Burnt Sugar - Part 6 (standard:romance, 4831 words) [6/7] show all parts
Author: damnation	Added: Jan 23 2010	Views/Reads: 6739/1701	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Continuing story

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

opposite sides of the yard with their thighs touching. Frances leaned 
gently into Nell and they shared a smile. The night air was chilly. 
Frances was glad that she had her jumper on. 

"I love you too," Nell said when Frances lit a cigarette. She drained
her glass of wine and proceeded to top it up. 

Frances rested her cheek on Nell's shoulder. "Maybe I shouldn't go back
to Hanoi. I've forgotten what it's like to be in Sydney. If I'm here, 
then maybe Dad and I can actually build a relationship." She blew out a 
line of smoke as she ruminated out loud. 

"You know I'd love to have you here all the time," Nell said. "I missed
hanging out with you. But do whatever you need to do, darl. Do whatever 
you feel is good for you. I know you're still hurting." 

Frances felt her breath catch. "I don't think it's ever gonna stop
hurting, Nell. Maybe I should stop focussing on trying to get that to 
stop and start working on what I have with my Dad. Which isn't much. 
And if I continue to make myself absent in his life, he'll probably 
drink himself to death and... and I'll have no one." She didn't expect 
to get melodramatic but the alcohol was making everything seem so dire. 


"Then stay," Nell said simply, bumping Frances' shoulder with her own.
She grinned. "I'd be glad to have my sidekick back in full time 
action." 

"I'll think about it," Frances said, feeling lightheaded now that all
the heaviness in her chest had dissipated. "You always help me make 
sense of things." She leaned closer to Nell as she mirrored her grin. 
Their noses were almost touching. 

Footsteps caused them to pull apart slightly and Frances looked up to
see Kristen trudging across the yard with a tentative look on her face. 
"Hello, Chef," she greeted lightly. "How was your day?" 

"Busy." Kristen didn't know if she had stumbled on anything private; it
looked like a cosy setting and Frances was sitting very close to her 
friend... Nell, was it? Had they been kissing? She didn't think that 
they were involved. Kristen hoped that her discomfort did not show. 

"Come have a glass of wine with us," Frances offered. 

Kristen was about to reject her offer when Nell piped up. "Yeah, come on
over. I didn't know you live here. Kristen, right?" 

Frances shifted her sitting position so that she was also facing
Kristen. "Come on! I've got wine, so you'll be nice to me tonight," she 
added cheekily. 

Kristen rolled her eyes and gave in. "Are you guys drunk?" she asked
suspiciously, coming to stand in front of them. Frances and Nell had 
matching grins on their faces. "I have to work tomorrow." 

"Oh, pffttt...." Frances said, rolling her eyes. "Me too. Here." She
handed Kristen her own glass with the last bit of red wine from the 
bottle. "Uh oh. We're out." 

Nell sighed dramatically at her friend. "I told you we should have
gotten two bottles." 

"Yeah, yeah, you're the wise one. Will you run down to the Bottle-O for
another? I'll shout...." she said coaxingly. Kristen watched the 
familiar exchange in amusement, feeling slightly out of place. She was 
about to tell them that they didn't have to do that when Frances looked 
at her sharply. "Why are you still standing?" she demanded. 

Kristen lifted a brow. Nell caught the look on Kristen's face and
started chuckling as she got up. She patted the seat of her pants and 
shook her head, directing a long suffering sigh at Kristen. "Sometimes 
I'm not sure myself why I'm friends with such a bossy bitch." Kristen 
smirked. 

"You, sit," Frances said, enjoying herself immensely as she pointed at
Kristen, ignoring her arched look. "And you, wallet," she said to Nell, 
handing over the item. "More wine. Two bottles. Three. Whatever you 
like." 

Nell swung around with her hands on her hips. "Please." 

"Pretty please with a cherry on top?" Frances said, peering up under her
long dark lashes, her deepening dimples making her hard to resist. 

Nell managed to look mollified as she sauntered off, leaving Kristen
with her tipsy friend. 

When Frances noticed that Kristen was still not doing what she was told
to do, she sighed, reached over, and grabbed the woman's hand. A sharp 
yank later, a surprised Kristen came to sit down beside her. "That's 
better," Frances said to herself, pleased. 

"How much have you had to drink?" Kristen asked, not sure what to make
of Frances in this state. Sure, they had gotten drunk together before. 
But then, they had been on equal footing. She had always found it 
amusing to observe inebriated people when she herself was sober. 

