The Neighbor

by Gerri Hill

  “I never said that.”

  Laura pulled off her shirt and Cassidy’s breath held. Laura pointed at her. “Get in the pool. I’ll get the floats. I’ll bring the beer.”

  Cassidy stood there mutely as Laura walked away. She had her cutoff jeans on…and all Cassidy could think of at that moment was slipping off those cutoff jeans. She shook her head quickly, then yanked her own shorts off and practically fell into the pool. She ducked under the water and swam down to the deep end where it was cooler. She surfaced under the shade of the diving board and held onto the side, turning to watch as Laura made her way back over. Two floats were tossed into the pool and Laura—like Cassidy always did—covered the beer bucket with a towel.

  And then…those cutoff jeans were unbuttoned, the zipper lowered…and Cassidy felt her heart hammering in her chest, felt her breathing increase, felt her losing her grip on the side of the pool. She held on, her gaze locked on Laura’s hands as they shoved the cutoff jeans down her legs, past her thighs and knees to her ankles. When she stepped out of them, Cassidy lost her grip on the side and slipped under the water. She came up sputtering and coughing, finding Laura staring at her.

  “What in the world is wrong with you, Cassidy?”

  Laura was across the pool on the other side, not even in waist-deep water. There were no longer any oddly placed tan lines to be seen. It was the same swimsuit she normally wore—the one with shades of purple and black. She also had a solid black one, but that was a little more sporty than this one and didn’t show quite so much cleavage. Of course she was staring, and she certainly didn’t need to be staring at Laura’s breasts…she was liable to drown.

  She cleared her throat. “Do you think we should talk?”

  Laura raised her eyebrows.

  “Because I think we should probably talk,” Cassidy continued.

  “About the kiss?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay.”

  Laura stayed where she was, the water lapping just above her thighs. Cassidy stayed where she was, holding on the side of the pool for dear life. They stared at each other for a long—quiet—moment. Then Cassidy smiled and Laura did the same. Cassidy finally looked away, laughing a little at how ridiculous the situation was. Laura laughed too.

  “Okay, then…glad we got that out of the way.”

  “Will you just relax,” Laura said as she shoved a float toward her.

  “I thought you wanted to talk.”

  “I changed my mind.”

  “Good. Because I didn’t really want to talk about it either.”

  Laura got on her float, fighting with it as she usually did, making Cassidy laugh.

  “I hate this damn thing.”

  Cassidy got onto her own float on the first try. “You have all week to practice; I don’t know what the problem is.”

  “If you think all I do is lounge in your pool all week, you obviously have not inspected your yard.”

  “You’re right. It was dark when I got here. My apologies.”

  Laura spun her float around to look at her. “You got here last night? Why did it take you so long to call me?”

  “I…I had things…to do. Then—”

  Laura met her gaze. “You left early last Sunday, you got here late yesterday—a Thursday. So…”

  Cassidy sighed. “You know why.”

  “You were avoiding me.”

  “Yes. And don’t ask me why. You know why.”

  “Because you kissed me.”

  “Look, it wasn’t only me kissing you. You kissed me too, you know.”

  “Against my will!”

  “Oh, please!”

  Laura smiled. “I thought we weren’t going to talk about it?”

  “Yeah…let’s don’t.” She paddled over to the beer bucket. “Did you have a good week?”

  “I did. I stayed busy. I hardly gave you a thought at all.”

  “Good. Me too.” She put two beers into koozies. “See? We kissed. We didn’t give it another thought. It’s over with. See how easy that was?”

  Laura met her gaze. “I’m lying, you know.”

  Cassidy nodded. “Yeah…me too.”

  Laura took the beer from her. “So we won’t ever do that again, right?”

  Cassidy tried to read her eyes. “Is that what you want?”

  “Yes,” she answered quickly.

  Yes, that was probably the best way to handle this. Just don’t do it again. That’s what Laura wanted. But no. That’s what Laura was saying she wanted. Her eyes, however, said something else entirely. But Cassidy would play along with her. For now.

