by Sarah Markel
Aspen looked at her wife in shock. “I didn’t know about either of those!” she exclaimed accusingly, “I’m starting to think you probably shouldn’t be allowed near the fire line. You’re a magnet for explosions.”
Burns and Breezy laughed uproariously at the look of embarrassment on Lorelei’s face and the way she grumbled under her breath but didn’t argue with her wife’s assessment.
“Aspen, I think we got off on the wrong foot the other day,” Breezy said regretfully as they moved into the living room, “I’m sorry for the way I reacted. I was just a little surprised, that’s all. Steph and I have been friends with Lorelei for a long time, and we had only just found out about her marriage a minute or so before you walked in.”
“Yeah,” Burns chimed in, rubbing a hand over the back of her neck, “You see, Lorelei had made it clear a while back that she had no intention of settling down or getting married. Then finding out that the woman she did marry is so much younger, well, it took a bit to get used to. We’re really sorry.”
Aspen eyed the two suspiciously as they sat together on the loveseat. “I accept your apology,” she said pleasantly from her spot beside Lorelei, “but I’m going to tell you both the same thing I told the Lieutenant when I knocked her on her ass; don’t fuck with me. Nineteen is still considered a legal adult, so keep your jokes about my age to yourself.”
Lorelei flinched at Aspen’s mention of her assault on Cordy. Burns, however, found it quite impressive. “The Lieutenant?” she asked, “The redheaded one that lives next door?”
Aspen stoically held Burns’ gaze and nodded slowly, “Cheerleading and firefighting aren’t my only talents,” she said blithely, “I’m also a three-time Oregon State junior boxing champion.”
“Jesus Christ, Lorelei,” Breezy commented, her eyes on Aspen warily, “you couldn’t just go for a girly-girl like other butches, could you?”
Lorelei barked out a laugh and threaded her fingers through Aspen’s, lifting them to press a kiss to her wife’s fingertips. “You know me, Breezy. I’ve never been one to take the easy route.”
Aspen canted her head and looked between the two. “What does that mean?” she asked.
Burns slung her arm around her wife’s shoulder. “Wendy played a souped up version of hard to get when Lorelei first started pursuing her.”
Aspen raised an inquiring eyebrow at Lorelei. “Souped up, huh? How hard did you have to work to get her?”
Lorelei shrugged and pulled Aspen to curl against her side. “Pretty hard, to be honest. First, she threw my gaydar into fits, then she would flirt relentlessly with me until I started to flirt back. When I did, she’d start acting like I was misinterpreting her flirtations and start talking about which of the men on the crew were hot and which ones she’d consider dating.”
“Oh, are you bisexual?” Aspen asked.
“No,” Breezy replied, “I’m gay as the day is long. I’ve never been interested in men like that; I just wanted to see how much she would put up with before she stopped asking.”
“Anyways,” Lorelei went on, making a face at her friend, “It took a month of me hounding her for a dinner date before she finally agreed. It took another two months before I was able to talk her into bed. Sorry, baby,” she added gently when she felt Aspen stiffen.
“How long did you pursue Aspen?” Breezy asked, oblivious to the younger woman’s sudden discomfort with the topic.
“She didn’t,” Aspen replied as she smiled up at her favorite redhead, “I pursued her. For the better part of four years.”
Burns and Breezy exchanged a look of disbelief before pinning that look on Lorelei. “Say what, now?” Burns asked.
Aspen nodded, taking a modicum of pleasure in the blush that suffused her wife’s fair cheeks. “I’ve been in love with Lorelei since I was fourteen years old. But, being that she was almost twenty-three at the time, she wouldn’t give me the time of day. My dad made it clear that I wasn’t to flirt with her anymore, after he heard me attempting to do just that, so I backed off and just tried to be friendly.”
“One day, I was taking one of those Facebook quizzes; you know, the ones that claim they can predict the kind of person you will marry, based on the answers to their questions. Well, I asked Lorelei each of the questions and made mental notes of her answers.”
