Running From Forever Page 8

  “Bullshit! You didn’t see her face when I had to tell her you had been staying with another woman for the past few nights.” Annie slapped the cushion in frustration. Keller was more than her boss she was her friend. “Jesus, Sarah! I warned you about Keller, I never thought I’d have to warn her about you!”

  Sarah stood and walked to the window. “I can’t believe you told her where I was.” She added in a slightly louder voice, “Annie, it’s not like that.”

  “Then what is it? Tell my why she looked like someone kicked her in the stomach earlier?”

  Sarah just stared out the window. “It’s complicated.”

  “That’s a crock and you know it. Either you like her or you don’t, but don’t fuck with her, Sarah!”

  Sarah looked back at her sister with tears in her eyes. “Annie, you don’t understand!”

  Annie quickly stood. “You’re right, I don’t understand but that doesn’t really matter.” She glared at Sarah. “The problem is that I don’t think Keller really understands either. She’s my friend, Sarah, don’t hurt her.” She walked out of the room before Sarah could respond.

  After Annie’s door shut down the hall Sarah threw herself sideways to lay down on the old couch. “Fucking hell.”

  SARAH PLAYED HER last set that night. Always the professional, her performance was flawless. Both fun and funny, she was worth the money paid to get in. However, emotionally she wasn’t really there. Annie could tell, watching from the bar. The blue eyes watching from the shadows in the back of the room could tell too. Sarah was completely lost.

  In a move to make peace with her sister, Sarah agreed to sit in on the auditions the next afternoon. The two bands chosen would replace her and Mary’s Angels in their Friday night gigs. Keller was working in her office with the door closed but Sarah could still feel the weight of her presence. After a few hours, everyone took a break and Sarah wandered off to talk to the woman who dominated so many of her waking thoughts. She knocked and let herself in just as Keller was wrapping up a phone call.

  The bar manager was surprised but smiled, trying to keep things casual. “What’s up?”

  Sarah sat on the edge of her desk, idly tracing the oval dent on the steel top. “I probably should have talked to you earlier, but you know Annie graduates next Sunday, right?”

  Keller nodded. “Yeah. Actually I wanted to talk to you about that a few days ago. Since I couldn’t find you I went ahead with my plans anyway. I hope you won’t be angry.”

  Sarah looked at her curiously. “What are you planning?”

  Keller grinned evilly. “I invited all her friends, coworkers, and a few classmates to her open house.” Sarah looked confused so she added, “I’m holding it here, at The Merge. We’ll stay open to the public but Lynne will come in and supervise hanging the decorations and we’ll run drink specials. Best of all, I’ve got two box dancers coming in from nine until twelve.” She wiggled her eyebrows lasciviously. “That should keep little miss innocent entertained.”

  Sarah blinked in surprise and then grinned. “Wow, that’s great! I don’t know what to say except thank you.”

  Keller touched her knee lightly. “It’s no problem at all. Annie is a great employee but—” She swallowed. “She’s a better friend. It was the least I could do.”

  Sarah covered Keller’s hand with her own. “How about I pay for the food then, as my contribution?”

  “That would be great, thank you.” She laughed. “Actually, since we’re the only people besides Jesse who are attending the ceremony, it’s up to us to get her here afterward.”

  Sarah laughed with her. “Gee, convince her to have a drink after graduating, that’s going to be hard!” She stood and gave Keller a kiss on the cheek. “All right, I need to make a quick run to the dry cleaners to pick up my outfit before we start going over the audition results.” At the door she paused briefly. “Goodbye, Keller.”

  Keller could still feel the soft kiss from the mercurial singer long after she was gone.

  LATER THAT AFTERNOON, the four judges found themselves sitting at the bar comparing notes. An empty pizza box left over from their lunch sat off to the side and everyone had a beer in hand. The first band was easy to decide, every judge loved Finding Dora. The second was a little more difficult. Annie, Bruce, and Alice all liked the band Shaker Station but Sarah was adamant about Ronnie Williams. Bruce had been a fan of Shaker Station since the band first formed and was very vocal of his support. The look he gave Sarah said she was crazy. “Girlfriend, like—the Station totally rocks!”

