by Annora Green
“I have almost everything,” Sophia corrected. “I’ve been missing something.”
“What?” Ari asked.
Sophia shifted slightly and took a deep breath. “Ari, you know what I’m missing.”
Ari stopped chewing and her eyes met Sophia’s.
Sophia continued, waving her hand around to emphasize a point: “Someone to share it with. My sister reminded me that Percy is growing up. You saw it at the wedding, dancing with Isabella, being his own self.”
“He’s not exactly on the verge of moving out and getting married,” Ari pointed out lightly.
“I know. Of course he’s not, and he’ll be at home for a few more years. But it made me realize I won’t always have our little family. He’ll grow up and move on and I will still be here in this big, empty house. Alone,” said Sophia.
“I didn’t know that being alone bothered you,” Ari said.
Sophia seemed to relish being on her own. Ari figured it was one of the main reasons she had been so quick to run every time they started to get close.
“It does,” Sophia said. “I’m used to it, I know nothing other than it, it’s the easiest thing in the world for me because it’s my life. But at the same time, I’m restless when I’m alone. I know there’s something better. That’s what makes it also so unbearable.”
Ari thought that sounded a little dramatic, but Sophia really did seem agitated. Her forehead was scrunched, her hands clasped tensely on the table, resting on either side of her plate.
Ari just kept listening.
Sophia took a deep breath, then slowly looked up at Ari as she spoke. “I know that having someone to share everything with is better.”
Ari smiled gently, and to diffuse Sophia’s tension, raised her glass. “To not being alone. Not at this very moment, at least.”
Sophia smiled tentatively and nodded, following suit and raising her glass.
“I have a surprise for you after we’re done with dinner,” Ari said when they had sipped the last of their wine.
“A good surprise, I hope?” Sophia asked, sitting back in her chair, relaxed again.
“I’d only bring a good surprise for you,” Ari said, smiling as she tucked a piece of blonde hair behind her ear.
“Well then, how about I clean up and you prepare the surprise?” Sophia asked.
Ari nodded. “Seems fair. Also, you don’t want me to clean up, I’m terrible at doing dishes.”
“Sure you are,” Sophia said, laughing lightly. “But the surprise is a good incentive for me to do them, so it’s a deal.”
“Can I set it up in the study?” Ari asked.
“Of course,” Sophia said. “Assuming it’s not going to leave any sort of mess, is it?”
“Probably not,” Ari laughed.
Sophia worked quickly to clean up the dishes and put things away, listening as Ari made a few trips out to her car and back.
“It’s ready whenever you are,” Ari called to Sophia after a while.
Sophia wiped her hands on a dishtowel, clicked off some of the lights in the kitchen, and went into the study.
“Surprise,” Ari said, and she stepped aside so Sophia could see four paintings, completed.
Sophia looked at the paintings. Two were up on the mantel over the fireplace and the other two were propped up in the leather chairs. They were exactly what she had commissioned Ari to make.
The colors were beautiful, melding perfectly with the swatches Sophia had supplied her from her notes and inspiration boards for her lingerie collection. The paintings were exactly what she was looking for. Ari’s work - the swirls of color and semi-abstract images - were real, beautiful, elegant, filled with artistry. A wonderful compliment to the marketing campaign she had in mind.
“Well? Are they okay? I can change anything if they’re not right,” Ari asked nervously, and Sophia realized she had not yet said anything.
“They’re perfect, Arianna,” Sophia said, genuinely pleased. “These are exactly as I imagined. They’re going to work beautifully.”
“Good,” Ari beamed.
“I can’t wait to use them,” Sophia said.
Ari smiled. “I’m glad you’re happy.”
Sophia looked at her, a little startled by that. “I suppose I am happy. I can’t wait to get started on this. Thank you for all of your help, Ari.”
“Well, thanks for asking me to help,” Ari said.
“How did you have time to finish them? We were only talking about them the night before last and you said they weren’t yet complete,” Sophia asked.
Ari shrugged. “Haven’t been able to sleep much lately, and painting has always been my favorite thing to do to relax. They offered me a distraction.”
