Deadline
Page 29
Ellen idly touched the Celtic pendant she wore. “I never got to thank him. Being with Seamus confirmed to me who I am and what I need.” A fresh tear slid down her cheeks. “I need passion as much as affection. And it isn’t going to happen with any man.” Ellen wiped her face. “I am gay, and the love of my life will be a woman. And I don’t care anymore who knows it. I’m through with living in the shadows.”
“Where does Lena fit in?”
“She doesn’t really, not anymore,” Ellen sighed softly. “I don’t necessarily want her out of my life completely, but I’m not going to keep pretending the relationship is something it hasn’t been for a long time. We’re not partners; we’re not lovers; we’re not even really friends anymore. Lee knows we’re on the verge of a major change, especially now that the truth is out. I just want to find the most graceful way for us to go about it.”
“I guess that means a ‘three-day notice or quit’ isn’t an option.”
Ellen gave her a playful smack. “I’d rather it be amicable, so I’m willing to give her some time to prepare for being on her own. She’ll accept it; she knows there’s no turning back.”
“That sounds awfully idealistic,” Sam said. “You’re all she’s got. Do you really think she’ll willingly move on?”
“She has to. I’ve been honest. She is not what I want.”
Sam met her gaze. “What is?”
“What I want,” Ellen answered in a soft drawl, “is to fall in mad, crazy love; to lose myself in sweaty lust; to laugh and be happy.” She leaned closer, the heat in her eyes melting Sam’s heart. “In other words, you’re what I want.”
At that moment, Sam realized some people are worth pursuing, at any cost. She pulled Ellen onto her lap and ran her thumb along the sculpted cheekbones. “I want to be your best friend, your playmate, your confidante…” she pressed her cheek against Ellen’s shoulder, “and your lover.”
“And you will be. I am insanely attracted to you, but I have to finish things with Lee first, so we need to take it slow until she moves out, okay?”
“You are so Catholic,” Sam muttered.
“I’ll make it up to you,” Ellen promised, pressing closer, her hands setting Sam’s skin on fire, “And it’ll be worth the wait.”
Sam nuzzled her neck. “You smell amazingly good.”
“I taste even better,” she whispered.
“Oh, God…I think I’m about to spontaneously combust.”
Ellen brushed her lips along Sam’s jaw. “Did I whet my baby’s appetite?”
“My appetite,” she squirmed, “and so much more.”
Ellen laughed and held her face. “Samantha O’Shea Perry, kiss me.”
Their mouths came together…slow and easy…warmth and heat. Sam felt as if she were taking a full breath for the first time, her body and heart responding with a yearning she’d never experienced before.
“I’ve wanted to do this since the first time I saw you blush,” Ellen murmured, teeth gently biting her lip.
“Took you long enough.”
“Are you going to complain or kiss me again?”
“Hey, I am the queen of multitasking.”
Ellen put a finger to Sam’s lips and then took her breath completely away.
They spent the rest of the afternoon comfortably entwined, savoring the heady rush of discovering something both exciting and comforting. A little after six o’clock, Ellen reluctantly stood up. “I should go.”
“I’ll walk you down. I have to go to the grocery store anyway.” Sam closed all the sliding glass doors to the patio and grabbed her keys.
In the elevator Ellen said, “Do you know, I can’t remember the last time I was in a grocery store.”
“Clearly, I’m not the only one who needs to get out more,” Sam said under her breath.
They walked out the front of the building, hand in hand. Ellen leaned against her car to take in the late summer sky. “It is really a spectacular day. I know I should probably go home, but is it awful that I really just don’t want to?”
Sam thought a moment. “Have you ever had a date shake?”
“At Hadley’s? No, I never have.”
“Me, neither. I always thought it actually sounded kind of gross, but want to go try one anyway?”
“I would. Want to grab some sushi for dinner afterwards?”
“That’d be great. And over many bottles of sake I can tell you all my bingo stories…or you can dish the dirt on all your former co-stars. The choice is yours.”
“I’ll tell you everything you want to know, baby. Of course, it might take all night.”
“Promise?”
Ellen flashed a dazzling smile that made Sam’s heart do a backflip and tossed her the BMW keys. “Here, you drive.”
As they neared the Whitewater turn off on Highway 111, the wind kicked up, blowing gusts of swirling sand across the road. Over to the left, under an outcropping of rocks, a half-buried, tattered envelope flapped in the wind revealing a worn DVD inside labeled August. Next to it an improbable desert flower shimmered brilliantly in the glow of the setting sun.
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