Frances' forehead wrinkled. "Not a lot. I'm just behaving badly because
I can." She grabbed Nell's glass and lifted it up between Kristen and 
herself. "Cheers." 

Kristen reached for her glass of wine and clinked it against Frances'.
They each took a sip and Kristen sighed when the liquid made its way 
into her stomach. 

"I hope you don't mind drinking out of my glass," Frances said
belatedly. "Heh. Too late. I've most probably given you lesbian germs." 


Kristen almost snorted at that. "Hardly," she quipped dryly before
taking another sip of the wine. 

"Oh. Well. One can try," Frances said with a shrug of her shoulders.
Kristen shot her a bemused look at that but did not comment. "Uh... so 
my Dad's home too?" 

"Uh huh. Should we ask him to join us?" Kristen said teasingly. 

"And have him tell me I shouldn't be hitting on his chef? No way!"
Frances laughed. When Kristen did not say anything, she hurriedly 
backpedalled. "I'm just kidding. Swear," she said, lifting her hands up 
to show that she was harmless. "It's just that I've got sex in my head 
at the moment and -" 

Kristen's brows jumped to her hairline at that. Frances slapped her palm
against her forehead. "Oh, God! It's all coming out wrong like it 
always does with you, isn't it?" she groaned. 

"Huh. Here you are calling me 'God' again. How can I begrudge that?"
Kristen said, a smile twitching her lips. She found an inebriated 
Frances very entertaining. "And why do you have sex in your head at the 
moment?" she asked, dropping her voice into a whisper. Her voice came 
out lower than she had intended; Frances shot her a quick look and 
pursed her lips in a guilty smile. 

"Oh. You know," Frances said vaguely as she sipped her wine, wondering
why Nell was taking so long. The bottle shop was only two blocks down 
the road. 

"No, I don't. Therefore the question," Kristen pressed on, enjoying
herself. This definitely beat whatever she had planned to do tonight to 
unwind. 

"Can we change the topic, please?" Frances pleaded. "I gave you
wine...." she trailed off, hope colouring her voice. 

Kristen bit back a chuckle. "Uh huh, and I'm supposed to be nice to you
because you gave me wine?" At Frances' nod, she continued wickedly, 
"Exactly how nice do you want me to be?" she said suggestively, giving 
Frances no room to doubt what she was alluding to. 

Frances would have choked on her wine if she had any in her mouth at
that moment. But she didn't, so all she could do was to gape at 
Kristen; her mind was racing with a hundred different ways of answering 
that question but she wasn't sure how far she should take this 
unintended flirtation before the woman ran back to her flat screaming. 
"What, are you offering to be nice?" she asked in what she hoped was a 
skeptical tone, her voice breaking slightly. 

Kristen shrugged as she reached over for Frances' packet of cigarettes.
"I don't know. It depends. On what you mean by 'nice'." She whipped out 
a cigarette and put it between her lips slowly, conscious that Frances 
was tracking her every move with her eyes. It made her blood rush like 
it always did whenever she knew that she had someone's undivided 
attention. She lit the cigarette but instead of blowing out the smoke, 
allowed it to leak out slowly from between her lips. Her voice was low 
and a tad scratchy when she said, "I don't usually do 'nice'." 

Frances could only stare at Kristen's lips as her brain attempted to
catch up with what she was saying. Her way she curved her lips, slanted 
her eyes, lowered her voice.... The woman knew what she had and how to 
work it. Then she snapped to attention--Kristen was obviously baiting 
her as usual. Two could play this game. 

Frances plucked the cigarette from Kristen's fingers and took a drag
from it to give herself time to think. "Let's start slow then," she 
said finally, leaning closer to Kristen so that she looked right into 
her eyes. Then, with her heart in her throat, she lowered her eyes to 
Kristen's lips. Her meaning was also clear. 

Kristen knew that if she wanted to stop this game that they were
playing, she had to do it now. Now was the time to pull back, chuckle, 
and change the topic. But to pull back now would somehow mean that she 
had lost the challenge. And she was curious to see if Frances would 
carry it through. Frances, who seemed so vanilla, somehow. 

Frances licked her lower lip unconsciously. Her gaze flickered from
Kristen's lips to her eyes, then back to her lips. What was she doing? 
I absolutely cannot be thinking of kissing Kristen Black right now, she 
thought. But their breaths were intermingling and the cool night air 
was wrapping itself around them. She found herself drawn to the warmth 
emanating from Kristen. 

