Love, From A to Z

by Robin Alexander

  Zoe burst out laughing as Alicia slowed the boat and let it drift until it stopped. When she released the anchor, Zoe’s eyes flew open wide and she asked, “What did you hit?”

  “Thanks for the faith in me. That’s the anchor being dropped.”

  Zoe shrugged with a meek smile. “Sorry about that.”

  “I’m throwing you out now,” Alicia said with a laugh. “You have to go sit on the deck while I get dinner ready. I realized too late that something was wrong with my grill, and I was gonna cook some fish on it for you. That changed all of my dinner plans, but I think you might get a kick out of the substitution.”

  “What is it?”

  “I’m not telling.” Alicia took Zoe’s hand and led her down the stairs and to a small seating area on the rear deck. She opened a compartment and pointed to a rack of CDs. “Pick anything you’d like to listen to. There’s a player on the shelf above. I’ll be right back with dinner.”

  Zoe dug through Alicia’s collection of CDs that contained everything from Dru Hill to Sheryl Crow, and finally settled on Sarah McLachlan. She put the CD in the player and turned the volume low before she turned her gaze to the lake. She stared at the trees lining the bank in the distance and the way the light of the setting sun played on the water. She’d grown up in Pitre Harbor and the sights before her were typical, but that evening she appreciated the beauty of it all because she was sharing it with Alicia. She couldn’t help but laugh softly.

  “What’s so funny?” Alicia asked as she walked onto the deck carrying a huge, old-fashioned picnic basket.

  “The irony. There was a time both of us would’ve chewed one of our hands off to escape the presence of the other, and here we are.”

  Alicia smiled as she set out plates and cutlery on the table. “I was thinking the same thing when we were making our confessions.” She placed another wineglass on the table and the bottle of wine Zoe had opened. “Sit down and let me explain dinner.”

  “I don’t care if it’s peanut butter and jelly sandwiches,” Zoe said sincerely as she took a seat.

  “Good, because there are sandwiches.” Alicia set a container on the table. “Last year, when we were both at Tessa Martin’s wedding, I heard you tell someone you wished Swedish meatballs and wedding food were served in restaurants, because you’d eat them every day. I hid a Crock-Pot in a closet hoping you wouldn’t smell them before I could surprise you.” She smiled as she watched Zoe’s intense gaze follow the dish she took from the basket.

  “You made them for me,” Zoe said in awe.

  “Yes, and all of them are for you because I know you’re capable of eating an entire batch.” Alicia laughed. “You cleaned out the whole dish at Tessa’s reception.”

  Zoe burst out laughing. “I did! I hoped nobody noticed how many times I hit that table. Of course, you did.”

  Alicia began opening all of the containers after she’d set them out. There were finger sandwiches, assorted cheeses, fruit, and cheesecake. She presented Zoe a serving spoon as though she was giving a queen the royal scepter. “For your Highness, dig in.”

  “Wow, first a turtle and now, this. I’m touched. Seriously, I really am,” Zoe said with a big smile.

  “I won’t mention what I had to walk into in order to get that turtle.” Alicia poured a glass of wine for herself and topped off Zoe’s. She kicked off her shoes and curled her legs up on the bench with her when she sat. “I wanted to prove that I really have been secretly admiring you for a long time, and I’m thrilled about being the third woman. I wish I’d known sooner, I wouldn’t have held her back from you. I have to tell you though, it was diabolical and brilliant to tell me about her while I was flat on my back with my legs dangling off your short table and I couldn’t speak or move.”

  “I thought to myself, it’s now or never. It wasn’t one of my better choices because my hands were shaking while I was putting those strips on you.” Zoe spooned some meatballs onto Alicia’s plate and grinned. “Enjoy those, that’s probably all you’re gonna get.”

  “I’m happy.”

  Zoe gazed at Alicia for a moment. “I am too.”

  “You’ve never looked at me like that before.”

  “How am I looking at you?” Zoe asked with a smile before she ate a meatball.

  “With appreciation.” Alicia thought for a moment. “With…expectation that something good might happen between us? I don’t know how to describe it exactly. It’s just different and I—”

  “Oh my God,” Zoe exclaimed and covered her mouth with her hand.

  “Too hot? Does it taste bad?” Alicia asked with dread.

