Sapphic Voices Erotica

That Night

This Story is rated 'Adults Only' for its sexual content.

Part One

We reached the end of the trail, the summit of the Jasper Mountain hike, around mid-afternoon. It was the middle of the week, so the trail was practically deserted. We had passed a few hikers on their way down earlier, but had not seen a soul in over an hour. The mountain and the spectacular view were ours. I removed my day pack and dropped it. I walked to the edge of the trail and looked out over the expanse of the valley below, and the distant mountain peaks to the right. I breathed in heavily, and slowly released it. The air was crisp and fresh. I wanted to stay standing in that position until nightfall and into the darkest part of the night. I wanted to let the night sky envelope me and gaze at the stars and the milky-way, untouched by the lights of humanity below; to be invisible and apart from everyone. My life had become too complicated, and I was in need of a temporary escape.

I heard a crunch of rock and earth under another hiking boot directly behind me. Emily was approaching. We had finished the last half hour of the hike in silence. She had dropped about ten yards behind me after our argument and neither of us had spoken a word since. I knew that before we would start our trip back down, she would relent. I had much more resolve when it came to the silent treatment. She couldn’t keep it up. It was something totally foreign to her nature; and for that I was glad. If we were both as stubborn as I could sometimes be, our friendship, our relationship, would never have lasted this long.

Emily stood directly behind me now. I refused to turn or speak; to even acknowledge her arrival. She pressed in against my back and circled my waist with her arms. I could feel her heartbeat and her heavy breathing. Her mouth was pressed close to my ear and she whispered, breathily. “Sarah, please talk to me. Please. It’s so beautiful up here, let’s not spoil it.” She pulled my hair back and lightly kissed me on the neck. “You know I love you.” This was the standard Emily apology. Because just as I knew her weaknesses, she also knew mine. And my biggest weakness was her.

“I know you do Em. And you know I love you. But that isn’t enough is it? That doesn’t fix things. That doesn’t change the fact that you got married does it?”

“Are we going to have the same argument every time we’re together?” she said. It wasn’t so much a question as an accusation. She pressed into me even tighter. I closed my eyes and sighed. “Let’s pretend it’s just us. For the next two days forget about the guys and enjoy our alone time,” she said.

“I’m not very good at pretending, Em. Haven’t been for the last three years, and I’m not getting any better at it. You and Dave are talking about starting a family and now Craig has asked me to move in with him. How can I pretend those things aren’t real?”

She had no answer, so, quite uncharacteristically, she said nothing. We stood there in that same manner for another minute until she spoke again. “Turn around, Sarah. Turn around and look at me.” She loosened her grip around my waist. I turned around in her arms, but gazed away, distantly. I knew if I looked in her eyes that the small amount of resolve I might have left would fade away. But I did look at her. And as soon as our eyes met she leaned in and kissed me. She took the bottom of my lip between hers ever so gently and lingered. She began kissing my neck. “Please love me Sarah.”

Silent tears fell from my eyes. She knew now that she had me, and I began kissing her back, pulling her into me as close as I could. “Let’s get back to the hotel,” she said, smiling. “We’ll get cleaned up, order room service, and just lie about in bed all evening.” I bent to retrieve my pack. She didn’t wait for a response, but turned and headed back down toward the trail, pulling me by the hand as she went. I was once again defeated. In fact, when it came to these spats, I don’t remember a single victory. Maybe that is because what I thought of as winning was not really that at all.

~~~~

“No way; that shower isn’t big enough for the both of us,” I said, half laughing. “Besides, I just want to get clean. We’ve had a long hike and we are both quite sweaty. No foreplay in the shower this time. Get in and finish so I can get cleaned up.”

“I don’t sweat, I glow,” Emily said indignantly, poking her tongue out as she closed the shower door.

“Then get your glowy ass in there and remove the glow, and hurry up about it. If you take too long I’m going to lose interest and fall asleep.”

She laughed out loud. “Yeah, right!” she yelled above the noise of the shower. I smiled to myself. She and I both knew that was an empty threat.

I picked up the room service menu and began absentmindedly leafing through it. I was hungry, but I wasn’t interested enough to pay attention to what I was looking at. I needed to make a decision about what to tell Craig. We had discussed moving in together on the plane trip and I told him we would talk about it when we got back from our vacation. He and Dave were golfing on the coast and Em and I had driven to the mountains and would rejoin them for the last two days of the trip. In many ways I did love Craig, but I had always felt like a liar and a hypocrite; maybe because I was being a liar and a hypocrite. I was not in love with him. I knew, though, that if I didn’t break it off soon, that my self-respect and sense of right, or fairness, or whatever it was, would be gone and might never be recovered.

“Shower’s all yours, stinky!” I heard Em say, and then a wet towel popped the back of my shirt.

“You’ll pay for that later,” I said as I turned to look at her, eyebrow turned up, trying to look menacing. She was wearing a deep emerald colored silk robe. Her shoulder length dark hair was damp and tousled. She was wearing no make up. To me, she looked absolutely perfect.

“I’m counting on it,” she said as she winked at me.

I handed her the menu. “Order some food for us please. I’m starved. Get me whatever. I don’t care.” I grabbed my robe from the closet and headed to the bathroom. I thought I had been in there for quite a while, but when I came out, Em was just finishing up on the phone with room service. “You didn’t have to wait until I finished,” I said.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t. Um … Dave and Craig called while you were showering. Craig wants you to call on his cell as soon as you can. They are going out and they both wanted to check in before, as Dave said, ‘we retire for the night’.” Her expression didn’t change while telling me this. I never knew if it was a defensive mechanism, or if it really didn’t bother her that she had just spoken nonchalantly with her husband while planning to sleep with me tonight.

“Okay, I’ll call while we are waiting on the food.” I grabbed my cell and walked out onto the balcony. I kept my back to Em and the room. I could not keep a neutral expression while talking to Craig. I could not look at her and speak to him at the same time. I had too much guilt. Evidently not enough though. His phone was ringing.

“How’s my baby?” Craig answered. He never just said hello when he knew it was me.

“I’m tired and starving. We took a ten mile hike today. How about you? You and Dave enjoy your eighteen holes of golf?” I answered, and spoke hurriedly, in a manner that I hoped disguised the guilt in my voice.

“Too hot; I’d rather be there with you. Plus, my short game still sucks and Dave clobbered me. I miss you babe. I can’t wait until you get here.”

I cringed. The man had no clue, and it made me hate myself all the more. “I miss you too. We’ll be there in another day. Besides, don’t pretend you don’t enjoy your guy time. And try to keep Dave out of trouble tonight.”

“I do enjoy my guy time, but keeping Dave out of trouble is a whole other issue.”

“Craig, I think our room service just got here. I love you baby, but my hunger is taking over this conversation right now.”

“Okay, okay, you can go eat. I love you too Sarah, bye.”

The room service had not arrived. I had lied. I knew that the longer I talked to Craig, the greater my guilt would be over what was to transpire later. I walked back in and tossed the cell back into my purse and sat in the chair facing the balcony. Em must have taken note of the look on my face. She came over and knelt beside me, looking up, expecting me to say something. There was really nothing to say. We both knew what was wrong with me. I reached down and took her hand and pulled her toward me. She curled into my lap and put her head against my shoulder. It was shared moments like this that had convinced me that no matter what she did; that in spite of our separate lives, Emily did truly love me. We sat like that, with a quiet ease, until we were both startled by the knock and shout of “room service” at our door. We both laughed.

~~~~

Emily began pulling the lids off of the plates to show me what she had ordered. “Good god woman,” I said. “This is enough food for a small army.”

She poured the cold chardonnay into two glasses and took a sip from one. “Well you said you were hungry. Besides,” she said grinning, “we’ll need to replenish our reserves, so to speak, before the night is over.”

“Ah. Well then, good thinking. You are learning to plan ahead. Maybe I have actually been a good influence on you.”

“And I’ll balance that out by being a bad influence on you.”

We ate until we were sated, but not miserably full. I covered what was left of the food and poured the last of the wine into our glasses. Em took hers and sat on the edge of the bed, sipping her wine, leaning back on one arm and looking at me. Looking at me in a way that I can’t really describe adequately, but it was a look she cultivated with an express purpose, and we both knew the purpose. Her robe had worked its way a bit loose; the sash barely knotted now. Almost her entire right leg was exposed. And the way she sat, leaning on her arm to the left, I could see the curve of her breast showing under the edge of the fabric.

She knew this outward seduction was not necessary. I always wanted her. Touching her; making her feel wanted and loved were at the top of my list. But she did enjoy making a game of it from time to time. And I certainly can’t say that I didn’t enjoy the look she was giving me. That look made me feel wanted.

I got up and walked over to her, setting my glass on the nightstand. I sat on the bed across from her and crossed my legs, then folded my arms up in a defensive gesture and looked her up and down. She pretended to become impatient. I was not fooled. As I sat and leered at her I knew she was growing increasingly aroused. She took the last sip of her wine as I knelt in front of her. I put my right hand on her thigh. I took the glass from her with my other hand and put it on the nightstand.

She leaned over and put both of her hands around the back of my head, pushing her fingers into my hair and pulling me toward her mouth. Our lips met and I moved my hand gently up her thigh. Our kissing began tenderly, and steadily became more urgent. It became too urgent too quickly, and I broke away, breathless.

“I think we are going too fast,” I said, as I took her hands and kissed them. “I think the wine is getting to me. I need some water.” I got up and walked to the ice bucket and glasses. I plunked some ice in a glass and walked to the bathroom faucet. When I came back into the room Em was staring down; looking pensive. I sat on the love seat opposite the end of the bed, drinking the water.

“Em, what’s wrong?” I asked.

“I was just going to ask you the same thing,” she replied. She looked up at me. “I was sitting here wondering what I’ve done wrong. I mean, it seems like …. I don’t know … almost like you don’t want me. You keep going from hot to cold in a matter of seconds.” There was sadness in her voice and now that look I was enjoying so much had turned sad as well. I was making her sad.

“Believe me when I tell you I am not going cold. You haven’t done anything wrong. But I know what you mean, and I’m sorry I’m making you feel that way. The truth is that I want you so much; it makes me feel … I don’t know … I feel too out of control. I feel like we’ll burn out. This vacation will be over in a heartbeat, and what I’ve had to wait so long for will be over and my memory of it will feel like only moments. I don’t want only moments, Em, I want more. I feel like I’m going to explode. Can you understand that?”

“I can understand that,” she said as she walked over to me. She didn’t sit beside me, but straddled me, putting her knees on either side of my hips and sat on my lap. She took the glass of water from my hand and drank the rest. She set the glass on the desk beside us. She looked me in the eyes, moving her fingers through my hair and stroking my cheek. “But Sarah, what I really can’t understand is your use of the word ‘control’. Why do you need to feel in control? What we were, and I hope are, about to do isn’t about control. It’s about losing ourselves in one another. It’s about feeling so close and intimate with one another that we can lose control.”

I couldn’t help but grin sheepishly at her. “Wow, you know, you’re really quite brilliant,” I said.

“Damn right I am! And sometimes you over think things so much it makes you stupid.”

I laughed. “Okay. I concede. I’m an idiot.”

“Wow, did you just actually say that I’m right,” she said grinning. “Now, are you going to make love to me, or do I have to do everything myself?”

“By all means, I’ll just sit and watch.”

She started to say “Bitch”, but I didn’t let her finish. She wanted action and that’s what she got. The kiss shut her up before she finished. When I pulled away from her lips I leaned in and whispered in her ear. “What did you call me?”

“I said … you are … an absolute … goddess.”

“Good answer. I’m quite motivated now.” I reached toward her waist and began untying the sash of her robe.

“Let me just take this off,” she said.

I pushed her hands back gently. “No. Keep the robe on, for now anyway. I just want the sash.”

“A fun game?” she asked, her eyes becoming smoky; her voice a bit husky.

“Do you trust me?”

“You know I do … always have.”

“Then I think it will be fun,” I answered. “Close your eyes. Turn your head to the side a bit.”

She did as I asked and I tied the sash around her eyes. “Is that too tight?”

“No. But this feels awkward and I want to be able to see you.”

“You don’t need to see me. In fact, don’t even think about what I want. Feel what I am doing and respond, but don’t try to reciprocate.”

“Can I kiss you?”

“Yes, but hands off. If you need to steady yourself, put your hands on my shoulders, whatever, that’s okay, but nothing else. Don’t try to arouse me.”

She laughed nervously. “Oh, now I need to try!”

“You know what I mean,” I replied.

“Okay. I’ll try to play along, but your game has too many rules.”

“Can you see?” I asked.

“No.”

“Good.”

For just a moment I took in this picture of her. Her head was slightly cocked to the side, her chin barely raised. She looked vulnerable, and I have to admit I liked seeing her that way for a change. I know she would disagree with me, because she always says I am the strong, confident one. But when it comes to our lovemaking, I always feel a bit awkward and unsure of myself. She always seems fluid and flawless with her physicality.

I cupped her chin and jaw in my hand, to insure she would make no sudden movement, and gently kissed her bottom lip. I put my hands on either side of her head, stroking behind her ears, and running my fingers into her hair as I continued to kiss her with increasing intensity. Our mouths found a familiar synchronous rhythm. Our lips had been made, had been meant, to kiss one another. I had always believed this.

I moved my hands inside her robe and put them around her waist; around to the small of her back and pulled her into me as I leaned back into the sofa. This produced the result I had hoped for. She raised herself onto her knees. Her robe fell open wider, exposing her breasts. Her thighs were perfectly parted. My left hand remained at the small of her back, while I caressed her left breast with my other hand. I moved it gently, stroking near her nipple, and then alternated to cupping and squeezing her entire breast. My mouth enveloped her right nipple and I gently sucked and traced around it with my tongue.

