Chapter eight

Three hours later, Gail and Tannen stepped onto Foxwoods casino floor. Countless rows of winning slot machines sounded their chintzy ching-chinging in a futile effort to reproduce the sound of coins falling into their metal bins. Bells rang and lights flashed. Cheers and screams came from the craps table.

Gail could have done without Tannen's terms for going out. She felt and looked silly, wearing Tannen's mismatched clothes. They were a size and a half too large for Gail. The pink knee-length skirt hung like bad drapery. A lime green chemise hung low and loose, exposing more cleavage than Gail had anticipated. The color mismatch was near poison to the eyes. Gail had hoped Tannen would stop at that point, but Tannen added white sandals, two sets of dangly earrings, and a black beret.

After a generous application of makeup, Tannen aged Gail twenty-five years.

"Stoop a bit, darling," Tannen said. "It's a crackin' good effect."

Tannen wore Gail's jeans. A tight fit gave a slight bulge of fat around her waist, and she found it necessary to cuff the bottoms of the legs. Gail's purple tie-dyed T-shirt clung to Tannen, making her bust seem even larger. She wore sneakers, no socks, and no bra, but a yellow baseball cap nearly covered her eyes. Her makeup was pale, and her lips were painted rosy red.

"We'll be thrown out of here!" Gail said as they crossed the casino floor.

Tannen giggled. "Look at the people staring at us. Ooh, I like this!"

"Oh God," Gail said, but laughed with her partner in crime. "You'd better get me liquored up for this stunt."

The bartender swung around and stopped quickly at the sight of them. He hesitated.

"Uh...what'll it be, ladies?"

In her Doolittle accent, Tannen answered, "I want a fruit drink. I don't care what it is, but I want it made with Grey Goose." She slapped her hand on the bar. "And I want a sword with two cherries. A little brolly would be nice."

"Uh, 'brolly'?" he asked.

"Umbrella," Gail said.

Tannen looked at Gail. "I love fruit drinks."

Gail stifled a laugh. "I don't like them, Eliza. The umbrella pokes me in the eye. It just pokes me right in the eye."

"Crikey, Margaret. You have to take it out before you drink!"

"Ma'am? A drink?" he said to Gail.

"A double So Co, neat, and keep your fancy decorations."

"We have to watch that one. He's a bit dodgy." Tannen yelled to the bartender, "We'll have none of those well drinks!"

Patrons laughed at them, some with a slight look of fear or disgust in their eyes. Tannen picked at her nose. Gail scratched her backside.

Tannen asked, "Can I help you out there, Margaret?"

One of the men at the bar asked Tannen, "Having any luck tonight?"

"I will with me woman, later." She grabbed Gail and kissed her forehead. She left lip prints the size of a silver dollar square in the middle. "She's a hot one, my Margaret is."

The man groaned and continued with his drink. A man next to him said, "That's just wrong."

The women took their drinks, and Tannen left a twenty-dollar tip for the bartender.

"He was a good sport," she said.

Gail shuffled them to a roulette table. She watched Tannen.

"Minimum?" Tannen yelled to the dealer. He pointed to a sign that read twenty dollars minimum and five thousand maximum. "You got any money, Margaret?"

"I'm saving it for the buffet! Just get on with it, Eliza."

Gail felt her cell phone vibrate in her skirt pocket. She removed it while she watched the white ball circling the roulette wheel.

"Hi, Karen," Gail said and watched Tannen hand the dealer a one hundred dollar bill.

Tannen said, "Gimme a black chip on zero and double zero."

The dealer placed the chip on the centerline of green. He waved his hand over the table.

"No more bets," he said.

"Hi, Gail. Wow. Lots of noise on the phone," Karen said.

"We're at Foxwoods."

"Having any luck?"

"Not yet." Gail watched the ball circling slower and slower. "C'mon green!"

"I got your message. Is everything okay?"

"I guess so. I just wanted to talk earlier." She watched the ball as it fell toward the numbers.

"Okay, hon. Don't let me disturb your fun."

"One," the dealer said, and placed his marker on one, adjacent to the losing green.

"Bloody hell," Tannen said. "No buffet for me tonight."

Gail pressed the phone to her ear. She covered her other ear with her hand. "I didn't hear you, Karen. It's too loud in here."

From behind, someone grabbed Gail's arm. She swung around and looked straight into the eyes of Karen, then to Karen's husband. Fully embarrassed, Gail refused to go down alone. She yanked Tannen from the roulette table.

"What the hell are you two doing?" Karen asked. She scanned their attire.

"Karen! How good to see you." Tannen hugged her. "Is this your husband?"

"Uh-huh." Karen turned to him. "Honey, this wretch is Tannen Albright, if you can believe it."

He shook Tannen's hand. "I'm Jeff. It's about time we met, Tannen. Out for a little fun?"

"It's been jolly fun, Jeff," Tannen said, and playfully hugged Gail. "Gail's a trouper."

"How did you know it was us?" Gail asked Karen.

