"Are you ready to leave yet?" Mary asked her roommate, Ashley.
"Just a sec," Ashley said and turned back to Courtney, the woman who was having this party and whom Ashley had been debating with for the better part of an hour.
Mary ran her fingers through her long dark hair and looked around at the women in the room. They were the same group of closeted professional women who always came to these parties. All of them worked in professions that required them to dress, act, and socialize in a certain way. Even though they were at a party on a Saturday night, the majority of the women were dressed in pressed slacks and blouses. Their hair and make-up done to perfection, their mannerisms and conversations were reserved, despite the fact that most of them were negotiating a bed partner for the night.
Shaking her head, Mary headed to the bar that was fully stocked. She looked over the selection before choosing a beer. She turned back around and studied the group again. Coming to this party had been a waste of her time. She knew all of the women here. She had been out with just about everyone here at least once, except the women who were married to men. She didn't fool with women who played both sides of the fence.
She had been approached by several women tonight, but she was just so tired of the same old games that she hadn't been interested. She wasn't sure what was going on, but she felt like she needed something more. She hadn't thought about having a relationship with anyone since she graduated college and she wasn't sure that's what she wanted now. But she did want something more than the safe, unsatisfying sex these women offered.
Ashley had driven them to the party tonight, but she had promised Mary that they wouldn't stay too late because she had a date later in the evening. Mary figured she would either hook up with someone who would bring her home, or have Ashley drop her at their apartment before she went on her date.
They had been there for almost three hours and Mary had been ready to go home within an hour of arriving, but she couldn't get Ashley to leave. Mary finished her drink and was just about to call a cab when Ashley rushed up to her. “We have to go! I'm going to be late.” She grabbed Mary's arm and pulled her out of Courtney's apartment and down to the parking lot with barely a good to the other guests.
Thank God, Mary thought. They climbed into the car. Ashley started it and took off like a shot. Mary grabbed the armrest on the door and held on as Ashley raced through the busy streets. Mary stared nervously out the window as they drove through a seedy part of town. They passed biker bars where men and women were fighting in the parking lot. They passed through some warehouses, and then more bars appeared. They were clearly gay bars but they were not the type of bars Mary would be interested in visiting.
“Where are we going?” She asked, looking at Ashley's wild eyed profile.
Ashley didn't answer but pulled into the parking lot of a leather bar, found a parking spot in the back of the lot, and turned the car off. “Okay, this is it,” Ashley said, unbuckling her seat belt and getting out of the car. “You take the car. I'll get a ride back at the apartment later.”
"Are you serious?" Mary asked and looked toward the door where women were standing in front of the bar talking. They were dressed in tight leather pants, leather vests and nothing else. The women in front of the bar stopped talking long enough to whistle and call out to Ashley as she approached the bar. “Hey baby.”
Shaking her head, Mary got out of the passenger side and went around to the driver's side. She started to turn the car on but the keys were not in the ignition. Oh shit, Ashley took the keys with her. Mary looked up and turned her head toward the door of the bar. She looked at the women standing outside. She dropped her head onto the steering wheel, and then looked at the bar again. She had to go in and find Ashley. Ashley is dead if something happens to me in this bar , Mary thought to herself.
Mary got out of the car and hurried to the front door. “Hey baby, come here,” one of the women called.
“I don't think I've had you,” said the other.
Shit, shit, shit, Mary thought as she pushed her way inside the bar. It was packed with women and Ashley was nowhere in sight. Mary spotted the bar across the room from the door. She made her way through the wall of half naked women to get to the bar. She was praying that Ashley was meeting her date there.
It seemed to take forever to get to the bar. She'd been grabbed at, pawed on, and pinched on along the way. When she finally got there, a woman who would be beautiful if she didn't have so many piercings on her face was working the counter. “Excuse me,” Mary shouted over the noise. The woman didn't seem to hear her. “Excuse me!” she shouted louder.
The woman looked up, and then looked her up and down. Mary was dressed in tan slacks and a fuchsia, short-sleeved, button-down blouse. Very conservative by these people's standards, Mary was sure. The woman smiled and shouted over the noise, “Are you lost?”
“I'm trying to find my roommate,” Mary shouted. “Short blonde, she just came in.”
The bartender laughed. “There are a lot of short blondes in here.”
“She's wearing a black t-shirt and black jeans,” Mary shouted.
Laughing harder, the bartender pointed to the crowd. “So are half of the women in this place.”
Mary turned around and looked at the women crammed in the bar. It was true, there were a lot of blondes and everyone was wearing black. She was sticking out like a sore thumb.
“Hey baby,” a large woman with short, spiked, dark brown hair said, as she pressed close to Mary. “You're new. Wanna come play with me for a little while?”
Mary looked the woman over. Her large, pasty white breasts were visible through her open leather jacket. The rest of her outfit consisted of black leggings and army boots. “No, I'm just trying to find someone,” Mary said, leaning away from the woman.
“Aren't we all,” another woman said from the other side of Mary. She had on a black leather vest that revealed her small breasts that were as tan as the rest of her body. She had tattoos on all of her exposed skin. She even had tattoos going up her neck. The only place she didn't appear to have tattoos was on her face. Her hair was jet black and in a devilock haircut. The short back and sides were slicked back and the long bangs were formed into an arrow that went down between her large black eyes and stopping just above her bright red lips. She made Mary think of a vampire.
“I was here first, dog,” the large woman said, snarling at the tattoo woman.
“She ain't interested in you, bitch,” the tattoo woman snapped back.
A younger woman, closer to Mary's age approached. Her hair was bright pink and spiked straight up on her head. She had a lot of tattoos and piercings but not as much as tattoo woman and the bartender. The spiked collar around her neck matched her spiked wrist bands and belt. She had on skin tight black jeans and a black t-shirt that had a picture of a woman pole dancing on it. “What are two losers doing?”
The large woman laughed. “We're fighting over this piece of fresh meat.” She ran her finger down Mary's neck, brushing back her chocolate locks, and continuing down towards her full breasts.
Mary pushed the woman's hand away. “I'm not fresh meat,” she shouted. “I'm just trying to find my roommate.”
“Well, well, well, what have we hear,” a new voice said.
Mary looked up at the woman who had spoken and wasn't sure if she should be relieved or more terrified. The woman standing in front of her was the UPS delivery woman who usually brought stuff to the law office where Mary worked. Even though she was a familiar face, Mary had called her a “dyke thug” just yesterday, so she wasn't sure the woman would be willing to help her out of this situation.
“Back off, Jack,” the tattoo woman said. “This is our new play thing.”
“I don't think so,” Jackie said. “She came here looking for me, didn't you, Mary?”
Something in the woman's eyes told Mary she had better go along with her. “Yes, yes, I was looking for you...Jackie,” Mary said, remembering the name tag the woman always wore on her beige UPS uniform.
“See,” Jackie said, taking Mary's hand and pulling her away from the three vultures that had her pinned to the bar. Jackie pulled her out onto the dance floor. She put her arms around Mary's waist. “Put your hands on my shoulders,” she instructed. "You want to make sure they think you are really here with me. You won't be safe otherwise.
Mary looked over her shoulder at the three women standing at the bar watching Jackie and her intently. She looked back up at Jackie, and then did what she was told.
After they had started moving with the music, Jackie asked, “So what's a pretty little straight girl like you doing in here?”
Mary swallowed nervously, trying to ignore the arousal that this woman was stirring in her. “Ah, I'm actually here trying to find my roommate, Ashley. She was meeting someone.”
Jackie leaned in closer so she could talk into Mary's ear without screaming at her. “You should find out more about the places your roommate hangs out before you go into them. You could have gotten hurt in here.”
Looking up at Jackie, who towered over her by at least six inches, Mary nodded her head. Jackie's dark blond hair touched her collar in soft waves. Mary had seen her hair poking out the back of the beige ball cap Jackie always wore, but she did realize it was this long. Jackie's dark blue eyes peered down at her. Mary knew Jackie's eyes were blue but she didn't realize how dark they were, almost a navy blue.
Mary looked away and started really seeing what was going on around them. She was stunned by the open display of affection and sexual activity going on around them. She still didn't see Ashley and was wondering why on earth Ashley would be meeting a date here.
They were being bumped and pushed from all sides. Mary clung to Jackie, who pulled her closer. Mary was terrified that she wouldn't find Ashley. What would she do then? Would Jackie give her a ride home? Would she be safe if Jackie did?
Jackie couldn't believe she was actually dancing with Mary. When Jackie had first gotten the route that included the law office Mary worked in, she had been thrilled the she would get to see this beautiful woman and her equally beautiful friend, Ashley on a regular basis, but they had both turned out to be snobbish bitches. Even though Mary was rude to her, Jackie was still infatuated with the petite brunette.
She had been stunned when Mary said that Ashley was here to meet someone. Ashley did not seem like the kind of woman who would be caught dead in a sex bar like this. She looked over the heads of the people on the dance floor, but didn't see Ashley. She wondered if Ashley and her date were in the back area, where people went to fuck. She leaned down and said into Mary's ear, “Hold on to me tight, we're going to look for your friend in another area.”
Mary shivered as Jackie's hot breath touched her ear. Jackie was cute, tall and muscular. But, she was too butch and too out about her sexuality for Mary's taste. She was very different from the professional, closeted, femmes that Mary usually dated.
Jackie turned and started leading them through the crowd. Mary clung to her, holding her hand and hanging onto one of the belt loops of Jackie's tight, blue jeans.
Mary caught glimpses of the people around them who were literally making out on the dance floor. One couple caught her eye and she stopped to stare. One woman had her leg wrapped around her partner's waist as the other woman stroked her through her jeans. The woman threw her head back and cried out as she came to an orgasm.
Jackie chuckled next to her ear. “That's nothing, just wait until we get to the back. Your straight, virgin eyes will see a lot more than that.” Jackie tugged her hand and pulled them deeper into the room.
Jackie had been attracted to Mary the first time she had seen her, but she had assumed that Mary and Ashley were both straight based on their snobbish attitudes toward her. Knowing that Ashley had a date she was meeting here definitely changed her mind about how straight Ashley was. She still wondered about Mary. She had caught Mary checking her out a few times but just assumed it was morbid curiosity. Tonight, though, she had seen the way Mary had looked over her appreciatively and felt her rapid heartbeat as they danced. She told herself that Mary was just scared and she should be. Jackie was not one to force herself on a woman but all the sex going on around her was making her aroused. She felt like she was losing control. She needed to get Mary hooked up with her friend and out of the bar before she did something stupid like throw her up against the wall and kiss her.
Mary pulled closer to Jackie and stared at her back as they moved through the throng of people. Her body was on fire from watching those people getting it on. She couldn't believe they were doing it right there in the middle of everyone. True to Jackie's word, what was going on in the back area was even more intense. One woman was pressed into the wall with her pants open and her lover's hand in them fucking her. Another woman in black leather chaps was sitting on another woman's face. The woman on bottom was lying on a bench and lapping at the lover's open crotch.
Mary squeezed her legs shut. She should be repulsed by all this open sex but it was turning her on. She looked around and shivered. It was disgusting and erotic at the same time. She stopped in her tracks, forcing Jackie to stop with her, when she saw Ashley on her knees in the corner with an older woman who had on leather chaps, a black leather vest and nothing else. Her mouth dropped open and she stared at her friend's head as it bobbed up and down as she licked this woman's pussy.
Jackie felt Mary stop and followed the direction of her eyes. Her little, stuck-up roommate was pleasuring a woman Jackie knew to be a dominatrix. She watched Mary's mouth drop open, her breathing became shallow and Jackie recognized the look of excitement in Mary's eyes. Knowing that Mary was turned on was too much for Jackie. She spotted an empty space on the wall, not too far from Ashley and her friend. Jackie pulled Mary over to the spot and pushed her against the wall.
Looking up at Jackie's burning eyes, Mary could sense that Jackie knew she was turned on by what she was seeing. Mary watched as Jackie moved closer, she pressed Mary against the wall and kissed her hard and deep. Jackie's mouth moved to Mary's ear and then she started nibbling and sucking at Mary's throat. Her hands squeezed Mary's breasts roughly. “Oh my God,” Mary moaned and pulled Jackie closer.
When Mary pulled Jackie into her, Jackie knew she wouldn't be able to stop until she had completely owned this woman. She knew she would be sorry but she had to have Mary. She relaxed her grip on Mary's breasts, caressing gently as pressed her thigh hard into Mary's crotch. Mary moaned and Jackie started rocking into her.
Mary gripped Jackie's hips and wanting her to rub into her harder. She was so hot and excited that she had to have release. She grabbed Jackie's hand and pressed it into her crotch.
Jackie could feel how wet Mary was. She could tell she was on the edge of orgasm. She unzipped Mary's slacks and slid her hand inside, quickly threading her fingers through Mary's wetness.
“Oh God!” Mary cried out and pressed Jackie's hand harder into to her. “Go inside me,” she begged.
Jackie obliged and started pumping her fingers into Mary.
Mary gripped Jackie's shoulders tightly and buried her face in Jackie's neck, crying out as she came.
Jackie held Mary as her body collapsed into her. She couldn't believe that she had just fucked this beautiful woman who seemed to hate her. Irony, she thought to herself and Monday there would be hell to pay when she showed up with UPS deliveries.
Jackie stepped back and let Mary collect herself.
“Mary, what the hell are you doing in here?” Ashley yelled, as she rushed over, giving Jackie a hateful look.
“You have the keys,” Mary said, still trying to catch her breath.
“Oh shit. Oh my God,” Ashley said digging into her pocket and getting the keys. “I'm so sorry.”
Mary looked at Jackie, who grinned and then looked away. “It's okay, I'll kill you later.”
Ashley laughed, “Okay. I'm so sorry.”
“You coming home?”
“No,” the woman Ashley had been with said. She grabbed Ashley's arm and pulled Ashley towards her. “We are not finished.”
Mary's eyes widened. The woman looked familiar but she couldn't place her. “Okay, I'm leaving then.”
“Bye,” Ashley called, as the woman drug her back towards the corner they had been in.
Mary looked nervously at Jackie, hoping she wasn't expecting her to reciprocate what she had just done, although Mary would have if Jackie asked. But Jackie took Mary's arm and said, “Let's get you out of here.”
Jackie was trying to hurry. She had already done something she was sure she would regret, but she hadn't been able to resist the aroused look on Mary's face. She had to get her out of this bar before she did more stupid shit, like force Mary to fuck her, which she would have done with any other woman.
By the time they got to Ashley's car, Mary was burning with arousal again. She had seen more people fucking, kissing and grinding in that few minutes than she had ever seen in her life. She couldn't believe how excited seeing all those women fucking each other had made her. She could believe how hard she had come when Jackie had fucked her in the back of the bar. She turned to thank Jackie, but the matching look of arousal on Jackie's face was too much for her.
She unlocked the backseat door and pushed Jackie towards it. “Get in,” she ordered. Jackie stared at Mary opened mouthed but she didn't hesitate when Mary ordered again, “Get in.” She crawled into the backseat and turned to face Mary, who was still standing outside the car.
Mary had no idea what had come over her but she wanted to taste Jackie in the worst way. “Take your pants off,” she ordered.
Jackie was stunned by Mary's new tone and her order, but she did as she was told. She unbuckled her boots and slipped them off her feet, then peeled the jeans off her thighs. Mary was in the car before Jackie got her pants completely off.
“Lay back and spread your legs,” Mary ordered. The scent of Jackie's arousal was driving her wild. As soon as Jackie had her legs open, Mary kneeled down and started eating her pussy. She sucked and licked at Jackie roughly. She nibbled and bit at Jackie's clit, making Jackie scream out in either pleasure or pain, Mary didn't care either way. When she felt the first tremors of Jackie's orgasm, she sucked her clit deep and hard. Jackie screamed and bucked against Mary's faced. Mary held on to Jackie's hips until Jackie's body finally relaxed.
Mary couldn't believe what she had just done to this woman, who was basically a stranger to her, but she had loved being in control. She wiped her face, opened the car door and got out.
“Get out,” she ordered.
Jackie quickly pulled her pants on and grabbed her boots. She scrambled out of the car and stood next to Mary. She had never been the submissive one in a fucking session like this and was surprised how much she had liked it.
Mary slammed the door shut and went around to the driver's side. “This never happened,” she said, glaring at Jackie over the car.
“Never happened,” Jackie repeated. She gave Mary a tiny smile. “See ya Monday?”
Mary nodded, then grinned, “See you Monday, Dyke Thug.”
Jackie smiled as Mary drove away. “Dyke Thug, humph, I bet she is still burning from tonight on Monday. I know I will be."
Monday turned out to be a very awkward day. Jackie had to deliver packages to a law office where Mary worked and she wasn't sure how Mary would treat her today. After their very hot encounter at the bar on Saturday night, Jackie had no idea what to expect. She wondered if Mary to be cold and aloft, or would she blush with the memory of what they had done? It was going to be hard for Jackie not to blush when the vision of Mary between her legs licking on her was still so vivid in her mind. Mary clearly was not the straight virgin Jackie had accused her of being. She had gone down on Jackie like someone who knew what they were doing. Jackie had been stunned to say the least.
