by Radclyffe
Pia blushed. “I’m sorry, Mom.”
“Is everything all right?”
“Yes. Of course.”
Elana sipped her tea and regarded Pia thoughtfully. “Are you seeing someone?”
“No!” Pia sighed. “Sort of. Not exactly. I’m not sure.”
“Well, I can see why you’re preoccupied, then. Is it Dr. O’Bannon?”
Pia stiffened. “Why do you ask? Are people talking?”
“No, but there aren’t that many new faces in this town, other than tourists, and forgive me for saying so, but I’ve never known you to have a...fling.”
“That’s what it would probably be with KT. A fling.”
“Why do you say that?” Elana asked with interest.
“I don’t think she’s the type to settle down.” Pia tried to keep her tone light, but her eyes were sad.
“People change, Pia. Or maybe they just reach a point in their lives when they want something different.” Elana stood and began to clear the dishes from the table. When Pia rose to help, she waved her down. “Don’t worry so much about who she was, and concentrate on who she is with you. That’s all that matters.”
“Can I ask you something personal?”
Elana laughed. “We haven’t been talking about personal things?”
“This is about you and Daddy.”
“All right.” Elana set the dishes in the sink and leaned against the counter, her large dark eyes compassionate and curious. “Go ahead.”
“Did you ever regret not having other lovers?”
“I won’t ask why you think I haven’t had others,” Elana said with a small smile. “I was eighteen when I met him and totally in love from the first moment. There’s never been anything that I could have wanted in that regard that I haven’t had with him.”
“I always sort of got that feeling.” Pia rose and walked to the door that led out to the deck. Her parents’ home stood on one of the highest points of Pilgrim’s Heights, and from there she could see the wetlands, the dunes beyond, and just a sliver of the bay. It was a beautiful view and one of which she never tired. “I never consciously decided to wait—not at first. It just seemed right.”
“And now you’ve changed your mind?” Elana joined Pia in the doorway and slid her arm around her daughter’s waist.
“I’m not sure.”
“But the very attractive Dr. O’Bannon has you reconsidering.”
Pia rested her head against her mother’s shoulder. “She makes it hard for me to think at all.”
“Ah, well.” Elana rubbed Pia’s back much the way she had when Pia was small, in comfort and companionship. “What’s she like? Other than sexy, that is.”
Pia laughed. “Very intense. Aggressive. Focused. And...” She took a long shaky breath. “And she hurts inside, and I want to make that go away.”
“How does she make you feel?”
“Beautiful. Competent. Interesting. Sexy. Aggravated and annoyed.” Pia smiled self-consciously. “Wonderful.”
“You haven’t brought anyone home for a long time,” Elana remarked. “And I can’t remember the last time you sounded this excited about anyone. Bring her to dinner tomorrow night so I can get a look at her.”
“Mom.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be subtle.”
“All right. I’ll ask her.”
“There’s nothing wrong with changing your mind about the things you want in life.” Elana gave Pia a firm hug. “I just want you to be happy with whatever choice you make.”
“I know.” Pia kissed her mother’s cheek. “I’m just not sure if what makes me happy now is going to make me happy down the road.”
“That’s something we sometimes need to take on faith.”
Faith, Pia thought. Trust and faith. She remembered the way she had felt with KT in her arms and with KT’s hands on her body. More than she’d ever wanted anything, she wanted to believe that those things were possible with the only woman who had ever touched her so deeply, or stirred her so completely.
*
“Come on, you should dance with me,” Allie said.
“Again? We just danced,” Bri complained. It wasn’t that she minded dancing. She loved dancing with Carre. Except then, it was more about feeling Carre in her arms—the way Carre’s body fit just right into the angle of her belly and thighs, the way Carre’s breasts molded to hers, and the way Carre’s leg fit so naturally between her own. She always got hot when they danced, and more than once, she’d sweet-talked Carre into discreetly easing her discomfort in a dark corner of the bar or the backseat of the car because she couldn’t wait until they got home. Carre always seemed to know when she really needed her, and she never said no. Jeez, I miss her so much.
