Work Text:
Summer 2019
Lou loved Debbie spread out for her, loved taking her time with her until she was squirming and begging. Today, Debbie’s upper body was pressed against the mattress, and a mix of moans and curses were falling from her mouth as Lou slid into her from behind with her feet planted on the ground. Debbie was on her tip toes, barely supporting any of her own weight. Lou’s movements were steady and slow. On each thrust, she pulled the purple strap-on all the way out of her, let the head stutter against Debbie’s clit or slap against her ass. Outside, the weather was hot and humid, and Lou matched the summer’s lazy pace. Time was immaterial; Lou could do this for hours.
“Fuck, baby, I need…” Debbie slipped a hand under herself, reaching for her clit, but Lou grabbed her wrist.
“Not yet,” she murmured. She scratched her fingernails up the backs of Debbie’s legs. Debbie panted and whimpered but placed her hand back on the bed and clutched the sheets. Lou picked up her pace a little bit as a reward. Debbie’s moans grew louder.
All at once, the tinny chime of a ringing phone cut through the room. Lou groaned and reached towards the bedside table. She picked up her own, tossed it aside, and then picked up Debbie’s. She frowned.
“It’s…ah…it’s the burner,” Debbie gasped as Lou pressed her palm against her lower back. “Top drawer.”
Lou pulled the drawer open and looked at the screen of the burner phone, still resolutely thrusting into Debbie. “Leslie,” she muttered.
“Answer it,” Debbie said in a strained voice.
“Seriously?”
“Yes, Jesus, Lou, it’s about the job.” She buried her face in the bedspread once more, biting her lip.
“Hey, Leslie,” she said, answering the call.
“Lou! Is Debbie there?” Nine Ball’s voice was urgent.
“She’s a little busy,” Lou said casually. “What’s up?” Debbie turned her head just enough to smirk at Lou over her shoulder.
Nine Ball sighed. “There a leak, girl. You gotta get out, disappear for a few days.”
“A few days?” Lou growled. She stopped the pace of her hips.
“A week. I’ll get it under control, but Debbie…she got a record,” Leslie sounded apologetic.
“Yeah, no shit. Okay, well, it’s not your fault,” Lou tried to reassure her. It wasn’t like Nine Ball to get anxious. This was serious.
“Yeah, yeah. Just get out, Lou.”
“Thanks.”
“Safety first. Take care.”
Lou hung up and tossed the phone aside. Debbie narrowed her eyes, concerned. She made to rock herself back on the strap-on, but Lou stilled her with a hand on her hip. “Time out, Debs.” She pulled out of her and sat down on the edge of the bed. Her head was spinning as Nine Ball’s warning caught up with her.
“Baby?” Debbie knelt just behind her and rested her chin on Lou’s shoulder.
“Security leak. Leslie’s patching it but…” Lou heaved a sigh. “We have to make ourselves scarce."
“What, lock down the loft?” Debbie sounded incredulous.
Lou shook her head and smiled sympathetically. “No, we have to leave. Nine Ball said to get out of town.”
“We could go to that penthouse I like,” Debbie suggested.
“Honey, that’s in Manhattan,” Lou reminded her, nonplussed.
Debbie blinked. “Oh, you mean, out of New York out of town.”
“Uh…yeah. Somewhere off the grid, if possible.”
Debbie chewed her lower lip. “But she’s fixing it?” she asked.
Lou nodded. “Said it’d be sorted in a week.”
Debbie reached her hand around Lou’s hip, slid her palm down until she reached the base of the strap-on between Lou’s legs. “So, do we have time to…?”
Lou turned to look at her. “You’re insatiable.”
Debbie closed her fist around the dildo and rubbed it, driving the end into Lou and spreading the moisture that was already coating the toy. “Or I just have my priorities straight.”
Lou gasped in mock surprise. “You mean this is more important than a job?” She shifted around to face Debbie.
