"Well, my mom’s actually a little worse than I thought she’d be. She thinks she can order me to stop loving Jordan." Laughing softly, she added, "She seems to forget that she’s never effectively ordered me to stop doing anything."
"I can attest to that," Jamie said. "Have you spoken to Jordan?"
"Huh-uh. My parents are upstairs and I think they’ll be coming back down any minute. I don’t want to call her until the dust has settled."
"Are you gonna stay overnight?" Jamie asked, honoring Jordan’s wishes that Mia not know she was in town.
"I guess I should," Mia said. "I kinda hate to drop a bomb on them and then take off. My mom might be calmer in the morning, after she’s vented a little."
"Well, call me before you go to bed, okay? I’m worried about you."
"Will do. Wish me luck, James."
Anna Lisa and Adam came back downstairs minutes after Mia hung up. The younger woman was in the middle of cleaning up the kitchen – the remnants of the ill-fated chicken and dumplings making her so grumpy that she had to dispose of them.
Busying herself by making a cup of tea, Anna Lisa spoke in a calm voice. "Your father tells me that your friend is on the Olympic team."
"Yeah, she is," Mia said. "I’m very proud of her."
"How long will she be where she is?"
"She’s in Colorado," Mia said. "That’s been one of the things we’ve been trying to work out. The Olympics are in September, and after that – it’s still up in the air if she’ll stay with the team or come home to Berkeley."
"And if she stays there?" Anna Lisa asked, still using her conversational tone.
"Then I’ll be there with her." Mia turned and looked her mother directly in the eye. "We’ll make the decision together, Mom, based on what’s best for each of us."
"Have you forgotten that you’re going to law school in the fall of 2001?"
"No, of course I haven’t forgotten. That’ll be one of the major things we consider. We won’t do anything rash, Mom."
"You’ve already done something rash, Mia. Something very rash."
"Look. It’s getting late. Do you want me to go home? Or can we talk about this calmly tomorrow?"
"I want you to stay," Anna Lisa said. She walked up to her daughter and hugged her tight. "I love you, Mia, and I always will. I’m upset about this, but I still love you."
"I know, Mom. I don’t ever doubt that you love me. Although, sometimes I think you wish you’d stopped after one child."
Anna Lisa grasped Mia’s chin in her hand and shook it, making her curls fly. "Don’t you ever even think something like that! I thank God every day that he gave me such a wonderful child! And I’ll thank him tonight, Mia – just like always."
"I love you, too, Mom," Mia sighed as she rested her head on her mother’s shoulder. "I hate it when we yell at each other. I’ll make an effort to be calm tomorrow. Will you?"
"Yes, baby, I’ll try," the older woman said. "Sleep well." She kissed Mia and gave her another healthy squeeze, then Adam came over and did the same.
"Do you need anything, honey?" he asked.
"No, I’m gonna head up to bed. Wake me up when you get up, okay?"
"Okay," Adam said, ruffling her hair as he left the room. "See you tomorrow."
As soon as her parents left the room, Mia took her cell phone and dialed Jordan’s apartment, frowning when the answering machine picked up. "Hi, honey. It’s me. Call me when you get home, okay? Love you."
Going up to her room, she got undressed and put on one of Jordan’s Olympic team T-shirts that she’d lifted when they were in Las Vegas. Falling into her bed, she dialed her house, and once again spoke with Jamie. "Hey. What’s going on?"
"Not much. How’s it going?"
"About what you’d expect. Things are a little better than they were earlier. I’m gonna go to bed – wait for Jordy to call me back."
"Okay, honey. You let us know if you need anything."
"I need my Jordan," Mia sighed. "I miss her."
"I know she misses you, too, Mia. But you’ll see her soon."
"We haven't made any specific plans about when we'll see each other again, Jamie. I don’t know how long it’ll be."
"Think good thoughts, Mia. It might be sooner than you think."
Hanging up, Jamie smiled at the tall, blonde woman who paced in front of her. "She misses you."
"I miss her, too," Jordan said. "I think I’ll go up to her room and call her."
"We might be in bed when you’re finished," Ryan said. "It’s been a long week."
