Out Of This World (5 page)

Celeste was eager to eat again. She sure seemed to enjoy food. Every time she ate, I would hear that humming sound. I didn’t know where she put it all. For such a petite woman, she could pack in the food. She ate with more gusto than I’d ever seen anyone do before.

Since it was well past lunchtime and the parking lot was nearly empty, I knew we wouldn’t have to wait for a table.

I think Celeste was learning to pace herself because she took my suggestion on what to order, and after we finished our meal, when the waitress asked if we wanted dessert, she followed my lead and shook her head. I didn’t know if she was a vegetarian or not, but I decided to suggest the Portobello mushroom sandwich with sweet potato fries. Of course, she hummed again and the tempo increased just a tad after she took a bite of one of the fries. They were my favorite, too.

Sometimes I thought I would be happy with just sweet potato fries for lunch, but I kept hearing my mom’s voice in my head that I needed to eat better or I’d blow up like a balloon. I wasn’t overweight anymore, but that didn’t stop me from feeling guilty every time I ate something that was remotely fattening.

When the check came, she snaked her arm out so quickly and grabbed the check from the waitress. “I noticed that the treat this morning required the paper I carry, and I would like to supply this for the food we consumed.”

She lifted her right cheek, pulled out her money, and glanced at the check. I wasn’t sure if she knew how much to give to the waitress so I looked at the check, pulled two twenties from the roll, and set them on the table. “That will be plenty and give the waitress a very nice tip. Thank you for lunch, Celeste.”

“You are most welcome, Bella.”

I slid from the booth and grabbed her hand. I was proud of myself for being so bold. Her hand felt nice in mine and there was a sort of warm energy that traveled up my arm. I never wanted to let go. We climbed into my old beater and headed for home.

†

I needed to go to the grocery store to pick up some food for the next couple of days. I was going to impress Celeste with my cooking and maybe she would stay even longer. I was getting used to her quirky sense of humor and, of course, it didn’t hurt that she was drop dead gorgeous. I was convinced that shopping with Celeste would be another adventure.

Celeste continued to look out the window and seemed in awe of the scenery around her. I guess I’d taken the beauty of the Pacific Northwest and the mountains for granted because I’d lived here all my life. As I watched Celeste admire the beauty, I had a new appreciation for where I lived.

It was a rare day and the sun was shining not only on the east side of the Cascade Mountains, but on the west side as well. Seattle was infamous for their rainy days, but on the east side, it was almost like a different state. In some parts of the state, the towns and cities boasted having over three hundred days of sunshine. It was one of the things I really liked about Washington—the diversity of weather. Since there was still some residual snow on the mountaintops, I had to admit it was breathtaking. When the sun bounced off the snow, the twinkles of light created a unique show for all to see. The reservoir, which was fed from the mountain runoff, displayed a perfect reflection of the majestic snowcapped peaks.

I pulled into the perpetually busy Safeway parking lot and Celeste followed me into the store.

†

I grabbed one of the smaller carts because I didn’t really need to pick up too many things. Celeste kept looking around at all of the items stacked up neatly in the aisles. When she got to the meat and seafood section, she seemed dazed. As she looked at the whole salmon laid out on ice with their dead eyes staring at nothing, I wondered if her sheltered life included exposure to seafood. She crinkled her nose at the fish and the ridiculously red meat on display. I noticed her focusing on a trickle of blood that seemed to escape from one of the rib roasts.

“You eat the flesh of animals?” she asked.

“I don’t eat beef, pork, or lamb, but on occasion I do eat chicken and fish,” I replied sheepishly. As I looked at her face, I suddenly felt guilty for not being a complete vegetarian. It felt wrong. I tried to shoo her away from what appeared to be the slaughter of helpless animals, birds, and fish.

“Are chicken and fish good to eat?” she inquired.

I nodded. “Yeah actually they are really tasty, especially on top of a salad. I even like fish raw. I feel bad about it, but sushi is one of my all-time favorite foods.”

I figured, since she asked, I could get some salmon and let her decide for herself if she liked it. I pointed to a wild salmon fillet and the man behind the counter wrapped it for me. I pitched the treat into my cart and continued to the packaged meats section.

She followed me to the refrigerated foods section and looked at all the packages—scrutinizing everything closely. For some reason, she was particularly intrigued with the sausages and hot dogs.

She picked up a packet of chicken hot dogs and scrunched up her nose. “These do not look like chickens or dogs. Dogs are pets right? Surely you do not eat your pets.”

I laughed. “No, they take parts from the chickens and grind them up. I don’t even want to know what parts they actually take, but I have to admit to sometimes liking a grilled hotdog occasionally. No we don’t eat dogs here, but I think they do in some countries.” I grabbed the processed meat from her hands and tossed it into the cart like I was making a basketball shot.

I traversed over to the bread aisle looking for some whole-wheat buns for the hot dogs.

She looked into the cart and asked a question that I was sure was one of the most guarded mysteries of the world, but being the nerd I am, I’d looked up the answer and was ready for her inquiry.

“Why are there ten hotdogs and only eight bread covers?” she asked.

“Very good question and inquiring minds like my own wanted to know that very answer, so I looked it up many years ago. Meat packers like to sell their items by the pound and ten hotdogs weigh one pound. Bakers don’t like to make anything in multiples of ten because it’s harder to split dough into five pieces. I guess it’s easier to divide the dough into two or three pieces, so they prefer multiples of either eight or twelve. Before you ask, a baker’s dozen is usually the result of that little extra piece of dough.”

She smiled at me and I got the distinct impression that my explanation wasn’t particularly satisfying to her.

When we got to the checkout stand, she pulled out cash from her back pocket and tried to pay. We had our first argument in line because she was my guest and I thought it improper that she should pay for groceries.

