Chapter 11

ELEVEN

Dee

Dee couldn't remember the last time she'd been up on Crescent Hill, or as the locals called it affectionately, Vomit Hill. As expected, there were some teenagers up there already getting drunk and she could smell that earthy fragrance of weed.

"I've not been here in ages," Clarissa remarked.

"So you don't come here every weekend to get sloshed?" Dee quipped.

"Excuse me, I'm a lady," Clarissa said in a haughty voice, followed with a grin. "I usually get drunk in the caravan park."

"Ah yes, so much more classy."

They chose a spot that overlooked Crescent Lake and sat down on the plastic bag from the store instead of on the frozen grass. The bag wasn't all that big which meant Clarissa's thigh was pressed against Dee's in a way that felt very intimate. But strangely, not uncomfortable.

It made sense, even though it had been a long time ago, they used to spend a lot of time together. Not necessarily sitting this close but sharing the atelier at school or hanging out in the craft store. It was a lot of casual interaction that never amounted to anything until now, where apparently Clarissa was the only person she could trust with her painter's block.

Dee handed one of the alcopops across and twisted the metallic cap off of hers. The smell was sweeter than she remembered and it almost tasted like pure sugar, but it instantly brought back memories of her teenage years. She'd never been much of a drinker, not like some of her peers who would get wasted every chance they had, but she wasn't unfamiliar with the occasional party.

"Yum. I forgot how tasty these are," she said, taking another swig.

"And they're actually pretty low in alcohol," Clarissa remarked, showing off the colourful label. "Only 4%. That's less than a pint. I don't know how I ever got drunk off of these."

"Teenagers are lightweights," Dee said, glancing at the group of youngsters sitting further away. Although from the looks of it, they weren't drinking breezers but something harder instead, likely nicked from their parents' liquor cabinet.

Millie barked, clearly unimpressed that they were sitting down instead of walking or playing games.

"Shush," Dee told the springer, pretending to throw an invisible ball and chuckling when the dog chased after it.

Clarissa laughed too. "Sadly, Bork is too clever for that trick. He even knows how to open the fridge."

When he heard his name, Bork perked his head up. His ears were slightly floppy and moved as he tilted his head curiously, as if trying to work out what was going on.

"Millie is only smart when it suits her. Other than that, she's selectively deaf. Like this. Millie! Come! Time to go home!" Dee shouted at her family dog.

The springer spaniel clearly heard her, gave her a defiant look, and sat down instead. Going home was her least favourite thing.

"Food time!" Dee called.

Both the dogs reacted instantly and charged towards her, bridging the distance in no time. They almost collided and practically trampled Dee for the chance of food.

Clarissa's laughter filled the evening. "Oh my goodness. You brought that upon yourself."

"There's no food, you dodo," Dee exclaimed as she pushed Millie off her lap. She threw another invisible ball which only tricked one dog. Bork remained still, his big eyes wide and sad.

"You'll get food at home," Clarissa said, leaning over to kiss his head. She did it with such affection and care, it was sweet to watch.

Clarissa was sweet.

The sudden thought alarmed Dee and she pushed it away, not sure why she was suddenly seeing her in a different light. For all these years, she'd thought of Clarissa as her bitter rival, and the desire to be better than her had motivated her. She couldn't just change her opinion on the fly.

She blamed the alcohol, even if she barely had any. Her remedy was to have more since they bought plenty and they were making her feel nice and warm. Plus it wasn't like she was going to get drunk off of these.

About an hour later, and three alcopops each, they were giggling about something Dee couldn't remember. She was now comfortably leaning against Clarissa, no longer bothered by the proximity or the cold ground. Somewhere between the first drink and the third, she'd decided that she quite enjoyed Clarissa's company.

An excited shriek came from the group of teenagers drinking on the other side of Vomit Hill and one glance explained why. One of the teens had shifted into a grey wolf and was trying to stand on his hind legs. The other kids were cheering and encouraging them, all enjoying the spectacle.

"Hey!" Clarissa shouted across the field. "No shifting in public!"

Not that the teens listened or cared.

Dee laughed like it was the funniest thing she'd ever heard. It was not an uncommon sight in Crescent Valley at all, especially amongst impulsive teens. It was a shifter village after all and while it was a secret from the wide world, people weren't too worried about being found out. Nowadays, people didn't believe in this sort of thing anymore.

