Sitting at the oak topped breakfast bar in her kitchen Catherine's eyes scanned over the screen before her, she ran her fingers over her lips as her eyes skimmed the words. Opening page after page she got lost in the words as she absorbed the information she was reading. Leaning forward she focused on a particular paragraph. Her eyes moving across the screen completely absorbed in what she was reading.
"How to please a woman." Her sister leaned over her shoulder and read from the page causing Catherine to jump and slam the laptop shut. She hadn't heard her sister approaching. She inwardly cursed her sister's inability to knock before she entered her house.
"Dammit Nance! You scared the crap out of me." Her heart beat rapidly and she hoped against hope her sister would drop what she had just seen. Something she knew was probably not going to happen. But a girl could hope, couldn't she?
Ignoring Catherine's exclamation Nancy took a seat on one of the barstools next to her and quirked a questioning blonde eyebrow. "Got a kinky case sis?" She reached into the bowl in the middle of the wooden surface and plucked a shiny red apple from it.
Catherine felt her cheeks begin to flame as she ducked her head in a futile attempt to keep her nosey sister from noticing. "Something like that."
Studying her younger sister Nancy placed a hand on her arm to gain her attention and spoke in a much softer voice. "Hey, what's going on?" Damn her for being so intuitive.
Fed up of hiding, Catherine breathed deeply before turning to face her sister, the redness in her cheeks still well and truly flaming. "I...its...well the thing is..."
"Spit it out." Nancy wasn't one for patience, a trait all the Flynn women seemed to have inherited. That along with their stubbornness and their fiery tendencies.
"I've been seeing Sara."
"And? You see her all the time." Nancy really didn't see the problem. They worked together, it was a given they would see each other.
"No. I mean seeing her." she stressed the word as her eyes briefly met her sisters' suddenly surprised ones.
"Oh."
"Yeah." Catherine sighed and stood up from her seat. She made her way around the breakfast bar and began making coffee for them both.
Silence descended on the room as Catherine poured two mugs of coffee, keeping her back on her sister the entire time. She dreaded seeing her face. Seeing her reaction. Her sister was like her best friend, even if they were polar opposites. Nancy was married to a good man with a son between them. She was the picture of the perfect American family. Including the white picket fence around her modest home. She never caused their mom any grief. Had always gotten good grades at school, kept out of trouble and managed to lead a normal life despite their Vegas upbringing.
Catherine on the other hand was the wildcard. She had muddled through school with average grades, mostly because she was too busy shacking up with the next bad boy rather than focusing on her schoolwork. She didn't have a bad reputation at school as such, she was just in with the older crowd. She had developed young and the boys loved her. And in truth she had loved their attention, something that had carried into adulthood.
She knew her family were always waiting for the next time Catherine went off the handle. Boys, men, dancing, cocaine, Eddie. Despite the fact she now had a good career, a nice home, and a daughter, she knew they were still thinking 'what's Catherine going to do next?'
Well here it was. Catherine the lesbian.
Sighing, she set Nancy's coffee on the counter and sat back in her seat nursing her own mug.
"I know what you're thinking."
Nancy turned her eyes on her sister. "Oh I doubt that."
"You're thinking this is just another one of my cock ups. My way of trying to rebel."
Nancy's head tilted to the side slightly as she studied her sister. "Isn't it?"
"No." Catherine put her mug down a little too forcefully, dark liquid splashing over the sides onto the wood. "Dammit." She quickly rose again and put her stinging hand under the cold tap.
Her shoulders hunched over as the reality of the situation sank in. How could she possibly expect her family to take this seriously after all the times she'd done outrageous things just to get a reaction out of them.
Watching the water cascade over her hand she jumped when her sisters hand brushed over her arm and lifted it from the stream of water. "Let me take a look."
"It's fine." She snatched her hand back, cradling it with her other.
"Cathy," Her sisters mom voice brooked no argument as she pulled the arm back towards her.
Catherine steadfastly avoided her gaze as she tended to the minor burn, opting to stare out the window instead.
"Quit being a baby."
"I'm not being a baby." she snapped back and looked down at her hand, still held in her sisters. "Are you done yet?"
