Reader in the Park

by Rachel Maldonado

  Nikki did as she was told and tried her hardest not to look down. Before she knew it, she was on the ground and safely in Anna's arms. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She didn't even allow it to calm down back to her normal resting heart rate. Nor did she allow for Anna to say one word. As soon as she hit the ground and fell into Anna's arms, she kissed her. Her heart racing, her adrenaline pumping; she was still aroused, and it showed in the way she kissed Anna.

  Anna groaned, then whispered, “Slow down. Slow down.”

  “I'm sorry,” said Nikki. “I didn't mean to come on so strong.”

  Anna began to pack up her ropes and other equipment. “You don't have to be sorry, Nikki. Really.”

  Nikki's eyes began to water.

  “Aww, hon. Don't cry.” Anna set down her bag, walked over to Nikki, then held her in her arms kissing her forehead. “I just didn't want to rush things. It's not that I didn't want to kiss you. I swear.” She picked up Nikki's chin with her thumb and forefinger, then kissed her tenderly.

  It was refreshingly different than some of the other dates Nikki had had in college. The women were always all over her and eager to get to first or second base. Anna sincerely seemed as though she wanted to get to know her and take the time to actually be friends first. It was also different that she felt so out of her element when she was with Anna.

  At the hospital she was always the one in charge, there were student doctors, assisting surgeons, nurses, and staff that depended on her or had to wait for her to give certain orders. When she was with Anna, however, Anna was always in control, and it seemed to be for the past two dates that the dates were things that Nikki had never done before. It's not that she wasn't willing to try them out, but it gave her a very submissive feel as if she was just learning to dance and allowing Anna to always take the lead.

  Anna packed up Nikki's equipment, then pulled an orange SportsPro Power Drink from a small cooler in the back of the Jeep. She handed it to Nikki before digging around some water bottles and soda cans to find another SportsPro Power Drink for herself. She was glad to see it was a grape flavor. Nikki hopped into the vehicle, opened her orange drink and thirstily took a drink. Anna did the same.

  When Anna put the drink down into her cup holder, Nikki was eyeing her closely.

  “What?” asked Anna curiously. “Did I do something wrong?”

  “Why do you have a grape drink, and I have an orange drink?”

  Anna laughed. “I'm sorry. Do you want to trade?”

  Nikki raised her eyebrows. “Really? You want to offer it to me now that you drank half of it?”

  Anna chuckled. “It wasn't intentional. I promise. I thought all I had was the orange flavor left. I am just as surprised as you to see that there was a grape one left.”

  “Uh huh,” replied Nikki. “I'm making a mental note. Hoards grape Sportspro.”

  Anna grinned from one ear to the other. She liked that Nikki was comfortable joking around with her. It made for enjoyable company. She hoped there would be many more dates that involved reading, adrenaline-pumping adventure, and pretty much doing anything that involved spending more time with Nikki.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  “How about breakfast?” inquired Anna taking another drink of her grape Sportspro.

  “I thought you'd never ask. I'm starving. What are you making?” Nikki grinned.

  Anna licked her lips as she smirked. “How about yogurt?” She put the Jeep in gear and turned back onto the road to get to the main highway.

  “You know how to make yogurt?” inquired Nikki as she narrowed her eyes.

  Anna shook her head, then laughed. “No, but I can buy us some from the Yogurt Bar Car. There's one up the road from here.”

  “How about you make me some silver dollar pancakes?”

  “With bacon?”

  “Ooooh, that sounds delish.” Nikki was so hungry, her stomach grumbled at the thought.

  “I don't eat bacon.” Anna laughed.

  “Then why did you offer me bacon?”

  “I didn't. You're the one that suggested silver dollar pancakes.” Anna smiled smugly.

  “Ugh. You're impossible.”

  Anna laughed. “How about we go to the grocery store, pick up some breakfast foods, and I make you breakfast?”

  “You would really do that for me?” inquired Nikki. Her eyes were large and rounded. She was almost pouting, and her big doe expression was nearly in full puppy-dog eyes mode.

