by T J Vertigo
"Nonsense. She's gonna crawl up on her momma's lap too," Cori whispered back. "This is so sweet I think I'm gonna cry."
"You think she's ever been hugged like that before?"
"No, never. I can hardly imagine a nun doing motherly... and that bastard who beat her... But Faith is Marsha's daughter, so I think Reece got pretty lucky."
"Oh god, Reece! What's wrong?" Faith ran over to the embracing women in a panic.
Reece sniffed a few times before pulling away from the embrace. "Your mom was feeling me up again."
Faith raised an eyebrow at her lover and watched her carefully as she stood up.
"Sir," she acknowledged Mr. Ashford as she passed him by.
"She does give good hugs, huh?" Quinn whispered with a wink.
Red faced, the club owner swiped at her eyes one last time. "Are we gonna eat or what?" she asked, standing behind her lover and wrapping her arms around her middle.
"I'm starved!"
"Yeah, where's the food!?"
"Come on!"
After everyone crowded into the kitchen, the tall woman squeezed Faith harder. She drifted them under the mistletoe and kissed Faith's head. "Are you okay?" she leaned over and kissed an ear, then some neck.
"Perfect. I was going to ask you the same thing," Faith said suspiciously.
"Never been better," she said as she lifted then twirled the actress around.
"Mom does strange things to you, hon. I'm worried about this," Faith chuckled.
"What happened with your father?"
"He surprised me. I woke up and he was sitting on the bed. I had no idea what was going on. Then he told me he loved me," she shook her head. "Coulda knocked me over with a feather," Faith smiled as Reece caressed her belly and showered her neck with tiny kisses. "As if you had nothing to do with it," Faith narrowed her eyes accusingly.
"Me?" Reece pointed at herself and blinked rapidly.
"Oh, right. The picture of innocence. Yeah, you," the actress turned in her lover's embrace and hugged her tightly.
"I only did it 'cuz I thought it would make you happy," the club owner pointed to the mistletoe and Faith leaned up for her kiss.
"And I love you dearly for it," she returned to her position and kissed Reece's bicep.
"He impressed me."
Faith drew back eye's wide and stared at her lover.
"In his own asinine way, he was being as protective of you as I am. I don't think I can really blame him, Faith."
"What do you mean? Whom was he protecting me from?"
"Me," She put her fingers on Faith's lips to hush her, and grinned at the pout she found. "Faith, look at it this way, if you were in his shoes and the only time you met me, I was dressed entirely in leather, groping your wife, beating you up, getting arrested for assault... What would you think? I'm not sayin' he's right for the way he acted, god knows he's an asshole, but really, what would you do?"
"You really took the time to think from his point of view?" Faith asked with wonder.
"Honestly? No," she grinned sheepishly. "But it hit me when I heard how badly he hurt when he said that you hate him. It all flooded in my head," she shrugged.
"You are something else." Faith skimmed down Reece's arm with her fingertips.
"See, I know I'm overprotective, but I know what I'm protecting you from. He didn't. He was assuming I was doing all sorts of terrible things to you. All he had to do was ask."
Faith's hand drifted to Reece's face and she traced her features.
"Faith there's a downside to the two of us being so mutually inclined to protecting you."
Faith stopped moving her hand and rested them on her lover's lips. "What's the downside?" she asked distractedly.
"With the two of us both feeling like we have something to prove to the other, it could go two ways. It could either become a brawl or a cock measuring contest."
"God help me," Faith shuddered with horror. "I don't think I'd be long for the free world if you and Dad started measuring your penises. They'd have to put me away," she winced hard.
Reece chuckled, "Is everything okay between you guys now?"
"With Dad? Yeah, we talked, I talked mostly, but he promised to see things from your point of view. Ironic, huh?" the actress smiled.
"Like rain on your wedding day," Reece bent down and kissed Faith's nose.
"Like a black fly in your chardonnay," the actress responded in kind.
"You guys coming or what?" Cori slapped herself in the forehead immediately after asking.
"Nah, that was way too easy, Freak," Reece chuckled.
