My Kind of Woman

27. Our Day

27. Our Day (Thank God For Boats)

Hello! Fluffy, domestic chapter here. Kind of... Anyway, I hope you enjoy - I have a ko-fi link in my bio if you wanna give some support. Otherwise just reading and voting is good! : )

The next morning I woke with a shuddering gasp, scrambling up in bed and clutching the bedsheets. Not out of regret, or a bad dream, but to protect. I was preparing myself to yell out, 'it's not what it looks like!'

But, I was in my own bed, dressed in the same clothes from the night before, the back of my neck slick with cool sweat. Jackie's bed was vacant and made-up, the bedroom door was open, the bathroom door was closed. Between my thighs was uncomfortably sticky, and with that sensation came the memories of the night before. I remembered the lazy, wet kisses well after we were finished, me still pulled up in her lap, her fingers making circles on my lower back. I didn't want to leave her. I didn't want to go to leave and see her face teeming with regret. Nothing would hurt me more. I remembered being connected by the stretches of skin we had pressed against each other; fingers, thighs, tummies, our lips. I remembered her whispering,

"Don't stay too long."

And her lips being ruddy from kissing for so long. She wasn't telling me to leave her, I wanted to think she didn't want me to leave her, but she was more telling me 'be careful'. I remembered leaving and not looking back for an expression, afraid I'd find the one I didn't want to see. In the bathroom, I splashed water against my cheeks with shaking hands, not looking up at my face in the mirror.

I gave her something that night. Something more tender than a confession. Something I couldn't take back.

Waking up in that house was something I would miss. I wondered if the next year once Jackie and I were away at college we'd come back together to stay here. I wondered if things would be so similar by the next year. I realised, the morning next would be the last and I sighed heavily. I didn't want to go just yet. I didn't want to go back to boring twin, where I'd be Norah Cook again and Mio would be Mio Reed, where I knew her confidence would die. Here, things were different, like we were in some alternate universe, where this was our house and we were real lovers.

Mio was still sleeping, as down in the kitchen, it was only Jackie and Mr. Reed at the dining table. Jackie looked bright and smiley, whilst Mr. Reed's hair looked damp and his forehead was deeply creased. He still smiled when he saw me though.

"Good morning, Norah," he said, bringing a mug up to his lips, rim steaming with the heat of his coffee

I slunk down into a seat beside Jackie, rubbing my eyes. "Morning."

"Ready for the day?" He asked.

Jackie was rubbing my shoulders, like she could see the tenseness on my skin. I wondered if they could see it on my face, see it reflected in my eyes, what I'd seen the night before from between her thighs. I hung my head, suddenly too embarrassed to look at anyone.

"I think so," I said.

"Good answer," Mr. Reed nodded, sipping from his coffee then saying, "lots to do, I hope you like boats."

"Boats?"

Jackie said, "yeah, going on a boat ride today, out to a little island. Oh, it's so beautiful."

I'd never been on a boat before. I was sure it would be lovely, the steady rocking of the vessel against the waves, the spray of the sea against the hull and then my skin.

"It'll be a one-missing kind of day, the three musketeers," Mr. Reed said, "Mio's queasy. Barely stirred this morning."

I said, "I'm afraid of boats."