She had planned to be cool and professional when she entered the law office, but her plan fell apart as soon as Mary turned those blue-green eyes on her.
Mary was sitting at the reception desk wearing a navy blue business suit, with a silk aqua blouse that was open at the neck, revealing a thin gold chain that had a gold M hanging from it. Her shoulder length, dark brown hair was lying across her shoulders. She looked up when Jackie opened the door. Her eyes met Jackie's. Jackie's first thought was that the blouse accentuated the color of Mary's eyes. The second thought was that she wanted to run her tongue from where the M dropped in between Mary's breasts down to her belly button and beyond. Jackie almost stumbled with the box she was carrying. She saw the slight smile that played at Mary's lips before Mary turned and walked away.
Ashley came out of the back offices just in time to see the look that passed between Mary and Jackie. She gave Jackie a hateful snarl and a threatening look as she signed for the boxes. Jackie chuckled. She knew Ashley was probably worried about Jackie seeing her at the bar and wanted to appear threatening. It was actually funny because Jackie was the one who really held all the cards, but she would never reveal what she knew about Ashley's sexual activities. Although, it was fun knowing she had something over the little bitch.
Mary watched Jackie leave from the safety of the back office. Just seeing Jackie had made her start burning all over. The memory of Jackie's hands on her and her mouth on Jackie was as vivid as if it had all just happened moments ago. Mary wasn't sure if she would ever be able to face Jackie without feeling like she was catching on fire. She decided to avoid her for a little while. She wanted to let her feelings fade away. She couldn't allow herself to feel the way she did about Jackie, and she definitely could not let Jackie see how much she affected her. It was too risky.
Jackie didn't have any more deliveries to the law office for the rest of the week, much to her relief. She hoped not seeing Mary daily would cool the fire the vixen had stirred in her. She had been attracted to Mary the first time that she saw her, but Mary had always acted like she thought she was better than Jackie. She was just the UPS delivery woman to Mary. She probably thought Jackie was a stupid hick. Even though they had had sex at the bar, Jackie doubted that it changed the way Mary felt about her.
The following Tuesday, she had to deliver something directly to Mary. She was nervous as hell. She came in through the main doors of the office and went to the reception desk. Ashley was there today, wearing a very conservative grey suit with a skirt and a starched white blouse. Her short blond hair was pulled away from her face with barrettes. She turned her sky blue eyes on Jackie.
Jackie said, “I have a package for Mary.”
“I can sign for it,” Ashley said, getting up.
“No,” Jackie said, pulling the electronic signing pad away from Ashley. “Mary has to sign for it. It's specifically for her.”
Ashley rolled her eyes. “Whatever.” She turned and went to the back offices to get Mary.
Mary came out a few minutes later and gave Jackie a stern but questioning look. “You've got something specifically for me?”
“Yes, ma'am,” Jackie said, handing her the small package and the signing pad. She couldn't stop her eyes from roaming over Mary's body as she stood in front her, signing for the package. She was wearing a royal blue dress with high heel shoes to match. Her calves were sculpted, an indication that she was a runner. Thankfully, the top of her dress came up to her throat, keeping her breasts from Jackie's view.
Looking at the address on the package, Mary took it with a surprised look on her face. She took the signing pad from Jackie. She signed her name absently, not even looking at Jackie.
Jackie raised an eyebrow and frowned. “You're welcome,” she said, turning to walk away. Mary reached out and touched her arm, bringing Jackie's eyes to hers. “Thank you,” she said in a whisper. Her eyes were becoming red and filling with tears as she quickly hurried into the back of the office.
Jackie stared at Mary's retreating back and wondered who would have sent Mary something that would make her cry just from seeing the address. Jackie shrugged; it wasn't any of her business, but she absently touched the place on her arm where Mary had touched her.
Shaking herself mentally, she turned and started towards the door. Ashley came from the back offices and rushed to block Jackie's exit. “What the hell did you say to her?”Ashley hissed.
“Nothing,” Jackie said. “I just gave her the package and she started tearing up.”
Ashley looked past Jackie towards the back offices. “You better never do anything to upset her and you'd better never tell anyone about the bar.”
Jackie frowned, “I didn't do anything to upset her. I just delivered the package that came for her.” She grinned wickedly at Ashley. “And don't worry, your little secret is safe with me,” she said with a wink.
Scowling, Ashley moved away from Jackie to intercept one of the partners who came out to ask what was wrong with Mary. “She's in the ladies' room crying. What is going on?”
Jackie left before she heard what Ashley said, suddenly needing to get away from there. She wasn't sure what was wrong with her, but she a felt sadness settling in over her. She hopped in her truck and left the law office wondering why she felt these intense feelings for Mary. She had no idea what Mary had gotten to make her so upset, but she had felt a strong urge to seek her out and comfort her.
* * *
The bar was packed Friday night. There were a lot of really hot women roaming around, but Jackie didn't feel like hooking up with anyone. She couldn't get the look of sorrow on Mary's face out of her mind. She hated that the woman affected her so. She had spent years building her walls to keep people out, but something about Mary touched her and she didn't like it.
Jackie turned on her stool and watched the women around her. She was wearing black jeans and a black button-down, long sleeve shirt. She had hoped she could blend into the darkness of the bar, but several women had approached her.
She had never had a problem with finding sex partners, but her history of bad relationships with women went all the way back to her mother. As a result, she avoided getting into a relationship. It was one of the reasons she hung out at this bar on the weekends. She could get laid if she wanted to, or just sit and watch the crowd. Although she had been turning women down all night, she decided, maybe fucking someone else would get Mary out of my mind . She searched the dance floor for a little while until she saw a small woman with dark brown, shoulder length hair dancing by herself. Jackie got up from the bar, drained her beer, and went out to intercept the woman.
Looking up at Jackie, the woman smiled warmly. “Hi, Hot Stuff. You, by yourself?”
Jackie nodded, “Yeah.” She pulled the woman roughly to her and kissed her hard. “You wanna go to the back and play?”
“Yes,” the woman said, her dark brown eyes flashing with fire.
She had similar features as Mary. Thankfully, the dark brown eyes kept Jackie from seeing Mary in this woman's face. She didn't bother to ask the woman's name. She didn't want to know it. Dragging her back into the dark part of the bar, Jackie was predatory in her desire. She walked with long strides until she brought the woman up against the back wall. She took control, roughly cupping the woman's breasts as she kissed her possessively and pressed her leg against the woman's center.
The heat between them was explosive. The woman reacted with a natural ease to Jackie's aggressiveness, allowing her to shove her hand into her skirt and underwear. Jackie pushed her fingers into the woman's hot and wet pussy, fucking her hard. It took seconds for the woman to scream out as the orgasm hit her hard.
“Fuck, Baby,” the woman gasped, “that was hot.”
“Don't call me Baby,” Jackie snarled. She took the woman's hand and shoved it into her own jeans. She controlled the woman's hand as she fucked Jackie, making sure it was exactly what she needed. After she came, Jackie shoved the woman away from her, furious that the hot sexual encounter had not quenched her desire for Mary. She had fantasized that Mary was the one who was fucking her the whole time she was with this stranger.
“Fuck,” she growled and pushed her way out of the bar.
* * *
Mary couldn't believe that she had gotten a package from her parents. It had been three years since she had heard anything from them. They had shut her out of their life when they found out she was gay.
She would never forget their reaction when she had come home after work one day to find that ex-boyfriend had given her parents pictures of her kissing another woman at a bar. She had just started working at this law firm. Her mother had called her at work and said she needed to come home right away because there was an emergency. She had been afraid something had happened to her father. When she got there, she had found her parents in the kitchen with pictures of her and one of her lovers kissing each other very passionately spread all over the kitchen table.
Her father had refused to even look at her, but she could tell he had been crying. Her mother had been standing next to him with her arms crossed, glaring at her furiously. “Your things are in the garage. Take them and leave. Don't come back until you are ready to be normal.”
Mary had been devastated. She and Ashley had already become friends so Ashley told her she could move in with her. She had been living with Ashley ever since. Even though they were both closeted lesbians and they were close friends, they had never been lovers. They had realized right away that they weren't attracted to each other, so their roommate relationship had worked out perfectly for the past three years.
Mary left work early Tuesday and brought the letter home with the intention of opening it as soon as she got to the apartment, but she couldn't bring herself to open it. She was afraid it was bad news. She waited almost twenty-four hours before she finally opened the small package. When she finally opened the package, it turned out to be pictures of her younger sister's newborn daughter. A very brief card from her mother said, “Wish you could have been here. Talk to God, get your life right and you can come back.” Mary had almost thrown the package away, but she knew that these might be the only pictures she would ever see of her niece.
Mary's younger sister, Abigail had been her mother's favorite from birth. No matter what happened, broken toys, messes, whatever, it was Mary's fault. Abigail was the perfect one. Even when Mary had graduated at the top of her class in high school and college, it was over shadowed by something Abigail was doing.
By the time the weekend had arrived, she wanted nothing more than to crawl in bed and not leave, but lying around just made her more depressed. She briefly thought about going to the sex bar to see if Jackie was there, but she knew she would be playing with fire if she.
She hated to admit it, but she was very attracted to the woman. She had been the first time Jackie had delivered packages to their office. But, Jackie was clearly out about her sexuality and Mary wasn't. And really, she doubted that they would have much in common.
In the end, Mary had spent most of the weekend cleaning the apartment, reading, watching television, and anything else that would keep her mind off her family.
Ashley had sensed Mary needed time alone and had left Friday night. It was Sunday afternoon and she still hadn't been home yet. Mary suspected she was with the woman from the bar. Thinking about the bar, made her think about Jackie. She still couldn't get over having sex with her in the bar and in the car. She just didn't do things like that. She would never have imagined being with someone the way she had been with Jackie, but she couldn't get the images out of her mind.
Jackie had crossed her mind several times over this past week and the week before. She constantly had flashes of herself pushed up against the wall and Jackie's hand in between her legs. The scene in the car was even more vivid. She had never been the aggressor, but she had enjoyed pushing Jackie down in the backseat and taking her. She touched her fingers to her lips; even now she could remember the way Jackie tasted, the way she screamed out as she came.
Mary got up and shook off her thoughts. She had been trying to read the same paragraph of her favorite author's new book for an hour and couldn't keep her thoughts focused. She went into the kitchen to try to figure out what she wanted for dinner.
She heard the apartment door. She came out of the kitchen just as Ashley was taking her key out of the door. She smiled brightly at Mary, “Hey, how you feeling?”
Mary shrugged. “Okay.” She looked at Ashley, whose eyes were still glowing from the weekend she had apparently spent having sex. “You look like you had a good weekend.”
Ashley actually blushed. “Yeah, it was pretty fun.”
“Did you go to the bar?” Mary asked, knowing that she didn't want to hear that Ashley had seen Jackie there with another woman.
“We didn't make it there,” Ashley said, her blush getting deeper.
Mary raised an eyebrow. “Wow, sounds like you two are getting serious.”
“Nah,” Ashley waved Mary off. “We can do so much more when we're alone.”
It was Mary's turn to blush. She remembered vividly the scene of her friend licking the woman's pussy at the bar. She could only imagine what they did when they were alone. “You want to order pizza?” Mary asked, and then smiled, “You are probably starving.”
Ashley grinned too. “Yeah, we didn't eat much food.”
Jackie put off delivery the packages she had for the law office for as long as she could. She knew they closed at five so she waited until almost four-thirty to make her delivery. Hopefully Mary went home early , she thought to herself. When she got there, there was only one car in the parking lot. It was Ashley's car. She said a prayer that it was Ashley who was still there, but in reality she was pleased to see that Mary was the one still in the office.
Jackie opened the door to bring in the packages and Mary looked up at her. “Hey,” she said quietly, and then averted her eyes.
“Hey,” Jackie said. She took off her sunglasses and put them on top of her ball cap. The two wheel dolly she was using to bring the boxes made a loud thump when she brought it upright. She handed Mary the electronic signature pad. “Where you want these?”
“Right there is fine,” Mary said, quickly signing the pad and handing it back to Jackie. “I'll move them in a few minutes.
“They are pretty heavy,” Jackie said her eyes straying to Mary's cleavage that came into view as Mary leaned over the desk. She was wearing a silver silk blouse that lay in loose waves under neck and across her chest.
Mary looked up, blue-green eyes meeting dark blue eyes. “How heavy?”
“At least fifty pounds,” Jackie said.
Dropping her head in resignation, Mary motioned for Jackie to follow her. “They are the court documents Mr. Lowry requested. He's not here and his office is locked, so I'll have you put them in the storage closet. He can move them wherever he wants them Monday.”
Mary led Jackie to a walk-in closet that was between the lawyers' offices. She reached up to pull the chain to turn the light on, but met Jackie's hand as she reached up as well. Mary turned slowly, finding Jackie directly behind her. She looked up at Jackie. Jackie's eyes glistened with desire. Mary put her hands on Jackie's chest and kissed her. She squeezed Jackie's breast through her shirt.
“Turn the light on and shut the door,” Mary demanded and stepped back long enough to allow Jackie to do what she ordered before she pinned Jackie against the door. “I want to fuck you.”
Mary kissed Jackie again, plunging her tongue into Jackie's mouth as she reached down to unfasten the beige uniform trousers Jackie was wearing. Once Jackie's pants were open, Mary slid her hand inside Jackie's briefs and into the wet folds of her pussy. “God, you are so wet," Mary moaned against Jackie's lips. Kissing her harder, Mary slid her fingers inside Jackie and began fucking her in earnest.
Jackie moaned and writhed as Mary took her. Just seeing hint of the smooth curves of Mary's breasts earlier had already stirred Jackie's desire, but Mary saying she wanted to fuck her pushed her over the edge. Her underpants had instantly been soaked and now, Mary was driving her crazy with her fingers reaching inside of her. Suddenly, Mary withdrew her fingers, causing Jackie to cry out in frustration. Mary quickly moved them to Jackie's clit, stroking it expertly and making Jackie cry out as she came.
Jackie took a minute to catch her breath and then pulled her beige button-down shirt over her head, not bothering with the buttons. She threw it down on the ground and pushed Mary on her shoulders, urging her to lie down on the shirt.
Mary knew exactly what Jackie wanted. She pulled her shirt off so it wouldn't get dirty from being on the closet floor. Even though it was carpeted, she wasn't sure if the office cleaning lady ever vacuumed in here. She laid back on Jackie's shirt, peeled off her panty hose, and spread her legs for Jackie.
Jackie kneeled in front of Mary and took off Mary's black silk panties. She was practically drooling as she pushed up Mary's skirt. She kissed the fluff of dark hair covering her prize before she lay down on her stomach, grabbed Mary's hips and shoved her face into Mary's pussy.
Moaning at the first touch of Jackie's tongue, Mary threw her head back and let her breath come out in a hiss. She had been wet and on fire before Jackie started licking her, but now she couldn't breathe as the intensity of her orgasm built. “Jesus!” she cried out as her hips arched off the floor and her body rocked with each wave of the orgasm.
Holding Mary in place, Jackie licked every drop of Mary's juices until Mary finally put her hand on Jackie's head and begged, “Please stop.” Jackie laid her head on Mary's thigh and let her breathing get back to normal.
Several minutes later, Jackie kissed Mary on her thigh, sat up and handed Mary her underwear. Mary pulled the underwear on and took Jackie's hand that was offered to help her up. Jackie smiled when noticed the wet spot on her shirt where Mary's juices had escaped her mouth. She'd have to hang on to this shirt for a little while so she could savor Mary's scent for a few days.
Mary pulled her shirt over her head and adjusted the front so that it lay in the nice waves it was supposed to. She pulled on her panty hose that now had runs in them, and ran her fingers through her hair and looked at Jackie, “How do I look?”
Jackie wanted to say she looked beautiful all mussed up like that, but she said, “You might want to find a brush.” She pulled her shirt over her head and looked at Mary, who was watching her. “You also might want to fix your lipstick. It's a little smeared,” she said with a smirk.
Laughing, Mary wiped at the edges of her mouth, and then looked at the lipstick on her fingertips. “Yeah, I bet.”
Jackie tucked her shirt in and fastened her belt before she peaked outside the door of the close. “Looks like the coast is clear,” she said and stepped out to grab one of the boxes. “Where you want this?”
Mary pointed to a stack of boxes that already lined the wall. “On top of those, that way he won't have to pick them up from the floor.” She slipped past Jackie and went to her desk to get her compact so she could get a look at herself. Turning back towards the closet, she watched as Jackie easily picked up the boxes off the dolly and put them into the closet.
After she had the boxes in place, Jackie turned and looked where she had just taken Mary. She grinned, and then turned out the light. She pushed the dolly towards the desk and watched as Mary tried to make herself look presentable again. She stopped for a moment and studied her.
