Too Close to Touch (32 page)

Kylie laughed. “She’s straight, honey.”

“Yeah, well, we’re all straight until we’re not. Gotta run. Hey, you didn’t tell me which color. Blue or black?”

“That’s for me to know and you to Þ nd out.”

“Tease. Bye.”

“Bye.” Kylie returned the phone to its cradle with a smile.

She still couldn’t believe how well things were going. They had their issues, it was true. Gretchen still had trouble letting go of work at the end of the day, even though she now worked for a much smaller company with a lot less demand and she was enjoying it immensely.

Every so often, Kylie had to remind her to leave the ofÞ ce at the ofÞ ce.

It was something they were working on, something that would take time, but something that was deÞ nitely worth the effort.

Jake was another surprise. An eight-week-old puppy wasn’t always the easiest way to introduce dogs to somebody who’d never had one, but Gretchen had taken to the white, black, and brown speckled Australian Shepherd immediately. She’d gone with Kylie to pick him out and had held him the entire hour-long ride home. They’d deÞ nitely bonded, Gretchen and Jake, and Kylie loved to watch them together.

She had only given Gretchen a key to her house a week ago, and the fact that Gretchen wasn’t at all hesitant to use it was still a shock to her. Kylie had her own issues—like waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Things were working out so well, so unbelievably well, that part of her was convinced it would all fall apart before long. It wasn’t like either of them had great track records. It seemed far more likely that they’d crash and burn than be together forever.

Erin constantly scolded her for her inability to relax and enjoy the ride. Knowing she had a tendency to overanalyze things, she consciously tried to prevent herself from doing so, but it wasn’t easy.

She tried not to worry, not to dwell, but it scratched at the back of her mind in fairly regular intervals, the doubt, the uncertainty.
But isn’t it

• 227 •

GEORGIA BEERS

normal to worry at least a little? Is anybody ever 100 percent certain of
their life, of their relationship, and where they’re headed?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a touch on her shoulder that made her jump. She turned her head to Þ nd Margo Wheeler pulling her hand away as though she’d been burned. They both laughed.

“Sorry about that, Kylie. I didn’t mean to startle you.” Margo looked sharp in a deep green skirt and jacket and ivory silk shell, her hair pulled back smoothly.

“No problem. That’s what I get for daydreaming.”

“I just wanted to see how things were going with Steve. Two new bosses in the space of three months is a lot for any admin to handle.”

Kylie smiled. “It’s great. He’s great. He’s very nice. He’s efÞ cient.

The reps seem to really like him.”

“Good. He’s spoken highly of you as well, so it looks like the Þ t is right.”

Kylie nodded.

“Well, then. Carry on.” Margo took a step away, then turned back, a twinkle in her eye. “Do tell Gretchen I said hello.”

“I will.”

Kylie felt her face heat up as Margo continued down the hall.

Gretchen had told Kylie that she’d been completely honest with Margo when she handed in her resignation, and Kylie was by no means closeted, but it was a little strange to know that Margo Wheeler
knew
.

Shrugging, she glanced at the clock. It was going on noon and Brandy would be by any minute. Kylie answered a phone call for Steve, then put her phone on voice-mail and opened her Outlook to jot off a quick e-mail before she left. She was just about to start typing when a rap sounded on the frame of her cubicle. Expecting Brandy, she looked up and couldn’t hide the surprise that crossed her face as she saw Mick standing there.

They hadn’t spoken since that disastrous night in Kylie’s living room, and she missed her friend terribly. Kylie had wanted to call dozens of times, had even gone so far as to dial the phone and get Mick’s answering machine on several occasions, but she had no idea what to say. Before she realized it, over a month had gone by and the two of them had been doing a commendable job of avoiding each other at work as well as home. Kylie chided herself for being such a coward.

Dressed in her usual well-pressed khakis and polo shirt, her hair recently trimmed, Mick looked as neat and as put-together as she

• 228 •

TOO CLOSE TO TOUCH

always did. She also looked a little nervous, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

“Hey,” Kylie said, happiness tinting her voice. She wanted to get up and hug Mick but thought that might be pushing things. Instead, she favored her with a big, genuine grin. “It’s good to see you. How are you?”

“I’m good, Ky.” Mick ventured a small smile. “I’m really good.

How are you doing?”

“Great. I’m great.”

