From Heel to Heart

by Amy DeMeritt

  “Elli, you are…”

  “Lana, you are…”

  They’re at a loss for words as Elli steps over the threshold and they clasp hands between them while they look each other up and down in awe.

  Lana is wearing a gorgeous cranberry red gown made of lace and satin. The shoulder straps are thin with a dipping neckline and hugs her trim torso to the waist with the skirt relaxed with just a bit of excess to allow the material to gently ripple when she walks. The back is completely open with a lace band that connects the straps in the back with a pointed tip that rests on her spine. Her hair is up in a beautifully woven design and her makeup is applied to give her a natural look with just a touch of cranberry red in the eyeshadow and on her lips to accentuate the dress. The color accent in her makeup gives her a transfixing fierce and royal look about her.

  Elli is wearing a silver and azure gown with beadwork in the bodice that catches the light and glitters. She had her pixie cut trimmed to clean up the ends and styled it beautifully. Her makeup is lightly applied with a natural palette and light rosy taupe on her lips.

  “You are positively mesmerizing, my darling. I do believe you will be quite a distraction this evening. I cannot for the life of me tear my eyes away from you.”

  Lana smiles with every inch of her tingling in joy as she steps back, releasing Elli’s hands. She slowly spins, turning her gorgeous exposed back to Elli, and looks over her shoulder at Elli with a dazzling smile.

  “Quite the distraction for sure.” Elli inhales deeply as she shakes her head and places a slightly trembling hand on the center of her chest, over her heart. “You have successfully put my heart to task this evening, my love. You are exquisite.”

  In a flash of cranberry red, Lana spins and pulls Elli into a passionate kiss. While Lana grips Elli’s hips and resists the urge to run her fingers up through Elli’s hair, Elli gently lays her splayed hands over Lana’s exposed back.

  The sound of steps walking around them draws them apart and Lana releases an embarrassed laugh as Asia winks and tilts her cellphone towards her, saying, “I got some great shots of that. Elli, you look beautiful. This dress really brings out your eyes.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Will you take some real pictures of us now?”

  Asia laughs a little as she motions for them to move further into the apartment. “Yes, I’ll take some more pictures of you, but I did get very real pictures of you two making out on the entryway. And they are very hot.”

  ***

  Just as Elli is setting her sewing box down in the staging room reserved for a final inspection of the debutantes, Ms. Whitmore walks in dressed in an elegant white and gold gown with another nicely dressed woman and young woman tailing her.

  “My, my, my, don’t you both look ravishing.” She leans in and kisses Elli on the cheek. “You’re looking well rested, Elli.” She winks with a naughty grin, then as she turns to face Lana, her smile becomes a bit less easy, as it has the other times they have interacted. “Lana, lovely to see you. I need your assistance with something.” She turns and curls two fingers, beckoning the young woman forward. “Krista caught her skirt in the car door. There’s a small tear and some sort of residue.” Her face pinches in disgust as she points down towards the damage. “Please take care of it.”

  Not even Ms. Whitmore’s barely concealed distaste with Lana’s presence can put a damper on her mood. Unaffected, she smiles brightly and nods, saying, “Absolutely.”

  Aside from learning as much as she can about how to make alterations, Lana has also been practicing moving around and bending down in her dress so she can actually put her new skills to work. And as she effortlessly bends and opens the sewing kit with Ms. Whitmore watching, she mentally applauds herself for having the presence of mind to fully prepare for tonight.

  Even as the room begins to fill with other debutantes and their mothers talking and laughing loudly, Ms. Whitmore keeps her icy gaze unmoving from watching Lana clean and repair Krista’s dress. Without a word, she bends down to inspect the work after Lana finishes, then turns to address the young women.

  She claps her hands a few times, then loudly says, “Okay, ladies, let’s settle down, please.” All of the young women giggle as they bump elbows and turn to face Ms. Whitmore. “Thank you. Now, fan out a bit in a line so I can see you clearly. After we make sure you’re absolutely perfect, we’ll have the photographer start taking portraits.”

