The Neighbor

by Gerri Hill

  With her knee, she spread Laura’s thighs, letting her body sink against her wetness. Laura arched up to meet her, rocking against Cassidy. Cassidy shifted, her hand going between them, delving into the wet arousal, exposing Laura’s swollen clit. She did the same to herself, then pressed hard against Laura, their wet centers meeting.

  Cassidy moved to Laura’s other breast as she rubbed against her. Laura gasped—moaned—with each thrust of her hips. Cassidy was shaking so badly, though, that she couldn’t maintain her position. Laura groaned in frustration when Cassidy pulled away from her.

  “Oh my God…are you kidding me?”

  Cassidy smiled as she kissed Laura again. “Sorry. But I’m very aroused. I’m shaking, for God’s sake.”

  Laura ran her hands across Cassidy’s back. “That felt really, really good,” she whispered. “Ten more seconds.”

  “Ten seconds, huh. How about I take care of that then?” She kissed Laura, long and slow, drawing out a deep moan from her. “With my mouth.”

  Their eyes met. “But…but you said you don’t—”

  “I want to do everything with you, Laura. Everything.”

  She felt Laura trembling again as she kissed her skin, moving down her body slowly, pausing to nibble at the curve of her hip. Laura’s breath was coming in short, quiet gasps as she gently pushed Cassidy down.

  “I’m going to pass out,” she whispered.

  Cassidy smiled against her skin. “I’ll go slow.”

  “Trust me, you can go as slow as you want…it’s going to happen very fast.”

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Cassidy took forever as she thoroughly kissed her stomach, her hips, her legs…making Laura squirm with anticipation. She was on the verge of begging when Cassidy finally moved between her thighs. She barely had time to register Cassidy’s mouth on her, feel her tongue as it grazed her clit. One simple brush of her tongue had her orgasm screaming through her. She arched up hard, her hands holding Cassidy tight against her.

  “Oh my God,” Laura breathed. “That is so not fair.”

  “I’ll say. I barely got started,” Cassidy mumbled as she rested her head on Laura’s stomach.

  Laura ran her fingers through Cassidy’s hair. “We’ve got all night, you know.” She gently pulled Cassidy up her body, squeezing her arms around her tightly, then deftly rolled them over. “But right now…I want to have my way with you.”

  Cassidy looked at her oddly. Laura frowned, then lowered her head and kissed her softly. “What?”

  “I’m not sure anyone’s said that to me before.”

  Laura looked at her quizzically. “All those beautiful women in your life and none of them wanted to simply devour you?”

  “Is that what you want to do?”

  Laura kissed her again, letting her tongue trace Cassidy’s lower lip. “I want my mouth on every inch of your body.” She leaned up on her elbow, watching Cassidy. She finally understood what Cassidy was trying to say. “They were more interested in you pleasing them?”

  “That was partially my fault. I usually took control and never relinquished it.”

  “Don’t you dare try that with me.” Laura dipped her head, kissing lightly around Cassidy’s nipple, teasing her. “Because I want to do everything with you,” she said, repeating Cassidy’s words.

  She straddled her thigh, then pressed her own against Cassidy’s hot, wet center. Cassidy moaned and grasped Laura’s hips, pulling her closer. Laura’s mouth settled over Cassidy’s breast, licking and sucking at her nipple, feeling Cassidy squirm beneath her. Ah…so she had sensitive nipples. Laura smiled as she moved to her other breast and Cassidy again sighed with pleasure. But Cassidy’s hips pressing up told her what Cassidy really wanted and Laura moved her hand between them, sinking her fingers into Cassidy’s wetness.

  It was Laura’s turn to moan and she kissed Cassidy passionately. “God…you’re so wet.” She held her fingers inside Cassidy, moving her mouth to her ear. “It’s been a while since I’ve been with anyone. Forgive me if I want to take my time.”

  Cassidy brought Laura’s mouth back to hers. “Take your time…next time.”

  Laura moved her fingers, causing Cassidy to arch her hips against her hand. She smiled wickedly as she pulled them out, rubbing against her clit instead.

