Monogamy

by Susan X Meagher

  "Then put on an act. You always act interested when my mother talks about her golf game – if you can do that, you can do this."

  Anna Lisa chuckled softly and snuggled closer to her husband. "You’re right. If I can sit through dinner with your mother, I can do anything."

  "I’m getting stiff," Mia murmured. "Can we switch sides?"

  "Mmm … my shoulder’s asleep," Jordan said. "Are you sure you used to sleep with people in this little bed?"

  "Well," Mia drawled, "there wasn’t much sleeping going on, but I’ve had several overnight guests."

  "Oh … so that’s what we’re doing wrong. This bed works better when your guest is on top of you, rather than next to you."

  Mia shifted around and pushed Jordan onto her back, then climbed on top of her. "Does it bother you, honey?"

  "What?"

  "Does it bother you that I’ve had other people sleep with me here?"

  "I uhm … I don’t spend my time thinking about things like that, Mia. I … I try to focus on what I have – rather than what I wish I had."

  "That wasn’t a very forthright answer, Jordy." Mia rose up and rested her weight on one arm, stroking her lover’s cheek with the tips of her fingers. "Does it bother you?"

  "Look," Jordan said, gazing into Mia’s eyes. "Here’s what I wish for. I wish that I had grown up in Hillsborough, and had met you in high school. I wish that you were the first person I ever kissed; the first person who ever touched my body; the first person that I ever desired. And I wish that the same had been true for you. I wish we’d been together for 4 or 5 years by now, and that our parents were totally cool with our relationship. That’s my ideal. Everything else leaves something to be desired."

  "So, it does bother you – a tiny little bit?"

  "It doesn’t bother me, Mia. I honestly don’t think about it – unless a cute little brown eyed girl forces me to," she added, straining to reach Mia’s lips for a kiss. "I like to look at it positively. If you’d been as inexperienced as I was, we still wouldn’t have kissed. We’d be sitting up all night, talking and talking. We’d both have laryngitis."

  Chuckling, Mia settled back down on top of her partner. "I guess you have a point. Boy, I’m glad we started kissing." With a contented purr, Mia started to kiss Jordan’s soft lips, once again finding her hands snaking up under the T-shirt to cup her breasts. "I can’t resist," the brunette murmured, pushing the shirt up as she scooted down the bed and captured a pert nipple in her mouth.

  "Oh, baby," Jordan murmured, her eyes closing while her hands went to Mia’s shoulders. She had every intention of pushing the determined mouth away, but Mia’s touch was so delightful, and her mouth was so warm, that she found herself urging her on. "Oh, that’s the way … just how I like it. Ooo … that feels so fine."

  The smaller woman lifted up enough to pull her shirt over her head, then she tugged Jordan’s off as well, the blonde not protesting a bit. Sliding off the athletic body and lying on her side, Mia started to gently lick the soft, pink flesh – starting at the very base of each breast and continuing up until she sucked the firming nipple into her mouth. She was determinedly working her way around the entire mound when she heard her lover’s voice.

  "Mia," Jordan moaned, "honey, you know that makes me lose my mind."

  "I want you to lose your mind," Mia insisted, maneuvering Jordan onto her side and slipping a leg between her thighs. "I want to make you absolutely crazy."

  "But your parents …"

  "It’s 4 a.m., Jordy. They’re asleep – I’m sure of it."

  "But what if they’re not? Mia, we can’t risk it."

  "Wasn’t it a risk when you climbed the trellis? Isn’t it a risk to be in my bed?"

  "Yes, of course it is, but you know how we get. Neither one of us is very careful … or very quiet."

  "Mmm … don’t you want me to touch you?" Mia asked, her voice soft and sweet and so very persuasive. She rocked her hips, sliding her thigh against Jordan’s vulva, smiling to herself when her lover’s eyes closed and she bit her lower lip.

  "Of … of course I do," Jordan gasped, "but we shouldn’t."

  "We’ll be quiet," Mia promised. "We don’t have to rock the house. I’ll just hold you and love you – quietly."

  "We shouldn’t, Mia. We should … wait." Mia felt her lover’s whole body shake, and knew she was close to giving in.

