Reader in the Park

by Rachel Maldonado

  Nikki, knowing wasn't too far behind, quickly increased her pace to get through the labyrinth of mirrors faster. She was determined to catch Anna.

  Anna, also knowing Nikki was so close in proximity to her, did the opposite. Rather than trying to hurry to get out of the maze, she slowed down so that Nikki could catch her. She stopped short of the exit by a few feet, then waited patiently. As soon as Nikki opened the door and entered the small enclosed area surrounded by mirrors and a door, they embraced and shared a gentle, but passionate kiss. There was no more second guessing for either of them. Both young women were undoubtedly and whole heartedly in love with one another.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  After having won that Chihuahua cup after visiting the House of Mirrors, they entered a gift shop where Nikki saw the same exact cups. Nikki laughed at the sight of the shelf full of mugs. There must've been dozens!

  “What's so funny?” asked Anna as she was looking through a clothes rack of T-shirts with the theme park name on the front. Some had dolphins, others had images depicted of roller coasters, others had the clown sign from the carnival section. The sign on the shirt appeared to be lit and shining brightly. She had been looking at that particular shirt when she heard Nikki laughing from around the end of the aisle.

  “Come over here and take a look at this,” said Nikki laughing again.

  Anna sauntered over to where Nikki stood, leaving the T-shirt with the clown behind. “What is it?” she questioned.

  Nikki placed her hands on her hips. “We just spent ten dollars trying to win this cup with the Chihuahua and there are about thirty mugs here in the store for $5.99 each.”

  Anna grinned. “That's okay. We had fun, and it was worth it to see you smile and jump and down when I won it.”

  Nikki bit down softly on her own bottom lip. She loved when Anna said things like that to her. She wasn't quite accustomed to it because most of the young girls she'd dated in college weren't anything like Anna. But she was growing to love and accept Anna's attention and adoration.

  Anna intertwined her fingers in Nikki's, holding her hand in hers. “Let's get out of here. We have to be someplace at a certain time.”

  “Where?” asked Nikki as Anna led her toward the front of the park and toward the exit.

  Anna chuckled. “You haven't learned not to ask yet? If I told ya, then it wouldn't be a surprise now, would it?”

  Nikki shrugged her shoulders. “I guess I figure maybe some day some time, you'll give in and actually tell me where it is we're going.”

  “Do you really want to know in advance? I thought you loved my surprises. I haven't let you down with my ideas yet, have I?”

  “No, you haven't. And I do love your surprises.”

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Anna drove only minutes from the theme park down the length of the shore line. She pulled up nearest to an area where many boats had docked, then she parked in a small lot that was reserved for Rainbow Deep Sea Fishing.

  Nikki grinned. “I guess it's not that much of a secret anymore. I think the big rainbow sign gives you away.”

  Anna couldn't help but laugh. “I think that big rainbow sign has been giving me away as a lesbian since I was fifteen.”

  Nikki laughed at her comment. “No, I was referring to the wording on the...”

  “I know what you meant,” replied Anna laughing.

  “So we're going fishing? We didn't buy any fishing rods, tackle, or bait or anything.”

  “They will have some on board if you should decide that you want to fish.”

  “Why wouldn't I want to fish?”

  “This particular boat goes real far out into the ocean away from all the bright lights of the city. I thought it would be nice to enjoy the quiet, darkness and stillness of the ocean.”

  After the two women boarded the fishing boat, they hurried inside to rent the required equipment and purchase bait. Most other people that had boarded were already carrying all of their necessary things.

  Nikki didn't comment on it. She knew if Anna had purchased the fishing rods, tackle, and bait in advance that it would've ruined her surprise and Anna would rather pay extra to keep her surprises a secret than to be prepared. Instead they rented the required equipment, then found a place to stand.

  The boat waited a few moments for all of the people who had made reservations to arrive, then headed out to sea. It was full of gay and lesbian couples and groups of people that also looked as if they were gay.

