. Well…” She put her hands on her lap and gazed blankly ahead. “Anything else you’d like to talk about?”
“Not really. I’m working hard, trying to get my GPA up. I’d like to go to college in Boston.”
“Good for you!” She beamed at her. Damn, it was easy to make a therapist happy. All you had to do was tell them what they wanted to hear.
It was just four when she got sprung. There was a real AA meeting in town at five. No little snots from school would be there, and she could actually tell the truth. The only issue, and it was a minor one, was getting there. You couldn’t call a cab, since they monitored the entrance. It was too far to walk, so that only left one choice. As she crossed the campus, Townsend grumbled to herself that she’d get in far less trouble if adults didn’t keep putting up stupid, insubstantial barriers to keep her from doing what she knew was right.
A nice grove of trees looked over a tranquil pond, ducks meandering around, probably looking for a nice place to spend the night. Townsend took off her ID card and tucked it under a rock. The geniuses in security didn’t mind if you were outside for hours at a time. They only monitored buildings.
Making her way over to the maintenance garage, she used her lock picks to open the side door. There wasn’t much to choose from. She picked the smallest truck, one she was pretty sure she could handle, got the overhead door open and took the keys off the board on the wall. It wasn’t hard to start a truck without a key—a guy whose dad owned a car dealership showed her how—but a savvy maintenance guy would have been able to tell the truck had been messed with. Not that they had any savvy maintenance guys. But still, it was just easier to use the damn key.
After pulling the truck out, she closed the overhead door and took off, slumping down in the cab to avoid having anyone recognize her. They monitored regular cars and cabs, but paid no attention to the school’s fleet. They were dumber than fuck.
After she was off property, it was smooth sailing. She had about fifty bucks on her, her mother having forgotten her previous plan to keep cash out of her hands, a couple of credit cards, and a nasty, lecherous, old creep at the liquor store on the edge of town who’d sell her anything she wanted. For just a moment, she let herself think of the icy burn as clear, cold vodka slid down her throat. She shivered from the memory and got what felt awfully close to a sexual charge from it. That was fucked up.
Ignoring the pull, she drove directly to the Baptist church and sat in the parking lot until someone came and opened the door. Only seven people showed up, so she put a twenty in the cup for a donation. She couldn’t afford to have them cancel this meeting. That damned liquor store was calling her fucking name every goddamned day. If the prospect of one day sucking the lips off Hennessy Boudreaux hadn’t been dangling right in front of her eyes, she would have been nursing a bottle of vodka on the way back to school, maybe even selling a few more to the people she once called friends, for extra walking-around money. Being straight wasn’t just boring, it was slamming her profit potential. But those lips…the thought of them made it worth the pain.
After dinner one night, Hennessy and her roommate walked to one of Robyn’s favorite coffee spots for a pick-me-up. Hennessy never bought anything, but Robyn loved to have a good shot of espresso before they went to the library to work.
“What’re you working on?” Robyn asked as they hustled along the street, the cold wind whipping at their cheeks.
Hennessy regarded her roommate. Robyn was a pretty, curvy, upper class black woman from Brookline. Her parents were both doctors, but she had no interest in science. She had her sights set on finance, but was concentrating on economics, since the college didn’t offer a business major. Hennessy knew nothing about either economics or finance, and Robyn didn’t care a bit about Hennessy’s literature courses. They were becoming friends, though, and the definition of a friend was someone who listened to you talk about things they found boring.
“I feel like I’ve got to read the whole canon of Western literature by the weekend, but it’s really only two books.” Hennessy chuckled. “And two papers.”
“Did you think it was going to be this hard?” Robyn asked as they ducked into the warm, coffee-infused storefront.
This had become one of their little jokes. Several times a day, one or the other asked the question. And each time, they admitted the truth. “I had no idea,” Hennessy said. “I thought I’d worked hard in high school, but that was a day at the beach compared to this.”
“Every damn person here was top dog in high school,” Robyn grumbled. “Now we’re all struggling to get by.”
That wasn’t really true. They were both doing well. It just took every bit of concentration and effort either of them could summon. Hennessy leaned on the counter, watching Robyn casually peel off five bucks for some kind of complex drink. “I was determined I was going to get an off-campus job. I’d have to start work at midnight,” she admitted.
“You’re not the first person who’s changed her mind about that.”
“No, but I’ve got to get some cash coming in. I’m on the hook for almost five thousand dollars this year, and doing work study’s about the only way I’m going to get it done.”
“That’s the job in the faculty dining room?”
“Uh-huh. It’s easy, so I can’t complain. Maybe one of my professors will leave an answer key lying on a table.”
Robyn paid for her drink and took a sip, sighing contentedly. She surely did love her coffee. “Do you have those kinds of tests?”
“No, but I wish I did. I’d dearly love a nice, multiple choice test once in a while.”
