Caroline and Gillian go shopping in the dark and realise that falling for someone isn't a process.

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The gale force winds galloped in front of the storm, bringing down trees and power lines before the drenching rain that was due to drown the landscape. Most people were smart enough to have accumulated supplies to last them through the deluge, but Caroline and Gillian were stuck with family descending upon them and last-minute groceries were needed from the closest shop they could find.

Gillian pulled up in the empty parking lot and they sat in the LandRover gazing at the dark edifice that was normally a small but brightly lit supermarket.

"Is it open?" Caroline was wondering about her wine; she could feel the itch under her fingertips as the horror of dealing with the extended family for what could be days ran down her spine.

"Looks like. They don't have power so the registers will be down." Gillian peered into the darkness, spying the dim lights at the back of the store seeping gloomily towards the front. "They'll have a backup generator or something but we'll be fine if we have cash." She turned to Caroline, asking, "I've got some, but do you have much on you?"

"Probably enough for what we need." Hesitantly Caroline stepped down out of the aged 4WD into the gale and wrangled the empty shopping bags flapping about in her wake. Leaning into the wind as they trudged towards the open doors, Caroline became less convinced that this was a good plan. "Are you sure about this? I'm sure we're not supposed to be going in there. We're not going to be trapped inside are we?"

"Come on, it's going to be fun!" Gillian insisted, grabbing Caroline's hand and pulling her through the gaping doors, the alarm still quietly chirping it's warning of the power outage.

"I don't understand what can be fun about being trapped in a supermarket," she whined, not entirely up for the 'fun' that Gillian could envisage in a darkened death trap that was starting to creep her out. "At least we won't starve to death," she bitched quietly.

Ignoring the comment, Gillian dragged her along until they found the shopping trolleys and she passed one to Caroline, "There you go. Push that," she said with a grin.

The glare Caroline threw at her didn't phase Gillian at all. In her element in a supermarket, Gillian nearly skipped down the empty aisles, followed by a disgruntled partner who was running through all the health and safety violations in her head. No lit exit signs — check. No emergency lighting — check. No staff — check. The only things that seemed to be working were the fridges casting an eerie glow of neon which set off a surreal shimmer along the ceiling and floors, giving the back of the store a sickly green hue. She was starting to think she'd stepped into one of those alien horror films Gillian made her watch and had visions of them being gruesomely murdered for entertainment.

While Caroline pushed the trolley, Gillian bounced from shelf to shelf in the semi-dark, plucking off items and dropping them into the cart. Caroline could barely read the writing on some of the objects, but Gillian either had better eyesight or simply knew the stock from working in a minimart over on the other side of the valley. Caroline decided she'd let Gillian have at it.

A lanky staff member appeared at the end of the aisle, his pimply face lit by a candle as he wandered towards them. As he approached, Gillian stepped next to Caroline, protectively laying a hand on her shoulder, enjoying their close proximity as Caroline's musky perfume filled the space between them.

"My boss said to say sorry, but the generator only has enough power for the fridges at the moment. She said to give you one of these." He tentatively pushed the candle in their direction as if any sudden movement would cause it to self-destruct.

Gillian took hold of it, thanking the young lad as he lurched back down the aisle, legs too long and too new to be quite under control. She dripped some wax onto the handle of the trolley and then embedded the base of the candle into the cooling liquid until it held.

"There you go. Light to travel by," she chuckled. Standing back to examine her handiwork, Gillian was struck by the flickering of light across Caroline's face, her smooth, pale complexion a canvas primed for Caravaggio. Gillian held her breath, the realisation that the crushing beauty of the cosmos could be held entirely in a single moment was suddenly apparent. The mundane had become ethereal.

The gap in time created by that thought was followed another, equally as profound; Caroline — the grumpy, uptight, 48 year old — had overcome her reservations and her fear of the unknown and followed Gillian blindly into the dark. A warmth blossomed from her heart and she could feel it tingling when it reached her fingertips. She realised then that falling for a person wasn't a process but happened in a moment. She had trouble breathing.

Caroline watched Gillian as a panoply of emotions travelled across her light frame with speed until only one remained. Gillian raised her hand and gently held the side of Caroline's face, her thumb caressing the soft cheek, her face open and tender. "You are so beautiful. So beautiful." She slowly reached up to lightly rest her lips upon Caroline's, the touch potent with emotion. She pulled back to see Caroline's attention flicking from her lips to her eyes, a gentle smile growing as she gazed at Gillian.