"Must be an early bloomer," Clarissa said, humming as she sipped from her drink.

"What age did you discover you were a shifter?"

"Sixteen."

Dee's eyebrows raised. "You never said anything."

"You never asked. Actually, you never wanted to talk about any personal stuff. Just about art and painting and the next competition." Somehow, Clarissa sounded a little sad about that like she had wanted it to be different.

It made Dee wonder if their feud had prevented them from actually connecting with each other. And whether the rivalry was actually mutual or one-sided.

A loud splash drew their attention and to neither's surprise, the wolf and another boy had jumped into Crescent Lake together.

"How silly, it's not even a crescent moon," Dee said, shivering just looking at the lake. She involuntarily shuffled closer to the other woman because Clarissa was right, she ran hot. There was warmth radiating off of her and Dee was eager to take advantage of it.

"They're probably too young to discover they're fated mates anyway, even if it was a crescent moon night," Clarissa added, seemingly quite happy to be sat close.

One of the teens transformed into a dragon which made all their friends cheer even louder.

"Ah, to be young," Dee sighed, amused by the whole thing. "Did you ever do that? Shift in public like that?"

"Not in the middle of the field for everyone to see. I always went to the forest."

"I dare you to shift now."

Clarissa almost choked on her sip. "Ha, nice try, but not going to happen."

"Laaaame." Dee pulled a pouty face. Not because she couldn't see Clarissa in her shifter form, she didn't care about that, but because she was never as good at goading the other woman into doing things when it was so easy the other way around.

"We should probably call the dogs back," Clarissa said sensibly. She formed her hands around her mouth. "Borkie! Come here!"

The border collie perked his head up and came running back like the good boy he was. Millie followed without having to be recalled, neither of them distressed by the sudden appearance of a wolf or dragon. They must be used to it.

Dee scratched Millie's head affectionately, laughing when the spaniel trotted away. She was such a drama queen sometimes.

"You have a nice laugh," Clarissa remarked. "I don't think I've ever heard it before. Not like this."

"Well, I'm actually having a good time," Dee admitted, the words rolling unchecked off of her tipsy tongue.

"You don't have to sound so surprised by that."

Dee let out a little scoff. "Don't pretend like you're not having fun."

"I always have fun with you," Clarissa said, locking eyes with her, her gaze intense and piercing. She wetted her lips nervously and somehow shuffled even closer.

Everything about the moment screamed like Clarissa was coming in for a kiss and to her own surprise, Dee wasn't moving away like she should. Instead, she marvelled at how nice Clarissa's face was. Her striking blue eyes, the contrast of her red hair against pale skin, the scattering of freckles. They were like stars on her skin, irregular and plentiful and beautiful .

Dee didn't know where those thoughts came from but she found herself leaning in and meeting the other woman's lips, not quite in the middle, but she definitely didn't pull back either. The kiss was short and tasted sweet from the alcopops. It made Dee's head spin a little too, mostly with questions about what the hell she was doing.

When she pulled back, she searched Clarissa's face for answers but didn't find any. Maybe it was just a temporary lapse in judgement. Inexplicable, but not unpleasant, Dee thought. Likely meaningless, just a tipsy little kiss. Certainly nothing to panic over.

Clarissa cleared her throat. "We should get back, it's getting pretty dark and your mum is probably wondering where her milk is."

"Milk. Right," Dee repeated slowly, feeling like she'd somehow fallen into an alternate dimension where she and Clarissa kissed like it wasn't weird or unusual. She wanted to ask what was going through the other woman's head but that would be like acknowledging that it happened, that it meant something.

She didn't want to ask. She shouldn't have to ask. Clarissa had kissed her, not the other way around. But it didn't look like she was getting an explanation and the moment was most definitely over.

Dee got up from where she was sitting, only now realising that her bum was pretty much frozen. She was slightly light-headed but she couldn't tell if that was from the alcohol or the kiss. Maybe it didn't matter.

"Do you need me to walk you home?" Clarissa asked, but it didn't sound like more than an offer out of politeness.

"No, I know my way and I've got Millie," Dee said, her stomach still swirling with a host of unfamiliar feelings. She didn't know what to make of all of this and it was starting to freak her out. Mostly because when they said goodbye, her gaze dipped down to Clarissa's full lips and she felt another beat of unexpected longing.

And to make matters worse, she thought about Clarissa and the kiss the entire way home.