Love Finds A Way

by C. P. Watson

  We pick up our glasses, and I lace my fingers with hers. When we sit at the table, we’re immediately handed menus.

  “I’ve had a question on my mind for a few weeks,” Bethany begins, as she flips a page, before resting the menu down and moving her jaw side to side, “it’s probably the main reason why I haven’t answered that question yet,” I know she’s referring to the whole girlfriend thing.

  “I’m all ears, babe,” I smile, and look intently at her. I’d answer any question she shoots my way. Anything.

  “I noticed that hickey on your neck. And I was replaying everything that night, wondering if I gave it to you or not. And I don’t think I did,” I swallow hard. Oh shit. Oh fuck. Anything but that! That’s the mark that Petah left on the side of my neck, after we, after we… dammit.

  “It wasn’t you,” I take a sip of wine, and rub my temples hard with the pads of my fingers. I can see the disappointment in her eyes, and I lower my gaze, feeling ashamed of myself.

  “Who was it then?” I can hear the tone of jealousy in her voice, and I know that telling her the truth will just hurt her. But I can’t lie to her, can I? I wish I could lie.

  “You’re not going to like the answer,” I stretch my hands to hers, and begin the caress her palms with my thumbs. She doesn’t pull away, which is a good sign.

  “Your ex?” I don’t answer, not even a nod. But that’s a response greater than words, “Xiomara,” she sighs and pulls away, leaning back in her chair.

  “I’m so sorry,” my head in downed in shame. I just ruined our date. Fuck.

  “We weren’t together. It’s not like you cheated on me,” she scoffs and leans her head back, making me unable to see her beautiful face.

  “It didn’t mean anything, I just—“ she wipes away a tear, and leans forward, “is this a dealbreaker?” She shakes her head immediately.

  “It just makes me even more worried. You slept with her. What does that mean? Explain it to me,” I inhale a deep breath, “assure me that I have nothing to worry about.”

  “Over the years, we’ve had sex once in a while. She came over that day, and it just happened. I didn’t enjoy it. And I regretted it. I promise that I have no intentions to do it again.”

  “Do you like fucking her?” Her voice is so torn, and I wish that we aren’t in a restaurant filled with people. I could be holding and consoling her.

  “Not anymore. I’m not going to lie, I did. It was fun. But after us happened. It just didn’t feel right anymore.”

  She nods slowly, and my heart’s hurting from looking at her distressed face. How is she going to trust me now? Everytime we start to go onto the right track, something always fucks it up.

  “You don’t love her?” I nod, “and you have no desire to be with her,” I nod again. She softly smiles and I place my hand on the table, causing her to reach over, and intertwine our fingers.

  “What can I do to make this right? I hate seeing you so fatigued.”

  She shakes her head and looks down at our hands. Her hands are so soft and smooth, unlike mine. My hands are skinny and even a bit wrinkled. But she doesn’t seem to mind, even though these little things bother the hell out of me.

  “I want us to enjoy our date. Then I want you to throw out your bedsheets, so that I can sleep over.”

  “I burned them already,” that set of bedding is actually in the cupboard, but I’ll throw them out tomorrow.

  “Where else in the house have you two, you know,” my eyes widen.

  “We’re both old. For the sake of our backs, nowhere but the bedroom.”

  “That doesn’t make me feel better,” I move my other hand onto hers and hold tightly, “but that’s good. At least you don’t have to throw out your couch, or flooring.”

  At least she’s joking now.

  * * *

  When we get back to my place, she immediately starts to kiss me, as soon as the door closes.

  “You’ve been wanting to do this all night, huh?” She kisses my neck and squeezes my sides. As her hands run over the curve of my ass, she presses harder against me.

  “Ever since the last time,” her sultry voice breathes against my neck, and I shudder. I think that I’m ablaze, because I know how good she is in bed, and how wet I must be right now. I’m so turned on that I might cum as soon as she touches me!

  “Bethany,” I moan, her lips sucking on my sweet spot. I hold onto her shoulders, while her hands reach for the zipper of my jeans, “babe, I’m, oh my god—“ my skin’s tingling so badly. When she pulls down my panties, I stumble backward against the wall. Is she really going to fuck me right here?

  “You’re so wet,” her finger runs over my slit, as she positions herself on her knees. She pulls my jeans through my feet, along with my panties, before spreading my legs wider. I feel so exposed, but it feels so good to have her watching my throbbing pussy, “you’re so frickin’ beautiful,” she mumbles, as she gently kisses my lower stomach.

