Tangled Hearts

by Laurie Ames

  John Stanfield Sr. had learned of his stage four lung cancer six months before his son’s twenty-eighth birthday. In all honesty, the news had come as a shock to no one. His addiction to smoking would have taken its toll sooner or later. John Sr. had long ago made a pact with his vice. He would surrender and allow it to give him great pleasure until such a time as it decided to cash in, claiming his health.

  Meanwhile, he worked hard to build a considerable fortune and reared the “best possible specimens of womanhood,” as he liked to call his daughters. It only meant he appreciated their cooperation in his meticulous molding of their futures. John Jr. was another matter, to be passed down as the responsibility of a capable wife. Perhaps an intelligent wife could keep the Stanfield fortune going for a generation longer.

  After embarking on a town-wide search for this kind of woman, John Sr. found Alexia. He would have loved to fish among his well-groomed business partners, but they didn’t reside in this neighborhood. In any case, he never trusted the information he got from them--let alone the women. However, he had kept a close eye on the residents of his town for decades. He knew what they were all about.

  He found Alexia in her father’s bookshop one winter. She had just been allowed to start apprenticing at the store. John Sr. was instantly captivated by her femininity and wit. There was no doubt in his mind that she would make someone a useful wife and eventually, a doting mother. Why not his son and grandchildren? He was oblivious to the torrid affairs she was conducting concurrently with her best friend and teenage boyfriend. Alexia was immediately invited to the Stanfield residence for an impromptu party the following week.

  That night, Alexia’s parents fought over whether she should go to this party. “Why had she been invited, anyway?” Alexia’s father asked. He was concerned about his daughter mixing with the notorious John Jr.

  “Well, she would have to marry someone eventually,” Alexia’s mother retorted. “Why not the son of a respected man?” Everyone knew that by “respected,” she actually meant “wealthy.” When they finally asked her what she thought, Alexia said she wanted to see the Stanfield mansion.

  John Jr. had been advised of Alexia and was duly instructed to be on his best behavior. He officially decided to cooperate when he finally set eyes on her. He may have been terrible at running a business, but he was not altogether daft. He knew his father was dying and looking to get him settled. He had been told that it was either marriage or he would be struck from the will. This was no surprise. These kinds of demands fit well with his father’s M.O. So, John Jr. agreed to this arrangement, on the condition that said woman was “touchable.” And she was.

  John Jr. and Alexia were married months later. The new groom patiently awaited his father’s death. He only had to wait a year. Meanwhile, Alexia blossomed into an efficient wife, purchasing pregnancy tests every few weeks.

  “Then what happened?” Sophia asked eagerly.

  Alex took a sip of coffee, balancing the mug between her cupped hands. She seemed to be having difficulty with the next part of her story. The day had progressed quickly. Alex glanced furtively around the room as if she had just woken up and was reacquainting herself with her surroundings.

  “We found out there would be no kids. Not my fault. His,” was all Alexia said before she rose and picked up the laundry basket.

  The marriage went downhill after three years of failed fertility treatments. An embarrassed John Jr. returned to a lifestyle of philandering. Heated arguments between the two of them were frequent. Finally, Alexia turned to her mother-in-law, who became her confidant. The older lady had been concerned about her daughter-in-law ever since the engagement, knowing her son was not exactly a good catch. She took pains to visit with Alexia regularly. At first, Alexia maintained a formal relationship with Mrs. John Sr. She wanted to maintain the image that everything was going well.

  With time, Mrs. John Sr. broke through the façade and began to appreciate Alexia more than she did her own son. They would have long conversations about the failing marriage, among other things. Four years after their wedding ceremony, Alexia and John Jr. signed their divorce papers.

  The following year, John Jr.’s mother suffered a major heart attack. She left behind a controversial situation which Alexia would spend the next two years wrestling with.

  “You mean no one knew how John Sr. had left things?” Sophia asked.

  “Well, of course we all knew. When the will was read, we found out he had left everything to his wife. He thought she would know how to distribute everything in her own will. He hadn’t wanted to leave his life’s work to John Jr. right away.”

  “And then she goes and leaves everything to you.”

  “The thing is, I knew she was going to do that,” Alex confided.

  “You did?”

  “About a month before her death, she told me she would leave everything to me and made me promise to take care of her son--financially, at least. She thought he’d waste it all away. So, she trusted me with the family fortune, hoping I’d do right by him.”

  Alex shifted in her seat, then draped her legs across a nearby chair. She spent a full minute in deep thought. Annoyed, Sophia opened her mouth to protest at such an abrupt ending, but the draped legs made sure her words remained lodged in her throat. Alex turned to face Sophia and caught her admiring the legs.

