Unions In The Night by Wolfsword
Monday Night
Tara woke the next day with a pounding headache. She eased open her eyes, to see the sun setting in the window. "Shit," she mumbled as she realised she had slept the whole day. She rolled over to bury her face in her pillow, immediately regretting it as a blinding headache shot through her brain. "Argh!"
Suddenly there was a soft knock on the door, that sounded to Tara like a hammer and anvil. "Tara? Are you up yet?"
"What!" she called from her pillow, her irritation growing.
"Tara? You alright? You've been in there the whole day."
Tara lifted her head, her blonde locks falling in front of her eyes. "Yes! I'm... " She couldn't finish, as she felt her stomach go queasy.
She bolted out of bed and into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her. Never again, Tara, she admonished herself as she tried to hurl but couldn't. She splashed her face with cold water and looked up at herself in the mirror. Oh yeah, the haggard look is really gonna go down well with Jordan, she thought, wiping her face on her towel. Suddenly, she halted her movements. Jordan! Oh my god! her mind screamed. She racked her brain about what had happened the previous night and found that she couldn't remember a thing. Flashes went past her eyes, but none of them made any sense. She opened the bathroom door and ran out, yanking open her door, looking left and right for a familiar face.
"Kerri! Jake! Kyle!" she shouted in a panic.
A door opened quickly and Kerri came running out. "What? What is it, Tara?" she asked, worriedly.
Tara grabbed her by the shoulders, forgetting the stabbing pain in her head. "What happened? What did I do yesterday?"
"Relax, relax. Come on, lets get you some tea." Kerri steered Tara reluctantly into the shared kitchen.
"Where are the others?" asked Tara, as she was pushed into a seat.
"They've gone to collect the pizza we ordered for dinner," replied Kerri, going to the kettle and boiling some water.
"Oh," said Tara, her queasiness returning at the mention of food. "So tell me, Kerri. Did I embarrass myself again last night?" Tara cringed at the other times she had gotten drunk, and her friends had filled her in the next day about what she had done.
Kerri leaned back on the table, sighing. "Let's see." Kerri considered telling Tara about what happened in the room with Jordan, but she decided against it. "No, I don't think you were that bad," she smirked.
"Come on, Kerri! Please!"
The curly-blonde took pity on her friend. "Alright. What do you actually remember?"
"Um, nothing after Jordan..." Tara stopped, remembering the hurt she had felt as the dark woman had left abruptly. "After I started drinking. Then I have a vague memory of me lying down on a sofa in a strange room, and watching Jordan and the boys knocking back vodka shots, then Jake running into a bathroom and throwing up. But in between, I have no idea what happened." Tara looked pleadingly at her friend.
Kerri sighed again, as she poured the water into two cups. "Nothing much happened. We danced around a bit, then Jordan came back." She walked over to the table and placed the tea in front of Tara.
"And then?" asked Tara, eagerly. She wasn't sure if she wanted to hear that she had tried something with Jordan or not.
"Then, nothing." Kerri avoided Tara's intense gaze.
"Come on, don't lie to me. What did I do?"
Kerri looked down at her tea then back to her friend, giving in slightly to her. "I don't quite know. When she came back, you kinda put your arms around her neck. I thought you were gonna kiss her, but you didn't. You were saying something to her, but none of us could hear. Then I took you to the bathroom to sort you out a bit. When we got back, the boys were getting on fine with her, and then she took you upstairs."
"She what?!" exclaimed Tara, almost jumping out of her chair.
"No no! Not like that! She just put you on the sofa so you could try and sleep off the effects of the alcohol. Don't worry, you were perfectly safe." Tara looked suspiciously at her friend, who was suddenly defending Jordan. "What?" Kerri asked, defensively. "When you were sleeping, we talked a bit. I guess she's not all that bad." Kerri shrugged.
Tara relented and sat back in her chair, wondering if she should be relieved that she hadn't done anything. "So, what do you think of her then?"
"She's okay. But it really doesn't matter what we think. It's what you think that's the important thing."
"So you don't like her then?"
"I didn't say that!"
"So you do?"
"Ugh! You can be so annoying sometimes, Tara Whitman!"
Tara smiled. "I just wanted to know your opinion, that's all."
"Well, what do you think of her?" asked Kerri. Tara just sighed, a dreamy look coming over her and Kerri knew her answer. "Tara? Are you falling in love with her?"
