A warm breeze flicked at the heavy pages of Liz's sketchbook and she yawned, stretching luxuriously in the morning sun. Bones popped in the young woman's back as she wiggled into the full body stretch, arms raised to the sky. Her jaw cracked, mouth opening wide before she lowered her arms, twisting each joint. She felt drowsy, warmed by the sun. Liz's eyelids drooped heavily but then sprung open suddenly. Her ears twitched at a faint, one-sided conversation.
"... yeah, I think I see her now," an approaching voice said. "No, probably just thirty minutes. I need to get back to work so I can't be long. I'll call you when I'm done. Love you, babe!" Liz's ears swiveled minutely but she sat where she was, smiling slightly. It was the first day of a full moon and her senses were unusually sharp. "Liz!"
Liz feigned surprise as she turned around. "Rachel," the young woman said, standing to greet her friend. "Thanks so much for coming to lunch with me."
The two young women hugged beside the round, iron table. Liz closed her eyes as she scented the other woman, nostrils flaring to take in the myriad of smells surrounding her. She caught a faint whiff of sweat (early morning Bikram yoga, she knew) mixed with a swirl of interesting fragrances from the other woman's office. But, beneath all of it was the simple aroma of the woman herself. Liz scented deeply before forcing herself out of the hug. Any closer to the evening and she would've found herself purring against the woman. She blushed at the thought while they both sat.
As if by magic, a young waiter appeared by their table. Dressed immaculately in black and white, the young man brought a glass of water for Rachel. Liz watched her friend while she hemmed and hawed over the menu. The sun filtered through the other woman's soft red hair, giving her a reddish-orange halo. Rachel had fair skin with a spray of freckles across her nose and cheeks. Liz smiled shyly at her friend and then blushed when she caught her eyes wandering down to the other woman's chest. Rachel's freckles continued down to her chest and her silver blouse was tight enough to be distracting. With her order placed, the waiter left.
"So!" Rachel exclaimed. "How was your weekend? Oh my gosh, you brought your sketchbook? Can I see? Is it for your art show next month?"
Liz grinned at the onslaught. "They wanted me to add two more pieces so I've been trying to come up with ideas. That's what I did with my weekend. Sketching."
"And napping?" Rachel grinned.
"You know me too well," Liz replied. "What can I say? And, I don't know. You know I get nervous about my work."
"Come on, Liz. You never let me see anything you're working on. I don't think it's fair that your best friend should have to wait until your art shows open before I can see... hey, you colored your hair."
"Oh, yeah, I'd forgotten." Liz fingered her short, red hair. "I... I got bored this weekend. I was up late working and just decided to color it."
"Well," her friend said. "Red looks good on you. I just wish you'd grow it out. You have such beautiful thick hair so I never understood why you keep it in a pixie cut. You should grow it out and we could look like sisters!"
Liz laughed. "No way. I like my hair short. I can just roll out of bed and kind of run my hands through it. Way easier to manage. Besides, no way, you're way more gorgeous than I am and there's a huge difference between real red hair and this. Trust me, I'm an artist. I know sixty-two shades of black by sight. Your hair is the color of molten steel just as they breathe life into it. The metal blushes intensely as it burns and it's beautiful. That's your hair."
Rachel blushed at the compliment, pleasure clear in her eyes and expression. Liz swallowed.
Dammit,
she thought.
Just because it's near the full moon doesn't mean you get to go crazy. Get yourself under control, woman. She's your friend, no matter how much you want her.
Still, Liz found herself drawn to the other woman's chest. Where Liz was lean, Rachel was curvy and had the breasts to show for it. Her chest pushed against the tight fabric of her blouse and a heat bloomed deep within Liz's chest, spreading down to her belly. The woman felt a small muscle move in her throat and she coughed to cover the quiet purr that threatened to resonate through her body. It was too early for it to develop but she felt the edges of the change taking place and the sight of her friend pleased her.
"Well, I think you're- oh! The food! That was fast." Rachel rubbed her hands together as the waiter brought out a bowl of greens. Liz wrinkled her nose at the sharp scent of the Caesar salad dressing. She tore off a piece of the complimentary bread while Rachel delicately laid out her napkin on her lap. Pointing her fork at Liz, Rachel spoke. "Don't think I've forgotten the sketches. You were going to show me."
"I wasn't, though," Liz said.
"Come on, Liz. Please? Please please please please?"
Liz sighed. She had a hard time resisting her friend when she was being adorable. Rachel's hazel eyes pleaded with her and she had a hard time saying no. "All right. But, they're just sketches and not finished. At all. I probably won't use any of them anyway. I'm calling this series, 'What exists inside' and, well, here, look."
Flipping backwards through the sketchbook, Liz found her last sketch. She blushed as she turned the book sideways to show off the art. "This one is called 'Aloof.' The idea behind all of this is that we're each driven by something: goals, dreams, strong emotions or undeniable shards of personality. A t the center here is the female subject. She is aloof and independent. I made the crowd and world vague around her and, rather than determined to get to her destination, she's wandering. She doesn't care when she gets to where she's going. Or how. She'll find a way. The world moves around her like a ghost. Her lines are strong and defined, the only clear image in the whole piece."
"Not the only one," Rachel said. "There's a cat on that balcony that's not all ghost-y and stuff."
"Well," Liz frowned. "Yeah. I... Yeah. Each piece shows clearly the one thing that drives the subject. The cat here in this one. Both of them aloof and uncaring of the world around them."
"Ah!" Rachel said around a mouthful of croutons. "You should've had the lady napping with the cat. And given her short adorable hair. Totally you in that case except you do care about people."
"Haha, yeah." Liz laughed uneasily.
"I've always loved your art, Liz. You draw your lines like you're in love with them. They're just so organic. All swoops and curves that come together just like you want. Even things like your buildings don't look hard and harsh. I think you're amazing."
Liz smiled brightly. "Thanks, Rachel."
"Hey, I just remembered! Do you want to come over tonight and watch movies with me and Brad? We've got the new Thor movie."
"Aww, I couldn't. That's your night together."
