Hibiscus

by Sarah Pond

  The flat was cosy, or cluttered, depending on your viewpoint. There was a big rug over the bare wooden floors, a floral sofa and a pair of plain armchairs around a large pine coffee table. The flat screen television was in the corner, along with a music system. As it was getting dark, Rachel turned on a couple of lamps. 'Welcome to my home. Sorry about the mess, I wasn't expecting any visitors!'

  Lea put her backpack down, and they both took off their jackets, laying them over one of the armchairs. 'Thank you for inviting me,' Lea said as she walked slowly towards Rachel.

  As she put her arms around her, their lips connected, and it was as though a touch paper had been lit. Their passion was hot and burning, their kisses long and deep. They pulled back momentarily to draw breath. Rachel said, 'I don't know how I made it through dinner. I want you so much.' She slid her hand down the front of Lea's jeans, and inside her pants, causing Lea to moan with pleasure. Then taking Lea's hand, Rachel lead her to the bedroom. Lea pulled off first her sweatshirt, then her t shirt. She began unbuttoning Rachel's blouse. Oh, how she had dreamed of this moment. Lea looked into Rachel's eyes, they were dark charcoal and smoking, as she pushed Rachel's blouse off of her shoulders and undid her bra, freeing her breasts. She undid Rachel's trousers, sliding them and her pants down her legs, and discarding them. Rachel laid back on the bed, and Lea was on top of her, pressing her body close. Lea kissed and sucked on Rachel's erect nipples, and Rachel closed her eyes, groaning with pleasure. Kissing Rachel first, Lea ran her tongue gently along Rachel's neck, between her breasts and down her stomach, which tensed with excitement under Lea's touch. By the time her tongue reached down between her thighs, Rachel was so highly aroused, she thought she would explode at any moment. Lea certainly knew what she liked, and Rachel didn't know how she had managed all of those months without her. Rachel felt Lea's fingers inside her, and at the same time, Lea's tongue stimulated her expertly, sending sensations flying around her body. Rachel writhed and bucked, calling out Lea's name again and again as she came.

  Once Rachel had recovered, she rolled over and slowly removed Lea's jeans and underwear, as though she was unwrapping a precious gift. Lea watched Rachel wide eyed, then closed her eyes as she gave into the sensations, as Rachel trailed her fingers lightly all over Lea's body. Kissing her deeply, she slid her fingers into Lea, causing her to writhe with pleasure. Just as she was getting close to climax, she slid her fingers out and rained kisses over her stomach and the tops of her thighs. Then she repeated the moves, bringing Lea closer still. Just as Lea thought that she couldn't stand it, Rachel's mouth was on her, her tongue in her, and she came hard, grabbing hold of the sheets. 'Oh my god, Rach, oh my god.'

  Rachel moved up the bed, and they held each other, kissing again. Everything that they had shared last summer came flooding back. Feeling everything so intensely now, Rachel couldn't believe that she had turned away from all this. The thought of it started tears in her eyes, which ran silently down her face. Lea felt the tears against her skin, and turned towards Rachel. 'Hey, what's up?'

  'I feel so bad about how I treated you. I can't believe I could do that to you, I'm so sorry.'

  'Look, stop apologising. We've talked about this. It was months and months ago. You can't keep beating yourself up about it. It was a lot for you to deal with at the time. It's okay, really.'

  Rachel wiped her eyes, 'You're being so lovely about it.'

  Lea looked into Rachel's eyes, 'It's in the past, gone. Forget about it. The important thing is that we're here now.'

  Rachel wiped her eyes, 'So, how long can you stay for?'

  'I guess until the weekend.'

  'If you can stay until Monday morning, then we could have the whole weekend together. I could take Friday off, too.'

  Lea snuggled up to Rachel, 'Mmm, that would be good.'

  The next day, Rachel spoke to Tom about taking Friday off, and he was pleased that she wasn't putting work first for once. He was also thrilled to see how happy she was. 'I'm guessing from your constant smiling, that you had a good time last night. And you can spare me the details!'

  Rachel laughed, 'Oh, so good. I still can't believe Lea's here. You know what, I think I'll take Thursday off, too. I'll talk to Lisa about what needs doing this week, she's more than capable of handling it.'

