Threading The Needle Ch 16

Thank you Terry, careythomas and snow for all your help in editing and improving this chapter. I couldn't have done it without you.

Like almost all of my series, this one will only be understood if you have read the chapters before it. Thank you to my readers for going along this journey with me.

Chapter 16

The morning sunlight filtered down through the trees and hit Liz's tent, waking her. She looked over at Lena, who didn't seem to be bothered by it. Once wakefulness returned, there was no way Liz could get back to sleep although she tried for a while. Finally, she gave up and started to get dressed.

Despite the early hour, the forecast was for a scorching hot day, so Liz decided to wear her bikini. Although she put on a pair of shorts, she didn't bother covering up the bikini top. Smiling as she adjusted her full breasts, thinking, "Someone will appreciate them, whether it's Lena, Indigo, or someone else."

Thinking about Indigo reminded her how she had ignored her advances yesterday. In hindsight, Liz knew it made sense. "Alex was coming over. What did I expect?" she told herself. What she couldn't understand was why she kept trying. Normally she just would have moved on. "There are always other fish in the sea," she thought, looking at Lena. "It's not like I am going to ask her to leave Alex to be with me." That would change things... a lot. "And I don't want a relationship now. I'm not ready for that," she told herself.

Like an ingrained trigger, the idea of a relationship made Liz think about Rikki, who, as always, loomed large in Liz's imagination. Her lifelong friend was such a distraction that Liz failed to notice the fact that she had allowed herself momentarily to consider having Indigo all to herself.

"Mmmmm, if only Rikki was interested in women," she murmured softly, careful not to wake Lena, "then I might have a chance.

Unzipping the tent, she got out and stood up. Stretching, she let her body deal with some of the kinks from her activities with Lena the night before. It was a little nippy in the early morning, but the crystal blue skies made it clear that she made the right choice in what to wear. She was still stretching when she heard a noise over in the direction of Rikki's car. Glancing over, she saw her friend getting out of it.

Liz was about to call out a morning greeting when she saw Winnie getting out too. Something about how she looked at Rikki made her hesitate. As Liz watched, the other woman slipped her arms around Rikki's neck. It was obvious that Rikki's hands were around her too, pulling her close. Clearly thinking that they were unobserved, the two women kissed. Liz's heart clenched as if being crushed. A tiny sob escaped through her clenched teeth.

There was no mistaking the kiss. Winnie's fingers slid up into Rikki's hair in a way that was extremely intimate. With their bodies pressed together and cloaked in their assumption of privacy, Rikki and Winnie allowed their kiss to build in intensity. It started tenderly but before long, the passion was unmistakable. Liz saw the moment when Rikki's tongue slipped into Winnie's eager mouth. They kept kissing like that, oblivious to the rest of the world. When they finally ended it after a few lingering but more sedate kisses, they remained focused upon each other for several moments before suddenly remembering where they were.

They both looked around with trepidation but were happy to see that there was no one else in view. Assuming they were up before most people, they walked together in the direction of the outhouse. That assumption gave Rikki the confidence to reach out and hold Winnie's hand as they walked, much to the younger woman's delight.

But Liz saw it all. She had hidden behind some bushes, but she had seen everything. Now, she quickly walked along a trail out of the campground. When she reached the road, she kept going, walking down it and away from camp. As she walked, she picked up the pace until she was running. Tears were fighting their way out.

"I'm not going to do this again!" she told herself. "I'm not going to cry!" Yet, this was a harder blow then when she saw Rikki with Yamile. There was no room for doubt now. "She fucked her! Oh my God, she fucked her! Straight Marika fucked a girl!" Finding a path leading up and away from the road, she turned and ran up it.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" she cursed as she ran up the trail, her emotions in turmoil. At first, she was mostly sad but the further she went, the more a ball of anger built in her. She'd waited so long. "So fucking long," she murmured, as she picked the pace up even more. Her long legs were stretching out and eating up the ground.

