Big on Education

by Laurie Ames

  After a while, both women realized that they were feeling lightheaded. Sasha looked around and was shocked to see that they had worked their way through several bottles of red wine.

  "Oh Elaine," she slurred, "we should get going. If you're as drunk as I think you are, this is going to hurt for both of us tomorrow morning."

  They both stood, each swaying drunkenly as they did, and paid the bill. They walked outside and hailed a cab. Before long, Sasha and Elaine were heading back to Sasha's house.

  When they arrived, Sasha climbed out of the cab and then pulled Elaine out after her. She threw some money to the driver and the two of them made their way up the driveway. Sasha glanced back at Elaine. "You're staying here tonight. I don't want you going back to that empty house and besides, you can't drive. Your cab is gone and it's too late for you to call for another one. I don't want you staying alone tonight, okay?" Elaine nodded silently.

  Chapter 8

  As Elaine and Sasha headed up the front walk, they became acutely aware of just how drunk they were. Sasha fumbled with her keys and after a few attempts, finally managed to get the front door open. They both tumbled through the entrance, each trying to keep each other from falling over. It wasn't the most successful attempt. Finally, after seeing Elaine start to slump on legs that refused to hold her up, Sasha simply held her up against the wall while Elaine took her shoes off.

  They were very close to one another. Elaine closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, taking in Sasha's scent. It made her feel dizzy well beyond the intoxification of the alcohol. She knew right then and there that she wanted Sasha at that instant. She looked deeply into Sasha's eyes and then, feeling bold because of the wine, she leaned forward and brushed Sasha's lips with her own.

  Sasha's head pulled back and her eyes widened. She was silent for a few heartbeats. Elaine could tell that Sasha was trying to decide what the next move would be. Elaine expected Sasha to push her away and, in truth, she wouldn't have blamed her. She was just hoping that it wouldn't happen. Elaine stared at Sasha, her eyes pleading for her to take a chance and try what Elaine was offering her.

  Sasha let out a soft sigh and stepped into Elaine's embrace. Her lips were the ones moving forward this time. Sasha brushed Elaine's mouth lightly at first and then, finally, more insistently and passionately. Elaine closed her eyes and revelled in the feeling of Sasha's breath against her mouth. She enjoyed the softness of her lips and the way Sasha's beautiful scent seemed to envelop her.

  After what felt like both an eternity and no time at all, Sasha broke off the kiss and leaned back, her breath gushing out of her in a sigh. "Oh Elaine, that was incredible." Her face reddened slightly as she stared at Elaine.

  Elaine moved forward and once again captured Sasha's mouth with her own. This time, she kissed her harder, more insistently. Her body felt alive; her skin tingled and she felt heat beginning to build between her legs. This time, Elaine allowed her hands to roam up and down Sasha's back. She reached down low to her hips and used her hands to pull Sasha tightly against her. Sasha twined her arms around Elaine's neck and slid her tongue in between Elaine's lips.

  Elaine loved the way Sasha felt against her. Her body was soft and yielded to Elaine's caresses. Then, Sasha pulled back and looked at Elaine. "If we want to do this right, it can't be here. Come with me." She reached down and took one of Elaine's hands, leading her to the bedroom.

  Once they were there, Sasha and Elaine began to kiss each other passionately. Elaine thought that their kissing and caressing in the hallway had been passionate but it was only going to get much hotter. Elaine peeled off Sasha's shirt and unhooked her bra, pulling the lacy green fabric away from Sasha's body. Her breasts were amazing. They were full and heavy but the nipples still proudly pointed upwards. They were a beautiful pale peach color.

  Elaine began to press her lips against Sasha's skin over and over again. She ran a trail of kisses from Sasha's jawbone down along her neck and along her shoulder blades. Sasha moaned. As Elaine kissed her, she used her hands to stroke and tease Sasha's breasts, playing with her nipples until they were hard and sensitive.

