by Jae
Lucky dog.
“Is he okay up here?” Annie asked.
“Sure. As long as he’s not bothering you.”
“Oh, no. He’s great.”
With Cab occupying the couch next to Annie, at least Drew didn’t have to decide where to sit. She settled in the armchair on the other side of the coffee table and glanced over at Annie. Despite the tension between them, Drew had to smile at how adorable Annie looked in her sweats. The pant legs stopped halfway down Annie’s calves, revealing smooth pale skin. Her hair fell into her face and partially hid her expression.
Silence settled between them, interrupted only by Cab’s contented groans.
“I’m sorry for ambushing you like that,” Annie said without preamble, her gaze still fixed on Cab.
Drew looked up from the hypnotic circles Annie’s fingers combed through Cab’s fur. “Ambushing?”
“Yeah. I mean ... just because you’re a lesbian doesn’t mean you want to be kissed by just any woman, right?”
“Right,” Drew said halfheartedly. But she wanted to be kissed by Annie, and that was part of the problem. What the hell is going on with you? She had been around attractive straight women before, some of them more classically beautiful than Annie, but she had always put them firmly in the “unavailable” category. She was not a fifteen-year-old boy, ruled by hormones, so why did her heartbeat pick up every time she remembered kissing Annie?
“I know I should have talked to you about it first, but there was no time, and Lynn ...”
“Hey, calm down,” Drew said when Annie’s face took on an unhealthy color. “I know you had to improvise, and I’m fine with it. It’s not like it was horrible for me or anything. Was it really that bad for you?” She tried to sound casual and not make a big deal out of it, but she held her breath while she waited for the answer.
Annie rubbed her lips with her knuckles while she thought about her answer, making Drew swallow. “Oh, no, it wasn’t horrible. No. It was—”
Loud pounding on the front door interrupted her.
Cab raced to the door and barked.
Not now. Drew threw an annoyed glance at the door, but the hammering continued. “Cab! Come here!” When the dog came running, she told him “stay” before she strode to the door. She wanted to get rid of the unwelcome visitor and return to the conversation as quickly as possible.
But instead of a customer or a neighbor from one of the surrounding vineyards, Jake towered over her. “I don’t know what kind of fucking game you think you’re playing with my sister, but it’s going to stop. Right now!”
“Jake, I—”
“No!” He grabbed her shoulders and shook her. “She’s not just some chick you can have some fun with for a few nights. Goddammit, she’s my sister! If you hurt her, I swear I’ll—”
“Let go of her right now!” Annie’s icy voice made both of them freeze.
Hands still on Drew’s shoulders, now more holding on than shaking, Jake stared at his sister as she marched toward them. “Annie? What are you doing here?” His eyes widened even more when he took in the too-short sweats. “What’s going on? Tell me Rob was just drunk. You weren’t kissing Drew. If anything, she kissed you, right?”
“No, she ... I ...” Annie inhaled deeply, pulled Drew away from Jake, and wrapped one arm around her waist.
Drew sucked in a breath as Annie’s hand came to rest against her hip.
“No,” Annie repeated, her voice louder and steadier this time. She lifted her chin and stared at her brother. “I was the one who kissed her.”
Jake’s gaze flicked back and forth between them. “No,” he whispered. He shook his head as if that would help him get rid of the images in his head. “I don’t believe—”
Annie’s arms trembled as she pulled Drew even closer. Her gaze was fixed on Drew’s lips, making them tingle, and then Annie dipped her head.
Heat shot through Drew. Her heart hammered against her ribs. She’s gonna kiss me again. Drew held still, barely breathing as Annie’s face came closer.
And closer.
Hot breath brushed over Drew’s lips, making her shiver.
At the last moment, Annie turned her head and kissed Drew on the cheek. Then the warmth of her arm around Drew’s hip retreated.
No, don’t go!
The dense haze of anticipation lifted. Drew blinked up at Annie. Her gaze darted back and forth between Annie’s lips and her eyes.