“I appreciate all of your work on these. I’ll send you the rest of the payment,” Sophia said.
Ari did not say anything. She did not really want to get back into talking about business. Not tonight.
“Do you want any dessert?” Sophia offered brightly. “A little something to celebrate? I bought a carton of that organic gelato from the farmer’s market... or perhaps something with a little bit more edge? A nightcap, perhaps?”
“I don’t know if I should stay much later,” Ari said, hesitating. “I just wanted to be sure to show these to you tonight.”
“Stay,” Sophia said softly, taking a step closer to Ari. “Please.”
“Sophia,” Ari said in a semi-warning tone.
They were doing so well. She hated to ruin this rhythm they had gotten into. She did not want Sophia to do anything she might regret the next day, to fall back into her old habits before they had even given this different - slower - approach a chance.
Sophia took a breath, her eyes soft. She took another step towards Ari. Her posture tonight was strong, confident, almost feline, but her expression was relaxed, calm and inviting.
Ari bit her lip, watching her.
She knew it might be a bad idea, but it was also thoroughly alluring.
“I told you, I am ready for this,” Sophia said softly, then glanced at Ari’s mouth and placed a hand on her shoulder. “And I think we both know by now that the two of us can’t just be friends.”
Ari nodded slowly. It was true. She could never just be with this woman, sit with her, converse with her, and then... just walk out the door at the end.
“Agreed,” she whispered.
Sophia took a deep breath and rested a hand softly on Ari’s cheek, her touch as light as a feather.
“You told me, a while back, that I was frustrating and infuriating,” she began. “But so are you. You call me out. You see things in me that no one bothered to see before. You force me to challenge assumptions about myself.”
Ari did not respond.
Sophia continued, “And your patience with me in of itself has been almost infuriating these past few months, because I don’t know how anyone can stand it. I know you don’t like games, and until recently that was all I really knew how to do with my romantic life.”
Sophia paused, pursing her own lips while looking at Ari’s, the urge to kiss them written all over her face, but holding back.
“The games I’ve played in the past usually result in me losing. I don’t want to lose any more,” Sophia whispered.
Ari looked into her eyes, searching, making sure Sophia was speaking the truth.
She was.
“You’re trembling,” Ari reached up to touch Sophia’s hand, and then smiled warmly, trying to calm the woman down, to get her to breathe. She eased her back, urging her to sit on the sofa.
Sophia looked slightly flustered. “Sorry.”
“Relax,” Ari urged her softly. “If I’m going to stay, I’m going to do something. Like pour a drink. Maybe that really awesome cider we had a few nights ago?”
“I’ll get the glasses,” Sophia offered.
“No, sit. You made dinner and cleaned up, you’ve done enough,” Ari insisted. “I’m pretty sure I know where you keep your crystal, and I
definitely saw where you kept the liquor. Let me get it.”
Sophia nodded. “Well, all right then.”
“You’re not the only one who can be bossy,” Ari said, smiling playfully. “Stay here.”
Sophia hated sitting still, especially when she felt so nervous, excited, agitated about having just bared so much - too much - to the woman. While Ari went out in search for the drinks, Sophia stood up and got a self-starting fire log and a few pieces of wood she kept stacked neatly near her fireplace. She put them in the fireplace, arranged a bit of wood around the log to make sure the fire would last for at least a little while, and lit the flame. The night was damp and rainy again, so there had been a bit of a chill in the air. The fire provided a comforting ambiance.
Ari returned to the study after taking a while, holding more than just the glasses in her arms.
“Problems finding the glasses?” Sophia asked.
Ari shook her head. “No. Found them. Then I got distracted. I found some art supplies in the kitchen.”
“Oh, Percy left them there the other day. He was using them for an art assignment at school.”
“It gave me an idea,” Ari said. “Let me draw you.”
“What do you mean? Draw me? Like...”
“’Like one of your French girls,’ yeah,” Ari said, laughing.