  “I like that too,” Cassidy murmured with a shaky breath.

  Laura went back to her breast, then slipped her fingers inside her once more. Yes, it had been a while. But she was inside Cassidy and she decided that no, she didn’t want to go slow.

  She’d go slow next time.

  Chapter Fifty

  Laura was fairly certain she’d never taken a midnight swim before. Certainly not naked. The pool’s lights—both red and yellow—gave the water an amber color and Cassidy looked like a goddess as she was bathed in liquid fire. Laura let go of the side and moved toward her. The water rippled gently around her and she watched Cassidy watching her.

  She paused, just out of arm’s reach. The water was barely above their waists, and Laura let her gaze travel to Cassidy’s breasts…breasts that she now knew intimately. She’d discovered that Cassidy had very sensitive nipples, and she’d tormented her for what seemed like hours. Tormented her so that Cassidy actually had an orgasm just from Laura’s mouth at her breast. That had been…incredible.

  She raised her eyes again, meeting Cassidy’s. “You look like a goddess,” she said, expressing her earlier thoughts.

  “I was about to say that very thing.”

  Laura shook her head. “I’m not a—”

  “You have no idea how lovely you are, Laura. You take my breath away.” Laura stood still as Cassidy came closer. “How many hours have you been here?” She smiled slightly. “I’ve had my world rocked more times than I can count.”

  Laura smiled too. “Rocked your world, huh? Well…must have been the oral sex.”

  “I thought I was going to pass out when you first touched me,” Cassidy said quietly. “I liked that very much.”

  “Yes, I could tell. I happen to like it too.” She moved closer. “You know what I love?” she asked in a whisper.

  “What?”

  “You have extremely sensitive nipples.” By the lights of the pool, Laura couldn’t tell if Cassidy was blushing or not, but her facial expression changed to one of embarrassment. “I loved it.”

  “That’s never happened to me before.”

  “No?”

  “No one’s ever taken the time.”

  “I could have spent hours.”

  Cassidy smiled again. “I think you did.” Then she arched an eyebrow. “Are you…are you still aroused?”

  “Are you still naked?”

  “I thought…maybe…”

  “You’ve had an active sex life,” Laura countered. “I have not. I have a lot of making up to do.”

  “Well…lucky me.”

  She finally slid into Cassidy’s arms, but before she kissed her, she pulled her mouth an inch away. “I’ve never made love in a pool before.”

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Cassidy stood at her office window, looking out, seeing the shimmering heat bouncing off the sidewalks and streets down below and it wasn’t even noon yet. She let out a rather bored breath, then went back to her desk. She should be at home. She should be with Laura.

  She smiled. She wasn’t certain she had the stamina to be with Laura today. But God, what an awesome two days it had been. Not only had she taken off work on Monday, she’d stayed Monday night and driven into work early this morning. Laura had still been in her bed, sleeping, when she’d crawled out. Yesterday was actually a blur, she admitted. Really, everything past their midnight swim was a blur. Yes, they’d made love in the water. They’d made love on a chaise lounge. They’d made love on the kitchen floor—God, she had nearly ravished Laura. They made love on the stairs, in the gym, and in her office. And they cooked together and ate together and she hardly had a recollection of either of those things.

/>   She had no recollection of much except Laura’s beautiful, naked body…and the honest, pure reflection of desire that had been in Laura’s eyes. Desire, yes, and so much more. But they hadn’t really talked. They’d chatted and played in the pool like normal, but there had been no serious discussion about how they’d spent the last two days…and what it meant.

  And what did it mean? They were lovers, obviously. She closed her eyes for a moment, remembering Laura’s mouth at her breast…and elsewhere. God…Laura was so damn good. But where did they go from here? How do you date someone who lives next door to you? How do you date someone who you’ve been seeing for months now?

  No. She didn’t want to date. She’d spent a lifetime dating. She simply wanted…to love.

  She was smiling as she picked up her phone. What was Laura doing? Was she making lunch for her mother? Was she out tending to flowers? Was she still passed out in bed? Or was she in the pool, recuperating?