Robyn draped an arm around her shoulders as they braced for the cold again. “Come on over to econ. You can get by without stringing a sentence together.”
“Now you tell me,” Hennessy said, opening the door to be slapped in the face by the brisk, September wind.
On the first Saturday in October, Hennessy raced back to her dorm room to grab some notes she’d taken. She had a paper due on Tuesday and was bound and determined to get the darned thing written by nightfall.
The door to the suite was ajar and she breezed in, then dropped everything she’d been carrying as she gasped. “Townsend!”
“Happy Columbus Day,” she said, getting up from the sofa to wrap her arms around Hennessy’s waist.
“I had no idea…”
“That’s ’cause I didn’t tell you.” Townsend leaned back in the embrace and looked up, her eyes twinkling. “I love to surprise people.”
“I’m really, really surprised!” She stepped back and let her gaze slide over to Robyn, who wore an amused smirk. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here to introduce you two.”
“We don’t need help,” Robyn said. “Both of us know how to talk.”
Hennessy had to yank her coat off to cool down. She wasn’t sure if she was just excited or embarrassed, too. For a solid month, she’d been talking about Townsend every time she had the chance. But somehow she�
�d never stopped to think that Townsend and Robyn might meet, especially when she wasn’t around to supervise. She hadn’t exactly come out to Robyn, but talking about another woman every two seconds was probably enough to make it clear.
“I’m really glad to see you, but”—Hennessy bit her lip, unsure of how to handle the unexpected visit—”I’ve got a lot of work to get to…”
“No way.” Townsend’s voice was low and slow and filled with warning. “There’s no way you’re going to work all weekend.”
“I have to.” Hennessy shot Robyn a look, hoping for a life preserver, anything to help her out.
“I was going to go watch the football game later,” Robyn said, addressing Townsend. “Want to watch us destroy Columbia?”
“Well?” Townsend’s icy glare landed on Hennessy like a punch.
She swallowed, finding it difficult with her mouth so dry. “I’ve got to finish a paper today so I can get my reading done tomorrow. I’m so sorry,” she added, pleading for understanding. “If I’d known you were going to come—”
“If I hang out with Robyn, will you be finished early enough to have dinner?”
“Yes,” Hennessy said, not sure how she’d fly through the paper that quickly, but determined to get it done no matter what. “I’ll be finished by seven.”
“Six,” Townsend said, fixing her with a heated look.
“Okay. Six.” Hennessy went into her room and grabbed her notes. “I’ll be in my usual spot if you need me,” she said to Robyn. “Have fun!” She ran from the room, not stopping until she got to the main door of the library. How in the hell was she supposed to concentrate with Townsend on campus? Thank God she was normally nearly two hundred miles away, because this was torture!
Having extra pressure seemed to actually help Hennessy concentrate. She wasn’t sure what she’d cobbled together was her best effort, but it was good enough. At ten minutes to six, she climbed the stairs to her room, finding Townsend entertaining all three of her roommates.
“Where have you been?” Daniella asked. “Townsend’s had us in stitches. Did you know she locked Bradley Simmons out of his trailer when they were making “The Big Question?”
“Naked,” Robyn added. “And his big question wasn’t very big at all.”
“It was cold,” Townsend said, giggling. “You’ve gotta give him an inch or two allowance.”
“I’ve got it on my computer. I’m gonna go watch it right now,” Daniella said. “I think he’s packing, because he looks huge in that scene in his boxers.” She and Amy got up and headed for Amy’s room. “You’ve ruined the movie for me, Townsend, but I love the story!”
“I’d better go get some dinner and head to the library,” Robyn said, getting up. She bent to offer Townsend a quick hug, then gave Hennessy a gentle shove. “Learn to live a little, roomie.”
“I live! A little.” The door closed and Hennessy stood there, feeling sheepish. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to take the day off. It’s just—”
“I should know by now that you need to plan your day. I screwed up.” Townsend moved closer and looked up, gazing into Hennessy’s eyes for a few moments. She seemed not only calm now, but peaceful.
“No, you didn’t. I’m really glad you’re here.”
“Great. Then let’s go get some dinner. Where’s your favorite place?”
“Uhm…the dining hall?”
Townsend slapped her on the back and headed for the door. “Then we’ll go to my favorite place. Let’s hit it.”
There was a long wait at Townsend’s favorite Italian restaurant, but it was unseasonably warm and a perfect night for strolling around Cambridge while they waited. They’d gone just a block when Townsend took a plastic bag from her purse and handed it to Hennessy. “I bought myself a present,” she said, a foxy grin curling her mouth. “But you play a part.”
Hennessy reached in and removed a box. “A phone? I can’t afford a phone, Townsend. Really—”
“It’s a pay-as-you-go. I put enough minutes on it to let us talk a few times a week.” Hennessy started to protest, but Townsend raised her hand and covered her mouth. “No complaints. I need to talk to you. I promise I won’t take up too much of your time, but I need to be able to communicate.”
