Lesbian Only Petals

by Tammy Compton

  “Oh.”

  “You’re… late.” He said, making a gesture to theatrically look at his watch, “Though it is convenient that you finally showed up. This is a celebration for my triumph, mine. As the director and sole leader of the sales depart, my hard work, my name, my abilities were recognized with this prize by, as you know, my company, Miss Young.” He made obnoxious pauses on every sign of possession and Amanda was already speechless, but still, he kept talking. “My colleagues and I are going to out there and have some fun. But we were missing a waitress… someone will come soon and tell what exactly to do. Enjoy your day, Miss Young.”

  Amanda was stunned to silence, and she remained mute even after Tom had left the kitchen. She was only grateful for the fact that he didn’t get to see her cry – that didn’t mean, though, that she wasn’t about to cry like she used to when she was a baby. She just held her emotions inside of her until she had reached her car. She left that house running, running as fast as she could, not caring about how it looked and who had looked, she just needed, she desperately needed to be away, so far away from that nightmare as possible. She had never felt so worthless in her entire life. She had thought she had reached the light at the end of tunnel where her boss considered her a collaborator, maybe even a friend to introduce to new social groups that would equally admire her job. It had all been a trick. A dirty and evil trick played by Tom to remind her of her position, to tell her that she was below him in every aspect of life.

  She had been driving back to town when those thoughts became too much, when the tears decided they wouldn’t stop, when her lungs felt like burning and when her car almost crashed straight into another vehicle – almost. Amanda had used her last bit of strength, and the other driver had been quick enough, and tragedy had been avoided. But the fright, the horror of what almost happened and the cruelty of what had actually happened a few minutes ago, all of that had a paralyzing effect in Amanda. After the near-crash, the other driver promptly left the scene and continued with their lives. But Amanda was stuck, she was paralyzed, she couldn’t think straight, and she couldn’t find the strength to drive – she could only cry, there, in the middle of a desolated road outside of town.

  It didn’t take long for Amanda to calm down enough to move her car to the side of the road and pick her phone, doing the one thing she was most scared to do, but also the one thing she wanted to do more than anything else in the world – she called Mallory.

  Chapter 7

  Mallory opened the door instantly, not even hiding the fact that she had been waiting just to the side, waiting impatiently for Amanda to arrive. When she had received the call from the distressed woman, she had suggested to pick her up, in fact, she had already picked up her keys to leave the apartment. She only stayed at home because Amanda insisted she had calmed down enough to drive and it would be useless making Mallory drive all the way there and then both still having to drive both cars separately. Amanda didn’t mention the tiny fact that mere hearing Mallory’s voice, Mallory’s genuine concern and very specially, Mallory’s lack of judgment and the fact that what she had predicted had happened just exactly as she had said it would, that those were the things that calmed her down.

  Both women stood on both sides of the doorway, too scared to move, as if they were standing in front of a vision that could vanish at any moment. Amanda was there, with red eyes and tear trails down her cheeks, wanting to apologize a million times for ever doubting Mallory and not listening to her advice. In front of her was Mallory, in her usual attire of sweatpants and a soft flannel shirt, she wasn’t wearing her glasses, and her green eyes looked so full of emotions, so unlike the cold and venomous eyes of her brother. Before any of them could say something, Mallory took one quick step forward and embraced Amanda in her arms.

  “I’m sorry,” she said.

  “No, no, you have nothing to be sorry about! I’m sorry, Mallory, so, so sorry.” Amanda replied, her voice quivering.

  Mallory stayed silent and rocked Amanda’s back and forth to sooth Amanda, plus she rubbed her back and started leaving tender kisses on top of her head.

  “Come on, come here,” Mallory whispered as she led them to the sofa, taking Amanda’s hand and affectionately staring at her. “I’m sorry, Amanda, this is my fault. I should have warned you more seriously. I should have explained myself better. I should have… I don’t know; I shouldn’t have taken you for granted.”