  "Make you a deal," Mia said. "You seem a little confused, so I think we should let your body decide. Let’s take a little peek and see how she votes." Before Jordan could react, Mia slid a hand down her belly and snuck under her waistband. Determined fingers parted her gently, and Mia growled into Jordan’s ear when her fingers were immediately coated with her essence. "That’s an unequivocal yes."

  "I … I can’t be quiet when you touch me," the blonde groaned. "I just can’t."

  "We’ll be quieter if we keep our mouths busy," Mia said. She started to slide down Jordan’s long body, a lascivious leer on her face. By the time she had snuck under the covers, she was surprised by Jordan’s long, elegant fingers preventing her from reaching her goal. Popping her head out of the covers, Mia said, "Hey! That’s my spot!"

  "No way," Jordan said, smiling warmly. "You put your head right back down there and give me a little help. I can only be quiet if I have some control."

  Eyes twinkling, Mia slipped back under the covers, saying, "I’ve never watched you touch yourself. This is cool!"

  "Now remember, we have to be as quiet as little mice," Jordan said. She reached down and started to pull her panties down, starting when Mia latched onto them with her teeth and playfully removed them.

  "You’re good at that," Jordan whispered, lifting the covers to gaze into Mia’s warm, brown eyes.

  "Shh … we’re being quiet," Mia reminded her. She spread Jordan’s legs and rested her head on a muscular thigh, waiting patiently until the knowing fingers began to move.

  Unable to resist the urge, Mia slipped a finger into Jordan as soon as the blonde began to touch herself. "Ooo … you’re so hot and wet," she moaned, her words muffled by the heavy blanket. Jordan’s scent was always alluring, but being under the blanket intensified the experience for the brunette, making her mouth water. Needing as much of the long-legged beauty as she could get, Mia started to kiss and suck the smooth skin of her lover’s perfect thighs. As Jordan’s fingers sped across her shimmering wetness, Mia bit and licked the pale skin, groaning right along with her excited partner.

  After a few minutes, Jordan began to gasp for breath, her climax rapidly approaching. Mia slipped another finger into her, then started to lick all around Jordan’s fingers, competing with the blonde for precious space.

  Jordan clapped her free hand over her own mouth, stifling the cry that desperately wanted to emerge. Mia heard the strangled moaning, and she climbed up her lover quickly, pulling Jordan’s hand away – only to replace it with her mouth. Kissing her rabidly while Jordan’s body still bucked and shook, Mia finally pulled away – both of them panting and gasping for air.

  Holding her lover in her arms until Jordan had recovered, Mia teased her, "Such a bad little girl. If I hadn’t covered your mouth, my dad would have been down here with his shotgun."

  "Your dad has a shotgun?"

  "No, silly, my mom’s the enforcer around here. And she’s harmless as long as she can’t get to the butcher knives."

  "Maybe I should leave now," Jordan said, only partly kidding.

  "If you try to leave now, I’m the one you have to fear," the brunette warned. "I’m so hot, I’m smoking!"

  "Let me help you put out the fire," Jordan said, starting to scoot down the bed.

  "No, no, no," Mia said, grasping Jordan’s shoulders and pulling her back up. "If you go down there, I have no ability to control myself. Let’s keep it nice and simple and safe, babe.

  Blinking up at her with guileless blue eyes, the blonde asked, "Just a tiny taste? I promise I won’t stay long."

  "Uh-uh," Mia said, u
nyielding. "Your talented mouth is too much to resist. If I feel that fabulous tongue on me, you’re in for the duration – and that could have disastrous results."

  "You’re no fun," Jordan said, grinning at the compliment.

  "We’ll see how much fun you have when my mom’s chasing you down the street with a butcher knife," Mia warned, taking her lover’s hand and guiding it home.

  At 7 a.m., a tall, blonde woman rolled over and reached blindly for the ringing phone. Unsure of the time, or even the day, she knocked the receiver to the floor, cursing softly while she fumbled for the instrument. "H’llo?" she muttered.

  "It’s Mother."

  Blinking the sleep from her eyes, the woman disentangled herself from the body of her lover, trying to figure out what was going on. "Why … what … what time is it?"

  "It’s 7 a.m."

  "Did somebody die? Why are you calling so early, Mom?"

  "Because I spent most of the night tossing and turning – getting almost no sleep. I want answers, Cassie, and I want them now."