"Bless you. Marsha would have killed me if I provoked you into saying another bad word," the dancer's head disappeared around the bend.
"C'mon, baby, let's eat."
"Okay, but wait a sec." Reece ran over and put on the stereo. "All Christmas tunes, all day," she remarked as she took Faith's hand.
"I really have to talk to my mother about what she's been feeding you."
"Ooo, I like this song," Reece snapped her fingers a few times before singing with the radio. "Walkin' in women's underwear. Ow! Who hit me?"
"Theresa, what did I say about being fresh?" Mrs. Ashford tapped her foot.
"Sorry, Mrs. A.," Reece sat down with a pout.
"Mom, we really have to talk," Faith said, her eyes never leaving her lover.
"Later, dear. The sooner we eat, the sooner we can open our gifts."
"We're opening them tonight?" Faith asked, disappointed. She was looking forward to Christmas morning.
"Only the ones we got for you and Theresa."
"Ooo, you got me a present?" Reece lit up.
"Yeah, we're staying in a hotel tonight," Quinn piped in.
"God bless us all... everyone," Reece lifted her hands to the ceiling.
"Smartass."
"See how your mother talks to me, Faith?"
"Shut up and eat," Faith shoved potatoes in her lover's mouth, "smartass."
* * *
Faith jumped up, startled. Not knowing why she was awake or what woke her, she rubbed her face and snuggled back down into the bed. Then it hit her. "Reece?" The bed was empty. She looked at the clock and became worried.
Five in the morning!
She quickly threw on Reece's shirt, managing to button it halfway before hurrying out of bed. "Reece?" she glanced at the darkened bathroom. With her heart pounding, she hurried down the stairs. Coming to the living room, she heard the television and then saw Reece. She was in her underwear and a tank top, sitting in the recliner drinking a beer and, by the empties on the side of the chair, she'd been at it a while. The blue glow of the TV, combined with the twinkling of the Christmas tree, allowed the actress to drink in the tension of Reece's features.
Faith slipped into the room and stood there, not knowing what to do. Still slightly disoriented, she struggled to figure out what had gone wrong between going to bed and now. We had such fun last night, she remembered, but it really has been a wild ride these last two days. Poor Reece hasn't had a moment to herself. Maybe she needs some time. She's been acting so different all day. I wish she would talk to me. Faith jumped when the television was shut off.
"What's it like to have parents?" Reece barely spoke. It was more like a whisper.
"Honey?" Faith asked, confused.
"What did it feel like?" she pulled the recliner upright and twisted around to look at the actress.
"Reece, I don't understand what you're asking. That's a very complex question," Faith sat on the armrest and stroked her lover's cheek.
"Your mom, she hugged you, right?" the tall woman said cryptically, then stood up and left the room.
Faith stood as well and scrubbed her face with both hands. She was not at all prepared for this. What exactly happened with mom today?
Reece appeared with another beer. She sat down again and stared at the tree. "Did you get ice cream if you got an 'A'?"
"Please, baby, tell me what's going on," Faith pleaded.
Reece's attitude made Faith nervous and it relieved her to see her lover take a deep breath, releasing it as a heavy sigh. She knows she's being a bitch. Thank you for trying, baby.
"I was watching this show on PAX... Don't ask. It was oh, so goddamned perfect I wanted to puke. But all of a sudden, I felt... Never mind, it's stupid. Go back to bed," Reece reclined the chair and guzzled her beer.
The actress sat on the floor in front of the chair and chewed on the many things she wanted to say. Reece was upset, that was apparent, but she was brooding over something that couldn't be changed. She has to deal with this. As fucked up as that sounds... it's the truth. Yet Faith knew she couldn't tell her in those words. She looked at the woman she loved. Reece was feeling quite pitiful, her face was so sad that it broke Faith's heart to see her like his. Reece had just experienced her first family Christmas... as a grown adult. The tall woman was never exposed to something like that before and it really got to her. I can't even begin to imagine what this must have brought up for her, the horrible childhood memories she probably struggles with to hide every day.