"What was that for?" Caroline asked, eyebrows rising under her blonde fringe.

"Dunno. Just felt like it."

"Okay." The smile on Caroline's face spread for a moment, followed by a small smirk which twinkled in her eyes. "Shall we finish the shopping?"

"Sure." Gillian reluctantly released Caroline and sauntered down the aisle, the slow strut highlighting the shape of her arse, knowing Caroline would be watching. And of course Caroline was. It was one of the joys of Caroline's life watching Gillian's swaying bottom. There was rarely a time when it wasn't one of the highlights of her day. She sighed happily, amused that Gillian felt like playing and she unconsciously let go of some of her difficult day to join in.

Caroline chuckled to herself and merrily rolled the trolley forward, forsaking some of the shopping for the simple pleasure of following the farmer and her arse around the aisles. As Caroline rounded the corner, she could see Gillian reaching for cereal on the top shelf. Abandoning the trolley, Caroline stealthily came up behind Gillian and reached over the top to pull the box into her hand.

Gillian gasped, the sudden physical presence of Caroline threatening to tip her over the edge. Heart starting to race, she turned towards Caroline to find she was right behind her, subtly pushing her into the shelving.

"Need a hand?" Caroline whispered into her ear, the breath tickling her neck.

Gillian gulped. "No. No, nope. I'm fine."

"Okay. Just checking," Caroline grinned, satisfyingly smug as she turfed the cereal box into the trolley from where they were and strolled with her hands on her hips into the dark towards the front of the shop. Watching the performance, Gillian decided it was more of a swagger — yep, definitely a swagger — the sashaying mesmerising Gillian to a standstill. Caroline slowed and turned, waiting for Gillian to catch up, the glee obvious even in the dim light. She chuckled when it took Gillian another few seconds to move and even more time to work out where the trolley was and collect it. It was such a delicious joy to be able to fry her girlfriend's brain, just a little bit.

Gillian, not to be outdone, pranced down the aisle, doing a conga line of one behind the trolley, inspiring a full belly laugh from Caroline. As she danced past, she landed a gentle pat on Caroline's backside and kept on going, sailing into the distance with the flickering candle highlighting threads of her hair as she kicked at the end of each set.

Caroline followed, enjoying the spectacle, so tantalising in private and now possible in a darkened and almost empty store. She rarely let herself play, but Gillian pushed and cajoled her into it and she loved it more than she let on. When she caught up to Gillian, she got into step behind her and grabbed her hips, dancing around the end of the aisle together, giggling all the while.

The moment they turned the corner Gillian stopped and Caroline crashed into her. The manager stood before them, not at all amused by two middle-aged women playing sillybuggers in the blackout. Gillian snorted; Caroline blushed, relieved that it wouldn't be obvious in the low light.

"S-sorry. We were...we were just..." Gillian mumbled.

"We're closing in a moment. Doesn't look like the power's coming back on anytime soon apparently."

Caroline took over. "Okay. We'll be finished in a few minutes."

The manager nodded and grumpily strode away, although the stomping wasn't nearly as effective in the dark holding a candle as she might have liked. Gillian chuckled. "Well that was fun. I told you we'd have fun." She gently elbowed Caroline in the ribs.

"I stand corrected. You were absolutely right." Caroline watched the manager disappear into the back of the store and turned to Gillian, delighted to be on their own again. Caroline knew there'd be a pile of people waiting for them at home and it would be hours before they would be free of company and able to play, so she made the most of the time they had now. She leaned in and waited for Gillian to turn her head before kissing her, lips soft and pliable, sliding her fingers into Gillian's hair for more purchase. Gillian moaned quietly, parting her lips to allow Caroline entry, the flood of warmth through her body setting everything aflame and she arched into Caroline, wrapping arms around her to hold on. After a minute or so, Caroline straightened and sighed wistfully, gazing into Gillian's eyes with a crooked grin. "This was a lot of fun. Let's do this again when there's another storm."

.

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Anywhere, Anytime by Beau Taplin, from Worlds of You, 2017
Telescopes by Beau Taplin, from Worlds of You, 2017

Friday Night Fights prompt #595 from promptsforthestrugglingauthor

Thank you to my beta reader for your kind and thoughtful feedback.