by Darla Baker
Amara approaches the two men. “Dad, Andor, I’d like you to meet my girlfriend, Thalia.”
Amara’s dad wipes his hand on his apron and reaches out to shake Thalia’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Thalia. I hope you brought your appetite. We’re serving a feast big enough for an army.”
“It’s nice to meet you too, sir. And yes, I’m starving.”
“Please, call me Markos.”
Thalia reaches for Andor’s hand. “Markos it is. And Andor, it is also nice to meet you. Amara has told me a little bit about everyone I will meet today.”
“Dad, where are Angelos and Nikolas?”
“They’re in the barn with the horses. They just came back from a ride. Nikolas plays polo,” Markos informs Thalia.
“Yes, Amara told me. I look forward to seeing a match sometime. I’ve never been.”
Andor responds, “Oh yes, you must go sometime. It is very entertaining.”
Amara grabs Thalia’s hand once again. “We’re heading out to meet the horses.”
“Have fun,” Markos and Andor say in unison.
They reach the barn and are greeted by Angelos and Nikolas. “So you are the sex therapist Amara has been going on about. It’s nice to meet you.”
Thalia shakes their hands, a little embarrassed by the shared, yet unspoken, intimate details of their relationship. “Amara’s visit to my practice was unorthodox, to say the least. But I’m glad it worked out.”
“It hasn’t worked out quite yet. But soon we hope.”
Amara and Thalia head into the barn and toward a striking chestnut horse looking curiously at them as they approach. Amara opens the door and motions Thalia to join her in the stall.
“This is Loosey, spelled L.o.o.s.e.y. She’s my girl.” Amara wraps her arms around Loosey’s neck and gently pats her as she places kisses on her nose.
Thalia reaches up to stroke Loosey’s nose. “She’s beautiful. How did she get her name?”
“The first time I rode her, I fell off when the saddle went sideways on me. I wasn’t hurt. She’s one of those horses who fill her lungs with air when you’re strapping on the saddle. The stable hand that saddled her for me was new. So, when her abdomen went back to normal size, the saddle became loose and caused me to fall off. So I named her Loosey.”
“I love it! And I’m glad you weren’t hurt.” Thalia gives Loosey some more love and attention.
“You passed my test too, you know?”
“Yeah? What test was that?”
Amara blesses Thalia with one of the sweetest smiles she’s ever seen. “You love my Loosey, and she loves you. Just like your test with Sassy and Grace, I have mine, too.”
“Whew! Thank goodness we both passed. So which horse will I be riding?”
“Follow me.”
Amara takes Thalia to the stall directly across from Loosey. “This is Ginger. She and Loosey have a thing for each other. I thought it’d be appropriate.”
Thalia’s mouth breaks into a wide grin, and she places a gentle kiss on Amara’s nose and then another one on Ginger. “Let’s get changed.”
Amara waves to a teenaged girl who is working at the other end of the barn. “Saddle up Loosey and Ginger for us.”
The girl nods in understanding.
Amara leads them into a room that looks like it must function as an office.
“We’ll change our clothes in here.”
Thalia lays her backpack down and retrieves her riding clothes. She glances up to find Amara already stripped down to her underwear. So lovely. Thalia pauses to take in the sight of Amara and allows herself to feel the sensation on her skin at the sight of her.
In all my years and all my “darlins” and even with Diane, I’ve not felt like this before. I could stand here forever and just gaze at her, never making a move to touch her and the sensation on my skin and throughout my body would be enough to sustain me. How is this possible?
Amara glances toward Thalia, an amused expression on her face. “You’re staring at me instead of changing. Would you like some help?”
Amara, still in just her underwear, steps toward Thalia and starts to pull her tank top over her head. Thalia stiffens her arms and grabs Amara’s hands. “I can dress myself.”
“Suit yourself.”
AMARA AND THALIA return from their horseback ride, change out of their riding clothes and join the guests who’ve arrived for the barbecue.
