The Words Shimmer

by Jenn Matthews

  Emerging with a hairbrush in her hand, Ruby stepped out of the en suite a moment later, her head lowered. She was wearing a purple set of pyjamas—a T-shirt and cotton trouser combination, with a cartoon rabbit on the front.

  Openly grinning, Mel looked her up and down and licked her lips. “Sexy,” she said quietly.

  “Oh, be quiet. The girls got them me for Christmas.”

  “I’m serious.”

  Ruby flicked her eyes towards the bathroom, and Mel obediently scuttled inside to clean her teeth and change.

  When she pushed the door open, Ruby was sitting up in bed, the duvet around her waist. Her shoulders were pushed up and her hands clasped over her middle. The remote control lay beside her on the bed. Her glasses lay, folded neatly, next to her empty mug.

  Mel climbed into bed, having left her toothbrush by the sink for the morning. She marvelled in the way that Ruby’s hair looked so neat and soft. Not being able to help herself, she reached up to run her fingers through it.

  Ruby shivered. She turned to look at Mel, and some of the tension in her shoulders drifted away. Her dark eyes shone.

  Leaning in to kiss Ruby’s cheek, then sitting back and reaching for her hand rather than taking things any further, Mel grinned lopsidedly back. “So, you like my bedtime attire?”

  Ruby blinked and looked down, squinting a bit without her glasses. Mel had chosen to bring a worn burgundy T-shirt with writing on it, and tartan trousers in a similar colour. Eyes still shining, she trailed them back up Mel’s torso and nodded. “Very nice.”

  “I’m glad you like.”

  Easy chuckles rumbled through both of them, and Ruby relaxed completely, snuggling her shoulders backwards into her pillows and then resting comfortably against Mel’s side.

  “Let’s get a bit more comfortable.” Mel pulled her pillows to rest flat and lay down, holding one arm out. Ruby lay down on her back but grabbed Mel’s other hand and pulled it around her waist.

  Mel sank against Ruby’s side and buried her nose in the thick hair by her face. She made a little noise of affection and Ruby chuckled. Mel lifted her head again and grinned. She felt so soft, so warm. And Mel was suddenly exhausted.

  Ruby squeezed her around her shoulders, and her lips trailed gently against Mel’s forehead. Then she raised the remote control and turned the film back on.

  The sky through the ceiling window was growing dimmer. The only light in the room was the television, and the volume was soft, the voices of the characters lulling and familiar. Mel sighed deeply, languidly, inhaling the soapy, minty-fresh smell that was mixed with Ruby’s usual scent. She must have washed her face as well as brushing her teeth. Her hair was soft under her cheek, and the patch of skin exposed above the neck of her T-shirt was dotted with dark moles. I want to join them all up. I wonder if she has them on her belly too.

  The arousal starkly present between Mel’s legs felt wonderful and not uncomfortable. It was a gentle ache and didn’t intensify when Mel bent a knee up over Ruby’s thighs. “Let me know if I crush you,” Mel murmured into Ruby’s hair, her eyes starting to droop.

  “You won’t.”

  “I’m a bit large round the hips though. You might wake up with pins and needles.”

  Ruby’s hand started a gentle caress against her upper arm, Mel’s hand curled around her hip. “You’re not, and I won’t.”

  “Okay.” Mel yawned and tried to smother it with her hand.

  Ruby chuckled. “Come on now, snuggle down.” She patted her shoulder.

  Mel rested properly against her, feeling her against the inside of her thigh, her ribs, under her cheek. She felt great. “Okay.”

  “Watch the film.” Ruby shifted to look properly at her. “You don’t even have your eyes open.”

  “I’ve seen it before,” Mel replied. “I’m listening.”

  “You’re listening,” Ruby repeated, her tone unconvinced but unworried. She continued to tickle little patterns against Mel’s arm, her fingertips poking under the arm of her T-shirt.

  Mel felt her body sinking into the bed and Ruby’s embrace. Her breathing slowed, and she tried to focus on the colourful story within the film. Eventually, however, her mind drifted into nothingness, and her last thought was that she’d never been so comfortable in all her life.

  Ruby listened to Mel’s steady and soft snores for more than an hour before she turned the television and DVD player off with the remote. Darkness embraced them.

