Kim Pritekel: Crossing Lines

"Please, please, please?" Kansas said, giving her mother her biggest grin. The older woman laughed, shaking her head at her daughter's antics.

"Fine. But I want the dishes done tonight."

"Okay." Kansas waited until she heard the slam of the front door before setting her drawings back out. She studied them all, especially the one she had been looking at before her mother interrupted her. Her gaze fell on Nina's breasts again. Glancing at her closed bedroom door one more time, Kansas chewed on her bottom lip as she began to erase and replace those marks with new strokes of her pencil. She was so into what she was doing, she almost missed the knock on her door. Glancing up, expecting to see her mother just barging in per usual, she waited, drawings once gain gathered and hidden. When nothing happened, she called out an invite.

The door squeaked open and Marina walked in, holding her own hot fudge sundae, and Kansas' shake. "Want to come down and watch some TV with me?"

Kansas shook her head. "No. Thanks for asking, though." She grabbed the shake that was extended to her. "And thanks for this. I've got some art I'm working on and want to finish."

Marina nodded, disappointed, but knew what her daughter was like when in "the zone". "Okay."

Alone yet again, and likely for the night, Kansas climbed off the bed, closing her bedroom door after her mother, and then flipping on the light of the drawing table she had gotten two Christmas' ago. She placed her current drawing on the smooth top, and went back to work.

***

For some reason, Nina felt guilty when Dan got home from the road that night. She had done nothing wrong, but even so, she knew that if Dan had walked in on her modeling earlier that day, he wouldn't have liked it. This made her mind turn to Kansas. The girl had talent, that's for sure. She tried to clear her mind of the entire thing. She'd done nothing wrong, and enjoyed the teenager's company. Kansas was interesting, and her intelligence amazed Nina. The girl would be a force to be reckoned with as she got older. End of story.

Later, as she lay in bed, Dan asleep beside her, Nina stared up into the dark ceiling. They'd made love earlier, Dan's presence still lingering on her skin and inside her body. Unable to sleep, the attorney quietly got out of bed, wrapping her naked body in a long t-shirt and closing the bedroom door behind her, so as not to alert Dan that she was up. She wanted to be alone, and didn't want to answer questions.

It was a hot night, so the breeze rising up under the thin cotton was nice on Nina's warmed skin. She padded down the hall, ending up in her office. She was due in court early day after next, and had a few last things to do.

She flicked on the desk lamp and her computer, starting at the cool vinyl of her desk chair on her naked ass. Brushing dark strands of hair out of her eyes, Nina glanced up, surprised to see the light on in the window across the way. A glance at the clock ticking softly on the desk, she saw that it was after two in the morning. She studied the window, trying to see between the still-open blinds, to the room beyond. What was Kansas doing in there? What was she thinking about?

With a heavy breath, Kansas pushed herself up from her bed, her back screaming at her for lying in the same position for so long. On her hands and knees on the mattress, she looked down at her handiwork. A sliver of arousal mixed with guilt shimmied its way into her heart. Nina lay back against a bed, her head partially turned away from the viewer, though enough could be seen to know it was the brunette. One arm was raised above her head, the other hand clutching at the sheet that barely covered her body. The majority of one breast was revealed, the sheet just barely covering the rigid nipple. This was the only drawing that Kansas hadn't allowed her imagination to go totally nuts, and had basically used what was actually in the original drawing and pose. She just used. . . a little license. She'd hide them away in the morning. No one could ever see them. Definitely not Nina.

Kansas finally stood, stretching her arms high above her head, squeaking slightly as she pulled her body taut, getting all the kinks out. She took one more look at her work, then walked over to her bedroom door, intent on heading out to pee. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a light across the way. She walked over to the window, shocked to see Nina sitting behind her desk, and looking over at her.

The blonde waved, Nina waving in return with a huge smile. Kansas got an idea, tapping lightly on her window and pointing down. Confused, Nina raised a brow with a shrug.

"Outside," the teenager said, pointing again. Finally her neighbor nodded, getting up from her chair. Kansas was nervous as she grabbed her shoes, hopping across her bedroom one foot at a time as she pulled them on. Opening her door, the blonde glanced down the hall toward her mother's room. Hearing and seeing nothing, she scurried down the hall and stairs, toward the back door off the kitchen.

***

Nina tugged on her shorts as she hit the back porch, quietly closing the door behind her. The night was warm, but pleasantly so. It was the kind of night where you could put a tent up in the backyard, and it would be wonderful to sleep in it.

"Psst,"

Nina's attention was grabbed. She glanced to her left, seeing Kansas standing at the chain-link fence that divided their yards. "Hey," she whispered, which sounded so loud to her on the early morning breeze.

"Hey, yourself," the blonde said. "What are you doing up so late?"

"Couldn't sleep," Nina admitted, leaning on the fence. "What about you?" she playfully chucked her friend in the arm. "Don't you need your sleep? A growing girl, or something."

Kansas rolled her eyes. "Somehow I think I'm done. My mom did the best she could with the DNA, but," she shrugged with a sigh, "think I'm done."

"She did a real nice job, Kansas," Nina said softly as she looked into the blonde's face and green eyes. She cleared her throat, realizing what she'd just said. "What are you doing up so late?"

"I was. . . " Kansas stopped herself, remembering just exactly what is was she had been doing. "reading."

"Gotcha." Nina jerked her head toward her backyard, backing off from the fence. The blonde quickly hopped the chain-link, like she'd done a million times already that summer, following her neighbor deeper into the shadows of the night. They settled on the cool grass, the blades tickling bare legs. Nina crossed her ankles, resting back on her hands as she looked up into the night sky. "It's such a gorgeous night out tonight," she said absently, almost wistful.

"Yeah. Years ago when my folks were still married, at the other house, I had a huge trampoline out in the backyard. I used to bring out a pillow and blanket and sleep on it. This would be the perfect night for that." She tore her eyes from the bright star she'd settled on, finding Nina's gaze already on her. The brunette had a soft smile curving her lips as she listened. "I used to stare up at the sky, connecting the stars like dots, creating crazy pictures in my head."

"Sounds wonderful. Where is the trampoline, now?"

Kansas shrugged, flopping back into the thick grass. "I got busy once I got into high school. Too many art clubs and friends. That sort of thing."

"Hmm. That's too bad." Nina fell back, lying beside the blonde. She closed her eyes, breathing in the summer night: smell of freshly cut grass beneath her; flowers blooming off to her left; the strawberry scent of Kansas' shampoo that drifted to her on the breeze. "Why don't you go out with friends now?"

Kansas grew very quiet, not wanting to talk about that. Nina was surprised when her innocent question was met with only silence. She raised herself, turning to her side. Looking down at the teen, she felt her heart break as a moon-silvered tear slid down Kansas' cheek.