Kansas dive bombed her bed, landing on her stomach and re-counting the money she'd been given.  She was shocked Nina had been so generous.  Perhaps her sunburn was worth it, after all.

***

Three nights later, Kansas was in her room, working on a sketch of her cat, Tuna Fish, who sat ever so patiently, cleaning herself all the while.  Kansas knew better- Tuna would stay put as long as the artist didn't move her, so the blonde was on the go, getting this angle and that angle of her Siamese.

"This one's a doozy, Tuna," she muttered around the pencil held between her teeth. "Kitty hall of fame, for sure."  She had just moved to the end of her bed, squatting on the floor, when out of the corner of her eye she noticed a light.  Glancing over toward her window, Kansas saw the office light had been turned on in her neighbor's house.  "Look, Tuna cat.  Someone's gonna do some work."

Tuna Fish's only reply was to slurp between her spread toes.

 Kansas spread a couple rows of blinds with her fingers to peer between them.  Sure enough, Nina came into view, dressed in another tank top and sports with a Nike swoosh on the hip.  As she sat down at the desk, hair tie in her mouth, the brunette gathered her hair together to form a ponytail, then tied it back.  About to tighten the tail, Nina looked up, apparently feeling that she was being watched.  She saw Kansas watching her, and gave a smile and a wave.  The teen waved back, feeling her stomach flip flop.

Now that she'd been seen, there was no way she could stay and watch, so Kansas closed her blinds and returned to her sketching.

***

Nina watched until the blinds were fully closed on Kansas' window.  At least this time the girl wasn't standing there in her bra.  The brunette smirked at the memory.  She'd spoken to the girl a handful of times, though mostly about the yard, Kansas ever eager to know what more she could do.

The brunette sat back in her desk chair, hands tucked behind her head.  She stared out into the night, watching a falling star sail across the night sky.  Make a wish, Nina- I wish that my life would start to make sense.  Nina blew a kiss to the night beyond her world, then turned back to her work.  She had court early the next morning.

***

Kansas had taken it upon herself to make sure that the Bruckner's had the most beautiful yard on the block.  Yeah, the money was nice, but more so, she wanted the reward of seeing Nina's smiles at a job well done.

It was Saturday afternoon, and the teen had been working dutifully since that morning, carefully pruning and watering the flowerbeds Nina had planted.  The lawn was mowed to perfection, trimmed to within a hair.  The house had been quiet, and Kansas figured no one was home.  She was shocked to see the back door open and Nina step out to the back porch around noon.

"Hey," the blonde called out from where she was stowing gardening equipment in the shed.

"Hey, yourself.  You've been a busy little bee out here.  I didn't want to disturb you.  Besides," the brunette grinned, "I didn't want to interrupt your audition for Dick Clark's 'American Bandstand'."

Kansas blushed, remembering her moves across the yard as she worked.  "Oh, uh, yeah," she muttered, burying her hands in the back pockets of her shorts.  Nina laughed.

"I must say, I don't think I've ever seen someone quite so tethered to their music."  Nina tapped the small music player strapped to Kansas' arm.

"Oh, well, yeah," the blonde grinned, looking down at it.  "It's a little worse for wear, I'm afraid.  Gonna have to get a new one soon, I think.  This one keeps skipping."  She grinned up at the older woman.  "Seen lots of miles."

"No doubt," Nina agreed.  "Want to come in for a cold glass of lemonade?  No doubt you need it."  The older woman looked up into the perfect, blue sky.  "It's hot out here."

Kansas felt a moment of hesitation in nerves, then got over it.  She nodded, happily following the brunette into the house.  She was curious to see what they had done to the place, only seeing inside once before, and that had been years ago when she was there collecting Girl Scout cookie money.  Then the house had been dark and just plain creepy.  Now, it was open and airy, decorated with taste and a bit of adventure with bright colors and contemporary style.  All in all, Kansas liked it.

"Have a seat," Nina said, leading the blonde into the kitchen, where there was a small, round chrome and glass table.  The teen did as asked, looking around the very modern kitchen- all black and chrome.

"You guys did a great job with this place.  Did it take a lot of work?"

"Yeah, it did, actually."  Nina moved around the space, filling two glasses with ice cubes and pink lemonade.  She held up a bag of Oreos in question.  At Kansas' nod of approval, she brought the package and drinks over to the table and sat down.  "But, it's been worth it, I think.  The former owners had just really let the place go.  I mean, this neighborhood is about, what, forty or so years old?"

