“So I’ve been doing track cycling lately. It’s terrific. Really good for my old baseball position. I was a catcher, but my knees gave way a bit. But I played at a reasonably high level so I like to keep in shape,” she rambled loudly over the din, and just then in that perfectly timed moment, when the music stops and the crowd’s voices are still, Hanna yelled, “Yeah, so I’m in good shape, I think. Feel my thigh!”

  There was a tiny pause. Jo’s eyebrows shot up into her hairline, and her face wore an expression of amused All-My-Christmases-At-Once. “Really?” she queried.

  Amid the renewed music and noise, Hanna blinked. “Oh my god! I mean…well, no, not actually. Well, you can, if you want, but not like ‘feel-my-thigh-wild-rampaging-monkey-sex-feel-my-thigh’, you know, just regular…I really should stop talking now.” She looked at Jo in utter dismay, her face bright red.

  Jo leaned in to Hanna’s space and smiled. “You’re adorable.” She reached out and took Hanna’s empty drink from her hand. “Would you like to dance?” she asked next to Hanna’s ear. A shiver went down Hanna’s spine and the hairs on her arms rose. She looked into Jo’s eyes and nodded. Hanna felt dizzy, drugged even, as her hand fitted easily into Jo’s and she was led a few metres to a section of the dance floor. The mass of bodies didn’t allow for much room, so Jo moved closer to Hanna to avoid too many elbows and heels. The band’s beat was strong, loud and fast, and they moved in among the other dancers. Hanna found herself needing to touch Jo’s hand, or forearm, or shoulder to gain her attention and point out when the guitarist or drummer did something interesting. Hanna wasn’t really able to tell Jo much at all about herself over the music and increasingly louder levels of voices, but rather enjoyed the effect her breath near Jo’s ear seemed to have on her. Whenever she stepped back to gauge her response, Jo’s eyes had darkened. Smoky.

  Hanna shivered. She wanted to know more about this woman. Jo, the sports gear delivery driver. Suddenly the music changed and the lights dimmed and she felt Jo draw her closer. Her hands shook slightly as she hesitated to put them around Jo’s neck. Their eyes met. Sensations completely foreign to her crawled over her entire body. Sensual. Sexual. And something else…like Jo was X-raying her. Perhaps really seeing who she was. It felt amazing, and utterly terrifying. They didn’t speak through the next few songs. Well, not with words at least.

  Jo pulled back from Hanna at the end of the song. “Want to grab some water and stand out on the deck for some air?” she asked. Hanna nodded and indicated that she’d get the drinks and meet Jo outside. After employing skills from the ‘Orienteering Manual 2001’, Hanna managed to not only purchase two bottles of water from the bar, evade the grabby hands of a very friendly party-goer, but make it back to Jo in fairly quick time. More importantly, it had given her the chance to breathe; a life skill she felt that she hadn’t engaged in since being introduced to Jo.

  Jo leaned with her elbows on the wooden railing, taking in the twinkling lights of the high-rises and buildings sending their reflections to the ocean. Hanna made a decision and moved to stand beside her so that their bodies shared the same space. Without looking, they both began speaking at the same time.

  “So what’s something funny—” started Jo

  “So what’s the best thing about being—” began Hanna.

  They smiled, turned slightly towards each other and Hanna realized just how very close Jo’s face was to hers. There was a moment of silence. Jo’s eyes dropped to Hanna’s lips as she pulled her bottom lip sideways under her front teeth.

  “I’d like to kiss you,” whispered Jo. “May I?”

  Hanna’s heart rate instantly spiked and she trembled. God, she has the voice of an angel. A really hot, sexy angel. “Yes.”

  The kiss was soft and tender, hesitant. No part of their bodies were touching except their mouths but Hanna’s body was on fire as much as if Jo had her hands all over it. Their heads were still so close that they were basically breathing each other’s air. Hanna had never experienced a reaction like that from such a simple kiss. She had to try it again. She leaned forward and ran the tip of her tongue over Jo’s top lip, then completely pressed her lips to Jo’s, opening her own mouth. Their tongues touched and desire swept over her entire body, taking complete control, and finally settling at her centre. She became aware of her arms around the taller woman, her hands sliding up and over the back of Jo’s shirt, feeling the strength of this woman underneath. Oh God.

