Ooo, dilemma. Kerry glanced up at her companion, who was watching the proceedings with a mildly interested look. “Um.” She didn’t have to pretend the embarrassment. “Can I ask you a favor?”
Blue eyes turned violet in the neon dropped to her face. “Sure.”
Kerry nodded toward the cars. “Would you mind a whole lot if we went double? I love roller coasters, but they spook me a little.” Was that a grin that flicked on and off Dar’s face? It was far too dark to tell, really.
“Sure, no problem,” Dar answered in a normal voice. “You should go to Busch Gardens—now those are roller coasters.”
“Ah.” Kerry moved forward to where they were loading the next set of cars. “Been to one out of state and went on the one where you are clamped on from overhead. Did you know that when you vomit on one of those you can actually hit your own foot when you’re upside down?”
Dar worked out the physics of that. “Wow. No, I didn’t,” she admitted as they were ushered into their car. She settled back against the backrest as Kerry seated herself somewhat gingerly between Dar’s legs. “Did you do that?” she asked, more to distract them both than anything.
“No. My sister did.” Kerry took an irregular breath as the car moved to make room for the next set to be loaded. She slid back a little and felt Dar’s knees press around her, a warm grip that swiftly penetrated the fabric of her jeans. It felt nice. She tipped back her head and watched as the car started to move, and they inched forward onto a track, then turned a corner into the darkness and started up. “Uh…” Kerry realized she wasn’t going to be able to remain upright without some serious holding on.
“Relax, lean back,” Dar’s voice reassured her, patting her shoulder. “I can take it.”
The incline increased, and Kerry had little choice. She loosened her hold Tropical Storm 175
on the sides of the car and settled back against the taller woman’s chest, feeling Dar take a secure hold around her waist.
“Okay, I got you,” the executive told her cheerfully.
Yeah. Kerry absorbed the sensation. You sure do. She felt her heartbeat pick up, a subtle thunder in her ears as she fought a feeling of mild panic, unsure of where it was coming from. “Wow. Guess I’m a little nervous,” she murmured.
“Relax.” Dar’s voice was inches from her ear. “It’ll be over in a few minutes. I’m not that bad, am I?”
Bad? Kerry fought to slow her breathing down as the angle got a little steeper and she felt Dar take a snugger hold of her. Like it was a completely normal thing to do. Kerry felt a little ashamed of herself and she forced her body to relax, pushing aside the nervous feeling until she could set aside the circumstances and look around her again . It’s okay, her conscience reassured her . It’s no big deal, nothing unusual, it’s…nice. Like we were old friends. She smiled and relaxed a little more, watching the fake stars overhead as they inched to the top of the incline. She could feel Dar breathing, a slow, steady motion, and stopped resisting both the tug of gravity and Dar’s grasp, letting her head drop back against the dark-haired woman’s collarbone, a line crossed so easily and almost without her notice.
She closed her eyes and was startled when a flash of her dream from the storm morning came to her. It had felt…yes, a little like this. Just a little.
They reached the top of the incline, and the car shot forward, starting the ride. It was dark and twisty, and there wasn’t really much to see so she just kept her eyes closed and let gravity war with Dar’s powerful grip.
Unsurprisingly, Dar won. She kept hold of Kerry as the car rushed in a tight circle and over a last series of hills, the bottom dropping out a few times until they rattled into the end of the ride, and the dark dissolved into a blast of blue light, and it was over.
It felt a bit too soon, in fact. Kerry exhaled as they shuttled into an ending platform, and Dar released her. “Wow, that was fun.” She got up and hopped out of the car, the taller woman following along behind. “It was so dark, though. Are they all like that?”
Dar shook her head. “Thunder Mountain isn’t. I’ve never been on the other one, but I don’t think it is. That’s more water than anything.” They exited out into a starlit night, where the faint strains of the parade music were still floating in the air.
Kerry smiled at her. “Thanks for keeping me safe.”
“No problem,” Dar replied with a brief grin. “I’d hate to tell you what I’d have to go through in Personnel if I lost you on a business trip. Mariana would have my head if I let you lose yours.”
They both chuckled, then Dar motioned to the right. “This way. We can sneak around back through Frontierland to get to Big Thunder.”
“Oh, is that where that Country Bear Jamboree is?” Kerry suddenly asked. “I’ve seen that on TV so many times.”
Dar gave her an indulgent look. “Okay, I get the hint. C’mon.” She gave her a sideways glance. “I’m surprised you didn’t want to see the Haunted Mansion.”
176 Melissa Good
“Ooo.” Kerry made a face. “I forgot about that. Is it around here?”
Dar just laughed as she changed direction again. “C’mon.”
THEY WERE ON about the last monorail out and happy to settle in a regular seat as the sleek train pulled out of the park and headed back toward the hotel. Dar leaned against the window and peered out, half shaking her head about how she’d spent the night.
Good grief. It better not get back to anyone, or I’ll never hear the end of it. She watched the lights of the boats below go by and exhaled, watching her breath condense on the glass. Wasn’t so bad though...and it wasn’t like we really had anything else planned for the evening. I’d already gone over most of the reports before we left Miami, and the other option was just finding some entertainment in the hotel.
This, s he decided, was just as good, and all the walking certainly was healthy.
Somehow they’d managed to hit all the major areas in under two hours and had walked down Main Street as the park was closing, watching Mickey Mouse balloons float aimlessly up from the hands of sleeping children.
She glanced to her left, hiding a grin at the bags tucked under her companion’s arms. From one peeked a stuffed buffalo, its crossed eyes and tiny pink tongue comically protruding. From the other emerged a happy-looking Pluto nestling comfortably against Kerry’s shoulder, his floppy ears showing black against her blonde hair. Dar found herself unexpectedly charmed by the sight. “It’s a dog’s life, huh?” she addressed the stuffed animal. “Aren’t you a lucky puppy.”
“What?” Kerry turned and looked at her. “Did you say something?”
“Nope.” Dar sat back and folded her hands together. “Nothing at all.”
Kerry had, to her bemusement, fallen in love with Buff, the animated, wall-mounted buffalo in the Country Bear Jamboree, and wouldn’t be satisfied until she’d scoured the Frontierland Trading Post and found one to take home with her. She’d tried to convince Dar to get a coonskin cap, but the executive had taken one look at the fuzzy tail hanging over her ear and plopped it up onto the top of a rack, out of Kerry’s reach.
She’d stuck with just her candy, though a filigreed, hand-blown glass dolphin on a cresting wave in the glassmaker’s shop had tempted her. She’d finally decided the figurine would probably only get broken and so she decided not to buy it. She’d momentarily lost Kerry, only to have her turn up a few minutes later with Pluto, and a satisfied look on her face. The Emporium, shop of last resort for frantic souvenir hunters, was always the last place to close, and they wandered through there on their way out. Dar succumbed to the overwhelming marketing pressure by purchasing a crisp black polo shirt with a silver Mickey embroidered on the breast.