"No problem. I know my way around," the blonde said, smiling.
"G’night, buddy." Ryan gave her friend a kiss and Jamie followed suit.
"See you guys tomorrow," Jordan said.
As soon as she got to Mia’s room, Jordan dialed the number and lay down on the bed. "Hi, sweetheart," she said when Mia answered.
"Hi. Where were you when I called?"
"Uhm … I was talking with some friends. How are you?"
"I’m all right, but I miss you so much I ache, Jordy. I don’t know why it’s so bad tonight, but I’d give anything to see you."
"Oh, Mia, I miss you, too. I guess it was because I knew you were doing something difficult today – but I wasn’t able to stop thinking about you all day. I got hit right in the face with a ball in practice – I couldn’t concentrate a bit."
"You didn’t get hurt, did you?"
"Nah. It just woke me up a little bit. The teasing I had to take was more painful than being hit with the ball." Her voice grew gentler, and she asked, "Tell me how it’s going."
"Uhm … it’s not great, but it’s also not horrible. Mom’s pretty upset, and she was being fairly irrational earlier, but right before she went to bed she told me she loved me, and that we could try to be calmer tomorrow. It’s been a big shock for her."
"Is your dad okay?"
"He’s handling it better," Mia said, "but I assumed he would. He never gets very upset about things that I do. He was very wild when he was a kid, and I think he understands that I’m a free spirit like he was."
"You are that," Jordan said fondly. "That’s part of what I love about you."
"I feel so unsettled," Mia said. "I know they love me, and I know they want only the best for me – but it’s hard, Jordy. It’s so hard to have to defend myself and my choices and my feelings. It makes me feel … lonely."
"I wish I were with you right now," Jordan said, sighing deeply.
"I do, too. I’d give anything to feel your arms around me. You make me feel so safe and secure and loved. I know you’ll always support me, Jordan." She paused, and Jordan could hear her struggle to maintain her composure. "I wish I felt the same way about my mom." Mia started to cry softly, finally saying, "I hate it when she yells at me. It makes me feel so defensive … like I’m a little kid who doesn’t have any sense."
"She yelled at you?" Jordan asked, trying to control the anger she felt welling up.
"We yell at each other, honey. We always have. I can remember being a tiny little kid, standing in the kitchen and us yelling at each other at full volume. It’s a stupid way to communicate, but it’s what we do."
"You never yell at me," Jordan said. "Do you ever feel like yelling?"
"No, it’s just my mom that gets to me this way. I never yell at my dad, or my brother. She just makes me crazy."
"Damn, you sound so sad," Jordan said. "I wish I could make you feel better."
"I feel better when I talk to you," Mia said. "I can lie here and imagine that you’re holding me."
"I can’t do that," Jordan said. "I miss you more when we talk on the phone." She sighed and said, "I miss you so much that all I think about is when I’ll be able to talk to you – but when I do, it reminds me of how far away you are, and how much I miss holding you and kissing you. I … I never feel settled."
"I know, honey. I know exactly what you mean." Mia sniffed a few times, wiping at her tears. "Let’s go to sleep now. I’m getting mor
e depressed talking about it."
"Oh, baby, I’m sorry if I upset you."
"No, you didn’t upset me, Jordy. The situation upsets me – having you a thousand miles away upsets me. But not you, sweetheart. You’re my girl."
"I’ll always be your girl," Jordan said softly. "Always."
"G’night, Jordy. I’ll try to dream about how wonderful it feels to lie in your arms."
"I love you, Mia. I love you with all my heart."
Part 21
The chirp of her cell phone woke Mia from a troubled sleep. "H’lo?"
"Open your bedroom door," Jordan’s soft voice said.
Half asleep, Mia got to her feet and opened the door, staring into the empty hallway.
"The other door," Jordan said, snickering.
"Jordy!" Now fully awake, Mia closed and locked the door to the hall, frantically keyed in the code for the alarm, then scampered across the room to throw open the French door that led to a small deck. A grinning Jordan stood right before her eyes, and Mia threw her arms around her and hugged her so tightly that the larger woman couldn’t take a breath. But she didn’t mind a bit – gladly willing to forsake breathing to be held in Mia’s fevered embrace.