  Logic forced its way into her mind and made her pull back. The awareness that she really could not rip all her clothes off and have wild rampaging monkey sex with this woman in front the city’s entire lesbian community became her foremost thought, despite the haze of lust threatening to overcome her. Hanna blinked and realised her hands were still gripping Jo’s shirt. She let go.

  “Wow. Um. Ah. Hmm.” She licked her top lip and tried to pat Jo’s shirt back into place, over her shoulders and down her sleeves. Her eyes darted about. Finally, she looked up at Jo. The blue eyes crinkled at the corners as she raised her eyebrow. There was a smile on her face, as she also took a small step back.

  “I agree. Wow. And all those other noises you just made.” Jo’s eyebrow quirked up again.

  Oh, that is too ridiculously sexy. Hanna could feel the blush on cheeks, and knew instantly that she couldn’t stop the idiotic dork moment that she was about to launch into.

  “So, tell me, delivery driver, how did you get to be so good at kissing?” The line, altered from ‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Rules of Acquisition’, came out of her mouth before she really had time to think about it. And she really wished she had thought about it, because Jo pulled back sharply, her eyes suddenly filled with hurt, cancelling the last remnants of lust and desire. “I...” started Hanna, but was interrupted suddenly when Lauren appeared beside her, arm thrown around her shoulder, quite definitely on the inebriated side of the sobriety scale.

  “Hey!” she shouted at both of them. “How awesome is this party? Hanna, we have to go. Andrea needs to get home because of some work thing tomorrow and she’s our ride.” Lauren, with her good manners barely intact, looked over at Jo, and stuck out her hand to shake it goodnight, then grabbed Hanna’s hand in her own.

  “I’m sorry,” whispered Hanna, and she allowed herself to be whisked away to the carpark below the hotel.

  Chapter 10

  Hanna sipped quietly on a bottle of water in the back of the car as Andrea drove them smoothly through the streets of the city. Being the shortest of the three had its benefits sometimes. Like now, for example. Hanna was able to remove herself from the banter in the front seat, as Lauren teased Andrea about how many phone numbers she’d managed to add to her contacts list, and then demanding to see her phone.

  The look of hurt that had flashed through Jo’s eyes was the main vision in her head. What on earth had she said? Some random quote from ‘Star Trek’. Hanna analysed the quote from all angles, just as she would a quote in her English classes. What about it had offended Jo? The only thing Hanna could think was that Jo didn’t know the quote—most likely, you idiot—and maybe she didn’t like being quoted at. Andrea pulled into Hanna’s driveway, the small block of eight flats sitting at the end of the concrete like a giant Lego cube. It wasn’t the prettiest real estate, with its faded blue rendered exterior and rust lines from the air conditioners. But it had ‘great bones’, as the agent had told her when she had bought the second floor flat three years ago.

  Hanna opened her door as Andrea put the car in park. All three got out and Hanna hugged Andrea first.

  “Thank you for the ride tonight.”

  “Not at all. Did you have a good time?” Andrea asked, stepping back slightly to look at her friend.

  Lauren put her hands on Hanna’s shoulders. “I saw you with that woman I introduced you to. Jo, right? She’s cool. And hot. You should get on that.”

  Andrea smacked Lauren’s upper arm. “Oh my God, you are so crass,” she laughed. Lauren smirked at Andrea.

  “Hey. You love this.” She held her arms out wide, and Andrea rolled her eyes. They grinned at each other, and Hanna shook her head, giving Andrea another quick hug.

  Hanna stood on the driveway, giving a brief wave to the receding headlights, and then walked up the short flight of stairs to her flat. The quiet space welcomed her. She’d left all the blinds open and now she could just see the breaks on the waves as they showed up in the moonlight. It was her haven. The artwork, the furnishings, the colour scheme had all been deliberately chosen to bring about a sense of calm that Hanna felt she so desperately needed. She flung her keys and wallet in the Thai temple bowl she’d bought on holiday once and dropped into the black three-seater couch that dominated the lounge room. She lifted her feet to take off her boots and lay back into the chaise section, so she could stare out the window. This view had been a selling point for her, besides the ‘great bones’. Hanna loved the view no matter what season it was. But tonight, she didn’t take in the moonlit sky. She touched her lips and remembered the heat of Jo’s kiss and the instant flare of desire she’d felt. She remembered the frisson of electricity that they’d had. And she remembered the way Jo had looked at her, like she was worth listening to, talking with, paying attention to, desiring. It was incredibly attractive.

