Threading the Needle Ch. 09

Julie was quiet for a little while. Finally, she couldn't help giving voice to her thoughts. "You're awfully tight with the dykes; don't you worry people might be thinking you're one of them?"

This time it was Winnie who glared. It wasn't a surprise that Julie didn't like them, but it still startled her that Julie would say that to her. Despite the obvious negative meaning, Julie sounded concerned more than anything else. "Can she really not see how bigoted that is?" Winnie wondered.

"No, it never occurred to me to worry about that," Winnie said. Whether it was meant to offend, it did. Julie was talking about people who were now among her best friends. "And if someone is that narrow minded, well I couldn't care less about what they think," she said hotly. She continued to look at Julie with fire in her eyes. "If someone thinks I'm like Lena, I'll take that as a compliment. Anyone should."

"Sorry! I didn't mean you were a lesbian," Julie said, trying to backpedal. "I'd worry about it, is all."

Not taking the half-assed offering of an olive branch, Winnie shook her head. "If your friends are like that, then they sound like narrow minded bigots." As soon as she said it, she wished she hadn't. While it was true, she needed to get along with Julie even if she never hitched a ride with her again. They'd be on rivers together, maybe frequently. Having bad blood wouldn't be good.

Taking a deep breath, Winnie tried to calm down. She looked at Julie. Her face was pale with her freckles showing up like little dots. "Hey, I didn't mean to jump on you," Winnie said. "I just get defensive about my friends." She paused for a moment before continuing. "Just like you probably do," she added.

After a minute or so of silence, the color returned to Julie's face. Finally looking over at Winnie, she nodded. "I shouldn't have said anything either. Your friends are your business." Behind the words, Julie couldn't shake the original thought that she wouldn't want anyone to think that about her. Fortunately, she managed to hide any trace of it.

"Okay, let's just forget it," Winnie said. While Julie agreed, the calm of the trip was disturbed enough that neither one of them said much the rest of the way to the put-in. Once they got there, Winnie wasted no time in seeking out Indigo.

"Hey there," Winnie said as she found Indigo already working on pumping up her boat. Unlike most of the guides, she always used a big-barreled hand pump rather than the electric blower. She said it helped her warm up for the day. Winnie noticed that Liz was one of the others who did the same.

"Morning! How are you doing today?" Indigo said with a grin. She chuckled a little as she saw Winnie blush a little under her tan. Clearly, the memory of last weekend was still fresh.

"Good. Ummm, I was wondering. Would you and Alex mind giving me a ride home tonight?" Winnie said. She couldn't see Alex, but she was probably shuttling her car down to the takeout. Even if she wasn't working, she could still catch a ride in the bus.

"Sure, but I thought you were with Julie," Indigo said. She watched as Winnie's face got tight. It was obvious that Winnie was stopping herself from looking over where Julie was getting ready. "Is she being a bitch?" she asked, just barely managing not to tack on "again."

"I'd just rather go with you two," Winnie said. Saying the least she could seemed to be the best idea.

"Sure, we'd be glad to have you," Indigo said. Although she didn't mean it as a double-entendre, once it was out, she couldn't help wiggling her eyebrows. She chuckled again. "Don't worry, I'll be good," she told her friend.

Rather than responding to that, Winnie just said thanks and went over to Liz to find out which float she was working. She was glad to see that she was in the earlier one with Indigo and Lena.

"Let Liz deal with her," Winnie thought to herself. "Julie will get her ass kicked if she pulls anything with Liz." Beyond that, it was clear that she would never work for Weston again should something happen. As long as it didn't interfere with guiding, he didn't care who fucked whom. He expected everyone to act the same way. Today, at least, they were probably safe. Julie was in a good mood now since she got her wish and would be on the same float as Sawyer.

Before Julie shuttled her own car down to the bottom, Winnie talked to her. Although she told her that it would get her back to Seattle with more time for her to get ready for her date with Sawyer, both of them knew the real reason, but accepted the pleasanter excuse. Neither one of them wanted to make things worse.

It was another gorgeous day, and Winnie had a great time. It was her first time guiding with paying customers. She had a family who were on their initial rafting trip. Although they weren't particularly skilled, the Wenatchee was a forgiving river. They lacked the synchronized paddling of guides, but Winnie compensated for that and hit every rapid down the river.

