Engravings of Wraith

by Kiera Dellacroix

  “Okay,” Bailey said and started the car, her stomach rolling happily upon hearing Piper refer to home. She found herself wishing with all of her heart that someday, if she were extremely lucky, that might be true. She had pulled onto the street and, after a few miles, a building on the opposite side of the road caught her eye.

  “Can we go in there?” she asked, pointing at the building.

  “A record store?” Piper said. “Sure.”

  Bailey smiled and turned around at the next light.

  “Is there something you’re looking for?” Piper asked as they pulled into the parking lot.

  “Lots of stuff,” Bailey said excitedly as she parked and got out of the car. “I didn’t know this was here.”

  “Where do you usually buy things?” Piper wondered taking Bailey’s hand who was waiting impatiently at the front of the car.

  “Mail order or over the Internet,” she said casually as she led Piper inside.

  Piper devoted a minute of thought to that and shook her head at how isolated Bailey kept herself from the rest of the world. Bailey came to a stop once they got inside and scanned the building, choosing a place to start.

  “Go ahead,” Piper said giving her a little shove. “I’ll poke around until you’re ready,” she added with a smile as Bailey made off on her own.

  Piper browsed casually, occasionally looking up to check the position of the black ponytail that periodically bobbed around the store. She giggled half an hour later when she walked up with an impressive stack of CD’s.

  “You gonna buy all of those?” Piper asked amused.

  “Yeah,” Bailey said. “Why are you smiling?” she asked with a scowl.

  “Because I’m learning all sorts of stuff about you.”

  “Such as?” Bailey asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “Well, you like classic black muscle cars,” Piper said coyly. “You obviously have an interest in music and you’ve got a thing for incredibly cute redheads,” she said with an exaggerated flip of her hair.

  “My, how observant,” Bailey said with a chuckle.

  “Indeed,” Piper said.

  Bailey paid for her stuff and hurried to the car, browsing through her purchases as soon as she sat down behind the wheel to select one for play.

  Piper watched in amusement from the passenger seat as Bailey picked out a CD and struggled with the cellophane wrapper. Her eyes widened slightly when, with a flip of her wrist, she produced an eight-inch blade and flicked it over the wrapper. The blade was gone as quickly as it appeared and she couldn’t figure out where it came from or where it had gone. Bailey was apparently unaware that she did anything out of the ordinary, so she let it pass without comment. Once they were on the street, she turned a smile in her direction and slipped the disc into the stereo.

  “Prepare for ludicrous speed,” Bailey said a second before a pulsing techno beat assaulted the interior of the car.

  Piper shrieked when the GTO took off at what felt like warp nine and she was forced into the back of her seat.

  IV

  Take my hand, Take my whole life too,

  For I can’t help falling in love with you.

  —Weiss, Peretti, Creatore

  “I don’t want you to go,” Piper said with a pout, standing in front of Bailey in the living room.

  “I don’t really want to, but I’m out of clothes and I have to be in the office tomorrow.”

  “You don’t have to wear clothes here,” Piper stated. “This is a clothing optional house.”

  Bailey smiled at her and opened her mouth but was silenced by an upraised hand. “I don’t want to hear it,” Piper said as she went over and threw herself on the sofa. “Go on without me, save yourself,” she added, burying her face in the cushions.

  She waited to see what Bailey would do and she sprang bolt upright when she heard the front door open and close. Panicking, she flew off the couch and ran for the door. She had just been teasing and couldn’t believe that she would just leave, although it had occurred to her in a flash that Bailey was playing the whole relationship by ear and she really didn’t know what to do in a lot circumstances. She wrenched open the front door, stopping two steps onto the front porch when she saw the GTO but not Bailey. She jumped in the air with a surprised shriek when Bailey goosed her from inside the house.

  “You are in so much trouble,” Piper said slowly over Bailey’s laughter when she got her breath back and took a step in her direction.

