Lightning Strikes

by Cass Sellars

Syd chuckled and toasted his lack of couth. During college Steve had called her Tequila because, like the drink, he claimed she regularly made women lose their connection with their clothes.

  “I’m here now, aren’t I?” she said, settling onto the stool with her back to the wall, one foot resting casually on the neighboring seat. She nursed her scotch as she watched the dance. Not the actual dancing but the body language, shy smiles or suggestive stares. She had practiced her observation skills and could find a willing prospect in seconds. A curvy redhead swayed alone quietly against the wall near the back of the dance floor. Several women offered weak attempts to coax her from her perch. She smiled, offering conciliatory nods that, each time, ended in a polite but obvious refusal.

  As if it was suddenly Syd’s turn at the challenge wheel, she swallowed the last of her drink and pushed off her chair, aiming across the floor, albeit an apathetic hunter. Syd didn’t stop to analyze the fuel that spurred her movement. The redhead straightened her low-cut top as she watched Sydney approach.

  The woman blushed and nodded as Syd whispered in her ear making her laugh. She accepted Syd’s hand and moved to the dance floor.

  Syd slid her palms down the girl’s undulating hips and over her thighs. The redhead smiled up coyly as Syd pulled against her hips, seeming to hang on Syd’s every word, follow every move she made. The girl leaned close as Sydney ran her lips along the taut muscle in her long neck.

  A satisfied smile pulled across Sydney’s mouth as she watched the woman’s carotid pump furiously in response to her ministrations. Spurred by the reaction, Sydney moved her against the short wall near the bathrooms, dominating her mouth and hearing whimpering responses in her ear. This was Syd’s playpen. A door slammed nearby as a laughing couple danced out of the single-stall bathroom. Syd fisted her hand into her new companion’s hair, capturing her tongue hungrily.

  “Come back with me.” Sydney would never demand anything. Of course, she didn’t expect a refusal either. Hell, half the fun was getting them to beg for it. And this time might help her forget actually having weird feelings about the anxious brunette she actually wished was standing there instead.

  The redhead nodded, allowing Sydney to walk her backward, toward the door. They slipped inside, the enthusiastic girl never tearing her mouth from Syd’s. Sydney turned the lock and lifted the eager body onto the counter in front of her. Sliding between her open legs, Syd pulled her against her thigh and moved seductively against the stranger’s body. The redhead, whose name Sydney had no intention of knowing, dropped her head onto Syd’s shoulder and offered her neck as Syd ran her mouth against her skin. She nibbled along Syd’s hairline, breathing heavily at the arousal that was rushing over her.

  “I want you.” The redhead exhaled her moans into Sydney’s ear. Energized by this latest conquest, Syd’s mouth moved back to the girl’s neck, sliding her teeth seductively across her throat and down the exposed flesh at her chest. Syd glanced firm fingertips across the girl’s erect nipples and relished the sounds that escaped her lips in response. The redhead bowed against Syd and allowed the flush to overtake her.

  “What do you want, sugar?” Syd’s voice was unintentionally ragged, as Parker’s face replaced this woman’s in her mind. While waiting for the inevitable answer, Syd looked up, suddenly catching her reflection over the writhing stranger’s back. Syd stared for a moment at herself and the woman, who was oblivious to Syd’s sudden shift. Syd pulled back abruptly as shock registered on her face.

  “What did I do?” She attempted to hold on to Syd’s waist despite Syd’s attempt to move away.

  “Nothing at all.” Syd let her eyes glide over the perfect body before her, never imagining she would have ever walked away before. “You are gorgeous, doll. Hot. Really. But I just can’t do this right now, with you. I’m sorry.” Curving a finger under the stunned woman’s chin, she kissed her lightly on her cheek and turned to unlock the door.

  Sydney stalked out of the bathroom and made her way toward Steve. She dug a twenty out of her back pocket and tossed it onto the bar. “I’ll call you later.” Syd flipped Steve a wave and pushed out the door. She braced her arms on her car and squeezed her eyes closed before jerking open the door and pointing the Porsche toward home.

  *

  Parker couldn’t believe how quickly the day had gone by. She had watched the trades put the final touches on her space just before she left to visit with the boys.