Em gasped and pressed herself against me, putting both hands around my head and neck and pulling me closer into her. Her request, “Sarah … kiss me … please,” was delivered in a breathless staccato.

I moved my mouth to her ear and whispered, “First tell me how much you want me. Tell me how hot for me you are right now.” I moved my right hand between her legs and slowly ran it up her thigh, squeezing a little as I went along. I knew by her breathing that she was certainly not able to speak. I felt only a twinge of guilt for teasing her so mercilessly. I left my hand at the top of her thigh and kissed her. I had never felt her kiss me back with that much urgency.

I moved my hand up between her thighs and began stroking her; rubbing her with my thumb and moving my fingers over her, and then into her. I could feel her arousal. She grabbed my wrist, both to steady herself and to keep her rhythm. I moved my mouth back to her breast and her movements became more intense; her breathing quickened. I moved my other hand slowly from the small of her back, across her ass, moving my fingers lightly down the cleft, squeezing a little, and awakening another area of pleasure. A few moments later, she exploded into an orgasm, “Sarah, oh god … oh … god.”

When her rocking and bucking subsided she finally eased her grip on my wrist. She let go, putting both of her hands on either side of my head, against the couch, to keep from falling against me. I put both of my arms around her, to support her body and she nearly collapsed, draping herself over me, still breathless. I whispered in her ear as I pulled the sash from around her eyes, “I love you Em. I love you so much.”

She couldn’t speak, and I did not expect her too. We sat like that for some time, while her breathing returned to normal and her heart rate subsided. Maybe feeling this way is wrong, but in those moments after, I felt so much power over her that it made me want to cry. It was too much. But I knew she felt the same way. She would not open her eyes or speak to me until she was able to regain her composure. It must be at this very pinnacle of vulnerability that we all feel so completely exposed. I wanted to believe that it was not only our desire for one another, but our unequivocal trust, that allowed us this level of intimacy.

She had become so quiet and still that I became a little worried. “Em, say something, or squeeze my hand; something, so I know you’re still alive.” She didn’t open her eyes, but she grinned. Then she shifted around and curled into me, tucking her head between my shoulder and neck. I closed my eyes, feeling her breath against me; holding her and waiting.

She finally spoke. “That was incredible, Sarah. It was kind of overwhelming …”

I cut her off. “ … kind of overwhelming to lose control that completely?”

“Okay, I get it; turn my own words around on me,” she responded.

“That wasn’t my intention. But I think you now have a better idea of what I meant.”

“Yes, but it was overwhelming in an extremely pleasurable and very satisfying way. So I’m all for the loss of control. That’s my stand and I’m sticking to it. Can we stop talking about it? Kind of loses its power when you over-analyze it too much.”

“Oh boy, here we go. Alright, no more talking from me.”

“Thank god! You can be such a … such a girl sometimes.”

I had to laugh at that. She started kissing my neck. “Oh no, you can’t start there. That’s cheating,” I protested.

“Too bad; my rules this time. Let’s move to the bed.”

“Do you think you can walk that far?”

“A couple of steps? I think I can manage.” She gave me a playful shove toward the bed. “In the middle and on your back, wench.”

“Yes ma’am,” I accepted my orders politely.

She crawled over me, opening my robe as she moved up my body; kissing my breasts and moving her tongue over my nipples. When she leaned in to kiss me, she barely brushed my lips. I responded by raising my head up to meet her, but she pulled away. She continued teasing me in this way for a bit and then went for my neck with her mouth, at the same time moving her thigh between my legs, pressing into me and moving slowly and rhythmically. I tried to slow my response; control my breathing. But it didn’t work.

This time she met my lips and kissed me in a proper fashion. I became dizzy with the sensation of her kisses and her hands moving along my body. She knew exactly where to touch me, and how long to linger. I was lost in her. I moved my hips in rhythm to meet her thigh pressing into me. My hands moved over her; feeling the heat of her skin. I felt her entire body move against me; with me, but almost weightless. Our bodies moved together as one.

She moved her mouth to my ear. “Does that feel good, baby? It’s gonna feel even better. In a minute, I’m gonna make you scream.” She took my hands and put them on either side of my head and pinned them there. She kissed my neck and teased my lips again. Then she pressed into my mouth forcefully, moving her tongue in and around mine. As my hips thrust against her hard I moved my mouth away and climaxed in a breathless spasm of pure pleasure. I wanted to scream, and in my head I was screaming. She released my hands and I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her in tighter and riding out the last contractions of my orgasm.

We lay there, on our sides, pressed in close to one another, gently stroking each other’s backs, hair, and arms; kissing tenderly from time to time. We could lie like this for hours, saying nothing. Years ago, when we were always together, on countless nights we fell asleep like this. I could never imagine being so completely at ease; so utterly trusting; so comfortable; or ever so much in love with anyone else. On the few occasions that we felt compelled to talk about what drew us together, what made us feel this way about one another, neither of us could put it in words. It didn’t matter. We were lucky to have it and we both decided not to analyze it to death.

It had been maybe half an hour when Em spoke. “Sarah, I need to ask you something. Then I need to tell you something, but you have to promise not to get upset or angry with me.”

“You can’t ask me not to get upset when I have no idea what you are about to say,” I replied. “Just ask it. Say it and accept whatever reaction you get.”

“I want to know if you are even considering moving in with Craig.”

“No,” I answered. I did not elaborate. I waited for her to continue.

“Why not?”

“Because I can’t let myself get deeper into a lie. I don’t love him. He loves me and I can’t let him continue with false hope. He’s a good man. He deserves to find someone that loves him back, wholly. I’m breaking it off when we get back to Atlanta.”

“Good,” she said.

“I’m not trying to be harsh about this Em, but do you really think you have the right to be glad about it? You’ve been with Dave for five years now, married for three of those. We agreed quite some time ago not to go down this road, discussing your marriage or any other relationship I had.” I was trying not to sound angry, but I wasn’t succeeding.

“I know we did,” Em said. “And I still think the reasons we agreed to that are good reasons, but things have changed.”

“What do you mean ‘changed’?” I demanded; my tone impatient.

“Dave knows about us. He actually figured it out over a year ago. We don’t sleep together anymore, and … well … he has a mistress.”

I looked at her face, studying it for some hint of pain or regret or sadness about what she had just told me. There was none. “You don’t seem upset about it at all.” My statement sounded like an accusation.

“Well, that would be pretty hypocritical, wouldn’t it? Besides, it’s for the best. The only reason we even talk about starting a family is because we are so used to putting on a charade around everyone else, especially my family. I think the only time I’ve been honest with myself in the last year has been the time we’ve spent together. And it’s wearing on me. I get to hating myself pretty bad when I’m not with you. My life is a sham and I’ve forced you to live a lie. That’s why I said ‘good’ about you leaving Craig. I want the lies to end Sarah.”

“You haven’t forced me to do anything. We all make our own choices. We could have ended the lies three years ago Em, but you gave me a hundred and one reasons why we shouldn’t. And why did you wait to tell me this? If Dave has known for a year why didn’t you tell me sooner?” She gazed down, looking guilty and ashamed. “Are you two getting divorced? And if not, then why not?” I asked.

“That’s something else I need to tell you Sarah. We will be getting a divorce, but not yet. We’ve agreed to wait two years. Before you ask me why, there’s something else I need to tell you about.”

I waited, without saying anything, but I was growing increasingly agitated and she could see it in my face and my body language. She started to explain.

“Back before Dave and I were married; when you asked me to break it off and tell my parents about us. Well I did tell them …”

“What! Jesus, Em, you told me you could never tell them …”

“Please don’t yell Sarah, please just let me get this out. Let me try to explain before you decide how horrible I am.”

I sat up and then moved to the opposite bed, sitting, with my arms crossed, glaring, and I’m sure looking quite petulant. “Fine … go on.”

She continued. “I wanted so much to break it off with Dave and come clean. I wanted so badly to be with you. I did go to my parents. I told both of them together. I told them about us and I told them that I wanted to break off the engagement and wedding plans with Dave. My father didn’t have much to say, but my mother was livid. She said she wouldn’t stand by and let me ruin my life … let you ruin my life.

“I think my father was more concerned about what it would do to Dave and his standing in the company, my father’s precious business. He said Dave would be a laughing stock and it would be all my fault. Then my mother got him to agree that they would cut me off completely if I did it – if I left Dave for you. I was planning to take a break and then look into grad school. I was scared and I just couldn’t fathom my life changing like that and my parent’s abandoning me. I was a coward Sarah, so I lied to you about what happened.

“My parent’s agreed that if I went through with the wedding and stayed married to Dave for at least five years, then I could do what I wanted. I … well ... none of us ever told him. I think my folks were convinced you and I were some kind of phase and that if I married Dave it would all go away. I’d settle into married life and have children. Dave would eventually run my father’s company, and we’d all live happily ever after.

“Except, of course, they had no idea that I would never give you up. I didn’t protest when you took the position in Atlanta because I thought it would be easier on both of us if we didn’t see each other too often. I knew asking you to stay and watch me fake my life for the next five years would be too much. Then almost a year ago, after we had been home for about a week, after our trip to Sedona, Dave confronted me. He said that for a while he tried to convince himself that it was only you. He said he knew you had feelings for me all along, but he was convinced that I only saw you as a friend.

“But then he said it suddenly hit him during that last trip. He said that I looked at you the same way he imagined he used to look at me. I didn’t try to deny any of it. God, I was actually so relieved. After I told him about the arrangement with my parents he was so angry. He was so hurt. He moved out of our bedroom and we haven’t been intimate since. After he got over being angry with me he agreed to stay for two years and not let on to my parents that he knew. He promised not to treat you badly or say anything to Craig. He’s actually been quite gallant about the whole thing. Six months ago he confessed to having a girlfriend and promised that they were being discreet. Two more years Sarah … two more years and we can be together. I’ll come to Atlanta ... I’ll do … go … wherever … whatever you want. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what else to say. I’m sorry I was a coward, but I never stopped loving you and I never will.”

She stopped speaking. She was crying now and looking at me. Waiting for me to speak; waiting for forgiveness. I could not speak. My throat was closing. I was trying to hold back tears and they began to come down. I couldn’t look at her. I put my hands over my face and bent my head; my body racked with silent sobbing. How could she say she loved me and yet agree to marry a man she didn’t love just to stay in her parent’s pockets? I didn’t know what to say. If I opened my mouth at all I risked saying something that I could never take back. This could be the conversation that ended everything for us. I was not ready for that. Regardless of what she had done, we were still together. So it must not have been all about money or security. But I still could not speak. I laid down with my back to her and curled into a fetal position. I tried to cry as quietly as possible.

“Sarah, please don’t shut down. You have to say something.” She came to me and sat on the edge of the bed, putting her hand on my shoulder. “Please baby, please talk to me.” Her voice made me sadder. I wanted to stay angry at her. I had a right to hate her right now. But I couldn’t do it.

I took a deep breath and stopped crying long enough to speak a little. “You’re going to have to give me a while, Em. I can’t talk to you right now. Just let me rest here for a while, please.”

“Okay. Okay, I’ll let you be.” She removed her hand and stood up.

“You don’t have to leave,” I said. “I don’t want you to leave. Can you lie here with me for a while and not speak?”

She didn’t speak. She lay down beside me on the bed, pressed up against my back, reached around and took my hand and remained silent, as I had asked. I needed to be reminded, now more than ever, of why we should be together. I needed to know that two more years of suffering would be worth it in the end. She didn’t have to confess this to me, but she did at the risk of never seeing me again. For that I had to give her credit. She was no coward. I could not judge her for something she did at a time in her life when she had been more confused than ever. It wasn’t fair to either of us.

I would not give her up because of some misplaced sense of honor, or temporary pain. This was love. This was the rest of my life. This was the only person I had ever truly loved. Pride be damned. Two years was nothing compared to what we had been through together since college. Just feeling her breathe next to me, here and now, was a gift. I would have to be a fool to let her go. I lay there for a few more minutes, regaining my composure and hoping my face was not too red and puffy from crying. I shifted around to face her. Her eyes were closed, but I knew she was not asleep. She was afraid of what my expression might be. I didn’t say anything. I leaned in and brushed against her lips with mine. She smiled but kept her eyes closed.

“I’ve decided what your punishment will be,” I said.

“I throw myself on your mercy,” she replied, grinning.

“You’ll spend the night kissing me. It will be a marathon session and you won’t be allowed to sleep.” I started laughing and she threw herself on top of me.

“This is going to be tough, but I think I can muddle through,” she said. We both started to laugh. “Sarah, you are the most amazing person I have ever known.”

“Yeah, yeah, just get with the kissing. Sucking up isn’t going to get your sentence reduced.”

“Thank god,” she said. I thought she was going to kiss me, but she just stared into my eyes, studying my face. And then her eyes welled up and a single tear dropped onto my cheek.

“Don’t be sad,” I said. “There isn’t any reason to be sad anymore. Please don’t cry.”

“I’m not sad,” she replied. “In fact, I think this is the happiest moment of my life … ever … except maybe when I first realized that you loved me. That was pretty great too. Ten minutes ago I thought there was a possibility that you’d never forgive me and we’d be done. We would be over.”

