Butterflies

Chapter 5

Andrea rolled over when she heard El come into the room. She watched the towel wrapped woman towel dry her hair as she walked to her dresser where she let the towel she was wearing fall to the floor in order to dress. She was jealous of El's natural metabolism, the woman didn't have an ounce of fat on her. Andrea watched the way her body moved, admiring how her muscles flexed as she dressed.

"I thought we were being lazy today?" She asked when she noticed El putting on a base layer of clothes.

El looked up to meet Andrea's gaze, "We are, but there's somewhere I want to take you."

"Let me guess, we get there on foot?"

"Yes." El answered as she pulled a t-shirt on over her long-sleeved undershirt. "It's not too far. Maybe a half mile."

Andrea groaned as she got out of bed, drawing El's eyes to her. She smiled at the other woman as she walked past, El's eyes never leaving her naked form.

An hour later El was putting some snacks and drinks in a backpack while Andrea watched. "What do we need all of that for?"

El reached for a hoodie that was hanging by the door, after slipping it on she grabbed the backpack. "Because we're going to take our time and be lazy. Besides you never go hiking without being prepared."

"Where are you taking me El?" Andrea asked as she followed El out the door.

El turned to face Andrea, reaching out to cup her cheek as she leaned in for a kiss, "I am taking you on a hike up the mountain to show you something you'll never see in LA."

Andrea stepped back to allow El to put on the backpack then laced her fingers with El's, both women followed Toby into the trees.

El allowed Toby to lead, the dog instinctively knew where they were going as he and his girl had taken this hike several times before. The forest's ground was still damp from the melting snow and would stay that way for a while. This was El's favorite time of the year. Now that it was spring, there would be new growth, El was always amazed to see the animals that would migrate back to the area knowing that last year's babies would be bigger now.

"So tell me about Jimmy." Andrea said, breaking the silence as they climbed.

El shrugged, "We've known each other since high school. He's like a brother to me I guess you could say." She walked in silence for a few minutes, thinking back to high school. "We rescued each other several times from the typical crap kids put other kids through. We were both bullied a lot, him more than me."

"I think I remember you talking about him that last summer." Andrea said softly. "Why were you bullied?"

"Me for being gay and him because of his dad." After a few minutes of quiet she added, "His dad was a real ass. He knocked Jimmy and his mom around until Jimmy got too big to beat on. A few days after graduation he literally beat Jimmy's mom to death."

"Poor Jimmy!" Andrea murmured. She watched their surroundings as she listened to El's voice.

"His dad got sent to prison and Jimmy disappeared into whatever form of alcohol he could get his hands on. A little over a year later and almost killing himself, we were finally able to get him to sober up and do something with his life. Convinced him that his mom would want him to do better."

"We?"

"Shelly and I. Shelly is our boss. She was Bea's best friend."

"I think I remember her. Is his dad still in prison?" Andrea asked.