Chapter Five: She's Not a Bumpkin

Unharmed though slightly disheveled, Kara and Lena climbed their way out of the storm cellar and back into the light of day. A wounded, brackish green sky looked down on them with what felt like pity, as if to extend an apology for such sudden violence. Lena, knowing that it wouldn't bode well for either of them to leave without letting Eliza know how they had fared through the storm, obliged Kara when asked and spent a minute or so more back at the main house just to put eyes on the older woman. With no structures or buildings other than the ones on the ranch to obstruct or impede flying debris in ninety to one hundred and twenty mile per hour winds, being above ground was extremely dangerous during a tornado. Colloquially known as twisters and regarded to be temperamental at best, they were also known to drag long scars into the earth, hop hundreds of yards away and then touch down again in a matter of seconds. In some areas it was common to see families standing on their porches to watch them from a safe distance as they ripped past, which shocked Lena beyond belief as that was what Eliza had apparently elected to do while she herself was underground—staying safe—with Kara.

In a not so subtle attempt to explain away her adopted mother's lack of concern for her own safety, Kara imparted to Lena some well known personality traits that came with southern living. That a ranch life was a hard one, and that "you become acquainted with how far you can push your luck rather quickly, especially if bulls and bad weather are in the mix."

Eliza had raised Kara with her husband Jeremiah and slightly older daughter Alexandra, who preferred (and sometimes threatened) that everyone call her "Alex". After so many years together, she felt safe knowing that Kara had a good head on her shoulders and could take care of herself in a pinch. Kara spent the remainder of their drive back toward town telling Lena more stories from her childhood but seemed to veer around anything that she knew wouldn't get a laugh out of the raven-haired woman. Lena merely leaned her head against the seatback in the cab of Kara's truck and listened to the blonde weave one story after another. Most of which involved some ridiculous means of breaking a bone or what Lena believed to be a profuse and almost unbelievable sense of embellishment when it came to escaping the law or getting in trouble. Almost all of them involved her sister who she had still yet to call by name, but Lena held her questions about the other woman for another time. Kara was too good at spinning a story and Lena didn't wish her to stop for anything.

What Kara chose to keep to herself was that she had lost her parents in a warehouse fire at the sawmill they owned when she was very young. In an act of heroism, her father had run back inside one of the lumber lots to find another way into the warehouse in order to save his brother, Clark's father, and was subsequently trapped. Kara's mother never made it outside. The three of them perished that day and the town had mourned their loss ever since. Jeremiah and Eliza took Kara in as soon as they could and Alex quickly became a fierce protector, and even fiercer friend and sister. From that day forward, Kara became the daughter of the town and was doted upon regularly. She knew she was loved, but the fear of losing any more people she cared for haunted her. She dreaded disappointing the people closest to her and ultimately became very sheltered. She knew she was loved, but she was also trapped. Everyone had expectations of her, and soon enough she had begun to silently rebel—in her own small ways—such as taking a job that most women would never think to, dressing in a way that most women would never dare to, and pushing her body in a way that most women were never seen to. More and more as the years passed Kara did her best to fly underneath the radar while still having some semblance of an identity that held no other influence but her own. Admittedly, it was easier said than done.

As the day carried on, Kara spent it doing things with Lena that she thought would bring a smile to the raven-haired woman's face, such as visiting Hank and Streaky at the hardware store. Then across town where they had climbed the water tower and kissed like fools until the sun began to set along the horizon. When it became dark, Kara dropped Lena off at the door to her room again, but this time was dragged in by the shirt collar. They kissed and talked for another hour or so before Lena finally let Kara leave, but not without a great measure of well-placed pouts here and there. They kissed goodnight once more just inside of the closed door to the room, and then it was open, and Kara was gone.

The rental service had dropped off Lena's replacement car the next morning and soon Lena was packed and on the road. She considered driving past the repair shop on her way out of town, but the entrance to the highway was in the opposite direction and she didn't know how Kara would react if she were to show up unannounced at her place of work, especially now that they had no further business together. She strongly considered it… but chose to carry on and head toward the coast where Sam was waiting for her. Where Sam had been waiting for her. Oof.

Port Aransas was beautiful for an August wedding. With the cool, salty breeze rolling in off the gulf, the weather was still hot but inviting. Sam had been so excited to see Lena finally face to face after years of being limited to just video calls. Lena traveled a lot for her company and was usually kept very busy with business meetings and clients. But she had made it, and was hugged many, many times. She was happy to see Sam and to finally meet her fiancé Alex later… still the thought of a certain blonde haired, blue eyed, muscled goddess of a mechanic managed to plague her every thought.