“One of the questions asked about what you looked for in a person, and Lorelei said that she wanted someone who could understand and accept her love of firefighting. Well, the day I turned eighteen, I walked into the Dallas Fire Department and joined up as a volunteer.”
“When I found out she joined up,” Lorelei interrupted, “I told her that I was proud of her and wanted to take her out to dinner to celebrate. I didn’t think anything about it, since she is so much younger than me. I was surprised to see how mature she was; I was used to seeing her as my boss’ little girl, and suddenly, she wasn’t a little girl anymore. She’d grown up to become this intriguing and gorgeous young woman and I wanted to be with her more than anyone else I’d ever wanted to be with before. Two days later, I asked her if she wanted to officially date me.”
“Three months after that,” Aspen took up as she placed a chaste kiss on Lorelei’s cheek, “we got engaged. We were married two weeks later.”
“Wow,” Burns said, nodding at the couple, “I guess it’s a good thing you and Wendy didn’t work out, then. It seems to have worked out for all of us.”
“Yeah it did,” Lorelei agreed, bringing Aspen’s lips to hers in a deep but gentle kiss.
Breezy saw the reverence in Lorelei’s gaze and suddenly all the resentment she’d quietly carried since finding out about Lorelei’s marriage simply vanished. Glancing up at her own wife, Breezy smiled and kissed her. “I think it definitely worked out for the best,” she whispered against Burns’ lips.
Chapter 16
“Here you are,” Lorelei murmured as she slipped her arms around Aspen’s waist and pressed a soft kiss to the back of her wife’s neck, “What’re you doing out here so early?”
Aspen sighed happily as she leaned back into Lorelei’s strong embrace. “Just thinking. I didn’t mean to wake you up, honey.”
Lorelei shook her head and looked out over Aspen’s shoulder to watch as the sun began to peek out over the ocean. “You didn’t, baby. I woke up because I didn’t feel you next to me. What’re you thinking about?”
Aspen rubbed her hands over Lorelei’s around her waist. She’d been battling with herself over how to approach Lorelei with her decision for several weeks and she didn’t want to ruin their short getaway by doing so now.
“It’s nothing, babe,” she replied with a dismissive wave of her hand, “Just got a lot on my mind with everything that’s coming up over the next few months.”
Lorelei frowned and tightened her arms gently. “Are you talking about school and graduation?”
“That’s part of it,” Aspen admitted cautiously, “but our anniversary is coming up, too, and so is fire season. And you’re leaving for Hotshot recert next month, which is going to leave me by myself for two weeks. I guess I’m just getting a little overwhelmed.”
Lorelei grimaced. The next few months were going to be stressful for the both of them, and she was worried about how her young wife would handle it. Lorelei had been working on plans for their anniversary for almost a month, hoping to make the first one incredibly special for her young bride. She also wanted to earn as many wife-points as she could before fire season rolled around.
Lorelei would be spending the second and third weeks of April at the Firefighter Academy in Washington, recertifying her wildland credentials and securing her Hotshot status for another year. Once she completed her recertification, Lorelei would be put on the active roster for the season.
What she hadn’t yet told her wife, was that she had already received notice that her crew was on standby to assist with a massive wildfire burning outside of Los Angeles. She hoped it wouldn’t come to it, but if that call came in, she
would have to leave her wife regardless of their personal celebrations.
Aspen had been working her butt off in school, keeping her grades high and her father happy, despite the fact that she already had enough credits to slack off for the rest of the year and still graduate. Preparing to graduate was proving to be almost as much work as keeping her grades up.
Aspen had ordered her graduation gear in January, but that had only been the beginning. She still needed to put together her senior board; a tri-fold poster filled with pictures of her favorite moments throughout her academic career, favorite educational quotes, and a statement regarding the most important things she’d learned while attending FCHS. She also needed to meet up with her father to go through the family albums and find the perfect baby picture for the graduation announcement.
Each of the graduating Seniors had to provide a baby picture that would be printed beneath their name on the program. Aspen was also supposed to submit her graduation quote before the end of March, to ensure that it made it into the yearbook.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Lorelei said, tugging Aspen’s hips to turn her around within Lorelei’s embrace, “I know it’s a lot to deal with, but I promise, after this year it will get a whole lot easier.”
