by Alexa Woods
Laney slowly slid her hand away. She didn’t untangle her legs.
“Holy cow and a half,” Morgun breathed. “Holy pineapples and pizza. Holy- holy everything. Everything holy. That was…I don’t even know.”
“Crazy awesome? A little bit good? Slightly pleasant? Needs improvement?”
Morgun laughed. “Definitely needs improvement. Clearly.”
Laney propped herself up on an elbow and looked into Morgun’s eyes. She smiled at her, a liquid smile that spoke of happiness and contentment. And it was all for her. “Needs improvement, hmm? I’m up for that.”
“When?” Morgun panted.
“In about ten seconds.”
“Why ten?”
“It seems like a nice, round, even number. I think it will take me about that long to get the bones and muscles back in my body.”
All Morgun could do was smile. It didn’t fade. It wasn’t going to fade. Her face might crack, but she’d still be rocking that smile. She couldn’t stop because Laney wasn’t just going to check out on her. She wasn’t going to leave. She was going to spend the night with her.
As if to prove it, Laney shifted and pulled Morgun into her arms.
“You know,” Laney whispered contentedly against Morgun’s hair. Morgun shivered to hear that soft, sated tone. “I came to your place on Christmas. I buzzed the buzzer, but no one answered.”
“Really?” Morgun thought that, considering they were in bed together and that was shocking enough in itself, that she’d had her quota of surprises for the night. “You did? When?”
“It was late. After I left my parent’s house. I drove here. I don’t know why. I don’t even remember what time it was. I just…showed up. I rang the buzzer. There was no answer. I guess I wanted to tell you that I was sorry about the wedding. Maybe wish you a Merry Christmas. I had leftovers from my parents’ house tucked under my arm. You were probably still with your own family, and like you would have wanted leftovers…”
“Oh, I would have wanted them.” Morgun laughed and she felt Laney relax against her.
“There weren’t any giant, scary, nuclear-looking, extra-large hissing rats on the doorstep that night.” They both laughed about the incident with Chester. Morgun still found it hard to believe that Laney had never seen an opossum before.
“That’s…wow. So that day I had my interview, I thought that you just bumped into me by accident, sort of.”
“No. It wasn’t an accident. I was watching for you to be done so that I could try to talk to you. I knew that I needed to apologize. Even if it was just that.”
“Just that? You had something else in mind?”
“I really did want to know how your interview went.”
“That was it?” Morgun was so sure Laney would say it was. She was sure she wouldn’t admit to having any other motive. She was surprised yet again.
“No. That wasn’t it. Maybe I wanted to see you.”
“Maybe?”
“Okay, I did. I wanted to see you.”
Morgun smiled, radiant with happiness. She knew it was a dangerous happiness. That going to bed with someone hardly constituted something permanent, but she couldn’t help herself. Maybe it was the hormones, the afterglow. Maybe that made a person not want to live in the real world for whatever short amount of time they were allotted.
She had to ask, even though she knew it could blow up in her face. “Are you…do you think that you’d want to spend the night?”
Laney hesitated. “I have a full day booked tomorrow. As usual.”
“Okay.” Morgun told herself not to be disappointed. Spending the night was a huge deal. It was a lot for someone to consider, and it was sudden. Neither of them planned this. it just sort of happened. Like what happened at the wedding. Sudden. Unexpected. Wonderful.
“If you set the alarm for five, that should give me time to get back to my condo and get showered and changed.”
Morgun blinked, then nestled her cheek just a little bit further into Laney’s warm shoulder. Her skin was fragrant and silky, and she wished they could remain that way for a good portion of forever.
But Morgun counseled herself not to get too attached. Forever was a huge word. A scary word. A word that a lot of people didn’t get. Forever was a mercurial word and she was sprinting her ass off instead of taking the baby steps she needed to be taking. She needed to be careful. Cautious. Not push or rush things or expect too much. She was scared to even hope because hope could be a real bastard. Hope could give you everything, but it could also pull the rug out from under a person and put them on their behind real fast too.
She knew she was bad at living in the present. Her mom often used a saying that sounded like it came straight from the eighteen-hundreds, about borrowing tomorrow’s troubles for today. Morgun knew she did that all the time. She needed to stop worrying, stop borrowing trouble. She just needed to close her eyes, wrap her arms around Laney, and enjoy what they had in the moment.
So, she did. And she was surprised at how easy it was to fall asleep when her steady heartbeat was mirrored by Laney’s.
Chapter 21
Morgun
Morgun knew Laney’s time was precious. She was gone so much for work, and when she was in Anaheim, she was just as busy. They might not have been able to spend every night together, or even every other night, but the second Laney buzzed and walked through Morgun’s door, they wasted no time before starting in on what they wanted to say or do. And that usually involved far less saying than doing. And they did a lot, on just about every surface and square inch of Morgun’s apartment.
She’d never been with a woman as confident as Laney. Or as experienced. Laney made her want to try new things. Different places. Different positions. Even toys. Morgun would never have been able to do that with another person, but Laney made it feel natural and right. She knew just how to touch Morgun, and if she wasn’t sure, she asked. No one had ever asked Morgun where she liked to be touched, or how, or even what she liked.