  Her gaze lingered over the sleeping woman, nestled so snugly in her arms, and she decided that was okay. We could do with taking things steady anyhow. I was so nervous about tonight, and look at us. Carefully sliding her hand up Mel’s arm, she brushed back a few stray strands of strawberry-blonde hair from Mel’s freckled cheekbone and tucked them behind her ear. Mel stirred momentarily, but only buried more deeply into her shoulder and let out a long sigh.

  Ruby rolled her eyes in amusement. No, it really was okay. In fact, it was perfect. She wanted nothing more than to fall asleep with Mel, and she was getting her wish. She stretched her legs out and got comfortable, Mel’s weight resting against her hip, her arm still wrapped protectively around her.

  Pressing a soft kiss to Mel’s forehead, Ruby closed her eyes and pulled the duvet up a little, so they were properly covered. Traffic sounds, muffled by her thankfully thick brick walls, were the only things she could hear, until Mel made a small noise but didn’t wake. Ruby squeezed her gently before drifting slowly into sleep as well.

  Chapter 26

  Ruby’s eyes fluttered open as the sunlight streamed in through her skylight. She yawned widely and tried to stretch, to make her joints pop and loosen, as usual, but one side of her body wouldn’t move. Then the previous evening came back to her like an approaching sunrise, and she smiled, turning her head on the pillow to take in the mass of cherry-blonde hair and the pale face of her girlfriend.

  Mel was still fast asleep and in a similar position to last night. Her leg still thrown across Ruby’s hips, and her arm still tight around her waist. Her hand had moved, however, and her fingers were curled inside the little valley between Ruby’s breasts. If she moved an inch, she’d be effectively feeling her up.

  Ruby tried not to giggle at the thought and imagined the look of embarrassment on Mel’s face if she woke in such a compromising position. Or perhaps she wouldn’t be. Perhaps Mel would touch her properly, intentionally, with a deep look in her eye. A rush of affection and arousal flooded Ruby’s body. She shook her head at her own hormones and wriggled a bit, her bladder suddenly coming awake and making itself known.

  Extricating herself from Mel’s embrace without waking her, Ruby shuffled quietly to the en suite. As she sat on the toilet, she considered her options. Mel would probably want a lie in, as she was on a night shift that night. She remembered them well. Ruby pulled her T-shirt away from herself and sniffed. I definitely need a shower. She flushed the toilet and stripped, turning the shower on and stepping under the warm water.

  After efficiently washing her hair and body, she felt a lot fresher. She squeezed the water out of her hair before rubbing at it with a towel. After wrapping a dry towel around herself, she tucked it in securely and crept out of the en suite to find some clothes.

  “I wondered where you’d got to.” Mel’s voice was croaky and soft, and the hand that shaded her eyes indicated she had just woken up.

  Ruby sat on the edge of the bed and stroked Mel’s cheek. “Thought you might want to sleep a bit longer. As you’re up all night tonight.”

  “Hmm.” Mel stretched and rolled over towards Ruby, her hand rubbing at Ruby’s waist through the towel. “Was hoping for some morning cuddles, actually.”

  “Were you?” Ruby bent down to kiss Mel’s cheek, but Mel shifted and their lips met. “I suppose… a few more minutes won’t hurt.”

  “I plan on stretching out those minute
s,” Mel replied, reaching up with both hands, and apparently, very much awake now. She tugged until Ruby rested down on an elbow and kissed her again.

  Their kisses started out slow and chaste, just presses of lips against lips, until Mel’s hands slid around Ruby’s towel-covered waist and pulled her even closer. Ruby got comfortable beside her, the towel covering her from armpits to knees, and allowed her fingertips to skim down Mel’s neck.

  They parted gently, and Ruby gazed down into Mel’s eyes. “Good morning.”

  Mel’s eyes twinkled. “Good morning.” She stole a glance downwards. “You’re not wearing anything.”

  “I am. Don’t you like my towel dress?”

  “I take it back. It’s beautiful.” Mel leant up to capture her lips in a single kiss. “You’re beautiful.”

  Ruby’s body tingled all over at Mel’s words. She watched as Mel’s hand slid up her body, to the top of the towel where it was tucked into itself, holding it in place.

  Mel’s gaze caught hers, and she narrowed her eyes—a question, permission requested.