A blush coloured her fair skin. "I'm not sure."
"Why?"
"I don't know. Before, when we were kids, I think we saw each other as the sisters we never had. I mean, we were close and I loved her then, but it's not the same feeling as I have for her now." Tara paused. "It's different. Warmer. Gentler. Stronger." She looked up at her friend's soft brown eyes. "Is it wrong of me to feel like that?"
"Of course not. Look, you lost touch with her for five years. That's a long time when you're young, and your relationship is different now. I suppose it's kinda like me and Kyle. We've been best friends since junior school, and it's only now that we've realised that we belong together. Sometimes, it just takes a lot of time for two people to realise that they're meant to be together and because of that, the bond between you is stronger."
"What if she doesn't feel the same?"
Kerri saw the genuine fear in her friend's eyes. "I'm sure she does. But if I were you, I'd take time to make sure for yourself. How much do you actually know about the girl now?"
"Not a lot," Tara admitted. "But I trust her though."
Kerri nodded. "That's good enough for me," she said, pulling the smaller woman into a hug.
As they broke away, Kyle and Jake sauntered into the kitchen, carrying two large pizza boxes and two large plastic bags. Kyle raised his eyebrows. "I hope I don't have to fight for my girlfriend's affections," he teased.
Kerri got up and swatted his stomach, since he couldn't defend himself and gave him a kiss on the lips. "You have absolutely everything to worry about," she joked, taking the pizza box out of his stunned hands. She turned her back on him and went to sit down again, as Jake seated himself the other side of Tara.
Kyle walked over to Kerri, a frown on his handsome face. "You were joking right?" he asked, slightly anxiously.
Kerri looked at Tara and both of them burst out laughing at the man's worried face. "Come here, you," Kerri said, reassuringly pulling him into a proper kiss.
Jake rolled his eyes at Tara and she smiled at him. Jake had yet to discover the joy of being in a serious relationship for more than a week, preferring his freedom of one night stands. "How's your head today?" he asked, as he tore a slice of pizza.
"Oh, just great," replied Tara sarcastically. "I suppose yours is just as good?"
"Uh huh," Jake agreed, his mouth full of pizza.
"Didn't your mummy ever tell you, it's rude to talk with your mouth full?" joked Kerri.
Jake scowled at the curly-blonde, taking a swig of Pepsi. "Hey, have you revised for the exam, yet?" he asked Tara.
Tara's green eyes bugged out. "Shit," she said, covering her mouth. "I forgot all about that. I haven't touched a book today."
"Tell me about it," said Kyle, munching on his pizza. "We got up an hour before you did."
"We are all gonna fail," declared Jake.
"My arse, we are!" exclaimed Tara. "We fail this exam and we have to re-sit this whole year!"
Kyle and Jake looked at each other and shrugged. "What's so bad about that?"
Tara glared at Kyle. "Some of our parents may find it alright to pay for another year, but mine aren't!"
"Calm down, T. We won't fail. Some solid reading and focusing tonight and we'll breeze through," assured Jake.
Tara threw her hands up in defeat. "I'm going to start now. I've got three books the size of my fist to wade through," Tara sighed. "See you guys later." She walked out of the kitchen, leaving the others to wonder if it was that time of the month.
Tara slammed the wood door behind her and leaned against it. It wasn't only the fact that the guys were so cool about the whole thing, but she was getting frustrated about the situation with Jordan. She walked over to her desk, glancing at her mobile screen. Her blood raced as she saw that she had one message. Excitedly, she pressed the button to open it, and her heart sank as she saw it was from one of her class mates, reminding her that she had an important exam tomorrow. God damn! She's driving me round the bend! she thought. Now that she had been awake for almost an hour, her thoughts were beginning to clear. She had been hoping for Jordan to at least ring or text her, asking whether she was alright, but she had received nothing. She wondered if she had actually done something to scare Jordan off last night, and Kerri wasn't telling her in case her feelings were hurt.
Tara lay down on her bed, dragging her books up beside her to read. She flipped open the first book and began. After ten minutes, she gave up. No matter how much she tried, her thoughts kept drifting back to Jordan Woods. The sight of her the first time she saw her in the pub. The smell of her as they rode her motorbike. The feeling of strength that Tara had felt, holding the taller woman. The touch that had saved her from certain death. The soft skin as she had brushed her lips over her cheek. Suddenly, she had a vision of Jordan doing the same thing to her, as she stood by a black cab and she smiled to herself. More memories came back, as she remembered the look of desire in Jordan's eyes when she had put her legs on the woman, on the sofa. Maybe she does feel the same, she pondered.
