Summer was in full swing with her long days and blue nights. She boldly declared herself at 4:30am and Kate had groggily mumbled, "Hello," as she crawled out of bed and into her jogging pants. By 6am Kate had been pounding the pavement for nearly an hour, chasing peace as she jogged past empty shops and the occasional delivery van.
Her long, loping rhythm had settled her fractious head and the nerves in her belly. There was something about her boss that was driving her crazy and she couldn't remember when she'd been quite so invested in a potential relationship. She could feel the intensity of Caroline's desire bubbling just under the surface, but getting her to acknowledge it, let alone act on it, had taken nearly two months. It had felt like turning a tanker around; long lead times, intermittent panicking and a lot of hauling from tugboats to get the S.S. Caroline sailing in the right direction.
At least the results had been exemplary so far. Saturday night's kiss had been something else. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt like that; perhaps she never had. Kate blamed the alcohol — thanked the alcohol, really — because if they hadn't been fairly tanked, she was sure they would have continued to dance around each other and nothing would have happened. She looked down, watching her toes come into view at regular intervals, the beat of her footfalls comforting.
She slowed as she reached Martin's street, allowing herself to walk. Arms on her hips and limbs loose, she was sweating freely and had finally achieved a sense of calm, even though it wasn't apparent by the gasping breaths and rubbery legs. She knew she'd pay for it later after such a long run, but it had been worth it for the peace of mind.
Knocking quietly on Martin's door, she could already see Jock, tail wagging, waiting for his walk.
Martin opened the door, a broad grin covering his obvious early morning aches as he handed Jock's lead to Kate.
"Guid morn to ye, lassie." He peered at the brightening sky. "It's guin to be lovely day."
"It is indeed. Just a short one today, Martin."
"Nae problem. Thank ye lassie."
"My pleasure." Bending over to properly greet Jock, his greying muzzle close to her leg, she gave him a friendly scratch behind his ear. "Let's be off, young Jock."
With a nod to Martin, Kate and Jock sauntered off for a walk, Jock glancing adoringly at Kate while she told him about her excitement about meeting Caroline later that day.
Martin stood on his doorstep with a knowing smile on his face. He and a hungover Kate had had a chat the day before when she'd debriefed. He watched Kate's and Jock's retreating forms, the two of them absorbed in one another's company.
Katie, ye wee lassie, you're in for a mile of trouble, he thought to himself.
Kate was normally grateful for the late start on Mondays. However, once a month the time was used for the Language Department meeting, and each meeting was attended by the intoxicating Dr. Caroline Elliot. Normally that was anxiety inducing enough, but today, despite the long run to calm her nerves, Kate was desperately trying to fake her normally serene self. Caroline hadn't called. She hadn't texted. Nothing but the sound of crickets, so Kate was nervously trying to anticipate how Caroline was going to react when they finally saw each other.
Kate had even checked with friends to make sure her phone was working, just in case she'd missed a call. She'd been impatiently giving Caroline some breathing room, but now she wondered if that was a mistake. She shook her head to dislodge the traitorous thought; she amplified the words 'think positive' inside her skull while attaching a rigid grin to her face.
Sitting near the end of the large table in the meeting room, Kate neatly folded her legs under her chair and prepared her pen and paper. Placing her coffee carefully in front of her, she was as ready as she'd ever be. Of course, she knew she was kidding herself, and as soon as Caroline breezed into the room, casting a glance in Kate's direction, Kate was lost again. All she could think about was Saturday night, her hands on Caroline's luscious body, her lips on Caroline's supple neck. Oh god. A shiver of pleasure ran down her spine and she was having trouble sitting still and breathing normally.
Caroline stopped for a moment. She looked directly at Kate, her eye's darkening and her lips parting, before shock flashed across her flushed face and she charged to the head of the table, sitting and organising herself in a flurry of activity.
Caroline ignored Kate for the rest of the meeting, eyes moving from staff member to staff member and yet somehow managing to skip past Kate every time she looked along that side of the table. Not that Kate had any idea what was being discussed; for most of the meeting she had her head down and was drawing neat circles and patterns on her notepad, urging the time to fly faster so she could leave before she embarrassed herself. She was viscerally aware of Caroline's every movement and breath. Time was stretching and morphing like a Dali painting and she felt completely out of place, as if transplanted from a different dimension.
As the meeting closed, Doris, the German teacher, remembered she had a couple tickets to give away for the local Women's Institute's upcoming fundraiser. Ignoring the eye-rolls by some of the younger members of staff at the mention of the WI, she chuckled as she dropped the envelope of tickets on the table and said they were first come, first served. As was typical, most teachers hastily filed out the door as soon as the meeting was over without giving Doris' offer any thought.
As Kate stood to leave, she looked up to find Caroline's striking blue eyes looking at her. She swallowed, mouth suddenly dry.
"Kate, would you mind staying back for a moment? I'd like a quick chat about the choir."
