Incognito

by Maria Jackson

  Maybe Starshine had been worried Kylie would want to come up. Kylie would have liked nothing better, but apparently that was off the table. Damn this Lindsay for screwing things up between her and Starshine. She doubted she would ever have gotten tired of fooling around with Starshine if this rebound thing hadn’t been an issue.

  “So, the trail isn’t far,” Starshine said as she got in the car. “It’s not hard to find at all.”

  Kylie shrugged. “Well, I still need you to guide me.”

  They arrived a few minutes later. The brisk chill of the day seemed good for hiking. If they had gone in a warmer month, Kylie figured it would have been too hot.

  They climbed out of the car and Kylie paid the street parking. This part of town was unfamiliar to her. She normally stuck to the more urban areas. It did have some nice grassy parts, she noticed. “There’s a real trail here?”

  “Yeah, I was just here last weekend. It’s beautiful. I can’t believe you didn’t know about it.”

  “Don’t think anyone I know’s into hiking.”

  The trail started at the edge of the grassy area. The gravel cut a narrow path through a canopy of trees. Kylie followed Starshine, walking a few steps behind her since Starshine knew where she was going. “This is pretty,” Kylie said.

  “Just wait. It’s only going to get better.”

  Kylie kept pace with Starshine, although she still let her walk ahead. The more space that was between them, the better she could resist the urge to grab Starshine’s hand. Kylie would have held it all day if she’d had the chance. Starshine had some nice hands… not to mention the rest of her body.

  She was so caught up in thinking about Starshine’s arms, chest, and stomach that she barely noticed when they crossed over a small bridge. She blinked, and it was as if they were in a whole other world.

  “Holy shit,” she said. “It’s like we’re in a picture book!”

  “You like it?” Starshine asked.

  “I love it,” Kylie said. “Is it even real? I can't believe this is right here in Bridgehaven.”

  “There are a lot of things around if you take the time to explore them.”

  Kylie nodded, still awed by the atmosphere around them. The trees loomed high above her, their green leaves spreading out to dot the ground with flecks of light. A bird flew down from the top of the canopy, and Kylie could actually hear it singing. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d heard a bird sing.

  Despite how unexpectedly cool this place was, she wanted to explore Starshine’s body more than anything else in this town. She could remember everything about what they had done together. She had reviewed every moment of the time they had spent in Starshine’s bedroom. But Starshine was off-limits for reasons Kylie didn't quite understand.

  As they walked down the trail, Kylie continued to express her awe at the sights. The trail just kept getting more beautiful. She could only imagine what it would look like under a covering of snow, which only came a few times a year. And it was completely deserted here. How had Starshine even found out about this place? She asked her.

  “Someone told me about it,” Starshine said. “You can find out lots of things if you ask.”

  Kylie nodded, wondering if all of Starshine's questions could just be part of her personality. She liked Starshine a lot, questions or no questions. In fact, she was starting to like the questions. They were part of Starshine.

  “I'm glad you found it, S,” Kylie said. “I'm honestly amazed that this is here and that I never knew about it. Do you mind if I tell the other girls?”

  “Go for it,” Starshine said. “Things like this shouldn't be kept secret.”

  Kylie nodded. She just hoped she would have the words to describe how amazing this was. She suspected that Alyssa wouldn't have much interest in hiking. Paula and Chloe might be more likely to check the trail out.

  They came to a clearing where the sun shone down brightly, and Starshine came to a stop.

  “Is this the end?” Kylie asked, oddly disappointed. She didn't want this to end. She wanted this trail to go on forever, and to stay here in Starshine's company for as long as possible.

  “Not at all,” Starshine said. “It goes on for a few miles and loops back around to where we started. We have a good two hours ahead of us, if that's not too long for you.”

  “Not at all,” Kylie said.

  “That's what I thought.”

  “Then why are we stopping?”

  “Watch,” Starshine said.

