Lay Your Hands on Me
Louise McCloud lay awake upon her bunk in the bunkhouse on the Rock Creek Waystation and couldn't stop thinking about the Kid. The chestnut-haired, blue eyed Virginian who caught her attention the first moment she laid eyes on him in Sweetwater. He was soft-spoken, confident, and seemed to genuinely like folks, even if he did always keep to himself at first.
She hadn't been exactly outspoken herself either, back then. She tried so hard to keep her true identity a secret beneath the short haircut, wire glasses, and men's clothing. Getting hired on as a Pony Express rider had been a stroke of luck for her, and she didn't want to do anything to possibly get her fired. Or maybe; jeopardize the job she came to love so much.
It was Kid who first came to know her secret. She was wounded by some outlaws on a ride, and it was Kid who found her. There had been more than a few moments of awkwardness that settled between them, after Kid lifted her shirt to examine her wound. He was confronted with features he didn't expect to find on a young boy. Kid's cheeks flamed immediately; making him look all the more adorable and she secretly was delighted.
After that day, she and Kid began to spend a lot of time together. They made good use of every opportunity that presented itself for the two of them to spend some time alone. It was nice to have someone to talk to without being worried about giving her secret. Kid seemed to enjoy the shy glances, quiet conversations and stolen kisses as much as she had, if not more.
Eventually the other riders learned that she was a girl, and much to her delight, they swore to keep her secret as well. Steadily the friendship with Kid gradually deepened into love and she found it increasingly difficult to be around the Virginian without wanting to touch him.
She wondered if Kid experienced the same turbulent emotions she did about him. Suddenly she felt the need to lay eyes upon him and turned over on her side so she could glance down onto the bunk below hers. A hot shiver raced down her body as she saw that not only was Kid awake, but he held a dark desire in his blue eyes that told her all that she needed to know.
Lou rolled onto her back and felt warmth fill her that had nothing to do with the fire burning in the stove, and everything to do with the look Kid just gave her. She didn't know how she was ever going to be able to sleep, now that she had seen the undisguised look in Kid's eyes. She didn't know how much longer she could survive without having him lay his hands on her in the intimate ways a man was suppose to touch the woman that he loved. That he would take her to a sacred place that belonged to only the two of them.
The first thread of morning light was seeped through the cracks in the wooden structure, before the female rider's wanton thoughts relented enough to allow her to fall asleep.