Kate nodded, her head bouncing up and down like a toy puppy on the dashboard of a truck. She clutched her pen tightly, willing herself to stop before Caroline noticed. Too late. A small smirk appeared on Caroline's face.
The door closed as the last person left the meeting room. The air felt suddenly electric. They sat for a moment, neither wanting to cut the thick silence. When Caroline's eyes dropped to examine Kate's lips, she was startled to see Kate unconsciously lick them. Caroline gripped the edge of the table, trying to control her reaction.
Seeing Caroline's physical response and the fringe of desire around her irises, Kate blossomed under the gaze, thrilled she wasn't the only one affected. Confidence returning, she smiled quietly, and took a punt.
"Caroline, are you okay?"
Caroline looked up to catch Kate's eyes, clearing her throat noisily. "Yep. Sure. Fine. Ah. Sure." She stopped babbling and closed her eyes for a moment, trying to calm herself. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and smiled coyly. "You?"
Kate's bobbing head was back again, and she worried for her neck. "Want to go out again?" It popped into her head and out of her mouth before she could think about it.
Caroline's eyes widened, another flash of desire was followed by a momentary panic before she very obviously brought herself under control. Her voice was clear but the tight grip on her notebook was making her knuckles white. "Okay." She paused, watching Kate's response. "What did you have in mind?"
Kate spotted the envelope with the tickets that had been left in the middle of the table. "Want to see a show?" she asked, as she pulled the tickets out to see what was on offer.
Caroline's eyes travelled to the tickets, and then back to Kate. Her eyebrows rose and she sat back in her chair, waiting.
Kate glanced at the tickets and her jaw dropped open. She gaped at Caroline for a moment before reluctantly sliding her eyes back to the tickets to confirm her first impression. A mixture of lust and embarrassment froze her, hand mid air, jaw audibly snapping shut.
Caroline peered at Kate, confusion evident. "What is it? Kate?" When no response came, she enquired again. "What's the show, Kate?"
Kate blinked, clearing her throat loudly. She sat up straighter and crossed her legs. "It's ah, it's ah..." She stopped. She tried again, the words coming in a rush. "It's the Vagina Monologues."
Caroline blanched, sitting back in her chair. "You want to see...with me?"
Kate nodded automatically. Unable to speak, she cautiously dragged her eyes from the tickets back to Caroline's blue gaze.
"Really?"
Kate nodded, gathering herself together. She was an adult. She could do this. She sat up straighter, holding the tickets confidently.
"Why don't we go and see the Vagina Monologues at the Harrogate Theatre with the members of the WI," she glanced again at the tickets, "This Saturday night?"
Caroline stared at her, a little awestruck by Kate's confidence. She sat, mind churning, wondering how she was going to manage sitting in the dark, next to Kate, while women stand onstage talking about their vaginas.
"Why not?" Kate challenged, her confidence growing now that Caroline was well and truly on the back foot, even though she was half hoping Caroline would suggest an alternative destination.
"Have you ever seen it?" Caroline felt herself blushing, half terrified and half titillated at the prospect. It was one thing seeing it by herself on the television in the privacy of her lounge room, but in a room full of strangers, and millimetres from Kate? — that was a very different story. She wasn't entirely sure she had the composure for it and struggled not to squirm at the thought.
"If it's really bad, I'll take you out for drinks. We could leave during the interval," Kate said with a wink.
"Oh, I think if it's really bad I should make you sit through it to the bitter end," Caroline chuckled nervously, trying to keep her pulse from racing at Kate's veiled reminder of their encounter on Saturday night.
Returning Caroline's smile, Kate asked if she really wanted to talk about the choir.
"No. Just wanted to say sorry I didn't text or call yesterday. Had a run in with John and didn't want to bore you with the details," she said distractedly, eyes now focused on Kate's mouth.
"Well, maybe you can tell me about it later," Kate said provocatively, before reluctantly looking at her watch. She needed to get to her classroom before 9F or she'd spend the whole lesson struggling to settle them. She was disappointed work was getting in the way of her pushing Caroline into unknown territory.
She gathered her papers and stood up, feeling the weight of Caroline's eyes on her skin. She knew Caroline was just as aroused as she was. While she carefully pushed her chair under the table, a devious course of action sprang fully formed into her mind and she couldn't help the sly grin curling up her face. Kate stepped beside Caroline. Fanning herself with the tickets, she slowly bent forward to whisper in Caroline's ear, watching Caroline's eyes travel down her cleavage. "See you on Saturday. Sweet dreams until then," she said breathily, and was delighted by the hitch in Caroline's breathing.
A smirk on her face, Kate sauntered behind Caroline, lightly dancing the fingers of her hand on Caroline's shoulder, gratified by the shiver she could feel under her fingertips. She smiled as she reached the door, turning for one last glimpse of Caroline, finding her pinned to her seat with a warm blush travelling up her neck and eyes glued to Kate.
Kate giggled as she closed the door behind her, the thought of leaving Caroline highly aroused a gleeful payback for all the times Caroline had unknowingly left Kate in such a state.