Kismet Encounter Ch. 01

Seattle, right?

"You look stunning," a voice whispered in her ear and she couldn't stop the shiver that accompanied the words. Natalie laughed as she turned to face Jude, not feeling remotely as stunning herself as her date saw her.

Jude's cobalt eyes glistened beneath the ambient lighting. She seemed taller in the handsome smoky gray suit. With the matching jacket hung jauntily over her arm and her unruly black hair partially tamed, Jude looked far too elegant to be Natalie's date in the school teacher's estimation. Natalie stood feeling starstruck as she stared at Jude, unable to take her gaze off the gorgeous woman.

"You're the one who looks stunning," she said. Jude offered her arm and Natalie took it. The gesture felt rather old worldly, but didn't seem out of place in the mix-matched aura of the gallery.

"How was the first week of school?" Jude inquired.

"Meh, uneventful. It's always hard to get those kids to sit still for the first few weeks let alone the first days," Natalie replied. Her students were anxious to get back outside and enjoy the lingering summer warmth before the rainy fall shaded the city.

Jude led her around the gallery, taking in the beautiful work displayed.

"Now, I'm no art critic, but I do wonder what the artist was going for in this piece. It's so captivating yet so vague," Jude mused, staring at a large oil painting by itself, the darkness of the piece contrasting against the stark white of the pillar where it hung.

Natalie stepped closer and realized the painting wasn't black but a varying darkness of blues, greens, reds, purples, swirling in soft curves throughout the piece. Naked canvas peeked out beneath the heavy colorization and Natalie found it remarkable.

She spoke her extempore interpretation aloud to Jude, "It's very captivating. To me, it feels like it could be a representation of the artist's darkest moment, perhaps the imagery is forcing you to delve into the depths of it. They were sucked into this deep abyss of some inescapable time frame in their lives where they felt suffocated by something. The absence of the darkness in these spots is a cliché. Basically, the light at the end of the tunnel. To portray that they pulled themselves out of it, by the help of others, or by themselves even." Natalie eyes remained glued to the canvas.

Jude looked at her incredulously, her face alight with something Natalie couldn't pinpoint nor name. "That was beautiful, Natalie," Jude whispered, and Natalie could feel Jude's gaze sweeping over her face.

Natalie felt herself move toward Jude, pulled by a force beyond her control.

"I have something for you in my car," Natalie said, thinking of the portrait, her face so close to Jude's. She knew a kiss was coming, wanted the kiss to come, but not in the middle of the art gallery. For reasons unknown to Natalie, she wanted it to be a private moment.

"You do?" Jude whispered. She hadn't moved a muscle, poised to claim her kiss. Natalie nodded, feeling her face darken into the shade of a red-delicious apple. She took a step back and turned toward the direction of the stairs.

"Come on, then," she called back to Jude playfully. Jude obeyed and made her way to the stairs, taking two at a time to catch up with Natalie's pace. When Natalie reached the sidewalk outside, she could feel the pressure building in the air that preceded a late summer storm and she looked to the sky to see the ashen clouds hanging threateningly low. She shot Jude a rueful smile, who tumbled through the door.

"You are way too fast," Jude complained through her mild heaving and a smile. Natalie giggled and waited for Jude to recover.

"Looks like we've got a storm brewing. I love thunderstorms," she marveled. Jude smiled at the look on Natalie's face, tilted toward the clouds with a dreamy smile curving those lips that Jude so badly wanted to kiss.

When they reached her car, Natalie unlocked the doors to her gray sedan. Before she could open the passenger door, Jude gently caught her elbow, urging her to turn around.

Azure eyes watched her, raw desire darkening the edges of her irises. Heat spread to the surface of Natalie's cheeks under the intense gaze and her lips parted. She couldn't recall a time in her life that she wanted to be kissed more than in that moment as Jude brought her hand up to cup her cheek.

Jude pulled her forward to meet her awaiting lips, and Natalie sighed softly as she soaked in the pleasant sensation of Jude's warmth. Natalie's arm snaked around Jude's waist, causing Jude to groan. She parted her lips fully and the kiss deepened, causing both to feel breathless and heady as Jude staked a claim to the beautiful woman in her arms. Jude's warm tongue exquisitely caressed Natalie's as she drank her in.