  The phone was answered on the third ring, and then Laura’s voice was in her ear.

  “I can’t walk. You’ve ruined me.”

  Cassidy burst out laughing. “Where are you?”

  “I’m in the pool. Water therapy.”

  “Maybe you should ask your mother for pointers.”

  “Very funny.” A pause. “I miss you.”

  Cassidy couldn’t keep the smile from her face. “Oh, yeah?”

  “Yeah. You know, I may need help getting out of the pool later.”

  Cassidy laughed quietly. “I wish I was there. Are you naked?”

  “No. The pool boys were here. I didn’t want to shock them.”

  Cassidy leaned back in her chair. “Do we…need to talk?”

  “I don’t know. Do we?”

  Cassidy smiled. “Will you be my girlfriend?”

  Laura laughed. “You’re so cute. You’d give up your beautiful, skinny models for me?”

  “In a heartbeat.”

  There were several seconds of silence, but when Laura spoke, her voice was no longer teasing. “When you come home, we’ll talk.”

  Cassidy had a moment of panic. What did that mean? Her heart was pounding nervously in her ears and she couldn’t even offer a reply. But as usual, Laura seemed to be able to read her mind, even over the phone.

  “Cassidy…you must know that I’m in love with you.”

  Cassidy squeezed her eyes shut in relief. “Okay. So when I come home…we’ll talk.” She opened her eyes and smiled. “I’m in love with you too.”

  “I know you are. See you Friday?”

  “No. Thursday. I’ll sneak away early. Meet you out in the pool.”

  “It’s a date.”

  She put her phone down, still unable to get the silly smile off her face. And why should she? Laura was in love with her. Her heart felt like it flipped over in her chest at the thought. All these years…all these many, many years and finally, she’d found her love. And all she wanted to do was bask in it for a while. Maybe next week she’d ask Tanya to clear her calendar. She had that contractor’s meeting tomorrow, but other than that, there was nothing pressing. She could take a week off. And she could work from home some. She could set up her office for real.

  She paused. Home? No, her apartment wasn’t home anymore, was it? Her home was an hour’s drive away…where Laura was. Laura was home.

  * * *

  “You want me to what?” Tanya asked with raised eyebrows.

  “Clear my schedule,” she said again, this time more slowly. “All week.”

  Tanya stared at her. “All week? You never take vacation.”

  Cassidy stared back at her. “Problem?”

  Tanya put her hands on her hips. “You’re acting weird.”

  Cassidy smiled. “I just need some time off, that’s all.”

  Tanya studied her. “What’s going on? Is it Laura?”

  Cassidy shrugged. “What makes you think it’s got anything to do with Laura?”

  “Because you didn’t come to work yesterday, for one. And two…now that I’m looking at you, you’re all glowing and stuff.” She grinned. “So I guess this means you didn’t screw it up, huh?”

  “I’m in love with her,” Cassidy said simply.

  Tanya rolled her eyes. “I could have told you that a month ago. So I take it you’ve been…getting to know her better,” she teased with a wink.

  Cassidy actually felt a blush on her face. “Must you?”

  “Oh my God…you’re so cute when you blush! I can’t wait to tell Derrick.” Tanya walked around her desk and bent down to hug her. “Seriously, I’m so happy for you. Laura is perfect.”

  “Yeah…she’s pretty awesome. So…can I have a week?”

  “You can have a week off, yes.”

  “Gee, thanks, boss.”

  Tanya surprised her by leaning down again and kissing her cheek. “You did good.”

  “Thank you. Oh…and I’m leaving early on Thursday. And I may start working from home a few days a week too.”

  “Good. Then I can really be the boss here in the office.” She laughed as she walked out. “Don’t stay in bed the whole week. You’re getting old. You need to pace yourself.”

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  “Pace yourself?” Laura smiled contentedly as she pulled Cassidy into her arms. “She’s so funny,” she murmured, kissing Cassidy lazily, still coming down from the high she’d been on only seconds ago. “You have a very talented tongue.” Cassidy laughed quietly and Laura nuzzled her face into Cassidy’s neck. “I could get used to this.”

