Force of Nature Read online

  First stop: Marshall Field’s. Erin went through the aisles with purpose, pulling a sweater off an aisle display, then two blouses from a rack, pausing only to check for the right sizes.

  “Hold these, please,” she said, shoving the items at Gable before reaching for a gray-green tank top that matched the color of her eyes. “What do you think?”

  She held it in front of her, and Gable could easily picture the provocative top accentuating the curves of Erin’s nicely rounded breasts. She realized her mouth was hanging open and shut it abruptly. A faint flush crept up her cheeks and she prayed Erin wouldn’t notice.

  “Well?” Erin said. “Think it would look good on me?”

  Gable nodded, not trusting her voice. Oh, this is so not going to be easy.

  Erin tossed the top to her, adding to the pile of prospective purchases, and continued on through the racks. Another shirt, three pairs of dress slacks. A blazer. Then, a leather skirt.

  Dear God. Gable groaned. That will barely cover her ass.

  “You know, I usually hate to shop,” Erin said, sending a pair of khakis in Gable’s direction. “But this is kinda fun.” She surveyed the bundle of clothes in Gable’s arms. “That’ll do for now.” She headed off in the direction of the fitting rooms, crooking a beckoning finger over her shoulder.

  Gable hesitated at the dressing room door, but Erin pulled her inside.

  “Sit over there,” she commanded, pushing her toward the small bench off to one side and closing the door. “I want to know what you think. Be honest, now.”

  It was a spacious corner stall, and the bench Gable sat on faced a trifold, full-length mirror guaranteed to capture every possible angle of the body standing in front of it. Gable almost whimpered aloud as Erin took the clothes from her and hung them up. Uh-oh. I’m in serious trouble here.

  Erin considered her selections aloud as she absentmindedly kicked off her shoes and stepped out of her jeans. “Those charcoal pants will go with everything. And I really like this.” She peeled off her top and reached for a nicely tailored white button-down shirt.

  Gable tried to pry her eyes from the soft expanse of flesh between Erin’s cream satin bra and matching panties. I can’t do this, I can’t do this. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears. Her mouth felt stuffed with cotton.

  Erin pulled the shirt on, leaving three buttons unbuttoned to expose entirely too much cleavage, and stepped into the khakis. Checking out the outfit in the mirror, she glanced at Gable. “Whatcha think? I like these.”

  Gable nodded mutely and forced her eyes away so she wouldn’t be caught staring. But her gaze fell instead on the short leather skirt hanging on the wall, and she worried she would hyperventilate.

  Before she knew it, Erin was nearly naked again in that damn lingerie, giving her yet another chance to study some fascinating body part. Her eyes were drawn to lightly freckled shoulders and upper arms, the muscles bunching and expanding as Erin reached for another ensemble.

  This time it was a burgundy blouse with a high round collar and subtle pattern, over the charcoal dress slacks.

  “Teacher clothes,” Erin shrugged as she stepped in front of the mirror. “I’d love to have a job where I could go to work in jeans. That’s one of the perks of teaching piano at home. Speaking of which…” She whirled to face Gable, who tried her damndest not to blush under the scrutiny. “I think you should take up an instrument again. Wouldn’t it be fun to play together?”

  Fun? Play together? Instrument? Gable’s mind was not her own. It refused to think coherently, filling instead with all sorts of images that were not at all remotely connected to music. She felt herself blushing. What the hell was happening to her? You’ve been celibate way too long.

  “Gable? You all right?”

  “Uh, sure, sorry. Drifted off there for a minute.”

  “You tired of shopping already?”

  “No! Not at all.” If shopping was always like this, I might just live at the mall.

  “Good. So what do you think?”

  “You…uh…you look very nice.” Brilliant. Very original. Nice vocabulary you got there, Gable.

  “I mean about taking up an instrument. Wouldn’t that be fun?”

  “I don’t think I can remember much,” Gable protested halfheartedly. “I doubt I could even read music anymore.”

