by Julian Bloom
Kel blinked rapidly, a bunch of times, then leaned back a little and laughed. “Oh, honey,” she said, and for the first time, Lena caught a brush of somewhere in the Southeast in her voice. “Honey, no,” she said. “I was that girl that devirgined all the other girls. You’re just – it’s been a while. I was with one guy for a long time. And it didn’t work out. So it’s been a while, and I – things got awkward with my friends. And I’m in a new city, and I’m so damned horny that I want to scream, and I swear to you, that’s all you’re sensing. I want to wait a little, and I want to come slow, because it has been too damn long since it was anything but my own fingers, you know?”
Lena knew. She knew so well. In answer, she pulled the girl close to her again and nipped at the swell of her breast in the vee of her shirt. “So if I did this,” she said, sliding her hand inside the girl’s practical cotton panties and dipping a finger into the growing wetness there, “that wouldn’t fit into your careful plan?”
“Oh Jesus,” Kel whispered. She was shaking, struggling just a little. Lena wasn’t giving her quite the contact she needed to ride her palm to a shattering orgasm, but it was so close that she could taste it. “What are you trying to do to me?”
“Make you forget,” Lena said. “Put you in the now.” She slid that one finger inside the girl, expecting another one of those kittenish mews, but instead, she got a groan that seemed to come from her toes. She stroked inside the girl, noticing the places where her back arched and her breath caught. As she expanded, Lena added another finger, finding the rhythm that made the girl gasp. Kel started to ride her hand, fucking herself on Lena’s fingers, but when Lena shifted her palm to let the girl slap her clit on the heel of Lena’s hand, the girl shook her head.
“Too much,” Kel said. “Like this. Too much. Just your fingers. And kiss me. Can you kiss me? Will you kiss me?”
She said it like it was some kind of hardship. Lena pulled their mouths together again, parting Kel’s lips with her tongue and thrusting into her in perfect rhythm, above and below.
It was moments before the girl exploded, shattering everywhere. It wasn’t a pretty orgasm, nothing you’d see in a movie. She groaned, ugly and harsh, her chest heaving, her belly shaking, but it was one of the most honest and organic things that Lena thought she’d ever seen.
Kel sagged as the twisting tension passed out of her muscles, and Lena slipped her fingers free, careful to avoid the clit that she was sure would be almost painful right now. Lena let them fall backwards onto the bed, and Kel’s head naturally pillowed onto her shoulder.
“Better than strawberry cheesecake,” Kel murmured, her voice gently sleepy. “Sorry. Gimme a minute. I’ll get you, love. I just. Wow.”
Lena didn’t manage to fight back the giggle this time. “You like strawberry cheesecake, I take it?”
“It’s my specialty,” Kel said, her voice still distracted and fuzzy.
And for a moment, it was just a cute thing that the girl who’d just fucked herself to completion on Lena’s hand was muttering in her sexy post-orgasm haze. But then pieces started to fall into place. Someone who loved to cook. Who had just moved to town. Oh god.
“Kelsie,” Lena said, hoping against hope that the girl wouldn’t answer.
Instead, she lifted her head up, her brow furrowed. “How’d you know that?”
It was probably not the sexiest thing Lena’d ever done, but she couldn’t find anything better than thumping herself gently in the head with the heel of her hand.
Chapter Four
The next day, Lena drove towards her mother’s home, trying to script how the whole event would go. “Hello! We’ve never met before. I certainly did not finger you off last night. I absolutely did not go home and spend some quality time with my Hitachi while I tried not to imagine you spanking me with a wooden spoon for suggesting that you’d put too much saffron in the risotto. Would you like a job?” It left something to be desired.
She’d basically walked out of Kel’s – Kelsie’s – apartment. It hadn’t been graceful. She hadn’t managed to say why she was leaving, just stumbled through some words about having an early morning, and have a good night, and she was sorry. The poor kid probably thought that Lena’d had some sort of trigger event because of her full name.
She’d thought of a dozen excuses to avoid the damn party, but none of them had even worked in her head, so putting them out into the world seemed both foolish and useless. A plain “I can’t make it” wouldn’t ever work.