  Nikki leaned in close, then whispered to Anna, “I can see why you picked this particular boat over some of the others I saw at the dock.”

  Anna laughed, clasping Nikki's hand in hers. “I checked the Gay Yellow Pages.”

  Nikki grinned. “Is there such a thing?” She loved that they could be themselves and not be afraid to be bashed or publicly humiliated by haters.

  Anna grinned. “There is. It's a small booklet with gay and lesbian friendly establishments and businesses. It looks just like the regular yellow pages. It's just smaller.”

  “I never would've known that if you hadn't told me.”

  “You know?” said Anna. She paused for a moment while she gathered her thoughts. “I really am sorry that I couldn't take the two weeks off with you.”

  “Don't worry about it. We've still managed to have a great time, right? This weekend get away has been nice.”

  Anna laughed as she touched her nose. “Even though I got attacked by a giant man-eating crab on the beach?”

  Nikki smirked, then kissed Anna softly on the nose. “Well, it was starting to heal up pretty well until you smacked your face into the door in the House of Mirrors.”

  “What!?” exclaimed Anna turning all shades of red in embarrassment. “I thought you didn't see that!”

  Nikki giggled, then embraced Anna closely. The equipment they'd rented rattled on the deck by their feet as they tried to hug with the tackle box and fishing rods laying in between them. “I did see,” whispered Nikki. “But I didn't want to say at the time.”

  “I was hoping you hadn't seen that.”

  Nikki giggled once more. “It was cute.”

  “If you say so. I don't think it was so cute. I felt like I nearly broke my nose.”

  Nikki pulled away from her embrace to inspect Anna's nose. She looked at it closely, then touched it with her hand.

  “Ow!” said Anna. “It's tender.”

  “Well, it's tender. But it's not broken. You'll live.”

  At that moment, the boat finally came to a stop. Darkness had fallen, and it had enveloped them while they had been chatting. They looked back toward the city and could no longer see the lights from the hotels and office buildings. They were floating out in international waters miles away from the shore.

  As soon as the Captain dropped anchor, everyone on board dropped their fishing line into the sea. Apparently they had all been prepared and had baited their hooks. Neither Anna or Nikki had taken notice that they had done so, so they each had to bait their hooks with shrimp while everyone else already had their hooks in the water.

  It wasn't long before Nikki caught a fish, then another, and another. Every time she caught a fish she squealed with delight. She pulled her fish on board and asked Anna to remove it from the hook each time. “I don't want to touch it,” she had said with a grossed out expression.

  Other fisherman also began to catch all kinds of fish big and small! The excitement on board was filling the cool, crisp night air. Anna was disappointed, however, since she couldn't seem to catch a fish!

  “I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong,” said Anna. She glanced around to see how other people were baiting their hooks, and what they were using as bait. She wasn't doing anything differently than they were.

  “I'm sorry, baby,” said Nikki. “But I'm glad you've been helping me. I'm okay with baiting the hook. I just don't actually want to have to touch any fish.”

  “I'm glad I could be of help,” Anna said sadly. Sure, she would have loved
to have caught a fish. She would've loved to have caught many, actually, like so many others were. But she was just as content to help Nikki, and she relished the thought that Nikki was so grateful for her help. It's like she was coming to her rescue each time to remove the fish from the hook, since she knew she'd probably rather swim back to the shore than touch a slimy, scaly fish. Anna baited another hook and tossed it in the water. After several hours of not catching anything, she wasn't even trying to pull the fishing rod back to toss it out far like she had been doing when she started. She just let the weight and hook plop in the ocean a few feet away from the boat.

  Within minutes, there was finally a tug on Anna's line! “I caught something!” She began to reel in her line slowly. She was careful not to pull it up too fast, and she gave in a little give on the line each time before reeling it in further. “I think it's a large fish! Maybe a Marlin or something. It's really putting up a struggle. I hope my line doesn't bust!”