She brought a hand up to push an errant lock of hair away from Kristen's
face and let her fingers linger on Kristen's cheek. It was their only 
point of physical contact and Frances was very aware of it. "Kiss me," 
she challenged softly, looking back into Kristen's eyes. This had to be 
Kristen's choice. 

For someone who had never entertained the thought of kissing women in
her life, Kristen could see the irony in having her second kiss with a 
woman in a week. All right, she decided, she would show Frances 'nice'. 
She touched her lips to Frances' softly, then with more pressure. A 
wisp of Frances' hair tickled her face and she was reminded again 
exactly who she had her lips pressed against. She was about to pull 
away--surely that was nice enough--when Frances caught her lower lip 
between her lips and slid a warm tongue across it. 

Frances concentrated fully on the kiss. She moved her lips gently, but
sensually and firmly. Her fingers splayed open on Kristen's cheek and 
slid onto her neck as she gently pulled Kristen closer. Without 
removing her lips from Kristen's, Frances slanted her face and touched 
her tongue to Kristen's, deepening the kiss. Then she lightly nipped at 
Kristen's lower lip--was that a catch in her breath?--and finally sank 
into the warmth of Kristen's mouth. 

Kristen could not help comparing the kiss that she had shared with
Eleanor with the kiss she was currently engaged in. That had been 
enjoyable, but this was hot, dark and wet. Her eyes had fluttered shut 
when their kiss deepened. She could taste a heady mix of wine and 
tobacco. When Frances' tongue tangled with hers, she felt a shiver go 
down her side. Frances was intimately stroking her face, stroking her 
tongue, breathing into her mouth--nothing was hurried. It could have 
gone on for a minute or ten, Kristen could not be sure. 

The kiss finally wound down and they pulled away from each other, both
breathing a little heavier. Frances dropped her hand from Kristen's 
face and the chill of the night air hit her slightly flushed cheek. 
Kristen opened her eyes and saw a nervous smile playing on Frances' 
lips. Kristen did not know what to say. That was... a little more than 
enjoyable. 

"So what did I miss?" Nell's approaching chirpy voice splashed over them
like a bucket of cold water. 

"Huh? Nothing!" Frances said quickly. 

"I was just gonna go take a shower," Kristen said as she started to get
up. 

"But I got us more booze!" Nell said with a frown, raising two bottles
of wine as proof. 

Kristen bit on her lower lip and its silky smooth texture reminded her
that she had just been very thoroughly kissed by no one other than 
Frances Russell. "I'll... be back," she said in a casual tone as she 
walked away. 

"Well hurry back!" Nell said, already twisting open a bottle of wine. 

* 

The hot water system was working fine on this occasion when a cold
shower would probably be more suitable. Kristen stood under a warm 
spray of water, staring idly at the soap suds circling the drain. Her 
mind flashed back to her very recent kiss and she brought a hand to her 
lips unconsciously. She shook her head to clear it. So Frances was a 
good kisser--what about it? 

She had to admit that she had developed a grudging liking for Frances,
but purely in a platonic manner. Frances had a good heart and a quick 
tongue--oh, her tongue... Kristen shook her head again to dislodge the 
thread of thought her mind was taking. Turning the water off, Kristen 
stepped out of the shower stall and quickly dried herself with a towel. 
The shower had relaxed her. She felt languid and no longer like 
socialising. She would tell Nell and Frances that she was really tired 
and had to go to bed. 

Wiping the vapour from the bathroom mirror, Kristen scrutinized her
reflection. It had probably been too long since she had had her itch 
scratched. Perhaps she should have a night out on her next day off. A 
part of her wished that she had kept the number of at least one of the 
men she had slept with so that she could give them a booty call but 
that would be breaking her rule of not keeping contact with any of her 
one night stands. No repeat performances meant no hassle. 

After putting on comfortable sleeping attire, Kristen contemplated
jumping into bed without going back out into the yard. But the thought 
of them sitting there, waiting for her.... Kristen sighed. 

She called back the image of Frances and Nell sitting really close to
each other earlier in the night and wondered for the second time if she 
had interrupted them making out. Frances did mention that she had sex 
in her head. It had been the comment that had led to them kissing. 

Kristen frowned. Even though she did not want the kiss to mean anything,
she did not relish the thought of Frances making out with first Nell, 
then herself, just because she was sexually frustrated. She felt 
impelled to investigate. 

The women were at the hammock, where she had left them. There was a
respectable distance between them, an observation that satisfied 
Kristen. Frances was giggling hysterically at something Nell was 
saying. Kristen felt her own lips curl up in response. 

