After dinner was left to simmer, Tristan joined Claire on the sofa.
They spent the better part of the evening snuggled up together watching movies. Tristan served their dinner on the coffee table in front of the TV. Claire was delighted to eat a home-cooked meal, and the spicy fare was right up her alley. She was even more delighted that Tristan could cook so well, an attribute that ranked very high with her.
“Oh, my God! Tristan, this is delicious! What is it?”
Tristan blushed a little. “Sophisticated folks call it steak and gravy. We call it meat and gravy. We, meaning coon-asses.”
“Coon what?” Claire laughed.
“You’ve never heard of a coon-ass? It’s another name for Cajun.
It’s about the only time you can call us an ass and not insult us,”
Tristan said in a heavy Cajun accent.
“I can see now that I will have to invest in a Cajun French dictionary. Louisiana seems to be a world all its own. Do you speak Cajun French?”
85
Murky Waters
Tristan shook her head. “I am ashamed to admit that I know very little. My dad spoke it fluently. You would figure that I would have learned more than I did. My mother is not from here and did not favor the language. She swore my grandmother was always insulting her when she spoke it. The funny thing about it was, my grandmother was doing exactly that.”
Claire seized the opportunity to ask about Tristan’s mother.
“Why are you and your mother on such strained terms? Is it your sexual orientation that causes the friction?”
Tristan’s face became solemn. “That among other things. There is nothing I can do to please that woman, so I stopped trying.”
Tristan didn’t offer any more information on the subject and got up to collect the plates from dinner. Claire jumped up and helped her take the dishes to the kitchen. As Tristan rinsed off the plates, Claire wrapped her arms around her waist. She felt Tristan stiffen.
“I’m sorry, Tris. Was that being too forward?”
“No, not at all. I just get a little tense whenever I think about my mom. It’s not you.”
After the dishes were put away, Tristan and Claire settled in front of the TV once again to watch another movie. Both were cuddled together on the sofa enjoying the closeness when the storm released its full fury and knocked the power out.
Tristan sighed. “So much for the movie. I’m glad we weren’t at a pivotal point. That would have really pissed me off.”
Claire gave her a mischievous grin when she returned from lighting candles throughout the house giving it a warm glow. “Do you know what we could do here in the dark all alone?”
Tristan gave her best innocent look. “Umm, knit?”
“That’s not exactly what I had in mind. It involves you taking off your shirt. Don’t worry; I will honor your request to take things slow. I just wanted to give you a back rub.”
Tristan laughed. “You make me sound like a prude!”
After a while of playful banter, Claire finally coaxed Tristan out of her shirt. She spread a blanket down onto the floor and had Tristan lie on her stomach. Claire straddled Tristan’s hips and began to massage the soft flesh under her fingers. When she got to Tristan’s bra strap, she quickly unhooked it before her subject could refuse.
86
Robin Alexander
Claire marveled at the softness of Tristan’s skin. She began to think this was really not a good idea for her. The skin under her fingertips made her crave more. Her attraction to Tristan grew more intense every time she looked at the dark-eyed woman. Now, with her hands on her warm skin, it was becoming almost unbearable to resist a more intimate touch.
Tristan could not contain the groans that issued from her while Claire’s talented hands worked over her back. She was seriously regretting her declaration to take things slow. With each touch, she debated taking advantage of the sensuous moment. All her resolve faded away. Just as she had made up her mind to act upon her desires, she felt a searing pain in her right foot.
“Oh, my God!” Tristan cried out.
Claire knew she gave great back massages, but she did not expect this sort of reaction. Tristan kicked her feet and screamed. Claire turned to see an orange fur ball firmly attached to Tristan’s foot.
“Let me go, Ralph! You furry bastard!” As Claire moved off of Tristan, Ralph shot off to a safe hiding place. His attack achieved the desired effect. The stranger was off of his beloved pet.
“I cannot believe that little fart bit me! What on earth has gotten into him?” Tristan rubbed her hands over her ankle, noticing she was bleeding.
“Has he ever done anything like that before?”
“Never! I don’t know what has gotten into his fuzzy little ass.
When I catch him, I may have to beat it out of him!” Tristan hissed, as she remembered she was naked from the waist up and clutched her discarded shirt to her chest.
Claire felt a familiar heat consume her when she caught a glimpse of Tristan’s breasts. For a split second, she was overcome with a desire to see the rest of what Tristan had to offer. However, if she acted on that desire before Tristan was ready, she feared her actions would send Tristan running to the hills again.
“We have to get these cuts cleaned up before any cat killings commence.” Claire stood and pulled Tristan to her feet. They went into the bathroom where Tristan sat with her injured foot hanging over the bathtub and her shirt held to her chest. Claire gently washed the blood away with soap and water, then applied some antibiotic ointment. Last but not least, she put on a Band-Aid and kissed it for good measure.
87
Murky Waters
It wasn’t until Tristan felt the warmth of Claire’s mouth that she fully realized that she had initiated a kiss with the blonde sitting so close to her. The kiss deepened, and she felt Claire’s tongue responding to hers. Tristan was quickly losing the battle with her good intentions. She wanted Claire more than she could remember wanting anyone else.
This time, Claire pulled away. “Tristan, if we keep this up, I’m going to have a hard time stopping. Just like you, I want more from this relationship than just sex. I am only human, though, and extremely attracted to you.”
Claire stood back and offered her hand for Tristan to take as she stepped from the bathtub. Tristan didn’t immediately release Claire’s hand as she stood in front of her. Instead, she gently brought Claire’s fingers to her lips and kissed each fingertip.
Claire closed her eyes when she felt her breath leave her. The sensation of Tristan’s lips and occasionally the tip of her tongue on her fingertips was more than she could stand. Tristan was well aware of the effect it was having on Claire by the way the blonde’s face and neck flushed. Tristan pulled Claire closer and wrapped her arms around Claire’s waist as she backed her into the bathroom cabinet. Claire wove her fingers into Tristan’s hair as her tongue filled Tristan’s mouth, making every fiber of her being feel like it was on fire. Aware that Tristan had dropped the shirt that she had been holding protectively to her chest, Claire allowed her hands to roam over the smooth skin of Tristan’s back, causing her to involuntarily grind her hips against Tristan’s.
As Tristan’s lips kissed a searing trail up Claire’s neck, Claire lightly ran her nails across the skin of Tristan’s back, causing her to moan in Claire’s ear as she kissed and nibbled it. Claire did what she had only dreamed of until that moment and ran her hands over Tristan’s firm rear end, causing her to press her body even closer into Claire’s. Their bodies melded together, separated only by the clothing they still wore.