She fished out her laptop which had been partially hidden under thick caramel brown sofa pillows and took a seat at the edge of the sofa so she could still view her bedroom door. Just a few yards past the door, Tegan was pacing around the room with the same sort of frenetic energy that she recently had been trying to contain. The proof was that her attempt at 'two more minutes to Mum then a quick call to Linds' turned into a 20 minute conversation about cats with Mum. Shelter cats, feral cats and all the cats Sonia had with the girls were discussed. In fact, Tegan was still on the phone with her mum when she saw Sara fresh from the shower quickly walk by in the hallway dressed in black jeans and a thick navy blue turtleneck sweater.
After a few minutes, Tegan hung up the phone with her and hearing loud music start up from across the apartment, walked the steps to close the door so she could call her girlfriend. Phil Collins Serious Hits' album was playing but Sara had the music on low so as not to disturb her sister while she finished up with phone calls. Suddenly, a voice from across the way startled her enough to make her heart skip a beat.
"Hey, Sara, wanna talk with Linds?" Tegan joked holding up her fingers onto the phone's speaker.
"Uh, yeah, sure." A less than enthused Sara was flashing daggers at her older twin who was walking toward her where she was laid out on the couch with a laptop on lap.
"I'm just fuckin' with you. I already hung up with her. I know you don't like her. I'm not gonna put you on the phone with her."
Quick to defend herself against Tegan's accusation, Sara was quite indignant with her reply "No! That's not true. I like her. She's nice. She's sweet n all but it's just that I don't trust her…not to hurt you again."
"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. How are you? Are you still…you still have cramps?"
"Fuck! Yes, an' they're getting worse."
"Oh, shit! That sucks. Let's jus' forget salsa night n stay in. You're not feeling good. There's no point in going if-" By now, Tegan was at her twin's side, having taken a seat at the edge of the couch with her right arm draped over Sara's legs.
"No! I really wanted to go though."
"I'll be back next month. We can go then."
"Yeah?! Next month. Jus' me n you?." Sara was both excited and skeptical asking these questions while scanning identical brown eyes only 2 feet from her own.
"If we don't go salsa dancing tonight, that's totally okay. No point in going if you're not feeling well and we can always stay in. We stayed in last night and had a pretty good time" thinking of the night before, Tegan couldn't help but reply with a wink and twinkle in her eyes.
"Okay" The pair were now resting their foreheads against each other and really getting into a hug initiated by the older twin.
"I'm sorry I'm not feeling well."
"Don't apologize. We can go to salsa night another time."
"But it's your last night here." Maybe it was because her sister's face was only inches away but Sara's protest came out in a near whisper that didn't bely her dejection.
Sensing this and hoping to cheer her twin up, Tegan quickly replied with an energetic "Right! So when I come back n visit in a few weeks, we'll go then."
"You'll come back in a few weeks n visit? Just you? Not Lindsey."
"Yes! I'll visit. I'm gonna be visiting you for the rest of our lives. N you're gonna be visiting me in Vancougar."
"You mean L.A.?"
"No, Vancougar." Using her right hand, Tegan rubbed circles on Sara's tummy and gave chaste kisses all over Sara's sharp jaw and cheeks.
"Hey, did you know that orgasms make cramps go away?
"Really? I never heard that."
"It's true. Doesn't matter if it's from sex or masturbation, orgasms help cramps go away. So? Are you gonna help me out?" Sara wondered as she pointed down to her crotch.
"No. Not very romantic and I'm just gonna send out a few emails" Tegan said digging around on the couch under a pile of cushions to retrieve her laptop.
"No? You won't make me come? An' make my cramps go away?" In a bit of babytalk, Sara wondered these rapid fire questions.
"No, but I'll gladly watch you. You said it didn't matter if it's from sex or masturbation. I'll even give you pointers if I see you're not doing it right." Opening up the laptop, Tegan offered her limited services with a wink.
Sara shot her older twin a look of exaggerated sadness at her sassy reply. Taking a seat towards the middle of the couch and forcing Sara to lift her legs off said, Tegan waited for Sara to bring her legs down to rest them on top of her's. The pair hung out in comfortable silence save for the Phil Collins CD serving as background noise and one expletive-laden rant from Tegan after she sent one particular email.
While In The Air Tonight played in the background, Sara lightly nudged her sister with one outstretched foot wondering if she wanted to order from St Hubert one of her favorite restaurants. Suddenly, Tegan raised up both hands into the air quickly bringing them down just in time to do an air-drum solo in near perfect sync to the twin's beloved Phil Collins song. A self-satisfied grin adorned Tegan's face and when she turned to answer, Sara had a matching smile on her face.
It didn't take long for the pair to decide on 3 dishes and 1 appetizer reasoning that they could share and save the rest for breakfast the following morning. Sara phoned in the order and soon they were both back to nearly the same positions. The younger twin was lying with her back propped up against an arm rest and her feet were propped up on her sister's lap. Tegan was sitting on the couch carefully typing on her laptop which was resting on a pillow on top of Sara's feet so her feet didn't get burned. A well-worn copy of Richard Ford's Independence Day was keeping Sara occupied as they waited for their dinner to arrive.
Tegan broke the silence to remark on the music playing and both of them spent a few minutes praising Phil Collins while Sussudio played from nearby speakers.
"Feeling better?" Tegan wondered and Sara was so happy to answer she was that she put down the book in her hand although one index finger kept her place in the story.
Groovy Kind of Love began to play and within a few seconds, Tegan had recognized the song from the instrumentals. A devilish grin spread across her face while she carefully placed her laptop next to her on the couch.
"C'mon! Get up! I wanna dance with you."
"Tegan, no! I have cramps. I just want to relax before dinner."
"Nah, nah, nah! nah You'll hafta do better than that. You just said you're feeling better."