Frances collected herself and noticed Kristen approaching them. "Hey.
Good shower?" 

Kristen nodded. "Yeah, really good. In fact, so good that I'm gonna
crash instead of hang out." 

Frances and Nell sported matching pouts at that. "One glass of wine
before you go? A nightcap!" Nell coaxed with a glass of wine in her 
outstretched hand. 

"Yeah. You're all clean and nice smelling now so you can sit on the
hammock," Frances added persuasively, patting the hammock next to her. 

Kristen smirked. She realised that she had anticipated feeling awkward
around Frances but it wasn't the case. If she sat down now and had a 
drink with them, the night would not end with the kiss and it could be 
swept under the rug. 

"Pretty please with a cherry on top?" 

"That phrase often work for you?" Kristen asked sardonically, nodding
her thanks at Nell for the glass of wine. She went over to the hammock 
and carefully put her weight on it. Her legs dangled beside Frances, 
who was sitting on a patch of grass next to her. 

Frances chuckled but it was Nell who answered, "To date, all the time.
That phrase and those dimples are a lethal combination." 

"Hey! Stop giving away my secrets!" Frances said, slapping her friend's
arm lightly. 

"So Kristen, what's it like living here?" Nell asked conversationally,
ignoring Frances. 

"Like living anywhere else, I suppose," Kristen said with a shrug. She
caught Frances' eyes and smirked. "Until this one here came into the 
picture. She's emptied filthy water all over me and slammed a door in 
my face since she's been here. Frankly, I should ask Russell to give me 
a week's free rent to make up for all that." 

Nell snorted disbelievingly at Frances, who was visibly reddening
despite the pale lighting in the yard. 

"I said I was sorry," Frances mumbled in a piteous tone. 

"That she did," Kristen said grudgingly. "And she made me supper one
night. I guess we're even." 

"Really? We're even?" Frances' eyes narrowed as she gazed suspiciously
at a smirking Kristen. She rested a hand on Kristen's knee before 
turning her gaze on Nell. "She's been torturing me at work ever since," 
she said, hooking her thumb behind her at Kristen, "so it's not like 
she's been nice or anything." 

At the mention of 'nice', Frances and Kristen were both reminded just
how nice Kristen could be. Frances quickly pulled her hand away from 
Kristen's knee as though it was scalded and Kristen flushed slightly. 
Nell lifted a brow at the interesting development. 

"All right, I think I'm done for the night," Kristen said, handing her
empty glass to Nell. "Thanks for the nightcap, ladies," she said, 
getting up from the hammock just as Frances turned her body to bid her 
goodnight. Her hand holding the wine glass connected with Kristen's 
knee; red wine splashed onto Kristen's pyjama pants. 

"Uh oh," Frances said in a small voice. 

Kristen rolled her eyes at Frances and sighed. "I was waiting for the
other shoe to drop. You fully earned your nickname, Jinx." 

"Oh God...." Frances mumbled, covering her eyes with her free hand. 

"Put down your glass of wine and slowly move your hand away," Kristen
said, her voice low and laced with amusement. Satisfied that Frances 
was not going to empty the rest of her wine on her, Kristen stood up 
and stepped away from the hammock. "All right, this is goodnight for 
real now." 

Nell chuckled at the display between Frances and Kristen. "Goodnight,
Kristen. And can I say, it has been a pleasure." 

17 

It was a good week for Taters. Since hiring Missy, Tammy had managed to
acquire another staff member, Liam, who seemed to fit in well with 
their existing floor crew, as well as a new kitchenhand, Sandra, to 
replace Frances. Russell's invitation to go out to sea had been well 
received by everyone, and even though he hadn't said anything about 
whether they were going to take part in C&C's cooking competition, 
Tammy was sure whatever Russell's decision was, it would not affect 
Taters' patronage. 

Russell plated up two meals and hollered when the new floor staff was
nowhere in sight. He was sporting a headache that the painkillers he 
had taken did nothing for. That, on top of his sore stomach was making 
him grumpier than usual, if that was possible. 

Frances, on the other hand, was nursing her own hangover and was
attempting to concentrate on the pile of dishes before her. She was 
rarely addressed during service unless Russell or Kristen had a bone to 
pick with her so she was determined to make herself as small and 
efficient as possible so as not to be noticed. No such luck. 

"This is not a socialising venue!" Russell shouted from his station when
the new guy, Liam, once again lingered too long at the dishwashing 
station to talk to Frances. "Lad, if I see you hovering again, I'll put 
you on dishes and Frances can have the day off!" 