  Elli joins Lana’s side next to the sewing kit to be ready to address any imperfections Ms. Whitmore might find. They have to suppress their own laughs while they watch the girls giggle and share conspiratorial looks while Ms. Whitmore walks between them, around them, and occasionally makes a fitting adjustment to a strap or tugs a zipper up that wasn’t fully zipped.

  She snaps her fingers once and points to Lana, saying, “See Ms. Scott. This ribbon tie around the back of your neck is coming undone. We don’t need your dress falling when you take the stage and you flash the entire ball.”

  The girl giggles as she shakes her large boobs at her friends before she sashays over to Lana. She spins on her heels, turning her back to Lana and places her hands on her hips. Lana’s heart is racing as she steps forward to inspect the ribbon. She carefully unties the ribbon, watching to make sure the dress doesn’t drop, then reties the ribbons very tightly. But when the girl moves to dramatically feign a yawn, the ribbon begins to loosen before Lana’s eyes.

  “What’s the problem?”

  Lana startles by Ms. Whitmore’s sudden appearance at her side. She clears her throat and shakes her head. “The ribbon is too flimsy to remain tied. Her slightest movement causes it to untie. I even knotted it.”

  “This, young lady, is why I told you to schedule a proper fitting.” She points a finger at the young woman. “Never do this again. We haven’t the time to be dealing with major dress alterations at this point. Elli,” she curls two fingers, beckoning her forward. “Do whatever you have to do to…”

  “Ms. Whitmore, I assure you that I can fix this and it will not take long at all.”

  She raises a few inches taller, which should be impossible given the fact that the woman’s posture is already perfectly upright. She inhales deeply through her small sharp nose as she studies Lana’s face for a moment, then pointedly says, “Then fix it,” and walks away with an annoyingly alluring switch in her gait. As much as the woman grates on Lana’s nerves with how obvious she is about looking down on her, the beauty and grace she displays in doing so only amplifies the feeling of humiliation. There is no denying Ms. Whitmore is beautiful, and had they met at a different time in her life, Lana would have been immensely attracted to her. The thought causes shame to twist her stomach and blush to lash across her chest and cheeks like whips of branding fire.

  “You alright, darling? You look a bit flushed. Do you need a drink?”

  Lana’s humiliation deepens as she jerkily shakes her head. She bends down to search the sewing kit for the items needed to fix this dress. She needs to hurry so Ms. Whitmore can’t further humiliate her by finding Lana immobilized by her self-deprecating thoughts.

  Elli bends down to kiss her cheek, and whispers in her ear, “You are doing wonderfully.”

  The sweet soft coo tickles her ear, causing a shiver to run down her spine and a smile to spread across her cranberry painted lips. When she stands upright with the supplies needed, she mouths, “Thank you,” then turns to complete the task at hand.

  As simple as the statement was, the reassurance from Elli is exactly what she needed to boost her ego and improve her mood. Lana has worked harder in the past two months in the shop than she has ever worked on anything in her entire life just so she can prove to be of some use to Elli this evening. It has been the most exhausting, and often frustrating, time of her life, but it has also been the most rewarding. In more ways than one.

  Even with Ms. Whitmore’s lack of faith in her abilities and obvious dislike of her in general, even though the woman doe
sn’t know her at all, Lana couldn’t be more positive that this is what she wants to do for the rest of her life, or at least till she and Elli can retire. While she works to fix this young woman’s dress, and her eyes wander over the other young women’s dresses that she altered, her chest grows warm with confidence.

  While the photographer gets started on taking pictures of the young women by themselves, with their dates, and with their parents, Ms. Whitmore brings a handful of additional minor issues straight to Lana over the course of the next hour.

  After she finishes reattaching a button on a gentleman’s suit jacket, she turns to Elli with a small laugh, and quietly says, “I feel like I’m back at college and pledging for a sorority.”

  Elli giggles as she lightly places a hand on her exposed back and glides her fingertips up and down her spine with the intention to comfort her but actually causing a spark of arousal instead.

  “Aye, that’s a bit accurate. She wants to actually see that you’re capable of being my partner.”

  “And if she doesn’t think I’m good enough, she might not give you the contract next year?”

