Death on the Sound by Wayne Saunders Read Free Book Online Page A

bottom of my arm as the sun took
care of the top.   Maya slid the last inch
or two closer to me. We were now definitely side by side. She turned her head
to look at me, and smiled as I gently squeezed her shoulder. We sat for twenty
minutes, continuing our conversation, and then started our walk back. She told
me she was born in the Marianas, but her parents moved to Jakarta, and that’s
where she spent most of her young life. She talked about school and her studies
growing up. She never mentioned her childhood and friends. I decided to let
that one go for the moment. We were about halfway back to the car, when I felt
her hand grasp mine. I looked over at her, and she was smiling at me with an
impish grin.
         “I hope you don’t mind. I liked holding
your hand when we came home in the taxi.”
         “You’re just fine. I like holding yours
too.”
    We
held hands the rest of the way back to the car. We exchanged glances between
conversation snip-its. We were sort of testing the other, I think. It’s all
part of starting a new relationship.
    We got back to the car, and I suggested we go to Duck
Island Ale house for lunch. It’s a bit expensive, but it sits on the lake. We
got there a one thirty after the main lunch crowd had left. We were the second
wave. I got us a table near the water, and we ordered two cold beers and
watched the gleaming water of Green Lake.
         The lunch was filling, and we even opted
for a second glass of beer. I glanced around us and saw couples of men and
women. There was only one male couple that I could tell was gay. I wondered
what people thought about Maya and me. So far, we were just two women having
lunch on a Sunday afternoon. I turned my head back to finish my circle around
the seating area to Maya. She’d been watching the ducks paddling by below us; a
mother and six young ones. Our gazes met again, and we sat for an instant
smiling at each other over our empty beer mugs.
      At three thirty, Maya was driving us back.
         “Maya, you’re welcome to come in for awhile
if you like. You can meet Felix, and see my houseboat.”
         “I’d like that Abby. I’ve wondered what
it’s like living on a houseboat.”
      I gave Maya the
code for my gate; we parked, and started down the ramp to my house. I took Maya’s
hand as we walked. The other houseboats were rocking gently with the waves from
the lake.
    I
was enjoying our hand holding as we walked to Abby’s house. I looked around at
all the beautiful homes, and was jealous that I had only my small condo on the
hill. My day with Abby had been all I’d hoped it would be. When she’d put her
arm around me, I could have sat like that all day. It was good to be near her.
    Inside, I had to wake Felix so Maya could see that he
hadn’t died while I was away. As Maya, scratched his neck, he came alive, and
decided it might be near dinner time. I took her on a tour of my home, and we
ended up in the kitchen opening a bottle of wine; beer and wine, a great
combination. We moved to my deck, and caught the remaining rays of the sun as
we continued our conversation. Maya finally opened up.
         “Abby, I like you, and I’d like to spend
more time with you. I noticed you when we first met, and kind of got a crush on
you. What’s important is that my crush has grown to a definite interest in
getting together.”
    She
stopped talking, and sipped her wine, a nervous maneuver to break the
seriousness of the moment, and what she’d just said to me. I looked at her,
smiled and leaned over and kissed her. Her lips were all that I’d imagined, and
I held the kiss for as long as the moment would allow. I pulled back only a few
inches as my hand stroked her soft cheek.
         “Maya, I can’t seem to get enough of you.
You’re a beautiful woman, and I can’t keep my eyes off of you every time I see
you at work, and I have to admit I dream about you since our dinner date. I
think we should continue down the