Justice Keepers Saga - Books 7-9

Chapter 4-2

Morning sunlight hit Anna"s face, and consciousness slowly crept into her mind. She became aware of several things: the mattress beneath her was soft; the air was sweet, and she was content.

Rolling onto her side with a soft sigh, Anna felt the soft skin of Milli"s back against her body. Anna slipped an arm around the other woman"s tummy and sighed. “Well…that was a lovely evening.”

Milli laughed.

Anna pressed her lips to the other woman"s neck, then pulled away, blinking a few times to moisten her eyes. “You have no idea how much I needed that,” she murmured. “It"s been a stressful few months.”

Milli rolled over to smile up at her, and once again, Anna found herself transfixed by the woman"s angelic face. “Your family can be quite demanding,” Milli said. “I mean I don"t want to offend you, but your mother-”

“Don"t get me started on my mother.”

They both laughed.

It was still early, but Anna realized that she should get going. She was supposed to meet with Director Andalon later this morning and discuss next steps for the task force, and she would need to go home first. It wouldn"t do to show up to work in the same dress she had been wearing yesterday. I guess I"ll be walk-of-shaming it back to my place.

I guess I"ll be walk-of-shaming it back to my place.Not that she was the least bit ashamed. The whole concept of a walk of shame was one of those annoying bits of Earth culture that had seeped into her brain. She buried it before she got too annoyed.

Anna got out of bed with a sigh.

In less than a minute, she was pulling the straps of her dress over her shoulders and checking her hair in her mirror. Thin white locks fell into her eyes, and she brushed them away with one hand.

When she turned, Milli was still lying in bed with hands folded over her stomach, smiling up at the ceiling. “It was a nice night for me too,” she said. “Maybe we could do it again sometime.”

“I"d like that.”

They were cut off by the sound of the front door opening and someone stepping into Milli"s apartment. “I"m here!” Alia"s voice called out. “Where are you? We"ve got a lot of things to go over.”

Milli sat up, hunching over with elbows on her thighs and massaging her temples with the tips of her fingers. “Oh no,” she muttered. “I forgot I was supposed to meet with your sister this morning.”

“Where are you?” Alia shouted.

Anna leaned against the dresser with her arms folded, frowning down at the floor. “This should be interesting,” she muttered under her breath. “And for what it"s worth, I"m really sorry.”

“For?”

“You"ll see.”

A knock at the bedroom door was followed by Alia"s muffled voice saying “Milli? Are you up yet? I wanted to talk about the plans for the reception.”

With a groan, Milli got out of bed and began putting on clothes while Anna tried to think of what she would say when her sister opened that door. “Just a sec!” Milli shouted as she pulled a t-shirt over her head. “I"m just getting dressed!”

“Okay, well I"ve got pictures of floral arrangements, and I was hoping you would go over them with me!” Alia sounded impatient. The sound of footsteps made it clear she was moving off to the apartment"s living room, dutifully waiting for her friend to emerge.

Milli left the room.

For a moment, Anna just stood there, contemplating what to do. Yes, she could stay in here, and it was likely that Alia would never catch her, but she had things to do today, and there was a good chance the two of them would be looking at photos together for at least a few hours.

Touching three fingers to her forehead, Anna massaged away the beginnings of a stress headache. Well, you may as well get it over with, she told herself. We"re all adults here. No need to make a fuss.

Well, you may as well get it over with,We"re all adults here. No need to make a fuss.She stepped out of the bedroom into a cozy little living room where a couch faced a slanted window. The kitchen, on the far side of the room, was really cute, and she could here coffee bubbling in a pot.

Sitting primly on the sofa with hands on her knees, Alia looked and then flinched at the sight of her own sister stepping out of her best friend"s bedroom. “Leana…” Her face went crimson. “In the same dress you wore yesterday.”

“Put it all together, Sis,” Anna teased. “I can"t be the only one in this family with some mad detective skills.”

“The two of you…”

“Had s*x,” Anna finished.

Alia seemed to deflate like a balloon, her shoulders slumping as she stared into her own lap. “I can"t…” she began. “Why…What would possess you to do something like that a week before my wedding.”

“Maybe because it felt good?”

On some level, Anna felt sorry for Milli, who had wandered into the final round of Lenai vs Lenai: this time, it"s personal. On the other hand, the woman had to know Alia as well as Anna did.

In the blink of an eye, Alia jumped to her feet and just stood there, red-faced and panting hard. “You always do this!” she snapped. “Somehow, you always find a way to make everything about you!”

Anna forced a grin and nervously brushed a lock of hair off her cheek. “Is there some reason my s*x life shouldn"t be about me?” she asked. “I mean I"d like to think that Milli got something out of it, but-”

shouldn"t“This is my wedding!”

“And this affects your big day…how?”

Alia threw her hands up and began her usual brand of pacing, the kind where she marched to the wall, then whirled around and came back at you with a look that said she intended to plow through anyone in her path. “The hair, the lateness,” Alia said. “The comments you make at the dinner table. I ignore all those things because that"s just how you are. But then you go and sleep with my friend?”

allsleepAlia stopped right in front of her, wearing that look of stern disapproval that she"d inherited from their mother. “I want to know why you would do this!” she whined. “And right before my wedding!”

Pursing her lips, Anna looked up to blink at her sister. “Then I repeat my question,” she said. “And you might want to note the fact that Milli is a big girl who can make her own decisions.”

“Thank you.”

Milli was slouching on the couch with arms folded, frowning at Alia"s back. “Ali, I love you,” she added. “But you"ve got no right to tell me whom I can and can"t have s*x with. This isn"t about you.”

Alia"s blush deepened, and she looked over her shoulder to glare at her friend. Her features softened a moment later. “Yeah, I guess…It"s just you have no idea what it"s like to have a famous sister.”

“Well, your famous sister has work to do,” Anna said, making her way toward the door. “I"ll leave you two to plan. Have fun.”