  ***

  Not being able to find the Grade 10 ‘Elements of English’ papers the next morning sent Hanna into a cleaning frenzy, which suited her fine, being a Saturday. Much like falling down a Youtube wormhole, she normally cleaned and tidied wherever the next job took her, so much of the time her flat looked like at least three people lived there. Not dirty or messy, just lived in. Today, however, she was determined to stick to one room at a time. She started with the coffee table. It looked like an ode to the cityscape that she lived in, with piles of marking, books, sports gear brochures and general paperwork. She lifted the pile of grading and dropped it onto the floor. Then picked it up and put it back on the table’s surface. Excellent start. She knew she was distracted. Last night had been a roller coaster of wonderful and amazing and swoon-worthy and I-May-Die-From-My-Own-Idiocy. She sat on the couch and pulled the small collection of sports catalogues towards her. She’d asked Gary for some brochures and catalogues that masqueraded as magazines to help her put together her proposal for the equipment purchase for her baseball program. “Not that I’ll be needing these now,” she sighed. A sudden flash of the blue and red of the Sports Supply logo jumped out at her as she flicked through the largest magazine. Hanna’s hands stilled and then she flattened the pages. There was Jo framed in a doorway, arms crossed over her chest. She wore a dark blue polo shirt, tucked into jeans that fit her lean and muscular legs like a second skin. Her smile shone but it was her eyes, leaping off the page that made Hanna’s stomach flip. Hanna quickly scanned the text and suddenly felt the glossy pages shake in her hands. ‘Jo McMahon, successful CEO of Sports Supply’ captioned the photo. Oh dear God. I called her a delivery driver. I thought she was a delivery driver. I mean, that’s okay if she is. Or if she was. Oh crap. Crap.

  Hanna jumped up and paced around the carpet of her lounge, but kept circling back to the open page sitting on the coffee table. Typical. Seriously woman. It’s no wonder you haven’t got a girlfriend. She continued pacing. This is exactly what Jen had done to Hanna for two years. Jen, being the highly successful lawyer that she was, thought Hanna’s profession of teaching was somewhat lacking in prestige and financial remuneration. For Jen, teaching didn’t have the gold stamp that society required, and she had never been backward in telling Hanna her opinions either. Hanna could feel tears burning the back of her eyes. It still hurt thinking about how Jen would belittle her career when they were out in social situations, particularly with Jen’s friends, despite telling Hanna she was only joking. To Hanna, being a teacher wasn’t just what she did, it was who she was. It had taken a lot of soul-searching, talks into the night with Andrea and Lauren and more than a few drunken crying sessions to come to the realisation that Jen saw Hanna as somehow ‘less than’ because of her job. Her self-esteem was still recovering. And I’ve just done the same thing to Jo. She looks so proud of her career. I bet it’s her whole life. Hanna grabbed the magazine and read the article/advertisement from the beginning. All the evidence was there; the growing the company from the grass roots, the long hours, and the love of knowing that what she did meant a difference to the people she employed. Oh Hanna you idiot.

  Chapter 11

  Jo had watched Hanna being spirited away by the dark-haired androgynous extrovert at the dance and her only response was to blink. Her thoughts were in a turmoil. Wow. That was a weirdly judgmental thing to say, and I bet out of character for her. And you don’t know her at all except that she can kiss like it’s nobody’s business and she just seems like the purest soul on earth and you like her and she’s adorable.

  Jo reflected on the various sections of the night’s conversations as she rode home. There had been some conversation about the band and the lesbian scene in general, but mostly Jo had been aware of the vibrating sexual electricity between the two of them, as they’d danced and touched and then kissed. Jo realised as she parked her bike in her garage that she hadn’t even told Hanna she was the CEO of Sports Supply. Why not? Was she keeping a secret identity? Who did she think she was, Supergirl? She unlocked the door to her loft and placed her jacket and helmet on the large hooks at the entrance. It wasn’t Hanna’s fault that she thought Jo was a delivery driver. Jo shook her head and decided to let it go. That kiss had more than made up for the minor faux pas. She decided that on Monday when school was back, she’d find out some more about Hanna the Hot Teacher.