“We can’t look like we’re just sitting here spying on people,” Allie pointed out reasonably while settling her hand on the inside of Bri’s thigh a few inches above her knee. She caressed the firm muscles beneath the soft leather, stopping a few decorous inches below Bri’s crotch. Leaning close, she whispered in Bri’s ear, “And we’re supposed to look like we’re, you know, a couple. So it’s good if we dance, since you don’t want to make out.”
Allie laughed when Bri gave her a cutting look. “Come on. I’ve been good. This is our third time out together, and I haven’t put the moves on you once.”
“Maybe this isn’t such a good idea,” Bri mumbled. Neither her father nor Reese had explicitly said that she and Allie couldn’t check out the area bars for signs of drug dealing or some word about the candy-bowl parties, but she had a pretty good idea that her father would be pissed. She thought maybe Reese would be proud of their initiative, and that helped ease her guilt a little bit. What wasn’t helping her guilt was the fact that dancing with Allie tended to make her horny. She consoled herself with the thought that that was natural, but it still made her feel a little unfaithful. It also made her a lot uncomfortable, and taking care of things herself was getting old pretty fast. “Maybe we should try another place.”
“This place is perfect. It’s a nice mix of gays and hets with plenty of money. You know these guys are looking for easy marks who are going to drop a bundle without thinking twice about it.” She took Bri’s hand and tugged her up from the bar stool. “Come on. I like this song.”
It was one of those songs that you could dance to either fast or slow, and when they made it to the edge of the crowded dance floor, Allie wrapped her arms around Bri’s neck and snuggled into her.
“Mmm, you really are a good dancer,” Allie purred.
“Cut it out,” Bri hissed.
“What?”
“You know what. The thing you’re doing with your hips in my crotch.”
Allie laughed. “Jesus. Carre better come home soon, or you’re going to burst into flames. I’m just dancing.”
“That’s not dancing, that’s practically fucking.”
“You wish.” Allie laughed again but eased away until there were a few inches between them. “I must be crazy to cut you a break when you’re in such a weakened condition.”
Bri grinned. “Yeah, yeah.”
Allie was about to make another smart remark when someone pressed close to them in the crowd.
“Hey, you girls looking for a little something to spice up the ride?”
Instinctively, Bri stiffened, but Allie just turned slightly in her arms and regarded the preppy-looking guy with studied disinterest. He was dancing with a woman whose face she couldn’t see. With casual coolness, she replied, “If you’re volunteering, we’re so not interested.”
He laughed, his gaze traveling to Bri’s face and darting quickly away. “Do I look crazy? I can see you two don’t need any help in that department.” He leaned over, his voice low. “I was thinking more along the lines of chemical enhancements.”
“We’re not in the market,” Bri said sharply, moving them away from the interloper. To Allie she said, loud enough for him to hear, “Come on, baby—he could be a narc.”
&nbs
p; “Hey! No, no!” He followed them persistently. “I’m not trying to sell you anything. I just thought you might like some party favors. You know, an exchange of gifts, so to speak.”
“Sorry,” Allie said regretfully. “We didn’t come prepared.” She hooked her fingers over Bri’s belt and smiled at her seductively, then licked her neck. “But we like to play, don’t we, baby.”
Bri slid an arm around Allie’s shoulders protectively and narrowed her eyes at the man who watched them. “We don’t share some things, got it?”
“I’m telling you, that’s not what this is about.” He slid a business card from his pocket and tucked it into the back pocket of Allie’s tight jeans. He very carefully kept his fingers from touching her body. “There’s a phone number on there. Call it Wednesday night at nine o’clock and ask for Jimmy.”
“And then what?” Allie asked, bumping her hip rhythmically between Bri’s legs in a distinctly proprietary move. She directed her question at the stranger but kept her mouth on Bri’s throat. She looked as if she was about to swallow her whole.
“Then we’ll party.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Pia leaned over and curled her fingers around KT’s forearm. “Doing okay?”