  Anna giggled at Nikki's cute expression. She loved bringing the silly playful side out of her. It was an entirely different side to her than most people saw. Most of her esteemed colleagues knew her as serious, goal-oriented, and always living for her career. There were many nights that Nikki slept at the hospital. It was where she had felt more at home.

  With Anna, however, it was almost as if she was a different person altogether. She was fun and almost had a child-like innocence.

  “Of course I would,” stated Anna. “There's a Shop-n-Stop on the way to my place. We'll stop there.”

  Nikki was the first to grab a shopping cart and begin to start placing things in it. She put milk, orange juice, eggs, pancake mix, sausage links, a few cartons of yogurt, and a case of grape Sportspro.

  Anna walked along beside her in the store grinning every time she tossed something into the grocery cart. Nikki even tossed in some ground turkey, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickle slices, hamburger buns, mayonnaise, mustard, pancake syrup, ketchup, and a frozen bag of tater tots from the freezer aisle.

  “I think you're ready to check out now.” Nikki pushed her cart toward the store entrance to the first available cashier.

  “Me?” Anna shook her head. “Oh, no. I'm not buying all that. This was your idea, Martha Stewart.”

  Nikki laughed. “Why am I Martha Stewart? You're the one that's going to be doing the cooking.”

  “Okay, fine. I'll attempt to make breakfast. But don't be mad if it doesn't come out quite the way you want it to look.” Anna pushed the cart into the lane and began to unload her groceries. “I see you're making us hamburgers?”

  Nikki giggled. “No, I thought you might make those later.”

  “Later? As in, you're staying over for lunch?”

  “Is that okay?”

  Anna smirked. “Do I have time to think about it?”

  “What!?” exclaimed Nikki. “Well, if you don't want me to stay for lunch, I can just go home early...” Nikki paused waiting for Anna to reply.

  When Anna said nothing, Nikki looked over at her to find that Anna was grinning.

  “What?” asked Nikki. “What's that grin for?”

  “I like that you're already wanting to spend more time with me. It's like you're not ready to have the date end.”

  “Truth?”

  Anna nodded.

  “I'm really not ready to go home yet. I love who I am when I'm with you.”

  “I like that,” said Anna. “I like that a lot.”

  “That'll be $35.76,” said the cashier.

  Anna pulled out her wallet and paid with a Visa. After bagging the groceries and placing them in the Jeep, they were on their way to Anna's place.

  The two women entered the home with all their bags. Anna took them straight into the kitchen.

  Nikki was surprised to see that there wasn't much in the refrigerator.

  “You really are a bachelor. There's a pickle jar, a loaf of bread, some cold cuts, and a few TV dinners in the freezer.”

  “What can I say? I don't eat much at home. I tend to dine out most of the time.” Anna placed the carton of eggs, box of sausage links, and box of pancake mix on the kitchen counter, then grabbed a whisk and a glass of water and a small bowl. She began to mix pancake mix with water and pour some of the prepared mixture into a pan that she sprayed with non-stick spray. She turned on the stove to watch the pancakes cook.

  “So you date a lot?” Nikki bit her bottom lip nervously. She was afraid of hearing Anna's answer. What if
Anna was a player and Nikki was in way over her head? She didn't want to get her heart broken. She'd experienced so much heart break in her younger days that it had completely turned her off to dating. It was the reason why she had thrown herself into her schoolwork. She didn't regret it, however. She graduated top of her class.

  Anna shook her head. “No, I don't date much. I never have time. I have to schmooze clients.”

  “Schmooze?”

  “Yeah, schmooze. I have to take them golfing, out to nice dinners, maybe out to a bar. It's nothing personal. It's business.”

  “Oh,” said Nikki. “Are any of these clients hot, sexy women?”