"I recognized you as soon as you walked through the door. We've kept an eye on you, in case the night warranted bail." She smacked Gail's arm. "I would have loved doing this with you!"

When Jeff suggested drinks, Karen insisted she would shop for apparel that was more appropriate for the two. Gail and Tannen located a restroom and removed their makeup.

Inside, the darkened nightclub was crowded. The walls were curtained dark blue, and the tables glowed with small lamps. White tablecloths took away from the ambience, but they did lend an extra bit of light for the patrons.

A band was on-stage. Their ensemble consisted of a drummer, a pianist, a sax player, and a female vocalist. They played the easy-listening hits of yesteryear. The nightclub was cheesy, but Gail thought they could have done worse.

After a half hour of wine and talk, Jeff and Karen hit the dance floor. Gail enjoyed watching Karen dance. Karen was uninhibited, wriggling about, and she looked good.

Tannen pulled her chair closer to Gail. She slipped her hand under Gail's, and their fingers intertwined.

Karen had chosen a black mid-length dress for Tannen. A jeweled accent at the bodice enhanced the empire waist. The dress highlighted Tannen's breasts, not that they needed designer influence. Oh, to be that bodice.

For Gail, Karen had chosen a Donna Karan. Another mid-length dress, Gail's was a halter that tied behind her neck. Simple, aside from the plunging V-neck, the steel blue material draped Gail well. Karen had also taken measures to ensure Gail wore flat shoes. Tannen received the stilettos.

"You look beautiful tonight, darling. Karen chose well for us." Tannen pulled gently at the shirred high waist of Gail's dress. She looked into Gail's eyes and smiled.

"Thank you, and yes, she did. We clean up nicely." She pushed Tannen's hair behind her ear.

"I'm having a wonderful evening. I'd have been very disappointed if you had refused."

Gail gazed at Tannen. "Would you have sulked?"

"Absolutely."

"What would you have felt if I had refused your kiss?" Gail saw and felt the immediate sadness in Tannen's eyes. She regretted saying the words.

"Gutted."

Gail looked down at their hands, then smiled at Tannen. I never want you to feel that way. Ever.

"I thought you were breaking the rules once." She wiggled their hands. "This looks like twice." She stroked Tannen's thumb with her own, as though it were the natural thing to do.

"Outside of your home, I refuse to confine myself to rules." Tannen squeezed Gail's hand. "Will you dance with me, darling?"

"Is that a good idea? These people know who you are. They've been staring since we came in."

"Have they?" She looked around the room. "I'm more aware of you watching me."

Gail couldn't help but glance at Tannen's breasts. "Guilty."

Karen and Jeff returned to the table.

"Tannen, dance?" He extended his hand.

"Yes." She looked over at Gail. "You shouldn't procrastinate, Ms. Prescott."

Gail watched as Jeff led Tannen to the dance floor.

Karen poured a glass of wine and sat in Tannen's chair. Tiny dots of perspiration lined her forehead. She dabbed at them with a napkin stamped with the Foxwoods logo.

"What are you dragging your feet about?" she asked.

Gail finished her wine. She loved a good wine, but it affected her in negative ways: giving her a headache and affecting her judgment, and sometimes making her angry and confused. After brief contemplation, she poured another glass. This bottle of Bordeaux was particularly flavorful, and Gail chose taste over judgment.

Karen didn't wait for an answer. She took a long drink from her glass. "Jeff and I haven't been dancing in ages. Marriage does that, I suppose. Maybe we're danced out. I'm surprised you and Tannen aren't out there."

Gail continued to watch the couple. Jeff's arm encircled Tannen's back; his free hand held hers. He moved her around the floor as Fred Astaire would Ginger Rogers. Dancing with the stars, Jeff? This is a bar, not an MGM soundstage. The music changed to a slow ballad. They remained on the floor, closer. Laughing like middle-aged fools. She's probably flirting with you, too. Gail shifted in her chair, uncomfortable with the new role that Tannen seemed to enjoy. From straight, to teasing the lesbian, to Ginger-fucking-Rogers, Tannen is quite the chameleon. Gail glared at them. Whatever. Karen's laughter broke into Gail's thoughts.

Gail snapped her head toward Karen. "What?"

"You look like you're ready to throw Jeff on his ass and stomp the hell out of him. That's what. You're jealous! Oh, I love seeing this from you."

Gail felt her face turn hot.

"Bullshit," Gail said.

"Yes. You're full of it."

Gail reached for her glass. "Shut up, Karen. As a matter of fact, she asked me to dance with her. If Jeff hadn't-"

Karen slammed her glass onto the table. Bordeaux splashed over the white tablecloth and her sleeve.

"What? Tannen asked you to dance with her? That's why you were procrastinating? Jesus Christ, Gail." Without waiting for a response, Karen yanked Gail from her chair and practically dragged her, with the wineglass, to the dance floor. "Excuse us," she said when they approached Tannen and Jeff. "We're cutting in." Karen all but threw Gail into Tannen's arms.

