We continue our leisure with the girls. so far so good. how much trouble could they get into? They're gonna be fine... they will... I acknowledge that the trip they are about to make would take a good two weeks. They are going to fo it in half the time but I didn't set it up that way. However the route that I chose is the quickest and safest at the time of year.
Two
Tori pulled to a stop at the corner and waited, allowing a car to pass before she gently eased the throttle up a little and turned onto the main and only street that went through the town. She settled her weight on the motorcycle and enjoyed the breeze as it blew against her, gaining a guilty pleasure from the fact that she'd shucked the long sleeve leather jacket tucked into the back of the bike for her short trip up the road.
It was early, the sun just easing over the trees, and the weather was crisp and cool and she'd taken the calculated risk that her growing mastery of the relatively sedate motorcycle wouldn't make her regret it. She was, after all, wearing her jeans and boots, and her helmet, so leaving her upper body exposed was hopefully just a limited exposure.
So to speak.
Jade was getting the boat ready, so she'd volunteered to make the short run up to the nearest Wal- Mart for a few things they'd realized they'd forgotten before they started off. Jade had laughed and accused her of just making an excuse to take the bike out, but since she liked to ride it as much as Tori did, the accusation was specious at best.
"Vroom, vroom." Tori glanced down at the Honda Shadow Spirit, then quickly put her eyes back on the road. Since there wasn't much traffic down here, they'd decided to purchase the bike for local errands, especially since they usually did arrive by water.
It had taken a few weeks practice, of course, but she was really enjoying the bike. There was a bit of wildness attached to it that she found appealing, and she always felt a little rebellious when she took the motorcycle out.
She passed through the quiet, empty stretch of scrub and trees, completely alone on the road. The peacefulness appealed to her, and reminded her just a little of some of the areas where she'd been born, where you could drive for an hour or so and not see any habitation around you.
After another few minutes, she was entering civilization again, a cluster of buildings and crossroads that were fairly new in appearance. She pulled into a left turn lane, then swept through the green light into the parking lot of the twenty four hour Wal-Mart.
There were several cars already there, but Tori pulled up to the very front and smoothly stopped, setting the kick stand down and securing the bike as she got off. She pulled her helmet off and ran her fingers through her hair, then strapped the helmet to the back seat. A brief glance at her reflection in the front store windows made her grin. "Victoria Vega, biker chick." She shook her head. "No one in my family would believe this."
An advertisement caught her eye. The brown brow over it quirked.
Squaring her shoulders, she confronted the door and pushed her way through it.
Jade walked around the boat, making a last minute inspection before they cast off. Today she was wearing her swimsuit, with a pair of cotton surfer shorts and a bright blue T-shirt over it. She tucked her hair up under a baseball cap and poked her head inside the diesel chamber, checking the engines with a knowledgeable eye. Satisfied, she pulled herself slowly up the ladder to the bridge, favoring the shoulder she'd hurt not that long ago.
It annoyed her that she was still bothered by it, but not enough for her to break down and go back to the physical therapist. She was slowly getting her normal range of motion back again, and she figured maybe this long week of swimming and relaxing might do the trick so she could put the injury behind her.
Jade rechecked the global positioning system and the radio, then spent a moment with her eyes closed going over the safety equipment she had on board. She wasn't paranoid, but this was the first time she was taking the boat across international waters and if anyone knew how much respect the sea was due, this sailor's kid surely knew more.
Okay. Jade nodded, satisfied with her preparations. She climbed back down the ladder and dusted her hands off, then spotted motion near the cabin and walked to the side of the boat, peering around the pylon. A tall, husky man in a police uniform was walking towards her, and for a chilling moment, she thought about Tori heading out on the bike. She leaped ashore as the man came closer, watching his face intently.
"Help you with something?" She asked, as he came to a halt.
He had sandy hair like hers, and a moderately good looking face. "Well, maybe." He glanced at a small notepad. "Would you be a Ms. West?"
"Yes." Jade heard her own voice come out clipped and no nonsense.
However, it didn't seem to faze him. He nodded, and tucked the notepad away. "Old Bill Vickerson told me I might find you here. Had a little dust up by his place last night, didncha?"
Jade relaxed, confident at least that whatever this was didn't involve Tori. "Something like that." She didn't see much point in denying it and wondered briefly if her temper hadn't gotten her into something very inconveniently sticky this time. "What's this all about, Officer… Brewer?"
The police officer studied her. "Fella you whumped up on was my little brother."
Oh boy. Jade put years of boardroom practice into effect, and merely raised an eyebrow. "And?"
Officer Brewer chewed the toothpick he had in his mouth for a minute, then chuckled. "You're a cool one, aren't you?" He asked. "City lady like you, here by yourself in the boonies, faced with a cop with a family reason to slap cuffs on ya."
Jade snorted, chuckling dryly.
Now his eyebrows lifted. "No dice, huh?" He asked, waiting a moment, then chuckling as well. "Cool customer, that's for sure." Unexpectedly, he held a hand out. "Ms. West, you did me a good deed, and I wanted to say thanks."
Knocked a little off balance, Jade nevertheless took the hand, and returned the strong grip with one of her own. "I'm not really sure I understand." She admitted. "But it beats handcuffs."
The police officer gave her a wry grin. "My brother's a jackass." He told her straightforwardly. "Do you know what kind of a pain in my butt it is to have to arrest family? I have done it six times now. Kid never learns."
"Ah." Jade nodded a little.
"Bunch of his deadbeat friends went looking for trouble up near Big Pine last night, racing and shooting at each other. They ran their asses off the road and wrapped themselves round a tree." The policeman said. "We took four body bags full of burnt parts to the morgue."
Jade winced.