  When Rachel had finished going through everything with Lisa, she said, 'What? Why are you smiling at me like that?'

  Lisa said, 'It's just good to see you so happy. I'm so pleased you're working it out with Lea.'

  'Well, we haven't worked anything out as such. To be honest, we haven't spent much time talking!'

  Lisa laughed. 'Well, whatever it is, it really suits you! You look fantastic.'

  Rachel blushed, smiling coyly.

  When Lea arrived at the gallery at the end of the day, Rachel told her the good news. Lea was thrilled.

  They had a wonderful few days together, and spent a lot of their time in bed, making up for those lost months. Rachel also showed Lea some of the sights, and had fun playing the tourist. As is often the case when you live somewhere, Rachel hadn't done the usual tourist spots and attractions. On Saturday they visited the Tate Modern. As they left, they walked along the South Bank, holding hands. Lea liked being near the water, although the Thames wasn't quite the same as her beautiful beach back home. They thought they might eat at one of the restaurants nearby. There was always a good vibe around there, with lots of shops, cafes and street performers. Also, towards the National Theatre there were stalls selling second hand books. Lea loved to read, and started rooting through the books, running her fingers across the spines. There were so many, she could be there for hours. As they were browsing, Rachel heard someone call her name. She turned around and looked up, to see Mark. Rachel walked over to him, smiling. 'Hi Mark, how are you?'

  'Very well, thanks. How are you?' They hugged, and stood looking at one another.

  'Really good, thanks.'

  Looking around at the stalls, Mark said, 'I wouldn't have expected to see you here. I didn't think books were your thing, you never seemed to have time to read them.'

  'Well, I'm trying to have a bit more time for myself. I joined a gym.'

  'Good for you. I have to say, you look fantastic.'

  'Thanks.'

  They chatted, catching up on their news. After a while, Lea walked over, and slid her hand into Rachel's. Rachel beamed at her, saying, 'Lea, this is Mark. Mark, meet Lea.'

  Lea offered her hand, saying, 'Pleased to meet you.' Then she put her arm around Rachel's waist.

  Rachel could see Mark trying to compute what was happening. She couldn't help but laugh at the expression on his face, 'Sorry, I should have said. Lea is my girlfriend.'

  Mark looked really embarrassed, his cheeks flushing. 'Sorry, I didn't, um. I'm not sure what to say.'

  'Hey, don't worry about it. How's your girlfriend?'

  'Helen's very well, thanks. I'm just going to meet her now, actually. We're going to have dinner, then we're seeing a play at The National.'

  'Well, don't let us keep you. Good to see you, Mark.'

  'Yes, you too.' They hugged again. 'Nice to meet you, Lea.'

  As Mark walked away, he couldn't help himself turning around. He saw Lea embracing Rachel, and thought how happy and relaxed she looked. Well, he thought, that was certainly unexpected.

  Lea and Rachel really enjoyed the time they spent together. On Sunday evening, they were sitting snuggled up on the sofa together. 'I wish you didn't have to go home in the morning.'

  Lea looked at Rachel, 'Me, too. So what next, are we going to give this a go? You called me your girlfriend!'

  Rachel looked into Lea's eyes, 'Yes I did. This week has been amazing. I know it's not ideal, living so far apart, but we can stay with each other at weekends. They'll be holidays as well. We can talk in the evenings, too.'

  They kissed, both feeling excited that they were going to give their relationship a go.

  Rachel saw Lea off at the station on M
onday morning. They hugged and kissed, Lea promising to call when she arrived. On the journey home, Lea was so glad that she had decided to come to London. Unlike before when they had parted, she knew that it wasn't going to be the last time for them. This week had been wonderful, and better than she could have imagined.

  As Rachel made her way to work, she was feeling so happy, and she was already missing Lea.

  Lea rang Rachel to say that she was back home. 'I can't wait for you to come and stay. I had the most wonderful time with you. Thank you so much.'

  'I'm just so glad you turned up, my mermaid.' Lea could hear the smile in Rachel's voice.

  'That reminds me, we can take a trip to the cove when you come here. It'll be too cold to swim, but we can wrap up, take a blanket and a picnic.'

