Chapter 81
With a frown, Bethany said, “I thought this was supposed to be a date.”
“Well, yeah, but—”
Moving closer, Bethany pulled Dana’s hands into her lap and slid her fingers up Dana’s wrists. Her touch was ticklish. “But what?”
Dana frowned and looked past Bethany at the wine glasses on the end table. They seemed so far away, out of reach. Would it look horribly bad if she shook her friend’s hands off hers to grab one—hell, both—and guzzle them down? I want this so much, I’m afraid I’ll fuck it up, she thought.
But would it ruin the moment if she said the words out loud?
Bethany moved her head into Dana’s line of sight and asked again, “But what, sweetie?”
In a tiny voice, Dana admitted, “I don’t want to do anything stupid to mess us up. Last time…”
“You can’t.” Bethany’s smile lit up the room, eclipsing the candlelight. Reaching up, she tucked a stray strand of hair behind Dana’s ear. “Last time I wasn’t ready, that’s all. I didn’t know how you felt, and I’ll be honest with you—I didn’t want to admit that, deep down, I really felt the same way.”
Dana felt a glimmer of hope flicker inside her. “So tonight isn’t going to end with us both storming off in separate directions and not speaking for the next six or eight weeks, like it did the last time we kissed?”
“Oh God, I hope not.” Bethany traced the curve of Dana’s cheek and leaned in to touch her lips to Dana’s in a brief kiss that hinted at so much more. She shifted on her cushion, moving closer, and her next kiss pressed their mouths together deliciously. Her hand cradled Dana’s jaw, keeping Dana near, as she opened her lips to slip her tongue between Dana’s.
This time was headier than the last, probably because Dana was the one being kissed and she discovered she quite liked the sensation. She liked the feel of Bethany’s hands and mouth on her, the crush of Bethany’s breasts against hers, everything about it. When Bethany pulled away, Dana found she no longer wanted her glass of wine; no, she wanted another taste of her lover, and wondered what she could say or do to get Bethany back where they’d been a moment earlier.
“See?” Bethany asked, a little breathless. “No one’s running off, and we’re still talking to each other. But hopefully not for long.”
Dana’s heart lurched. “What do you mean?”
Rising from the couch, Bethany took Dana’s hand and pulled her to her feet. “Come to my room and I’ll show you.”
Dana almost tripped over herself in her haste to follow.
* * * *
In the morning, Dana woke to the unusual sensation of arms wrapped tightly around her waist and another body backed up against her own. When she tried to roll over, she heard Bethany moan in protest behind her. The arms around her tightened, and Bethany’s head burrowed into the middle of her back between her shoulder blades.
“Don’t move yet,” Bethany murmured, her voice drowsy with sleep. “We’re perfect right where we are. Why ruin this so soon?”
Carefully Dana turned, raising an arm over Bethany to hug her close. “Because one of us has to get to work,” she reminded her friend.
Friend? No—after the night they’d spent together, that no longer adequately described them. They were lovers, finally, in the fullest sense of the word.
Bethany cuddled into the pillowy cushion of Dana’s bare breast and sighed. “I’m calling in sick. Too much rich food last night, chased down by too much wine, topped off with too much loving. Do you think my boss will buy that?”
“If you groan just right…”
Without warning, Bethany let out a low, guttural sound that seemed to well up from the very depths of her soul. Spooky and ethereal, it made the hairs on Dana’s arms stand up to hear it.
“What the hell was that?” Dana asked with a short laugh. “You said sick, not dead.”
“We’re staying in bed all day long,” Bethany announced. “I finally have you right where I want you.”
“I’m pretty sure this was always myfantasy,” Dana told her.
Bethany snuggled into her and sighed. “Hush up. It can be mine, too. Just because it took me longer to realize it doesn’t mean I want it any less than you do.”
“Want what?” Dana asked.