Curse of the Asuune

by Jr Steven Sterup

  “I suppose,” Hailey smirked. Kathrine wasn’t sure if the look was flirting but it sure seemed like it.

  Kathrine and Hailey soon arrived at the restaurant and snuck around to the back alley. There didn’t appear to be anyone around, perhaps they were early? Kathrine decided to find a good spot to hide while they waited. There were many dumpsters and little else in the narrow alley.

  “Well,” Kathrine sighed. “This is not a good place to spy from.” She put her hands on her hips and looked at Hailey. Hailey was staring up in the air. Kathrine followed Hailey’s gaze up to the balcony that was protruding from a third story window. “Oh, you’re good.”

  “Getting up there is another thing,” Hailey said copying Kathrine’s stance.

  “Well, umm…I think we can climb that,” Kathrine said pointing at a thick water pipe that went up the outside wall.

  “Why not?” Hailey agreed.

  The two women gracefully climbed the pipe up to the balcony and hid.

  “I really wish I had brought a watch or phone or something. It’s gotta be close to one by now,” Kathrine stated.

  Just as she said that someone made a noise in the alley below them. They peeked over the edge to see a nervous looking man dragging a frightened girl. Ahead of the man Kathrine saw the hooded man going around the corner.

  “Did you see him?” Kathrine asked quietly.

  “Who? The guy with the girl?” Hailey replied.

  “No…never mind.” Maybe it was all in Kathrine’s head, how could Hailey have missed him? He had been right there in plain sight.

  “Go faster, he’s coming,” the man hissed at the little girl.

  The man picked up the girl and started running. A few moments later Paul came sprinting through the alley. The man pushed a dumpster in the way and Paul crashed into it. The dumpster smashed into the wall beneath their balcony and Kathrine thought for sure the balcony was going to fall. Paul was determined to catch this man. When Paul caught up to the man he grabbed him by the throat and the girl fell to the ground. Paul tossed the man against the wall and the thud echoed. Kathrine couldn’t believe her eyes. Paul had just killed the man without a second thought. He then bent down and picked up the girl with one arm and ran off.

  “What the hell was that?” Kathrine whispered. She was confused and furious. Paul had killed a human right in front of her.

  “We don’t know what’s going on. Don’t jump to ….” Hailey’s voice trailed off and she looked mesmerized.

  “Oh shit!” Kathrine exclaimed as she realized that the dead man below them was bleeding everywhere. The scent was sickening to Kathrine but not to Hailey. Kathrine caught Hailey as she was about to jump to the man’s body. Hailey looked evil and for a second Kathrine was a little afraid. Hailey was strong, either her age or the desire for blood was making it nearly impossible for Kathrine to hold her back.

  “Hailey!” Kathrine yelled but Hailey wasn’t listening. Kathrine punched Hailey in the face. The blow finally got her attention and Kathrine was able to pick her up and jump over the ledge away from the dead man. The proximity to the blood caused Hailey to be enthralled again but Kathrine had her locked in her arms, there was no way Hailey was getting free. Kathrine ran several blocks before Hailey was back to herself. The last few blocks before they got back to the hotel they didn’t speak.

  “Thank you,” Hailey said when they got back to their hotel room. She sounded sad again. Hailey headed to the couch and sat down. She had her head in her hands and for a second Kathrine thought she might be crying.

  “What’s wrong?” Kathrine asked as she sat next to her.

  “I still can’t handle blood. I’m useless and you didn’t even get to find out what they were up to. Next time you should go alone.” Hailey’s voice was slightly muffled by her hands.

  Kathrine sat down beside Hailey and put her arm around her.

  “It will get better. At least that’s what Sarah says. It will never go away but you learn to handle it I guess.” Kathrine laid her head on Hailey’s shoulder. “Without you I would have gone after Paul to kick his ass. Well, tried to at least. Who knows what trouble I would have gotten into?” Kathrine laughed.

  “I guess,” Hailey accepted. She still hadn’t taken her head out of her hands so Kathrine stood up and kneeled in front of her. She put her hands on Hailey’s cheeks and raised it to look her in the eyes. “You will get better at it. Don’t give up. The hardest part is behind you.”

  Hailey put her left hand behind Kathrine’s neck, her right hand on her waist and leaned in to kiss her again. Kathrine didn’t resist at all this time, she wanted this but Hailey pulled herself away again.