“I hope you don’t intend on drawing me au naturel,” Sophia said, crossing her legs primly, but grateful for the change in topic.
“I was, in fact, hoping that I could,” Ari teased, then quickly added, “But I didn’t realistically think it would be your cup of tea.”
“You thought correctly. I’d hate to have anything like that around; it could come back to haunt me. I’m a mother, involved in the local community, a business owner... it doesn’t seem wise,” Sophia explained.
“None of those things mean you can’t have any fun, but I get your point. Sit down. Relax. Sip this,” Ari instructed, handing Sophia her glass of cider.
After Ari gave her a few brief directions on the best angle to sit relative to the light, she encouraged Sophia to relax and she set to work. They chatted a bit, but mostly sipped their drinks while Ari worked on her sketch from where she was perched in an armchair, a location with a beautiful view of where Sophia sat. Sophia’s face was soft, her eyes lowered, looking down at her hands in her lap, occasionally stealing glances at Ari as she worked. Half of her face was in shadow, and the other half illuminated by the light of the fire.
As Ari fell deeper and deeper into her drawing, she propped her feet up on the coffee table, and Sophia bit her tongue and chose not to comment on the assault to her antique table. Instead, they both sipped their drinks and relaxed to the sounds of the fire crackling and popping, a comforting sound on a night where they could also hear the rain hitting the window outside.
As her pencil traced across the paper, Ari’s hand sketching Sophia’s graceful curves, her defined face and brows, her soft face, she realized that Sophia looked more peaceful and content tonight than she had ever seen her. The tension from their talk earlier had melted from her shoulders and arms, her hands were resting gently on her lap.
Ari’s sketching seemed to generate a new atmosphere between them, both sensing a heightened conscientiousness in the air and space between them, as well as that peculiar intimacy that accompanies the act of observing - or being the one observed - so closely.
It was over an hour before Ari finished. Sophia stood up, stretched, and went over to Ari, still sitting down, so she could see the work.
“It’s still a sketch. But I can fill it in, make it a proper portrait later,” Ari explained.
It was good. And Sophia loved that Ari had done it with such care, admiring the detail of the shadows of her face, the fine lines of her hair.
“Thank you,” she said, standing up, wrapping her arms around Ari, and gently giving the top of her head a kiss.
A few moments later, Ari turned her face up, closed her eyes, and invited Sophia into a proper kiss.
Sophia broke away from the tender kiss a few seconds later, gazed into Ari’s beautiful, soft blue eyes, and smiled seductively.
And suddenly, everything felt right for both of them.
“I suppose we are both artists,” Sophia said in a low voice, emphasizing each word, and reaching to slowly unzip the light grey sheath dress she was wearing.
She turned her head to the side, facing the fire, the light of the flames dancing off of her face and her body. Sophia shrugged her shoulders slightly, allowing the fabric to melt onto the floor. She then expertly stepped out of the dress as it pooled at her feet.
Underneath the demure, conservative, unassuming dress was an elaborate satin slip, made of lace and soft fabric that - when Ari instinctively reached out to lightly touch it - felt smooth and silky, almost like water under her fingertips. It was short, barely hitting mid-thigh, and the top around her breasts was delicate lace, leaving nothing to the imagination.
Ari’s breath caught in her throat.
“This is my art,” Sophia whispered, standing before Ari in just the slip and her heels.
Ari slowly rose to her feet, and Sophia leaned in to kiss her, then after a moment, used a hand to gently press her back into a seated position on the sofa. Ari allowed her to direct her into place.
Sophia leaned in and continued to kiss her.
The kiss was not demure and sweet like it had been the other night. This time, it was filed with urgency. In the heat of the kiss, their lips parted, and both were suddenly lost, swimming deep in a sea of abandon.
Sophia, however, did not lose her bearings, and was the first to resurface. She encouraged Ari to lay down this time, and Ari, through half-closed eyes, watched as Sophia was the one to pepper her shoulders with kisses, starting gently at first but then scattering a few light nips for good measure. Ari’s heart was racing, beating wildly as the woman worked her way down her stomach, then stopped. Sophia lifted her head slightly.
