The Road to Glory (20 page)

"Okay," Leigh agreed immediately. She spent a few moments perusing the racks, intentionally staying on the opposite side of the store from her lover. She began to gnaw on a fingernail as she scanned the garments.

She felt decidedly girly as she rolled the fabric of a silky pair of panties in her hand. It was nice to feel feminine. She spent most of her time in a man’s world or completely alone. And while she clearly had a preference for strong women, she couldn’t stand being dominated.
RJ is the perfect combination of feminine/masculine,
she mused.
Strong and self-assured, but still caring and funny. She doesn’t dictate my every move. She just lets me be myself. Even her body is just right. Long and muscular, but still soft and inviting.

Leigh quickly began fanning her flushed cheeks, turning her back to the part of the store she knew RJ was looking in. "Oh, boy," she laughed at the state she’d worked herself into. "Okay, time to focus." Pale brows creased.
What would she like that she might not pick out herself?
RJ was by no means shy, then again, some of the lingerie, especially the stuff in the very back of the store, was a little on the racy side. Tasteful. Hot as hell. But undeniably racy.

Something in the palest of greens caught her eye. She picked it up and held it in front of her body. Taking a chance, she nodded and folded it under her arm.

RJ tucked her thumbs in her pockets and wandered around the store. She tried to keep an eye on Leigh, but her attention couldn’t help but drift to the clothing all around. She pictured the blonde in almost everything she laid eyes on.
If I keep this up we won’t make it back to the hotel. I can’t take the stress of being with her. Why does she have to be so damn sexy and so willing to play with me? Wish I’d met her when we could have had a lifetime together.

The thought shocked her, and she reached up to wipe away the moisture that had collected in the bottom of her eyes. She sucked in a deep breath and picked up a particularly attractive black number that came with a pair of sheer black hose and garters to match. "Oh, yeah. Always had a thing for those."

A low voice burred directly into RJ’s ear, "No man could resist them. Those are very nice."

The pilot swallowed hard and nodded. "Yes. Yes they are." RJ turned around to see a distinguished-looking woman in her mid-fifties. She wore enormous glasses with red frames, and her nose resembled a beak, accentuating her already owlish features.

"What size are you?" the decidedly cheerful woman inquired.

RJ finally tore her eyes from the outfit and took in the clerk who was offering her assistance. "Oh, no. It’s … umm … not for me."

"Oh." The clerk stiffened, her attitude immediately cooling as she followed RJ’s line of sight to Leigh, who was talking to another clerk at the register. She stroked her perfectly pressed sleeve. "For a friend’s bachelorette party or wedding shower?"

RJ stood up to her full height and stared at the clerk, lifting a single, defiant brow. "No. For a friend. But not for a party. At least not one that’s going to have more than two participants."

"I see." The clerk’s nose wrinkled ever so slightly. "You don’t look as though you need any help. I’ll leave you to your shopping." She turned to leave when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"No, actually," RJ made the clerk turn around to face her, "I think I’d really like you to help my friend. She’s right over there." RJ pointed to the blonde. "Isn’t she beautiful?"

The clerk’s eyes widened. "She … I mean … of course –"

So much for people being more accepting in these times. Dear Lord, what have people been doing for the last sixty years!
"And don’t you think she deserves the most beautiful piece outfit that you have in your stock?"

"Well, I mean," the woman began to sputter. "She’s quite attractive. And I’m sure –"

"Oh, but nothing." She took the woman by the arm and moved her across the store toward the blonde at a nearly frightening speed. "Leigh, sweetheart, this lady was just saying how much she’d love to help you find something for us to enjoy this week while we’re together." RJ hoped her grin would convey to her friend what was going on. If not, she were pretty sure the trucker would figure it out as soon as the clerk opened her mouth. She had to admit Leigh was damn quick on the uptake.

One look at the prudish clerk and Leigh sighed.
Has Miss Straight and Narrow been giving you a hard time, RJ? Now that’s just not nice.
"Thank you, honey." She marched right up to RJ and placed a light, but decidedly not chaste kiss on her lips. "You’re so thoughtful."