The ride had been nice. Amara took Thalia up to a clearing that overlooked the farm. She gave Thalia the history of the farm, pointing to buildings and telling her when they were built and their purpose, what was no longer there, and what she had planned for the future. She spoke with such pride. It’s clear the farm is indeed her most cherished love.
Amara introduces Thalia to several more people and thus far, the subject of her profession hasn’t come up. She wonders if she’ll make it through the entire event dodging that bullet. And just as the thought finishes in her head, she turns to find Amara’s aunt standing next to her.
“Dear, I understand you’re a sex therapist.” She lowers her voice to a whisper and moves in closer to Thalia. “I have a little problem I’d like to discuss with you.” She searches Thalia’s eyes, seeming to ask for permission to continue. Thalia isn’t exactly sure if she gave permission or not. But she continues, nonetheless. “Whenever I’m at the grocery store and pass through the produce aisle, something happens to me when I pass the zucchini.”
Thalia glances over at Amara, who is talking to some people whose names she’s already forgotten, and shoots her a pleading look. Amara just snickers and turns back to her guests.
Thalia coughs. “Umm… can you describe it?”
“First, I feel my face flush. And then I get so… moist… you know… down there,” she says pointing to her crotch. “And then I feel a… squeezing that gets stronger until I can hardly stand it. And then it goes away. Afterward, I have the strangest craving for a cigarette. And I’ve never even smoked! It started happening about six months ago, and now I’m making up excuses to go to the grocery store. But I don’t dare buy any zucchini. I don’t think I could stand having it in the house.”
Thalia is doing her very best to maintain her composure with this poor distressed woman. “It sounds like you may be having a spontaneous orgasm. It isn’t a rare condition, but it’s not too common either. You should tell your gynecologist about it.”
“Oh my, dear. An orgasm? That’s what an orgasm feels like?” Her voice has now risen to the point where others nearby are starting to stare. “No wonder people want to have sex. If it’s all the same to you, I think I’ll leave well enough alone.”
Thalia chokes and sputters, “Yes, ma’am. But if it gets to be too much, promise me you’ll see your doctor.”
“I will, dear.” She pats Thalia’s hand and then walks away, leaving Thalia to recover from the encounter alone.
Thalia walks over to join Amara, who is now filling her plate with food. “Your aunt is… something.”
“She’s harmless. What did she do?”
Thalia lowers her voice. “She told me she has spontaneous orgasms in the produce section of the grocery store when she sees the zucchini.”
Amara’s lips turn up into an evil smirk. “Oh, Thalia, please don’t be mad.”
“Mad? Why would I be made?”
“I may have told some of my family members that you don’t exactly like to tell people you’re a sex therapist because of the weird stories you wind up having to listen to. She must have decided to come up with a story for her amusement at your expense. I’m sorry. Are you mad at me?”
Thalia laughs a big hearty laugh. “Well, I’ll be damned. She got me good. No, of course, I’m not mad at you. It’s hilarious. I think I’m going to love your family.”
“She did get you good, didn’t she? I’m glad you aren’t mad. They’re going to love you too. Come on. Let’s sit down with our food.”
“Where’s your grandfather?”
<
br /> “He’s in Louisville checking out a new horse. He won’t be back before we leave. You’ll meet him another day.”
The day turned out much better than Thalia had expected.
AMARA AND THALIA left the farm around eight o’clock. After stuffing themselves at the barbecue on a delicious mix of Southern and Greek dishes and desserts, some people went riding, others played horseshoes and cards, and still others sat around the table and just talked. As you might expect, the women of the family spent most of the time in the kitchen, cleaning up and storing leftovers. Amara and Thalia were shooed out of the kitchen fairly quickly, her Aunt Rhea stating again that they would spoil the gossip if they remained.
They spent much of their time talking with Angelos and Nikolas. Thalia enjoyed learning more about this couple who had been the catalyst for her meeting Amara. They seemed to love each other deeply and have a genuine interest in raising a child together.