  “Shit! Sorry, I can’t help it. I’m so sorry. Maybe I should just sleep on the couch.” Hailey threw herself back on the couch and put her left hand across her eyes.

  “Let’s talk about this,” Kathrine said as she returned to sitting beside Hailey. She cared about Hailey, this needed to be sorted out.

  “What’s there to talk about? You’re straight and in love with Paul. You’re just so damn beautiful that I get carried away. I’ll try harder,” Hailey said.

  “Oh come on, I’m not that good looking. You could find someone a lot better than me. I mean, look at you,” Kathrine scoffed. In her eyes Hailey was a ten or higher even, Kathrine thought of herself as maybe a seven. She didn’t think she was ugly but she couldn’t compare to all the really beautiful women she knew.

  Hailey sat up straight and took her hand off her face. She looked at Kathrine crossly as she spoke.

  “Seriously? You’re as beautiful as any woman I’ve seen. I think every woman feels they are less attractive than other women. Well, unless they’re conceited. Take a compliment and accept that other people think you’re pretty. Mostly people only tell you that you’re beautiful if they really think you are.” Hailey scolded. “Well, unless a guy is trying to get in your pants. Don’t trust anything that guy says.” Hailey giggled and soon Kathrine was laughing along with her.

  “Well thank you.” Kathrine wasn’t sure what else to say. Hailey had a point and although she wasn’t super smart like Sarah and Agnus she was wise in her own way. She knew about people, something Kathrine thought had come with age and observation. “Back to us. How do we handle this? I consider you my friend and I care about you a great deal but there’s more to it. I don’t want to leave things unsaid.” Kathrine was very attracted to Hailey and unsure why. She hadn’t been this attracted to a woman since she was a teenager and didn’t know how to handle it.

  She had been raised by a straight father and straight mother. She had no illusions that her upbringing had been anything but perfect. Then she remembered sitting in Sarah’s apartment all those nights and meeting Sarah’s girlfriends and boyfriends. She remembered how happy and free Sarah seemed at the time. She knew Sarah had done it to keep herself distracted from Mark but Sarah had seemed genuinely happy. Kathrine recalled some of her thoughts from when she was a teenager. She had idolized Sarah, wanted to grow up to be just like her. Kathrine remembered being attracted to some of Sarah’s girlfriends even. Maybe Kathrine wasn’t straight after all, maybe she was more like Sarah than she thought. Why did she have to choose? Couldn’t she like men and women both? Sarah did.

  “I appreciate the honesty. I care for you too.” Hailey paused for a moment trying to figure out what she really wanted to say. “I love you, not like I want to marry you and not like a sister. What I feel is different than anything I’ve ever experienced before and yes, I’m very attracted to you as well. I’m not quite sure how to handle this.”

  Kathrine leaned in and kissed Hailey. Kathrine’s hand moved gently from Hailey’s shoulder, down across her breast and Hailey moaned. Hailey put her hand on top of Kathrine’s and caressed it, urging her to keep going.

  “Are you sure this is what you want?” Hailey asked with a whisper when Kathrine moved on to kissing her neck.

  “Yes,” Kathrine breathed against Hailey’s neck. The an
swer as well as the sensation of hot breath against her neck caused Hailey to gasp.

  Hailey reached down and pulled up her shirt then helped Kathrine remove hers as well. Both women stared at each other for a moment, reveling in the beauty of the other. Hailey gently moved her hand under Kathrine’s breast then squeezed it gently before leaning down to suckle. Kathrine sighed with ecstasy then stood up. She placed her hand under Hailey’s chin and urged her to stand as well. Kathrine leaned in to kiss Hailey’s neck once more while her fingers undid Hailey’s pants. Hailey was delicate and caring, this was a sharp contrast from her animalistic encounter with Paul. She had wanted to tear Paul’s clothes off and scratch her nails into his skin. With Hailey she wanted to relish every second, every touch, and every kiss.