"Woulda been five." Officer Brewer said. "But because my jackass brother was nursing a sore jaw and a lump on his nuts, his sorry ass lived to get me in yet more trouble." The man sighed. "So, thanks, Ms. Big city slicker computer big shot. I owe you one."
It took a moment to sort out the various sentiments, but Jade eventually decided things had turned out well for her and Tori. "Don't mention it."
A rumble caught their attention, and the policeman turned as a motorcycle and rider came right up the side path and practically onto the dock before it rolled to a halt and the rider jumped off. The cycle came to rest on its kickstand as Tori pulled her helmet off and strode towards them, her boots sounding loud on the wooden planks.
"Well now." Officer Brewer studied the oncoming woman. "What have we got here? You travel with one of them radical liberal revolutionary types?"
"What?" Tori stopped, took off her sunglasses, and regarded him. "I'm a Republican, thank you." She snorted, turning her attention to Jade. "What's going on?"
Jade gazed fondly at her. "Officer Brewer just stopped by to welcome us to the neighborhood."
"Oh." Tori relaxed, giving the officer one of her more charming smiles. "That's really nice of you. Thanks."
The officer chuckled. "Well, I won't keep you ladies. Have yourself a nice trip, y'hear?" He turned and walked off the dock, circling the motorcycle and pausing to admire it. Then he kept going down the path and out of sight.
Tori watched him go, then turned. "Welcome wagon at seven am?"
Jade put an arm around her shoulders. "Let's get loaded up and get out of here before the town mothers show up with cookies." She walked Tori over to the bike. "I'll tell you the rest when we get out of the dock."
"Uh oh." Tori lifted the packages she'd gotten off the vehicle and hefted them. "I'll get this on board if you want to stash the bike... then we're outta here."
Jade poked her finger at a bag. "Are those what I think they are?"
"Guess you'll have to wait and find out." Tori shooed her. "C'mon. I hear stingrays calling my name." She made her way down the dock to the boat, hopping on board and disappearing.
Jade reviewed the start of her day, and decided it augured well for a far more peaceful end to it. Good thing, she chuckled to herself, as she pushed the motorcycle into the small garage and securely locked it. Because her plans for the evening definitely frowned on any interruption.
She checked the doors to the cabin one more time, then set the alarm and walked back to the boat. She released the front line, then the rear one and tossed them onboard, jumping on herself as the boat started to drift slightly in the outgoing tide.
The breeze was rising as Jade started up the engines and slowly reversed them away from the harbor, making sure she was well out before she nudged the throttles into forward and swung the bow around, pointing it out towards the endless blue horizon. She settled her bare feet against the console and gave the engines gas, feeling the surge of power as they headed outbound.
Tori let herself drift on the slight underwater current, watching the slanting rays of the sun filter down and touch the Bimini reef she was swimming over. A small school of bright blue and yellow fish went sweeping by, wheeling and pausing for some unknown fish reason but giving her an excellent photo opportunity, which she took immediate advantage of.
The pale sand and darker coral outlined the colorful fish as they swirled around her, finding another patch of ground to explore and leaving her behind. Tori watched them swim off, rolling over onto her back and relaxing in the light green sea as she examined the reef for more wildlife.
One thing that had always surprised her was how noisy it was underwater. In a pool, or in the lakes of her birthplace – the sounds were absent or muted. But here in the ocean nearly everything made a racket. Lobsters and other crustaceans clicked against the coral, shells tumbled in the underwater current, rattling along – even the sand made a swishing sound as it was moved.
Their regulators were the loudest, though. The bubbles created a low rumbling sound and each intake of breath brought to mind nothing less than Darth Vader.
Tori exchanged her regulator for the smaller one clipped to her vest and took a sip of water, rinsing it around her mouth before she swallowed. A clown fish approached her warily, inspecting the edge of her fin before it darted off. Then a tiny cuttlefish, almost transparent, floated in front of her mask, it's fins almost brushing her nose. Her eyes focused on it, on a structure so intricate it seemed almost like the finest blown glass.
The perfection of the universe brought it's own awe, Tori had found, and it's own peace. God was showing off as an artist when he created all of these things.
A soft knocking caught her attention and she looked around, spotting Jade nearby hovering over a coral outcropping, gesturing her over. She flipped lazily to horizontal and flexed her thighs, waving her fins to propel her through the water. Jade reached out and snagged a strap on her BC as she neared and she drifted, looking where her partner was pointing.
"Oomfp." The sound of surprise came out around a burst of bubbles. A large sea turtle was huddled behind the rock, watching them warily. A piece of seaweed hung out of its mouth, drifting in the current, and Tori quickly brought her camera up and focused it.
Just as she opened the shutter, the animal released the seaweed, poking its tongue out at Tori as it was captured on film. She heard the faint sound of Jade laughing as she drifted back, and they watched the turtle return to it's feeding. Then Jade checked her dive computer, pointing at the time on it.
Tori nodded in understanding. It was a shallow dive; if she looked up the boat would only be twenty feet or so above her head, but it was their second dive of the day having dived the SS Sapona wreck earlier in the day and she knew Jade preferred to stay on the cautious side when it came to bottom time. She covered the lens on her camera and clipped it to its holders on her vest, then followed Jade towards the anchor line of the boat.
They paused out of long habit at ten feet, where the wave action overhead started to make itself felt. The seas were fairly calm, but there was enough of a chop to keep the boat at a steady rock, and Tori could see the dive ladder moving up and down at the back of the stern.
Like flying a plane, where the takeoffs and landings were the trickiest, in diving it was getting in and out of the water that usually presented the most difficulty. Once you were in, and down, things were usually a breeze. Tori watched Jade release the line and head for the ladder, her hands reaching down to detach her fins as she reached it. She waited for her partner to grab the moving ladder and toss the fins out with her other hand before she let go of the line herself and followed.