"It should have been me! Why not me?" she cried out. The anger became white hot. It wasn't fair. All this time and now, Rikki was with another woman. Liz didn't even consider that she had been chasing after Indigo all weekend, and then had slept with Lena again. All she could think about was Winnie being with Rikki, taking her place, her rightful place. Her anger was boiling over as she burst out into a clearing lit by the morning sun. Pulling up, she bent over with her hands on her thighs, trying to catch her breath. She hadn't noticed how steep the trail was, but now the effect of climbing several hundred feet while running caught up with her. She sucked in the air, but her chest was tight, and it felt like she couldn't quite get the full breath she needed.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" she finally screamed at the top of her lungs, unable to take it anymore. She did it again before collapsing on a rock and sobbing in frustration. Bending over, she put her hands to her temples, clenched in fists. Her blonde hair hung down over her face as she tried to calm down and get her breathing under control.

"I don't understand," she whispered. With Yamile, she had ultimately dismissed it as two people needing comfort. In the time since, she didn't notice much difference in Rikki. Liz hadn't done anything to pursue her, other than just continuing to be there for her as a friend. "Of course, all of my attention was on Indigo," she finally admitted to herself. "Or Lena." She just assumed there was no chance with Rikki, and now where did that leave her? "That kiss! God, that wasn't something casual. Did I already lose my chance?"

Sorrow and anger warred within her and once again, anger was winning, towards Winnie, towards Yamile, but mostly towards Rikki. "How could she not know how I felt?" she said aloud, ignoring how hard she worked for years to bury it down where no one could see it. Her fists beat lightly against her head, jarring her enough to hurt a little. She pulled them away, not wanting to leave any marks to betray her loss of control.

Looking at her wristwatch, she saw that she needed to get back. Others would be getting up, including Lena. She would wonder where she was, and Liz didn't want to explain. Standing, she headed back down the trail. With each step, she rebuilt the façade of not caring. By the time she was back to camp, she was fully in control of herself. While the flame of anger had died down, it wasn't extinguished. As was often the case, it translated into her being in a bad mood. Everyone felt it, especially Lena.

Despite having spent a gloriously sensual night together where they fell asleep in each other's arms, no trace of that remained. When there was a rare moment of down time at the put-in, Lena came over to where Liz was sitting alone on a raft, looking at the list of clients. Although she was very tentative about it, she put her hands on Liz's shoulders and started to rub them. She just wanted to relieve some of Liz's obvious tension.

It didn't work. Glancing at her in irritation, Liz twisted away from her. "Knock it off, Lena. I'm figuring out the guide assignments," she growled.

"Sorry," she replied with a hurt voice. "I was just trying to help."

Liz stared at her for a moment. "If I need help, I'll let you know," she said. Although she saw Lena jerk slightly at the bluntness of her words, she couldn't bring herself to do anything to ease the impact. She got up and walked away to talk with Bear. After running the Skykomish yesterday, he spent the night back at home and drove over in the morning. Not having been around, he was a safe haven for her. She could focus on the job, and forget about Rikki, Winnie, Indigo, and Lena, if only for a few moments.

Standing there, Lena watched her walk away. While it wasn't the first time that Liz went from hot to cold on her, this time hurt more. "I wasn't trying to be clingy," she softly said to herself. "I really thought she could use a little massage."

"If she wasn't being such a bitch, she would have seen that," Rikki said, startling her. She hadn't heard her approach. When Lena turned around, Rikki could see her eyes were glistening. Reaching out, she pulled her into a hug. "I don't know what gets into her some days," Rikki whispered. She felt Lena hug her back. Twisting her head around to look at Winnie who was standing a few feet away, Rikki's eyes reflected her dismay over how her oldest friend treated her newer friends.

Winnie smiled at her, glad that Lena had people who cared for her. Given all the teasing back and forth between the three of them, she was relieved that she couldn't detect any traces of jealousy in herself as her new lover held her old one. "Rikki isn't playing with me. I can feel it," she thought. Any hesitation Rikki was feeling about them weren't due to her feelings, which made it easier to just wait and let things happen. Coming up behind her, she waited for her turn to give Lena a big hug.

"I'm sure it wasn't something you did," she said once Rikki stepped out of the way, giving her a chance. "After all, you're wonderful." She felt Lena squeeze back.

"I guess. I try to keep that in mind. She's as moody a person as I've ever known," Lena replied. "But that's her problem if she wants to miss out on this wonderful sweetness!" She smiled at Winnie. "I'm not going to let her get me down, okay?"

