Burnt Sugar - Part 7 (standard:romance, 4895 words) [7/7] show all parts
Author: damnation	Added: Jan 23 2010	Views/Reads: 2051/1466	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Continuing story

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

"Can't remember. Years ago," Frances said vaguely. "Come on, let's go
for a dip," she said, bounding down towards the water with her 
snorkelling gear in one hand. Kristen sighed and followed Frances 
slowly. 

The water was chilly but beautiful. Kristen's teeth chattered a little
but she kept on swimming, knowing that her body would warm up soon 
enough. Frances swam past her in her flippers, mask and tube, 
occasionally disappearing underwater for a look. Kristen looked around 
her, took a deep breath, and smiled. It was a beautiful day. 

She flipped over onto her back and allowed her eyes to fall shut. The
sun felt warm on her skin. She thought about the night before; she had 
decided to go out after getting home from Taters. It had been fun 
getting dressed up. She had taken her time putting on make up and 
styling her wavy tresses, and had worn her favourite navy blue dress 
with a plunging neckline her Diana Ferrari heels. By then, however, her 
inclination to go out had dissipated but she had felt compelled not to 
waste her dress, shoes and make up on the television. 

She had gone to a few bars but every one was like the one before.
Sometimes she would get through a drink without any interruptions but 
more often than not, someone would come over to strike up conversation 
with her. Even though that had been the whole point of the night, she 
had found it tedious to have to think of new things to say to keep a 
conversation going; once or twice she even wished that she had someone 
that she actually liked to drink and talk with. She had gone home 
alone, feeling rather disappointed at how the night had turned out. 
There had been no one interesting enough to hold her attention. 

Frances broke the water surface just beside Kristen and removed the tube
from her mouth as she flailed her free arm about excitedly. "Here," she 
said, handing her tube to a bemused Kristen. "Put on your goggles and 
follow me!" 

Kristen did as she was told and stuck her face into the water, trying to
see what Frances wanted to show her. A few fish swam past them. The 
underwater view was amazing. Frances pointed excitedly at a school of 
weird looking fish and Kristen shook her head, trying to tell her that 
she didn't know what Frances was so excited about. 

"Aliens!" Frances sputtered when they broke the water surface. "Don't
you reckon they look like little alien fish?" 

Kristen removed the tube from her mouth and rolled her eyes behind her
goggles. "Is that it?" She wasn't sure what she thought she would be 
shown, but Frances had looked so excited she had expected something big 
or incredible. Certainly not little alien fishes. 

"Let's go over there," Frances said, pointing to the rocks on the other
side of the bay. They swam side by side for a bit before Frances 
disappeared again. Reappearing near a cluster of rocks, she beckoned 
Kristen over. 

"What now?" Kristen asked when she swam to Frances' side, putting on a
bored voice even though she was secretly amused. 

"Touch this." Kristen put her face into the water again and touched what
looked like algae on a rock. "Feels like velvet, doesn't it?" Frances 
said, happiness colouring her voice. Her enthusiasm was infectious, and 
soon enough, Kristen felt as excited as she was over every little 
thing. 

Frances loved the water, the odd looking fish, even the algae, and
Kristen couldn't remember the last time she had had this much fun. 

* 

"My medical results came in the mail," Frances announced when they were
sunning on a flat rock. 

Kristen was reminded that Frances was not going to be around for much
longer and she was surprised that it bothered her. A little over a week 
ago, she hadn't even liked the woman. "All right, cough it up. Exactly 
how many things are wrong with you?" 

Frances shot Kristen a bemused look. "I'm thinking of staying." 

Her revelation surprised Kristen but she hid it behind her sarcastic
humour. "That many things, huh." 

Frances finally gave up trying to have a serious conversation with
Kristen and smacked her lightly on her tummy. "Yeah, I gotta go have my 
head checked again for hanging out with you." 

"Ouch." Kristen felt ridiculously pleased at Frances' comeback. Her eyes
fluttered shut as she lay there on the rock, feeling quite content. 

"I'm hungry, Chef. Feed me," Frances said suddenly, sitting up. 

Kristen slowly opened her eyes as she turned to Frances, who was
towelling her hair dry. She caught herself looking at Frances again and 
wondered fleetingly if Frances had given their kiss much thought. She 
watched as Frances felt her boardies, seemingly satisfied that they had 
dried up some in the sun. 

"Wanna have fish and chips?" Frances asked hopefully as she looked
around for her top. 

