Maybe she would think about it some more. It had been a ratty day. "What did I tell little Peter?" she repeated. "Well, I told him it was an interesting proposal, it was something we're very experienced at doing, something we could probably easily handle, and something we'd be interested in getting involved in."
Dar slipped her hands under Kerry's head and resumed her massage.
"However," Kerry continued, "I also told him I had nothing but the highest respect for your judgment, so if he was looking for a champion to butt heads with you, he picked the wrong blond."
"Mm."
"He seemed to think that was funny."
"Hmm?"
"I think that's when my headache started again." Kerry closed her eyes against the light in the room. "I told him I'd be in touch and booted him out of the booth."
Dar let the silence lengthen after that, as she kept working on Kerry's tense muscles. She watched the skin over her partner's brow smooth out, and her breathing slowed as she relaxed. "You want to do it?" she finally asked in a low voice.
The tiniest hint of a smile appeared on Kerry's lips, and she cracked open one eyelid. "I want us to do it," she replied, huskily.
Hm. "Us as in...you and me, you mean?"
Kerry nodded. "I think it would be good for the company, sure...but to prove I have my head in my workstation just as much as you do, I really just wanted to go there, just the two of us, and whip everyone else's butts."
"Ahhh...ulterior motives." Dar chuckled softly.
"Something like that." Kerry reached behind her and captured Dar's foot. She ran her fingers over the corded tendons and threatened a tickle, feeling the muscles bunch instinctively. "Besides, I'd like to see New Zealand."
Dar let one hand rest on Kerry's stomach. "Ahhhhh." She tapped the edge of her thumb against Kerry's abs. "That brings this whoooollllee thing full circle." With her other hand she lifted something from the nightstand and dropped it onto the bed next to her partner. "To this."
Kerry turned her head and regarded the box. "Ahh." She mimicked Dar. "You know, sweetheart, if you really wanted to know you could have just opened it."
"That's not my name on the label." Dar wriggled into a more comfortable spot and leaned on one elbow, looking expectantly at the package and then at Kerry. "Feeling better?"
How could she not feel better? Kerry wondered, as she rolled over onto her side and reached for the box. She was lying in bed, with her head in Dar's naked lap, looking forward to what was in the box.
Her headache had faded under Dar's touch, and the feeling of pent up tension was being leeched out of her by a combination of being where she was and being able to feel the affection almost pouring out of her companion as the gentle, feather light stroking traveled over her body.
It would be very easy to simply let the world fade away.
But there was her box to open, and dinner to be had, and fireworks to watch from their balcony. So Kerry obediently plucked at the box's wrapping, ripping it apart and freeing the box from its bindings. "There. You have two hands free. Open it."
Dar needed no second invitation. She took hold of the box and pried the top off, peering inside. Then she turned it over and let the contents drop into her hand.
It was a jar, with a white top, and a seemingly hand written label. Dar blinked it. "Double fudge body paint?" She read it aloud. "From New Zealand?"
Kerry affected an innocent look. "They didn't have it at Sawgrass Mills."
Dar bit her lip, then burst out laughing, flipping the jar over in her hand in delight. "Oooohh...housekeeping's gonna be mad at us." She chortled. "Kerry, what made you order this?" Her eyes went to her partner's face. "Getting bored?"
For the first time in a long time, Kerry turned brick red, the color change very evident against her white cotton T-shirt. "No!" She got out, grabbing the jar. "I was just shopping! On the internet!"
"Shopping for..." Dar teased. "Jars? Fudge? Sex toys?"
Kerry cleared her throat loudly. "Did you know they have milk flavored candy there?" She changed the subject. "And hey, look...I've got a canvas all ready to test this stuff on." She tweaked Dar's bare belly. "To be honest, I was looking for some stuff we could take on the boat and the pointing and clicking just got a little...ah..."
"Off course?" Dar grinned. "You and a mouse. Dangerous."
"Trackball. I hate mice." Kerry corrected her. "Dirty balls--not my style." She leaned over and nibbled a bit of Dar's skin. "So what do you say, Dixiecup? Wanna see if I have even one artistic bone in my body tonight?"
Dar set the jar down and picked Kerry up instead, curling her body around her partner's and delivering a passionately serious kiss that coaxed a soft groan from Kerry's guts and set the blond woman's hands wandering over Dar's skin. "Yeah," she breathed into Kerry's ear. "Paint anything you like on me. I won't even check the spelling."
"Spelling?" Kerry snickered, easing her body flat against Dar's. "Baby, I'm not gonna be writing anything. You're going to see how us repressed WASPS do finger-painting."
They tumbled together across the bed, laughing as they got tangled in the sheets and ended up almost falling off. Dar clasped her arms around Kerry and held her tight, releasing a deeply satisfied sigh. "To hell with all of them," she said. "Let's go have fun."
"Grrowl."
"I'M IN HEAVEN." Kerry put her bare feet up on the railing next to Dar's as they sat and watched the fireworks. Absently, she reached over and took Dar's hand in hers, as she let her other one rest on a very satisfactorily stuffed belly. "Thank god we don't do this all the time. I can only imagine the amount of gym sweat I'd have to put in to keep up with it."
Dar flexed her toes and leaned closer, pressing her shoulder against Kerry's as a new set of colorful lights exploded in the distance. "Mm." She agreed with both sentiments, though it was hard to focus on the question through the beer they'd shared over dinner and the lassitude the warm air was pressing on her. "That was pretty."
"Uh huh." Kerry rested her head against Dar's upper arm. "Paladar Katherine?"
"Mmm..." Dar peered at her. "What have I done?"
"Nothing. I just like your name." Kerry exhaled contentedly. "So...what's our strategy for tomorrow? There are two big panels in the afternoon...one's on the direction of wireless, the others on outsourcing. I think we should be on both of them, don't you?"
"Oh," Dar mused. "Like I didn't make enough trouble today, you want me to try again tomorrow? Alastair's probably already shredded his desk blotter." She lifted the mug of coffee resting by her left elbow and took a sip from it. "I'm surprised he hasn't called."
"Maybe he hasn't heard," Kerry suggested. "It wasn't that big a deal, Dar. Once you started talking them through it, everyone really relaxed."
"Umph." Dar watched several rockets go up, bursting into red and blue patterns overhead. "Yeah, all right. Sign me up. It's more interesting than wandering around in the hall bullshitting." She squeezed Kerry's fingers. "Besides, I get the feeling one of the pitches Telegenics made is that they're a lot more cutting edge than stodgy old ILS."
"Really?"
A perceptible twinkle appeared in Dar's eyes. "I got an email today from an old acquaintance at one of the accounts that switched. She was passing the time of day," she said. "And, I got a little insider info."
"Ahhh." Kerry rumbled softly. "Do I sense some early reservations?"
"Hedging her bets." A grin appeared. "Shirley Applebaum...she's got a lot of sense, and even though we bumped heads when they first signed with us, she's all right."
"Bumped heads...like you and I did?"
Dar laughed. "Kerrison, no one in my life ever bumped heads with me like you did," she assured her partner. "No, I'd only recently become a regional manager when they came onboard...they were my first account."