Raine winced slightly, “Too hard of a story to tell.”
Natalia grimaced, sensing the pain that must lie behind that story, so she nodded sympathetically.
“But you were very good, weren’t you?” Natalia asked then.
Raine smiled, her eyes soft, “I was okay, yeah,” she said.
“’Okay’, mi ojo,” Natalia said, saying ‘my eye’ and giving her a sour look, “I know I haven’t even seen the tip of that ice cube.” She said, grinning.
“Berg,” Raine said, grinning.
“Ah, si, that’s what I meant,” Natalia said, her eyes sparkling in amusement.
“Of course it is,” Raine said, grinning.
They were quiet for a few minutes then, just laying together and absorbing the feelings that seemed to hang in the air along with the music that played from the stereo.
Raine was completely amazed by how comfortable she felt at that moment. She’d never been comfortable in other people’s presence, not completely. Not only was she in very close proximity to someone she really didn’t know, but they’d just done something incredibly intimate and yet she still couldn’t think of anywhere she’d rather be at that moment.
Natalia too was astounded at how good it felt to lay in Raine’s arms. For someone who supposedly had no experience, Raine seemed incredibly at ease with this level of intimacy. Natalia had been with lesbians who’d been with many women for many years and were still uncomfortable after sex. Some had to get up and move away, others needed to break the connection quickly, and would only be able to hold stilted conversations which resulted in them both being uncomfortable. Raine, however, seemed completely relaxed and even more settled than she seemed normally.
Smiling at Raine, Natalia canted her head, “What was it you called me?”
Rained looked confused, “What do you mean?” she asked her voice still soft.
“Before you made love to me, what did you call me?” Natalia asked, her eyes staring up into Raine’s.
The words ‘before you made love to me’ slid right through Raine’s heart, making her feel unaccountably happy, it made her smile, her eyes sparkling as she answered, “Talia,” she said.
Natalia bit her lip as she smiled, “I like that.”
Raine gave her a sidelong look then, “So should I ask what or should I say who prompted you to come over here today?” she asked, her voice still very comfortable.
Natalia pressed her lips together, “Does it matter?” she asked.
Raine narrowed her eyes, but Natalia read no anger in her look, “I guess it doesn’t,” she said shaking her head.
“I would have done this sooner,” Natalia said, gesturing to their intertwined bodies, “If I’d actually thought you’d be interested.”
Raine looked immediately penitent, “I really didn’t know myself until you kissed me,” she said honestly.
“But when I did?” Natalia asked, her look expectant.
“The whole world lit up,” Raine said, smiling.
Natalia knew in that moment that Raine Mason was not only built to be with women, but also built to be probably the most charming soft butch ever known to women.
“Eres peligroso,” Natalia said, calling Raine dangerous.
“Why do you say that?’ Raine asked, surprised by the word.
Natalia smiled, shaking her head, “So galante y encantador…” she said, her voice trailing off as she grinned.
“Gallant and charming?” Raine asked, still mystified.
“Si,” Natalia said, nodding.
Raine looked doubtful, but shrugged.
“And why do you bind all this beautiful hair?” Natalia asked.
“It gets in the way,” Raine said with a shrug.
“Then why have it so long?” Natalia asked.
Raine grinned, “I had to get it cut a lot when I was a kid,” she said, “So when I was able to grow it long, I just let it grow. Now it’s really out of control.”
“Pero es hermoso,” Natalia said, saying that it was so beautiful, lifting a rich red perfect corkscrew curl in wonder.
Raine smiled, shrugging.
Natalia glanced at the clock on Raine’s nightstand looking worried for a moment, but then she relaxed.
“What’s up?” Raine asked, catching the movement.
“I have class later,” Natalia said.
Raine looked confused, “I thought you just had the one on Saturdays,” she said.
“No, tonto,” Natalia said calling her silly, laughing, “School!”
“Oh,” Raine said, looking surprised, “Really? That’s cool. What are you studying?”
