Whitewater Rendezvous

“Never tried.” Truth be told, Megan had always been a bit irritated by the fact that Elise had made a play for virtually every lesbian in their close circle of friends except for her. Not that she had any particular attraction to Elise; it was only that she felt slighted, like there was something wrong with her.

“Well, for all her fl irting, she doesn’t seem to be making a lot of headway with Chaz,” Justine said, as they gathered up their gear and headed toward the others, who were already unloading their bags of gear from the raft. “Are we sure she’s gay?”

“I’d say that’s a no-brainer,” Megan replied. “But I intend to fi nd out for sure tonight.”

“Tonight?” Justine stopped short and put a hand on Megan’s arm to keep her from getting any closer to the others, where they could be overheard. “You have some kind of plan in mind, hmm?”

“Not a plan, per se. But let’s just say I do intend to fi nd out who and what her type is.”

“Well, good luck. She is one scrumptious-looking woman, that’s for sure.”

Not telling me anything I don’t know, Megan thought as they joined the others.

Sally helped her put up the tent that she and Chaz would share that night, because Chaz was preoccupied with trying to catch some fi sh to add to their dinner.

Megan decided it was the perfect opportunity for her to do a little research. “So how long have you two been guiding together?” she asked as they laid out the tent, poles, and stakes.

“Five summers,” Sally said. “I started doing this when my kids went away to college.”

“So what do you do the rest of the year?”

Sally laughed. “Not much. I’ve been a full-time mom so long, I’ve kind of been at loose ends with the kids out of the house. I do some volunteer work, and I’m thinking about going back to college for my Master’s degree.”

“What about Chaz?”

“Chaz is a biology professor at the University of Fairbanks.”

“Ah. A professor, eh? That explains her extensive knowledge of all the fl ora and fauna we’re seeing.”

• 97 •

KIM BALDWIN

“Yeah, she’s much better at it than I am. I’ve learned most everything I know from her,” Sally said.

“So…what else can you tell me about her?” Megan asked with forced nonchalance, as she fi tted the tent pole into one of the narrow sleeves in the tent.

Sally stopped what she was doing and smiled a kind of Cheshire-cat smile, as if she were privy to a secret. “What do you want to know?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Megan responded vaguely. Is she gay? Is sheseeing anyone? What’s her type? Has she talked to you about Elise?

About me?

“Well, let’s see. I would describe Chaz as…loyal and honest.

Trustworthy. Sensitive and intelligent. Considerate and kind.

Resourceful.”

She sounds like a Boy Scout, Megan wanted to interject, but didn’t.

She found Sally’s listing of Chaz’s attributes somehow reassuring, but she didn’t stop to consider why. “So she...uh…told us she wasn’t married,” she said, cursing her nervous stammer.

“Nope. She’s had a few girlfriends, but no one recently,” Sally volunteered. “I think it’s hard for her to make the fi rst move when she’s interested in someone.”

Bingo. Megan felt buoyed by the confi rmation of Chaz’s sexual preference, and very interested indeed to hear that she was the type to let others take the lead in a relationship. She was so intrigued by this bit of information, in fact, that she failed to think twice about the smug grin on Sally’s face.

O

Chaz was successful in her efforts to catch enough grayling and arctic char to feed them all. And because they were in an area with ample downed wood, she prepared them grilled over an open campfi re and served them with lemon and a side of wild rice. She was grateful she had tasks to do to keep her mind occupied. But all through dinner, she couldn’t help glancing in Megan’s direction. She often caught Megan looking at her, in a way that made her a little weak in the knees.

Once again she wondered what had precipitated the apparent change in Megan’s attitude toward her, and she worried about how she might react when they were alone in the tent together.

• 98 •

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14