  Richard passed an apple slice across the table to Parker. She arranged a wedge of ripe Brie onto a cracker on her plate.

  “So, what is this exactly?” Richard asked cautiously, glancing sideways at Allen who had obviously filled him in.

  “I don’t know, a fun distraction, maybe? Or a really hot fling with a really hot girl?” Parker shrugged and smiled sheepishly.

  “But you don’t do flings,” Allen reminded her.

  “Well, maybe I need to start. To stop being so serious, you know? I was practically a monk for ten years—I mean if monks were out lesbians who married other women,” she joked.

  “Just be careful, okay?” Allen cautioned.

  “I’m not made of glass, Allen.” She shook her head at him, grinning. “I heard you say once that the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else, right?”

  “Congratulations, Allen,” Richard said in a camped-up tone, “you’ve turned our perfect friend into a reckless whore.”

  “That’s a would-be reckless whore to you. I haven’t even done anything yet, thank you very much.” Parker poked her tongue out defiantly as they finished their meal. “Now, will someone please help me load up the racks? I refuse to be a wrinkled reckless whore.”

  She pranced exaggeratedly to the kitchen for her keys and purse. When they had finished dropping the last rack into her open backseat, she pulled them both in for a long hug.

  “Thank you for being concerned. I couldn’t have gotten here without you both. I will be okay, I promise.” She smiled and dropped behind the wheel, throwing up her best parade wave until she turned the corner, out of sight.

  She pulled in to park in front of the warehouse just in time to see Syd backing her car into a space. Parker waved happily as she watched Syd snatch her duffel from the trunk and throw it over her shoulder. She leaned casually against the Porsche and set the locks waiting for Parker to turn off the car. Parker thought she would look sexy doing just about anything.

  “Hey, you,” Parker called, lifting a rack carefully out of the car and setting it onto the gravel. “Sorry we had such a sudden wake-up call this morning,” she said brightly.

  “Me, too, I haven’t slept that well in ages. Want some help?” Sydney asked as she crossed to Parker.

  “Sure, if you don’t mind. Thanks.” Parker went quiet when she saw a strange look in Sydney’s normally clear eyes. Syd hoisted the rack to the ground and Parker waited for the top to lock closed. They each rolled a rack over the grass and lifted them into the foyer. Parker unlocked her door and pushed them through one by one.

  “Do you want to come in and see the progress?”

  “Sure,” Syd said as she dropped her bag by the door. Leading her into the kitchen, Parker excitedly demonstrated all of the recently installed lighting, flooding the shiny new surfaces and cabinets.

  “This really does look amazing, Parker.” Sydney stared and slid her hands into her pockets.

  “Appliances have shipped so I’ll be ready for cooking very soon. Look out for your dinner.” She looked at Syd and wondered why she felt such a connection to her. “Do you want to see upstairs?”

  “Sure.” Syd smiled. “Lead the way.” Grabbing a rack, Parker mounted the stairs as Sydney followed.

  With a flourish, Parker flipped on the lights in the almost complete bathroom. “Ta-da.”

  Syd laughed when she spun in place. “It’s really great, baby.”

  Parker flushed and stood frozen for a moment, feeling unsteady as the unexpected term of endearment found her ears. Quickly gra
bbing her hand, she pulled Sydney farther into the unfinished loft.

  “This will actually look like a bedroom one day when I figure it all out. And as for the paint, I’m not inspired yet. We’re always waiting to be inspired, I guess.” Parker’s mind wandered for a moment, in search of something very far away. Catching herself, she bounced down the stairs in front of Syd, unsure how to name what she was trying to sort through.

  “Maybe it’s like you said.” Parker spun around in front of Sydney. “You know, waiting for the lightning to strike.” She wrinkled her nose. “But can decorating be like relationships? Probably not, huh?” Parker laughed at herself.

  Syd abruptly walked toward the door instead of nearer to Parker. She snatched her bag from the floor. “I need to go.” Parker barely heard the words before Syd had disappeared behind the closing front door.

