Smooth Sailing (15 page)

Laurie scooted over until she was pressed up against Kaatje’s side. Looking at her smooth skin, burnished by the sun, she was unable to resist the urge to kiss her soft cheek. “I don’t remember ever being as attracted to anyone as I am to you.”

Kaatje gave her an almost lecherous look. “You make my pulse race. I thought about your body so many times today I could barely keep up a conversation.”

“Really?” A flash of doubt hit her in the chest.

“Really. When you were grousing at me yesterday morning, I thought, ‘I don’t like getting chewed out, but having a beautiful woman do it makes it tolerable.’”

“You’re teasing.” Laurie playfully slapped at her tan leg.

“No, I’m not. You’re a great-looking woman. I don’t want to seem shallow, but if you hadn’t been as pretty as you are, I never would have offered to take you out.”

“Ack!”

“Well, it’s true. You were pretty grouchy, not to mention judgmental. The only positive aspect I could see were these.” She ran her hands ostentatiously along Laurie’s curves.

“That’s a funny compliment, but I kinda like it.”

Kaatje tilted her head and moved a little closer. “Can I kiss you again?”

“Yeah.” Laurie was surprised to hear the desire in her voice. “I want you to.”

Moving forward, Kaatje captured Laurie’s lips in a long, tender kiss. Their lips merged as though they were made for each other, soft, yielding and welcoming. They continued to kiss and gently touch each other until Laurie whispered, “Let’s go to bed.”

“Let’s,” Kaatje echoed, smiling like a happy fox.

*

They lay together in a tangle of sheets, a cool, light wind drying the perspiration from their bodies. Feeling drained, Laurie could easily have fallen asleep, even though it was barely dark. But Kaatje seemed alert and energized, so Laurie forced herself to sit up and try to get a second wind. She stretched and stuck her hands up in the air, then shook them briskly. After taking in a few deep breaths, the lethargy started to ebb. She looked down at Kaatje, who was gazing at her with ill-disguised desire.

“You are remarkably beautiful,” Kaatje said softly. “If I had to tell someone about my ideal woman, I’d describe you.”

Laurie tweaked her nose playfully. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am.” Kaatje’s voice was calm and thoughtful, and her expression was earnest. “Why would I say that if I didn’t mean it?”

Laurie thought about the question for a moment and couldn’t think of a good answer. “Well, I didn’t know I had an ideal type of woman, but if I had, she’d look like you .”

Since Laurie was sitting up, resting against the wall, Kaatje was able to scoot around and lay her head in her lap. “Why don’t you do something fun like play with my hair?”

Laughing gently at the way she’d phrased the request, Laurie did as she was asked, taking strands of hair and idly arranging them. “I’ve never played with a woman’s hair. I like it.”

“Let’s explore your psyche for a while.” Kaatje said this with the same tone she’d used for having Laurie play with her hair.

“I’m not much for that kind of thing.”

“Okay. That’s fine. But you’ll indulge me and answer a few questions, won’t you?”

“I guess it can’t hurt.”

“Good enough.” Kaatje was looking up at her, a playful grin quirking up her lips. “Why do you think people have asked if you might be a lesbian?”

Laurie rolled her eyes. “Because my mom and my sister love to be in my business.”

Kaatje’s hair rubbed against Laurie’s thighs when she nodded. “You might want to think about that for a while. That’s not the first question most people ask if they’re curious about your life.”

“Maybe they’re really lesbians and they’re projecting their hidden desires onto me.” She giggled and gently picked Kaatje’s head up and placed it back down on the bed. “I’m going to get something to drink. Want anything?”

“No, thanks.”

When Laurie returned, Kaatje was lying right where she’d left her. Laurie lay down and sipped at a glass of water. “It’s awfully nice out here.”

“Yeah, it is.”

A long silence descended upon them and Laurie could feel a flash of anger start to bubble up. By her silence, Kaatje was forcing her to talk about something she had no interest in, not to mention something that was none of Kaatje’s business. “I don’t know why my family asks questions, or why Colin or Fernando asked me. How can I know what they’re thinking? Do I have to tell them all I slept with a woman just to get more feedback on things that aren’t their business?”