"Good," Winnie replied as they separated. "She isn't ...," she started to say before going quiet when she saw Liz approaching them. Everyone's head turned and they all became silent.

Liz didn't seem to notice. She looked at them. "Winnie and Lena, you're on Bear's float. Rikki, you're on my float. That's the first one," she said. Without waiting for any response, she moved on to where all the male rookie guides were hanging out.

Winnie and Rikki exchanged a look, sharing in the disappointment of not being together on the same float. Lena was watching Liz and missed it, but Yamile didn't. She laughed and elbowed Rikki. "You poor things!"

Turning back to them, Lena had a look of confusion. "What?" she started to say before she noticed the beet red faces of the other two women. Awareness slowly dawned upon her. "Oh my God," she said with a gasp. "The two of you?" Her voice rose.

"Shhhhh!" Rikki hissed. She glared at Lena, completely missing Winnie's big smile, despite her face also still burning with embarrassment at being found out. As much as she understood Rikki's desire to keep their relationship secret, she couldn't hide how happy it made her. Winnie didn't want to hide it.

"Okay, okay," Lena said. At first, her smile was a reflection of Winnie's, but it gradually went from happy to impish. With a sensuous wiggle, she moved over to face Rikki. Slipping her arms around her neck, she pressed close, unknowingly mimicking Winnie's position from early that morning. With a husky voice, she asked, "Does this mean we don't get to kiss any more?" Her lips brushed against Rikki's cheek, red once again for entirely different reasons. "Or do anything else," she added suggestively.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lena could see Winnie. While the supportive hug earlier hadn't evoked any jealousy, this was different. Winnie knew how alluring Lena could be, having fallen prey to her seductive ways the past week. When her face betrayed the jealousy she was feeling, Lena turned to grin at her. With a chuckle, she let go and came over and hugged her. She gave her a friendly kiss to the cheek. It was more enthusiastic and significantly louder than the seductive one she gave Rikki.

"Sweetheart, I'm just teasing you. I'll be good; I promise!" she told Winnie.

For a moment, Winnie resisted, holding on to her jealousy, but it was hard when Lena was so adorable. She knew the teasing was without malice. Finally, she hugged her back. With her lips beside her ear, she whispered, "You better be. She's mine!" As she pulled back, Lena looked Winnie in the face. Her eyebrows rose as she recognized the determination there. All kidding aside, she got just how serious Winnie was and gave her a little nod.

Still, she couldn't help herself as she slipped out from the hug. After giving Rikki an appraising look, she glanced at Winnie. "So? How was she?"

Once again Rikki turned red with embarrassment, especially when Winnie answered, "Well, I only have limited comparisons, and she isn't quite up to your levels, but she knocked my socks off. And I'm sure she'll get even better with practice."

"Oh, good. Let me know if you need help!" Lena said with a leer. Yamile laughed as Rikki's face grew even redder.

"I don't think that will be necessary," Winnie replied. A hint of her earlier jealousy was evident in her voice, even though she knew Lena was kidding.

Now that it was out among their friends, they relaxed a little. Rikki still didn't feel comfortable with being openly affectionate with Winnie, but she didn't actively try to hide it. Mostly they complained about not being on the same float. There was never any guarantee that they would be, but usually it worked out that way. It seemed decidedly unlucky that it worked out that way today.

Lena was mostly quiet as they got ready. She suspected that she wasn't the only one who figured out what had happened. "If Liz guessed too, that explains a lot," she thought to herself. "Not just splitting them up, but also how she acted towards me." Despite her suspicions, she didn't voice them. She didn't have any proof of Liz's unrequited feelings, or that Liz had somehow found out about the two new lovers.

Watching Rikki for a few minutes, Lena appreciated how lovely she was, and although Lena's attraction to Rikki had not diminished, she knew it was just physical lust. She also recognized with certainty that there was more than that between Winnie and Rikki. In addition, Lena correctly surmised that Liz's long held feelings for Rikki was a big driver of her preference to sleep around with no strings attached. Still, Lena didn't have any hard feelings or any jealousy towards Rikki. "At least not about Liz!" she thought. She was close enough to Rikki to know that she had neither any idea, nor any interest in reciprocating Liz's feelings. "Whenever she does figure out how Liz feels, if ever, Rikki won't be thoughtless about it. She'd never lead Liz on."

