Smooth Sailing (26 page)

Kaatje was standing there, looking perfectly happy. She blinked and followed Laurie’s gaze. “What is?”

“This system.” Laurie pointed to the middle cashier. “The single line should start there. It should run down the wide freezer aisle and loop back on the housewares aisle, since that’s not a high traffic area.”

“Why does it matter? There are only four or five people in each line.”

Laurie stared at her, wondering what kind of perspective led one to believe five people wasn’t excessive. “It’s Saturday afternoon. That has to be one of the busiest times of the week. Every register should be open. Supervisors and managers should man a register. When each cashier has a separate line the customers are punished when they get a slow cashier. A single line is the only way.” She shook her head, wondering why everyone didn’t put their full efforts into their job. There was no job too small to do it poorly.

Kaatje slung an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in for a hug. She was smiling when she said, “Do you do this all the time?”

“What?”

“Think of ways to improve every situation you encounter?”

Laurie pulled away and looked at her. “Of course. Everyone does.”

Letting out a soft laugh, Kaatje assured her. “No, they don’t. I promise you, they don’t.”

That made no sense at all. Why bother getting out of bed in the morning if you weren’t going to do your best?

*

Laurie spent the day working at her laptop, the time flying by with Kaatje beside her. They were out by the pool, and she stopped for a while to get a drink. When she sat down again she said, “I should work from home more often. It’s really nice out here.”

“Yeah, it is. Why don’t you?”

“Oh, it’s a lot of trouble to make sure I have everything I need. It’s a huge drag to get involved in something and find you’re missing some report that’s not on the system. I usually just go in and stay until I’m finished.”

“Which you never are.” Kaatje reached over and tugged on her earlobe. “You’ve got awfully cute ears.” She lay back against her chaise and her eyes drifted upwards. “Do people live on those hills? I didn’t see a lot of lights up there last night.”

“I have no idea. I think that’s a different set of mountains. But we could drive over that way later.”

“I’d rather go down Sunset Boulevard. I want to see the neighborhoods change.”

Laurie looked at her watch. “Let’s go at four. Then we can get to Santa Monica in time to see the sunset.”

“Sounds great. I’ll tell you when it’s four.”

Grinning, Laurie said, “I just bet you will.”

*

At five thirty they sat on a bench in Santa Monica in a park overlooking the ocean. Kaatje had brought a bottle of wine and some plastic cups, and they sipped a nice rosé while the sky turned a fantastic shade of pink, then burst into a vivid orange that covered the horizon. “This is the life,” Laurie said, sighing in pleasure. “We don’t get many sunsets like this. LA must know you’re here and want to impress you.”

“It’s not too hard to relax, is it?” Kaatje teased.

Laurie nuzzled against her warm body. “Not when I’m with you. Actually,” she said, “I have a heck of a time concentrating when you’re here. I took more breaks today than I normally do in a week.”

Kaatje started to laugh, then caught herself. “Are you serious? You touched me a few times and told me I looked cute in my swimsuit, but other than going to the bathroom or getting a drink you didn’t flinch.”

“Oh, I normally put my head down and don’t pick it up until I’m ready to wet my pants. I was all over the place today.”

“Laurie,” she said, earnestly, “that’s no way to live. I know this is important to you, but you’re not in the emergency room trying to save people’s lives.”

“I know, I know.” She let her head settle on Kaatje’s shoulder, feeling her heartbeat slow down when they touched. “I just get involved. I don’t know how else to be.”

“You’ve got to try. Your life will be over before you know it if you don’t learn how to nourish your soul.”

“I’ll just try to copy you. You’re a very good teacher.”

“But I can’t keep an eye on you when you’re at work.”

“Maybe I’ll let Wendy take an easier job and hire you. My life would be perfect if I could walk out of my office and see your pretty face smiling at me.”

Kaatje blew out a short burst of air. “Only one of us could be happy if I was sitting in front of your office, and it wouldn’t be me.”

