Page 56 of Shifting Gears

It’s not much different than before, if Nora is being honest. She still meets Dani for lunch, still hangs out with everyone at the bar, and still goes to town events—only now she also has Dani in her bed several nights a week, and her new acquisition of Dani’s phone number means that there’s also texting involved. Very detailed, very private texting.

Any trepidation Nora still feels about taking this huge step is erased the first time Dani texts:

I can’t stop thinking about you.

Oh?Nora texts back, smiling and taking a sip of the wine she’s just poured.Do tell.She’s given up on work for the day, and it’s just about the perfect time for such a distraction.

When Dani replies withThinking about how you’d look riding my strap, Nora chokes so hard that she ends up with a burgundy spray-radius all over her white living room rug.

They have a lot to try together, Nora realizes as she clears her airway and formulates a response, and so little time to do it in.But if she’s leaving in a month and a half, she’s damn well going to take advantage of having Dani now.

After a few minutes of thinking, Nora finishes typing and hits send, grinning down at a text that she thinks might actually throw Dani off her game.

You really think you have one big enough for me?

Dani’s phone screen has a huge spiderweb crack in it the next time Nora sees her. When Nora presses her on how it happened, Dani only blushes and mutters something about slippery hands and the concrete shop floor.

* * *

At the very least, the fact that Nora now sees Dani naked almost every day means that she’s not struck completely dumb the first time she sees her in a bathing suit.

The occasion is a day at the river, arranged for Ryan’s birthday. The end of July is approaching, and the heat makes it clear that August is on the horizon—it’s hot and sunny, but it’s also unbearably humid, and the stickiness of the air is enough to convince Nora to actually get into the water every so often rather than simply lounge on the grass under an umbrella.

Even so, she can only spend so long getting splashed. She ends up back on the beach with Mila and Sarah, sitting on a plastic lounge chair placed just where the short, pebbly beach meets the grass, and watching the impromptu volleyball game from afar. She tries not to follow Dani’s every move too obviously, but Sarah is already looking at her with suspicion.

It’s not that she and Dani are keeping anything intentionally secret, but since they aren’t exactly dating, there isn’t any kind of announcement to be made. So Nora says nothing. She relaxes a little, snacks on Mila’s homemade trail mix, and watches Dani enjoy herself in the water.

“You know, you’ve been in town a while,” Sarah says, drawing Nora’s attention briefly away from Dani. “I was expecting a city girl like you to be outta here by now. How long do you plan on staying?”

“End of August,” Nora says, her eyes flickering back to the river when she hears a massivesplash. Dani has picked Ryan up and tossed him into the deeper water, and her trademark laugh makes Nora smile.

“Hm,” Sarah says. Her mouth has formed a thin line, and Nora’s attention is diverted from Dani for a moment.

“What?”

“We don’t get a ton of vacationers up here anymore,” Sarah says, still looking thoughtful. “And the ones we do get don’t integrate themselves into the community like you have. They buy their groceries, come to the restaurant sometimes, and go back to their big cottages. Usually we like it that way.”

Nora swallows her mouthful of trail mix, but Sarah’s words bring with them a sick feeling that steals away any hunger she might have had.

Kayla and Ash’s calls have become more infrequent in the last few weeks, and even though she’s barely opened her laptop since June, Nora has been trying to focus instead on enjoying herself while she can rather than working on her project. Getting involved in the community, getting to know everyone, has been an unexpected byproduct of getting to know Dani. Yet another reminder that Nora has been concealing her identity from everyone, Dani included, is unwelcome, especially now that their relationship has become more complicated.

It’s getting harder to compartmentalize her vacation from her actual purpose here.

“I haven’t been imposing myself too much on you, have I?” Nora asks, trying not to let her unease show on her face.

Sarah’s thoughtfulness turns into a soft smile.

“No, don’t worry. We like you. You didn’t come in here trying to make us into what you want,” Sarah says, blithely unaware of the way it makes Nora’s heart sink. “Didn’t make demands. Most people who come through from down south just want to suggest all the ways we can change to make the townbetter. With you, we can be ourselves, and you don’t act like an asshole about it.”

“I’m…glad you feel that way,” Nora says.

In her mind is the presentation she started weeks ago, full of alterations to make Riverwalkbetter: the land purchases she suggested; the resort; the luxury houses.

What doesbettermean, exactly?

“You sure you want to go back down to the city so soon?” Sarah asks, tossing a cashew into the air and missing her mouth completely. It lands on her chest, and Sarah frowns down at it as Mila laughs at her failure.

Nora swallows past her dry mouth. “I have responsibilities there.”

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