  Alice and Annie nodded in agreement and Annie added, “Yeah, Ronnie was good but Shaker Station was just a little better. They had great stage presence. I thought the decision was kind of obvious.”

  Sarah agreed, shocking the other three. “You’re absolutely right, they are better” She held up a hand when everyone started to talk at once. “Hold on, hear me out. Let’s look at what we’re trying to accomplish here.” She looked at her sister. “Annie, have you noticed anything significant between the nights I played and the nights that Mary’s Angels played?”

  Annie scrunched up her eyebrows in thought. “Well, the crowds you played for were a little older.”

  “Right! So if you don’t want to lose the interest of that demographic, you should stick with picking two different style artists for each gig.” Understanding flashed across the other three faces. They were all younger than Sarah and less experienced in the music industry. None of them had thought about things in that much detail. It was about more than just choosing a great band to bring in the crowds. It was about choosing bands that would keep the crowds coming back. They need to appeal to the diversity of their audience. “Now you see why I wanted Ronnie to balance out Finding Dora.” She turned her attention solely toward her sister. “However, if I were you I would definitely line up Shaker Station for the next gig. They’re too good to let them get away.”

  Annie smiled “Absolutely.” She laughed and stole Sarah’s beer. “You really are older and wiser, who knew?” Everyone else joined in the laughter and started cleaning up. When they were finished, Bruce, Annie, and Sarah got ready to leave. Alice had to work that night so she went behind the bar to start stocking her garnish. As the three of them walked out into the parking lot, Annie addressed the other two. “You know, I’m looking at the whole thing from a different perspective now. It’s given me an idea.” The young woman was excited and it showed in her animated hand movements while she described her plan. “I think I’m going to advertise a little differently. I need to make sure the target audience knows what they’re getting. We should come up with a name for the two-month gigs, something that is both fun and descriptive.” She stopped walking for a second, looking thoughtful. “What do you think of The Sip and Chug Music Spotlight? We could advertise for bands the same way just to make sure we get diversity at the auditions.”

  Bruce clapped his hands. “Sweetie, that’s a great idea! You know, I could get my hunky boyfriend to make some kick ass fliers.” He grinned proudly, addressing Sarah. “Rico is an art major.”

  Annie smiled and rolled her eyes. She knew all about Rico from their many conversations. Bruce and Rico were one of her favorite couples. “Awesome, thanks, Bruce. I will go over the details and let you know what I decide. If we have your honey come up with something, I’ll make sure he gets reimbursed.”

  “Thanks A, I’ll let him know. He would probably have done if for free though.” They walked him the rest of the way to his Jeep. “All right girls, I’ll see you later. I’ve got to get going—” He sighed dramatically, “I’m on for dinner tonight. Wish me luck.”

  The sisters got into Annie’s car and Sarah watched the flamboyant man drive away. “He seems pretty cool.”

  Annie laughed, pulling out of the parking lot. “Oh yeah, he and Rico are a blast to hang out with. They are a very cute couple. Speaking of couples, did you talk to Keller?”

  “Annie…”
Sarah sighed in frustration. “Look, we’re not a couple, okay?”

  Annie gave her a serious look as they pulled into the driveway a few minutes later. “I know you. Don’t try to tell me you don’t like her.” She poked Sarah in the ribs. “You two have chemistry that even a blind man could see.” They sat for a moment with the car idling. Annie watched as a wide gamut of emotions passed across her sister’s face before the older woman answered.

  “I do like her, okay?” She gave Annie a sad look. “Is that what you want to hear, are you happy now?”

  Annie put a comforting hand on the tense woman’s arm. “Hey, take it easy.” She rubbed gently back and forth. “What would make me happy is for you to be happy. What’s stopping you, Sarah?”

  “It’s complicated—”

  The younger woman pinched her, none too lightly. “Don’t start that again!”

  “No really, there is a lot more involved than ‘who likes who’ here. I just need some time to be sure of what I want, and I don’t really know if that includes a complication like Noble Keller. Don’t worry, Annie, she knows how I feel.”

