Danielle Engle - Lavender Excursions

Camarin had to think of something fast. Thanks to her little deviation from the script, things were happening much quicker than they'd planned. This changed everything and she had to figure out what to do. There seemed only one solution. She'd have to tell Taylor what happened, and then bring Kimberly back to their cabin for a while. Between the two of them, they should be able to set things right again.

Feeling better after her cry but still worrying what to do, Kimberly pulled away and wiped her eyes. "I'll be okay," she said, running her fingers softly down Camarin's cheek. "Thanks for letting me cry on your shoulder."

"Any time," Camarin told her. She stood and offered Kimberly her hand. When they stood face to face, she lifted Kimberly's chin and kissed her softly on the lips. "I'm sure you will be okay, but I don't want you doing something you'll later regret," she told her. "Like I said, it's not my norm to sleep with straight women, but I've done it enough times to know you shouldn't rush into anything." She paused and looked outside. "It's getting late. Let's hike down to the docks."

"But…"

There's a pay phone there," she explained. "I want you to come back to my cabin with me. But I need to call my friend first and let her know we're coming. I'm sure she won't mind, but since we're sharing the cabin, it seems only fair that I ask her."

Although her words belied Kimberly's earlier impression of Camarin, she sounded sincere. "I would appreciate that," she said.

"I'll call Mark from there and tell him I'm going to be out for a while.

If her presses me for details, I'll just tell him we'll talk about it later."

Camarin smiled and lifted the axe. "Sounds good to me," she said.

"Are you ready?"

Kimberly nodded and stepped aside. "I take it you're going to do the honors?"

"Yes." she replied. Swinging the axe at her side, Camarin sauntered over to the door. After making certain that Kimberly was out of the way, she took aim and slammed the axe against the door.

Having weathered a lot of abuse over the years, the wood cracked and splintered. Two more strikes and the door was shattered. Camarin stepped back and motioned Kimberly to go first. "After you," she said very politely.

Kimberly smiled, grateful to be out of the cabin with its stifling dark atmosphere and musty smell. With the ease of two old friends taking a walk, she held Camarin's hand and they started for the docks.

It was a strange and different, but good, feeling that accompanied Kimberly down the mountain. She found Camarin's courtly demeanor to be very flattering. Hmm , she thought to herself. Maybe there is something to this female-to-female sex thing .

There was only one pay phone and it was being used by a boy who looked to be about fourteen or fifteen years old. He was bragging to someone about a big catch that he'd just made while ice fishing. Very politely, the two women stood to the side and waited.

The young man could see they were there but they weren't intruding on his space. Their show of respect must have pricked his sense of consciousness. "Well, I gotta go. I'll call you when I get home," he told his friend. "Okay, bye." He replaced the receiver, then turned and gave Kimberly the once over. An appreciative smile on his face, he winked at her and went on his way.

Camarin laughed. "I think he likes you," she teased.

"Humph," Kimberly replied.

Camarin dropped coins into the telephone and dialed the number for the cabin. Taylor answered on the first ring. Gesturing as though she couldn't hear, Camarin pushed the door closed and turned so her back was leaning against it and Kimberly could not see her face.

Taylor listened patiently to Camarin's description of what happened between the two women. Although Camarin was making an effort to convince Taylor that it was an act of necessity, Taylor felt betrayed and hurt. "How convenient," she said in a voice ripe with sarcasm.

"Too bad I wasn't part of the script when you fucked me. If I had been, maybe you'd have returned the favor."

Camarin smarted as she listened to Taylor's painful diatribe. "I'm sorry," she whispered. A moment of silence passed between them.

Camarin searched for some way of appeasing Taylor's hurt pride, but nothing seemed adequate. Why today of all days , she asked herself, have I suddenly developed a conscience ?

Taylor, too, was debating the matter. She decided that it was unfair of her to expect anything more of Camarin than she gave her. "It's okay," she said, her voice very soft and low. I have no right to question you about what you do. After all, I'm the student here.

Right?"

Camarin laughed. Taylor's humor was a good sign that she was forgiven. "So, do I need to pick up air freshener?" she asked, referring to the fire that occurred earlier that day.

"Nope!" Taylor informed her. "The smoke finally cleared and I cleaned every porous surface I could find in the place. It's not perfect, but it'll do."

"Thanks, Taylor. I don't know what I'd do without you," Camarin said. Relieved that Taylor wasn't angry with her, Camarin replaced the receiver and stepped outside. She held the door for Kimberly.

"Your turn," she told her.

"Hmm, so it is," Kimberly said, a sound of dread obvious in her voice. "If you don't mind, I'd like privacy, too."

Camarin winced as Kimberly closed the door in her face. Her comment was clearly intended to let Camarin know she hadn't fooled her when she made a pretense of not being able to hear when she was on the phone with Taylor. Camarin shrugged and leaned against the booth. People were so confusing! Take, for instance, the people on the lake. For the life of her, Camarin could not figure out why anyone would want to go ice fishing. She sighed and closed her eyes, waiting for Kimberly to finish her call.

Kimberly ended the call with Mark still talking, trying to get her to explain what was happening. She felt like a jerk leaving him wondering, but then, he hadn't been a model of kindness and consideration himself. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

The blast of cold air felt refreshing after her heated discussion with Mark.

"Everything okay?" Camarin asked.

"As well as can be expected," Kimberly replied. "In case you hadn't noticed, Mark is very possessive. But that is his problem," she added. "Now which way to your cabin?"

Camarin hooked her arm through Kimberly's. "Just follow me,"

she said, smiling.

On the way to Camarin's cabin, Kimberly found herself wondering who her friend was and what exactly was her relationship with Camarin. Where they really just friends? That and a million other

questions assailed her thoughts. She found it was starting to matter less and less to her what she told Mark. Right now, there were more important things in her life, like understanding why she was attracted to this woman walking beside her. "Life is never dull," she muttered to herself.

Camarin heard the muttering. "What's that?" she asked, pointing to her ear. When Kimberly quirked her eyebrows, Camarin laughed.

"Honestly, I didn't hear what you said," she insisted.

Kimberly smiled, the humor breaking her dark mood. "Is that your friend?" she asked, pointing to a woman who stood outside one of the cabins.

"Well, no, it isn't," Camarin replied. "That's our cabin but the woman standing there is not Taylor." Not knowing what to say or do, Camarin continued to the cabin where Taryn Williams stood waiting.

"My, my, aren't you a busy girl," Taryn greeted her. Her boot-clad feet at a cocky angle and her hips thrust out, strutting like a prostitute looking for a trick, Taryn approached the two women.

"Why, you're Taryn Williams, the woman from Lavender Excursions," Kimberly said. Puzzled, she looked back and forth at the two women.