In the Heat of the Day
Part I
Laura DeHart Young
It was a hot August day in Atlanta and she wondered how she had let Sharon talk her into this. Kate glanced up at Sharon who was standing on her tiptoes, rolling paint up the living room wall. Kate smiled to herself. Who was she kidding? The woman was drop-dead gorgeous and that’s why she had agreed to help build a Habitat for Humanity house in the middle of a Hotlanta summer.
Kate wiped the sweat from her forehead and continued painting the trim.
“Kate, honey. Would you like some Gatorade?” Sharon asked. “We should take a short break.”
“Sure. I could use a break. We’ve been at this for at least two hours.”
“And the day’s not over yet.” Sharon smiled and pulled Kate up from the floor. “You’re going to join the gang afterward for a beer, aren’t you?”
“That sounds great.”
Outside, the dry red clay from the building-site blew across the front yard and stuck to her paint-covered overalls. Kate watched Sharon as she grabbed two Gatorades from the large green cooler. Yeah, she was a looker. That deep bronze tan, shapely legs and dark, auburn hair made quite a pretty package. Too bad she was married. Oh, well. It’s still fun to look, Kate thought.
Part II
Therese Szymanski
Sharon turned to Kate, catching her mid-stare. She proffered an ice cold bottle, which Kate gratefully took, but then, Sharon winked.
“Nothing like a long swallow of something nice and cold to get you through a day like this, is there?”
“Nope, nothing like it,” Kate quickly replied, turning away and opening her own bottle. She definitely needed something cold after the heat wave Sharon had just sent through her.
“You’re quite good with your hands, y’know?” Sharon said. “Tomorrow, we can finish up with the bedroom, and then we’ll have to see what other good uses such hands can be put to.”
Kate’s temperature soared further still, until she was about ready to have a heat-stroke.
In fact, when she felt the first touch of cool fingers on the back of her neck, that was exactly what she thought was happening.
Part III
Peggy J. Herring
Thinking that Sharon’s touch had to somehow be a freak accident, Kate stepped away from her. “I’ve always preferred the orange to the green,” she said nervously. Kate held the Gatorade bottle up to her forehead and could almost swear she heard sizzling sounds emitting from her body as the cold container grazed her skin.
“Orange what?” Sharon whispered. She was still behind her and so close that Kate could feel Sharon’s breath on her neck.
“Orange...uh...orange...” Kate’s mind was suddenly a blank. She was too busy tingling to talk or think right then. Uncertain as to what was happening, Kate turned around to find Sharon with a crooked smile and a gleam in her eye.
“Orange what?” Sharon asked again. She reached over and brushed a lock of hair away from Kate’s forehead.
“Uh...we should probably get back to work.” Two minutes ago Kate had been getting eye strain from all the looking she’d been doing and now here Sharon was teasing her!
“Did that make you uncomfortable?” Sharon asked.
“Yes. Very. “
“I’m sorry,” Sharon said, shrugging innocently. “It’s just that I’ve been watching you for a while now. You look adorable in those overalls.”
“Puppies are adorable.”
Sharon’s smile made Kate’s heart skip a beat, but when Sharon whispered, “Puppies and lesbians in overalls,” Kate could feel her temperature shooting up a few more degrees again.
“I think the heat’s finally gotten to you,” Kate said. There was no way she could take Sharon’s advances seriously. And even if Sharon was somehow serious about what she was doing, Kate had no intention of getting involved with a married woman. She wasn’t at a place in her life where she could emotionally risk being the object of someone else’s fantasy. I’ve never been fantasy material, Kate thought, no matter how adorable I am in these overalls!
“So let’s get back to work,” Kate suggested again. She took a drink of her previously untouched Gatorade and fell in step beside Sharon. As they started back toward the house, Sharon glanced over at her and said, “I saw the way you’ve been looking at me while we’ve been working today.”
Kate was surprised and embarrassed, feeling certain that she was blushing.
“It was very flattering,” Sharon admitted.
“So what was all of that touchy-feely stuff going on a minute ago?”
“Me returning the favor?” Sharon offered. “Maybe a little innocent flirting?”
There’s no such thing as innocent flirting, Kate thought. Hmm. Wanting to relieve them both of any further uneasiness, Kate laughed. “So I’m not really adorable in these overalls? You made that up?”
Sharon shrugged. “Maybe adorable wasn’t the right word.” She climbed the steps on the porch and then stopped and turned around. “Hot is the word I want,” Sharon said. “You look hot.”
Kate felt her heart flutter again, but tried to ignore it. “Would that be Jennifer Aniston hot? Or Hades hot?”
Sharon blinked and then smiled. “Sorry. I was referring to Hades hot.”
“Oh. Well, hell. You’re no fun.”