  “I knew it!” Alex exclaimed.

  Sophia blushed. “Knew what?”

  “You’re into women, aren’t you?”

  “So what? You’re into anything on two legs.”

  Alex winced at this sharp remark, and Sophia instantly regretted saying it.

  “I’m sorry. It’s just that this conversation usually ends badly.”

  “Clearly you’ve been having the conversation with the wrong people.”

  Sophia smiled, grateful for Alex’s forgiveness but unwilling to explore the issue further.

  “It must have been a surprise when you found out she had left no will,” Sophia offered.

  “It wasn’t much of a surprise, knowing John Jr. It became a matter of finding the will. I’ve been searching ever since.”

  “What if you just let it go? There’s not much you can do if you never find it.”

  Alex shook her head, “I promised her. And she told me where to look for it. Well, hinted, anyway. Took me a while to figure it out. She hid the will in that basement. How could I not look for it, knowing what I know?”

  “Listen to yourself, Saint Alexia. Admit that you like the idea of not worrying about losing the bookstore,” said Sophia, smiling mischievously.

  Alex smiled back. “That wouldn’t be so bad.”

  Chapter Six

  ________

  The next month was spent sneaking into the basement, which belonged to a club frequented by the Hopes and John Jrs. of society. The youth of the upper crust had built it as a place where they could get together and chat lazily, swim leisurely and, for the academic types, study foreign languages. It was the kind of place that made people wonder at the nature of today’s high society. These kids didn’t throw parties at the club. They liked to go there to pretend to be normal, hardly bothering to keep the building maintained. Alex always thought it was a strange place to hide something as important as a will. But this was also the last place anyone would think to look.

  Whenever they thought no one would be watching, they went over to the club and Sophia was lowered into the basement. She spent about thirty minutes in the room each time, searching in old books stored on the bookshelves lining the walls. Then she would hear approaching footsteps heading for the cellar next door and would scurry behind a shelf, hissing at Alex to pull her up and through the window.

  One night, Sophia pried a book off a shelf and shook it. An envelope fell out of the book. Heart racing, Sophia flicked the envelope open and pulled out a piece of paper, stained with blue ink. As the dim glow of the lighter illuminated the page, Sophia began to read its contents.

  The scrawny yo
ung man had been following the two women for a while now. Almost every time they arrived at the building behind the playground, he was already concealed behind some shrubbery. Today, they emerged from the basement particularly excited about something. As they hurried past his hiding place, he saw an envelope fall from the folds of Sophia’s clothes. As soon as they were out of sight, he ran to grab the envelope and went off to his tent.

  His cave-like residence was situated in the undesirable periphery of the town. Folks never came here unless they were actually looking for someone. He erected his residence at the mouth of a cave, setting up a tent to provide some shelter from the chilly night. As soon as he had consumed a lovely dinner consisting of sardines in white bread and a can of soda, he settled down to read the contents of the envelope.

  In stark detail, Mrs. John Sr. outlined the components of Stanfield’s estate, giving each away with strict instructions. She had taken great pains to list every item, only to assign each one to the same beneficiary. It all belonged to Alexia Abrams.

  The scrawny young man knew which of the two women was Alexia, having listened in on a good portion of their conversations. He neatly folded the letter back to its former shape and pushed it into the envelope. He then wrapped the precious document in plastic and tucked it safely into his backpack. He stepped outside his tent to admire the stars. The last place he had been was a bustling city where the stars hid behind a blanket of smog and towering buildings. He remembered having missed the stars then.

  So he took his time gazing up at the sky, drawing imaginary patterns as he connected one star to the next. The first shape he drew was the curve of Alex’s breast. He had seen her in the nude once, quite accidentally. Apparently, she liked to complete some of her morning rituals naked while travelling from room to room with the drapes open. Lucky for him, she had been brushing her teeth while checking her mail in the living room when he walked past her house one day. The scrawny young man would forever be grateful for this gift, since he had last seen a naked woman weeks ago in the bustling city. Now he knew how he could repay her. After taking in one last eyeful of breast-shaped stars, he turned back to his tent and settled down for the night.

  Chapter Seven

  ________

  “I can’t believe you! WTF You actually lost it!” Her lethal stare was painfully piercing. “How do you lose something like that?” Alex screamed. “How could you be so reckless?”

  Sophia was beside herself with worry. She had checked all her pockets about ninety-seven times, only to realize she must have lost the document on their way to Alex’s house. They had quickly gone out to retrace their steps several times, but to no avail. The will had simply vanished.

  “Someone must have picked it up. I’m so sorry, Alex.”

  Alex responded with a bitter shaking of the head.