Kaatje looked at her for quite a few seconds. Her eyes blinked slowly, then she sat up and said, “I didn’t mean to pry. We don’t have to talk about it.”

A frustrated sigh made Laurie’s lips flap. “No, I’m being a jerk. I don’t like to talk about feelings. I ignore them whenever humanly possible.”

“Isn’t that hard to do?”

“Not if you practice hard enough.” She noticed that her plastic smile wasn’t returned. “Okay.” She took in and let out a big breath. “My sister has been on me since I was in high school, asking why I never seemed to care whether I had a boyfriend or not. She’s two years older, and always tried to see my world through her eyes. I always thought she was being overdramatic: Will a guy call? Does he like me as much as I like him? What will I do if he breaks up with me? Stuff like that.”

A small frown settled between Kaatje’s brows. “That seems common to me. I thought the world revolved around whether my girlfriend would call me when I first came…when I started having sex.”

“I’ve never been like that. I like having a boyfriend, but they’re a lot of work too. Being single is underrated.”

“What’s the best part of being single?”

“Easy one,” Laurie said, smiling. “Being able to do what you want when you want to. Not having to think about the other person before you commit to anything.”

“What’s the worst part?”

Laurie’s smile faded slowly. “Holidays.”

“Holidays?”

“Yeah. When I take a few days off and visit my family in Cincinnati.”

“I don’t know that place.”

“It’s in Ohio. A little east of the center of the country. My parents and my sister and brother-in-law all live near there. And sometimes, like at Christmas, I see how my sister and my mom have something I’ve never had.”

“And that’s…?”

“It’s hard to describe.” She took a minute, thinking of what quality her mother and sister shared. “I suppose it’s love.” She fleetingly met Kaatje’s gaze. “I can tell they’re both happy to have someone to share things with. For them, the good things about a relationship seem to outnumber the bad ones.”

“That should be true for every relationship.” Kaatje stroked Laurie’s leg, making her skin pebble.

“It hasn’t been for me.” Laurie’s voice was very quiet. “I’ve never been in love. I know that now.”

“Now?” Kaatje’s eyebrows shot up. “You’ve just now realized that?”

Laurie nodded. “Just now. I was going through the motions, but I didn’t love Colin, or Ben, or Jeremy. They told me they loved me, and I replied like I thought I should.”

“How did you…what makes you know this now?”

Laurie slid down until she was right in front of Kaatje. Looking into her eyes, she said, “I wasn’t connected. I’ve just met you and I feel like we’ve really shared something.” Tears came to her eyes and she wiped the annoying distraction away. “You made me feel more than I ever felt with Colin and I knew him for years. We had sex hundreds of time.” Her tears continued and her voice shook. “Was he as absent as I was? How could he not have known I was barely there?” She cried harder, sobbing as Kaatje took her into her arms.

“Shh, don’t cry. It’ll be all right.”

“I know,” Laurie sobbed. “I’m going to make it right. I know what I’ve been missing, and I won’t ever settle for less. I’m going to find love. It can be with a man or a woman, but it’s going to be love.”

*

It was still early when Laurie came back to bed for the second time. She stood in front of Kaatje and deliberately ran a brush through her hair, removing all of the tangles their thrashing around had created. “Have you ever slept with a virgin? I mean a woman like me?”

“Probably.”

“You don’t know?” Laurie paused, brush in mid-air.

“I assume the first girl I had sex with was a virgin, but I didn’t specifically ask her.”

“Why not?”

Smiling slyly, Kaatje said, “Why should I have? I thought we’d discovered something new.”

Sitting down next to her, Laurie said, “That’s cute to think of. How old were you?”

“Fourteen.”

“Mmm, that’s pretty young. I was sixteen when I started fooling around. Almost eighteen when I had real sex.”

“Real sex means intercourse?”

Laurie nodded. “Yeah.”

“Mmm, then I haven’t had real sex yet. I hope I like it.”