  My fingers find the roots of her hair, and I lean forward, looking at her lips travelling down my body. It’s amazing how worked up she gets me in a matter of minutes, and my body ends up needing her, more than my heart wants to allow.

  “That feels so good, baby,” I moan loudly, as she begins to gently lick me. The tip of her tongue is doing wonders for my clit, and from the way her face is moving so agilely, I know that it’s smeared with my wetness.

  “Just like this?” She breathes and sucks down on my opening, while gripping my sides tightly. I almost scream from the impact, and my body begins to shudder violently. I’m so close, but she slows her pace and leans back.

  Her finger enters me slowly, while she looks up at me, our eyes locking. My heart’s thumping inside of my chest, and the pulse on my pussy isn’t going to go away until she makes me cum.

  * * *

  I’m exhausted by the time she’s had enough of me, and when I return the multiple favors, we’re both lying on the couch panting, “that was amazing,” I sigh and pull her closer, my heart rate slowing down.

  “Yeah, it was,” Bethany kisses my lips tenderly, then the side of my neck, “Blue’s not going to be home till tomorrow, so I can spend the night, if that’s okay with you?”

  She runs her finger over the scar below my stomach, “I thought that was a given, babe,” I look at the empty bottle of wine that we drank in between our vigorous love making, and can imagine the hangover that I’ll have tomorrow.

  “Just checking. I need to head out early, so I won’t wake you. Don’t miss me too much when I’m gone,” I take a deep breath, not wanting her to leave my side, not even for a second. Everything seems so perfect right now, and I feel as though the littlest thing can ruin it.

  “You have to pick up Blue?”

  “Yeah, my aunt’s shift starts early, and I thought I’d save her the trouble of having to drive him home,” I sit up and stretch my arms. I’m completely naked, and I sense that there’s at least five hickies on my body. I don’t mind though. If that’s what she needs to do to know that I’m hers, I’d let her cover me completely with them, “Xiomara,” she places her hand on my shoulder. I look at her, her eyes filling with emotions, seemingly with good thoughts in mind.

  “Yes, babe?” I smile goofily at her, and she smiles back at me in such a loving way.

  “Will you be my girlfriend?” I can’t say that I’m surprised, by I wasn’t expecting it either.

  “I don’t know. You still haven’t answered my question,” I place my index finger against my chin and tilt my head to the side.

  “My answer is yes,” I didn’t think that I could get happier tonight, but I’m proven wrong. My cheeks begin to heat up, as she nudges me playfully.

  “Yes, I’ll be your girlfriend, Bethany,” she giggles and moves onto my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck.

  “I like that,” she leans forward, “my girlfriend,” she tests it on her tongue, “you’re my girlfriend,” I can see that her happiness is soring, and mine is too. Who w
ould have thought that she’d actually say yes, even with all the drama that’s still going on?

  “I promise to deal with all this drama. I just need some time,” she places her index finger over my lips and hums.

  “Don’t ruin our night with all that. Just hold me, please?”

  I settle my thinking, not wanting to ruin the happiness either, “gladly, babe. There’s nothing that I would rather be doing.”

  “Just promise to never lie to me? Pinky swear?” She pouts.

  I take a deep breath, and exhale slowly. There’s no doubt that our relationship is not going to be an easy one, but she’s worth it. And seemingly, I’m worth it to her too.

  “I swear.”

  CHAPTER 12

  3 months later

  You know how they say that your best days are the ones spent with your grandkids? Well, the first day my grandson is brought into the world has become one of the worse days of my life! I’m a fucking grandmother!

  I’ve never, ever felt this old, as I stand in a room full of my kids, with my grandson in my arms. Shit. Now I’m definitely too old to be Bethany’s girlfriend.

  “Alexander, come to your auntie,” Mary takes him from me, and begins to craddle him in her arms. There’s still a coldness between us, but our relationship is mending. Very slowly, that is.

  Jane’s husband is holding her hand and comforting her, while she huffs and puffs as though she just ran a marathon, even though she gave birth ten hours ago.

  It’s almost midnight, and I haven’t checked my phone all day. When I do, I’ve got about a hundred messages from Bethany, almost all asking for baby pictures. I would have loved to have her here with us, but that’s impossible when Petah’s here too.