Mick gestured over her shoulder at Gretchen’s old ofÞ ce. “The new guy? How’s he? You like him okay?”

Kylie nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, he’s been terriÞ c. Very nice. Very competent.”

“That’s what I hear. People seem to like him.”

They both nodded like bobble-head dolls. The conversation stalled, neither knowing how to keep it going. Finally, Mick took a deep breath and looked down at her booted feet.

“Listen, Ky, I’m having a little get-together at my place this weekend. Nothing huge. Just a dozen or so friends, the usual crowd. If you’re not busy, maybe you and, um, Gretchen can stop in, have some wine, eat some food.” She looked down the hall, at the wall, anywhere but at Kylie’s face. “If you’re not busy,” she repeated.

Kylie felt a lump form in her throat and for a moment, she couldn’t speak. She knew Mick well enough to know how hard the invitation was for her to present, and she took it for exactly what it was: an olive branch. It told her that Mick missed their friendship as much as she did.

It certainly didn’t make everything magically all better, but it was a start. Kylie was proud of Mick for taking the Þ rst step…something she hadn’t had the courage to do.

Shifting sideways slightly in order to catch Mick’s clouded green eyes, she said, “It sounds like fun. We’d love to come.”

Mick’s face lit up into a real smile this time. “Good. Saturday night, anytime after six.” She gave Kylie a small wave and escaped before she could feel any more exposed.

“See you then,” Kylie said to her disappearing friend. She shook her head with a smirk, thinking how strange life was and how things had a funny way of working out when you least expected it. For the third time, her thoughts were interrupted when Brandy appeared at her side, eager to go.

• 229 •

GEORGIA BEERS

Kylie grinned up at her. “Let me just send off this quick note.” She turned back to the e-mail she’d begun just before Mick arrived. It was to Gretchen in her new ofÞ ce. Kylie typed one word.

Black.

Grinning, she hit the Send button.

“You’re awfully smiley lately,” Brandy observed, affectionately bumping her with a shoulder as they walked down the hall.

“Yeah?” Kylie asked, knowing it was true.

“Very. You seem happy.”

“I am.”

Gretchen’s face Þ lled Kylie’s mind, dark hair ß ying, rich brown eyes twinkling, and Kylie suspected her smiling wasn’t going to end anytime soon.

• 230 •

About the Author

Georgia Beers was born and raised in Rochester, New York. After high school, she attended college in Pennsylvania at MansÞ eld University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communications. Always believing she wanted to be involved in television or radio somehow, she tried her hand at both after graduation and decided rather quickly—and much to her own horror—that she didn’t like either one.

For as long as she can remember, Georgia has written stories. After discovering the Internet and the surprisingly large world of writing that exists on it, she met a fellow writer in the year 2000 to whom she felt close enough to share her Þ rst attempt at a manuscript for a novel. One thing led to another, Georgia was introduced to a publisher, and the next thing she knew, she was an actual honest-to-goodness novelist. To this day, she still has trouble believing it.

It’s now 2006 and Georgia is currently at work on her fourth novel,
Fresh Tracks
, as well as various short stories and a script for a short Þ lm. She still resides in Rochester with her partner of twelve years, Bonnie, and their two dogs.

Her published works include two lesbian romances,
Turning the
Page
, 2001, and
Thy Neighbor’s Wife
, 2003 (Regal Crest Enterprises), as well as numerous selections in anthologies:
Milk of Human Kindness:
Lesbian Authors Write about Mothers and Daughters
(RCE),
InÞ nite
Pleasures
(Intaglio), and
Stolen Moments: Erotic Interludes 2
(BSB).

Upcoming works include “Diva,” a short story in the erotica anthology
Erotic Interludes 4: Extreme Passions
, Bold Strokes, 2006, and
Fresh
Tracks
, a romance from Bold Strokes, 2006.

Books Available From Bold Strokes Books

The Traitor and the Chalice
by Jane Fletcher. Without allies to help them, Tevi and Jemeryl will have to risk all in the race to uncover the traitor and retrieve the chalice. The Lyremouth Chronicles Book Two.