  “I can fix that. Put yourself in my very capable hands and we’ll be playing beautiful music together before you know it.”

  “Whatever you say.” Gable tried not to read anything into the choice of words.

  Once again, Erin was stripping before the full-length mirror. This time she reached for the leather skirt. Slipping it on, she turned slowly to see herself in the mirror. “Does it show too much?”

  Not if you wear it around me. Gable kept that compliment to herself. No one should have those legs, she thought, admiring Erin’s firm calves and toned thighs. She could only imagine how the boys at the fire station would react. The skirt definitely showed too much, she decided. But that was being selfish.

  “You have the body to wear it,” she said, trying to keep her voice even.

  “Thanks. You’re not so bad yourself,” Erin said offhandedly. Stripping off the skirt, she reached for a pair of navy dress slacks. She looked at Gable’s reflection in the mirror as she zipped up the fly and adjusted the belt. “So…maybe this is too personal, but…you and Tim…any…uh, did you ever go out or anything?”

  The question caught Gable off guard. Why are you interested? “Nope. Good friends, that’s all. Why?”

  Erin shrugged. “Just curious.”

  Why are you curious? Has to be Tim. She likes Tim. Gable felt queasy again all of a sudden. It didn’t help that Erin was stripping down to her bra and panties yet once more.

  She got to her feet and headed for the door of the fitting room. “It’s pretty warm in here, I’m going to stretch my legs. Take your time. I’ll meet you at the entrance to the mall.”

  She escaped without waiting for a response and found a bench outside the store entrance. While Erin finished trying on clothes, she took the time to compose herself. Her self-therapy included a pep talk. You have to get over this. You’re being ridiculous. She’s the best prospect for a friend you’ve had in ages, and you’re going to screw that up if you keep mooning over her like this. She’s straight. Get over it already.

  She wasn’t ready to tell Erin she was gay. With her hormones so out of control at the moment, she would feel far too exposed if Erin knew. No. It took her no time at all to decide. She wouldn’t tell Erin until she got over this…this crush. That’s all it was. A crush on a straight woman. You’ve had them before. It’ll pass.

  It had been a while since she’d come out to anyone. No one, in fact, since she’d moved to Michigan, not even the guys at the station. She hadn’t felt close enough to any of them to volunteer something that personal. And she hated the idea of getting kidded about it mercilessly over their weekly poker games.

  Besides, these days you’re hardly even a lesbian. You’re more asexual than anything. You haven’t been out on a date in, what… She did the math in her head. Let’s see. I was seeing Jane back when…Oh my God. I haven’t been on a date in four years? Oh, you really are pathetic, Gable. No wonder you’re panting after this woman.

  The object of her musings appeared at that moment, exiting the store with large shopping bags in each hand and a concerned look on her face.

  “You all right?” She settled on the bench beside Gable and put a hand on her back.

  Gable swore she could feel the heat of Erin’s palm through her clothing. Her throat felt tight. “I’m fine. Just seemed awful warm in there.”

  “Want to quit?”

  “Nope. I’m okay. Where to next?”

  “Well, we can kind of work our way down the mall. Let me know when you get tired and we’ll stop for lunch. My treat.”

  “Sounds good. Let’s go.”

  Gable suffered through another dressing-room strip
show at JC Penney, where Erin loaded up on another armful of clothes. They dropped off their purchases at the Jeep and then spent nearly three hours in Target, filling two carts with essential odds and ends: cleaning supplies and kitchen ware, garden hose and tools. Bandages. A flashlight. Clocks and rugs. Curtains, towels, sheets, and blankets. A boom box and several CDs. Telephones and an answering machine.

  After a stop for lunch at China Wok, they made brief forays to several other mall stores. She thought she’d come through the worst of it, temptation-wise, until Erin paused in front of Victoria’s Secret.

  “Let’s go in here. I need some new bras and panties, and they have a good selection.”

