By Sheri

Last Updated May 4, 1999 - 2:30 AM

Disclaimers: See Part 1

Warning: The first bowling practice session takes place in this update so the sport will be discussed. Just so you guys know I am a YABA certified instructor and these are the ways we teach bowling to beginners if any of you want to go out and try these tips.

The next morning Lita and Des established a routine that they would go through nearly every morning that followed. Lita would hang around after completing her shift until Des arrived for work. Des started coming to work a few minutes early so they would have some time to chat. Lita would ask Des how she slept and Des would ask Lita how work went. Then they would talk about plans for the evening (most of which included doing something together) and then it would be time for Des to get to work. There were interesting side effects to these little early morning chats. Lita rarely had to take a hot tub in order to relax and get to sleep anymore (she preferred waiting to share them with Des anyway) and Des always came to work with a smile on her face and an attitude that made everyone's day better.

Their evenings began to fall into a pattern as well. They were always spent together in one way or another. Some nights were spent at Des' house and others were spent at Lita's. When they were at Des' house Des would make supper in her tiny kitchen while Lita stood in the doorway watching and talking about each other's days. These conversations were usually the opposite of their morning ones. With Des asking how Lita slept and Lita asking how the day went. After supper they would settle in on Des' couch to watch TV or a movie. If they were feeling really ambitious they would play pinball on the machine that Des had picked up at a garage sale for $35. It was the one thing she had always wanted when she got her own house so when she saw it she had bought it even though it didn't work at the time. It took $200 to get it fixed but it was worth it. Sometimes they even spent time playing with Des' niece and nephew who lived next door. Des and her sister lived in the two halves of a side by side duplex. Des was renting her half from her sister, aside from the rent being cheap, Des liked the fact that she could spend a lot of time with her niece and nephew. (She also made a great babysitter, especially for those last minute trips to Wal-Mart.)

Des' side of the duplex was considered to be the 'small side' but there was actually more than enough room for Des. At one time she had even had a roommate; her roommate was part of the set of friends who had hurt Des a few years back. There were two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. The larger bedroom had a huge walk-in closet, the smaller bedroom was small, but big enough for one person. Downstairs there was a large living and dining area with the tiny kitchen. There was a small basement for storage and hiding during tornado watches, and an enclosed porch off the back door where Des kept her bike.

The nights spent at Lita's house were very similar to those spent at Des'. Lita started stocking her house with groceries, under the guidance of Des of course, so Des could make supper there as easily as at her own house. There were times when Lita insisted on buying supper so Des didn't have to cook. The one innovation to her house that Lita was most proud of was the idea she had to move the television in her bedroom so they could see it from the hot tub. This allowed them to soak in the hot tub and watch a movie at the same time. One of the things Lita loved the most about her relationship with Des was the fact that they could sit in silence without feeling uncomfortable. She never felt like she had to make conversation with Des just to fill the silence. Admittedly, Des could and did keep conversations going without any help from her but she knew that if she wanted to be quiet she could be. Surprisingly, Lita talked more with Des during those evenings than she ever had in her life to anyone. It was still the quiet times that Lita enjoyed the most, when they sat together peacefully and happy in the fact that they were together. Lita didn't know it but secretly Des did too.

Of course there were nights that they couldn't spend with each other; chores had to be done, family time kept Des away sometimes, and occasionally Lita switched shifts with someone. No matter what interfered with spending time together there wasn't a day that went by when they didn't communicate somehow. Their favorite method was over the telephone, at least this way they could hear each other's voice. If this wasn't possible there was always e-mail and the pack. They had succeeded in getting Lita online so they could send a message if their schedules were completely at odds. After a while it became a game between them and they started sending messages to each other for the thrill of knowing that it would be there when the other checked their messages even if they couldn't be there in person. After their first week spent together it was hard for either of them to remember or imagine spending days apart. By the time the next Saturday rolled around and they had officially known each other for one week their lives were already irrevocably linked.

Des and Lita had big plans for this Saturday, they were back in the bowling alley. Lita desperately wanted to practice her bowling before the meeting only a week away.

"How long has it been since you last bowled?" Des asked.

"At least 10 years." Lita replied. Des had gotten her gear together, they had rented shoes for Lita and were getting ready to start.

"Did you bowl regularly or once in awhile just for fun?"

"Once in awhile just for fun."

"Did you ever have any lessons? Did anyone ever help you with where to stand, how to hold the ball, anything like that?" Des was trying to decide where to start and how much help Lita would need.

"Never. I just picked up a ball, walked towards the pins, and threw it down the middle."

"Ok. Let's start at the beginning then. The first thing to do is to figure out where to start from." Des and Lita walked down the approach to the foul line. The foul line is the line that separates the approach from the alley itself. The approach is where the person walks and the alley is where the ball rolls. Des had Lita turn at the foul line so her back was to the pins and her heels were on the foul line.

"Now. close your eyes and walk forward four steps." Lita did. "Take another half a step and turn around." Des instructed.

"Anywhere along this line is where you should start from in order to do a standard four step approach. This is where we'll start you from. You'll probably have to move back when you actually get a ball in your hands and start walking. I start from the second row of dots even though my walking had me starting at the end of the ball return. We'll also start you in the middle of the lane and try throwing down the middle of the lane. That will probably change too. I line my feet up in the middle of the lane because I have what is called a 'drift' in my approach. When I am walking up to the foul line I move to my right about 15 boards so that when I end up at the line my left foot is almost in the gutter. Height doesn't matter as far as where you stand it has more to do with how big your stride is when you are walking with the ball in your hands. Bowling is a game of constant adjustments. Once you get your footwork figured out and how to move the ball at the same time as you walk you have to get your wrist and arm to move the same way each time. Don't worry though, by the time you get all that figured out the conditions of the lane will change and your perfect approach won't work anymore, so you'll get to change it all again. Are you ready to throw in the towel yet or do you want to keep going? I don't want you to get bored or frustrated until we actually start putting ourselves through this torture for fun every week."

Lita had been watching her with a slightly amused, slightly bemused expression. 'She is so cute when she gets fired up. I could just sit here and watch her talk for hours.' She pulled herself back to the conversation and replied, "You're fine, I just hope there isn't a quiz later."

"That's the teacher in me coming out I guess. I suppose the next step is to get you started on the approach."

"Uhm Des." Lita interrupted, "Don't I need a ball?"

Des looked at Lita out of the corner of her eye and said, "Not really, but you will eventually so we might as well pick one out. I think you're strong enough to throw a 14lb ball." She ran her hand up Lita's arm and felt the muscle of her bicep under the soft skin (not that she could forget what those muscles felt like, after that backrub the other night. Even her fingers seemed to remember the texture of muscle covered by silky soft skin.) "Maybe even a 15lb ball wouldn't be to heavy." Des mused softly. "Next decision is whether to use a conventional grip or a fingertip grip."

"What's the difference?"

"With a conventional grip," Des said taking a house ball from the rack, "your middle and ring fingers go into the ball up to the second knuckle. With a fingertip grip they only go into the ball up to the first knuckle. Only your fingertips hold the ball so they have to be very strong. The advantage is you get more rotation on the ball which gives you more hook and the ball hits the pins harder.

Most people start with a conventional grip because they are afraid of not being able to hold or control the ball."

"Well," Lita purred, "my fingers are very strong so I can probably use a fingertip grip."

"Okaay." Des said. "Then hold your hand up." Lita did and Des placed her palm to Lita's. After waiting for the tingles to stop shooting up and down her arm Des measured Lita's hand against hers. "My ball won't work for you. You can see that your fingers are longer than mine and your hand span is longer too. Let me go get my sister's ball, her's might fit better." Des ran off to the locker room to get the ball and catch her breath. She willed her heart to stop pounding, got her breathing under control again, and rejoined Lita on the lane. "First off, put your thumb in the thumb hole and lay your hand on the ball without putting your fingers in the finger holes." Lita did as Des instructed and Amy's ball did fit. When Lita laid her hand on the ball the first knuckle of her fingers was perfectly centered over the finger holes. "Ok. This one should work good enough. The key to the four step approach is to move the ball at the same time you are walking. When you are standing at your starting point the ball should rest comfortably at your side, you should have your hand under the ball so that all the weight is resting in your palm. You should also have your other hand on the ball helping to hold the weight. Are you right handed or left handed?"