“We’ll never be over Em, even when we’re both dead and buried, we won’t be over. And as far as forgiveness goes, I can’t imagine you ever doing anything that isn’t forgivable.” I pushed her over on to her back and kissed her. “You know what; we need to take a break. I have to visit the little girl’s room and I’m also hungry again. Let’s see what’s left of our room service food and start over.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

~~~~

She pushed a fork of cheesecake toward my mouth. “You want the last bite? Sure is good.”

“No thanks, you have it. I know it’s your favorite, besides I’m pretty stuffed from the bread and the rest of the shrimp. But it does look good.”

She scooped a piece off of the fork with the tip of her finger and ate what was on the fork. “Saving that for later?” I asked.

“No; just a tasty little morsel for you. Or, I should say an excuse to slide my finger into that sexy mouth of yours,” she said as she offered up the finger of cheesecake to me.

I accepted; although no one really knows whether they actually do look sexy sucking food off of their lover’s finger. I played along and she seemed to enjoy the spectacle of it. “Any other bits of food I need to take care of?” I asked. “You didn’t happen to drop any crumbs on your breasts … thighs … anything I could lick off?”

“Honey, you better not make that offer. I will order a whole freakin’ cheesecake, or whatever you want, and put it all over me.”

“Um, let’s not order more food. I’ve had enough calories today. But we could always pretend, because that ‘all over your body’ part didn’t sound too bad.”

She looked at me and started snickering. “God, Sarah, what’s wrong with us? We are acting like two horny sluts in a lesbian porn video.”

“You watch lesbian porn a lot, do you?” I said, laughing.

“Very funny. No, I do not, but I make it up in my head and it always stars you and me. But I’m serious; I don’t remember us ever acting quite like we have tonight.”

“It’s been a long seven months for me Em. It builds, and you said you haven’t slept with Dave in over a year. That’s a long time not to have someone touch you. But I know what you mean; we do seem more … for lack of a better term, urgent. Who knows, maybe we both are just in synch physically right now. Maybe that only happens every once in a while. Anyway, who is being over-analytic now? I don’t care what the explanation is, I’m certainly enjoying it. It’s our reward for being patient little girls.”

“I like that. I’ll take it. Help me get these trays stacked up. I’m putting them in the hall to be picked up.”

I gathered the rest of the dishes and stacked them on the last room service tray, and walked them to the door with her. “Put the Do Not Disturb tag of the doorknob when you finish that. Who knows how late we’ll want to sleep in tomorrow.”

“All day I expect,” she said. She closed the door and grabbed a fist full of my robe and pulled me to the bed. “We were in the middle of my punishment when we took the food break. I think we need to get back to it. You know if you don’t follow through, I’ll never take you seriously again.”

“Well, we can’t have that, can we? And where and how would you like me this time?”

“Anywhere, as long as it is on the bed. Whatever position is comfortable for you my dear. I can work with anything; I can improvise.”

I crawled to the left center of the bed and laid on my side, my head propped under my hand, waiting for her.

“I changed my mind,” she said.

“You’d better get your little ass over here Em,” I demanded.

“I didn’t change my mind about that, you idiot,” she said; pushing her robe back over her shoulders and letting it drop behind her. “Take off your robe and lay on your stomach.”

The sight of her standing before me, fully nude, took my breath away. At five foot four, she was no runway model. But the way she moved; the way she carried that perfectly proportional body belied her size. She had classic beauty that would never fade, and I was simply in awe of her.

“I said … take … the robe … off,” she said again with emphasis.

“Come do it yourself you little nymph.”

She came to the bed and opened my robe, pulling my left arm out. She pushed me onto my stomach and then pulled the robe away from my back and over my right arm and threw it on the other bed. I pulled the pillow further under my chest for support and turned my head to the left. I couldn’t see her. She was sitting to the right of me, and it seemed like I lay there forever before she touched me, although I am sure it was less than a minute.

Anticipation can be a marvelous thing. When she did begin to move her fingers over my skin, it was like the faintest amount of electrical energy running through the length of my body. I sighed. She moved her hand over my ass, lingering lightly near the cleft of my opening. She left her hand there and kissed me on the small of my back. I held back a gasp, transferring the energy into a slight shiver.

She continued lightly moving her hand and fingers up my back while kissing her way up my spine. She reached up with her other hand and moved my hair away from my neck. She kissed the nape of my neck, alternating between my neck and my shoulders; always returning to the middle. This was a spot she knew would make me crazy for her. Occasionally she would move her lips from my neck to just behind my ear, and she would whisper to me, breathily, “Does this feel good? Is this what you want?” As if she needed to ask. It didn’t matter anyway, because I couldn’t answer. My voice was gone. I swallowed hard and a slight moan escaped my lips.

Now she moved on top of me, laying her body over mine in almost a mirror image. I stretched my arms out and pushed against the bed, partly to help support her weight, but mostly to push myself against her as much as possible. She interlaced her fingers in mine and pressed herself harder into me. She became a part of me. I could feel every part of her pressed into me, but at the same time almost weightless. She whispered again, “I am completely yours.”

If death had come for me in that moment, taken me quickly, with mercy, I would not have died wanting. Imagining anything better was beyond me and I wanted nothing more than to remember our closeness and relive it for an eternity. In the whole of one’s life there are moments of pleasure and pain, ecstasy and joy, and even those rare moments of insight. But none of them compare to the utter peace and comfort that comes from seeing yourself through your beloved’s eyes; through their joy in you. This moment will come when you least expect it, and from it comes a kind of peace so profound that it defies description. You recognize and understand it, or you don’t.

She shifted her weight from me and lay beside me. “Turn around Sarah.” I turned and faced her. Before I could fully extend my arm out and around her, she moved in closer to me. I kissed her gently, very tenderly; my hand resting on her side, just under the curve of her breast. I closed my eyes, pulled back a little and breathed out slowly. She traced her finger along the bridge of my nose and over my lips; continuing along my face as if drawing out the lines that defined it. She moved up and leaned over me, planting light kisses over my brows, my eyelids, my temples; everywhere on my face I felt again that slight current of electricity fluttering through my skin.

My eyes still closed, I said, “I believe I have died and gone to heaven.”

“God, I wish,” Em said. “If this is heaven, pass the hemlock baby, I’m ready now.”

“Are we going to sleep tonight?” I asked. “Is it possible for us to stop touching one another long enough to fall asleep?”

“No,” she responded simply. Then, after another minute, she began to speak again, but hesitated, unsure of broaching an old subject “Sarah …”

“Yes?”

“Oh, you know what, never mind. I’ve been thinking about something, but maybe now isn’t the best time to talk about it. We should just sleep.”

“Uh huh, sure, as if I could sleep now wondering what is on your mind. You might as well spill it.”

“I’ve been wanting to talk about … well … about that night. The night we first met. I know you said that we never had to talk about it, if I didn’t want to; if it was too painful. But I want to talk about it now. I want to hear your memory of what happened … what happened when … well you know … when I was attacked.”

“Em, are you sure? I don’t think we should dredge this up. It took you long enough to forget it.”

“I never forgot it Sarah. How could I forget that? But I got past it … got over it. Besides, how could I forget the night we met? What happened was terrible, but it brought us together didn’t it? I can’t forget that.”

“Okay, I’ll try. Where do you want me to start?”

“Tell me where you were coming from, why you walked that way. I remember at one point you had said you were leaving the library and heading back to your dorm, but you decided not to make the turn toward your building and kept going.”

“That’s right. I had been at the library for at least five hours or so, studying, reading, doing research; the usual. When I left I was feeling really bad. My back and neck hurt; my eyes were fatigued. I decided I needed to stretch my legs and get a bit of a walk in, so I went past the turn to the quad and kept going.”

“At one o’clock in the morning after studying all night you decide to exercise?” Em’s tone was somewhat incredulous.

“Well, yeah, is that so strange? Besides, you were out walking the campus at that time too. I guess we were both crazy.”

“I was crazy that night,” she said. “I’d had a fight with my boyfriend and we broke up and I couldn’t sleep, so I went out for a walk.”

“Yeah, I remember the boyfriend. He showed up at the hospital for all of five minutes the next day. What was his name? Oh yeah, I remember now; big selfish prick, or something that sounded like that.”

Em laughed. “He was a selfish prick.”

“Anyway, I guess I had maybe gone another fifty yards when I heard something and started looking in the direction of the noise. That’s when I saw him throw you up against the building and then start dragging you around to the back.”

“Weren’t you afraid? I mean he could have killed both of us that night. He had beaten and raped two other girls, the police said. And god how creepy was it when we found out he worked as a custodian on the campus? You probably should have just run for help.”

“Oddly enough, I wasn’t afraid. And if I had run for help you would have been raped and possibly beaten to death. I was so full of anger and adrenaline that I just took off toward him. I had about twenty-five pounds of books in my back pack. I was wearing tennis shoes, which probably helped me sneak up on him. He didn’t hear me until it was too late. The pack was in full swing when he turned his head toward me and it hit him dead on. He staggered back and almost fell on top of you. I reached down, grabbed your hand, pulled you up and started running. Do you remember any of that?”

“Only vaguely; not in one continuous sequence, but in pieces. I remember hearing someone come up behind me. It was sudden and I was startled. Before I could even turn around he had grabbed me by the hair and yanked my head back so hard I thought my neck was going to snap. He put his hand over my mouth and started dragging me backwards, in the direction of the building where you found us. I was off balance, but I managed to bite down on his hand, pretty hard. That really pissed him off and he punched me in the stomach and then across the jaw. That’s when everything started getting fuzzy. I could barely breathe or stay on my feet at that point. Then he ripped my blouse and I think that’s when he shoved me against the wall - when you first saw what was happening. I also remember the string of profanities and the utterly vile things he was saying to me, saying he was going to do to me.

“Then, I remember him falling, and seeing you standing there. I remember someone grabbed my hand but I wasn’t sure it was you. For just a moment I thought he was grabbing at me again. But I looked back down at him and he was barely even moving. I heard you yelling ‘come on, come with me, let’s go’, so I tried the best I could to run with you, and then I staggered and fell. You bent down and said ‘it’s okay, don’t try to get up, it’s over’. I heard yelling and then a couple of guys ran up to us asking what happened. You had your cell phone out, calling 9-1-1, and you pointed in the direction of where you clobbered him and told those guys to grab him and that the police were on their way. The next thing I remember was coming to in the ambulance and you were with me, holding my hand and telling me I was going to be alright. I know it’s hard to believe Sarah, but I think I knew everything would be okay. I looked in your eyes and I did know that I would be okay.”

She looked up at me and could see that I had begun to tear up and was trying not to get too emotional. “Oh no, now don’t you start. I’m fine baby; really, it isn’t bothering me to talk about it. That night changed our lives. I want to talk about it. You saved my life and then you saved me. You made me whole again. I wouldn’t change what happened that night. I wouldn’t have you if not for what happened, and that’s more than a fair trade.”

“Em, that wasn’t so vague or piecework. It sounds like you remember at least ninety percent of it.”

“I didn’t at first, but most of it came back. I think I remember pretty much everything after I woke up in the hospital the next morning. They must have sedated me pretty hard. Thank god. I remember opening my eyes and not understanding where I was or why and then I remembered. I looked around the room and saw you sitting in that visitors chair in my room, half slumped over and asleep.”

“Was there snoring or drool?” I asked, trying to lighten the discussion a bit.

“Just a little, but it was kinda cute.”

“Charming,” I said.

“I’m kidding,” she said. “I just laid there and stared at you for the longest time. I remember thinking, wow, my guardian angel stayed with me all night; my fierce, book bag wielding warrior princess, guardian angel. I think during those minutes that I watched you sleep in that chair I was already in love with you. I didn’t admit that to myself then, but I think it’s true. It feels true.”

I said, “I think it feels true because it was trauma and gratitude and high drama all in the course of a few hours. We hadn’t really even met, not actually even had a conversation yet. I think you are romanticizing the whole thing.”

“No. I don’t think so. I understand why you are saying that. It does sound so ‘damsel and knight-in-shining armor’, but I don’t think that was it. It was you. Being someone that brave and selfless is part of you, yes, but that was just part of it. It was all you. After I had watched you sleep for about half an hour, you woke up, all groggy and sleepy eyed. You looked at me and smiled. You looked like hell, of course, having slept in that chair all night, but it was a beautiful smile nonetheless.”

“So your first really good look at me, I looked like hell?”

“That’s right. But it was only fair. I had a black eye and a cracked lip, scrapes and bruises, and I’m sure my hair looked pretty bad too.”

“It was pretty bad.”

“You brushed it for me later.”

“You remember that?” I asked, surprised.

“Oh yes, of course. I remember thinking that you were so gentle because I looked so bad off, you were afraid of causing me the slightest amount of discomfort. You brushed my hair like I was a china doll.”

I spoke again. “One of the things I remember most was how adamant you were about not wanting the police, or me, or anyone, to call your parents. I felt so bad. You seemed so alone. Plus I had promised the Detective who had come to the room that night that I’d get information when you came to the next day. Do you remember that you had no ID or anything on you when it happened? I didn’t even know your name when you woke up in the hospital the next morning.”

“I know; I was stupid,” Em said. “When I left my dorm that night I just jammed my key in my pocket and left. I was in a state. Everything I did that night was stupid.”

“It wasn’t stupid,” I said. “You were upset and not thinking. Besides, no one is at fault for being assaulted. No one ever knows when some psychopath is going to show up and decide to hurt someone. You weren’t stupid, Em, just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“You always manage to say the right thing to me. Maybe not always what I want to hear, but what I need to hear at the time. How do you do that?”

“I have no idea. Maybe I just know you better than anyone else. I like to think that anyway.”

“I like to think that too,” she said. “What were we talking about? Oh yeah, my parents. I’m not sure you really need an answer for that. You know my mother well enough. I didn’t want my mother to know anything about what happened because she was dead set against me going to school anywhere farther away than a hundred mile radius. She was always trying to keep me under her thumb and my dad always went along to get along. Letting me attend Elmwood was the only victory I ever had over my mother. He never stood up to her when it came to me, but for that he did, and I still don’t know why. So if my mother ever found out about it I’d never hear the end of it. Anyway, I didn’t end up alone. You took care of me; watched over me. Hey, maybe subconsciously that’s the real reason I didn’t want anyone to call them. You might not have hung around if I had someone else there to look after me. So it all worked out in the end.”

“That was a neat little explanation. You packaged it up very well.”

“Thank you,” she said.

“You know it’s very true though. Who knows how things would have turned out if you hadn’t been alone. It can be very strange to look back on something like that and realize how one small decision can change your life.”

“We really do need to sleep,” Em said. “This is all getting too profound for me.”

“Hey, you are the one that wanted to talk about this.”

“I know; I’m teasing. I still want to talk about it; well about after; about us together after. Do you remember after they released me from the hospital that afternoon you came to get me after your classes were over? You told me that the Detective had asked you to look in on me and to make sure I was okay going back to my dorm room alone. Was that true? I always doubted he would have asked you to do that, but I never questioned it.”

I laughed. “Wow, after all these years I thought I had gotten away with that lie. Hell no he didn’t ask me to do it. I was worried about you and I didn’t want you to think I was stalking you or something, especially after what had happened. So I just made that up so you wouldn’t think I was weird or anything.”

“Why would I think you were weird for being concerned about me? I was glad to have someone that concerned about me. You have no idea how thankful I was, how relieved, when you showed up.”