  “What do you mean? No! This all my fault!” Amanda signaled with her arms around herself “I should have listened to you and I should have believed you and… It’s just my stupid head; I manipulated myself away from you… I was scared.”

  Mallory raised her hand to caress the side of Amanda’s face. “I love you” she wanted to say. But was it too much? Was it not a right moment? She felt her heart beating too rapidly. She felt overwhelmed with emotions. In the end, all she could do was smile, smile fondly at Amanda and lean down for a kiss.

  Their lips connected perfectly, like the first time, like every time they kissed. In that moment they were leaving the past behind and hopefully sealing a promise, a promise of a future together.

  That kiss was followed by many and many more. At times, Amanda’s anxiety would kick in again; she’d pull away and ask Mallory “are you sure? Do you forgive me?” and the vulnerable and tender look in her eyes was more than enough to melt Mallory’s heart, she’d forget all her words and the only way she knew how to promise Amanda that the past was the past and that they could move forward and that the future was theirs, was to kiss her, again and again until the natural spark in Amanda’s eyes was back and they were both so full of happiness.

  They didn’t leave Mallory’s apartment again that day, with each other’s company, there wasn’t much else they wanted. However, the next day, Mallory was sweetly woken up by a series of small kisses reaching her face.

  “Mhm, good morning,” she whispered, as she opened her eyes and met the bright face of Amanda leaning towards her.

  “Hello, sweetheart,” Amanda smiled, “guess what I think we should do today?”

  Just then was that Mallory finally noticed the playful kind of spark that had reached Amanda’s eyes.

  “Oh no,” Mallory whispered.

  “Oh no,” she repeated about a hundred times between that first moment and the second she stepped into the ice-skating ring.

  Chapter 8

  Trustfully, their date at ice skating ring ended up being one of the best dates Amanda and Mallory had ever had in their entire lives. The thing is, Amanda wasn’t an expert in ice skating, in fact, she was very clumsy as well, but she embraced it. The result was both women struggling to even stand still but not complaining much. First, because they were laughing so much and having so much fun that there was really no time at all to complain. Second, well, having to hold each other the entire time, holding hands, their bodies close to fight the cold, picking each other from the ground and then not letting go, those were more than enough reason to keep each other very, very happy.

  It was a little too much for Amanda, thinking that Saturday had been one of the worst days of her life, feeling so ashamed and embarrassed and like a professional failure. Then thinking that Sunday had been through and through one of the most magical experiences ever. Each one had been fault of one of the Langdon siblings. That family was going to make her lose her mind one day, Amanda thought. That was the only somewhat funny thought she had allowed herself. Because, if she was being honest with herself, she was absolutely terrified of showing up for work on Monday. What would Tom say? Would he be upset because she ran away on Saturday? Did she even still have the job? Those were the important questions, she thought. However, that day when she woke up find a sweet text from Mallory that said “Good morning, my angel. How are you today? Can I see you after work?” that had Amanda double thinking her priorities.

  She arrived early and got to work as usual. Tom arrived late and barely glanced her way, as usual. He asked her to go to the
city to get him his favorite coffee, and he even left early that day, still following their common routines. There was a trick, though. A small change and a massive surprise.

  “Miss Young, I’m leaving for today, but I need you to complete a task before this Friday,” he said sounding terribly bored, “This is my company, no one else’s. I need my sister to give up her rights to it. You either convince her of doing that, break her heart, or I will fire you first thing next Monday, understood?”

  He didn’t wait for an answer, though. He left her there, her mind in ruins and her heart more distressed than ever before. Thinking that it couldn’t get any worse, Amanda scrambled to check her phone. In there she found a text from Mallory that she hadn’t read. “Babe, I’m so sorry, I’m not feeling well. I’ll see you tomorrow for lunch.” Well, that was disappointing, Amanda thought. A part of her was relieved, though. She couldn’t imagine herself acting like everything was normal and everything was okay when in fact everything was wrong, and everything was a disaster.