A strange yet comforting feeling settled within Natalie's mind and she relaxed even further into the embrace, Jude's strong arms wrapping around her body. The hair on the back of her neck raised slightly, causing a shiver to roll over her shoulders and down her back. Natalie felt herself meld into Jude, their thoughts coalescing, her very being becoming intrinsically bonded with this woman.

Abruptly, and almost painfully, Jude physically pushed away from her, severing the fervent connection. Natalie gasped, her eyes snapping open, and she searched Jude's face for recognition of what had just transpired. Jude's breath came in short spurts, her blue eyes dark as she stared at Natalie with consternation, shock and, perhaps, fear, their eyes locking with excruciating hunger.

"Natalie," Jude started, her voice hoarse. Natalie watched as Jude struggled to say something, but eventually decided against it. With a visible grimace, she turned and disappeared down the street, past the door to the gallery.

Natalie stood with her eyes in the direction of where Jude had stood, her fingertips on her tingling lips, still feeling Jude's presence in her mind.

**

Jude's thoughts reeled as she walked, a rumble of thunder echoing miles away, the impending storm closing in. With each stride, it became clearer to Jude what had happened. She left a beautiful woman on the street after an earth shattering kiss.

No, there was something else hidden within the ardent touch that left Jude shaken. A light mist began to fall, sticking to her skin and triggering a faint reverie. Her mind clicked, a blurry memory from her childhood causing a wave of nausea to overtake her body.

She stopped, grasping the wall of a bus station shelter. When the physical sickness subsided, Jude rapidly dialed a number on her phone, praying for an answer, needing solace from her twin. Her body leaned against the stability of the small structure as she waited for an answer.

"Hello?" Roland rasped on the fourth ring.

"Hey. We need to talk," Jude implored, her voice steady despite her tremulous hand.

"Uh, I don't think it's a good time. How about tomorrow?" Roland counter offered, her tone hushed and tinged with impatience. Jude scoffed.

"I'll be there in ten," Jude asserted before ending the call. After quickly requesting an Uber on her phone, Jude sat down in the bus shelter, avoiding eye contact with pedestrians, her foot nervously bouncing on the concrete curb as she waited. The dawdling rain became a downpour, a crack of lightning shuttering through the city skyline.

Into the Uber, out of the Uber, into Roland's building, through the lobby, and into the elevator all happened on autopilot. The storm rumbled on through Jude's troubled mind.

When the elevator door opened, Jude started down the hall to the large penthouse her sister occupied, meeting the eyes of a half-dressed woman coming toward her, pulling a coat around her shoulders.

"Hi," the unknown woman greeted softly, her gaze sizing her up. Jude tilted her head at the woman before slipping past her and walking through the door left ajar at the end of the hall.

The lighting in the apartment was dimmed, a low string of classical music playing from an unseen speaker in the vast living room. The lights of the fish tank replacing the hall wall illuminated the entryway. Roland walked in with a colorful martini in her hand and regarded Jude with annoyance.

"What's up? I was in the middle of a very important meeting with a business associate. It's rude to interrupt these things," she protested, placing her glass on the coffee table and plopping down on the long couch. Her eyes brimmed over with irritation and her hair was as disheveled as Jude's. She kicked her legs over the armrest, laying on her back flat on the couch with her hands beneath her head.

Jude rolled her eyes, assuming by the look of her twin that the 'meeting' was non-verbal. Roland's navy dress shirt hung unbuttoned, hastily shoved beneath the waist of her black slacks haphazardly. Her white tee was untucked as well and a faint hint of lipstick stained her chiseled jawline.

"At eleven p.m.?" Jude mused as she sat in the matching loveseat opposite her sister, droplets of rain water sliding from her hair.

"What do you want? And why are you all wet?" Roland asked, turning to face Jude, her expression contemptuous. Jude cleared her throat, unsure how the broach the subject.

"Do you remember when dad sent us to that clinic?" she began, the rain pelting the skylights above being a sufficient explanation of her state of dampness. The room became eerily quiet, even the bubbling of the extravagant fish tank becoming muffled as Jude stared at her sister.

Finally, Roland sat up, her feet hitting the floor with a light thunk, and locked eyes with Jude. "Yeah. Not fondly either." The recall of events was apparent on Roland's face, her brows furrowed and jaw tight, her normal confident and apathetic façade diminished.