So she drove to the house, parked, and walked inside. There was another car in the driveway, and one parked on the road. The Donaldson’s and their daughter, Lena supposed.
As soon as she walked in the front door, she heard laughter and music coming from the back yard. That was nice; Mama hadn’t laughed all that much in the last few years. It was a gorgeous sound. She braced herself for the awkward moment when she had to lock gazes with her supposedly random hook-up from the night before, and walked outside.
Mama saw her first, of course, and waved like they hadn’t seen each other in weeks. “Lena-love,” she called out. Lena pushed her lips up in a smile and waved back, but her eyes were on the strong, curved hips at the base of the back that was turned away from her. The back that had suddenly gone stiff and rigid. She saw the quick sideways peek over the shoulder, and she suddenly felt worse – so much worse – for not warning Kel about what was coming down the pike. She’d owed the girl that much at least.
The Donaldson’s shook hands and Lena smiled and nodded, but it was that back that she couldn’t take her eyes off. She saw the quick sideways glance as the tall woman confirmed what her ears had probably already told her. She saw the shoulders square, and then the smooth turn, just as Mrs. Donaldson said “And I’m sure your mother told you about our daughter, Kelsie?”
The girl shook her head even as she extended a hand towards Lena. “Kel. My friends call me Kel.” She shifted her gaze so that her eyes met Lena’s, and – Lena wasn’t entirely sure what she’d expected to see. Anger, maybe? Demands or threats? But instead, all Lena could read on the girl’s face was a quiet understanding.
“Pleased to meet you,” Lena said, extending her hand and sealing a bargain that she didn’t entirely understand.
The tension in the air ratcheted down. Lena sat down to the meal and the beer that her mother put in front of her. She complemented Mr. Donaldson on the barbeque, but when pressed, he happily confessed that his daughter was the chef in the family, and she’d made the sauce. Which of course naturally turned the conversation towards Lena’s business, and gave her the perfect opportunity to mention that she was looking for a new head chef for the restaurant she’d just acquired.
Kel had been quiet through much of the conversation, but at that, she glanced back and forth between her parents, looked over at Lena’s Mama, and then stood up so quickly she almost tipped her chair over. “Excuse me,” she said, “I need to run to the ladies.”
A quiet fell over the table for a moment, and Lena found herself wracking her brain for an excuse to follow the woman into the house. She couldn’t come up with one, and after a moment, she just gave up, stood up, and walked into the house.
The downstairs bathroom door stood open, so Lena went upstairs, to the larger bathroom off the second-floor hallway. She tapped gently on the door, and heard Kel snap “Go away.” Then, there was a long sigh, and she heard, “I mean, I’ll be out in just a moment.”
“Kel? It’s me,” Lena said.
The door yanked open so fast that Lena almost fell forward. “What?” Kel asked. “What do you want?”
“I wanted to say that I’m sorry. I had no idea – “
Kel pulled the door open farther, put her hand on Lena’s elbow, and pulled her into the room. Her cheeks were damp, like she’d been crying, which twisted up Lena’s heart. The door closed, and Lena rested her butt on the counter, trying to keep her body posture open and friendly without – shit, she didn’t even know what she wasn�
��t trying to do. “Just tell me what you knew.”
“When?”
“Last night. When you let me take you back to my place. What did you know, then?”
Lena shook her head. “All I knew was that my mom had a friend who needed a job, and she wanted me to come over and taste her cooking, see what I thought. She hadn’t told her friends anything about me or my business, so that if I didn’t like it, it wouldn’t be a big awkward thing.”
“What did you know about me?”
“Just your name. Nothing else.”
“When I was fucking your hand, you didn’t know that you were going to be offering me a job?”
“No, I swear I didn’t,” Lena said. “And I handled it badly last night. I should have told you something. I – earlier in my career, I got into a situation. I was dating someone at work, and it turned into an accusation of favoritism. And I just…kind of stopped. And last night, my friend abandoned me to fuck her bartender, and I was just so lonely. And you’re so gorgeous and I thought it would be amazing, hot, no strings sex. I thought what harm could it do?” Lena laughed, but the sound was hollow and empty. Which felt appropriate. “I’ll never bring it up. You don’t owe me anything. I’m so sorry.”