At the end of the trip, they assured Winnie that they had the time of their life. She even got a twenty-dollar tip, the only rookie to get one. Winnie suspected it had more to do with the father liking having a cute female guide, but since she had done nothing to encourage it, she didn't feel bad. And it was obvious just how much fun they all had.

None of the rookies had a boat on Sunday, so most of them were heading back into Seattle. Lena was with Liz in the company van. They took off as quickly as they could. Winnie waved as they pulled out.

"See you tomorrow," she called. As Lena waved back, Winnie grinned with excitement. The company was running the Green River then. It was relatively rare to get to run it. It took a combination of rain and snowmelt to get the right water volume. The rookies weren't working, but most of Winnie's favorite guides would be there. All three of the trainers would be guiding, along with Weston, and there would be a guide boat. All the experienced guides would be working, so the rookies would have a chance to run one of the more difficult rivers in the state.

Naturally, Lena would be there. She wanted any chance she could to be with Liz. More importantly, Rikki would be there. Winnie hadn't gotten to see her much lately. She took most of the previous week off and a day this week. When she was at work, she was swamped. The few times she got her head above water enough for Winnie to stop by, there seemed to be a cloud over her.

"It must be hard to have a friend die so suddenly," Winnie thought to herself, "especially when there is one of your good friends to console. I wish there was more I could do to help her." She sighed, thinking about Marika at the funeral of her friend today. At least her husband was there, Winnie told herself. "I haven't met Samuel, but I hope he is some comfort for Rikki today."

Slowly walking back towards Alex's van, Winnie saw that she was just now getting off the river. Indigo was running down to the takeout to meet her with a big smile in her face. Since she wasn't working, Alex had taken her time, finding numerous play spots on the river. As the nose of the kayak touched the shore, Indigo grabbed it and pulled it most of the way out of the water.

Popping off the spray skirt that kept water out of the kayak, Alex got up. Even though she was damp, Indigo stepped forward and put her arms around her to give her a soft kiss. Winnie watched the two of them together. The smiles between them told the story of their feelings. Whatever their agreements were about playing around, it was clear they cared for each other. She couldn't help smiling too.

After getting all the gear out of the kayak, the two women carried it up to the car. Winnie went down and grabbed what they left at the edge of the river while they manhandled the kayak up on top of the car and strapped it down. After they finished that, Winnie and Indigo waited for Alex to change. Winnie had no plans for the evening, so there was no hurry to get home. It would be another early morning, but they would get home with plenty of time to avoid going to bed too late.

The sun was still a ways above the mountains to the west of them, and the warmth from it felt good. Winnie enjoyed being somewhere with more sun. While the winter wasn't cold, the sun disappeared for weeks on end. She wasn't used to that just yet. Indigo sat with her on the back bumper and soaked up the warmth too.

With the warm weather, Winnie didn't bother to change out of her bikini. She had just pulled on a pair of shorts and a loose tank top over them. Indigo's legs were bare too, and they brushed against Winnie. It didn't seem intentional, but thoughts of the previous weekend came to the fore of Winnie's mind. With a will of their own, her nipples grew hard, and she felt herself blush very slightly. Still, she didn't move away.

Neither one of them said anything. Both of them were lost in their own thoughts and enjoying the sun.

When Alex finished getting dressed, she came around to them. They both seemed almost drowsy, and she took a moment to look at them. Indigo hadn't kept the encounter from last weekend secret. Although this wasn't the first time Alex had checked Winnie out, seeing the two of them next to each other was interesting. Indigo's beauty was slightly ethereal, with her pale skin despite the time in the sun and her long dark hair around her thinner and longer face. Alex knew how passionate she could be, but she still appeared to be more reserved than Winnie was.

With her blonde picking up more sun streaks each week and her golden skin, Winnie seemed warmer. Her face was rounder with wide blue eyes, when not obscured with sunglasses like now. She almost always had a big smile on her face, and she radiated friendliness, especially compared to Indigo's more typical little shy smile. She jumped into conversations while Indigo might hang back.