  “These meatballs are a hundred times better than the ones at Tessa’s wedding. They’re better than any I’ve ever had!”

  “Oh good.” Alicia breathed out a sigh of relief as Zoe popped another meatball into her mouth and chewed quickly.

  A moment or two later, Zoe slowly set her fork down on her plate. “I’m sorry.”

  “They’re really not good?”

  “They’re the best I’ve ever had.” Zoe stared the reflection of the setting sun on the water. “Yes, I’m feeling all of the things you saw in my eyes. I see that in yours too and suddenly I’m really nervous.”

  “Me too.” Alicia took a sip of her wine. “I really wanna down this glass, and a few more, but I have to be able to get us back to the marina. Grape jelly and a tiny dash of cayenne pepper are the secret to the meatball recipe. It’s my Mom’s. She pokes a hole in the meatball when she really wants the sauce to soak in fast, so I poked a half a dozen holes in those. I’m really glad the grill broke because it made me think about what else to cook and then I remembered Tessa’s wedding reception. I’m gonna eat a sandwich now, so I’ll stop babbling.”

  Zoe started eating the meatballs again and laughed when Alicia steadily stuffed cheese, grapes, and sandwiches into her mouth and chewed fast. “We aren’t used to seeing this side of each other. It’s almost like we’re strangers now.”

  “But I know so much about you.” Alicia took another sip of her wine and smiled. “I know you hated the bows and barrettes your mom put in your hair when we were in grade school. You pulled them out every day when you got on the school bus. I know your favorite color is blue, especially dark blue because all of your book sacks were that color, and you still wear a lot of blue clothes. You pucker your lips when you’re thinking about something. You don’t like country music, you frown whenever a country song plays at Jack’s. You don’t wear mascara unless you’re going somewhere special…and you’re wearing it tonight.”

  “You’re romantic.” Zoe waved a hand at the food and the sunset. “Look at all of this.” Her hand shook as she reached for her wineglass. “In all of my fantasies I didn’t—I didn’t imagine this. Help me, be the old Alicia I knew for just a second so I don’t lose control on you.”

  “You have sauce on your shirt.” Alicia shrugged when Zoe gawked at her. “Sorry, I can’t call you the things I used to. I want to adopt five cats and five dogs, so I’ll have an excuse to come to your office every day. That tan tunic, work shirt thing you were wearing today is fucking ugly, but I thought you were sexy in it.” Alicia frowned and began reciting some of their history. “The night you came to Jack’s and I was with Brooke, I thought you still hated me and I tried to hate you but I couldn’t. Then you got involved with Wren and I was with Brooke and we rarely saw each other. I was able to put you out of my mind until Tessa’s wedding and not long after that you must’ve broken up with Wren, and you started coming around the bar again. I was there a lot too because Brooke and I were fighting all of the time and then I found out she was cheating on me. At the same time you were fucking Liz! I would have died if I’d known you’d been with her. The jealousy would’ve been too much and right now, that I’m thinking about it, I wanna to choke her ghost!” Alicia started closing all of the food containers. “Then there was a flood and we had to share a room and I found out you were gay, but I thought you still hated me. I watche
d you sleeping in my old bed for hours willing myself to hate you too so I wouldn’t want you. Then you told me you wanted me too and here we are on a first date. I’m head to toe desire and I want you, but I am trying to be respectable! Is this helping?” Alicia yelled.

  “No. You were doing okay until you got to the desire part and made it much worse,” Zoe replied calmly. “Now, I know we are literally and figuratively in the same boat. Thanks for that.”

  Alicia stood and grabbed the containers of sandwiches and meatballs. She took them over to a small refrigerator beneath the CD cabinet where she started throwing cans of soda and beer onto the deck to make room for the food. She tossed the containers into the fridge and slammed the door before she returned to the table, but remained standing. “I don’t know what’s about to happen, but that stuff won’t keep in the heat.”

  “You forgot the cheesecake.”

  “Shit.” Alicia inhaled sharply and folded her arms. “I want you to know I was trying really hard not to seduce you until you said what you did about losing control!”

  “Why are you yelling at me?”

  “This is the closest to the old Alicia as I can get. You asked me to help you and I’m trying to do that.”