  Sasha wasn’t going to just relax and let Elaine kiss her. She started using her hands to unbutton Elaine's dress and soon, the two women were mostly naked. Elaine took a moment to appreciate Sasha's beautiful body. Her skin was pale and soft and her mound was heavenly to behold through the thin fabric of her thong underwear. There was only a small beautiful “landing strip” above her mound, but for the rest, her pussy was neatly shaven. Elaine began to kiss lower and lower, heading for the moist erotic spot between Sasha's legs. As she got lower, Elaine could hear Sasha moaning and panting with need.

  Elaine swung Sasha around and pushed her onto the bed, then climbed on top of her. She could feel Sasha's hands running over every inch of her body.

  "Oh Elaine, I’ve need you so badly. I've wanted you for so long." Sasha reached up and began to caress Elaine in return and Elaine purred with pleasure. She had wanted to be with Sasha for so long and could hardly believe that her dream was coming true. She moaned in ecstasy as Sasha's slender fingers teased and caressed her body.

  Then, Elaine began to move her head lower and when she was close to Sasha's core, Elaine slid the lacy fabric to the side and began to play with her mound. She could see Sasha's womanhood in front of her and she gasped with pleasure at how beautiful it looked. Her inner lips were a darker peach color and it was clear that Sasha was worked up and ready for Elaine to caress and pleasure her.

  She began to stroke Sasha, gently at first until she saw the gratification in her eyes. From the look on Sasha's face, it was a very sensual reaction. Her head was tilted back and her mouth had fallen open. Elaine could see her throat working as low moans escaped Sasha's mouth. Elaine slid up alongside Sasha while still keeping up the friction between her legs. She could feel Sasha's heat pouring over her hand. She knew Sasha was near the point of no return.

  Elaine began to kiss Sasha. She started with her neck and worked over to her mouth, flicking her tongue in and out as she did. Sasha was lost in her arousal and began to kiss her back in a blindly, passionate way. One of Sasha's hands wound itself in Elaine's thick dark hair while the other one pulled Elaine's hand tighter to her groin. Elaine quickened her pace, fingering her faster and ever so deeper. She soon felt Sasha tip over the edge as she let out a loud cry as an orgasm flowed through her body.

  When Sasha had calmed down, she opened her eyes and looked at Elaine. Her eyes were glowing with pleasure. "Oh Elaine, that was wonderful. I've often dreamed about doing this with you. I just knew it would feel amazing." Elaine saw Sasha's lips curve in an impish grin. "You know it's my time to return the favor, don't you?"

  When Elaine nodded, Sasha turned her onto her back, and placed a pillow under her backside that made her mound protrude up into the air. Sasha started to lick her hard as Elaine’s hips continued to rise from the bed as she grinded against her mouth. She continued to passionately suck and lick against her needy core, which drew out the sexiest moan she had ever heard. Soon Elaine was almost whimpering with pleasure on the bed. She started begging “Yes, just like that...Yes, yes". Her moans were starting to drive Sasha crazy, and she could feel the liquid desire rising again between her legs. She thrust her fingers wildly inside of Elaine as she spread her wide and sucked on her clit.

  "Sasha!" she screamed as her whole body arched from the bed, her fingers twisting into the sheets. "Yes, please don't stop..."her pleasured voice moaning as her juices ran down her legs, while Sasha lapped eagerly at her delicious pussy. Her body convulsed madly as her orgasm took over. Sasha wrapped her arms around her slim waist, holding her tightly against her mouth, drinking in her liquid orgasm. She writhed and bucked her hips a few more times before finally relaxing against the mattress. Sasha released her grip, wiping her essence off her chin with her fingers. Elaine opened her eyes and stared, her face masked with absolute shock and satisfaction.

  After each of
the women caressed the other and their climaxes began to fade, they wrapped their arms around one another and dozed off for the night. As she fell asleep, it occurred to Elaine that she couldn't remember another time when she had felt so happy and utterly satisfied by what she had experienced.