  Parker stared after her and wondered what could possibly have happened. She replayed the brief interaction and searched for the moment, the shift. She felt sad despite trying to be angry; she chastised herself for talking too much and then for being at all surprised. She knew who Sydney Hyatt was and she swore she wouldn’t get involved, certainly not with another scotch-drinking womanizer. She wanted to be relieved. She sat on the bottom stair and wondered why she felt everything but.

  *

  Syd dropped the bag on her living room floor and fisted her hands in her hair. She longed for a distraction and briefly considered going to the gym for a second time; she chose instead to punish the punching bag hanging in the guest room. She was angry that she was letting her emotions steer her, a problem she’d vowed to never have. Somehow in the span of a week, she had become a slave to her feelings. The sensations warred against logic for what seemed like hours. She never moved from the room, despite every intention she had to go work.

  Sydney finally lost her battle. Her hands ached and an internal edict to maintain a respectful distance from the object of her desire was truncated by a seemingly involuntary trip back across the hall. She reached for the door and walked through. Parker seemed startled by the movement and stood abruptly. Syd crossed quickly to her, pinning her to the wall near the stairs, suddenly crushing her mouth onto Parker’s. A hot breath caught in Syd’s throat when Parker responded with a whimper and returned the kiss harder and more aggressively than she had anticipated. Her pulse raced in response and blood rushed through her as she swept Parker’s hands above her head and held them there, her one hand trapping both of her slender wrists. Syd grabbed her waist with the other, locking Parker’s body against hers.

  Syd was overtaken by the paralyzing arousal that flamed from her body and that she tasted from Parker’s mouth. Parker wrapped her calf around Sydney’s thigh and Syd was suddenly bowed by her craving for Parker. Sydney reached to pull both thighs around her waist. Parker responded by locking her legs and arms around Syd’s frame, pulling her tongue deeper into her mouth, grasping at her hair, and scraping nails down her neck.

  Sydney walked with her to the sofa, lowering Parker to lie beneath her, not wanting an inch to separate them. Parker’s back arched in response. Sydney kissed her harder finding Parker’s tongue stroking across her own, stoking a fire she hadn’t experienced in ages, perhaps ever. They melted together for an eternity. Minutes or hours, Sydney could not have known.

  “God, Sydney,” Parker exhaled as she pulled away to catch her breath. “You feel so good.”

  The words poured over Sydney as if she had never heard them in that order before. She searched Parker’s eyes, swimming, hungry as she crushed her mouth over hers again. Breathing her in like she was taking a last morsel of air. A maddening pressure was pulsing through her charged body as desire flooded her.

  “I have never wanted anyone like this,” she said as she felt a tug from someplace new. She grasped at Parker and succumbed to the terrifying pull that compelled her. Tearing her eyes away, resisting feeling too much. Finally, a cold slap of conscience struck across her clouding mind. She willed herself to pull her hands away and sit back against the sofa. She turned her head to look at the beautiful woman staring up at her, a tiny bit confused by Sydney’s second disengagement of the evening. This time the reason was very different.

  “Come here.” She pulled Parker up and over her legs to straddle her lap. Parker dropped her forehead against Sydney’s, releasing a shaky breath. Sydney cupped her face and locked eyes with her.

  “I know this makes no sense right now and I will likely pummel myself later, but I need to do this right.” She regained steady breath with extreme effort. “I want to be with you, make love to you for hours, hell, for days, but I want to do it the right way. And you deserve the moon, not a cheap roll around your living room floor just because I can’t keep my hands off you.” Sydney inhaled like it might be her last chance to gather oxygen.

  “Want to tell me what happened when you stormed out of here?” Parker asked.

  Syd knew Parker was having a hard time reconciling the two sides of the woman she now straddled. “I wish I could. I don’t do…this. I guess I don’t know how.” Syd realized how inadequate the reason was but since she couldn’t explain it to herself, it was highly unlikely she could produce a plausible explanation for Parker.

  “No one is asking for anything, you know. I’m not asking for you to be anything you’re not. It’s not what I want.” Parker tried to reassure Sydney.

  “I do know. Maybe that’s why this is so confusing.” Syd shook her head which served to clarify nothing. “Let me take you out on a real date.” She searched Parker’s face as a smile pulled across her lips.

