by T. L. Hayes
Lou gave him her most sincere fake smile. Once seated at the conference table in the classroom they held their meetings in, she tried not to nod off. The meeting covered nothing of real interest and went until a quarter after seven. The homemade brownies Charles handed out to everyone, his promised surprise—carefully wrapped in cellophane, with red and green stringy ribbons hanging off them and a present tag affixed to the center with each of their names and little snowmen in the corners—were hardly compensation for the overlong meeting.
She ran out of the building, not bothering to make small talk with anyone on her way out. When she got to her car, she threw her bag, along with that damn brownie, into the back seat. During the meeting, Steve had texted to say she’d be there at eight, and it was now closing on seven thirty and she still had to get home and shower.
When she got home, she left everything in the back seat and hurried inside, throwing clothes off as she went, barely noticing the time, but fully aware she only had about fifteen minutes. She knew Steve would be on time. Punctual, reliable Steve would be ringing her doorbell right at the top of the hour, and Lou had to be ready. She jumped in the shower, quickly washing off the sweat from the day, realizing she wouldn’t have time for her hair to dry. Maybe Steve would like the wet look, she hoped. She did a little essential maintenance with the razor, careful to take it slow for that part.
She was standing on her bath mat toweling off her hair when she heard it—the doorbell. She looked in the mirror and her eyes got wide with panic. Here she was, naked, a towel in her hand, her hair hanging wet and limp on her neck. “Fuck!” She wrapped the towel around her body, not even trying to put her hair up. What was the point? She scurried on damp feet to the front door, forgetting her glasses, she realized as she got to the living room. She opened the door to see Steve standing on her doorstep, hands crossed in front of herself and her smile of hello turning into one of surprise…and hunger.
“I think you’re early.” Lou smiled at her and cocked her head to the side.
“Uh, yeah. Bad habit. Would you like me to wait out here?” Steve indicated the porch.
“Oh my God, will you just get in here?” Lou laughed as she took Steve by the wrist and gently pulled her into the house. Once she was inside, Lou closed the door behind her and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “Hi.”
Steve put her arms around Lou’s waist and kissed her back. “Hi, yourself. I suddenly feel overdressed.”
“I’m sure I can get you another towel, if it would make you feel more comfortable.”
“Why don’t I just take yours?” Steve pulled Lou back to her and put her arms around her, her hands resting on Lou’s ass.
Lou kissed her back passionately, but pulled back with a chuckle. “You seem to be obsessed with that body part.”
“Just recognizing beauty when I see it.” She brought her hands up to caress Lou’s neck, moving the damp hair out of her way and placing her lips where her fingers had been.
Lou sighed in contentment and put her hands on Steve’s backside, thinking, fair is fair. As Steve moved her lips up Lou’s neck to her mouth, Lou pushed her body into Steve, then realized she was still wearing a damp towel and was probably getting Steve’s shirt all wet. She started to pull back some but Steve whimpered and asked, “Where are you going?”
“I just realized I was getting your shirt all wet.”
Steve grinned. “Not just my shirt.”
“Tsk-tsk, naughty, naughty.”
“Nah, just being truthful. Tell me something…”
“Hmm?”
“Would it be terribly forward of me to say that I don’t want to go through the preliminaries of dinner or having a drink and talking first? We’ve done all that. I just want to hold you close to me and feel you shake with pleasure underneath me.” She kissed her again and Lou put her arms around her neck.
When she pulled away, she said, “Not so fast, soldier. I just might rock your world first.”
“Well then, show me what you got, teacher.”
Lou cocked an eyebrow and grinned, then grabbed Steve by the belt and maneuvered her until Steve was standing with her back to the door. Lou took a step back, raised her right hand and pointed her index finger, then extended her arm slowly, making contact with Steve’s shoulder and pushing her against the door. She said with a smile, “This is called One-Finger Shooting Zen.” Then she reached out and caressed Steve’s breast, and Steve gave her an amused, yet surprised expression. Lou kissed her passionately.
Steve’s arms went up and around her and kissed her back. “What was that move called?”
Lou grinned and said, “Lou takes control.”
