Chapter 45

• "Tanner, please lay my sister so she'll stop beating me," she dramatically pleaded through clenched teeth, looking up at the new neighbor who stood only two inches taller than herself. Before she received another kick, she bolted into the townhouse chuckling like one of the Three Stooges. Casey buried her face in her hands. Tanner found the response adorable. Without thinking, she reached out gently placing a hand on Casey's shoulder. "It's okay. You're a saint for putting up with her." A surge of energy from the contact made her spine tingle. She removed her hand, seeing those beautiful eyes look up at her. "Um, thanks again for turning the music off," she commented with a warm smile, and then decided to go home before she wound up saying something stupid. Casey didn't realize she was transfixed on the jeans-clad ass retreating across the thirty foot expanse of what was supposed to be a shared yard, until her neighbor disappeared into the townhouse.
• "Wow," she blew out a breath. "That woman was.....statuesque... and Mouse just embarrassed the fuck out of me." Tanner leaned against the kitchen counter and looked out the sliding glass doors in time to catch the short blonde turn on her heels and disappear inside. A smile teased her lips with satisfaction as she realized that the blonde had been watching her. It was nice to know she wasn't the only one that had been entranced. **************** Friday finally came to an end for Tanner. She looked forward to crawling into bed after dealing with two clients by phone. She had walked them through the design of their site since they weren't sure how to convey what they wanted. Entering the bedroom, she turned on the bedside lamp and removed the devices from her ears. Grabbing her pajamas to change, she remembered the curtain was open. She waltzed towards the open double French doors which lead out to the very small balcony, debating on whether she should also shut the doors. She still couldn't believe the mild winter they were experiencing here, compared to the frigid temperatures and snow in Chicago during her undergraduate years. In a couple of her classes, she had heard from classmates that this particular winter was going to be exceptionally warm. Tanner was about to close the curtain when she noticed Casey come into view across the way. Ocean blue eyes widened as she saw the beautiful blonde as naked as the day she was born.
• Casey was in the process of towel drying her hair and Tanner found that she was unable to move. She gulped as her eyes raked over the supple looking skin that shone with vitality. The shorter woman grabbed the bathrobe from off the bed, and at that precise moment when she swung it on, emerald green eyes locked on to her peeping neighbor. Realizing she'd been caught, Tanner already regretted having watched this long. 'I'm sorry,' she mouthed, and began to close the curtain when she heard a quick tapping. She looked out, having heard Casey say, 'Wait'. Puzzled, she did as requested. Casey was surprised to find she had a voyeur. A part of her knew she should be angry, and yet another part of her was excited that Tanner saw her. The other part of her knew that had it been anyone else watching, she would have definitely been upset. With Tanner though, she hadn't been able to get the tall beauty out of her mind since their meeting. Both women just looked at each other momentarily until Tanner mouthed, 'I'm really embarrassed. I shouldn't have been staring'.