Thalia couldn’t wrap her head around it. She spent much of the early years of her training working with foster children who had been removed from abusive and neglectful homes. Some of these children suffered from ADHD or autism or other physical and mental conditions that require expert care. So many people who have children are not at all prepared emotionally, physically, or financially to care for a healthy child, much less a child with special needs. No matter how good you are at picking a mate or a donor, anonymous or known, genetics is a crapshoot. And Thalia sees zero upside to the gamble.
Amara rejected the offer to stop and pick up her motorcycle and have her follow Thalia out to her house. It’s now approaching ten o’clock. It isn’t likely that she’ll be driving Amara back home tonight. Our first sleepover.
“Would you like something to drink? I have beer, wine, sweet tea, soda, vodka. No ouzo I’m afraid.” Thalia chuckles.
“I’m not that Greek. I’ll take a Sprite if you have one.”
Thalia hands Amara a Sprite and grabs one for herself. “Do you need a glass with ice?”
“No. I like drinking from the can. I don’t like the way ice waters down the fizz.”
“A woman after my own heart.” Thalia clinks her can against Amara’s soda. They sit side by side on the sofa and simultaneously prop their feet up on the coffee table.
“You’re so cute. Your feet barely reach. Does it bother you to be so short?”
“I wouldn’t say it bothers me. It’s a part of who I am. I do have to get creative sometimes when it comes to reaching things. Does it bother you that I’m short?” Thalia winces a bit for having asked such a direct question.
“Just the opposite. I find you very beautiful and very sexy, and I’m having a very hard time sitting here pretending all I want to do is chat and drink Sprite. I feel like I’ve been tortured all day.”
Thalia nods. “I know the feeling. But we agreed not to rush into a physical relationship.”
“Remind me again why we did that?”
“When couples rush into a physical relationship before they take the time to get to know each other, they often substitute physical for emotional intimacy. Sometimes they never get past the physical. The sex is so good that it lulls them into a false belief that they are compatible. And then they move too quickly. It’s a guaranteed recipe for getting hurt. In my practice, I call it mortgaging the future. I don’t want that to happen to us.”
“Thalia, dear, I understand what you’re saying. But I already know we’re compatible, emotionally and physically. I swear, sometimes I feel as though I can hear your thoughts inside my head. Sometimes I don’t know if the thoughts I’m hearing are yours or mine. I know we’ve talked about this before, and it sounds so cliché. But I don’t know any other way to say it.”
Amara sets her Sprite down on a coaster and takes Thalia’s from her and does the same. Thalia can feel her heart pounding in her chest. Amara takes Thalia’s face into her hands and pulls her in for a kiss, gentle at first and then more urgent as Amara parts her lips with her strong tongue.
“Let’s take this to your bedroom.” Thalia takes Amara by the hand and leads her up to the loft.
Amara looks around the room, taking it all in. Intrigued and distracted by something she sees in the corner of Thalia’s bedroom, she can’t help but ask, “What’s that?”
“That’s my teeter table.”
“A teeter table? What does it do?”
“I spend a lot of time sitting in my work. I spend about fifteen minutes each morning on this to strengthen and decompress my back. Would you like to try it?”
“I know our motors are already running, but it is tempting.”
Thalia waggles her eyebrows. “What if I promise not to let your motor cool?”
Amara turns her head toward Thalia, eyebrows raised. “Thalia, dear, I like the way you think. What do I need to do?”
Thalia adjusts the table to fit Amara’s five foot eight frame. She turns to Amara, a look of pure desire flows from her heart and is reflected in her eyes. But it’s more than desire. Much more. At that moment, Thalia knows what is about to happen will change them both forever. The gravity of it is heavy within her body. Gravity. Isn’t that a funny thing to think about just before I help Amara onto the table?
