Semi colons inserted by Barbara Davies.
Squirrels borrowed from Advocate.
A Handful of Heaven
Part 4
By Midgit
Tori woke slowly, and the sight that filled her vision was her lover, her partner, her saviour. Her Eden.
It was a quiet and peaceful Sunday morning. The curtains billowed softly, the sound of birdsong the loudest noise to disturb the peace. That and the steady gentle breathing of the woman in her bed.
Tori didn't move, enjoying this moment of peace.
The green eyes fluttered open and regarded her sleepily. "D'you always do this?" asked the sleepy voice.
"Watch you?"
"Mmm," confirmed Eden.
"Whenever I get the chance. Does it bother you?"
Eden shook her head, closing her eyes again. "But one day I'm going to wake up and watch you sleep. One day..." she mumbled as she dozed off again.
Tori slipped out of bed and into the bathroom, returning to the bedroom a few moments later. She went onto the small balcony and sat in the small wicker sofa that they'd put there.
The garden was beautiful. On two tiers, the most striking feature of the lower one was the large pond with the small waterfall that fell from the upper tier.
Knowing nothing about fish or how to keep them, they employed a young man who came a few times a week to keep the pond clean and feed the fish.
She felt soft lips brush her shoulder, and a warm body fitted itself to her side on the small sofa.
Eden had brought a sheet with her and used it to cover them both before snuggling into Tori's embrace. "You'll scandalise the neighbours," said Eden, resting her head on Tori's shoulder.
"The reason we bought this house was that it was so secluded," she said, looking for any gaps in the foliage that could allow a nosy neighbour a view.
"What about hot air balloons?" she said, remembering turning over one day whilst sunbathing to see a giant banana floating overhead.
And that memory conjured up another. A memory of swimming late one evening, using the pool to cool her sunburnt skin. Yes, Tori had warned her. "You're burning," she'd said, standing over her lover and blocking out the sun. And then had knelt and applied a rather generous amount of sun block, to every surface. Which had sent Eden into a comfortable slumber. So Tori had gone indoors and returned with a thin sheet, covering the blonde and positioning a parasol to keep the sun from her face. She knew she'd probably be in trouble with her lover, who was taking advantage of a particularly beautiful day to 'top up her tan'. But she decided it was worth the risk to save the blonde the pain of a nasty burn.
Eden had woken later, the sun lowering behind the trees at the border of their large garden, and a slight breeze causing the temperature to drop enough to wake her.
Her frown when she discovered the sheet covering her was quickly replaced by a smile when she realised why her lover had covered her. But she was still a little warm, so she took a quick walk into the large conservatory which held the pool, and dove in.
She was swimming lazily, stroking slowly up and down the pool in the dimming light. She heard a splash behind her and looked around but could see nothing but the disturbed water at one end of the pool.
The she felt cool hands on her thighs, sliding up her torso and cupping her breasts. A dark head broke the surface, and warm lips found hers.
The large hands moved around to her back, cupping her behind and lifting. Eden's legs automatically curled around the taller woman's waist, their bodies meeting at every possible point.
Eden held on, her mouth consumed by that of her lover's, her body on fire even in the cool water of the pool.
Tori's long fingers reached lower, finding the warmth, and she heard the gasp as her lover arched in her arms. Tori leaned back, better to see the blonde's face, loving the almost dazed look the blonde took on in the throes of passion.
Eden's breasts were just above the water, and Tori bent her head and took one hard nipple into her mouth, flicking the tip with her tongue before taking the hard bud between her teeth. As her fingers dove into Eden's wetness, her teeth performed their own torture.
Eden took the dark head between her hands, pulling the tormenting mouth away from her breast, and captured the soft lips with her own. She moaned her passion into her lover's mouth as the woman lifted her higher in the water.
She threw her head back. Tori's fingers stroked and filled her. Her strong arms pulled her closer bringing her into delicious contact with her lover's taut stomach. The pressure built suddenly; the amazing contrast of the cool water and the furnace her lover's hands were stoking pushed her into a sexual oblivion.
And then she was falling limply forward into Tori's arms, her head resting on her lover's broad shoulder.
Tori cradled her sated body in her arms as she moved towards the steps that led out of the pool. She turned as she reached them, and sat on the bottom one with Eden on her lap.
"I'm glad we got the house with the pool," said Eden huskily, her lips finding an earlobe.
"Me too," said Tori. "Wanna try the Jacuzzi?"
Eden chuckled at the memory and snuggled closer to Tori.
"What?" said the taller woman.
"Just remembering our first time in the pool."
"What, the night we both got chucked in during the housewarming?"
Eden shook her head. "No, after I fell asleep outside."
"Oh, that first time." She looked down at the blond limpet attached to her side, finding twinkling green eyes.
