"Oh wonderful," Crystal said sarcastically, punching her makeshift pillow. "I suppose I should be grateful you don't have a girlfriend or I'd never get any sleep at home."
Laura laughed. "Actually I'm very quiet." She paused as another series of moans cut through the night. "Definitely Donna." Crystal shook her head and closed her eyes, trying hard not to think of the mental images the sounds were creating.
Crystal woke immediately at the touch. It took a few seconds in the pitch darkness to remember where she was and who was sleeping next to her or rather, who was sleeping against her, Laura's arm wrapped protectively around her belly. It was that touch which had woken her up. It was the middle of the night, the only sounds were snoring from the nearby tents and the occasional crackle of the dying bonfire. Realizing Laura was sound asleep, Crystal debated about removing the warm arm pressing against her, not wanting to wake her roommate. She laid there for several minutes, listening to the deep breathing next to her, close enough for her to feel the warm breath against the back of her neck. Just as she took comfort from the occasional hugs Laura gave her, Crystal found herself feeling that same comfort in the unconscious embrace. Relaxing into the gentle hold, she fell back to sleep.
Laura blinked and looked around, the morning sun lighting the interior of the yellow dome tent. To her surprise she found herself curled up around Crystal. I should have known better, she thought. I've always been a cuddler. But it felt too good for her to move right away. She inhaled the scent of Crystal's shampoo and had to resist the urge to nuzzle the soft blonde hair. Who am I kidding? Propping herself up to look upon the sleeping features, Laura privately admitted to herself that she had deliberately refrained from mentioning her habit of cuddling to Crystal for just this reason. It felt so good to hold the younger woman in her arms, to feel the soft warmth against her. Laura laid there for several minutes, just enjoying the feeling. When she heard the sound of others awakening in the nearby tents, she reluctantly moved over to her own side of the sleeping bag. As much as she took pleasure in the embrace, she knew better than to be in the same position when Crystal woke up. She'd probably think I was trying to take advantage of her. There was a soft scratching on the tent flap. "Laura, you awake?"
"Morning Jen," she said in a low voice. "Crystal's still asleep."
"Carmen has coffee made."
"All right, I'll be out in a minute." Now faced with the problem of trying to get out of the sleeping bag without waking Crystal, who was sleeping on the side with the zipper, Laura tried to slowly crawl out the top.
"Hmm?"
"Shh, it's just me," she said, moving the rest of the way out of the sleeping bag. "Go back to sleep, it's early."
"What time is it?" Crystal mumbled, rolling onto her back and rubbing her eyes.
"Probably around seven or so." She found her watch stuffed into her sneaker. "It's seven twenty. I'm going inside for some coffee. Do you want me to bring you a cup?"
"No, I'll get up. Besides, I have to use the bathroom." Crystal sat up herself, revealing to Laura something she had not known the night before as the tops of bare legs were revealed. It was only then that the writer noticed the pants being used as a pillow.
Oh thank God I didn't know that last night, Laura thought, noticing also the twin points pressing against Crystal's shirt. "I'll get out so you can get dressed," she said, crawling to the tent flap and pulling the zipper up.
"I'll be there in a minute," she heard as she stepped out onto the dew covered grass and blinked against the bright morning sun. "Okay." Laura pulled her sneakers on and headed for the house.
Carmen, Wendy, Jenny and several others were in the kitchen when Laura arrived. "Good morning," she said, taking two empty mugs from the dish strainer and walking over to the coffee pot. She just finished making the cups up when Crystal walked in, her hair mussed from sleep. "Oh thanks," Crystal said as she handed her the mug.
"I thought maybe we could stop for breakfast on the way home," she said, leaning against the counter and ignoring the box of donuts sitting there. "There's a nice clean diner just a few minutes from here."
"Sounds good," the blonde said, setting her coffee down and making a beeline for the bathroom as Alex exited it.
"There's donuts right there," Jenny said.
"I'm not in the mood for something sweet," she said. "Besides,e.g.benedict sounds really good right now."
"What's this?" Carmen said. "You're taking off this early? I thought everyone would stay for a while longer."
"I have things to do today," Laura said apologetically, fully aware it was a bold faced lie. Other than writing, there was nothing else that had to be done today. "Besides, Crystal's never had breakfast at Ruby's. I'm sure she'll enjoy it."
"Oh yes, just you and her tucked away in the a booth, eh?" Alex teased.
"Behave," Laura warned. "Besides, we deserve a good breakfast after being kept up half the night thanks to you and Donna."
"Hey, it's not my fault you didn't get any last night," the cop said with a smug grin as she refilled her mug and exchanged a knowing smile with Donna. "So how's the book coming along?"
"The end is in sight but it's just getting the last fifty pages written," Laura said. "You know how hard it is for me to wrap things up." "Yeah, that's why your books are all three hundred pages or better," Carmen said. "Oh but those love scenes are enough to make me sit on a block ofi.e.You will have at least one in there, won't you?"
"Don't I always?" Laura replied, bringing the mug to her lips and tasting the strong brew. "It's just a matter of getting the main characters together." She noticed Crystal coming out of the bathroom and privately wondered why life was not as easy as a fictional story. Why she found herself falling for what she could not have but unable to walk away or stopping her heart from becoming more attached to the beautiful young woman who shared her home. "I have to get the tent broken down. I'll be back in a few minutes." Setting her mug on the counter, Laura brushed past Jenny and stepped out into the morning air.
She was neatly folding the nylon tent when Crystal approached. "You want some help?"
"No," she said. "I'm almost done."
Crystal knelt down and put her hand on the storage bag, forestalling Laura's attempt to put the tent away. "Hey." The softly spoken word forced her to look up into concerned blue eyes. "You all right?"
Taking a deep breath, she nodded. "I'm fine. I guess I'm just tired or something."
"You sure? It seems like something's bothering you."
Laura dimly wondered when Crystal had become so good at reading her and hoped her face did not reveal her secret. "I'm fine, really. I'll tell you what, why don't you take the sleeping bag to the Jeep and I'll be there in a minute then we'll go get some breakfast."
"If you're not up to it, we can just go home and have something there," Crystal offered.
"No. I really think you'll enjoy Ruby's and we don't get out this way often." A thought occurred to her. "Unless you don't want to go."
"Oh, I want to go. If it's a place that serves real food and you like it, then I want to go. They do serve real food, don't they? Not those bean sprouts and grass that you like to pretend you're a rabbit with."
"Real food, I promise," she said with a smile. "I'm sure you can even get an extra side of grease if you need it."
"Funny. Come on, I'm starving and I've already said goodbye to everyone." Crystal took the tent from her and shoved it into the nylon bag, ruining all the folding Laura had just done. Suppressing the urge to pull it out and put it back correctly, she stood up and followed Crystal to the car, grateful to be leaving the eyes of her friends. Laura understood why her friends teased her so much about Crystal because if forced to admit it, their playful comments and jabs hit too close to home. How hard it had been last night to lie there and try to go to sleep with Crystal by her side, especially with the vocal sounds coming from Alex's tent. Laura was grateful it had only been an overnight and not a full weekend getaway. Two nights in a row would be a temptation she was not sure she could handle.