  She crouched down, pulling a baggie out of her pocket. For a second, Kylie thought she’d brought weed along. Funny, she hadn't thought to bring any for herself. It would be at least two more hours before she’d be able to smoke. Normally she got high more often, but somehow she didn't mind. Being in Starshine's company was enough of a rush.

  What Starshine pulled out of her pocket was unfamiliar to Kylie. What were those little pellets? Starshine shook a few into her hand and held it out, waiting.

  “What…?”

  “Just give it a second,” Starshine said.

  After a long moment, Kylie spotted a bird flying down from the trees. “Oh, look at that! It's coming right toward you.”

  “It sure is,” Starshine said, keeping her voice low. “Don't do anything to scare it. It's going to come even closer in a second.”

  The bird swooped down and circled around Starshine. It looked like a sparrow, maybe, or a finch. Kylie had never paid attention to bird species. This one was kind of cool, though. She wished she knew more about it.

  “Holy shit,” Kylie said. “It's going right toward you.” She tried to keep her voice down to not scare the bird, but it flew away. “Shit, I'm sorry.”

  Instead of getting mad, Starshine just shrugged. “It's okay. Listen to all those birdsongs. Another one will come by in just a minute.”

  Although Kylie wasn't sure, she crouched down next to Starshine. “Could I try?”

  Starshine gave her a couple of pellets, and they both sat with their hands out. Kylie felt a little silly, but the feeling quickly went away. It was hard to feel silly out here in the wilderness. No one was here to judge her for this except Starshine, who was just as into it.

  As Kylie waited, a sound came from beside her. It sounded exactly like the birdsong, but it seemed to be coming from closer. Kylie looked at Starshine from the corner of her eye, wondering if she was imagining this. Starshine’s lips were pursed, though, and she was looking excitedly at the sky. She gestured silently to Kylie.

  Two birds appeared, singing the song right back to Starshine. Kylie’s mouth dropped open. She’d never seen birds up close like this. The birds swooped down, quickly coming into their hands. Kylie watched in awe as the red-breasted bird ate. It stayed there for a minute, looking her in the eye. Kylie could hardly believe the bird was sitting in her hand.

  “It feels like we’re in a fucking Disney movie,” she said.

  “Two princesses with two lovebirds?”

  Kylie laughed, but part of her winced inside. She wished she and Starshine were the lovebirds. This was a damn romantic moment, and it was making her feel things for Starshine that she’d been trying to push down. She knew about Starshine's body already, and she was becoming attracted to every part of Starshine. They just went well together.

  They gave the birds a few more seeds. The joy of it never got old. “I can’t believe how friendly they are,” Kylie said.

  Starshine had the explanation. “Living out here, they haven't learned to get scared of humans.”

  “That makes sense.”

  After a while, they reluctantly stood up. Time was passing, and they did have work that night, as much as both of them seemed to want to stay.

  “We can feed the birds some more as we go on,” Starshine said.

  They walked along for the next two hours, talking animatedly for much of the time and sometimes lapsing into a comfortable silence. Kylie could pretend she was trying to figure out what Starshine was up to, but in
reality, she kept forgetting about that. She felt good around Starshine, that's all there was to it.

  Starshine was good company. Her questions were entertaining, and they made Kylie feel good. It was nice to have somebody so curious about her life. The two of them got along like old friends.

  At last they got back to Kylie's car. They fell silent as they walked out of the trail and back into the main street. The daydream was over. They had to return to real life.

  They got in the car, and Kylie reached for the gear shift. Starshine's hand was there. Their fingers brushed, and Kylie's breath stilled at the brief contact.

  There was no denying it. As much as she knew it wasn’t a good idea, she couldn't suppress it.

  She wanted Starshine.

  Sixteen

  Still reeling from the touch of Kylie's fingers, Starshine sat back in the car seat and bit her lip hard. The slight pain diverted her thoughts from their night together, which she couldn’t stop thinking of. Being in Kylie's presence for so long had her all worked up.

