Repercussions by Jessica L. Webb

Author:Jessica L. Webb [Webb, Jessica L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781626399266
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2017-05-31T04:00:00+00:00

* * *

Edie woke alone on the couch, covered with a blanket. It had been a restless night. She’d woken when Skye had eased herself out of their embrace and gently laid Edie down. And again, in the deep hours of night, she’d opened her eyes to see Skye sitting in the chair across from her, laptop propped open in her lap, looking out the window. Skye, obviously sensing Edie’s awakeness, had smiled reassuringly and Edie had drifted back to sleep.

Edie pushed back the blanket and stood stiffly, carefully stretching her aching hip. She headed straight for the bathroom, staring at her haggard expression in the mirror. She considered showering but decided coffee was more of a priority.

With a full mug of coffee warming her fingers, Edie looked out the windows down toward the lake and saw Skye. She was dressed in shorts and a hoodie, running across the length of the lawn, jumping onto the rocks of the garden in a sequence obviously known only to her, before she ran straight at a tree, jumping into the air and grabbing on with both hands and feet. Edie, astonished at her pure physicality, watched as she shimmied up with apparent ease, grabbed a branch, did ten chin-ups, then dropped an alarming distance to the ground, rolled, stood, and sprinted back across the lawn.

Edie realized she’d been holding her breath. She let it out shakily, laughing at her own response to Skye’s uninhibited display of strength. Skye was a joy to watch in her element. Edie sipped her coffee, not feeling the slightest bit of shame at her voyeurism as Skye ran back onto the lawn and completed another two circuits.

Then she stopped, hands on her hips, shoulders rising and falling with her rapid intake of breath, and looked out at the lake. Edie could just see the intense look of freedom and pleasure on her face. She wondered which Skye would walk back into the cabin. What had changed?

Skye walked back across the lawn and caught sight of Edie framed in the window. She raised a hand as she approached. Edie returned the gesture, then went to the kitchen and poured Skye a cup of coffee. She met her at the door. Skye’s eyes were bright and clear and she murmured her thanks to Edie as she took a sip of coffee. Skye smelled like she had last night, of sweat and fresh air. Edie was beginning to love that scent.

“Good morning, Edie.” Skye’s words were formal. Her tone wasn’t.

“Good morning, Skye.”

“I should shower,” Skye said. “JC will be here any minute.”

“My turn to make breakfast, then.”

“Sounds good.”

Skye didn’t move, and neither did Edie. She wanted to preserve the tension of that moment. Skye ducked her head shyly, as if hiding her thoughts, then walked to the back of cabin. Edie let her breath out as she walked away, unwilling and unable to hide her smile.

They were talking quietly and finishing breakfast when JC arrived, reminding her why they were all together.

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