Lena's feelings about Winnie were a little more mixed. Although she knew there wasn't anything long term between them, and that they both agreed they would rather be friends, there still was a part of her that liked the idea of an occasional get together between them. "Maybe it's for the best," she told herself as she heard the first bus load of customers start to pull into the parking lot. "If she's free, I'll fall back into what's easy."

She giggled as Rikki stood with a big sigh. "Jeez, girl, you'd think you're not going to see her for days rather than hours," she told her. "Don't worry; I'll make sure no one steals her away, including me! She'll see you down at the take-out."

Even Rikki had to laugh. "I know. It's no big deal, only a few hours, right?" she said before walking over to where the other guides were gathering for the first float. Despite her words, she still glanced back 3 or 4 times before she joined them. After that she managed to keep most of her attention on the customers and getting ready to go. Unfortunately, she made the mistake of looking over at her friends just as it got hot enough for Winnie take off her t-shirt, revealing her bikini top. The sight was so enticing that Rikki lost her train of thought right in the middle of her safety lecture to the customers.

Although her boatload of people laughed as she fumbled trying to get back her rhythm, fortunately none of them noticed what distracted her. She had another boat of guys and she guessed they would like the idea of her ogling Winnie. She already deduced that they weren't going to be great paddlers, but she had confidence that she could get them down the river without incident.

By the time they were approaching Drunkard's Drop, her confidence was wavering. On an individual level, her paddlers were weak. As a group, they were almost hopeless. Her shoulders were aching from having to use every bit of her strength to keep the raft facing the right direction. She had to hope that the boat had enough momentum to crash through the waves. Fortunately, they were all a bit on the heavy side which helped. A little.

She was the second boat in the float as she lined up for her run. The river was running at a level that was a little tricky. Watching Indigo run the rapid, she noticed that the drop into the trough of the rapid was particularly long. Even with the roar of the river, she could hear the screams from Indigo's crew as they pushed through the big wave that followed. "Perfect," she thought. "This is going to be challenging."

As she shifted her attention to her own crew, she noticed that they had spotted the photographer on the right bank. He was taking pictures that could be purchased back up in Leavenworth, the Bavarian themed town by the put-in. The guys were elbowing each other and joking about what pose they would hold for their photo. Rikki groaned.

"Hey, let's pay attention to the river! I need your help here. When I say all ahead, paddle as hard as you can! Don't worry about the picture. You crashing through the wave will look great no matter what. Okay?" she told them. They muttered agreement but she didn't miss the glances between the two in front. She groaned again but there was no time for any more discussion. The current had the raft and was pulling it straight towards the Drop. Her paddle dipped into the water, and she corrected her angle.

"All ahead!" Rikki called out. "Paddle hard! Paddle together." Despite spending hours on the raft, they still hadn't figured out the rhythm to paddle at the same time. They went in at different times and each stroke was off enough that she felt the nose starting to turn. With a silent curse, she stretched out with her big guide paddle to pull them back in line. As her muscles felt the strain, she wondered for a moment how Winnie was at massage, but the rapid approach of the Drop shoved those thoughts out of her mind.

"Harder! Harder! Come on guys!" she yelled just before they got there. Almost at the same time, the two guys in front turned together and saluted the photographer while holding their paddles up in the air. The raft slowed slightly and bucked as it started to drop down. As it hit the bottom and tried to climb back out, both of them were thrown off balance and fell backwards. The shift in weight from the front towards the back did the damage Rikki was trying to avoid.

She could feel it happening, her first real flip. The nose of the boat kept going up, filling her field of view. "Shit," she gasped. Knowing there was nothing left to do, she pulled her foot out of the guide strap and as the boat tipped over backwards, she let herself go over the side and kicked away from the raft.

The cold snow melt water erased all the warmth from the sunny day, but it wasn't too bad. She bobbed in the water for a moment as she looked around to check on her crew. She could see four of them. Hopefully the other two were on the other side of the raft. Kicking, she swam quickly over to the raft and used the flip line to climb up on top of it. Looking over the other side, she found the other two customers clinging there.