Qualities of Light by Mary Caroll Moore

Author:Mary Caroll Moore [Moore, Mary Caroll]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Lesbian
Publisher: Spinsters Ink
Published: 2009-08-24T14:00:00+00:00

Chapter 24

When we arrived at the dock, Sarah was sitting on one of the boat benches, using her hands to tell some story. Chad bent over the outboard motor. He was pulling long weeds from the propeller.

“Almost got this fixed,” Chad said, interrupting Sarah. “You want to ski the north end of the lake?”

“Crossovers,” Zoe said. “I need a partner.”

I shrank back, but Zoe was watching Sarah.

“You ski?”

My cousin looked quickly at Chad. I could see her tiny brain calculating the effect of a bathing suit and the risk of lying. Even though she lived in Florida half the year, she hated getting wet. “Some,” she said.

“You have your suit with you?”

Sarah slowly lifted her tank top. An apple-green string bikini top was underneath. She kicked off her skinny sandals and unzipped her shorts, slid them down her legs to reveal the bikini bottoms, barely a scrap of cloth in the same color. Chad was watching closely. Then I noticed Zoe was too, her eyes narrowed.

There was silence.

Finally Zoe nodded. “Nice suit.” She became businesslike. “Chad and I wondered if you could help us for an hour or so. I need to practice these slalom crossovers, and Molly here has finked out on us.” She winked at me, taking the sting out of her words.

“Because of the accident,” Sarah said, as tactlessly as possible. She was folding her shorts and top, piling them on the seat. “Molly won’t even get in a motorboat.”

“Actually,” Zoe said, “she has gotten in this very motorboat. But unfortunately she doesn’t ski. Which is why Chad suggested you.”

Chad looked at Zoe, surprised.

“Didn’t you, Chad?” Zoe prompted.

“Sure,” Chad muttered. He bent back over the propeller. “Be great if you could help us out.”

Zoe pulled off her own tank top. I thought she could tell I was watching her now. Her deeply tanned shoulders were flushed with pink sunburn and freckles. “How about we start with a few circles at the north end of the lake.” She pointed Sarah toward the pair of regular skis near the bow of the boat. When my cousin’s smile began to falter, Zoe added, “You’ll look great on water skis. Don’t you think so, Chad?”

Chad straightened up, the look on his face a mix of resignation and lingering interest in Sarah’s string bikini. “Thanks for helping us out,” he said again.

Sarah nodded graciously. She looked at me, assessing the competition.

“I’m going to stay here, catch up on my reading,” I said, wondering why, once again, I was so determined to paint myself out of any picture.

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