Aspen sighed and looked up into Lorelei’s Pacific-blue eyes. “I know, honey. So,” she asked, moving the topic on to something that wasn’t going to stress her out, “we still have a whole day here on the beach. What should we do with ourselves?”
Lorelei smirked and leaned down to kiss her. “I can think of so many things,” she whispered against Aspen’s lips, “and every one of them involves you screaming my name.”
Aspen groaned and pressed herself firmly against Lorelei. “Do you think you’ll ever get tired of having sex with me?” she asked. She’d meant it teasingly, but she could see that Lorelei hadn’t taken it that way.
“I don’t have sex with you now,” Lorelei replied, her expression serious even as her hands began to wander down Aspen’s backside, “I make love to you. It doesn’t matter if we’re being rough or gentle, having a quickie or taking our time; anytime we’re together we’re making love. If we weren’t, it would mean there was something wrong with the connection between us.”
Aspen nodded and bit her lip when Lorelei’s hands cupped around the back of her thighs. Lorelei lifted her in one swift motion and Aspen’s legs immediately locked themselves around her waist. Aspen loved it when Lorelei held her like this; it made her feel safe and protected and desired.
“Come on,” Lorelei whispered, turning them toward the sliding door as she began to feather kisses along Aspen’s jaw, “Let’s see if I can help you lose your voice.”
***
“So, how is Aspen doing with your upcoming departure?” Cordy asked as she helped haul boxes out of Lorelei’s garage.
Lorelei grunted as she hefted a particularly heavy box, her muscles straining against its weight. “She’s doing a pretty good job of being supportive and trying not to let on that she’s sad, but I can see it in her eyes and the way she looks at me when she thinks I don’t notice. I can tell she wishes I wasn’t going, or that she was going with me.”
“I can see that,” Cordy said, placing yet another box on the driveway, “She’s got a lot going on and her main support isn’t going to be here; I can’t say I blame her for feeling that way.”
“Wow, Cordy,” Lorelei chuckled as she set down her bulky load, “I think that’s the nicest, most supportive thing you’ve ever said about her.”
Cordy shrugged and reached for her water bottle. It wasn’t especially warm out, but it was dry and the sun was shining. As redheads tend to do, Cordy and Lorelei were already getting overheated and it was barely fifty degrees out. They’d already shrugged out of their sweaters and were down to their t-shirts.
“Just don’t tell anyone I said it,” Cordy smirked, “especially Aspen. They’d never believe you, anyway.”
Lorelei grinned at her friend and took a swig from her own water bottle. She was silent for a moment as she surveyed the progress they’d made. One of the things she wanted to do before she left for Washington was to reorganize the garage so Aspen wouldn’t have to.
The winter had been especially wet thus far, which, as was common for the region, had caused mold and mildew to grow on some of the boxes and shelves in the garage as the weather started to warm up. Unfortunately, Aspen was allergic to mold. Ever her wife’s protector, Lorelei insisted that she get rid of the mold before her trip.
To combat the mold problem, Lorelei had made a trip into Marilynn to buy two dozen plastic storage totes and some special chemicals to prevent the mold from recurring. This meant that she needed to empty the garage, apply the chemicals, and transfer everything out of the cardboard boxes into the totes.
“Thanks for helping me with this,” she said to Cordy, who had volunteered her Saturday off to help her friend. “I really appreciate it.”
“No,” Cordy said with a shake of her head, “thank you for letting me help. If you hadn’t offered to trade Aspen for me, I’d be the one that Jenica and Amy are dragging all over the mall. I would much rather be up to my elbows in penicillin than shopping for baby’s first springtime wardrobe.”
Lorelei snorted water out her nose. She, too, had nearly been subjected to the torture of baby shopping, until she’d found the mold in the garage. The discovery had given her the perfect reason to back out, especially with Aspen’s allergy. Lorelei knew Cordy didn’t want to go either, so she’d graciously requested the older woman’s help and suggested that Jenica and Aspen go, instead.
