Discovery

by Radclyffe

  “Easy with the Elizabeth McQueens, hot stuff. They cost a fortune.”

  Andy slid her finger along the edge of Lindsay’s lacy thong and dipped a finger into her wet pussy.

  Lindsay arched against her hand, her head falling back. “Oh, God, yes.”

  Andy added another digit and pumped against her slick walls. “Can we finish this trip without you complaining, or being rude, or huffing, or cursing?”

  “Yes. Oh, man, yeah. I’ll shut up.” She jerked her hips to the rhythm of Andy’s thrusts. “Hurry, baby. I need to come.”

  Andy knelt and pulled the string of her thong to the side. With a soft lick, she lapped at Lindsay’s clit, then nursed it between her lips. Lindsay leaned back and arched toward the suction, her breath coming in rushed gasps.

  “That’s it, baby. I’m coming!” She arched into a bow and clenched her teeth to muffle her scream.

  It was a sound Andy lived to hear. It meant she had Lindsay all to herself…if only for a few minutes. However, this tiny cubicle on an airplane wasn’t where she’d be granted that sweet music. But tonight. Oh, tonight. She didn’t care who heard her howl with pleasure.

  When Lindsay’s orgasmic clenches subsided, Andy rose to stand between her legs. “Did I calm your bitch?”

  With a weak smile, Lindsay nodded. “Don’t you always?”

  Andy pressed a kiss against her lips. God, how she wished she could.

  *

  The rest of their flight was quiet, with Lindsay staring at anything other than Andy. So Andy focused on the movie instead, hoping by the end of the day, she’d have her lover’s attention back…and a new beginning to their life.

  What if she didn’t? What then? Lord help her, she didn’t know where that would leave them. It terrified her to think of her life without Lindsay in it. More than anything, she wanted her angel back. She fucking missed her more than she dared admit.

  Once they arrived in San Diego, Andy followed the signs to the baggage claim and waited for their flight number to appear on the monitor. Lindsay waited on the bench, her luscious lips set in a grim line. If Andy didn’t love her so much, would she have gone through so much trouble to keep the promise?

  She knew without a doubt that she would have. A promise was a promise. As aggravating as Lindsay was sometimes, she was her life, her entire world, and no amount of griping and bitchiness could stop that. Andy’s friends called her pussy-whipped. She called it love. And no matter what they said, no matter what her head told her, her heart knew the love of her life was hidden beneath that hard shell somewhere. It was up to her to find her and bring her back.

  She was now out of options. She’d used up all of her resources to cling to the love of her life. Today, she would make good on her word and pray her angel found her way back. The alternative didn’t bear contemplation.

  Andy found their bags, spotted a shuttle, and motioned the driver over. Lindsay ambled their way, and with a humph, climbed onto the front seat, her gaze fixed straight ahead. Andy tossed the bags onto the back and directed the driver to the car rental.

  When they arrived at their destination, Andy realized with a jolt that the sun was starting to sink from the sky. While Lindsay waited, she hurried to fill out the necessary paperwork, took the keys from the clerk, and headed back outside.

  “The rental’s parked right there.” She pointed toward the Jeep, hoping to catch a glint of remembrance in Lindsay’s eyes. She knew it was foolish but couldn’t help herself. Add chipped paint and bald tires and the vehicle was identical to the very one she drove to meet Lindsay for the first time. Lindsay’d been so fucking gorgeous with her long hair flowing and twisting in the breeze. They hadn’t had a care in the world as they explored the coast, and each other.

  Lindsay crinkled her nose. “A Jeep? You’ve got to be kidding. Don’t they have a freaking car with a goddamn cover?”

  “Don’t forget your designer luggage.” Andy pulled her own bags from the car-rental office and started across the parking lot.

  Lindsay grumbled and cursed as she lugged the suitcases into the backseat. She huffed a loose strand of hair from her face and hurled herself into the passenger seat, immediately folding her arms across her chest. “Are you just trying to fuck with my nerves?”

  “Don’t I always?” Andy slid her sunglasses into place, cranked the car, and pulled out of the parking lot.