  She’d seen another side of Kylie today—a childlike, excitable side. Starshine guessed Kylie didn't often let it show, and she was honored to have brought it out.

  Starshine sighed, wishing things would have been different. If she had met Kylie back in Haberdee, in her real life, she wouldn’t have hesitated to date her. They were clearly compatible. Starshine wanted companionship… sometimes desperately.

  It was lonely to be alone, especially when she was undercover. Not knowing anyone in this town was getting to her. Maybe that meant she was a failure of an investigative reporter. Briefly, she considered bringing it up with Krista on their next phone call.

  But she’d never admit that weakness to her boss. Krista might decide to take her off the job if she wasn’t perfect, and she wanted to stay here and see how this played out. Or maybe she just wanted to be close to Kylie.

  She was still lost in her thoughts when Kylie's voice broke through the haze. “You got plans for dinner?”

  Starshine shook herself alert. “No. I guess it is getting late, isn't it?” The clock said it was eight in the evening. They only had an hour and a half to go before their shift.

  “I was thinking maybe we could get pizza at the same place we went to before.”

  “Sure. That pizza was amazing.”

  Starshine tensed slightly as Kylie directed the car toward the pizzeria. Was spending more time with her a smart idea? Surely this could lead to nothing good. She clearly wasn't going to be able to look at Kylie purely platonically. As long as she could control her actions, she would be okay.

  They got out and Starshine followed Kylie inside. She stuck her hands in her pockets, feeling out of her element. The hike had been her thing, but now they were back to reality.

  “Hey, it’s you two again,” the guy at the counter said to Kylie. “Another large pepperoni?”

  “Exactly,” Kylie said.

  Starshine sat down at a table, flattered that the guy would remember them. It was kind of nice to be known somewhere as Kylie's friend. If she stayed here and dated Kylie—made Kylie her girlfriend—this could be their regular pizza place. They would show up, and the guy at the counter could already be putting the pizza in the oven for them. They would eat here every weekend. They’d be happy together…

  It could be real, she thought, putting her elbows on the table. Why not? She was keeping a secret, but surely Kylie would understand the reason for that. Starshine could see them being together in a serious kind of way. She liked Kylie that much. And Kylie clearly liked her, too

  With a sigh, she leaned backwards and put the thoughts out of her mind. She was being stupid. They got along, and their chemistry was unbelievable… but her job was more important. She couldn’t compromise her article for any reason, even an amazing potential partner. She needed to focus on that article.

  And when it was done, she wouldn’t stay in Bridgehaven. Just like they had come out of the woods and back to reality, she would go back to her real life in Haberdee. She would just have to live with just being friends. Better yet, she should go back to treating Kylie like an interview subject. That was all she was to Starshine in the end.

  Kylie came back with the pizza and set it down on the table. Starshine stood up, suddenly remembering that Kylie didn't like to eat here. “I forgot. Where do you want to go? My place is a bit far away with so little time.”

  “That's okay,” Kylie said, sliding into the booth. “It’s not that bad here during the evening. It's only in the middle of the night that I wouldn't want to eat here.”

  “So you just wanted an invitation back to my place last time?”

  Kylie laughed, even though Starshine had only been half-joking. Starshine was glad that they could address what had happened between them. Another girl might have wanted to pretend hooking up hadn’t happened, but Kylie was cooler than that. Yet another reason for Starshine to like her

  “I swear I just didn’t want to eat here late at night,” Kylie said.

  “Yeah, sure,” Starshine said. Truth be told, it didn’t really matter why she and Kylie had gone back to her place. She had no regrets about what they’d done, even if it had made everything more complicated. The time they had spent together was completely worth it.

  Starshine slid back into the booth across from Kylie, wishing she could reach across and take her hand. Instead, she opened the box and reached for a slice. The pizza was just as good as last time, and she dug in with gusto. She could get used to eating amazing pizza with a gorgeous girl. Too bad that wasn’t going to happen.

  “So, you had fun today?” she asked.