“I thought about hiding it from you until last minute,” Lorelei admitted, “but I could see your brain starting to leak out your ears and I just couldn’t let my friend suffer like that.”
“Well, I would love nothing more than to spend my day off with my wife, even with my brain leaking out my ears, but I appreciate you,” Cordy replied as she finished off her water and tossed the empty bottle into the recycling bin next to the outside of the garage, “okay, that’s the last of it. What’s next?”
Lorelei rolled her shoulder and cracked her neck, before pointing to the 5-gallon bucket of sealant. “We need to bleach all the mold spots and then go over all the wooden surfaces with this stuff. It’s quick drying, so by the time we switch out these boxes and grab some lunch, we should be able to haul everything back in.”
“Okay,” Cordy said, donning a pair of yellow cleaning gloves and snapping the cuffs like a surgeon, “let’s get this done. You start on the walls and I’ll do the shelves.”
Lorelei nodded and the pair got to work. She was grateful for the wide open and well-ventilated space; she hated bleach fumes. Lorelei and Cordy worked quickly and quietly, and finished the bleaching in less than an hour. After a quick bathroom and water break, Lorelei opened the sealant and handed Cordy a paint brush.
“So, did Aspen put in her notice, yet?” Cordy asked, the paper dust mask muffling her voice slightly as she brushed the thick, clear sealant onto a shelf.
“Her notice?” Lorelei asked curiously. She kept her eyes on her work, carefully ensuring that every inch of exposed wood was coated.
“Yeah,” Cordy said, “her notice of resignation at the fire department. Did she put it in yet?”
Lorelei’s hand stopped mid-stroke and she whipped her head around to look at her friend. “What are you talking about? Did Aspen say she was resigning?”
“Uh, maybe I misheard,” Cordy said hastily, noting the genuine surprise in Lorelei’s voice, “I wasn’t really listening that closely.”
“Bullshit,” Lorelei said with a shake of her head, “Don’t pull that crap on me. What did Aspen say?”
Cordy groaned. Just fucking perfect! Jenica is going to kick my ass. Taking her time as she tried to think of a way to sidestep Lorelei’s question, Cordy finished the shelf and moved on to another.
“Look, I really wasn’t listening that close,” she finally said when Lorelei
stopped working and moved over to stand next to her, “but I’m pretty sure I heard her tell Jenica that she was going to resign from the fire department. I didn’t hear why or when, but I distinctly heard the word resign.”
Cordy flinched at the look of hurt and betrayal on Lorelei’s face. I need to learn to just not speak, she lamented to herself with a shake of her head. “Maybe she was talking about the cheerleading squad,” she said quickly. It was a long shot, but just maybe that would ease Lorelei’s concerns. “Isn’t it called resigning when the team members graduate?”
Lorelei’s eyes clouded over and she went back to her brush. “No,” she said flatly as she began to paint again, “it’s not called resigning. The only thing she’s involved in that would require a notice or letter of resignation, is the department.”
Sonofabitch! Cordy gritted her teeth and mentally kicked herself when she heard the catch in Lorelei’s voice. When am I going to learn to keep my mouth shut?
“Look, Lorelei,” Cordy began, only to be interrupted by a sharp shake of the younger woman’s head.
“It’s fine, LT,” Lorelei said, doing her best to keep her tone even, “like you said, maybe you misheard. If Aspen was going to resign, I’m sure she would have told me.”
Would she, though? You haven’t exactly given her full disclosure about LA, and you know she’s already overwhelmed with everything. Maybe she hasn’t told you because she’s afraid of taking your attention away from what you need to be focusing on right now.
Lorelei gritted her teeth and shook her head, doing her best to maintain focus on her task.
She made such a big deal about me not including her in decisions that would affect both of us, and she goes and does the same thing.
Cordy started to say something, but thought better of it when she saw the way Lorelei’s hand shook. She could see that Lorelei was trying to control herself, trying not to let her hurt show. Understanding that her friend needed to think, Cordy simply nodded and went back to her shelves.