“But Em, you had friends. In fact, your friend Sandra, I remember she came by earlier that evening to see where you had been all night and day. I left so you two could talk and when I came back she was gone.”

“I know. I did want to talk to her about it. When I told her what had happened she didn’t seem to know how to react. It was almost like she couldn’t wait to express her concern and then run away as fast as she could. Then when you came back with your sleeping bag and your books, I was so relieved that you were going to stay with me. I wanted to cry. After the way she reacted to me, I didn’t want to try and talk to anyone else about it, except you.”

“Gees, Em, I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

“But that’s just another example of how everything that happened seemed to push us together. The Universe was conspiring to shove me into your arms, and I am happy it worked that way. So don’t be sorry.”

“So you believe in fate then? That it was inevitable that we would end up together, and that the series of events that lead to it were all meant to be?” I asked.

“Yes,” she answered. “I do believe it. I feel it. It’s true. Do you think it was all just one big accident?”

“I don’t know,” I answered. “Sometimes I think you are right. Everything happens for a reason. But then again I see other things in this world; bad things; horrible things; things that I can find no reason for at all; and I think life is just full of randomness. Sometimes it turns out badly and sometimes for the good.

“I do know that regardless of whether it was fate or random events, that we are lucky. I hate to think of not turning right at the quad that night. I hate to think if I had left the library five minutes later what could have happened to you. So I thank Fate, or Karma, or God, or randomness, or whatever, that you are lying here tonight in my arms.”

“Amen,” she said. “Okay, now tell me what you remember about that first night in the dorm together; after you came back with your stuff.”

“So tonight is going to be ‘The History of Us 101’?” I asked.

“Yes, that’s right. Just indulge me please.”

“Okay.” I took a deep breath. “Well … I remember feeling …very awkward … because I really didn’t know you. And the circumstances of our introduction were certainly not ideal, to put it mildly. You asked me to help you try to ‘make up’ your black eye, so it wouldn’t be obvious when you went to classes the next day. Every time I tried to dab makeup around it and smooth it, you winced, so I felt horrible. You kept telling me to go on and finish, that it didn’t hurt that bad. So we finished with your eye and it actually looked pretty good; not too bad anyway. But your lip was split and swollen pretty bad. Every time you tried to put lipstick on you ended up looking like a clown. You got frustrated and wiped if off, too hard, and your lip started bleeding.

“I went and got ice and a damp washcloth and when I came back you were crying. The makeup on your eye was running off, and your lip was bleeding. I just remember thinking that I wanted to pull you into my arms and try and make the pain go away, but I didn’t know if I should. You might pull back, or feel awkward, or think I was being too familiar. I felt very helpless and unsure of what to do for you. So we iced your lip down until it was almost blue, and then you went to bed and I got in my sleeping bag on the floor and tried to sleep.”

“I should have offered you the bed and slept on the floor myself,” she said. “I was being selfish. I bet you were very uncomfortable on the floor.”

“No. You weren’t being selfish. It wouldn’t have mattered, because I wouldn’t have slept either way. I laid there for so long thinking about how stupid and awkward I was being. I couldn’t understand why I found it so difficult to offer comfort to someone that was in pain. I felt very inadequate. I thought, how could I be brave enough to walk up and clobber a serial rapist, twice my size, but I didn’t know how to put my arms around someone and comfort them.

“Then, later, after you had managed to fall asleep, I heard something. You were whimpering in your sleep. It broke my heart. I just lay there, and you were getting louder and it sounded like you were trying to scream; only it was muffled and throaty. I sat up and looked over at you and you had turned over, on your back, and it looked like you were struggling. I decided I should wake you. I walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. I said your name in a normal tone, at a normal volume, to try and wake you up, but it didn’t work. I got louder and louder and you still wouldn’t wake up. So I put my hand on your shoulder and shook you a little. I was leaning over saying your name and shaking you and when you woke up you were so startled that you just sat up abruptly and your forehead hit the bridge of my nose, hard.

“It took you a minute to get your bearing and remember who I was and why I was there in your room. Then you looked at my nose and saw the blood running down and asked me what had happened. When I told you that you had head-butted me when I woke you up, you got so upset. You were apologizing profusely and we went to the dorm bathrooms. We were trying to get my nose to stop bleeding. You were worried it might be broken. I kept saying that it didn’t hurt enough to be broken. You kept fussing over me and trying to get me to hold my head back. When I looked in the mirror the blood was still coming out. You looked in the mirror too, and at the same time we realized what a fright we both looked. We burst out laughing at the same time and then we couldn’t stop laughing. It was three o’clock in the morning and we were in the bathroom looking like we had just gone ten rounds in a boxing ring with one another, and we were hysterical with laughter.

“When we finally regained our composure my nose had stopped bleeding. But my face was kind of a mess. You took my hand and led me back to the room. You dragged a chair over to the sink and sat me down and went about cleaning up my face, disgusting dried blood and all. When you finished, you took my hands in yours and knelt down in front of me and said ‘Thank you for everything Sarah’. You stood up and bent over and kissed me on the forehead, then pulled me up by the hands and hugged me, very hard. And that my dear is a night I will never forget; because that is the night I started falling in love with you.”

Em chuckled. “Wow, so if I ever feel like you might be falling out of love with me, I should head-butt you in the nose, right?”

“Please don’t, besides, that will never happen. You know, after that first night, I don’t remember that we spent much time apart.”

“Me either. I don’t think we did, except that first summer, I went home for break and you stayed. I was miserable the whole time.”

“Me too,” I agreed.

“Okay, I want to reminisce about one more thing before we sleep.”

“Promise? Just one more? I don’t think I can stay awake much longer.”

“I promise. Do you remember the first time we … well … you know … made love?” she asked.

“Of course I remember,” I answered. “Don’t you? In fact, I’m tired of being the narrator, why don’t you describe that night as you remember it.” I thought I was turning the tables on her, but she seemed happy that I had asked her to talk about it.

“Okay. Let’s see; I was back from summer break. I had missed you so much that I talked you into giving up our dorm rooms and getting a two bedroom apartment together. Why we got a second bedroom, who knows, because it never got used.”

“Well, it was used to store your bed and most of your clothes. And then there was that thing called ‘plausible deniability’ … something we were denying to ourselves at the time, not to mention the rest of the world,” I answered.

“That was rhetorical, Sarah. I knew the answer. I thought I was telling this.” She feigned a bit of irritation at me.

“Sorry. And by the way, you didn’t talk me into anything. I was ready to head down that road, you just happened to bring it up first.”

She continued. “Anyway, we had been moving our stuff most of the day and we had finished moving early in the evening, but still had a lot of unpacking to do. We ordered a pizza and ate and then we were both too tired to unpack. So you said why don’t we just make up our beds and sleep and then start unpacking in the morning. You knew which box your linens were in and when I came back into your room fifteen minutes later you were already finished. And of course your bed was made up beautifully, looking all fresh and comfy and inviting. So I started whining about not being able to find the box my linens were in and about how tired I was. Of course, I didn’t tell you that I knew perfectly well where everything was, and that I had been just sitting in my room on my mattress waiting.”

“Now, why does that not surprise me?” I said. “You really are quite the little conniver.” I laughed.

“Well, my god,” she said, “someone had to make the first move.”

“Oh, but that was me. If you recall, I did make the first move.”

“Yes,” Em said. “But without my staging the scene, you would not have. Anyway, let me finish.

“Of course, I was trying to get you to invite me to sleep with you, but no, you offered to find my linens and make the bed for me. Some people are too good for their own good. Having my first attempt fail, I went on about how so very tired I was and that I would just sleep on a bare mattress. Knowing how proper and compulsive you can be about such things, I knew you would protest. But I plodded off, brushed my teeth, and went to my room and plunked myself on the bed, with no pillow mind you, because I had hidden that under the bed. I was determined to look as low rent and pathetic as possible.

“So you go on and brush your teeth and get ready for bed, which I must say took way too long. The fibers in the mattress were starting to make me itch. But you stopped at the door to look in on me before you went to bed, and you started laughing at me. When I asked what in the hell you found so funny, you said the image of me on the bare mattress brought to mind a cheap hooker sleeping in an hourly rented hotel room. I wanted to laugh, but again I needed to feign outrage so I could get even more sympathy. Plus, I was getting pissed that my plan hadn’t worked yet.

“So I turned over and picked up something from my nightstand. It was one of those squeezy stress balls or something like that, and I threw it at you and said ‘fuck you very much Sarah’ and then buried my head in the mattress pretending to be hurt and pissed. It was hard too, because I wanted so much to laugh. Then you started laughing and said ‘Em, that was pretty sad; you throw like a girl’, or something like that. Then I could not pretend to be mad anymore and I turned over laughing. I got up and showed you the redness on my thigh and shoulder that the bare mattress was causing. It really was itchy and irritated. Then finally you asked me if I would like to just sleep with you and I said okay, after a little fake protesting.”

“Wow, what a production. You know you could have just said ‘I’m tired, can I sleep with you tonight?’ Would that have been so difficult? I would have said yes.”

“No, I couldn’t do that. You were going to ask me to sleep in your bed; and you were going to seduce me; not the other way around.”

“After you manipulated the entire situation,” I said.

“Of course, otherwise it would never have happened. I mean really, the sheer amount of work I had to put into getting things started. It’s a wonder I had any energy left that night.”

“Okay, we’re now in bed together. Go ahead with the rest of the story. I want to hear how you got me to make the first move.”

“Well,” she said, “I’m not entirely sure I had any control over that. In fact, let’s talk about manipulation again. I believe it was the conversation that you started and purposely steered in a direction that would take us to that point.”

“Guilty. Go on and tell it as you remember it.”

“I was lying on my side, pretending to try to sleep. You were lying on your back staring up at the ceiling fan trying to get up your nerve, obviously. You asked me if I was asleep and I said no and turned over; facing you, waiting for you to say whatever it was you wanted to say. You asked me if the reason I hadn’t dated anyone, found another guy, after the attack was possibly because I was distrustful of men now; afraid of them or something. I said no, that I was over that and just because some psycho attacked me didn’t mean that most guys were potential rapists.

“Then you asked me if there had been anyone, you said ‘guys’ specifically, that I was interested in or considered dating. I said no. I told you a couple of guys had asked me out but that I wasn’t interested in them. You asked me why I wasn’t interested and I lied and said I didn’t really know; that maybe I just wasn’t ready to start dating again.

“So then I asked you the same basic question, but I didn’t specify gender. I asked if there was ‘anyone’ you were interested in. I remember you exhaled rather heavily and then turned around and faced me. That’s when I knew it was coming. I knew you were going to spill it. You said that you were interested in someone. You said ‘very interested in fact’. I asked who the lucky guy was. You looked me in the eye and said ‘The lucky guy isn’t a guy; it’s you Em’. You didn’t give me a chance to respond verbally. You leaned in and kissed me and I kissed you back. That was my response. I moved in closer and kissed you back and you put your arms around me and then I was practically on top of you, and then there was the rest of the night; the most freakin’ amazing night of my life.”

“What if I had never made a move Em? What would you have done? I mean, I was scared to death. I almost lost my nerve. For all I knew, you might have freaked out and wanted to go back to the dorm. That might have been the end of our friendship. I tell you, I felt like I wanted to throw up, I was so nervous.”

“I’m glad you didn’t throw up. That would have been bad. The whole kissing thing would have been a no go, and that would have been a damn shame. And to answer your question, I really don’t know what I would’ve done. No one wants to be rejected and I was just as scared as you were. But I can tell you this; even if I had not been interested in you in that way, I never would have freaked out or left. I would not have done that to you. I would not have tried to make you feel ashamed of it. All of which makes no difference anyway because we were both such idiots to have waited six months to even kiss after having those kinds of feelings for one another. We humans really are quite stupid.”

“Makes me appreciate what most guys have to go through. I feel kind of sorry for them. I understand the pressure of wanting to act but not wanting to be rejected,” I said.

“I guess you’re right,” she said. “Even now they are still expected to make the first moves. It is tough. But screw ‘em. They get to have the penises and we get to have the babies, so it’s fair.”

“You know,” I said. “I really don’t know how they walk around with those things. If I was a guy and we were together, I’d walk around with a constant hard on. I’d have to have special pants made. It would be difficult. I’d probably end up with some severe medical condition, and it would be all your fault.”

She laughed. “Horn dog.”

“Lusty wench,” I said.

“Damn right. Can we sleep now?”

“Yes. I’d like that very much,” I answered.

Part Two

I sat in the breakfast nook of the kitchen, nervously sipping more coffee. I had already gone through practically a whole pot. I would never sleep tonight; although my intention, if Em wasn’t too tired after the drive, was not to sleep at all. I checked my cell phone again; batteries low … new messages? “No” to both of those questions. She had talked me into only calling once at her half-way point. She said this would be a good test of how much I could control my impulse to worry about her. I agreed. I’m stupid that way. Besides, I thought, this just made me worry more.

Em was only an hour off schedule, according to my calculations and when she said she had left this morning. Screw it, I’m calling. I dialed her cell phone. It rang and rang and I swore I could hear someone’s phone getting louder right outside my door. I got to the door just as she rang the bell. When I opened it, she immediately said “You weren’t supposed to call. We had a deal.” But she was grinning from ear to ear, so I didn’t think I was in too much trouble.

I grabbed her and pulled her into a hug so tight I thought I’d break the both of us. “Jesus, woman, I was worried about you,” I said.

She laughed at me, pulled back and then kissed me on the cheek. “I’m a grown woman, Sarah. I can make an eight hour road trip without this much drama. Please stop fussing over me.”

“I don’t get a proper kiss?” I protested.

“You do after I go to the ladies room. I was stuck in traffic for an hour and I have to pee so badly.” She practically ran down the hall after tossing her purse and keys on the kitchen table.

Two years had flown by quickly and now that Em was moving in with me, I felt like some lovesick teenager who gets sweaty palms every time their sweetheart is nearby. This feeling was strange to me. It wasn’t like this when we met on vacation or when she visited for a long weekend. I don’t remember it being like this when we lived together in college either. This was a new feeling, and I found it very unsettling.

“What’s wrong?” Em asked as she walked back into the kitchen. “You have an odd expression on your face. I thought I had seen them all.”

“First, give me my proper kiss, and then I’ll tell you about my expression.” I walked to her and put my arms around her, moving my lips to hers. When I kissed her, I began trembling; running out of breath and practically panting when I broke away.

“Sarah, what is the matter with you?” Emily was startled and concerned by my reaction to the kiss.

I looked down, embarrassed. She pushed my chin up, forcing me to look at her. “What is it?” she asked, searching my face and eyes.

I stepped back and shook my head. “I don’t know. It’s so odd. I feel so awkward all of a sudden. I feel like a lovesick teenager or something. My hands are sweating and my heart is racing. Maybe I’m nervous about this; about us moving in. But I don’t think that’s it. It just suddenly hit me when you got here. I hope it’s just the pot of coffee I drank while I was waiting for you.” I looked up at her and said, “I’m sorry I’m being so weird.”

She moved to me and put her arms back around me. “You’re not being weird Sarah. Even if you are nervous about us moving in together, that’s natural. I admit I’m nervous about it. I thought about it during most of the trip.” Then she laughed again. “But I’m sure a whole pot of coffee isn’t helping your nerves either. Everything is going to be okay. We love each other enough to make sure it will be okay, right?”