Hennessy could see the longing in those lovely pale eyes. Sometimes you had to swallow your pride and give in. “Okay. But we need a schedule or something. I swear I only have a few minutes a day to myself.”
“Is that really true?” Townsend looked up at her, clearly skeptical. “I’m working my butt off, and I still have a couple of hours to burn every day.”
“I’m not lying,” Hennessy said. “I’m working twelve to fifteen hours a day, every day. I swear, working on my father’s boat would be a vacation.”
“Your father owns a boat?”
“Uh-huh. Well, the bank owns it, but he pays the note pretty reliably.”
“All these months and I don’t know the most basic things about you, Chief. That’s gotta stop.”
“You’re right. Let’s see what we can do about that.”
Townsend stopped in her tracks, put her hand on Hennessy’s arm and looked up at her. “I’m right? I’m never right.”
“Aww, come on,” she whined. “Don’t make me sound like I’m a know it all.”
Threading her arm through Hennessy’s, she started to walk, idly looking in shop windows as they moved down the busy street. “I don’t think you’re a know it all. But you say no a whole hell of a lot more than you say yes.”
“I know. Believe me, I know that.” They were standing in front of a gourmet food shop, the display window attractively arranged with remarkably expensive goods. Hennessy let her eyes wander across the tins and bag, trying to give herself a few seconds to think. “Here’s my problem,” she said, speaking so quietly Townsend leaned close to hear. “I’m really, really attracted to you.”
Townsend grasped her by the shoulders, turned her, and met her look with a gloriously happy smile. “That’s not a problem. That’s awesome!”
“It’s a problem, too.” Hennessy sucked in a breath and kept going. “I haven’t spent much—okay, any—time figuring out my sexuality.”
“You don’t need to! If you’re really attracted to me and I’m really attracted to you, we go for it.” She slapped her hands together. “All figured out.”
“It’s not like that for me,” Hennessy said. “I’m not a leap before I look kind of person, and I don’t think I ever will be. I know…” She pursed her lips, uncertain. “I know my gramma will be upset, very upset if she finds out I’m gay. I’ve got to be sure before I take that risk, Townsend. I’ve got to be sure.”
“Do you think the answer’s written down somewhere? What in the hell, Hennessy? If you want to figure out if you’re gay, I can help.” Her smile grew sly as she put her hands on Hennessy’s hips and pushed her against the window. “Let me get us a hotel room, and you’ll have your answer by midnight.”
“No!” Slipping away, she kept a safe distance and tried to explain herself. “I know this makes me sound a hundred years old, but that’s not how I want to do things. I want to make sure I’m in love with a person—with a woman—then figure out the physical part. I truly believe love makes sex better, and I don’t want to screw things up by getting the order wrong.”
Townsend didn’t laugh. Her eyes were locked on Hennessy’s, their gentle warmth shining through the dim light. “I’m in love with you. You’re the first person I’ve ever said that to, but I am.”
“You don’t know me!” Frustrated, she found her hands gripping into fists. “You only know what I’ve let you see, and that’s not enough.”
“Then show me more. Tell me more. Talk to me.”
“I don’t have time.” Her head dropped and the building frustration made her feel a little sick. “I’d love to spend every day with you, getting to know you, learning to love you. But I barely have time to eat.”
Those probing green eyes scanned h
er face, like they were seeking answers hidden below her skin. “Then what do we do?”
“Christmas,” she said, surprising herself. “Come to Beaufort for Christmas. I have almost a month off, and I won’t have a lick of homework.”
“Done. I’ll buy a ticket tonight.”
Blinking in surprise, Hennessy said, “Don’t you have to ask permission?”
Townsend barked out a very amused laugh. “No, Hennessy. I never have to ask permission to be gone.”
“Okay.” She took a breath and laid it all out. “I’ll have to work, both with my grandparents and my daddy. And no matter what happens, we won’t be having sex. I mean that,” she said, the force of her voice surprising even her.
“But if we’re in love—”
“Two issues. One is whether we’re in love. The other is when we can be together if we are.” She grasped Townsend’s shoulders and spent a moment gazing into her puzzled eyes. “I’m going to be as careful with this as I’ve ever been with anything. If this is meant to be, it’s worth doing it properly.”
Townsend started to laugh as she moved away and began to walk again. Hennessy caught up with her while she was still chuckling. “I don’t think there’s one similarity between us. Not one!”
Hennessy matched her stride, thinking about that for a minute. Finally, she said, “You might be right. But that can be a good thing, can’t it?”
“Yeah.” Townsend took her hand, holding on tightly when Hennessy tried to pull away. “I’m clearly not going to get what I want, so I’m keeping your hand. Learn to love it.”
“I hope we both get what we want,” Hennessy said, trying hard to relax enough to enjoy having her hand held in public. “At the perfect time.”
The Right Time Page 12