Much better. Enjoy your wife, Jeff, Gail thought as she placed an arm around Tannen's waist.

"Well," Tannen said, and placed her hands on Gail's shoulders, "who might you be?"

Gail held her wineglass shoulder high. "I'm your personal wine steward, Ms. Albright." Karen pulled the glass from Gail's hand and placed it on the tray of a passing waiter. "I guess that leaves me as captured prey." She held Tannen with both arms now.

"You're a difficult bottle to open. I'm beginning to think I'm not worthy of your lipstick case."

Gail stumbled but Tannen held her firmly. "I don't want to hurt you, sweetheart."

"A term of endearment from the writer lady? Too much wine, darling?"

"Among other things." Gail stepped away and turned toward the table, but Tannen pulled her back into her arms. Clive Christian was alive and well. Gail nuzzled Tannen's ear. "Your perfume makes me insane."

Tannen pulled back, enough to focus on Gail. She placed her fingers along Gail's neck, her thumb traced over Gail's jaw.

"I know it does. You've maintained your composure, until now."

Gail pressed her fingertips against Tannen's lips. "Shh." She held Tannen closer. "Keep moving. You feel magnificent against me."

"Are you weakening, Ms. Prescott?"

"Don't you remember? We aren't confined to rules here. What do you want from me, Tannen?"

"Give me the chance to make my own decision about you." Tannen brushed her lips against Gail's ear. "Show me who you are, darling."

Her body refused a quick recovery from the arousing effect of Tannen's warm lips. She received no help from reckless dancers who bumped into them from all angles. The constant crush, then sudden motion against Tannen's breasts, caused Gail's nipples to react in defense. Oh no. No. Please don't let her feel them.

Her head throbbed from the wine; she was miserably hot.

"Why would you knowingly get caught up in my history?"

"Does it knock me from the major event category, and into the category of ordinary? Am I now just another woman who wants to shag Gail Prescott?"

"No," she said, to what sounded like sarcasm. "Tannen, you appeal to me in many ways, but we're friends. I don't want to jeopardize that friendship. I want to see you...somewhere...at times...bullshit on the phone with you...whatever." She was angry now, pestered with analogies, Clive Christian, and that damned ballad the band played. "I want to know we're friends next week and next year. Do you actually believe I'd let my guard down, only to lose that? I can't be a friend and a lover."

"Darling, I'm the bearer of bad news. Your guard is down. The way you're holding me, you cannot get close enough."

Again, you tell me what I feel. Gail relaxed her arms. She wasn't about to let Tannen have the upper hand.

"Your intelligence should tell you to walk away from me. Is your presence in my life the allure of a new thrill? Is it something explained away, after pocketing a mountain of press?" Gail goaded. "Does Tannen Albright need some PR?" A camera flashed from behind Gail. "Mission accomplished?"

Tannen stepped back and glared.

"Tell me you don't mean that! I can step out of my front door to get my name in the papers. Have you stopped to think-"

Gail cut her off. "Obviously I have not stopped to think; otherwise I wouldn't be in this position. Nor have you given it thought. Have you heard anything I've said? People have called me vile." She grew louder. "I'm bad news. How could you consider any part of me when my history has been compared to the goddamned Huns?"

"Don't flatter yourself, Gail. You aren't that historically important."

"Thank you very much. Y smashes palm into cheek of X! A fit ending, I think."

"It would be a deserved ending, Gail, had anything begun." Both women stopped dancing, stood with their arms crossed and continued their verbal battle. "You can't accept a single kiss without falling into a state of dementia."

Gail's temper flared. "Then stay the hell away from me, Tannen! Go back to Hollywood."

"I refuse to let you off that easily, Gail. You have flirted your way through five weeks and I want you to own up to it."

"I don't owe you anything. You learned within ten minutes of meeting me what I'm all about. I don't change just because an attractive actor thinks a quick kiss can get her the lead role."

"I think a large portion of you is looking for change, and someone exceptionally strong is going to have to twist open that bottle cap. Then the change takes place, but only from within you."

"And you think you're," Gail mimicked quotation marks with two fingers of each hand, "the one? There's a long casting-call line. Pick a couch."

Gail's arm moved quickly to wield off what promised to be a stinging slap from Tannen's hand.

"That's a pathetic remark, Gail. Rude and arrogant doesn't become you."

Gail turned to walk away. What the hell are we doing? X and Y, Tannen and me...a slap is still a slap. She stopped cold when she realized a crowd had gathered around them. Tannen grabbed Gail by the waist and pulled her close.

"Damn it! It's possible that I am the one. I'm the closest you'll ever get to someone who loves you enough to risk emotional and career assassinations."

"Love? Love?" Gail repeated with a sarcastic laugh. She broke Tannen's hold. She scanned the perimeter of onlookers. "Does anyone have a dictionary?" She swung back, facing Tannen. "You love me? I wasn't very important a moment ago."

"Shall I be blatant?" Tannen asked. "We can return to your place, and then I'll return to New York, or we can be together tonight, here."