  Hailey followed Kathrine’s lead, moving her hands gently across Kathrine’s stomach which caused a spasm of pleasure and another gasp to escape Kathrine’s lips. She undid Kathrine’s jeans and knelt while she pulled them down, kissing her way down. Kathrine wove her fingers into Hailey’s hair, encouraging her onward. Hailey put one finger on either side of the soft lacey material of Kathrine’s panties then slid them down as well. When Hailey’s tongue reached Kathrine’s center she moaned with pleasure but she wanted to pleasure Hailey as well. Gently she moved Hailey’s face upward and knelt as Hailey had. She slipped Hailey’s jeans down then kissed the delicate cloth that separated her from her prize. Hailey tried to remove her panties but Kathrine pushed her hands aside, she was in no rush. Kathrine scraped her nails from Hailey’s hips around to her bottom and Hailey cried out in agreement. Using her nails Kathrine slowly slid the lacey cloth down, tracing the invisible line from her belly button downward with her tongue. When the delicate cloth was around Hailey’s ankles Kathrine pushed her gently to sit on the couch.

  Kathrine had learned a little about how to pleasure a woman from what Paul had done to her. She licked and teased, occasionally sucking until Hailey was shuddering and crying out in pleasure. Soon Hailey shuddered with ecstasy as she gripped Kathrine’s hair tightly. After Hailey could see straight again she lifted Kathrine’s head, it was her turn now. She kissed and suckled Kathrine’s chest, slowly moving her backward toward the bed. Both of them freed themselves from the clothing around their ankles. As soon as Kathrine realized what Hailey was planning she let herself be eased onto the bed and slid up to allow Hailey to join her.

  “It’s your turn,” Hailey said slyly then pushed Kathrine up higher on the bed before kissing up her inner thigh.

  When Hailey reached Kathrine’s core Kathrine threw her head back and whispered Hailey’s name. Hailey felt different than Paul, much softer. She was in no hurry to release Kathrine either. Hailey wanted to make it last like Kathrine had just done to her. Kathrine arced her back uncontrollably, she wanted release but every time Kathrine got close Hailey slowed and kissed along her inner thigh or her stomach.

  “Hailey,” Kathrine moaned more forcefully.

  This encouraged Hailey and she finally brought Kathrine to release. Kathrine couldn’t remember an orgasm that intense. Her face went numb and she saw stars. For a minute she was light headed then a smile crept on to her face as she rubbed her hands across her nipples. Hailey scooted her way up to stare in Kathrine’s eyes.

  “That was…I don’t know a word that can describe that,” Kathrine smirked. She drug her nails along the curve of Hailey’s body.

  “You took the words out of my mouth,” Hailey agreed then snuggled up against Kathrine. Kathrine still felt like she wanted more but this desire was calmed by Hailey’s caring embrace. She would wait a little while to have more, this felt too good, she needed this as much as she needed sex.

  Chapter 30

  Kathrine woke in the afternoon the next day. When she realized that Hailey wasn’t beside her she was worried for a moment. At first horrible scenarios ran though Kathrine’s head. Had Hailey left without saying a word? Had she been that bad in bed? Maybe Hailey didn’t care for her as much as she did for Hailey. They had pleasured each other through the night until the sun came up then fell asleep, exhausted, in each other’s arms. The night had meant so much to Kathrine she was just afraid Hailey didn’t feel the same way. Then Kathrine heard the shower turn off and footsteps coming from the bathroom.

  “Morning beautiful,” Hailey smiled. “Well, afternoon.” Hailey pulled the towel off unembarrassed by her nudity as she walked to her bag and found some clothes to wear.

  “Damn, you’re sexy!” Kathrine exclaimed.

  “Now, now, we have things to do today. We can’t spend all day in bed no matter how much we want to.” The smile on Hailey’s face was mischievous and dead sexy. Kathrine didn’t care about what they had to do that day, she wanted Hailey again. When Kathrine rose from the bed she remember why they couldn’t stay in bed all day.

  “Fine,” Kathrine groaned with displeasure. “We need to find out why Paul killed that man and what he did with that girl. If he hurt her!” Kathrine growled.

  “Calm down, we don’t understand what we saw. There must be a good reason. Paul isn’t like that,” Hailey explained.

  She didn’t seem jealous of Paul and Kathrine found it a little strange but the more she thought about it the more it made sense. They had both gone into this with their eyes open. They were honest with each other from the start. This was something very special but it wasn’t ‘spend the rest of your life with the other person’ love. This was a different kind of love, friendship taken to the next level, something she thought only two women could understand.

