Next Time (16 page)

“Most definitely.” Payton pushed her seat back as far as it would go and reclined it. She rolled onto her side and faced Ryann. She smiled when Ryann spread the blanket over them both. “You said I felt like coming home.”

Ryann nodded and tucked her side of the blanket beneath her chin. “I felt…it was such a relief to see you again. I had a lot of conflicting emotions that day because I was there with Leigh. At first, I decided to keep my distance from you, but I couldn’t. I just had to learn more about you.”

Payton closed the distance between them and kissed Ryann again, this time gently. Ryann was smiling when she pulled away and settled back down.

“Sing me to sleep, Payton.”

Payton cleared her throat and sang softly, “Helga the hippo has a bag of apples, she—”

“Another one.”

Payton chuckled. After a minute or two, she began Melissa Etheridge’s
Sleep While I Drive
and barely made it through the first verse before her eyes slipped close.

Chapter 21

Olivia had forgotten to make notes and sat with her chin in her hand, her eyes glazed over. She blinked when Ryann snapped her fingers in front of her face and said, “Have we put you to sleep?”

“No…No! I was engrossed. It was really kinda convenient, wasn’t it? You met at the right time. Leigh made things simpler by being the bad girl freeing you up to be together. Don’t you have to look at it like fate intervened?”

“Yes,” Payton said with a nod.

Ryann shook her head to the contrary. “The right motivation came along.”

“That is so unromantic,” Payton retorted.

“I find it very romantic.
You
made me happy. I wanted to be with you. Leigh just made what I needed to do easy. We should really send her a thank-you card, but I’m sure that would piss her off.”

“You two are at completely different ends of the spectrum,” Olivia said as she jotted a note. “So in this case, opposites attracted.”

Payton laughed. “We are exactly alike. She’s just being a shit right now.”

Ryann stared at the ceiling and sighed. “All right, she is my other half. At times, I am very…into the destiny thing. I really do think that I’d been waiting for her all along. It pains me to admit that because I feel like I used Leigh as much as she did me. Sometimes, I think that Leigh and I needed each other to work through whatever transition in life we were going through. We weren’t meant to be together forever.”

“That’s a very interesting observation,” Olivia said as she made another note.

“I think we need pizza,” Payton said as she got up. Ryann smiled as her gaze followed her.

“Am I overstaying my welcome? We can pick this up when it’s more convenient for you both.”

Ryann shrugged. “I’m fine. It’s a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.”

“I’d really like to hear the rest of the story if you two don’t mind,” Olivia said and picked up the recorder. “I just need to download this to my laptop, I’m running out of space.”

“You do that, and I’ll order pizza,” Payton said as she waved a menu. “Ryann will open a bottle of wine.”

*******

******

***

A car door slammed and jolted Ryann awake, but Payton didn’t stir. She lay on her back, arms folded with one foot on the dashboard. Ryann longed to trace her dark brows with the tips of her fingers, touch her parted lips with her own.

Instead, she lay perfectly still contemplating her urges. Yes, she wanted to explore Payton’s body, but the need was more than just sexual. She wanted to know Payton’s every intimate secret. Everything else would fall into place, she was certain of it. There was no need to question it. It was though some instinct deep within her had taken control. An internal GPS had zeroed in on a target, and there was no deviation in the course. Ryann wasn’t content with the ride; she just wanted to be at her final destination.

Slowly, she moved the blanket and sat up, shielding her eyes against the morning sun. Between two dunes, Ryann caught sight of the water and smiled. She could hear the waves crashing on the shore despite the windows being closed. Gulls flew overhead. She didn’t care what time she got back home that day. It was a fantastic feeling marred only by a full bladder and no sight of a bathroom.

“Is ‘Oh, God, what did we do?’ running through your head?”

Ryann grinned and gazed at Payton. “No, I’m still thrilled, but the energy drink and all the water I drank last night and early morning wants out. Now.”

Payton laughed and threw the blanket into the backseat. “Bathroom, food, toothbrushes, those are our priorities. After that, we’ll just do whatever we want.”

*******

Ryann sipped her coffee and smiled when their server collected their dishes. “We were kind of hungry.”

“Well, if you leave here the same way, we’re doing something wrong,” the woman said with a wink and set the check on the table.

