by C Zinnia
Her words made Mel feel better. “Thanks, Silvia,” she said. “May explained it a different way, but I like your explanation too.”
“You’re welcome,” she said.
“Eli said you get today off,” Bruce said. “So, what are you going to do?”
“Oh, you can come to the gym with me,” Viola said. “I can start training you on front desk in between our workouts.” She was so excited that Mel got caught up in her enthusiasm.
It would be nice to spend more time with my love, Mel thought. Her gut fluttered at the thought of ‘love.’
“Okay,” Mel said.
Mel ate lunch. She helped clean up afterwards before changing into workout clothes.
Viola and Mel held hands as they walked to the car.
Viola drove them to the gym. “I have two personal training sessions back to back. If you could just answer the phone during that time, it would help. Otherwise, you can do the elliptical or something,” she said.
“I’m going to call Mom,” Mel said. “She hasn’t heard from me today and I need to give her my temporary phone number.”
Viola begrudgingly agreed. Her client walked in, so Viola rapidly went into training mode.
Mel called Tiffany. “Hello?” she asked.
“Hey, Mom, it’s me,” Mel said.
“Have you gotten a phone yet?” she asked.
“Yes, this is my temporary number. I have prepaid minutes on it that should last me until I come back to Arlington next week,” Mel said.
Tiffany was relieved. “Good,” she said. “Are you still only coming back to visit?”
“Yes, but the visit may last a couple of weeks. It all depends on what work decides when I turn in my two-week notice,” she said.
She was quiet for a moment. “Okay,” she said. “Well, you do sound better today than you did yesterday. What all have you all been up to? Anything fun?”
“I went kayaking for the first time on the lake the other day. That was a lot of fun. And I got to go and watch a local band perform. They were really good, Mom. I hope I bring that much joy and talent into my music someday,” she said.
“Of course, you will,” she said. “You’ve always been a talented musician, even when you were little.”
“Mom . . .” Mel wanted to badly to bring up other things. She wanted to ask her mother if she remembered the incident with Pastor John. She wanted to ask her mother if she was still afraid of her. She desperately wanted to ask if her mother accepted who she was. Mel felt all of the words and emotions clog up her throat. She didn’t know how to let them out.
Tiffany was able to pick up on Mel’s silence. “Mel, honey, I will always be proud of you,” she said. “I know I don’t say that enough, but I am. I’m glad you found someone who makes you happy. I don’t care if it’s a man or a woman or if you don’t like people at all.” She was quiet again. “I’m sorry, Mel, that you never felt comfortable enough to tell me sooner. And I do know that was my fault. The way I handled things when you were younger-” Tiffany broke off. Mel could almost see her mother shake her head in shame. “I’m sorry, honey. Okay?”
Mel was stunned. She felt a few tears escape down her cheeks. “Thank you, Mom. I needed to hear that,” she said.
“You’re welcome,” she said. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay. Love you,” Mel said.
“Love you too,” Tiffany said. “Bye.”
Mel smiled.
Her mother had never been one for talking about emotions. Whenever a conversation would reach a point of getting possibly weepy, Tiffany would immediately jump topics or try to get away as fast as possible. As a child, Mel didn’t understand, but now, she could see how emotions could be too overwhelming to Tiffany.
She grabbed Viola’s mp3 player she had left on the desk for Mel. She went over to the elliptical and placed the headphones on her shoulders. Her hearing had not changed in her right ear, but she still didn’t want to risk making it worse. She walked as she let the upbeat music take over.
It wasn’t long before Viola had finished with her clients and joined Mel. “Did you have a good talk with your mom?” she asked.
“It was,” she said. “She said she’s happy for me and she supports me being in a relationship with a woman.”
“Hmm, we’ll see how true that is when she meets me,” Viola said. She smiled. “Are you ready to train? You really need to practice your kips.”
“Okay,” Mel said. She got off the elliptical as Viola hooked her mp3 player up to the sound system.