Remembering Indigo's story from last week, Alex felt a little wave of excitement run through her as she contemplated the two women. They occasionally took a third woman to bed with them, and Alex wouldn't mind having two such different women as her bed partners. The idea of the still somewhat naive Winnie in a lesbian threesome was as arousing as it seemed unlikely. The thought made her chuckle a little, which broke the spell. The two women started a little and looked over at her.

"Are you ready?" Indigo asked.

Alex came over to her and pulled her up into an embrace. After giving her a soft kiss, she replied. "Sure am, babe. What about you two?"

"Us? We've been ready for a long time. We're just waiting on you. Kayakers have no sense of time, Winnie," Indigo said with a glance at her friend. "Rafters, we're always on a schedule. Kayakers just do what they want: start when they want and get off the river when they want. I'm always waiting for her."

"Ha! You brat," Alex said and gave Indigo's ass an affectionate squeeze. That prompted a second and longer kiss. Winnie watched as it deepened, and the two women pressed their bodies together.

As it ended, Indigo's green eyes were sparkling. Her little smile was on her lips. "Yeah, but I'm your brat," she said. Moments like this were good ones for them because they banished any thoughts of Liz. It renewed the things that drew her to Alex, even if they didn't stay strong enough to keep Liz from creeping back into her mind.

When they all got into the car and started driving, Indigo reached over and took Alex's hand. Alex glanced over at her, squeezed her hand and then left it in Indigo's grip. It was a simple act, but it still struck Winnie because of the sheer normalcy of it. She'd seen a lot of passion between the various women in the group, but nothing that more showed the affection shared by these two women. It reminded Winnie of her parents when they would drive somewhere together. A smile spread over her face.

The trip back was much better than coming over. All the awkwardness Winnie imagined was missing. Although they all talked, Alex said the most. She told Winnie stories about kayaking, and some of the hair boating she did with her more adventurous friends.

"God, you scare me sometimes with the crazy stuff you do," Indigo said. "I'm glad I'm not there to see you run some of those rapids!" She squeezed Alex's hand tight. While there was a hint of humor in her voice, it couldn't completely hide the truth of her statement.

"Ah, Indy, don't worry. I don't run anything I don't know I can do. I know when to back away and walk around," Alex said with a little laugh. She smiled over at her girlfriend and let go of her hand long enough to stroke her cheek. "I promise you I'll be safe, don't I?"

"Yes," Indigo said. "You do. And if you break that promise, I'll kill you!" Once again, the humor seemed a little forced, and both of them dropped the topic.

The way back to Seattle took them along the Skykomish River. As they caught glimpses of it, they talked about how they might run that part. For the first time, Winnie really felt like just another guide, rather than a trainee or even a rookie. She wasn't as experienced, but she was one of them.

As they drove past Boulder Drop, both Indigo and Winnie looked through the trees to see the rapid. It was late in the day but there were still a few rafts queued up to run it. Winnie caught sight of the spot where she came out of the raft the previous weekend and felt her stomach clench a little as she saw just how it boiled with foamy circulating water. She was lucky not to have been maytagged more.

"Eek," she said. "I don't want to do that every time."

Both of the other women laughed. "I don't want you to either," Alex said. "I hear you handled it just fine, though. Good job!"

"Thanks," Winnie said.

It was just a little bit later that they drove past the pub where everyone hung out after running the Sky. Alex glanced over at Indigo and chuckled before looking over her shoulder at Winnie. She chuckled harder as she looked ahead and focused on driving. Winnie's face was burning as what happened out back sprang to the forefront of her mind.

"God, she really does share everything with Alex," Winnie thought to herself. Because of both the angle and her embarrassment, she didn't notice the little pleased look on Indigo's face. Still, Winnie couldn't help having somewhat mixed feelings. Along with the embarrassment, her memories sparked a prickle of excitement between her legs. And it wasn't just thinking about how Indigo made her cum.

Winnie wondered how and when Indigo told Alex. Did she just confess her dalliance or was it part of their own foreplay? Had Indigo told the tale of her seduction as a way of exciting her girlfriend? Winnie's face burned an even deeper red as she thought, "I hope she did!" The idea excited her even more, and she almost wished that Indigo was in the back seat with her. "Maybe she would want to fool around," she thought to herself.

