Page 43 of Just For Her

“Yeah, I recognized them when they came in. That was Tammy on the right. She’s some bigshot’s daughter. Or cousin. Or… something. I can’t keep track. There’s like a hundred of them around here.”

Kayla left a cloth behind on the table while she took the tray full of dirty dishes and half-eaten food back to the kitchen.Should I be worried?That smarmy girl looked like she could hardly believe that her much older cousin was dating aworkingoutsider, let alone one like Kayla. Was that a judgment against her character? Her appearance? How much should Kayla be concerned by a random Fredriksson named Tammy running her mouth? Did she have any sway in the family, or was she one of those auxiliary members who plied her trade using nothing but her name? Kayla had heard about them from Tove, who wouldn’t divulge personal information about people’s taxes, but insinuated that somedidlive beyond their means.

She went on break shortly after when there were so few people in her section that they would be fine without her. Her coworker happened to walk by the break alcove while carrying an unopened cider.

“You’re the girl dating a Fredriksson, right?”

Kayla looked up from her phone. “Uh… yeah.”

“Huh. Girl, what are you doing working here? I mean, no offense, but if I was dating someone from that family, I’d be laughing all the way to the bank.”

That’s the plan.“I got this job before it became a sure thing. Besides, why would I count on that working out? She’s not financing me. Not my sugar mama.”

“Sorry, didn’t mean to insinuate…”

Kayla waved her hand in her coworker’s face. “It’s all good, but do me a favor and don’t blab, huh? People are intimidated about it.”

The coworker was about to wander away, but double-backed to ask with a whisper, “What’s the country club like?”

Kayla stayed a few minutes after her shift to catch her coworker on her break. She didn’t mind gabbing about those beautiful groundsanytime.

“I worry about you sometimes.” Tove sipped her daily glass of wine while Kayla straddled her, hands clasped on the back of the couch while a cat scuttled by. “We can’t sit on the couch for five minutes without you getting horny.”

“Something wrong with that?” Kayla’s flirtations could either go full-throttle or pull back, depending on Tove’s reaction – and the woman drank wine with one hand and read a book with the other. “You’ve been working so hard.” She referred to the stack of paperwork on her home office desk. April was around the corner, and Tove spent more hours at work to ensure her clients’ taxes were filed on time. “Can’t you relax with me for a few minutes? You’re always so cute on this couch anyway.”

Tove looked away from her book, something she bought at the used bookstore the weekend before. “I’ve got a drink in my hand,” she drolly said.

“I thought you once said I was a satisfying drink?” Kayla’s mock pout could have sealed her fate that night. Instead, Tove took a generous sip of her wine before holding it up to her girlfriend’s mouth.

“How about I promise you a shower when I’ve finished this book?” she said while Kayla helped herself to the sweet red wine. “I’m almost done.”

Kayla felt a modicum of relief that she wasn’t expected to perform right there and then, but she was not one to pass up the opportunity to keep her girlfriend happy.To be fair, it’s the day of my period when I get extra horny.A shower was perfect. Because as soon as the cramps finally faded, hormones went wacky. Tove was completely unfazed by the idea. Then again, she was fifty! She had seen everything already!

“One of your cousins came by for lunch today,” Kayla said as she fetched her own (non-alcoholic) drink from the fridge. “Polly! She’s technically your cousin, right?”

“Suppose so. By marriage, anyway.”

The pop of an opened can soon led to fizz settling on aluminum. “She asked me if I’d been to Hood River yet. She seemed to be referencing a specific location.”

“Ah, yeah… the family vacation home.”

“Is it impressive?”

Tove gave up on reading her book. “I guess? It was the old matriarch’s retirement present from her husband, Gustav’s son.” That was an odd way to saymy great-grandfather,but whatever. “It belongs to the family now. We take turns using it and all collectively pay for the taxes and upkeep. Hey, guess who keeps track of that for Aunt Kiersten? Me.”

Kayla almost snorted her grape soda.

“It’s also where we have our yearly family reunion.”

“Can we go?”

Tove cocked her head. “Never thought about taking someone there… this time of year can be difficult. It’s peak ski season still, and the whole reason the vacation home exists is because it’s adifferentmountain to ski on. My family is ski and snowboard crazy.”

“Then wehaveto go.”

“As I said, it can be difficult to reserve this time of year. May would be easier. Nobody cares about the time between ski season on Mt. Hood and the family reunion. Then again… we haven’t had the chance to go skiing together. Isn’t it one of your favorite hobbies?”

“Oh… I’ve only been once before, but it was a ton of fun.” Another one of Kayla’s lies to make herself more desirable to someone from this family. She had never been skiing before. She didn’t even like the snow! “If we keep it simple, I’m sure we’ll have a great time. Besides! We haven’t had the chance to get to know each other in a new environment. Shouldn’t we go away for a weekend? Say, right after you’re done with your taxes?” Tove had mentioned she always took a week off after April 15thto decompress. Anyone who had deferred by that time could wait at least another month to file.

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