Laurie almost fell for her innocent smile. “Lesbian sex is real. It’s just…I don’t know.” She blushed, the color racing to her cheeks. “That’s how my friends and I referred to it when we were in high school. Sex meant intercourse.”

“I suppose many people feel that way. But all of the categories seem unnecessary to me. To me sex is sharing your body with another person you’re attracted to. Giving and getting pleasure doesn’t have to be complicated.”

Laurie moved so she could reach Kaatje’s head. She started gently untangling her hair and brushing it. “Do you like this?” she asked unnecessarily, given Kaatje’s purring.

“Very much.” She shifted to lie on her belly, allowing Laurie access to the back of her head.

“Have you had sex with a lot of people?” There was a moment of silence, then she said, “I can’t believe I asked you that!” Patting Kaatje’s back, she added, “Don’t answer.”

A muted laugh rose up from the bed. “I wasn’t going to. I’ll talk about relationships I’ve had, but not my sex life. No good can come from that.”

“That’s probably a good practice. I’m sorry I asked, but…I’m very interested in you.” She put the brush aside and started to run her hands down Kaatje’s back, feeling the muscles under the thin layer of flesh. “Everything about you is fascinating.”

Kaatje turned her head but her eyes couldn’t reach Laurie. She lay back down and said, “Do you have a crush on me?”

“Yes.” Laurie bent over and kissed along Kaatje’s spine, making her giggle. “I have a very big crush on you.”

*

They slept together, cuddling against one another while a cool ocean breeze blew through the cabin. The bed was smaller than Laurie was used to, but she didn’t need an extra inch. Kaatje wasn’t like most of the men she’d slept with, who seemed to take up massive amounts of space. In fact, Laurie realized she was encroaching on Kaatje’s half of the bed and started to move away. But Kaatje’s arm ensnared her and held her in place. Then Kaatje rolled onto her side and nuzzled against Laurie’s neck. “Stay close,” she murmured.

Now enveloped by her body, Laurie pushed back against Kaatje. A deep sigh left her lips and she felt herself drift towards sleep, not one thing on her mind save for the decadent feeling of Kaatje’s warmth pressing into her.

*

Laurie woke when the sun hit the sheet that covered her. She was alone, but a delightful scent tickled her nose. As she got up, she pulled the sheet from its moorings and wrapped it around her body. She padded down the short hall to the galley where the smell of pancakes drew her towards a naked Kaatje.

“This is something I could get used to,” Laurie said, looking longingly at Kaatje’s firm ass and square shoulders. “The pancakes look good too.”

Kaatje turned and smiled broadly. “I know Americans like pancakes. I thought I’d surprise you. These look like American pancakes, don’t they?”

“What other kind are there?”

“Dutch. Ours are thin and we eat them for dinner. I changed some proportions, so this is an experiment.”

“Your American instincts are perfect.” She stood next to her and felt an unexpected thrill when Kaatje kissed the top of her head. Impulsively, Laurie wrapped her arms around Kaatje, hugging her tightly. “I’m very happy to be here. With you.”

Kaatje switched the spatula to her right hand and draped the left around Laurie. “I’m happy you’re here.” She kissed her again, letting her lips stay right on Laurie’s head for a minute. “I have to work at noon. Want to stay with me or go to my parents’?”

She said this offhandedly, and Laurie could have believed Kaatje didn’t have an opinion. But Kaatje’s body gained tension as the seconds ticked by. The desire to work was almost overpowering. Almost. But she looked Kaatje in the eye and let her heart speak. “I have to leave Sunday. I want to stay with you until then.”

In a flash, the tense muscles in Kaatje’s body relaxed. “That’s how I would have voted.” She dropped another kiss onto her head and focused on cooking their breakfast.

Laurie stood there for a few seconds, shocked into immobility by her decision. She was intentionally giving up a day’s work—a day that would save her more than a day when she was back in the office, what with meetings and other time wasters. And she was doing it only to spend the day with Kaatje. On a boat. Sailing. What a difference a day made!