Chapter 3

I grinned. “I think I know. Me too.”

I didn’t meet her lips immediately. I kissed her neck instead. She shivered against me. I spent a couple of minutes playing my lips up and down her neck, lightly drawing my teeth over the tendons that shifted when her breath caught. When I drew my face back to see her, her eyes were very dark. She still wore her glasses, so I reached up to pluck them off her face and toss them onto the bed, then met her lips with mine.

Tara moaned as our tongues met again. She was learning that it wasn’t about being gentle or aggressive, but about sharing. She could push harder now, because I was firm in my response, and I felt her passion rising with mine. My own breathing was heavy now. Tingling want was making my clitoris sensitive, and my breasts felt warm.

Tara’s hands explored my back and waist under my shirt. Then one hand moved up to squeeze the cup of my bra. As good as it felt, I moved my hands to her arms and gently pulled them away. “I don’t want to do that,” I said, my voice hoarse.

“I’m sorry!” Tara’s remorse seemed genuine. “I thought…”

“It’s fine,” I interrupted her. “Let’s not spoil this by going too fast, okay?” I detached myself from her as she stepped back.

“Okay,” she said. I could read the disappointment in her eyes.

“Do you want me to pick you up for the event tomorrow afternoon?” I asked.

I saw relief cross her face. I wasn’t cutting her off. “Oh, sure. Kayla was going to collect me, but I’m sure she’s busy. I’ll text her and tell her you’ll get me to the bar.”

“Don’t sit on your glasses,” I said, pointing to the bed. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

We were among the first to arrive at the bar. Kayla was talking to Fi, who today had dark green streaks in her hair, purple lipstick, and was wearing a beautiful black gothic loli dress with a red fringe, black hose and boots. I’d always liked the way Fi expressed herself.

Tara marched right up to her, and, before Fi had a chance to react, lifted a strand of green hair. “Oh, my God,” she said. “That’s so gorgeous! I did a green spray this week but it’s so much better on black hair.”

“Tara!” Kayla snapped. “That’s rude! Apologize to Fi.”

“Yes, Auntie Kay,” she said, snarkily, but she seemed genuinely apologetic when she turned back to Fi. “I’m sorry, Fi. I got carried away. I hate it when anyone does that to me.”

“Thanks,” said Fi. “It’s fine. You’re Kayla’s niece?”

“My cousin,” said Kayla, resignedly.

“Second cousin once removed!” piped up Tara, her moment of contrition entirely behind her. Then she ignored both Kayla and Fi as she looked at the bar counter. “Ooh, Grace! Look at this!”

I moved up alongside her to see a souvenir of the bar. It was in the form of an axe, the shaft being a near-naked skinny man in solid plastic, with a rubbery blade that looked like a flattened donkey head. “Auntie Kay!” Tara sang out, then skipped up to Kayla and danced around her. “I want to get a souvenir, Auntie Kay! Can I get one, Auntie Kay?”

Everyone but Kayla laughed, though Kayla just groaned. “Someone please tell me why I asked this child to be a bridesmaid?” she wailed.

“Because I’ll be good, Auntie Kay!” Tara sang. “I’ll be the bestest bridesmaid ever, Auntie Kay!”

“I’m going to have my own axe-throwing rules in a moment,” growled Kayla.

Tara pouted convincingly. “Ooh, Auntie Kay! You’re mean!”

Kayla shook her head, ruefully, then turned to Fi. “Please tell me I don’t have to share a lane with my cousin here.”

Fi was still chuckling at the whole performance. She looked up. “Oh. Right, no. Let’s get started.” She turned to a woman with blonde curly hair. “Kate, why don’t you take everyone to the end lane, and show them what to do.” Then, to Kayla, “You can find another lane to avoid your cousin once Kate’s done.”

Everyone would be the two of us, Kayla, Anita, and Ann, whom I remembered from Gabby’s, though hadn’t seen in a couple of years. Ann had been a senior when I was a callow first-year, and she’d been more than a little aggressive in her flirtation. She might have been younger than Kayla, but she was definitely one of the ones who made me uncomfortable there.

I think one of the reasons I pursued Kennedy in the early days was that I felt I could bond with her against the older, more predatory club members. Now here I was, the same age gap to my companion as Ann had been to me. Life is complicated.