  Lindsay was quiet for several miles. Though it wasn’t Andy’s first visit to the stunning ocean city, she couldn’t wait to live that first experience through Lindsay. But the look on Lyndsay’s face said she wasn’t impressed with the palm trees and blue skies.

  “What’s the funky odor?”

  “The ocean.”

  “Jesus. How can anyone stand that raunchy smell all day, every day? Give me Atlanta any day of the week. I can’t handle this gross odor. Tell me again why we had to come here?”

  “First off, it’s not raunchy, it’s sea water. Second, people get used to it the same way I got used to that potent stench you use every morning.”

  Lindsay’s mouth flew open. “Stench! I’ll have you know that’s Dolce and Gabbana.”

  “I don’t give a shit what it is. It stinks.”

  “What the hell is your problem?”

  “I’m tired of your complaints. All day, every day, twenty-four fucking hours a day. You can’t give it a rest even for what was supposed to be my romantic getaway.” Andy clamped her mouth shut. Lord help her, if she didn’t stop now, her plans, her promise, would be forever ruined. Only silence and the rush of wind through the windows greeted her as Lindsay turned away.

  Andy took several deep breaths, wishing she could conjure up an apology, but knowing even that would be a lie right now. She wasn’t sorry for anything she’d said. She was sorry her love had lost her soul, and prayed she could help her find it again.

  God help her if she didn’t.

  *

  “Is the traffic always this horrible?” Though it was another complaint, it was asked with softness. Maybe she’d heard the roar in Andy’s voice and finally realized she’d gone too far.

  “Yes.” Andy wanted to remind her that Atlanta traffic was just as brutal, but found the point moot. She wove through the traffic, watching in horror as the sun sank lower in the sky. Only minutes left to keep her promise. “Do you remember the day you met me?”

  “Of course. At the beach. We went camping with the sand fleas. I had welts on my legs for weeks.”

  Andy smiled, remembering the red marks beneath Lindsay’s sunburn, Lindsay’s attempts to scratch them…Andy kissing her, making her forget.

  “I followed them like a dot-to-dot path for my dining pleasure.” She glanced over at Lindsay, saw a smile creep across her lips. She resisted the urge to slam on the brakes and kiss her before the smile faded.

  “I had a paper due and I couldn’t drag myself away from you…drove all night to get back to Florida, stayed up all morning to get it done, then fell asleep at the keyboard. When I woke up, class was over and I never turned it in.”

  “You aced the next one, and the one after that.” Andy drove onto the exit ramp, searching the sky again for the closure of her promise, regretting she hadn’t at least reached out for Lindsay’s hand before the complaints restarted.

  “But I flunked that one.”

  “Well, you lived. And look where you are today. You’re an awesome lawyer. That one grade didn’t hurt your career.”

  “But it could have.”

  “It didn’t.” Andy pulled to the red light, impatiently tapping her fingers against the steering wheel while idling behind a line of cars. “What else do you remember?”

  “Um, getting sick at the seafood restaurant you picked, you holding my hair back while I puked.” She glanced over at Andy. “What a way to meet and greet, huh? I was hugging the porcelain god two hours after we met and didn’t even have the pleasure of getting drunk to get there.” She actually laughed.

  Andy closed her eyes and l
et the sound filter through her mind. She’d never forget that laughter. For years, she’d gotten to hear that sweet music. Then Lindsay graduated with honors, was grabbed up quickly by a prestigious firm, and was caught up in the whirlwind. Fuck, where had that sweetheart gone?

  Andy reached for the good. Always the good. “We spent our first Friday night together curled up in the tent.”

  “With the sand fleas. Don’t forget those little critters shared our sleeping bag.”

  Andy would have slept in a pit of snakes to be with Lindsay. She checked the sky again. Was it just her, or was the sun setting faster by the second? Was it a sign to give up her attempt?

  “And Saturday?” She gunned the engine as the cars moved forward, then took a sharp right, heading straight to the beaches.

