by Harper Bliss
“Let’s go.” Liz offered Jessica her arm again, and Jessica gladly hooked hers through.
They walked in silence for a while and Jessica managed to quieten the voice in her head and just enjoy the simple sensation of, as Liz had called it, being out and about. She reveled in the sound of Liz’s footsteps next to her, totally in step with her own. In the looks that Liz drew from passersby because of her height and her stunning face.
Jessica let Liz guide the way. Since this was her neighborhood, her walks always took her in the same direction as a force of habit. Liz’s meanderings had brought them to the edge of Darlinghurst. Jessica could see the top of Caitlin’s building from where she stood.
“Would you like a cup of coffee?” she asked.
“I would love one.”
“I know just the place,” Jessica said.
“I’ll get the coffees,” Liz said after they had walked into the Pink Bean. “You sit down.”
“Are you sure?” Again, Jessica was flummoxed by Liz’s behavior. Wasn’t the client supposed to provide all beverages?
“Of course.” Liz shot Jessica a wide grin.
“Okay.” Jessica found a table by the window. She looked around, but didn’t see anyone familiar. It was the middle of the afternoon.
Jessica’s gaze was drawn to Liz’s backside as she stood at the counter. She filled out those jeans in the most exquisite way. Jessica couldn’t even picture Liz in a dress. She couldn’t be totally sure, of course, but she believed Liz wasn’t only gay for pay. There was too distinct a feeling she couldn’t shake off.
If only she could have ten minutes of unlimited question time. But inside information was much harder to come by than other things when dealing with women like Liz and Katherine. At least that was how they made it look.
“A double espresso for you.” Liz arrived at the table. “Planning to stay up late, are you?” She winked at Jessica then sat down opposite and held up her cup. “I’m more a soft-core latte girl myself.”
They sipped from their beverages. As Jessica put her cup down, she asked, “How many hours did you exercise today?”
“A grand total of zero,” Liz said. “I got an unexpected call.”
“Oh yes.” Jessica nodded. “A demanding customer.”
“Not in the least.” Liz smiled softly.
“So…” Jessica was already mentally preparing for a rebuff, but she wanted to ask the question nonetheless. “How does it work when I send a message on the agency’s website?”
Liz narrowed her eyes. “Up until now you’ve been someone who wants to know everything about what I do rather than enjoy my services.”
“Right now, that is a very accurate impression of me.”
“Okay.” Liz nodded. “I’ll answer your questions, but I would like to ask you for something in return.”
“Sure.” Something inside Jessica lit up.
“Two things, actually, because I’m going to need your discretion as well.”
“That goes without saying.”
Liz gave a curt nod. “You won’t let me leave without having given you a shoulder massage again.” She plastered a wide smile on her lips.
“How can I say no to a smile like that?” Maybe this was what Jessica had missed most of all. Flirting. Innuendo. The deliciously promising back and forth between her and another woman.
Liz bit her lip. She excelled at the game of seduction whereas Jessica was feeling a little rusty.
“To answer your question, when someone sends a message requesting me and the requested time slot is free in the calendar I share with the agency, I get a call.”
“So there’s always someone monitoring the messages coming in?”
“Of course. We provide a non-stop service.”
“On very short notice as well, it would appear.”
“Only the best for our clients. We’re as high-end and niche as you can get.”
“What does that really mean?” Now this was interesting, unlike the latest ratings analysis of a TV show Jessica didn’t much care about.
“It means that there aren’t that many women who have the means to pay the prices we charge for ‘The Lesbian Experience’.”
Jessica rolled her eyes. “That name almost put me off. Who the hell came up with that?”
“Not a lesbian.” Liz’s cheeks dimpled as she burst into a chuckle. “So despite being put off by our name, what pulled you over the edge?” Liz rested her chin on an upturned palm and regarded Jessica intently.
“A friend of mine who works for The Lesbian Experience.”
“Really?”