Kaatje hadn’t hidden her disdain for corporate life. It was hard to imagine leaving Luxor, but it didn’t look like there was another way. Kaatje would just have to get used to having a vice president in charge of something-or-other on
The Flying Dutchwoman
.

LAURIE WAS AT work by five thirty on Monday. They’d agreed that Kaatje would take her to work and then have the use of the car, but when Laurie woke without the alarm, she couldn’t bear to rouse Kaatje. She looked serene, lying in the big bed with the covers pulled up to her chin, so Laurie called a cab and snuck out of the apartment without a sound.

She had a million things to finish before she left for Osaka, and just two days to finish them. Normally, she would have been able to focus with pinpoint precision, but her mind strayed to Kaatje a dozen times before lunch. What was she doing right now? Was she still in bed? Would she remember how to use the coffee maker? If she went out, was the GPS easy enough to use?

It was a struggle all day to keep her eye on the ball, and by the time she got home at seven thirty, the day seemed much longer than usual.

But Kaatje was there, smiling at her when she walked in, the scent of something tasty coming from the never-before-used kitchen. “There’s heat coming out of that room,” Laurie teased, pointing at the kitchen. “Call the fire department!”

Kaatje went to her and enveloped her in a hug. “Welcome home, honey bear.”

Laurie kissed her, nearly swooning with pleasure when Kaatje’s arms encircled her. There was something so primally fulfilling about merely having her close that she spent a moment puzzling over why she’d never felt this way before. At the time, she’d been certain she’d loved at least two of her boyfriends, but this sensation was entirely new—and it struck her heart like a dagger to know she would only be able to enjoy it for two more days.

*

Kaatje had spent the day in Marina del Rey, on a busman’s holiday. She’d checked out the harbor, poked around the moored boats, and enjoyed a long session on a rented kayak. Laurie could tell that she was tired, but Kaatje insisted on cleaning the kitchen while Laurie took a bath.

Relaxing in the cloud of bubbles, Laurie reflected on how wonderful it was to have such a generous woman sharing her home. Kaatje was neat, quiet, and thoughtful. She was also beautiful, sexy, and fantastic in bed, and Laurie spent the rest of her bath thinking of ways to exploit that talent.

After emerging from the bath, Laurie dried off, brushed her teeth and went to find Kaatje and pull her into bed. To her surprise, Kaatje was lying on the bed, fully clothed. When Laurie sat next to her she was greeted with a lazy smile and half-lidded eyes.

“Tired,” Kaatje said before curling her body around Laurie’s and making some soft, contented murmurings. “Still jet-lagged.”

“You can’t sleep with your clothes on.” Laurie briskly rubbed her hand across Kaatje’s back. “Come on. Get up and get ready for bed.”

Kaatje allowed herself to be drawn into a sitting position, then she got up and went into the bath. Laurie turned down the bed, and got in, waiting just a minute for Kaatje to join her.

Kaatje almost fell onto the cushy surface of the bed. “Nice,” she said, still wearing that contented half smile. “I like having such a big bed.”

Laurie scooted over until they were side by side. Her arm slid behind Kaatje’s neck, then Kaatje turned and faced her. Laurie felt a thrill run up her spine when Kaatje’s warm breasts touched her own, but when Kaatje offered a single kiss before closing her eyes and sighing lazily, disappointment replaced the thrill.

She’d been thinking of Kaatje all day. Not purely in a sexual way, but that had been the undercurrent. Having Kaatje in her arms and feeling her soft skin and womanly curves made that undercurrent morph into a stronger drive. One that hadn’t often concerned her up until that moment.

That struck her. She’d been having sex since she was eighteen years old, but she could have counted on one hand the times she’d made an overture. It had always seemed like the man she was sleeping with made the first move, and she was more likely to fend him off than encourage him. Up until tonight, having sex with Kaatje before they fell asleep had been a given. Neither of them had to make an overture. What was the right thing to do? Kaatje was obviously tired. But they only had two nights together before Osaka, and losing one seemed awfully wasteful.