  “Okay. We won’t ever do that again.”

  Laura smiled. “See? Now we can forget about it and get back to normal.”

  “Normal? Like me bringing women here on the weekends? Normal like that?”

  “Yes. If that’s what you consider normal,” she said a bit tersely.

  Cassidy went to great pains to hide her smile and keep her expression even. “Wish I had known that before I came down. I’ve got some friends coming tomorrow—Erica and Amber. I would have made arrangements for them to bring someone. You know, for me.”

  Laura simply stared at her but made no comment.

  “Of course, if you’re free, you might want to join us.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “I’ve known Erica ten years or so. Amber’s been around the last two, I think. They’ve been out here before a couple of times.”

  Laura shook her head. “No.”

  “Steaks,” she said with a teasing smile. “Cooked to perfection.”

  “Must you?”

  “What? Tempt you with food?”

  “Yes.”

  Cassidy smiled. “So join us. It won’t be nearly as much fun as it was with Tanya and Derrick but…” But what? It would give them time together? It was probably a mistake. Erica and Amber were so different than Laura. She couldn’t imagine them having anything in common and even less to talk about. Why would she even suggest it? Because she was being selfish, she admitted. She wanted Laura around. Even if she had to tolerate Erica and Amber for a few hours, she wanted Laura’s presence there.

  “So you’re already telling me that I won’t have a good time, but you still want me to come.”

  “Yes.”

  Laura tilted her head. “Why?”

  Cassidy met her gaze and held it. “Because.”

  Laura stared at her for a long moment, then she simply smiled. “Okay.”

  “Thank you.” Then she grinned and splashed water at her. “See? Normal stuff.”

  “I’m only coming for the steak, you know.”

  “Sure. You can believe that if you want.”

  “It’s the truth.”

  “It’s so not the truth.”

  Laura dove off her float, tipping Cassidy—beer bottle and all—into the water. She came up laughing, only to have Laura dunk her under again. A water fight ensued and Cassidy had to admit, it had been years and years since she’d engaged in such adolescent fun in the pool.

  Or maybe it wasn’t so adolescent, despite the tickling. When Laura’s hand accidently grazed her breast—her nipple—their eyes flew together, both of them bobbing there in the water. Then Laura smiled, then laughed.

  “Sorry.”

  “Nothing to be sorry about. Really. Feel free to do it again…anytime. As much as you want.”

  Laura jumped on top of her, taking them both under water. Cassidy was still smiling when Laura finally released her.

  “Okay…truce,” Laura said breathlessly. “I’m too old for this.”

  Cassidy nodded. “Truce.” She got back on her float. “You owe me a beer.”

  Chapter Forty

  “If you want to go over there for pizza, I won’t mind.”

  “Mom…I was over there this afternoon. I’m going over tomorrow for dinner. So no. We’ll eat here.”

  “I’m just saying, if you want—”

  “I know what you’re saying
.” Laura pointed her finger at her. “Do not play matchmaker. It’s not going to work.”

  “You sure spend a lot of time together,” her mother said, playing innocent.

  “We’re friends,” she said, dismissing her mother’s comment. But she couldn’t keep the smile from her face. It had been a fun afternoon and she hadn’t seen the need to ruin that by having a huge, serious discussion about…the kiss. Far easier to simply ignore it and pretend it never happened. Of course, they didn’t really do that either. Whether they were playing or floating idly or chatting…it was always there. The kiss.

  And now Cassidy was coming over for pizza. Pizza and wine. Or maybe a cocktail with Coke. At least her mother would be there as a buffer. That is, if her mother would behave.

  “Don’t make any innuendos, either.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “And it goes without saying…never mention the binoculars.”

  “You should come clean on that in case I slip.”

  “I will not come clean on that! And she’s having two friends over tomorrow for dinner. I just hope it’s not any that I’ve seen naked.”

  “Laura Sue, when would you have seen them naked?”

  Laura rolled her eyes. “Through the binoculars, Mother.”