Jade waited for the stern to dip down to get her feet on the bottom step of the ladder, then she reached up to the upper rung and hung on, letting the wave action pick her right up out of the water and into the late afternoon sunlight. She stepped up into the boat and shucked her tank and vest, clipping them to holders before she turned around and reached out, grabbing the back of Tori's air tank as she emerged from the sea.
Tori was no weakling, but pulling yourself and forty pounds of equipment out of the water onto a pitching boat after a long day's diving was a lot to ask, and Jade saw the quick look of appreciation she got as she pulled her partner on board. "Here... give me that." She reached over and unsnapped the catches that held the vest across Tori's chest and loosened the inner waist strap as she removed the tank.
"Ugh. Thanks." Tori pulled her mask off and scrubbed her hand over her face. She could taste salt and the rubber from her regulator on her tongue, and what she really wanted was… Ah. "I love you." Her hand closed around the plastic bottle of Gatorade as she loosened her weight belt and let it drop to the deck.
"Your welcome." Jade chuckled. She dunked Tori's camera in the fresh water bucket next to the ladder, and tossed their masks and snorkels in as well. "Can you grab me some oranges?"
"You got it." Tori patted her face dry with a towel, then ran it quickly over her body before she went down the stairs into the boat's cabin. She sucked on the Gatorade as she opened the refrigerator, removing a pop top can of mandarin oranges. She took it, a spoon, and a packet of crackers and peanut butter and returned to the deck.
Jade had unhooked the tanks and put them into the cradles next to the compressor, and hosed down the BCs that were already hanging next to it. She was standing, rinsing Tori's regulator in careful hands when Tori eased up next to her, bumping her lightly with one hip. With a quick grin, she put the regulator down next to hers on the counter and took the can of fruit.
They sat down in the two comfortable camp chairs on the back deck and relaxed, putting their feet up in the attached footrests as the boat rocked gently in the waves. "That was nice." Jade commented, removing the top on her can. "Not much current down there either."
"Nmpf." Tori shook her head, her mouth full of cracker and peanut butter. "Gorf. Sorry." She swallowed down the mouthful and chased it with some Gatorade. "Yeah, it felt so great just to be down there." Her eyes swept the horizon, then she got up and looked around to the front of the boat. "Especially out here, where it's just us, the sky, and the water."
Jade nodded. "We're still in the straits between Bahamas near Nassau and Cuba. – we could just stay anchored here for tonight."
Tori faced into the wind, listening to the rhythm of the waves. "Or?"
"Or we could continue south wanted to stop by the Berry islands."
"Is there a prettier place down south?"
Jade sucked on an orange. "Its all beautiful, Tor."
"Here sounds perfect to me, then." Tori wandered back over and sat down again. "How about we have a snack up front and watch the sun set?"
"Sounds perfect to me." Jade echoed her, with a grin. Then her head cocked, and she glanced off into the distance. "Looks like we have company." Her ears identified the sound of engines. They grew louder and louder, until a speck resolved itself into a massive yacht, half again as large as theirs, cleaving the water at top speed as it headed south.
"Well." Tori observed the solid black hull, with red and silver piping. "How's that for posh." The ship was flying several colorful pennants, and it's brass fittings shone brightly in the sun. "Who do you think it is, Jade?" She wondered. "Some really rich Northern type?"
"With no taste?" Jade grinned wryly. "European, maybe."
The boat roared past, it's wake making their own rock back and forth vigorously for several moments. It headed towards the horizon, several figures visible on it's stern deck.
"Better watch that draft. We're in shallows." Jade frowned, getting up and reaching for the radio. She keyed it. "Black and red Giarenno, headed south through the straits, do you copy?"
She released the mic, and heard only static. Her brow contracted. "Black and red Giarenno, headed through the straights southbound, do you copy?"
More static. Then a sharp crackling. "This is Cordon's Empire. Are you calling this vessel?" The voice was abrupt and impatient.
Jade keyed the mic. "Roger that, Cordon's Empire. This is Dixieland Yankee. You just passed on my port side. Be advised you have less than ten to fifteen feet to bottom in the area."
There was a moment of silence. "We do not need the advice. Please do not contact this vessel again."
The sound of the transmission cutting off was very close to being an arrogant slap, and Jade spent a few outraged breaths just glaring at the radio before she turned and delivered a murderous look at the retreating yacht. "You're welcome and kiss my ass, Cordon's Empire." She replied, hanging the mic up and returning to her comfortable chair with a snort of disgust. "Jackass."
"Mm." Tori licked a bit of peanut butter off her thumb. "Bet he didn't know who he was talking to."
Jade bit an orange slice in half and snapped it up, doing her best wild animal snarl. "I'd say I hope he bottomed, but it's not worth the damage to the reef."
Tori finished her crackers. "You're right." She agreed. "Tell you what – if you get the deck pad, I'll bring a bottle of something cold and we can let Mother Nature do her thing. "
Jade dismissed the rude boater, and turned her mind to more pleasant things willingly. She got up and rinsed her can out, then put it into the plastic recycling container after squashing it in her hands. Then she opened the storage benches and pulled out the large, double pad they liked to sit on up front and slung it over her shoulder while Tori ducked back into the cabin.
There were layers of light clouds on the horizon, and Jade imagined it would be a gorgeous sunset. She mused happily on that as she made her way around to the front of the boat, settling the pad down and going to the very front of the bow.