  Anna laughed. “Some of them. But mostly straight women. Some men, too. But mostly some of the other marketing guys like to take them out to country clubs or out for a drink. I try not to associate much with the male clientele unless I have to. As far as the women, I swear, it's not like a date. It's taking a client out on the town and making sure they have a good time while they're here. Our company takes care of its people to make sure they stay with us. It's all on the company's dime. I never have to pay for anything. If I do, I get reimbursed as long as I save the receipts.”

  “I'm glad I don't have to do that with any of my patients to keep them coming back.”

  Anna laughed. “No, I guess you don't. But it's the reason why I tend to be more on the adventurous side. When I can, I take my clients out to wall climb or tandem jump. If they have it in their minds that we're a fearless group of individuals, they usually want to stay with us.”

  “You think so? You really think that that's what they think? I'm not sure I'd think that.”

  Anna flipped her pancakes over, then glanced at Nikki. “Yeah? What would you think?”

  “Well, I'd probably think that your company was full of risk takers that were eager to spend my money on something frivolous like jump out of an airplane at twelve thousand feet.”

  Anna laughed. “I guess maybe you'd think that. But most of our clients don't. They love all the things we do for them. Trust me. Most of these people are people of means, and they love doing things that cost money that ordinary people probably couldn't even afford to do or ever dream of doing.”

  “Do you see me that way?” inquired Nikki as she tried to help out by taking out four eggs from the carton.

  “See you like what?”

  “As one of those hoity toity rich people?”

  Anna laughed. “No, you're actually one of the most down to earth people I've ever met, and for someone with a sizable income, you don't seem to live a life of luxury.”

  “Yeah?” laughed Nikki. “You weren't impressed by my house?”

  Anna removed the pancakes from the pan and placed them in two separate plates, then began cooking sausage links and scrambled eggs. “You do have a lovely home, but when I say people of means I mean these people have lavish homes and yachts and vacation homes. Do you own all that?”

  Nikki shook her head. “No, I can't say that I do. I put most of my money into a savings account. I'd like to be able to travel the world someday though.” She began picking apart a pancake and eating it.

  “What are you doing? I haven't finished cooking yet.”

  Nikki laughed. Her mouth was still full of the bite of food she had just taken. “Oh, alright. I'll put it back.” She put what was left of the pancake she was holding back onto the plate. “I guess this plate's mine.”

  “I should hope so,” laughed Anna. “Because I know I don't want to be the one getting a plate with a half eaten pancake on it.”

  Nikki laughed, then walked over to the table near the stove and sat down in a chair.

  “Listen,” she began. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”

  “Oh no.”

  “What?” asked Nikki curiously.

  “Nothing good ever comes from any talk that starts out with 'I want to talk to you about something.'”

  Nikki smirked. “It's not bad. I promise.”

  Anna served the eggs and sausage links on the plates, then walked over to the table with plates in hand. “What is it you want to talk about?”

  Nikki jumped up from her seat to get two glasses and retrieved the orange juice from the refrigerator. “Do you want orange juice or milk?” She held up the orange juice container in her hand for Anna to see.

  “Orange juice is fine,” said Anna. She got back up from her seat also to grab some forks and paper towels, then sat back down just as Nikki did with her two glasses of juice.

  “Now,” said Nikki, as she grabbed her fork and began to eat. “What I wanted to say was that I have two weeks off from work.”

  “What!?” exclaimed Anna. “That's wonderful. When?”

  Nikki swallowed her bite of eggs and pancakes, then took a sip of juice. “Now. This week and next.”

  “Oh my gawd. I wish you'd told me you were going to do that.” Anna was somewhat agitated. She put her fork down and leaned back in her chair.

  “Why? Can't you get the time off?”

  Anna sighed. “I think I could if I asked for it, but I don't really want to. I mean, it's not that I don't want to spend time with you. It's just that...” Her voice trailed off.

  Nikki's smile faded as she looked down at her meal averting her eyes from Anna.

  “Nikki, don't be sad, please? I just spent six months off, and I don't think my boss will take it well if I ask for time off having just got back to work.”

  “It's okay. I understand. I should've run it by you first to see if you could get time off.”