The Chain Gang Chronicles |
||
| The Nutcracker Suite | Something Borrowed | The Shopping Trip |
| Give the Girl A Hand | The Wettest Spot in the World | A Moving Experience |
| Footsies With Tootsie | Flirting 101 | The Luggage Rack |
| The Intruder | The Butch In Question | Driving Ms. Binkie |
| That Rainbow Feeling | The Long Ride Home | In the Heat of the Day |
| 8 Mile | The Gang’s All Here | Break a Leg! |
| It’s All In the Name | Beware of Beeping Lesbians | Intro |
In the Heat of the Day
Part I
Laura DeHart Young
It was a hot August day in Atlanta and she wondered how she had let Sharon talk her into this. Kate glanced up at Sharon who was standing on her tiptoes, rolling paint up the living room wall. Kate smiled to herself. Who was she kidding? The woman was drop-dead gorgeous and that’s why she had agreed to help build a Habitat for Humanity house in the middle of a Hotlanta summer.
Kate wiped the sweat from her forehead and continued painting the trim.
“Kate, honey. Would you like some Gatorade?” Sharon asked. “We should take a short break.”
“Sure. I could use a break. We’ve been at this for at least two hours.”
“And the day’s not over yet.” Sharon smiled and pulled Kate up from the floor. “You’re going to join the gang afterward for a beer, aren’t you?”
“That sounds great.”
Outside, the dry red clay from the building-site blew across the front yard and stuck to her paint-covered overalls. Kate watched Sharon as she grabbed two Gatorades from the large green cooler. Yeah, she was a looker. That deep bronze tan, shapely legs and dark, auburn hair made quite a pretty package. Too bad she was married. Oh, well. It’s still fun to look, Kate thought.
Part II
Therese Szymanski
Sharon turned to Kate, catching her mid-stare. She proffered an ice cold bottle, which Kate gratefully took, but then, Sharon winked.
“Nothing like a long swallow of something nice and cold to get you through a day like this, is there?”
“Nope, nothing like it,” Kate quickly replied, turning away and opening her own bottle. She definitely needed something cold after the heat wave Sharon had just sent through her.
“You’re quite good with your hands, y’know?” Sharon said. “Tomorrow, we can finish up with the bedroom, and then we’ll have to see what other good uses such hands can be put to.”
Kate’s temperature soared further still, until she was about ready to have a heat-stroke.
In fact, when she felt the first touch of cool fingers on the back of her neck, that was exactly what she thought was happening.
Part III
Peggy J. Herring
Thinking that Sharon’s touch had to somehow be a freak accident, Kate stepped away from her. “I’ve always preferred the orange to the green,” she said nervously. Kate held the Gatorade bottle up to her forehead and could almost swear she heard sizzling sounds emitting from her body as the cold container grazed her skin.
“Orange what?” Sharon whispered. She was still behind her and so close that Kate could feel Sharon’s breath on her neck.
“Orange...uh...orange...” Kate’s mind was suddenly a blank. She was too busy tingling to talk or think right then. Uncertain as to what was happening, Kate turned around to find Sharon with a crooked smile and a gleam in her eye.
“Orange what?” Sharon asked again. She reached over and brushed a lock of hair away from Kate’s forehead.
“Uh...we should probably get back to work.” Two minutes ago Kate had been getting eye strain from all the looking she’d been doing and now here Sharon was teasing her!
“Did that make you uncomfortable?” Sharon asked.
“Yes. Very. “
“I’m sorry,” Sharon said, shrugging innocently. “It’s just that I’ve been watching you for a while now. You look adorable in those overalls.”
“Puppies are adorable.”
Sharon’s smile made Kate’s heart skip a beat, but when Sharon whispered, “Puppies and lesbians in overalls,” Kate could feel her temperature shooting up a few more degrees again.
“I think the heat’s finally gotten to you,” Kate said. There was no way she could take Sharon’s advances seriously. And even if Sharon was somehow serious about what she was doing, Kate had no intention of getting involved with a married woman. She wasn’t at a place in her life where she could emotionally risk being the object of someone else’s fantasy. I’ve never been fantasy material, Kate thought, no matter how adorable I am in these overalls!
“So let’s get back to work,” Kate suggested again. She took a drink of her previously untouched Gatorade and fell in step beside Sharon. As they started back toward the house, Sharon glanced over at her and said, “I saw the way you’ve been looking at me while we’ve been working today.”
Kate was surprised and embarrassed, feeling certain that she was blushing.
“It was very flattering,” Sharon admitted.
“So what was all of that touchy-feely stuff going on a minute ago?”
“Me returning the favor?” Sharon offered. “Maybe a little innocent flirting?”
There’s no such thing as innocent flirting, Kate thought. Hmm. Wanting to relieve them both of any further uneasiness, Kate laughed. “So I’m not really adorable in these overalls? You made that up?”
Sharon shrugged. “Maybe adorable wasn’t the right word.” She climbed the steps on the porch and then stopped and turned around. “Hot is the word I want,” Sharon said. “You look hot.”
Kate felt her heart flutter again, but tried to ignore it. “Would that be Jennifer Aniston hot? Or Hades hot?”
Sharon blinked and then smiled. “Sorry. I was referring to Hades hot.”
“Oh. Well, hell. You’re no fun.”