“Does she, now?”
“Oh, I would say so. You got a problem with that?”
Running her fingers along the top of Lou’s towel, Steve smiled and said softly, “Ma’am, no ma’am.”
“That’s what I thought.” Dropping her voice to a whisper, Lou asked, “Would you like me to remove the towel?”
Steve swallowed. “Yes, I would.”
“Come on.” Gently now, Lou grabbed Steve by the hand and pulled her along to her bedroom. Once there, she went to the side of her bed and stopped and faced her. Lou dipped her head down, not in a gesture of submission or supplication but, rather, one of slyness and playfulness. When she looked back up at Steve, she said, “Are you ready?”
“Oh, yeah.”
Very slowly, Lou took hold of her towel with both hands, unwrapped herself like a gift, and let the towel fall to the floor. Steve’s breath picked up, and Lou closed the gap between them and put her fingers on the buttons of Steve’s shirt.
Steve stood there, watching Lou work her buttons. Lou occasionally rewarded her patience with a kiss. Once the shirt was unbuttoned, Lou let it fall to the floor, and now Steve stood there in a white T-shirt and dress pants. Lou reached for Steve’s belt. She had the leather belt undone and was holding on to both free ends now.
“I’ve waited a long time to feel you next to me,” Lou said. “Is this what you want?”
“Oh yes.” Steve knew this was what she’d been waiting for.
Using the belt, Lou pulled Steve to her and gave her a hard kiss. When Lou bit her lip it could have been accidental, but Steve knew it wasn’t.
This felt good, so good, but it didn’t seem right somehow. “Wait, wait.”
“What’s wrong?” Lou stopped abruptly and looked at Steve.
“It shouldn’t be this way.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, honey, take your time, I’m not going anywhere.”
“Okay. You’re right. We’ve waited this long—we should take our time and do it right.”
“Yes.” Steve reached out for Lou, feeling her warm skin. She almost went weak in the knees just at that first touch. Lou’s lips had been warm and sensual, but her flesh…her flesh was smooth and toned and Steve wanted to just be against her. She went down on her knees and kissed Lou’s flat stomach. Lou put her hands on Steve’s shoulders and Steve held her hips. As Steve slowly kissed her way back up Lou’s body, a low moan escaped Lou and her fingers moved to Steve’s hair. Steve ran her tongue over the taut muscles, kissing and nibbling her way, worshipping her. Lou swayed against her as Steve continued her exploration of Lou’s body with her lips.
Lou inhaled sharply when Steve ran her tongue over the flesh just above the beginning of her center. Lou’s grip in Steve’s hair became tighter. Steve stopped for just a moment and asked, “Would you like to sit back?”
Lou looked down and smiled. “No. Go on.” She gently pushed Steve’s head back where it was and Steve let her tongue find all the folds and creases until she reached Lou’s clit and lightly ran her tongue over the tip, just barely there. Lou moaned deeper in her throat and Steve licked again, this time slower and over the whole tip, then very slowly did the same to Lou’s lips and her slit, occasionally teasing the hole by darting her tongue in for a moment, then out again. Steve could feel Lou’s grip
on her tighten and her hips began to sway. Steve firmed her grip on Lou’s hips as well but didn’t stop what her tongue was doing.
“Oh God,” Lou said. “I need to kiss you. Come up here, please.”
Steve stood and took her in her arms. Lou’s lips found Steve’s, and this time, when she attacked Steve with passion, Steve just let it happen. Lou’s tongue found hers and at the same time she began to feverishly pull at Steve’s T-shirt. When she got it free of Steve’s pants, she slid her hands under the shirt and pulled Steve closer. Her hands found Steve’s breasts, and Lou lifted Steve’s arms, pulled her shirt and bra off, and let them fall to the floor. Then she bent her head to Steve’s chest and began to leave small kisses across it, and then she found her nipple and began to slowly suck on it. It was Steve’s turn to inhale.
At first Lou was gentle with her. She ran her teeth along her nipple, just teasing, but then she started to slowly bite. “Yes, oh yes…more.” She bit harder and a wordless moan escaped Steve this time. Lou slowly let go and started kissing up Steve’s chest again until she got to her neck, where she sucked in her flesh, causing Steve to almost lose her balance.
