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conversation, no matter what she felt like talking about or what kind of mood she was in. It

wasn't like that with Taylor. Being with her was pressure-free, simple, and fun. She realized

with surprise that she could easily spend all her free time with this woman and never be bored

or uncomfortable. She wasn't exactly sure how that made her feel. Nervous seemed to be the

best description. She grimaced at the fact that she could go from incredibly happy to totally

neurotic in a matter of seconds.

The Red Wings dropped the game, 4-1, of course, but Taylor and Melanie had laughed a lot and

completely enjoyed themselves. Each was sorry to see the evening end. More than once, Taylor

had wished she could turn the clock back, just an hour or two, so she'd have more time to

spend with Melanie. She had stopped fighting it...this feeling she had around the older woman.

She knew nothing good could come of it, but she found it impossible to stay away. At first it

was no big deal, because Melanie would eventually go back to Chicago, and Taylor would get on

with her life. The purchase of the bookstore had changed all that drastically, and Taylor

found herself in much deeper than she had planned. It was as though she had two little angels,

but they didn't sit on each shoulder, as one would expect. Instead, one of them floated in

front of Taylor, constantly reaching out for Melanie. The other followed behind Taylor,

constantly kicking her in the butt, muttering about how stupid she was and how she should

know better than to let herself fall for somebody she couldn't have. Taylor, sandwiched

between the two halves of her conscience, had no idea what the next step should be.

As they pulled into the driveway, Melanie turned to Taylor and asked, "Can you stay a bit? I've had such a good time, I don't want the evening to end. I've got Pepsi, unless you want a beer."

She had noticed that Taylor only had one beer early on in the game, and Melanie admired the

fact that she took a responsible approach, since she had driven.

Despite the bickering of the two "angels," Taylor tried not to act too excited by the invite.

"I'd love a beer, if you think you can put up with me a bit longer."

Melanie bit back the teasing remark that fought to shoot off her tongue, and exited the car

without comment, heading for the carriage house, Taylor close behind. As they reached the

door and Melanie stepped up onto the front stoop to unlock it, she turned to ask Taylor when

she thought they could go to another game. She was unaware that Taylor was only inches

behind her and when she turned, they ran right into one another. Their faces were barely two

inches apart, their eyes level since Melanie was standing on a step.

They stood frozen.

Taylor dropped her gaze to Melanie's full lips, and when the older woman wet the bottom one

nervously with the tip of her tongue, it was all over. Taylor lost all sense of control, and found

herself leaning forward, covering the distance between them and pressing her lips to

Melanie's, kissing her softly, the "angel" behind her screaming at the top of its lungs, kicking as hard as it could.

To Taylor's surprise, Melanie did not pull away, nor did she slap Taylor, which was the

response the brunette was expecting.

Instead, she pressed into Taylor, and the kiss became deeper. Melanie's lips parted under

Taylor's and her heart pounded thunderously in her chest as their tongues touched, flitting

uncertainly around one another.

Several minutes later, when they finally pulled themselves away from each other, they were

both heaving breathlessly.

Melanie swallowed hard. "Oh, boy."

"Yeah," was all Taylor could manage.

Melanie's eyes darted around the yard nervously, finally settling on Taylor's as she swallowed

again. "I've... um...I never... I..." she stammered. Taking a deep, steadying breath, she closed her eyes and whispered softly, "I've never done that before. Kissed a woman, I mean."

Taylor cupped Melanie's chin so she could look into her eyes again, and smiled reassuringly.

"I've never been anybody's first kiss before." That earned her a small grin from the redhead.

"Are you okay?" Taylor asked, trying to cautiously get a feel for exactly where they stood.

Melanie touched her fingertips to her own lips, still tingling from the contact with Taylor's.

She then reached across the small space between the two of them and touched Taylor's lips,

absolutely astounded by the softness of them. Before she could think twice, she pressed her

mouth to Taylor's once again, bolder this time, probing and exploring, allowing Taylor to do the

same.

Endless moments later, Melanie wrenched her lips away for air. "God," she gasped as she did so. "Where on earth did you learn to kiss like that?"

Taylor felt herself blushing under the compliment. "I used to practice on my teddy bear." She shrugged with a grin.

"Lucky bear," Melanie stated seriously.

Taylor gathered Melanie in her arms and hugged her tightly. They stood silently on the stoop

for long moments, wrapped around one another, each lost in the feelings that were pummeling

them. Finally, Taylor made the decision for both of them.

"Maybe I should take a rain check on that beer, huh?" She phrased it as a question on purpose, giving Melanie the chance to agree or disagree. She didn't want Melanie to think she was

bailing on her, but she also didn't think she could keep her hands to herself once they were

inside. She'd never wanted anybody so much in her life, but the last thing Melanie needed at

this point was pressure.

Melanie looked relieved at the suggestion, smiling sheepishly. "That's probably a good idea."

She paused, taking Taylor's hand and examining it as she sorted her thoughts. "I really had a

good time tonight."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"You're not just saying that?"

"I'm not just saying that."

"Think we can do it again? Um... I mean the game. Well, the kissing part too, but I meant the

game..." She sighed and pointed to her own mouth. "There's probably room in here for your

foot, too."

Melanie laughed, feeling the tension ease away. "I'd love to do it again. And I think I mean the kissing part, too." She squeezed Taylor's hand and kissed her softly on the cheek. "Good night.

Sleep well, okay?"

Taylor waited until Melanie was in and closing the door before she turned to head home. She

wasn't sure if she should be elated or terrified; both cases were true. This could be either

really, really good or really, really bad. She knew already that sleep would be far from her

reach that night. She could practically hear the cold shower calling her all the way across the

yard.