“Wasn’t that obvious when I married you?” Debbie shot back, eyes dancing with mirth.
“Hm. I think I need a reminder.” Lou pushed her backwards onto the bed, felt Debbie’s hand between them, guiding the strap inside her once more.
Debbie groaned and tilted her head back, rolling her hips up towards Lou’s. “If we’re going on the run, I want you first,” she said breathlessly.
“Oh, is that how it is?”
“Yes.”
**
“That it?” Lou asked.
Debbie nodded as she secured a bag on the side of the bike. “Think so.”
“Gotta say, I expected to have to teach you to pack light,” Lou admitted. It had been a very long time since they had traveled together, and from what Lou remembered, Debbie generally preferred to bring the contents of an entire wardrobe, not to mention her best shoes. Of course, that had usually been for a job, not for an escape.
Debbie shrugged. “Some of us are just naturally gifted.”
“Humble as always, Deborah.” Lou kissed her on the cheek and wrapped a leather jacket around Debbie’s shoulders.
“I’ll drive,” Debbie teased, dangling the keys, which she had pulled out of Lou’s pocket, in front of her nose.
“In your dreams,” Lou said, nimbly grabbing the keys from Debbie’s grasp. She swung a leg over the bike and waited for Debbie to climb on behind her. It was comforting to feel Debbie’s hips slot into place behind her own, leather-clad thighs bracketing hers. Debbie’s leathers actually belonged to Lou, and consequently, they were slightly too large. It was easy to lose sight of her behind the helmet and the clothes and the boots, but Debbie’s touch on Lou’s waist even through her gloves was still hers. There was a certain familiarity, a certain affection, that made Lou’s heart race even though she had experienced it a million times. Debbie leaned into her as Lou started the ignition. Lou took a deep breath.
They didn’t have a planned escape route. It was better that way – better to be able to decide in the moment, just in case. Lou knew Debbie had probably calculated the possibility of them choosing one way or another. Debbie was fond of deductions. Lou was fond of trying to be unpredictable. If she managed to surprise Debbie, then she knew that if there was anyone after them, that person wouldn't stand a chance. Before she could focus on confusing Debbie however, getting out of the city itself was the first hurdle. Lou took a meandering route, trusting to Debbie’s knowledge of the streets to get them to safety. Years before, they had worked out a system of touches and taps on Lou’s waist – a sort of modified Morse code that Debbie used to communicate the best way to go. Lou heeded her until they reached the Bronx. From there, Lou’s expertise was superior. As the traffic dissipated, Lou felt Debbie relax against her. She was off the hook for a while, putting her trust in Lou, and that was encouraging. Near the Connecticut border, they pulled into a gas station, and Debbie flipped up the visor on her helmet, fixing Lou with a curious gaze.
“You gonna tell m—?”
“No.”
“Even just a general—”
“No.” Lou dug in her pocket for a stolen credit card and slid it into the gas pump.
Debbie gave an exasperated groan. “I could help you, you never know. I might know a detour.”
“Your knowledge of New England is appalling,” Lou reasoned as she picked up the fuel nozzle and flicked open the gas tank on the bike.
“Oh, come on, it’s not that bad.”
“Debbie.” Lou leaned against the gas pump with her arms crossed.
“What?” Debbie threw her hands in the air. “I’ve been to Boston.”
“Twice,” Lou reminded her. “Both times to try to rob Fenway Park—”
“While the Yankees were playing—”
“While the Yankees were playing,” Lou amended, rolling her eyes, “and when they lost, you gave up on the job and moped all the way back to New York.”
“I didn’t give up on th—”
Lou glared at her and Debbie fell silent, arms still crossed. “My point is,” Lou said evenly, “your knowledge of New York is unrivaled.” Debbie gave a grudging smile and a small shrug, looking dejectedly at the pavement. “But I know the open road better than you do, and if you recall, that’s saved your neck as well as mine on more than one occasion.”