"Right handed."

"Good, so am I. This would be harder if you were left handed. You are going to take your first step with your right foot. When you step you should push the ball straight out. Then with your second step you let the ball start to drop. The third step the ball should be behind you and starting to come forward. Your fourth step is a slide and your ball should be coming forward and you should be releasing the ball as you finish your slide. Some people repeat this phrase to keep the rhythm right. Out-first step, down-second step, back-third step, and roll-fourth step slide." As she repeated this phrase again Des demonstrated walking as slowly as she could through the steps. "Ready to try?"

"You bet." Lita stepped up to where Des had showed her and took her first steps. "Out, down, back..." She stopped here because the ball was no longer in her hands. As she reached the third step and brought the ball back behind her it fell out of her hands and headed for the seats. Dee was ready for this, her sister had done the same thing back when they were first learning how to bowl, she caught the ball before it could hit the ground and embarrass Lita. Lita turned around slowly and walked back to Des. "Maybe I should start with a conventional grip." she said sheepishly.

"Actually, I think this will be fine you just need to go slower. Maybe we should try walking without the ball to start with."

"Good idea." Lita said.

They continued to practice for another half an hour or so, Des gave Lita some drills to try and they worked on technique and footwork. Lita was still having trouble getting her feet and her arm to move in a smooth motion and Des knew that she was going to have to use more of a 'hands on' approach to the instruction. She had been avoiding this drill because she wasn't sure she would be able to control her body's reactions to the close contact required. She also knew that Lita really wanted to do well and in order to accomplish this she would have to figure out how to walk and throw the ball at the same time.

"If you don't mind I'd like to try something we used to do with the kids to smooth out their approach?" Des asked.

"Sure," Lita said surprised. "that's what we're here for. Is this really silly looking or something, will I be embarrassed? There's no one else here you know."

"I know and this isn't really embarrassing or anything it's just that..." she paused and took a deep breath, "it involves me touching you a bit and I wouldn't want to make you feel uncomfortable or anything. It would strictly be for instructional purposes, I swear." Des finished in a rush and waited anxiously for Lita to respond. In all their conversations of the past week this was one subject Des hadn't had the nerve to bring up. She had no idea how Lita would react to the feelings she was having for her friend. There had been hints that Lita was not adverse to the idea but Des had not been able to bring herself to finding out for sure, until now.

"I'm sure it would be but for the record Des," she paused and put one finger under Des' chin to look her in the eye, "You can touch me any way you want to any time you want to. After all we're friends, right?"

"Right." Des said, just a bit disappointed by the response, she still wasn't sure. "What I am going to do then is walk with you holding your hand. I don't want you to do anything but concentrate on moving your feet, let me move your arm." Lita picked up the ball and stood at her starting point (which had been moved back quite a bit). Des put her left hand around Lita's right wrist allowing two fingers to slip between her palm and the ball while her thumb and other two fingers circled the wrist. As they slowly walked through Lita's approach Des moved her hand helping Lita keep her wrist locked and moving in time with the steps. It took a few tries for them to match strides, but after a few good throws Lita was ready to try on her own again. This time her timing was much better and they were able to start playing around with where she should stand and how to throw the ball for spares and such. By the time they called it quits even Des had to admit that Lita was looking pretty good. In fact, Lita seemed to have an amazing amount of natural ability. After Lita got two strikes in a row Des said, "I think that's enough for one day. It's best to end on a high note."

"Great!" Lita said, "My arms and legs are killing me! When did bowling become such a workout?"

"When you are doing it right it always is. It takes a lot of effort to throw a 14lb ball 15-20 miles an hour down a 90ft. alley. If your approach is right you should have a deep knee bend that really taxes the strength of your legs. There are some weekends when I bowl 12-15 games in a four days. By the time I am done I am exhausted."

"I can believe it. Why would you have to bowl that many games in a weekend though?"

"There are some weekends where I bowl in tournaments where I have to bowl 9 games, after bowling three on Friday night and then sometimes I have to sub on Monday night which means 15 games. I also bowl in a traveling league every other weekend for a couple of months. We travel to different bowling alleys and bowl 6 games in one day. Since the league only meets every other weekend we have to bowl two weeks worth of games each time. My style of bowling doesn't really stress my legs or arm that much though. The hardest part for me is what all that bowling can do to my hand."

"What do you mean?"

"As you bowl your fingers get warm and they can swell. Bowling three games isn't too bad but when I bowl six my thumb gets too big for the thumbhole and I tend to rip the skin off of my knuckle. That makes it hurt to bowl."

They had finished putting all of their gear away and were heading out towards the parking lot when Lita asked nonchalantly, "So, what do you have planned for the rest of the day?"

"Nothing much, just planning to hang around the house waiting for someone to sweep me off my feet, take me away to an incredibly romantic, secluded spot in the woods, wine me and dine me until I am completely at their mercy and hopelessly in love. What do you think my chances are?" Des said eyeing Lita playfully.

Lita glanced around them quickly glad to see that there was no one else in the bowling alley. "That depends on two things." Lita said seriously.

"Really?! What are they?"

Lita turned to face Des and Des suddenly seemed to realize that Lita wasn't joking. In fact, she was looking very serious and maybe even a little nervous? The world seemed to slow down and come to a stop centered on the incredible woman standing in front of her.

"Number 1. Instead of a secluded spot in the woods how about a lake lot surrounded by trees. Number 2..." Lita paused, took a deep breath and with her heart in her throat said "can I be the one to take you away?"

The world started turning again as Des looked into the impossibly blue depths of Lita's eyes and saw the truth. There were no longer any doubts and Des saw her future reflected back at her.

"Absolutely." she breathed and took Lita's hand in hers as they walked out into the sun.

Their vehicles were parked alongside each other in the parking lot. As they walked up to the cars Des reluctantly let go of Lita's hand so she could open her door.

"I have a surprise for you." Lita said, "Why don't you run home and grab your swimsuit. I'll be back to pick you up in about an hour." Lita's mind was racing, she was trying to grasp the enormity of the fact that Des was feeling the same things she was and she was busy making plans to surprise Des. If it was at all possible Lita was going to make all of Des' dreams come true in one magical night.

"Ok." Des said as she put her hands on Lita's arms and leaned towards her. Now that she had seen the fulfillment of her dreams standing before her she was ready to take the next step. Once again, the rest of the world faded away as Des locked eyes with the other half of her soul and slowly moved to place her lips to Lita's. Before she could reach her goal however a car driving by on the street honked its horn and brought reality crashing down on them. Lita placed her fingers against Des' lips and whispered in response to the question in her eyes. "Not here, not now." She gave Des a quick hug and pulled herself away from the nearly overwhelming temptation to take what Des was so freely offering. She wanted their first kiss to be as perfect as she could make it and that did not include the parking lot of a bowling alley where anyone could witness it. It was meant to be between the two of them. She walked over to her own car and started it quickly before her resolve weakened.

"See you in an hour."

"An hour." Des repeated, still dazed by the energy coursing through her body. It was like she had actually done what her uncles used to accuse her of when she got her hair permed once. She felt like she had stuck her finger into a light socket. Her hand went to her lips, almost of its own accord, as if it too wanted to capture the feeling of Lita's fingers pressed there. Lita honked her horn bringing Des out of her trancelike state.

She waved at Des to get into her car, those protective instincts not allowing her to leave until Des was safely on her way home.

