Till all the stars go blue [Chaennie]

Chapter 10

DAY FOUR:

Even though she had been sleeping soundly, Rosie stirred awake at first light. She lay quietly letting her eyes adjust to the dim half light inside the tent. She glanced over to the girl sleeping contentedly beside her.

Jennie was laying on her stomach facing Rosie. She had one hand tucked underneath her pillow and her silky hair fanned out across her bare back and shoulder and spilled into her face. Rosie smiled and turned over onto her side to face her. She reached out and very gently tucked the stray locks of hair behind her ear. Jennie stirred, frowned but then her features softened into sleep once again.

When she was certain Jennie was sleeping soundly she briefly traced her fingers across the soft skin of her cheek. Part of Rosie ached to wake the girl, to feather kisses across her face and down the delicate arch of her throat and to scoop her up into her embrace and drench herself in the warmth of her skin, her scent, her sexy breathy moans and sighs. It was that same reckless, romantic part of herself that had brought them to this point in the first place. It was a side of herself she didn't indulge very often and even as she basked in the afterglow, she was already mentally pummeling herself for giving herself over to it so readily.

Before she could stop herself, Rosie pushed off the blanket and grabbed up her jeans from the floor. She tugged them on and rummaged around for her shirt. Pulling it quickly over her head, she grabbed her socks and boots and quietly unzipped the door of the tent. She quietly rummaged around in her bags for clean clothes and then she picked up the shotgun and stepped outside and pulled the zipper closed behind her. She was more than tired of lugging this gun around with her but, all things considered, she really didn't feel like she had much choice.

She walked barefoot across the campsite to the make-shift corral and grabbed a bucket. Then she gingerly picked her way down the path to the shower. It was colder than she would have liked, but it was still clean and soothing. The sun was just brushing over the top of the trees When she sat down on her favorite rock so she could put on her socks and boots. Her hair was still wet and she pulled it back, nimble fingers braiding it into a loose ponytail quickly.

She waited impatiently, face turned up to the new light, urging the sun to hurry and wash over her and chase away the damp chill. Despite all her misgivings and self-twisting guilt, she couldn't deny the way she felt at the moment. She felt renewed, refreshed, cleansed and lifted. As much as she could sense herself still fighting against everything, she wanted to cling to these feelings, to be aware in this moment for as much and as long as she could, so she closed her eyes, lifted her face and basked in the warmth she felt, inside and out

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Damn it , Rosie muttered to herself. She'd kicked the horse water over spilling much of it into the feed. In this heat it would mold, so she was trying to scoop the wet feed into another bucket before it was all ruined. It was like digging a hole in sand.

Shit, shit, and fuck. Cursing didn't fix anything but she did feel better. She straightened up and wiped away the beads of sweat trickling down her face with the back of her oat-battered gloves.

She was so preoccupied that she jumped when she felt hands smooth across the back of her shirt and arms circle around her waist.

"I'll just warn you, I'm pretty sweaty," Rosie blurted out.

The arms around her waist tightened and she felt Jennie mold herself fully against her back.

"Mmm, sexy. I didn't mind last night and I don't mind now," Jennie replied.

"Oh sorry, I thought you were Jennie." Rosie chuckled in spite of herself. She pulled off her wet gloves, dropped them and turned into the girl's embrace. Jennie tucked her head against Rosie's shoulder and sighed. Rosie wrapped her in a hug, letting her lips rest on the top of her head. Jennie's hair was damp. Freshly showered, she smelled liked wildflowers and cinnamon and rain.