“Let’s go upstairs.”
Ari’s breath caught, wondering if she could even move, but nodded.
Moments later, Ari stepped foot for her first time in Sophia’s bedroom. She did not exactly pause for a tour. They were drawn to each other like magnets as soon as they were in the room, Sophia directing them slowly over to her large bed as they kissed.
Ari paused her for a moment when they were next to the bed.
“I like your work,” she whispered, barely maintaining her breath as she raked her fingertips up and down Sophia’s side, “but I’m afraid that lingerie, as nice as it is, is lost on me. I much prefer what is underneath.”
And in one fluid movement, she finished undressing Sophia, the beautiful, delicate slip falling lightly to the floor like a leaf from a tree, Sophia stepping willingly out of her heels.
Sophia bit her lip and made a deep, throaty sound at that, betraying her impatience once she found herself completely bared in front of the other woman, who was still dressed. She then took back control and walked Ari backwards, gently urging her onto her back on the bed, which welcomed the other woman into it like a soft, fluffy cloud. The sea of pillows felt silky next to Ari’s cheek, and her head sank deeply into one of them.
Ari, while still fully dressed, was utterly at the mercy of the other woman, who positioned herself on top and took Ari’s wrists, gently pressing them above her head, amidst the endless pillows, and resumed kissing the woman deeply.
Ari made a deep noise in her throat, and Sophia continued to kiss the woman’s mouth, her neck, the tender spot just under her ear, all while relishing the odd sort of control she had over the situation. Ari lowered her hands and made an attempt to remove her own shirt, but Sophia stopped her, gently taking a hold of her wrists and repositioning them back above her head.
“No,” she instructed gently, but determinedly. “Remember what we said about taking things slow? I want to savor every second of you here on my bed, butslowly. And I want you to enjoy every second of being here,
on my bed, as I-”
She kissed her neck, just below her ear.
“-pleasure-”
She edged her hand up Ari’s shirt, skimmed over her bra, and kissed her collarbone while caressing her side gently with her other hand.
“-every-”
She moved her hands to Ari’s waistband, and unbuttoned her jeans, and kissed just above her hip.
“-square inch...”
She lifted her head again and looked directly into Ari’s eyes as Ari whimpered slightly.
“...of your body.”
Ari gave another little whimper as Sophia hovered over her for another kiss, but allowed the woman to remain in control and guide her through the rest of the night.
And for that night, Sophia successfully managed to ignore the nagging voice in her head that had told her for months that any romantic pursuit of Ari was wrong and would end in heartbreak.
The wandering, exploring hands, the heated kisses, the firm instructions to breathe, and then, to let go... her feelings of uncertainty was far away as the night wore on.
The night was one wonderful, lively, spirited catharsis after the next, and when they were too tired for more, they stopped, and rested, laying next to each other for a while, until hands began to wake up and wander again, to feel, to embrace, searching until they both felt they had thoroughly enjoyed everything that was humanly possible to experience that night.
The whole night was decadent and wonderful.
And at last, they had exhausted themselves.
¨°¨
The next morning, when Sophia woke up to a view of golden blonde hair splayed out on her pillow, she was filled with warmth, and admired how the strands caught the early morning light that filtered through her window. It looked shiny and ethereal, like straw spun to gold. Everything about Ari seemed light and magical.
Ari was so beautiful, she thought to herself as the woman slept, and so she grimaced when, at long last, she could no longer put off getting up. She needed to get to work, and she knew Ari did, too.
They both went their separate ways, neither having enough time that morning to linger in the golden morning light that streamed through Sophia’s window, no time to process the previous night (or repeat any of the activities of the previous night, even though both women yearned to). They drove to their respective workplaces separately, since Ari had taken her car to Sophia’s the night before, and they knew it would be best to not leave it there, lest there be too many questions to field from Percy later when he came home. But as soon as they got to work and parked, Sophia went into The Little Cafe, and like any other day, began the morning with her favorite cup of coffee.