Mary looked at her and grinned sheepishly. “We really must stop meeting like this,” she said with a grin.
Jackie laughed. “Yeah, and you might want to spray some air freshener in that closet. It smells like someone just had sex in there.” She gave Mary a small wave and headed back out to her truck. Yeah, they were going to have to quit meeting like this . Jackie laughed.
Mary and Jackie had been carefully avoiding each other for almost a month. Mary would leave the room when Jackie came to make deliveries and Jackie tried not to look at Mary. Neither had spoken to each other, but when their eyes did happen to meet, the exchanged quickly heated both of them.
Ashley hadn't asked what was going on but Mary was sure she suspected something was up. Mary hadn't been to any of the lesbian get togethers since the night at the bar. She couldn't even imagine being with one of the women now. The sex would be bland and cautious. Now that she'd had a taste of how hot sex could be she didn't want to go back to dating the conservative women she had been with before.
Even though Mary tried to avoid Jackie, she always made a point to get a look at her when she did come by the office. Jackie hadn't been to the office to make a delivery since Tuesday. It was almost five Friday and Mary was certain she wasn't coming by. She was so confused by her feelings for Jackie. The infatuation that had grown from their brief encounters was eating away at her. She wanted to be with Jackie again, but she didn't want to have sex with her at the bar or the office. She wanted to be with her somewhere private.
They were going through their closing procedures when Mary saw the UPS truck pull up in front of the building. Jackie hopped into the back and came out with several small packages. She rushed into the office, sat the packages on the counter, and held out the electronic signature pad to Ashley without even looking in Mary's direction. Mary actually felt a pain in the pit of her stomach. She wanted Jackie to look at her. She wanted to know if there was a hint of desire in Jackie's eyes for her.
Jackie was doing everything she could to not look at Mary. She had been thinking about her all day, all month for that matter. Trying to avoid seeing her was getting harder and harder. She almost rushed back out the door as quickly as she came in when she remembered that she had a note for Ashley. When she turned around, Mary was right behind her with the key to the front door. She almost ran over her in her haste to turn around.
Avoiding meeting Mary's eyes was not an option. Their eyes met immediately and Jackie was stunned by the blatant want in Mary's eyes. She took a deep breath and then looked over Mary's head at Ashley who was glaring at them both with a questioning look on her face. “I almost forgot,” Jackie said, handing the note to Ashley. “Your friend wanted me to give this to you.”
Mary couldn't move. She was standing close enough to Jackie to smell her cologne and all she wanted to do was grab her and kiss her. She kept her hands lowered but her eyes traveled all over Jackie, drinking her in.
Jackie turned her gaze back to Mary. “Have a good weekend,” she said quietly.
“You too,” Mary said, her eyes glued to Jackie's lips. A small smile tugged at them just before Jackie turned and went out the door. Mary pulled the door tightly closed behind her and locked it. She looked out at Jackie in her truck. Jackie met her gaze again, briefly before starting the truck and pulling away. She let out a quiet sigh. What was she going to do? She was terrified of being outed by being seen with someone who was so clearly out about their sexuality, but she wanted Jackie more than she had ever wanted another woman.
When Mary turned around, Ashley was frowning at the note in her hand. She dropped her head and then looked up at Mary. "I'm going to need you to take me to the bar after we get something to eat. I've got an early date tonight.”
“You look upset about it,” Mary said.
“I'm just bummed because it will have to be a quickie because she has to leave town for the weekend.”
“So how are you going to get home if I just drop you off? You could just take me home and go meet her.”
Ashley shook her head. “No, we promised Brenda and Diane we would have dinner with them tonight. I won't have time to take you back to the apartment before I have to meet her. If she can't bring me home, I'll just call you and have you come get me.”
“Okay,” Mary said and followed Ashley into the back of the office where the break room and back door was. “I was just planning on going home and reading a book anyway.”
“You should hook up with someone,” Ashley said. “It'll be good for you to get out.”
“We'll see.” Mary said and wondered if she would see Jackie at the bar.
* * *
Ashley had Mary drive to the bar. She planned to just hop out. Mary was relieved she would only be there briefly. She wasn't sure what she would do if she actually saw Jackie there. She knew that she would be tempted to invite her back to the apartment for a quick romp in the bed.
The bar was actually pretty quiet but it was early. Ashley had been antsy during dinner and insisted they leave as soon as everyone was done eating. The friends, Brenda and Diane didn't say anything about Ashley being in such a rush, but Mary was sure they had to be wondering what was going on.
Mary had barely pulled the car to a stop in front of the bar before Ashley had opened the door and hopped out. "I'll call you if I need a ride," she called as she rushed into the bar.
Shaking her head, Mary put the car in drive and headed home. She pulled into the parking spot next to her small car. She had gotten the tiny car in college because it was so good on gas but it wasn't definitely a one person car. Ashley hated riding in it. Of course, Ashley has long legs and she can't stretch them out in Mary's car. That was why they almost always rode in Ashley's car to work. She had a nice full sized sedan that was much more comfortable for both.
Mary grabbed the mail from the box just inside the front door of the building and headed up to the second floor apartment. Ashley had been living in this apartment for almost four years. Mary had no idea how Ashley had managed to pay the rent by herself, when the two of them struggled to pay it together. It was a very nice apartment in a very nice area of town. The apartment complex had a gym, pool and laundry facilities in a beautiful community center. Mary really enjoyed all the amenities that came with the apartment but she didn't know what they would do if the rent ever went up.
Once inside the apartment, Mary sorted through the mail and then went to her room to change into shorts and a t-shirt. She fixed herself a sandwich and piled up in her recliner. She had left the murder mystery she had been reading on the end table next to her chair. She settled into the chair with her plate, put her glass of tea on the table, and picked up the book. Hopefully Ashley wouldn't need a ride so she could finish this book.
She was deep into the scene where the police were closing in on the murderer when her cell phone rang, making her jump so hard she dropped the book. "Shit," she said putting her hand to her chest.
She grabbed the phone. "Hello," she said breathlessly.
"Were you on the treadmill?" Ashley asked. "You sound out of breath."
"I was reading."
"I told you, you need to get off those murder stories."
Mary rolled her eyes. "So do you need me to come and get you?"
"Yeah, she has to go straight to the airport from here."
"Okay, I'll be there in about fifteen minutes." Mary clicked the phone off. She picked up her book, found the spot she stopped at, and put her bookmark in between the pages. She went into her bedroom and changed into jeans and put on her tennis shoes.
It was almost eleven and the streets were busy like they usually were this time on a Friday night. When Mary got to the bar, the parking lot was almost full. She drove by the front door, hoping that Ashley was waiting outside for her but, of course she wasn't. Mary parked the car and went into the bar. She had steeled herself for the pinching and prodding. Scanning the crowd for Ashley, she kept a look of determination on her face so she wouldn't look lost or vulnerable.
When she didn't see Ashley toward the front of the bar, she sighed. She was going to have to go to the back. She tried not to look at the people who were grinding into each other on the dance floor but it was hard not to. The smell of sex hung in the air like cigarette smoke used to when people were allowed to smoke in bars.
Ashley and her date, who had her back to crowd were talking quietly in a back corner. Apparently they had finished their activities earlier, for which Mary was thankful. There was just something not right about watching your roommate going down on another woman in a bar and it had created a little uneasiness between her and Ashley.
Looking over her date's shoulder, Ashley nodded to Mary. She kissed her date on the lips and then moved toward Mary. Ashley's date didn't turn around to face them, in fact she moved further into the darkness. Mary still felt like she knew the woman. She just couldn't place her.
"You ready?" Mary asked.
"Yeah," Ashley said sadly. "I'm going to grab a shot real quick first."
"Okay," Mary said and followed Ashley to the bar.
Mary knew that she was subconsciously looking for Jackie. She wasn't sure what she would do if she saw her there with another woman, but she hoped to see her just the same. When they got to the bar, the large woman in the leather jacket who had tried to claim Mary before was sitting there nursing a clear drink. She turned and looked at them.
"You two here together?" She asked looking them over.
"Yes," Ashley said quickly, "and no we don't want a threesome."
"Humph," the woman said. "Stuck up bitches." She went back to sipping on her drink.
Out of the corner of Mary's eye, she caught a tall blond woman standing next to the bar a few stools down. She looked at her. It was Jackie. Their eyes met and held.
Ashley turned and followed Mary's gaze. Her shot arrived in front of her. She chugged the shot and grabbed Mary's arm. "Come on, let's get out of here," she said and pulled Mary toward the door.
They had just stepped out of the door when Mary stopped. "I have to go to the bathroom," she said and rushed back into the bar.
She went straight to the bar. Jackie was still there but was sitting on a stool now. Mary went straight up to her. "Are you here with someone?" she asked.
"No," Jackie said, shaking her head, her eyes glued on Mary's.
Mary cupped her face and kissed her deeply. She pulled back, her eyes blazing with desire. "I want to be with you somewhere private."
Jackie nodded.
"I have to take Ashley home, but I'll be back. Wait for me outside."
Jackie nodded again.
Mary turned and rushed out of the bar. Ashley was standing by the car with her arms crossed over her chest. "Just what the hell do you think you are doing?"
"I'm going to get with someone like you said," Mary said with a smile. She unlocked the car. "Get in."
Ashley got into the passenger side of the car and turned to star at Mary as she got into the driver's seat. "Have you lost your mind? She is totally out and not even in our league of women. Not to mention that she is very butch."
Mary spared Ashley a glance. "I know, but there is something about her that makes me crazy."
"You can't start dating her," Ashley said. "She will totally out you."
"Who said anything about dating," Mary said, even though, now that Ashley mentioned it, she wondered what dating Jackie would be like. Would she be like a guy and want to watch sports, or would she be romantic?
"I'm just saying," Ashley said. "She won't fit in with our friends. Most of them are pretty paranoid about being outed to start with; having a blatant dyke showing up at one of our parties or meeting us at a restaurant will flip everyone out."
"Number one," Mary said. "You are the one being paranoid. Number two. I'm just meeting her to have sex. And number three, I doubt she would want to go to any of our gatherings anyway. I doubt she would be interested in trying to have a conversation with a bunch of stuffy business women."
"You think the women in our group are stuffy?" Ashley asked incredulously.
Mary glanced at her. "Yes, I do. We have the same conversations at every gathering. Everyone talks business to keep things on an impersonal as possible, for fear they might meet someone they have enough in common with to have a relationship with them. God forbid, they fall in love with someone and risk being outed. Why do you think Diane and Brenda stopped going? They are considered outsiders now."
Ashley turned away. "I'm just worried that you'll get hurt."
Mary reached over and took Ashley's hand. "I know and I appreciate that. I'll be careful. I promise."
When they got to the apartment, Mary got out of Ashley's car and got into hers. "I probably won't be back tonight," she said with a grin.
Ashley nodded. "Call me if you run into any problems," she said and turned to go upstairs.
Mary knew Ashley didn't understand. She didn't understand it herself, but there was something about Jackie that was drawing her to her. The sex had been amazing, but there was something else, something stronger than just wanting to have sex with her. Mary didn't know how to explain it. It was something she had never felt before.
Jackie stood next to her truck. She had been outside ever since Mary had left. She wanted to believe that she would really come back but she was worried that Ashley would talk her out of it. It had been almost forty-five minutes since they left. Jackie was going to give her another fifteen minutes and then she was going to head home.
A small car came into the parking lot, one of those tiny tin cans that got a hundred miles to the gallon. The car came right up to Jackie and Mary rolled down the window. "Follow me," Mary ordered.
Jackie hopped into her truck and followed the small car. Mary took them to one of the many chain hotels in town. Mary parked next to the entrance and approached Jackie's truck when Jackie pulled in next to her. "I'm going to get a room close to one of the back entrances. Go ahead and park back there and I'll be back in a minute."
"Okay," Jackie said. She turned the truck around and went toward the back part of the hotel. Her heart was racing in anticipation of having Mary in a room with a bed. She could only imagine how much more fun fucking her in a bed was going to be.
Mary quickly walked into the hotel lobby and approached the desk. The night clerk came out from a back office. "Can I help you?"
"Yes, I need a room for the night and I'd like to get it on the back side of the hotel close to the back entrance."
The clerk raised an eyebrow. "Okay." She pulled up her list of rooms. "I've got one with a king size bed on the second floor."
"That will be perfect," Mary said.
"Okay," the clerk said and took Mary's credit card.
When the transaction for the room was finished, Mary took the room key and went out to her car. She drove the back side of the hotel where Jackie was waiting in her truck. She parked next to Jackie and hopped out of the car. Jackie got out of her truck as soon as Mary pulled in next to her. "Come on," Mary said urgently.
Jackie followed Mary to the back door of the hotel. Mary slid the card key in the lock and opened the door. "It's on the second floor," Mary said. She hit the elevator button and looked impatiently as the fourth floor number that was lit up.
"This way," Jackie said, grabbing Mary's hand. She pulled her into the stairwell and started climbing the stairs. The room was just a few doors down from the stairwell. They hurried to it and quickly slid inside as soon as Mary got the door open.
Immediately, Jackie pressed Mary against the wall, kissing her deeply. She slipped her hands inside Mary's t-shirt and slid them up to her naked breasts. "No bra," Jackie murmured. "Oh my God, you feel so good."
Mary's hands went to the buttons on Jackie's black button-down shirt. She slid her hands inside the shirt. "You don't have a bra on either," Mary said squeezing Jackie's breasts and rubbing her thumbs over her nipples.
They kissed and caressed each other's breasts for a few more minutes and then Mary pushed Jackie's shirt the rest of the way off. She stepped away from Jackie and took her shirt off and started unbuttoning her jeans. "Get undressed," she ordered, even though Jackie was already in the process of stripping.
Once they were naked they pressed their bodies together and started kissing again. Mary tore her lips from Jackie's. "Bed," she said and pulled Jackie toward the king sized bed.
They didn't bother pulling down the covers. Jackie pushed Mary back onto the bed and climbed on top of her. She slid her leg between Mary's and began undulating into her as she slid her tongue into Mary's mouth. They both moaned as their tongues dueled.
Mary grabbed Jackie's hips and pulled her into her harder. She was on fire and needed release. Jackie sensed her urgency and slipped her hand between them. She sought Mary's wetness and found her soaked. She stroked Mary's clit immediately bringing Mary to orgasm. Mary arched her body and cried out.
It took a moment for Mary to recover. When she did, she flipped Jackie onto her back. She started kissing her way down Jackie's body. She paused for a moment at Jackie's breasts, sucking each nipple deeply into her mouth before moving further down Jackie's flat abdomen on her way to the scent that was calling her. Mary had dreamed about having Jackie like this again. Her taste had not been far from Mary's mind ever since that night in the parking lot at the bar. She pushed Jackie's legs apart as she moved over the dark blond hair that hid her prize. Her hands pushed open Jackie's labia revealing her clit and dripping honey pot. Mary dipped her tongue into Jackie's juices before taking her tongue up to Jackie's clit. She sucked the clit into her mouth and stroked it quickly with her tongue, making Jackie cry out and grab Mary's head. Jackie held her head in place as Mary sucked and teased her clit until Jackie's hands gripped the sheets and her hips arched off the bed.
It took everything Jackie had not to scream at the top of her lungs as the most massive orgasm she had ever had in her life took over her body. Her hips rocked Mary as the waves of the eruption continued to flow out of her body. Mary was relentless in her onslaught, continuing to lap at Jackie until the tremors finally came to a stop.
Mary laid her head on Jackie's stomach. Their breath was coming in harsh rasps and their hearts raced as they both laid there trying to get their breathing back to normal. Mary listened to Jackie's heart thud quickly and heavily against her ribs. She smiled. She couldn't remember ever making a woman arch that far off the bed. Of course, she had only been with very reserved women who refused to really let themselves go.
Jackie stroked Mary's hair as her heart beat finally slowed somewhat. She looked down at Mary's upturned face. They both smiled. "Come up here," Jackie said.
Pushing herself up on trembling arms, Mary moved up onto Jackie's chest. She kissed her lightly on the lips. "You okay?"
"Oh my God, yes," Jackie said, grinning widely. "I don't think I've ever had an orgasm of that magnitude."
"Good," Mary laughed, "I never had a woman lift her hips so far off the bed."
They both chuckled. Jackie looked into her eyes that were still blazing with desire. She leaned forward and kissed Mary lightly on the lips. Mary returned the light kiss and they began to explore each other's lips with gently caresses. The fire was still simmering beneath the surface but they were both enjoying the soft exploration.