Lita's first stop was the store, she had to pick up picnic provisions, then she headed out to her house to get her surprise. She parked the car in the garage and reached in to retrieve the groceries, on her way to the door a wave of pain washed over her and she had to sit down on the step. After taking a few deep breaths the pain receded and she was able to continue into the house. 'What was that all about?' She wondered as she placed the groceries on the counter.

Meanwhile, Des had arrived home, picked up her mail and was flipping through it as she walked upstairs to get her swimsuit. Halfway up the stairs she came to a letter that made her stop. She sank down to the step as the name on the return address and the handwriting slowly registered. The name alone was enough to send her hurtling through the memories of her childhood. 'What in the world could he want after all these years?' she thought. She couldn't bring herself to open the letter so she stuffed it into the back pocket of her shorts. She took a few deep breaths to compose herself, pulled herself up off of the step and continued up the stairs towards her bedroom. She concentrated on thoughts of Lita and soon the unpleasantness caused by the letter was forgotten as the incredible feelings stirred by these thoughts took precedence. No ghost from the past stood a chance against the reality of her future.

Des was sitting at her computer going through her e-mails to pass the time waiting for Lita to arrive when she heard a loud rumbling on the street in front of her house. 'That dang neighbor must be working on one of his muscle cars again.' she thought. 'He'd better not go racing down the street again.' Suddenly the rumbling stopped. 'That was quick.' Des thought and went back to her reading. A moment later there was a knock on the door. Des went over to open the door and saw a vision in black leather standing on her doorstep. The figure was wearing a black leather jacket, black leather pants that molded themselves lovingly to long well-muscled legs and ended in black leather boots. As Des slowly opened the door the figure reached up and removed the helmet allowing the midnight colored hair to spill out and revealing the crystal blue eyes and beloved face of Lita.

"Wow." was all Des could think of to say.

"Ready to be swept off your feet?" Lita asked. Des nodded her head slowly, unable to take her eyes off the luscious form in front of her. "You'll have to go put on a pair of jeans then. Bring the shorts along though, if you want you can change back into them when we get to the house."

Des ran up the stairs and threw on a pair of jeans. As she came back down the stairs she grabbed her jacket from the rack by the door and they went outside. At the end of the sidewalk was the cause of the rumbling Des had heard and dismissed earlier. The gold and white Harley looked as if it could take off and fly at any minute. The fact that it wasn't even running did nothing to dispel the image from Des' mind. Lita handed Des the helmet strapped to the handlebars and reached for Des' shorts. Des handed Lita the shorts and Lita packed them into the bike's saddlebags.

"All set?" Lita asked as she put on her own helmet.

"I think so." Des replied hesitantly. Lita slung her leg over the seat and started the bike.

"Hop on!" she yelled over the growl of the engine.

"Are you sure it's safe?" Des asked as the growl settled into a loud purr.

"Trust me?"

"With my heart." Des answered and gingerly sat down behind Lita.

"Sit closer, put your arms around my waist and hang on." Des carefully slid as close to Lita as she could and placed her hands lightly on Lita's hips. Lita grabbed her hands and wrapped them tightly around her waist. She released the kick stand, gave the bike some gas and eased away from the curb. As soon as the bike started moving Des' arms squeezed Lita even tighter and she hid her face in the leather covering Lita's back. When they pulled up to the stop sign at the end of the street Lita turned her head and asked, "You doin' ok back there?"

"Just great." Des replied weakly.

"When we get out of town we can try something to make you less scared."

"We can try." Des agreed but she didn't sound too sure. When Lita pulled away from the stop sign Des resumed her hiding place. Trying to take her mind off of the fact that she was scared silly she thought about how incredible it felt to hold Lita and tried to commit every aspect to memory. 'Why does this seem familiar already?' she pondered. The tantalizing smell of the leather mixed with the scent that Des had come to associate with Lita, holding tightly with her faced pressed against her strong back, even the sensation of the wind whipping through her hair was not new to her.

"Are you ready to get over your fear of riding?" Lita asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Des said.

"Ok, let's try this then." Lita pulled over to the side of the road and got off the bike. "Scoot forward." Des did and Lita got back on behind her. Lita's voice purred in Des' ear as she said, "Put your hands on the handlebars." When Des' hands were in position Lita placed her own hands on top of them. Again Lita's voice sounded in her ear. "It's your turn to drive." Des yanked her hands from the handlebars and exclaimed "What?!"

"You're going to drive, then you won't be scared anymore."

"Of course I won't. We'll both be dead!"

"You don't really think I'd let that happen do you? I've finally found you I'm not letting go that easily. Trust me."

"Ok, if you're sure."

"I'm sure." Des put her hands back and Lita showed her how to make the bike go. They slowly continued along the shoulder until Des seemed to have the hang of it. As she relaxed and realized that she was in control of the power beneath them her fear of the bike disappeared to be replaced by the exhilaration. The combined sensations of power, freedom, and the safety of Lita's arms around her was intoxicating. When they pulled up in front of Lita's house and Lita reached in to turn off the engine Des was truly sorry.

"That was incredible Lita, thanks."

"That was just the beginning." Lita replied as she took Des' hand and led her into the house.

As they reached the door Lita commented. "I've got to change out of these leathers before we move on to the next portion of the evening. Do you want your shorts?"

"That's too bad." Des said regretfully. "But yeah I'll change too I guess."

"What's too bad?" Lita asked as she went back to the bike and retrieved Des' shorts.

"You changing. I know it's too hot to keep them on but for some reason I really love the idea of you in leather. I have a few leather coats my self and I have always liked them but when we were riding out here and I was behind you..."

"There was something so familiar about that wasn't there?"

Lita interrupted. "I got that feeling too. As if we had done that a million times before even though it was the first time."

"You felt it too? I was sitting there with my arms around you and the smell of leather and you tantalizing me, the only thing that felt different was the fact that I couldn't get quite close enough to you. The helmet was in the way." As she was speaking Des moved to stand next to Lita their bodies brushing as she placed her hands on the buttery soft supple leather covering Lita's shoulders. She slowly caressed down Lita's arms to her waist. She leaned her head against Lita's chest as Lita's arms enfolded her and pulled her closer. As the hug continued Lita bent her head to rest it on top of Des'. They stood there for a moment out of time. The scent of leather and Lita filled Des' nostrils with each breath while the steady pounding of Lita's heart under her ear and the strength of the arms around her made her feel safe and loved. Lita's senses were being assaulted by the intoxicating smell of Des' strawberry-blond hair and the luscious curves she could feel pressed so sweetly against her. After basking in the sensations for as long as she dared Lita gently kissed the top of Des' head and reluctantly pulled herself from the embrace.

"I've got plans for tonight and they include getting out of the garage." she said with a smile. "Let's go change." She handed Des her shorts and taking her hand again led her to the door.

As they reached the door Des pulled away and asked, "What do you mean you've got plans? What plans?"

"It's a surprise. C'mon." She held out her hand again.

Des slipped her hand into Lita's and allowed herself to be led through the house and up to the bedrooms. Outside the guestroom Lita stopped.

"Go get changed and then wait for me, please?"

"Ok." Des was intrigued and getting impatient, "Just don't take too long or I might come in and get you." The thought of Des interrupting her while she was changing caused Lita's mind to run with the fantasy of what could happen next. Shaking her head to dispel that tempting image Lita smiled and darted through the door of her own bedroom, firmly closing the door on that train of thought before her body could decide to act on it. 'If this keeps up I'll never make it through our picnic.' Lita thought leaning weakly against the closed door. Despite the fantasy her mind insisted on replaying Lita did not want Des to interrupt her so she quickly peeled off the leathers and replaced them with shorts and a t-shirt. After taking a few deep breaths she opened the door and went to get Des. 'I haven't needed this much oxygen since I first started training to run cross-country in High School' she thought as she walked down the hallway.

