Tropical Convergence (6 page)

Kerry peered at her from the corner of her eye. "Were you really?"

Dar nodded. "It felt wonderful. Then I woke up, and it was gone. I was pissed."

"I remember." A slow smile crossed Kerry's face. "You said it was a hangover." She paused. "Wait a minute--how did you know? I never did ask you that...was it only a lucky guess?"

Dar reached out and riffled her fingers through Kerry's pale hair. "You left evidence," she replied. "But yeah, it was half a guess. You were acting like you'd gotten caught in the cookie jar."

"Hmph." Kerry managed a dignified look, which swiftly dissolved into a sheepish grin. "I felt really, really stupid."

Dar pouted.

"No, not..." Kerry drew her knee up and wrapped her arms around it as she watched the quiet streetlights whisk by. "I felt like I was out of control... like I had my heart pinned on my jacket lapel or something."

"So..." Dar drawled, "my hoodwinking you into sleeping in my bed didn't clue you in that I wasn't in any better shape?"

Kerry thought about that for a while as they drove through the vast Disney property, toward the large, white, spread out Grand Floridian hotel. "Did you?"

"I enticed you with chocolate," Dar reminded her, with a smile. "Remember?"

How had she ended up in Dar's bed, anyway? They'd been watching the news, and she'd gotten sleepy. She remembered the sweet taste of hot chocolate on her lips, and then the cup had been taken and the covers pulled up around her.

"I could have gotten up and gone to my own room," Kerry mused.

"Uh huh," her partner agreed. "You could have."

"But I didn't want to." The memory surged sweetly over her. "I wanted to stay there with you. I didn't want to be alone."

"Me, either." Dar skillfully navigated the big Lexus into the driveway of the hotel, pulling up at the stately Victorian styled portico and putting the car in park. "I wanted you to stay there with me."

"Ah, I see." Kerry had to smile.

A valet trotted alertly out to meet them. "So I wanted to come back here, and revel in the fact that what I felt that morning..." Dar opened the door and gave the valet a slight smile, then ducked her head back inside the car. "Was dead on real."

Kerry felt, and suspected she looked, slightly wide-eyed at Dar's sudden and somewhat unexpected headlong dive into rampant romanticism. "Okay, honey," she agreed. "I'm all for it!'

Dar's face split into a grin, and her eyes twinkled before she disappeared again and went to open the trunk for the valet. Kerry sat for a moment, and then simply shook her head, opening the door and hopping out.

The hotel hadn't changed. Kerry drew in a breath of warm air scented with night jasmine as she joined Dar in walking toward the door. This late, it was very quiet, a soft hint of music from the speakers and the clatter of cleaning crews was all that accompanied them to the door.

A blast of chilled air met them as they entered, and they strolled across the beautiful lobby that almost succeeded in bringing them right into another world. Kerry allowed herself to be entranced, and she spent a few minutes simply looking around at the soaring ceilings as Dar worked out the details of their room.

"Let's go." Dar put a hand on her shoulder, and smiled.

Kerry took her hand and held it as they walked from the front desk, and strolled across a silver ribbon of their own memories.

"MM. PRETTY." KERRY gazed outside, watching the small, blinking lights as a boat crossed the lake toward the pier in front of the hotel.

Or maybe it was the back of the hotel. It was hard to tell, though the views on this side had it all over the ones on the other side. Kerry leaned against the chilled glass, her breath fogging it slightly as she exhaled. Below them, she could see a few, lone figures walking down the paths, and on the end of the pier two figures sat together, apparently simply enjoying the view as she was.

She watched them lean together, against each other. It made her smile because she knew exactly how good that felt.

Her shoulders ached, and she felt tired from the long day and their active evening, but she wasn't sleepy. Behind her, she could hear Dar rattling around in the bathroom and she spent a moment contrasting the reality of her now, with the memories of the past.

It was almost too disparate to compare. Then, Dar's every motion, every sound had flicked against her unsure awareness, making her heart jump.

Now, they made other parts of her jump, and her heart merely beat calmly, waiting for its other half to finish fussing and come to join her. Kerry could already feel the warmth of Dar's touch and she divided her attention--half to the glistening castle seen in the distance past the glass, and half in the reflection of the room behind her, waiting.

Dar finished arranging their toiletries and re-entered the room, watching Kerry press her nose against the glass sliding door. "I think I remember being suckered into those pretty lights last time I was here."