  Zoe used both of her shaking hands to lift her glass to her lips and she drank the rest of her wine. She stood up and headed for the door. “I’m going into the first bedroom I find and you better be behind me. Don’t trip on one of the cans you just threw everywhere.”

  “First door to the right, Zoe,” Alicia snapped as she followed her inside.

  “I never took orders from you and I’m not about to now,” Zoe retorted but went into the first room on the right anyway. She whirled around to face Alicia. “Don’t try to boss me around in here.”

  “Oh, you want a fight?” Alicia asked with a smile as she pulled Zoe close. “I’ll give you one.”

  Zoe smiled too. “You’re not shaking like I am.”

  “This is the first time I’ve ever held you, and I’m too caught up in the experience to feel anything else,” Alicia said before she kissed Zoe.

  When their lips parted, Zoe whispered, “That was a perfect first kiss. You’re shaking now, so does that mean that it was perfect?”

  “Wholeheartedly,” Alicia replied as she planted kisses along Zoe’s jaw.

  Zoe closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side when Alicia grazed her teeth over the skin of her neck. Alicia’s erratic breathing and the feel of her body pressed snugly against hers replaced Zoe’s nervousness with desire that burned through her from head to toe. She grabbed fistfuls of Alicia’s shirt and tugged up on it until Alicia raised her arms and allowed her to pull it over her head. Zoe removed Alicia’s bra next and released a shuddering breath as she ran her hands over Alicia’s bare skin. They both breathed heavily into bruising kisses. The sun had set, and Alicia’s hands were roaming over Zoe’s body and added to her disorientation in the dark room. She intended to walk Alicia back until she fell onto the bed; instead, she pushed Alicia into a wall.

  Zoe had become so aggressive, and with her back against the wall, and their bodies melded together, Alicia struggled to undress her. She grabbed Zoe’s hips with both hands and pushed her back slightly during a kiss, and managed to unbutton and unzip Zoe’s shorts. Zoe broke the kiss and removed her own shirt and bra. Alicia gasped when Zoe pressed her body into hers again; the sensation was paralyzing. Alicia leaned heavily into the wall with her eyes clamped shut and Zoe’s mouth on her neck. She was overwhelmed by all she felt, physically and emotionally. She couldn’t make a sound to express her disappointment when Zoe wiggled out of her embrace and broke the contact. Zoe dropped to her knees, undid Alicia’s shorts and yanked them and her underwear to her ankles. Alicia stepped out of her clothes and tugged on Zoe’s hair, gently urging her to stand. She found her voice when Zoe pressed her face between her legs instead.

  Alicia’s guttural cry and the feel of her heat and wetness against Zoe’s tongue made Zoe crave more access. She didn’t want to waste the time to move to the bed, and pulled on Alicia’s hand, urging her to sink down onto the floor. Alicia pulled harder until Zoe stood, and resisted Alicia’s attempt to push her toward the bed. She didn’t want to relinquish control and she used her weight to keep Alicia against the wall. “Not yet,” she whispered against Alicia’s ear. “This is part of one of my favorite fantasies.” She pressed her hand between Alicia’s legs. Alicia groaned and shuddered when Zoe slipped two fingers inside of her and began thrusting slowly.

  “Do it,” Alicia said hoarsely when Zoe pressed three fingers against her opening. She’d lost the struggle for dominance and pressed her face into Zoe’s neck, digging her fingers into Zoe’s back. She was going to let Zoe do anything she wanted and she was sure Zoe knew that.

  Zoe explored Alicia, teasing every sensitive spot. She felt Alicia’s mouth open against her neck when she found the combination of strokes that would take Alicia over the edge. She became relentless, wanting to hear more of Alicia’s muffled cries. When Alicia gripped her harder and sometimes held her breath, Zoe couldn’t control the sounds coming from her own throat. Her knees felt weak when Alicia went completely quiet and still for a few moments before she shuddered and gasped for breath. Zoe rested her head against Alicia’s, thinking about what had been missing in her fantasies. It was a connection she felt that went well beyond physical. “You gave me a good fight, but I won that one,” she whispered with a smile.