Debbie scuffed her toe against the pavement for another few seconds. Then she sighed and looked up at Lou. “I don’t like not knowing.”
“Good.” The clip on the fuel nozzle popped as the tank finished filling. Lou removed it and pointed it in Debbie’s direction. “It builds character.”
“What does?”
“Not knowing fucking everything, Jailbird.”
Debbie cracked a genuine smile at the nickname. Lou couldn’t see much of her face under the helmet, but she saw the corners of her eyes crinkle – a tell-tale sign. She replaced the fuel nozzle on the gas pump and wiped her palms on her thighs before slipping her gloves back on. She made to climb back onto the bike, but Debbie’s grabbed her hand.
“Lou,” she said, urgently.
“Yeah?” Lou looked around them anxiously, wondering if Debbie had noticed someone watching them, if they’d been followed.
“No, we’re okay, baby,” Debbie assured her, clearly noticing Lou’s moment of panic. “No, look at me, it’s…” She drew a deep breath. “I do trust you, okay?”
“Trust me…what?” Lou prompted, narrowing her eyes. Debbie leaned her helmet against Lou’s, and Lou suddenly wished that they had taken them off. She wanted to feel Debbie against her, run her fingers through her hair.
“I trust you to keep me – to keep us – safe,” Debbie murmured, almost inaudibly over the roar of traffic on the highway nearby.
“I know you do, honey,” Lou said. She squeezed Debbie’s hand, climbed onto the bike, and felt Debbie settle in behind her. “I know.”
**
They stopped for the night at a cottage bed-and-breakfast on the Connecticut River. The heavy heat of late afternoon enveloped them as Lou slowed down to turn into the long gravel drive way, ears ringing from so many hours of listening to the roar of the engine. Debbie’s grip around her waist tightened for a moment and then released as Lou pulled to a stop. She turned off the bike, and they both climbed off, a little wobbly after so many hours in one position. Debbie removed her helmet immediately, long brown hair messy and staticky. Her eyes looked tired, but her makeup was still perfect. Lou envied her that as she pulled off her own helmet and caught a glimpse of her smudged eyeliner in the reflection of her visor. She sighed and looked back at Debbie.
“You’re not gonna have service,” Lou said as Debbie pulled out her phone.
“How do you know?”
“I made sure. Footprints, remember?”
Debbie scowled. “Yes.”
“Relax,” Lou told her, holding out a hand for Debbie’s leather jacket. “I know where we are, and you trust me. That’s all that matters.”
Debbie sighed. “Fine.” She followed a step behind as Lou led the way up the stone-paved path to the front door of the inn.
Their room was small with an adjoining bathroom. There were far too many throw pillows in a dizzying variety of prints and textures set on the four-poster bed and scattered on each of the two arm chairs by the windows, which looked out over a wide sloping lawn dotted with trees and gardens. Lou could see the river through the foliage a hundred yards away. She pushed one of the large windows open and let the sound of the birds spread through the room. A warm breeze fluttered in the pink lacy curtains. Lou liked getting out of the city, liked being able to hear without the constant rumble of traffic, liked being able to see without light pollution. It made Debbie anxious, though. It wasn’t her turf. Lou turned back towards the room to find Debbie half-sitting against the end of the bed, her eyes trained on Lou.
“You okay?” Lou asked her.
Debbie scoffed. “Well, if you’d chosen somewhere with Wifi—”
“Debbie…”
Debbie heaved a sigh. “I don’t…I don’t like having to leave.”
“You don’t have to like it,” Lou said, more harshly than she meant to. “Sorry,” she said at once as Debbie winced. “I didn’t mean it like—”
“I know, baby,” Debbie said, taking her hand. “I just prefer to leave the city on my own terms, or yours, not anyone else’s.”
Lou nodded. “Not exactly the same as a honeymoon, is it?”
Debbie’s lip twitched, but she continued to look at the ground. “No,” she agreed. “It isn’t.”