  "Answers? What answers?"

  "I want to know why you stooped to the depths of selling a bit of nasty gossip to a tabloid! We’re not the type of people who do that kind of thing!"

  Her brain started firing, and Cassie slipped out of bed, pulling on her robe as she left the bedroom. Her boyfriend knew nothing of her association with the tabloids, nor with the money she had received. Speaking quietly, she sat in the living room and said, "I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mom. I don’t read those things."

  "I didn’t ask if you read them, Cassie. I asked why you sold two stories to them!"

  "I didn’t!" she said. "How can you even think I’d do that?"

  "Cassandra Leighton Martin, I’m going to ask you this just once. Did you, or did you not sell stories to the National Inquisitor?"

  "I did not," the younger woman said, sounding absolutely guileless.

  There was a short period of silence, then Laura said, "If I didn’t hate her so much, I’d call Catherine Evans and apologize."

  "Huh?"

  "I told her yesterday that I was very proud of the way you’d turned out. Now, I’m not so sure. I don’t appreciate being lied to, Cassie, and this makes me wonder about many choices you’ve made this year."

  "Oh, God, here comes the lecture about Nick again, right?"

  "You know I don’t like that boy, and neither does your father. I see no potential in him at all, and he might as well be an orphan for all the good his family will do for him."

  "His parents are very nice," the young woman insisted. "His father makes a very good living selling cars, Mom."

  "Selling cars," Laura sniffed. "Will you listen to yourself? You’re 22 years old, Cassie, and the contacts you make now are vital. Most women marry someone who they meet in college – you can’t afford to waste you time on this boy."

  "We’re just dating, Mom, we’re certainly not engaged."

  "Well, given that you’ve proven that you feel perfectly comfortable lying to me, I see no reason to believe what you have to say about this topic."

  "I’m not lying, Mom." Yawning, she asked, "Can I go back to bed, now?"

  "Certainly. I hate to keep you from your pressing business. Oh, one last thing. Don’t expect any more deposits to your checking account. You’ve gotten your last dime from your father and me."

  "What?"

  "You heard me. I know you got $100,000 from the National Inquisitor. You can run through that until you graduate."

  "But … but … I …"

  "Yes?" Laura asked. "You had something to say?"

  "You can’t do that to me, Mom! I don’t have any money!"

  "You can lie all you want, Cassie. I saw the drafts that went into your account."

  "But … but … I had to give the money away."

  "Pardon me?"

  "Jamie’s big dyke girlfriend showed up here and made me write her a check for every dime I had!"

  "She threatened you?" Laura asked.

  "Yes … yes, she did!"

  "My God! What kind of a brute is Jamie hooked up with?"

  "She’s horrible, Mom, really horrible. I think she’s been following me around school, too. She caught me alone in the bathroom the other day and I thought she was going to molest me!"

  Totally shocked, Laura said, "Did you call the campus police?"

  "No … uhm … I’m afraid of what she’ll do to me if I report her. She killed a man, Mom!"

  Laura took a breath, then said, "Well, then you’d better call the police! As much as I disapprove of what you did, that woman shouldn’t be allowed to get away with harassing and robbing you."

  "Uhm … I can’t do that. She … she blackmailed me."

  "First it was force, and now it’s blackmail? Get your story straight, Cassie. This is getting ridiculous."

  "She … she created a video game that showed me getting fat," Cassie said, her reason for giving away $90,000 sounding less catastrophic now that she was recounting it. "She was going to show it to everyone if I didn’t give her the money."

  Once again, silence reigned for long moments. " I can’t guess which of the tales you’ve told are true. All I know is that you aren’t going to receive any more money from your father and me. You have a lot of growing up to do, Cassie. I suggest you get busy."

  "Mia, breakfast is almost ready," Adam said as he knocked lightly on her door at 8 a.m.

  "Be right down, Dad."

  As they heard Adam’s footsteps retreat down the hall, the young lovers continued the bout of frenzied kissing they’d been engaged in when he’d knocked. Jordan had her hand on the door to the deck, but Mia was holding on to her so tightly that she couldn’t move an inch. "I’ve got to go," the blonde murmured between kisses. "Even if your parents don’t see me, the neighbors will."