  “So much fun,” Kylie said. “I wouldn’t have thought I’d like walking around outside and looking at birds.”

  “Yeah, I figured it wasn’t your usual thing,” Starshine said.

  “I never thought there were too many natural areas around here. Then again, I never thought to look.”

  “So what do you usually do for fun?” Starshine asked.

  “Not a whole lot these days,” Kylie said. “Our schedule has me working at all the times that my friends would usually hang out, so I don’t get to see them too often. I used to go out sometimes. There’s a pretty good gay bar in town. They have drag shows every week.”

  “So you’re a partier,” Starshine said.

  “A little bit. I’ve chilled out with age.”

  “Age? Didn’t you say you were twenty-two?”

  “Yeah, but I partied more when I was twenty-one.”

  They smiled at each other and went silent for a moment as they chewed. Then Starshine took a sip of her Coke and continued. “So you’re usually just at home when you’re not at work?”

  “Pretty much. I hang out with friends sometimes during our days off. But they’re at work during the day, and so we only have those nights. It kind of sucks. But then, you’re in the same position.”

  “Yeah, well, my friends are back in Haberdee anyway, so I wouldn’t get to see them much anyway.”

  “Didn’t you say you moved to Bridgehaven a while back? You didn’t make any friends before you came to the restaurant?”

  “No, I just moved here when I started working at Jubblies,” Starshine said.

  Kylie’s eyes narrowed. “You told me you moved here to work for a small finance company.”

  “Oh, that,” Starshine said, remembering the conversation with a grimace. She had to keep this stuff straight. She was making amateur mistakes, and she was going to give herself away very soon. “Yeah, I only worked for them briefly. That’s why I forgot about it. Definitely not enough time to make any friends.”

  She hoped she had covered her tracks well enough. From the way Kylie was looking at her, she doubted it. She rushed to change the subject. “So, where do you know most of your friends from? School?”

  “Yeah, school and wherever,” Kylie said. “I met some of them at a local programmers’ group. They’re into the same computer stuff as me.”

  “Ri
ght, the app you told me about. When are you going to show me that?”

  “Oh, you wouldn’t be interested.” Kylie looked cute when she was modest.

  “Of course I’d be interested,” Starshine said. “You spent the whole afternoon doing what I was interested in. It’s only fair that I should check out what you’re into. Who knows, maybe I’d like it too.” She had a feeling that Kylie was downplaying this.

  “All right, fine.” Kylie slid her phone over to Starshine and opened an app. It looked so professional that Starshine frowned, wondering if Kylie had clicked the wrong thing. She looked at Kylie, who nodded.

  “This looks incredible,” Starshine said, clicking a few things to see how it worked. “You can watch any video?”

  “Any that’s free on the Internet from a legitimate source.”

  “You’re not into pirating?”

  “Just into pirates.” Starshine’s face must have shown her discomfort, because Kylie grabbed her phone back. “Never mind. Sorry.”

  They sat in awkward silence for a moment until Kylie changed the subject. “So, you don’t have any real friends here in Bridgehaven? That must kind of suck.”

  “None other than you,” Starshine said. “It definitely does suck.”

  “And your ex-girlfriend,” Kylie said. “She lived in Haberdee?”

  Starshine winced, realizing she had opened up a real can of worms with that lie. It had seemed like such a good idea at the time. “Yeah, she lives there. That’s why I didn’t see her too often. It didn’t help that she was working so much.”

  “I see,” Kylie said. “At least you had someone to see you during our days off. You must be kind of lonely now, though.”

  Starshine nodded, looking at the rapidly disappearing pizza. It definitely was lonely. Kylie didn’t know the half of it. Hiding her true self from the people she interacted with every day was wearing on her. She wished she could just tell Kylie who she actually was.

  Kylie would have been shocked if she knew. How would she have reacted to knowing that Starshine was a journalist? Her reactions were always so honest. She hid absolutely nothing. Starshine would have loved to see the look on her face when she found out.