Britt entered the parking lot of the marine center and pulled into one of the few empty slots. She didn’t see Tess’s car, but sometimes she carpooled from Forks with Cara. Tess wouldn’t be expecting her until tomorrow, and Britt hadn’t called to let her know she was taking a day off from work to give them a long weekend together.
She went inside, waving at the student who was talking to a group of tourists at the reception desk, and followed the jumbled sound of multiple radios into the office. The difference between the Center on her first visit and now still amazed her. Evergreen had descended on the sleepy little lab and brought it to life. At least a half dozen students were wandering through the space, working on computers and making notes on wall charts. She saw another similarly sized group through the back windows, swarming over the Delta Flyer and its equipment. One thing hadn’t changed, however. No matter how much new equipment glistened on tidily organized desks, or how many locals and visitors were now given tours of the lab, the focus was always on the killer whales and other marine life. Learning about them and protecting them. Tess made sure of that.
Britt was about to go through the back door to find Tess when Cara came out of the tiny kitchen, with her hands wrapped around a mug of something steamy.
“Hey, Britt. You’re here early this weekend.” Cara gave her a kiss on the cheek, and Britt caught the distinctive scent of Earl Grey tea wafting from her mug.
Britt grinned. “I wanted to surprise Tess. Isn’t she here?”
“You just missed her,” Cara said, leaning back against the kitchen’s doorjamb. “She came in with the tide at about four this morning, so she left a little early.”
Even better. Britt had been working as a receptionist at an environmental law firm in Seattle while she waited to hear about her admission to the university. She loved her job and was soaking up as much knowledge as she could, but her favorite time was when she and Tess were able to spend weekends together, either on the Peninsula or in the city. She certainly wasn’t going to complain about finding Tess at home rather than at the lab. “I’ll catch her at the house, then,” she said, turning toward the front door again.
“Yeah, okay. Well, good luck, and all that.”
Britt hesitated, caught by the strange tone in Cara’s voice. “Why do I need luck? What’s wrong?”
“Oh, nothing,” Cara said, not meeting her eyes. “It’s just…never mind. You’ll find out soon enough.”
Britt suddenly realized how quiet the hallway was. And nothing was attacking her ankles. She looked around frantically. “Oh God. Where’s Cupcake? You didn’t give us Cupcake, did you?”
Cara gave an indignant gasp. “She’s in the storage room with Jake. He brought a ham sandwich for lunch. And you’d be lucky to have her.”
She marched off in the opposite direction, and Britt hurried out to her car, heading toward Forks and the house she and Tess were renting. Britt loved the old place, even though Tess had nearly hyperventilated when they signed the lease because it was only three blocks from her parents’ home. Britt spent a few minutes of her drive wondering what Cara had been trying to warn her about, but soon turned to the more interesting prospect of the weekend ahead. She’d walk on the beach, challenge Jim and Alec to a Scrabble tournament, and help Tess’s dad install the new expansion pack she’d picked up in the city. Most of all, she’d be with Tess. Britt sighed happily as she parked in the driveway, finally releasing the tension from a busy workweek and the long drive out to the coast.
“Britt? Is that you?” Tess’s voice called from the kitchen when she came through the front door. “I wasn’t expecting…”
Tess halted as soon as she came into the living room and saw Britt. “Wow. Either you were chosen to be the university’s mascot, or you got accepted to the law school.”
Britt glanced down at the clothes she had bought this morning. A purple hoodie with a large gold husky paw on the front, matching purple socks, a baseball cap with UW on it, and a school lanyard. “I got in!”
“Of course you got in.” Tess was beaming as she hurried over and grabbed Britt in a tight hug. “I never doubted you would.”
Britt handed Tess a bag. “I got you a matching sweatshirt, and a…wait, what’s that?”
She pointed at the couch, suddenly understanding Cara’s dire warning. She should have taken it more seriously. “Did you buy a guitar?”
“I did,” Tess said, going over to the sofa and picking up the instrument. She strummed some random notes. “I realized the reason I wasn’t improving was because I only got to practice when I managed to sneak Kelly’s away from her.”
“Right. That’s why,” Britt said weakly. It certainly had nothing to do with Tess’s blatant disregard for music theory and her inability to remember any chord for more than two minutes.
Tess sat down and patted the cushion next to her. “Do you want to hear a song?”
Britt fidgeted with the empty plastic card holder on her lanyard. She wouldn’t mind hearing a song, but she had serious doubts about Tess’s ability to play one. She should just be thankful Tess wasn’t trying to play the drums or a tuba. And thankful that she had come into the house in the first place with a determined plan to distract Tess from whatever she had been doing.
She slipped the lanyard over her head and tossed it next to Tess. “You can play the guitar, or you can come over here and find out exactly how much school spirit I have,” she said, pulling off her cap and letting her hair tumble down to her shoulders. She tossed the hat toward the couch and Tess caught it before it landed. She propped the guitar against the end table and balanced the baseball cap on top.
“I’ve had enough guitar for the day,” she said, getting up and walking over to stand in front of Britt. “I want to play something else now.”
“I was hoping you’d choose me,” Britt said, raising her arms as Tess tugged off her hoodie, revealing a logoed sports bra.
“Every day, every second, every minute I choose you,” Tess said. She cupped Britt’s breasts in her hands and rubbed the pads of her thumbs over Britt’s nipples. When Britt moaned and rocked against her, Tess bent her head and kissed along the top of her shoulder, snapping the bra strap with her teeth.
Britt wrapped her arms around Tess’s neck, loosely enough to give Tess room to reach down and unbutton her jeans. She went still for a moment—even though Tess’s inspection of her UW underwear made it nearly impossible to keep from squirming—and savored the peace of this in-between place. After a long but fulfilling week at work and the thrill of receiving her law school acceptance letter, and before Tess finished undressing her, and she returned the favor. After a long journey to reinvent her life and find her place in the world, and before Tess reminded her that no matter where else she went or what else she did, her true home was right here, in Tess’s arms.
She hesitated in between until she could no longer resist the urge to move forward. She grabbed Tess’s T-shirt and pulled her close with enough force to knock them both off balance and against the front door. Tess laughed, bracing her hands on either side of Britt’s head and kissing her with as much strength and passion as Britt had just shown. When she paused, nuzzling against Britt’s neck and hair, Britt was breathing in short gasps, all thoughts of slowing down and savoring the moment banished from her mind. Tess grinned at her, pressing close and nudging her knee between Britt’s legs.
“Welcome home,” she said.