  "You can’t see the house from the street. I’ll go downstairs in my usual noisy fashion – and my parents won’t hear a thing. The kitchen’s at the other end of the house, and my mom always has music on in the morning."

  "I could hide out here all day," Jordan said. "I’d like to keep an eye on you, and be here if you need me."

  "I need you every minute," Mia said, kissing her again. "But you should go back to Berkeley and go to bed. You didn’t have a minute’s sleep, and I know how you need your rest."

  "Will you call me?" Jordan asked.

  "Yes, of course I will. I’ll call before I come home – but it might be late afternoon or early evening. Is that okay?"

  "You stay as long as you need to. This is important, Mia. I want your parents to be on our side – and the chances of that are much higher if you spend some time explaining this to them."

  "I’ll do my best. Now, go home and sleep! I won’t call before 4 or so – so you go crawl into my bed and dream of me."

  "I will. I’m sure I’ll fall asleep immediately since I’ll be able to smell your scent on your pillow."

  "If you need to relax, just open the bottom drawer of my bedside table," Mia said, grinning impishly. "My Jordy substitutes are all in there."

  Chuckling, Jordan shook her head. "I want to wait for the real Mia. There is no substitute." She clutched Mia to her chest and said, "And tonight, I get to savor every inch of you. We can rock the house, baby."

  To Mia’s complete amazement, the morning went stunningly well. Anna Lisa and Adam asked dozens of questions about Jordan and her future plans, and Mia went to her father’s computer and showed her parents some PG-rated pictures of Jordan playing for Cal, and her profile and picture on the USA Volleyball website. By mid-day, Mia was feeling remarkably relaxed, and she gladly accepted her mother’s offer to make her favorite dinner – and actually finish it this time. Even though she desperately wanted to be with Jordan, she knew that her lover was right – and that making peace with her parents was critical.

  As the day went on, she felt practically giddy – her parent’s support meant so much to her that she couldn’t help but kiss and hug ea
ch of them every time she had an opportunity. Taking a break, she called Jordan at around 5. "Hey, baby, how’s my girl?"

  "I’m good," Jordan said, stretching her muscles out. "I’ve been lazing around in bed all day, watching TV and napping on and off. I think I’m about ready for a big dose of my favorite woman. When will you be home?"

  "Not for a while. My mom wants to make dinner for me – since she threw yesterday’s out. Do you mind?"

  "No, I’ll see if I can find something around here to eat. No problem."

  "What are Jamie and Ryan doing?"

  "Oh, they’re going to a party."

  "Oh, right! I said I’d go with them. When are they leaving?"

  "Pretty soon. Ryan says it’s a ‘bring your own everything’ party, so they’re gonna stop and get some carry outs to take for dinner."

  "Why don’t you go with them, honey? Then you can have dinner and socialize a little. I can come pick you up from there and take you back to Berkeley."

  "Are you sure?"

  "Yeah. I’d rather you went – I don’t want you hanging around the house, waiting for me."

  "All right. If you’re positive."

  "I am. Let me talk to Ryan so I can get directions, okay?"

  "Okay. I’ll see you when you get there, Mia. I’m counting the minutes."

  "Me, too. I love you, Jordy."

  "I love you, too. Remember that if things get tough tonight, okay?"

  "I always do. You’re never far from my thoughts, sweetheart."

  After getting the details from Ryan, Mia went back downstairs to watch her mother make another attempt at chicken and dumplings. While her mother kneaded the dough, Mia gave her a shoulder massage, and the older woman purred with pleasure from the sensation. "You’re so good at that," Anna Lisa murmured.

  "I’ve gotten better since I’ve been with Jordan," Mia said. "She’s gotten thousands of massages throughout her career, and she’s shown me some techniques that have helped me improve."

  "I’ll just bet she’s shown you some techniques," Anna Lisa grumbled, with her first sarcastic comment of the day.

  "Mom," Mia said, turning her mother so she could see her face. "Jordan was a virgin when we made love. She’s taught me a lot about love, but she didn’t know squat about how to have sex. I’m telling you – once and for all – this was my idea. I’m the one who pursued her – I’m the one who made the first and the second and the third and the fourth moves. If anyone should be upset – her mother should be angry with me!"