KT looked over her shoulder toward the kitchen to be sure that they wouldn’t be overheard. “I don’t know. Am I?”
Laughing, Pia nodded. “Beautifully.”
“Your father hasn’t said more than two words to me all night,” KT said in a low, anxious voice. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so compelled to make a good impression. Maybe when she’d been interviewing for medical school. Actually, thinking back, that hadn’t been half bad. This was much worse.
“That’s one more word than he usually says before he’s finished dinner and read the newspaper.” Amused by KT’s obvious dismay, Pia shifted closer still and kissed KT lightly just below her ear. “Relax.”
“Oh, that’s really going to help,” KT muttered as she turned her head and sought Pia’s mouth for another quick kiss. She nearly jumped out of her chair when Pia’s mother spoke from behind them.
“I can save this dessert until later, if you’d like,” Elana said.
Slowly, holding KT’s gaze, Pia drew away. She wondered if her own eyes were as heavy and hot as KT’s appeared right then. She certainly felt that way inside, as an indolent, simmering heat stole through her limbs and coiled in her core. “No. We should have it now. I’ll take some in to Daddy.”
KT wanted to protest about being abandoned but couldn’t find an acceptable way to do it. A second later, she found herself alone in the dining room with Elana Torres. “Dinner was wonderful. Thank you very much for inviting me.”
“I’m very glad you could come.” Elana poured coffee and inquired with a raised brow if KT would like some. At KT’s nod, she filled another cup. “Do you mind me asking what happened to your hand?”
“Pia didn’t tell you?”
Elana shook her head. “No, only that she was working with you in therapy.”
“Yes. She’s the only thing that’s keeping me going, I think.” KT blinked, stunned at her own admission. “I mean...” She was very aware of Elana watching her carefully with a kind, gentle expression, and it was the complete lack of judgment in her face that allowed KT to voice the thought she hadn’t yet fully admitted to herself. “She has a way of making me believe that I can make it back to the way I was before.”
“I would wager that she makes you work pretty hard for that, too.”
KT laughed. “Oh yeah. She can be pretty tough.”
“Where is it that you want to get back to?”
“My life,” KT said automatically. Then, with a frown, she amended, “I’d like to be able to operate again.”
“I can only imagine how difficult it must be for you not to be able to.”
“It is, but I’m so busy at the clinic that most of the time I don’t think about it.” KT was surprised yet again. Her days were so full that she rarely had time to miss the adrenaline-charged, high-pressure world of the trauma unit. “I can’t believe I just said that, but it’s really true.”
Elana cut a wedge of the deep-dish apple pie she’d made earlier, set it on a plate, and slid it across to KT. “So you’ll go back to Boston when your hand is healed?”
“Yes,” KT said absently, her mind still turning over the fact that she didn’t miss her life in Boston nearly as much now as she had a month ago when she’d arrived. Although her nights were too long and her bed far too lonely, she’d settled into a routine that actually suited her, and she was frighteningly content. She enjoyed her work at the clinic; seeing Tory every day had restored a huge part of her past that she had been forced to deny because it had hurt too much to acknowledge; and, as each day passed, she was more and more drawn to Pia. She counted on seeing her each morning for their therapy session and considered it a victory when Pia agreed to have lunch or dinner with her. She hadn’t touched her again since that morning in the bedroom, and that was something she couldn’t entirely explain. Because she wanted her—in the natural, instinctive way she’d always been drawn to beautiful, passionate women. She loved the way the light shimmered over her ebony hair in the sunlight, and the full, throaty sound of her laughter, and the tender, knowing touch of her hands. Desiring her because of those things made sense to KT, and perhaps if that had been the entire basis for her attraction, she would have pursued Pia with her usual vigor. But it was Pia’s unwavering belief in her, and what they could accomplish together, that held her captive most of all. Without intending it, she had come to count on that strength and, without realizing it, had allowed Pia’s faith to become hers. It was precisely because Pia meant so much to her that she hadn’t tried again to seduce her.