Natalia settled more comfortably in Raine’s arms, “Child Psychology,” she said.
“Wow,” Raine said, looking surprised, “I thought it would be like fitness or nutrition or something like that.” Then she canted her head, “Why child psych?”
Natalia took a deep breath, smiling, “Well, I want to help kids.”
“Which kids?” Raine asked.
“Well, any kids,” Natalia responded, “But mostly kids that are in the system.”
Raine nodded, slowly, “Why them?” she asked.
“Well,” Natalia said, “When I started out, I really didn’t know what type of kids I wanted to help. I knew that I wanted to work with kids, because it’s really important, you know?” she asked, giving Raine a questioning look, afraid she was talking too much.
Raine nodded, “Kids are the future of this world,” she said, her tone completely understanding.
“Exactamente!” Natalia said, pleased that Raine saw it the way she did, “But then…” she said, her voice trailing off as she realized she was about to talk about something that Raine might not want to hear about.
“But then what?” Raine asked, her voice gentle.
“Well, I met Julie,” Natalia said.
“Your ex-girlfriend,” Raine said nodding, her voice still easy.
Natalia nodded, her eyes searching Raine’s face, she saw absolutely no jealousy there whatsoever it was a wonderful change from what she was used to with Julie.
“She was in the system,” Natalia said, “And it made her a very angry, possessive person.”
Raine nodded slowly, “And you thought that if you could fix her…”
“Si,” Natalia said, her look embarrassed, “Pero que es una causa perdida.” She said, saying that she thought that Julie was a lost cause.
“Is that why you two broke up?’ Raine asked her tone curious.
Natalia looked hesitant, her lips twitching in uncertainty, finally she nodded, “Partly yes,” she said.
“Partly?” Raine asked, sounding like a cop for a moment.
Natalia heard it and grinned.
“There were other issues,” Natalia said.
Raine looked back at the other woman, knowing there was more to the story than that, but not wanting to push. Natalia hadn’t pushed her on why she’d stopped dancing, she wasn’t going to push on this issue.
Natalia recognized that Raine wasn’t going to push her, and felt a rush of gratitude for this woman who seemed so even tempered. Leaning in, she kissed Raine’s neck, inhaling the scent of her skin deeply.
“You always smell so good,” Natalia said, “But different,” she said, somewhat perplexed. “What is that scent?” she asked, recognizing it, but not able to name it.
“Well, right now,” Raine said, “It’s orange and ginger, because someone kicked my butt in this cardio dance class I take.”
Natalia giggled, “Really now?” she said, her look disbelieving. Then she canted her head, “So orange and ginger?” she asked still looking baffled.
“Those scents encourage energy,” Raine said.
“And what was the scent when I came here before?” she asked, gesturing to the room.
Raine thought about it, “Well, I was going to bed, so it would have been lavender and vanilla.”
“Ah, si, that one I recognize,” Natalia said, nodding, “Good for
sleep. But that very first night, when I hugged you, you smelled maravilloso!”
Raine grinned, “You were sniffing me all those times?”
Natalia bit her lip, nodding, “You always smell so good.”
“Well, that first night my best guess would be that it was Eucalyptus and Spearmint.”
“What does that one do?” Natalia asked.
“It’s for stress relief.”
Natalia looked back at Raine for a long moment, her look assessing.
“What?” Raine asked amused by the look Natalia was giving her.
“Aguas profundas,” Natalia replied, calling her deep water again.
Later that night, Raine was asleep when Natalia walked into the bedroom again. Natalia stood looking down at this woman she was so drawn to, her hair was once again in a long braid. She now wore a loose grey tank top and black shorts. Natalia understood the need for modesty, Raine’s roommate had leered at her when he’d let her in a few moments before. Setting aside her backpack, and taking off her shoes, she climbed into the bed.
Raine turned over immediately, smiling as she saw her.
“Hi,” she said, “I didn’t know you were coming back over,” she said, sounding pleased.