"What d'you want to do today? There's an operatic thingy on at Victoria Park tonight."
"Dammit," said Eden very quietly.
"Dammit?"
"I forgot. I arranged to meet Jude tonight." She felt the taller woman stiffen beside her and drew back to see into her face. "That's ok isn't it?"
Tori smiled, though the smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "Of course it's ok, why shouldn't it be?"
"No reason at all as far as I know. She's catching the early National Express in the morning to Heathrow; I just wanted to say goodbye."
"No, it's fine," said Tori as she stood, leaving the blonde sitting on the sofa. "I have some work to do."
Eden shivered as her source of heat left her alone on the balcony. She pulled the sheet tighter around herself and went in search of her lover.
She was always amazed how fast Tori could get dressed. On the other hand, it also amazed her how quickly her lover could divest herself of her clothing when the need arises.
She found Tori staring blankly at the computer screen, and it was only when Eden placed gentle hands on her lover's shoulders that Tori blinked back into reality.
"Hey," said Eden, massaging the tense muscles she found beneath her hands. "What's up?"
"Nothing's up." Tori opened a couple of folders and began working.
"Don't you trust me?"
The long fingers hovered above the keyboard. "Of course I trust you."
"But you're not happy about me going out with Jude." It wasn't a question.
Tori released a long sigh, and her head dropped. "Eden, you're free to go out with whoever you please."
"So why are you working?" She walked past the seated woman and leaned against the table. "I thought we agreed no working on a weekend."
"The website needs some attention. You know how important that is." Tori started typing again, and then rifled through a drawer, pulling out a light blue folder. She selected a couple of photographs and put them into the scanner.
Eden scrubbed her face with her hands. Her lover's ability to totally kill a mood in a matter of seconds drove her to distraction. She looked at the angular profile as Tori worked on getting the highest quality image of the photograph of the rather dingy little house. Eden realised the conversation was at an end. She knew her lover was having a problem with her meeting her old friend, but she wasn't going to push Tori into a fight. But she wasn't going to let Tori's sulk stop her meeting Jude. She was mesmerised for a moment by the light from the monitor reflecting off the crystal blue eyes. Then those eyes were directed at her.
"What?" asked Tori.
Eden released a long sigh. "Nothing." And she left the woman to her work.
The rest of the day passed in stilted silence, only broken by polite requests answered equally politely. Eden had called Tori down from the small computer room to share a ham and pasta salad she had made. They ate in silence on the patio. Tori complimented Eden on the food and cleared up the dishes before returning to the small room.
Eden looked out over the garden for a long time, watching the pair of squirrels foraging in the shade. Their heads swung in her direction as she stood and walked to the edge of the pond. Obviously realising she wasn't a ravenous beast intent upon eating them they continued their foraging.
Eden briefly considered explaining to them her melancholy mood, but thought better of it.
"I won't bore you, squiggles," she explained to the oblivious animals, using the name she gave them as a three year old.
She made her way back up to the bedroom to change in readiness for her night out with Jude.
It was just after 7pm that Eden once again appeared in the doorway of the small computer room. Tori looked up from her work. "Do you need a lift into town?"
Eden shook her head. "I have a taxi booked."
"Okay. Well, have a good time." Tori went back to her typing.
Eden crossed the room quietly, gently lifted and turned her lover's face and placed a soft kiss on Tori's lips. "I love you," she said softly. "And if you want to join us later, you know you're welcome to. We'll be in the Tap."
Tori gave her a small smile. "I love you too. Thankyou."
They gazed into each other's eyes for a long moment, before the sound of a car horn jogged them out of the mood.
"Taxi's here," said Eden, her face still very close to Tori's.
Tori gave the blonde's lips another peck. "D'you need a lift home?"
Eden straightened and shook her head. "No, I'll either get a taxi or Jude will give me a lift - she always rents a car wherever she goes." She cupped her lover's cheek, "See you later."
"Yeah, later," said Tori and went back to her typing.
Eden shook her head slightly as she left the room, but there was a small smile on her lips.
Jude was waiting in the Bath Tap when Eden arrived. She stood as her friend entered the pub and swiftly moved to give her a hug.
"What are you drinking?" she asked as she guided Eden towards the bar.
"Just a coke I think."
"Okay." She turned towards the bar tender, who was deep in conversation with a dark haired man. "Joe, gimme a coke here will you."
Joe quickly produced a glass of coke, which Jude paid for and the two women made their way back to the table Jude had staked out as theirs. The pub was only half full, and there was a pleasantly relaxed atmosphere.
"I can't believe how good you look," said Jude taking a sip of her juice. "Being in love agrees with you."
Eden blushed.
"I see nothing has changed." Jude laughed seeing the redness of her former lover's face.
"Everything has changed." Eden leaned back in her chair, and crossed her denim-clad legs.