Frances had her hair loose to dry in the sun and it fell haphazardly
over her shoulders. Her skin was golden brown and smooth all over; her 
cheeks had a tinge of pink on them and her lips.... Kristen noticed 
that Frances liked to bite her lower lip quite often and the action 
would reveal a dimple--a ridiculously attractive look on her. Kristen 
had never given dimples much thought before. 

"Hellooo..." Frances said, waving a hand in front of Kristen's face.
Kristen's eyes met hers and Frances lifted her brows. "Food?" 

"Yeah, sure. I'm all sunned out anyways," Kristen said, sitting up. She
put her black spaghetti strap top on and retied her sarong around her 
waist when she stood up. She listened to Frances rattling off the 
places that they could eat at with a faint smile on her face. 

They ended up at A Fish Called Coogee, a small establishment offering an
array of fish steaks marinated in mouthwatering mixes which sent 
Frances into a frenzy, because she could not decide what to order and 
wanted to try everything. In the end, they settled for three portions 
of fish and several potato scallops to share. 

"Oh, this is good," Kristen murmured as she chewed on a piece of sea
bass marinated in lime juice and coconut. 

"This is good too," Frances said, pointing her fork at the lemon, herb
and garlic salmon steak she had just sampled. "What's this other one?" 

"Swordfish. Some soy marinade," Kristen said, spearing a chunk of the
fish and sliding it into her mouth. "Mm...." Her eyes fluttered shut as 
she savoured the taste and texture of the fish. 

Frances swallowed the fish in her mouth, suddenly mesmerized by the
sight before her. Kristen was a beautiful woman. Frances liked the way 
her hair framed her face, the way her eyebrows arched, the way her lips 
moved when she chewed on her fish.... 

"Thank you," Kristen said finally when her eyes opened. 

Conscious that she had been perving at the poor woman while she was
eating, Frances suddenly found the potato scallops very interesting. 
"What for?" She picked up and bit into a deep fried potato disc. 

"Today. It's been awesome. All of it. Well, except the climbing
bits...." 

Frances smiled. "Noted. No more climbing for Kristen." Kristen gave her
a funny look when she said that. "What?" she asked self-consciously. 

"I don't think you've ever said my name before. Sounds a little weird,"
Kristen said with a shrug. Then her brows furrowed as she tried out 
Frances' name. "Frances." 

Frances wrinkled her nose. "That sounds odd coming from you. I think I'm
more used to you calling me 'Jinx' or nothing at all." 

"And I'm more used to you calling me 'God' or 'Chef'--synonyms, in my
case," Kristen said with a smug look. 

Frances chuckled and made a show of rolling her eyes at Kristen. "Oh
hail the mighty woman who cooks in a restaurant!" 

"Huh. When you put it that way, it doesn't sound quite as impressive,"
Kristen said, her lips twitching. Then her tone turned serious. "So why 
are you thinking of staying? I thought you loved what you were doing." 

"I do...." Frances said slowly, "But I love my Dad more." 

Sometimes Frances would say or do something that would make Kristen stop
and realise that her liking for the woman had grown. This was one of 
those moments. Frances' words made her think about her own family. 

Almost as though she was afraid that Frances could hear her thoughts,
Kristen quickly pushed it out of her mind and speared a chunk of sea 
bass instead. "Here. Try this one," she said, offering it to Frances 
and smiling when Frances ate it from her fork. 

* 

Kristen hadn't lied when she told Frances that she had had an awesome
day. Suddenly her flat felt empty and too quiet. Kristen pottered 
around, collecting unwashed mugs and straightening things around the 
place. 

Frances had gotten under her skin quite unexpectedly and she wasn't sure
what to make of it. 

The only person that she had gotten along this well with had been her
grandmother. Growing up, Nan had been the only person who challenged 
her and made her think about things that she would not have considered 
otherwise. She missed her immensely. 

She felt fortunate to have found a footing in Sydney, a job at Taters,
and a place she could call home. But it was only after Frances had come 
into her life that she realised how much she had missed being able to 
connect with someone on an intellectual level. Being attracted to her, 
well, Kristen wasn't sure how that happened or if it would have 
happened if Frances wasn't gay but she didn't see the point in mulling 
over that. Nan had always said to work with what you had. It did not 
matter how she got there, only that she did. 

The kiss the other night could have potentially driven a wedge of
discomfort between them but instead, it only proved that Frances 
enjoyed spending time with her regardless. She felt respected. She felt 
seen. And, as much as Kristen hated to admit it, Frances' lack of 
reference to their kiss had been an aphrodisiac. It was all she could 
think about. 

They had been heading home after their day at Coogee when Nell called.
Frances had left her at Newtown to go meet her friend and Kristen had 
been appalled to find herself missing the other woman's presence 
shortly after. 