  “I’d like that. Are you sure?” Parker grinned as Sydney pretended to contemplate the question. “I feel like a ridiculous teenager when we’re together. I know I am incredibly attracted to you. I can’t explain it, and believe me, I’ve tried.” She rolled her eyes and slid her arms around Syd’s neck, smoothing a thumb over her skin.

  “You might want to hold your praise. I could end up taking you for bad sushi, you know.” Syd instinctively joked her way out of a potentially uncomfortable conversation that involved feelings, particularly hers.

  “What will all your women say?”

  Syd knew Parker was trying to lighten her mood.

  “I don’t care about anyone else.” Sydney sighed hoping that she could make that true. “I like being here with you.”

  Parker returned the sigh as she tucked herself into Sydney’s core, wedging her head under her chin. Goose bumps decorated her arms as Syd pulled her close and grazed long, measured strokes down her back. They sat quietly together, Sydney’s palms moving lazily until Parker’s breathing found a soft rhythm. Sydney cradled her for more than an hour, deciphering the moment and her emotions, until she laid her easily across the couch.

  Pulling a folded blanket from a nearby stack, she covered her and watched her sleep peacefully for a moment. Turning off her lights, she dusted a soft kiss over her cheek and snuck out.

  Chapter Nine

  As Syd pulled in to the gym the next morning, she saw it again. There was no doubt, the pink Jeep had followed her into the gym lot. And now there was Becky, walking with a determined, exaggerated gait toward her. She stopped behind Sydney’s car, cocked a jean-clad hip, and crossed both arms over her barely covered chest.

  “So, I saw you at the Pride. I guess it’s over between you and the plain girl. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out. Sorry, sexy,” she offered in her best baby voice as she flashed her eyes. Becky poked her bottom lip out as she sashayed, pelvis first, into Sydney’s groin.

  A mild panic set in as Syd hoped Parker would never find out about her dalliance the evening before. She hadn’t taken the time to analyze why she cared; it wasn’t like they were in any sort of relationship. She had only known her a few weeks, but she didn’t want to have to answer those questions from Parker or give her any reason to doubt her.

  This encounter with Becky cemented the fact that this part of her life was over, had to be over. She’d a
ctually touched this woman’s naked body? If she had ever carried on an actual conversation with her, she would have realized that Becky hadn’t matured past the impulsive teenager stage.

  While sliding her pink-painted talons down Sydney’s neck, it became apparent that Becky intended to remove Sydney’s tonsils with the tip of her forked tongue. Recoiling from her overly sweet perfume—not to mention the incredibly inappropriate gym PDA—Sydney grabbed her bag and placed it between them.

  “Look, Becky, I’m flattered, but we are, in fact, still together so I just can’t go out with you.” Or be devoured by you in some evil ritual sacrifice.

  “Lover, you can’t do the things you do to my body and not feel the same way I do. It’s just…not…possible.” She punctuated the last three words while planting kisses along Sydney’s neck just below her ear. She circled her like a coiling snake.

  Sydney shivered, resuming her course to the gym door as if Becky was not following close behind. “I have to go now, Becky. I’ll see you around. Good luck.” She waved at her dismissively. “I know someone will be really lucky to find you, but you need to stop showing up like this, okay? I mean it.” Syd was grateful when the automatic doors swallowed her into the building.

  *

  Becky watched her disappear behind the glass. “I’ll make you understand, lover, and you will never want to be away from me.” She stared at the door, calculating her next move before wandering slowly back to the lot. She stopped to perch on the back of Syd’s car. The upload to Facebook showed her glowing portrait with the caption, My girlfriend’s Porsche!

  Becky absently polished the door handle while she pictured herself in the passenger seat. She closed her eyes in order to fully capture the warm feeling of her lover’s strong hands coursing over her hips. She stumbled dreamily back to her Jeep and watched for any sign that Syd was coming back for her. Her body tingled with the memories of their times together. She quivered at the memories of the many more times she had imagined them together. Her journal was inked with pages and pages featuring their history together. She stroked the tome and traced the initials she had carved in its fuchsia vinyl cover. The knife had felt cool and smooth in her fingers as she’d personalized her ode to Sydney Hyatt. She couldn’t wait to share it with her. To share everything with her.