"Let’s go inside," the blonde murmured. "I don’t want your parents to hear us. Their lights are still on."
Mia tugged her inside, then spent a minute running her hands up and down Jordan’s long body – trying to convince herself that her lover was really with her. "How did you manage this?" she asked, completely amazed.
"When I finished practice today, I decided I couldn’t stand the thought of you having to do this all alone," Jordan said. "I called Jamie, and she and Ryan came to get me from the airport. I was at your house when we talked earlier."
"Are you shitting me?" Mia asked, her tone a little loud for the setting.
"Shh! They’ll hear you!"
"Why didn’t you tell me you were here?"
"Because I didn’t want to put any more pressure on you. I knew you’d want to come home if you knew I was there – but I wanted you to stay here if you needed to."
"Damn, it feels wonderful to be in love with someone who cares for me so much," Mia murmured, wrapping her arms around Jordan’s neck.
"I do, I care for you more than anything else in the world."
Releasing her, Mia stood back and ran her hands over her lover’s body once again. "You look very cute in your USA warm-ups, but you’d look even cuter out of them. Can I?" she asked, her hands on the jacket’s zipper.
"Of course. There’s no one I’d rather be undressed by."
Mia made short work of the clothes, getting her down to her T-shirt and bikinis. "You’re still overdressed, but it’s pretty chilly in here. Let’s get into bed, and you can tell me how you managed to find your way down here." They climbed into the single bed, shifting around a bit to be able to fit. Suddenly, Mia sat up, and said, "Shit! If you parked on the street they’ll tow you!"
"I didn’t," Jordan assured her. "Jamie told me the whole drill. We called her mom, and I parked over there. I didn’t realize you guys lived so close to one another."
"And she told you which room was mine?"
"Yep. As well as how easy it is to scale the trellis by the garage. You know, I don’t feel very good about you sleeping in a room that’s so easy to get into."
"Well, if it wasn’t easy to get into, you wouldn’t be here now, so let’s be thankful for small favors." Mia cuddled up against her partner and said, "I can’t believe this, but I haven’t even kissed you."
"Let’s make up for lost time," Jordan said, grinning widely.
Mia laced a hand through her hair and pulled Jordan’s lips close. "I love you so much," she whispered. Pressing her lips gently against Jordan’s, she let the familiar sensations wash over her body. The smaller woman greedily delighted in the exquisite smoothness of her lover’s skin; the way their bodies molded so perfectly against each other; the firmness of Jordan’s supple muscles; the soft resiliency of her breasts; the minty taste of her freshly brushed teeth. Each kiss made her hunger for more – her need to merge with Jordan growing so powerful that she was unable to resist.
Jordan’s hand slipped under Mia’s long T-shirt and rhythmically squeezed her ass, her kisses growing more passionate as her hands continued to explore.
Without even being aware that she had moved, Mia found her hands happily filled with the warm, supple flesh of Jordan’s breasts. Her tongue darted into the receptive mouth as her fingers gently pinched the firming nipples.
"Oh, God," Jordan sighed, rolling onto her back and spreading her legs apart. She maneuvered Mia into position and wrapped her legs around her, pressing her lover against her need. Her powerful thighs flexed, and Mia growled when her mound ground against Jordan’s heat.
"I’ve missed you so much," Mia murmured, kissing down Jordan’s neck and sinking her teeth into the delicate skin in the hollow of her shoulder.
Suddenly, Jordan held her tight, her eyes wide with alarm. She placed a finger to her lips, then pointed at the door. Sharpening her senses, Mia heard something creak, then heard the knob on her door turn. Her eyes nearly popped from her head, but then she remembered that she’d locked the door. To her dismay, there was a very gentle knock, and she rolled her eyes at Jordan, shrugged her shoulders, then got up and went to the door. "Who is it?" she asked.
"It’s me," her father said. "Are you all right?"
"Uhm … yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?"
"Well, we thought we heard something, then your mother noticed that the alarm wasn’t on, and that your door to the deck was open. Are you sure you’re all right, honey?"
