"You're not staying here tonight?" Nicole
sounded disappointed as the redhead walked with Rachel
out to her car.
Rachel grinned, her black hair a bit wild in
the breeze. "I think you two need some time alone,"
she said impishly.
"Rach," Nicole groaned.
Rachel looked over at Nicole thoughtfully a
moment before saying, "There's something else that I
noticed, buddy."
Nicole prompted her impatiently, "Yes?"
"You seem awfully concerned for Laura," Rachel
said quietly, "I haven't seen you like this since
things were going well with the Wicked Bitch of the
West." She smiled, "Maybe you should be wondering how
you feel about Laura, too."
"What?" Nicole blinked at her in surprise.
Rachel didn't answer, she just hugged Nicole
and climbed into the front seat of her little sports
car. With a cheery wave of her hand the other woman
was gone, bumping down the long driveway towards the
little town beyond.
'Me... and Laura?' Nicole thought, her cheeks
coloring. She turned to walk back to the house, her
coat swirling in the breeze as she was lost to her
thoughts. The house was quiet as Nicole went inside,
pulling her coat off and leaving it hung up by the
door. She avoided the living room and stepping into
the kitchen, setting up the coffee pot for the
morning.
"I'm sorry," Laura murmured as Nicole walked
the short way from the kitchen into the living room,
not flicking the light switch on. The ghost gazed out
a window, the setting sun bringing a lovely glow to
the girl's nearly translucent form, gently lighting
the whole room. "I hope I didn't frighten your friend
away," she added, looking back at Nicole with a shy
smile.
"Rachel said she wanted to give us some time
alone," Nicole offered, slipping her hands into the
shorts she had changed to earlier in the day.
Laura's reddened slightly and the blonde
haired spirit's voice was soft as she said, "I didn't
intend to do what I did in the hallway...."
Nicole shivered slightly, leaving the girl
some distance. Something that Rachel had said set
Laura off, the hallway that they had all been standing
in darkening, the temperature plunging as something
like static electricity jumped in the air. Laura had
regained her composure and fled, but it had badly
unnerved poor Rachel.
'And me, too,' Nicole admitted. "What was
that?" she quietly asked.
Laura's voice dropped a bit lower as she
explained, "I can effect things in the physical world
if I focus my will..."
"Like turning on my coffee pot or opening up a
door for me," Nicole noted, giving the ghostly woman a
reassuring smile.
"Yes," Laura flashed a smile before becoming
serious once again, "but if I get upset, or lose
control of my emotions, the world around me is
affected."
Nicole chose that moment to move forward,
standing beside Laura to look out at the sunset. "I'm
sorry Rachel upset you," she said quietly, giving
Laura a gentle smile.
Laura looked unusually solid as she gazed at
Nicole, the fiery light giving her a vibrant color. "I
realized something, from Rachel coming to visit you,"
Laura said.
"What was that?" Nicole asked, meeting the
other woman's eyes.
Laura looked away nervously, seemingly
frightened to meet Nicole's eyes. "I was jealous of
the closeness between you," she admitted.
Nicole felt her stomach drop, looking over at
the pretty woman's silhouette beside her. "We've been
friends a long time," she answered, "but there's
nothing more between us now...."
Laura surprised her when she reached out, a
gentle touch of her hand on Nicole's. "I know that
now," she answered, "but it upset me so much...." she
trailed off. Laura took a deep breath, "I realized I
wanted it to be me."
The first thought that ran through Nicole's
head was, 'I'll be damned, Rachel was right.' She
opened her mouth to say something, but Laura reached
out to put her finger on Nicole's lips.
"I know it's impossible," Laura rose up into
the air, her voice coming out a gentle whisper, "you
don't have to say anything."
Laura was beginning to fade away as Nicole
finally got her mouth working to say, "I think I may
be falling in love with you."
Laura gazed down at her in surprise, her
ghostlike form glittering as the light swiftly faded
outside. "You..." she breathed out, then shook her
head. "I can't do something like this to someone like
you, you deserve so much more than I can offer," she
said, sounding like she was trying to convince herself
as much as Nicole.
"I thought I was in love a few times," Nicole
said softly, "regretted it a few times, too." She
smiled wryly, thinking of the woman she now called the
Wicked Bitch of the West, "But I don't think I could
regret loving someone like you."
Laura hovered up there, thin wisps of white
material flowing around her ghostly form. Her eyes
were dark, conflicted, almost as if she were wrestling
with her thoughts then she descended to stand by
Nicole's side. A hand reached out to rest on Nicole's
cheek, a spark jumping between the two of them almost
like electricity.
"This is madness, you know," Laura finally
said, her gaze warmly caring.
Nicole flashed a smile, "Well, they always say
writers are a little crazy."
Suddenly what little light that was coming in
from the window was stopped as Laura seemed to firm
up, her clothes simply disappearing. She pressed her
now surprisingly solid body to the startled Nicole's,
kissing her firmly with lips that were only a little
colder than her own.
"If you are crazy," Laura murmured softly once
she drew back slightly, "then so am I."
Nicole found her hands resting on the girl's
pale shoulders, her own breath coming a bit faster.
"You can become solid?" she asked, Laura's own hands
resting on her hips, stroking gently.
"Not easily," Laura murmured, "and not for
very long." She flashed a surprisingly sultry smile as
she murmured, "So what are you waiting for?"
Nicole laughed softly, "Let's go upstairs."
Laura shook her head as she purred, "The couch
is closer."
The morning light woke Nicole, that and the
scent of coffee perking. She stirred on the couch,
stretching as she felt the breeze on her bare skin.
'What am I doing sleeping on the couch?' she wondered,
sitting up and rubbing at her eyes. She suddenly
stopped, memories rushing back of everything that had
happened last night.
"You're awake," Laura sounded pleased as she
entered the room from the kitchen, her typical dress
swirling around her legs, "I made coffee."
Nicole realized that she was nude and blushed
fiercely even as Laura looked on in gentle amusement.
"Do you mind...?" Nicole asked eve as she reached for
her clothes.
Laura turned her back even as she said, "You
weren't so shy last night." She sounded a bit worried
as she asked, "Are you all right?"
Nicole pulled her panties and shorts up all in
one go, then pulled on her T-shirt without worrying
about a bra. She straightened up her hair, smiling
slightly as she said, "I don't regret last night, if
that's what you mean."
Laura turned back, smiling happily as Nicole
walked over to her side. She puffed out a breath, "I
don't know what I would do if you leave."
Nicole reached out to rest her hand on Laura's
shoulder only to have her hand pass right through, the
slightly chill mist clinging to her skin. "I'm not
planing on going anywhere," she answered, shyly
drawing her hand back.
"I'm sorry," Laura said regretfully, "becoming
solid isn't easy for me, I can't do it very often."
"I'll manage," Nicole said reassuringly.
"None of this is going to be easy," Laura
murmured, meeting her eyes.
Nicole was about to answer when.... the
doorbell rang. "Damn it," she cursed as she looked at
Laura, "I'll get rid of them, then we'll talk."
"I look forward to it," Laura smiled then
softly and silently faded away.
With a fierce look on her face Nicole strode
to the front door, already running through the best
ways to get someone to go away. In the middle of
another ring she pulled the door open. "Yes...?" she
started only to trail off in surprise.
Glossy brown hair flowed over her shoulders, a
gentle smile on a beautiful face. "It's good to see
you," Lynn said, the woman who Nicole called the
Wicked Bitch of the West, her ex-girlfriend, who was
standing there large as life on her doorstep.
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