Tori took a bottle of chilled Riesling out and inspected two glasses, setting them down while she put together a bowl of finger foods, cubes of cheese and pieces of fruit – tossing in a handful of chocolate kisses and a few carrots just for color and balance. Whistling softly, she picked everything up and carried it up the stairs, bumping the button on the sound system just before she came up on deck.
Soft strains of music emerged as she balanced along the edge of the boat, climbing up on the bow as Jade turned and spotted her. A smile appeared on Tori's face as she took in the sight of her lover outlined in burnished golden sunlight and it only broadened as Jade came to her side, dropping down on the pad and taking the bowl from her.
Tori settled down cross-legged and opened the bottle, while Jade stretched out to full length, resting on one elbow and crossing her long legs at the ankles. A soft pop rewarded her efforts, and she put the cork with its puller down, pouring Jade a glass of wine with a casually expert motion. She handed the glass over and poured her own, then accepted Jade's invitation and sat in the circle of her arm as Jade rolled over onto her back and they leaned against the slope of the boat's bow.
The sun began to slip behind the clouds, sending spears of russet through them and Tori found herself very content to just watch, lulled by the gentle motion of the waves and a feeling of comfortable tiredness from their diving. She sipped her wine, rolling the sweet richness in her mouth, and nibbled on some cheese.
She was starting to feel an emotional weight lift off her shoulders. The stress of the past month seemed to lose its grip on her, and she let her head rest against Jade, soaking in the peace like a bit of sea sponge.
"My mother once painted a sky like this." Jade said. "I remember it… when I was still in grade school. She had it hanging over the couch in the living room."
"Mm." Tori tilted her head a little, amazed at the vividness of the color. "It's so rich. Why is that, Jade?"
"Angle of inclination." Jade exhaled. "And the moisture in the air."
Tori took a sip of her wine as she gazed at the sky. "Or maybe God's just in a great mood." She murmured. "I know I sure am." Her eyes drifted from the sunset for a moment. "Thank you, for having this incredible idea."
Jade lifted her glass and touched it's rim against Tori's. "Here's to us." She took a mouthful, and waited for Tori to do the same, then she gracefully inclined her head and they kissed, exchanging a little wine and a lot of affection.
The breeze lifted a little and tangled their hair together as they settled down to watch the day's ending.
Jade waited until the sky was completely dark, and the canopy of stars fit over them from horizon to horizon. It was an amazing sensation – hearing the rustle of the waves, and seeing nothing but flat blackness that extended to a sparkling blanket seemingly rising out of nothing.
Tori was curled up next to her, fast asleep. After their long day of diving and sun, that wasn't surprising really, but Jade was glad to see her partner getting some much needed rest. Her father's death, and the stress of the last month had taken a lot out of her and Jade intended their little trip to be as relaxing as possible. She lifted her hand and combed her fingers through Tori's hair, brushing it back from her face.
Tori's eyelids trembled, just a little, and she stirred, snuggling closer to Jade and sliding an arm over her stomach. She then relaxed again, a puff of exhaled breath warming Jade's skin.
"Atta girl." Jade murmured, watching the slow rise and fall of her wife's ribcage. "You just take it easy. No getting sick." Tori had an appointment with their family doctor on their return, to redo tests that had shown a dangerous rise in her blood pressure among other things not that long ago.
To hell with the company. Both of them leaving at once was throwing the place into chaos but she could care less.
Jade readily acknowledged the hypocritical nature of her wanting Tori to put herself before work, given her own behavior but it's what she wanted nonetheless and she refused to apologize for it. She idly twirled a bit of Tori's hair around her finger, admiring its softness. Already two days in the sun seemed to have lightened it, or maybe Tori's deepening tan just provided a greater contrast.
Whatever. Jade watched Tori's jaw muscles move a little, then her eyes fluttered open and the tip of her pink tongue appeared. "Hey, sleepy." She ran the tips of her fingers over Tori's back as the other woman stretched.
"Mmmm…" Tori rolled over and gazed up at the night sky. "Oh, that's gorgeous." She murmured. "Look at those stars… there must be a zillion of them."
"Mmhm." Jade agreed, easing onto her side and wrapping her arms around Tori. She put her head down and gazed at Tori's profile. "Beautiful."
Tori felt the attention, and turned to meet Jade's eyes. She still felt sleepy, and a little bemused at having dozed off over their little snack, and she had no real desire to do much about it other than snuggle back up against Jade's warm body and return to her dreams. She lifted a hand and stifled a yawn. "Think I overdid it today."
Me, too. Jade added in wry, silent agreement. "How about a shower, and an early bedtime." She suggested.
"Ooo.." Tori found the idea very appealing. "Yeah, I like that." She laced her fingers with Jade's. "We could have some hot chocolate… it's a little chilly out here."
With a smile, Jade lifted herself to her feet and offered Tori a hand up. They walked together single file around the side of the cabin and down into the stern. Jade turned on the outside lights and reviewed their gear. "I'm going to pull in the buoy. Meet you inside?"
Tori unexpectedly circled her with both arms, and gave her a big hug. "Me and some hot chocolate will be waiting." She released Jade and gave her a pat on the side, then eased through the cabin door.
Jade chuckled softly to herself as she walked to the side of the boat and pulled in the buoy line, securing the orange buoy to the side of the boat and removing the upright, flexible pole that held their diver's flag. The flag indicated to anyone passing by that there were divers under the water, possibly near the surface, and theoretically the boaters should give the spot a wide berth.
However, as in coastal areas where manatees lived, and signs were posted, adherence to the rules varied from ship captain to ship captain and if you were in an area that a lot of pleasure boaters used, you took a risk. Jade herself had a small scar on her back from a miscast shark hook when she was younger, that snagged her and almost pulled her air hose from her first stage.