  Anna began making such a fuss that others stopped what they were doing to see what it was that she had caught. It was a silver glistening tarpon! She pulled it onto the boat while many others that had caught much smaller fish ooed and awwed and marveled in their own way. Some people took photos as she finally reeled it in and held it up in the air from the line. It was still trying to thrash about, so she placed it on the deck to remove the hook. She felt so proud that she finally caught something.

  Anna only turned her back for a second as she turned to look over at Nikki. “See,” she said smiling. “I knew I would catch something eventually.”

  In the brief instant it took her to say that, the fish began to thrash about on the deck. The people standing closest to it moved out of the way while Anna struggled to try to subdue it.

  Nikki wasn't sure if she should try to help her or move out of the way, but seeing as how she didn't like to touch fish, she chose instead to move out of the way like so many others had.

  Meanwhile, the fish flopped all around the side of the deck as Anna tried in vain to try to catch it or step on it, but it was too fast and was thrashing around too much! To her despair, it eventually found a slit on the side of the boat that was intended to allow for waves to pass through the side of the boat and drain back into the ocean.

  In seconds, the fish was gone from the deck. Anna looked over the side of the boat to catch a final glimpse of the fish that would always be remembered as the one that got away. She hoped it wasn't in any way some sort of foreshadowing of things to come.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  “I think I'm tired of fishing,” said Anna placing her fishing rod down on the side of the boat. She was clearly disheartened.

  “Don't be sad,” said Nikki. “You still have all six of my fish that you can clean.”

  Anna forced a grin. It wasn't the largest tarpon she'd ever seen. She had seen other fisherman catch ones three or four times as large, but it was the fact that she finally caught something that night that had made her happy. Now the only fish she'd caught all night was gone. It seemed like there had been a collective gasp among everyone on the boat when the fish slipped away from her grasp. It was the same gasp that she had breathed as the sinking feeling in her chest fell into the pit of her stomach.

  Anna gathered her things to return them to the rental area. “How about we retreat to the top part of the boat? We can sit and relax and take in the night air.”

  “Okay, I'll return the fishing rods and tackle boxes if you want to meet me up there,” added Nikki. She took the equipment to be returned and received her initial deposit back because the items were not lost or damaged.

  When she made her way up stairs to join Anna, she saw that Anna was seated on a bench at the far end of the boat. She was sitting with her back to her looking out into the darkness of the night. The soft glow of the moon and stars was the only light visible, but she could tell it was Anna's silhouette. She knew every trace of her body, every curve, every angle.

  Nikki walked up slowly behind her, then placed her hands over Anna's eyes.

  “It's the woman I love,” said Anna. “Nikki Bateman.”

  Nikki kissed her softly on the back of the neck until Anna partially turned around to kiss her.

  “I'm sorry you lost your fish,” said Nikki.

  “I'm not. I still had a good time. Not everyone that goes fishing catches a fish. Sometimes you do and sometimes you don't. Unfortunately, that's just how it is with fishing.”

  “You still have me,” said Nikki as she scooted into the bench beside Anna.

  Anna wrapped her arm around her as Nikki nuzzled in close resting her head on Anna's shoulder.

  “I love you,” said Nikki. “I am so in love with you.”

  “I'm glad,” responded Anna. “Because I'm in love with you, too. I don't think I ever knew what it was like to be in love until I met you. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me.”

  The two lovebirds spent the last couple of hours watching the stars in the night sky. Nikki sat with her head leaning back as she attempted to count every star that was visible.

  “I'm telling you that it's impossible,” said Anna. “Most of the stars that are shining burnt out long ago. We're just able to see the light because it's still traveling through space.”

  “I know how that works. I know most of them aren't even there anymore. I'm just trying to count as many as I can see.”

  “How far did you get?” asked Anna.

  “Well, I was getting close to a thousand sixty-one until you interrupted. Now I lost my place.”