"Something happened tonight that hasn't happened for a long time." This seemed to pique Roland's interest and she edged closer to the table between them. She held her martini glass by the stem with tentative fingers, swirling a finger over the rim of it.

"Like what?" she asked, her eyes lowered to her task. Jude leaned back in the loveseat, her strength suddenly gone, her shoulders slumping. The memory of Natalie surrounding her very being caused her to take in a sharp breath and she closed her eyes.

"I slipped into someone's mind. I saw images. I felt and thought things that weren't mine to think." Jude's hand came up and she rubbed the heel of it to her forehead, guilt slamming into her for invading Natalie's privacy, regardless of the lack of intent. Roland's eyes widened as she considered the weight of the statement and, reaching forward, she placed a comforting hand on Jude's arm, coaxing her to look up.

"It's not something we have control over, Jude. Don't be so hard on yourself. How did it happen?" Roland asked, her face softening. Jude was slightly astounded by the tenderness in Roland's tone.

"I kissed her. That's it," Jude stated succinctly. Roland looked perplexed, mulling over what Jude said.

"Fair girl?" Roland asked, and Jude nodded.

"It wasn't like you were trying to read her mind. I mean, in a moment of intimacy, I'm sure we can't always control what we do."

"Are you speaking from personal experience?" Jude questioned, staring hard at Roland who looked away, shaking her head.

"I don't think I've ever had an experience like that. Sure, I've pried minds. Shit, you know I used to get into dad's so I could figure out where the damn liquor cabinet key was. But, nothing like you're saying," Roland said.

Jude shook her head with distaste, irritated at her sister's willingness to delve into people's minds without their consent.

"But, she must be special for it to happen like that," Roland added.

"What could it mean? It hasn't happened on its own in years - it can't be normal just to pop up out of the blue," Jude said, pushing herself off the couch, her body buzzing with palpable anxiety.

"If you haven't noticed, we aren't normal," Roland retorted with a laugh. Jude considered this, running a hand through her drying hair with a new wave of fatigue.

"I feel so guilty. She could feel it, Roland. She knew what I was doing," Jude said, still pacing the plush carpeted living room. Roland rolled her eyes with a drawn-out sigh.

"God, Jude. When did you become such a romantic? It was kiss. I'm sure she was simply enjoying it. She probably didn't have a clue what you were doing, meandering around her head," Roland said.

Jude shot her a look before she continued to pace. She shook her head, knowing intuitively something befell between herself and Natalie, a merging of kindred souls. She snorted at her own intrusive thoughts when Roland snatched her wrist, halting her pacing,

"Quit, or you'll bore a damn hole in my oriental rug," she snapped, glaring up at Jude. "I'm sure it was nothing. You don't need to lose your shit over a kiss, no matter how monumental you think it was," Roland snickered, releasing Jude's wrist and picking up her drink.

Jude sighed and sat beside her sister. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I am too serious." Jude pulled out her phone from her pocket, grateful it had stayed dry despite the torrent of rain she'd walked through.

I'm sorry about that. Can we talk tomorrow? she texted the woman who had her in knots.

Jude waited for a response but didn't receive one. Damn it, she must've really pissed Natalie off, or worse, hurt her. She prayed with every ounce of her that Roland was right. The doorbell rang, and Jude shot an incredulous look at Roland who grinned sheepishly.

"I love you, sister. But, I've got another meeting. You know, for business," Roland said with a wink. Jude rolled her eyes yet again at her twin and made a start for the door.

**

Natalie strolled leisurely down the crowded street debating her next action. She tried to think of what she could say back to Jude that would relate her hurt. The message she received the night before was brief and Natalie hadn't replied, opting to think of a better way to approach the rejection. Had it been rejection? Natalie wasn't so sure, but, if it was, she'd have rather been let down in person than over a text message.

Can you meet at the Starbucks across from Westlake Park in a half an hour?

She sighed, slipping her phone in her pocket, her thoughts disquieted. She endeavored not to dwell on the kiss, but she found herself thinking about it during almost every free moment since it occurred. It had been intense, gentle, and downright incredible. Not only that, there had been a distinct awareness of Jude she had never felt with anyone in her life. She'd kissed a number of other women, going to bed with a few, but never having such an undeniable physical and emotional connection with any of them.