  It seemed like only a few hours later when Elaine awoke, the morning sun washing over her. She looked around the room and when she saw Sasha curled up in bed next to her, her heart felt full of joy. Her body still tingled from all the delights she had felt the night before. She slipped out of bed and walked down the hall, looking for a bathroom. When she got back to the bedroom, she found Sasha awake. She was propped up on pillows and was watching Elaine with a guarded look on her face.

  "Elaine, what happened last night, were you okay with it? I mean, I didn't know that you were interested in women, not that way. I just," her voice trailed off for a moment. "I'm just surprised that you were so enthusiastic last night." Sasha looked down at her lap for a moment. "Growing up you always seemed like you were, well, straight." Sasha looked puzzled.

  Elaine sighed and looked down at the floor. She felt a wave of nerves sweep over her. Now was the time that she would have to come clean with Sasha. Her palms started to feel sweaty.

  "Sasha, I've always felt this way. I’ve always loved and desired you. Right from the start, I wanted to be with you, but I thought it was wrong. Now, though, I just want to be with you. Please, Sasha, tell me you have feelings for me." Elaine looked at Sasha beseechingly.

  Sasha went pale and her eyes looked wide and upset. "Always loved me? Always cared about me? I don't remember your mother ever saying you cared about me, not even once. I doubt my name ever came up in her conversations with you. I never got a phone call or anything. Not one word from you. Now you say that you love me? I doubt that, Elaine. I think you're just scared because your mother is dead and now you’re scared because you feel alone and insecure." Sasha turned her head and Elaine saw tears trickling down her face.

  "Get dressed and get out of my house. I don't want to hear you talking that nonsense anymore." Sasha stared at Elaine for a moment and then hopped out of bed. She strode past Elaine and as she did, said "I don't want you here when I get back from the bathroom. Get your things and leave." Then, as Elaine reeled back in shock, Sasha strode out of the room and was gone.

  Chapter 9

  As the taxi she had called drove along the street, Elaine felt her heart breaking as she headed back to her mother's house. She knew that telling Sasha how she felt was indeed disingenuous and insincere. It had been a mistake. She should have done it gradually but with everything that had happened in the last few days, Elaine really hadn't been thinking straight. Elaine found her mind traveling back to the night before and the passion that she and Sasha had shared.

  It couldn't have all been faked, she thought. There had to have been some kind of attraction and need on Sasha's part. Elaine couldn't figure out why Sasha had reacted so negatively to what she had tried to say. She hoped that Sasha’s reaction had simply been the shock of her stepping suddenly into her life, especially with the bad news about her Mom. She had hoped it wasn’t her stepsister disliking her for all those years.

  The cab pulled up in front of her mother's house and Elaine looked at it sadly. It already felt less like home than it had while her mother was still alive. She walked through the front door and found herself waiting for her mother to call out a greeting. The grief she felt when she realized that would no longer happen was crushing. She knew what she had to do. The home had asked for her to pick out an outfit for her mother to wear. Elaine went to her mother's room and began to look through the clothing, trying to find something that felt like her mother. Soon, though, tears were rolling down her face and she grabbed the first dress she saw that she remembered seeing Janine wear.

  After that, Elaine went back to her room and looked around. Before she had met Sasha again, it had felt warm, full of happy memories and fantasies. Now, though, that she knew Sasha didn't return her feelings, Elaine felt like it was simply another small dingy children's room. Her belongings looked sad and out of place and looking at Sasha's half of the room was overwhelmingly painful. She felt like she had lost everyone close to her.

  Elaine ran the outfit over to the funeral home and dropped it off. The staff there were all polite and professional and they ran over the timings for the visitation and funeral. Elaine returned to her mother's house and sat in the dark kitchen, sipping instant coffee in a cracked mug and thinking about what her next step would be.

  The next day was a blur. Elaine had arranged for the funeral home to come and pick her up. She stayed there all day long as handfuls of mourners filed through, passing on their condolences. Many of the faces looked completely unfamiliar to her and she felt uncomfortable when they wanted to embrace her. She tried to keep up a straight face but the only person that she wanted was Sasha. Sasha never came.