Thalia and Amara stand before each other, the intensity of their gaze traveling deep within their shared soul. Amara slowly removes her dress, revealing the expanse of her smooth, olive skin. Her matching lace bra and underwear all that’s left separating Thalia from the most exquisite joy she has ever imagined. Thalia takes a step forward and unfastens Amara’s bra. It drops to the floor. Amara removes her underwear and kicks them out of the way.
And then she just stands there, inviting Thalia to drink until filled from this moment of pure ecstasy. This isn’t sex. This is soul. This is a connection that robs them of their breath as if at this moment, they are no longer flesh. They are only soul. And in this state, no breath is required. They need nothing but the sight of each other to blend into one being in perfect harmony with the universe. Touch isn’t even necessary to feel the heat of arousal building within them.
Need and want are emerging rapidly, and Thalia frees herself from the hold Amara’s naked form has placed on her and removes her clothing, tossing them aside. Amara’s eyes reflect her own growing desire. The moisture is building between their legs. They are opening for each other. Their nipples are fully engorged and erect.
“God, Amara, I feel your touch everywhere, and we aren’t even touching. Is this even possible?”
“I feel it too. It must be possible,” Amara says, nearly breathless.
It is as if an eternal orgasm lives inside each of them, one that has existed only for them over several lifetimes. It’s pulsing to be released.
“I feel like your gaze alone will make me come.”
“What is happening to us?”
“You are so beautiful.”
Thalia guides Amara onto the table, straps her in, and then inverts it. She makes a concerted effort to minimize her touch in the process. They are both so close to orgasm.
Amara lets out a moan when Thalia inverts the table.
Thalia locks the table into the perfect angle for what she has in mind. She kneels down in front of Amara and places a brief kiss on her lips and then offers her breast, which Amara greedily takes into her mouth. Amara’s teeth gently scrape across her taut nipple before she swirls her tongue in a soothing gesture. She blows a cool breath over the wetness. Thalia drops her head back, absorbing the sensation. She reaches for Amara’s breasts and grazes her thumbs over the delicious nipples she finds there. Her mouth is watering to taste them. She rises and repositions to get the best angle to fill her mouth with Amara’s breasts, easing her appetite ever so slightly. She’s positioned her wet center perfectly for Amara to take full advantage of the position. Thalia is having a hard time concentrating on her task while feeling Amara’s tongue thrusting deep inside her fully open and exposed core.
She finally gives in to the urge and grabs onto t
he frame of the table to steady herself for Amara.
“So good… ahh… yes… oh, yes. God, what are you doing to me with your tongue?”
She concentrates on every feeling coursing through her body. The orgasm inside her is traveling through her veins at the speed of light, working its way to meet Amara’s tongue for the very first time. Thalia reaches deep inside herself to clear a space where the memory of this moment will live with perfect clarity for all eternity. Suddenly, an explosion fills the room in a kaleidoscope of color as the orgasm spills down onto and through Amara. Thalia can hear them screaming in unison, far off in the distance, far from where she and Amara now exist—one perfect soul, floating high above their bodies.
There are no words between them. They see with their eyes closed. They hear but make no sound. They feel but are no longer touching.
After a moment of recovery, Thalia carefully moves and releases Amara from the table. They meld into a tight embrace, tears flowing freely down each of their cheeks. They move slowly onto the bed where they sink down into the covers and fall instantly asleep in each other’s arms, not speaking another word.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
AFTER THE NIGHT Amara and Thalia shared, it was very hard to part. But duty called, so Thalia drove Amara back to the marina and then went to pick up the dogs from Sammy. Thalia felt the loss of Amara’s presence as if she’d lost a piece of herself.
Since Sunday, they’ve spent as much time together as they possibly could. They’ve been texting between appointments, spending every break they could arrange on the telephone and Thalia and her girls have spent the night with Amara both Monday and Tuesday.
She and Sammy were in too much of a hurry when Thalia picked up the dogs to chat. She’s looking forward to meeting the gang. The conversation is sure to be lively.