When she looked up, Jake was staring at them through narrowed eyes. Slowly, the frown disappeared from his face and the skin around his eyes crinkled with laugh lines. He clutched the door frame as he shook with laughter. “Oh, that was good.” He waved his index finger at them and nodded repeatedly. “You almost had me. Very funny. You almost convinced me,” he gave Drew a slap to the shoulder, “but, Annie, you can’t act to save your life. Never could. How much did you pay Rob to help you out with your little hoax?”
“What? No, it’s not a hoax,” Annie said. “Drew and I ... we really ...”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. You’re a horny new couple who can hardly wait to tear each other’s clothes off.” Jake laughed at his sister’s blush. “Nice try. I hate to tell you this at your age, sis, but that awkward peck you just gave her, that’s how you kiss your grandmother, not your lover. You couldn’t French-kiss a woman if your life depended on it.”
Annie’s face turned red, but this time, Drew could tell that it wasn’t a blush of embarrassment. “Oh, yeah? How about this?” Annie turned toward Drew and grabbed her by the shoulders.
As Drew was wrenched against Annie’s body, she caught a glimpse of Jake. He turned and waved as if to say, “Don’t bother. I’ve already seen you kiss her and I don’t believe it for a moment.”
Then Drew’s vision grew hazy and she forgot about Jake as Annie laid a breathtaking kiss on her.
Drew moaned when Annie’s tongue slid against her own. Her whole body tingled. She tried to hold back and keep some control, but Annie’s passionate attack threatened to overwhelm her senses.
When Annie let go of her, Drew leaned against the nearest wall and stared at Annie, who looked just as shell-shocked as Drew felt. Drew’s gaze zeroed in on Annie’s open, wet lips. She could still taste Annie and feel her breasts press against her chest. Oh, Jesus. She gasped for breath. What a kiss. If that doesn’t convince Jake, I don’t know what will.
But when she glanced at the doorway, Jake was gone.
“Damn.” Drew glanced at Annie, who touched her lips with trembling fingers, her face a bright pink. Great. That’s it. Now she would never see Annie again.
Annie stared back and forth between the closed door and Drew, her eyes wide and unfocused. “Did he see ...?”
Drew sighed. “I don’t think so. I think he walked out right after the ‘kiss your grandmother’ comment.” She ran her fingers through her hair. “I take it our Thanksgiving plans are off?”
“What?” Annie lifted her head and looked at her as if she needed a few seconds to understand what Drew had said. “I don’t know. Do you want out?”
“No, but ...” Hadn’t Annie realized what had just happened? “Jake smelled a rat. He didn’t believe our little act.”
“Yet,” Annie said. “He doesn’t believe us yet, but maybe he would have if he had seen the kiss. I don’t want to give up. For once in my life, I’ll be the one who gets the last laugh, not Jake.” Her green eyes sparked with determination. “We just need to try harder to convince him.”
Try harder. Heat rushed through Drew’s veins when her overactive imagination showed her glimpses of practice sessions in which she taught Annie to be more convincing. Well, in the kissing department, she’s already pretty convincing. She rubbed her overheated face and let a breath escape.
“You okay?” Annie brushed her hand along Drew’s forearm.
Drew’s arm started to tingle. “I’m fine.”
“Are you still in?”
Despite her attraction to Annie—or maybe because of i
t, Drew wasn’t so sure anymore—she wanted to help Annie make Jake sweat. “I’m in.”
Chapter 10
Annie stared at the clothes in her wardrobe. “Just pick something and be done with it.”
Amadeus jumped on the bed, hesitated when he found it covered in clothes before he trampled over a blouse and rolled into a purring feline ball on top of Annie’s favorite pair of pants.
“Hey! Get down.” Annie tugged on the pants, but Amadeus didn’t budge. “All right. The gray pants it is, then. Thanks so much for helping me decide what to wear.”
She hadn’t seen Drew since the night of the Halloween party a week before, but Drew had called her and asked if she wanted to go check out the new Mexican restaurant. While Annie wasn’t partial to Mexican food, she had said yes anyway.
At least in the restaurant, there would be people around. Maybe that would help them feel more comfortable with each other. Annie hadn’t noticed how much she had started to relax around Drew until her ease disappeared after their kiss.