Frances immediately wished for it to happen. Liam, on the other hand,
didn't. "Sorry, Boss!" he called out. "Won't do it again," he said 
before exiting the kitchen, but not before giving Frances a 
conspiratorial wink. 

Half Irish and half Chinese, Liam was a good looking lad with charm to
boot. Frances would not be surprised if he had all the women at Taters 
wrapped around his little finger by the end of the shift. Even she was 
warming up to his charm. Then she snuck a look at Kristen and corrected 
herself. All the women but Kristen, that is. She could not imagine 
Kristen being wrapped around anyone's finger. 

Almost as though she knew that Frances was thinking about her, Kristen
looked up and arched a brow at the kitchenhand. "Jinx, stop dallying 
and get on with your work!" she called out with a smirk. "Otherwise you 
might still be here tomorrow doing those dishes when you could be 
snorkelling with me at the bay." 

Oh yeah. It would be a shame if Kristen ever let herself be wrapped
around anyone's finger. Frances spent the rest of the shift trying not 
to think about Kristen, wrapping and fingers. It wasn't easy but it did 
make her forget about her hangover. 

* 

The Taters crew was gathered in the beer garden as usual at the end of
the night. Liam was still in high spirits and was entertaining Tammy 
and Missy with his antics. He occasionally sent a smile or a wink 
Frances' way. Frances had to admit that she was flattered by his 
attention. 

"I want to talk to you all about the cooking competition," Russell said
abruptly. All conversations lulled immediately at his gruff voice. 
"I've spoken to the owners of the other restaurants and we've decided 
to go along with it." 

Kristen shifted in her seat. 

"Kristen, you and Ramsey talk about which one of you wants to join the
competition with me. They're just asking for two chefs so it'll be me 
and one of you." 

"Okay," Kristen said, feeling a rush of relief. She would make sure that
Ramsey joined the competition, not her. On the day, she would make some 
excuse to not show up. 

Russell nodded and took a swig from his bottle. That signified the end
of the announcement. 

"So, Chef, how long have you been working here?" Liam asked Kristen
conversationally. Apart from the people not on roster that day and the 
boss, she was the only person at Taters he hadn't made a connection 
with. 

"A while," Kristen said. She had things on her mind and did not feel
like conversing. 

"You make good food," he continued, flashing Kristen a genuine smile.
"The food here's amazing. I've been here a few times with mates and 
everyone raves about it. I can't tell you how awesome it is to get a 
job here." 

Kristen gave him an absent smile as she sipped her wine. She caught
sight of Frances circling the rim of her glass of water with her index 
finger, seemingly deep in thought. She took the opportunity to look at 
the woman, trailing her eyes over dark lashes, a well defined nose and 
smooth complexion before lingering on Frances' lips. 

Frances' hair was tied up again in a ponytail, exposing a wide expanse
of neck. Kristen's gaze wandered up Frances' jawline. Frances only ever 
wore one earring--a black hooped stretcher earring on her right ear. 
Kristen wondered if the stretching process had been painful. 

Frances met Kristen's gaze and gave her a questioning look. Kristen
gently shook her head but held Frances' eyes with her own, her lips 
curving into a small smile. Frances began smiling too, 
self-consciously, and quickly finished her glass of water before 
turning her attention to Liam, who had asked her a question. 

"Uh, no, I don't think so. I'm still recovering from last night's drink
session," Frances said sheepishly to Liam's invitation to grab a drink 
with Missy and himself. She found herself searching out Kristen's gaze 
again at that and they shared a grin. "Speaking of which... Dad, can we 
go? I'm tired," Frances said to her father. 

Liam's eyes rounded. Apparently he hadn't known that Frances was the
boss' daughter. 

"You're driving," Russell said gruffly, throwing her a bunch of keys.
"Kristen?" 

Kristen nodded and quickly finished up her wine. She was still trying to
decide if she wanted to go prowling tonight, taking into account that 
Frances and she were going snorkelling the next day. Regardless, she 
had to go home and grab a shower. She stood up and bade everyone 
goodnight before trailing behind Frances and Russell. 

Liam looked even more confused. "Kristen lives with Frances and the
boss?" he asked Tammy and Missy when they left. "And why didn't anyone 
tell me that Frances is the boss' daughter?" 

"What does it matter?" Tammy asked, chuckling as she got up herself.
"Come on, you two, I'm closing up." 

TBC


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