"Have fun, you two," Nana called.
"Where are we going?" Ginny asked.
Kara backed out of the driveway, her arm resting along the back of Ginny’s seat and she peered out the rear window.
Ginny felt Kara’s fingers graze her shoulder as she turned back around and Ginny felt goosebumps on her neck from their touch. It frightened her.
"There’s a small lake on Battle Canyon Creek," Kara said.
"How did you find that? It’s a well-kept secret among the locals," Ginny chided.
"You’ve been there?"
"I used to fish there with my grandfather," Ginny said. "I haven’t been there in years."
Kara shrugged and turned down a Forest Service road. "It wasn’t hard to find, but the road’s bumpy as hell," she said.
The sun was falling below the trees when they parked, but Ginny suspected that the colors weren’t yet right, because Kara didn’t seem to be hurrying. She gathered her sketchpad and colored chalk and led the way along a path. There were only two other cars there and Ginny recognized them as locals.
"There’s a break in the trees just as the sun sets," Kara explained. "The lake is a perfect reflection."
They walked up the trail, but instead of heading to the water, Kara went into the trees and stopped at a rise with the water below them.
"I don’t mean to ignore you," Kara apologized as she flipped open her sketchpad.
"Go ahead. I’ll just watch," Ginny said. She sat down in the grass a few feet from Kara and pulled her knees up to her chin. Kara sat cross-legged on the ground, faded jeans covering the tanned legs Ginny was used to seeing. She watched as Kara’s fingers found the color she wanted and before Ginny’s eyes, the lake appeared on the paper. As the sun crept lower, Ginny became aware of the changing colors. The few clouds in the sky reflected the orange of the sun and she watched as Kara added that, too. Ginny took her eyes away from the woman next to her and forced herself to look at the water as it changed from a brilliant blue to a shimmering orange.
Kara added color, too and soon her lake was as orange as the sky as the sun hung, suspended just over the horizon for a split second and Ginny held her breath as it silently slipped from view. Kara’s hand stilled and Ginny looked up to find Kara watching her.
"Well?" Kara’s quiet voice broke the silence.
"It was beautiful," Ginny said softly. "Can I see?" she asked.
Kara hesitated, then handed over her sketch and she watched Ginny’s face break out in smile.
"You’ve captured it exactly. It’s as if the sun is still there, hanging on to the day," she said quietly. "You’ve put your moon in, I see," she said.
Kara clinched her jaw and met Ginny’s intense green eyes as they searched her own. She could almost see the currents that passed between them, feel the electricity in her veins as green eyes locked on blue. Ginny finally lowered her gaze, her eyes closing heavily as she sighed.
Ginny felt her pulse throbbing in her neck and she acknowledged the growing attraction she had for this woman. She could feel it. She took a deep breath, trying to push it away. They sat quietly, legs crossed before them and watched the color drain from the sky. Ginny became uncomfortably aware of the intimate setting as dusk settled over the forest. She should get up, she should suggest they go back, back to the safety of Nana’s company.
But she didn’t.
"Kara?" Ginny asked, as she leaned back on her elbows.
"Hmmm?"
"What’s it like?"
"What?" Kara asked, turning to her.
"Kissing a woman?" she asked before she could stop herself.
Kara tried to read her eyes, but the approaching darkness prevented it. "Why do you want to know?"
"I was just… wondering, I guess. Kissing is nice, you know, but some men, well, they just forget about it, I think."
"Phil?"
Ginny shook her head. Phil wasn’t much for kissing. She sighed again. Why in the world had she started this conversation?
"Never mind," she murmured.
Kara smiled. So, Ginny was curious. That surprised her.
"From what I remember, men were much more interested in bigger and better things. Never wanted to take the time for kissing. That’s the great thing about women," Kara said. "Most women like to kiss. And of course, a woman knows."
"Knows what?" Ginny asked hesitantly.
Kara turned to Ginny. "A woman knows what you want and how it makes you feel," she said quietly.
Ginny swallowed, the sound echoing in the quiet forest and she felt herself drawn to this woman sitting so close to her. Like a magnet, she thought, as she struggled to pull her eyes away from Kara’s. She felt as helpless as a moth drawn to fire. She was far too aware of her and was thankful for the darkness, as images of Kara’s lips on hers flashed through her mind, making her stomach flutter. They stared at each other for countless seconds, then Kara moved away and gathered up her work.
"Come on. We better get you back," she said.
Ginny accepted Kara’s outstretched hand and their fingers entwined as Kara pulled her to her feet. Kara didn’t immediately release her hand and Ginny didn’t pull away. Not until she felt the fire burning between them did she finally drop Kara’s hand.
CHAPTER EIGHT
GINNY SPENT A FITFUL night, tossing in her bed as she remembered Kara’s words. "A woman knows." How would Kara’s kiss be? Hot and wet? Or would it be slow and tender?
Ginny groaned and rolled over, hating herself for her thoughts. What was she doing? Why did this woman occupy her mind so? And thoughts of kissing her, no less! She was not attracted to women! She never had been! What she was thinking was insane!
Renee.
No. She hadn’t been attracted to Renee. At least, not sexually. And she was positive that she was not sexually attracted to Kara, either.
"You’re straight, for God’s sake," she murmured. "Act like it."
She got out of bed and went into the kitchen for a drink of cold water and she stood at the sink, watching the moon overhead. Nearly full. Kara’s moon.
Was she watching it, too? Or was she sleeping peacefully, unaware of the effect she was having on Ginny?
"She’s not blind," Ginny whispered. And how embarrassing would that be? Kara had not so much as said one inappropriate thing. Ginny found Kara’s eyes on her sometimes, but that was all.
"Ginny?"
Ginny turned and found Nana watching her. "I’m sorry. Did I wake you?"
"Are you all right?"
She held up her glass. "Thirsty."
"I think I’ll have some, too," she said and moved into the room. "Must be this moon. I can’t sleep a wink."
Ginny glanced up again at the moon and again thought of Kara. "Yes. I know what you mean," she murmured.
Kara paced her room in the darkness, a cigarette glowing hotly in her hands. "What’s it like?" The soft words echoed in her brain again and again. She shoved one hand into her hair and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. It had been far too tempting. What’s it like to kiss a woman? Here, let me show you.
She should really stay away from Ginny. It was becoming uncomfortable to be around her. She laughed out loud, thinking it hadn’t been since college that she’d been attracted to a straight woman.
And it had been a very long time since she’d had such a consuming need to kiss someone, she thought.
So she stayed away. And she painted. She was inspired, if nothing else and she started on the sunset the next day, working feverishly all day. When she reached for a beer that evening, she remembered she hadn’t thought to buy more and she opened a bottle of wine instead. While her soup heated, she took her wine and cigarette out to the porch and sat, listening to the evening approach.