"I'm not the Playboy Channel, Tannen. I'm not very good at sex on demand." Karen would have a field day if she'd heard that.

Tannen's voice turned gentle. "Darling, we've made love in our minds for the past week. We've just never done it with each other. I'll give you another option of walking away at any moment. No strings."

"You're cheapening yourself, Tannen."

"I'm doing no such thing. I'm letting you know what I feel for you. You cheapen it with your denial."

The band began a tune that struck a sudden chord in Gail and she froze. No vocals, just percussion and the fat, lazy sound of an out-of-place saxophone rang in her ears. She couldn't name the obscure melody, but it was all too familiar. Why? she asked herself, until a sudden flashback slammed her brain with a glimpse of her last night with Olivia. Gail felt the same swift adrenaline rush now that she had then. Caught in the lights and cheap clamor of an insanely crowded and sweaty dance floor, Gail fought hard to keep herself together. Don't lose this control, she thought, and made a quick pass of her hand across her eyes, catching the tears before they fell. Wanting control and achieving it were completely different. Another blast from the sax and Gail had heard enough.

"Can't they play goddamned 'Disco Duck' or something?"

"Maybe 'Mambo Number Five'? 'The Wanderer'?" Tannen suggested, slathered with sarcasm.

"Are you jealous?" Gail asked, with more exuberance than she wanted to convey, but she didn't appreciate sarcasm. She wanted and needed understanding.

"Of your past liaisons?" Tannen shook her head. "Not at all. Those women were nothing more than fulfilled lust on your part. You and I share love." She softened and took Gail by her hands. "Let's get a room and we'll talk about this on impartial ground."

"You're not listening to me, Tannen," Gail ranted and pulled away. "You haven't heard my words." Her eyes stung again and her throat tightened. "Words are...they're what I'm about. Words are all I have that makes any sense in my life! Why won't you listen to what I tell you?" Gail turned to the band and mouthed the words "please don't play that," but knew they would pay no attention.

"Gail, calm down. I'm listening." Again, Tannen took Gail's hands into her own. Gently she encouraged Gail. "Darling, what is happening inside you?"

Gail closed her eyes to Tannen and ignored her inquisition. "You aren't listening! That's what all of this is about, Tannen."

"Darling." Tannen drew Gail into her arms again. "You've told me to back off, but I want you to tell me why. What has happened, Gail? All I'm hearing is your silence."

The sleazy saxophone continued and the swells of pain tightened in Gail's chest.

"Shut the fuck up!"

Tannen pushed her away. "What did you just say to me?"

"Not you, Tannen." Gail began to crumble. "The music." Her head pounded with such severity her teeth hurt. "Oh shit," Gail mumbled, and rubbed her temples.

Karen came onto the floor and stood between them. Gail wiped her eyes with her hands. Tannen opened her mouth to speak, but Gail looked away from her.

"Don't say anything, Tannen." Karen guided them through a thick wall of people. "I don't know what was happening out here, but all of the people around you know. I'll assume it wasn't very pretty, and neither of you need that kind of press. Let's locate some neutral corners."

She escorted them back to the table. Gail pulled a chair next to Jeff. Tannen hugged Karen and kissed her cheek. She said good night to Jeff.

"It's time for me to call it a night." She turned and placed her hand on Gail's shoulder. "I'll be somewhere upstairs. Please come up and talk with me, darling." She leaned down and kissed the top of Gail's head. Tannen turned and walked away.

"Just go away," Gail snapped. "I don't want you here."

Tannen abruptly stopped. Her dress swished around her until it came to a gentle stop. Gail waited, staring at the open back of the dress. She scanned down, to the top of the short zipper. The band played three full measures before Tannen turned and approached Gail. Her eyes bored into Gail's, but Gail didn't flinch. She stood quickly, expecting to tower over Tannen with her five-inch height advantage and forgetting that Karen had chosen shoes that kept them just short of standing eye to eye.

"You want me completely," Tannen said with confidence. "More than you have ever wanted anyone."

Gail flinched. She quickly turned her head away and played with the Tiffany bracelet. She heard Tannen's heels hit the hardwood floor. Her head throbbed as she turned back and watched Tannen make her exit. Gail slouched into the chair next to Jeff.

Why is this happening to me? Gail wondered. This Gail Prescott isn't the person I've written. She bit at her lip while she looked around the room. Gail cleared her throat and turned to Jeff.

"Buy a girl a drink?"

"Absolutely," he said, and began to pour the Bordeaux.

Karen stopped Jeff and took the glass away. "I don't know anyone who can knock back Jack Daniel's the way you do, but as soon as you drink wine you're shitfaced."

"I'm not shitfaced, Karen. I should have never mixed wine with Tannen Albright." She seized the glass, but Karen replaced it with a glass of water. Gail scowled.

"Can we do something for you, Gail?" Jeff asked.

"Thanks, Jeff, but no. I have to figure out all of this," Gail said, feeling numbed from the evening. Karen and Jeff said nothing. She mulled the argument with Tannen and drank the water in silence.