"Crap," Kristen mumbled under her breath, wondering when everything had
changed so drastically in her world. She grabbed her drawing pad, made 
herself some tea, put Katie Melua on her hi-fi system and sat down to 
sketch. 

19 

The traditional fishing boat that Russell had hired could hold up to
twenty people; Frances was surprised her father had gone all out for 
the fishing trip. She supposed he felt the Taters crew deserved it and 
it gave them the chance to bond and get to know the new hires. 

Everyone had made it, including Liam and Sandra, the new kitchenhand who
had only done a single shift at Taters. Lunch was provided by the boat 
hire company and Russell had gotten all the grog. He did not, however, 
get any bourbon for himself. A part of him wanted to remain clear 
headed for as long as possible to enjoy the time with his daughter; 
another part of him wanted to see if he could do without the spirit for 
a day. 

"You cast it like this, lass," Russell said, demonstrating to Frances
and Tammy the right way to cast the fishing rod. "Press the line down 
with just one finger... it's easier to let go that way." 

Tammy mimicked Russell's movement and got it immediately. Frances, on
the other hand.... 

"Hey! You will be the death of me one day!" Kristen cursed, holding a
hand to her head. Frances had managed, somehow, to hit her on her head 
with her fishing rod. 

Frances turned around with a grimace on her face. At Kristen's look of
exasperation, she started chuckling. "You again? Honestly. You're just 
a masochist at heart, aren't you?" 

"You should be apologising, not dishing out snarky comments!" Kristen
huffed. 

Frances snickered. "Sorry," she said unapologetically. "Now give me a
wide berth because I'm gonna do this again," she said, waiting until 
Kristen backed away a few steps before attempting to cast the rod 
again. It did not go far and plopped ungracefully into the water. 
"Dad!" Frances whined. 

Russell smiled indulgently at his daughter before taking the rod from
her and reeling in the fishing line. "All right. You do this...." 

Kristen observed her boss and Frances from a distance. She hadn't seen
Russell drink at all today, which was good. He looked like he was 
enjoying himself, which was even better. Russell was a different person 
when he interacted with Frances, and Frances was... childlike almost 
when she whined for Russell. It made Kristen smile. 

"Having a good time, Kristen?" 

Kristen turned to Ramsey, who had come up beside her without her
noticing. "Yeah. You?" 

"Mm hm. Nice day. I have to say, when Russell said this was going to be
a fishing trip, I really did not expect all this!" Ramey looked very 
relaxed in a blue and white printed Hawaiian shirt and black shorts. 
His cheeks and arms were slathered in sun block and his dark hair was 
hidden under a grey baseball cap. 

"I have to agree." 

"Oh hey, about the competition...." 

Kristen took a sip of her pineapple juice and nodded. "What about it? I
thought we decided that you should be the second chef." 

"Are you sure? Cos', I don't know...." 

"Yeah, I'm sure. It's not my kinda thing, really." She adjusted her
sunglasses and changed the subject quickly. "Hey, do you think Tammy 
has a crush on Russell?" She had caught Tammy studying Russell several 
times when she thought no one was looking. "I don't think I've ever 
heard her talk about anyone special before." 

"Tammy? Hm. Now that you've mentioned it...." Ramsey tapped a finger on
his lips and mused. "She does always only have nice things to say about 
him... and we all know that there just aren't that many nice things to 
say about Russell...." 

Kristen snorted. "Don't let him hear that." 

"Hey guys!" Liam greeted them cheerfully as he came to stand next to
Kristen with a drink in his hand. "What're you guys looking at?" he 
asked, following their line of sight. 

"Nothing," Kristen said rather irritably. She did not like it when
people joined in conversations taking for granted that they were 
welcomed. She was probably the only person who did not take to his 
boyish good looks and charm immediately. When she saw Russell moving 
away to get another rod for himself, she went over to Frances and 
Tammy. 

"Killed anything yet?" she asked as a way of greeting. She slid her
sunglasses onto her head and squinted at Frances and Tammy. 

Frances wrinkled her nose at Kristen. "No... and if you don't act nice,
I won't share my catch with you." Kristen lifted a brow at that and 
Frances, reminded of the other night's conversation which had led up to 
them kissing, flushed a little. Her reaction did not go unnoticed by 
Kristen, who was pleased by it. 

Tammy touched Frances' arm as she pointed to the tip of Frances' rod.
"It's moving!" she said excitedly. "Does that mean you got something? 
Russell!" 

