Ch. 01: Watching in the Night
"Come on in," Bridget opened the door. She stepped back letting Tami and Shelly carry their bags into the entry. Tami propped open the screen door, Shelly went in first, Tami followed, letting screen door swinging shut behind her. Tami and Shelly set their bags off to the side of the entry. Bridget closed and locked the main door. "It's still pretty hot out there, huh?"
"It's still over 90, and humid," Shelly said. She kicked off her shoes by the door, pushing them with her feet next to her duffel bag. "At least it's nice and cool in here. It feels good. This heat wave is supposed to last almost all week."
"I know, and it supposed to be just as hot up at the lake," Bridget slid between the two girls motioning for them to follow her. "Even though it's late, do you guys want a something to drink? Just follow me to the kitchen."
Bridget led Tami and Shelly down the entry, past the living room, turning left into the breakfast nook and into the kitchen. Bridget went behind the counter while Tami and Shelly slipped onto the stools at the counter. Bridget opened the refrigerator, "What would you guys like to drink? I have soda, lemonade, water, or wine coolers."
"Wine coolers," Tami and Shelly answered in unison. Bridget shot a look at the two, breaking them up into giggling. Bridget fished three wine coolers from the refrigerator. She handed set two on the counter before popping the top on her bottle. "Do you guys want glasses or do you want to drink from the bottle?"
"We'll just drink from the bottle. We're barbarians." Tami took a long sip from her wine cooler. Bridget leaned back against the side counter. Tami and Shelly were sipping their drinks. Bridget had asked Tami and Shelly to help her move some old furniture up to their lake cabin. She had planned to wait until next weekend when Ross and the boys were back from their fishing trip to grandpa's, but decided to ask if Tami and Shelly wanted to spend a girls weekend at the cabin. Of course, they jumped at the chance to get out of the city. But Bridget knew there was more to her offer than needing help moving old furniture. She was attracted to Tami and Shelly.
Bridget noticed it a few weeks back, when the two girls came back to help her during a Friday rush in the pharmacy. When the rush was under control, they had started talking, small talk, like normal. But soon it turned to girl talk. Bridget, and her pharmacy tech, Jill, teased the two on how many boyfriends they had. The two were had a reputation for being players. It seemed like they had a different boyfriend every other week. But on that night, neither one admitted to having a man. Instead they teased they only needed each other. Bridget laughed and shrugged it off. Jill, however, continued to tease the two, questioning them on the exact nature of their relationship. Tami and Shelly, giggled and teased back. Bridget tried to remain oblivious to the sexual nature the teasing was taking. But, inside, she was intensely curious. The more sexual Jill's teasing became, the more Bridget felt flushed, but she stayed off to the side, remaining aloof. Finally, much to Bridget's dismayed relief, Tami and Shelly were called back out to the sales floor by the assistant manager.
But the seed was planted. Bridget found herself remembering the night in college when Jenny kissed her. They were out drinking with a bunch of fellow pharmacy students. Bridget drank more than she should, and Jenny gave her a ride back to her dorm room. Bridget needed Jenny to help her stagger across the parking lot, up the stairs, and help her find her keys. Once inside her room, Jenny started helping Bridget undress for bed. But Bridget didn't feel like lying down. It made the room spin. But through the spinning, she found that Jenny was very close to her. Gently helping her take off her clothes. She was already down to her panties, t-shirt, and bra, when she finally stopped Jenny. Jenny sat next to her on her bed, holding her hand, asking if she was all right. Bridget looked into Jenny's blue eyes, and at that moment, felt herself wanting her. Jenny, sensing what Bridget wanted, she leaned in and gently kissed her. Bridget kissed back, tentatively at first, but then with increased hunger.
That's when they heard the sound of keys in the door. Jenny stopped kissing Bridget. They both turned to look at the door. The keys crinkled to the floor, followed by some swearing from a delicate voice that didn't sound capable of swearing. Jenny turned to Bridget and kissed her softly one last time. The message was unspoken, not this time, but perhaps, someday. Outside Bridget's roommate finally managed to get the door open, she staggered in and shrieked in surprise at finding Bridget and Jenny sitting on the bed. Bridget rolled back into her bed, vaguely aware that Jenny was informing her roommate that she had a little too many shots at the bar. The bed spun wildly, but Bridget closed her eyes and it all went away.
The next morning Bridget wondered if it had happened at all. Did she really kiss Jenny? She found herself at first sickened by the thought. Women do not kiss women. But, at the same time, she was curious. It had felt so good. She kept looking for Jenny the next few days, but also dreading she would see her. Eventually, the feeling started to fade. When she finally did hook up with Jenny, nothing was said. She decided Jenny must have felt she was too drunk to remember. But she remembered it all. Jenny found a new boyfriend, and Bridget never got the chance to follow this intriguing path. But the questions remained. Over the years, her wonder about other women was buried. Buried by a husband, two boys, and a career. Buried by time. Buried by other experiences. But it was still there, under all those layers, dormant. Ready to be awakened.
After the night of teasing, she watched Tami and Shelly with a new curiosity. Shelly was the naturally beautiful, shoulder length dark brown hair, perfect complexion on her tan face that brought out her piercing blue eyes. Shelly was the tallest of the three women, an athlete, she was a long distance runner, with the long legs needed for that sport. Bridget wondered how she managed to run with her large breasts. Tami was the cute one, she knew how to use her cuteness for full effect. Tilting her head down and looking up at you with those big brown eyes. She was the tiniest to the three women, just a few inches over five feet. Her petite frame made her breasts look larger than they really were.
Bridget noticed the sexual teasing between the two that she never seen before. Little looks, small gestures, not so innocent touches. But mostly she began to pay attention to the stories. They were the best of friends, dated a lot of different men, but on regular occasions went out together, as a couple, on what could be best described as a date. Bridget found herself talking to them more, even some subtle flirting. Tami and Shelly seemed to respond. A few times they went out for drinks after work. But Bridget always had to leave early to tend to her family, while Tami and Shelly were able to spend a girls night out. Bridget found herself wondering about what would happened if they could just be together for a while.
Then Ross and her bought some new furniture for their house. They decided to haul the old furniture in the basement up to the lake cabin. So a few weekends ago, they sold the furniture they had up at the cabin to a neighbor across the lake. Now they just had to haul the other set up. But Ross and the boys had their annual fishing trip planned with grandpa back in North Dakota. Ross promised Bridget they would haul it up the next weekend.
That's when the idea hit Bridget. She could enlist Tami and Shelly to help her haul up the furniture with the promise of a girls weekend at her lake cabin. Of course, the two jumped at the chance for a weekend on the lake. Bridget had arranged with the store manager to get Friday off for all three of them. That way they could drive up early Friday morning and have a three-day weekend at the cabin. Ross and the boys brought down the old pickup they kept at the lake the weekend before, leaving the second car up at the lake. It was an older truck with a full box, perfect for hauling the furniture. The boys had loaded up the truck a few nights ago. Ross even backed it into the garage for Bridget, knowing how she hated trying to back up a loaded truck. Everything was set. The only problem was the truck's air conditioning had broken down last summer, and Ross was derelict on getting it fixed. So now with temperatures forecasted for the 90's, the drive up was going to be hot and sweaty.
"So, Bridget, what time do you want to be going in the morning?" Tami asked. She had already polished off more than half of her wine cooler. Bridget had barely touched hers, so she took a big drink to catch up to the girls. She already had a wine cooler before the girls came over. Now, having a second was making her feel a little light-headed. But she felt more relaxed, not as nervous as she was earlier in the evening. She had played out endless scenarios about what was going to happen this weekend.