An outstretched hand helped Sara up from the couch and Tegan led them towards the middle of the room where they would have a nice space to dance. Any reluctance on her sister's part had clearly faded because when Tegan offered a courtsy, Sara broke out in giggles. Taking a few short steps forward so their bodies were inches away then beginning with a single strong thrust of her hips, Tegan started their bodies to rock back and forth in a certain rhythm.
As if on cue, at the exact moment that the pair had gotten into the rhythm, Tegan grabbed Sara's wrist bringing their hands up to Tegan's heart. She covered her younger sister's hand with her own and kept them pressed against her chest perhaps in a subconscious effort to let Sara feel how her heart beat for her. They caught each other's gaze right when Phil began to sing the lines
When you're close to me, I can feel your heart beat
I can hear you breathing near my ear
Wouldn't you agree, baby you and me got a groovy kind of love
The roar of the live crowd didn't seem like it was for Phil Collins finishing the first verse of the song. No, it felt to the twins as if they were cheering on their love. Though music was playing, the room felt silent in that moment and they both knew they were sharing a beautiful night and it felt especially special because it was shared by two.
After a minute of them swaying in matching identical motion each offering a kiss to the other's neck, puffs of air hit Sara's neck this time a moment before Tegan teased her "Ya know I'm really impressed you're not groping me. You're actually cuddling me n not groping me. Not one of your hands has tried to touch my bum or breasts."
Sara jokingly confessed "It's been very difficult but I'm, like, imaging that I'm playing First One Last and doing my best not to make the first move or ass grab."
"Very impressed with you."
As Sara was about to put her head back to rest on her sister's shoulder, she pulled back to ask "Oh, so I'm an official cuddler now? You're… You're certifying me? Do I have a black belt in cuddling now?"
Through laughter and wearing an easy smile, Tegan joked "No, you're definitely not a black belt. I don't know if you got it in ya kid. You're definitely more of a fucker than a cuddler but maybe just maybe you can be a brown belt."
Suddenly, Tegan wondered with concern "Still have cramps? Are you feeling better?" S says
"Yes I'm feeling so much better. My cramps went away."
"Oh that's good" Upon hearing the happy news, Tegan placed a soft kiss on her neck.
Sara pulled back enough to look into her brown eyes to tell her in a hushed tone "You're such a nice person. You're so soft n thoughtful and gentle." The pair's gaze toggled back and forth between the other's eyes and lips.
"I love that about you. It's one of my favorite things about you, Tegan. You're like the nicest person and you have the sweetest, most gentle spirit of anyone I know."
"You don't get out much do you?" With an exaggerated look of skepticism adorning her face, Tegan teased her younger twin complete with 2 playful smacks to her bum.
"Shut up! I'm serious. You're a really sweet person." It was Sara's turn for revenge and she got it by quickly kissing Tegan and capturing her lower lip before nibbling on it. The final verse began to play causing Tegan to break the kiss.
She jokes with a kiss on the lips almost as a playful punishment that she could quickly capture her lower lip in between her own. The rest of the song plays out as they continue slow dancing
This playful conversation had spilled over from the second verse into instrumental section when the girls looked at each other in the eyes during the "When I'm feeling blue" lyric. It was intense for both of them. The song had always been special to the pair but as they slow danced in the living room of Sara's apartment, the love ballad now took on new meaning for both of them. Tegan stroked Sara's hair a few times eventually tucking her fringe around her ear then giving it a soft tug.
Just as she had while the twins were on the couch earlier, Tegan was getting into the song and singing along to every "oh" and "yeah" that Phil Collins belted out. The final verse was no exception and Sara giggled watching Tegan do some musical acrobatics.
When the next song Easy Lover started, Tegan leaned in to give her sister a showering of soft kisses on her neck. The affection was quickly interrupted by Tegan who pulled back enough to ask with a bit of enthusiasm "Floor sex?"
"You want to have sex right here? Before the food comes?"
"Yeah, real quick before the food comes." More kisses were placed on Sara's neck hoping she's be more likely to go along with Tegan's idea. She was also leading her younger twin by her shoulders helping to lower her to the floor onto a nearby rug. Suddenly, they heard a thud then the sound of glass breaking. The sounds seem to be coming from above and as Tegan was getting cozy on top of Sara's body, she joked with a grin "Oh sounds like your neighbors are having floor sex too. Let's not do what they're doing though. Promise to be more gentle with me, Sara."
"No, I'm going to be rough with you tonight." They start to make out and there's a knock at the door then a child's voice yelling out "Sara! Sara!" Getting up from the floor in a start, Sara adjusted her sweater walking to the front door and she waited until Tegan was sitting on the couch before opening up the door.
"Sara, my mommy wants to know if you'll watch me. Anna got a really bad boo-boo an' mommy wants you to watch me til she gets better." On the porch pleading with her was her upstair's neighbor's 5 year old daughter.
"Emilee! Of course, come inside before you catch a cold. Now where are your mommy an' Anna."
"Sara! Sara! Is Em-Emilee are you down there?" Coming down the stairs was Alyson, Sara's neighbor, and she was carrying her baby boy in a car seat. Following a few steps behind her was Alyson's oldest daughter, Anna, who had a white towel wrapped around her right hand.
"Sara, Anna cut her hand on some glass and I need to take her to hospital for stiches. Can you watch Emilee for a few hours? I can't reach my sister and I'll already have my hands full with the baby and having 3 kids at an E.R. is going to b-"
"No problem, Alyson! It would be no problem to watch Emilee for a few hours." Within a few minutes, Alyson, Anna and the baby had gone in her car to the hospital leaving the twins with the now shy 5 year old.
On the next Montreal: Sara and Tegan babysit Sara's 5 year old neighbor and do their best to keep her occupied.