"Did we make complete fools of ourselves?" Gail asked.

"From what I could see? Absolutely." Karen grabbed a package of tissues from her handbag. She handed them to Gail. After Gail blew her nose twice, Karen asked, "What the hell were you two doing out there?"

"The wine, her perfume, things we talked about today, things we did-I just lost it, Karen. I'm the poster child for emotional overload." She shook her head vigorously in an attempt to shake off the entire day. She looked over at Karen. "She said she loves me."

"That's a bad thing?" Karen asked.

Gail glared at her.

"I'll tell you one thing, Gail. Tannen Albright has your number, and you don't know if you should shit or go blind. She's in your life for one purpose."

"Yeah, to be a pain in my ass." She brought her glass to her lips. "Preparation H can take care of that," she said into her water glass.

"I hate when you play the victim." Karen elbowed Jeff for laughing, then she reached across him and gave a yank to Gail's hair for the child Gail acted like. "Tannen will make or break you. The choice is yours."

Karen pulled her cell phone out of her handbag and poked some keys.

"It's Karen. Are you okay?...Uh-huh. Yeah. I'm concerned about you having no transportation...I'm not sure. Do you want to talk to her?...Okay. I'll ask her."

"Gail, if you're leaving, we can take you home. Tannen would appreciate it if you leave the car keys at the front desk."

"She wants the Beemer? Tell her she can kiss my ass."

"Tannen, Gail says to kiss her ass." Karen chuckled at Tannen's response. "I like your style...Great. I'll tell her. See ya, Tannen." She closed her cell. "Well?"

"What?" Gail made circles around the rim of her glass with her fingertip. Her headache began to ease up.

"Karen, we shouldn't interfere," Jeff said.

"Gail wouldn't know me if I didn't interfere." She looked back at Gail. "There's a key card waiting for you at registration. Go on, honey. Tannen's waiting for you."

Gail hesitated. Karen raised her eyebrows to signify that she had completed her meddling for the night. Gail stood and grabbed the bags of clothing they had shed earlier.

"Good night," she said, and headed toward the lounge exit.

Gail let herself into the suite. She placed her bags in the corner and locked the door. Tannen sat on an oversized sofa. She appeared very small and vulnerable. Gail heard the familiar dialogue from The Quiet Man playing on the television. She sat with Tannen and waited to have her presence acknowledged. On the glass-top coffee table, there was an open bottle of spring water. Tannen held a tumbler of ice water on her thigh.

Gail looked at the screen as John Wayne hustled Maureen O'Hara through the meadows of Innisfree. When the scene came present, Tannen spoke the line, "Here's a good stick to beat the lovely lady." She turned, expressionless, looking at Gail.

"Is that what you want to do?" Gail asked.

"No. I want to pour this glass of water over your head."

"Will it be worth the twenty dollars that water is costing you?"

Tannen answered slowly, "Every...bleedin'...penny." She moved closer to Gail and held the glass over Gail's head.

"You wouldn't"-she held up her hand and leaned away-"really...do it." Gail yelped when icy water hit her scalp, but Tannen withdrew her hand after a small amount spilled.

She set the glass onto the table. "That's for spraying me today."

"You're too kind," Gail said. She tilted her head, letting the water slide backward. "That's very cold."

"Yes, it is." Tannen reached for the remote control and turned off the television. She turned to face Gail. "Darling, we have a situation, and we shouldn't resort to petty argument. And we shouldn't ignore it. Coming to me tells me you think the same way." Tannen rested her arm on the back of the sofa. "You may now tell me why I'm not sitting here alone." The only sound was the muffled beat of Tannen's fingertips drumming the back of the sofa.

"You're granting me permission to speak? Are you that self-important?"

"I'm certainly not." She crossed her legs and continued the fingered cadence. "I think everyone deserves the chance for redemption."

Gail sized -up Tannen's body language. She did not appreciate it, or Tannen's self-righteous comment.

"Redeem myself?" Gail laughed. "You can take your 'immense arse' back to New York, Tannen. You provoked me! If you had left well enough alone, we wouldn't be having this conversation." She shook her head. "No. I won't give you permission to play down your guilt. You stormed into my life and-"

"You invited me, darling," Tannen coolly reminded Gail.

Gail suddenly stopped her tirade and let out a weary breath.

"Yes. I did," Gail said. "I asked for this."

Their eyes held steady, until Tannen halted her drumming fingers. She looked away from Gail. When Tannen looked back, she moved her arm from the sofa and uncrossed her legs. She rested both hands on her lap. Gail found ease with Tannen's new position of no defense.

"You're absolutely right, Gail. I goaded you." She pushed her bangs from her eyes. "I'm also guilty."

"Thank you."

Gail turned her right hand palm up and eased it under Tannen's hand. She assumed anyone with a brain would see the stupidity of getting involved with her. Obviously, Tannen needed a few more sentences to understand. Tannen squeezed Gail's hand.