  Oh Lord. Give me strength, Gable thought as they headed inside. She tried not to look at the provocative lingerie displayed all around her. Lacy camisoles. Push-up bras. Sheer negligees. Teddies. Thongs. She tried not to imagine how they would look on Erin. She really did. But her mind and body conspired against her. She could feel the wetness begin to pool between her legs.

  “What do you think of these?” Erin held up a sexy black demi-cup bra and matching panties, made of silk.

  “I think…I think…” Gable’s ability to form a coherent sentence left her and she felt light-headed. “Fine. Just fine. I’m going to sit over here.”

  She found an easy chair outside the fitting rooms and plunked down into it, as Erin shrugged and continued shopping. Closing her eyes, she tried to dispel the naughty images cascading her brain. But she was not at all successful. So she was both relieved and mildly disappointed when Erin appeared a short while later with another large bag, ready to go.

  “Furniture next. Let’s head to Art Van,” she announced as they departed the store for Gable’s Jeep.

  Oh good. This part won’t be so bad.

  She was wrong.

  It was in the bedroom display area at Art Van’s that Gable realized her libido was now controlling her life. There was Erin, stretched out on a queen-sized mattress, looking tantalizingly kissable, beckoning and smiling, wanting an opinion on the firmness.

  “Come on, Gable, help me out here. Get on this bed!”

  *

  That night, she called her brother Stewart. Just thirteen months older, he had looked out for her since they were in grade school, and he was the one person in the world she confided in. He knew her whole pathetic dating history and had seen her through more than a couple of crushes. And through it all, he was always a sound and reassuring voice of reason.

  “How’s the roof doing? Any leaks?” she asked after their hellos.

  “Works like a charm. We had a downpour last week. Oh, Steven wants to say hi.”

  Her six-year-old nephew got on the phone. “I miss you, Aunt Gable. I play with the fire truck you gave me all the time.”

  “Are you saving lots of people?”

  “Yes, today I saved the Lego people in Pirateland.”

  “I see. Well that sounds very brave of you.”

  “Daddy wants to talk now. Bye, Aunt Gable.”

  “Bye, Steven.”

  “Can’t thank you enough again, for all you did,” Stewart said. “I owe you. So…what’s up? It’s not like you to call without a reason.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Gable asked indignantly. “I call you just to say hello.”

  “No, you never do.”

  “I do too.”

  “Name the last time.”

  “I called you right after I got home,” she reminded him.

  “To ask whether we’d seen your sunglasses.”

  “Oh, yeah. Well, I…I called you a couple weeks before the tornado, didn’t I? You told me about Steven’s karate classes.”

  “After you asked me what you should get Tracy for his birthday.”

  “Oh.” There was a pause. “I really never call you unless I want something?” Gable asked. She felt awful if that was true.

  “No. But that’s okay. Because you want something often enough that I get to keep up with what you’re doing.”

  “Well, jeez, then I should apologize, Stewart. That’s kind of lame, to only call you when I want something.”

  “Not a problem, sis. Your heart’s in the right place, I know. So spill. What is it this time?”

  “Well, I…I need some brotherly advice. Or maybe I just need to tell someone, I don’t know. I seem to have developed this…” She stammered and bit at her lip. It had been a while since she’d talked to Stewart about her love life, and even with her brother it wasn’t exactly easy to pour out all her innermost feelings.

  “Gable, are you all right?” Her brother’s voice was suddenly serious. “Are you ill?”

  “No, no,” she hastened to reassure him. “I just…well, I seem to have developed this rather maddening crush on this woman…”

  “Crush?” The mirth was back in his voice. “Crush?” he repeated. “You’ve got the hots for someone? Oh this is news! This is why you called me?” He started to chuckle, and Gable’s embarrassment turned to irritation.

  “Well, you’re a big help. I’m so glad I called and confided in you.”

  “Oh, honey, don’t be pissed. I’m just teasing. You gave me a scare, there. So, for real? You’ve got the hots for somebody? It’s been a long time. Who is it?”

  “You remember that woman I told you about? Erin?”

  “Trapped-all-night so-much-in-common Erin?”

