"Nice to meet you, Kansas.  Do you have a minute?"

"Uh, sure.  I guess.  What kind of job?"

"The dreaded yard work.  Dan, my husband, mentioned he saw you mowing your lawn the other day.  I don't know if you already have a summer job, or anything, but if you'd like to make a few extra bucks. . . "

"Sure.  Why not."

 "Great!"  Nina's smile was blinding, Kansas totally sucked into it.  She would have agreed to anything to see that smile again.  The taller woman hitched her thumb toward her place, raising a dark, arched brow in question.  Kansas nodded, tugging her front door behind her.  She followed Nina across their yards, trying to keep her eyes from permanently resting on the brunette's incredibly shapely behind. "Basically, what we need you to do is mow the lawn, as well as-" Nina cut herself off, turning to look at the teen.  Kansas, who was still rooted to the brunette's ass, nearly ran right into her.  Green eyes snapped up to look into bemused blue.  Kansas felt like an ass, but did her best to keep her poker face in place.  "Do you know anything about flower care?"

"Flower care?" Kansas repeated.  "If you water them, they'll grow?"

Nina chuckled. "Something like that."  She turned and continued their field trip to Nina's backyard, and the wooden shed out there.  She opened the door, the smell of gasoline and cut grass immediately greeting them.  "Well, as I was saying, we'll need the front and back mowed.  I think Dan is trying to get the sprinklers on the correct timer, so watering won't be an issue."  Nina stepped inside the shed, Kansas following, looking around the dark, hot space.  She turned to the woman, realizing just how close they were.  Feeling uncomfortable, she tucked her hands into the back pockets of her shorts and stepped politely back.

"How often do you want it mowed?"

"I was thinking once a week.  You can decide which day will work best for you."  Nina looked around, noting the gardening gloves that rested on a metal shelving unit.  "What about pulling weeds?  Would you be interested in doing that, as well?"

"Uh, sure."

"We'll pay you, of course.  What do you feel is fair?"

Kansas shrugged, having absolutely no idea how much to ask for, and not wanting to sound greedy. "Twenty a week?"

The brunette shook her head.  "No.  Not good enough.  We'll make it thirty-five for the mowing, and ten bucks a day for any additional work, whatever that may be.  How's that?"

Kansas blinked at her neighbor, then nodded at the expectant look on Nina's face.

"Great."  Nina smiled, nearly pushing Kansas off her feet with its brilliance.  "I need to get to work, so you can decide when it works best for you.  Just help yourself to whatever tools you need in here, okay?"

"Okay."  Kansas felt like she was in the middle of a whirlwind, Nina's perfume left in the wake as the brunette hurried out of the shed.  Kansas shook herself out of her stupor, and out into the fresh air of the morning.  Once again she nearly ran into her neighbor.

"I really want to thank you for doing this for us, Kansas.  It's a big help.  Dan's gone so much, and I'm not home even when I am home, you know?  So, thank you."  That smile again.  Kansas grinned stupidly.

"No problem."

"Great.  Well, have a good day."

Kansas was left standing in the backyard of a perfect stranger, watching said perfect stranger hurry out to her driveway, and climb into her car.  "What a woman," the blonde breathed, then remembered she had a bowl of Cocoa Puffs waiting for her.

***

Kansas wiggled her ass and bobbed her head as she jammed to Guns 'N Roses, finishing up the trimming around the Bruckner's yard.  She'd been at it all morning and into the afternoon, just allowing herself to enjoy the day, and curious of what her new, lovely neighbor would say.  Plus, the money would be nice.  She'd even missed Dr. Phil to make the yard pretty.

The sun was high, and Kansas was due for a break.  She finished up the trimming and pulled the earphones off, slinging them around her neck.  She was ready to go in and get lunch when a big rig pulled up in front of Dan and Nina's house.  Dan hopped down, pushing a pair of sunglasses up to rest on his forehead.

"Hey.  What's up?" he asked to Kansas, who was making her way out of their backyard.

"Just finishing up.  Nina took me to the shed this morning to show me all your gardening toys.  Nice mower."

"Thanks."  Dan smiled, but he was eyeing her as though he wasn't sure he believed her.  Didn't Nina tell him?  Kansas knew she had done nothing wrong, so strolled across the yard, hopping the fence, and making her way into her house, relived to get a reprieve from the hot sun for a bit.

The day went on without incident.  Kansas felt good that she'd done a good day's work, and was happy with what she'd done for the Bruckner's.  She told her mom about it when she got home, too.  Over all, it had been a good day.  Certainly a productive one.

Around seven o'clock that night, the doorbell rang.  Marina answered it, surprised to see the statuesque beauty standing on her porch, asking to speak with her daughter.  Kansas pounded down the stairs, almost breathless when she got to the door to see who her visitor was.  Nina smiled when she saw the teen.

"Hello, Kansas.  I wanted to tell you personally what a wonderful job you did on the yard today.  It looks gorgeous."

Kansas beamed. "Thanks.  It was nothin'."

Nina chuckled. "That may be, but you did great, anyway.  Thank you."

Marina watched the interaction, a smile on her face.  It was nice to see Kansas actually taking something serious.

"I also wanted to give you this."  Nina handed the teen some folded bills.  You did a great deal of work today.  You've earned yourself a reward."

Kansas took the money, shocked to see $75.  Her eyes got huge.  "This is too much."

"I don't think so.  Work hard, earn hard."  Nina smiled at the girl, and then at Mariana, then stepped off the porch, and disappeared into the darkness of the summer night.

Marina closed the door after her, turning to her daughter.  "My god!  That woman is the most beautiful woman I've ever seen who wasn't on TV."