Tara rolled onto her back, lost in her daydreams of the dark woman. She felt her hand sliding down her own body and down into her pajama trousers. As visions of Jordan came unbidden to her mind, she found her pleasure spot quickly. She ached for the fiery touch and she needed release from Jordan badly. Her hand moved in rhythm with her body, as she felt herself climbing higher and higher. Her breathing became erratic and she bit her lip to keep from crying out Jordan's name. Suddenly, she had a flash of herself straddling Jordan's lean body, grinding her wet mound into her, as Jordan's strong hands travelled up and under her top. The blonde woman increased her pace and combined with the images her mind conjured, she was sent soaring over the edge as she felt the calloused hands rubbing at her most sensitive places. She collapsed back onto the bed, in a heap of sweaty relief, willing her breathing to steady. Her appetite was sated for now, but she knew it wouldn't be long before she would crave hopelessly, the real touch of the woman. She ran a shaky hand through her hair, and closed her eyes. She was asleep in minutes, her dreams continuing her fantasies.
When she awoke, it was to pitch darkness outside. She was again aroused as she remembered the steamy dream she had just had, and she felt her wetness increase. She looked over at the clock and saw to her horror it was half-past twelve. She still hadn't got past the first page of her studies and Jordan still hadn't rung or texted. Tara didn't know which one made her more worried. She needed to hear Jordan's voice, or it was going to kill her. She couldn't focus or concentrate on anything but the dark woman, and it was going to cost her if she didn't study.
On an impulse, she picked up her phone and punched in the number of Jordan's mobile. It rang until the answer machine picked up and Tara hung up, not wanting to leave a message. She buried her face in her hands, not really understanding what was wrong with her, trying to control her feelings of emotion from spilling over. She jumped when her phone rang. Swiftly, she composed herself, and picked up.
"Hello?"
"Hey, it's Jordan. Um, did you just ring?"
"Yeah." Jordan's voice sounded thick and slightly hoarse. "Sorry, did I wake you?"
"Um, no. Is something wrong?" she asked.
"Well," Tara began. She realised that she couldn't tell Jordan the real reason she rang. "I was just wondering how you were, after last night."
There was a pause, and Tara could hear Jordan breathing heavily. "Yeah, I'm fine. You?"
Tara heard Jordan moving around. "Yeah, eventually. Had a bit of a headache, but otherwise I'll live."
Jordan laughed and Tara felt herself giving away her heart. "That's good to hear."
Tara thought she heard a cough come from where Jordan was. "Um, yeah. I also wanted to make sure that I didn't offend you in any way yesterday. I know that I can be um, loud when I'm drunk."
There was another pause from Jordan. "No, you didn't offend me. I'm kinda used to it anyway," she laughed. "You've got nothing to worry about."
"Good. I was actually beginning to, since you didn't text or ring today." Tara knew she sounded childish, but she couldn't stop the words.
"Yeah, sorry about that. I was going to, but your friends mentioned that you had a big exam coming up tomorrow, correction, today," explained Jordan. "I thought I should leave you alone for a bit, since you'd probably seen enough of me to last a lifetime."
"Never," said Tara quickly. "I mean... I haven't seen you for five years right. We've a lot to catch up on."
"Yeah, I guess it has been a long time. Ring me after your exam tomorrow. Maybe we can hook up again."
"Alright."
"Okay, well, good luck for your exam. I'll cross my fingers for you."
"Thanks." Tara was feeling relieved, and slightly silly for being so paranoid. "Talk to you tomorrow."
"Cool, 'night."
As Tara put down the phone, she blinked as she thought she heard the unmistakable voice of another woman talking to Jordan. Don't be stupid, she said to herself and pushed it to the back of her mind. She settled herself again in front of her books, her spirits higher after talking to Jordan. It amazed her, how one woman could make her feel so giddy inside, that she couldn't help but smile.
Three hours later, she drifted off to sleep again, her face on her final book, dreaming of Jordan and her, lying in a field of green grass. They were together always, with no one else around to disturb them as they made sweet love under the sun.
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