Twenty #2
“Okay, everyone, hold on tight,” the operator called as he pushed the toboggan right to the edge, giving them a spectacular view of the drop-off, the hill below, an expanse of forest preserve blending into suburbs, including the Bills stadium, and even the city skyline glinting against the snow.
It was a striking vista, and, for a second, her breath caught, but the sharp intake must’ve caught Daphne’s attention, because she turned as if trying to get a better view of her.
Only, when pressed tightly together, the move put their lips almost impossibly close to one another’s.
Gillian suffered a swift and sudden urge to kiss her, so strong it nearly hurt.
She would’ve given in right there in front of Izzy and her own friends, consequences and questions be damned, if only the masochist running the whole operation hadn’t chosen that moment to give them his final shove.
In one fluid motion, the toboggan slid forward, tipped downward, and took off.
Wind hit Gillian in the face. Then the g-forces took hold.
She tightened her grip on Daphne’s waist, clinging to her in a decidedly less arousing manner than before as the track shook below them.
Everything rattled, the toboggan, the metal supports, her teeth and spine.
The ride felt like the world’s most violent chiropractic adjustment as they jostled around in a single mass.
Izzy whooped with joy while Gillian could only clench her jaw as they plunged into the snow and kept going.
This part was smoother, but not by much.
They swayed from side to side like drunken lugers.
They even took flight for a second over a ridge created by some rider who’d bailed before them, and it dawned on her that some of the shaking wasn’t from ridges in the snow so much as Daphne’s silent laughter.
Her whole body trembled in Gillian’s arms, joy and absurdity reverberating in her the way it had in other moments of late, and unlike the other times, she joined in.
Laughing heartily as they slowed, she let the silliness take hold. How was any of this real? Daphne, the kissing, the sex, and now, of all things, sledding at breakneck speeds? This wasn’t her life. Gillian didn’t behave like this, but she could no longer remember why.
The flush of exhilaration tinged her senses as the sled came to a stop, then tipped them into the softness of deep snow. Both youth and flexibility gave Izzy the edge in detangling herself, leaving Gillian resting atop Daphne once again.
She stared down at her, dark eyes, lush lips, supple body, and her brain stopped working, no longer the valedictorian, Ivy Leaguer, business owner, or boss.
Having this woman this close reduced her to her basest impulses, and she may’ve taken Daphne right there in the snow if not for Izzy shouting. “Let’s go again!”
Gillian blinked a few times, and Daphne smiled up at her knowingly. “Wherever your mind went, please take me there later.”
All she could do was nod.
Daphne gave her a playful shove and struggled to her feet, staggering a bit back up the hill as Robin, Sawyer, and Tegan whizzed by, howling and squealing all the way.
It wasn’t long before they caught up with them, and they all began the long trudge back up the hill together.
Everyone was jostling for position and chatting animatedly about the adventure.
Robin and Sawyer made plans to ride again, this time with Izzy.
Gillian took joy in bumping shoulders with Daphne a time or two as they walked side by side, stealing glances and smiles along the way, but her libido had returned to an almost manageable pace by the time they reached the top once more.
As the others raced right back up the stairs for another go, Daphne followed along, shouting nervous instructions to her kid about listening to the adults and holding on tight. Tegan and Gillian stayed put.
Brooke surprised her by bypassing her girlfriend and turning her attention sharply to Gillian. “So, how was the ride?”
She shrugged, though her grin probably betrayed her as she breathlessly admitted, “Heart racing.”
Brooke’s expression turned coy. “Are you sure your heart wasn’t racing before the toboggan tipped over the edge?”
Gillian paused. “What do you mean?”
“I got a few pictures to memorialize the occasion.” Brooke held out her phone.
Gillian accepted it, flipping through the images to the start, where their sled had come into view. Izzy sat in the front, face forward, expression expectant, but behind her Daphne had angled herself toward Gillian, eyes intent on each other, lips inches apart.
Tegan leaned over her shoulder and let out a low whistle. “Did you kiss her?”
Gillian shook her head, though if she’d seen the photo without context, she wouldn’t have believed it herself.
“You have some amazing willpower, my friend,” Brooke said.
“I don’t,” she said flatly. “I wasn’t able to resist her several times before this, and doubt I’ll be able to next time, either.”
Tegan and Brooke exchanged a look, before asking in unison. “Next time?”
Gillian sighed. “With Daphne, there’s always a next time.”
“I can’t believe you invited her to family movie night without asking me,” Daphne huffed from her perch atop the kitchen counter.
“And I can’t believe you slept with her and didn’t call me,” Hugh shot back without even turning around from his post at the stove.
“I told you the next afternoon,” she whined. “I was still processing. I would’ve told you eventually.”
“Every time either of us sleeps with someone new, we call or at least text each other right away. I’ve texted you from the other person’s bathroom.”
She chuckled. “Only when they’re bad, or into weird stuff.”
“Like the guy with the fetish for—hey, don’t change the subject. You’ve never played it this close to the vest with me. I get more gossip from Izzy.”
“Izzy’s gossiping about me and Gillian?”