Kaatje’s face was peaceful, almost serene. Her eyes moved under her lids, and her body twitched as she fell into a light sleep. Laurie debated her next move. She had to show her interest, but she had to be subtle. She’d had far too many erect penises wake her from a sound sleep to be heavy-handed about it.

She placed her hand on Kaatje’s hip, gently moving it down to the thigh, relishing the feel of her skin. When Kaatje showed no response she expanded the territory, moving around to the small of her back, carefully watching her face for a flicker of interest. Nothing.

At that point, the pleasure of touching Kaatje began to outweigh the demands of her libido. Having Kaatje in her bed was as important as having sex. It was the closeness that Laurie had been missing in her life, and having Kaatje near made those years of emotional isolation fade from her memory. Without conscious thought, her hand moved down to Kaatje’s ass and was filled with the warm flesh. Kaatje had a truly fantastic ass and Laurie found herself smiling when she palmed it. Being able to play, unnoticed, while Kaatje slept was an entirely new sensation, and she let her hand move up to stroke her muscular back.

Laurie laughed to herself when she thought of the times she’d tried to play with a boyfriend’s body. She’d never rubbed a back, no matter how briefly, that she wasn’t on her own back moments later. Men’s fuses were remarkably short in her experience, and she’d never been able to just explore without having the exploration turn into intercourse. But this was fun as well as soothing.

Kaatje let out a sigh and slid her leg up until it settled on Laurie’s thigh. Their bodies were entangled, pressing against each other from shoulder to toes, and Laurie felt a wave of tenderness envelop her. She moved her lips to delicately touch Kaatje’s forehead, then along her cheek. Kaatje let out another soft mew and draped her arm around Laurie’s waist. Laurie snuggled even tighter against her and let their foreheads touch. They couldn’t be closer together, and that fact made her pulse start to beat more slowly, until it synced with Kaatje’s. Moments later, they were both asleep, Laurie’s heart as full as it would have been from the best lovemaking.

*

Laurie came home at the ungodly hour of three o’clock on Tuesday afternoon, surprising Kaatje, who was out by the pool. She threaded her hand into her hair and said, “You love any kind of water, don’t you?”

“I almost screamed,” Kaatje said, fanning herself. “You’re the last person I expected to see.”

“Ha. Ha.” Laurie sat on the next chaise and took her hand. “I surprised the heck out of Andrea, I’ll admit to that. But I couldn’t leave without doing anything with you. We have to go see a little bit of LA.”

“We saw a little bit the other day.”

“One drive down Sunset Boulevard isn’t going to cut it. I’ve…actually, Wendy…arranged for something nice for us. Let’s get changed and head out.”

*

By four o’clock they were parking at the base of what looked like a fairly green, carefully planted hill. “What’s the Getty Center?” Kaatje asked.

“It’s a museum with some of the best views in LA.”

“Aren’t the best views supposed to be inside, where the art is?”

“Not in LA. We’re an outside people.”

*

Kaatje spent a long time photographing the lovely buildings, the beautifully planted hillside, and the manicured gardens that surrounded the place. Then they stood in the most private spot they could find and kissed as the sun went down. The wind came over the pass and Kaatje started rubbing Laurie’s back. “Keep doing that,” Laurie said. “It’s freezing.”

“This is the oddest weather. I never imagined a place where you can sit by the pool in the afternoon, then freeze less than a minute after the sun sets. This is very much beyond my experience.”

“Let’s get a bite to eat and then go home and warm up the fun way.” She took Kaatje’s hand and they started for the train that would take them back to their car. “Actually, dinner’s optional.”

“That’s what I think too. You’re mandatory.”

*

They lay in bed, cuddling and kissing, taking a short time out before they got back to the business at hand. “You know,” Laurie said, taking a moment to kiss a wet path down Kaatje’s chest then rest her head on her abdomen, “when we had that little fight in Holland, one of the things you kinda threw out there was that you weren’t sure I was confident about my sexuality.”