  Ruby nodded.

  Teasing the corner out, Mel allowed it to loosen before slowly pulling it off. There was some shifting around when it got caught underneath Ruby’s hip, but eventually Mel reached behind her to place it on the floor by the bed.

  Ruby’s skin prickled with the chill of her bedroom, beads of water still clinging to her back and stomach. She shivered.

  Mel’s eyes were wide, and her lips were parted. She guided Ruby onto her back and rested a warm palm against her shoulder. “Okay?” she whispered.

  “I’m okay,” Ruby replied, swallowing and bringing one foot to the bed, wrapping an arm around her own naked stomach. She took a deep calming breath and let it out slowly, turning her head on the pillow to watch Mel as she looked at her.

  Mel’s gaze started at her shoulders and travelled downwards. It was as if each area of skin she looked at she touched as well, causing goose bumps to rise in her wake. Her hand did eventually rise from the duvet, and Mel caught a droplet of water from the side of Ruby’s breast.

  “This is really unfair,” Ruby said, shivering at Mel’s touch.

  “Why?” Mel seemed regretful suddenly, and her gaze shot back to Ruby’s face.

  “You’re fully clothed.”

  Letting out a sigh that could only be of relief, Mel nodded. She sat up, and Ruby enjoyed watching Mel cross her arms over her chest and whip off her T-shirt, then wriggle out of her pyjama bottoms.

  The scene made her mouth water. Mel was lean, and her skin was dusted with freckles the colour of a sunset. Her breasts were small and her hips wide, but she seemed in proportion, as if she’d been sculpted, carved from porcelain. Her legs seemed to stretch for miles, and the hair at the joint of her thighs was a deep strawberry-blonde, just like the hair on her head.

  “Crikey,” Ruby said, conscious that her accent was strong but not caring.

  “Not exactly what you expected?” Mel’s voice was soft, and her gaze rested across the room, on the empty backpack that hung on the back of a chair.

  “What? Are you joking?” She deliberately drew her gaze from Mel’s toes all the way up to her eyes. “You’re gorgeous.”

  “Really?”

  “If we’re comparing bodies, what about these?” Ruby stretched back and ran her finger over her lower belly, across the silver lines that marred her skin.

  “Stretch marks?” Mel asked, furrowing her eyebrows in concentration as she shifted into a sitting position and looked closer. She ran her own finger against one of the marks, which made heat flush down Ruby’s chest.

  “They are. From Jasmine.”

  “None from Chloe?”

  “She’s always been my favourite of the two.”

  Mel laughed and leant down to press a kiss next to her finger. Ruby gasped and arched back involuntarily. When Mel sat back up, she looked smug.

  Feeling like she wanted to throw something at her, Ruby huffed and reigned in her nerves. “They’re ugly.”

  “They’re wonderful. Like the scars of war.”

  Unable to do anything but smile at that, Ruby took Mel’s hand and tugged her down.

  Mel lay atop the covers and leaned on one elbow above her. “I’ve delivered a lot of babies,” she admitted.

  “Aren’t you supposed to grab them and go, if they need to be in hospital?”

  “You’re right.” Mel poked her in the side. “For once. But if birth is imminent, you have to stop the truck. I actually had a baby born on the stretcher before we got inside the truck once. Most paramedics go through their lives without having to deliver a baby. Lucky buggers.”

  “I can imagine.”

  “Anyway, I never heard more swearing and screaming than I have with women in labour. Even people who are in immense pain from injury tend to keep the language appropriate. So, when I say ‘the scars of war’, I mean it. I can’t think of anything so trialling or scary as giving birth.” She kissed Ruby’s collarbone and then pressed her nose and mouth to her skin. “I think you’re a hero.”

  Again, Ruby was lost for words. This doesn’t happen very often. I must be chilling out in my old age. Opening one arm, Ruby wrapped it around Mel’s shoulders as she lay snug against her side.

  “So, now we’re here,” Mel whispered against her neck.

  Ruby chuckled. “That’s right. We are.”

  Tiny fireworks pattered against her skin as Mel ran her fingertips across Ruby’s stomach and upwards. She closed a soft hand against her breast at the same time as she captured Ruby’s lips with her own. Ruby’s body sang, and she held Mel’s head in both hands, pushing her long hair back to keep it out of the way.