Steve held on tighter until Lou finally pulled back and said, “This is not enough. I want to make love to you. I want to touch all of you. Come on, let’s lie down.”
Lou finished removing Steve’s clothes, and then they lay down next to each other.
“This is what I want,” Lou said. “I want to feel all of you. And I want to take my time.”
And she did. Lou slowly ran her fingers over Steve. Up her arms, over her chest, around her breasts, up one leg and down the other. All so slowly. Steve’s whole body came alive. When Lou finally entered her with two long, sure fingers, Steve was out of her mind with bliss. Steve sank her nails into Lou’s shoulders and cried out, and when she finally shook with release, Lou came back up and put her lips to Steve’s for a kiss that was just as gentle as her fingers had been. She whispered into her mouth, “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Lou pulled the covers up over both of them and put her arms around Steve in a protective hug.
Exhausted, Steve mumbled, “I like it when you’re in charge.”
Lou laughed, then kissed Steve on the forehead.
Steve cuddled up against her and entwined their legs.
* * *
Steve moaned. She was no longer in Lou’s embrace, having separated sometime in the night. She was hugging the edge of the bed, as she usually did when she slept, but now she was sweating as if she was running a fever. She was awake enough to know she needed something. Without opening her eyes, she reached out to the nightstand and fumbled around among the items on top, not finding it, knocking things to the floor in her search. She sat up in a panic and threw the covers off, hoping she could find it in the dark. She looked at the top of the unfamiliar nightstand, barely visible in the dark, and didn’t see the familiar, comforting metallic presence of the chain. She felt her neck again to make sure she hadn’t overlooked it while she slept, hoping against dwindling hope that it had just shifted while she slept to somewhere out of reach. But it wasn’t there.
She got out of bed and crawled around until she found her clothes and began to frantically search through them in the dark. Lou stirred behind her, but she took little notice of it.
Lou sat up and asked sleepily, “Baby, what are you looking for?”
Distractedly, Steve said, “I’ve lost something.” She found her pants and began to search the pockets, even though there was no way it could have worked its way into one of them on its own.
“Of course, but what, exactly, are you looking for?”
“My chain.”
“Your chain? Oh, the Capricorn pendant. Come back to bed—we’ll look for it in the morning. It’s gotta be here somewhere.”
Lou reached across the bed and turned on the light on her nightstand and could see Steve clearly for the first time. She was kneeling on the floor, naked, a look of pure panic on her face.
“I need it. I need it now. I won’t be able to sleep without it.”
Lou got out of bed, joined Steve on her knees, and put her hand on Steve’s shoulder, the one with the tattoo. Very calmly, she asked, “Baby, why is it so important to you?”
Steve finished with the pants and threw them aside, then picked up her outer shirt and began doing the same thing with that. Without looking at Lou, she replied, “Because it was hers.”
“Oh,” Lou said quietly. Then she removed her hand from Steve’s shoulder and repeated, “It’s here somewhere.” She began a slower, more methodical search of Steve’s clothing, as well as the floor, making sure she did not miss anything. She saw an unfamiliar metallic glint coming from under the bed and reached her hand underneath until she found the offending object and retrieved it. She pulled it out from under the bed and held it out to Steve. “Here it is.”
Steve turned around, her eyes huge, and said, “You found it? Oh, thank God.” She snatched it from Lou’s outstretched hand and held it to her lips and kissed it, then held it to her chest with her eyes closed for a moment. She exhaled, now visibly calmer, and put the necklace on. Once it was on, her breathing slowed down and she sighed. She turned to Lou and said, “Thank you for finding it.”
“Of course.” Lou smiled and put her hand on Steve’s shoulder again, then reached over and kissed her on the cheek. “Come on, let’s go back to bed.” She moved her hand to the middle of Steve’s back.
“Yeah, okay.” As they were climbing back into bed, Steve noticed Lou’s glasses on the floor, picked them up, and put them back on the nightstand. “Oh, crap, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to knock those off.”