It was reassuring to hear her speak this way to me. I was suddenly aware of a role reversal. She was being the strong one, and I liked it. I knew that even if I faltered, she would pick up where I left off. “Absolutely,” I said. “We will be fine. And the sooner I de-caffeinate, the finer I’ll be.” We were both laughing now, and I felt suddenly lightened and unburdened. “Let me get your stuff out of the car,” I said as I reached for her keys on the table.

She grabbed my wrist and pulled me with her into the living room. “That stuff isn’t going anywhere Sarah. We can get it after dinner. Come sit with me. I need to unwind a bit after being cooped up in the car for so long.” She directed me, half pushing, to the end of the sofa. I sat and she lay down, laying her head in my lap. “Now,” she said, “If you don’t mind, I need your hands in my hair and scalp. Some neck work wouldn’t hurt either.” She wanted a massage and I was happy to oblige. This would be a good way to work up to the other touching that would come later; and a good way to stop my nervous shaking.

“I don’t mind. I like a woman who knows what she needs and asks for it.” I began running my fingers through her scalp.

“Oh, and who is this woman? Do I know her?” She laughed teasingly.

“I’m not sure you really do know her,” I replied, keeping our little game going. “She is probably the sexiest, kindest, most loving and adorable woman I have ever met. I like to keep her to myself. I’d rather she not be discovered by someone else.”

“Well now I really want to meet her. Adorable, huh? I like that word. It encompasses a lot of qualities. So just what makes this woman adorable?” she asked.

“Oh boy, you had to ask that question. Let’s see; that’s difficult to answer. It’s kind of a package deal.” I ran my fingers through her hair and into her scalp with more intensity.

She moaned and then sighed. “That feels so good Sarah. That is perfect.” She waited and when I didn’t continue my description she spoke again. “I need a better description than ‘package deal’. I need some specifics of her adorableness.”

“Adorableness, is that even a real word?” I tried to deflect.

“Yes, I’m sure it is. Stop changing the subject; specifics please.”

“Well,” I said, moving my hands down to her neck, gently massaging the muscles there.
“I adore her, so she must be adorable.” I laughed.

“Okay, forget it. I wanted to make a game of this, but you aren’t cooperating,” she complained, but was smiling nevertheless.

“Hey, I can’t concentrate on your scalp and neck massage and come up with poetic descriptions at the same time. You’ll have to pick one or the other.”

“I’ll take the massage,” she answered. “What do I smell? Do you have something in the oven?”

“Yes. I prepared a chicken to roast and put it in the oven when you ran to the bathroom. I’m making some rosemary roasted new potatoes and a salad to go with it,” I answered.

“Wow, a massage and a home cooked meal. That smell is driving me crazy. All of a sudden I’m starved. What a woman I have! I think I need to keep you tucked away somewhere so no one else whisks you away from me,” she said.

“It’s nothing. Besides, you drove eight hours to be here with me. It’s the least I could do. It should be ready in about an hour. And that whisking away thing … don’t worry … no one else would put up with me except you,” I said, and leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.

“Sarah,” she responded in a scolding tone. “Why do you always do that? I don’t like it when you say things like that about yourself. What do you mean no one would put up with you? That’s crap!”

“Whoa, Em, calm down. It’s just my typical self-effacing humor. I’m only joking. Well, half joking anyway,” I said, trying to laugh off my comment.

“But you always do that. Anyone who knew you only a fraction of how well I know you, would want you. Craig wanted you, and he was a great guy. So stop selling yourself short.” She was sounding genuinely irritated at me.

“Em, I’m really not trying to put myself down. All I meant by it is that you know me so well. You know the good and the bad and you accept it. You see through my moods and you see me, and you love me anyway. You love me even when I’m a bitch or acting like some obsessive-compulsive maniac. I meant it to be more of a comment about you … how loving you are … not about me not being lovable.”

She was quiet for a while. When she did speak her tone had changed. “Well, I guess when you explain like that, I can’t be mad. In fact, the sooner you feed me, the happier I’ll be. What’s the E.T.A. on dinner?”

“I need to put the potatoes in now; then it will be another forty minutes at the most. But you are going to have to get up so I can do that.”

She sighed. “Can you put the potatoes in and come right back to the couch with me?”

“I most certainly can. Give me five minutes. Do you want some cold water or tea or anything to drink?” I asked.

“Some water would be good,” she answered, as I walked to the kitchen.

When I returned with two glasses of ice water she was sitting up. “Thank you,” she said as she took the glass from me. She drank half the glass before she put it down. “I guess I was thirsty.”

I drank and set my glass on the coffee table. “You know Em, you live here now. This evening I’ll treat you like a guest, but starting tomorrow that’s over. You treat this place like it’s yours and mine.”

“That’s going to be difficult for me to get used to.”

“I know. But I don’t think it will take long; maybe a couple of weeks. And if I am being too obsessive about things, you let me know. I’m going to have to adjust too.”

“Don’t I always let you know when you are acting like that?” She gave me a wink.

“Yes, yes you do,” I answered. I put my arm around her waist and pulled her in closer to me. “Right now I’m feeling compelled to put my hands and lips on you. You have any problem with that compulsive behavior, you just let me know.”

She moved around me and straddled my lap.

“Mmm … my favorite position,” I said, leaning in and kissing her neck.

“I doubt there will come a time when I ever a problem with this kind of behavior,” she said. She pulled her tucked blouse out of her jeans and took my right hand, pushing it up her shirt to her breast. She began kissing my lips. It had been four months since the last time we had been together, and now we both felt the urgency that our separation had created. I began unbuttoning her blouse and kissing her neck and chest. I put both hands on her back.

“Pull it off baby,” I said. She leaned back and dropped the blouse to the floor. I unsnapped her bra and pulled it forward, exposing her breasts. My mouth was all over her. She flung her head back, arching into my mouth as I teased her breasts and nipples. I pulled the bra all the way off and dropped it with the blouse. Then I unzipped her jeans, putting one hand down the back, grabbing and squeezing her ass. She raised herself on her knees, allowing me to pull down her jeans and panties in one yank.

She pushed herself close against me, “Sarah,” she half gasped and half moaned my name. I moved my other hand in between her thighs, feeling her wetness. I moved my hand over her, feeling her get wetter. My arousal was probably as strong as hers, and I felt as if I would climax just sensing her excitement and hearing the lovely sounds coming from her throat and mouth. I moved both hands tightly around her back and moved her onto her back on the couch; pulling her sandals off and then nudging her jeans and panties all the way off. All of her clothes were now piled by the coffee table and she lay before me, fully naked and glorious.

I moved over her, placing my hand back between her thighs, massaging and teasing her there. I continued this as I kissed my way up her body. When I reached her lips, she was on fire, and the intensity of our mouths together finished her off. She thrust herself against me hard as she moved her tongue inside my mouth. She moved her mouth away from mine and moaned; wrapping her legs around me, squeezing until her orgasm subsided.

She closed her eyes as I kissed lightly around her temple. The timer bell on the oven buzzed loudly. “Wow, do I have perfect timing or what?” I said. She laughed out loud.

“What about you?” Em asked.

“What about me?” I said. “I had a great appetizer. Besides, we have all night after dinner for me. Remember, we live together. Now, get dressed, I don’t think I’ll be able to concentrate on dinner if you’re sitting in front of me like that. You can set the table while I carve the chicken and get the rest of the food ready.”

I reluctantly left her on the couch and walked into the kitchen. In two minutes she was dressed and in the kitchen with me.

“Damnation, it smells good in here. And now I’m really hungry. I brought your water with me, baby. I put it on the counter.”

I turned around to her, grinning. “The plates are in the cupboard right behind you, and the flatware is in the drawer to your left.”

“Okay. I’ll have the table set in a jiffy. What’s that grin for?” she asked as she retrieved plates and salad bowls from the cupboard.

“Oh, something silly; it’s not important,” I answered.

“You don’t grin like that for no reason. Tell me or I’ll bug you to death about it.” She gave me that exasperated tone.

“Well, this is going to sound so silly and girly, but I really love it when you call me ‘baby’.” I felt suddenly shy telling her this, and could feel myself turn a little red.

“Really?” she said, somewhat surprised. “I just figured you put up with it because I like to call you that.”

I had my back to her, at the counter, attempting to carve the chicken properly. “No, seriously, I really like it. There must be something about the way you say it. Or it might just be that I like being your baby … yeah, that must be it. I kind of … well … what’s a good word … I melt a little every time you say it.”

She had come up behind me and slipped her arms around my waist. “Oh, baby, I’m so hot for you right now, watching you fix my dinner,” she whispered as she nuzzled my neck.

“Great, now you are going to wear it out. It’s going to lose its charm if you keep that up.” I turned around and stuck a piece of chicken in her mouth. “That’ll shut you up for a minute.”

“Let’s eat. That’ll shut me up for more than a few minutes,” she said.

“Just have to plate the potatoes and we’re set. Oh crap, I forgot to chill the white wine.”

“Who cares,” Em said. “I’ll just drink water. If you feed me like this every night and booze me up too, I’m gonna gain weight.”

“Alright, water is good for me too. We can save the wine for another night.” I said as I added the platter of potatoes to the table. “Now I’m good and hungry too.”

We both ate hearty portions, talking and laughing and generally enjoying one another’s company.

“Sarah, I knew you were a good cook, but I didn’t know you were this good. That meal was wonderful,” Em said, as she swirled the last piece of potato in her salad dressing and popped it in her mouth.

“Thank you. I’m happy you liked it. I enjoy cooking, most of the time anyway. Not too fond of cleaning up though. But I won’t be doing this every night. Sometimes it’ll just be a salad. Sometimes it’ll be whatever you decide to prepare.” I looked at her for a reaction.

“You know I don’t cook,” she said. “Besides, you probably wouldn’t eat something I made.”

“You can learn. I’ll teach you. We can start with the ‘hard to screw up’ menu and work our way up.”

“You are a brave woman, thinking you can teach me how to cook,” she said, laughing.
“Brave and delusional.”

“I guess you never saw your mother in the kitchen. Did you guys always have someone else prepare your meals? Did you always have a maid or cook?” I asked.

“As far back as I can remember, yes. So, no, I never watched my mother cook anything. She may have flipped a switch on the coffee maker in the morning, but I’m not sure she even did that,” Em said, and then she got a strange look on her face. “Oh, shit. I was supposed to call my mother when I got here.” She jumped up and grabbed her purse and looked at her cell phone. “She called and I missed it. How did I not hear it ring?”

“Well, um, she probably called while we were, um, you know … busy in the living room,” I said. “Or maybe you programmed a special ring tone for her that you have learned to ignore.”

“Very funny,” she said, as she listened to the message. “I’m in trouble now.”

She started dialing and walked away from the kitchen. I could hear her in the living room. “Yes mother. Yes. I got here fine. Yes. Yes. Sarah cooked dinner for me. Yes. (Long pause.) Yes ma’am. I will mother. I love you too. Bye.” She walked back into the kitchen.

“Mother says hello.”

“Oh really,” I said, incredulous. “Your mother acknowledges my existence?”

“That was harsh, Sarah. Seriously, she said ‘tell Sarah I said hello’. I think she wants to try and play nice, but she doesn’t know how.”

“I’m sorry. That was harsh of me. I know she’s your mother and you love her no matter what, so I’ll try and play nice too,” I said. “Well, were you in trouble for not calling earlier or not answering your cell phone?”

“Actually, no, she didn’t say anything about it. She just said she was glad I had a safe trip and called before it got too late. She was actually very pleasant. I told you, I think she wants to be okay with this … with us. I think she realizes there isn’t anything she can do about it, so she might as well accept it.”

“That’s good,” I said, as I began clearing the table and loading the dishwasher.

“You know Sarah, she doesn’t dislike you. In fact, before she found out that we weren’t just friends, she liked you a lot. She told me one time that you were a good influence on me. She said you were very responsible. She likes you; she was just never fond of the idea of me having a girlfriend. It wouldn’t matter who that was. I think she’ll get over it.

“The odd thing is, when I told her … her and dad … that Dave and I were divorcing and I was going to be with you, she really didn’t get upset. I didn’t ask, but I got the feeling she already knew. Then she came over yesterday evening to see me, since I was heading out pretty early this morning. She said she wanted to see if I needed anything for the trip and to say goodbye. She cried, Sarah. I can’t remember the last time I saw her cry. When I told her that I would be alright, she said ‘I know you will Emily. I know Sarah will take care of you. I’m not worried about that. I’m worried that we won’t get to see you very often now.’ I told her that wasn’t true. I said we would visit if she and dad were okay with it.” She looked at me expecting a response after this last revelation.

I turned around from the sink. “Em, of course we can visit. But I hope you are serious about your mom wanting to play nice. And what about your dad? If we visit and I get nothing but an icy reception, you can’t expect me to want to go back.”

“I know, Sarah. But I think they are both going to be okay with this. If my mom is okay then my dad is fine with it. As long as it isn’t causing her problems then he pretty much goes along. Plus, I hope you are okay with this, I told my mom we’d try to be there for Christmas. She didn’t push it, because she knew I hadn’t talked to you about it yet. But I told her I’d see about it.”

“Did she really say she knew I’d take care of you?” I asked.

“Yes, she really said it,” Em answered.

“Em, if they are willing to try then you know I am. I have no problem visiting your folks for Christmas. It’s not like we have two families to split our holiday time with, so there won’t be problems about that,” I said.

“Oh baby, I’m so sorry. Here I am going on about spending time with my parents. Sometimes I don’t even think about it … about …”

I interrupted her, since it was clear that she didn’t know how to finish her sentence. “Em, I’m fine about discussing your family and the holidays. I’ve been an orphan for quite some time now. I’ve gotten accustomed to not having family around,” I said. “But now I have to make my own confession about plans made without your knowledge.”

“Uh oh, am I gonna like this or not?” Em raised her eyebrows at me.

“I made lunch plans for us this coming Wednesday. Since it’s my first day back, I figured some of my co-workers might as well meet you. I invited four of them. Since it’s a work lunch, then it won’t be too long and you won’t be subjected to a thousand questions,” I said, smiling. “Is that okay? If it’s not, I can make up some excuse why we can’t do it.”

“So your co-workers know bout us?” she asked.

“Well, the ones that matter do … the ones I’m closest to … I told them a couple of weeks ago. They are all pretty excited to meet you. I thought I might as well let them know my girlfriend is moving in; they’d figure it out sooner or later.”

“So Wednesday for lunch I’m on display … hmmm … not sure how I feel about that … but then how can I say no,” she said.

“Seriously, Em, if it will make you uncomfortable, I can cancel,” I said.

“Nope; you’re right. We might as well get used to the idea of letting the world know we are together. I’m fine with it. I’m sure if they are your friends, they’re great people.”

“Good. I’m glad you aren’t ticked at me for that. I was thinking about waiting until Wednesday morning and then springing the news on you. But I decided against that”

“Good decision,” she said.

“You ready to head down to your car and get your stuff? I’ll help you unpack and put your stuff away,” I asked.

“Yeah, let’s do that before I get too tired.” She grabbed her keys and we walked down to the parking lot.

“Em, this is just your luggage. Didn’t you bring anything else? Surely there was stuff from the house you wanted.”

“There is more stuff; but not much. It was just a few boxes. Dave said he would have them shipped to me. He said he didn’t want me loading down the back seat and obstructing my view. I think he was a bit worried about my trip. After everything I’ve done to him, he actually told me that he would miss me. Can you imagine that?” She looked a bit sad when she told me this.

“Yes, I can imagine that. You two have a history. And he was in love with you. It’s natural. He is a good guy and it was sweet of him to offer to ship the stuff. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that he has someone else now. It’s probably easier to forgive you when he can see a future with her.” We walked up the stairs to the condo with her luggage. “I’ve made space in the closet and the dresser for your stuff. I also bought plenty of extra hangers.”

“You always think of everything, even the small stuff. It still amazes me that I’m lucky enough to have you.”

“Luck? I thought it was destiny,” I said, as I put the suit cases at the foot of the bed.

“That’s right,” Em said, putting her arms around me. “My lucky destiny. And I’m thinking that tonight, you just might get lucky.”

“Might!” I said. “I was pretty much counting on it. Now put your stuff away while I finish up in the kitchen.”

“Yes, ma’am,” she answered, slapping my ass as I walked out the bedroom door.