“Tell me again about how I’m gorgeous.”
Heat rushed through Lena’s veins. She’d never once kissed a person in this house, boy or girl. She’d never brought anyone home to meet her parents. She’d never seen her father threaten someone to behave, or heard her mother worry that she needed to be home by such and such a time. She’d been so good, since forever.
She was going to kiss Kel again. She was going to hire her, assuming that her references checked out and the rest of her cooking was as good as her barbeque. Especially if her strawberry cheesecake was really as good as she’d implied. And that was just – that was just going to have to be okay.
“You’re amazing,” Lena said. “I love that you’re curvy and soft and delicious. I wanted to taste your skin last night, but I got all stupid and never got the chance.”
Kel’s gaze softened as the heat ran through her as well. “If you had the chance, what would you do?” She took a step closer, pressing into Lena’s space. Lena let her knees fall apart, and Kel slipped easily into the space between her thighs.
“I wanted to strip you down and lick your nipples until you begged me to touch you. I wanted to tongue you until you begged me to give you back my fingers. I wanted to fuck you with my tongue until you screamed. The way you came was unbelievable. I’ve never seen anyone unravel like that, and I want to see it all over again.” She slid her arms around Kel’s shoulders, letting the girl lean in more closely. “Does that sound tempting?”
Kel’s eyes glittered with something very, very warm. “So very much,” she said. She ran her hands up the insides of Lena’s thighs. Lena had worn brightly patterned leggings under a charcoal colored tunic, and the feeling of Kel’s fingers tracing up the shivery skin of her inner thighs made her sigh. Kel bent her fingers in a diamond shape and pressed them over Lena’s sex, framing her pussy. Lena sighed and resisted the urge to press into the contact; for one thing, she wasn’t sure she was allowed just yet, and for another, she thought she might slide off the countertop if she wasn’t careful.
Kel pressed one long finger up the seam of Lena’s pussy, and studied her face as the other woman gasped and bit at her lip. “I wonder,” she said. “I wonder what would happen if I were to fuck you right here. Would you stop me?”
It was an odd sort of asking for permission. Kel was so much younger than her, but that made it all the more subversive and intriguing. “How could I?” Lena asked. Her voice was breathy already, and her cunt was slippery with arousal. All that want she’d been feeling last night flooded back in, and she was gasping without any further touch. “You’re so much stronger than me. I have to do anything you say.”
Kel’s small smile widened into a grin. “That’s right,” she said. “That’s absolutely right. So what I say is that you need to be quiet. Not a sound. Or else I’ll have to tell everyone else about what you’ve been up to all these nights. How you pick up girls in bars and take them home, then leave them unsatisfied.” Kel pressed forward and nipped at Lena’s earlobe. Her fingers traced up from the wet smear in her leggings to flirt with the waistband for just a moment before sliding down and cupping Lena’s sex.
“Oh Jesus,” Lena whispered. Kel made a disapproving noise and pressed a finger over Lena’s lips.
“Last warning,” Kel said. “You make a single sound, and I have to stop.”
Lena opened her mouth to agree, thought better of it, and nodded.
Kel’s grin got just a little wider. “Take these off,” she murmured, tapping at Lena’s hips.
Last night, Kel had pulled off her clothes with very little ceremony. Lena had a different plan in mind. She might be old, but she loved to dance, and she loved to move her hips. She pushed back at Kel until she could slide down off the countertop, then turned around so her ass was facing Kel. Kel obliged her by running her hands down the very slight curve of her hips, and Lena pressed her ass back towards Kel, letting her butt press against Kel’s belly and pelvis as she hooked her thumbs in her leggings and pushed them gently down.
“No panties,” Kel said. “My oh my.”
Lena turned back around, leaning back against the counter. She gestured at the tunic, but Kel shook her head. “No,” she said. “No, you’re just fine like you are.