IT WAS AS though some unseen force had surgically planted a grin onto Taylor's face as she

slept. She felt it the minute the alarm went off and she opened her eyes. There it was on her

reflection in the mirror, and try as she might, she couldn't even wash it off in the shower.

She tried to be considerate as she fixed herself breakfast. Smiling like the proverbial cat

that ate the canary certainly wasn't going to sit well with Ben. He knew with whom she had

spent the evening. Nevertheless, he had noticed his daughter's cheerful demeanor, and lines

of concern creased his forehead almost immediately. He tried unsuccessfully to focus on the

stocks page of his morning paper.

As her Fruit Loops pinged musically into the bowl from the box, Taylor glanced out the

window, noting with a bit of apprehension that Melanie's Jeep was gone.

She had toyed with the idea of bringing her breakfast, but had decided against it. Melanie

had said she'd never kissed a woman before. Then, logically, it was safe to assume she'd never

been with a woman before either. In turn, that could only mean that the whole lesbian thing

was new to her. Or news to her, as the case may be. Hel , it was news to al of us at one time

or another, Taylor thought. She herself had been a fairly late bloomer, so she could

understand, to a certain extent, the confusion Melanie was probably feeling over what had

happened last night.

The hard part for Taylor was trying to decide what she should do for Melanie. She wanted

nothing more than to be there for her, answer her questions if she could, hug her when it was

needed. On the other hand, Taylor was actually part of the problem. A big part. Maybe it

would be best for her to just stay away. Maybe she should just leave the ball in Melanie's

court and sit tight until Melanie decided it was okay to play.

Much as she hated the second option, as waiting was not something she did well, she knew it

was the right decision for Melanie.

It wasn't going to be easy for the redhead. There would be mountains of questions and Taylor

had the sneaking suspicion that Lynda would be up to the role of Answer Queen. Anger,

confusion, and denial...all emotions Taylor had experienced during her own realization.

Then, of course, there was also the possibility that Taylor didn't even want to think about,

the one that would squash her the flattest. There was the possibility that last night's kiss

was simply a fluke, a by-product of the fun they'd had and the beer Melanie had consumed.

The potentiality that she may have been a daring little experiment managed to tone the

blinding smile down a few watts, and Taylor tried not to let herself dwell on it.

"I was thinking," Ben said suddenly, snapping Taylor out of her analyses. When her eyes

cleared and met his, he continued. "It's been nearly two years, T. I am so grateful to you for

moving back here and looking out for me."

"It was no big deal, Dad, really." Taylor brushed off the gratitude, having an idea where this was going.

"You need your own space. I know that."

"You're throwing me out?" she deadpanned.

"Wha—? No. Absolutely not. You can live here until you're ninety-five. You know that." His voice softened when he figured out she was teasing him. "I just want you to know that it's

okay with me when you're ready to go."

"Okay," she replied simply. "Thanks, Dad."

He winked at her as he gathered his briefcase, donning his suit jacket and heading to work.

Giving Taylor his permission to leave was a big step for him. Taylor was aware of that. Her

father was by no means an open or emotional man. How her mother had put up with the

constant mind-reading, she'd never figure out. In Ben Speak, as she had affectionately and

sometimes not so affectionately dubbed his way of expressing himself, he had just told her

that he was ready to move on, to finally let go of Anna and get on with his life. The realization

brought tears to her eyes. As she blinked them away, another thought hit her.

Was it just a coincidence that Ben had made such a monumental decision only weeks after

meeting Melanie?

God, she's having quite an effect on this family, isn't she? she thought wryly. I hope Frankie

doesn't decide to come for a visit any time soon.

MELANIE HADN’T BEEN able to even see sleep in the distance, let alone grab some for

herself. At five in the morning, she had gotten up, dressed in some gym shorts and a

sweatshirt, snatched up the classifieds from Sunday's paper, and headed off in the Jeep, no

particular destination in mind, just unable to sit still any longer. She wasn't one to have

trouble sleeping. As a matter of fact, she couldn't now, as she coasted slowly up and down the

streets of Rochester, even come up with another instance when she'd tossed and turned as

much as she had the previous night.

She wasn't sure what to make of that little tidbit. This whole thing was effecting her more

than anything else in her life...more than her parents' divorce, more than her choosing a

college, even more than taking the job with Rucker and Steele, relocating to a large, unfamiliar

city. No, this was big. Way big. A woman had kissed her.

A woman had kissed her.

She let the phrase roll around in her head, then said it aloud.

"A woman kissed me."

She listened to the way it sounded, then edited it. "Taylor kissed me."

An entirely different meaning, and almost the whole truth.

"I kissed her back."

Closer. She cocked her head, as if listening, then reworded.

"I kissed Taylor."

The words sounded odd, but not uncomfortable. She pressed her luck.

"I kissed Taylor and enjoyed every second of it."

She pulled the Jeep to a stop in the small parking area behind her bookstore. Leaning her

forehead against the steering wheel, she exhaled a long, slow, breath.

"And I want to do it again."

There it was. The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

After several minutes of silence, she lifted her head. According to the clock on the dash, it

was nearly seven. She'd meandered aimlessly for almost two hours. Grabbing the newspaper

section she had brought with her and the Rochester map she had purchased during her first

week in town, she locked the Jeep and wandered down Monroe Avenue.

Chapter Seventeen

THE LUNCH RUSH wouldn't start for another hour and a half. Lynda had noticed Melanie's

Jeep in the back lot and decided to pop into the bookstore and say hi.

She found her friend slumped into one of the overstuffed chairs, her legs thrown over one

arm, the copy of Curious Wine on the floor, her blue eyes gazing off into space.