Jackie rolled Mary onto her back. She moved on top of her and her mouth made its way down Mary's body at a slow pace. She could feel Mary start to squirm but did not speed her descent. She enjoyed the fact that she was tormenting Mary with each kiss, lick and suck. By the time Jackie reached the neatly trimmed dark bush, Mary was begging her. "Please Jackie, please take me. I want your mouth on me. PLEASE! "
But Jackie continued her torturous pace, holding Mary down with her body weight and holding Mary's hands down with her own. She finally slipped her tongue into Mary's folds, feeling the heat and extreme wetness of Mary's pussy. Jackie moaned and let go of Mary's hands. She gripped Mary's hips and shoved her face fully into Mary's pussy. Gripping Mary's legs, she pushed them up so they were going over Mary's head and opening Mary more fully for her. She slid two fingers in Mary's opening and slowly pumped them in and out as she licked and sucked on Mary's clit.
"Jesus, Jackie! Please, harder please," Mary cried.
Jackie moved her fingers a little faster and deeper and sucked harder on her clit.
Mary grabbed Jackie's head and shoved it harder into her pussy. "Harder!"
Jackie obliged this time, adding a third finger, she pumped in and out of Mary's pussy and sucked her clit hard.
Mary could not hold back the scream that ripped out her body. Her legs dropped down on Jackie's back and she squeezed her head with her thighs. Her head flopped back and forth as her body repeatedly contracted with each wave of the orgasm.
They laid there for a few moments and then Jackie started laughing. "What's so funny?" Mary asked breathlessly.
"I hope they don't send the police up here thinking that I'm killing you."
Mary laughed too. "Yeah, that would be bad."
Jackie moved up and kissed Mary. "You are absolutely delicious."
"Mmm, so are you," Mary said, deepening the kiss.
Light was steaming in around the edges of the dark curtains. Jackie slowly opened her eyes. She sighed and smiled. What a night! Jesus, she had never been that many rounds with any woman. She's lost count after ten times. They had both dozed only to wake up wanting each other again.
She looked over and saw that Mary was still in the bed next to her. She was lying on her side with her back to Jackie, her dark hair spilling over her back and shoulder. Jackie wondered how she would act toward her this morning. Would she be angry that Jackie was still there, or relieved? Last night had been amazing. She would really like to make love to Mary one more time before they went back to pretending they didn't know each other. Make love? Yes, Jackie had to admit, last night was the closest she had been to making love with anyone in many years. Although, she doubted that Mary felt that way about it. She gently reached over and brushed Mary's hair away from her neck. Rolling onto her side, she scooted up behind Mary so she was spooning her and kissed her lightly on the shoulder.
Mary had felt Jackie moving behind her. She was stunned that she was still here. She had expected her to leave sometime during the morning while she was sleeping. She felt Jackie's lips on her neck as she curled around her. She took Jackie's hand and pulled it around so that it was up by her chest and snuggled back into Jackie's warmth. She hadn't woken up with another woman in bed since college. When she had entered the conservative world of work, she had become so careful about who she went out with and who she associated with, that she had forgotten what it felt like to have a passionate encounter with someone.
The room was getting lighter, despite the heavy dark curtains. "What time is it?" Mary whispered.
Jackie looked over her shoulder to the clock on the nightstand and groaned. "Nine."
Mary twisted around so she was facing Jackie and kissed her lightly on the lips. That was the cue Jackie was waiting for. She wanted Mary again, but she wanted to take her slowly, leisurely. She cupped Mary's face and kissed her gently. Mary rolled onto her back and pulled Jackie with her. Jackie left her lips and placed light kisses on her cheek, forehead, and by her ears. She nibbled gently on Mary's neck as she settled one leg in between Mary's. Mary gently stroked her hair, seeming content to let Jackie have her way with her.
This time, it really was like they were making love versus having intense, passionate sex. They took their time touching each other, getting to know each other's bodies. This time wasn't as bone shattering intense as last night had been, but it was soul rocking intense all the same.
They laid in each other's arms afterwards, both in their own thoughts. Mary heard a busing noise and perked her ears. "What is that?"
Jackie snuggled up to her breasts and said, "Sounds like someone's phone buzzing."
"Oh shit," Mary said. "It's mine. I put it on vibrate last night. Ashley is probably flipping out."
Jackie lay on her back and sighed. And, now our time is over , she thought to herself. She sat up and swung her legs off the bed. She could see their clothes in a heap where they had left them by the door last night.
Mary sat up and watched Jackie pad over to their clothes. My God, she has a magnificent body. She called Ashley's number. She dug her phone out of her purse that was lying next to her side of the bed.
"Where the hell are you?" Ashley yelled into the phone.
Jackie handed Mary's pants to her with a grin and mouthed. "You are in so much trouble."
Mary grinned and swatted at her. "I told you I wouldn't be home last night."
"Yeah, but it is ten o'clock in the morning you never stay with someone this long. Are you okay?"
Taking Jackie's hand and bringing the back of it to her lips, Mary said. "I'm fantastic. I'll be home in just a little while."
"Okay, but you better answer my calls or I'm calling the police."
Jackie laughed as she pulled on her pants.
"Is she laughing at me?" Ashley growled.
Mary stifled a laugh of her own. "No, Ash. I'll see you in a few," she said and closed the phone.
Jackie picked up her shirt and put it on. "Thinks I'm that bad, does she?"
"I'm afraid so," Mary admitted as she pulled her t-shirt over her head.
Mary stood to pull on her jeans and Jackie moved over in front of her. She took Mary's hands in hers. "And what do you think?"
Mary leaned up and kissed her. "I think you are a pussycat."
Jackie let go of her hands and started buttoning her shirt. "So where do we go from here?"
Mary fastened her jeans and looked up at Jackie. "I'm not sure."
Jackie sat down on the edge of the bed and put her socks and shoes on. She didn't want this to be the last time they were together, but she didn't know how to tell Mary that. She stood and moved over in front of Mary. Taking two fingers she lifted Mary's face so she would meet her eyes. She saw the uncertainty that she felt reflected in Mary's beautiful eyes. "Well, I will be your Dyke Thug or Pussycat anytime you need me." She kissed Mary, letting her lips linger and then turned and walked out of the hotel room.
A deep emptiness settled over Mary as soon as Jackie walked out the door. She had definitely never felt anything like this after having sex with another woman. The truth was that last night was way more than just sex. This morning had definitely been more. They had explored each other so gently and so thoroughly. Mary shivered just thinking about Jackie's light touch on her. No, she didn't know where they went from here, but she knew that she wanted to be with Jackie as often as she could.
The next week drug by so slowly that Mary thought she was going to lose her mind. She was hoping to see Jackie but the only day she had come in was Tuesday and Mary had been in a meeting with Mr. Lowry.
By three o'clock Friday afternoon, Mary was certain that she wasn't going to get to see Jackie this week. She buried herself into her pile of work and just barely registered the door opening at four-thirty. "Hey," a familiar voice said.
She looked up and Jackie was smiling down at her. "Hey," Mary said with a smile. "I guess we haven't had many deliveries this week."
"No," Jackie said, handing her a stack of packages.
Mary took the packages from Jackie's hands, making it a point to let her hand touch Jackie's.
Jackie did the same thing when she handed Mary the electronic signature pad. Their eyes didn't stray far from each other through the whole exchange. Jackie wanted to tell Mary that she had put a note for her in the stack of packages but Ashley came out from the back offices and stood glaring at her. "Well, I better let you wrap things up. See you later," she said, turning and walking out of the office.
Ashley stood with her hands on her hips watching Mary watch Jackie leave. "You have got to be kidding me."
"What," Mary said, turning to Ashley.
"You were staring at her like a love sick puppy."
Mary dropped her head and busied herself with opening the packages. "It was just good to see her."
Ashley shook her head. "You are going to get hurt if you get involved with that one."
"What makes you so sure?" Mary asked with defensiveness in her tone.
"Because, I've seen her with like a hundred different women at the bar, she's never with the same one twice."
"So, I've been with almost all of the professional women we know and I've only been with one or two of them more than once," Mary looked around to make sure neither of the lawyers had come out of their offices. "And none of them have ever given me an orgasm like she did."
Ashley rolled her eyes, "You just hadn't been with the right one yet."
"And you have?" Mary hissed. "Your dominatrix is the right one?"
Ashley looked away. Mary had her there. "Well at least she is a very discrete lesbian. You would never know she was the one I've been seeing if you met her on the street."
"Discrete? Ashley you guys have sex in a bar."
"A bar that rigorously protects the identities of its patrons, you would never know half of those women were the same people in their real lives."
Mary shook her head. "It doesn't matter." She looked around again. "I like having sex with her very much, so I'm going to go out with her again at some point."
Ashley raised her hands in surrender. "Well, don't say I didn't warn you."
Mary waved Ashley off and started going through the packages again. She picked up one package and a small piece of paper fell on the desk. She picked up and read it. "Meet me at Alberto's for dinner tonight at 6. Call me if you're not going to come. Jackie." There was a phone number that Mary assumed was Jackie's. She folded the paper into a small square. Her dresses rarely had pockets and the dark green one she was wearing today was no exception. She looked around to make sure no was paying any attention to her and discretely tucked the paper into her bra.
When Mary met Ashley in the break room at five, Mary was absolutely giddy with anticipation of her date tonight with Jackie. She was a little nervous about meeting her at Alberto's. It was a very popular Italian restaurant that a lot of the lawyers and government officials frequented. She knew there was a very good possibility that she would see someone she knew there. But, she wouldn't pass up this opportunity to be with Jackie, especially if it meant a chance for them to be alone again.
"You really need to contain your excitement," Ashley hissed.
Mr. Lowry was leaving at the same time. He smiled at them as they were clocking out. "You girls have exciting plans for the weekend?"
"Oh, nothing special," Ashley said, just hanging with friends.
"That's right," Mary said.
If Mr. Lowry noticed the glow in Mary's eyes, he didn't say anything. "Okay, have a good weekend. I'll see you on Monday."
He left. Ashley and Mary followed him out. He got into his sleek, black Porsche and drove away.
"You got lucky," Ashley said. "He didn't question that glow on your face. You look like you just got a new puppy."
Mary laughed, "Well, that's sort of true."
Ashley rolled her eyes. "Just don't lose your job over her."
"Seriously, Ash, do you really think they would fire me for being gay? And how would they really know unless they actually saw us kissing or something? We are allowed to have friends. And I think that as long as we are not doing anything that might embarrass them, they aren't going to say anything."
"We'll see," Ashley said and unlocked the car.
They drove home in silence. Mary wondered if she was putting herself at risk of being found out by their bosses, and how would they really react if they did find out. There are discrimination laws now. Surely they couldn't really fire her for being gay. Anyway, it didn't matter. She hadn't been this excited about going on a date since high school and she wasn't going to let Ashley's paranoia ruin it.
When they got to their apartment, Mary hopped out of Ashley's car and went to hers. "Where are you going?" Ashley asked.
Mary grinned over the top of Ashley's car. "I've got a date."
Ashley shook her head. "Well, call me or text me if you're not coming home so I won't be worried."
"Okay," Mary said, got into her car, and left the parking lot.
Alberto's was already busy. She wondered if they would even be able to get a table. She had to drive around the parking lot twice before she found a parking spot. It occurred to her that Jackie hadn't said if she would meet her at the door or if she would be at the bar. She checked her make-up in her compact, refreshed her lipstick, and dabbed a little perfume on her wrists and neck. She couldn't believe how nervous she was.
As soon as she walked in the door, she saw Jackie standing next to the hostess' stand. She was wearing a dark brown blazer, a dark-blue button-down shirt, blue jeans, and cowboy boots. Jackie smiled nervously and then said something to the young man who was working the hostess stand.
The young man smiled brightly at Mary. "Wonderful, the rest of your party is here." He handed two menus to another young man and said, "Randall will show you to your table."
Jackie motioned for Mary to go first and she fell in step behind Randall, who was sashaying as he walked. He led them to a booth toward the back of the restaurant and motioned for them to sit. "Andrea will be your server but I can take your drink orders. Would you like anything from the bar?"
Mary smiled up at Randall as she settled into her side of the book. "I would like a glass of wine. The house burgundy is fine."
Jackie smiled at Mary and then looked up at Randall. "I'll have the same."
"Very good," Randall smiled. "I'll be right back with your drinks and Andrea should be with you shortly." He turned and sashayed away.
Jackie took her jacket off, folded it carefully and set in on seat next to her. Her shirt had the top three buttons open, revealing the lightly tanned skin and a little of her cleavage. Mary wondered if she was wearing a bra tonight, but the shirt hung too loosely for her to be able to tell. When her eyes met Jackie's, she smiled. "You look very nice tonight."
"Thank you. This is about as dressed up as I get," she said. She looked over Mary, much the same way Mary had appraised her. "You look beautiful every day."
Mary blushed slightly. "Thank you, that's very sweet."
"I was afraid you wouldn't show up," Jackie said quietly.
Looking directly in Jackie's eyes, Mary said, "I couldn't stay away."
The smile that light Jackie's face was dazzling. "I'm glad."
Randall reappeared with their drinks, followed by a young woman. He set each of their glasses in front of them and said, "If you need anything else from the bar, just let Andrea know."
"Thank you, Randall," Jackie said.
After Randall had walked away, the young woman, who appeared to be in her late teens or early twenties, said, "Good even ladies, I'm Andrea and I will be your server. Have you had a chance to look over the menu?"
"No, can you give a few more minutes?" Jackie asked.
"Of course," Andrea smiled. "I'll be back in a little while."
She walked away and Mary said, "I'm betting that Randall will be bringing all of our drinks from the bar, she doesn't look like she's over twenty-one."
"Probably not, "Jackie agreed. She took a sip of her wine and twirled the deep purple liquid for a moment. "I have a confession."
Mary raised an eyebrow and took a drink her wine.
"As much as I would love to take you someplace more private later, I'm afraid I can't tonight, but I really wanted to spend some time with you." At Mary's questioning look, she leaned forward and whispered, "I'm on my period."
Mary smiled and nodded knowingly, "its okay, I'm due to start mine any day as well."
Jackie studied her drink shyly. "I know that we don't really have a relationship. We've just done the physical thing." Jackie peaked up at her, "But, I'd really like to get to know you."
Mary reached over and touched her hand lightly, bringing Jackie's eyes to her. God, there was something about her eyes that sucked her in. "I'd like that."
"Really?" Jackie asked, surprised.
Mary smiled. "You are not the type of woman I would normally date, but there is something about you that is drawing me to you." She lowered her voice. "It may just be the mind blowing sex, but I think it's more." She blushed as she confessed, "I thought you were cute the first time you came into the office but I've only allowed myself to be involved with a certain type of woman, which was part of the reason I was always rude to you. It was a way of keeping you at a distance."
Andrea reappeared. She looked at the two menus that were in the exact same spot they had been earlier. "Do you need a little more time?"
"Please," Mary said with a smile.
When Andrea had moved away, Jackie said, "I thought you were beautiful first day I came in to the office but after you were so rude, I thought you were just a straight snobbish bitch who didn't like gay people."
Mary laughed, "Wonderful. That was the image I was trying to portray." Then, more seriously, "Our bosses are very conservative and religious." She lowered her voice to a whisper, "They even insist we have a morning prayer every day, so you can imagine how careful we feel we have to be."
Jackie nodded. "That would suck, but I understand. Thankfully, UPS doesn't care as long as you can lift seventy pounds and have good customer service."
"Lucky you," Mary said and picked up one of the menus. "We probably should figure out something to order. I don't know about you, but I'm starved."
Jackie smiled. "Yes, it's been a very busy day."
They both studied their menus for a little while. Mary decided on a chicken Marsala with a house salad. She wondered what Jackie would order. She had been surprised when Jackie had ordered the same kind of wine that she had. She wondered if she did that just to impress her, or if she really liked red wine.
As if reading her mine, Jackie picked up glass, sniffed the wine, and took a drink. "Their house burgundy is very good."
"It is," Mary agreed, taking a drink of her own drink.
"I thought that was you," a woman's voice said. Mary and Jackie both looked up.
Mary immediately tensed. "Rachel, it's good to see you." Rachel Lockwood was an attorney and one of the closeted lesbian groups that usually went to the same parties together. Rachel was also one of the few women Mary had slept with more than once. She had really liked Rachel and thought they might actually start dating, but Rachel was too deep into the local politics to ever consider having a real relationship with another woman.
Rachel looked Jackie over with a slight frown. "Who's your friend?"
"This is Jackie," Mary said, realizing that she didn't even know Jackie's last name. "Jackie, Rachel Lockwood."
Jackie extended her hand to Rachel who barely touched it. "Nice to meet you."
Rachel nodded and then looked back at Mary. "I was hoping to see you at Marisa's tomorrow night. Are you going to be there?"
Mary blushed. She had totally forgotten about the monthly party that Marisa hosted. Basically and meet and hookup party, Mary smiled nervously. "A…probably not, I had totally forgotten about it."
Rachel pursed her lips, looked from Jackie to Mary, and said, "Well, that's too bad. Maybe I'll see you at the next one."
"Sure," Mary said and looked around nervously. This had been her biggest fear about coming to this restaurant. She had known there was the possibility that she would see someone she knew.
Rachel gave another distasteful look at Jackie and walked off. Jackie gave Mary a questioning look. "A friend of yours?"