"Oh, that’s me all right — thoughtful. I’m looking forward to being all kinds of ‘thoughtful’ with you later. So pick something very nice." RJ winked and took a step backwards, perfectly happy to watch the master go to work.

The saleswoman looked like she was ready to bolt and was already wearing a light coat of perspiration.

"You know ..." Leigh tapped her chin. "This is what I think I’d like you to do." She paused. "It is your job to help two love birds like us find satisfaction with our lingerie choices," Leigh smiled sweetly, "isn’t it?"

"I ... I ..."

"Of course it is." Leigh moved right up alongside the woman, invading her personal space and intentionally making her even more uncomfortable. "My lover, the beautiful brunette you’ve already met, would like to buy me something. I’ve already selected something for myself, which is waiting for me at the register. But I think I might need to be measured for what she’d like to buy me." She turned to RJ, the mischief fairly dancing in her sky blue eyes. "Isn’t that right, baby?"

"Oh, absolutely. Have to make sure it fits properly, don’t we, darlin’? Wouldn’t want you getting pinched in a ‘sensitive’ spot. Unless of course I’m doing the pinching." RJ leaned over to the saleswoman. "She really likes it when I bite her on the–"

RJ couldn’t finish her sentence before Leigh’s lips crushed against hers in a passionate kiss.

The salesclerk gasped, then paled as the kiss continued and several large women in the front of the store began hooting and clapping.

"Mmmm ..." Leigh pulled away from RJ, her eyes still closed. She opened them slowly and shrugged one shoulder, a small smile playing at her lips. "I was missing you," she said softly. Truly meaning it.

RJ wasn’t sure if her friend was playing or serious, but she placed her hand on the blonde’s cheek and replied sincerely. "I was missing you as well, Leigh Matthews." She stood up straight before the moment got too intense and turned back to the clerk who looked as if she were going to pass out at any moment. "See how sweet she is? Now I’m sure you can find it in your heart to help her out."

The woman stood dumbfounded, simply staring at Leigh, who was staring at RJ, utterly charmed by RJ’s response to her kiss. She started to slip away when Leigh’s hand shot out and grabbed a tape measure that was barely sticking out of the saleswoman’s pocket. "I believe the dressing rooms are this way. And I just know I’m going to need some help."
This woman is acting like my cooties will kill her. I love it!
Leigh turned on her heel and began marching toward her destination. When she was almost there she stopped and looked over her shoulder.

The saleswoman was torn. She couldn’t stand waiting on this kind. But she couldn’t afford to lose this job either. The woman reluctantly scurried after Leigh, taking the tape measure from her outstretched hand and walking past her into the dressing rooms.

Leigh’s eyes were riveted on RJ. "Wait for me?"

A nod. "For eternity if I must," she said quietly.

*  *  *

"Where is she? What’s she doing?" the female squirrel whispered loudly. Her mate was standing on her shoulders peering inside Fitz’s diner at the Glory Town Council meeting.

"She was ranting about broken hearts and her daughter. But now they’re all just sitting around a table drinking iced tea."

The female rolled her eyes. "Not the humans, dipshit! The cat. Flea. What’s she doing?"

The male stuck his face up to the glass, pressing his tiny, wet squirrel nose against its dusty surface and fogging it up with his moist breath. "She’s lying on the table while Elvis scratches her belly."

"Elvis! Really?"

"No," he said dejectedly. "But that would be cool, wouldn’t it?"

The female jerked to the side, sending her mate tumbling to the ground at her feet. "This is not a joke. That cat is after us! She’s toying with us, torturing us, watching us writhe and sweat just for sport."

"Females," the male snorted. "You’re all alike."

"True."

"So what can we do?"

"We can fight back. I’m not going to spend the rest of eternity running from that nasty feline. Just look at this." She pointed to the scratches on her back. Apparently, being dead didn’t make you immune from injury.

"The cat didn’t give you those." He wriggled the skin above his eyes that would have been squirrel eyebrows had God not been preoccupied by Republicans that day — and other manner of hideous assaults upon nature. "I did."

The female tackled her mate. She pressed into him, exciting him with her shapely squirrel form and her low, sexy rodent voice. "Is that a grain of rice in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?"