Faith wanted her lover to get this anger out of her system. She'd happily bear the brunt of the tirade, if it made her feel better. Judging by he glassy shine in those troubled blue eyes, she was quite high and on her way to becoming totally drunk. In Reece's case, drunk and pity made for a very unmanageable team.
"Vanilla with sprinkles. It was my favorite," Faith answered the long forgotten question.
Reece averted her eyes from the tree to her lover.
"We had cookouts on July fourth and huge family gatherings on most every holiday."
The club owner finished her beer and put the empty bottle on the floor with the others.
"I had it pretty good compared to some. Sure, my parents weren't perfect, but they did the best they knew how. I certainly wasn't easy," she smiled at her many childhood memories.
Reece pursed her lips and played with her shirt.
"Mom wasn't as cool as she is now. She used to make me cry when she brushed my hair. She always made my pigtails too tight and I hated Mary Janes."
Reece turned her full attention to Faith. She imagined how her lover must have looked as a five-year-old with pigtails and shiny shoes.
Faith turned towards the tree. "Christmas morning wasn't like you think, though. Yeah, there were lots of presents, but mom was too anal to allow me to go wild with the wrapping paper. She saved it, you know. I don't know what for, I personally never saw the same paper again."
Reece's lips curved into a slight grin.
"When I was in the second grade, I played a tube of toothpaste in my class play -- Tammy Toothpaste. My costume was nothing more than two giant pieces of cardboard stapled together and a plastic cap on my head. I couldn't walk for fear of tipping over and all I had was one line. 'Use me twice daily.'"
The club owner snickered.
"I thought you'd like that. My dad must have taken a thousand pictures of me that morning. He was so proud of his little girl. He bragged about it for weeks." Seeing a bit of tooth appear between Reece's lips Faith got up and moved to the armrest again.
I wonder if he still has those pictures, a dark eyebrow rose in thought.
"Mom never told me she was proud of me when I was a kid, but Dad made up for it. I certainly was Daddy's little girl."
"I don't think I can blame him," the tall woman whispered. She grinned when Faith blushed.
"Every Saturday morning, I used to jump on their bed, to Mother's dismay, and lay on top of his belly. Flat across it, like he wasn't even there. It had to be uncomfortable, I mean he must have had to pee."
Reece snickered at Mr. Ashford's misfortune.
"We'd watch cartoons until Mother's yammering forced us to go downstairs. He'd then make some sorry excuse for waffles or an omelet, but I loved that time with my daddy."
Reece took Faith's hand, kissed the palm and then put their hands in her lap.
"Sunday mornings, we went out for breakfast. My favorite was the pancake house. I always wanted to order the chocolate chip pancakes with the powdered sugar. Mom was dead set against it, so I always wound up with some sort of blander stack and when they weren't looking, I'd pour all three syrups on them."
"I'm sure your dad was on to you," Reece wrapped her arm around Faith's waist and pulled her onto her lap.
Faith snuggled into her lover's chest and leaned her head back onto her shoulder. She paused to let the comforting feeling wash over her as it always did when she was surrounded by Reece. "He was. One time, Mother was out of town at some function and it was just the two of us. The waiter asked me what I was having and Dad said, 'Chocolate chip pancakes with extra powdered sugar for my little girl.' When it got there, he pushed the syrup holder at me and told me to go to town."
"I bet you got sick," Reece rested her hands on Faith's belly.
The actress breathed a contented sound. "All over the car, but it was worth it. Eventually though, I grew up and my father wasn't so cool to me anymore."
The club owner rubbed her face against Faith's hair, closing her eyes. The sound of her voice and the buzz of the alcohol soothed Reece immensely, but she was still uneasy, her foot shaking a mile a minute. She knew that she'd have to get this out of her system sooner or later; she opted for later and let the warmth of Faith's body seep into her.
"What happened?" she asked, genuinely curious.
"I guess it was a mutual thing. I wasn't such a little girl anymore. I think it hurt him when I told him I really don't want to spend weekends farting around with my folks. I had better things to do."