  Annie let her go. “All right, I’ll back off. But Sarah, I see something when you look at each other. Don’t be too quick to throw that away.” She smiled tenderly. She had slowly been cluing in to her sister’s fear of commitment since Sarah had returned home. “Besides, you need more than just me and Duke in your life.”

  Annie got out of the car and went into the house, leaving her sister to think in silence. Sarah just sat with her hands on her thighs, staring straight ahead. She could feel the distinct lump in her pocket made by Keller’s house key. “No I don’t. I don’t need anyone else.”

  FOR THE COLBY sisters, Annie’s graduation was one of the happiest and saddest days of their lives. They were happy that even after their parents’ death, Annie had finally accomplished one of their greatest wishes. The one dark cloud hovering over the moment was that their parents couldn’t be there to see it. “Anne Marie Colby…” When Annie’s name was called, Sarah had tears in her eyes. Keller discretely took her hand in a silent offer of comfort and understanding.

  Jesse was busy taking pictures but she caught the interaction between the bar manager and her girlfriend’s sister. Annie had mentioned something was going on between them but Jesse hadn’t seen it until that moment. She smiled to herself as she focused back on Annie.

  Many hours later the party was in full swing. Annie was seated in a chair getting a lap dance from one of the box dancers. Jesse, far from jealous, was still manning the camera. Coworkers and friends had been plying the young graduate with shots and she was well on her way to a wicked hangover. A while later, Annie convinced the DJ to play a popular line dance so Jesse sat at the table with Keller and Sarah. She had been getting to know both women very well over the past month and a half, and she really liked them. Her own family had disowned her when she came out, and Keller and Sarah were quickly becoming surrogates. She took a drink of her bottled water, attempting to cool off. “There is no way I’m going to dance to that!” The two older women laughed and agreed with her.

  Sarah had been quiet since the ceremony so Keller made small talk over the dance music. “Jesse, Annie tells me you’re going to school for computer networking. How long before you graduate?”

  Jesse leaned back in her chair watching the antics of her drunken girlfriend. She laughed at something the dancing woman did and then answered. “I still have one more semester to go but I’ve already gotten offers from two companies here in Columbus. One of the offers is for the place I already work part-time at.”

  Sarah joined the conversation with Keller and the younger woman. She really liked Jesse. She was smart and had a good head on her shoulders. Her sister could have done a lot worse. “That’s great news, so we’ll be having a party for you soon too, huh?”

  Jesse smiled shyly. “You guys don’t have to do anything for me but thanks for saying that.”

  The intense and sometimes enigmatic bar manager squeezed her shoulder in a gesture of comfort. “Hey, we’re all family here. Anyone that means so much to Annie is part of the family too.”

  Sarah added, “You’re always welcome, Jesse, anytime. If you ever need anything, just ask okay?”

  The young woman was touched by their offer of friendship and acceptance. Her reply was almost too quiet to hear. “Thank you.” She stood. “I’m going to the bathroom, in case Annie asks. I’ll be right back.” When she returned, she caught the tail end of Keller and Sarah’s conversation.

  “Sarah, I would really like you to come home with me tonight.”

  Sarah looked away from Keller’s intense blue eyes. “I can’t, not tonight.”

  “Why not?”

  She answered as Jesse pulled out her chair and sat down again. “Well for starters, I have to take Jesse and Annie home.” Jesse had met them at the house and the three rode together to the graduation ceremony.

  Jesse had witnessed the looks that passed between the two women on numerous occasions. Annie had talked to her a little about the situation, confiding that she thought they would be good together. The young woman decided to help things along. “You know, I could take Annie home.”

  “I need to be there in case she gets sick. She doesn’t handle hangovers well.”

  Jesse tried again. “You know I’d stay and watch over her too. Go on, have fun, I’ll take care of our girl. I’ve only had two drinks, you can trust me, Sarah.”

  Keller smiled at the younger woman’s assistance. “See, everything’s taken care of. Jesse will be there to watch over her.” She took Sarah’s hand in her own. “Please say you’ll come?”

  Jesse stayed quiet while they shared a moment. She was practically holding her breath waiting for Sarah to answer.