Jessica nodded.
“You’re not going to tell me who?” Liz asked.
“I don’t know. I don’t want to break any protocol.”
“You won’t be breaking anything if you say who it is, I assure you.”
“To me, she’s Katherine. I believe she goes by Lucy at the agency.” Jessica felt like she was doing something illicit by mentioning Katherine’s real name.
“That just goes to show,” Liz said. “We have friends too.” She shot Jessica one of her irresistible smiles again.
“Katherine’s one of the only friends who has stood by me through all the shit that has happened the past few years. The cancer. My company going bust. The woman I loved leaving me at the worst time. She’s one in a million.”
“So you didn’t meet her through the agency?”
“No. I met her at one of my father’s charity balls. She was the plus one of a guest. Turned quite a few heads, as you can imagine. She mainly made my gaydar ping. We got talking and hit it off.”
“Interesting.” Liz pouted her lips.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Jessica asked.
“No reason. I’m just trying to picture the scene.” She grinned briefly. “That’s something I like to do when someone tells me a story.”
“When she told me what she did for a living, my interest was… rather piqued,” Jessica said. She had never told this to anyone, not even Caitlin. “Do you tell your friends what you do for a living?”
“Not everyone.” Liz sat up a little straighter. “I’d like to be all if-they-can’t-accept-what-I-do-we’re-not-really-friends about it, but that’s not how it works. It’s not as black and white. Some people just can’t deal with what I do. I accept that. I have no choice. But most of my friends know. The closest ones at least. But I never give them any details about my day, of course.”
“I hope not.”
“We sign very strict non-disclosure agreements. My discretion is literally worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
“How about your parents?” Jessica asked.
Liz didn’t immediately reply. She looked through the window for a brief moment, then back at Jessica. “My mother died nine years ago. She never knew. My father is… Well, he doesn’t have a problem with it. He doesn’t have a problem with much of anything. He’s the very definition of laid back.”
“I’m sorry to hear about your mother.” Jessica sipped from her cup but her coffee had gone cold.
Liz nodded slowly. She opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it again. She looked away again and only glanced at Jessica after several moments had passed. “I always think I can’t say this to other cancer patients, which is bullshit, in the end.” She held Jessica’s gaze. “My mother died of ovarian cancer.”
An ice-cold arrow shot up Jessica’s spine. “I’m so sorry,” she managed to say.
“Thankfully, I’m not here to talk about my mother.” The smile Liz drew her lips into wasn’t very convincing.
“You can if you want to. I mean, you don’t have to refrain from saying anything because I have—had cancer.” Jessica stared at the remaining coffee in her cup. “I can handle it, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“I know you can.” Liz startled her by finding Jessica’s hand on the table and covering it with hers.
Jessica’s gut reaction was to look around and check again whether anyone sh
e knew was at the Pink Bean. Liz might not be dressed the part, but her actions could give certain things away that Jessica would prefer to keep hidden. Then again, that hand felt good on hers, warm and comforting, and she was the one who had wanted to take Liz out.
“Can I speak frankly?” Liz asked, giving Jessica’s hand another squeeze.
Jessica nodded slowly. “I guess.”
“Yes or no.” Liz’s smile had become genuine again.
“Yes.” The strong tone with which Liz asked the question sent a frisson of excitement through Jessica.
“I think you can handle a hell of a lot more than you think you can at this moment.”
Jessica scanned Liz’s face. She lost her focus on what Liz had just said for a split second, simply because her features were too mesmerizing. “Maybe,” was all Jessica said. “I just don’t feel like doing a whole lot.”
“I get that, but…” Liz fell silent.
“But what?” Jessica leaned onto the table.
“Look, you don’t know me and you don’t have any reason to trust me, but I’d like to take you home and show you what you’re capable of.”
Jessica’s cheeks broke into an instant flush. What was Liz insinuating? “Wh-what do you mean?”