The male squirrel purred happily and slid his hand between their bodies. "It’s rice!" He whipped out a single long grain and shoved it right in front of his mate’s face, forcing her to cross her eyes to look at it. "I’m hoarding for the apocalypse."

"But we’re already dead!"

"Oh, yeah." The male immediately popped the grain of rice into his mouth.

"S
O THIS IS where you stay when you’re in Seattle?" RJ sank down on the bed, taking in her surroundings.

"This is it," Leigh confirmed as she tossed her bag onto her bed at the Piedmont Resident Suite Hotel. She had a standing reservation for the last week of every month. And this was ‘her’ suite.

It was small, but well furnished, with one bedroom barely big enough to hold a dresser, standing mirror, and queen-sized bed. The kitchen was painted a stark white and filled with new, apartment-sized appliances. It connected to the living room, which had hard wood floors covered by soft, thick rugs and filled with comfortable furniture. The bathroom was tiny and completely overtaken by its deep, sunken bathtub. The suite’s long, narrow balcony had a view of the Puget Sound, and it housed two side-by-side chaise recliners, one of which always remained empty.

The place suited her needs nicely. It was about the same price she’d pay for an apartment for the entire month; the view was costing her dearly and she knew it. But Leigh never had to do any cleaning, or pay utilities, or deal with a yard. And the management allowed her to use the laundry, pool, and gym whenever she was back in town, whether she staying at the hotel or simply going to turn around the next day and drive in the opposite direction.

The location was perfect — within walking distance of East Pine Street where a thriving gay community added color and life to an already eclectic metropolis. It all was convenient and utterly uncomplicated. Just the way Leigh tried to keep her life.

"It’s very nice," RJ allowed, shifting her position to look out the window. Her eyes went a little round at the magnificent view. What seemed to be a legion of sailboats dotted the ocean with splashes of color.

Leigh nodded, parking herself next to RJ and peering out the window along with her. An unconscious smile crossed her face at the sight of a particularly quick boat skimming the water’s sparkling surface along with the breeze. "They look free, don’t they? They’re floating," she remarked a little wistfully.

RJ frowned. "You’re free, too."

Leigh’s head jerked sideways, and she gave RJ an annoyed look. "What are you talking about? I know I’m free." She stood up abruptly and marched toward the door.

RJ followed Leigh out of the room. "You’re not tied to the road, Leigh. You can float along too if that’s what you really want."

"Sure I can," Leigh snorted sarcastically. "I can’t even swim."

"That’s not what I meant, and you know it." RJ stopped Leigh’s motion by gently placing her hands on her shoulders. She spun her around. "What’s your heart’s desire, Leigh?" Without warning RJ felt the breath rush from her body. Never before had she wanted to make someone’s dreams come true so badly and yet been completely helpless to do so. It was a slightly sickening feeling, and she laid her hand over her belly in stunned reaction.

"My heart’s desire?" Leigh blinked. She was about to make an offhand comment that that involved sex and a hammock in Jamaica when she saw the look on RJ’s face. "Was that a serious question?"

RJ didn’t answer.

Their eyes met and Leigh distantly chided herself for allowing that to happen way too often. It was too easy to lose herself in those soulful emerald depths. "I … I can see that it was," she said more to herself than RJ. Her head dropped and she paused so long that RJ thought she wasn’t going to answer at all.

The taller woman drew in a breath to change the subject when Leigh finally managed, softly, "I don’t know." She looked back up at RJ with such a painfully open expression that the pilot felt her heartbeat increase in response. In an instant the look was gone, replaced instead by a neutral smile.

"Let’s get something to eat," RJ heard herself say, sorry she’d taken the conversation down this path to begin with. She reached down and took Leigh’s hand.

"I could use a bite." Leigh’s smile became a little more relaxed as she focused on the reassuring grip of RJ’s warm hand.
God, I need this time off. When did I become such a fucking mess?
"I intend to keep you up way past your bedtime tonight, RJ. So we’ll need to fortify our reserves." Now a real, full grin appeared.

"Oh, I imagine we do!" RJ patted her flat stomach. "Especially me. I’m used to consuming all that grease at Fitz’s. I’m starting to shake from withdrawal. Besides, your not an easy woman to keep up with."
Though I’m getting stronger each day.