  'That sounds perfect.'

  Back at work a couple of weeks later, Lisa and Rachel were having lunch together. Rachel was talking about her visit to Lea's at the weekend. Lisa said, 'Lea's lovely, you make such a great couple. When she was exhibiting her work here last summer, I had no idea that you had been in a relationship. I presumed you'd met a guy. At the time, it wouldn't have crossed my mind that you'd be with a woman.'

  Rachel raised her eyebrows, 'Well, why would it. I would have never guessed it myself, if it hadn't happened! I certainly never expected it. I guess I'll get used to people being surprised, or embarrassed about what to say. I bumped into Mark when I was with Lea, it was so funny, he looked like a fish out of water, poor thing!'

  'If you don't mind me asking, I'm guessing that Lea's the first woman you've been with?' asked Lisa.

  'Yes. She said she fell for me at first sight! I'm not even sure how it happened, but there was something about her. I don't know, I just couldn't resist her.' Rachel looked wistful, then a smile came over her face.

  Lisa said, 'What's the smile for, or shouldn't I ask!'

  'I'm not usually one to kiss and tell, but the sex is amazing!' and they both laughed.

  Tom noticed how much lighter Rachel was at work, always smiling and laughing. When Lea was going to be visiting, she would work longer hours in the week, so that she could take a long weekend with Lea. Sometimes Lea would spend a bit of time at the gallery helping out. As an artist, she had lots of helpful suggestions. Tom, Eric and Lisa loved having her around, too. Although Rachel and Lea missed each other in between their visits, they spoke on the telephone every day. They both knew that it was worth it, so they could be together.

  After work one evening, Rachel was meeting her parents for dinner. Growing up, she had been quite close with her parents. Over the last ten years, she saw less of them, particularly since starting the gallery. Whilst Rachel had been at university, she had seemed to lose her way for a while. She was very different to Katy, who had known from college exactly what she wanted to do. So when Rachel had decided that she wanted to open a gallery with Tom, her parents were really pleased for her. They had been very supportive, and helped out financially at the beginning, which Rachel was very grateful for. She had worked so hard to make the gallery a success, and her parents were very proud of her. They were happy that Rachel was leading an independent life, although they would like to see her a bit more often than they did at the moment.

  Jean was a slender woman with short, wavy brown hair, the same colour as Rachel's. Her face was narrow, with a long slim nose, giving her the look of a delicate bird. Jonathan was medium height and slim, and his short, dark brown hair was greying at the temples. They met at a bistro in Chelsea, and hugged each other warmly. 'You're looking really well, Rachel.'

  'Thank you, so do you two. So, what have you been up to?'

  Over the next couple of hours, they caught up with each others' news. Jean and Jonathan were pleased to hear that Rachel had joined the gym and wasn't working such long hours. They were also glad to hear that she had met up with her sister a couple of times, too.

  Over dessert, Jonathan said, 'You do look really well, darling. I don't think we've seen you looking this relaxed in a long time.'

  'Thank you. As I say, I've been spending more time away from the gallery.' Rachel had the feeling that her mum wanted to say something. She kept glancing at Jonathan, and then looking down, as if she was avoiding eye contact with Rachel. 'Mum, is there something you wanted to ask?'

  Her mum flushed, and looked awkward. 'Well, um. I bumped into Mark the other day. He seems very happy. He said he saw you recently.'

  Rachel flushed, she knew exactly where this was going, but decided to let her mum continue, 'Oh, yes. Along the South Bank.'

  'He said you were with a friend.' She pulled a face like she had a bad smell under her slender nose.

  'Oh, Mum, you should see the look on your face! I was with Lea, yes.'

  'And she's a friend of yours?'

  'Yes. Well...' Rachel could feel her cheeks heating like a furnace.

  Jean looked worried, 'Was there something you wanted to tell us?'

  'Well, it hadn't crossed my mind, to be totally honest. The thing is, when I went away last summer, I met Lea. She was looking after the cottage I stayed in. She's an artist, although I didn't know that when I met her. We got on really well, and things developed. At the time, I thought it was just a holiday thing. Then she turned up in London to see me, and we've started seeing each other.' Rachel smiled at her parents, and they smiled back uncomfortably.