  Anna laughed. “Start again. Start from that one over there.” She pointed to one motioning with her finger across Nikki's nose brushing it slightly as she pointed.

  Nikki smirked. “You did that on purpose.”

  Anna giggled. “Okay, maybe I did. Hey, look!” She pointed again.

  Nikki shook her head. “Oh, no. I'm not falling for that again.”

  “No, really! Look!” Anna pointed across the dark, starry night to a shooting star. It flew across the sky like a lightning bug.

  Just as Nikki turned, a slew of shooting stars passed in the same area. One, two, three, four, there were so many that they lost count.

  “It's a meteor shower!” shouted Anna. “I've only ever read about those in books!”

  Nikki was in awe. “Me too. It's magnificent. I can't believe it's happening, and everyone on board is too busy catching fish to notice.”

  “I know. See, everything happens for a reason. It's like we're the only ones in the world that can see it right now. Most people are asleep or busy doing something else. If I hadn't had that fish get away from me, we'd still be down below trying to catch more fish.”

  Nikki nodded. “Right. But as luck and life would have it, your incident with the fish led us up here to star gaze, and we wound up seeing one of the universe's most spectacular occurrences.”

  Anna smirked, took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “There's always a light at the end of a dark tunnel.”

  Nikki grinned. “That's the spirit.”

  “Now tonight will be a night that I will always remember.”

  Nikki held Anna closely. “It was anyway. Every day and every night that I've spent with you since the day we met has been an incredible and unforgettable experience.”

  Anna didn't think that anyone had ever loved her quite as much as Nikki did, and certainly no one had ever made her feel the way she did inside the way Nikki did. She felt consumed with love and tenderness and at times she was filled with so many butterflies that it made her feel as if she would trip and fall over herself. She wasn't quite used to feeling those butterflies because she had ever felt them with anyone else. She was usually calm, collected, and confident.

  Anna had often met business women that were potential clients with her firm that were constantly throwing themselves at her trying to be the ones to show her a good time, but each time she had turned them down. She made sure that it was abundantly clear that they know she
was supposed to show them a good time by taking them out on the town or out to dinner, but that was not to include anything to do with her sexually pleasing them and in no way had anything to do with bedding them. It was against everything she believed in and everything she was. But she didn't ever feel like Nikki was overbearing or that she had to keep her at a distance. Nikki was the exact opposite of every woman she had ever met, and she had fallen head over heels in love with her just as Nikki had fallen for her.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  When they got back to the hotel, Anna retrieved some more ice from the hotel ice machine for the tiny ice cooler that she had purchased for Nikki's fish as they had exited the Rainbow Deep Sea Fishing boat. She began to undress when she heard the shower running. The bathroom door was slightly ajar, and she wondered if Nikki wanted her to join her. She took a deep breath before she worked up the courage to ask her. She stood in the open doorway naked as she held her T-shirt and shorts in one hand while she rapped on the door lightly with the other.

  “Care for some company?” she asked softly.

  Nikki could see Anna's naked body through the clear shower curtain. She sucked in her lower lip and licked it nervously, then nodded. “I thought you'd never ask. Yes, come on in.”

  Anna tossed her clothes on the sink counter and entered the bathtub. The water was hot and steaming. The feeling of arousal and excitement along with the hot sensation of water hit her body all over like the pouring rain. She began to kiss Nikki softly as she pushed her gently against the tiled shower wall. Nikki leaned her head back as the hot water splashed all over them. Anna slowly began to kiss her way down her neck as she reached for her breasts slowly and tenderly caressing her. She grinned when she found that her nipples were already fully engorged and hard to the touch of her fingertips. Nikki moaned softly as Anna kissed her way down to tease and lick her nipples replacing her gentle touch with the moist tenderness of her lips and tongue. Nikki groaned louder as she felt the gentle tug of Anna's teeth nibbling on her.