"Did Eve have short hair?"

Carey looked at her for moment before answering. "Yes. At least she did then. I wouldn't know now."

"Were the two of you together long?"

Carey took a deep breath, then let it out. "You won't be happy until I tell you, will you?" Grace shook her head. "All right. Eve and I met when we were both in the Coast Guard. We were together for almost two years before we broke up."

"When she called that day," Grace said. "You said something to her about not being the one who came home pregnant."

"She had a boyfriend on the side," Carey said. "I don't tolerate cheating, especially like that."

"Like that?"

"With a man," Carey said. "Without protection. I thought we were a monogamous couple." She clenched her jaw, then slowly relaxed. "I had no idea. The whole thing still disgusts me."

Grace moved from the couch to the comer of the coffee table, her knees inches from the footrest. "I would never do that to you," she said.

Carey gave her a small smile. "We're not a couple," she reminded gently. "I'm sure someone will come along to turn your eye."

"They haven't yet," Grace said. "And it's not like I haven't been offered." She touched Carey's sock. "I know who I want."

"Grace..."

"I know how you feel," she said, patting Carey's foot, then sitting back. "I'm not pushing. I just want you to know I'm not off getting laid by every girl in school."

"I never thought that," Carey said. "But I don't want you giving up a chance at true happiness waiting for me."

"It doesn't make sense to get involved with someone my age," Grace said. "I know these women. One week they're madly in love, the next week they're living together and six months down the road they break up. I don't want that." She gave Carey a sly smile. "I bet they don't use dental dams either." Carey smiled and looked away. "What?" Grace asked, smiling at the older woman's blush. "Oh, please tell me."

"I shouldn't," Carey said.

Grace scooted closer. "Come on, I'm sure I've heard worse."

"No. I don't want to give you any ideas."

"Michelle says using a dental dam is like trying to lick an ice cream


through plastic wrap," Grace said. "No point if you can't taste it."

Carey looked at her in surprise. "What are they teaching you at that school?"

"Michelle is a friend that I met through the gay and lesbian student union," Grace said. "I know lots of great lesbian jokes."

"Your friend has a point," Carey said.

"I wouldn't know," Grace lamented with an exaggerated sigh.

"Behave," Carey said.

"You gonna tell me what you were thinking?" Grace asked. "It had to be good the way you turned red."

"It was just a joke I heard once," Carey said. "I can't tell you."

"Oh you have to," Grace pleaded.

Carey covered her face with her hands. "All right, why do lesbians like whales so much?"

"Why?"

"Because they have a really long tongue and an air hole on the top of their heads."

Grace started laughing. "That's bad."

"I told you so," Carey said, peeking through her fingers, then uncovering her face.

"Okay," Grace said, sitting up. "What's this?" She stuck her tongue out.

"What?"

"A lesbian with a hard-on."

Carey chuckled and slowly shook her head. "We need to change the subject."

Grace frowned. "Okay."

"I'm going to get dinner started," Carey said, standing up and walking toward the kitchen. As she did, she stopped behind the couch and leaned over. "As for your joke, if that was the case your tongue would never be in your mouth."

"Hey," Grace said, trying to sound offended. "Not all the time."

"Oh right," Carey said, continuing into the kitchen. "You do sleep from time to time."

"I've been good," Grace protested. "I haven't tried to get a hug from you in at least an hour."

"I should stop them," Carey said. "It's almost the equivalent to you being able to cop a feel."

"Don't, please," Grace said, turning around and kneeling up on the cushion to look at her. "It's all I can get. Don't take it away."

"I feel like I'm leading you on," Carey said. "It's not fair to you, Grace."

"So what?" Grace asked, leaving the couch to walk over to Carey's side.

"So I don't want to see you hurt by this," Carey said.

"And you don't think it'll hurt for you to not give me a hug anymore?" She reached for Carey's arm, then pulled back.

"Perhaps it'll hurt less in the long run," Carey said. "Grace, six months ago you were under my care. It makes me very uncomfortable to hug you and know you're thinking about me as a potential lover and not just a friend."

It hurt to hear those words and Grace turned away, knowing that was exactly what she was doing with her "friendly" hugs. "I have homework to do," she said.