By the time they were exiting the town though, the moment passed for Winnie. "Where is all this coming from?" she wondered. It wasn't just the attraction to women. She was recognizing that she'd been suppressing that for a long time. More than that, it was how easily excited she was becoming. It scared her just a little to see how she was responding. It wasn't the same as with any of the guys she dated. They could get her excited, but it took some time and effort.

Lost in her own thoughts, she didn't notice how quiet everyone was. Indigo was still touching Alex's hand, but now her fingers were slowly caressing it. Looking over at Alex, she gave her a little smile each time her girlfriend looked over. It was her wicked smile, one that promised a delightful time when they got home. Unconsciously, Alex's foot pressed down on the accelerator and the car sped up for a moment until she remembered how many speed traps were along this road. Slowing down, she gave Indigo a little glare, which only made her smile get bigger.

The further they got from the tavern, the easier it was for Winnie to push it out her mind and just enjoy the drive. While going over with Julie seemed to take forever, the drive home was over before she knew it. When they dropped her off, both of the women got out to tell her goodbye. She got a hug from both. While Alex's was brief and friendly, Indigo drew her hug out.

By the time Indigo pulled away, Winnie felt the flame of excitement building again. It was all she could do not to grind against Indigo. Her face burned red as she felt her nipples hardening, poking out against the other woman. She wasn't sure if it was because of her excitement or how her body betrayed that excitement to Indigo.

Indigo put her lips close to Winnie's ear and whispered. "When you get up to your apartment and put your hands down your pants, think about me," she said. With a little chuckle, she pulled away and walked back to the car. Winnie could feel her pussy throbbing and knew that she was going to do exactly what Indigo said. Even as they pulled away, she already had her gear and headed into the apartment building as quickly as she could.

*****

"God, you're so bad," Alex said with a laugh. "You already know her buttons, don't you?"

With her evil grin back, Indigo nodded. "Just like I know yours," she said. She reached up and ran a finger down Alex's neck. "My teasing her got you excited too, didn't it?"

"Some," Alex said. The smile on her face confirmed that it was a bit more than "some." Indigo's fingers slowly slid onto the back of her girlfriend's neck. It was a favorite spot and Alex let out a little sigh. Indigo moved her fingers in a slow circle, noticing the effect they had on her.

"She's damn cute," Alex said. "That blonde hair and her body, I can't help picturing the two of you last week." She licked her lips. "You must have been a sight."

"Should I have invited her over?" Indigo asked, as her fingers slid up into Alex's hair. "Hey, eyes open!" she chidingly said when Alex's eyes fluttered shut.

"Then don't do that while I'm driving. It feels too good, baby," Alex said in a slightly exasperated way, then with a laugh, she added, "You know how to excite me pretty well too!"

"I do, but you didn't answer me."

Alex smiled but kept her eyes on the road. "You'd like that, to have both of us to play with," she said. She let out an evil sounding laugh. "And yeah, I'd enjoy that too. Honestly though, I'm not sure whether she's ready for an all-girl threesome. She's curious and she's experimenting, but the two of us together might be too overwhelming right now."

"You think?" Indigo asked. She wasn't so sure.

For a little while, Alex just drove without answering. Indigo's fingers were still on her neck, but she limited them to a gentle massage of Alex's muscles that were tight from the drive. This time Indigo didn't press her for an answer. It was clear she was thinking about the question.

"Yeah, I do," Alex finally said. "She is dating Logan, but I get the impression it's almost because it's expected. He is a good-looking guy, and she is the hot chick. You know how he is," she said with a slight glance at her girlfriend.

"Mmhmm," Indigo murmured.

"She comes from this conservative background. It's a lot easier to be straight than gay in Oklahoma, but she's curious. Actually, if I had to guess, she's probably gay. And as fun as you were last weekend, and the teasing today, it has to be a little scary," Alex said.

They were both quiet as they thought about their own paths to coming out. Even though Indigo was certain enough that she came out to her parents in Junior High, she still remembered the fear of being different. Her parents were also supportive. She couldn't imagine what it would be like growing up in small town Midwest America.

"Yeah, maybe," Indigo said softly, "but we would have been extra nice to her." She licked her lips.