"Not exactly," Mary said, taking a deep drink of her wine.
Andrea reappeared and Mary let Jackie order first. She ordered a chicken and mushroom dish. Mary had actually debated between that one and the chicken marsala . "If I would have realized that I wanted chicken," Jackie said. "I would have ordered a white wine to start with."
"Well, it's not too late," Mary said, drinking more of her wine. "We can order a white wine for the next drink."
Jackie studied her quietly. "Your friend seeing you here with me really shook you up, didn't it?"
Mary sighed. "It was one of my fears about coming here. A lot of the other professional people I know frequent this restaurant."
"Are you afraid that people seeing you here with me will question your sexuality?" Jackie asked, not looking at Mary.
Mary sighed again. "I know you don't understand, but I could lose my job if my bosses knew."
Jackie nodded. "I do understand about that, more than you can imagine. But, it's sad that you can't even have a lesbian friend, without your own identity being questioned."
"I know," Mary said shaking her head sadly. "The thing with Rachel, though, is that she does know about my sexuality. She's one of the closeted lesbians that Ashley and I usually go to parties with and she probably feels threatened by my being out with you."
Mary jumped when Mr. Lowry put his hand on her shoulder. "Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you," he said. "We were on our way out and I wanted to stop by and say hello."
"Thank you." Mary looked behind him to his wife, "It's good to see you, Anne."
"You too, Mary," Mrs. Lowry said a warm smile.
Mr. Lowry looked pointedly at Jackie. "Don't I know you?"
Jackie looked at Mary and Mary said, "Jackie delivers our packages for UPS. She and I discovered we both have an interest in local vineyards so we decided to have dinner and discuss some of the vineyards we've both been to."
" Chandler 's is a wonderful vineyard," Mrs. Lowry said. "Have you been out there?"
"A number of times," Jackie said. "My cousin runs their gift shop. They have the most amazing Pinot Noir that I've ever had."
Mr. Lowry nodded. "Yes, they do." He patted Mary on the shoulder. "We have to run; the babysitter has to be home by nine."
"Have a good evening," Mary said.
"You too," Mr. Lowry called over his shoulder as he and his wife walked away.
Andrea came back with their salads. "Can I get you another glass of wine?"
"Please but I think I'd like a Chardonnay this time," Mary said.
"Yes. I'd like one as well," Jackie said. After Andrea walked away, Jackie looked at Mary, "I'm so sorry. I had no idea we would run into so many of you friends here. I just really love this restaurant."
Mary sighed and reached across the table to give Jackie's hand a quick squeeze. "It's okay. I knew the risk when I decided to come. And you know, you are right, I should be able to meet a friend for dinner without being questioned."
Jackie finished her wine and smiled nervously. "So would you have dinner with me again sometime?"
"Yes," Mary smiled. "Apparently we have a love of wine and Italian food in common."
Jackie laughed. "The vineyard story was perfect, because I do love to sample the local wines."
"Well, what I coincidence, so do I, I'm surprised we haven't run into each other at one of them."
Jackie blushed. "Well, actually, I did see you at Chandler 's a few months back but I was too afraid to approach you. If you would have called me a Dyke Thug in front of my cousin, she would have gone off on you."
"Sherry must be your cousin then."
Jackie laughed. "Good guess, how'd you know."
"I've been going to Chandler 's ever since college and Sherry and I have had several discussions about wine. She is very opinionated and refuses to back down when she thinks she's right. I could totally see her standing up for a relative."
They both started eating their salads and discussing their favorite vineyards, finding that they really had a common interest in wine and how it's made. Mary was very surprised that Jackie was so well versed in wine selections.
Andrea returned with Randall and their entrees. As Mary suspected, Randall had brought their wine because Andrea was not old enough to serve it.
They both moaned at the first bite of the dinner and laughed. "I almost ordered that," Jackie said, pointing at Mary's plate.
Mary laughed. "I almost ordered that."
They ate the rest of their dinner with a few comments about their favorite Alberto's dishes. When Andrea offered them dessert they both declined. "But I would love a cappuccino," Mary said.
"Make that two," Jackie concurred. She smiled at Mary, "I'm happy to see that we at least like the same food and wine."
"Yes, I was a little nervous about what we'd talk about." Mary blushed, "And I was a little worried that I wouldn't be able to keep from dragging you off to the ladies room."
Jackie laughed and then leaned forward and whispered, "Well, it's a good thing my monthly friend was here to keep you in check."
Mary laughed too. "Yes, it is a good thing." Mary put her elbows on the table, folded her hands together and rested her chin on them as she looked at Jackie. "I've had a really good time tonight, despite the visits from my boss and Rachel."
Jackie positioned herself the same way and said, "Me too. It's been a long time since I've been drawn to woman for more than sex. I have to admit I'm very nervous about it."
"Me too," Mary admitted. She sat back as Andrea placed their cappuccinos in front of them.
"Anything else, ladies?"
"No, I think that will be it. Go ahead and bring the check please," Jackie said. She looked at Mary, her dark blue eyes turning almost black. "You know, we could go somewhere private and I could…"
Mary immediately felt a rush of heat in her crotch. She chewed her lip for moment. She would love that, but she wanted more than just a quickie. "No, as appealing as that is, I'd rather wait until we can entertain each other."
Jackie smiled and raised an eyebrow, "You sure."
Mary took a wavering breath. "Yes, I'm sure."
"Okay," Jackie said, "Maybe next weekend."
"As long as my monthly friend doesn't show up," Mary said. "But even if it does, I'd…I'd like to see you anyway."
"Really?" Jackie asked, surprised.
"Yes," Mary smiled. "There's something about you. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but I've really enjoyed your company tonight. You are very charming."
Jackie's smiled widened. "Well, how about a movie next time. Surely, your friend won't see you with me in a dark theater."
Mary laughed. "You never know, but I'd really like that."
"Then, how about next Saturday and since I picked the restaurant this time, you pick the movie."
"Sounds like a plan," Mary said.
Jackie reached over and ran her finger across Mary's hand and looked into her eyes, "You have my number, so you can call me anytime if you just want to talk."
Just Jackie's gentle touch was making Mary's heart race. "I just might do that," she said, slightly breathless.
They finished their cappuccinos and Jackie slid her credit card into the black folder Andrea had left with the check. Andrea buzzed by and took the folder and returned a short time later with Jackie's receipt. Mary reached into her purse to take out cash for her part but Jackie put her hand on Mary's stopping her. "This was my treat."
Mary nodded and smiled.
They got up and left the restaurant, outside, Jackie said, "Where are you parked?"
"In the back, there were no parking spots when I got here."
"I'll walk you back there."
"Well, aren't you the perfect gentlewoman," Mary said, grinning at Jackie's chivalry.
"Well, of course," Jackie smiled. "I can't let a beautiful woman, such as you, walk to her car alone." When they got to Mary's car, Jackie said, "And I had an ulterior motive. I want to kiss you."
Mary's eyes immediately dropped to Jackie's full lips. "Get in the passenger side."
Jackie did as she was told. They crawled into the car and met in the middle in a passionate kiss. Jackie slid her hand up Mary's thigh and under her dress to her soaked underwear. "Are you sure you don't want me to help you with this?" Jackie asked, lightly stoking Mary.
Mary leaned her forehead against Jackie, need raging through her body. "We can't do it here."
"Why not?" Jackie asked, looking around. "There's no one out here," she slid her fingers inside Mary's panties, "and it will only take a few seconds."
Mary was already panting and Jackie started quickly stroking her clit. Mary's mouth dropped open and Jackie kissed her, plunging her tongue into Mary's mouth and catching her scream as she came.
"See," Jackie said, slipping her hand back out of Mary's pants and licking her fingers, "Only took a few seconds."
Mary laid her head back on the head rest and caught her breath. She quickly looked around and saw that no one was in their area of the parking lot. She grabbed Jackie's face and kissed her hard. "You are evil," she laughed. "I'm going to have to keep my legs squeezed together all the way home."
Jackie laughed. "I could follow you home and really finish the job," she offered.
Mary sighed. "As much as I would love that, I'm sure Ashley is not ready for you to show up at our apartment yet."
"You could come to my place," Jackie offered.
Mary looked at her and caressed her face. "Hmmm," she sighed. "No, let's wait until both our periods are over. If I get alone with you and there's a bed involved, I'm going to want to have my way with you."
Jackie kissed her lightly and then leaned away. "Okay. I understand. So, movies next Saturday?"
Mary squeezed Jackie's hand, "Yes."
Jackie leaned over and kissed her again before she got out of the car. She waved to Mary as she walked to a black diesel truck and got in it. Mary backed out of her spot and headed home. She had really enjoyed tonight and she had almost given in and went home with Jackie, but she really wanted to be able to take Jackie if she was alone with her. It was just safer to wait.
Mary had worried over which movie to pick for the first part of the week and finally broke down and called Jackie to ask her what she would prefer to see. She wasn't sure why she had been so afraid to call her, but she had put off until Wednesday night. They decided to go see a mystery thriller at the eight o'clock show and they were going to go to a Japanese restaurant a few blocks from the theater at six. It was really going to be a date, something Mary had not been on since college.
Their phone conversation had lasted almost two hours. They talked about the kind of books, movies and food that they liked. Mary was surprised that they had so much in common. She had not been out with a professional woman that she had much in common with other than the fact that they were closeted lesbians.
After their conversation on Wednesday, Mary had been tempted to call Jackie again, just to talk. When was the last time she had met a woman that she just wanted to talk to. She couldn't remember. It was funny that their relationship had started out sexual but now seemed to be moving toward a romantic one. It seemed a little backwards, but the reality was that she wouldn't have gone out with Jackie if she had asked her out on a date to start with.
By Friday afternoon, Mary was getting nervous about the date. She had no idea why. They had been to dinner together and it went fine. They'd had sex several times now and that was fabulous. Maybe it was because she was afraid that she was reading more into Jackie's intentions than she should be. What if Jackie wasn't looking for a relationship? What if she just wanted to keep things on a sexual level and nothing else? Mary would keep it that way if that was the way it had to be because the sex was phenomenal, but she wanted it to be more. That really surprised her. She hadn't wanted a relationship for years and now, this woman had turned her world upside down.
She wanted to know everything there was to know about Jackie. She wanted to tell her about her own parents. She wondered if Jackie's parents had abandoned her the Mary's had. Did Jackie want to get married or have children? She found herself wondering these things all day long. She had not ever spent this much time thinking about a woman. No one had ever captured her imagination the way Jackie had.
Saturday drug by, minutes felt like hours. But, when it finally started getting close to time to go, the time flew. She couldn't decide what to wear. She'd put jeans on, changed into slacks, and then back to jeans. She put on a t-shirt, and then a dress blouse, and finally settled on a long-sleeved, button-down shirt. She couldn't decide if she should wear tennis shoes, loafers, or boots.
That's how Ashley found her at five-fifteen. “What are you doing?” Ashley asked when she stopped at Mary's door and saw her staring at her shoes.
“I can't decide which shoes to wear.”
“You are not serious?” Ashley said, shaking her head. “You act like you are going on a real date.”
“I am going on a real date,” Mary snapped.
“Sooorrry,” Ashley drawled. “You haven't said hardly anything to me about this. So I didn't realize that was what was going on.”
Mary sighed. “I'm sorry. I wasn't sure you'd want to hear about my date with Jackie. I know you don't really approve of me dating out of our social circle.”
Ashley shrugged. “I just don't want her to out you. I don't want you to lose your job and I don't want you to get hurt.”
“You know, there are discrimination laws now. They can't fire me for being gay.”
“Yeah, but this is a right to fire state, so they can find another reason to fire you,” Ashley reminded her.
“Well, I don't think Jackie will intentionally out me. I think she understands that we have to be careful. And honestly, if I do get fired, I don't think I'll have a problem getting another job. I'm a good legal assistant and there are a lot of attorneys in this town,” Mary said and sat down on her bed to put her boots on. “So what do you think?” she asked, standing and turning around for Ashley's appraisal.
“I think you look great. Hot, in fact.” She came over and unbuttoned another button on Mary's shirt. “That's better, she being all over you.”
Mary hugged Ashley. “Thanks, Ash.” She grabbed a light jacket in case it was chilly later and headed for the door. She called over her shoulder to Ashley, “Don't wait up for me.”
Jackie strummed her fingers on the steering wheel while waiting for Mary at the restaurant. She was nervous. She liked Mary a lot but she was terrified that this was still just a sexual relationship for Mary. Jackie hadn't realized that she wanted more until she started thinking about what she wanted to do on the next date. That's when she realized that she wanted to have a relationship with Mary, but she was afraid that Mary wouldn't want that.
She got out of the truck when she saw Mary's car pull into the parking lot. The grin that spread across her face couldn't be stopped. Yes, she wanted a real relationship with Mary, but she would take whatever she could have for now.
Seeing Jackie getting out of her truck made Mary's heart start beating a little faster. She was so attractive. Mary enjoyed her company much more than she could have ever imagined. She had been looking forward to tonight all week, not just because she knew that they would probably end up in bed together, but because she enjoyed just being with Jackie.
She wondered now, if she had told herself she couldn't like Jackie the first time she met her because she had felt the attraction to her deep inside. She had always been so terrified of being outed that she had intentionally avoided being friends with anyone who might be considered gay. It was funny that she felt herself slowly becoming less afraid of people knowing she was gay. She had meant what she had said to Ashley earlier. She would hate to lose her job because she liked the law office she worked at and she like working with Ashley, but if they did fire her, she would be able to get a job somewhere else.
Jackie opened the door for her as soon as she pulled into the space next to Jackie's truck and unlocked the door. Mary took Jackie's proffered hand and surprised them both by coming to her feet and kissing Jackie lightly on the lips.
Smiling, Jackie shut Mary's door and put her hand on the small of Mary's back as they started walking to the front door of the restaurant. "Feeling brave tonight?" Jackie asked.
Mary grinned up at her. "A little. It just seemed like it had been forever since I'd kissed you."
Jackie looked into Mary's eyes as she held the door open for her. "It has been."
Mary paused at the look Jackie was giving her. It was full of affection. It had been a long time since someone had looked at her with genuine affection in their eyes. Even the relationships she's had with women in college had been more sexual and mutual comradely than affectionate.
The Japanese restaurant was a buffet and hibachi style so they decided to try the different varieties of sushi and fishes that were available. By the end of the night they had both tried a little bit of everything, except neither of them had gotten brave enough to try the squid. When they left the restaurant Jackie gave Mary a stick of cinnamon gum. “We probably both need one of these after all that fish,” she laughed as she stuck a piece of the gum in her mouth.
Mary put the gum in her mouth and agreed, “That and all the onions.”
They got into their separate vehicles and Jackie followed Mary to the theater a few blocks away. Once again they parked next to each other toward the back of the parking lot. Jackie came around to meet Mary at her door, but this time she leaned into the car and kissed her. “There are a lot of people roaming around,” she said. “I thought I should be more discrete this time.”
“Thank you,” Mary said, taking Jackie's hand and letting her help out of the car.
They were walking so close as they went into the building that they kept accidentally bumping into each other. They hands kept brushing against each other. Mary wished so much that they were in a city where no one would think anything of her taking Jackie's hand in hers, but people here in their small, conservative town would definitely notice.
The line for drinks was a mile long so they both opted just to get a drink of water before going into the theater that was showing the movie they going to watch. They sat toward the back of the theater where there were less people in the rows. This allowed them to have four seats between them and the closest couple on either side.
The movie had been out for a little while so the crowd to see this movie wasn't large and it was mostly people close to Jackie and Mary's age. They hadn't discussed their ages but Mary was pretty sure there were only a few years between them. Mary decided she would ask Jackie to start up their conversation. They both had been quiet since they entered the building. “How old are you?”
Jackie raised an eye brow but smiled and said, “Twenty-nine. How about you?”
“Twenty-six. I'll be twenty-seven in a few months,” Mary said with a smile. “I figured that we were pretty close in age.
“Would that matter?” Jackie asked turning in her seat. She folded one leg under the other and put her arm on the back of her chair so she could look at Mary as they talked.
“No,” Mary said, her eyes never leaving Jackie's. “The biggest obstacle was being afraid of how out you seem to be.”
Jackie cocked her head to one side. “So, you had a little interest in me before the night at the bar?”
Mary blushed. “Yes. You are a very attractive woman, but I was just too terrified of being outed to consider letting you see that I might be interested.”
“Ah,” Jackie nodded. “That explains some of the looks I thought I'd see you give me.”
Mary's blush deepened. “Noticed those did you?”
“Yes,” Jackie said. Their stare was getting intense and Mary was considering skipping the movie and going straight to being alone somewhere, but the lights flickered and then started to dim.
Jackie turned in her seat so she could watch the previews of upcoming movies. There were several that they both thought would be good. Smiling, Jackie leaned over and said into Mary's ear, “Looks like we might have several more movie dates.”
Mary turned to her, capturing her eyes. “I'd like that.”