  “Nikki, I will spend every moment that I can with you. I swear. I'm off on weekends, so maybe we can do a weekend getaway?”

  “That sounds good.”

  “It will be fun. I have some other things planned for us. And if we can get away for the weekend, I'd like to drive down to the beach.”

  “Do you fish?” inquired Nikki.

  “Well, no, do you?”

  “I've been a few times. I thought it relaxing. Can we do that?”

  Anna nodded. “Sure. I don't see why not.”

  “It might be a change of pace from your normal adrenaline rush. Can you handle it?”

  Anna grinned. “Yes, I think I can handle it as long as you're there by my side to protect me from any killer whales or lesbian-eaters.”

  Nikki smirked. “Don't you mean man eaters?” She took a bite of her pancakes after having poured pancake syrup over them.

  “No, I had it right the first time. It's lesbian-eating sharks so it's lesbian eaters.” Anna laughed at her own joke, then grabbed the syrup and drenched her pancakes. Anna ate contentedly with a smirk on her face. “I know if I was a shark I'd be a lesbian eater.”

  “I'm sure you're already a lesbian eater?” laughed Nikki. She rolled her eyes. “You're goofy.”

  Anna sighed and shot Nikki a sideways glance. “I'm not goofy. I just like to make you laugh that's all.”

  Nikki narrowed her eyes and stared at Anna as if she was trying to read her thoughts. “What's with the look?”

  “What look? Oh, I know. You say I get some sort of sneaky look on my face.”

  Nikki laughed. “Because you do.”

  “I was going to do something today. And I was going to do it on my own. I swear. But since you're here, and we need to work off these pancakes, I'm thinking you should come with.”

  “So I shouldn't expect a lazy day where we just lie around in our panties and T-shirts and eat pizza?”

  Anna raised her eyebrows. “Did you just tease me with pizza and panties?” Anna cleared her throat and gulped down nervously. “Although that does sound tempting, I really have to do this today. It's for charity.”

  “Charity? Why didn't you say so! I'm all for it then.”

  “You don't know how happy that makes me.” Anna stood, kissed Nikki on the forehead, then tossed her dirty dishes into the sink.

  “Do I need to change clothes? I didn't bring a gown or anything.”

  Anna laughed. �
�I promise. If you needed a gown I would've told you ahead of time.”

  “But you didn't know I would be here.”

  “I'm pretty sure you can show up as is. I'm going in this. Besides, it's probably best if you wear comfortable shoes.”

  Nikki finished her breakfast, then walked over to the sink to wash her plate and glass.

  In the process, she also washed Anna's dishes.

  “You don't have to do that. I was going to get to it later. I just like to have a day's worth of dishes before I wash them.”

  “You do? I thought you never ate at home.”

  Anna shrugged her shoulders. “I can't always dine out. I do have my lazy days when I just want to stay home. Some days it's sandwiches, cereal, or toast. Other times it's frozen meals. I need plates for those, you know. I can't just eat lasagna out of the giant box it comes in.”

  Nikki laughed. “Good point.”

  “You ready to go?”

  “I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be.”

  Anna's left side of her lips turned upward as she grinned. “This is going to be a blast.”

  She walked toward the door with Nikki following close behind. They were on their way to another unknown activity. Nikki had come to expect it from Anna but the truth was, she rather enjoyed it. She liked the spontaneity and exploration into Anna's life. It was much different than the sheltered life she normally lived.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Even before Anna pulled into the parking lot of the 5K run, Nikki could already sense that something was amiss. This run would be unlike any other she had ever participated in.

  All around, Nikki could see bloodied, gory flesh wounds and people with heavy paint and make-up used to make themselves appear like the undead. They were wandering aimlessly as they dragged their limbs or waved their arms around. Many of the decayed walking corpses were gnarling or gnashing their teeth together while others were growling or moaning. It was Nikki's worst fear. This was no ordinary 5K run! This was a zombie 5K!

  “Is this what I think it is?” questioned Nikki as she noticed so many of the undead wandering far and wide.