As Kate ran us through the basics of axe safety, how to hold the axe, how to throw the axe so that it hit the target in the correct orientation. I was amused to see Ann becoming increasingly irritated by Kate’s flirting and physical contact. The predator doesn’t like to feel that she could be prey. Tara seemed to notice Kate’s preferential treatment, too.

Tara had an affinity with the axes, her throws embedding into the target almost every time.

Women were still arriving, some of whom I knew vaguely, and most of those I knew through Kennedy, not because they were friendly with me.

“Do you want to check out the arcade for a while?” I asked Tara. “We can return later when everyone’s, like, actually partying?”

Her eyes lit up. I thought they would. So we snuck out of the bar, and battled each other on prehistoric video games. Tara won most games, except that I held my own on a weird game of centipedes and mushrooms.

The entrance fee to the arcade covered unlimited plays, and we’d spent a couple of hours on different games when Tara received a text from Kayla. Tiff had been trying to find her for a party game, so we reluctantly left after the next time I was dive-bombed to death.

She did well in the ridiculous pretend strip game that Tiff had concocted, winning most of her duels against Margot, and preserving her cousin’s honor by making the final winning throw. Anita, as the losing bride, had to impersonate a stripper – though still fully dressed – and perform an exotic dance for the party.

“Thank God Auntie Kay didn’t lose,” she whispered. “I’d have had to cover my eyes.”

We ate at the bar. The party was supposed to continue to Gabby’s, since it was the third Thursday of the month. Allison asked for a head count for transport.

“I’m going to stay at the hotel pool,” said Tara. “I’m not twenty-one.”

Right. I’d forgotten that the Thursday Gabby’s was age-restricted due to alcohol sales. If I went I’d feel like I was dumping her. And I was sure Kennedy would be there, and I didn’t feel much like seeing who she’d be hooking up with tonight. “Count me out, too,” I said.

“Want to join me in the pool?” Tara asked me.

We stopped at my apartment for my swimsuit. I invited Tara inside while I changed into it and a more casual tee shirt and shorts. She took a look around. The place was tiny, but adequate. “You have a roomie?” she asked.

“Yeah, Deb,” I said. “She doesn’t seem to be around. She may be out with her boyfriend.”

I collected my bikini and clothes and headed into the bathroom to change. When I was done we continued on to Tara’s hotel.

Unlike the clothing she’d been wearing, Tara’s two piece wasn’t very revealing, though it was clear that she didn’t need any reshaping artifice to fill out its top, and while the bottoms were modest, they couldn’t hide the movement of the muscles of her butt. She was a fit girl.

We took a couple of hotel towels out to the pool and alternated between swimming and lazing under the evening sun for an hour. Away from the horseplay around her cousin, she was mostly serious. She was certainly a much better swimmer than me.

“Are you on your school swim team?” I asked. “Were you, I guess I should say?”

She shook her head. “I like to swim, but I never liked competitive sports. Mostly because they eat into study time.” She grinned. “And online game time. Swimming’s my favorite workout.”

“Have you seen the aquatic center? It’s free for students,” I said, “and there are fitness programs that include swimming. So I’ve heard,” I added, never having touched either swimming or any other exercise program in my time at college.

“Yeah, I’m sure I’ll be signing up,” she said.

Though the evenings stayed light until late in July, the air had started to cool, and when Tara suggested returning to her room, I agreed that it was time. We towelled off, then reentered the hotel. The air indoors was chilly on damp skin, so I wrapped my towel tight around me and followed Tara.

Taking an extra towel for herself, she motioned me to the bathroom to dry and change. When I’d dressed in the tee shirt and shorts I’d arrived in, I knocked on the bathroom door, waiting for Tara’s permission before leaving. She stepped past me, carrying her damp swimsuit, dressed in a loose tee shirt and soft shorts. Probably her sleeping clothes.

“What did you do with your swimsuit?” she asked from inside the bathroom.

“I have it here,” I said.

“Hang it on the shower curtain rail for now,” she suggested. “You can pick it up when you leave. You don’t need to head out immediately, do you?”

“I guess not,” I said, joining her in the bathroom. I hung my bikini beside hers.