Out here, there wasn't much chance of that kind of problem. Jade fastened the flag into its catches, and cast her eye around the stern, checking to make sure everything was in its place. Then she nodded in satisfaction and entered the cabin, closing the door behind her. Tori was in the small galley, busy with the cocoa tin, her dark purple swimsuit outlining her body nicely. They had the hatches open, so the night breeze was blowing through, cooling the place off without them having to actually run the small air conditioning unit the boat was equipped with.
"Everything shipshape, Cap'n?" Tori asked, looking up at her with a mischievous grin.
"Ar." Jade made a quasi pirate noise. "I'll duck in the shower first."
Tori continued her task. "We could try getting in there together."
"Not even if we were Barbie dolls." Jade snorted, shaking her head. She entered the head and flipped the light on, stripping out of her suit and hanging it on one of the hooks on the back of the door. They had gotten tubes of body soap, conveniently able to also hang on hooks and she squeezed a handful of apricot scented wash as she turned the water on and stepped under it.
It felt very good to scrub the salt spray off her skin. Swimming in the sea was interesting, and often refreshing, but the minerals the water held made a shower something she always looked forward to afterwards.
It also helped prevent sea lice. Jade loved marine life in all its forms, but she drew the line at providing a home for it on her person.
Jade rinsed her hair out, then stepped out from under the shower and toweled herself off. She opened the tiny medicine cabinet and removed a glass bottle, opening it and pulling out the dropper and filling it. She tilted her head and let several drops fall into her right ear, then did the same with her left. Ear infections weren't something she much liked either, and the drops would dry out her inner ear and help prevent them.
She tucked the towel around her body and sauntered back out into the cabin. "Next." She traded places with Tori, who slipped past with a grin. Jade relaxed against the counter as she waited for the water to boil, reaching up and turning on the marine radio to listen to the weather reports.
Funny, how the crackling of the radio and the sound of the shower were so similar.
The water kettle hissed. Jade turned and picked it up, pouring it over the cocoa mix in the cups on the counter. The scent of chocolate enveloped her, and she grinned, stirring the foamy liquid with a spoon to make sure it all dissolved. Then she retrieved the milk from the refrigerator and put a little in each cup. She was just adding an artistic dollop of whipped cream when Tori emerged and wandered over, the fresh scent of apricot rising from her skin.
They changed into T-shirts and sat down together on the couch in the living area, putting their feet up on the bolted down table.
Tori sipped her chocolate as they listened to the waves for a bit, then she turned to Jade. "You know, I was just thinking. It's really funny."
Jade eyed her. "Yeah?" She waited for the punchline.
"We never really talk to each other." Tori watched the expressive face across from her. Jade blinked, and put her cup down, her eyebrows contracting. "See?"
Both eyebrows went up. "Huh?" Jade gave her an unfeigned look of bewilderment. "Are you saying we have trouble communicating?"
"No." Tori shook her head. "We communicate perfectly. We just never talk." She stifled a grin. "What I mean is, like when I just said that. You didn't have to say anything to me, I knew what you were thinking."
"You did?" Jade relaxed.
"Sure. 'What the hell is she talking about?'" Tori dropped her voice a little lower in mimicry. "I can tell by your face, by how you move, almost, what you're feeling."
Jade considered that thoughtfully. "Well, we do spend a lot of time with each othe rbut we had a pretty heavy talk the other day." She allowed.
"True. And it's hard to have good, vigorous debates with someone who you agree with most of the time." Tori said. "We haven't had a fight in a long time."
A dark eyebrow crawled up Jade's forehead. "You want to have a fight?"
"Actually, I was listening to a radio program the other day on the way to the Castro office. They had this guy on who was saying how it was the sign of a healthy relationship when you had fights, because you didn't repress anything."
Jade's other eyebrow joined its mate. "Are you repressing something?"
Tori pointed at her own chest. "Me?"
"Yeah."
"No. Are you?"
Jade frowned. "Not that I know of." She apparently caught the humor of the situation. "We could invent something to repress, then have a fight about it, though, if you really want to test the theory."
"We could do that." Tori leaned over and kissed her. "Or we could just do this, which is a heck of a lot more fun."
Jade chuckled, cupping Tori's cheek and removing the chocolate from her lips. Then she rested her forehead against Tori's, and her face grew more thoughtful. "I think people start fighting when they stop communicating." She said. "Or if they never could to begin with."
"Is that what happened to you before?" Tori asked.
Jade nodded silently.
"I was thinking about that when I was listening to that guy." Tori took a sip of her cocoa, and offered her cup to Jade. "He said it's easy to fall in love with someone, but it's a lot harder to learn to like and live with them." She reached over and moved a bit of Jade's hair out of her face.
Jade licked her lips. "I like you." She smiled. "I think I said that the first time we had dinner together."
Tori smiled back. "Yes, you did, and so did I." She studied Jade's face. "I really liked you, and I wanted to be friends with you before I figured out I was head over heels in love."
They looked into each other's eyes for a long moment. Finally Jade took a breath. "Tori?"
"Yes?"
A pucker appeared between Jade's eyebrows. "Why are we having this conversation?"
"Well." Tori squiggled closer. "I didn't want to save it for a dusty hospital stairwell, and it's late, and I'm wasted, and it beats me reciting Shelby's latest attempt at poetry." She kissed Jade gently. "We have to have these angsty, soulful, heart to heart talks sometimes, Jade – or else we'll get cootie points in Love Court or something."
Jade grinned. "Wanna hear a secret?"
"Sure."
"I have been repressing something."
Brown eyes opened wider. "Really?"