“You can just put that away. I got this. You are my guest and I want to cook for you.” I pushed her hand with the cash away from the grocery clerk.

“I was able to obtain plenty of this paper. I wish to contribute equally,” she insisted.

I wanted to ask how she got the cash, but we were in the middle of an argument, and I’m kind of stubborn sometimes. “I let you pay for lunch, which by the way I wasn’t that comfortable with, so put your money away. You’re insulting me.”

“I suggest we both contribute,” she offered and looked at me with those beautiful lavender eyes.

I sighed. It wasn’t what I really wanted, but I’d never been much of a fighter and she seemed adamant, so I gave in. “Okay, but really I can afford this. I’m not poor, you know.”

The clerk just looked back and forth between the two of us and, when we finally decided, she held out her hand for the money, half from me and half from Celeste.

Our hands touched when we forked over the money to the clerk and I felt a tingle all the way to my toes. I had it bad and I was in trouble. I was interacting with a real live woman, not some fantasy woman in one of my books. Even though she was odd, she was sweet, and she had this ability to bring me out of my shell.

No one had ever even come close to that, except maybe Sydney. Although I had to admit that even Sydney hadn’t been able to get me to come out as a lesbian. Celeste had discovered my secret and I didn’t care. I was happy about it.

As the grocery clerk was making change from the cash we’d given her, I noticed Celeste looking at the tattoo on her neck. I inwardly groaned, anticipating what new question might come out of Celeste.

I wasn’t surprised when she asked, “Bella, why did someone draw on her neck? Is that a tribal symbol?”

The clerk glared at us.

I grabbed the change from the dispenser and gently pushed Celeste toward the automatic doors. I whispered in her ear. “That’s a tattoo from the tribe,
rebellious youth
, even though pretty much everyone has one now.”

I heard the clerk express her displeasure. “Weirdos.”

“I do not understand.” Celeste looked confused.

“Never mind.” I pushed her out the door before rotten tomatoes starting flying in our direction.

We left the grocery store unscathed with our bounty, and I drove us back to my cozy home.

†

I knew that Celeste didn’t have any idea where the groceries went, so I told her to relax in the living room while I put everything away. Of course she made a beeline to the erotica and picked it up again, flipping quickly through the book. I think she found my hidden cache because she pulled out two more books and began flipping through those pages as well. I wondered if she’d taken some kind of Evelyn Wood speed-reading course.

After I’d put away all the food, I walked out to the back patio to turn on the grill. I didn’t want to cook anything elaborate and ever since Celeste picked up the hotdogs, I was craving them. It would be a simple meal and I was due some junk food since I’d been so good all week. I could cut up some tomatoes, pull out the relish and, voila, insta-veggies. I know it’s a stretch, but I wasn’t in the mood for healthy. I wanted everything about tonight to be bad. Junk food and hot lesbian videos would definitely push me outside my comfort zone.

It wasn’t a big surprise that Celeste enjoyed the hot dogs and the Tim’s cascade chips I set out. We both had a side salad and I smiled at the hodgepodge meal that seemed to please Celeste. I was saving a pint of Ben and Jerry’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough for later. I would have popped some corn, but I knew we were both too full from dinner.

I pondered which video I should pull from my collection and finally decided on
Desert Hearts
. This movie was a classic and one of the first movies I ever saw that elicited a physical reaction. I know I must have taken a breath during the sex scene, because it was pretty long, but I sure don’t remember that. The beauty of the magic between the two women mesmerized me and after seeing that, I never questioned my sexuality again. I had other favorite movies, like
Fire
, but
Desert Hearts
remains my favorite to this day.

I motioned for Celeste to sit on the couch and popped the DVD into the player. After I grabbed the afghan, I snuggled next to Celeste and pulled it over our legs. I couldn’t believe how comfortable I was with sitting close to Celeste. I boldly took her hand. Who was this alien who took over my brain? This was
not
something I would normally be brave enough to do, but it just felt right.

Celeste glued her eyes to the images dancing across the screen and when they kissed for the first time, her head tilted to the side as if she was trying to figure something out. I kept myself from squirming when the sex scene heated up my living room, and I could almost feel Celeste react to what she was seeing. From her hand, I could feel the warmth travel up and down my body. I imagined that Celeste was Cay and I was Vivian. I could almost feel her mouth on mine, and when Cay traveled down Vivian’s body, I felt the feather light touch of her mouth on my body.

I finally took a big breath when the movie ended. Celeste looked at me and smiled. “Bella, I want to experience a kiss. Will you kiss me like the women in the movie?”

My heart was pounding so hard I thought I was going to have a heart attack. Could I actually do this? I’d never kissed a woman before. What if I disappointed her? “I…I…really…uh…want to, but I’ve never done it before. I don’t know how.”

“It looks easy enough to me to replicate.”

She leaned in and gently brushed her lips against mine. It tickled and tingled. I wanted more, so I touched my mouth to hers and brazenly opened for her as she captured my bottom lip with her own and ran her tongue along the edges. I reciprocated and sought entry as we both deepened the kiss.

Oh my God. I never wanted this feeling to stop.

I was panting as she broke away from me. Her smile widened. “I like kissing,” she said.

“So do I,” I touched my forehead against hers.

Even though I desperately wanted to make love with this beautiful woman, I wasn’t ready for that. I felt completely off kilter with just the kiss and I had to know more about Celeste before I let things go further. I never in a million years thought I would find myself in this position. I still believed that making love was only reserved for someone I wanted to spend my life with, and up until this point, I hadn’t exactly put myself out there to find that person.

She seemed to understand without my having to say a word. “Maybe someday you will replicate for me the other things we saw in the movie. I would like to understand love.”