Danielle Engle - Lavender Excursions

The vehemence in Camarin's voice startled Kimberly into action.

She moved quickly, gathering her clothes and semi-dressing herself.

Her clothing somewhat intact, she scrambled to put things back into place around the living room. First, the copper shovel that Camarin had welded so skillfully on her backside. She rested it against the hearth. Next, she dried the puddle where Camarin's jacket had dripped onto the floor. She saw Camarin's panties lying beside the chair. Hurriedly, she grabbed them and took one last look around the room.

They were running out of time. Camarin started for the door, motioning Kimberly to follow her. "Hurry!" she hissed. There was no time to spare. Mark opened the back door just as they scurried across the lawn and into the woods. They sought cover behind a clump of bushes, sitting down for a moment so they could catch their breath.

Camarin debated what to do next. She couldn't take Kimberly to her cabin because Taylor was there and Camarin had altered their agenda considerably. Not only that, but she'd also just fucked Taylor and it didn't seem a good idea to tell her she'd gone straight from her to another woman. A little wayward perhaps, but Camarin was not a cruel person. She'd run out of ideas and was ready to wait in the cold when she suddenly remembered the old ranger's station near the ski lift. "Come on," she told Kimberly. "I know a place where we can go."

Each step was a painful reminder of the sexual foray Mark had just interrupted. Kimberly winced as she tried to keep pace with Camarin.

The woman showed no regard for Kimberly's discomfort, plowing through the broken limbs and brambles as though someone was chasing them. This cold disregard made Kimberly even more determined to hide her pain. She gritted her teeth and followed Camarin through the woods, running at times to keep pace with her.

The ranger's station had been abandoned for a long time. Local teenagers, and probably a few wayward adults, had long since broken into the building, using it as a place to hang out or engage in what some would consider illicit activities. Somewhere along the way, the break-in was discovered and someone had placed a makeshift latch and lock on the door. Camarin searched her pocket for her Swiss army knife. She had the flimsy lock off within seconds. The next obstacle was getting the door to open. The wood was swollen, jamming the door tight against the frame. Camarin turned to Kimberly. "Help me push this open," she said.

Kimberly gritted her teeth and took a deep breath. She was convinced now that Camarin hadn't a clue how sore various parts of her anatomy were. On the count of three, the two women charged against the door. On the third try, their weight finally pushed it open.

They hurried inside the old building. It was dark but there was enough light shining through the solitary window so they could find their way around. Shivering from the cold, Kimberly hurriedly closed the door behind them.

Camarin laughed and shook her head. "Now how do you propose opening that door again?" she asked.

Kimberly groaned and clutched her head. A look of absolute despair on her face, she slid down in front of the door and rested her head against the hard wood. "Shit!" She looked at Camarin, hoping to receive some sign of support or at the very least, understanding.

The angry look on Camarin's face told her otherwise. She looked about the cabin, searching for something with which to pry the door open.

Camarin shook her head. She considered climbing out the broken window. However, the edges were jagged and a rusted metal contraption of some sort sat directly beneath the window. The last thing they needed was to contend with one of them being badly cut or otherwise injured.

Realizing she was letting her anxiety snowball, Kimberly closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. She was searching for calm in an otherwise very chaotic day. Camarin was saying something to her but she let the words drift past. Once her anxiety abated, she opened her eyes and searched the room for Camarin.

"You decide to come back from wherever the hell you were?"

Camarin asked, her tone very sarcastic and angry.

Kimberly stood and looked about the room. Her eyes lit up when she spotted a rusty axe leaning against an old metal filing cabinet.

Shoved into a dark corner, you could barely make it out. Fortunately, a ray of sunlight had managed to find a spot of rust-free metal on the axe, enough to cause a flicker and catch Kimberly's attention. A cocky grin on her face, she strutted across the room.

Camarin could tell by the way she looked that Kimberly had figured something out. She smiled triumphantly when Kimberly picked up the axe. "Kimberly, you're a genius!" she exclaimed.

"No, I just took the time to look around instead of getting lost in a panic," Kimberly replied. Hefting the axe in her hands, she checked the head to make certain it wouldn't go flying off the handle when they tried to use it. "Looks intact," she said. "Shall we try it now or wait until we've figured out what I'm going to tell Mark?"

Now that she was confident they were not trapped here indefinitely, Camarin felt more relaxed. She boosted herself onto the filing cabinet and sat down. "Let's talk," she said.

Kimberly sat on the floor, the cold seeping through her coat and pants, numbing her butt. Given how sore she was, the numbness was a welcome relief. "First of all," she started, "I don't understand what got into me back there. This is totally out of character for me. I do not engage in sexual intimacy with members of the same sex. And I do not engage in rough sex with anyone. Male or female," she added for emphasis.

Camarin found her speech somewhat amusing, given the way Kimberly had responded, participated and obviously enjoyed what they were doing only moments earlier. However, she decided now was not the time to argue the point. If all went as planned, Kimberly would have it figured out by the time her excursion ended. "You don't need to explain," Camarin responded. "I don't know what got into me either. Although I prefer women, I do not typically engage in sex with straight women who want it because they are curious as to what it would be like." Camarin was surprised by the anger that crept through in her last comment.

"Are you saying that's what this was all about – that I was just curious?" Kimberly asked.

Camarin shrugged. "Maybe, or maybe it was just a matter of happenstance. I don't know. However, I do think we need to let it go and move on to more important matters. Like what you're going to tell Mark when you go back to the cabin."

Kimberly sighed and pulled her knees to her chin, hugging herself.

"Maybe I won't tell him anything," she suggested. "I'll just rent a car and drive back home. Call him later and tell him there was a family emergency or something. If he asks why I didn't leave a note, I'll just tell him I was too upset to think of it." Her eyes wide and questioning, she looked at Camarin. "What do you think?"

"I think it's going to be hard to rent a car when you have no identification or money or credit cards on you. And why would you leave without taking any clothes? Don't you think Mark will be awfully suspicious?"

"Oh, shit!" Kimberly exclaimed. "Maybe I should just tell him the truth," she muttered. "I'm fucked up, confused, unhappy and don't know what I want at this point."

A tear slid down her cheek and Camarin saw it before Kimberly had time to look away. She eased herself off the filing cabinet and kneeled beside her. "Ssh," she whispered, placing her arm around Kimberly's shoulders. "It's all right." Gently, she pulled Kimberly into her arms and held her. She kissed the top of her head and whispered soothing words of reassurance.

Kimberly clutched Camarin's shirt and pressed her face against her chest. She listened to the soothing sounds of her heart beating and gave vent to the tears she'd repressed for so long.