Emotional? No, that wasn't the correct word, Natalie thought, it was more spiritual if anything. The feeling was what she imagined her mother felt when she took communion each Sunday. The connection and bond she felt with her God now, for Natalie, encapsulated within a woman who made Natalie feel weak in the knees just thinking about her eyes gazing into her own. This comparison infuriated Natalie because it was too true to form. Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she pulled it out, opening a text from Jude.

Sure

Natalie closed her eyes, suddenly quite apprehensive at the one-word reply. At the very least, she hoped this would coax a formal rejection. Then, maybe Natalie could make herself give up on the notion that the two shared some magical connection.

Despite the storm overnight, the sky was free of clouds and only a handful of puddles remained in the road. The sun was hot already, seemingly hugging Natalie as she walked toward the small park. Tall oak trees and evergreens were clustered in middle, scattered picnic tables and chairs beneath the shade. Natalie walked through the park, breathing in the sharp scent of trees and the fresh water lapping at the base of the concrete waterfall, similar to the fountain at the park she'd taken Jude to on their first real date the weekend prior. As she reached the curb, the light turned red and she stopped.

Her phone was still in her hand when it buzzed, and she looked down at a new message from Jude.

I'm here. What's your favorite coffee? Wait, let me guess: something super sweet?

Natalie couldn't stop the smile from forming on her lips as she read the message a second time before sending her reply.

Double shot caramel Frappuccino. Extra caramel. Is my sweet tooth that obvious?

When she looked up, she saw a familiar figure sitting at one of the scattered tables outside of the Starbucks, long legs kicked out and propped up by another chair. Jude sat in the metal framed chair, leaning it back on two legs, her head bent over a flimsy paperback, a frozen coffee in the other hand. When the light changed, Natalie quickly made her way through the crosswalk when the light changed.

"Hey, that was fast," Natalie said casually as she strode up to her. Jude looked at Natalie dubiously, her brows scrunching together in confusion. Her dark hair was parted to the wrong side and a pair of sunglasses sat on top of her head.

"Excuse me?" Jude asked sincerely, looking at Natalie with an evident lack of recognition and a touch of irritation. Natalie took a step back, embarrassed at the different less than twenty-four hours made. This wasn't the same woman she'd shared last night with; a change was clearly there.

"Natalie?" A voice said from behind her. She turned to see a mirror image walking up with a cup of iced black coffee and her sugary Frappuccino in a drink carrier in one hand and a brown bag in the other. Natalie looked at the woman she'd been talking to and then back at the clone, perplexed.

"I see you've met my sister, Roland," Jude mused, walking past Natalie with a smile and motioning for her to sit in the open chair. Jude passed a pastry from the brown bag to Roland as she sat before placing it on the table, Natalie taking the empty seat beside her. She turned to Natalie, handing her the coffee with a warm smile that reached her eyes. Natalie felt her heart rate instantly increase and her core flutter to life with Jude's eyes on her.

"You two are twins," she stated obtusely. Jude nodded, taking Natalie's hand into her own so deftly, as if she had done it countless times. Natalie felt her skin tingling, her body suddenly ablaze at the innocent touch. Roland watched them, a flicker of realization in her eyes, and her lips broke into a toothy grin.

"Ah, so this is the artsy fair girl?" She asked, clearly amused. "It's a pleasure. Jude wasn't kidding. You really are something," Roland offered her hand, her eyes devouring Natalie.

Natalie could almost feel the sharpness in the glare Jude shot at her twin, but she reached across the table with her free hand to shake Roland's anyway, the twin's grasp languid and elegant.

They let go and Natalie scanned her face, taking note of the subtle differences between the twins. They were impeccably similar, almost indiscernibly identical, but their matching blue eyes held a difference which Natalie couldn't place.

"It's nice to put a face to the woman whose got my sister so distraught," Roland leered, pulling her sunglasses down over her eyes as she stood with a catlike stretch. "Well, you lovebirds enjoy the morning. I've got places to go, people to see," Roland excused herself, heading toward the sidewalk and disappearing into the crowd.

Jude turned to Natalie, running her thumb over the back of her hand. "Natalie, I'm sorry for taking off last night. I don't know what I was thinking," Jude apologized, her tone earnest, but her words not entirely forthcoming.

"I'm not going to lie, Jude. It hurt me," she said steadily, regarding Jude with skepticism.