Lena expected the other woman to come in close to her, but that wasn’t what happened. Not at all. Kel slipped down to her knees, taking a moment to pull a towel from the side and made a pad for them, and then moved forward, pressing Lena’s thighs a little wider. Lena wanted to hiss a quick “What are you doing?” She wanted to beg her to do exactly what she was hoping Kel would. When the girl flicked her tongue over the lowest edges of Lena’s belly, Lena had to grip the counter hard to avoid crying out. When her fingers snaked a path through the tangles of her public hair, Lena thought that she might die if she didn’t at least moan. But the look Kel was giving her left her utterly convinced that the other woman meant it when she said she’d stop, and there was no way she was letting that happen.
The girl leaned forward and pressed the flat of her tongue to Lena’s clit. Lena gripped the countertop so hard she thought she’d snap off a chunk and choked back the sounds that wanted to pour out of her throat. She was achingly empty, and she wanted to beg Kel to fill her up, to fuck her, to make her come all over her tongue. She wanted the girl to unravel just like she had been unraveled.
It was over embarrassingly quick. Kel slid fingers into Lena’s yawning emptiness and curled them forward, finding the spot that made Lena see stars. She had to bite down on the palm of her hand to keep from screaming as she came, lightning fast, and even then, it was a close thing. And then she was sagging to the floor, her pussy clenching, her body limp, and Kel was carefully wiping wetness of her chin and reaching into her purse for a lipstick. “Better get back to the party,” she said with a careful arch of her eyebrow that nearly undid her all over again.
“What the hell kind of mess have I gotten myself into,” Lena asked the empty room as she pulled her leggings back on, her knees still shaking. But she had to laugh at the words. For the first time in her life, she didn’t care.
Chapter Five
The rest of the party passed in a blur. Lena felt sure that the three parents absolutely had to know what they’d done. How could they not? Kel was wearing the most satisfied look Lena had ever seen on an actual person’s face. Lena knew this, because taking her eyes off the girl was impossible. Her brain felt like it was on fire. All she could imagine was taking the girl back to her townhouse and stripping her naked, fucking her until they both collapsed from total exhaustion.
An idea sparked in Lena’s brain. “Kel,” she said, interrupting Mama and earning a look that told her she’d pay for it later. “If you’re interested in the position as chef, I have to
tell you, I would need someone sooner rather than later. Do you want to go check out the kitchen, get the lay of the land, think about if it’s something you’d want to start as soon as possible? You’d be able to help with the redesign itself if we started right away, planning menus and getting on top of the inventory.”
Kel looked confused, but only for a moment. “That sounds amazing,” she said. “I really appreciate that you’re offering me this opportunity.”
Lena smiled. “Anything for a friend of Mama’s who makes soul food like that,” she said, and the Donaldson’s laughed. And then Mama gave her a smile that flipped Lena’s stomach – like she knew what was really about to happen – but she pushed that feeling away. It didn’t matter. It was about time she told her mother the truth. Especially if there might finally be someone in her life worth talking about.
They exited as quickly as they could. Kel got into Lena’s car, making excuses about how they would swing by later to pick up her car. They’d barely buckled up before Kel was asking “Please tell me we’re not going to your restaurant. I mean. I want to check it out like crazy, but I also want to fuck you until you scream.”
“How about we start with the fucking, and we’ll see the kitchen later?” Lena found herself grinning. “The prep area is impressive.”
“Oh?” Kel said in a voice that was nearly a coo. “Is it so big and dirty?”
Lena laughed, but shot her a look. “It’s incredibly clean.”
“Well.” Kel pouted. “Can we make it dirty?”
“Filthy.”
“You know I’m going to fuck you, right?” Her fingers trailed up Lena’s thigh again, stopping short of threatening Lena’s driving skills. “You know I’m going to make you scream like you really want to?”
“You know I’m going to do the same damn thing right back?”
“Excellent,” Kel said. “And how far is it to your house? Because I’m so hot that it hurts, and I’d hate to distract you by fingering myself here in the car.”