Holding hands again Lita led Des through the house and out the back door to the backyard-if you could call the paradise they stepped into something as mundane as a backyard. Lita had set a blanket on the lawn near the shoreline and surrounded it with candles. There was a cooler at one end of the blanket and a number of pillows were propped up against it. Above them the sky was filled with stars and the moon was beautifully reflected in the gently rippling waters of the lake. This was one of the rare weekends when no one from Des' family was camped out next door so the only sounds were the crickets, owls and the peaceful lapping of the water against the dock.

"This is unbelievable. It's so beautiful." Des whispered trying not to break the utter beauty of the moment. "When did you have time to do all this?"

"I have many skills." Lita said mysteriously as she led Des over to the blanket. They settled down against the pillows and spent a few moments absorbing the paradise surrounding them.

"Have you ever seen anything so amazing?" Des asked looking up at the multitude of stars above them.

"Never." Lita said looking at Des' face in the candlelight. Something made Des look over at Lita and she noticed that Lita wasn't talking about the stars. She blushed and looked away shyly. Lita's next words brought Des' eyes back to her. "You do realize you're the most amazing thing in my life don't you?"

"How do I answer that? No one has ever said anything like that to me before."

"Surely you've had... relationships in the past where they've..." Lita's voice trailed off as she noticed Des shaking her head.

"I've never really had a relationship... of any kind before." Des said shyly, this was another aspect to her life that she had yet to tell Lita. There weren't many 27 year old virgins in this day and age.

"How is that possible?" Lita was understandably shocked by this revelation, her plans for the evening were going to need a few alterations.

She could see the fear in Des' eyes and knew that she was afraid of what this information would mean to Lita and where this evening was heading. 'What can I say that will reassure her and not scare her even more?' She thought, 'I am no good at sensitive chats, I'm more suited to actions. I can't use the actions I was going to though either.' Finally she said "Are the people in this town blind or just stupid?" It wasn't much but it was the best she could come up with.

Des smiled and relaxed a bit before saying, "Neither. I was just always very shy..." At Lita's look of disbelief Des added, "really I was. In High School I was always busy studying. I never really had many friends and the ones I did stayed that way. I have always spent a lot of my free time with family and to tell you the truth having a relationship was never a high priority for me. The dream didn't help either. I was never very attracted to anyone before, I guess I know why now. I was just waiting for someone better to come along. It sure took you long enough to get here." Des finished trying to lighten the mood.

"Well, I for one am glad you waited for me. I only hope I'm worth it." She had serious doubts about that herself but she wasn't quite able to stop herself from getting closer to Des.

Des motioned to Lita to move closer than whispered in her ear. "If you get any better there won't be anything left of me but a great big puddle of mush in the middle of this blanket. We haven't even kissed yet."

Lita turned her head and Des' lips were so invitingly close that she couldn't resist their pull any longer. She tentatively brushed her lips across Des', then leaned closer and increased the pressure when Des didn't back away. Encouraged by Des' response Lita allowed her tongue to seek entrance and after a startled gasp from Des it was granted. The kiss went on for an eternity and yet all too soon Lita knew she had to break the connection to breathe. She couldn't seem to make her lips respond to the desperate plea for oxygen from her body and it was only when she heard Des' stomach growl that she was able to drag her lips away. As they both drew much needed air into their lungs Lita whispered into Des' ear where her lips had traveled. "I guess it's time to tame the beast."

"What beast?" Des asked still trying to recover from the breathtaking kisses.

"The one that lives in your stomach." Lita replied playfully.

"I'm not that hungry." Des said leaning toward Lita again. Of course her body wasn't listening and her stomach chose that moment to growl again.

"I think your stomach would disagree."

"I don't care." This time she was successful in returning her lips to Lita's. Lita couldn't resist a few more kisses and they were once again lost in the depths of each other. Soon the grumbling from Des' stomach couldn't be ignored and Lita pulled away once again.

"As pleasurable as this is I really think we need to feed you before we have some animal tromping through here in response to that mating call your stomach is giving off."

Des slapped Lita on the stomach lightly and agreed. "What do you have to eat then? The only animal I want responding to me is you."

That comment earned her another quick kiss and then Lita reached into the cooler behind them and started pulling out the picnic supplies she had purchased earlier.

As Lita began taking the food out of the cooler Des took the opportunity to study her. There was grace and elegance in every move she made. There was also an unmistakable aura of barely leashed power in the economy of the movements. The only image she could think of as a comparison was a black panther she had seen at the zoo once. Des was mesmerized by the beauty and the power of the panther and she was certainly mesmerized by Lita as well. Lita finished unpacking the cooler and noticed Des staring at her.

"Des? Are you ok?"

"I'm fine." Des replied, " I just realized something though."

"What's that?"

"You are, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman I have ever seen." There was such sincerity and conviction in Des' tone that Lita didn't quite know how to respond. Finally she settled for a soft, "Thank you." Uncomfortable suddenly she changed the subject. "Let's eat." They spent the next 15 minutes eating and talking about things. When Lita had finished she sat back and watched Des enjoying the meal. Lita's gaze found the fruit salad with its bite size pieces of fruit and she had an idea about how to get Des' mind off of the food and back to her. With a gleam in her eye and a wicked little grin she picked out a piece of strawberry and held it out to Des.

"Have some strawberry?" she asked.

"Sure." Des said and reached out to take it from Lita's hand.

She pulled her hand away and said, "Uh uh, open up." Des caught on quickly and opened her mouth. Lita leaned over and placed the strawberry on Des' tongue, letting her fingers linger on Des' lips as they closed on the berry.

Des reached into the fruit salad and took out a piece of cantelope which she offered to Lita. She didn't even have to ask, Lita just opened her mouth. As Des handed over the fruit Lita closed her lips on Des' fingers capturing them. Des slowly pulled her fingers out of Lita's mouth, her heart pounding as she felt Lita's tongue running along the length of her fingers. She thought she might faint from the sensations coursing through her body. When her fingers were free and Des was recovering, Lita reached into the salad again and took out a piece of watermelon. Des was enjoying this game immensely and decided to see if she could make Lita feel the same sensations she was experiencing. When Lita gave her the watermelon she not only closed her lips on Lita's fingers, she let her tongue roll the fruit around and tickle Lita's fingers at the same time. Lita's eyes widened as she realized that the student was surpassing the teacher. After a few more moments of this both women were breathing heavily and drowning in the sensations of the other. Lita handed Des a particularly juicy piece of watermelon and then watched fascinated as some of the juice escaped from the corner of Des' mouth and down her chin towards the hollow of her throat.

"Des?" Lita questioned huskily.

"Hmmm." Des answered distractedly as she tried to lick up the juice with her tongue.

Lita couldn't suppress the little moan that escaped her at the sight but she continued, "I didn't bring any napkins." Her eyes were locked on the trail of juice.

"Oh." Des said and, looking at Lita, was surprised to see the hunger in her gaze. An image flashed into her mind (whether it was her own idea or something transmitted from Lita she couldn't say) and she flushed wondering if she could make it a reality. "What are we going to do?" She asked.

"I have an idea." Lita said, her eyes still on the juice.

"Well, by all means, go for it." Des could barely get the words out. He eyes locked onto Lita's. Lita leaned closer to Des until her lips were almost brushing Des'. She glanced up at Des to make sure she wasn't scaring her and the look of pure desire shining back nearly took her breath away. Encouraged, she closed the minute distance between them and slowly licked the juice from Des' skin.

This time Des was convinced she was going to faint or at the very least her heart was going to pound out of her chest. She shivered as Lita reached the hollow of her throat and lingered, making sure to retrieve every stray drop of juice from Des' skin. As she started back towards Des' lips, another moan escaped. Des heard it and with surprising strength pulled Lita's lips from her neck and smothered them with her own. The rest of the picnic was forgotten as they concentrated on each other instead.