"Tell me about her." Jude leaned forward on her elbows, and watched the blonde intently and saw the green eyes soften.
Eden shrugged. "I don't know where to start."
"Where did you meet her?"
"She was looking for a place to rent. I was in the window of the shop, trying to work out which picture a couple of clients were talking about when I saw her. She was standing outside, in the rain. I thought she was the saddest and most beautiful woman I'd ever seen."
Jude leaned back, enjoying watching the blonde that she still loved talking about the woman she was obviously very much in love with.
"I was completely distracted," Eden continued. "In the end I had to excuse myself and hand the customers over to Mark. I went outside and asked her if I could help her." Eden sighed. "She looked down at me with those eyes and I could have melted on the spot." She paused for a moment, remembering the first time she had fallen into those azure pools. Then she looked up at Jude. "She does have beautiful eyes, doesn't she. I'm not just being biased, am I?"
"No, honey, you're not being biased. She's a very beautiful woman." Jude paused. "Who is also a very lucky woman."
Again the blush. "Anyway, that evening I asked her out."
"You did?" Jude was sceptical.
"Kind of. Cathy persuaded me to."
"Cathy is a good friend."
Eden nodded. "She's been the best friend I could ever wish for. She's never judged me and has always supported me. Even when I was shot............" Eden drew in a sharp breath. "Oh my God."
"You were shot?!" Jude was horrified.
"We kind of left that out didn't we." Eden reached across and picked up her drink again. Taking a large mouthful, she tried to find a way of telling Jude the story.
Back at the house in Combe Down, Tori Conrad was pacing, as she had been since Eden had left. She'd left her seat in the computer room to watch her lover get into the taxi and leave without a backward glance.
She knew she was being unreasonable, and she couldn't fathom why she'd given Eden the silent treatment all afternoon. She also knew she needed the blonde woman, and it was that need which made her angry. She'd never needed anything before in her life, and now found her very existence depending on a small blonde girl with twinkling green eyes. She was sure Jude was no threat to their relationship, so why begrudge the American a few hours with her lover? Why indeed.
Tori was insecure; it was a simple as that. She still had no confidence in her ability to provide Eden with the love and security she was sure the blonde deserved. She still considered herself unworthy of Eden's love and felt someone like Jude would make a much more suitable life companion. Jude was everything she felt she wasn't. Loving, secure, dependable ... all words which would hardly be used to describe herself.
As the evening went on, her internal debate wore her down. Memories of the shooting returned, and the more recent memory of her breaking down the previous evening. But then the memory of their lovemaking into the small hours of the morning sidled in amongst the unpleasant ones and the beginnings of a smile appeared on the drawn face.
Tori sat in the sofa in their lounge and looked around her. This was their home, the place they'd decided they wanted to make a home together. They'd made love in most of the rooms, the garage being the odd one out, but Tori was working on that. They'd chosen the furniture together, the decor. They'd argued in this house, then spent hours making up. It was the first place she'd ever had that she could call home. She'd never had someone waiting for her before and remembered the first time she'd had to go to London to meet Richard to sort out some business with him. Richard had agreed to advertise some of their properties in his London office, and he needed Tori in London to sign the agreement. He offered her a bed for the night when the meeting had gone on past 11pm, but she declined. She'd made a promise to Eden that she would be home, and had sworn she would never break a promise to her lover again.
It was just after 1.30am when she pulled into the garage. She saw the light on in the lounge and found Eden fast asleep on the sofa.
"Hey there," she said, gently moving away the blonde hair that had fallen across her lover's face.
"You're home," said Eden groggily and looked past her at the VCR so that she could see the illuminated clock. "Blimey, it's late." Eden swung her legs off of the sofa and sat up, pulling Tori into her arms.
"I know, the meeting went on longer than I expected."
"Couldn't you have stayed?" she said into the ebony tresses, and hugged Tori a little tighter.
"Of course I could. Would you have preferred I stayed?"
"You know the answer to that." Eden ran her hands up and down the long back, and then felt herself being pushed back onto the couch and covered by the long body of her lover.
Tori shook her head. How could she be so stupid? She had everything she could ever want now, and she was in danger of throwing it away with her ridiculous behaviour. She looked at the clock, it was a little after nine. Making a decision, she grabbed her keys from the hook beside the door that opened onto the stairs that led to the garage, and made her way to the Shogun.
Twenty minutes later she was parking outside the Bath Tap pub in St. James Parade.
The bartender was surprised to see her. "Hi Tori. If you're looking for Eden, she's not here."
The smile left Tori's face. "She's not?"
He shook his head. "Left about half an hour ago with her friend."
Tori said nothing and turned and left the pub. Climbing back into her car, she sat for a while and then started the engine and made her way back home.