  ***

  Hanna picked up her phone, held it in her hand for a minute, and then put it face down again on the kitchen bench. She took a step back and bunched her hands in her choppy blonde hair. Gah! Come on! You need to apologise. Just do it already. Her left foot took a step forward and she froze in an odd yoga position. Suddenly her hand shot out and grabbed the phone, quickly typing the numbers that she’d found on the magazine’s ad into the screen. She held it up to her ear as her feet began taking her in circuits of the kitchen. It’s Saturday. She’s probably not even there. She’s the boss. I bet she has weekends off.

  “Hello. Sports Supply. Jo speaking.”

  “Oh. You’re there. I mean, of course you are. Um, hi. It’s Hanna, from the dance last night.” Hanna rolled her eyes at her incoherence.

  “Hi. How are you this morning?” Jo’s voice was warm and low and Hanna decided she would be happy to listen to it forever.

  “Ah, I’m good. Great. You?”

  “I’m at work on a beautifully crisp Saturday morning, and an adorable, yet intriguing, woman is ringing me. I’m not bad at all.”

  Hanna felt her face blush and was extremely grateful that this was a voice call. “I just wanted to say, well, a number of things actually. Firstly, I really loved meeting you last night. And also, I am so sorry about the idiotic moments, like the ‘feel my thigh’ thing and the ‘delivery driver’ line. I’m so sorry. I tend to get really nervous when I’m—” Hanna’s left hand was moving rapidly, like a single jazz hand.

  “Hanna,” Jo interrupted. “I loved meeting you too. And the request to feel your thigh was rather a pleasant surprise, thank you.” Hanna could hear the smile in Jo’s voice. “And please don’t feel you need to explain. I realised that you didn’t know I was the CEO of ‘Sports Supply’, so it was a natural assumption to go with the only role you’d seen me in.”

  “When I’d thrown myself all over your sports gear?”

  “Yes. That.”

  “Okay. Well, thank you for accepting my apology. So, why are you at work today?” Hanna stopped her pacing, sat down on the stool at the bench, and leaned on her elbow.

  “I’m not sure, actually. There’s always stuff to do. And I live above my work, so I tend to go downstairs and do things when probably I shouldn’t.”

  Hanna nodded. She understood the concept of taking work home with her. It was an absolute necessity in a teacher’s life if they ever wanted to get through the demands of the curriculum and expectations put upon them by boards, parents, executive and students. “I get that. I’m currently trying to tidy up my flat so I can get some marking done for Monday. My kids are hoping to have their grades back, so we can discuss the feedback early before their exams. I like to do that for them.” There was a silence, and then Jo’s voice again stirred the hairs on the back of Hanna’s neck.

  “Hanna. Would you like to go on a date with me? Dinner, perhaps?” Hanna could almost hear the hesitation in Jo’s voice and again marvelled at how such a well-put-together, successful, strong, hot woman was nervous about asking Hanna, the dork, out on a date.

  “Jo, I’d love to go out with you. Can we make it not a school night, though? I turn into a pumpkin by 9.30.” Hanna took the phone away from her ear and silently screamed. A fairytale reference. Really? She quickly shoved the phone back on her ear to catch Jo’s next question.

  “How does next Saturday night sound? Do you like Thai?”

  “Oh my god, yes. I love it!”

  “Great. May I pick you up? Let’s say 7pm?”

  Hanna gave Jo her address and after exchanging each other’s mobile phone numbers, they hung up after a longer than probably necessary series of ‘goodbyes’ and ‘have a good weekends’. She put her phone down and slowly stood up from the stool. Suddenly, her face broke into a grin and she clapped her hands together, her body vibrating up and down like a battery-operated toy. I have a date. I have a date with a very hot woman. I have a date with a very hot woman who can KISS, and makes me want to dissolve all over the floor. She pressed her finger to her lips, and then grabbed her phone again to open up a new group text.

 

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