Claire tugged at her collar again. “How did you know I was burned?”
Tristan giggled. “Because you have spent the evening looking like you were at war with your clothes. I suspect you have a little fever, too, which, of course, accompanies a good sunburn. I spend a lot of time in the yard, so my skin gets a gradual tan, but the part of my ass that was peeking out of my swimsuit today is now on fire.”
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Claire sighed. “I wanted a replay of last night, but my skin will not allow it. I wasn’t even going to tell you about it, hoping to tough it out.”
As they passed through the door of the condo, Claire shed her clothes. Tristan went to the kitchen and placed the cheeseburgers and fries they had picked up on the way onto plates. She had all the food and drinks on the coffee table in front of the television when Claire joined her. Tristan was pleasantly surprised that Claire had decided to dress in her birthday suit for dinner.
“Where are your clothes?” Tristan asked with a gleam in her eye.
Claire grimaced and whined. “I tried to put on something that wouldn’t rub my skin, but I didn’t have any luck. Everything hurts my skin, even your robe. I tried it, too.”
“After we eat, you will take something for the fever, then I will rub you down with aloe gel. If you’re a really good girl, I’ll let you rub my sunburned buns,” Tristan said playfully as she tugged Claire down on the sofa.
After dinner, Tristan cleaned and put away the dishes. Upon returning to the living room, she found Claire holding a blanket against the parts of her body that were only mildly burned. “I know I rubbed you down with sunscreen twice. How did this happen?” Tristan asked as she took the blanket from Claire and spread it out on the floor.
“Tris, look at me. My skin is so fair, I’m nearly pink. I don’t think they make a sunscreen strong enough to protect my glow-in-the-dark skin. I had no idea I was getting that much sun, either.”
Claire lay on her stomach on the blanket as Tristan directed.
Tristan sat on her knees next to her, afraid to straddle her because of all the red skin. She poured the gel into her hands and gently spread it across Claire’s hot skin.
“Aw, look at you. You look like a lobster,” Tristan chided.
“Now, you’ll always be my little lobster.”
Claire rose up on her elbows and turned to look at Tristan. “How would you like to be on the business end of a lobster claw, missy?”
They spent their last night in Gulf Shores wrapped in a blanket on the balcony, watching the moonlight flicker off the water.
Tristan made sure that Claire had plenty of wine to help her relax.
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She drifted off in Tristan’s arms, leaving Tristan to admire the moon alone.
Tristan held Claire close as she thought about what they would have to face together. The thing with Mike was an interesting turn of events. She gritted her teeth just thinking about him and the way he looked at Claire. She hated the feelings of jealously that Mike elicited.
The next day around noon, Tristan and Claire finished loading the car and started for home. Claire felt a little melancholy about leaving a place that she found such solace. She comforted herself with the knowledge that she would return one day with Tristan by her side.
Four hours later, they breathed a sigh of relief when they pulled into the driveway of their home. They were met at the door by an excited orange tabby cat. Lying on the counter was a water gun; next to it was Lucy’s note that everything went fine while they were gone. When Tristan picked up the gun to look at it, the orange ball of fur shot off like a lightning bolt. Obviously, Lucy had been keeping Ralph in line.
Later when Tristan was cooking dinner, Claire did the laundry.
She liked that they compromised on the household chores. She was really beginning to feel at home. Once she had more of her stuff there, she would feel more like it was her place, as well as Tristan’s.
Before they retired for the evening, Tristan presented Claire with a small box. “What’s this?” Claire asked as she sat up in bed Tristan grinned from ear to ear. “It’s just a little keepsake to always remind you of our first trip to the beach together.”
Claire opened the box slowly and peered inside. She giggled as she pulled two sterling silver necklaces from the box, each with a lobster pendant attached. She looked up at Tristan, waiting for an explanation.
“Remember last night when I was rubbing you down with the sunburn gel? I told you that you were my little lobster. Now, we will always have something to remind us both,” Tristan said with a lopsided grin.
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“Oh, Tristan, that is so cute! Put it on me,” Claire said as she turned so Tristan could fasten the necklace around her neck.
After Claire put Tristan’s on for her, Tristan ran her fingers softly across the necklace lying on Claire’s chest. “Never take it off, okay?” Tristan said as she looked into Claire’s eyes.
“I will never take it off, I promise, and you must never take yours off.”
With the deal made, the two tired lovers drifted peacefully to sleep in each other’s arms. The orange tabby cat lay at the end of the bed looking on in disgust. His pet had just put a collar on what he figured now would be his pet, too.
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CHAPTER 15
Monday came all too soon for Tristan and Claire. Neither was looking forward to going back to work. They would begin crew change this week, and that meant they would be busy making travel arrangements for all the boats in the fleet. Tristan went in a little earlier than Claire so she could meet with the crew coordinators.
Claire arrived an hour behind Tristan and stopped in the galley for coffee before going up to the third floor. Linda, who worked in accounting, greeted her. Claire had only chatted with her once before, but she had always felt uncomfortable around the woman and couldn’t quite put her finger on why.
“Wow, you’re as red as a beet, Claire!” Linda exclaimed as Claire joined her at the coffeepot.
“It was wonderful. Tristan and I went to Gulf Shores and had such a great time that I didn’t want to come back.”
Linda moved closer to Claire and lowered her voice. “I would watch her if I were you, Claire. You do know she’s a lesbian, don’t you?”
Claire felt her hackles rise. “What does that have to do with anything, Linda?”
“Look, don’t get angry with me. I’m just trying to help you. If you keep hanging around with her, people will start to talk, and you will have the same sick reputation as she does.”
“Sick? You think someone is sick because they don’t have the same sexual orientation as you?” Claire was becoming angrier by the second and refused to keep her voice down.
“It’s a perversion, Claire. God hates homosexuals, and if you spend time around them, you might just end up suffering His wrath with them.”
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“What makes you think I’m not one of them?” Claire replied, watching as a look of disgust made its way across Linda’s face.
Before Linda could respond, their conversation was interrupted by a silver-headed woman sitting in the corner of the kitchen eating her breakfast unnoticed. Her soft features were full of warmth, but when she spoke, her eyes bore holes into Linda.