~~~~

Emily was saying something to me from the bathroom as she brushed her teeth. I walked to the door, watching her spit and then rinse out her mouth.

“Em, I didn’t hear anything you just said.”

“Sorry, I guess I shouldn’t try to talk and brush my teeth at the same time. I asked you if you were sure you wanted to go to bed this early. I figured we’d sleep in tomorrow morning.” She walked over to me and wrapped her arms around my waist, then lowered her hands, digging her fingers into my ass. “Besides, I’m not finished with you yet,” she said, practically growling the words into my neck.

“Oh, I know you aren’t finished with me. And I didn’t say anything about sleeping this early, did I? I don’t want us to get too tired. Besides, you’ve had a long day already. I thought it would be nice if we were already prepared for bed, so to speak, before we wear one another out. Now, if you don’t mind,” I said, pulling her hands away, ”I want to brush my teeth and change before you get me too worked up.” I walked to the bathroom and began brushing my teeth.

“I’ll be waiting. Don’t take too long,” she said.

I finished with my teeth, then washed my face and changed into a tight fitting t-shirt and some new panties. For me, this was as sexy as my bedroom attire got. When I emerged from the bathroom and turned to the bed, Emily was lying on the left side, on her stomach, with a pillow tucked under her. She was wearing something I had never seen before. A black, low-cut, sheer camisole with matching bikini panties that were also sheer. I felt suddenly underdressed, but I had nothing in my repertoire even remotely resembling an outfit like that. So, I gave her my best whistle, which was a bit off pitch, but the effect was there.

“Wow,” I said. “Where did you get that?” I walked over to her and sat on the edge of the bed, running my hand over her, from her shoulder down to her ass. “You know Em, I always said I never really got the whole lingerie thing, but now I think I’m starting to get it. Woman, you are going to give me a heart attack.”

She giggled and turned her head toward me. “Do you really like it? I feel kind of weird. I’ve never worn anything this … well … this see-through before.”

“Do I like it? Hmm, I’m not sure. Why don’t you turn over and let me see the front and I’ll let you know.”

She turned toward me, on her side, but not completely on her back. I think my eyes must have started to glaze over. I was leering and I hated to think of the dumbstruck expression I must be wearing. Emily, apparently having a sudden attack of self-consciousness, grabbed a pillow and put it over her face. I heard what sounded like muffled laughter coming from under the pillow. I went to the other side of the bed and got in beside her, pulling her close to me. I whispered in her ear, “Em, are you laughing because you feel self-conscious, or are you laughing at the totally dumbstruck, lustful expression I had on my face?”

She pulled the pillow away from her face, turned her head into my shoulder and neck and said “Both”, and then laughed some more. “I think I’ll change. This outfit is making me feel silly.”

“No you’re not. It’s not making me feel silly. You look so … god I wish I had a better word for it … so totally hot in that. But I feel underdressed now. Anyway, if I wore something like that, I’d never look as sexy as you do.” I reached down and put my hand over her perfectly formed backside, running my hand over the fabric. She shifted over me, and then straddled me, sitting up, looking at me and all over me.

“Sarah, you always look sexy. You really have no idea how attractive you are, do you?” she said. “You are so clueless when it comes to your own beauty, but I notice men and women looking at you when we are out. Sometimes it happens so much it pisses me off. I get hot and jealous at the same time. And then I say to myself, ha, everyone wants my hot girlfriend, but she is all mine. You wanna talk about sexy? Your breasts look perfect in that tight white t-shirt and those black undies make me want to spank that gorgeous ass of yours.” She leaned over me, taking my hands and putting them over my head, pinning them there. She put her lips just within reach of mine and closed her eyes.

“Baby, every time we are together like this, I just want to eat you up. I want to devour you with all my senses. Now kiss me so I know this outfit wasn’t wasted.” But she didn’t wait for me to lean in and kiss her. She moved her lips to me and began kissing me very softly, alternating between my bottom and top lip, and then kissing my neck. Her left hand remained over my hands, while she moved her right hand under my shirt and over my breast. She started pushing up on the fabric and then released my hands, pulling my shirt up with both of her hands. I rose slightly to help her. She threw the t-shirt on the floor.

She was sitting up again, gazing at me; her eyes all over my body. I reached up to pull her into me, but she took my hands and put them back at my side, shaking her head but not saying anything. I knew what this meant, so I did not protest. She wanted to be in charge, undistracted by my wandering hands. Every part of me wanted to touch her, but I complied and waited for her next move. She reached out over me and with the back of her hand lightly ran it down between my breasts to the end of my stomach; repeating this motion several times. I closed my eyes and sighed and then she leaned over me again, putting her mouth on me; kissing my breasts and teasing my nipples with her tongue.
She moved to my mouth and gave me a kiss that almost sent me over the edge. She knew it and pulled back, not wanting to allow me my release this soon.

I felt her hand move inside my panties and then between my thighs. She moved her fingers over me and then inserted her middle finger, partially, while rubbing with her thumb. She continued this while kissing my neck and lightly breathing into my ear. She whispered to me, “I can tell you are close baby. You are so wet and hot I can hardly stand it. But I’m not going to let you come yet. Turn over on your stomach.”

I wanted to scream. I didn’t know how much more I could take. But I did not speak or protest. I did as she instructed and turned over, tucking a pillow under my chest and sweeping my hair off to the side. She moved down me and pulled my underwear off. Then she began moving her hand lower and lower down my cleft, from behind, rubbing as she went. I was practically writhing on the bed, my breathing getting quicker and shallower. She put her other hand under my chest and began massaging my breast, while still rubbing me from behind. I began undulating in rhythm to the movement of her hand. She moved her mouth to the base of my neck, kissing me and whispering to me again. “That’s it baby, move with me; feel me. You feel so good. I want to feel you come now.”

That was it. I had her permission now and I virtually exploded into what seemed like the most intense orgasm I had ever experienced. She stayed with me, her body pressed into my back, leaving her hand where it was, but no longer rubbing me. I probably sounded like I was dying, but I didn’t care. This was certainly the noisiest orgasm I’d ever had. I was almost relieved that she couldn’t see my face. When I let my body relax, I collapsed back into the bed and pillow, and she moved her weight from me and to the side. We lay there, me trying to return my breathing to normal, and her running her fingers up and down my spine.

I still had my face buried in the pillow, unable to move, when I felt her crawl over me to the other side. She nuzzled her face into mine and said, “I just want to make sure you are still breathing. I’d feel very guilty if I killed you on our first night after moving in together.” She was laughing at me now and I just moaned and then moved my head toward her, but did not open my eyes.

“You did kill me. But don’t feel too guilty about it, I died very happy.” I turned over to face her now and opened my eyes. My mouth formed an involuntary grin and she began laughing at me again. “Why do you keep laughing at me woman? I made way too much noise, didn’t I? See what you do to me. I make a fool of myself for you and you laugh.”
“I’m not laughing because you let yourself go. I’m laughing because you get so shy about it afterwards, like you’re ashamed of it or something,” she said.

“Oh, trust me, Em, I’m not ashamed. If I were ashamed of that, we’d have to have separate rooms, remain fully clothed and never touch one another again.”

“Shut your mouth. I’d have to find another girlfriend then.” She laughed again.

“You are enjoying your power way too much tonight. Maybe you do need to take off that outfit, you evil little vixen.”

“I think I will. These things are beginning to ride up my ass,” she said, tugging at the bikini bottoms.

Now I laughed. She got out of bed and pulled the camisole set off and put on her robe.

“What’s wrong with naked?” I asked.

She headed out the bedroom door. “I need water; some cold water.”

“Bring me some too, please.” I called after her, pulling the sheet over me, trying to have a little modesty.

She came back with a tall glass of cold water and handed it to me. “Thanks,” I said. I drank half of it and handed it back to her. She drank a bit more and set it on the nightstand.

“You know, I just realized you didn’t offer me any dessert after dinner,” she said.

“I am the dessert, baby. And you just had me.”

“No, I need something sweet,” she said, laughing at me again.