  “We went to the amusement park and waited in those long-ass lines, strolled all those little shops on the boulevard spending way too much money, bought matching T-shirts with our names spray painted, and walked the beach until it was too dark to see. Almost got lost trying to find the campground.”

  Andy couldn’t help looking over at her, wondering if they’d been at the same beach at the same time. They’d gotten to know each other in those lines, hadn’t cared about the money they spent on each other, and if she remembered correctly, they’d been kissing too much when they missed their entrance to the campground.

  “I still have that damn shirt.”

  “You still have that old thing? I have no idea what happened to mine. Oh well. No telling.”

  “It’s in a box in the garage.” Andy sensed Lindsay look at her, but kept her eyes glued on the side streets leading to a parking area. Deep orange and purple hues streaked across the sky, threatening to rip the promise from her grasp.

  Lindsay shifted on the seat and crossed her legs, her expensive high-heel pump dangling from her toes. “We made love for the first time that night. It was incredible.”

  Andy smiled, remembering that night. Lindsay was the one. Lindsay was still the one. She’d known from the second Lindsay had rushed across the sand to hug her. The feel of her tiny body crushed against her own, the way her smile lit up her face, her eyes sparkling with joy.

  “Yes, we did. All night.”

  “And Sunday, I cried. I couldn’t stand the thought of leaving you. I was ready to U-haul right then and there.”

  “You had school to finish, a career to make.” Andy found the street she wanted and darted down it.

  “And you lived in that rat-infested hole,” Lindsay said. “I wanted to throw it all away to be near you.”

  “I wouldn’t have let you. You’d worked too hard.”

  “And then you sold your first painting six months later and moved to Florida.”

  “It was too hard being without you. My little Jeep couldn’t take much more traveling.”

  As if a beacon had been turned on, Lindsay surveyed the vehicle. “It was like this one, only with less paint and a lot less upholstery.”

  Andy pulled Lindsay’s hand to her lips and placed a delicate kiss against her skin. “Great memories, huh?”

  A sweet smile lifted Lindsay’s lips. “Yes, it was. Being reckless and out of control was great. Too bad we all have to grow up, huh?”

  Andy parked in the public access lot to the beach, killed the engine, and hopped out of the Jeep. Her heart hammered against her chest. Growing up was one thing, but growing into the person Lindsay had become was quite another. Would she hear everything Andy had to say? Or would she stomp off in anger? Would their relationship end on the promise?

  She waited impatiently for Lindsay. She wanted to grab her hand and run for the ocean, to scream out how her love was still alive…that she needed her Lindsay back. The sun was inches away from dropping onto the ocean. She casually took Lindsay’s hand and pulled her toward the wooden bridge leading to the beach.

  “Do you remember you leaving Sunday night?” They crossed the bridge and Andy stalled to kick off her shoes.

  “Um, sweetie, I’m not walking barefoot in that nasty sand. No telling what kind of germs are loitering in there.”

  “Take off your fucking shoes, Lindsay.” Andy glared, too damn close to let anything stop her now.

  Lindsay’s mouth dropped open, but thankfully, she bent and pulled off her high heels. She slowly rolled up her pants legs. “There. Happy?”

  “Not yet.” Andy pulled her toward the shore. “Answer the question.”

  “I didn’t want to leave, was squalling like the world was ending.”

  “I’ve only seen you cry once since then.”

  “After your week in Florida, when you were going back to Tennessee. God, I hated watching you leave.”

  Andy nodded and walked faster, her gaze glued to the sunset. “No more than I hated leaving with those tears falling down your cheeks. It broke my heart.” She gently touched Lindsay’s cheek. “You never cry anymore.”

  “I don’t have a reason to cry.”

  Andy dropped her hand and approached the edge of the water. She stopped at the shoreline, letting the water slosh around her feet. “Heartless people don’t cry.”

  Lindsay gasped. “What the fuck does that mean?”

  Andy faced her. “I love you, Lindsay. I have from the second you stepped out of your cute little convertible. I’d never wanted another person like I wanted you. The fire, the love, the clenching need…it’s still here, damn it. Where the fuck did you go? I fucking need you, can’t you see that?”

