"C'mon," Jane said, grabbing her keys off Maura's counter.
Jane didn't elaborate, and Maura didn't question her; whatever Jane had planned, Maura would willing go along with. They were probably headed to The Dirty Robber, or down to that night market Maura had hinted at wanting to go to.
But they didn't. They went to a takeaway place, and before Maura could question why she'd been taken along for the pickup, Jane turned the car away from the way to get back to Maura's house.
It was late in the day but it was summer, and the endless twilight followed them up to the lookout. From somewhere nearby were the sounds of celebration. Jane got out of the car in a parking lot and pulled a blanket from the trunk, spreading it on the hood, planting her dusty sneakers on the bumper and inching backwards, holding the food as Maura, thankfully in her blue pants and a shirt with flounce, joined her.
Maura still didn't question her, eating dinner with her and watching as the sun set over the distant ocean. Watching as the fireflies came out in the warm dusk air. Sipping from the cool glass bottle of coke Jane handed her. Their meal finished, Jane didn't make a move from their impromptu picnic, looking out over the city. There were a few other cars, but not many. Not so many as to feel crowded, and not so few as to feel nervous about being at a deserted space at night. Other people were posted up in the back of their trucks, and a family had a portable grill, making hamburgers.
"I come up here every year by myself. I figured it was time I brought someone with me," Jane said, looking over at Maura. "Thought it might be time to share my life with someone."
And then the fireworks started, exploding in the distance, lights shooting up into the sky and casting a myriad of colours over them. Jane relaxed, leaning back, propping herself on her right arm, her fingers just close enough to Maura's own bare arm to barely brush the skin. Maura looked over as Jane sipped her coke, her head tilted back, her hair falling in an unruly mass past her shoulders, her silhouette highlighted between the night sky and the fireworks. Maura felt her breath catch as a bright blue brushed over Jane's skin; she was so casual and lovely, her long limbs relaxed and comfortable half lying next to Maura. Jane handed the coke back, her hand as cool and refreshing as the drink as she leaned over towards Maura, her smile soft and content. It was the fourth of July, Maura remembered. One of the biggest party nights of the year, and here she was with Jane on a hot summer night, the breeze from the harbour drifting over them as the sky displayed all its wonders. Maura took the drink, watched as Jane's face, lit in red, watched Maura drink, her eyes on Maura's mouth as her own tongue slid out to wet her lips. Maura couldn't look away from her friend, despite the magnificent sky show; Jane was close and in focus and her hand had slid over Maura's as she leaned over. Maura swallowed, even though she'd stopped drinking, and Jane's eyes stayed fixed on her lips.
Jane moved so slowly, her lips sweet from the drink, her bottom lip pressing first against Maura's still-open mouth, pulling away with a shy smile, and Maura felt like she was fourteen again, in boarding school and wondering what it would be like to kiss Camilla, the liquid warmth of that crush sustaining her through the rest of her education. Jane retreated a little, her nose brushing Maura's, taking in Maura's dazed expression with a little smirk before pressing forward again, resting one hand next to Maura's hip, the other finding Maura's waist as Maura melted on the hood of Jane's squad car.
When Jane pulled away again, Maura was aware again of the outside world, of the firework finale on the horizon, that the cool breeze that had been so refreshing was now slightly too cold, a little shiver running through her, and then her focus shifted again to Jane's sweet, uncertain smile, her cheekbones lit to perfection in the snapshot of light.
"Happy Independence Day," Jane said. Maura never felt independent, not around Jane because she was reliant on her. She sat upright to kiss the sweet mouth offered to her, and the fireworks stopped, leaving the smell of smoke and the distant cheers from the city behind.
"Should we get ice-cream on the way home?" Jane asked, as though nothing important had happened. Maura nodded. "Can we let the flavours swirl?" Jane asked, and Maura could see Jane's eyebrow quirk cheekily in the parking lot street light. Maura chuckled.
"They can get all up over each other as much as they like," Maura said, kissing Jane again. "As long as we can too."
"We can skip the ice-cream," Jane said quickly, sliding down from the hood and helping Maura down, retrieving the blanket and discarding the trash. Maura waited by the passenger side door, and Jane opened it for her. Maura stepped into the space between the car door and the car and turned to Jane.
"Skip straight to dessert?" Maura asked breathlessly, rewarded by the way Jane's pupils, already wider than usual in the darkness, dilated further, her eyes almost entirely black as she leaned in to kiss Maura again, her lips languid and unhurried as she kissed Maura so thoroughly that Maura wondered if she'd ever been kissed before.
"You're better than ice-cream," Jane said, her voice low and husky as she finally pulled away.
Independence was a heck of a thing, but being able to rely on someone who loved her was so much better, Maura considered as Jane took Maura's hand over the console as she drove them home.