  “You’ve spied on them when they’ve been naked?” Her voice lowered. “Have you seen Cassidy naked?”

  Laura blushed head to toe and spun away from her mother’s laugh.

  “Does she know you’ve seen her naked?”

  “I only saw her breasts when she took her bra off. At least I had the good sense to not use the binoculars.” She rubbed her head. “Please…not a word. You’re stressing me out.”

  “You have a crush on her. You should just tell her.”

  “I’m thirty-eight years old. I do not have a crush!”

  “Then what do you call it?”

  “I don’t call it anything. We’re friends.” She held a chair out for her mother and moved the walker out of the way. “What would you like to drink?”

  “I’ll take a Coke with a splash of bourbon in it.”

  Laura stared at her. “I don’t think so.”

  “Why not?”

  “Loose lips sink ships.”

  “Oh, for God’s sake, Laura Sue. I won’t say anything to her. Although I don’t know what the big secret is. She can probably tell you have a crush on her.”

  “I swear, Mom! You’re going to push me over the edge,” she threatened.

  Her mother shook her head. “Kids nowadays.”

  “I’m not a kid.”

  “Well, you’re certainly acting like one.”

  Laura blew out her breath. “I walked right into that one, didn’t I?”

  Her mother smiled teasingly. “Oh, I’m just having some fun with you. We’ve got to stay on Cassidy’s good side. I’m enjoying my water therapy too much. We don’t want her to ban us from the pool or anything.”

  “She wouldn’t dare. I’ll let all her flowers die.” She poured a smidgeon of bourbon over ice, then smiled and added a little more before dousing it with Coke. “Here you go.”

  “What are you having?”

  “I’ll wait for Cassidy,” she said. “Pizza should be here in about ten minutes.” A knock on the back door made her heart jump a little wildly in her chest. “And she’s here now.” She walked past her mother and squeezed her shoulder. “Behave,” she murmured.

  Cassidy was dressed in khaki shorts and a navy tank top, sandals instead of flip-flops. She looked so fresh and clean and…and cute that Laura had a hard time taking her eyes off her. She finally stepped back, holding the door opened.

  “Come in.”

  “You’re wearing my favorite shorts,” she said with a smile before looking over at her mother. “Hello, Maggie. I hope you don’t mind me sharing dinner with you.”

  “Not at all, Cassidy.” Her mother patted the seat beside her. “Here, sit. We’ll make Laura Sue wait on us. I already have a cocktail, which she made way too strong for me.”

  Cassidy glanced at her, a smile on her face. “Laura Sue? I like it.”

  Laura shook her head. “My mother is the only one who is allowed to call me that. So don’t get any ideas.” She motioned to the make-do bar on the counter. “A drink? Wine?”

  “Whatever you’re having is fine.”

  She nodded. “Easy on the Coke then?”

  Cassidy nodded, then turned her attention to her mother. “How’s the water therapy going?”

  “I’m enjoying it immensely. Thank you for letting us use your pool.”

  “Of course. It’s no problem.”

  “I used to be so afraid of the water,” her mother continued. “I like it now. Well, after I got over the fear of Laura drowning me.”

  Cassidy laughed. “Yeah. She tried to drown me today too. Maybe we shouldn’t turn our backs on her.”

  “I’ll say.”

  Laura was smiling as she placed a drink in front of Cassidy. “I did not try to drown either of you, although I did come close with you,” she teased, pointing at Cassidy.

  “But it was the prospect of a steak tomorrow that held you back, huh?”

  Laura met her gaze, a smile still playing on her lips. “It was the prospect of something, yes.”

  Oh, the look in Cassidy’s eyes made her stomach roll, and Laura mentally chastised herself for flirting with her. Wasn’t it hard enough being around her without adding to it?

  “You can have whatever you want, you know.”

  The front doorbell saved her. She pulled her eyes away from Cassidy, hurrying out of the kitchen. She could swear she heard her mother’s quiet laughter as she fled.