“Of course I came back over,” Natalia said, leaning in to kiss Raine’s lips softly.
“Mmm,” Raine murmured, reaching out to touch her cheek as their lips met again.
Natalia laid down next to her, snuggling close. Raine slid her arm around Natalia’s shoulders, holding her close to her side.
“Are you coming to the party tomorrow?” Raine asked.
“What party?” Natalia asked.
“It’s like a house warming for some friends of Cat and Jericho’s, well, it’s really a house viewing, they haven’t moved in yet. Either way, do you want to come with me?” Raine asked.
“Are you sure it would be okay?” Natalia asked.
“I’m sure it’ll be okay all the girls will be there,” Raine said.
Natalia smiled, “How would we get there?”
Raine looked speculative, “You ever been on the back of a motorcycle?” she asked.
“No,” Natalia said, “But I’d love to try it,” she said, smiling.
“Cool,” Raine said, grinning.
CHAPTER 4
The next morning, Raine woke first. Carefully she got out of bed, not wanting to wake Natalia and went in to take a shower. She did her best to towel dry her hair, and then braided it, knowing that she would be riding later that day, and loose long hair and motorcycles were not a good combination. Walking back into her bedroom she moved to pull clothes out of her dresser, glancing over her shoulder at Natalia who was still sleeping. It amazed her that just yesterday at that time, they’d still been instructor and student, now this beautiful woman was asleep in her bed, her hand tucked up under her face.
She didn’t really dwell in the change of her status, what did surprise her was realizing that she’d never imagined losing her virginity to a man. She had thought about what being with a woman would be like, but even then she’d only recognized a mild ache in that area. What was more important to Raine was that she finally feel loved and cared about. She’d begun that journey when she’d met Catalina Roche and she’d introduced her to her friends, all of whom were gay. The fact that Cat looked out for her, and asked about how she was feeling had begun to make Raine know what it was like to have someone care about what happened to you as a person.
Looking at Natalia, Raine could see a person who might just be someone who would care about her and she could do the same. It had been so long since someone cared about her, and who she could care about too.
As if she sensed she was being thought about, Natalia stirred, Raine watched as she reached out her hand and touch empty bed. Moving to sit up Natalia looked around and saw that Raine was standing three feet away with a towel wrapped around her.
“Didn’t we do this yesterday, mija?” Natalia said, grinning.
“You weren’t there,” Raine said, smiling in response.
Natalia climbed out of bed, moving to stand right in front of Raine, reaching up to wrap her arms around Raine’s neck.
“I think I was here,” Natalia said, and leaned into kiss Raine’s lips.
Raine responded by pulling her closer, Natalia responded by reaching between them to remove the towel Raine had on.
Within minutes they were making love on the bed, and lay together afterwards. Natalia was snuggled into Raine’s side, her face pressed against Raine’s neck.
“Eso es todo,” Natalia exclaimed, saying ‘that is it!”
“What’s it?” Raine asked, grinning.
Natalia pressed her nose to Raine’s neck, inhaling deeply.
“That smell…” Natalia said.
“Eucalyptus and Spearmint,” Raine supplied.
“Incredible on you,” Natalia said.
Raine laughed softly, “If you say so.”
“I do,” Natalia said simply.
They lay together for a while, each lost in their own thoughts.
“Raine?” Natalia queried after a few minutes.
“Hmmm?” Raine murmured, pulling her thoughts back to the present.
“Would you mind if we go over to my apartment?” Natalia asked, her tone inexplicably cautious.
“I kind of figured we’d need to,” Raine said, her hand caressing the curve of Natalia’s waist. “I’m sure you need to change and stuff,” she said.
“True,” Natalia said, nodding, “But I was wondering if we could spend more time there…” Again there was a look of caution in her eyes.
Raine looked at her for a long moment, “Sure,” she said, “But can I ask why you seem worried when you ask?”
Natalia looked hesitant, but then blew her breath out, she started to say something, but then stopped, her lips twitching in consternation.