“Very funny; if you’re serious, I really don’t have anything very sweet, but there is some ice cream in the freezer.”

“Well, I was just kidding, because I wanted to use that ‘sweet’ line on you. But what flavor are we talking about?”

“Oh, you’ll like it. Hand me my robe. I’ll go get a very small dish for us to share.”

She tossed the robe onto my head, and laughed at me again. I put it on as I got up. I grabbed her around the waist and lifted her off of the floor. “You are having just way too much fun at my expense tonight,” I said, dropping her onto the bed. “Stay there.” She was laughing again when I left for the kitchen.

When I returned she was still lying in the same spot I dropped her. I gathered a spoonful of ice cream and moved it in the direction of her mouth. “I’m sure you can guess the flavor.” She closed her eyes and moved her mouth over the spoon, taking every bit.

“Oh my god, that is so good; Raspberry Cheesecake, right?” she guessed.

“Yep,” I answered. I put another spoonful in her mouth.

“Mmm … this stuff is evil. I could eat that very day.”

I retrieved another spoonful. “Lie down and open your robe,” I said.

She complied and I let the melting ice cream drip onto her breast. I then ate what was left off of the spoon and leaned over and licked the melted ice cream off of her. “I could eat that every day too,” I said, taking another spoonful for myself.

“Is that all I get, just two tiny spoonfuls?” she asked, looking at me all doe eyed, and begging.

“You can have the rest.” She sat up and I fed her the rest of the ice cream. I set the empty dish next to the water glass on the nightstand. “Was that sweet enough for you?” I asked. “Are you satisfied?”

“Well, that was sweet enough, but I lied before. You are sweeter. Am I satisfied, you ask; no … not quite yet.” She pulled open my robe, put her arms around me and pulled me down to her, kissing me and pushing herself against me.

I pulled back up. “The robes are going to have to come off,” I said, pulling mine off, and tossing it on the chair beside the bed. She raised herself on her elbow and I helped her take hers off too. It ended up with mine. I gazed down at her, smiling. “You have the most glorious naked little body I have ever seen,” I said.

“How many have you seen?” she asked, grinning at me.

“I’ll never tell. But believe me, yours is the best.”

“Right now, this naked little body wants the glory of your hands all over it. And some lips and tongue wouldn’t hurt either,” she said.

“Any special requests?” I asked.

“Make it up as you go along.” She pulled me to her again, “Now shut up and kiss me woman.”

And kiss her I did, for what seemed like forever. My hands and mouth covered every square inch of her body; moving over her until she climaxed with my arms wrapped around her, and my mouth against her neck, whispering “I love you Em”. That night we slept in our bed. Our bed, in which we will make love, laugh, cry, sleep and dream for ten thousand more nights to come.

Part Three

“Your birthday is in a month Em, what do you want to do? I want to make some special plans for us.” I shouted over the noise of the shower. It was morning, and I was brushing my teeth while she got ready for an early meeting at work. She shut off the water. “Em, did you hear me?”

“Yes. I didn’t want to yell over the water. It’s too early for that. I don’t know why Tom has to schedule our staff meetings at 7:30 a.m.”

“Well, maybe he wants everyone to get in early to beat traffic so he can get started at least by 8:00 a.m.” I offered her an answer. “So, have you thought about what you want to do for your birthday?”

“Not really. And I don’t care. Why don’t you plan something for us? I haven’t been in the city long enough to try out even a fraction of the restaurants; you pick a place you think I’d like that I haven’t been to yet and make reservations,” she said, hurriedly drying herself off and then attempting to apply mascara at an alarming speed.

I followed her back to the bedroom where she was also dressing at breakneck speed. “Okay, I’ll make the plans. Coffee is made and I already got your travel mug ready; it’s on the kitchen counter. Em, I hate it when you get in such a hurry like this. I hate to think of how you are going to be driving.”

She snatched her purse off of the settee at the end of the bed and stopped and kissed me on the cheek. “I hurry like this, here, at home, so I don’t have to drive to work like a bat out of hell,” she said, rushing past me and through the kitchen before I could say another word. She grabbed the coffee and was out the door before I could catch up.

I just shook my head, muttering to myself as I poured my coffee and brought it back to the bedroom so that I could get a shower and finish getting ready for work. When I set the coffee on the dresser I heard my cell phone buzzing inside my purse. I pulled it out and was shocked to see the ID displayed. It was Em’s parent’s home number. This was alarming, because I would never expect a call at seven in the morning, much less to my cell phone number.

I answered, “Hello,” very tentatively.

Her mother’s voice greeted me, and it was not with one of alarm or emergency. “Sarah, darling, I’m so glad I caught you before you got to work. I didn’t wake you did I? And where is Emily? I don’t want her to hear any of this conversation.” Her stream of comments and questions were delivered rapidly.

“No, Mrs. Saunders, you didn’t wake me. And Emily just left; she has an early staff meeting on Wednesdays. I’m surprised to hear from you this early, there isn’t anything wrong is there?” I asked.

“No, no, not at all; I just wanted to catch you before you got too busy at work. Do you have maybe ten minutes to talk? That won’t make you late will it?” she asked. Her demeanor on the phone with me was alarming in its cheeriness. Maybe Em was right, she is trying.

“No ma’am,” I answered. “I have time.” My heart rate was increasing. I was being reminded of how frightened of this woman I was.

“I want to talk about Emily’s birthday, Sarah. We haven’t seen her since she moved and Frank and I thought it would be nice to come down and at least have dinner with you girls, maybe stay the weekend, at a hotel of course, we wouldn’t impose, and do some shopping. I know it’s a month away but I wanted to see how you felt about it before any plans were made.” She stopped and finally took a breath, waiting for my response.

“That’s odd, Mrs. Saunders, because I was just asking Em this morning what she wanted to do.”

“Oh please, Sarah, don’t call me Mrs. Saunders. Please call me Linda.”

“Well, Linda, we don’t have plans yet. In fact Em told me to make the plans myself. She said she didn’t care what we did. I was just going to make a reservation at a restaurant, but I don’t even have anything in mind yet. But I think it would be a wonderful surprise if you and Frank came for her birthday. I know she would love it. In fact, I think it should be a surprise. We could arrive for dinner and you two could already be there waiting,” I suggested.

“Oh Sarah, that is just what I wanted. You read my mind. Would it be alright if I picked the place and made the reservations? Frank and I want it to be our treat. We want to take you two out.”

“Well,” I said. “I think that would be fine. Why don’t you just give me a call back when you have something in mind and then I can make sure we are appropriately attired when we arrive.”

“Wonderful; that’s wonderful, Sarah. I’m so happy. Thank you for agreeing to this.” She sounded as if she was getting emotional.

“Mrs. Saun … I mean Linda … don’t thank me, please. Of course I would agree to it. I want Em to see her family. I’m happy you want to have dinner with us.” I was beginning to feel guilty about her gratitude.

“I know you do Sarah. But, well, the way I have been …”

I cut her off. “Linda, I don’t care about the way you have been. I know you love your daughter. Let’s just worry about the way we will both be in the future, okay?”

There was a long pause before she responded to my last statement. I thought I could hear her sniffling and when she did speak her voice broke. “Yes, you’re right, the future. Okay, Sarah, I’ll let you go and get ready. I will call soon and let you in on the plans. Bye dear.”

“Bye Linda,” I said and hung up. I smiled to myself. Wow, I thought, this may just turn out to be a great birthday for Em after all. I had been worried that her first major celebration would be marred by her homesickness. As much as she locked horns with her mother; both her parents actually, I knew she would miss being with them for her birthday. She had always celebrated her birthday with them. As much as she had tried to convince me that she would be fine with just us this year, I knew there would still be some sadness about it. I did want her to myself that night, but I guess that is selfish. She has not seen them in three months, and besides college, that was a record for her. I was feeling quite pleased with myself and very grateful to her mother right now. Then it dawned on me that during a five minute conversation her mother had called me darling and dear. Wow, I need to make a note of this day on the calendar.

Em’s birthday fell on a Friday that year and she had already asked for half a day off so that we wouldn’t be rushed getting ready or trying to beat traffic to make our reservation. The physical therapy and occupational medicine clinic where I worked closed for Friday afternoons, so it was not a problem for me.

~~~~

It was late Thursday evening, the night before Em’s birthday, and we were cleaning up the kitchen after dinner. “Sarah, you haven’t told me where we are going to dinner tomorrow night. What if I don’t have anything appropriate to wear?”

“I know I haven’t told you,” I said. “It’s supposed to be a surprise. Besides, there isn’t a restaurant in this town that you don’t have an outfit in your closet that’s appropriate. Your wardrobe is about as complete as it gets.”

“That’s just not true. I’d feel a lot better if you told me where we are going; then I can check my closet. At least I could shop at lunch tomorrow if I feel like I need something new.” She was giving me the begging, doe-eyed look again.

“Okay, I’ll tell you that it is a fancy place … like five-star French cuisine, and everyone in Atlanta is trying to get reservations there.” I looked at her and grinned.

Her eyes got wide. “You did not get us reservations at Le Pain de Vie! No way. There is no way.”

I just looked at her and shook my head up and down. “Oh yes I did. You’d be surprised at the connections I have,” I said, thinking to myself, ‘yeah, right, her parents have those connections, not me.’

Her expression of surprise suddenly changed to one of concern. “What’s wrong Em?” I asked. “You seemed happy and surprised and then you got a pained expression on your face.”

“I don’t want you to get upset with me, baby, but I don’t want you to spend that kind of money on my birthday dinner. It’s too much. It’s not necessary. I’ve heard about that place, and I can’t let you do that,” she said, looking like she wanted to cry.

“Em, it’s your first birthday since we moved in together. I wanted it to be special, and I can afford it. You know what a tight wad I am. I’ve been saving. Plus, it’ll be worth it to brag to all of our friends that we had your birthday dinner there. I really don’t care how much it costs. We rarely treat ourselves to anything extravagant. So I’m going to have to insist you let me do this. Besides, I’m dropping by a bank on the way home from work tomorrow and robbing the place.” I finished the last sentence laughing and she also laughed.

She walked over to me and put her head on my shoulder. “I really am the luckiest woman in the world,” she said. Then she kissed me on the cheek and began walking to the bedroom. “Now, I really am worried about what to wear.”

I followed her and when I got to the bedroom she was already tearing through her clothes in a panic. “Sarah, I am going to have to shop after lunch tomorrow. I want something new for tomorrow; something special.” She was pulling out dresses and throwing them on the bed.

Every one of the things she rejected would have looked perfectly appropriate for the venue and completely gorgeous on her. But I knew there was no use arguing the point. I was going to have to give her, her birthday present this evening, or else she would be panic shopping tomorrow afternoon. “Em,” I said. “Please stop tearing up your closet. I have something to show you.”

She stopped and looked at me. I pulled a garment bag from the back of my side of the closet. I had hidden it away a couple of weeks ago. “I already shopped for you, Em. I knew you were going to be like this. I knew you’d just have to have something new to wear. So I guess I’ll have to give you your birthday present early.”

Her mouth dropped open. She couldn’t see the dress behind the solid plastic bag, but she could read the store label on it, and she knew what I had done. “Sarah, you didn’t. Is that what I think it is?”

“I’m pretty sure it is what you think it is. And don’t start protesting. It went on sale a few days after you tried it on and put it back. I went back one day on my lunch hour and snatched it up. And a good thing too; they only had one left in your size.” I was grinning from ear to ear now; quite pleased with myself and very pleased by the expression on her face. She was still just staring at me when I pulled the plastic garment bag off of the dress. “I think you should put it on. You know, sort of a dress rehearsal for tomorrow, so that you can actually sleep tonight.” I winked at her.

Still speechless she hurriedly took her clothes off and dropped them on the floor. I helped her on with the dress and we walked to the full length mirror that hung on the back of the closet door. Even barefoot and completely unadorned, save for the dress, she looked like a goddess. The dress was a solid peacock blue with a plunging neckline and cap sleeves. It was a perfect shade of blue for her hair color and skin tone. I remember when she walked out of the dressing room wearing it that day. Every woman in the vicinity of the dressing rooms stared at her. Even the snooty saleswoman almost gasped when she saw her.

“Stand right there,” I said. “Let me get the high heels I think you should wear.” I retrieved her strappy black three inch heels and knelt down, slipping them on her feet while she steadied herself with my shoulders. I walked behind her as she studied herself in the mirror. I started taking off her earrings and necklace, “I have something else for you to complete the outfit,” I said.

I retrieved a flat, rectangular shaped box from my dresser and walked up behind her again. “Close your eyes for a minute Em,” I said. She did, and I opened the box and retrieved the necklace and matching earrings from the case and put them on her. The necklace draped perfectly down her neckline and between her breasts; a perfect match for the dress. “You look absolutely gorgeous, baby. Open your eyes now,” I said.

When she opened her eyes, she just stared at the mirror. She ran her hands over the string of beads and turned her head, looking at the drop earrings. “My god, Sarah, these are perfect, it’s like they were made for this dress. What are they? What are the beads made of?”

“It’s something called ‘Bohemian Glass’, and yes, when I saw them, I thought they had to be worn around your neck with that dress. And the colors are perfect too. It was just a stroke of luck that I came across the set after I got the dress.” We both just stood there for a minute, looking in the mirror. “You look absolutely stunning Em. There won’t be a woman at that restaurant looking more beautiful; I guarantee you that.”

Her eyes welled up. I slipped my arms around her waist and said, “Don’t you cry on your new dress.” She laughed at that and then turned around and faced me.

“Sarah, it’s all just too much. The restaurant, the dress and the jewelry; you did too much. I feel like Cinderella getting ready for the ball. I am completely overwhelmed right now,” she said.

“Well, I don’t think I’ll be dressing like Prince Charming tomorrow, but if you somehow manage to lose a shoe on the steps I promise to run and fetch it for you and slip it back on your foot. And it’s not too much Em. It’s what you deserve. It’s the least I could do. You give me so much more than you can imagine.”

“Since you brought it up,” she said. “What are you wearing? Not that it matters. I’m just curious what you picked out.”

“Don’t be alarmed, but I’m wearing my standard black cocktail dress ... only I’m going to jazz it up a bit.” I walked to the closet and started looking for my ensemble.

“Your ‘standard black cocktail dress’, as you call it, looks fabulous on you,” Em said. “I love that dress.”

I pulled out the dress and laid it across the bed. Then put out my shoes and set them beside it. “What I found to complete the look … our very subtle color coordinated look … is this scarf I’m going to wear with the dress. It has the same blue in your dress, and some of the colors from your necklace.” I laid it inside the neckline of the dress. “What do you think?”

“I think,” Em replied, “that we are going to be the hottest couple there. That scarf is gorgeous. You know, I’m not saying I haven’t always thought you had good taste, but I have to say I’m a little bit in awe if your selections. I guess this is one of the many benefits of having a girlfriend.”

“I’m glad you approve. Now take off the dress before something tragic happens to it. We’ve had our dress rehearsal. You can sleep tonight and not have to panic shop after lunch. Besides, in the few hours we have of downtime tomorrow afternoon, I was planning on other activities besides shopping - something that will work up our appetites before dinner.”

“I hope you are thinking what I’m thinking and not a workout at the gym, or some such nonsense. Because I’m not exercising on my birthday.” She gave me the raised eyebrow as she said this.

“Oh, I think we are on the same page,” I said.