“You’ll see when we get there,” Liz said and waggled her eyebrows.
Chapter Nine
When they arrived at Jessica’s house, Liz halted in the hallway and gazed at a painting hanging on the wall. “I probably don’t have to tell you,” she said, “but this is worth a small fortune.”
Jessica stood next to her and looked at the painting with her. “You know more than I do.”
Liz looked at her, her brows knitted together. “This is a Robert Barrow. They go for at least a million at auction.”
“I hadn’t pegged you for an art buff.”
“Art historian, actually,” Liz said. “The most useless degree you can get at university, but I do recognize a Barrow when I see one.”
“You studied Art History?” Jessica took a step back and regarded Liz the way they’d just been studying the painting.
“Is that so surprising?” Liz’s smile turned into a lopsided grin.
“I don’t know. It surprised me.” Jessica huffed out an awkward giggle.
Liz leaned against the hallway cabinet, seemingly no longer interested in the painting. “What I’m wondering is, if you have all this money hanging on your walls, why did your company go bust? Why didn’t you just pay off the debts and move on?”
Instinctively, Jessica took a step back. “That’s a very direct question.”
“Is it?” Liz jutted out her bottom lip. “I didn’t think it was.”
“I’d rather not talk about that if it’s all the same to you.”
Liz took a step closer. “Your wish is my command.”
This made Jessica chuckle. “What did you want to show me?”
“I’d like you to start by showing me your bedroom.” Liz squared her impressive shoulders.
“I—I’m not sure I want to—”
“Just show me. That’s all I ask. I’d like to give you a proper back massage. Nothing more.”
Jessica considered this for a moment. She did want to feel Liz’s hands on her skin again. She was just worried about what she meant by a proper massage. Jessica could hazard a guess, of course.
“Okay,” Jessica said and headed up the stairs. Liz followed on her heels.
“Welcome to my boudoir.” Jessica opened the bedroom door.
“This should work.” Liz scanned the room, then looked at Jessica. “Can you lie on your belly comfortably, or would you prefer a pillow underneath you?”
“I’m fine.” It had taken a while, but she could finally sleep on her belly again.
“Do you mind taking off your blouse and lying face down for me? I’ll be getting ready in the bathroom while you do so. I won’t see anything you don’t want me to see. Only your back. Leave your bra on if it makes you feel more secure.”
“You don’t mess about, do you?” Jessica said.
“Sometimes that’s what it takes.” Liz flashed her a smile, then pointed at the door next to the bed. “Is that a bathroom?”
Jessica nodded.
“I’ll be in there. Just give me a shout when you’re ready.”
Before she went into the bathroom, Liz stepped closer and cupped Jessica’s jaw in her hand. “It’s going to be all right, Jess.” She said it as though no truer words had ever been spoken. Only Jessica’s friends abbreviated her name and it made her feel, for a split second, as though she was in the company of a friend.
Liz dropped her hand and strutted into the bathroom. Jessica stared at the closed door for a few seconds. She took a deep breath. Taking off her blouse was not a problem for her when she was alone and there was no mirror around. She unbuttoned it and hung it over a chair. She debated whether to take off her bra, but that debate quickly fizzled out when she thought of the glimpses she had caught of herself in the mirror, and all the times she had turned away from her mirror image.
She drew the line at her bra. She kept it on and lay on the bed. She let herself sink into the mattress and allowed herself the moment of delightful anticipation. There was nothing to be afraid of. And there was a gorgeous woman getting ready—whatever that entailed—in her bathroom to give her a back massage.
“I’m ready,” Jessica said. She didn’t know if it was loud enough for Liz to hear, but sure enough, a few moments later, Liz exited the bathroom. She carried a small bottle of oil and a towel and she was no longer wearing the shirt over her top, revealing toned arms. And a smile so disarming, Jessica was sorry she was lying on her belly because it would be taken from her view any moment now.