  “This what?”

  “Making love on Thursday afternoons.” She bit playfully on Cassidy’s chin. “It sure beats yard work.”

  Cassidy rolled to her side, her hand still rubbing lightly across Laura’s hip. “I could get used to it too.”

  Laura rolled her head to look at Cassidy. “You want to talk?” Laura wasn’t sure why, but Cassidy seemed a bit insecure, as if she wasn’t certain of Laura’s intentions. “We’ve been talking without words. Do you want to talk with words?”

  “There’s not much to say. You already know I’m crazy about you. You already know I’m…I’m in love with you.”

  Laura met her gaze. “Yet you’re afraid?” Laura touched just above Cassidy’s breast. “Afraid of a broken heart?”

  “This is all kinda new to me. I don’t know if we should slow down or speed up. I don’t know if we should say we’re dating or going steady,” she said with a smile.

  Laura nodded. “I was thinking about that too, actually. I’ve come to the conclusion that we’ve already been kinda dating, we just didn’t call it that.” She leaned closer and kissed her. “I don’t want to slow down or speed up. I like the pace we have. Playing with you in the pool is fun. I enjoy cooking meals with you. We never lack for conversation. I just want to be with you for a while, alone. Like we’ve been doing. Getting to know one another, spending time together.” She kissed her again. “Making love. Getting to know each other this way.” She leaned back, still holding her gaze. “But what do you want?”

  “You fill all these empty spaces that I’ve had for so long now. I want to wrap you up in my arms and never let you go. I want to sleep with you and wake up with you and share my life with you.” Cassidy looked away for a moment, then met her eyes again. “And maybe that is moving too fast, but I feel like I’ve been searching for you my whole damn life. Now that I’ve found you, I don’t want to miss out on even a second of it.”

  Laura touched her cheek lightly, then rubbed a finger across her lips. “Okay. We can go steady and I’ll be your girlfriend.”

  Cassidy laughed. “That’s it? Easy as that?”

  “Yes.” Laura sat up and pulled Cassidy up too. “But be warned. If you’re here during the week, I’ll put you to work.” She wiggled her eyebrows teasingly. “Because I got another job.”

  “Oh?”

  “Uh-huh. Mr. Hamilton, who lives two lots down past us, is in need of a yard gal.”

  “You d
on’t say. How much is he paying you?”

  “Not as much as you are. He does his own flowers.” She got out of bed and stood there, seeing Cassidy’s eyes roving over her body. She shook her finger. “No, no, no. We’re going out to the pool to play.” She took Cassidy’s hand and pulled her out of the bed.

  “Do we have to dress?”

  “Yes. I seasoned some hamburger meat earlier. You can grill burgers for us. I invited Mom to join us.”

  “Okay,” she said easily. “I like Maggie.”

  Laura wrapped her arms around Cassidy’s neck and pressed their bodies together. “Thank you.”

  “For?”

  “For the day, for the afternoon. For being who you are. For liking my mother,” she whispered before kissing her. “For loving me.”

  “And thank you for stealing my heart.”

  “Mmm. I’m not giving it back, you know.”

  “That’s only fair. I’ve got yours locked up tight.”

  Laura smiled at her. “I love you, Cassidy.”

  Cassidy’s expression turned serious and she nodded. “I love you too.”

  Laura nodded back at her. “We’re going to have so much fun together.” She took her hand and tugged on it. “Come on. Pool.”

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  “Why am I doing all the work, Laura Sue?”

  “I’m helping,” she said as she kicked her legs in the water.

  “You are not! You’re weighing me down!” her mother complained.

  “Well, this is your therapy, not mine. I’m just along for the ride.”

  “I’ll say.”

  Laura laughed. They were draped across the float on their stomachs, using their legs to propel them over the water and to the other side of the pool. Well, mostly her mother was.

  “You’ve gotten so much better, Mom. You hardly use the walker at all anymore. Doesn’t it feel great?”

  “Yes, it does. Thank you for talking me into this all those months ago.”