**
Much later, in the dark, the sound of crickets filled the room. Lou imagined she could hear sirens in the distance, chasing them. Her heart pounded uncomfortably, and it was difficult to fill her lungs. Keep her safe, she kept telling herself. Keep her safe. But what could she do, really? For all the confidence she displayed for Debbie, Lou still worried. Debbie already bore a scar from prison. She couldn’t let them take her back there, but what if Nine Ball hadn’t managed to patch the leak? What if it was bigger than she realized, and they had been followed all the way here. There were other guests at the bed-and-breakfast. Any of them could be agents. Of course, Debbie hadn’t read that from any of them, and her deductions tended to be accurate. All the same, Lou was anxious, and she needed to sleep in order to drive again in the morning. If they could make it up to central Vermont by mid-afternoon, she would feel better. It was always easier to hide in the mountains. Isolation, she reminded herself, was their friend at the moment, even though it made her feel horribly passive. Out here, she couldn’t control anything but their route. She now had an inkling of what Debbie felt whenever something went wrong: out of her depth, unprepared. Lou turned over and buried her face in Debbie’s hair. She took a deep breath, held it for three heartbeats, and then let it out as slowly as she could. After seven breaths, her heart rate began to slow, soothing a little of her anxiety. She tugged Debbie close against her chest, splayed her palm over her stomach under her loose camisole. Her thumb brushed against the scar, but Lou resolutely ignored its presence.
“We’ll be okay, baby.” Debbie’s voice took Lou by surprise.
Lou propped herself up on her elbow to lean over her. Debbie’s eyes were open, shining in the dim light of the moon and stars. “I thought you were asleep,” Lou said.
Debbie shook her head and shifted onto her back. “I was trying to figure out exactly where we are.”
“Good luck with that.” Lou smirked.
Debbie smiled. “What’s bothering you?” she asked.
“I…” Lou began. She lay down with her head on Debbie’s shoulder. “What if we didn’t get out in time?”
Debbie’s arm wrapped around her and traced the curve of her spine. “We did, baby, I’m sure we did.”
Lou knew Debbie couldn’t actually be sure, but her words were comforting nonetheless. “Why are you sure?”
“Nine is the best hacker we’ve ever worked with. She knows her shit, and she’s a perfectionist. Even an insignificant leak is going to worry her because it’s a hole in her plan.” Debbie spoke evenly. The words drifted over Lou in time with the soft stroke of Debbie’s fingers on her back. “But,” Debbie went on, “chances are, the leak was too small to be noticed, and Nine was just being cautious. Beyond that, wasn’t it you who was trying to convince me to trust you earlier? You know these roads, baby, and you’re right. I’m not going to figure out where we are. Doesn’t mean I’m going to stop trying, but you’re good, baby. I keep you around for a reason, you know?”
Lou smiled. “And you’re certain no one here is a plant?” she asked, not giving in just yet.
“Hundred percent,” Debbie said.
“How—?”
“I searched their rooms during dinner,” Debbie said through a sigh.
Lou hummed a laugh into the soft skin just above Debbie’s breast. “Of course, you did.”
Debbie tipped her head forward and brushed her lips to Lou’s forehead. “Go to sleep,” she whispered. “I assume we have another long day tomorrow.”
Lou nodded and yawned. “Love you, Jailbird.”
She felt Debbie mouth the words against her hairline: Love you.
**
As Lou had hoped, they made it to central Vermont by early afternoon the next day. It felt cooler up here, less humid, and the switchback roads through the tree-covered mountains provided ample cover. There was still an itch on the back of her neck that kept her mind alert, but for the first time since last night, she began to relax. The air smelled earthy and sweet, a hint of autumn despite the bright sunshine and the warm weather. Lou slowed down, took the twists and turns at a reasonable pace, enjoying the panoramic views that bloomed into life around every bend. Debbie’s grip loosened ever so slightly around her midriff. She was relaxing, too. Whatever reassurance they offered each other, Lou knew neither of them loved forced exile. Up here however, the fear seemed to diminish until it was the same size as the tiny hay bales visible in a field far below them down the mountainside.