  One more night of sleep ruined by the Langdon last name. Amanda couldn’t really believe what was happening. What did the world have against her? She wondered. Why is it that happiness seemed to find her for only a glimpse and then ran away from her, leaving her dizzy and troubled? It was so unfair! She felt like crying for days and days until her problems solved themselves. It wouldn’t be necessary, though.

  “So, how was your… work… today?” Mallory asked her the next day at lunch.

  Amanda sighed. That kind of dull and insecure conversation was so unlike them. At least she could feel that she wasn’t the only one acting weird, acting afraid. Mallory seemed just as troubled, for some reason.

  “I don’t really want to talk about work,” Amanda replied with a sad smile. “How was your food?”

  “Nice. I… uh, I ate it,” Mallory answered, and it was her turn to shrug halfheartedly, “Do you want coffee?”

  “Yeah, please. One with sugar for me, one with poison for my boss…”

  Amanda did that thing sometimes, when she was too deep in her own thoughts, she lost the filter of her words. A second later, when she realized she had suggested poisoning her girlfriend’s brother, she chocked on her food and looked alarmed at Mallory, terrified of meeting horror in those gorgeous green eyes.

  Instead, what she found was humor, joy, and something that looked a lot like love, if she allowed her heart to speak. Mallory laughed genuinely, like she hadn’t done in that entire meal. Then she reached with her hand to tenderly hold Amanda’s face, and she sweetly kissed her.

  When she pulled back, she said with a smile, “I’m so glad I’ve found you.”

  Chapter 9

  The day before, Tom had delivered a threat not only to his assistant, but he had paid a visit to his younger sister as well.

  “I see you’re having fun,” he said smugly, walking into her office without any warning.

  “Tom, what are you doing here?” Mallory asked, caught off guard by the strange presence of her brother, he never entered her office.

  He walked slowly, calm, knowing it would take Amanda at least thirty minutes to run to his favorite store to get him his coffee.

  “You,” he said with an accusatory finger pointing her way as he sat down on a chair in front of her desk, “you are using my secretary.”

  “Using her!”

  “Please don’t tell me you are in love,”

  His mean laugh filled the whole room and made Mallory feel nauseous.

  “What happens between Amanda and me it’s none of your business.”

  “Oh but it is,” he told her, “she’s my secretary, you are my sister, and this is my business.”

  “She’s so much more than a secretary, she’s worth a million of them, you just don’t treat her how she deserves,” Mallory said, suddenly furious with her brother.

  “I don’t care! She loves the job, she adores it, and you know that. Now, the point here, what you don’t seem to understand, dear sister, is that this is my business, literally. This company is mine!”

  “Half of it is…”

  “No, no. You’ll make sure this entire company will be solely mine, you’ll decline your rights to inherit this company, and you’ll do it before Friday,” he assured her calmly, then, prompted by her daring lift of an eyebrow that seemed to defy him, he finished, “or your girlfriend will lose her precious, precious job.”

  He seemed sickeningly tranquil with that whole situation.

  “You’re crazy, Tom. You’ll regret this; you can’t do this to me.”

  “She’ll be on the streets by next Monday.”

  With that final sentence, he left Mallory’s office and left her in only a tremendous sense of helplessness and fear.

  Chapter 10

  With such a massive threat, Mallory had spent most of her week in the greatest state of distress she had ever known. She couldn’t sleep, she couldn’t eat, she couldn’t even think. There were so many things to consider that before she could weight each issue they would mix and mess in her head, and the only revelation she’d find was a terrible headache.

  It was a matter of love. Because every time she looked at Amanda, every time she heard her voice and watched her do something so uniquely hers, she could feel in her heart that she was more and more in love each passing second. It was a matter of family, as well. Because Mallory knew that her father trusted and believed in her, would she disappoint him terribly if she gave up the company for a woman? Amanda wasn’t just a woman, Mallory knew, but would her father understand that? Then, it was also a matter of honor, because, how dare Tom think he could just manipulate and threaten her like that? She had no idea how, not yet, but she was certain that life would find a way to turn things around against him, make him pay for his arrogance.

