Letting Go by Ann O'Leary Page A

busy at work with some new campaigns.”
    Laura gulped her vodka and tonic. It looks like her second, Kelly noted.
    Kelly told her about her weekend away camping with friends near the Murray River, on the New South Wales border, then quietly asked, “So, have you missed me?”
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    Laura drained her glass, and set about pouring another.
    “Of course I have.”
    Kelly noticed that Laura’s eyes were averted as she answered. Normally, she would have gazed at Kelly seductively, and perhaps even said, “Come upstairs and I’ll show you how much.”
    There was a disquieting silence between them. Laura lit a cigarette and fiddled with her lighter, turning it around in her hand. Kelly felt she wanted to clear the air and find out what was going on with Laura. “Are you seeing someone else?”
    Clearly, this took Laura by surprise. It was as if she’d been hoping Kelly wouldn’t notice her unusual behavior. She gulped down half of her drink and visibly relaxed. The alcohol’s beginning to work, Kelly thought.
    Laura looked at Kelly directly and asked, “What do you mean?”
    Kelly smiled. “You’re not very good at this, are you,” she said quietly.
    Laura looked away, and swallowed the remainder of her drink. Kelly got up from her chair, went to Laura and put her arms around her. She gently kissed her neck and her face and stroked her hips through the silk of the robe.
    “It’s okay, baby. As long as our arrangement can continue, it makes no difference to me. I mean…after all, you wouldn’t do anything silly like fall in love, would you? You and I know better than that.” She continued kissing Laura’s neck.
    “How did you know?”
    Kelly laughed softly. “Oh…the kiss at the door, your hesitation, the roses on the table, but most of all, your
    ‘giveaway eyes,’ honey. I’ve seen a lot of ‘giveaway eyes’ in 97
    my time.”
    “You’re right,” said Laura. “I’m not very good at this. I really want you to be here, but I feel strange about it. I think I must have a deep-seated purist streak in me that’s making me feel a little hesitant tonight.”
    “Well, in that case, I’d better take it slowly,” said Kelly in her seductive tone, “and see if I can make that purist streak disappear. I suggest we go upstairs and I’ll take off your robe, and lay you down comfortably…” Kelly brushed her lips against Laura’s neck and gently pressed her body into Laura’s. “Then I’ll kiss you slowly from your head to your feet, very slowly...” She sensed Laura finally beginning to respond.
    She kissed Kelly’s earlobe and whispered, “Yes.”
    Kelly wanted Laura badly by now but she wanted Laura to be as ready for her as she’d always been, so she didn’t want to rush things. She made a few erotic suggestions.
    “And then, baby, when you really need me, I’ll go down…
    and tease you with my tongue…taking my time…and have you crying out for mercy. Does that all sound like a good start?”
    At last Laura turned to face Kelly and kissed her sensuously. “Come upstairs with me,” she whispered. Upstairs, in the soft light from a candle, Laura responded to Kelly with all the fervor and lust of their best times together. Once they had begun, she was sexually experienced enough to be able to block out all other thoughts and focus on the moment. It was later, when they were lying on the disheveled sheets, damp and trembling in each other’s arms, and Kelly was falling asleep, that other thoughts began to 98
    pervade Laura’s mind.
    The nights were colder now, and the crickets and other warm-weather insects had ceased their plaintive nighttime calls. Laura reached across and blew out the candle on the bedside table. The flicker on the walls and ceiling was replaced with haunting white moonlight. Laura suddenly shivered. She reached down and pulled the quilt up over them. Kelly snuggled into Laura, kissed her shoulder softly and was soon asleep. Laura lay very still, gazing at a slash of