Bidding War (15 page)

She didn't say anything to that.

"Thank you," I told her after a minute of silence. "I like you, too."

She smiled.

Finally we pulled up in front of my house. I climbed out of the car and pulled my keys from my purse. Gwendolyn walked up the sidewalk with me, her arm around my waist. Once the door was open, I invited her inside and stepped away from her then turned to her.

"It's late, and I have to get up early, or I would offer tea and a little more conversation."

She nodded.

That's when I stepped up to her and let her wrap her arms around me.

"I have had an amazing time, Gwendolyn," I told her. "I am deeply touched you shared your story with me, and I think you're an amazing woman."

She smiled down at me. "You have been amazingly kind, and I can't imagine a better evening, either."

I pressed myself more firmly against her, lifting my face towards hers and slowly closing my eyes. She raised a hand to the back of my head, guiding my lips towards hers.

As soon as our lips touched, I felt my entire body respond to her. I clutched at her immediately and parted my lips to her. She kept her tongue to herself, so I flicked mine against her lips. When she parted, I slid my tongue into her mouth.

She tasted amazing, a combination of the things we'd had to eat and a flavor I couldn't quite identify that I decided was just her. She tasted like she smelled, and I liked it.

Our tongues danced together for a while before mine retreated, hers chasing me. I moaned into the kiss, letting her taste me, then slowly withdrew from the kiss.

When my eyelids fluttered open, she was studying my face. I slowly smiled up at her.

"You are full of surprises, straight girl."

I smiled wider, then closed my eyes and pulled her head down for another kiss. This one was hotter than the last one, and when my lips parted, she didn't wait for further invitation. Her tongue explored me thoroughly, and I felt myself sagging against her as she held me to her.

This kiss didn't last as long, as I broke it, then laid my head on her shoulder. "Wow."

She kissed the top of my head.

"When can I see you next?" she asked.

"Next Saturday," I told her. "All day, if you don't have to work. We're going for a long drive."

"You're going to make me talk."

"I surely am," I told her.

"What if I don't want to wait that long?"

I thought about it. "I won't be home tomorrow. You may call me on Sunday or any evening next week. You may also send me flowers at work."

She laughed. "Oh, that was a subtle hint."

"I know. I'm the queen of subtle. Flowers are not a requirement."

"So we can do something on Sunday?" she asked.

"Yes," I said. "We can talk on the phone."

"What if I want to see you?"

I thought about it. "If you promise to behave, I'll let you take me to lunch or dinner and not count it as one of our three dates."

"What does 'behave' mean?"

"Friends, not a date."

"I have to keep my hands to myself?"

"Hell no," I told her. "But no more than tonight, and I won't be inviting you for tea when you drop me off."

"I'll call you Sunday morning," she said.

Then I pulled out of her embrace and led the way to the door, then stood in her way. When she tried to slip past me, I reached up and pulled her mouth to mine one more time, stepping closer and putting my hand on her ass. I gave it a squeeze.

It was a short, playful kiss, and I giggled when we were done. "Thank you, Gwendolyn," I told her. "I had an absolutely beautiful time."

She smiled before slipping out the door.

Saturday morning dawned far too early after a late night, and I went to bed still wired, so it took time to fall asleep. Still, I managed to roll out of bed shortly after six and was moderately awake and ready to go at seven. Moira was right on time.

I was dressed in jeans and a blouse and had a sweater and a jacket sitting out. I also had both tennis shoes and hiking shoes ready. In a small suitcase I had all the accoutrements for a date.

Moira was wearing jeans, a denim shirt, and hiking shoes.

I let her in, then wrapped myself in her arms and offered a hello kiss. It was short but lovely, and it felt good to be in her arms again.

I really didn't know what was going on with my emotions with these two women, but I had decided to just go with it for now. It made it easier to give them the dates they were paying for. I was pretty sure so far they had both been pleased.

"Good morning," I said, looking up at her. "You feel good."

She smiled. "So do you."

I showed her everything I had selected. I still didn't know where she was taking me, so I didn't know what I would need. "Either set of shoes are fine. The date clothes are perfect. I don't think you'll need the sweater, but if you get cold easily, you may want to bring it."

"While we're outside, how active will we be?"

"Hmm.
" She thought about her answer. "Walking, perhaps slowly."

"But not, for instance, an outdoor picnic."

"No." I brought the sweater, just in case. I could leave it in the car.

"Did you have a nice date with Gwendolyn last night?" she asked before we stepped outside with all my things.

"Yes, I did, thank you."

"Good. Then I don't have to postpone this."

"Nope. You are free to ravage my lips unimpeded with the knowledge you're stealing kisses that should belong to Gwendolyn."

She laughed. "I rather doubt you're ready for ravaging yet."

"Will you be touching me like you did on Tuesday?"

She turned to face me. "Are you trying to figure out what we're doing?"

"I want to know what to expect, but you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to tell."

"Have you pried any more deeply since our conversation about that?"

"No."

She smiled and nodded. "This is going to feel more like friends than a date until dinner time. Then it will be a date, and if you allow it, lots and lots of touching. We will arrive back home very late."

"Well then," I said. "Unless we need to raid my refrigerator for sustenance, I am ready to go."