Kansas nodded, though she didn't have a clue.  She took an Oreo to munch on, just enjoying the sound of Nina's voice as she prattled on about the renovations she and Dan still had planned for the three bedroom house.

"So, are you on summer break from college or high school?" Nina asked at length, sipping from her lemonade.

"High school.  I'm a senior this year.  Finally."

"I remember my senior year of high school.  Couldn't wait to get out and go on to college."  Nina peeled her cookie apart, tongue lapping up the thick, white center.  Kansas watched with rapt attention.

"What do you do?" she asked, shaking herself out of her rather naughty thoughts.

"I'm an attorney.  I work for the DA's office- appellate division."

"That's appeals, right?" Kansas asked.  Nina nodded.  "Is law school hard?"  Again, Nina nodded.

"Yep.  I knew people who it took six times to pass the Bar."

"And you?"

"Two."

"Is that good?" Kansas reached for another cookie, silently cursing Nina, as Oreos were her weakness in junk food.

"It's not bad.  I was just glad it was over.  The most stressful time of my adult life."

Kansas decided to go on a little fishing expedition.  "How long have you been an attorney?"

"Two years."

"Do you like it?" Kansas sipped from her lemonade, mentally doing the math.  She's 26?  Maybe 27?

"I do.  I'm not sure it's what I want to do for the rest of my life, though."  Nina wiped her mouth with a napkin from the table, balling it up and setting it aside.  "This will sound strange, and I've never admitted this aloud before, but it's not really what I thought it would be.  It's- I don't know.  Even more vicious, somehow."  She held up a hand to forestall anything Kansas might have to say. "I know, I know, it's working in law, the lawyer jokes, I know all of it.  But I think what bothers me is that I went into this profession truly to help people, and I do.  To a degree.  But I think the bullshit and politics have gotten in the way of allowing us to do our jobs.  I don't like that."

"I'm sorry.  That must be frustrating.  It's kind of like my art class last year, that I took up at the college.  I was there to work, to learn, you know?  But we had this teacher, Mr. Ripley, who felt it was his duty to form a harem."  The teen shook her head at the memory.  "It was ridiculous.  I ended up dropping the class mid-way through it."

"Was that the teacher that ended up being brought up on charges of statutory rape?"

"The very one."

"Lovely."  Nina rolled her eyes.  "So, you're interested in art?"

"Yep."  Kansas brightened immediately at the question.  "It's all I think about.  Other than, of course, how to make that patch of grass back by the shed turn green again."

Nina laughed, thinking of the patch, and of all the conversations she and Dan had had about it, and if it were worms. "Well, the yard is certainly a work of art, so you've done your job, I think."

Kansas grinned. "Thanks."

"What kind of art do you do?  Draw?  Sculpt. . . ?"

"Yes.  I do it all.  Love it.  Mostly I sketch, though.  Cheaper."

"Can I see some of your work?  I always admired those who are artistically inclined.  I, for one, am not," Nina declared, a hand to her chest.

The blonde thought for a moment, tucking her lower lip in as the wheels turned.  With a muttered, be right back, she hurried out the back door, and across the two yards to her own house.

Nina sat at the table, surprised by the sudden bolt, munching on another cookie.  She liked the girl.  She was bright, very cute, and had the most gorgeous green eyes Nina had ever seen.  Kansas was definitely a trip.

  Within five minutes, there was a knock on the kitchen door.

"Come in," Nina called out, watching as her new friend hurried inside, a huge portfolio under her arm.

"You don't have to look through all of these, some are crap anyway, but it was the first thing I found."  Kansas laid the over-sized folder on the table, Nina scooting the Oreo package to the side.  Kansas watched with baited breath as the beautiful brunette began to look through the various drawings on various mediums.  Typically she didn't mind people looking at her work, as she knew she was good.  But for some reason, her heart was pounding as Nina looked through her stuff.  She watched Nina's face carefully, looking for any signs of annoyance at being presented with the work, or any dislike of what she was seeing.  She saw neither.  The only expressions that crossed were enjoyment or wonder, sometimes even amusement.  Such as currently.

Nina pulled out a sketch of a kid, finger halfway up his nose.  She turned the sketch around for Kansas to see, brow raised in question.  The blonde chuckled.