(1-933110-43-0)

Promising Hearts
by Radclyffe. Dr. Vance Phelps lost everything in the War Between the States and arrives in New Hope, Montana, with no hope of happiness and no desire for anything except forgetting—until she meets Mae, a frontier madam. (1-933110-44-9)

Carly’s Sound
by Ali Vali. Poppy Valente and Julia Johnson form a bond of friendship that lays the foundation for something more, until Poppy’s past comes back to haunt her—literally. A poignant romance about love and renewal. (1-933110-45-7)

Unexpected Sparks
by Gina L. Dartt. Falling in love is complicated enough without adding murder to the mix. Kate Shannon’s growing feelings for much younger Nikki Harris are challenging enough without the mystery of a fatal Þ re that Kate can’t ignore. (1-933110-46-5)
Whitewater Rendezvous
by Kim Baldwin. Two women on a wilderness kayak adventure—Chaz Herrick, a laid-back outdoorswoman, and Megan Maxwell, a workaholic news executive—discover that true love may be nothing at all like they imagined. (1-933110-38-4)
Erotic Interludes 3: Lessons in Love
ed. by Radclyffe and Stacia Seaman. Sign on for a class in love…the best lesbian erotica writers take us to “school.” (1-9331100-39-2)

Punk Like Me
by JD Glass. Twenty-one-year-old Nina writes lyrics and plays guitar in the rock band Adam’s Rib, and she doesn’t always play by the rules. And oh yeah—she has a way with the girls.

(1-933110-40-6)

Coffee Sonata
by Gun Brooke. Four women whose lives unexpectedly intersect in a small town by the sea share one thing in common—they all have secrets. (1-933110-41-4)

The Clinic: Tristaine Book One
by Cate Culpepper. Brenna, a prison medic, Þ nds herself deeply conß icted by her growing feelings for her patient, Jesstin, a wild and rebellious warrior reputed to be descended from ancient Amazons. (1-933110-42-2)

Forever Found
by JLee Meyer. Can time, tragedy, and shattered trust destroy a love that seemed destined? When chance reunites two childhood friends separated by tragedy, the past resurfaces to determine the shape of their future. (1-933110-37-6)

Sword of the Guardian
by Merry Shannon. Princess Shasta’s bold new bodyguard has a secret that could change both of their lives.
He
is actually a
she
. A passionate romance Þ lled with courtly intrigue, chivalry, and devotion. (1-933110-36-8)

Wild Abandon
by Ronica Black. From their Þ rst tumultuous meeting, Dr. Chandler Brogan and OfÞ cer Sarah Monroe are drawn together by their common obsessions—sex, speed, and danger. (1-933110-35-X)
Turn Back Time
by Radclyffe. Pearce Rifkin and Wynter Thompson have nothing in common but a shared passion for surgery. They clash at every opportunity, especially when matters of the heart are suddenly at stake. (1-933110-34-1)

Chance
by Grace Lennox. At twenty-six, Chance Delaney decides her life isn’t working so she swaps it for a different one. What follows is the sexy, funny, touching story of two women who, in Þ nding themselves, also Þ nd one another. (1-933110-31-7)

The Exile and the Sorcerer
by Jane Fletcher. First in the Lyremouth Chronicles. Tevi, wounded and adrift, arrives in the courtyard of a shy young sorcerer. Together they face monsters, magic, and the challenge of loving despite their differences. (1-933110-32-5)
A Matter of Trust
by Radclyffe. JT Sloan is a cybersleuth who doesn’t like attachments. Michael Lassiter is leaving her husband, and she needs Sloan’s expertise to safeguard her company. It should just be business—

but it turns into much more. (1-933110-33-3)

Sweet Creek
by Lee Lynch. A celebration of the enduring nature of love, friendship, and community in the quirky, heart-warming lesbian community of Waterfall Falls. (1-933110-29-5)

The Devil Inside
by Ali Vali. Derby Cain Casey, head of a New Orleans crime organization, runs the family business with guts and grit, and no one crosses her. No one, that is, until Emma Verde claims her heart and turns her world upside down. (1-933110-30-9)

Grave Silence
by Rose Beecham. Detective Jude Devine’s investigation of a series of ritual murders is complicated by her torrid affair with the golden girl of Southwestern forensic pathology, Dr. Mercy Westmoreland. (1-933110-25-2)

Honor Reclaimed
by Radclyffe. In the aftermath of 9/11, Secret Service Agent Cameron Roberts and Blair Powell close ranks with a trusted few to Þ nd the would-be assassins who nearly claimed Blair’s life. (1-933110-18-X)