Laney did. She cared. She stayed the night. She did the intimate things that most people were scared to do, like holding each other after. Caressing hair. Kissing the forehead. Nibbling the earlobe. Running a finger gently over a shoulder. Sleeping wrapped together.
While Morgun had obviously had other relationships, none of them were like Laney. Laney was older. She wasn’t shy. She might have been harder around the edges at first, but every day, she softened further. Morgun had never been with another photographer before. It was nice to be able to ask someone else what they thought about a certain camera setting, or a shot, a series of shots, or even a new technique. It was more than just nice.
After a few days in New York, Laney showed up at Morgun’s apartment as soon as she’d dropped her luggage and camera equipment off at her condo. They waited all of three seconds after Laney walked in before they tore each other’s close off and enjoyed each other’s bodies like they hadn’t seen each other in years.
After, Morgun lay in her bed in a tangle of sheets and Laney’s arms and legs, thinking about how she could ask Laney what she’d been dwelling on for the past few days. She wanted to do a photoshoot with Laney, but instead of focusing just on Laney as the subject, which Morgun knew would only make her uncomfortable, she thought they could take turns behind and in front of the lens. She wanted to do something fantasy related, with costumes, hair, makeup, the whole deal.
She could imagine them shooting in a green space, doing a fairy scape, and at night, playing with fire or sparklers with one of them dressed as a fire goddess or a nymph or something. She hadn’t really worked through the details, but she couldn’t stop thinking about it. She’d always wanted to try something different, really artsy, but she’d never really had a subject who wanted to do it and she couldn’t afford to shell out thousands for a model from an agency.
She wasn’t brave enough to ask another photographer to try to execute her vision either. But Laney… Morgun thought that if she pitched her idea the rig
ht way, maybe Laney would get excited about it too.
She was just about to start talking about fire and fairies, when a phone went off. She knew it wasn’t hers. Her ring tone wasn’t that annoying.
Laney groaned. “Sorry. I forgot to put it on silent.”
“What if it’s work?”
“I just got back. They can call back later.”
It wasn’t like Laney to ignore work, and Morgun practically glowed with the warmth of Laney choosing this moment with her over the outside world. That and it was ten at night on a Wednesday. Surely no one could need Laney that badly.
But the phone went off again. And again. And again.
Morgun finally squirmed around in the bed and got her elbow propped up on the pillow. She looked over at Laney. Her nose was scrunched up in annoyance and she had an evil glint in her eyes, like at any second she’d lunge for the phone and throw it out an open window to take care of the problem.
“You could always answer it,” she suggested lightly.
“No, no, I’m sure whoever it is will finally take the hint.”
The phone rang. And rang. And rang.
“Jesus!” Laney flung back the sheet she’d draped half over herself and jumped nimbly from the bed. She found the phone in the pocket of her jeans, which were discarded at the entrance to the bedroom. Just as she picked it up, it rang again. “Oh,” she exclaimed when she studied the screen. “It’s my mom. The incessant calls make sense now. She’s probably worried that I’m dead in a ditch somewhere because I didn’t call her the very second I got home.”
“You should probably answer it. You know, since she’s worried.”
“Okay.” Laney put her finger to her lips before she answered and put the phone to her ear.
It took Morgun a full, stunned minute to realize that Laney was telling her to be quiet. Morgun sat up a little straighter and pulled the sheet over herself, as if someone else had just walked into the room. It was probably just her imagination, but she suddenly felt chilled. The chill must have been internal because there were no raised hairs on the back of her skin, no goosebumps in sight.
Laney went through the usual greetings with her mom. Morgun could hear her mom’s voice drifting over the other end even though the phone wasn’t on speaker.
“Why didn’t you call? Your plane landed two and a half hours ago! I thought you’d at least text your poor mother.”
“Mom! I travel just about every single week. You’d think if you didn’t hear from me because I’m exhausted and jet lagged and just wanted to get in the shower and enjoy a cup of tea or whatever, that you wouldn’t wonder if I’d been murdered.”
“I didn’t think you were murdered. Although, I knew you were in New York, and anything could happen there.”
“Mom!”
“Your plane could have crashed.”
“Mom, come on! I think you would have heard about that on the news, hmm? Plus, I know you were probably following it online and you saw that it landed perfectly fine.”
“I might have…” Laney’s mom changed tactics. “How’s that nice girl from the wedding? Are you still seeing her?”
“Mom! Okay, goodbye! Have a good night! I’ll talk to you again soon, okay? Love you.” Laney hung up and tossed the phone to the foot of the bed. She walked around the bed, put her hands over her face and flopped back against the pillow.
“I’m not a secret, am I?” Morgun’s tone was light and joking, but inside, she felt slightly sick at the thought that Laney wasn’t telling her family about her because she thought there was nothing to tell. They weren’t dating officially, but Morgun felt like sometimes you didn’t need a term or a title to give something meaning.
Just because they hadn’t talked about a relationship didn’t mean that what they had wasn’t a relationship. And it certainly wasn’t meaningless. Not to her, and she wasn’t willing to believe that it didn’t mean anything to Laney. Of course it meant something to her. Morgun knew that, so she hated the pinpricks of doubt that much more.