  When she returned with the pizza, she paused outside of the kitchen, trying to eavesdrop on their conversation. She heard her name and more laughter, and God, she’d kill her mother if she was telling Cassidy anything inappropriate! Like tales of binoculars and the like.

  She cleared her throat when she walked in, her gaze—her glare—going to her mother, not Cassidy. Her mother smiled sweetly at her, and Laura pinched her arm as she walked by, causing her mother to burst out in laughter.

  “What did you do that for?”

  “As if you don’t know,” she murmured.

  “So…Laura Sue, your mother tells me you play the piano.”

  Laura whipped her head around. “I do not play the piano. I hated piano lessons.” She pointed at her mother. “She tortured me with them for seven years. And she wonders why I try to drown her.”

  Her mother and Cassidy both laughed. “She was quite good,” her mother continued.

  “I was not. I embarrassed you at recitals.”

  “I think you did that on purpose so that I’d let you quit the lessons.”

  She put three plates on the table and opened the box, revealing the large, loaded pizza. “What about you?” she asked Cassidy. “Did your mother torture you with anything?”

  “Believe it or not, she tortured me with dance lessons…ballet, the whole works.”

  “Oh my God. How long did that last?”

  “Two long years.”

  She turned to her mother. “See? Only two years. Why did I get seven?”

  “You played lovely, Laura Sue. I hate that you gave it up.”

  She glanced at Cassidy. “I think I would have rather taken dance lessons than piano.”

  Cassidy smiled as she bit into her pizza. “You’d probably look cute in a tutu.”

  Her mother nearly snorted. “I couldn’t keep her in a dress to save my life! I can only imagine the fit she would have thrown if I’d put her in dance classes.”

  “Too much tomboy, huh?”

  “The worst,” her mother said.

  Laura shook her head. “I wasn’t that much of a tomboy.”

  “You still are,” her mother corrected. “But it’s you. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

  She stared at her mother, feeling a lump forming in her throat.
Not that she needed reassurance, but her mother did indeed love her.

  “My mother faced the same issues,” Cassidy admitted. “I think she got tired of me showing up for dance class with skinned knees.”

  “Do you have brothers or did you tag after your father like Laura did?”

  “One older brother. I drove him nuts chasing after him and his friends.”

  Her mother seemed genuinely interested in Cassidy and Cassidy didn’t seem to mind the many questions directed her way. Laura didn’t mind either, as she was learning a few things about Cassidy—she hated Brussels sprouts but loved broccoli and cauliflower. However, Laura nearly spit her pizza out when her mother asked Cassidy about being gay.

  “Mother!”

  “What? Too personal?”

  “You think?”

  Cassidy laughed. “It’s okay. I knew I was gay probably before I was even in high school. I came out to my family when I was in the tenth grade. But I didn’t…well, I didn’t act on it until college.”

  “You didn’t have sex until college?”

  “Mother!”

  Her mother turned to her. “What about you?”

  “No. No, no, no,” Laura said firmly. “Next topic.”

  “I was just—”

  Laura held her hand up. “No.”

  Cassidy was still grinning. “I don’t mind personal questions.”

  “I do. Eat your pizza.” She turned to her mother. “You too.”

  Her mother was quiet for a moment, eating silently. Then she looked up. “Laura Sue didn’t come out to us until she was in college.”

  “Oh, for God’s sake!”

  * * *

  Cassidy helped Laura clean up the kitchen, all the while still chatting with her mother. Thankfully, the conversation had drifted to less personal topics and Laura had finally relaxed. It had been a fun end to the day and as before, not even a crust was left of the large pizza.

  “I can’t believe we ate the whole thing again.”

  “I know. I’m stuffed.” Cassidy broke the pizza box down and put it in the trash. “I’m going to get fat hanging around you.”

  “Oh, funny.”

  Cassidy smiled at her. “I had a good time. Thank you.” She turned to her mother who was still nursing her drink. “Enjoyed the evening, Maggie. I’ll have to have you over to my place soon.”