She unlocked the door and opened it a crack. "I’m fine, Dad. I couldn’t sleep, so I went out onto the deck for a minute to watch the stars."
"Do you want to talk some more?"
"No, no, really, I’m okay. I only have a T-shirt on, Dad, and I’d like to get back into bed so I can warm up."
"Oh! Well, go do that, baby. I just wanted to check to make sure you were all right."
"I’m fine, Dad. I’ll see you in the morning – and I’ll lock the door and turn the alarm back on, too."
"G’night, honey."
"G’night, Dad. Thanks for checking on me."
She closed the door and leaned against it, holding her hand over her heart and beating lightly on her chest to show how hard it was fluttering. Jordan looked absolutely panic-stricken, and Mia quickly locked up and crawled back into bed. "Well, I’m still excited, but it’s a whole ‘nother kind of excitement. Now, where were we?"
Jordan grasped her shoulders to prevent her from leaning in for another kiss. "Are you crazy? We can’t have sex with them both awake!"
"I’ve had sex in here dozens of time," Mia said. "They only saw the patio door open – they didn’t hear us."
"No, no, no," Jordan said, her blonde hair bouncing. "There’s no way I could relax enough." She looked into Mia’s eyes for a moment, saying, "It’s enough for me to hold you. Isn’t that enough for you?"
Swallowing her disappointment, Mia nodded. "It is. Holding you is all I need to be happy."
"Just cuddle up against me and tell me everything that happened today," Jordan said. "I want to know every single thing."
Placing a quick kiss on her cheek, Mia did as she was asked, starting, "Well, I got home at about four, and my mom was making my favorite dinner …"
"Is she all right?" Anna Lisa asked, a little anxiety in her voice.
"She’s fine." Adam took off his robe and tossed it onto a chair. He slid into bed and wrapped his arm around his wife, cuddling her close to his chest. "She said she couldn’t sleep, so she went onto her deck to watch the stars."
"Well, at least she didn’t sneak out by climbing down the trellis like she used to."
"Whose idea was it to give her the room with the escape route?" Adam asked, chuckling.
"That was poor planning on my part," Anna Lisa admitted. "I was silly enough to thi
nk that our son would be the one we’d have to keep a close watch on."
"It didn’t work out that way, did it, honey?" Adam asked.
"No, but at least we didn’t have two like Mia. I don’t think I could have taken that."
"Mia’s one of a kind, honey. She’s truly unique."
"Oh, Adam, what are we going to do with her?"
"There’s not much we can do, Anna. She’s 21 now, and she’ll graduate in just a couple of months. We’ve done our best raising her, now we have to let her make her own choices."
"I can’t do that, Adam, I can’t. You’re right when you say we don’t have much control – that’s why we have to use what we have while we still have it."
"I don’t see what that’s going to buy us, Anna. I think we should let her do what she wants. What’s the chance of this lasting long, anyway? She’s never had a boyfriend for longer than a year or a year and a half. Why will this be any different?"
"This isn’t what I want for her, Adam! I can’t let her do what she wants this time. We have to show her how much we disapprove!"
"But, I don’t disapprove as much as you do. I don’t think Mia’s a lesbian, either, but I know her well enough to know that the best way to make her dig her heels in is to say no."
"You might be right, Adam, but this time I feel like we have to make a point. I know we can’t force her to do what we want, but we can make her have to endure a little hardship to support her choices."
"I don’t think it will work, Anna."
"It might not," she conceded. "But we have to be united on this, Adam. I truly think this is the way to go."
"All right," he sighed. "We’ll try it your way – and see what happens." He stroked his wife’s back for a few moments, then said, "Can we try to have a nice morning? I don’t want the whole day to be filled with tension."
"I’ll do my best, honey," Anna Lisa said. "I love Mia so much, Adam. I hate to yell at her, but she makes me see red!"
"Try to mend fences a little. Let her see how much you love her – try to get her to talk about Jordan, so she feels you’ve at least heard her side."
"I don’t want to know anything about her," Anna Lisa sniffed.
Monogamy Page 49