Cinnamon Shore was an expanse of fine sand, seashells and beach houses with small cafés and gift shops. Lena marveled at the tall palm trees and beautiful contemporary coastal architecture of the vacation homes. Shortly before meeting up with Sam, she had checked in to her small beach house that was drenched in long, crisp white curtains over windows that looked out at the beach. The weekend rental had a set of stairs that led up to a bedroom and small bathroom that were bathed in natural light from expertly placed skylights. There was one lamp in a corner next to the bed, perfect for reading. Downstairs, a small kitchenette and breakfast nook. No television to be found, but there were shelves upon shelves of books that lined every available inch of wall space on the ground floor of the small house. The upstairs portion had a very minimalistic aesthetic while the downstairs had a very 'controlled chaos' maximalism kind of vibe. For Lena, it was love at first sight.

Would anyone notice if I just never went home…?

She spent most of the day eating and drinking with Sam, discussing everything from the catering selections to the stringed quartet that was thrilled to be hired just to cover Avril Lavigne hits from her early albums (Sam's favorite singer, Lena wondered if Alex had any choice in that matter at all).

After a while—and many more hugs—Lena bid farewell to her friend and readied herself back at her tiny rented beach house for the rehearsal dinner later that afternoon. She remarked to herself as she stepped inside the clear glass of the shower that she had spent at least a good half hour of the day not thinking about Kara. Which honestly seemed like an accomplishment, because images of the blonde's arms as well as her grin and the sound of her laugh seemed to consume her mind still. She just couldn't shake the thought of her. The memories she had were incessant and overwhelming, and frankly, it all really just drove Lena up the wall. Above all it made her feel foolish and naïve, especially since she usually had no difficulty at all moving on from literally everything else. Lena was normally so unshakeable and driven that most things seemed to come and go in her life, especially when she hit that point in her career where everything took off at once and launched her into a different tax bracket and lifestyle. The days blurred together and interactions with people usually faded from her mind, but with Kara, everything was so abnormal. They of course had shared extraordinarily breathtaking and mind-blowing sex for three days in a row, which was absolutely out of character for Lena, but it wasn't just the physicality of it that continued to haunt her… Kara had been wordlessly affectionate, and genuinely so. It was in the way that she looked at Lena, and the way that she touched her…

Lena leaned against a pane of glass in the shower and slowly began to drown in the thought of the blonde. Warm water ran softly over her breasts and down to her stomach, and Lena felt a tightness begin to grow between her legs. The sound of Kara's muffled moans into the crook of her neck echoed in her ears. She dared to just let herself think about all of it for a moment. Maybe if she just… gave in for a moment and lowered her mental shield to let all the memories of the past few days swarm in her mind, maybe then she could get up and move on with her life. She stretched out an arm and laid one hand flat against a pane as the other skated its way down over the small curve of her stomach and began to dance a Céilí into her wet folds. Her hips immediately bucked forward. She had been worked up in a matter of seconds as soon as she had let her guard down and dizzied her thoughts with the sounds of Kara, the sight of her, the smell of her…

Lena unraveled in mere minutes. Another first for her; she usually had to work hard to become aroused enough to want to touch herself and twice as hard to bring herself to orgasm. But this time, her efforts were spun in the opposite direction. She gave every ounce of effort she possessed to elongate her pleasure and to draw it out without climaxing right away. She successfully managed to stave off maybe two to three close calls before her knees knocked and she was fighting to stand, leaving her wet and whimpering against the shower wall.

Later, and only slightly more satisfied than she was before her shower, Lena was drawing up the small zipper at the back of her box pleated skirt when the familiar sound of Kara's rougher, more industrial zipper being pulled down in the apple orchard rang out around her ears. She stiffened slightly, and then brought a hand to her forehead and sighed.

What the fuck is wrong with me, seriously?

Why can't I stop thinking about her?

She shook her head frustratingly and grabbed her clutch and her keys. She gave herself one last look at herself briefly in a mirror at her loose-fitting long sleeved lace top and maroon skirt and then clacked her heels against the wood floor out of the beach house.

Once she arrived at the venue, she weaved in and out around small round tables draped in soft blue and gold linen cloths in search of Sam. Each table had a small centerpiece vase of baby's breath with a matching blue ribbon tied primly into a bow. So much of it was so well put together. Lena wondered to herself how much of it was Sam and how much of it was Alex. She had to admit that she didn't know too much about Sam's fiancé… with how busy her job kept her, not to mention all of her travelling. It wasn't the best excuse she had, but it was the one she always seemed to come up with. Lena had seen Alex's face pop in and out of their video chats every so often and knew that her and Sam had been seeing each other for about five years and living together for four of them. She'd wave hello and goodbye when Lena and Sam would catch up on a call, and though Sam did tell her more and more about Alex over time, she was far more mindful of keeping their chats primarily about their friendship and their interests.