Lita pressed Des gently down onto the blanket, hovering over her as she continued her assault on Des' lips. Slowly, she moved her hand down Des' back to the edge of her t-shirt. She lifted it enough to graze her fingers over the silky, smooth skin at the top of her shorts. Des couldn't help the gasp that escaped her at the sensation and Lita used the opportunity to explore the inside of Des' mouth. After some delicious exploration Lita kissed her way to Des' ear and whispered, "Please tell me if I do something you're not ready for. We can stop whenever you want to. We have all the time in the world. I don't want to hurt you. I could kiss you forever and not grow tired of it."

"Lita?" Des whispered back.

"Yeah." Lita said expecting Des to say it was time to slow down or stop.

"You talk too much." She pulled Lita's lips back to hers and moved her hand slowly down Lita's chest until it was resting at the edge of Lita's shorts. Lita's hand reached up under Des' shirt to the clasp of her bra. She deftly unhooked it and slowly moved back down. As her hand reached the small of Des' back her fingers brushed the envelope in the back pocket.

"What's that?" she asked.

"If you don't know then we are in big trouble." Des answered, and tried to go back to kissing.

"Not that smarty. What's in your pocket?"

"Oh." Des sobered and took the envelope from her pocket. "It's a letter." She sat up and handed it to Lita. "I forgot it was there."

"Who's it from?"

"My father."

"The one you haven't seen in ten years. What does he want?"

"I don't know. I couldn't open it."

"Why not?"

"I was afraid to."

"Why? What did he do to you?" Lita's eyes flashed as her protective instincts were thrown into high gear.

"Whoa, whoa easy there. He didn't really do anything. I think that's the problem. My sister and I never really mattered to him unless he could use us to gain power over mom. I don't remember much about the years just after he left. I remember getting presents from him. He had moved out to Texas. When I was 12 he came back and we were expected to visit him every other weekend. That was fine for awhile but as we got older we got involved in things. Pretty soon we had things to do on the weekends and didn't want to miss them to visit Dad. He didn't like it."

"What did he do?"

"One day at school I got called into the office. Social services was there. It seems someone had called them concerned about my stepdad. The person accused him of hitting us. I was in that office with them for almost an hour before they were convinced it wasn't true. They wouldn't tell me who had lodged the complaint but I knew it was Dad."

"Did you ever find out for sure?"

"Oh yeah. That night Dad picked us up for our normal visit. He took us out to supper, which was a tip off right away, he never took us out to eat unless he wanted to talk. The first thing he asked was if anything had happened in school that day. He said that he had started to worry when we started canceling visits. When we got to his house he took out a calendar and told us that if we didn't come up on our scheduled weekends he would call Social services again and the next time he wouldn't let them take my word for it. It was all a power play with him. It wasn't like he really cared that we were there. He only cared that we weren't following his rules, I think he also felt threatened because we would have rather spent time at Mom's than with him. He never even seemed to notice us when we were there."

"What do you mean?" Lita reached out and pulled Des into her lap. She leaned her back against the cooler and tucked Des' head under her chin. She slowly ran her hand up and down Des' back, noticing that the bra strap was still unhooked. She quickly hooked it back together and continued her massage.

"He never went out of his way to do things with us when we were there. He and his new wife were foster parents, which was great for them. Evidently they were very good at straightening out troubled kids, but those kids were always around too. I didn't really mind that they were there but it would have been nice to spend some time during the weekend with just the four of us...it never happened. In fact, most of the time we were told to get out of the house and we ended up going somewhere with the fosterboys. It got worse as we got older. By the time I was 15 Dad wasn't even driving down to pick us up anymore. We had to take a bus. We would get up there, watch TV till they went to bed, go to sleep on the floor of the living room -we didn't even have our own room in his house Lita. In the morning we had to get up and help them clean the house then after lunch we had to go out somewhere or Dad would put us to work on some project he was doing. In the evening we could watch what they were watching on TV or leave again. Sunday mornings we went to his church, had lunch, then got on the bus to come home. Once in a great while we would go out to eat but usually one or two of the foster kids came along. Then they adopted a baby boy and his daughters were even lower on the list, but we still had to be there every other weekend. On my 16th birthday it all fell apart."

Lita hugged Des closer to her and asked, "How?"

"No one said anything about my birthday until after supper. We were clearing off the dishes when they brought a cake out for me. I was surprised, I thought they had forgotten. Dad had about 10 foster boys living there at the time. One of my presents was a wooden paddle. They made me sit over Dad's knee while everyone there gave me birthday spankings, the adults got to use the paddle the rest just used their hands. 16 spankings each.....I only made it through 11 people....by then I was crying and feeling sick from being bent over that long. Dad laughed but he let me quit. He actually drove us home that day. Kind of ironic huh? He accused my stepdad of hitting us and the worst beating I ever got was when he thought he was doing something fun."

"What did your mom say?" Lita asked. Her fists were clenched so tightly in the material of Des' shirt that her knuckles were white. It was all she could do to keep her tone even and calm, the last thing she wanted to do was scare Des.

"Dad told us not to tell her so we didn't. Mom gave me a car for my birthday and it was waiting in the driveway when we pulled up. In the excitement I just let it go. Two days later Mom saw the bruise from the spankings. This time she called Social Services. When it came time for our next visit I called up there to see how we were supposed to get there. Dad was on a camping trip with the foster boys. He had his wife tell me that they had decided we didn't have a good enough time when we were there and maybe we shouldn't see them anymore. They said that maybe when I was 18 things would change. I haven't seen them since. " Des looked up at Lita with tears in her eyes and asked, "Is there something wrong with me Lita?"

"What!?" Lita was truly shocked by the question.

"There must be something wrong with me. My own Dad didn't want to spend any time with me or have me around." There was so much pain in Des' voice that Lita felt her own heart break.

"You listen to me Destiny Miller." Lita tilted Des' face up and looked her in the eye. "There is nothing wrong with you. You are the most beautiful, wonderful, adorable, and amazing person I have met. I feel privileged to have met you and the fact that you consider me a friend and would even contemplate allowing me to be more absolutely blows my mind. The fact that you went though all of that and are still able to function, much less love and trust people the way you do amazes me. There is so much about you that amazes me." She didn't know the words to convince Des of the depth of her feelings, all she could think to do was enfold her in a strong embrace and kiss her. This kiss was different from the passionate ones they had shared earlier. This was a kiss to soothe and reassure, a kiss to show how she felt about the woman in her arms. It was exactly what Des needed. When they broke apart Des looked into Lita's eyes. In them she saw everything that she had never known she was missing. With another gentle kiss the other half of her heart slid home and for the first time in what seemed like forever she felt whole.

"Quite a mood killer huh?" Des said. "I'm sorry. I know this wasn't how you planned the evening."

"That's true. I am also glad it happened."

"You are? Are you having second thoughts? Don't you want...me anymore?" Des asked.

"Don't you dare even think that. I still want you more than I want my next breath. I'm just glad I could help you through this, I'm glad you trust me enough to share the bad things in your life with me. Speaking of bad things, do you want to open this now?" Lita asked handing the letter back to Des. Des took it and just stared at it. Lita broke the silence saying, "Would you like me to leave while you read it?"

"No!" Des exclaimed grabbing Lita's arm, "Stay with me, please."

"Always." Lita promised.

Des opened the envelope and took out a single sheet of handwritten paper.

"Well, that's extremely vague. He doesn't give you any clue as to what he wants but he expects you to meet him anyway." Lita said disgusted.

"Would you think I was crazy if I told you I wanted to meet with him?" Des asked.

"Do you want the truth?"

"Always."

"Yes," she paused to look into Des' eyes, "but it is also exactly what I would expect from you. You can't fight who you are Des, and who you are is someone who will always believe that people deserve a second chance."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." They sat in silence for awhile, Lita's arms wrapped protectively around Des, looking at the lake. Des yawned and asked, "What time is it?"