When I followed her out, she took the hem of my tee shirt as she’d done the night before. “Thanks for coming with me,” she said. “I know you could have gone back to the club.”

“I really didn’t want to,” I admitted. “I’d have gone home if you hadn’t invited me. I’ve had a good day.”

“It doesn’t have to be over,” Tara said. Her cheeks had colored. “I mean…” She trailed off, not looking at me.

“What do you mean, Tara?” I asked.

“Well, on Monday, you, um…” She seemed more nervous than I’d yet seen her. “You didn’t only want to ask me to dance. You said so. You thought I was older, and you’d… umm…”

“Take you home?” I asked, gently.

Tara nodded. “Yeah,” she said. “So you could, you know, stay?”

It’s hard to describe how I felt. Elated, that she’d feel that way. Heartsick that I was going to have to let her down. Especially because I wanted the same. I took her hand and led her to sit beside me on the edge of the bed. “We haven’t talked enough about Gabby’s, I said.”

“There are… rules,” I replied. “They’re not in a rulebook, or anything, just things that everyone knows. Ways to avoid hurting others, and being hurt. Ways to avoid drama.”

“Like not being a predator?” Tara suggested.

“Not so much,” I admitted. “I suppose if there’s a rule there it’s that you’re always free to say no. More like, don’t share too much, what’s between you stays between you, and, most importantly, protect yourself from catching feelings for someone. So most girls will only spend one night together, then find someone else. Maybe they’ll get together again, but not until enough time has passed that they can keep it casual.”

“Okay,” Tara said. “I think I understand that.”

“The problem is, I don’t think I could do that,” I said. “Not with you, Tara. I like you enough already that I don’t think I could be casual. I can’t do a one-night stand with you.”

“Oh,” she said, looking crestfallen. “Does that mean I can’t kiss you?”

“I’d like to kiss you,” I said, “but I won’t stay. Is that okay?”

Reaching out, I touched her jaw, drawing her close as I moved my face to hers. She waited for me to lead, so I did, lightly kissing along her lips until they parted, then sucking each lip, releasing it as she pressed close to me. Her hand moved around my back, and I took her free hand in mine, interlacing our fingers.

I felt her breathing accelerate when I touched my parted lips to hers. She was definitely not pushing like she did the previous day, yet as far as I could tell, the kiss was affecting her more than it did then. I found her tongue waiting just behind her lips, and a breath shuddered out of her. Her fingers tightened in mine.

As gradually as I was able, I released my passion into the kiss. I knew she wanted more – so did I – but I had to know that I could control what we gave each other.

Letting her tongue touch mine, I licked it for a moment, then drew mine back, knowing hers would follow. I gripped her tongue between my lips and suckled it. Her body tightened with arousal. I continued to suckle as her breathing sped up even further, then released her. The fingers against my back caressed the skin there, and her other hand tightened in mine.

Untangling my fingers from Tara’s, I held her hand in mine for a moment, then moved it toward me, prying her fingers apart before setting it on my breast. For a moment she breathed so rapidly I thought she was hyperventilating. Then her breathing slowed, though it was still heavier than it had been, and she moaned as her hand closed over my breast.

Tara’s fingers explored for a couple of minutes before I lifted them away, then detached my lips from hers. Her eyes were dark with desire when I drew back. I was becoming wet, and I was pretty sure from her expression that she was at least as turned on as me. I smiled at her. “I think it’s time I left,” I said.

She pouted. Genuinely, this time. “I won’t be able to see you tomorrow,” she said. “I’m going to be helping my cousin with last minute projects and packing. And there’s the rehearsal dinner.”

“Packing? They’re leaving for honeymoon right away?”

“Yeah, next day,” she said. “Hawaii. God, I’d love to go to Hawaii. I’ll move in when they leave, so I’ll be checking out of here on Sunday. No more pool. You will be at the wedding, right?”

“I will,” I said. “I’ll find you there.”

She looked thoughtful, but didn’t say more. “See you Saturday, Tara,” I said.

She nodded, brightening a little, before I left.

I arrived ninety minutes before the service. Tara was going to be busy getting ready. She might need help. Since the partners of most of the bridesmaids were also bridesmaids, they might not have many outsiders able to support them.