Ryann snagged it before Payton could. “This is on the casino.”

“Thank you. What would you like to do next?”

“Take me wherever you want,” Ryann said softly with a smile.

Payton’s eyes widened for a second, and she blew out a breath. “I caught the innuendo, and I’m gonna unleash your inner tiger. We’re going to the zoo.”

“The…zoo.”

“It’s very provocative. You can touch some of the animals.”

Ryann smacked her lips. “All right, I require sunglasses, maybe a T-shirt, because it’s warming up outside.”

“Let’s go shopping.”

Ryann left the money for the check on the table along with a tip and followed Payton outside. “You’ve got a cute butt, Payton Foret. What kind of underwear do you wear?”

“You’ll find out.” Payton met Ryann’s gaze unabashedly as she opened her door. “Eventually.”

“I must warn you, stymieing my attempts at seduction only makes me want you more.”

“Get in the car, Randy.”

“I get the joke,” Ryann said as she climbed in. “But when we’re between the sheets, get the name right.”

“You’re gonna make me say it?”

“I’m going to make you scream it. Close my door now, and take me to a beach apparel shop.”

Payton closed the door with a laugh but found it hard to get her legs to move as delicious images floated through her mind. Ryann knocked on the glass and yelled, “Ha!”

*******

“How do I look?”

Payton stared at the mirrored aviator-style glasses and shook her head. “Not right.”

“Thank you for your honesty,” Ryann said and replaced them with another pair. “How about now?”

“Too big, you look like a bug.”

Ryann selected a pair with yellow plastic frames and pointed at her face.

“Totally clashes with the whole seductress thing you have going on.”

Ryann replaced those with a tortoiseshell pair that looked like Wayfarers.

“Yes,” Payton said with a growl. “Definitely. Now you need a vintage style T-shirt to complete the look. Follow me.” She led her to a rack and held up a distressed-looking Captain America shirt. “You feeling it?”

Ryann chewed her bottom lip and shook her head. “I’m feeling more Batman. Wait—lemur in a business suit. Do they have it in medium?”

“You go from bat to lemur that fast?”

Ryann held up the shirt with a smile. “It speaks to me.”

Payton settled on the blue Captain America shirt, and they headed for the register. Ryann nudged her out of the way and pulled her winnings from her pocket. They stood so closely together, the warmth from Payton’s body swept over Ryann and stoked the desire she already felt. Her pulse spiked as she ran her fingers over Payton’s lower back. Ryann was amazed that just touching a sweater could turn her on that much.

As soon as they got into the car, Ryann started unbuttoning her shirt. Payton did a double take as she put the key into the ignition. “What’re you doing?”

“Changing. Your windows have dark tint.”

“I’m sure there’s a bathroom at the—wow,” Payton said and turned to her window.

“Stop being so shy, it’s just a bra. I’ve seen your breasts.”

Payton’s head whipped around. “When?”

“In the hot tub that night at Shelly’s. Now that was a
wow
moment.” Ryann tore the tag off Payton’s shirt and handed it to her. “There’s no reason for you to be self-conscious now.”

Payton pulled off her sweater, then her T-shirt. “I’m not shy.”

“I’m not a dream. Anything with corn in it gives me gas. I will become irrationally angry when the cord of my hairdryer catches on a cabinet pull. I can’t tell you how many dryers I’ve murdered. Sometimes, I leave dishes in the sink overnight. I just stopped chewing my thumbnail a year ago. I’ve wiped my nose on the inside of my shirt after a sneeze because I was too lazy to get up and get a tissue. I’m so very human.”

“Stay with me tonight.”

Ryann grinned. “The whole snot shirt thing got to you, didn’t it?”

“No, it was the corn comment.”

Ryann threw back her head and laughed. “Please put your shirt on. I don’t want to see a video of me on the Web attacking you in the parking lot of a shell shop.”

*******

Ryann juggled two cups of animal food when her phone rang. Payton pulled it out of her back pocket and took the containers. “It’s Shelly, I should answer this,” Ryann said as she pressed the speaker button. “Hey, sis.”

“Hey, I cooked a roast, come over.”

“I’m at the zoo with Payton.”