  Jonathan said, 'Oh. We thought that Mark had his wires crossed. Turns out, it's your wires that are crossed!'

  'Dad!'

  'Sorry, but really, surely this is just a bit of fun?'

  Rachel looked serious, 'Actually, no. Lea is wonderful. She's fun and gorgeous, and she makes me think about other things rather than just work. I'm so happy when I'm with her. The thing is, she lives in Cornwall, but next time she's in London, we could get together and you can meet her.'

  'But darling, I don't understand. You were with Mark for such a long time.' Jean looked concerned.

  'I know. It was pretty unexpected for me, too. It just happened, as though it was the most natural thing in the world. You know when you just know. When you meet someone, and you just feel full of happiness, like the sun will never stop shining.'

  Rachel's parents looked at one another and smiled, and Rachel saw her dad squeeze her mum's hand. As Rachel looked at them, she felt an overwhelming surge of love for her parents, who were the happiest couple she knew.

  Jonathan said, 'Well, as long as you're happy. If she's managing to drag you away from work, that's got to be a good thing! She must be special.'

  'Yes, she certainly is.'

  On her way home that evening, Rachel thought that her mum and dad had actually been very cool about finding out about Lea, even though they had looked so uncomfortable to begin with. She supposed it must be rather a surprise for them. For Rachel, although falling for Lea had been so unexpected, being with her had felt so natural, that she hadn't really given it any more thought recently.

  After Rachel had left, her parents talked about Rachel's revelation. They really had expected her to say that Mark had made a mistake. Regardless, they had to admit that Rachel seemed really happy, and that was what they wanted for their daughter, more than anything.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Rachel arrived at the station to see Lea waiting for her. They kissed and hugged one another tightly. 'It's so good to see you, did you have a good journey?' Lea asked.

  'Yes, very good thanks. I couldn't wait to see you.'

  Lea's eyes were hooded, 'Let's get you to my place, I've been counting the days until you got here.'

  They headed away from the station, and climbed the hill to the cottages at the top. Unlocking the door, Lea opened it and Rachel put her bag down. As soon as they had taken off their coats, they were in one another's arms again, kissing ravenously. Lea breathed, 'Oh my god, these two weeks have been the longest ever.'

  Lea lead Rachel to the bedroom, undressing her as they went. The first time they devoured each other, then they made lov
e slowly and tenderly, savouring one another.

  Laying in bed, Rachel said, 'I had dinner with mum and dad a couple of days ago. It was quite funny really. Do you remember when we bumped into Mark, my ex?' Lea nodded, and Rachel continued, 'Well, they saw him and he mentioned seeing us together.'

  Lea looked at Rachel, 'Oh, what did they say?'

  'They expected me to say he'd made a mistake. I just told them that we're together. I said maybe we could all get together so they can meet you. If you'd like to, of course.'

  Lea looked surprised, 'And they were okay about it?'

  'Well, they looked a bit embarrassed, but they accepted it. Pretty cool, really.'

  'You're lucky. My parents were a different story all together.'

  Rachel stroked Lea's hair, 'Want to talk about it?'

  Lea's face changed expression, her eyes darkening. 'No.' Then she smiled brightly, 'Now, what shall we do today?'

  Rachel decided not to push the point. 'I'd love to see you paint, I've never seen your studio.'

  'We can go over there today, if you fancy it.'

  Rachel said that she would love to, and they began getting dressed.

  The studio was a converted barn. Walking inside, Rachel looked up at the roof with the May sunshine streaming through the skylights, and reflecting off of the white washed walls. It smelt clean and of paint. As Rachel walked past the desk at the entrance, her nostrils were filled with the soft scent of daffodils, emanating from the big blue vase filled with the bright yellow flowers. Lea took Rachel's hand and led her around the gallery. There were another four artists who shared it, and there were various pieces hung around the walls. Towards the other end of the studio, there were wooden steps up to a platform, which was strewn with large beanbags and cushions. There was also a low coffee table with magazines on it. 'That's our chill out area. Sometimes we spend hours and hours here, painting or just hanging out.'

  'I love it. It's such a great space. And the paintings are amazing. Maybe we could have an exhibition in London.'