She flexed her bare toes against the carpet. "By that same look, too."

Kerry had turned and was grinning at her. She was draped in her old, worn Pooh T-shirt, her hair damp from the shower they'd shared. "You didn't take much suckering," she said. "It was just a tiny appeal to your pride, and presto." She snapped her fingers. "Instant monorail ride."

"Oh yeah?"

"Oh yeah." Kerry cheerfully nodded. "Although I did keep trying to convince myself I was doing it to help you relax, and it was for your own good."

"Mm." Dar stretched her body out, popping her shoulders into place. "It was."

"For your own good?"

"Oh yeah." Dar joined her at the glass and slid an arm around her as Kerry turned and they gazed out over the dark water, to the brightly lit theme parks beyond. "I'm damn ticked."

"At me?"

"At those stupid pieces of horse manure." Dar's eyes narrowed. "They're putting a damper on my fun plans, and I don't like it."

Kerry reached over and gave her a rub on the belly. "We can still have fun. We got our stuff done tonight, didn't we?" she asked. "Any reason why we need to be there tomorrow for them to put the froo froo up?"

Dar considered. Then she grunted. "No," she answered. "We're not supposed to be here for another day and a half."

"Exactly," Kerry agreed. "So you, me, and a pair of Florida resident park hopper passes are going to go have a wild and crazy time tomorrow."

"Hm. Do we have those?"

"Yeees." Kerry smirked. "Since I knew you weren't going to let me put the hotel on my card." She batted her fair lashes at her partner. "So get your bathing suit ready, Dardar."

For an answer, Dar moved a bit of Kerry's hair out of the way and gently kissed her neck. "Want some hot chocolate?" she uttered into the smaller woman's ear.

"No." Kerry's eyes closed. "I want you." She let her hand slowly glide up Dar's thigh. "I wanted you the last time I was here, but I couldn't have you."

Dar laughed softly into her ear. "Kerrison, you had me from day one." She slipped her arms around Kerry, and guided her toward the bed, turning in lazy circles as they smiled into each other's eyes. "But I wanted you too."

"You did?" Kerry felt the edge of the bed hit her behind her knees, and she ended up sprawling over it, with Dar's body crouching over her.

"I did." Dar's lips nipped across Kerry's pulse point.

"Oh, baby. You had me." Kerry laughed weakly. "Body, heart, and soul. Just like you do right now."

Dar paused and rested her weight on her elbows, studying her partner. Kerry's hands were already under the fabric of her shirt, stroking her skin with gentle, knowing fingers, and she could see the honest passion in those eyes gazing back at her. "How'd I get so lucky?"

"You got lucky?" Kerry's brows arched.

Dar smiled and lowered her head, kissing the waiting lips.

"We could really recreate this, and turn the news on," Kerry suggested, between light kisses across Dar's collarbone.

"Try it, and I'll bite your fingers off," Dar replied.

"Oo."

THEY BOTH WOKE at the same time. Kerry heard Dar take a sudden, irregular breath, as she opened her eyes to see the early morning sun pouring through the window. Once again, she was sleeping half on her side, half on her stomach, and snuggled tightly up against Dar's body.

Oh, but what a difference. Kerry smiled. This time she had no urgent desire to levitate herself off the bed in pure shock, and her heart didn't attempt to emerge from her ears with its hammering.

This time her welcome was sure, and the shoulder her cheek was resting on was as familiar to her as her own pillow.

Well, it often was her own pillow. Kerry slid one thigh up over Dar's and gave her a squeeze, humming low in her throat as sleep slowly cleared from her eyes. "Morning, sweetheart."

"Eeurrgh." Dar made a purring noise in return. "Morning to you too." She rubbed Kerry's back with her fingertips. "And what a pretty one it is." She turned her head and watched the sunlight creep across the floor, still tinted coral instead of the bright white yet to come.

It would be yet another in an almost endless series of summer days, hot and sticky, the morning fair with the ever-present possibility of thunderstorms in the afternoon as the earth struggled to throw off the sun's heat.

Water parks in the morning, Dar decided. Then maybe a visit to Epcot in the afternoon, since the technology park offered up lots of indoor attractions to escape the heat, and possibly the rain as well. "You up for dinner at the Living Seas?" she inquired. "I love that tank."