One of Celia Cruz’s boisterous songs came on as Viola took them through a series of warm ups. They worked on blocks, elbowing, and kneeing. They did core movement workouts to help strengthen the muscles Mel needed to perform the kips. By the end of it, Mel was tired and covered in sweat.
“Time for kips,” Viola said.
Mel laid down beside her. They worked on them over and over again. Mel didn’t like that her back kept hitting the mat, but she was giving it her best. She felt like she was doing better than the first time Viola introduced kips, but she still wasn’t able to do one.
“You’re doing great,” Viola said. “As long as we keep practicing, you’ll reach a point where you can do kips easily.”
“That’ll be the day,” Mel joked. She couldn’t see herself every being that physically strong and capable. Why not? she thought. She didn’t have an answer.
Viola wrapped an arm around Mel and kissed her forehead. “Amor, could you work on me?” she asked. “I think I pulled something while I was training earlier.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” she said. “Between the session with May and training, I’m exhausted.”
Viola wasn’t happy with Mel’s response. “You know, I’m helping you by teaching you all of this self-defense. Why wouldn’t you want to heal me?” she said.
Mel was stunned by Viola’s question. “That’s not the situation,” she said. “I want to work on you, but I’m also tired and fried from everything.”
“Well, my actions show how much I care for you. And yours don’t,” she said angrily. “You don’t seem to want to do anything for me. Relationships are a give and take, Mel. You’re just taking in this relationship. You’re very selfish.”
Mel was hurt and ashamed. I’m a bad girlfriend, she thought miserably. She didn’t want to be selfish in a relationship.
“Okay,” Mel said as she laid her hands on Viola. She searched through Viola’s body and felt some gunk in her legs. Mel felt the gunk clear out of Viola’s body. “Done.”
“Thank you, amor,” she said. “See, Eli doesn’t know what he’s talking about. You’re working on me and you feel fine, right?”
“I am actually very tired,” Mel said.
Viola waved it off. “That’s because you just did two workouts and you’re not used to it. Once your cardio is up, you won’t be tired after such little work,” she said. She glanced at the clock. “We’ve got about an hour before Ally shows up to teach her yoga class. How about I give you tour of the back rooms?”
“Sure,” Mel said, though she didn’t feel up to it.
Viola guided Mel to the back hallway. There were two small rooms that both had massage tables in them. When they walked into one of the rooms, Mel was hit with a wave of smells from the lightly fragranced massage oils. There was a stack of clean sheets on a cart against the wall and a cd player sitting on top of a small desk with an essential oil diffuser beside it. There were a couple of elaborate paintings of flowers and butterflies hanging on the light blue walls.
“It’s a cute room,” Mel commented.
“It is,” Viola said as she casually closed the door. Her lips found Mel’s and her tongue swept through her mouth. Her hands swept up Mel’s body to palm her breasts.
Mel was surprised by the sudden passion, but her body quickly responded to Viola. She greedily accepted Viola’s kisses.
Viola guided Mel backwards until Mel’s bottom reste
d on the massage table.
Viola kissed across Mel’s face and down her neck. One of her hands trailed down Mel’s body and slipped under her waistband. She stroked Mel’s clitoris as she lightly bit her neck.
Mel gasped and arched into Viola’s hand.
Viola licked and sucked Mel’s exposed skin as her fingers expertly brought Mel to orgasm.
“Do you like it when I touch you?” Viola asked innocently as she continued to stroke Mel. Her thumb stroked Mel’s clitoris as her fingers explored Mel’s vagina. Her thrusts were short and quick, causing Mel to move frantically against her. “Amor?”
“Yes,” Mel moaned. “I love it.”
Viola’s mouth landed on Mel’s, swallowing Mel’s cry as she orgasmed again. She pulled Mel’s pants off. “Get on the table, amor,” she said.
Mel eagerly complied.
Viola joined her on the table. She grinded against Mel. Mel grabbed Viola’s ass, enjoying the feel of it. Viola chuckled. “Look at you becoming bold,” she teased. Her tongue traced Mel’s ear before she nibbled on her earlobe. “I’m going to sexually heal you.”
