"A beach party?" Kerry circled one denim-covered knee with both arms and rested her chin on it. "I don't know, Col..." She glanced over at Dar, who was sprawled on the couch in Kerry's apartment, flipping through a Linux magazine. "We're sort of busy..."
Dar looked up. "What kind of beach party?" she asked. "Laying on the sand getting fried, or something that involves volleyball and barbeques?"
Colleen hesitated, a little doubtful of her friend's newest friend. "Ah...more to the second, I'm thinking."
Dar looked at Kerry, raising her eyebrows inquisitively. "You up for it? I can do the beach."
Kerry was silent for a minute, then she nodded. "Sure," she agreed. "Um...we'll bring the drinks?"
"Great." Colleen patted the couch arm, then she got up and scooted out the door. "See you at Crandon, in two hours."
The door closed. Kerry frowned slightly, then released her knee and straightened. "Okay, well...I think I have extra towels here."
Dar got up and walked over to her, settling next to her on the loveseat. "You didn't sound really stoked about the party."
"Um...no, it's fine. I like the beach," Kerry said. "Really." But there was a furrow in her brow that even Dar could clearly discern. "And the guys here at the complex are really nice." She got up. "We've had...um...a few of these sort of parties." The window seemed to fascinate her, and she walked over to stare out of it, her back toward Dar.
"Uh huh." Dar studied her new partner. "Seems like a nice crowd. A little on the young, yuppie, gym-addicted side, but all right." She watched Kerry's eyes shift briefly across the room to the mirror and her own reflection then back. A thought occurred to her. "You embarrassed to show off your new girlfriend?"
Kerry turned all the way around and looked at her, eyes widening perceptibly. "What?"
Dar shrugged.
"N...no!"
"So?"
"So...what?" Kerry answered hesitantly.
Dar felt an uncomfortable sense of awkwardness. "I got the feeling..." She saw Kerry's hands tense. "That maybe you didn't want to go there."
"Oh." The blond woman walked back over and crouched next to Dar, resting a hand on her knee. "Well, no.. it's just that I've never been much of a...um..." She exhaled. "You're right. Most of the folks that live here are really buff and into looks and I..."
"Don't want to upstage them?" Dar inquired mildly. "Doesn't surprise me. You're a lot nicer than I am."
Kerry lifted her eyes and stared at Dar, caught speechless for several very long moments. "What?"
"What what?" Dar responded.
"What do you mean upstage?" Kerry added a short, hesitant laugh. "Maybe you upstage people. I don't." Her eyes dropped to the carpet and stayed there. "Maybe I don't want to embarrass you."
It was like a door opening up into a place she'd never seen before. Dar had to wonder just what Kerry saw when she looked at herself in the mirror.
Well. Dar certainly knew what she saw when she looked at Kerry, and so rather than waste time on words, she slid off the couch and knelt beside Kerry, gently capturing her face in both hands and lifting it so their eyes made contact. "Kerry?"
Those big, green eyes were so trusting. "Yes?"
"Don't be a jackass," Dar said, smiling in reflex at the expression on her lover's face. "You're everything I want in a woman. You care about anyone else's opinion?" The skin under her fingertips warmed as a blush colored Kerry's face, making her pale eyebrows stand out vividly. "Hm?"
Kerry remained frozen in place for the next several heartbeats. Then she hesitantly lifted her hands and let them rest on Dar's waist, leaning forward a little as a look of shy, wondering delight grew in her eyes. "Nu uh."
Dar drew her closer and kissed her. "So let's go to the beach," she whispered in one still pink ear. "And scandalize your neighbors."
Kerry didn't answer. She put her arms around Dar and squeezed her as hard as she could, robbing Dar of breath, but delivering a message as loudly as yelling would have.
Boy. Dar enjoyed a moment of utter giddiness. Being in love sure was a lot more fun this time around.
Yeah, it sure was. Dar rested her chin on her fist. Being in love with Kerry had brought her more joy than she'd ever considered possible, and that, she acknowledged silently, was what was messing her up so badly right now.
What if it all vanished?
Dar knew there were no guarantees in life. She also knew that sometimes, bad things happened, like what had happened to her mother when they were told her father had been lost on a mission. But losing Daddy in that way had been totally different than if he'd just walked out of their lives.
She didn't expect that of Kerry. Her partner had proven to her more times than she could count her dedication to their relationship. But knowing that didn't stop her from being scared anyway, and Dar wasn't really sure what to do about how she felt.
Well. She studied the screen, waiting for any news from home. It would probably pass, if she just chilled out for a while. She'd gotten past it at the very start of their relationship, after all. Her eyes followed the scrolling marquee, and she winced as it reported the power outage still continuing. "Crap."
With a grunt, she rolled over and retrieved her PDA from the nightstand, flipping it open and scanning the screen. Not unexpectedly, there were several notes waiting. She clicked on the first one.
Whine.
Dar, I haven't slept in my car since the night of my high school prom, and it was a heck of a lot cooler in Michigan than it is here. Can I come to New York?
K
Aw. Dar grimaced in sympathy, seeing the after midnight timestamp. She clicked on the second.
I want my Dar.
Is it selfish to want you to be here with me down by South Pointe at 2 a.m.? I am waiting to see if I can catch a ride over home. The HK staff says Chino is okay, but not a happy puppy.
K
Silently, Dar clicked on the third, posted shortly after the 2nd.
Oo. Have I told you lately how much I love your parents? They just rescued me. Sleep tight, sweetheart. I'll catch you in the morning.
K
Dar released a sigh of relief. Not that there was anything she could really do for Kerry, but knowing she was safe and sound in the hands of the two people she trusted more than any other in the world made her feel one hell of a lot better. She tapped the message and set up a reply, then scribed briefly on the screen.
Ker --
Tell mom and dad I say hi, and thanks for taking care of you. Board meeting went fine last night--hope your ears were burning because you were the chief topic of it.
Let me know what's going on with Quest. If the power's still out in the morning, you might want to extend him a gracious invitation to use our conference facilities.
I'm going to go work out. Damn noise around here woke me up. Hope you slept okay--talk to you in the morning.
D