Russell came over with a few fishing rods. "Something's nibbling the
bait but it's only when the rod bends a fair bit that you kinda give it 
a yank to set the hook," he explained. "There, now," he said when the 
rod bent sharply. He gave it a sharp yank and the rod bent more. "Here, 
it's your rod, you reel it in," he said to Frances before depositing 
the rod in his daughter's hands. 

"Oh shit!" Frances mumbled. "How the hell do I do this?" she all but
yelled out. She could feel the pull at the other end of the line and 
she was straining her arm muscles to reel it in. 

"You're doing good," Russell said encouragingly. "Okay, now relax and
stop reeling for a second, then start reeling it in again," he 
instructed. 

"Like this?" Frances asked, trying to do as she was told. She let the
line go slack for a tad too long, however, and suddenly the pull was 
gone. "I think I lost it," Frances said, disappointed. She continued 
reeling it in to reset the bait. 

"That's okay, lass. That was really good for your first attempt. Next
time you'll get something," he promised. The hook and sinker on 
Frances' line was gone. The fish was due for an uncomfortable time 
before the hook disintegrated. "You just have to be patient. Soon 
enough you'll know how to read the signs and know when to relax and 
when to pull. You know, once, this bloke I was fishing with spent 
almost eight hours reeling in a fish." 

"Eight hours? Was it a big fish?" Tammy asked. She looked rather comely
that day, with her red hair loose around her face. She was wearing a 
white summer dress and just the barest hint of make up. Frances had 
never seen her out of Taters' uniform of black top and pants before. 

"Yup. He wasn't interested in catching it. He was in for the sport of
it. It takes a lot of control and skill to battle with a fish for that 
long," Russell said as he rummaged around for a sinker and a new hook. 

Frances frowned. "That's just cruel, isn't it? Imagine how awful the
fish must be feeling, fighting for its life all those hours." Kristen, 
Russell and Tammy looked at her but no one said anything. "What? Don't 
you think so?" she demanded, feeling sorry for the poor creature. 
"Don't you ever do that, Dad," she said hotly. 

"Not in front of you, I won't," Russell rumbled, much to Kristen's
amusement. Russell, in fear of someone who was almost half his size.... 
Who would have thought? 

"What! No! You won't ever do something like that! Promise!" She stuck
out her little pinkie for a deal. 

Russell paled, as though he had just seen a ghost. He stared at Frances'
finger for a long moment and Kristen feared to witness moisture leaking 
from his eyes. She exchanged a look with Tammy and went over to her 
side to give Russell and Frances some privacy. 

"Promise," he said finally, hooking his pinkie with hers briefly. It
brought back bittersweet memories of his Marie striking deals with both 
himself and their daughter. Once you hooked your pinkies, according to 
Marie, the deal was sealed. His mind opened to the many promises that 
he had made to his late wife and he felt engulfed in shame. What was he 
doing other than drinking his life away? 

"Dad?" Frances called softly, sensing the change and knowing that her
father was thinking about Mum. She wanted to tell him that she was 
sorry for not being around all this time but the words just would not 
come. 

"Yeah. Okay. Ready for more?" Russell said gruffly, pulling his hand
away to resume tying the hook onto the line. 

Frances nodded with a small smile as she took the rod from him. This
time, she managed to cast it properly and she gave her Dad a brilliant 
smile. 

* 

"So, you're gonna be the second chef in the competition, huh," Liam said
conversationally to Ramsey. "Have you discussed what you're gonna be 
making on the day?" 

Ramsey shook his head. "It's not a big thing, really. It's just some
friendly competition to get to know each other." 

"Fair enough." Liam grinned, stretching out his hand to clink his beer
bottle against Ramsey's. "Cheers!" Ramsey took a swig from his bottle. 

"Is, uh, Kristen always this unfriendly?" Liam asked. He caught the look
that Ramsey gave him and shrugged, giving Ramsey a sheepish look back. 
"She is very beautiful...." 

Another one's fallen, Ramsey thought. "She is," he said. 

Liam gazed in Kristen's direction as he took another swig of beer. "How
long has she been working at Taters?" 

Ramsey shrugged. "Almost a year?" 

A squeal from Tammy grabbed Ramsey's attention and he chuckled at her
frantic attempts to reel in a catch. Liam joined in, laughing and 
cheering. Russell was on her side, as was Frances and Kristen. Even 
Missy and the new kitchenhand had their heads turned towards Tammy, 
sharing a laugh. Everyone looked like they were having fun. 

"I think the fishing talent skipped a generation," Frances sighed to
Kristen. She had yet to catch a fish. Tammy, on the other hand, was 
reeling in her second catch of the day. 

Kristen chuckled. Frances had an uncanny way of making her laugh. "Come
on, let's get a beer." 