"I don't know. Late I guess."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Will you go with me to meet my father?"

"Do you really think that would be a good idea? I mean, I'm not the type most girls would want to bring home to meet the folks. Have you thought about that Des? Not just with your Dad, what about the rest of your family? What if they don't approve?"

"I haven't had much time to think about it really. I feel like I have loved you forever, but we only met a week ago."

"What did you say?" Lita wouldn't allow herself to imagine that Des had actually said what she thought she heard.

"I haven't had much time to think about it?"

"After that."

"We only met a week ago?" Des' voice was gently teasing now.

"Before that." Lita held her breath.

"I've loved you forever." No question this time.

"Do you really mean that?"

"Yes Lita I do. I'm not sure how but I do know that I love you."

"How can you love me? You don't even know me."

"Doesn't matter, I do. That's it, end of story."

"I can't accept that."

"You can't!?" Des wasn't expecting that. "Why not."

"There's something you need to know about me before you can make a decision like that."

"What is it?"

"Would you hate me if I told you I didn't want to talk about it now? Tonight?"

"That depends. Why not?"

"I think you've been through enough for one night don't you?"

"See. That's why it doesn't matter. Even now you're worried about my feelings. How could I not be in love with you?"

"You are crazy." Lita said and hugged Des closer to her again.

"I'll agree to let this drop if you'll do one thing for me." Des said from the comfortable haven of Lita's arms.

"What's that?"

"Sleep with me tonight."

"What!" Lita stared at Des in disbelief.

"I feel so safe here with your arms wrapped around me, I want to wake up in your arms. I want to listen to your heartbeat under my ear. I want those beautiful blue eyes to be the first things I see when I open mine. Will you give me that?"

Lita just looked at her for a long moment and then she started speaking, "When we were standing in the parking lot today and you told me what you wanted tonight I made a promise to myself. I promised myself that I would do whatever it was in my power to do tonight to make all of your dreams come true. How could I deny you this one?"

"So, you will take me to bed?"

"I'll do better than that." Lita said as they stood up and gathered up the remains of their picnic. They blew out the candles and walked towards the house.

"I wondered why there weren't any mosquitoes around." Des said. "You used citronella candles. Very practical."

"Not very romantic though."

"A lot more romantic than being carried off by bugs."

When they reached the house they put the picnic things away and walked towards the stairs leading to Lita's bedroom. Lita looked down at Des and said, "I think I can do something to add to the romance now."

"Really, what?"

"This." she said as she bent down and grabbed Des behind the knees and shoulders, picking her up.

Startled Des exclaimed, "Lita! What are you doing? Put me down. I'm too heavy."

"You're not heavy at all. Put your hands around my neck if you're worried."

Seeing the stubborn glint in Lita's eyes Des decided to just relax and enjoy the ride. She put her arms around Lita and tucked her head into the crook of Lita's neck. As Lita started up the stairs Des figured she could be romantic too. As they reached the middle of the stairs she shifted allowing her nose to brush Lita's skin and her breasts to press just a little bit closer to Lita's. Lita hesitated briefly and with an amused look continued up the stairs. Not to be thwarted Des exchanged her nose for her lips and gently kissed the pulse point throbbing just below the surface, smiling when she felt it speed up.

Lita retaliated by running her fingertips lightly across the back of Des' knee. Des jerked and almost caused Lita to lose her grip. "Bad idea Lita."

"Oh ho, ticklish are we?"

"Yes."

"Any other places I should know about?"

Des saw the gleam in Lita's eye and scoffed, "Oh right, like I'm going to tell you."

"Ok." Lita said agreeably.

"Huh?"

"It will be much more fun to find them on my own." Lita purred.

Des gave a little squeak and hid her face in Lita's neck again. Taking advantage of her position again as they reached the doorway Des ran her tongue over the skin at the hollow of Lita's throat. She reveled in the salty taste and Lita's hastily indrawn breath.

"Des?" Lita asked breathlessly.

"Hmmmm?"

"Paybacks are a bitch." She said as she dropped Des onto the bed. Before Des could move Lita lay down on top of her pressing her deliciously into the mattress before covering her lips in a fiery kiss. Lita kissed Des until she could barely remember her name and then suddenly she stopped, got off of the bed and walked into the bathroom. "I'm going to get ready for bed." Lita said flipping on the light. Des lay on the bed trying to get air back into her lungs and much needed oxygen to her spinning head. "Oh boy." She said with a smile. A few minute later Lita came out of the bathroom wearing boxer shorts and a t-shirt. She walked over to the dresser and took out another t-shirt and pair of shorts. "Your turn." She said handing the clothes to Des. Des walked into the bathroom and noticed the t-shirt that Lita had been wearing hanging from a towel rack, she picked it up and held it to her face breathing in the scent that lingered. She put that shirt on with the shorts and went back into the bedroom, Lita was already under the covers. When she saw the shirt she simply smiled and lifted the covers so Des could join her. Lita laid down on her back and Des put her head on Lita's shoulder so she could hear her heartbeat. As Lita's arms enfolded her again Des smiled and said softly, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Lita replied.

"I love you." Des said.

"I love you too." Lita responded softly as she kissed Des' head and drifted off to sleep. 

Lita woke early as the sun came streaming in the windows. 'Damn.', she thought, 'I forgot to close the blinds.' She considered trying to get out of bed without disturbing her companion but she didn't really think she could manage it. Des was literally sprawled over her, her head still resting on Lita's heartbeat. One arm was flung across Lita's waist and one leg was thrown over both of hers. Des was sound asleep but when Lita tried to move out from under her, the arm around her waist tightened and Des snuggled even closer. Lita sighed resigned to her glorious fate and closed her eyes. Amazingly, she felt herself falling back asleep, utterly content. An hour or so later Lita woke again. This time it wasn't the sun in her eyes that woke her up but rather the sensation caused by a wandering hand stroking her breast. She glanced down and saw that Des was awake and slowly running her hand from the top of Lita's chest to her stomach and back again. Lita endured the delicious torture for a few seconds before capturing the wandering hand and bringing it to her lips. Des looked into her eyes with a sheepish smile and said, "Good morning."

"Good morning." She held up Des' hand, "What do you think you're doing?"

"I was trying to wake you up."

"It worked and I must say I approve of your methods. That was the best wake up call I've ever received." She stroked her fingers through Des' hair and asked, "Did you sleep well?"

"Great, I don't think I moved all night, you make a very comfortable pillow."

"Thanks. You make a great blanket." Then, without warning, Lita flipped them over and kissed Des thoroughly. After a few, or ten, minutes of this Des' hands began to wander again. Soon, two sets of hands were lazily exploring whatever skin they could reach. When Lita felt Des reaching to remove her shirt, she reluctantly broke their kiss and captured Des' hand. she switched their positions again so Des was once again sprawled across her body and quietly tried to regain control of her breathing.

"This is, without a doubt, the best Sunday morning I have ever spent. Kissing you is a great way to greet the morning." Des murmured, nuzzling Lita's neck.

"There are even better ways that we can explore later but first we need to talk." Lita said. She hated ruining this glorious morning but it was unavoidable, she needed to tell Des everything.

"Are you sure you're ready to talk about whatever is bothering you? It really doesn't matter to me. I know the type of person you are inside, I've seen it and nothing you can tell me will change that." Des said sincerely. "By the way, the fact that I want to make love to you so badly I can taste it has nothing to do with the way I feel, really."

"I'm sure it doesn't." Lita responded with a raised eyebrow. "I just don't want you to find out later and feel betrayed or deceived. I'm hoping you will want to stay with me after you hear the truth but if you don't I would rather you leave without hating me for using you. I don't think I could live with myself if I hurt you that way."

