Melissa Good - Tropical Convergence

It felt familiar and wonderful, and the tension coiled inside her body relaxed as if by magic as Kerry pulled her head back a little and looked up into Dar's eyes again.

"Hey, sweetie." Kerry gazed at her with unmistakable adoration. "Are you ever a sight for sore eyes."

Dar grinned like an idiot. "Hey." She cleared her throat slightly. "Want to move out of the way of those folks?" She picked up Kerry's bag and shouldered it.

"Sure." Kerry wrapped her arm around Dar's waist as they moved down the aisle of seats, and away from the gate. She caught a look of disgust from one woman. "Something wrong?" she asked politely.

"Disgusting," the woman answered, drawing away.

"Thank you," Kerry replied graciously. "Have a great night. I know I will." She gave Dar a squeeze, and grinned unrepentantly as the woman hurried past and left them behind. "What a creep!"

"Her loss." Dar circled Kerry's shoulders with one arm and rested her cheek against her partner's soft, fair hair briefly. "How was the flight?"

"Took forever," Kerry admitted. "I just wanted to get here. It was okay, I guess." She craned her head. "Oh, I like those. Are they new?" She plucked at the waistband of Dar's jeans. "Very sexy."

"Mmhm." Dar felt herself relaxing further at the casual banter. "Thanks...you hungry? We can stop for something..."

Kerry looked around. "Not in here, honey. I've seen scrungier airports, but not by much," she remarked. "Can we get something at the hotel? I've got a headache Bayer would pay for."

"You got it." Dar shifted her arm, switching the casual drape for a light grip on the back of Kerry's neck. She kneaded the tenseness there as they walked, producing a half grin at the little sounds of contentment it drew from her partner. "Long day?"

"Ungh," she exhaled. "Long couple of days, and with as little sleep as I got last night, I'm raisin toast."

"With cream cheese?" Dar nibbled her hair a little. "Glad you're here," she whispered, seeing the shift of muscle under skin as Kerry smiled.

"I'm glad I'm here too." Kerry leaned against her as they walked through the door to the outside, and were greeted with a sultry New York night. "Hm. Almost as muggy as home, but with much nastier scenery." She wrinkled her nose. "We taking a taxi?"

Dar spotted an alternative, a long, plush looking town car with a diffident looking driver leaning against the side. "Got a better idea." She steered Kerry toward the car. "You go to Manhattan?" she asked the driver.

The man looked at them, head cocked to one side. "Do I go to Manhattan? Whaddaya think, this thing look like a tour bus? Sure I go to Manhattan. Where ya goin?"

"East side Hyatt." Dar felt slightly sheepish. "Sorry, it's late."

"You got it." The man opened the door with a flourish, and removed Kerry's bag from Dar's shoulder. "Gwan, get in there. I got better places to be than LaGuardia, that's for damn sure."

Kerry scooted in first, and waited for Dar to join her and shut the door before she edged back across the seat and snuggled against her partner with a contented sigh. There was a faint scent of oregano and garlic clinging to Dar's T-shirt, along with the touch of spice that was their mutual body wash. "You smell good," she commented, resting her head against Dar's shoulder. "Damn, I missed you. I thought I was going nuts. You've only been here a couple days, but I feel like it's been forever."

Dar was startled to have her own feelings articulated so precisely. "Yeah," she uttered. "Just real stressful days, I guess."

"Mm." Kerry rubbed her thumb lightly over Dar's belly. "You know, they really were. So much crap, and that damn power outage. Jesus."

Dar watched the lights of the city flash by, the driver surprisingly silent up front. It was amazing how much friendlier New York looked from inside the car with its present occupant wrapped around her. "Well, it's over," she said. "And who knows? Maybe we can have a little fun here."

"I'm having fun now." Kerry closed her eyes. "Dar?"

"Yeah?"

"We're a little nuts, y'know."

"Yeah, I know."

"Do you care?"

"Hell no," Dar said. "Do you?"

Kerry drew in a lungful of air infused with cotton, spice and love. "Oh no," she whispered, a smile pulling at the muscles of her face. "I'll take crazy any day."

They both fell silent, the restrained classical music becoming audible for the first time as the car raced toward a tunnel and the skyline of Manhattan spread out before them.

KERRY FINISHED ADDING her bathroom doodads to the sink shelf as she listened to Dar ordering them something from room service. The hotel room was big and very nice, but she could really have cared less as long as it had Dar in it, a shower, and someplace for them to sleep.

Even the second thing wasn't really a requirement, if she was honest.

With a smile, Kerry ducked back into the main room, pausing to lean in the door way and watch Dar as she paced idly back and forth in front of the desk.

"Thanks." Dar put the phone down and turned. "Twenty minutes. Did you get Advil?"

Kerry held up the small bottle she'd taken from Dar's kit. She uncapped it and removed a couple of the brownish pills, crossing to the pitcher of water sitting on the side table and pouring herself a half glassful. "That's a nice looking bed there, Paladar."

"Mm." Dar came over to her. "Too big for one person, though," she said. "Had a tough time getting to sleep in it," she admitted.

"Guess we've got the solution to that problem." Kerry swallowed her pills, dropping her head forward as Dar's hands gently kneaded her neck. It felt incredibly good, and not just from the warmth. "Know what?"

"What?" Dar's breath tickled the edge of her ear.

"My life suddenly got really good again." Kerry's tone was quietly serious.

Dar leaned against Kerry's back. "Mine too," she replied. "I missed you."

"I felt really lousy when I woke up this morning," Kerry mused. "I'm glad I'm here."

"So am I." Dar sounded just as serious. "So." She wanted to get this out of the way first, to untie that one knot of uncertainty deep in her guts so she could deal with whatever it was, and get past it. "Kerry."

"So, Kerry what?" her partner asked curiously.

"So. What is this thing you did that I'm going to kill you for?" Dar got the words out in a stolid rush, chasing the last one out of her mouth and clamping her jaws down after it.

Kerry turned, letting her hands rest on Dar's hips as she looked up. "Huh?" she queried. "What did I do now?"

A wrinkle appeared in the skin above Dar's eyes. "Ah...you...said you...the other day?"

"The other day." Kerry's gaze slid to one side, as she thought. Abruptly her expression cleared, then took on an immediate look of embarrassed chagrin. "Oh." She lifted a hand and half covered her eyes. "Yeah, that."

"That," Dar repeated, reassured. If Kerry had forgotten all about the damn thing, how bad could it have been? "Which is...what?" she asked, a touch hesitant.

Kerry had completely forgotten 'that', and now she felt like an idiot. With a sigh, she took Dar's hand and led her over to the bed, sitting down and waiting for her partner to take a seat next to her. "You really are going to think I'm a nut."

Dar's eyes fastened on her partner's expressive face intently. "I am?"

"Yeah." Kerry rubbed her nose. "I think you are."

Dar waited, but nothing more seemed forthcoming. "Well." She cleared her throat gently. "Why don't you give me a try and see? I mean..." She examined her partner. "You don't usually do nutty things."

Kerry took a deep breath, and looked Dar squarely in the eye. "I did this time," she admitted. "I...um..." She took another breath. "I got a tattoo."

Dar's face remained very still for a long, long moment. Then she blinked several times. "You did?"