Lou drove on, noticing for the first time since leaving New York the way Debbie’s body melded with her own on each curve, the way Debbie sat close behind her even though her bike had plenty of extra room for the passenger. The warm press of her teased Lou’s senses, set a fire under her skin, which was hard to ignore. She began thinking about places to stay. There was a guest house near Middlebury on the edge of the woods, less than an hour away even on these winding roads. In her mind she charted their course and planned a few twists and turns to throw a wrench in any calculations Debbie may have made as they drove.
A loud bang interrupted Lou’s train of thought, cutting through her fantasy of exactly what she wanted to do to Debbie as soon as they were alone. The bike jerked, and Debbie’s grip tightened. She couldn’t hear her own voice above the roar of the wind and the bike’s engine, but she knew a string of curses poured from her lips as the bike wobbled. She prayed that Debbie was strong enough to hold on and directed them towards the side of the road where, thankfully, there was a fifteen-foot berm of tall grass between the pavement and the steep slope on their right. Trusting to her own instincts as her brain raced in panic, Lou slowed the teetering bike to a halt. As they stopped, she felt Debbie slide immediately from behind her. As she turned off the bike, she heard Debbie stumble and fall to the ground.
“Debbie.” Lou clambered gracelessly from the bike and was beside her in two long strides. Debbie was lying on the ground, and for a moment, Lou feared the worst. Maybe part of the bike had flown off and hurt her in the process? But as she reached for Debbie’s helmet to remove it, Debbie’s hands impeded her own, ripping the helmet from her head with slightly trembling fingers. Lou grabbed the helmet before Debbie inadvertently tossed it down the slope beside them.
“I’m fine, Lou, I’m fine. Just tripped,” Debbie gasped.
“What? Oh.” Lou looked down to find that her free hand was running over Debbie, automatically checking for injuries. She settled with her hand on Debbie’s chest, pressing just enough to feel her heart beat through her leather jacket.
“I’m okay, baby,” Debbie assured her. She reached out, unbuckled Lou’s helmet, and pulled it off. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah…yes,” Lou said. “Yeah, I’m good. Good.” She leaned forward and pressed her forehead to Debbie’s, letting her breaths return to normal. There was a tug at the nape of her neck – Debbie’s fingers.
“What happened?” Debbie asked quietly.
Lou shook her head. “I don’t know.” The anxiety that had faded since reaching the mountains returned as she took in their predicament. They were stranded, and if the wrong people found them…But she couldn’t consider that now. Panic wasn’t going to serve them best. She rose unsteadily to her feet and stretched her back and neck. She didn’t want to look at the bike, afraid of the extent of the damage. She kept her eyes on Debbie for a moment, who was gazing up at her from the ground with a mixture of confusion and anxiety in her eyes. At last, when she couldn’t find an excuse to stay still any longer, Lou turned around and approached the bike.
The metal was settling, clicking as the engine cooled down. She started at the rear, ran her hand along the tire and pulled a gauge from her pocket. She bent to check the pressure and was pleased to find that it was normal. Her gaze shifted slowly over the motorcycle, taking in every curve and angle. It was lucky she had experimented with building her own bike a year ago, she thought, otherwise she might have missed it. Even with her hobbyist’s eye, she almost didn't see the bent piece of metal near the front tire. She fiddled with it, then stepped back, narrowing her eyes. It took a trained eye to see it, but the front tire was sitting at funny angle. She checked the pressure and sighed.
“We must have hit a rock,” she said aloud.
“What’s wrong with it?” Debbie asked.
“Part of the fender got smashed into the tire,” she said, “caused a slow leak.”