~~~~

I was on my cell phone, talking to Linda about the evening’s plans, when I heard Em come in the door. I ran to the bathroom. “Linda, she just walked in, I have to go. You and Frank get there by seven and I’ll plan on getting us there just a little later.” I came out and tossed my cell in my purse and walked out to the living room. I was wearing nothing but my robe with a black matching bra and panty set underneath.

“Wow, you look comfortable. What time did you get home?” she asked.

“My last appointment was an hour before lunch. I was able to leave earlier, so I could get home and start preparing,” I answered.

She looked me up and down. “You look like you’re dressed for a ‘nooner’. Who just left before I got here?” she teased. “Did she, or he, go out a window? And are those scented candles I smell?”

“Well, I had to warm up before the main attraction, don’t you think? Practice makes perfect.” I pulled her into my arms and kissed her bottom lip.

“Mmm, you could do that all afternoon and I’d be in heaven.”

“Come on; into the boudoir with you my little birthday girl.” I pulled her by the hand as she tossed her purse on the couch.

I had pulled the shades and curtains as tightly closed as possible to dim the room from the noonday sun. I had lit candles and placed them on the nightstands and dresser, and there were two dozen roses divided among several vases placed around the room. The bed was freshly made and turned down. There was a tray on the dresser holding a bowl of fresh fruit and a carafe of mimosas.

“Sarah, are you sure this is our bedroom? Wow, I’m not going to want to leave this room,” Em said.

I began unbuttoning her blouse. “That’s the plan,” I said. “At least until it’s time to get ready for dinner. Did you have lunch? Are you hungry?” I asked, continuing to undress her.

“I got delayed at work and wanted to get back here as soon as possible, so I skipped lunch. And yes, I am a bit hungry. I certainly can’t make it until dinner without having a little something,” she said, stepping out of her slacks as I pulled them down to the floor.
I was now on my knees, behind her. Before I got up, I ran my hand up between her legs, from her ankle to between her thighs, planting light kisses on the small of her back as I went. She sighed and shuddered. “I’ve been thinking about this all day, baby,” she said. “All I could think about for the last few hours were your hands on me.”

I stood up and kissed her neck. “Do you want to eat some fruit and have a mimosa?” I asked as I draped her clothes over the chair in the corner and retrieved her robe; the short one that exposed most of her legs.

She put her arms behind her allowing me to slide the robe on, “Okay, yes, I’ll eat a bit first … and maybe some more later ... after.”

We sat in the middle of the bed, feeding one another strawberries, grapes and honeydew, and drinking mimosas. I got up and moved the tray back to the dresser. Em had followed me, but I didn’t know she had left the bed until I felt her pressed up against my back, moving her hands inside my robe and over my breasts. I took her hands and pulled them away, turning around to face her. “Nope, not me; this is your time, Em. I’m concentrating on you this afternoon.”

“Hey,” she said. “It’s my birthday. I should get to do what I want. Can’t I touch you?”

“Of course you can … all you want … after you have, or maybe during the course of, the mind blowing orgasm I plan on teasing and torturing out of you soon.” I led her back over to the side of the bed. “Turn around,” I said.

She did as I asked. I knelt behind her again, taking her shapely derrière in my hands, and then kissing it, through the fabric, as I ran my hand up and down her legs and between her thighs. I heard a barely perceptible moan escape her lips. I stood, untying the sash of her robe and kissing her neck as I moved both hands to her breasts, squeezing slightly, and teasing her nipples with my thumbs. I slipped my right hand around to the back and unhooked her bra. Now my hands were on her skin and I could feel how hard the nipples had become beneath my fingers. I slipped the robe down her shoulders and away from her arms and tossed it in the chair. She pulled the bra off herself and tossed it behind us.

I continued kissing her neck and touching her, all over, then slipping one hand down the front of her panties, teasing her with one finger. She turned and twisted her head and torso toward me. “Kiss me Sarah, please,” she whispered. “Kiss me.” I moved my mouth to hers and just barely brushed her lips with mine. She gasped. I could tell she was too close, so I slowed down. I turned her around.

“Take my robe off,” I said, giving her permission to touch me back. I leaned in and kissed her as she pushed my robe over my shoulders, letting it drop to the floor. She unhooked my bra and pulled it away, tossing it with the rest of the clothes. We stood like that, kissing, with our hands moving over each other’s bodies. I broke off the kiss and put my hands on her shoulders, nudging her down toward the bed. She sat, then slid back toward the center and lay down. I leaned over her, coaxing her underwear down her thighs and then off.

I was about to crawl onto the bed, when she sat up, pushing my underwear down. “Yours too,” she said. I stepped out of them, giving her enough time to move closer. She wrapped her legs around my hips and began kissing my breasts, and moving her fingers down the middle of my back. I took her hands and moved them away. “Not fair,” she said. “I want to touch you.”

“All in good time, baby,” I said. “We have all afternoon. Now slide back, all the way back to your pillow.”

She did, and I moved onto the bed, bedside her, but much lower. I began kissing and caressing the insides of her thighs, just above her knees. I made my way slowly up, kissing and gently stroking the taut, yet supple skin just below her opening. I moved to her abdomen, kissing and reaching up to touch her breasts. Her breathing intensified and I could feel her beginning to undulate with her increasing arousal.

I moved my left knee between her legs as I moved over her, kissing her neck and making my way to her lips. My left hand was now between her and my thigh, and I stroked her as she pressed against my hand and leg with increasing intensity. At first I kissed her tenderly, but her growing arousal kept her from remaining gentle. She began kissing me aggressively, moving her tongue further into my mouth, matching the intensity of her thrusting against me. I returned her kisses in kind and increased the pressure and speed of my hand. She moved her mouth against my neck and climaxed, grabbing my back and digging her fingers into my flesh, and breathlessly half whispering and half moaning my name. When I felt her body relax, I removed my hand and wrapped my arms around her back, moving us both onto our sides, facing one another.

With her face still pressed against my neck, she said, “That has been the best part of my birthday so far.” Then she began nibbling and kissing below my ear. “Baby,” she whispered, “do we have any of that raspberry cheesecake ice cream in the freezer?”

I had anticipated some dirty talk, so the ice cream question made me laugh out loud. “I bought some on my way home today,” I said. “You want some now? I’ll go get it and be back before the sheets cool down.”

“Yes, please. And some ice water too.” She moved away, kissing me on the cheek, and then pushed me out of bed with her foot.

I grabbed my robe and put it on, staring down at her naked body, grinning. “Stop leering at me and fetch the ice cream,” she demanded, throwing a pillow at me and laughing.

“Yes, ma’am,” I said as I headed to the kitchen. When I returned she was lying on her stomach, face turned to the side with a pillow tucked under her. Her eyes were closed and I wondered if she had actually dozed off. I set the water and ice cream on the nightstand and moved beside her. “Em,” I whispered. “Are you asleep?”

She didn’t open her eyes. “No, I’m just so relaxed, I feel like I could sleep though.”

“Then take a nap,” I said. “We both can. I’ll set the alarm so we’ll have plenty of time to get ready.”

“Okay, but first feed me that ice cream. You sure you don’t mind if we sleep some?”

“Of course not,” I answered. “It’s your birthday. Besides, I could use a little more sleep myself.” I set the alarm and then began feeding her the ice cream. “You know, the noises you make when you get a spoonful of this in your mouth are quite similar to the noises you made a few minutes ago,” I said.

She grinned. “Well, this runs a pretty close second on the pleasure scale.”

“Thank you for placing the ice cream second,” I said. I put the dish on the nightstand and then tucked myself against her, stroking her arm and neck, lulling her to sleep, with me following soon after.

~~~~

We finished dressing with plenty of leeway to arrive at the restaurant on time and unhurried. It seemed a bit self-indulgent, but we stood together in front of the full length mirror, at Em’s request. “Sarah, you look beautiful baby,” she said.

“That’s only because I’m basking in the glow that is you. You are absolutely stunning … and that dress on you … I can’t even describe it. But we should stop staring at ourselves,” I said.

“I want a picture of us like this. I want to remember this,” she said.

“Well, I could see if Tom is home. Maybe he could take one of us outside, maybe in front of the rose trellis downstairs.”

I grabbed the camera and we walked downstairs to Tom’s place and knocked on the door. He was home and when he opened the door his jaw dropped to the ground. Even a gay man knows two beautiful women when he sees them. I heard his boyfriend, Alec, yell from the kitchen. “I’m not making enough dinner for company Tom!” He came to the door as well.

“We won’t bother you very long,” I said. “Em and I wondered if you would take our picture, around the side in front of the roses.”

“Of course,” Tom answered. “What’s the occasion? You two both look absolutely fabulous.”

“It’s my birthday,” Em answered.

“Well Happy Birthday to you Emily,” they both said in unison.

Alec was staring. “You know,” he said, “I don’t think I’ve ever said this before, but you two make me wish I was lesbian.” He and Tom both laughed and walked outside with us. Alec took it upon himself to pose us and then Tom took a few pictures.

“Thanks boys,” I said. “We need to be going.” They both whistled and called after us as we left, trying their best to sound like straight, horny construction workers.

We arrived at the restaurant about ten minutes after seven, just as I planned. Linda and Frank were staying at a hotel just a block away, so I knew they would be waiting for us. I stopped at the valet parking area and handed my keys over to a young man that I hoped wouldn’t burn half the rubber from my tires when he parked the car. I must be getting older, I thought to myself, to be worrying about something like that. I should have been worrying about the valet who opened the passenger door for Em and extended his hand to help her out of the car. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her.

I gave him my best ‘she’s mine’ look as I walked around and took her hand. I still felt his eyes on her as we walked into the entrance of the restaurant. When I approached the maitre de I gave him our last names. Linda was supposed to have clued him in so that I wouldn’t have to walk up and say ‘Saunders party of four’. We wanted the element of surprise up until Em laid eyes on her parents sitting at the table. For this reason, I walked in front of her, taking her hand and pulling her behind me. It worked, because the placement of the tables didn’t allow for us to walk beside one another.

We were practically two feet from her parents when I moved to the side and Emily looked in the direction of our table for four. I knew it was all she could do not to cause a commotion when she caught sight of them. She was beginning to cry and looked over to me and mouthed ‘thank you’. I leaned over and whispered in her ear. “This was your mother’s plan, Em. She did all of this. It was her idea.” Frank was on his feet and Linda was looking up at Em, beginning to tear up herself. Then they were both up, and we were all exchanging hugs.

When we were finally seated and composed, Em spoke. “Mother, you have made this the happiest birthday I can remember, ever. This was the best surprise.”

Linda spoke, trying to keep her voice from cracking. “Oh Em, your father and I are just so glad to be here with you on your birthday … so glad to be here with both of you,” she said, as she looked at me and smiled. “Anyway, Sarah had just as much as to do with the surprise as I did. It was our little conspiracy.”

Em reached under the table and squeezed my hand. Her mother spoke again. “I have to say, when I first saw the both of you standing there, next to one another, you both took my breath away. You both look just stunning.”

I was getting a bit embarrassed with the fuss, and I looked down. Frank took note of it. “She’s right girls, you both look beautiful,” he said. “But Linda, let’s stop embarrassing them and order drinks.”

We all had wine, with the wonderful bread and butter they served before and during the meal. It was a strange and wonderful night for me … for all of us I suppose. To be sitting here, with Em and her parents on her birthday, talking, laughing, enjoying a meal … acting as if we did this all the time. But I was satisfied with that. There didn’t need to be apologies or a discussion about the past.

We were all ready to move forward. Frank was in rare form with his jokes and lamentations about his rising golf handicap. Linda seemed genuinely happy and pleased to be with the both of us. Em was nothing short of ecstatic about the evening. She was still in shock. For me it marked the end of a period of uncertainty. I had never been uncertain about the love I felt for the remarkable woman sitting next me. However, for the last five years I had felt much uncertainty about our future. That night, my uncertainty disappeared. It vanished amidst the laughter and warmth at our dinner table.

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