Finding Dayton Du'it

By: Solo Voice
(© 2017 by the author)

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

solo_voice@tickiestories.us

Chapter 7: Three Is Not A Crowd.

Dayton parked his car at the curb and Lance reversed out of the garage and parked his car behind Dayton’s. They both got out and watched as the woman with an old, mid eighties Peugeot, reversed into the driveway with a trailer slightly snaking, until she maneuvered the trailer into the garage. She got out as the two men walked down to her car.

“Thanks for this, it’ll be easier to take everything through that door into the hall and then into my bedroom,” Kathryn said.

“Probably would have been easier for me if someone had thought to make the suggestion,” Dayton said as he looked at Lance accusingly.

“You didn’t think about it either,” Lance defended.

“Get over it, Ohio, just admit it, women are smarter then men,” Kathryn said.

“Too right they are,” Alisha, Kathryn’s friend said, as she stepped from the house into the garage.

“If that were right then you wouldn’t be calling me Ohio, Dayton said.

Kathryn asked, “Why is that?”

“Because my name is just a name and has nothing to do with the state of Ohio. I was born and raised in Portland, Oregon.”

“Probably explains the shape and size of your body,” Kathryn said and Lance and Alisha snorted with amusement.

“I see, so now I have the body of a tree trunk. Shit, I innocently move into a house and now I’m to be the butt of everyone’s B-grade jokes.”

Kathryn asked with a straight face, “Who said it was a joke?”

“Don’t worry, Dayz, I’ll stick up for you if it gets too out of hand, unless it’s too delicious to not partake,” Lance chimed in and smirked in amusement.

“Fuck you, Lance.”

“With a body like that I would have thought your skin would be thicker, Ohio,” Kathryn said.

“It isn’t made of the inside of a woman’s head,” Dayton replied.

“Now that’s more like it, Ohio,” Kathryn said following an amused snort.

“I didn’t think it was funny,” Alisha said, irritated.

“Come on, Alisha, don’t be like that. It was just a bit of jocularity. You didn’t mind when it was at the guy’s expense,” Kathryn said.

Alisha gave a huff and started untying the ropes from the roof racks of the car. Kathryn turned and looked at Lance and Dayton. She winked and gave a shrug that everything was fine and did not matter.

“If you ladies want to unpack the boxes from the trailer, Dayz and I can get the dining table and bed down and bring the table in through the front door for you,” Lance said.

Kathryn said sincerely, “Thanks, that would be great.”

“So now we’re not as strong as men either,” Alisha said and then she turned and walked into the house with a huff and then into the empty bedroom.

“Sorry,” Kathryn said to the men as she began to follow Alisha quickly.

“Shit,” Dayton whispered, looking at Lance in shock.

“Don’t worry about it, Dayz. Come on, Buddy, let’s get it done. After all, you haven’t pushed any weights today and you’re looking a bit on the soft side.”

Dayton replied as he looked down at his chest and arms, “What?”

“Dayz, it was a joke, you’re body looks as hard as brick.”

Kathryn walked into her new bedroom and stopped. She looked at Alisha standing with her back to her and staring out the window. She sighed within herself but despite her feeling of frustration, she thought that Alisha was young and required her patience. Regardless, silently, Kathryn once again wondered if she had made the right choice.

Alisha was five foot eight with black hair that had a blood red stripe running through it. She was nineteen with a gothic appearance, which was made all the more intense by the white makeup base and dark colors she used on her face. She really was very pretty and naturally looked like she could have been a cheerleader and the epitome of teenage popularity. However, she seemed determined to downplay her looks with a forced persona. Though she had never explained her choice to present herself the way she did, the impetus had been a feeling that she did not know who she was.

Kathryn and Alisha were girlfriends but their relationship was new and fundamentally in a state of infancy. They had only met just over two months previous but things were not evolving as Kathryn had hoped and therefore they had not advanced to living together.

Initially Kathryn had been intrigued by the painted façade while also attracted to what lay beneath. Alisha was not at all Kathryn’s ideal woman but at the time, something inside of Kathryn drew her to Alisha and so she approached her with a hope there might be a connection. Kathryn had been alone for a couple of years and she had been feeling very lonely at the time.

In the beginning, the excitement, the passion and the newness were enticing. Kathryn loved Alisha’s body and her natural beauty. When they ended up in bed, the sexual compatibility was dynamic. There was also a sense of emotional fulfillment and though Kathryn was not particularly aware of it, Alisha was filling the gap of what seemed to be missing.

Though the Goth appearance had been intriguing to begin, the intrigue faded quickly and soon Kathryn wanted the real face to replace the made up mask. Regardless, she said nothing and accepted Alisha for the girl she was.

As time progressed and the following two months went by, Alisha’s youth and immaturity began to become apparent. Kathryn had always been with women of a similar age and suddenly the seven-year gap between Alisha and her was making a difference. Once reality began to balance with the bubble of newness, Kathryn began to notice a lack of intellectual stimulation and an overabundance of neediness. Despite feelings of uncertainty, Kathryn held onto what they had, not wanting to return to the loneliness. Additionally, she had come to love Alisha even though the question of whether she was in love with her, continued to rear its head.

As Kathryn stared and felt frustrated with Alisha, following her display of attitude in the garage, it only served to bring to the surface the feelings of uncertainty again. These feelings were becoming a struggle and from their random to more constant occurrences, they were beginning to contaminate her psyche with doubts.

Kathryn moved farther into the room and walked up behind her. She rested a hand on Alisha’s shoulder and she squeezed it warmly. She leaned forward and she kissed the top of her head as she pressed her breasts into her back. Alisha pushed back into the warmth and then pulled Kathryn’s arms around her waist.