"Almost." she lightly applied some burn ointment onto the red flesh. "There, good as new. Kinda."
"Great. Thanks." Catherine quickly snatched her hand back and turned her back on her sister.
"Do you want to act like a grown up now and talk to me?"
Casting a glare at her sister Catherine marched over to the breakfast bar and dropped onto her stool. "I don't know. Depends what you're going to say."
Rolling her eyes at her sister Nancy followed and took up her seat again, sitting in it much more gracefully than her stubborn sister had.
Nancy picked her mug up and brought it to her lips, quickly dropping it back down without taking a sip. "Why?"
"What?" Catherine snapped. Her guards were well and truly up now. She was rearing for a fight.
"Simmer down Cathy." Her sister sighed, already anticipating her sisters fight or flight nature. Fight usually winning more often than not. "I mean, why a woman?"
Sighing Catherine dropped her shoulders and shrugged.
"Have you...I mean have you been with women before?"
"What? No! You saw the screen Nance. Why would i be researching...that if I'd done it before."
"Right. Yeah, I guess that makes sense. But why are you researching that?" Her brow furrowed.
Catherine looked at her. "Work it out Nance." She sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that day and ran her fingers over the wood grain. "I think Sara wants to...and I don't know how. I mean, I know how it works. Sorta. But i don't know, ya know?" she rambled as she watched her fingers moving back and forth. All her doubts about her ability to be with Sara sexually playing on her mind.
They both sat in silence for a few minutes until Nancy broke it. "I just can't see it."
"What?"
"You with a woman. You've always been strictly dickly." Catherine rolled her eyes and slapped her sisters arm lightly. "I'm just saying, it's strange."
"You're telling me. I haven't even wrapped my head around it properly either."
Getting serious Nancy turned on her stool so she was facing her. "Are you happy?"
Thinking for a moment Catherine smiled. "Yeah, I am."
"Then that's all that really counts."
"So you're okay with this?" she turned to face her sister as well.
"Well, it's going to take some getting used to. I'm not saying I won't support you, because you know I will, but I don't know. It's just different I guess."
Nodding Catherine smiled softly and reached for her sisters hand. "Thanks Nance, that means a lot."
"Yeah yeah," her sister smiled back, her eyes drifting down to their hands on her knee. "Just wait until you tell mom." Catherine groaned. "I so want to be there to see that go down." A mischievous smile spread out over her lips.
Catherine shoved her sisters shoulder. "I hate you."
"You love me," the grin grew bigger.
The rest of the conversion flowed easier now the initial awkwardness of coming out was over with. She told Nancy about how Sara had revealed her feelings for her, how she had initially freaked out about it and how eventually she had realized that she was attracted to the tall brunette.
"She sent sunflowers to the lab after our first date." Catherine smiled at the memory.
"Cute. But isn't that a bit risky. What did the rest of the team say?"
"They thought it was some guy I'd met."
She told her virtually everything with the exception of a few minor details such as the way Sara pinned her to the wall and kissed her senseless, the way it felt when her hand brushed over her breast during their last makeout session in the car after their last date.
"So why are you freaking out?" Everything seemed pretty much perfect.
"I think I want to…"
"And?"
Catherine ground her teeth in frustration. "Are you being infuriating on purpose?"
"I don't see the big deal."
"The big deal is she's a woman! You know, breasts, vagina!"
Nancy laughed. "Yeah, I get that but everything you've said about her makes me think she isn't expecting you to be some lady loving expert. Just chill, let things progress naturally then take it from there. If it happens it happens." she shrugged. "If you force it, think too much, it'll just end up being awkward."
She knew her sister was right but that didn't stop the niggling thoughts.
"I mean, how hard could it be. Bit of tongue action, fingers…"
Catherine once again smacked her sisters arm. "Nance!"
"Hey, you're the one doing it."
"Not yet I'm not."
"I give it a week."
Catherine shook her head at her sisters teasing and took their empty mugs to the sink, rinsing them before loading them into the dishwasher. She hated that her sister could read her so well.
I've been at a bit of a standstill with this. I know where I want it to go but getting there has been bugging me.
Anyway, I hope you liked this interaction between Catherine and her sister.