  “I would call it a tie.” Alicia wrapped her arms tightly around Zoe walked her backward into the foot of the bed. She let Zoe go then and pushed her down and removed the rest of her clothes. Alicia crawled after Zoe as she scooted up further on the bed. She sucked in breath between her clenched teeth when Zoe gently pinched one of her nipples. “Are you determined to show me you’re not gonna be bossed around?” Alicia asked, laying atop Zoe and pinning her wandering hands to the bed.

  Zoe grinned. “I’ve spent most of a lifetime trying to prove to you that I can give as good as I can take.” She wrapped her legs around Alicia’s and groaned when Alicia pressed her wetness into hers. “Right now, I don’t know if I’m giving or taking.”

  Alicia kissed Zoe slowly, grinding into her, feeling Zoe’s grip steadily tightening on her hands. Zoe’s legs were like a vise, and Alicia realized she was trapped again and on the verge of another orgasm. “You’re about to make me come again, and I’m feeling really selfish,” she said shakily.

  Alicia’s words were like a lightning bolt and it struck Zoe right between the legs. Her eyes flew open wide when intense waves hit her one after the other and she gasped for breath. Alicia followed right behind her prolonging the pleasure of the moment. That orgasm only made her want more and she released her hold on Alicia who took advantage of her freedom and began a slow descent down Zoe’s body, teasing her with nips and kisses.

  Zoe inhaled sharply as Alicia’s mouth closed over one of her nipples. “This is the best fight we ever had,” she said breathlessly. She smiled when she heard Alicia laugh, but her smile faded as Alicia moved lower. The muscles in her stomach twitched beneath the skin that Alicia’s lips brushed. She pressed on Alicia’s shoulders urging her to move faster.

  Alicia didn’t resist. She settled between Zoe’s legs, eager to please. If she had it her way she’d stay there all night.

  Zoe felt as though she was a keg of dynamite and Alicia was a fast-burning fuse. Alicia’s fingers were moving inside of her and her tongue kept the same rhythm. The sensations were so intense Zoe grabbed fistfuls of the bedding and squeezed as hard as she could, feeling as though she was literally about to explode. She couldn’t breathe or make a sound when the orgasm overtook her. She heard Alicia’s moan though, and as the pleasurable waves subsided, her sole focus was on making Alicia moan like that again.

  Alicia had a flashback of the third grade when Zoe pulled her hair again, but this time the tug was gentle. She didn’t want to move, but Zoe’s tug became more insistent. As she made
her way up Zoe’s body, Zoe scooted down and sucked one of her nipples into her mouth. Alicia bit her bottom lip when she felt Zoe’s hand on her backside urging her to move higher, and she did. Alicia balanced on her knees and pressed her hands against the wall, wondering how she would explain to her dad the next day why she couldn’t walk and wouldn’t be at work.

  *******

  “Hey,” Zoe said when Alicia sank down onto the bed beside her.

  “I’m not talking to you.”

  Zoe laughed as she put her head on Alicia’s shoulder and threw one leg over Alicia. “You have an amazing body,” she said as she placed her hand on Alicia’s stomach.

  “What’ve you got against my legs?”

  “I did make you stand and kneel a lot, didn’t I?” Zoe kissed Alicia’s neck. “I promise to keep you on your back for the rest of the night.”

  “Just my thighs are complaining, the rest of me is extremely happy.” Alicia chuckled. “I think my seduction of you should go into the books as the strangest ever. Who yells at someone to lure them into bed?”

  “It worked on me. I almost cracked up when you were throwing those cans all over the place, but I wasn’t sure if you were really mad.”

  Alicia grinned as she toyed with a lock of Zoe’s hair. “I was going crazy. I swear my hopes for this evening were a romantic dinner and a kiss goodnight. When you got out of that car I felt like everything inside of me turned into a coiled spring. You came because you wanted to be with me too, and that made me want to do and express things I never could before. When you asked me to act like my old self to keep you from losing control that spring went boing and I lost my mind,” she said and cracked up when Zoe did.

  “That wasn’t actually a seduction, you know. You didn’t have to entice me to want you too. What I think is strange we’ve been seducing each other for years and we didn’t know it. Does that make us stubborn or stupid?”

  “Perfect for each other,” Alicia replied with a smile.

  “Are you gonna turn your lava lamp on since it’s dark now?” Zoe asked teasingly.