Liz didn’t comment on Jessica still wearing her bra. She proceeded in silence. She covered everything below the fastening of Jessica’s bra with the towel, then, gently, Jessica felt Liz straddle her. She didn’t rest any of her weight on Jessica but Jessica felt her jeans-clad knees against her sides where the towel didn’t cover her completely.
“Actually,” Liz said, and pushed herself up carefully. “I’m going to take these off.”
Jessica watched Liz slip out of her jeans. The skin she bared looked so smooth, Jessica had to resist the urge to reach out and run a finger over Liz’s thigh. But before she knew it, Liz was straddling her again, this time with her bare knees touching the naked skin of Jessica’s. Jessica didn’t protest or draw Liz’s attention to the towel in disarray.
She heard the same squirting sound she’d heard the first evening with Liz, then the rubbing of oily palms together. Next, a pair of warm hands landed on her shoulders. Liz caressed her only lightly, spreading the oil.
“Can I move these out of the way?” she whispered as she hooked a finger underneath Jessica’s bra strap.
“Okay.” Jessica was hardly going to resist now. And why did her voice sound so hoarse?
Liz lowered her bra straps. Jessica maneuvered her arms out of them one at a time, making sure the cups of her bra remained in place.
Liz gently tucked the straps under the top of the towel. She spread some oil on Jessica’s neck and Jessica felt all the tiny hairs on her body stand up. She already had to catch her breath and the massage hadn’t even started yet.
As she moved her hand about Jessica’s neck and shoulders, Liz’s behind sometimes touched down lightly on Jessica’s.
Jessica wished she could see Liz’s biceps flex as she worked on her body. If only she could turn around, but that was still out of the question.
“Aah,” Jessica moaned when Liz pushed her thumbs into the sensitive spots on her shoulders. Then she simply gave in to the myriad of sensations engulfing her. Relaxation was one of them, but there were many others. She was much more aware of Liz’s touch on her skin this time around. Liz’s hands moved around much more freely and, Jessica believed, with much more abandon.
Liz’s breath sounded steady and controlled. The pressure of her kneading mo
tions gradually increased until Jessica believed she didn’t have a single ounce of tension left in her shoulder muscles.
Liz’s hands stopped moving and Jessica felt her breath pass along her ear.
“I’m going to move the towel down a little,” she said.
She didn’t ask. She just told Jessica what she was going to do. Maybe she sensed Jessica would say yes—she’d agree to just about anything at this point.
Soon after, the towel slid down Jessica’s back. Liz ran a finger down her spine and the sensation coaxed another moan, albeit of a slightly different nature, from Jessica’s throat.
Again, without asking, Liz unfastened her bra. She did it slowly, gently sliding the sides onto the bed. Jessica stiffened a bit in response, but she told herself to take a deep breath. That particular piece of fabric hadn’t been hiding anything vital—it just stood in the way of more pleasure.
Liz spread more oil onto Jessica’s back and repeated the same process as before. She started by simply caressing Jessica’s skin, incrementally upping the pressure, until her fingertips drained Jessica’s body of all the tension she’d been keeping inside.
Jessica was so relaxed, she allowed her mind to drift to where she had fiercely forbidden it to go before. What if Liz had been Laurel? Would more have happened? Would she have shown herself already? And what would it be like to be touched like that by Liz? What was Liz’s real name? There were so many boundaries she wanted to cross, but she wouldn’t get anywhere if she failed to take on the first hurdle.
When the back massage was finished, Liz leaned over her and pushed Jessica’s hair away from her ear. “Any other spots you would like me to get my hands on?” Her voice was sultry and deep.
Jessica took a moment to consider her reply. She had sort of expected the question. She twisted her neck as far as it would go in her current position. “Yes,” she said.
Liz nodded and slowly moved off her, as though not to disturb the delicate balance in the atmosphere between them. She lay down on her side, looking at Jessica’s face.
“Take all the time you need,” she whispered.