Des reached up and kissed Lita gently on the lips. "Well, I need some food if we are going to have an intense discussion. Let's go see what you have for breakfast." With another quick kiss Des forced herself to leave the bed. Lita followed, they got dressed and went downstairs. Des scrounged around and found some pancake mix, she took out last night's fruit salad and added some blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries to the batter. After breakfast they went into the living room and sat down on the couch facing each other. Lita sat staring at her hands for such a long time that Des was compelled to lean forward and cover them with her own. Lita raised her eyes and Des encouraged her. "I swear you can tell me anything."

"I know. I'm just so scared. I've never been this scared before in my life. I don't know if I could survive losing you now that I've finally found you."

"You won't." Des said with total conviction.

Lita was silent again, then suddenly she blurted out, "I killed a man."

Des wasn't expecting that and her face showed her surprise and shock. Lita didn't see it, her gaze had once again fallen to her hands. Des managed to shove down her initial reaction enough to ask, "Who?"

"The punk that killed my brother."

"I thought you told me he was caught and sent to prison?" Des asked confused.

"He was....my prison."

"How did that happen? I thought they had rules to keep things like that from happening?"

"They do. It was a mistake. He was there for three months before I saw him. It was a large, maximum security facility. For the first six months of his sentence he was only allowed out of his cell for an hour a day. I was working a different shift, filling in for someone, when I saw him in the exercise yard. Des, I was so tempted to go over, grab him by the throat and just squeeze until he was dead. The feeling was so strong I could actually see myself doing it. I could see the fear in his eyes. I could feel the life leaving his body under my hands."

"What did you do?"

"Nothing. One of the other guards came up to me and asked me a question and I snapped out of it. My fists were clenched so tightly the imprints from my nails were still there when I went home. The next day I went back to my regular shift and did my best to put him out of my mind.

Then, about three months later, he was put on regular work detail. It didn't take very long after that."

"What happened?"

"He was a punk in the truest sense of the word. Bad attitude, thought everyone in the world owed him something. I'm sure you've seen the type here." At Des' nod Lita continued. "The stupid kid made enemies everywhere. Pretty soon, the grapevine was buzzing about how he had been targeted by at least two of the major gangs. We were told to keep an eye out for trouble." She paused, "Somehow he had managed to get one of the other gangs to protect him." She snorted disgustedly, "I heard that it was only because he had killed a cop. The entire facility was waiting for one of the gangs to get this kid. Everyone knew that the gang protecting him would retaliate if anything happened."

"We haven't really had to deal with anything like that here. At least, not that I know of."

"Have there ever been times when it seemed like there was always an officer in your area?"

"Yeah."

"Then someone was targeted, or on a suicide watch, or a suspected assassin."

"Wow! I never realized." Des was stunned by the revelation.

"You're not supposed to. We provide the security, you provide the education."

"So, your prison was on alert. What happened." Des was on the edge of her seat.

"One day, I was doing my rounds of the unit I was scheduled in when I heard something in the day room. I went to check it out. When I got there I saw three inmates beating on the punk. I called for an A level response, notified the inmates that squad had been called and gave them a directive to stop. They kept beating on the punk. I was standing in the doorway waiting for squad to arrive when one of the inmates took out a homemade shank and stabbed the punk in the stomach. Squad arrived and we subdued the three inmates and called Health Services for the punk. They were too late, he died."

"I don't understand Lita. The kid died but you didn't kill him. The other inmate did."

"Des. I didn't do anything to stop it. When I saw the other inmates beating the punk up I was glad. I knew it was going to end in his death or at the very least with him seriously injured. I didn't do anything to stop them. the other officers tried to keep the punk alive until Health Services got there, I didn't. I wanted him to die."

"When you walked into that room and saw the fight happening how long did it take you to call an A level?" Des asked.

"I called right away."

"Are you supposed to go in alone to break up a fight between two inmates fighting?"

"No. We're trained to wait for back up."

"Even if there are only two inmates?"

"Yes."

"So in a situation where three inmates are beating up on another one what are you supposed to do?"

"Wait for back up."

"What if a weapon comes into play?"

"We wait for back up."

"What were you doing while the other officers were helping the punk?" Des asked, unconsciously using Lita's name for him.

"I was assisting the officers subduing the other three inmates."

"Was Health Services there when you finished restraining the inmates?"

"Yes."

"Then what could you have possibly done differently?"

"I should have stopped them!"

"How?" Des was relentless.

"I don't know." Lita finally admitted defeated. Then in anguish she exclaimed, "I wanted him to die!"

"But you didn't kill him." Des assured her.

"What if there was something I could have done? If it had been another inmate would I have handled it differently? I just don't know."

"Ok, you don't know. Was there an investigation?"

"Yeah. They have to have one when there's a death."

"What did they find?"

"That everything was done by the book." Lita admitted.

"But you still feel guilty."

"Yes."

Des leaned over to Lita and kissed her. "That's why I love you."

Lita was stunned. "I let him die. I wanted him to die. He killed Luke. He took away my light. Luke was gone and he was alive. I wanted him gone. Luke was gone. Luke is gone. He's gone Des. He's never coming back. You'll never get to meet him. He's gone. Oh God Des he's gone, he's gone." Lita finally broke down. The sobs making her whole body shake. Des couldn't stand it any longer. She reached over and dragged Lita to her. Lita came willingly, wrapping her arms tightly around Des' waist, she repeated "He's gone, he's gone." over and over. Des pressed Lita's head to her chest and stroked her hair and back. She crooned softly to her and held her while she cried. Eventually the sobs subsided and Lita calmed. Des continues stroking her hair and whispering. Finally, Lita sat quietly listening to Des' heartbeat pounding under her ear. Des kissed the top of her head and asked, "Feel better?"

"Yes." Lita mumbled into Des' chest.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Anything. You know that."

"Have you ever cried for your brother before today?"

"No, I didn't think I had the right to."

"Why not?"

"I got him killed remember?"

"We've been through this before."

"I know and I believe you. I don't think my mother would agree with you though. She still blames me."

"Have you talked to her about it?"

"I haven't spoken to her since I left California."

Des could tell that a change of subject was needed so she asked, "Why did you leave California? Don't get me wrong, I for one am very glad you did, but why?"

"It's another long story, you sure you're up for it?"

"I'm up for anything that involves you, but let's get lunch first."

"Do you want to try and find something to eat here or would you rather run into town and pick something up?"

"It's another beautiful day and I think we could both use a break so why don't we go into town."

"Sound good to me." Lita moved to get off the couch and Des.

"Wait a minute." Des said stopping Lita.

"What?"

"I love you."

"Still huh?"

"Always." Des said and pulled Lita willingly into a passionate and thorough kiss.

"Not that I'm complaining but what was that for?"

"It's been a few hours since we last did that."

"Yes."

Des leaned close to Lita and whispered, "I think I'm addicted. I needed a fix."

"Oh! Well then, we'd better give you something to tide you over til after lunch." Lita replied and moved in to kiss Des again.

"Absolutely." Des breathed as their lips met.

Much later they decided they had to get moving before things got out of control.

"Lita?" Des asked as they finally got off of the couch.

"Hmmm."

"Can we take the bike?"

"Have I created a motorcycle mama?"

"Maybe. Will you wear the leathers?"

"Oh now I see the attraction. Ok, on one condition."

"What?"

"We go out and buy you a set next weekend."

"Deal. Let's go change." Des jumped off the couch and ran up the stairs.

Five minutes later they were headed towards town. Des seated behind Lita, arms wrapped around her waist and her head resting on Lita's back.

They went to one of the local fast food restaurants and then took their food to the park to eat. While at the park Des got her first lesson in what dating another woman would be like in a small, conventional town in Minnesota.