Their gaze held again and Jackie leaned back. “You better quit looking at me like that or we won't make it through this movie.”
Laughing, Mary squeezed Jackie's hand, “That thought crossed my mind earlier but I'd really hate to throw almost thirty bucks away and I really do want to see this movie.”
“Okay,” Jackie grinned and squeezed Mary's hand back and then let go of it. “Don't look at me or touch me and we'll make it through the movie.”
“Man, that's going to be tough,” Mary said with a sigh. She put her hand in her seat where it was against Jackie's leg. “How about I don't look deeply into your eyes?”
“Okay,” Jackie laughed. “I think I can handle that.”
By the end of the movie, Jackie had pulled Mary's hand into her lap and was gently stroking the back of it with her fingertip. Mary couldn't get over how nice it had been to sit in the dark theater holding hands with her date. It was something she had never expected to do.
Jackie leaned close to her as the end credits started coming up. “My apartment is just a few blocks from here. Would you like to see it?”
Mary turned to see the blazing desire showing clearly in Jackie's eyes, even in the still dark theater. “I'd like that very much,” she said quietly.
Standing, Jackie pulled Mary up with her. They tried not to push the people in front of them out of their way but they made their way quickly to their vehicles. “Follow me,” Jackie called as she climbed into her truck.
True to her word, Jackie's apartment was only about three blocks from the theater. It wasn't as nice of a neighborhood and Mary and Ashley's neighborhood but it wasn't a bad neighborhood either. Each apartment had two parking slots assigned to it. One of Jackie's slots was filled by someone else so Jackie instructed her to park in the extra parking area toward the end of the parking lot.
Mary grabbed her purse and locked her car before following Jackie up to the three story building with beige siding. Jackie led them up the stairs at the end of the building. Her apartment was on the third floor and Mary was winded by the time they got to the top.
“Oh my God,” Mary said. “And I thought I was in shape.”
Jackie laughed. She took Mary's hand and pulled her inside the building. “My apartment is just this side of the middle. Fortunately, both neighbors on either side and across the hall are elderly and usually take their hearing aids out when they go to bed.”
“Lucky you,” Mary said. “Most of our neighbors are pretty quiet. “Occasionally we have trouble from the guy who lives directly downstairs." Mary pointed to the floor under their feet. "He has a massive party two or three times a year that sometimes gets out of hand.”
Mary leaned against the wall and watched Jackie unlock the door. Jackie opened the door and said, “Welcome to my little hovel.”
The living room was small. Jackie had a brown couch and recliner that faced the wall across the room where a large screen TV set on a black television stand. There was a desk with a computer on it in the corner with stacks of books on the desk and on the floor next to the desk. “Oh my, you have a lot of books. Ashley would kill me if I had this many books sitting around.”
Jackie laughed. “It's not usually this bad. I write reviews for a publishing company so they send me advanced readers copies all the time. I usually donate most of them to the library for their semi-annual sales but I've been too busy to get them down there.”
There was a small kitchen across the room from the front door. Jackie led Mary in there. She took a bottle of wine out of the refrigerator and then got two wine classes out the cabinet next to the refrigerator. The kitchen barely had enough room for one person to be in there. The stove and pantry were on one side with cabinets painted white above and on either side of the stove. A microwave sat on the counter closest to the wall. The opposite wall had the refrigerator and sink, with cabinets above and below the sink, and drawers in the lower cabinet next to the refrigerator.
"Wow, this is tiny," Mary said.
"Yeah, it sucks. I love to cook and there just isn't enough room to do much in here," Jackie said, handing Mary the glass of wine. "Come on, I'll show you the rest of the apartment."
Mary followed Jackie down a very short hall next to the kitchen. Jackie opened the bathroom door and turned on the light. The bathroom was almost as big as the kitchen with a closet for towels inside, nice size vanity next to the toilet and a tub/shower combination. It was very clean with fresh towels hanging sitting on the back of the toilet. "Nice," Mary said.
Jackie led her to the end of the hall and opened the door to the bedroom. It was a decent size room with a small walk-in closet, a dresser that doubled as a TV stand, two night stands on either side of the queen size bed. The comforter on the bed was dark blue with star bursts on it. There were more books on the far night stand. Mary took a sip of her wine and then took her glass and set it on the nightstand closest to the door. She came back to Jackie and took Jackie's glass and placed it next to hers. Their eyes met and held. "Is your monthly friend gone?" Mary asked.
Jackie nodded. "Has yours showed up yet?"
Mary shook her head. She put her hands on Jackie's shoulders and slid them down to her breasts, which she gave a slight squeeze before she started unbuttoning Jackie's shirt. "I've been thinking about doing this all week," she said before kissing Jackie.
Jackie's hands moved to Mary's shirt and started working on the buttons on her shirt. "Me, too."
They were naked and on Jackie's bed in a matter of seconds. Mary was on the bottom. She pulled Jackie's leg between hers and groaned. Jackie moved against her but slowly. She pushed up with her hands on either side of Mary's shoulders and looked down into Mary's eyes. "I don't want to rush tonight. I want to take things slow and easy."
Mary studied Jackie's eyes. She could see the desire and something more in Jackie's eyes, something deeper. She nodded and lowered her eyes to Jackie's lips that were slowly moving toward hers. Jackie kissed her slowly, tasting and learning every inch of her mouth. Her hands moved slowly across Mary's skin, finding her most sensitive places. Jackie's mouth followed her hands kissing, licking and sucking Mary heated skin. Jackie was making love to her. This time it was not just sex.
The mood of this encounter was completely different from the other times they had been together. Mary followed Jackie's example, caressing Jackie's back and shoulders gently. She could not remember it ever feeling like this with anyone else. The sensation of being worshipped, that's the way Jackie was making her feel.
By the time Jackie was ready to start stroking the heat between Mary's legs; Mary was at such a heightened state of arousal that her body arched off the bed at Jackie's first touch. But Jackie didn't move any faster. She continued to touch and stroke Mary slowly. It was erotic and sensual. Jackie moved to Mary's lips and kissed her deeply. Her lips moved down Mary's neck to her breasts, all the while she continued to stroke Mary's clit slowly.
Mary squirmed and moaned as Jackie's mouth moved closer to her heated center but Jackie did not go any faster. By the time Jackie's tongue finally touched her clit, Mary was out of her mind with arousal. She gripped Jackie's shoulders and held on for dear life as her orgasm it immediately.
Slowly floating back down into her body, Mary looked up into Jackie's eyes and she rose up over her. The look on Jackie's face was a mix of emotions. Mary reached up and gently touched Jackie's cheek. She smiled and stroked Jackie's lower lip with her thumb. “That was the most beautiful thing I have ever experienced in my life.”
Jackie smiled, relief showing in her eyes. “I was afraid it might be too much, too soon.”
Mary cocked her head to one side and returned Jackie's smile. “No, I have been having some very strong feelings for you, too.” Mary put her other hand on Jackie's other cheek and pulled her down to kiss her. She slid her hands into Jackie's hair and then down to her back. Flipping them over so that she was on top of Jackie, Mary said, “My turn to show you how I've been feeling about you.”
Mary placed a kiss on Jackie's forehead. She placed light kisses down Jackie's temple, to her cheek, and then to her mouth. Her kiss was slow like Jackie's had been, but deeper. She searched the recesses of Jackie's mouth with her tongue.
Jackie moaned deep in her chest. Mary moved her lips away from Jackie's and started the path down her neck to her shoulder, and then to her chest. She took one nipple into her mouth, sucking gently and rolling her tongue around it while she caressed the other breast. Both breasts were given this loving attention before Mary moved further down to Jackie's abdomen.
The intensity of Jackie's arousal made it hard for her not to push Mary down between her legs. She was desperate for Mary's mouth to be on her but she didn't want to rush her either.
Mary was not going to be rushed. She wanted to give Jackie the same sweet torturous loving that Jackie had given her. Jackie's legs opened wider as Mary moved between them. Her hands caressed the outside of Jackie's thighs before moving to the inside. Taking her hands and running them from Jackie's knees to her apex, Mary pushed her legs further apart, making room for her. She took her thumbs and rubbed them over the nether lips that were glistening with Jackie's juices. The scent of Jackie's arousal was almost too much for Mary. It took every ounce of control she had not to just simply devour Jackie, but she didn't want this moment to be rushed. She didn't want Jackie's orgasm to be rushed. She wanted to give Jackie the kind of orgasm that gives you an out of body experience like Jackie had just given her.
Finally lowering her head to Jackie's soaking pussy; Mary pushed open the nether lips with her thumbs, exposing the swollen nub that was her prize. She slid her tongue inside Jackie and Jackie's hips instantly came off the bed with a moan escaping Jackie's lips. Mary slowly moved her tongue in and out of Jackie before lazily dragging it up and over Jackie's clit, eliciting a hiss from Jackie and a deeper arch of her back.
Jackie's hands gripped the sheets. She wanted to grab her head and force her to really suck on her clit but she couldn't move. The power of Mary's ministrations had taken control of Jackie.
Mary toyed slowly and lovingly with Jackie's clit and opening until she couldn't take it anymore. She finally sucked the clit into her mouth and stroked it expertly with her tongue while she sucked on the small nub.
It didn't take a second for Jackie to lift her body almost completely off the bed. She grabbed a pillow, covered her face, and screamed into it as her orgasm rocked her entire body, sending an electric shock from her head to her toes.
Holding on to Jackie's hips, Mary road out the orgasm with her. Finally they both laid quietly, Mary still between Jackie's legs. She moved her head to Jackie's thigh and said, “I like you very much.”
Jackie stroked her dark hair. “I like you very much too.”
Mary moved up and lay next to Jackie with her head propped up on her hand. “I want to really date you.”
The statement took Jackie by surprise. She wanted to date Mary but she had been afraid that Mary was just interested in the sex. “I would like that very much,” Jackie said, stoking Mary's cheek with her fingers.
“You are the first woman I've met in a long time that I actually feel comfortable with. I don't feel like I have to put on a pretense to impress you,” Mary said.
“No, you don't have to be anyone but yourself,” Jackie said. “I like the relaxed, real you.
Mary smiled and kissed Jackie lightly. “How good are you with cooking breakfast?”
“I am an excellent cook and I make one of the best omelets you'll ever eat,” Jackie said.
Pulling Jackie on top of her, Mary said, “Good, I'll let you fix me one in the morning.”
Mary flitted around the apartment making last minute preparations for Jackie's arrival, while Ashley stood in the kitchen door way with her arms crossed over her chest scowling. "I can't believe you are going to this much trouble for her," Ashley said.
"Why shouldn't I go to the trouble to make the apartment look nice for her? If we were having any one of your friends over, you would be going all out to make the apartment look nice for them." Mary said as she straightened the pillows on the couch.
Ashley shook her head and went into the kitchen. Mary was making eggplant parmesan tonight, which Ashley had to admit was one of her favorite dishes. She had been surprised when she said that Jackie had never had it and wanted to try it. Most people just starting to date would want their, would be, girlfriend to make their favorite dish versus wanting to try something new.
"You want a glass of wine?" Ashley called from the kitchen.
"Yes," Mary said. She was nervous about Jackie coming to their apartment. She wasn't so much nervous about what Jackie would think about the apartment as she was what Ashley might say to Jackie when she got here. She was praying Ashley would be civil with Jackie.
Ashley brought out two glasses of white wine and handed one to Mary. She studied Mary as she sipped her wine. "You really like her a lot, don't you?"
Mary met Ashley's eyes. "Yes, I really do. I think you will like her if you give her a chance. She's smart and funny. She's not at all like you would expect her to be."
Ashley nodded, although she still expected Jackie to act like an illiterate hick.
There was a light knock at the door and Mary's face lit up. "She's here." She set her wine glass down on one of the coasters on the glass coffee table and rushed to the door. She straightened her blouse and then opened the door. Jackie stood on the other side with a dozen red roses in hand. Mary's hand flew to her mouth. "For me?"
"Beautiful roses for a beautiful lady," Jackie said with a slight bow.
Ashley rolled her eyes. Christ, she thought, what a sap. But she grudgingly admitted that the flowers were beautiful. They were blood red, large buds that would open in a few days to large full bloom roses.
Mary took Jackie's free hand and pulled her into the apartment. As soon as the door was shut, she put her hand behind Jackie's neck and pulled her down for a quick kiss. "Thank you. They are beautiful."
"You're welcome," Jackie said quietly, looking into Mary's eyes. She'd missed her this week. She'd only had one delivery to the law office all week and Mary had been at lunch when she'd come by with the delivery. They had talked on the phone every night but that wasn't the same as being in the same room with her, being able to look into those blue-green eyes.
Ashley cleared her throat and Mary blushed. "Jackie, you know my roommate, Ashley."
Jackie smiled at Ashley, who didn't return her smile. But, she walked across the room and extended her hand to Ashley. "It's nice to see you outside of the office."
Ashley took her hand briefly, noting the slight calluses. "Welcome to our home," she said, using manners that she had been trained with from a very early age.
"Thank you," Jackie said, her smile never faltering. She turned to Mary. "Dinner smells fantastic. I can't wait to try it."
"If you love eggplant as much as you say you do, you will love this dish," Mary said and took Jackie's arm. "It's got another half an hour so let me give you a quick tour of the apartment." She turned around in the large living room. Two beige couches and a recliner sat in a semi-circle in the living room facing the wall opposite of the hallway where a very large, flat screen television adorned the wall. There were windows on either side of the TV that had cream colored curtains hanging over them. "The living room, of course," Mary said and then led her into the kitchen.
"God, I am so jealous," Jackie said, taking in the large kitchen/dining room. There was a small round, glass-top table in the dining area with black iron chairs that had cream colored seats around the table. There was a large stainless steel, double door refrigerator, a black stove, and black dishwasher. The cabinets were a dark stained wood and lined the walls on both sides and the end of the room.
Mary looked at Ashley's questioning look. "Jackie loves to cook. Her kitchen doesn't allow much room for making the wonderful dishes she likes to cook up."
"Really?" Ashley said, "That is definitely something you two have in common then."
"We actually have quite a lot in common," Jackie said and smiled at Mary. "We like the same kinds of books, movies, and food. We both like to run and bike. I'm sure we'll find more things we have in common as we get to know each other better."
Mary nodded. "I think so too."
Ashley wanted to vomit. This was all too sickeningly sweet. She followed them as they went down the hall to toward the bedrooms and bathroom.
"The bathroom is about the same size as yours except we have a larger linen closet in ours." Mary led Jackie further down the hall. "That's Ashley's room," she said.
The door was slightly opened and Jackie just glanced inside. The room was a little messy with clothes laying on the bed and floor. Jackie noticed that one side of the folding closet doors was hanging in a crocked angle. "What's wrong with your closet door?"
Ashley blushed and Mary grinned. "Ashley has a little bit of a temper and slung the door shut to hard. We called the super and he said he'd get to it when he could but that's been three months ago."
"Really?" Jackie asked, looking at Ashley. "That would be easy to fix, I'm surprised he didn't just come and take care of it."
Mary laughed when Ashley looked away. "This is the third time she's busted one of the doors to her closet. I think he decided not to bother fixing it when she'll probably just mess it up again."
Jackie laughed. "Well, it probably wouldn't take a minute to fix it. You want me to take a look at it?"
Ashley looked at Mary questioningly. Mary shrugged. "It's up to you."
"Sure," Ashley said. "I'd love to get it fixed."
"Okay then," Jackie said and walked into Ashley's bedroom. She went straight to the closet door, opened it and looked at where the door connected to the door frame. Apparently, the super had been just filling the holes where Ashley has been pulling the screws out with drywall putty and screwing them back up. Jackie had her drill in the truck. She could drill new holes and screw the door back into the wood part of the door frame. "I'll run down to my truck and get a few tools and fix this."
"Really?" Ashley asked, surprised.
"Sure," she said pointing to where the screws had pulled out of the frame. "The super wasn't completely fixing the problem. He was just putting a band aid on it. I'm going to drill a couple of new wholes and screw it back into the wood so that it won't pull out as easily."
"Cool," Ashley said.
Jackie looked at Mary. "I'll be right back. This won't take a few minutes."
"Okay, dinner should be ready by the time you get done fixing that," she said.
Jackie ran downstairs and grabbed her toolbox that had her drill inside. She came back up to the apartment and went straight to Ashley's room. Within minutes, she had Ashley's closet door fixed.
Ashley was stunned. She stood back and watched Jackie roll up the sleeves of her hunter green button-up shirt and go to work. As much as she hated to admit it, Jackie was attractive if you liked the tall, blond and Neanderthal kind of look. And she seemed to be very nice. Plus, since she just fixed the door on her closet, Ashley couldn't very well be rude to her anymore.
"There you go," Jackie said, opening and shutting the door of the closet.
"Awesome. Thank you so much," Ashley said, coming over and inspecting the door.
"Dinner's ready," Mary said as she peered inside Ashley's room. “Wow, she did fix the door.”