  “You gotta catch me first,” Bailey said and ran into the house.

  Piper laughed and chased after her a few seconds later. She searched every room in the house but came up empty and her brow wrinkled in bewilderment. The house just wasn’t that big and there weren’t all that many places that could effectively hide an adult female.

  “Bailey,” she said stomping her foot. “It’s no fun if I can’t find you.”

  She waited a moment but got no response.

  “I’m taking off my clothes,” she said to the house with a sly look and began to unbutton her blouse.

  She walked from room to room and left an article of clothing in each one until she was left wearing only her panties. She had saved her bedroom for last and she entered and turned around to face the hallway.

  “I’m almost naked,” she said playfully down the hallway as she wiggled out of her panties. “Alright, I’m naked,” she said, throwing her underwear into the hallway.

  “Yes, you are,” Bailey said quietly and Piper jumped again, barely stifling another shriek. She turned around to find her sitting cross-legged on the end of the bed.

  “How in the hell do you do that?” Piper asked annoyed.

  “Magic,” Bailey said with a little grin.

  “I believe we’ve had this conversation before,” Piper said dryly.

  “Uh-huh,” Bailey said her eyes roaming over the body a few feet away.

  “Do you want to finish it like last time too?” Piper asked hopefully.

  Bailey nodded and held out a hand to Piper, who took it and sat down on the bed next to her. Her hands came up and Bailey shyly watched fingers unbutton her shirt.

  At the last button, Piper leaned in for a kiss as she pulled the shirt from Bailey’s shoulders to remove it, her arms embracing her on the way back up and unclasping her bra, which she immediately tossed to the floor. She spent a considerable amount of time exploring Bailey’s mouth before moving to suckle her and she spent several loving minutes paying attention to her chest, pleased with the quiet moans her actions produced.

  Standing, she gently tugged her from her seated position and trailed kisses from her chest to her belly where she paused and undid her pants. Her hands slid over her waist and legs as she led the slacks to the floor and Bailey gingerly stepped out of them. Her hands traveled adoringly back up her legs, stopping at the waist and gently tugging on the waistband of her panties in request, her eyes traveling upward questioningly and Bailey nodded nervously to the affirmative. She slowly slid them from her waist, eyes widening in desire when a light triangular patch of raven hair became visible. She waited for her to step out of her underpants and placed a gentle kiss on the soft thatch of hair that made Bailey gasp and back up a step.

  “Piper!” Bailey said astonished, attempting to cover herself.

  “I’m sorry did I startle you?” Piper asked rising to her feet.

  “I don’t think I’m ready for this,” Bailey said apologetically as she hurriedly started to put her underwear back on.

  Piper bit down hard on her screaming hormones and she turned her back to walk to the closet, pulling out an old robe to put on. When she turned around, Bailey had already dressed herself in her slacks and bra.

  “I’m sorry,” Piper said contritely. “Sometimes, I’m a little to aggressive for my own good.”

  “It’s not you, Piper,” Bailey said with a sigh and sat down on the bed.

  “I don’t understand,” Piper said coming over to take a seat next to her.

&n
bsp; Piper observed closely as she seemed to struggle with herself for a long moment. “Piper, I know nothing about sex,” she started. “I mean I know the general mechanics, but that’s about it. I never had the desire to learn anything about it, and once it occurred to me that I probably would never have the opportunity, it became a non-issue. I mean, why think about something you can never have?” she nervously ran her hands through her hair. “Am I making any sense?”

  “I think I understand,” Piper said thoughtfully trying to decipher the words she had spoken.

  “I might as well be a teenager,” Bailey sighed.

  Piper glanced up sharply in sudden understanding. Bailey had never had it explained to her, had never gotten the opportunity to experiment, had never period. She had gone through life completely ignoring it and now that it was presented to her, she didn’t have a clue what to do, or how to act; sexually she really was a teen.

  “Can I ask you a question?” Piper asked gently. “It’s a personal question.”

