Free Romeo Fails by Amy Briant Page A

back into town, leaving a trail of dust behind her.
    It seemed very quiet when she’d gone. Even the screeching of the locusts had died down for the moment, leaving only the chirping of crickets and the bubbling of the hot tub to fill the warm night air.
    Dorsey and Sarah looked at each other.
    “Wow,” Dorsey said, for lack of a better word.
    “Yeah, poor Mags,” Sarah said, then added dutifully, “And Aunt Viv too, of course. That stupid dog… I think she was more worried about him than herself. Do you know that crazy mutt will come in my room and destroy my things if I don’t put everything out of his reach? He was chewing on my hairbrush the other day. Lord only knows how he got a hold of that.”
    Dorsey couldn’t help but smile at her. Sarah smiled back. The night seemed suddenly full of possibility.
    “Look,” Sarah said. “About the other night…”
    “I’m sorry,” Dorsey interjected, just as Sarah simultaneously said, “I’m sorry.”
    They both laughed then, relieved. Dorsey went on, glad to have the opportunity to share her feelings with the other girl, even if her words were tumbling over one another.
    “It’s just that it’s a small town…and Maggie’s my best friend… and with you not being out to her…”
    “I know,” Sarah said.
    “Why aren’t you out?” Dorsey heard herself blurt out involuntarily. “I’m sorry, that came out kind of rude, I guess. It’s none of my business. If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s cool.”
    “No, we can talk about it,” Sarah said seriously, but then grinned. “I’m pretty sure that’s going to require some alcohol, though.”
    “Oh, of course,” Dorsey said. “Where are my manners? Let’s get this stuff up on the deck. And then we can talk, or I can show you around, or whatever.”
    “Whatever sounds good,” Sarah agreed, still grinning. Between the two of them, they moved all the party supplies to the patio table at the end of the deck.
    “Would you like a beer?” Dorsey asked, opening her cooler to offer her a St. Pauli Girl.
    Sarah laughed and opened the cooler she had brought to reveal more St. Pauli Girl, plus a bottle of wine.
    “Yeah,” she said. “I’d love one of your beers.”
    Their fingers touched briefly as Dorsey handed her an opened bottle. It was just a little thing, the two of them bringing the same beer, but it felt like a good start to the evening.
    “So—do you actually want a tour of the farm, like Maggie said?” Dorsey asked. “There’s not much to see with the sun almost down, but I could show you their barn, at least. Take a picture of you sitting on the tractor that you can show all your big-city friends,” she teased.
    “Well, as thrilling as that sounds, after all that medical drama I’d rather just chill out in the hot tub and drink a few beers, you know what I mean?”
    “Absolutely,” Dorsey said. “You can change in the house, if you like.”
    “Oh, that’s okay,” Sarah said, setting her beer down and kicking off her flip-flops. “I’ve got my suit on underneath here.”
    In one swift, graceful move, she peeled off her T-shirt, leaving Dorsey breathless as she saw first the shapely curves of her stomach, then a quick glimpse of the underside of a bikini-clad breast. Dorsey’s eyes followed upward from the bikini top to slender shoulders and an elegant neck.
    Sarah was already taking off her shorts to reveal the bottom half of a swimsuit in radiant tones of pink, lavender and purple, much like the sunset behind her. She looked up to find Dorsey’s entranced gaze locked on her. The body was everything she’d remembered from that night by the lake.
    “I like your outfit too,” Sarah said wryly to Dorsey, adjusting her glasses which had been knocked slightly askew by her quick change act. Her eyes slowly scanned down Dorsey’s lithe frame to take in her bikini top, abs, low-slung holey blue jeans and unlaced work boots. She lazily trailed a fingertip across Dorsey’s