"Yeah." Jade took the mostly empty cup from her and set it down. "The desire to take you off to bed. C'mon." She held her hands out, and pulled Tori to her feet when the Latina took them. She pulled Tori into her arms and gave her a hug. "Tor?"
"Mm?" Tori murmured.
"If you ever think we're not communicating…" Jade looked at her seriously. "Talk to me."
Tori blinked, then nodded. "Ditto." She replied.
Jade carried the cups to the sink and ran water into them, then accompanied Tori to the bedroom. Tori pulled the down comforter back and they crawled into bed, snuggling together as Jade put out the bedside lamp. With the hatches open, they could hear the sea, and a nice breeze puffed around the cabin, lessening the enclosed feeling.
The sounds were different, Tori thought. The boat creaked a little, and the rocking motion soothed her. She felt her eyes closing and let the wave of sleepiness in, already looking forward to the morning. Stifling a yawn, she drew in a breath of warm, Jade scented air and dropped off to sleep.
Jade pored over the chart clipped to the console in front of her, marking out a route with a big purple marker on the plastic sheet. She checked the GPS against the chart and grunted, satisfied with their progress and with her navigating skills.
She nudged the throttles forward a little and rested her elbows on either side of them, gazing out at the horizon with a slight grin. Hands on had always been something she'd enjoyed, right from the very start of her career. It was one thing to sit in some boardroom with a pad of paper and argue about how to do things, but a very different thing to be able to put your hands on the technology and actually do it yourself.
It's what had set her apart from the rest of the management at WesTrek. Jade had fought very hard to keep her skills current and she was very, very proud of the fact that she could go into their state of the art ops center and run every piece of technology inside it. It wasn't always easy – her position kept her very busy and the tech changed every day, it seemed. But Jade had decided she never wanted to be in a place where her staff knew more about what they were doing than she did, so she put in the long nights, bought the new manuals, and occasionally even took things home so she could take them apart and play with them.
So being able to captain her ship across the sea had been just another challenge, and again she'd put in the time to brush up on her charting and diesel skills. Her peripheral vision caught a change in the depth meter and she studied it, then altered their course just a little, into a deeper channel. Then she picked up the pencil next to the notepad and started idly sketching.
At first she doodled in the horizon, and the boat's bow, but that got boring, so she started looking around for something else to draw. She leaned back and looked down, then grinned. Ah. Her pencil moved against the paper as she located a new inspiration.
Tori put her pen down for the nth time and let her head rest against the chair. She was ostensibly working on poetry, but the sun, the mild drone of the engines, and the sweet sea air were combining to subvert her creative intentions in favor of some lazy daydreaming.
It was mid afternoon already, and they'd been making good time so far. After an early morning romp in the Exumas, Jade had fired up the boat's engines and headed southeast, crossing the ruffled blue green Caribbean sea as the sun tracked steadily overhead.
She looked out at the far away islands. Wondering why Jade would skip those. Sure this was mostly a diving trip. But Tori had never been to any of these islands. She was sure she didn't need a passport for some of these at least.
Tori wiggled her bare toes contentedly. Jade had promised a twilight dive when they neared the Turks and Caicos, then dinner at a small place she'd last visited just before they'd met. "Fresh conch chowder." Tori licked her lips thoughtfully. "Sounds great, just so long as you don't think too much about what a conch actually looks like."
"You say something?" Jade called down from the bridge.
"No, sweetie." Tori replied. "Just mumbling to myself." She worried a grape off its stem from the bowl next to her and popped it into her mouth. "Whatcha doing?"
"Driving the boat."
"That all?" Tori asked, tipping her head back and looking up, one hand shading her eyes.
"Doodling."
"Yeah? What this time?"
'Nothing you'd wanna see." Jade remarked, with an easy grin. "How's the writing coming?"
Intrigued, Tori tucked her book into the side pocket of the deck chair and put her fruit bowl down. "It's not." She admitted, getting up and walking to the ladder, stretching out her body as she did. "Sad to say, I'm too lazy to even write today." She climbed up onto the bridge and circled Jade with her arms, gazing down at the pad in front of her.
Then she blinked. "Yikes."
Jade snickered. "Toldja."
"That's me."
"Sort of, yeah." Jade agreed.
Tori eyed the sketch, which showed a reasonable rendering of the boat's stern, with her sprawled in the chair. "You're getting pretty good at this, you know that?"
A shrug. "Depends on what I'm drawing."
Tori gave her a kiss on the top of her head. "I'll take that as a compliment." She told her, as a memory floated into her mind's eye.
Another day, another meeting. Tori carried her notes into the big conference room and paused, seeing most of the table already full up. That left the end seat which was always Jade's, and empty ones on either side of it. Hm. Tori walked around to the left hand side and sat down in the chair on that side of Jade's. I should come late more often.
Then she had an excuse to sit next to her boss, and not have anyone think it was strange.
Jade entered, and as she circled the table she raised her eyebrows just a trifle at Tori's choice of seats, but her lips quirked into a tiny grin at the same time, making Tori's guts warm as their eyes met.
She felt herself blush, and studied her notes instead, trying not to show the unsteady confusion pulsing through her body, reacting to Jade's very near presence as the woman sat down and their forearms brushed each other.
Jade leaned back in her chair and balanced her pad on her denim clad knee as she asked for the weekly report. They were in casual wear today and Tori found herself wanting to reach over and touch the soft cotton Jade was wearing.
She folded her hands together and sternly told her body to behave, hardly believing how out of control she felt around her new lover. Especially since the more experienced Jade was seemingly quite unaffected by it all, breezing through their workday as though nothing at all had changed between them.