  Elli shrugs a shoulder with an unconcerned grin, saying, “It’s possible she could decide not to approach us next year, but it won’t be because of you.”

  “It will be hard to believe that’s true when she has chosen you for the past two years before I blew through your door and planted my flag in your life.”

  “Is that what you’ve done?” Elli giggles again and lightly traces the backs of two fingers along the side of her cheek and her jawbone. “Fancy yourself a conqueror, darling?”

  Lana blushes as she lightly bites her bottom lip as a spark of arousal skitters through her veins to land with a smacking thump between her thighs. The playful look in Elli’s eyes, the affectionate touch on her cheek, and the puckish grin curling her beautiful mouth incite yearning in her core. And if it wasn’t for the hundred or so people crowded around them, she would kiss Elli so deeply they’d be at risk of tearing each other’s dresses off.

  “I love you so much.”

  Elli’s smile widens as she takes a step closer, leaving only a few inches between them. She wraps her arms loosely around the back of Lana’s neck and lightly kisses her smiling lips.

  “I love you too, darling. I am positively besotted with you, especially tonight. The anticipation to dance with you has me wound tighter than a spinning top.”

  Lana slightly swoons into Elli and purrs against her lips as she gives her a firm, warm kiss. She wants so badly to part their lips and surrender to the passion building inside of them. But instead, she pulls her face away just a couple of inches to look into Elli’s glittering ocean blue eyes.

  “I love the way you talk. And I can’t wait to dance with you. How long do you think we have to wait?”

  After a quick sideways glance at the other end of the room, Elli says with a bit of excitement bubbling in her belly, “It should be soon, though not soon enough. The line is dwindling down to the last few young ladies for their portraits. Then they’ll be presented to the ball. There will be a little procession and Ms. Whitmore will say a little bit about each young woman when they walk up the stairs and across the stage. That should take about an hour. Then they will dance with their escorts. After they have one dance focused solely on them, they rest of the attendees are able to join. The dance floor remains open for about half an hour, then dinner is served. After dessert, the dance floor opens again.”

  The hum of anticipation grows in Lana’s chest and belly, making her feel like she just drank multiple shots of espresso. Her hands grip Elli’s hips and tug her in closer, nearly pressing their bodies together. With each passing second of staring into Elli’s eyes and seeing the loving smile on her face, the rest of the world fades away and only she and Elli exist.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  After Elli tips the limo driver, she drops the sewing kit by a work table, and Lana takes her hand to lead her up the spiral staircase to Elli’s apartment. As soon as Elli has the door unlocked, Lana tugs her inside and presses her against the wall. Elli fumbles with closing and locking the door as Lana’s mouth encompasses hers.

  She slumps against the wall as the flimsy cords of self-restraint she’s had to maintain all evening finally snap. She runs her hands up Lana’s exposed back and loops her fingers in the shoulder straps of her dress. While Lana sucks her bottom lip and nurses it with a mind-numbing pump, Elli tugs the straps down, causing Lana to shudder and moan deeply.

  As Lana’s lips break away, Elli looks down to ease Lana’s arms out of the gown, pulling it down to her waist and leaving Lana completely topless. She palms her hands up Lana’s sides and over her small perky breasts, causing her nipples to immediately harden to tight nubs against the center of Elli’s warm palms. Elli kisses a trail down her neck and down the center of her chest. She flicks the tip of Lana’s left nipple with her thumb, then envelops it with her lips, tenderly kissing and sucking it into her warm mouth.

  “Oh, god.”

  Lana’s hands curl from the pleasure, causing her nails to scratch against the wall. Her head tilts back and her hips press in harder against Elli’s. She releases a surprised squeal as Elli spins them, pushing Lana’s back against the wall, but her voice catches in Elli’s throat as she pulls her into a fervent kiss.

  While they kiss, Elli’s hands caress her torso and knead her nipples, pinching sparks of pleasure through her nerves to burst hot between her thighs. When she feels a rolling shudder through Lana’s body, she grabs the skirt of her dress and starts bunching it up. She paints soft kisses down her chest, lightly nips her nipples with her teeth, then kneels in front of her.