  Mel growled low in her throat as Ruby’s bent knee wrapped around her, and Ruby groaned back as their bodies finally came together, with Mel rolling on top of her. She pushed her other thigh between Mel’s and Mel removed her hand from her breast, needing to lean on her elbows to keep herself up.

  Her skin tingled all over again as Mel’s body slid against hers. Ruby trailed a hand down the soft skin of her back, kissing her with the passion that was building inside her. Moisture pooled between her legs. It’s been a while since I’ve made love with anyone.

  Mel’s skin against hers felt glorious, and her breasts were firm, her nipples hard and dragging against her wet skin. The thigh between her legs pushed upwards with the perfect amount of pressure, and Ruby gasped again, squeezing Mel’s hip with her thigh.

  Mel broke the kiss, her breathing shallow. “I’m… I’m a little older than you.”

  “I know that,” Ruby replied, tilting her chin upwards, eager to continue what had begun.

  “It’s just that…” Mel swallowed. Her eyes darkened. “I’m in the throes of the menopause and…” Her cheeks reddened, and her eyes drifted away.

  Without changing their position, Ruby reached up and stroked Mel’s cheeks. Her arousal sat back as Mel’s discomfort became more important than her own, or even Mel’s, potential orgasm. “Talk to me. I want to know.”

  “I’m shy.”

  “You’re blooming well not shy,” Ruby whispered.

  That pulled Mel’s lips upwards and she brought her gaze back to Ruby’s. “I mean about… the stuff that’s going on with me.”

  “I’m a nurse. Have been for a while.”

  Mel leaned on one elbow and caressed Ruby’s cheek. “Okay. It’s not as if I don’t trust you. I just…” She inhaled deeply and nodded once. “My brain is… very much into this.” She looked down and even gave a figure-of-eight hand gesture to emphasise her point. “But sometimes, it takes a while for my body to catch up.”

  “That’s all right.” Ruby pulled Mel’s lips to her own with a hand on the back of her head and kissed her, briefly. “I can deal with that.”

  “Can you?”

 
“Of course. Stop worrying.” Ruby kissed under her jaw and then pulled back to smile at her, hoping she could project enough reassurance through her gaze. “Tell me how you feel. Let me know if I’m going to fast or…” She pressed her thigh up between Mel’s legs and was pleased about the shudder that went through Mel at the contact. “Or too slow.”

  “Okay.” Mel nodded, and winked at her. “I knew you were kind really, when I first met you.”

  “Hm.” Ruby sucked Mel’s bottom lip and felt her resting her weight properly back against her.

  They kissed for a while, and Mel’s tongue pushed softly at her lips until she parted them and allowed her access. Their kisses became deeper, and more delicious, but remained slow. Ruby drew circles against the skin of Mel’s back, tracing around her shoulder blades and each vertebrae. When she touched an apparently particularly sensitive spot, Mel pushed her hips downwards and let out a shaky breath.

  The thigh between Ruby’s legs was becoming insistent, and Mel was beginning to roll her hips slightly in a slow but regular rhythm. The friction was sending lightning bolts from her centre to the rest of her body, and she could feel the wetness building in her engorged sex.

  She feels so good, her skin against mine, her body on top of me. Ruby moaned as a wave of arousal swept over her, and she hooked her foot around the back of Mel’s calf. She was on fire, and the heat increased as Mel lifted a hand to her breast, her fingers rubbing and teasing her nipple until it stood out.

  “Show me.” Mel’s breath tickled her cheek as she whispered to her.

  “What?” Panting, Ruby blinked up at Mel, who looked slightly unsure.

  “That’s how I learn best,” Mel said, and a glint of humour cut through the uncertainty in her eyes.

  Ruby laughed and took her hand as Mel rolled from her. Mel settled next to her, her free hand holding up her head, her elbow on the bed. Ruby’s skin prickled, the warmth of Mel’s body having so far covered her all over.

  “Is it?” Ruby cocked an eyebrow, and Mel simply shrugged. Ruby let out a fake-frustrated sigh and held onto Mel’s wrist as she led her fingers down her neck. She pressed the palm to her breast, Mel’s fingers cupping her flesh and the heel of her hand pressing against her nipple. “You were, by the way, doing just fine before.”