Time seemed to just fly by for Lena, which was her one regret once her company started to boom. She had less and less time for friends. Thankfully, for her own sake, Sam wasn't the kind of friend that could perforate any conversation with chatter about her significant other. She was light on the 'we are' and heavy on the 'I am', which Lena appreciated, but if the raven-haired woman knew anything about her best friend's partner, she knew that Alex would die for her. Which she very nearly had at the beginning of their relationship, but that wasn't something that Sam particularly enjoyed talking about. For the most part, Lena admired the way that Alex seemed to encourage Sam's individuality and her free spirit. To feel so free and to also give your heart to another at the same time was a concept so alien to Lena, though she did catch herself romanticizing the idea every once in a while. She didn't think she'd ever find someone to love her and support her in that way, so it wasn't a thought that she regularly pondered. She was glad it did exist for her friend, though.

After some more searching, Lena found Sam perusing one of the catering tables that was laid out with bite sized bits; a good spread of cheeses and various fruits and finger foods. Sam turned her head and jutted her arms out in exclamation once she caught sight of Lena.

"Yes! You're here! Find it okay?" Sam rambled excitedly.

"Sam. It's a long island, but it's still an island. The drive was five minutes from the beach house." Lena teased.

Sam laughed and hugged Lena for what was possibly the hundredth time that day.

"You look great! I had forgotten how you can rock any skirt; I like this one!" Sam said with a slightly louder emphasis on the word 'like' as she admired the long pleats of Lena's skirt. Fashion was often the subject of many of their conversations. Who wore what and where, which fall line would be most talked about, among other similar topics.

Lena had her mouth half-open to respond when Sam turned her head to call loudly over her shoulder, "Babe! Look who's here, come say hi!"

Lena spied from a short distance under the tall chandeliered ceiling of the venue Alex's wavy chin length auburn hair, and that she was talking to someone in front of her who was slightly taller and wore a black felt Stetson cowboy hat. She remembered during her prior investigating of proper attire in Texas, or the more rural parts of it anyway, that the most common outfit to formal gatherings were a tucked, buttoned and collared western shirt, big flashy belt buckle, jeans that fit well, shined leather boots, bolo tie and sometimes a felt Stetson to match. Glancing around at various guests, she saw many men and women share much of the same regalia and it pleased Lena to witness such a gender-neutral style of dressing. Especially coming from a cultural setting that was typically leaned toward a more conservative and traditional way of life.

Lena turned at the hip to pluck a flute of champagne from a passing tray and flashed a quick smile at the young, aproned man carrying it, then turned back to greet Alex as she crossed the ball room with the other hat wearing guest.

All the color drained from Lena's face as she trained her eyes on the woman beneath the Stetson coming toward her. Her fingers forgot in an instant that they were holding the flute of champagne and the sound of it shattering upon the floor graced her ears like a faraway echo.

…Kara?

Lena's heart nearly leapt straight out of her chest. Kara was dressed to the exact detail the online fashion journals had described: Her black shirt was buttoned to the collar and wrapped in a blue topaz bolo tie. A tiny bouquet of blue painted baby's breath peeked out of a breast pocket. Her long sleeves fit snugly over her biceps and the jeans she wore hugged every curve. Lena recognized the familiar belt buckle and the square toed cowboy boots, which were now buffed clean and polished to just above a dull shine.

Reeling back in every last one of her wits, Lena apologized profusely to the young man in the apron for her clumsiness and then to Sam, who stood looking at her in amazement. Once her embarrassment passed, she locked eyes with Kara.

Alex was seconds away from happily greeting Lena when she noticed the look on the raven-haired woman's face. Her head snapped back and forth between Kara and Lena as they both stood and stared at each other silently. Their eyes were wide, and mouths hung slightly agape.

"Do… you two know each other?" Sam interjected with an air of curiosity.

Lena scrambled to put words together. "M- my car broke down…"

Kara's hand shot to the crown of her hat and removed it from her head, placing it brim down over her heart.

"I gave Lena a tow into town the other day." Kara chimed in with a smile and a red face.

Both brides-to-be were bobbing their heads back and forth between the other two women as if watching a tennis match, and then Sam decided to diffuse the awkwardness.

"Okay… sooo Lena, this is Alex." Sam said as she spun Lena by a shoulder, seemingly unconvinced by either woman's brief explanation.

Alex stuck out her hand and smiled wide, "It's nice to finally see you in person! I'm Alex. And I guess you've already met my sister, Kara."

"Sister—" Lena blinked rapidly and returned a smile. "Yes. She kind of saved me." She admitted, huffing out a small laugh at the end.

"Mm. She does that from time to time." Alex replied, gently wrapping a hand underneath Kara's lower jaw and squeezing affectionately.