Tori, on the other hand, felt like she had "I'm with her!" tattooed on her forehead. She sighed and picked up her water glass, taking a long sip of it as the operations staff started their recitations. It didn't help much. She was almost hyper sensitively aware of Jade's every motion, every sound, from the faint shifts of her clothing on the leather chair when she moved, to the light scrape of the pencil lead she was doodling with.
Lucky Jade. Tori snuck a look at her boss, who looked relaxed as she glanced up from her doodling as each staff member spoke. Jade seemed almost bored, or a least borderline inattentive, giving the speakers a brief nod as she accepted their reports.
"Next." Jade kept her eyes on her pad. "Did you get those servers?"
Sinjin had to report in the negative. "Not yet, boss. Two more days."
Tori looked at him, seeing the wince as he waited for Jade's reaction, along with the rest of the staff.
"Okay." Jade nodded. "What else?"
Everyone around the table looked at each other in surprise.
"Um." Sinjin wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. "We've.. uh.. got some problems in Canada.. two big pipes down and they're complaining."
"And?" Jade continued her sketching, cocking her head to one side a little. "Can we fix them?"
"Not without digging up some fiber."
"Guess they'll have to wait then." Jade replied. "Tell our fiber contractor up there to call me with an estimate when he gets a chance."
Another round of looks circled the table.
"Uh.. okay." Sinjin said. "That's all for me."
"Anyone else?" Jade's gaze sharpened, and she scoured the group with her ice blue eyes. "No? Good." She stood up, casually ripping off the top sheet of her pad and tossing it over to Tori before she picked up her coffee cup and headed for the door. "Budgets are due next week. Don't be late."
The door closed behind her, and everyone relaxed. "Whoo." Sinjin mock wiped his brow. "Got of lucky this week!"
"Yeah, I thought she was going to roast your butt.. how'd you do that, Sinjin?"
"Right time, right place. Got her in a good mood."
"The one time this year. Go figure." Charlene rolled her eyes. "What cause that, I wonder? She get to fire someone this week?"
Tori didn't hear any of it. Her eyes were on the casually tossed sheet in her hands as she stared at the neatly shaded sketch in the center of it. Her own image looked back at her, a very creditable rendering outlined in a roughly shaped heart, with Jade's initials on the bottom.
"Maybe it was because she got to cancel that planning contract… she's always hated that guy's guts.
"Nah, I bet she denied that Sales request again."
Tori very carefully opened her folder and put the loose sheet inside.
"Hey, Tori… "
Tori looked up. "Yes?"
"What's the deal? You know what's got big J in such a mellow mood?"
"Yes. Matter of fact, I do." Tori exhaled, biting off a grin as she stood up and pushed her chair in. "See you guys tomorrow." She walked out with a jaunty step, closing the door behind her.
"All this pretty scenery, and you have to draw me?" Tori ruffled Jade's hair.
"All those pretty fish, and you have to take my picture?" Jade countered drolly, circling Tori's leg with one arm. "We'll be at the dive site in an hour. You up for that, or you want to give it a miss and just go to dinner?"
Tori leaned against the captain's chair and let her head rest on Jade's shoulder. "Does my utter laziness show that badly?" She complained. "I fell asleep twice down there. I don't know what's wrong with me."
"We're on vacation. You're supposed to be lazy." Jade stated, her eyes scanning the horizon again. "We can go straight in."
"What are these islands we're passing?" Tori said looking at an island.
"Major Antilles... Down that way is… Puerto rico… and St. Thomas. Where we're going" Jade answered. "But we're taking a little detour, cose to Turks and caicos, there's a little island I want to take you to called Matthew town.You wanna stop somewhere ?
Tori chewed her lower lip, then shook her head. "No, I'm going to go make some coffee. I really want to see that other old wreck, Jade. You made it sound really cool." She straightened up and put her hands on Jade's shoulders, massaging them lightly. "Let's go for it."
"You sure?" Jade relaxed, enjoying the strong kneading.
"Positive." Tori gave her a kiss on the back of the neck. "Take me to the galleon, Cap'n Jade."
"Aye, aye, matey." Jade replied promptly. "Who knows? Maybe we'll find us some pieces of eight."
Tori chuckled, resuming her position draped over Jade's shoulders. "With our luck, all we'll find is some jellyfish or a cranky moray eel."
"Or a pile of tin cans."
They both laughed, a sound muffled by the spray of the boat's wake on either side of them.
Tori adjusted her mask, holding her hand over it and her regulator as she stepped to the back of the boat and paused, then took a big step off and plunged into the water.
It was always a bit of a shock, going from the light and breezy air into the dense, blue water. She sucked in her first breath off her tank, feeling her body adjust as the familiar above water weight of herself, and her equipment moderated in the water's buoyancy.
Tori held onto the anchor rope with one hand, and tightened the straps on her BC with the other while she waited for Jade. Her ears popped a little, and she gently pinched her nose closed and blew out a little, clearing her middle ears. Just then, the water was disrupted by Jade's entrance into it, her slim muscular figure in a whirl of bubbles that cleared as she made her way over to where Tori was waiting.
Jade's eyes flicked over her, Tori noticed, checking her gear out of endearing habit. She endured the scrutiny, and in return she snugged Jade's tank a little tighter and pulled her hair out from under her BC. Jade winked at her, and pointed down, and she nodded.
They started down the anchor rope, descending slowly through the water towards the ocean floor sixty feet below. Diving deep was different than reef diving, Tori had discovered. You encountered a lot of sensations you didn't get in the shallows – like thermoclines.
Layers of colder water that crept up and enveloped you unexpectedly as you descended – and the awareness of the sea pressure slowly growing against you. Breathing was just a little tougher, and the sense of being a part of the ocean was greater down here since you tended to look down more than up, and the surface was much further away.