  “Okay,” Bailey said slowly.

  “Have you never experimented with your… well…uhm… yourself?”

  “No,” Bailey said quickly. “Why would I raise something I could never feed?”

  “So you’re saying you don’t know what to do?” Piper asked thoughtfully.

  Bailey sighed. “Piper, I didn’t finish school, I never went to college, I’ve never had friends, I lost access to my family very young and all I know about relationships is what I’ve read in books, watched in movies or television, and learned from you. I know how reproduction occurs, but I’ve no idea how to please you or let you please me,” She paused. “I know that I very much want you and want to be with you, but I don’t know how and sometimes my feelings are so intense they overwhelm me. This is very new and to be honest, very frightening for me.”

  Piper’s heart went out to her as she wondered what it would be like to have the knowledge of an adult inside an adolescent body. How would it feel to wake up to emotions and desires that you never knew existed after thirty-one years as a living, breathing person? She tried to remember her own first experiences with love and the emotions those experiences had instilled in her. As a teenager everything she experienced was so new and raw that it could cut through her like a razor. Ultimately, experience gradually allowed her to mature and the emotions that could devastate her eventually became manageable. However, she could remember with clarity how traumatic they were in their original form. Bailey was going through the same thing now with the life experience of a thirty-one year old woman, who she suspected had seen some of the darker things the world had to offer.

  “Oh, Bailey,” Piper said engulfing her in a tight embrace. “I knew you were inexperienced, but I really had no idea as to what degree,” she said feeling like an ass for throwing herself at her. “Forgive me?”

  “There’s nothing to forgive,” Bailey said quietly. “I just need a little more time to get used to things.”

  Piper felt like crying as she considered how much courage it had taken for Bailey to come this far in such a short time. “Take as much time as you need,” she said with conviction as she buried her head in the crook of her neck.

  “Can I ask you a question?” Bailey asked hesitantly.

  “Of course.”

  “Will you tell me how two women… uhm… you know?” she asked and Piper could feel Bailey’s blush on her forehead.

  Piper giggled. “Baby, I don’t think I could get through that conversation with any dignity or relay anything to you that would make any sense.”

  “Oh,” Bailey said confused.

  Piper perked up. “I have a movie you could watch though,” she said as soon as the thought popped into her head and she winced.

  “A movie?” Bailey asked intrigued. “What kind of movie?”

  Piper blushed. “A pornographic one.”

  “Really?” Bailey said interested. “I’ve never watched one of those, can we watch it now?”

  “I don’t think that would be a good idea,” Piper said carefully.

  “Why not?” Bailey asked disappointed.

  “I think you should take it home and watch it by yourself first.”

  “Why would I want to do that?”

  “Because this is new to you and it might make you uncomfortable to watch it with me,” Piper struggled.

  “Why would I be uncomfortable?”

  “I would be uncomfortable,” Piper clarified.

  “Why?”

  Piper closed her eyes and buried her face as far as she could into Bailey’s neck. “Because, if I watched the movie, especially if I watched it with you, it would excite me and I would want to do things that you’re not prepared to do just yet,” she said with a heating face, cringing at the question that would probably come next.

  “Oh,” Bailey said thinking. “When do you watch this movie then?”

  Piper wondered if she could will herself to faint. “I haven’t had an opportunity, or to be honest, haven’t found anyone that I wanted in a long time, and…” She paused thinking quickly. “…I raised certain urges a long time ago and they occasionally need to be fed.”

  Bailey’s brow wrinkled as she thought that over. “So you watch this movie to excite you?”

  “Occasionally, yes,” Piper admitted.

  “You watch it alone?” she asked a grin beginning to form.

  “Yes.”

  “Oh,” Bailey said. “I see.”

  “God, I hope so,” Piper whispered.

  Bailey smiled mischievously. “You’d better stop that or you’ll go blind.”

  Piper’s face came up rapidly from its hiding place. “Where the hell did you hear that?” she asked irritably.