"Lena! Let me show you where the quartet's gonna rock out to some Sk8er Boi!" Sam exclaimed with an abruptness that made Lena jump slightly, and quickly grabbed her by an elbow to drag her swiftly away from the crowd. They exited through a large set of French doors where Sam continued pulling Lena down a long hallway, ignoring her best friend's pleas to "wait" or "slow down" until they were through another set of double doors, which were then shut behind them with an unmistakable sense of urgency.

Here it comes…

"Tell me everything, now." Sam blurted unmenacingly. She was bouncing back and forth on her toes and grabbing Lena at the shoulders, nearly throttling her. Lena tucked her chin as if she didn't know what Sam was talking about. She knew it would be useless to try to keep anything from the brunette, but if she were being honest, she wouldn't know where to begin. She just didn't know the words.

"Oh my god, Lena. Seriously? The sparks flying out there just now… it's a wonder you two didn't burn the place to the ground with your sexy awkwardness." Sam went on, "Is that why you didn't show up a few days ago? Have you been playing hot country bumpkin with my fiancé's sister?!"

"First of all- she's not a bumpkin." Lena retorted matter-of-factly. Words. It appeared that she did know them after all.

Sam's jaw dropped open into an exaggerated gasp. "You have to tell me everything! Oh my god- does Alex know? I don't think she'd freak out- do you think she'd freak out? Am I freaking out? You are, but I'm good I think—"

"Sam!" Lena shouted over her. "Please, calm down—" She pleaded as she brought her palm to her forehead and checked for sweat. Her heart was pounding and there was a high-pitched ringing in her ears… probably from the amount of blood that had traveled to her head which made her face and the tops of her ears beet red. "I'm processing."

"Brain, process faster." Sam replied with a playful tap against the side of Lena's head. "Aren't you a literal genius?"

Lena swatted at her, making the other woman laugh.

"Oh my god, Sam. This isn't happening." Lena's hand went from her forehead to her chest as her breathing increased.

"Oh- Okay, sit." Sam said as she directed her to a cushioned bench seat along a wall that sat under an ornate mirror.

Lena calmed after a few moments and turned to look Sam straight in the face again, who was now sitting directly beside her. "Kara… is Alex's sister." Lena affirmed out loud in a plain voice. Her eyes then shifted to stare blankly into the expanse of the room. "Kara has been Alex's sister… this whole time."

She shook her head back and forth and continued to exasperate, "Out of all of the people I could have run into—"

"Define run into." Sam interrupted, squinting her eyes.

Lena stood and began to pace a back and forth path with her hands on her hips, heaving multiple deep breaths in and out before even attempting to explain. "To be fair—" She began, "My car did break down and Kara is a mechanic… and a tow truck driver apparently, among other things…" Sam's head cocked sideways a bit at that last part. "I google searched nearby repair shops and she just… showed up. That was Tuesday when I was on my way here…" Lena paused to swallow and then turned on her heels to pace in the opposite direction. "Then, I ran into her again on Wednesday…" Her voice began to grow quieter, "And… again on Thursday?" She admitted shyly, knowing full well that Sam would follow exactly what she meant by all of it.

Sam's hands clapped around her mouth and her eyes went wide, looking very much like someone had lit a fuse underneath her and was about to explode into an array of vibrant fireworks. Then, after another suspended moment, her face fell into a more serious expression, and she calmly dropped her hands to her lap.

Sam took a deep breath. "Okay."

Lena stopped suddenly to stare at her for a moment, flabbergasted. "…Okay?"

"Okay." Sam said again with sense of nonchalance and gave an accompanying shrug of her shoulders.

A puzzled look ran across Lena's face then. "You… don't need to know any more?"

"Not unless you want to tell me how a stallion gallops…" Sam joked, quickly raising her eyebrows in a suggestive manner.

"Oh my god Samantha Arias, you're marrying her sister tomorrow." Lena said, covering her eyes with her hands and hanging her head in a degree of humiliation.

"Relax, I'm playing!" Sam laughed and then stood to join her. "Besides, everyone here has eyes… She is stout like a quarter horse."

That was what finally got a laugh out of the mortified, raven-haired woman. Sam reached out and rubbed gently at Lena's upper back to soothe her, which Lena then sighed in relief. After a moment of collecting herself, she looked back up at Sam and then smiled.

"I think she's actually more of a Clydesdale…" Lena teased, an almost imperceptible hint of pride layering her words.

"Oh we are definitely putting a pin in this!" Sam proclaimed up toward the ceiling after her head had tilted backwards with a laugh. Then the doors were open once more, and Lena realized that she'd have to return to the party. Mortified, abashed, surprised, exhilarated, alive… all of these words would do.

For now.