  “That’s the one.”

  “Didn’t you say she was straight?”

  “She is. She’s also drop-dead gorgeous and my new best friend. We went shopping together today and she bought lingerie and a bed.”

  “Oh, I see. Very tough.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, you said you two really hit it off. Any chance she might be open-minded enough to consider some new possibilities?”

  “You mean switching sides? Stewart! I’m surprised at you!”

  “Why? I want you to be happy. You’ve been alone too long.”

  “Well, that may be true, but…”

  “So do you think she's interested?” he asked.

  “No, she’s definitely straight. Besides, she has no idea I’m so smitten with her. I haven’t even told her I’m gay yet.”

  “You haven’t? Why not?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t want to do anything to muck up our friendship. It’s just getting started.”

  “But that’s kind of an important piece of information to keep from someone you want to be close to, isn’t it?”

  “I know. And I will tell her. But today was really only the first full day we spent together, face-to-face anyway, and it was torture most of the time. I mean, I gotta tell ya, bro…I got it bad. I can’t stop thinking about her. And I’m afraid if I come out to her, then she’ll be able to see how I feel about her.” She sighed. “I keep hoping it will get easier. Maybe I just want you to tell me I’ll get over this.”

  “I wish I could, hon. But I doubt you’d be calling me about this if she was just a passing fancy.”

  “Big help you are.”

  “Sorry. Best I can do is to tell you to follow your heart.”

  “I’ll try to remember that,” Gable said. “Thanks for listening.”

  “Any time, sis. Good luck.”

  Gable fell asleep that night repeating her resolve to get a grip on her hormones. She was not going to let her emotions get the better of her, damn it! Her friendship with Erin was too important to screw up.

  *

  “Come on, Gable, help me out here. Get in this bed!” Erin lounged on her side on the queen-sized sleigh bed, one leg straight, the other slightly bent, a provocative pose, especially considering her apparel. She had on a black silk demi bra and matching panties, and Gable could see her erect nipples through the lingerie, small dark circles straining against the sheer fabric. A few wisps of reddish-blond hair escaped the edge of the panties, a tiny triangle that left very little to the imagination.

  Erin’s hand gently patted the silky cotton sh
eet beside her. “I’m waiting for you.” She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue and stared at Gable with a piercing look of desire. The bedroom was lit by candles, and soft soothing music played low in the background.

  “Waiting for me?” Gable asked, drawn to the bedside.

  “Mmm-hmm.” Erin reached for her hand and pulled her down onto the bed.

  Gable went willingly and lay on her side, drinking in every detail of the reclining woman—the fair skin, lightly freckled on her face, shoulders, arms. The inviting cleavage between her breasts. The flat plane of her stomach, with tiny blond hairs trailing down to disappear beneath the sheer material of the panties.

  “Are you…do you…” she stammered, unable to believe what was happening even as she reached out her hand to caress the side of Erin’s face. So soft. So incredibly soft. She knew it would be.

  “Mmm-hmm,” Erin purred again, leaning in to the touch. “I do want you, Gable. Just as much as you want me. I don’t want to wait anymore.”

  “I don’t either.” Gable slid her hand around the back of Erin’s neck to pull her closer.

  Erin’s hand slipped around her as their mouths came together, lips slightly open. Soft at first. Tentative.

  Then, pressing harder, her tongue caressed Gable’s lower lip, and the kiss deepened as their bodies closed the distance and heated flesh met heated flesh. Breasts pressed against each other. Erin’s leg insinuated itself between Gable’s. The lingerie was suddenly gone somehow, and Gable was mildly surprised to discover that she was naked too.

  Her arousal went from simmer to boil in an instant when Erin moaned and climbed on top of her, not breaking the kiss until she had to draw breath. Erin’s leg pressed harder against her aching center, and Gable’s body began moving of its own accord, rocking against Erin, creating a delicious friction that cried out for release.

  “Touch me, Erin,” she pleaded in a whisper. “Please. I ache for your touch.”