The were sitting side by side at a picnic table in the park enjoying their lunch, holding hands, occasionally feeding each other french fries, basically reveling in the afternoon and each other. As they were finishing Lita reached over to wipe some ketchup from Des' chin when they were interrupted by a car horn honking and someone yelling "perverts" as they drove by. Lita ignored it but Des pulled away and grabbed her own napkin to finish wiping up the ketchup. As they walked back to the bike Lita reached for Des' hand, Des put her hands in her pockets and continued on to the bike in silence. Lita watched her for a second. 'Well, I guess we have a few things to talk about now' she thought as she climbed on the bike and waited for Des to get on behind her.

"Ready to go?" Lita asked.

"All set." Des said quietly as she lightly placed her arms around Lita's waist. The ride back to the lake was silent and as fast as Lita could legally make it. As they went into the house Des walked to the couch and sat down deep in thought. Lita sat down next to her and asked, "Can we talk about it?"

Startled, Des looked up at Lita, seeming to notice they were home for the first time and said, "Huh?"

"I asked if you wanted to talk about what happened at the park."

"Yeah. I think we need to. Has that happened to you before?"

"Once or twice. Even in California there are people who consider homosexuality unnatural and sinful."

"How did you deal with it?"

"I ignored it whenever I could. If I can't, or if people won't let me, I try to make them see that I'm not so different from them. Love is love, no matter who shares it."

"I know that. I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"For pulling away from you, not holding your hand. All of a sudden I felt like it was wrong."

Lita reached out and clasped Des' hand in hers. "Does this feel wrong?"

"No." Des replied as the tingles raced up and down her arm.

Lita lifted her other hand and cupped Des' cheek. "How about this?"

"Uh uh." Des' breath was coming faster and her heart started to pound.

Lita leaned close and brushed her lips lightly over Des'. "What about this?" She asked with her lips still pressed lightly against Des'.

"Wonderful." Des said and deepened the kiss. After several minutes Des pulled away far enough to whisper, "Forgive me for forgetting?"

"Forgetting what?"

"How much I love you." Des said and kissed Lita again. They sat quietly on the couch for awhile holding hands and kissing occasionally until Des remembered their conversation before lunch. "So Lita. What brought you to Minnesota?"

"After the incident with the punk I was targeted." she said flatly.

"You!? What for?"

"Word got out that I was the first officer on the scene."

"They targeted you for that?"

"Word also got out that the punk had killed my brother. The gang that had offered their protection to the punk lost face when he was killed. They spread the word that their protection wouldn't have failed if the guards hadn't been involved. The word was that I was responsible for the punk dying so I was targeted."

"No wonder you started to doubt yourself."

"I started getting threats. They couldn't be attributed to one person or group. My supervisors started looking for someplace to transfer me to. I was going to go to another institution in California."

"So, how did you end up in Minnesota?"

"I started getting threats outside the institution too. At home, in the grocery store, even on the street. I was watched everywhere I went and they made sure I knew it. I started looking to move out of state. I was worried. I thought if I stayed in California they would go after my family."

"I don't mean to sound naive or cruel but what would keep them from going after your family anyway? Especially if you disappeared without any other trace."

"Nothing. I had to do something I'm not proud of to prevent it."

"What?"

"I went to my mother's house and had a brutal and very vocal confrontation. I made it very clear that I would never have anything to do with them again. I told them I was leaving the country to get away from them and if I never saw them again it would be to soon."

"Did you really think that would work?"

"Des, when I left my mother was crying on the front step and my brother was throwing the few belongings I had left there at my car."

"That's pretty harsh."

"I had to be."

"Is that why you haven't talked to them about Luke?"

"I couldn't risk it."

"I could."

"What?"

"I could contact them for you. See if they've had any trouble since you left."

"No."

"Why not?"

"There is no way on this earth that I will risk your safety."

"Lita. There is absolutely no connection between us in California."

"What if they are still watching my family? What if they are checking every name they see or hear on the off chance it is me trying to get in touch with them using a new name? I won't risk it."

"All right. Couldn't you check with the police or your old supervisors to see how they are doing though?"

"Maybe. I'll think about it ok?"

Des looked at her watch and asked, "Are you working tonight?"

"Yep."

"What would you like to do with the rest of your day?"

"Are you planning on being a part of it?"

"If you want me to stay."

"Gee let me think about that." Lita paused. "Of course I want you to stay. We've got about seven hours, a beautiful day, and each other. What do you think we should do?"

"We could go swimming."

"We could." Lita agreed.

"We could watch a movie from the hot tub."

"I like the sound of that."

"I could give you a back rub and you could take a nap."

"That sounds good too." Lita thought for a minute and said, "How about this; we watch a movie from the hot tub order a pizza for supper, I'll take a nap, get ready for work and then drive you home."

"I love the way you think." Des purred as she stood up and reached for Lita's hand. They went upstairs and changed into their suits, picked out a movie from the satellite and grabbed a couple of pops from the small refrigerator on the deck.

Halfway through the movie Des was distracted. The movie wasn't as good as it sounded and Lita was sitting next to her in a swimsuit that left little to the imagination. Des had a very good imagination. Lita, on the other hand, seemed to be engrossed in the movie. Des started sliding closer to Lita until she was right next to her. Lita looked at her and quirked an eyebrow.

"I couldn't see very well."

"Uhhmm." Lita said and turned back to the movie.

After a few more minutes Des casually let her hand drop to Lita's thigh and trace lazy pictures on the silky skin.

Lita looked over at Des and then down at her leg.

"Sorry." Des said and removed her hand.

Another raised eyebrow was the only response.

Des turned to the movie again but it just couldn't hold a candle to the amazing woman next to her. Soon she was thinking of other ways to distract Lita. She turned her head and lightly blew in Lita's ear. Lita jumped. Des brought her hand out of the water and began massaging the back of Lita's neck and scalp. Lita couldn't help relaxing and Des leaned in to nibble on Lita's earlobe. Lita's eyes closed and a soft moan escaped. Des' lips wandered down Lita's jawline to the corner of her mouth, down her neck to the pulse point throbbing in time with Lita's pounding heart.

"Des." Lita gasped.

"Hmmm?" Des continued her massage and exploring Lita's skin.

"You're making it very hard to watch the movie."

"Are you complaining?" Des asked just as her lips captured Lita's in a deep kiss.

When they broke apart to breathe Lita replied, "Not in a million years." She grabbed Des and moved her so she was straddling Lita's hips. She latched her arms behind Des' back and slowly drew her closer for another round of lingering, passionate kisses. Lita reached up and tugged on the straps of Des' suit, drawing them down her arms and exposing her breasts to Lita's ravenous gaze. "Beautiful." she whispered as her hands left the straps to explore the newly uncovered territory. Des' hands were busy doing some exploring of their own as the kisses continued.

Des was so caught up in the sensations coursing through her that she didn't even notice Lita picking her up and carrying her to the bed. Des felt the cool sheets under her back and found the breath to protest. "We'll get the bed all wet."

"I don't care." Lita replied returning to Des' lips. Lita slowly worked her way down Des' body, removing her swimsuit as she went. When it was off Lita stood and removed her own suit. Naked, she returned to the bed and Des.

"Oh my." Des breathed as she watched Lita's approach.

"Yep. Yours, now and forever." Lita replied as she lay down next to Des.

"I'm not sure I know what to do." Des said shyly. Faced with the prospect of actually making love with the gorgeous creature in front of her, Des was just a bit nervous.

"Just do what feels good. I'll let you know if it doesn't feel good to me. I want you to do the same. I need you to tell me what feels good for you and most importantly what doesn't. If you do that we'll be fine." Lita assured her, nipping light kisses along Des' jawline as she spoke. As Lita continued exploring Des asked, "What about your nap?"

"I'll sleep later." Lita growled.

Much later she did just that. Once again Des was sprawled across her body, in much the same position they had woken up in that morning. As Lita drifted off to sleep she smiled and wrapped her arms tighter around Des. 'If I'm dreaming I don't ever want to wake up.' was her last conscious thought before sleep claimed her.

Continued in Part 4

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