  Bailey let out a genuine belly laugh with a look at Piper’s face, which was as red as her hair. “I heard my Da say that when I was kid, I just now got it,” she admitted between laughs. “Your eyes been giving you problems, Esmeralda?”

  Piper scowled dangerously as Bailey collapsed backwards on the bed laughing. With a growl, she pounced on top of her and tickled her mercilessly until she actually squealed. The sound was music to Piper’s ears as the child inside the woman rose to the surface and she continued her assault until Bailey’s eyes watered and she started gasping for breath.

  “You’re mean,” Piper said collapsing on top of her.

  “I’m mean?” Bailey said gasping. “I thought for second there I might pass out.”

  “Would serve you right,” Piper said petulantly.

  “You’re just mad because I got to tease you for a change,” Bailey said with a chuckle.

  “Maybe,” Piper admitted.

  Bailey’s chuckles tapered off and they lay quietly for several minutes.

  “I should go, it’s getting late,” Bailey said.

  “No,” Piper said squeezing her tightly.

  “You know I have to,” Bailey said regretfully.

  “I know, I just don’t want you to.”

  Bailey rolled off the bed and picked up her blouse. “Would you like to have lunch tomorrow?” she asked as she put it back on.

  “Yes,” Piper said beginning to pout as Bailey walked over to the chair in the corner and got her shoes and jacket. She frowned as she remembered that she had appeared on her bed wearing neither.

  “Where were you hiding, by the way?” she asked curiously.

  “In plain sight, you walked right past me twice,” Bailey said tying the shoelaces on her boots.

  “Why didn’t I see you then?” Piper asked suspiciously.

  “Because I didn’t want you to,” she said with a little smile.

  Piper rolled her eyes and received a chuckle. “Walk me to the door?”

  “Of course,” Piper said and followed her out the bedroom.

  Bailey stopped at the front door and shuffled her feet a little. “See you tomorrow?” she asked hopefully.

  “Count on it,” Piper said wrapping her in an embrace. “Oh, I almost forgot, wait here,” she sai
d releasing her to pad back down the hall.

  She reappeared about minute later and with a slight blush, handed Bailey a videotape. She noticed her eyes start to dance and she acted quickly. “Don’t say whatever it is you’re about to,” she warned.

  Bailey chuckled as she read the title on the spine of the videocassette. “Is this really the name of the movie?”

  “Yes,” Piper winced. “The movie is actually more tasteful than the title.”

  “I hope so,” Bailey said amused.

  “Just kiss me so I can try and forget how embarrassed I am,” Piper said getting another chuckle from Bailey who leaned down slightly and placed a tender kiss on her lips.

  “Goodnight,” she said quietly.

  “Goodnight,” Piper said regretfully as Bailey smiled at her and walked out the door.

  Piper shut the door and waited to hear the car start before she turned out the porch light. With her feet dragging, she sulked all the way to her bedroom and crawled into bed.

  V

  She couldn’t wait another day for,

  The Captain of her Heart.

  —K. Maloo, F. Haug

  Bailey found herself in her office at a minute to eight in the morning, wishing she had stayed with Piper the night before. She had arrived at home and gone straight to bed but only managed about two hours of sleep. She lightly drummed her fingers on the desk and waited patiently for the phone to ring. At three minutes after eight it did, she answered it immediately.

  “Cameron.”

  “Miss Cameron there’s a Mr. Anderson to see you. Shall I send him up?” Tom asked.

  “Yes, please, but would you set him up with a keycard first, total access,” she asked.

  “You bet, it’ll take about five minutes.”

  “That’s fine, he’s going to be in the building for the next few weeks, would you let your guys know, please.”

  “Will do.”

  “Thanks, Tom,” Bailey said and hung up.

  She smiled to herself and waited patiently for Josh to show up. She turned on her computer and spun a little in her chair while it booted. The phone rang again and she scowled a little before answering it.