“You hate the zoo.”

“You hate the zoo?” Payton echoed with a mortified expression.

“Oh, shit, she can hear me?” Shelly whispered, then cleared her throat. “Hey, Payton, you’re invited, too.”

“Hi, Shelly.”

“Let me explain the zoo thing. The last time we went, a monkey was…well, he was getting acquainted with some of his own parts. As you know, Ryann’s allergic to penis of any kind, so she—”

“We’re in Gulf Shores, so we’re not going to make it,” Ryann said with a sheepish smile for Payton. “Thank you for the invitation, though.”

“Wait…Alabama? Y’all drove all the way to Alabama to go to the zoo? Do the animals shit gold or something?” Shelly asked.

Ryann took the call off speaker. “It was a spur-of-the-moment thing.”

Shelly chuckled. “I wanna hear all about it when you’re alone. Be careful and have fun. Love you.”

“Love you, too, bye.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you don’t like the zoo?” Payton asked when Ryann stuffed her phone back into her pocket.

“I don’t care where we go because I’ll store this trip under ‘most treasured memories.’ I’m having a wonderful time,” Ryann said sincerely.

“So you were emotionally scarred by a masturbating monkey.”

Ryann clamped her lips together and nodded. “He looked like he was trying to build a fire with it. I’ve never seen anything move that fast.”

Payton snorted. “Let’s go to the beach instead.”

“Not yet, but if you don’t mind, I’d like to avoid the monkeys.”

“Okay, but we can leave anytime you want to.” Payton handed Ryann one of the containers of feed and started to hum.

“Is that the
Crying Game
? Are you humming that song?”

Payton laughed and took off. Ryann started after her and stopped when a woman nearby yelped. She was trying to feed a duck behind a picket fence. A pelican squawked at her and snatched the cup out of her hand with its beak. Ryann watched the spectacle in horror, then ran to catch up with Payton.

*******

“Look how gentle they are,” Payton said as a deer ate out of her palm. “Do you want to try?”

Ryann licked her lips nervously. “Yes. What do I do?”

Payton took Ryann’s hand and placed a couple of pieces of food in her palm. “Just stick it—well, throwing works, too.”

“Sorry, I flaked out for a second.” Ryann inhaled deeply and took a couple more pieces. Slowly, she held her hand out to the deer.

Payton watched Ryann’s face as the animal ate from her hand. Fear dissolved into delight and eventually disgust. “They slobber a little bit.”

“Yeah.” Ryann swallowed hard. “It’s okay, though,” she said with a smile. “The experience was really cool.”

“There’s a hand sanitizer station if you wanna…” Payton watched as Ryann raced over to it and washed her hands and arms up to the elbows.

Payton then led Ryann away from the monkey area to a section in the middle of the small zoo where a donkey, goats, and llamas stood at the fence clamoring for the food they knew was in the plastic cups. One goat was particularly aggressive. He shoved his head through the fence as Payton drew close.

Ryann kept her distance. “Okay, he’s kind of off the hook, so I’m just gonna stay back here.”

Payton gave the goat some of the food, but as she tried to feed the other animals, the goat pushed them away. She looked over her shoulder and smiled just as Ryann pulled her phone out and started snapping pictures. Payton distracted the goat with the cup while feeding the others, and Ryann held the shutter button capturing every moment. The photos were priceless because the goat managed to get a hold on the cup and bit it in half. Shot after shot captured the shock on Payton’s face.

“You know, I think it would be safer to go look at the giant alligator.” Payton tossed her deformed cup into the trash.

“Yeah, I’m not feeding that.”

Payton smiled sympathetically. “Are you having any fun at all?”

“I’m having a blast. I’m serious.”

Ryann showed Payton the pictures she’d taken. At some point, she’d turned the camera on herself. Ryann had managed to capture half of her face in the shot while she laughed hysterically and Payton was in the background shaking the gnawed cup at the goat.

“Let’s get out of here,” Payton said with a laugh and took Ryann’s arm.

As they drew close to the exit, Ryann shook her half-empty container of food. “Some animal should get this. I think you should feed the ducks. They’re so common, everyone seems to ignore them.” She handed the food to Payton and took out her phone. “I’ll take your picture.”