  “You’re right,” Kathrine accepted as she grabbed some clothes and headed to the shower. “I’d ask you to join but then we’d never make it out of the hotel,” Kathrine joked.

  “You’re right about that,” Hailey smirked.

  When Kathrine had showered and was ready to go they headed down to grab some lunch since they had slept through breakfast. When they arrived in the dining room they saw Kelly and John at a table with two extra seats. They had apparently been waiting for them.

  “What happened to you two? You slept through most of the day,” John teased.

  “I had to help Hailey with a…problem,” Kathrine evaded.

  “Yeah, and then I helped Kathrine with hers,” Hailey smirked.

  “What does that mean?” John prodded.

  “Let it go John,” Kelly ordered. Kelly looked at Kathrine and winked.

  Kelly was a blonde Sarah. She knew everything that was going on. There was no hiding anything from her.

  “What you guys been up to?” Hailey asked trying to change the subject.

  “Research mostly,” John grumbled.

  “We found Paul,” Kelly announced.

  “Where?!” Kathrine exclaimed then looked at Hailey with guilt.

  Should she be this eager? She didn’t want to hurt Hailey’s feelings. Hailey just smiled at Kathrine and under the table put her hand on Kathrine’s leg. Hailey wasn’t jealous nor upset. Their new friendship, or whatever you would call it, was just what Kathrine needed.

  “Don’t worry, Paul will be fine,” Hailey said. She smiled a knowing smile at Kathrine. She knew that wasn’t the reason for Kathrine’s discomfort. She didn’t want to say it out loud but she needed to let Kathrine know that it was ok to love Paul too.

  Kathrine slid her hand under the table and put it on Hailey’s to thank her. John looked at them curiously. Kelly quickly handed John a menu to distract him. She seemed to know exactly what was going on and it was none of John’s business.

  “John why don’t you go find the waiter. I think he got lost,” Kelly suggested.

  “Fine, I’ll be back,” John mumbled.

  “Don’t worry, he has no idea. When you’re more comfortable with it you can let people know,” Kelly said when John was out of earshot. Kelly made a motion across her lips. “My lips are sealed until then.”

  “You really are a blond Sarah. How did you even know?” Kathrine asked.

  “I appreciate the
compliment but I’m no Sarah. It was just pretty obvious. I was the same way when I finally realized there was nothing wrong with being gay,” Kelly exclaimed.

  Hailey was speechless. Here she was struggling with this and the whole time Kelly had known. Kathrine was right, she was a blond Ceralin.

  “So you knew what Hailey’s problem was?” Kathrine asked.

  “Not exactly but I had my suspicions. By the way, you two are cute together, no need to hide it in this day and age,” Kelly smiled.

  “Well, it’s a little more complicated than that,” Kathrine started. “I know who my one is. It’s Paul.”

  “I know that,” Kelly smirked. “Doesn’t mean you have to hide what you have with Hailey.”

  Kathrine was now the one who was speechless. Was there anything this woman didn’t know? She thought Hailey knew about people but Kelly took it to a new level.

  “There’s nothing wrong with what you two share. It doesn’t interfere with your feelings for Paul. Eventually Hailey will find her one as well. Enjoy it while it lasts,” Kelly said then looked up to see John approaching with a waiter in tow.

  Kathrine was happy and sad after hearing what Kelly had to say. She knew that Hailey would find her one and that someday she would be with Paul but, right now, all she wanted was to hold onto what she had with Hailey as long as she could.

  “How did you know about yourself?” Hailey asked. She was getting comfortable with who she really was. Kathrine admired her for this. Just yesterday she was afraid to admit her feelings, today she was curious.

  “My dad helped me figure it out.” Kelly turned to John. “I’m gay, in case you didn’t know.”

  “Grandma?” John didn’t know what else to say. He wasn’t upset just confused. She had many grandchildren.

  “I loved your grandfather but he was more like a friend than my true love,” Kelly explained. “Back then it was unthinkable for me to want a woman. I found a loving, caring man but I always knew he loved me more than I did him. It wasn’t until after his death that I started wondering. It was a little more acceptable to be gay then and after I turned and I met Sarah it all became clear. I struggled with it for a while until my dad realized what was going on. He came to me one day and as blunt as possible told me ‘Be who you are Kelly. What others think doesn’t matter.’ Oh that giant teddy bear of a man. What would I do without him?”