Kathryn thought the closeness felt good. She looked over Alisha’s shoulder and out the window and as she stared at the waves, she reinforced the attitude that their relationship would get better with time. She tried to tell herself that it was all about the seven-year age difference, however, somewhere inside a silent voice was questioning.

“It’s going to be fine and everything will work out sooner than you think. Just give it a bit of time and trust me,” Kathryn said.

Kathryn had the softest, long, light brown hair. There was not even the slightest appearance of stereotype where lesbians were concerned. She was twenty-six and very attractive with a solid body. She still had the feminine shape and curves but she was not at all a woman who would be described as lithe. She appeared fit and strong while also incredibly sexy and on top of all of that, she came across as very confident and smart as well.

Alisha turned around and looked up the extra inch at Kathryn. Alisha’s eyes were moistly glistening.

“Please don’t be upset. All I’m asking of you is a little time and patience.”

Alisha asked, “Why do you have to move in with two guys?”

Kathryn’s eyes changed instantly and she was not at all happy with Alisha, before she said, “Don’t be so stereotypical. You know I’m not like that and I don’t need to cement myself into a crew of dykes and lesbians to live the life I want. If that’s what you want then you’re with the wrong woman. We discussed this yesterday after we came to see the house. As I told you then, I like people and not just one type or gender. I chose this house because of the house and its position and location. I chose it because I liked both of the men we met. They’re nice guys and they seem sincere and decent. If they had been two girls it wouldn’t have mattered, I still would’ve moved in here.”

“I know, Kat, it wasn’t just that. It’s because you’re moving farther away.”

“Alisha, it’s seven more miles, hardly a great distance and it’s not like I’m trying to get away from you. It’s closer to my bookstore and with three people I get a much better home for a cheaper rent, plus the added bonus of the beach outside the door.”

“I know but two months ago we were talking about moving in together and now suddenly you’re here without me and you didn’t even tell them you were a lesbian or that I was your girlfriend.”

“Alisha, two months ago you talked about us moving in together, we didn’t discuss it. It wasn’t as if we made plans. I also told you then that I wanted to take things slowly. As for the fact that I didn’t tell the guys I was a lesbian or that we were together, well, I told you yesterday I had a reason for that.”

“Yeah Kat, you did but you didn’t tell me what the reason was.”

“Alisha, my instincts are telling me that Lance is gay. I’ve been watching him closely and I can see the way he looks at Dayton. I don’t think that Dayton knows about Lance because Dayton’s so straight. I could have brought it up in conversation with them yesterday, opened up the gay issue into the light but it wasn’t up to me to determine the course or decisions of other peoples lives; male or female or gay or straight. I made a simple yet temporary decision, Alisha.

“Honestly, I really don’t believe it will matter and it may only be for a week, maybe two but something tells me this house is going to change and soon. They will know about you and I soon enough and when that time comes, if you want to move in, then perhaps we can discuss it but Alisha, right here and right now you will show these people respect, regardless of their gender or sexuality and if you can’t do that, you won’t be welcome here with me.”

Wide-eyed, Alisha looked at Kat and she nodded. She felt this turn of events was frustrating and it was also bugging her that Kat was capable of making decisions without her as the centre of attention. Alisha believed that if they committed more deeply and if they moved in together, then all of her unspoken concerns and confusions would vanish. She thought that in almost every way Kat gave her what she needed, however, Kat was in no hurry to quicken the pace of their relationship or to move it further along. At that moment, Alisha wanted to throw a girlie tantrum but she managed to rein it in, despite knowing things were not the way she wanted them to be.

“You’re right, as usual and I’m sorry. I guess I should apologize,” Alisha said.

“I don’t think that’s necessary, you didn’t say or do anything wrong. I just want you to adjust the attitude from fanatic feminist to friendly.”

“Yeah, I get it and I know exactly what you mean, Kat. I can be so staunch at times,” she said, her self-concern and frustration hidden by her downward gaze.

“Sweetie, I’m not going anywhere and there isn’t anyone else. Things would be so much better if you’d just slow down, trust me more and let things take their natural course. I’m not one of the younger girls you’re used to and you need to start accepting that knowledge. Now come on, are you going to help me?”

“Of course,” Alisha said with a smile.

Kathryn turned and began to walk out of the room but as Alisha followed, her smile vanished and she felt certain she hated this house, as well as the men that resided within it.

***

It was less than a day later that the house was settled and each of the three tenants knew they were happy with the situation as it was. Over the following week they all became fast friends and whether it was the living room, the kitchen or one of the verandas, those particular locations became instant strongholds for conversations and debates about anything and everything. The comical routines between them all remained in place, even though they were more of a side note than a standard. The guys embraced Kathryn and Kathryn embraced them, as they interacted like adult people without the stigmas of men and women. Personal stuff still remained hidden for the time being but there was no issue for any of them when they were all together. It was a house filled with music, laughter and witty banter and it made their times together a lot of fun. Alisha was a relatively constant guest as well but in private, both Dayton and Lance referred to her as the Dark Cloud. They felt a change in the house and also in Kathryn, whenever Alisha came to visit.

In less than a day, both Lance and Dayton had begun to call Kathryn, Kat, which was the name she preferred. All three responded to each other well where the house and personal circumstances were concerned and they did not seem to get in each other’s way or disturb privacy or alone time. As far as each was concerned, things could not have been better and they all felt as if things were meant to be.

To be continued...

Posted: 06/02/17