“It’s all right, no harm done. Come here.” Lou lay back on her pillows with her arms open.
Steve crawled into her embrace and let Lou put her arms around her and hold her to her chest. Steve put her arm around Lou’s waist and sighed against her. “Why are you so nice?”
Lou chuckled. “Because I love you.”
“That simple?”
“Yep.”
“Amazing.”
“What’s amazing?”
Steve took her head off Lou’s chest long enough to look her in the eyes. “You are. You’re a strong woman to be able to handle all this.”
Lou gently pushed Steve’s head back onto her chest, but not before kissing her on the forehead. “I’m not that strong.”
“Yeah, you are. A lot of women would be thrown by…my past, or be jealous of her or something.”
“I’m not most women. What point would there be in being jealous of a troubled young woman who’s no longer walking this earth? Besides, she’s a part of you and I love you. That means taking all of this and helping you with it, in whatever way I can.” Lou squeezed her tighter and smoothed her hair.
“That’s why I say you’re strong. That, and being able to deal with your own stuff too.”
“Some days are better than others.”
“I think you’ve dealt with your stuff better than I have. It took me years to stop having full-on panic attacks. Now I just have mild freak-out moments, but I’ve developed ways to get over them.”
“The necklace?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re wrong. I haven’t really dealt with anything—I just shove it away and try to forget about it. So, no, I’m not strong. I’m just a good actress.”
Steve tightened her grip around Lou’s waist and kissed her chest. “Coulda fooled me.”
Lou whispered, “I know. Go to sleep now, love. Morning will be here before you know it.” Lou kissed her again, then snuggled down a little farther so they were face to face. Steve draped an arm over her and Lou closed her eyes and slowly, meditatively, ran her fingers over Steve’s back and arms, drawing lazy circles and shapeless shapes, and fell asleep with Steve’s face burrowed into her shoulder.
Chapter Fifteen
The next morning, Lou woke up first to find herself on her back, with
Steve draped across her stomach, the covers kicked aside, and only a thin sheet covering them. She chuckled. If this was indicative of how Steve slept on a regular basis, they were going to have a struggle over sleeping arrangements. Lou was a snuggler from way back, always preferring to pull the covers all the way up to her chin, as long as it wasn’t too hot in the house. Speaking of which, she could feel the heat coming from Steve as she slept, which explained why the covers were currently half hanging off the bed. Snuggling in covers was one thing, but dealing with Steve’s natural body heat something else. She groaned as she came more awake. “Baby, I love you, but for the love of God, get off me, you’re hot.” She laughed to hopefully quell any concern from Steve that she just didn’t want her to touch her.
Steve came awake slowly, groaned too, then rolled off Lou, but not before kissing her on the stomach on the way by. She smiled. “I know I’m hot. This isn’t news.”
Lou lightly smacked her on the chest. “Morning ego check.”
“I’ve checked—I’ve got one.”
“I’ve noticed.”
“Well, sometimes we have to sing our own praises.”
Lou rolled over on her elbow, then reached up and gave Steve a quick kiss. “You want me to sing your praises? Go make me a pot of coffee. Please. Then I will sing your praises all over the land.”
“What would you do if I also made you breakfast?” Steve brushed a curl off Lou’s forehead and kissed her back.
Lou smiled. “Mm, let’s see, if you make me coffee and breakfast? Then I will sing your praises on a full stomach.”
Chuckling, Steve asked, “So what can I get you?”
“Got your pad ready?”
Steve mimed pulling out a waiter’s pad and pen and paused with one hand in the air, as if she was waiting for Lou’s order. “I’m ready.”
“Okay, I would like coffee strong enough to clean the rust off a ’57 Buick, with three scrambled eggs in butter, and a piece of whole wheat toast. Oh, and a real morning kiss.” She grinned.
Steve pretended to throw the pad over her shoulder and took Lou in her arms and gave her a kiss, a kiss almost worth being late to work for. But Lou pushed her away after a few minutes and said, “I think we need to stop that for now so I can go take a shower and you can rustle up some breakfast.”