"Darling? Do you want me to go first?"

Gail shook her head.

"Where do I begin?" Gail said, not meaning to sound like the theme from a sentimental 70s romantic film, but she did. She also wanted to laugh but didn't dare, for fear of polluting the remainder of their evening. Gail felt more guilt for their argument than she let Tannen realize. She figured she should be thanking all the gods that Tannen wasn't three minutes into slapping her around the room, not that Tannen probably hadn't given thought to it when she heard Gail opening the door, perhaps before.

"I'm here for many reasons." She took a deep breath. "But mostly, I owe you an enormous apology, Tannen. Wine doesn't agree with me."

"That's not the real problem."

"No, but it didn't help keep my head together." Gail moved closer. "I'm sorry for what happened down there. Whether or not you wanted PR, I think we gave it to them."

"I accept your apology, and I was as much to blame. I apologize, too, but I'm not worried about the morning papers. My concern is for you, darling. Won't you confide in me?"

"No."

"You were outwardly in pain, Gail. Let me be a friend to you."

"You are a friend, but I'm feeling better."

"What about tomorrow or a half hour from now?"

"I'll be sure to stay away from wine." Gail smiled.

"Be serious. Whatever has a grip on your life, it keeps a lot of you away from the world. From me," she added. "Why won't you be more open with me?"

"It's just who I am. I can't explain myself any differently." Gail turned Tannen's palm up and massaged it with both thumbs. "I care about you, and I'm wildly attracted to you, but I may not have anything to offer you, beyond one night."

She ran her fingers over Tannen's palm and up to Tannen's fingertips. Voluntarily and with ease, she pulled Tannen closer. Gail lifted and peeled away the shoulder of Tannen's dress. She kissed tenderly at Tannen's tanned and soft skin. Her lips swathed warm flesh from Tannen's shoulder to her neck. "You're smoother than rose petals." Gail lifted her head away.

"Darling, my life was in your hands while you taught me to swim." She gathered Gail's hair into her hands. Her cheek stroked the mass of hair, and she inhaled slowly. "Your shampoo is fabulous. Everything about you invades my senses." Tannen looked into Gail's eyes and she spoke softly. "My life is not in your hands when it comes to your emotions, or your lack of them. You are a script that wants produced, and I'm good enough to make this a blockbuster."

Gail whispered, "I just need you to understand what I'm about, and what could happen."

"When you know what you're about, I'll understand." Tannen kissed Gail's lips.

The heat of desire overpowered Gail, and she pressed into Tannen. Stop, Tannen. Stop...just...oh...just throw me on the floor and shag my brains out. Afraid to let desire take control, Gail pulled away from Tannen's kiss. Tannen's eyes fluttered open.

"What if I never tell you? What if-"

"You don't frighten me, darling. I'll take tonight." Tannen cocked her head to the side. She smiled and touched Gail's cheek. "I love looking at you."

"Of all the women in the entire world," Gail ran one finger along the cleavage of Tannen's breasts, "you chose me."

"I read Tenfold and I was the chosen one." Tannen's tongue moved slowly up Gail's cheek. "I never so much as questioned my direction."

Just below her eye, Gail felt the warm touch of Tannen's lips. Do that again.

Tannen focused on Gail. "That's not true. I nearly walked out of Talley's."

"You probably should have." Gail felt Tannen's hand against her breast. Her nipple fully responded when Tannen's fingertip glided over it. "Mmm." I can't ignore this. You've made me so wet, in so little time. Yet, she contained her breathing. "Then filming Tenfold was your lure?" she asked while she kissed Tannen's eyebrows between every other word.

"Yes and no. It was the perfect reason to meet you," she nibbled at Gail's neck, "but I stand firm in my desire to film the story."

Gail felt a bite to her neck. "Not gonna happen." The bite was kissed away.

Tannen looked into Gail's eyes. "At this moment, I cannot care less." Tannen reached behind Gail's neck and untied the halter. Bringing the straps forward, Tannen slowly pulled them away. "Your eyes are a warm mahogany. It's difficult to leave them."

Gail took a breath as Tannen's eyes moved downward. Tenderly, and with full confidence, Tannen clasped Gail's breasts.

"Unquestionably superb. You have lovely breasts." Tannen kissed each and then gently squeezed them. "You're incredibly silky to touch. Are you like this everywhere?"

She ran her fingers over Gail's nipples. Gail felt them tingle and stiffen. Screw control. I'm yours tonight. "I'm wondering the same about you." Tannen's lips warmed each nipple. Gail groaned. "How can you do this so easily?" She pulled Tannen's mouth against her breast. The force vibrated from her breast to her thighs.

"What do you mean, darling?" Tannen licked the nipple slowly and teased her with tiny bites from her lips.

"How can you...mhh," she groaned from a tougher bite, "be so easily," Gail took a deep breath, "with another woman?" She exhaled slowly. Against her breast, Gail felt Tannen's lips curl into a smile.