KT emerged from her musings to find Elana still studying her quietly. “Pia is something of a miracle worker.”
“What a nice thing to say.” Elana smiled. “I can certainly see why she finds you so charming.”
To her utter consternation, KT blushed. Even worse, she was suddenly tongue-tied, aware that she was speaking to the mother of a woman for whom her intentions might be considered less than honorable. “Uh...”
Laughing, Elana rose and squeezed KT gently on the shoulder. “I’m sorry. I promised Pia that I wouldn’t put you on the spot, and I’m afraid that I have.”
“No, you haven’t.” KT grinned. “I’m just out of practice. It’s been an awfully long time since I’ve been taken home to meet the family.”
“Really? How long?”
“About twenty years.” KT stared at Elana, stunned at her reflexive admission. Twenty years ago she’d been practically an innocent. A lifetime had passed since she and another young college student had discovered the wonders of passion in a dorm room late one Saturday night. Tory. So long ago. So young—both of us.
“Well, if that’s the case, then Pia must be special.” Elana spoke softly, with calm conviction.
“She is.”
“Good.”
“Mrs. Torres—” KT began, suddenly needing to tell her that Pia was more than special and that she would do everything she could to be worthy of Pia’s affections.
“Mom,” Pia said from the doorway. “You’re not interrogating her, are you?”
“Absolutely not.” Elana patted Pia’s cheek affectionately as she passed on her way into the living room to join her husband. “We were just chatting.”
Pia looked after her mother with fond exasperation and then turned back to KT. “I’m sorry. I got caught up talking to my father about some business things.”
“No need to apologize. Your mother is terrific.”
“I was going to get myself some coffee,” Pia said. “How about I refill yours, and we can have it out on the deck?”
“Sounds great.”
A minute later they stood leaning side by side against the railing. It was a typical early-fall evening—the air just crisp enough to be invigorating and the ink-black
sky overhead littered with thousands of stars. KT was acutely aware of Pia’s bare arm lightly touching hers.
“Cold?” KT inquired quietly.
“A little, but I don’t mind. It’s so beautiful.”
“It is.” KT put her coffee cup on the railing and slid her arm around Pia’s waist. “So are you.”
Pia rested her cheek against KT’s shoulder. “Thank you for coming tonight.”
“I like your parents. I’m sorry I didn’t get to meet your brother.”
Pia laughed softly. “Believe me, if he’d been here with his brood, it would’ve been chaos. My mother and her questions were probably enough to subject you to for the first visit.”
“She was fine. I think she just wanted to make sure I was worthy of your affections,” she said lightly.
“I already told her that you were.”
After shifting until Pia was in front of her, KT threaded both arms around her waist and held her loosely against the front of her body. With her cheek caressing the side of Pia’s face, she murmured, “I’m really not.” She kissed the angle of Pia’s jaw. “But I’m hoping you won’t notice.”
Carefully, Pia cradled KT’s left hand in her own, supporting it against her body. “Be careful with this.”
The tenderness of the gesture made KT want to weep. Brushing her lips over Pia’s ear, she tightened her embrace. “It’s okay. I have it on very good authority that it’s nearly healed.”
Laughing, Pia turned her head and nuzzled KT’s neck. “That’s not what I said. What I said was that you are beyond the danger of delayed rupture and that you could start resistive exercises on Monday. That does not equal ‘nearly healed.’”
Suddenly, KT’s head was filled with the sight and sound and scent of Pia. Her next conscious thought, striking KT as swiftly and undeniably as anything in her life ever had, made her want to flee. I’m falling in love with you. Then she was no longer thinking at all. Her breasts and belly ached where they pressed against Pia’s body, longing for more contact, desperately seeking a deeper connection. Her thighs trembled, and she struggled not to push her pelvis into Pia’s firm backside. Her stomach was in knots and her heart was a mass of confusion and joy. Wordlessly, helplessly, she buried her face in the curve of Pia’s neck.
