An Irresistible Invitation

An Irresistible Invitation

Dani woke to the smell of coffee. The night before had left her with a bit of a hangover, yet still wired from the drugs and music. She lay there a moment, staring up at the pitched ceiling that stared back. Music from the concert rose up the stairway from the living room. The night before flashed through her mind, and she smiled at the void, recalling how natural and comfortable Jody's arms had felt wrapped around her waist. She wanted to hold that feeling forever.

A moment later, the smell of bacon and a signal from her bladder told her it was time to rise and shine. Fumbling for her clothes, she heard the door at the foot of the stairs open, and the patter of feet run to the only bathroom in the house.

Dammit, she thought, sitting on the edge of the waterbed. That so doesn't help. Z stumbled back to her room a moment later, and Dani scurried down the steep stairway and into the little room. The smell of bacon, eggs, coffee, and toast wafted through the house. The beat of the music brought the warm throbbing of the night before back to her mind, and she smiled.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Jody said when she followed her nose into the kitchen a few minutes later. Her new friend had just set the bacon on a paper towel to soak up the grease and poured the excess in a can.

"'Morning," Dani replied, grinning at the familiar action. Her mom saved bacon grease, too.

"How do you like your eggs? And how many?"

"Do you have hash browns?" asked Dani.

"No, sorry."

"Scrambled, then. And one, thanks."

"Scrambled, it is," replied Jody with a wink. She cracked an egg into a bowl, added a dash of milk, salt, and pepper, then whipped it into a froth before pouring the mixture into the hot pan.

Dani watched her work, thoughts whirling. That energy she'd felt yesterday was still there and the hours after they'd returned from the concert were nothing short of magical. This feeling coursing through her was so new, different, and had a depth that made her palms sweat just thinking about it. Somehow she knew that life with this woman could be everything she had ever wanted and more. That prospect both terrified and excited her.

When Jody finished fixing her eggs (three, over easy), they carried their plates and coffee cups out to the table in the backyard to enjoy the brilliant August morning. The azure sky promised the perfect day to play outdoors.

"So, what do you do?" asked Jody.

"For fun? Replied Dani, "I play video games, read, ride my bike. I'd play softball if I could ever get on a team. Career-wise? I fix electrical stuff, learned how when I was in the service."

"You were in the service? Really? I wanted to go in, but I had the kids, so ..." Jody trailed off.

"Yeah, they almost didn't let me join either. I wanted to go in the Air Force after my divorce. The recruiter didn't want the paperwork," Dani laughed. "I ended up across the hall with the Navy, best decision I made, I think."

"Navy? That's cool. I went to nursing school instead. Still wished I could have joined, though. How did you like it?"

"I would have stayed for twenty if it hadn't been for the rules. They weren't real big on having gays in at the time. So, I did my enlistment, and called it a day. I took my skills elsewhere."

"Wow."

"Yeah, well, I have some awesome memories. I'll have to show you pictures sometime."

"I'd love to see them."

They spent the next hour talking about their respective careers and hobbies. Then Jody looked at her watch.

"Crap, I need to get going on some stuff," she said. "My kid is coming over and I need to get the house clean."

"I get it," replied Dani, smiling. Disappointment that their time was ending so soon washed through her. "I should get my place clean, too," she said with a wink. "My cat will appreciate it."

She gathered her backpack, and Jody walked her out to her bicycle.

"Listen," began Jody from behind her, "my motorcycle club is going on a ride tomorrow. Do you want to ride with me?"

Dani straightened from the bike lock and turned to look at the older woman.

"Uh," said Dani intelligently. "S-sure," she stammered. "But I haven't ridden in years."

"It's okay," replied Jody, grinning. "I have a lot of experience with passengers."

"It's a date."

Dani didn't remember the ride back to her apartment that day. She barely paid heed to the traffic zooming by as she rode the narrow bike lane. All she could think about on her way home was: All that and motorcycles, too. How lucky can a girl get?