Tannen licked the nipple again and rested her hands against Gail's shoulders. She looked at Gail's lips and then into her eyes.

"You really do avoid the gossip papers," Tannen said. "You're not the first woman I've been with, darling."

"I don't believe you," Gail said. "Karen would have told me. She follows all of that Hollywood bullshit."

"Karen knows. She asked me if it were true. I asked her not to tell you."

"Why?" Gail placed her hands over Tannen's.

"I would have been an easy mark for you, otherwise. You would have shagged me once or twice, notched your lipstick case, and that would have been the end of Tannen Albright." Tannen outlined Gail's lips with her pinky. "Without knowledge of my past, you became protective of me when you realized you care for me. You could no longer shag me and run. You protected me from Gail Albright and I love you even more for it." Gail snagged Tannen's finger with her teeth. "Physically and emotionally, I want you. I had to turn the table on you."

Gail grinned around her finger-biting teeth. "You called me Gail Albright," she said, keeping hold of Tannen's finger.

"Did I?" Tannen paused, and sounded the name again. "Gail Albright." She looked at Gail and frowned. "The sound is off, yes?" She laughed. "Not to worry, darling. A slip of the tongue."

"I'm not worried. I am," she chose her word carefully, "affected by you, and I'll kill Karen." Gail closed her lips around Tannen's fingertip. She bit gently at the tip and slowly slid her mouth down, until the full finger was fully enveloped by her mouth. Gail leaned back and pulled Tannen on top of her.

"You're so warm inside." Tannen removed her finger and pushed her hands beneath Gail's shoulders. "Do that with my tongue." She opened her mouth against Gail's.

Gail hungrily imprisoned Tannen's tongue. Don't ever leave my mouth. Gail sucked at Tannen with all the need of a hungry infant.

Tannen's body shifted quickly. A breathtaking, sweet shock sped through Gail when Tannen's hand dropped beneath the dress and came to rest between Gail's legs. Both women whimpered on contact. Gail grabbed the greedy hand and pressed it harder.

Tannen moved away and stood. She helped Gail to her feet. Without another word, they kissed and fondled their way into the master bedroom until they lay side by side atop the king-size bed. Their legs fit together like loosened tendrils. Gail brushed Tannen's hair away from her eyes and kissed the tip of her nose. She grazed Tannen's lips with her tongue.

"I've told you who I am, Tannen. I'm the queen of superficial."

"I forbid monarchy of any sort," Tannen said. She pecked tiny bites against Gail's lips.

"I'm the master of opting out," Gail murmured against Tannen's wet lips. "I can find my way through one lustful evening with you. I can send you back to Manhattan the next afternoon. Just... don't... stop."

Lips against Gail's, Tannen said, "The option exists, but I'm afraid it's too late for you, darling." A soft, playfully sinister giggle followed.

You sound so sexy when you do that.

Gail assembled her final Scrabble tiles. "I can leap tall buildings in a single bound..."

"...every time the need should arise for us." Tannen ran the inside of her foot along Gail's leg. "Darling?"

"Hmm?" Gail moved her head back and looked into Tannen's eyes. She ran her fingers along Tannen's cheek.

Tannen licked slowly across Gail's lips. "Shh."

They kissed long, unyielding, incautious, and uncaring of the moisture they shared and spread against the other. Their tongues licked, reached separately into the heat, and then at once. They separated long enough for rapid intakes of air, and then they were again lost to their greed.

Gail could not embrace Tannen enough. She could not stop her brain from feeling Tannen's warm form, first against her breasts, and her mind suddenly jumped to Tannen's hand, heavy against her back. Gail wanted to feel the woman encompass her. She needed to be fully aware of each touch simultaneously. Tannen draped her leg over Gail's hip and held tighter. I need you, Tannen.

"I want you, darling." Tannen breathed the words against Gail's mouth.

Tannen pushed Gail to her back and stretched on top. Gail attempted to bring her hands to Tannen's face. She craved more kissing but found her arms pinned gracefully over her head. Tannen's mouth came down again and her tongue entered unhurried, deeply, and pulled out, only to enter again with greater force. Gail grasped it with her lips, with her teeth, holding it, tightening against the penetration. Tannen's long, slow oral intercourse reached to Gail's toes. There was no concentration of feeling; it spread quickly, a virus out of control. Every limb, every distinct portion of her body, every hair on Gail's head belonged to Tannen. Gail freed her hands and unzipped the back of Tannen's dress. Without missing one stroke, Tannen pulled her arms from the sleeves. Gail captured the freed breasts in her hands, and gripped each as though she seized life itself. With each stroke of Tannen's tongue, Gail's grasp became stronger and in rhythm with Tannen's mouth.

Abruptly, Tannen stopped their kiss and looked meaningfully at Gail. Breathlessly, but with conviction, Tannen said, "I do love you, Gail."