Kisses, she reminded herself and groaned. She rubbed her lips, which started an instant replay of kissing Drew.
The kiss had begun as an act of anger and raw determination. But when she felt Drew’s unexpected softness and her warmth, something had come to life inside of her.
Nonsense. You’re just confused.
Annie sat on the bed and scratched Amadeus behind one ear. Had she ruined everything?
She certainly hadn’t done a very good job convincing Jake that she and Drew were a couple. But she had more to consider than just taking revenge on her brother. Now there was her friendship with Drew too. Drew was a person with feelings, not just a means to get one over on Jake.
God, why did I kiss her like that? I shouldn’t have done that.
On the other hand, kissing Drew to convince Jake they were a couple had been part of their plan. The problem wasn’t that she had kissed Drew but that she hadn’t been able to kiss her in front of Jake.
Drew had seemed fine with the kiss. With both of them. If Jake’s warnings were any indication, Drew had kissed many women—much more attractive women—without giving it another thought. For her, it didn’t change anything about their tentative friendship. She was still committed to their plan to take revenge on Jake.
So if Drew is fine with it, why am I making such a fuss about it? Isn’t that exactly what Jake expects of me? Boring old Annie, too prudish and straitlaced to ever kiss a woman.
Now it was up to her to convince him otherwise.
But can I do it? She clenched her hands into fists and tapped them against her thighs. Of course I can. I’ll make Jake believe I’m the gayest woman in California, if it’s the last thing I do.
When Annie stood and pulled down her sweatpants to get changed, the phone rang.
She stumbled over the sweatpants around her ankles, kicked them off with a curse, and hastened to pick up the phone. “Yes?”
“Annie? I’m sorry, but I have to cancel tonight.”
Drew’s husky voice sent shivers through Annie, and she needed a second to realize what Drew had said. “Oh. Okay.” It seemed Drew had something better to do on a Saturday night than hanging out with her.
For several seconds, there was only silence; then a racking cough rattled the phone.
“Drew? Are you sick?”
“Yeah. I’ve got,” more coughing interrupted Drew, “the cold from hell.”
A slight clicking resonated through the phone, and Annie realized that it was Drew’s chattering teeth. “I’m so sorry to hear that. I hope you’re drinking enough and staying in bed.”
“Not going anywhere,” Drew rasped. “Just wanted to let you know. I’m sorry I have to cancel.”
“Don’t worry about it. Just get better soon, okay?”
“Thanks.”
Since Drew was clearly not up for further conversation, Annie ended the call and stared at the phone. That cough sounded nasty. Did Drew have enough cough medicine and something soothing for her throat? Was she running a fever? Was someone at home with her, looking after her, bringing her tea, and making her eat a little?
Annie doubted it. Drew had no family anymore, and if she was anything like Annie, she hadn’t called a friend to take care of her.
Someone should be there for her.
Without giving herself time to reconsider, Annie grabbed the pair of pants from the bed and dressed, then went in search of her cookbook. Making vegetable soup couldn’t be that difficult, could it?
* * *
Annie rang the doorbell for the third time. Cab was barking somewhere inside, but otherwise, nothing seemed to move in the house. What if she’s in there, passed out? Annie tried the door, but it was locked. Just when she considered calling the fire department and having them break down the door, it opened.
Drew, dressed in just a sweat-dampened T-shirt that ended mid-thigh, clung to the door frame as if she couldn’t hold herself up otherwise. Unruly curls fell into her blotchy face. She stared at Annie through glassy eyes. “Annie,” she rasped. “What are you doing here?”
“Returning the favor and bringing you soup.”
Cab bounded up to her and sniffed her, his tail wagging.
She carried the pot of soup inside. “Do you want me to heat it up for you?”
Drew shook her head. “Not hungry. Put it in the fridge.”
When Annie opened the fridge, she didn’t have to search for a place to put the soup. Except for a bottle of ketchup, a few containers of yogurt, and a salad that looked a little wilted, the fridge was empty. She placed the pot inside, closed the fridge, and turned back to Drew, who stood watching her passively. “Come on, let’s get you to bed.”