"Wait," Carey said. Grace felt the touch of the older woman's hands on her shoulders. "I'm not trying to upset you."

"I know," Grace said. "And you're right...about the hugs. It's just that..." She closed her eyes and let her head fall forward. "A hug is the only way I get to touch you, and sometimes it's so hard not to." She reached up and touched Carey's hand for emphasis. "It's not like you. You get to touch me any time you want to."

"I'm sorry," Carey said, pulling her hands back. “I don't even notice when I do it."

"I don't mind," Grace said unnecessarily, turning to see Carey smiling at her quick response. "It makes me feel special. I just wish I could do it sometimes."

"Let's make a compromise," Carey said. "Friendly touches once in a while, ease up on the hugs, all right?"

Grace smiled happily. "Yes." Testing her new liberty, she reached out and briefly touched Carey's hand. "See? I can be good."

"When you want to," Carey said. "Grace? How long have I been doing that'?"

"What? Touching me'?" Grace thought about it. "You mean other than when you were making me do pushups or clobbering me in SD?"

"You know what I mean," Carey said.

“I think the first time I remember is when I was in the infirmary after that asshole hit me and I got the bump over my eye." She touched the spot over her left eyebrow. "You brought me a clean shirt."

"I remember," Carey said. "I remember how angry I was that he dared to lay his hands on you here and that your mother tried to minimize it."

"It really hurt that she wouldn't stand up to him for me. That she always took his side. You know?"

"I know."

Grace brightened up. "But that's in the past. I try not to dwell on it anymore. Life's too short to dwell on things I can't change. My life is good now."

Carey smiled. "I'm glad."

"So what are you doing now?" Carey asked, sitting down next to her. "I was just going to get some more programming done," Grace said.

"See? I've got the flow chart done but it's a chore putting the code together."

"I hate to tell you but this makes no sense to me."

Grace smiled and turned on the laptop. "The hardest part is not figuring out how to do something, but how to make the subroutines work without causing endless loops."

"And in English that means'?"

Taking a chance, Grace gently bumped the older woman with her shoulder. "It means I'm a computer geek and I love knowing something you don't." The startup screen changed to her desktop, causing her to blush and immediately close the laptop. "Um, let me change something here."

"Let me see," Carey said, lifting the screen. She smiled. "How did you do that?"

"Um..." Grace tapped the touch pad, bringing up a menu. "Tom has a scanner."

"Please tell me I'm not all over the Internet," Carey said, recognizing the picture as being taken on Grace's last day at Sapling Hill.

"No," Grace said. "I only have access at school and we just scanned the picture and put it on disk so I could transfer it to my laptop." She tapped the pad a few more times and the background changed from a picture of Carey to a bluish green color. "Do you want me to delete it?"

Carey patted her shoulder. "You can keep it," she said, thinking of the picture she had on her desk. "Besides, how would I know if you didn't?"

"Because if you told me to delete it, I would," Grace said.

"Sheets in the closet?"

Carey smiled. "Yes. You can change in the bathroom."

Grace gave her a devilish grin. "Or I could change out here."

"Behave," Carey said. "Or I'll make you sleep in the truck."

"I'll behave," Grace said. "Do I at least get a hug good night?"

Carey hesitated. "I'm not sure I should," she said, dropping the pillow on the couch. "Grace, I don't want to lead you on."

"I know," the teen said, stepping into Carey's personal space. "You're not."

Carey put her arms around Grace and pulled her close, very much aware of the sigh that escaped the young woman's lips. "I care about you," she whispered into golden blonde hair. "I don't want to see you hurt, especially because of me."

"I can't help how I feel," Grace said, giving a squeeze before she stepped back. "Any more than you can, I guess." She reached for her suitcase. "I'll be back in a minute."

"I hope you have homework to do," Carey said as she carried the box of file folders in. "It's going to take me hours to do this."

"What is it?" Grace asked, moving her books to make room on the coffee table for the box.

"The spring/summer session," Carey said. "Two weeks before the girls arrive, we get the files from the courts. I have to review them and prepare care sheets."