“Yep, all done,” Jackie said and followed Ashley and Mary to the kitchen, where Mary had laid out plates, forks and glasses. She'd already filled the classes with water. They each brought their wine glass to the table and Mary refilled them. She took the casserole out of the oven and placed it on wicker mat on the table.
Jackie sat down in between the two women and took her napkin and placed it on her lap. "This looks delicious, Mary."
“If you like eggplant, you will love this,” Ashley scooping out a serving of the savory dish.
“It smells fantastic,” Jackie said, taking the ladling spoon from Ashley and taking out a large serving for herself.
The timer went off on the oven and Mary hopped up from her seat, grabbed a potholder, and then took out a baking sheet of garlic bread. She put the baking sheet on a dish towel and picked up a spatula. She moved the bread over to a plate and placed it on the table close to Jackie.
Jackie took a bite of the eggplant parmesan and moaned. “Oh my God! This is delicious.” She picked up a piece of garlic bread and took a bite of it and moaned again. “Wow, where did you get this garlic bread.”
“I made it,” Mary said with a smile and took a bite of her food.
“Like made the bread from scratch and everything?” Jackie asked, amazed.
Ashley smiled. “Yes, Mary is quite the little cook. It's a good thing we both like to run or we'd weigh a ton.”
Jackie gave them both an appreciative appraisal. “I can't imagine you two eat that much with those perfect figures.”
Mary laughed. “Like she said, it's a good thing we both like to run.”
“Mary says that you review books as a side job,” Ashley said. “How did you get into that?”
“Well,” Jackie said, “I have an English degree but I couldn't find a job that paid well enough so I took this job for UPS. I was delivering books for a local publisher and she was telling me that I should have used my degree to get into some kind of publishing job. I explained that I couldn't afford to live on what those jobs paid, so she suggested I get a part-time job as a reviewer for the publishing company she worked for. So I did and then I picked up some other reviewing gigs and now it's a nice extra income.”
“That's cool,” Ashley said.
“I love reading so it's a perfect fit.”
Ashley looked at Mary. “Well, that's definitely something you two have in common. You love to read too.”
“She likes to cook too,” Mary smiled. “She makes the most amazing omelets you'll ever eat.”
Jackie blushed and stuffed another bite of food in her mouth.
“Well, if two have a sleep over here, maybe she'll fix breakfast for a both one morning,” Ashley said and then laughed when Jackie's blush deepened. “I would never have guessed you blush so easily.”
“I'm just not used to talking about spending the night and making breakfast,” Jackie said.
Mary laughed, “Okay, let's talk about something safer like the movie we're going to this weekend.”
Jackie smiled, “Yes, please.”
“Jesus Christ!”
Mary rushed into the kitchen. “What happened?”
Ashley held the front of a cabinet drawer that had pulled off the rest of the drawer. “How good do you think Jackie is with fixing drawers?”
Sighing, Mary said, “I'm sure she can fix it.” She shook her head in disgust. “I swear this apartment is falling to pieces.”
“I know,” Ashley agreed. “This started coming loose a week ago. I called the super and he said he would put it on his to-do list but he never did come by and fix it.”
“I swear I think he doesn't rush to fix our stuff because we don't flirt with him the way some of the other women in this building do,” Mary said.
“Maybe we should get with the men in the building and find out if they are getting the same treatment and complain to the management company.”
“Maybe,” Mary agreed and then smiled. “But it does give me an excuse to have Jackie over. Maybe I can talk her into staying the night and fixing breakfast in the morning.”
“Yeah, that's a great idea. I've gotten spoilt the past four weekends of her being here on Sunday morning,” Ashley said.
“You know I've been meaning to ask you about that. You are usually at the bar or meeting your friend on Saturday nights.” Mary took the vegetarian lasagna she was making out of the oven.
Ashley put the drawer front on top of the refrigerator and opened the refrigerator door to get the tea out. “She's been out of town the last couple of weekends but we've been meeting at other places and times.”
“Is that where you've been going at lunch?” Mary asked incredulously.
Ashley looked away.
“Oh my God, Ashley! And you were worried about the partners catching onto me and Jackie dating.”
“Well, my mistress doesn't come into the office looking at me with those puppy dog eyes,” Ashley shot back and then grinned. “I can't be mad. You guys are too cute together.”
Mary smiled. “I really like her a lot.”
“I know,” Ashley said sadly and got glasses down out of the cabinet. “I'm terrified that you are going to move in with her.”
“I think we have a little while to worry about that. We both like our space but if anything, I think I'd rather have her move over here. We live in a nicer neighborhood and our apartment complex has better amenities.”
Ashley looked at her thoughtfully. “That is something to consider. They were talking about raising our rent after the first of the year. Splitting it three ways would make it a lot easier.”
“I know, but we'll see. We are both trying to take things slowly but it's getting harder every weekend to let her go home.”
“Why don't you call her and ask her over,” Ashley said. “We can put the lasagna back in the over for a little bit to give her time to come over and she could fix the drawer while she's here.”
“Sounds good to me,” Mary grinned. “I'm always up for a reason to see her.” She went into the living room and dug her cell phone out of her purse and punched in Jackie's number.
Ashley came into the living room carrying two glasses of tea. She set them on the coffee table and turned on the television. The local news came on with a news flash about a huge fire burning. “Wow, that's a bad fire.”
Mary glanced at the television, frowning. Jackie didn't answer so she left her a message to call her. She put her phone on the coffee table and sat down on the couch next to Ashley. “Jesus, the whole building is in flames.”
“Yeah, I hope they got everyone out of the building,” Mary said. She started to pick up her tea when she realized that she knew that building. Her hands flew to her mouth. “Oh no!” she cried. “That's Jackie's apartment complex.”
“What?” Ashley said looking back at the burning building on the television screen.
Mary jumped up. “I have to go over there and make sure she's okay.”
Ashley jumped up right behind her. “I'll drive. You don't need to be driving.”
Mary wasn't going to argue. Her heart was racing with fear. She grabbed her phone and her purse. Ashley grabbed her purse and keys off their hooks by the door. They both raced out of their building and to Ashley's car. They got in. Ashley started the car, back out of her spot, and raced across town.
The fire was glowing above the buildings. Mary and Ashley could see the smoke and flames from almost three blocks away. Mary had her hands pressed to her mouth almost the whole way there. She had tried calling Jackie several times only to get her voice mail. When they were within a block of the building, there was a road block where the police were directing traffic away from the scene. Mary started crying. “We have to find a parking spot so we can walk over there.”
Ashley finally found a spot two blocks from the fire. She parked in the parking lot of a small business that was closed for the day. They got out of the car and Mary took off running. She pushed past several people who had gathered to watch the fire until she could see the firefighters and emergency people helping the people who had apparently come out of the building. She scanned the crowd frantically for Jackie but it was hard to see people's faces with all the smoke.
When Ashley finally caught up with her, she was arguing with a police officer. “My girlfriend lives in that building. I need to make sure she's okay.”
“Ma'am, you cannot go any closer, it's too dangerous,” the officer said.
Mary tried to push past him but he wouldn't let her. Ashley put her arms around Mary and pulled her away from the police office. “Stop it, Mary. It's too dangerous. Let's just walk around the police perimeter and see if we can see her.”
Ashley took her hand and they made their way through the edge of the crowd that had gathered and looked at the people who were standing around within the police perimeter watching their homes go up in flames. Many were in shorts and t-shirts, some were in pajamas, and some had blankets around their shoulders, or were getting assistance from paramedics who seemed to be talking to each and every person.
“What floor did she live on?” Ashley asked.
“Third,” Mary said, scanning each person's face that she could see, still no Jackie.
There was a flutter of activity at the far end of the apartment complex. The fire was moving that way but had not completely taken over that part of the building. Firefighters and paramedics rushed to that end of the building.
Mary tugged on Ashley's hand. “Let's go back the way we came. Hopefully we can see what's going on. Maybe there are more people coming out from the outside stairs on that end of the building.
They could see some of the paramedics, that had originally ran toward the building, rush back and grab a gurney. Mary and Ashley could see them pulling it toward someone coming out of the smoke carrying another person in their arms. Mary gasped. Jackie was carrying and elderly woman in her arms. There was an elderly man right behind her and a few other older people that were being helped to the ambulances by the paramedics and firemen.
Mary ran past the policeman guarding the perimeter and rushed to Jackie. Jackie had just deposited the elderly woman onto the gurney when Mary threw her arms around her neck. “Thank God you're okay!”
Jackie hugged her back and then stepped back. “I have to help Mr. Gantos and the others,” she said pointing to the elderly people around her.
The police officer grabbed Mary's arm. “I told you, you cannot come up here,” he said and started pulling her back to the crowd.
“I'll be out here waiting for you!” Mary yelled to Jackie over the noise of the sirens and water hoses.
Jackie nodded and waved to her, and then helped the elderly man into the ambulance that the paramedics had put the elderly woman into.
“You do that again,” the officer was saying, “and I'll arrest you.”
“I won't,” Mary assured him. “Now that I know she's safe, I'll wait right here.”
Ashley pulled Mary back under the police tape and gave her a good shake. “Have you lost your mind?” she yelled.
“I had to go to her,” Mary said, looking up at Ashley with tears in her eyes. “I had to make sure she was okay.”
Nodding, Ashley pulled Mary into a hug. She could see that Mary was falling in love with Jackie and she was happy for her friend. She prayed that it wouldn't mess up their friendship, girlfriends can do that. But, more than anything, she wanted Mary to be happy and Jackie seemed to do that. She had to admit that she had grown fond of the cute dyke over the past several weeks since Jackie had been coming to their apartment more and more. Looking up at the burning building, Ashley let out a heavy sigh. She was glad Jackie was okay too. Mary would have been completely devastated.
One by one, the ambulances started leaving the scene to take the most seriously injured people to the hospital. The ambulance that had held Mr. Gantos and the elderly woman, that was most likely his wife, had just left. Mary searched the crowd of people left for Jackie but she couldn't see her.
They had been standing at the edge of the scene for almost an hour. “Thank God it's summer,” Ashley said and she rubbed her bare arms. “We would have frozen to death out here if it had been winter.”
“I know,” Mary said. “I wonder what all these people are going to do now. There were at least thirty apartments in that building and now, they are all gone.”
Ashley looked at the charred remains of the building that the firefighters were still spraying, trying to make sure the last of the hot embers were put out. “I don't know. I can't imagine what we would do it that happened to us. I guess go to a hotel until we could find another apartment.”
Mary nodded. “Yeah, it's not like either of us could go home to stay with our parents.”
“Under these circumstances, my father might let me come back for a little while,” Ashley said. “But it would be an absolute last resort for me.”
“I would be shit out of luck,” Mary said. “My parents are never going to let me come home unless I repent and stop being gay.”
“Excuse me, ma'am,” the officer who had threatened to arrest Mary said as he approached them. “There is a Jackie Meredith asking for you.
Mary nodded, realizing that was the first time she had heard Jackie's last name. For all of the conversations that they had had, they had not talked about their families and Mary had never thought to ask Jackie what her last name was. Jackie knew hers was Hanon because she had brought the letter from her mother to her. It was just something that had never come up.
The officer led Mary and Ashley to one of the ambulances that were still there. Jackie was sitting on the bumper while a young woman in a paramedic's uniform put a bandage on Jackie's arm. “You really should go to the hospital and get checked out,” the woman was saying.
Jackie shook her head. “I'll be fine. This is just a scratch and I don't think I took in that much smoke.”
The woman shook her head at Jackie's stubbornness. “You were in the building for a long time after the fire started. You are on an adrenalin rush right now. The effects of the smoke will start kicking in soon.”
“It's okay,” Jackie said again.
A man in a fireman's suit came over, took off his glove and offered his hand to Jackie. “You were quite the hero bringing those elderly tenants out of that building.”
“Thank you, Captain Barrett,” Jackie said, taking the man's hand and giving it a firm shake. “But, I wasn't leaving without Mr. and Mrs. Gantos, or the others. They have been my neighbors for six years now and the sweetest people on the planet.”
“Well, I'm really glad you saved them. As far as we know, all of the tenants are accounted for and alive thanks to you and some of the other tenants who acted quickly to get everyone out of the building.”
Jackie nodded. “Do you guys have any idea what started it?”
Captain Barrett shook his head. “Not really, but I suspect it was electrical. This is a really old building and with everyone's air conditioning units running, on top of all the other electronic stuff people have these days, I'm afraid it was too much for the buildings circuits, but that's just a guess. We'll know for sure in a few days after we do a thorough investigation.”
“Good enough,” Jackie said and shook the man's hand again. She looked up and saw Mary and Ashley standing with the police officer. She started to get up but the paramedic made her sit back down.
“I'm not done with you,” the woman said and she cleaned another place on Jackie's arm that was bleeding.
Jackie motioned for Mary to come to her. Mary came over and hugged her gently. She kissed her on her head and smelled the heavy smoke that Jackie had been in. “Are you sure you don't need to go the hospital and let them look at you?”
Wrapping her free arm around Mary and pulling her closer, she said, “I'll be fine. I'll go see my regular doctor in a few days. It'll be okay.”
Mary wrapped her arms around Jackie's head and hugged her to her breasts. “I was so scared when I saw the fire on the news and realized it was your building.” She squeezed her tighter.
“It was horrible,” Jackie said. “Thank God everyone got out.”
“Okay, then,” the paramedic said. “I'm done with you. Be careful when you take a shower or get some bandages and re-bandage it if they come off.”
“Got it,” Jackie said, standing. She had a bit of light headedness and leaned against Mary.
The paramedic shot her a glance but Jackie waved her off. “I'll be okay.”
“Come on,” Mary said. “We'll take you back to our place.”
Jackie nodded and let Mary lead her toward the crowd that was slowly dispersing. They walked the few blocks to Ashley's car, stopping occasionally when Jackie got into a coughing fit. Mary helped Jackie into the backseat and then got in with her. Jackie laid her head on Mary's shoulder. Mary shifted so she could slide her arm around Jackie's back and pull her closer.
When they arrived inside the apartment, Jackie stopped for a moment just inside the door while she coughed. Once the coughing stopped, she looked at Mary. “I don't have any clothes to change into.”
“I'm sure we can find you something for tonight,” Mary said.
Jackie looked at her, her eyes wide. “All my uniforms…everything…”
Mary pulled her into her arms and held her. Jackie buried her face in Mary's neck as the tears started to flow. She had been so worried about getting her elderly neighbors out of the building that she hadn't thought to grab anything. Mary led her into the bathroom and sat her on the toilet lid. “I've got a pair of boxes that are a little big on me and an oversized shirt. That will work for tonight. Tomorrow, we'll talk about going to the store to get you some clothes.”
Turning away from Jackie, Mary started the shower and adjusted the water to comfortable warmth. She put her hand under Jackie's chin and brought her eyes up to hers. “You get in the shower. I'm going to go get you something to put on.”
Jackie nodded. She coughed up some more soot. At least the coughing had slowed down and she didn't feel like she was coughing up a lung.
Mary went to her bedroom and found the clothes she had promised Jackie and brought them back to the bathroom. Jackie was in the shower so Mary laid them on the toilet seat. She went back to the kitchen and got down a bottle of red wine. Ashley came into the kitchen and Mary held up the bottle. “You want some?”
“Please,” Ashley answered.
Mary took down three wine glasses and poured a liberal amount into each one. She handed Ashley hers and took a drink of her own. She remembered the lasagna and pulled it out of the oven and put it in the refrigerator. They had only been gone a few hours; it should still be good for tomorrow. She doubted anyone was going to have an appetite tonight.
Jackie padded her way into the kitchen a few minutes later. Her hair was slicked back away from her face, which was pink from the scrubbing she had given it to get all the soot off of it. She took the glass of wine Mary offered her and drank it down in one gulp. Mary poured her more. Jackie took that one and sat down at the dining room table. She put her heads in her hands. “What am I going to do? I don't have my phone, my keys, my clothes, my books, my computer. Nothing could have survived that fire.”
Mary sat down next to her and started rubbing her arm. Ashley sat across from Mary. “Does anyone have an extra set of keys to your truck? Your parents, a friend?”
Jackie laughed. “No, I haven't seen my parents in about six years and Mr. Gantos had the extra key to my truck.”
“We can call your truck dealer in the morning and get another set of keys made,” Ashley said.
“I bet your wallet, driver's license and all that were in the apartment too, wasn't it?” Mary asked gently, still rubbing Jackie's arm.
Jackie thought for a minute. “No, actually, I'd forgotten my wallet in my truck, thank God.”
“Good,” Ashley said. “At least you won't have to get all of your financial information replaced.”
Letting out a long sigh, Jackie said, “Yeah, at least I won't have to replace those.”
Mary took her hand and kissed the back of it. “But you are here and you are okay, so we'll figure out everything else.”
Jackie squeezed her hand and brought it to her lips. “Don't you have to work tomorrow?”