Drew stared at her but said nothing as if she were too weak to protest. She turned and trudged up the stairs. Cab followed behind her.
Annie quickly caught up and supported Drew by wrapping an arm around her waist.
“Don’t get too close or you’ll catch whatever bug I have.” Drew tried to fend her off.
“I’ll be fine,” Annie said. “You probably caught a cold when you dove into that swimming pool with your whole head. See, that’s what being so competitive got you.” Her mouth snapped shut when she remembered what else Drew’s competitiveness had gotten her. She shoved the thoughts away before the mental slideshow of their kisses could start in her head again.
Drew gave up her struggles. Together, they navigated the stairs until they reached Drew’s bedroom at the end of the hallway.
Stuffy air engulfed Annie as soon as she entered.
A queen-size bed with creased sheets and crumpled covers dominated the room. Half a dozen used tissues were strewn in a circle around the trash basket in the corner as if they had bounced off the rim.
“Not how I envisioned you seeing my bedroom for the first time,” Drew mumbled. When Annie glanced at her over the top of her glasses, Drew gave her a tired smile. “Just kidding.”
Annie escorted Drew to the bed and looked around. Instead of soothing beverages or medicine, a roll of toilet paper sat on the bedside table.
“Ran out of tissues,” Drew said, shuffling her feet.
And no one came over to bring her some more. An unexpected protectiveness swept through Annie. “Why don’t you go take a shower while I reheat the soup and clean up in here?”
“You don’t need to do that,” Drew said.
“Save your voice and go.” Annie gave her a nudge and then watched with concern as Drew wobbled toward the bathroom. Images of Drew falling in the shower and hitting her head flashed through her mind. “Will you be okay alone in there?”
Drew grabbed on to the door frame and turned to face Annie. Dimples formed in her flushed cheeks. “If I say no, will you come in with me?”
Instead of being annoyed about the flirting, Annie couldn’t help smiling. “Are you on any medication, or is your fever causing these hallucinations?”
Drew laughed. The sound quickly turned into coughing. She bent over
and gasped for breath.
Annie took a step toward her. She didn’t like seeing Drew suffer. “Maybe I should take you to a doctor.”
After straightening, Drew lifted a hand. “No doctor. It’s just a simple cold. I’ll be fine.”
“Okay,” Annie said after a moment’s hesitation. “But if it gets any worse than this, I’m taking you to the ER.”
Drew nodded and stepped into the bathroom.
Clothing rustled behind the closed door. Annie waited until the water started in the shower. Reassured when she heard no sounds of a fall or cries for help, she picked up the crumpled tissues and threw them into the trash can. She opened the window, letting in fresh air, before she walked back to the bed. One touch showed her that the sheets were soaked with sweat, so she stripped them off. When she straightened with her arms full of damp bedding, she realized she didn’t know where Drew kept sheets and pillowcases. She heaped the pile of laundry onto the floor and knocked on the bathroom door. “Drew?” She opened the door just an inch, careful not to peek in Drew’s direction. “Where do you keep fresh sheets?”
The water was shut off in the shower. “In the linen closet in the hallway. But you don’t need to—”
“I know. I don’t mind, really.” Annie didn’t. She found that she liked taking care of Drew. When she heard the shower door slide back, she quickly closed the bathroom door and went to get fresh bedding from the linen closet.
When she stepped into the hallway, Cab jumped up from his place next to the bedroom door and ran after her with a faded yellow tennis ball in his mouth. He dropped the ball in front of Annie’s feet and looked at her.
“Sorry, Cab, maybe later. First, I need to take care of your mom.” Annie pulled a fresh set of sheets from the closet and returned to the bedroom. While she made the bed, she let her gaze trail around the room.
A large bookcase filled the wall to her right. Annie tilted her head to read the titles on the book spines. Wines of Europe stood next to Moby Dick and a few Babylon 5 paperbacks. One shelf held books with titles such as None So Blind, Backwards to Oregon, and Tropical Storm.