“Can you fix it?” Debbie’s voice was hopeful. Lou chewed the inside of her cheek, willing herself not to lash out. She loved the bike, hated to see any dents on it, but the anger bubbling in her chest was more than that. She had let them both down, stranded them out here in the middle of nowhere.
“No,” she said shortly. “I can’t.” She turned away from Debbie and walked away to the edge of the slope beside them. It was steep and covered in trees, mostly maples, judging by the sap pipelines connecting tree to tree to tree. She felt tears pricking behind her eyes. If they were caught because of this, it would be her fault. Debbie would go back to jail because of her, and she doubted very much that they would be given the mercy of a shared cell in prison. Everything Debbie had used as reassurance the night before seemed immaterial to the fact that Debbie was still a convicted felon without a disguise, and if she got picked up, authorities would be automatically suspicious. Lou rubbed the back of her hand under her nose and sniffed, but the lump in her throat only grew. Her entire body tensed and shook.
“Baby?” Lou jumped as Debbie spoke just behind her. A soft hand settled on her shoulder. “Baby, look at me,” Debbie said firmly.
Lou pressed her lips together so tightly that it hurt and turned around, glaring at Debbie with watery eyes. Debbie sighed and shook her head.
“Oh, Lou, we’ll be okay.”
“If we get caught…”
“We’re not gonna get caught.”
“Just stop, Debs,” Lou told her. “Stop trying to make everything okay. It’s not okay. I brought us up here, thinking it would be safe. But we’re fucked if the cops come through. Fucked. You’re a felon, honey. That doesn’t magically go away after you’ve served your time. And why would you be up here except to run, huh? They’ll know; they’ll figure it out. Even if there wasn’t a leak before, there will be now.” She felt the fear building in her chest, and she couldn’t stop it. Her voice grew louder. “And the bike – my bike…” She put her face in her hands.
Debbie allowed her about thirty seconds in the darkness behind her own hands before her grip closed on Lou’s wrists and tugged them away from her face. Lou didn’t struggle, just gazed pleadingly at Debbie, willing her to come up with a plan out of nowhere. She expected Debbie to speak, but Debbie didn’t. She cupped Lou’s face and swept her thumbs across her cheeks, wiping away tears. Then, she leaned forward. Her lips met Lou’s, and a sob caught in Lou’s throat, because Debbie was warm and soft and solid. She didn’t respond at first, kept her lips tightly closed, still clenching every muscle in fear. Debbie persisted, nibbled Lou’s lower lip and tugged until Lou had no choice but to open her mouth to Debbie’s tongue. Debbie’s hands settled on her shoulders, pressing, reminding Lou of the ground beneath her. She felt herself relax just enough to register the warmth of Debbie’s entire body pushing against her. Gasping a breath, she broke the kiss for a moment to lean her forehead into Debbie’s.
“Baby…” Debbie began, but Lou cut her off with a groan, connecting their lips again. She didn’t want to talk, didn’t want to think. She wanted her.
To her relief, Debbie seemed to read her thoughts, guided Lou to walk backward through the grass until her thighs connected with the familiar leather seat of the bike. Debbie’s hands were everywhere – unzipping Lou’s jacket, sliding it down her arms, slipping under her white tank top. Lou’s muscles were still alight with tension, but it was rapidly turning to arousal as Debbie’s tongue explored her mouth. She experienced a flash of anxiety at the idea of someone driving past them, but it was quickly forgotten as Debbie’s fingers toyed with the button of her leather pants.
“Tell me to stop,” Debbie murmured.
“Don’t stop,” Lou replied at once. Her voice was deep and rough. “Don’t you dare stop.”
Debbie smiled against Lou’s lips and unfastened her pants. She teased the soft skin just under the waistband of Lou’s boy-cut briefs. Lou rolled her hips towards Debbie’s hand, searching for friction. The panic lingered on the edges of her brain, driving her need to an even greater pitch, making her desperate. All at once there was a rumble underneath her as the bike sprang to life.