They reached the bottom, a patch of soft, creamy white sand that had a few, odd stalks of seaweed poking up through it. Jade checked her dive computer, then motioned Tori to follow her, and started off.
Tori obliged, staying to one side out of the draft of Jade's fins. Her partner's leg kicks were a little slower than her own, but more powerful and she put some effort into keeping up against the light current. They approached a rock escarpment, and as they did, Jade half turned and made a motion near her mask, as though she were snapping a picture.
Obligingly, Tori unclipped her camera and adjusted it, then swam after Jade as they crested the escarpment and could look over it.
Wow. Tori's eyes widened, and she quickly focused on the scene. Forty feet below them was a valley of white sand, and half buried in the sand was the reef encrusted remains of an old, wooden ship. The visibility was incredible, even at this distance, and she kept snapping as they descended towards it.
Schools of fish darted among what was left of half broken spars, and one whole side of the front of the ship was gone, a huge hole big enough to admit the largest of the fish swimming around it. Tori clipped her camera to her vest and just enjoyed the moment, stretching her arms out and releasing some of her buoyancy. She fell through the water in a glide very much like slow motion flying, twisting her body to change angles as she approached the wreck.
Bits of the ship were spread out across the bottom, where they'd scattered when she went down or in the storms afterward. Tori spotted lumps of metal and she swam over to investigate, reaching out with a gloved hand to touch metal links half the length of her arm. Anchor chain, she realized.
She left the chain and headed towards the tilted, coral encrusted deck, surprising a school of grouper that scattered when she drifted over them. A grumpy looking barracuda remained, however, glaring at her from between a hatch and a piece of collapsed spar. Tori slowly lifted her camera and drifted down to eye level with it, focusing on the fish's intimidating jaw. She snapped the shutter, then moved away, watching the cuda watch her as she entered a school of angel fish.
They poured over her and she rotated onto her back, looking up at them outlined against the surface like a far off mirror above her. Then she inhaled in surprise as a small squid jetted by, almost within her grasp, its tentacles trailing behind it and brushing her arm.
It was still so amazing to her, even after a year, this sensation of floating in an alien world. She twisted and looked around, finding Jade floating nearby, her hands clasped on her stomach and her fins crossed as she watched. Tori grinned, and gave her a thumbs up. Jade grinned back, then pointed towards the hole in the side of the ship and raised her brows in question, visible even over her mask.
Ah! A new adventure. Tori nodded, following readily as Jade lead the way towards the interior of the boat, her underwater lamp clasped in one hand. As they reached it, she turned it on and edged inside, carefully examining the space before she continued, motioning Tori after her.
Tori did a quick check of her BC, making sure all her hoses were tucked in their holders and nothing was dangling before she followed Jade inside the ship. She pulled out her own light and turned it on, illuminating a ghostly world of algae incrusted wood. The structure inside was heavily damaged, but not enough so that her imagination was unable to fill in the pieces.
Long ago, this ship had held dreams. She could imagine the sailors who lived here, and the cargo they carried across the warm basin of the Caribbean. Now all that remained where ghosts, and the flash of odd eyes as her flashlight skimmed over the interior.
For a bare moment, the thought crossed her mind that the eyes belonged to those lost souls who went down with the ship, still here after all these years.
Then a lobster scuttled by her, waving its claws menacingly, and Tori jumped, almost cracking her head against the wood above her. Okay. She told her imagination sternly. Save it for topside. With a shake of her head, she drifted down towards the bottom of the hold. Tiny fish swirled around her curiously and she peered closer, as her light flashed off something unidentifiable.
Jade approached, lifting her dive computer and displaying the time they had remaining. Tori nodded, then pointed with her light, catching the flash again. They both swam closer, peering under the collapsed ribs and time encrusted cases piled on the bottom, resting against what had once been the side of the ship.
Jade tried to edge closer on one side, but her bulk kept her from getting any closer. Frowning, she motioned Tori over, but even Tori's smaller form was too wide to fit through with her tank on. Jade considered a moment, then she turned Tori around and unclasped her tank from her BC, holding it in one hand and moving it to one side.
Tori grasped the spar and pulled herself down, now just able to get between the wood and the side of the ship. She could see the shining something, and as she squiggled closer and her motion brushed a collection of algae off it, it resolved itself into a flat surface. She felt Jade's hand on her hip in a reassuring pat, and she edged a little further, now able to put her hand on whatever it was.
Then she just about died when an eel suddenly erupted from around the object, squirming right past her neck towards Jade and giving her a lash with it's tail on the way out. A muffled burst of noise came from Tori's throat, sending a stream of bubbles upward, but after a jerk behind her as Jade got out of the eel's way, the comforting pat returned.
Jesus. Tori flexed her hand and reached a little further, getting her fingers around the surface and tugging. It resisted her pull, but she persisted, and with the faintest crackling as she freed it from the growing coral it came loose and she brought it closer to her mask.
It was a box, and the shine had been hammered metal, which covered it though corrosion had mostly obscured the design. Tori started backwards, glad of the grip on her belt guiding her out of the tight spot. Jade peered over her shoulder as she reattached her tank and they both gazed at her find curiously.
A buried treasure. Tori blinked delightedly. Even if it was, as it appeared to be, just an old box, still – the box held history and it fascinated her. She clutched it as they made their way out of the hold and into the open sea, which seemed brilliantly lit by sunlight now that they were out of the darkness of the ship.
Jade gave her a big thumbs up, and Tori grinned around her regulator, returning it. They made their leisurely way back to the anchor line, carried now by the drift current going in the opposite direction. Tori tucked her treasure away in her BC pocket as she gripped the line, ready to just watch the show around her as they slowly made their way out of one world, and back to their own.