Mel bit her lip to suppress another moan.
Viola’s lips found Mel’s again. They passionately kissed as they found their release.
Mel could feel their energies blend and intertwine during their orgasm. It made Mel feel whole and complete. This is love, she thought.
Viola gave Mel one last lingering kiss before getting up. “So, how did you enjoy the tour?” she said.
Mel happily sighed. “It was wonderful,” she said.
“Good,” she said. She put her pants back on before she cleaned off the massage table. “Now, let’s get going. It’ll be dinner time by the time we get back to the house. And I want you to work on me again tonight, this time including massage.”
“Okay,” Mel said as she dressed. “Though, I don’t have much experience with massage.”
“That’s okay. I’ll give you pointers,” Viola said.
They reached the front desk as a short, heavy human walked into the gym. “Hey Viola,” she said. “How are you?”
“I’m great,” Viola said. “Ally, this is my girlfriend, Mel. Mel, this is Ally.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Ally said, meaning it.
Mel was amazed by how beautiful Ally’s energy was. She seemed to be full of love and light. “It’s nice to meet you as well,” she said.
“Well, we’re going to head on,” Viola said. “Have a great class!”
“Thanks,” Ally said.
Viola and Mel left.
When they arrived at the village, Mel sniffed the air as she got out of the car. “It smells delicious!” she said.
“It ought too. Alejandro is roasting goat and Nick is smoking venison and beef. They always cook for our barbeques,” she said.
“I forgot all about that,” Mel said. “It’s probably a good thing though so I don’t have as much time to be nervous about it.”
“You have nothing to feel nervous about, amor,” Viola soothed. “My pack is your pack. They’re all going to love you.”
“I think you underestimate my ability to have awkward conversations,” Mel said.
Viola chuckled as kissed her forehead. “Well, let’s get rid of the rest of your worry, shall we?” she said in a husky voice.
Mel’s body was immediately aroused again. She licked her lips. “What did you have in mind?” she asked.
“I think a shower will be a good cure for your nerves,” Viola said as she intertwined her hand with Mel’s.
They went inside and showered together, taking time to washing each other’s bodies.
Mel kneeled in the tub, enjoying Viola’s sighs and moans of pleasure as she explored Viola’s most intimate parts with her tongue.
“Would you like me to use my fingers?” Mel asked between strokes.
“No, your tongue is perfect,” she sighed as she moved against Mel. She gasped as she orgasmed. She felt Mel curl her tongue around her clitoris again, ready to bring Viola to another orgasm.
Viola chuckled as she lightly tugged Mel upwards. “You are becoming more wanton, amor,” she said as Mel stood.
Mel grinned. “I hope you don’t mind,” she said.
“I don’t. As long as you know who’s in charge,” she said.
Before Mel could respond, Viola kneeled and had Mel writhing against her tongue and fingers. She refused to stop until Mel orgasmed over and over to the point of nearly collapsing. Viola caught her with a laugh. She kissed her way back up Mel’s body. Her lips found Mel’s as she pulled her close. “How do you like our showers?” she asked.
“They’re wonderful,” Mel said as she melted into Viola’s arms. While her body was fatigued, she felt slightly better than she had earlier that day. There was a residual bone fatigue within her soul and she knew it was from all of the energy work, but she hoped that would go away soon.
“Good. Let’s go get dressed,” she said.
When they went to Viola’s room, Viola frowned at Mel’s clothes as Mel dressed. “That’s what you picked out?” she asked Mel.
“Yes,” Mel said. She glanced down at her outfit. It was a floral shirt with jeans. “What’s wrong with it?”
“Your shirt is too baggy,” Viola said. “It makes you look heavier than you are.” She sighed. “Next time, I’ll take you clothes shopping. I can’t believe Eli didn’t say anything.”
Mel frowned. “I think it looks nice,” she said. “It makes me feel pretty.”