Gail felt a powerful thud inside her chest. Love? Don't mess this up with the L-word. Gail wanted the spreading radiance to cease with Tannen's word choice, but it persisted. It flooded Gail. It choked her in a way she had never before felt. She could only look at Tannen, with no words to return. Gail pulled her closely. She held Tannen, stroked her back, and hugged her repeatedly. Passion filled her embrace and she was now powerless to deny her feelings. Without words, Gail longed to convey her feelings.

Tannen pushed away. "Kiss me, Gail. Kiss me now, with that look in your eyes."

Gail blinked, hesitated, and then her mouth roughly sought Tannen's neck. Tannen groaned.

"Mmm, darling, that feels wonderful, but rough is not the look I saw." Tannen gripped tighter under Gail's shoulders.

Gail bit again and then gently pushed Tannen away. She looked into Tannen's eyes once more. Beautiful eyes. Ever changing, always pulling me into their depths and holding me inside of you. I'm warm and protected there.

Tannen whispered, "That's the look. Kiss me now."

With both hands, Gail brought Tannen's mouth to hers. Gail kissed her again, with full control; no more than lips pressing, moving longingly, lovingly, and tenderly together. She stopped long enough to take Tannen's bottom lip between hers. She held it, she loved it, she made love to the full, sweet flesh. When Gail ended the kiss, she looked briefly at Tannen and kissed once more, slightly.

Gail watched until Tannen's eyes opened. Waiting seemed eternal, and their breathing steadied. Tannen opened her eyes.

"I've never felt so much love in one kiss. Please, Gail. Stop hiding this woman from me."

They were the only words that could cause Gail to break down. She buried her head against Tannen's shoulder and began to sob. Her body jerked as she struggled to hold back her emotions. Gail held her breath, but her lungs betrayed her and released eighteen years of pain. A single, agonized groan broke into the silent air between them.

Tannen cradled her. "What is it?"

Gail's torment continued to manifest in swelling sobs that shot pain through her muscles as they contracted and released, only to contract again. She clung to Tannen.

"Darling, what has happened to you?" Tannen moved to her side and pulled Gail into her arms. She rocked, she coddled Gail. "Darling." She stroked Gail's hair and minutes passed before Gail relaxed enough to catch her breath.

"I can't do this." Gail sat up and wiped her eyes with the bedcover. At the edge of the bed, she tied the halter behind her neck. "I'm sorry, Tannen." She rushed into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

Gail turned on the faucets and splashed cold water onto her face. She kept her face buried in a towel until she found enough courage to look at herself. Emotions boiled and rolled inside of her. It was brutal. She felt toyed with by the living and by the dead. Her emotions turned her stomach inside out.

I have something for you, Gail! I love you! It's a cheap form of seduction. Everybody wants something. Gimme gimme gimme. Stay with me. You promised. No, come over here. And Karen! I can't believe she would work with Tannen to keep me in the dark. Just wait until I get my hands on you, Karen Maines.

She looked in the mirror.

"How did you let this happen?" She could almost hear her reflection laughing at her. "Tannen manipulated you!" She slammed her hands on the marble sink. "Damn it! Damn it!" She looked into the mirror. "Jackass," she said. Gail wet her face again and patted it dry. "You knew you were falling in love with her. Why did you let it get this far?" She pointed to her reflection. "You cannot do this! You cannot do this! How do you expect to face her now?"

Gail heard Tannen's cell phone ring. She splashed her face again and looked into the mirror. After several more applications of cold water, she returned to the bedroom.

Tannen was on the phone. Her eyes were puffy and her nose red. Her sleeves were on properly and she came toward Gail, motioning for Gail to zip her dress. Gail fastened it quickly.

"That's flight 142, yes? Hold on." She looked to Gail and asked, "Can you get me to JFK airport immediately?"

"Yes."

"I want the flight." Tears had welled in Tannen's eyes. "No," she said. "I'll pay for the tickets when I arrive." She sat on the edge of the bed. Tannen held her hand out to Gail. Gail moved quickly to Tannen's side. After a brief question and answer period, Tannen snapped the phone closed and tossed it to the bed. "My mum is in hospital. She's had a heart attack. I'm going to London immediately."

"Oh no. When did this happen?"

"A few hours ago." She let out a hard breath and collected her thoughts. "I have only the clothes on my back but plenty in London. Damn it. My passport-"

"It's in the car. You left it on the kitchen table and I grabbed it." Gail put her arms around Tannen and held on for a moment. "She'll be fine, sweetheart. Don't worry."

"What about you?" Tannen asked as she pulled her shoes on. "You left so abruptly."

"I'll be fine, too. Let's get you to JFK."

The drive to Kennedy airport was quick. Gail centered their conversation on Tannen's relationship with her mother. Tannen feared the worst, and Gail offered what comfort she could.

At the security checkpoint, Tannen handed her apartment keys, and her address, to Gail.

"Go to my flat, darling. I don't want you driving back to Connecticut tonight."

"Call me," Gail said.

"I will." Tannen kissed Gail quickly and then headed through security.

Gail watched until Tannen disappeared around the corner.

Дата добавления: 2015-08-27