“I do but I'm going to call in,” Mary said. She looked at Ashley. “We don't have any court cases tomorrow, do we?”
“I don't think so,” Ashley said. “You take off and help Jackie. I'll handle whatever is going on there.”
Mary nodded. “Good, that way I can take her to the car dealer to get her keys remade and then we can go shopping for her some clothes.”
Jackie sneezed and then started coughing. It took a few minutes for it to stop. “Whoa,” she said. “I hope that clears up soon.” She got up and went to the bathroom to blow her nose and then came back. “I'll need to see what kind of money I've got so I can try to get into another apartment too.” She sighed heavily, “And then buy new furniture, a new computer. Thank God, I backed up most of my stuff online or I would have lost all my reviewing files. Jesus, this sucks,” she said and dropped her head on the table.
Mary and Ashley looked at each other. They had just talked about Jackie rooming here. Mary wondered if she could talk Jackie into staying with them for a while. That way she wouldn't be out so much money right away and it would give them a chance to live together to see if they were compatible enough to do so. Mary would talk to Ashley about it first.
“You want to go lay down for awhile?” Mary asked, leaning close to Jackie and rubbing her back.
Jackie nodded. Mary got up and pulled her to her feet. Jackie picked up her wine glass and downed the rest of the wine in it. She led her into the bedroom and pulled down the covers.
“Crawl in. I'll bring you some water,” Mary said. She turned around and went back into the kitchen, where Ashley was putting the glasses in the dishwasher. Mary stood close to her. “What do you think about letting her stay with us for awhile?”
Ashley nodded. “I was thinking that while we were talking. It would be so hard to have to try to start all over with a new apartment and furniture after something like this. If she stays here, she can get clothes, a computer and some of the small things she needs before getting the big stuff.”
“Thanks Ash.” Mary hugged her friend. “I'm going to go talk to her about it.”
When Mary got back to the bedroom, Jackie was asleep. Mary covered her up and then got out her own night clothes, which also consisted of boxers and a t-shirt. Mary got in bed and snuggled close to Jackie, putting her arm around her waist and laying her head against her back. “We'll talk in the morning,” she whispered and quickly fell asleep.”
Jackie woke with a start. She had been having a nightmare about her apartment burning. All her things were burning. Her jolt woke Mary.
"Are you okay?" Mary asked sleepily.
"I was having a dream that my apartment burned," Jackie said, rolling on to her back.
Mary leaned up on her elbow and looked at Jackie. "Sweetheart, your apartment did burn."
Jackie looked at Mary and then around the room. She was in Mary's bedroom. Memories from last night rushed in. Sitting at her computer writing a review, smelling the smoke, rushing into the hallway as the fire alarms sounded throughout the building, she had ran to Mr. and Mrs. Gantos' apartment two doors down from her. Mr. Gantos was trying to pick Mrs. Gantos up out of her wheelchair but couldn't. Jackie rushed in and scooped Mrs. Gantos up. The fire had apparently started at the opposite end of the building but it was spreading fast. The smoke was starting to fill their side of the building and people were running from their apartments screaming.
Mrs. Gantos wasn't going to leave unless Jimmy and Mary Lee across the hall were coming with them. Jackie put her back down in her chair and ran across the hall to find Mr. and Mrs. Lee grabbing pictures off their walls and stuffing them in bags. "Come on," Jackie yelled. "We have to get out of the building.
Mr. Lee finally grabbed Mrs. Lee's arm and drug her out of the apartment crying and screaming about her pictures.
The hallway was filled with smoke now and a few people still gathering last minute things. Johnny Gomez waddled out of his apartment with his cane. "Where's the Gantos'? Are they out of the building?"
"No, Mrs. Gantos insisted I make sure that Mr. and Mrs. Lee were getting out too," Jackie said. "Come on. Everyone hold hands and stay together." Jackie led the group to Mr. and Mrs. Gantos' door. She went in and scooped Mrs. Gantos up again. The older woman had been wheelchair bound for at least five years and Jackie knew they would have to use the stairs.
She came out in the hall with Mrs. Gantos in her arms and Mr. Gantos close behind. The smoke was extremely thick now and Jackie could barely see the exit sign. The back stairwell was at least sixty feet away. She had to make it with her elderly friends in tow. "Mr. Gantos, grab my waist," Jackie instructed. "Mr. Lee, put Mrs. Lee in between you and Mr. Gantos. Johnny, bring up the rear. Everyone get a grip on the person in front of you, grab an arm, a belt loop, a shoulder, or their waist and do not let go. Keep your chins tucked down and take slow shallow breaths. I'll get us out of here."
Jackie moved forward, walking as quickly as her elderly crew could manage. She felt like it was taking hours to reach the exit, but it had only been minutes. She could hear the sirens, the people outside shouting, and the spray of the hoses. She kept Mrs. Gantos pulled close to her chest. The eighty-five year old woman probably didn't weight ninety pounds but with the smoke stealing her breath, she felt like she was packing a three hundred pound woman.
Finally, they had reached the door. Johnny rushed up and opened it, coughing and sputtering just as everyone else was. She heard someone yell, "There are people coming out of the side door."
She made sure everyone was out of the building and on the outside stairwell landing. They all started slowly descending. The firemen and paramedics rushed to them. A fireman offered to take Mrs. Gantos from Jackie, but Mrs. Gantos tightened her grip on Jackie and refused to let go until the go to the ambulance.
All six of them were coughing and wheezing. Jackie had been terrified that Mr. Lee would have a heart attack from the smoke and the stress of the event. But, the paramedics had hooked him up to oxygen and got him calmed down. Jackie didn't have any contact with her family anymore, but her elderly neighbors had taken a liking to her and she felt like she had family again. What would everyone do now that their apartment building was gone?
Jackie looked up at Mary who was staring at her with wide concerned eyes. "My apartment building burned down."
"Yes, Honey," Mary said quietly. "I'm so sorry but yes, your apartment building burnt down."
"What time is it?" Jackie asked, suddenly panicked. She had to be at work at six.
"It's five in the morning," Mary said.
Jackie sat up and threw her legs over the side of the bed. "I have to go to work."
Mary sat up and touched Jackie's back. "Jackie, I think should call in today and go to the doctor. You breathed in a lot of smoke and you probably need to get the scratches on your arms looked at again."
Looking down at the bandage, Jackie sighed. "But who will run my route?"
"Isn't there anyone else there who knows your route?" Mary asked, rubbing Jackie's back.
"I suppose, but I've never missed a day of work," she said quietly. "And I have to talk to my boss about my uniforms, and I can't afford to take off. I have to find a new apartment. I wonder where Mr. and Mrs. Gantos are going to go."
Mary kissed Jackie on her shoulder. "Sweetie, you're babbling." Mary moved to sit beside Jackie. She put her arm around her. "But, if you think you really have to go to work, I'll get up and make coffee and I'll take you to work."
Jackie turned toward her. "I forgot that I have to get new keys for my truck. I guess I probably need some different too." She looked down at Mary's t-shirt and boxers. "I can't very well take care of business in these."
Taking her hand in hers, Mary said, "Yeah, you've got a lot to take care of today and I don't think your boss will be too upset if you don't make it in today." She leaned up and kissed Jackie lightly on the lips. "I'm going to go start coffee." She got up and padded into the kitchen.
Watching her leave, Jackie let out a heavy sigh. She couldn't believe her apartment was gone. What was she going to do? What were the Gantos, the Lees and Johnny going to do? She would have to try to find a hotel or something to stay in for a few weeks or maybe Mary and Ashley would let her stay here for a few weeks. She got up and went to the bathroom.
Mary was sitting in the living room watching the news when Jackie came in. The news was showing scenes from the fire. Mary started to change the channel but Jackie stopped her. "I want to see what they are saying," she said, putting her hand on Mary's arm. She sat down next to her on the couch and watched the firefighters still spraying the last of the embers.
The newscaster said that the fire inspector was pretty sure that the fire started in the mechanical room. They would know more after a thorough investigation but it most likely started there and spread quickly.
Jackie stared at the screen. "It spread so fast. I can't believe that it spread so fast." Tears started falling from her eyes before she could stop them.
Mary pulled her into her arms and held her while she cried. She stroked her back and hair, trying to comfort her. It took ten minutes for Jackie to finally get herself together.
Mary got up. "I'm going to fix us some coffee."
Jackie nodded. "Do you mind if I use your phone to call my boss?"
"Not at all," Mary said, kissing Jackie's forehead as she got up. "I'll go get it."
Her cell phone was in the bedroom on the charger. Mary got it and brought it to Jackie and then went into the kitchen to fix their coffee.
Jackie studied the numbers on the phone for a minute trying to remember her supervisor's number. She had it programmed into the cell phone that was now most likely burned to a crisp now. Finally, the numbers came to her and she dialed them into the phone.
When her boss answered, Jackie said, "Hey Barn, its Jackie."
"Thank God!" Her supervisor, Barney shouted into the phone. "I've been trying to call you all night, ever since I saw your apartment building on fire. Are you okay?"
"Just a few scratches and some smoke inhalation. But," she paused and composed herself. "I lost everything. My phone was in the apartment, the keys to my truck, uniforms, everything."
"Damn, that sucks," Barney said quietly. "But hey, don't worry about the uniforms. I get you some new ones ordered right away."
"Thanks, Barney." Jackie took a breath. "Hey, I may not be able to get in until late."
"Don't you even worry about it. You stay home today. Take care of business. I'll run your route myself."
"Thanks, Barney," Jackie said with sigh of relief. "I really appreciate it."
"No problem, Jackie. Call me later today and let me know if you'll be in tomorrow."
"I'm sure I will but I'll call you later and let you know for sure."
"Okay, Hon," Barney said. "I'll talk to you later."
"Okay. Thanks again." Jackie clicked off the phone.
Mary sat a cup of coffee in front of her. "Cream, no sugar, right?"
"Thank you," Jackie said, taking a sip of coffee and moaning. "That is excellent."
"I'm glad you like it. Ashley thinks I make the coffee too strong, but she puts so much sugar and creamer in it that it's more like a coffee milkshake than a cup of coffee."
Jackie laughed. "Why does she drink coffee if she puts all that stuff in it?"
"Caffeine," Mary said. "She's a caffeine junkie, has to have it."
"Me too," Jackie said. "I'm a bear if I don't have my coffee."
"A teddy bear," Mary said and kissed her lightly on the lips.
Jackie leaned her forehead against Mary's. "I have so much to do today. I don't know how I'm going to get it all done without a car."
"You will have a chauffeur," Mary said. "I'm going to take off work and help you get everything you need to do, done."
"Are you sure? I don't want you to get in trouble at your work," Jackie said, pulling back to look at her.
"I've got some vacation time I can use to be off today. Ashley is going to take care of it for me when she goes in today."
"Thank you," Jackie said, taking her hands and looking into her eyes. "I'm going to need you today."
Mary pulled her into her embrace. "I know." She pulled back and looked at her. "I want to talk to you about something else." Jackie gave her a questioning look. "Ashley and I talked about this last night and we want you to stay here while you are trying to get your life back together."
"Are you sure?" Jackie said. "I don't want to be in your way."
"Yes, I'm sure." She caressed Jackie's cheek. "I'm going to love waking up next to you every day. Probably our biggest obstacle will be bathroom time. Ashley is a bathroom hog."
"I heard that," Ashley said grumpily from the kitchen.
Mary leaned closer and whispered, "And she's not a morning person."
Jackie laughed. "I'll stay away from her in the mornings then."
"So what do you think?" Mary asked.
Jackie smiled. "I think it's awesome. Thank you.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Jackie stirred the vegetables and chicken in the electric wok and turned the egg rolls in the skillet. Mary gave her hips a squeeze as she moved around her to get the plates out of the cabinet. Ashley pulled off the cork of the white wine bottle and began pouring each of them a glass of wine.
Mary smiled at the scene in the kitchen as she set the table. Jackie had been living with them for almost two months and they had settled into a perfectly synchronized routine. Because Jackie had to be at work at six in the morning, she was up long before Ashley and took her turn in the bathroom in the mornings first. Mary got up with her and started coffee. She usually fixed lunches for everyone and then she and Jackie would snuggle on the couch until it was time for Jackie to leave for work.
Ashley would drag herself out of bed with just enough time to get ready for work, which was the way she had always done. She and Mary continued their usual routine of riding to work together. Their bosses, as far as Mary could tell, had not figured out that their new roommate was also Mary's lover.
Evenings consisted of Mary and Ashley getting home either a little before Jackie did or about the same time. Jackie would usually hop in the shower and Mary would start getting things out for dinner. She and Jackie would cook dinner together while Ashley did what little bit of cleaning the apartment required.
Most evenings Jackie and Mary would read and then work on book reviews together. Jackie had gotten Mary a gig doing reviews for a little extra money with the same company she worked for. They had even gotten Ashley to sit down and read a few books instead of watching so much television. They all three worked out and ran together. It was still hard to believe how well they all got along.
The money that they all saved on rent and utilities allowed them to have extra money each month instead of being broke after paying all the bills. It was just a perfect arrangement.
Jackie turned the burners on the stove off and started moving the food to serving bowls and plates. She put the large bowl of stir fry on the table, followed by the plated filled with egg rolls. They all sat down at the table and started filling their plates.
When the meal was almost finished when Jackie said, "The Gantos' called me today. They got a place at a senior citizen apartment complex. The Lees and Johnny are moving in there too." She looked down at her plate and said quietly, "I'm going to look at an apartment tomorrow."
Mary and Ashley exchanged surprised looks. "Why?" Mary asked.
Jackie didn't look up from her plate. "Well, because I'm sure you two are tired of me being here." She looked down at her food.
"Not at all," Ashley said. "We enjoy having you here, especially Mary." Ashley gave her a wink, making Mary and Jackie blush.
"I just…well, this is a small apartment and well, I just thought it might be for the best."
"Well," Mary said curtly. "I guess that's up to you." She got up, put her plate in the sink, refilled her wine glass and went to her room.
Ashley looked at Jackie's sad expression. "Do you really want to leave?"
"No, but I'm not sure what Mary really wants from me," Jackie said and looked to the seat where Mary was sitting. "It's almost to perfect to be true."
Ashley nodded. "We have all gotten along very well and I, for one, have enjoyed have the extra money and someone else who likes to cook." Jackie smiled and brought her eyes up to look at Ashley. "But, you're afraid that she doesn't feel as strongly about you as you do about her."
Jackie nodded.
"I think she does. Mary has always been a little shy and she's a little too cautious. Maybe if you tell her how you feel, she'll open up."
The panicked look on Jackie's face made Ashley laugh. "Oh Lord, something else you two have in common. Well, I hope one or both of you get over your fears so you can open up to each other." She got up and started picking up dishes. "I'll do dishes, you go talk to her."
Jackie reluctantly got up and headed to the bedroom she and Mary had been sharing for two months. Mary was lying on the bed with her back to the door. Her shoulders were shaking and Jackie knew she was crying. Jackie slipped her shoes off, got on the bed, and scooted up behind Mary. "Please don't cry," she said quietly and rubbed Mary's arm.
"I can't believe you want to leave," Mary said between sniffles.
"I…I just don't know what you really want from me," Jackie said quietly.
Mary rolled onto her back and looked up at Jackie, who wiped at her tears with a gentle finger. "What do you mean you don't know what I want from you? Don't you know how I feel about you? Don't I show you how much I enjoy you being here?"
"Yes, you do," Jackie said, "but we had only been dating a short time when we were kind of thrown into living together and yes, things are working out really well. I just don't know if I fit into your long term plans."
Mary stroked Jackie's face, whose eyes were filled with sadness and fear. "I want you to stay here, with me. I don't want you to find another apartment." She wiped the stray tear that had escaped Jackie's eye. She looked deeply into her eyes and said the words that she had not said to anyone with the meaning these had right now. "I love you. I want us to be together, always."
Jackie let out the breath she had been holding. "I love you, too." She wrapped Mary in a fierce hug. "I've never said that to anyone." Jackie pulled back and looked down at Mary. "I'm so afraid to feel this way."
"Me, too," Mary confessed. "Our relationship didn't start in the normal way and I was afraid that my intense sexual attraction to you was influencing how I was feeling. But, since you've been living here, we've gotten closer as friends. I really enjoy being with you. You are sweet and intelligent, gentle and amazing. I just couldn't figure out if you cared about me as strongly as I cared about you."
"I do," Jackie said and kissed Mary's lips lightly. "I have been in love with you ever since the first time I saw you. And being with you every day has made my feelings stronger, but I am so afraid to letting my guard down. I couldn't take being hurt again."
"I will never hurt you," Mary promised. "So you'll stay."
"Yes, for as long as you'll have me."
"I want you forever," Mary and wiped the stray tear that escaped Jackie's eye.
"So you're glad I saved you in the bar that night so long ago," Jackie said and kissed Mary lightly.
Mary pulled her down for a deeper kiss. "Yes, I'm glad I was in the wrong place at the right time."
The End.