  Friday finally arrived, and Mallory still hadn’t taken a decision. She was locked up in her office just thinking and thinking. Unlike her generally lonesome and unpleasant brother, Mallory actually had glass walls on her office, to allow light and to not feel isolated from the world. That’s how she noticed Amanda walking up the stairs to the top floor at the end of the day. Amanda, she thought, Amanda or her job. Mallory started herself with two big realizations. One, this was also about Amanda. This job was everything for her. Two… Amanda was going upstairs! To her father’s office! What could be so wrong to make that happen?!

  Mallory actually ran out of her office, across the lobby, up the stairs and she crashed into her father’s office, paying no mind to her manners.

  “Amanda! What are you doing?” she asked breathlessly.

  Amanda looked speechless. Instead, Mr. Langdon was the one to answer.

  “Oh, hello, darling. Miss Young here, I think she was about to… quit her job.”

  “No! Don’t do that! Is this because of Tom? What did he tell you?”

  “Oh, Mallory, it doesn’t matter, it’s okay, and this is nothing compared to…” Amanda tried to answer, but she was interrupted by Mallory who rushed forward and softly took Amanda’s hands in hers.

  “Baby, no. You forget this is just another company for me; I have much else to do. But you love this job, please don’t lose anything you love for me…”

  “What if…”

  This time, Mr. Langdon was the one to interrupt them. He had kindly but seriously demanded to know what was going on, what had happened between them and how was Tom involved in it all. As both girls shared their stories, Mr. Langdon looked truthfully furious at his son’s tricks. But he wasn’t an aggressive man at all. He took a few deep breaths and instead thought about a solution. His quick mind was what had earned him his fortune, and now he was also using his heart, his love for his daughter.

  “Mallory, my love, what is the one thing your brother has always wanted more than this company?” he asked.

  “One of the companies in Europe. Which is ridiculous because he could never run one by himself,” Mallory replied, crossing her arms, not understanding what her father was
driving.

  “That’s correct. In contrast, I think you would be just perfect to take one of the companies, starting now. That way your friend here won’t be forced to lose her job,” Mr. Langdon talked with a knowing smile on his face, he observed how his daughter didn’t react happily at all at the proposition and how the other young woman visibly paled at the idea of Mallory leaving for another continent. Then he continued, “unless, of course, Miss Young would be interested in taking an executive job to support you in this grand new project.”

  Amanda’s sudden squeal of excitement that left her mouth spontaneously made everybody in the room laugh good-naturedly. Mallory turned towards her with the brightest smile she had ever had and opened her arms. Amanda didn’t waste a single second in running into her girlfriend’s arms and jumping into the embrace. Mallory and her father couldn’t contain their joyful laughter. Mr. Langdon had the money and power to take more than a few dumb decisions, but he blindly trusted his daughter’s abilities, talent, and hard-work ethic. Plus, since Amanda started working for them, it was apparent the improvement in the sale’s department performance, so she had earned enough of his trust, and since his daughter already seemed to love her, well, it wasn’t a tough decision to make.

  “Dad, please excuse us,” Mallory said, carrying her giggling girlfriend out of the office.

  “We’re going to Europe!” Amanda exclaimed, finally stepping down but keeping her arms wrapped around Mallory’s shoulders.

  Mallory couldn’t help but kiss her, “Did I mention I love you?” and kiss her again, “Because I love you so much,” and again, “I’m so in love with you.”

  “I love you too,” Amanda replied with her heart filled with love and firmly believing they would be happy together forever and ever.

  THE END

  Title: Lesbian Only Petals

  Subtitle: Mixed Lesbian F-F Romance Book Collection

  Editor: Tammy Compton