“No.” Laney stroked her finger over Morgun’s cheek and Morgun felt the knots in her neck and shoulder muscles untighten. “No, you’re definitely not a secret, but you don’t know what my mom is like. I didn’t want to be on the phone with her for an hour, answering all her questions. The more answers she gets, I swear the more questions she has. If she found out that I was here, she would have wanted to talk to you and you probably would have been here until my phone died, or hers. Mine has a full charge. I’m willing to bet hers does too. I was thinking of you.”
“She’s your mom though!”
“I know! I love her, I really do. I swear it, but I thought I’d keep this time for us and not for an inquisition.” Laney traced Morgun’s bottom lip with the pad of her thumb and Morgun sighed.
Laney was right. She did want to have this time with her alone, just the two of them. She’d been waiting for it all day. Laney’s mom wasn’t the only one tracking her flight—Morgun knew the second it landed.
“Is it alright that I want to keep you for myself? Just for this night?” Laney whispered. She leaned in and licked the path along Morgun’s lip that she’d just traced with her finger before kissing her, suckling her lip into her mouth and grazing it with her teeth. “And maybe a few others too?”
Morgun’s entire body liquefied. “I…yes…” A whole night. In bed. With Laney. Definitely.
This was what Morgun had been waiting for. Every moment of the day felt like it was a thousand years long. She was so wound up by the time that Laney walked in her door, her whole body felt like it was just a giant pile of desire. So maybe she didn’t want to talk to Laney’s mom at the moment. Maybe she could understand where Laney was coming from. And maybe that sick feeling in her stomach had turned liquid and dark and smouldering.
“I have an idea,” she rasped out between kisses.
“Yes?” Laney tucked another strand of errant hair behind Morgun’s ear. She pulled back and waited.
“It’s an idea for a photoshoot. Something different. You know how other photographers do artsy photos? Fantasy? With really cool hair and makeup and costumes?”
“And a massive emphasis on having really good editing skills and backgrounds and pre-sets and all that?”
“I guess so. But anyway. I’ve wanted to give one a try forever. If we could find somewhere remote, would you be willing to do it with me? Just us? Photographing each other?”
Laney only hesitated for a second. Maybe she just needed that second to think about it before she wrapped her arms around Morgun’s neck and pulled her in for a wild, sensuous kiss.
“Yes,” Laney groaned. “Whatever you have in mind. You find the place. You have my schedule for the next few weeks, so you know what nights I’ll be here and when I’m free. Let me know what you need to make it happen. I have lots of friends and contacts who could lend us what we need.”
“Even their editing skills?”
“I’m pretty good with editing.” Laney’s hand trailed up Morgun’s thigh. “In fact, I’m pretty good with my hands in general. My lips too, come to think of it.”
There was no way Morgun could argue that. Instead, she let Laney stroke and caress her. She melted into her touch, her kiss, and the pleasure of just being with her again after time spent apart. She’d get excited about the photos later. Their project. At the moment, she was more than excited enough to focus solely on Laney and the plans she had for the rest of their night together.
Chapter 22
Laney
Not many things could make her feel ridiculous after two years of doing all sorts of different and often off the wall photography, but she had to admit she felt strange with her hair done up half in braids, half down in the tightest, frizziest crimps. Her face was stark white with dark makeup around the eyes. She drew some funny looks in traffic. Morgun, at least, had the advantage of having her hair up and woven with pearls. Her makeup was made to look totally natural. She didn’t look like she was getting
ready to go do some pagan ritual.
It was better out of the city. Once they got past the clogged streets, it was tough for people to ogle Laney while going at higher speeds. If they were looking, they weren’t doing it for long as they zipped past.
“So, this farm…”
“It’s an orange grove. The guy was nice enough to let us do the shoot there and he only asked for two hundred bucks. I was willing to go to five, but he just asked for two. We’ll only be there for a couple hours, I figure, maybe less. It seems private. And the orange trees will make for something different. He says there’s a big old barn and an ancient old farmhouse on the far side of the yard, just past the orchard, so I thought that would be pretty cool too.”
“It sounds like the perfect setting.”
“Thank you for doing this!” Morgun had been so excited all day, since early this morning when Laney picked her up to get their hair and makeup done.
It felt weird to think of herself on the other side of the camera, but she reminded herself that it was just for fun. She’d be photographing Morgun too, which excited her. She remembered wanting to do it since the first time she viewed her message and checked out her profile.
How was Christmas only a couple weeks ago? It felt like a thousand years had passed between then and now. Not in a bad way. Laney was used to time disappearing because she was always working. She never felt like she had enough of it. Often she’d dig in, and when she came up for breath, she couldn’t believe that sometimes a month or two was just gone. Evaporated.
This was different. She realized that she might be happier than she’d ever been. It’s funny, how a person can walk around for years and years with this giant emptiness inside themselves and not even know it’s there. Even though her mom was pointing it out to her just about daily, albeit in a very annoying way, Laney had never stopped to consider that there might be something more for her than just her career. Or that she could be happy doing both and that one or the other didn’t have to suffer for it.
