"To hell with the food," Dar said, getting up and shoving the plate back. She held a hand out to Kerry invitingly. "Let's go to bed."
Kerry abandoned her noodle soup and stood up, taking Dar's hand and following her to the bedroom without any further thought. The room's soothing blue tones made her feel better almost at once, and she stood facing Dar as they set about undressing each other with the beginnings of a smile on her face.
Dar saw it. She unbuckled Kerry's belt with one hand, and laid the palm of the other one on Kerry's cheek, rubbing her cheekbone with the edge of her thumb. Kerry's eyelashes flickered, then she tilted her head up and returned Dar's gaze with one of her own.
It was amazing, that look. Dar wondered if Kerry really knew how much of her feelings showed in it. "Sorry I'm being a cranky curmudgeon," she apologized. "I'm expecting that time of the month tomorrow."
The gentle upturn of Kerry's lips became a genuine smile. "Thought you said you never had PMS."
"You said I never have PMS," Dar corrected. "I said I do, but no one ever notices the difference."
Kerry finished unbuttoning Dar's jeans, sliding them over her hips and letting them fall to the floor. She took a step forward out of the shirt Dar had finished unfastening and put her arms around Dar's waist. "You can be cranky, honey," she muttered. "If you don't mind me being completely wasted and way oversensitive to it."
Dar tossed Kerry's shorts into the corner and turned, easing them both down into the waterbed. She rolled over with Kerry still in her arms so they ended up in the middle, the warm surface enclosing them comfortably as she tugged the blanket up over them.
"Mm." Kerry had her eyes closed. "This feels great."
"Yeah, it does. Damn, I'm glad tomorrow's Saturday."
"Me, too."
They lay there together for a while, this time comfortable in the quiet surrounding them. Kerry began to surrender to the lethargy rolling over her, leaving her with barely enough energy to rhythmically trace the centerline of Dar's belly in time with the slow breathing under her touch.
A soft clank caused her to crack one eye open again. "Dar?"
"Mmhmn?"
"Did you hear that?"
"All I can hear is sheep."
Kerry's other eye opened. "Sheep?"
"Counting themselves to save me the trouble."
Another soft clank sounded clearly from the living room, accompanied by a clatter. "Dar."
Her partner selected the edge of the covers and neatly pulled them over Kerry's ears, patting the tops of them solicitously. "Better?"
Kerry grasped the covers and pulled them down. "No, because it doesn't keep me from wondering what the heck is going on in our living room."
Dar pulled the covers back up. "Kerrison, use logic, wouldja?"
Kerry frowned.
"We left food on the table, and a Labrador in the living room. What do you think is happening?" Dar said. "It's a puppy buffet."
"Ew." Kerry' s nose wrinkled. "Dar, she'll get sick." With a groan, she rolled away from the center of the bed and started to climb out, only to be captured and pulled back into a tangle of arms and legs. "Dar!"
"Shh." Dar wrapped her up in the covers and snuggled back down. "Relax. She'll be fine. It's just soup."
Kerry heard distinct sounds of slurping. "She's going to make a mess."
"She's got a tongue, she'll clean it up."
A laugh started to work its way through Kerry's chest. "Honey...c'mon." She tried to untangle herself. "That's fine for my soup, but yours had clams in it. She'll be chewing them for days."
Dar refused to let go. "Chino! What are you doing, you bad girl!" She turned her head and lifted her voice, projecting it into the next room. "Stop that!"
She was rewarded by the clatter of toenails, and shortly thereafter a Labrador jaw was resting on the edge of the waterbed, innocent brown eyes gazing at her adoringly. "Chino. What were you doing?"
Their dog's ears cocked, and she tilted her head to one side in question.
"Very nice." Kerry sprawled over Dar's body and removed a noodle from their pet's black nose. "But you are so busted."
"Gruff." Chino licked her fingers happily, sneezing after a moment and ejecting a piece of clam onto the blankets under Dar's nose.
Dar observed the particle briefly, and then sighed. "Guess we better lock up the chow, huh?"
Kerry started to climb over her. "Stay, I'll go."
"Nu uh." Dar rolled out of bed, taking Kerry with her as she rolled a little too far and lost her balance, ending with them both on the floor. "Gah!"
"Oh, Jesus." Helplessly giggling, Kerry could only lay there, stark naked, as Chino licked her face with enthusiasm. "Chino, stop." She saw Dar grab hold of the waterbed frame and pull herself upright. "Bah...bah, honey, stop!"
Dar sat down on the carpet and took hold of the dog's tail, hauling her backwards. "Chino! Stop that!"
"Groowf!" The Labrador turned her attention to her taller owner.
"Your mommy only likes my tongue licking her," Dar instructed the dog solemnly, shaking one long finger at her. "So you keep that big pink thing inside the teeth, hear me? Or else."
Kerry snorted and rolled over, hiding her face in the curve of her arm.
Dar raked her fingers through her hair, surveying the jumble of bare limbs spread out before her. "This is turning into the kind of story other people tell about you when you're drunk," she mourned. "And I haven't even had a sip of anything."
"Hehehehe."
"Laugh it up, Yankee."
Kerry pushed herself up from the floor and got to her feet, brushing bits of carpet lint off her bare skin. "C'mon." She offered Dar a hand up. "At this rate, it'll take both of us an hour to get the soup in the refrigerator and then maybe...maybe...we can get some sleep."
"Or at least go to bed." Dar released the dog and grabbed Kerry's hand. "Lead on, McGruff."
"Maybe I should get you a beer."
"How about a milkshake?"
"Settle for some chocolate syrup?"
"Hmm."
KERRY LEANED ON the kitchen counter, watching the palm tree fronds outside wilt in the stifling heat as she waited for the water in a nearby pot to boil. The air conditioning puffed gently against her still slightly sore shoulder blades through a layer of soft cotton, and she moved a little to one side to avoid the pressure. She had little ambition otherwise to do much else.
It was nearly noon. They'd just woken up a half hour earlier and, having gotten through coffee and a handful of Advil for Dar's obligingly timely cramps, they had settled in to enjoy a peaceful, lazy Saturday. It felt good to be hanging out here in their own space without work or trade shows to intrude on it.
Kerry turned and surveyed the kitchen, taking in the touches she'd added over time to soften its spartan functionality. A set of imported cooking pots hanging over the stove here, a well oiled, interlaced wood chopping block there...she took pride in her ability to produce edible meals for them, and enjoyed having plenty of tools to do it with.
Also, the stainless steel refrigerator doors were now dotted with colorful magnets, brought back by both of them from various airports they'd either passed through or been stuck in, and the tiled backsplash displayed plates likewise acquired from all over. Kerry especially liked the one nearest the stove, a tacky hunting scene that featured a near perfect replica of their often naughty but much beloved pet, Chino. She ran a finger over it with a smile, then turned to dump a package of pasta into the now boiling water.
"Hey, Ker?" Dar's voice drifted in from the living room.
"In the kitchen," Kerry responded.
"Did I leave that damn folder in there?"
Kerry pushed away from the counter and turned in a circle, studying the available surfaces. "No," she called back. "Thought you stuck it in your briefcase." She wandered out of the kitchen and headed for the corner where they'd both thrown their laptop cases the previous night. "I'll get it."