  Meanwhile, Sophia wracked her brain. “What if, uh, maybe we could--”

  “There’s nothing we can do! Whoever finds that will won’t care less about the beneficiary. They’ll go straight to Junior and trade it for money. Then it really will cease to exist,” Alex said flatly.

  They sat down on the sofa, weighing Alex’s loss.

  After a long pause, Sophia said, “They might also come to you, hoping to trade it for money.”

  They had spent days looking for the will and could hardly believe this had happened. Sophia watched as Alex leaned against the sofa, accepting her defeat. A slow desolate tear traced down her cheek, and just like that, the floodgates opened, dripping steadily into her shirt.

  “Hey, Alex… Are you okay?” She was clearly NOT okay. Without saying a word, Sophia reached for Alex’s hand and held it gently.

  “I’m sorry, I’ve been so callous,” Alex responded, while resting her head against Sophia’s shoulder. “I could never stay mad at you for long. I now realize our friendship is worth way more than that stupid cursed will.”

  Minutes passed in silence as they enjoyed the pleasant attraction they were both starting to feel. Sophia leaned in, their foreheads resting close together. Alex sat frozen, from both fear and excitement. They both closed their eyes, their breaths shaking.

  "Thank you," Sophia said in barely more than a whisper.

  "For what?" Replied Alex.

  "For being you." Her voice wavered, exhilarated from the sexual tension that was building between them. Sophia reached out to hug Alex and the two found themselves nose-to-nose.

  Sophia gently leaned in and kissed Alex's warm lips. They pulled apart and took a few shaky, shallow breaths. Unable to contain herself any longer, Sophia embraced Alex's head in her hands and pulled her in for a deep fiery kiss. She circled an arm around Alex’s waist, pulling her closer as their tongues touched. Sophia drank her in—gently at first, as if wanting to absorb her pain. A hand drifted down Alex’s hip. Alex groaned with encouragement as Sophia pulled her dress up and gripped her bottom. Her two fingers began to probe between Alex’s butt cheeks, then traced a line down the crevice through her light lace underwear. They floated over the meeting point between her thighs, flirting with the wetness that had accumulated before a hand firmly pulled a thigh into a forty-five-degree angle. Fingers swiftly tugged at the lace underwear. They plunged into the hairy, exposed wilderness. They landed lightly on the sensitive love bud, unexpectedly lightly.

  “Wait, what are you doing? Oh... Oh! … that feels good.”

  “Would you like me to go inside?” asked Sophia in a teasing manner.

  “Y-Yes, please don’t stop.” Her voice sounding both scared and comforted.

  Sophia gently inserted a finger into her moist pussy. Soon Alex was penetrated with three, then four fingers, moving slowly in and out. By this time, Alex was in ecstasy as her moans began filling the room. The primitive sounds soaked the air around them, deeply charging it with passion and cravings for more. Alex found herself trembling as the tip of Sophia’s thumb rubbed currents of pleasure right through to her core. Sophia was ever so hesitant and careful.

  Looking deep into Sophia’s eyes now, Alex saw a power she had never seen there before. Unbridled sensuality. Who knew she could do such things so well? Alex gripped an armrest to steady her throbbing body. But it was no use. Her body was tingling, her nipples aching, and her core was on fire. She began rocking her hips as an overwhelming wave of pleasure overtook her and rolled throughout her body. She cried out involuntarily, shocked at how quickly it had all happened.

  “Oh Sophia… wow... that was amazing... I haven't come that hard in a long time, if ever.”

  But Sophia gave her no time to recover. Cupping Alex’s face in one hand, Sophia placed her lips on Alex’s, biting occasionally, working her tongue attentively. They began to undress each other. Alex’s hands found Sophia’s breasts, then wandered lower, while Sophia kissed her way to the hardened, pink nipples. They sunk lower into the sofa, toes touching and feet intertwining.

  Despite the frantic beating of their hearts, there was a moment when they stopped to pause; their bodies stretched tightly against one another. They looked at each other in that moment, connected by a need they could feel in their bones. They silently prayed that this would never end and thanked the universe for each other, regardless of whatever they had lost before.

  Sophia knelt across Alex’s body, touching her face and breasts as she ran her body over Alex’s contours while sucking her earlobes in a passionate interlude. It was the best massage Alex had ever had, as Sophia gyrated her body over Alex’s sweat-soaked curves. They panted and groaned as they worked each other into a heated frenzy. Alex brought the massage to a halt when she tucked one of Sophia’s thighs underneath hers and started rocking back and forth. Together, they produced the most electrifying pussy friction. They rose together, until they found themselves at the peak of immense joy.

  When they landed back on earth, they kissed slowly, savoring the moment. Then Alex dipped a teasing finger into Sophia, and they went back to heaven.