Kansas nodded dumbly.  "Yeah."  She turned and ran back up the stairs to her room.  Marina watched her go, chewing on her lower lip.  She had suspected about her daughter's sexual preference since Kansas had been 11, making strange comments about the women she saw on TV.  Kansas had also had a hard time making friends with girls her own age, instead always hanging out with the boys, though Marina could tell it wasn't romantic relationships she had with them.  They treated her as one of the guys- especially after Kansas beat James Maynard up for picking on one of their school mates.  Seeing her reaction to Nina, and the way the normally nonchalant, 'I don't give a crap' attitude girl reacted to the brunette, Marina knew there was a bit of a crush going on.  Though a bit disturbing, she couldn't say she entirely blamed her daughter.  Nina Bruckner was gorgeous.

Kansas dive bombed her bed, landing on her stomach and re-counting the money she'd been given.  She was shocked Nina had been so generous.  Perhaps her sunburn was worth it, after all.

***

Three nights later, Kansas was in her room, working on a sketch of her cat, Tuna Fish, who sat ever so patiently, cleaning herself all the while.  Kansas knew better- Tuna would stay put as long as the artist didn't move her, so the blonde was on the go, getting this angle and that angle of her Siamese.

"This one's a doozy, Tuna," she muttered around the pencil held between her teeth. "Kitty hall of fame, for sure."  She had just moved to the end of her bed, squatting on the floor, when out of the corner of her eye she noticed a light.  Glancing over toward her window, Kansas saw the office light had been turned on in her neighbor's house.  "Look, Tuna cat.  Someone's gonna do some work."

Tuna Fish's only reply was to slurp between her spread toes.

 Kansas spread a couple rows of blinds with her fingers to peer between them.  Sure enough, Nina came into view, dressed in another tank top and sports with a Nike swoosh on the hip.  As she sat down at the desk, hair tie in her mouth, the brunette gathered her hair together to form a ponytail, then tied it back.  About to tighten the tail, Nina looked up, apparently feeling that she was being watched.  She saw Kansas watching her, and gave a smile and a wave.  The teen waved back, feeling her stomach flip flop.

Now that she'd been seen, there was no way she could stay and watch, so Kansas closed her blinds and returned to her sketching.

***

Nina watched until the blinds were fully closed on Kansas' window.  At least this time the girl wasn't standing there in her bra.  The brunette smirked at the memory.  She'd spoken to the girl a handful of times, though mostly about the yard, Kansas ever eager to know what more she could do.

The brunette sat back in her desk chair, hands tucked behind her head.  She stared out into the night, watching a falling star sail across the night sky.  Make a wish, Nina- I wish that my life would start to make sense.  Nina blew a kiss to the night beyond her world, then turned back to her work.  She had court early the next morning.

***

Kansas had taken it upon herself to make sure that the Bruckner's had the most beautiful yard on the block.  Yeah, the money was nice, but more so, she wanted the reward of seeing Nina's smiles at a job well done.

It was Saturday afternoon, and the teen had been working dutifully since that morning, carefully pruning and watering the flowerbeds Nina had planted.  The lawn was mowed to perfection, trimmed to within a hair.  The house had been quiet, and Kansas figured no one was home.  She was shocked to see the back door open and Nina step out to the back porch around noon.

"Hey," the blonde called out from where she was stowing gardening equipment in the shed.

"Hey, yourself.  You've been a busy little bee out here.  I didn't want to disturb you.  Besides," the brunette grinned, "I didn't want to interrupt your audition for Dick Clark's 'American Bandstand'."

Kansas blushed, remembering her moves across the yard as she worked.  "Oh, uh, yeah," she muttered, burying her hands in the back pockets of her shorts.  Nina laughed.

"I must say, I don't think I've ever seen someone quite so tethered to their music."  Nina tapped the small music player strapped to Kansas' arm.

"Oh, well, yeah," the blonde grinned, looking down at it.  "It's a little worse for wear, I'm afraid.  Gonna have to get a new one soon, I think.  This one keeps skipping."  She grinned up at the older woman.  "Seen lots of miles."

"No doubt," Nina agreed.  "Want to come in for a cold glass of lemonade?  No doubt you need it."  The older woman looked up into the perfect, blue sky.  "It's hot out here."

Kansas felt a moment of hesitation in nerves, then got over it.  She nodded, happily following the brunette into the house.  She was curious to see what they had done to the place, only seeing inside once before, and that had been years ago when she was there collecting Girl Scout cookie money.  Then the house had been dark and just plain creepy.  Now, it was open and airy, decorated with taste and a bit of adventure with bright colors and contemporary style.  All in all, Kansas liked it.

"Have a seat," Nina said, leading the blonde into the kitchen, where there was a small, round chrome and glass table.  The teen did as asked, looking around the very modern kitchen- all black and chrome.

"You guys did a great job with this place.  Did it take a lot of work?"

"Yeah, it did, actually."  Nina moved around the space, filling two glasses with ice cubes and pink lemonade.  She held up a bag of Oreos in question.  At Kansas' nod of approval, she brought the package and drinks over to the table and sat down.  "But, it's been worth it, I think.  The former owners had just really let the place go.  I mean, this neighborhood is about, what, forty or so years old?"

Kansas nodded, though she didn't have a clue.  She took an Oreo to munch on, just enjoying the sound of Nina's voice as she prattled on about the renovations she and Dan still had planned for the three bedroom house.

"So, are you on summer break from college or high school?" Nina asked at length, sipping from her lemonade.

"High school.  I'm a senior this year.  Finally."

"I remember my senior year of high school.  Couldn't wait to get out and go on to college."  Nina peeled her cookie apart, tongue lapping up the thick, white center.  Kansas watched with rapt attention.