  Lindsay blinked hard. Her expression went from cold to soft then to something in between. “Oh, honey, I’m here! What’s wrong, baby?”

  Andy stepped closer. “Remember, Lindsay. I need you to remember.”

  Lindsay’s eyes searched Andy’s, then she looked toward the blazing sun just as it met the horizon. Tears welling, she hung her head.

  Andy crooked her finger under Lindsay’s chin and forced her gaze up. “We’ve discovered everything together. Your career, my art, our lives, our home, our fears, our dreams…we’ve conquered them all side by side. Now I feel like I’m the string holding this relationship together.” She held Lindsay at arm’s length, her heart catapulting against her chest. “And for the life of me, I don’t know how to rediscover that passion we found on a damn beach completely across the map.”

  Lindsay sobbed, tears streaming down her beautiful face. Andy tugged her down to the sand and cradled her between her legs, facing the flaming orange rippling across the ocean. She held on tight. “No matter how much our lives have turned, and twisted, I had to keep my promise. Do you remember it?”

  Lindsay nodded. “You said, ‘Ten years from today, you’re going to be in my arms while I show you a sunset on the Pacific Ocean…and I’m still going to be just as much in love with you then as I was this morning while I watched the sun rise on the Atlantic with you in my arms.’” Lindsay tightened her grip on Andy’s arms. “It was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to me.”

  Andy kissed her temple. She’d never fallen in love so fast, or so furiously out of control.

  Lindsay twisted around, placed her hands on both sides of Andy’s face, and kissed her. There was no argument in her eyes. “It’s still in here. I want that back, too, Andy.” She bit her bottom lip before more tears fell. “I love you so much. Thank you for giving me this. It’s the most beautiful thing in the world.”

  “I know something far more beautiful.” Andy hugged Lindsay to her chest as the sun slid beneath the surface, shutting out the day, sealing her fate on a ten-year promise. “I want us back, Lindsay.”

  “I’m so sorry.” Lindsay snuggled closer into Andy’s arms. “You were the one, Andy. I knew it from the second I saw you standing there, all tan, and tall, and smiling that Elvis smile. I loved you right then and there. I’m still in love.”

  Andy felt the love strings reattach, binding her to the love of her life again. The true Lindsay was back. For the next two days, they strolled hand in hand, barefoot through the sand, shopping the
stores along the boulevard, laughing and loving like they’d just met for the first time. They bought matching T-shirts bearing both their names in rings of hearts. She knew without a doubt, Lindsay’s heart would never be in a box again.

  Better yet, not a single complaint escaped Lindsay’s mouth. Not even when the waiter accidentally spilled Coke all over her new hip-hugger jeans. Not even when the skateboarding punk ran over her toe in her new flip-flops. Not even when the hotel double-billed them at checkout. Not even when the flight attendant offered them champagne on their return flight home.

  As a matter of fact, she had three glasses…one after their first trip to the bathroom, another after their second, and another after the third.

  Neither one of them knew what happened to the laptop. Nor did they care.

  Mercury - Jennifer Harris

  Since 1994, JENNIFER HARRIS’S poetry has appeared in numerous national literary magazines including multiple publications in the New York Quarterly and Fish Stories. She has also been published in HLLQ, Art Times, and the anthology Power Lines (Tia Chucha Press). PINK, published in April 2008 with Bold Strokes Books, is her first novel. She is currently working on a new novel, The Stars at Her Feet.

  Jennifer received her MFA from The School of The Art Institute of Chicago and her BA from The University of Arizona. She spent a decade as an active literary organizer in Chicago, both as the director of a poetry series at The Art Institute of Chicago and as the founder of a small literary magazine. She also founded and directed a nonprofit that hosted writing workshops for at-risk teens in hospitals and shelters throughout Chicago. For the past nine years, she has also spent most of her spare time raising money for food and medical supplies for the Drepung Gomang Monastery, located in south India. She is a member of the board of trustees of the Chicago Poetry Center.