  “Oh, god.”

  Lana groans deeply as her head falls back and her hands grip at the flat wall and corner of the wall for support. Elli smiles as she layers kisses up her bare thighs and around her bikini lines. She presses her lips against her lace panties made sweet with the abundant arousal seeping out of her. Lana’s hips buck forward and Elli obliges her need with a firmer kiss against her clit through the lace. With a grin that Lana can’t see under the skirt of her dress, Elli grips the waistband with her teeth and tugs it hard then releases it, allowing it to snap back against Lana’s sensitive skin, eliciting a sharp gasp followed by a moaning giggle.

  “Oh, god, I love you, Elli.”

  With her lips against her clit, Elli returns the sentiment, saying, “I love you too, darling,” then firmly kisses her. She releases one side of Lana’s skirt to snake a few fingers through the waist of the panties and tug them down out of her way. With them stretched taut across the tops of her thighs, Elli presses her tongue between her glossed slit and drags the tip up and around her swollen clit.

  “Oh, fuck.”

  The push and pull of their passion and desire stretches Lana’s nerves to dizzying lengths. Her body arches against the wall as she trembles on her cranberry high heels and her hips buck against Elli’s tireless adoration. Her choked breathing and erratic gasps increase the pressure building in her chest and overflowing in her ears. Her entire body feels like a pressure cooker getting ready to explode.

  Elli can feel Lana’s balance waning and worries she’ll sprain an ankle in her heels if she tips sideways, so she palms her hands up her slim trembling thighs and grips her small, round, firm cheeks and gives her a bit of a lift. The helpful handling elicits a guttural groan of pleasure from Lana. She reaches under her skirt to grab the back of Elli’s head and releases an involuntary scream as her orgasm suddenly rips through her body. Elli slows her mouth to extend her pleasure as long as possible, then after several moments, Lana gently tugs on Elli’s hair with a weak, shaking hand.

  She gives Lana a few soft kisses, then corrects her panties and stands up. Lana pulls her into her arms and gives her a panting sloppy kiss.

  “Oh, god, that was unbelievable. Elli, I love you.” Her head falls back against the wall with her eyes slanted in bliss and her lips parted with her breath irr
egular. “Oh, god, this has been such a perfect night.” She opens her eyes with a smile and kisses Elli’s lips. “Well, it will be perfect after I get to make love to you. Should we go to the bed or would you like me to throw you against this wall again?”

  Elli giggles as she takes Lana’s hand and tugs her off of the wall. “Come along, darling.”

  Lana grabs the skirt of her dress with her other hand and she awkwardly follows with her dress falling off of her. When they reach the bedroom, Elli playfully pushes Lana onto the bed, eliciting more giggles from her. Elli laughs as she tugs Lana’s gown off and quickly puts it on a hanger and hangs it from her closet door. By the time she returns to the bed, Lana has removed her heels and panties and is up on her knees at the foot of the bed wearing nothing but a naughty grin. She tugs on Elli’s hands, pulling her forward, and begins pulling her gown off. When Elli steps out of the pooled fabric, Lana pulls her down onto the bed, making her stumble and laugh as she falls ungracefully onto her side. Lana giggles again and pushes her onto her back to straddle her hips.

  “I don’t think you understand how hard it has been for me all night not to drag you away to the coat room or a supply closet and have my way with you.” She bends down and kisses Elli’s lips and neck. “You are so beautiful.” She trails the tip of her tongue around the rim of Elli’s ear. “Tonight, was such a rush.” She nips the rim of her ear. “It felt so good to be able to do all of those last-minute alterations on my own.” She drags her lips along Elli’s collarbone, causing her breath to catch in her throat and her eyes close to slants as a shiver runs down her body. “I loved dancing with you. Even having dinner with Ms. Whitmore and her powerful and intimidating friends was fun because you were there.”

  She sits up on Elli’s hips with a loving smile, and Elli groans as Lana grinds down against her groin and her hands palm over her breasts, kneading her nipples through the thin padding of her bra. She bends down and lightly bites Elli’s chin, then pushes her tongue past her parted lips, kissing her deeply and slowly.