"Yeah, must have been hard for him."
"I guess, but he busied himself with work and spent much more time at the country club. I was busy with my friends, studying for a college I wanted no part of plus the acting program took up all my spare time."
"Where was your mom?"
"Oh, she was always running somewhere with the girls. The only quality time I spent with her was when we went to the stables. Mom loved to ride the horses. We did that once a week, but we never talked much about anything."
"Marsha on a horse. Now there's an image," Reece chuckled.
"She really was good. She even won some ribbons when she was younger. She also had a crush on her female instructor."
"What?!" Reece laughed.
"No, she told me this recently. It's true," Faith laughed with her.
After some quiet nuzzling, Reece kissed her lover's ear and smiled. "Thank you Faith."
"Anytime, baby," she turned in her lover's arms, surprised at how strongly Reece was clutching her. "Are you ok?" she asked, feeling the tall woman's grip loosen slightly.
"Now I am. I was feeling pretty sorry for myself for a while there," Reece admitted.
"And that's understandable. You missed out, Reece, and it must be hard to deal with it. I couldn't imagine living your life. I'm just glad that you survived it."
"Sometimes I don't think I did. Sometimes I feel like I'm so empty, like I have nothing left to give. Nothing to draw from when I need to... and it makes me so angry to feel so useless."
"I know, baby. I'm so sorry you feel like that."
"I have you, why should I feel so useless?" Reece wondered, a touch of anger seeped through her frustration.
Faith kissed her eyelids and then her lips. "I can't make everything go away, Reece. God, how I wish I could. Some things you have to do by yourself and sometimes they never get better, but you'll never be alone anymore."
"Promise me, Faith. I need to hear that you aren't going away. Please tell me," Reece's voice was so urgent and her eyes so full of fear.
The actress knew that this was the most important thing in Reece's world right now. She was more than happy to oblige. "I promise, Reece. I promise you that I'll never go away."
Reece was so relieved, so overwhelmed with emotion that she felt like screaming. She held onto her lover until she successfully fought the urge. Suddenly aware of the warm flesh unde
r her hands, her eyes narrowed. Staring into Faith's deep green eyes, a completely different urge thrummed through her body.
Uh oh. Reece breathed in deeply, trying to fight the shaking in her hands. Seeing Faith's lips part and a short gasp escape them, she knew the actress had read her expression and she regretted her unguarded moment. A nervous sheen of sweat appeared above her upper lip and she swiped it away with her tongue.
You had a feeling this was gonna happen, Faith thought nervously, but it was brief. Once that tongue came out, her body reacted on its own accord. "Yes, Reece... I'm all yours," Faith shivered, tilting her head up and closing her eyes in acceptance.
Reece blinked a few times in disbelief. Faith was offering herself. YES! she shouted in her head.
Reece kissed Faith so hard and with so much emotion, the red head's heart felt like it may explode.
Good god! Faith felt all the hairs on her body stand on end. Reece's whole body trembled with restraint; her long fingers clutched her shoulders tightly. Ohh, this is soo good, the actress wrapped her arms around Reece's neck and struggled to keep up with her starving lover.
The kiss was endless and hungry, sloppy and forceful. Faith felt her lips swelling, bruising and welcomed it with gusto. It felt as if Reece was feeding off of her, and it was setting her whole body on fire.
Reece pushed her body forward and the chair closed with the momentum.
Faith instantly wrapped her legs around her waist and her arms tightened around Reece's neck. She dug her fingers into the long black tresses and groaned deeply into her lover's mouth.
Reece slid off the chair to her knees on the floor. She wrapped her arms around Faith's back and squeezed her impossibly close. She felt like she'd die if she let go. She whimpered uncontrollably, deep within her throat.
The actress heard the barely audible sound and she braced herself. Her lover needed to release all the emotions raging through her. The energy had been building all day, from the club to her father and finally the triumph of knowing that she was hers to possess. Faith knew Reece was only capable of two such releases: fury and sex. The thought of her lover taking her with this much pent-up energy made her head swim and her sex throb.