The sea green eyes brightened. "Oo...yeah." A nod. "Good idea."

Dar smiled contentedly. "I think that sounds like a plan," she said, as she arched her back to stretch it out, lifting Kerry a little with her before she relaxed again under the covers. "Damn, I'm glad we got all that crap squared away last night. If I'd walked in there today with nothing done, heads woulda rolled."

Kerry traced an idle pattern on Dar's ribcage. "So the only reason you didn't was because there were no heads to roll?"

"Hm." Dar grunted after a moment's silence. "You know something? I really don't know." She lifted one arm and settled her hand behind her head. After another short, pensive silence, she shrugged. "Ah...probably faster if I did it myself anyway."

Kerry nodded slightly. "I had the neatest dream last night," she related, changing the subject. "You and I were getting married."

Dar's eyebrows twitched. "Um...aren't we?"

"Yeah, I know we are married, but not... I mean, it was this whole ceremony with rice, and flowers," Kerry felt Dar start to laugh. "You and me in pretty gowns."

"Don't tell me white ones." Dar groaned.

"Sure," Kerry cheerfully agreed. "You looked gorgeous. You had this lace sheer neckline thing on and..."

"Kerry." Dar tapped her on the shoulder. "You need some coffee or something?"

"No, why?"

"Just wondered."

"Anyway. We were in this beautiful cathedral, with stained glass windows, and everyone was throwing bags of rice at us..."

Dar half sat up, bringing Kerry up with her and displaying the considerable strength of her abdominal muscles. "What?"

Kerry tumbled and rolled into Dar's lap, peering up at her as she lay on her back across her partner's legs. "What?"

"Bags of rice? What was this, a Cuban wedding? Were there bags of beans too?" Dar queried, tossing her head back to clear the disordered hair from her eyes. "Five pound bags? Ten? Fifty?"

Kerry folded her hands over her bare stomach. "Sweetheart." She twiddled her thumbs. "Yankees don't like to whip out their dustpans during a wedding. We wrap a pinch of rice into a cloth bag and toss that at newlyweds," she informed her lover. "It's supposed to be good luck.

Dar put a fingertip against her nose. "It's supposed to be for fertility, so you'll have lots of babies," she corrected her in a wry tone. "Leave it to Yankees to conveniently forget
that
."

"Mm...we didn't forget it." Softly glinting green eyes peered up at Dar. "It was so nice. All our friends were there, and Chino had a hat on...your dad was in a tux."

Her partner smiled in reflex. "You have cute dreams."

"I had one the first time we stayed here too," Kerry admitted. "Remember you were saying you did? Before we woke up? So did I." She sat up and pulled her legs up crossed under her, pushing her hair back with one hand.

"It didn't have rice in it, did it?" Dar leaned on one elbow, facing her. The sheets draped loosely over her body, exposing roughly half of her torso and all of the length of one long leg.

"No." Kerry leaned her elbows on her knees. "I didn't remember it until way after we left Orlando. It was you and I up in a tree."

"A tree." Dar sniffed reflectively. "I like trees," she allowed. "What kind of tree?"

A shrug. "I have no idea. But we were up in it, looking at the sky." Kerry glanced at the sheets, drawing her finger over the soft surface. "I remember being so happy, a strange feeling for me back then."

Dar laid her hand on Kerry's knee. "And now?"

"And now?" Kerry laughed, a light, joyous sound. "Oh, my god, Dar. What a question." She peeked up into her partner's eyes. "Do I sound like a babbling idiot this morning or what?"

The blue orbs twinkled. "Wanna have breakfast here, or go find some hapless characters to harass?" Dar rubbed the skin under her hand gently.

"Here." Kerry rolled over onto her side and stretched out on the bed. "Banana stuffed French toast?" she suggested. "Then we can grab our swimsuits and go look for trouble." With a quick twitch, she yanked the covers off Dar and scrambled back off the bed with them as her partner rose to the challenge and chased her.

She almost got away and then her feet got tangled up in the sheets. "Augh!"

Kerry hopped madly to free them, bouncing all over the room and nearly causing Dar to cough up an eyeball laughing. At the last hop, Dar got an arm around her and they both fell, hitting the carpet and thrashing around with the sheet winding itself around them.

"Ee!" Kerry squirmed, as long, ticklish fingers attacked her bare ribs. "You punk!"