  Part way through the day, she had called Tom to let him know what was going on. She had been sending him a steady stream of text messages, none of which mentioned the evening that she had spent with Sasha. She felt terrible but knew that Tom simply wouldn't understand everything that she was going through. She knew he definitely wouldn't forgive the night Elaine had spent with Sasha.

  She spent a sleepless night at her mother's, tossing and turning on her old bed. Every time she closed her eyes, Elaine kept seeing Sasha, and feeling her body as it moved against hers. A number of times she had sat upright in bed, staring out at the dark after she swore she had heard Sasha's voice or smelled her perfume. Every time, though, she realised she was simply alone in the dark and had gone to bed with a heavy heart.

  The next day was the funeral. Again, the same mourners showed up and again, Elaine endured their sympathy without complaint. Her aunt Bethany showed up with her husband and Elaine's cousins but they only came for the funeral and left shortly after. Although Elaine scanned the small crowd looking for Sasha, she never saw her. The graveside service was hard to bear but soon it was all over and Elaine was headed back to her temporary home.

  Sasha had never come. Elaine thought about calling her, but changed her mind. Not coming was a fairly definite sign that Sasha was not interested in seeing Elaine again. Her heart breaking, Elaine began the process of packing up her mother's items so that the house could be sold. It was so hard to see Janine's things wrapped in newspaper or packed into boxes. After only an hour or so, Elaine felt like she just couldn't go on.

  The photo albums were the hardest. Elaine knew that if she looked through the albums from when she was younger, there would be photos of her and Sasha together. They were something she wanted to see and but also dreaded. The last thing she thought she could handle was to look back on happier times with the people she had loved.

  Elaine decided to leave the photos for another day and piled them neatly on the kitchen table. She looked around, found a wine glass and a bottle of the red wine her mother loved best, and took them to the living room. She stretched out on the couch, popped the cork, and sat back with the intention of getting truly drunk.

  It didn't take long. Elaine had only picked at the food that the funeral home had laid out and had not stayed long at the luncheon. She had just wanted to get home to start processing everything that had happened. Part way through her first glass she began to get the warm, lightheaded feeling she loved. She kept drinking, and soon the bottle was empty.

  Elaine thought about getting up to grab another bottle. Her mother always loved to entertain and had always kept a dozen wine bottles on hand, so there was plenty for Elaine to drink. She stood up and was surprised to see the room was spinning. She dropped her glass and heard it break. She took a step, trying to get to the kitchen so that she could clean up her mess but she felt a shiver of pain lance through her foot. She looked down, not surprised to see blood pouring out of a cut on the bottom of her foot. It looked bad.

  She tried hopping to the kitchen but her foot really hurt. Her head was
swimming. Elaine thought she heard the door to the house opening and turned to look but the movement threw her off balance. As she crashed drunkenly to the floor, she was sure she saw Sasha staring at her, a look of shock and concern on her face. Elaine felt her head strike something hard, and then there was only blackness.

  Chapter 10

  Elaine's head ached. She opened her eyes and winced as she was blinded by the strong sunlight. She was in a hospital bed. She looked around the room. Like her mother, it was a private room so there were no other patients. There was, however, someone slumped in the reclining chair. It was Sasha.

  Elaine couldn't see her face, but the waterfall of bright red hair that cascaded over the arm of the chair was a definite giveaway. Sasha's red hair was beautiful. There were different shades and highlights in her locks and they were thick and wavy. As a teenager, Sasha had always complained and wept about the fact that her father had never let her cut or color her hair. Elaine found it interesting that even as an adult now, Sasha continued to let her hair grow with no changes made to it.

  Elaine swung her legs out of bed and saw that one of her feet was completely bandaged. It ached. She vaguely remembered drinking the night before and stepping on broken glass. She had fallen. Had it been because Sasha had shown up at her mother's? Elaine wasn't totally sure. That part of the evening was a little blurry.

  Elaine looked at the IV drip that fed into her left hand. It wasn't on a pole, so she rang the call button for a nurse. As she did, Sasha woke with a start and looked at Elaine, a bleary, exhausted look on her face. "Oh! You're awake."