Frances nodded. "Dad? Dad, I'm taking a break. Do you want anything to
drink?" At Russell's shake of head, Frances trailed after an amused 
Kristen. 

"Don't look so sad," Kristen said mirthfully. 

Frances smiled. "I'm actually having a good time. Except I think I might
be getting a little burnt. All this sun, yesterday and today...." 
Frances shook her head with a heavy sigh. "What a hard life I lead," 
she deadpanned. 

Kristen laughed and found herself thinking how carefree she felt when
she was in Frances' company. 

"You have a nice laugh," Frances commented when they each got themselves
a beer. 

Kristen lifted a brow, her lips still curved up. "Among other things." 

Frances slapped Kristen on her arm playfully. "Stop using that
flirtatious tone with me. I might get the wrong idea, you know?" 

"And what idea would that be?" Kristen asked, enjoying herself
immensely. 

"You know," Frances said, flushing a little, wondering why she had set
herself up for this. 

"No, I don't." 

Frances narrowed her eyes at Kristen, who was giving her an innocent
look. "You're doing it again. Stop flirting with me!" 

They found a shady spot to sit in, away from the rest of the crew. Sea
gulls dotted the blue sky and the breeze blew hair into both their 
faces when they sat next to each other. Frances drank her beverage 
greedily, relishing the coolness of it as it slid down her throat. 

She was feeling a little nervous around Kristen but she could not think
of anyone else she would rather be next to that very moment. Kristen 
was like the forbidden fruit--there, but not for the picking. It did 
not help that they were so in tune with each other either. Conversation 
flowed so easily between them; insults were traded in such a quick and 
witty manner that sometimes it made Frances' head spin. 

"Why?" 

The single word broke her reverie and Frances frowned at Kristen. "Why
what?" 

"Why do you want me to stop flirting with you?" 

Frances considered evading the question but decided not to. "Cos' I
might fall for you." Her stomach did a funny lurch when she said that 
and suddenly she found the beer tab very interesting. She picked at it, 
half hoping and half fearing that Kristen would change the topic. 

"And that would be a bad thing because?" 

Frances stared at Kristen, who was looking too smug for her own good.
"Last time I checked, you weren't interested in women." 

"No..." Kristen corrected slowly, "Last time you checked, I wasn't
interested in Eleanor." 

"Oh." Frances' mouth felt dry. Her eyes darted all over Kristen's face,
trying to get a hint of where this conversation was going. 

Kristen leaned closer and her voice dropped to the octave that sent
shivers through Frances' body. "You're a much better kisser than 
Eleanor." 

"Oh." She blushed. 

"You know, if I had known that it would be so easy to reduce your
vocabulary to one word and make you so much more agreeable, I would 
have done this sooner," Kristen said, smirking. She wasn't sure where 
she was going with this but it felt right and comfortable, emotions 
that she was starting to associate with Frances. 

Frances did not know what to say. Kristen had succeeded in making her
head spin once again. So she did the only thing she knew to do. She 
closed the space between their faces and took Kristen's lips in hers. 

Kristen's gasp of surprise died in her throat and her eyes fluttered
shut. She had unconsciously been looking forward to this and now that 
Frances' lips were on hers again, she wanted to savour it. A part of 
her was also curious as to whether the memory of their first kiss was 
embellished. 

Frances lifted a hand to slide into Kristen's dark blonde locks,
thrilling at being allowed to do so. She kissed Kristen's lips 
thoroughly before Kristen deepened their connection, sliding her tongue 
into Frances' mouth. Frances pulled Kristen's face closer as she lost 
herself in the kiss. When Kristen's tongue stroked the roof of her 
mouth, Frances let out a low moan in the back of her throat. 

The sound from Frances sent a faint tingle through Kristen's body. Her
hand snaked around Frances' waist, finding purchase in the small of her 
back. She tried to pull Frances closer and gasped when Frances nipped 
her lower lip. Her eyes flew open as she smiled against Frances' lips. 
"I like that you do that," she murmured, her voice sounding thick and 
foreign to her own ears. Frances was making her feel a little hot and 
bothered and she did not want the kiss to end just yet. 

Frances, on the other hand, was feeling quite breathless. She remembered
thinking to herself that she did not want anything complicated but here 
she was, kissing her father's straight--or previously straight, at 
least--employee slash tenant! But one look at Kristen's smoky gaze was 
her undoing. She traced Kristen's slightly swollen lips with a finger 
until they quirked into a smile, which she mirrored. 

"I think I might have given you lesbian germs after all," Frances said
finally, unable to keep the smugness from her voice. 

Kristen laughed. 

TBC


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