  Sarah took one last look into Keller’s eyes and the response slipped out before she could stop it. “Okay.”

  Jesse mentally patted herself on the back. Yes! She grabbed her water bottle and stood. “I’m going to go let Annie know the change in plans.”

  There was heat in the gaze shared by the two women remaining at the table. Sarah stood also. “I’m going to go say goodbye to Annie.”

  Keller stood as well, her breath coming a little faster in anticipation. “Good idea.”

  By the time the women reached the condo, they could barely keep their hands off one another. Keller had the taller woman pinned against the wall just inside the front door and was feasting on her mouth. When she started working her way toward the side of Sarah’s neck, Sarah tensed. “No!”

  Keller immediately backed off and looked into her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

  “No blood, Keller, I’m not going to be your meal tonight.”

  The shorter woman, hurt, looked at her sincerely. “I would never do that without asking, I thought you knew me better than that.”

  Sarah relaxed. “I’m sorry; I guess I just—panicked a little. I trust you.”

  “Good, because I have plans for you tonight that I don’t think you will want to miss.” Keller gave her a naughty look. She got two bottles of water from the refrigerator and returned. With water in one hand and Sarah’s hand with the other, she led the way into the bedroom. Sarah excused herself, heading into the master bathroom while Keller lit candles and turned down the bed. When Sarah returned, Keller was wearing nothing but a silk robe. She gave the singer that dangerously sexy look she remembered so well. “Undress and lay on your stomach please.”

  Sarah felt her sex clench in anticipation. She did as instructed and waited, enjoying the feel of cool sheets on her over heated skin. She shut her eyes and heard the quiet whisper of Keller’s robe slip from her body. The first touch of skin against skin was exquisite. Sarah moaned when she felt Keller’s hard nipples rub their way up her back.

  Keller started kissing the soft shoulders and neck under her. She used her hands to massage soft skin and beautiful muscles, all the while gently grinding her sex into S
arah’s firm ass. Sarah clenched her hands into the sheets, pressing back into the smaller woman. “Keller, you’re killing me!”

  Keller rose off her lover and sat on the back of the other woman’s thighs. With strong hands, she deeply caressed her firm ass cheeks. Keller ran her fingers down toward Sarah’s moist center, focusing briefly on her puckered opening. The singer trembled at the onslaught of sensations, begging, “Please…please…” Keller turned her over and slid along the length of her body, straddling a long, smooth leg. She smiled at the woman below her. “Yes? Did you need something, beautiful?”

  Sarah tangled a hand in short blonde hair. She pulled the other woman down and kissed her hard, lips and tongue insistent in her need. They broke away in the search of air. “What I need is for you to fuck me!”

  “Oh, I think I can oblige you there.” With skilled fingers she slid into Sarah and grazed a thumb over her clit. Sarah arched her back off the bed with a guttural cry. As Keller moved her fingers in and out, she rubbed her own arousal back and forth across the strong thigh trapped between her legs. Sarah was insane with need and when Keller leaned over and started feasting on her breasts, she began to tremble. When Keller saw the green eyes below her darken with desire, she couldn’t resist tasting her lips one more time. They kissed hard, never slowing their movements. Sarah abruptly jerked twice when she started to go over the edge. The movements caused sharp teeth to cut into the lip trapped between them. The reaction of that lone drop of blood caused fissions of heat to boil through Keller’s veins. “Aahhh!” Her body shuddered, uncontrollably, in rapid succession, each movement causing her thumb to graze the sensitive nub underneath. Time seemed to stop while the pleasure felt by both women echoed and carried back and forth through Keller’s empathic connection. When the orgasm finally left them, they collapsed, panting, onto the bed. Trembling and twitching muscles left them both weak. Keller slowly ran her tongue over her lips. She tasted the metallic tang of blood and quickly glanced at Sarah. Her lover had her eyes closed and a smile on her face, clearly enjoying the afterglow. When she saw the small smear of blood on Sarah’s lips, she carefully reached over and traced it with her fingers. The sensation caused by her fingers and the tantalizing smell of sex roused the other woman. But when Keller looked into the half-lidded green eyes, her own filled with shame. “I’m so sorry, it was an accident.”