Viola ignored the comment. “It’s good enough for today,” she said. “Everyone will understand how you’re dressed since you lost your belongings in the explosion.” She glanced at Mel’s face. “Why didn’t you buy any makeup?”
Mel was confused. “I don’t wear makeup,” she said.
Viola was bewildered. “Ever?” she asked.
“Do you?” Mel retorted.
“Of course not,” she said, sounding insulted that Mel would even bring it up.
“Then why would you think I would?” she asked.
“Because you’re a fem. There’s nothing wrong with wearing makeup for special occasions like this,” Viola said.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with anyone wearing makeup at any time if they so choose whether they are fem, butch, top, bottom, or otherwise,” Mel said. “It’s just not my style.”
“We can discuss it later,” Viola said as she waved her hand, dismissing the subject. “Now, let’s go.” She gave Mel a loud, playful kiss before leading her outside.
Everyone was polite to Mel. She met and shook hands with so many people that she was quickly overwhelmed by names and faces. Their energies were all a blend of excitement and curiosity. A few didn’t like Mel, but she didn’t blame them. Their energies and her energy naturally didn’t seem to mesh well.
The only person who refused to acknowledge Mel was Jesse, and Mel was personally grateful for that. Last thing I need to do it accidentally rip off another tree branch, she thought.
Mel struggled with small talk, but most of the people who spoke with her excelled at it. They were able to keep the conversations light and fun. Mel was immensely grateful to every single person she spoke with.
At one point, a group of people came together and started playing bluegrass music. Mel enjoyed listening as she watched each musician weave their parts all together to create a beautiful song. Music is magic, she thought.
She could almost see and feel the music swim through the air and wrap around everyone in the crowd. Everyone seemed to glow a little brighter from the music, including her. She felt better listening to it. Maybe Papa was right. Maybe I should focus on music more with healing, she thought.
The children had a blast at the barbeque. They had races and played games. Some of them remained pups the whole time.
Jahi, Yafeu, and Mwamba quickly grabbed Mel and Viola to watch them play. They had grabbed Jesse as well. Jesse ignored them as she cheered on the boys as they played.<
br />
Mel smiled at their interactions. She noticed Jesse was really good with all of the children. She treats them the way she wishes her mother had her, she realized. The epiphany caused her to feel remorse for Jesse. I wish there was a way for us to get along.
Jesse noticed Mel staring at her. She rolled her eyes before saying to Jahi; “I’ve got to go, bud. There are some adults I have to go talk to. But I’ll be seeing you soon, okay?”
“Okay,” Jahi said as he gave her a huge hug. “I love you.”
“Love you too,” she said. She left without a glance back at Mel.
“Viola, may I have a word?” a pack member asked. “I wanted to get your opinion on a training regimen.”
“Sure,” she said happily. She glanced at Mel. “I’ll be right back.”
Mel continued to enjoy watching the kids play.
Mwamba squealed with joy when he saw Daren. He ran over to Daren and climbed up his body. “Play with me!” Mwamba said.
Daren plucked him up and tossed him in the air. Mwamba let out a burst of belly laughs as he soared through the air. Daren caught him.
“Me next!” Yafeu said.
“He has always been so good with kids,” Cindy said. She sighed. “I wish he could find his mate so he could settle down and have his own.”
“It’ll happen soon enough,” Mel said without thought. “She needs time to finish her task.”
Cindy raised an eyebrow. “Really? What else? What task?” she asked.
Mel shrugged. “I don’t know anything else,” she said.
After a few hours of socializing, Mel was drained and ready to bed. She had a lot of fun meeting the pack and listening to the music, but she wanted alone time to recharge.
Viola noticed Mel’s fatigue and spoke to Bruce before joining Mel. “We have Bruce’s permission to leave if you would like,” she said.
Mel’s gratitude was obvious. “Yes, please,” she said.
They snuck through the crowds, pausing only to say goodnight to Dana and Lee.
When they went it into Viola’s room, Mel collapsed on her bed. “I’m so tired,” she said. “Parties always drain me.”