“I think…” She began, “Probably it’s because of the past…” Her voice trailed off as she shrugged, her eyes not meeting Raine’s.
Raine touched her cheek to get her to look at her, “Tell me what that means.” She said softly.
Natalia smiled sadly, Raine was so gentle and open, it was regrettable that she was going to have to deal with someone so damaged as she was.
Drawing her courage, Natalia looked back at Raine, “Whenever things didn’t go as planned, Julie would get angry.”
Raine looked back at Natalia, seeing the hurt behind the words.
“Life is messy sometimes,” Raine said, her voice practical. “You can’t plan everything.” She smiled then, “I never planned on you,” she said, “And yet you are the best thing that’s happened in my life for years now.”
Natalia stared back at her in amazement, then shook her head slowly as a slow smile started on her face.
“What?” Raine asked.
“Eres fabuloso,” Natalia said, telling Raine that she was amazing.
Raine simply shrugged, “I’m just normal.”
“Well your normal is pretty amazing.” Natalia said, smiling.
Later they pulled up to the front of the Villas of Pasadena. Raine had given Natalia a helmet to wear on the motorcycle. They were planning to leave from Natalia’s apartment to go to the party so they rode the couple of minutes to get there. Getting off the bike, Raine looked at the front of the building, it looked nice enough, with double doors into the building, and balconies to the side where some of the apartments were.
Natalia lead the way to her apartment, Raine walked along, glancing around at the place. It seemed nice enough, it was very quiet. Outside they walked by the long rectangular pool and barbecue area, it wasn’t quite as nice as the one they had at Raine’s complex. On the second floor they reached Natalia’s apartment. Before she opened the door, Natalia turned around to look up at Raine, her back against the door.
“It’s kind of a mess right now,” she said, her tone colored with embarrassment, “And I haven’t been able to replace the pieces Julie took w
hen she moved out, so it’s kind of sparse.”
“Okay,” Raine said, nodding, her tone understanding.
“Okay,” Natalia repeated, as if trying to assure herself that it was okay.
Walking in Raine noticed that the floors were all wood laminate. There was a small kitchen to the left, and a dining area to the right. She did notice there was no kitchen table, and there was only a couch, where it was obvious there’d been other furniture previously. There were also spots on the walls where something had obviously hung, that was no longer there. There were also boxes sitting in various areas, looking like things were still being packed.
Natalia glanced back at Raine, her look concerned.
Raine caught the look and smiled, “It’s nice,” she said.
“Not as nice as yours,” Natalia said.
“Stop that,” Raine said, smiling, “It’s just fine.”
“It’s a good thing you don’t really watch TV since I don’t have one out here.” Natalia said.
“That’s okay,” Raine said, grinning.
“I have one in the bedroom though, but it’s small.”
“I’m fine, hon,” Raine said, smiling, “Do what you need to do. Just remember you need to wear pants at least on the ride up there and bring a sturdy jacket.”
“Okay,” Natalia said, walking into her bedroom.
In the living room Raine looked around, there were a few pictures of people, that looked like they might be Natalia’s family. There were a couple posters of dance movies. Raine grinned at the Flashdance poster, she’d loved that movie too. The other poster was from Save the Last Dance another movie that had been a favorite.
The apartment itself was fairly small, it definitely felt like Julie had taken a lot of things with her when she’d left. Raine poked into a couple of the boxes, seeing other pieces of art and electronic equipment. Her lips twitched at what seemed specifically petty items for Julie to want, but she knew that it was really none of her business. It definitely formed more of an impression of what Julie had been like. Raine was pretty sure she wouldn’t like the other woman.
Raine was sitting on the couch when Natalia emerged from her bedroom. She was dressed in jeans, tennis shoes and wore a blouse of greens and blues that hugged her slim figure nicely. She carried a black jacket holding it up for Raine.
Marking Time (WeHo Series Book 4) Page 7