She said she had everything we needed and helped me carry my things to her car. Once on the road, we made small talk about nothing important.

We had driven for about fifteen minutes, most of it on the freeway, before she said, "Will you humor me?"

"Maybe." I grinned.

"Open the glove box, please."

It was right in front of me. I took a moment to figure out how to open it, but when I did, I found a black silk scarf waiting for me.

"I don't want you to see where we're going. Will you use that as a blindfold and agree not to try to peek?" She paused. "If you agree to not peek, but then do, I will be upset with you."

"Are you kidnapping me and selling me into white slavery?"

She laughed. "No. If I were to kidnap you, it would be to keep you."

"Well, that's all right then." I wrapped the scarf twice around my eyes and tied it with a double knot, then adjusted it. There was a tiny bit of light coming in from the bottom, but as long as I didn't intentionally try to peek, I couldn't see a thing. I told her that.

"Thank you," she said.

"You're being very mysterious," I told her.

"Does it make you nervous?"

"No. Just curious. I'm like the cat."

"I hope this cat can control her curiosity."

"Within limits."

We exited the freeway and I tried to figure out where we were. I didn't have a clue.

"So why all the mystery?" I asked.

"The next part I want you to see all at once, not little bits. Just a few more minutes. Thank you for humoring me."

We made a few more turns, then we came to a stop and she opened her
window for a moment. There was a pause, then we moved forward and drove slowly, making a variety of turns.

"All right," she said. "We're there. I want you to stay in the car and no peeking. Please, Pamela, no peeking."

"No peeking," I agreed.

"I'll be back to get you in a couple of minutes."

She slipped from the car, and I sat there quietly, my hands in my lap. The mystery was actually rather fun, and being blindfolded left me trusting her a little. I decided I liked that, too.

She was gone for several minutes. I heard motor noises twice, but I couldn't have placed them. Other than that it was quieter, as if we had found a refuge from all the noises of the city. I heard no cars drive past us, no car doors slamming, no voices.

She made two trips to the car to collect our things. "Just a few more minutes, Pamela."

Finally she came and opened my door.

I turned to face her but of course, couldn't see anything.

"I want you to get out and take my arm," she said. "It's a short walk."

"Are there four hundred people out there who are going to stare at me in this blindfold?"

"Not a person in sight," she said.

I unlatched my seatbelt and slipped out of the car. She moved me to lean against the car while she locked up, then she took my arm. We walked across gravel before stepping onto pavement. It was chilly, and I was glad I had my jacket.

"My sweater?"

"I have it," she said. "Almost there."

The pavement changed feel and then she brought me to a stop. Then she stepped behind me and adjusted the direction I was facing. "Close your eyes, Pamela, while I remove the blindfold."

"Closed," I said.

I felt her untie the scarf then she removed it from over my eyes. She stepped closer behind me and wrapped her arms around me, her head over my right shoulder, and she said into that ear, "Open your eyes."

I opened my eyes and found myself staring at a small airplane. A very small airplane.

I looked around. We were standing in a small hangar at the airport. Not the main airport, but one of the small ones. I looked back at the airplane, then over my shoulder at Moira. "You fly."

"Yes."

I looked back at the airplane. "We're going somewhere in that?"

"Unless you say 'no'."

She was waiting for a real reaction from me. I didn't know the first thing about airplanes. It had two wings and was clean. And small. I couldn't have told you anything more than that about it.

"Is it safe?"

"Yes. I am a very good pilot."

"What if something breaks?"

"The vast majority of airplane accidents are due to pi
lot error, not mechanical failure, and most of those fall into specific categories such as running out of fuel or doing stupid stunts."

"Where are we going?"

"I'd rather not tell you."

I thought about getting into it and decided it would definitely qualify as an adventure. I hadn't really ever thought about flying in a small airplane, but with Moira piloting it, the idea was appealing.

"Is it a nice airplane?"

I could tell she was disappointed by the question. "Yes."

"I'm sorry," I said. "I don't know anything about them. Will you show me why it's nice?"

"All right," she said. "First, look at that one." She pointed to another airplane in the hangar. This one had a wing over your head when you sat in it whereas in Moira's plane, it was like you were sitting on the wing. "Look. It's kind of boxy, right? And it has those struts hanging out in the wind."

"Struts?"

She walked me over to the plane. "These," she said, putting her hand on a piece of metal tube that was attached to the middle of the wing on one end and descended at an angle to attach to the bottom of the body of the airplane. "It's there for support." Then she pointed at bumps on the wing. "These are rivets. They stick up into the slipstream when you're flying, with each one giving you a tiny bit of drag, that slows you down."

"All right."

Then she pointed at the wheels. "The landing gear is fixed. It hangs out there in the wind the entire time, slowing you down some more." She took me to the front of the plane and pointed to the propeller. "This is a fixed pitch propeller." She paused. "That's harder to explain."

"All right."

She took me to her plane. "No
w compare it to mine."

"All right. First, no struts."

"Right."

I walked up to it. "No bumps."

"Right. The rivets on this plane are flush mounted, which is more work, but smoother."

I looked back and forth between the two planes. "This one looks sleeker."

"Yes. Faster?"

I looked back and forth again. "Yes, sleeker and faster."