“Wha—?” Lou gasped, eyes flying open in surprise.
Debbie smirked towards the ignition as her fingers slid from the key back onto Lou. “I didn’t pack a vibrator, did you?” she said matter-of-factly.
“I—” Lou cut herself off with a moan as Debbie’s fingers slid into her pants, bypassing her underwear this time. They both moaned as her fingers met slick wetness between Lou’s folds.
“So wet for me,” Debbie murmured. Her lips found Lou’s once more, swallowing her whimpers as her fingers rubbed over Lou’s arousal. The edge of the bike seat pressed against Lou’s center, and Lou ground down upon it, felt the vibration in every nerve. Debbie slipped her hand from inside Lou’s pants and brought it between their mouths, moistening her fingers on both of their tongues before returning to pleasuring Lou. Her fingers were even warmer now, and Lou felt her legs begin to shake. She gripped the edge of the seat with one hand and fisted the back of Debbie’s jacket with the other. Debbie’s lips were still hot against hers, stealing her breath. With a last cant of her hips, Lou felt her blood run hot, beating in her ears as she saw stars behind her closed eyelids.
She came back to herself slowly, Debbie’s fingers stroking over her arousal. The bike was still rumbling under her, extending every sensation as she took deep breaths. Debbie’s mouth was on her neck now, placing wet kisses back to her ear. Lou shivered, felt the world reform around her. She clutched Debbie tighter with one hand and reached over to turn off the bike with the other. The rumbling ceased abruptly, leaving tingles spreading from Lou’s thighs to the bottoms of her feet.
“That was…,” Lou mumbled into Debbie’s shoulder. She trailed off.
“Was…?” Debbie prompted with a smile in her voice. She trailed her sticky fingers up Lou’s stomach.
Lou shook her head, unable to find the words, and sighed.
“I know,” Debbie murmured. “I’m sorry you’re scared.”
Lou hummed a laugh and closed her eyes again, savoring Debbie’s warmth. “I’m not so scared anymore.”
“Yeah?”
“No, well, give me a minute. It’ll come back.”
She heard Debbie scoff. “Lou, we can get out of this.”
“How, Debs? You’re easily recognizable.”
Debbie tapped Lou’s back as a cue to break their embrace. Lou pulled back and looked at her. Without speaking, Debbie unbuckled one of the saddle bags on the bike and dug inside it. After a few seconds of rummaging, she pulled out a packet of make-up wipes and a hair brush. She kept her gaze on Lou as she methodically wiped the layers of foundation from her face. She balled up the wipe and shoved it back in her make-up kit before grabbing a second wipe and starting on her eye make-up. Black streaks covered the towelette in seconds. Lou kept watching her. The last of the residue was removed with a third wipe. Then she reached for the hairbrush. Leaning sideways, she used the bike’s side mirror to adjust the parting of her hair, then combed all of it back into a long ponytail, which she secured with a black hair tie. Lou blinked. Suddenly, a very different version of Debbie Ocean was standing in front of her, adjusting her posture into something that Lou hardly recognized. Her face was the same, devoid of make-up, but still, the same. Yet something in the way she was holding herself, and the way her hair was swept back at a slightly different angle, changed her look entirely. Lou had seen it before, had always been impressed with Debbie’s talent for disguises, but during the years they had spent apart, she had forgotten just how effective it was. Her pulse, which had been climbing towards panic once more, began to slow.
“I forgot how good you are,” Lou admitted.
Debbie grinned, and even the shape of her smile looked different. “I’m a professional, baby. What accent, do you think? Southern, English…”
“Your English is appalling.”
“Australian, then?”
Lou snorted. “Please, no. That’s even worse.”
“Better decide soon, baby,” Debbie said as the sound of an engine reached them from down the road.
Lou smiled and took her hand. “Your choice, honey. I trust you.”