  Petah’s tried to strike up conversation with me, but I’ve ignored her or walked away. Ethan’s given me a lecture almost ten times already today because of it. And Mary, she’s just focusing on the baby and her sister.

  I snap a quick photo of Alexander and send it to Bethany, and she immediately replies, making me smile.

  “Can’t you ignore her for at least one day?” Ethan huffs and I roll my eyes. I stuff my phone into the back pocket of my jeans and turn to look at him.

  “Actually, I can’t,” Mary eyes us, and hands the baby over to Petah, who’s wearing the most piteous frown. I’ve noticed that everyone’s taken Petah’s side, whether they voice it or not. I mean, she makes it so hard for anyone to take my feelings into consideration, when all she does is complain about how she’s in love with me.

  “You just won’t,” he says, and I rub my temples. I walk over to Jane and lean down to give her a kiss on the forehead.

  “I love you, sweetheart. I’m going to head home now,” I head over to Petah, and she turns away, as I kiss the baby, “grandma’s going to come see you when you get settled into your new home, okay?” I wiggle his hand gently, and brush the light blonde hair on his head.

  “Drive safe, mom,” Jane shows a sympathetic face and I nod. Christopher pulls me into a hug and sighs.

  “I’m heading back to campus in about an hour. I’ll come visit this weekend, okay?” I pat his shoulder and give one last glance at the baby. I don’t bother to acknowledge Petah’s waving hand, as she tries to tell me goodbye.

  * * *

  “You’re finally here!” Blue squeals, as I close the door behind me. I finally got a key to Bethany’s apartment a week ago, even though I gave her mine the day after we confirmed our relationship.

  “You didn’t bring the baby?” Bethany pouts and pulls me into her arms, while Blue tries to steal all the hugs that I can give.

  “Blue, let me hug your mommy too,” he shakes his head and jumps up and down.

  “You my Xo, Xo.”

  I lift him up and place a big kiss on his chubby cheek, “I should be offended,” Bethany places her hand against her chest and sniffles.

  “Come here,” I pull her into me, and we sandwich Blue. He squeals and giggles and I place a kiss on Bethany’s cheek. We’ve never even kissed in front of Blue, and I’m wondering if it’s always going to be like this. I’m sure that us locking lips won’t scar him for life. And it’s not about us being two women, she said it’s about not presenting intimacy to him at such a young age.

  “Guess what we’re watching tonight,” I narrow my eyes and bite down on my bottom lip. I already know what she’s talking about. She’s been talking about it for weeks. The first episode of the new season is about to be aired, and let’s just say that she’s extremely excited, even though she’s not introduced until midway into the season.

  “It starts with Harriot and end with place?”

  “Yes! And my aunt’s coming over,” I’ve gotten to know Angie quite well, and she’s indeed a big fan of the show. She knows the cast better than I do even, and I’m the frickin’ director.

  “I wanna watch zoowopia, mommy,” Blue leans against my chest, without any hesitation when it comes to grabbing my bra strap and pulling with all of his might.

  “Ouch,” I mutter, when he releases it and it stings my skin. I look at this little bundle of joy and see my heart inside of his adorable eyes, even though he can sometimes be a pain… literally.

  “Xiomara,” Bethany lifts my chin, looking into my eyes. Those bright blue oceans haven’t managed to annoy me yet, and I find it amazing that she always manages to make me smile, “I know you don’t care to watch the show. Can you browse youtube with Blue while my aunt and I watch it?”

  The first episode is about to be aired, and every Thursday another will be. I know for sure that when the entire season is aired, she’s going to make me binge watch it with her.

  “Sure,” I look back at Blue, “you and I are going to watch the bunny fight the bad guys, okay?” He claps his hands and giggles. We’ve watched Zootopia about a hundred times already, and Blue can’t seem to get enough of it.

  * * *

  “I can’t believe he cheated on your sister!” Angie argues, as they wait for the commercials to finish. Blue already fell asleep within the first ten minutes of the movie.

  “Not my sister. It’s just a show,” I slip onto the couch next to Bethany and kiss her cheek.

  “And on the first episode? No wonder Kali needs her little sister,” Bethany intertwines our fingers.

  “Her name’s actually Saskia, and she doesn’t seem to need anyone,” Bethany narrows her eyes at me, “but my girlfriend over here.”

  My eyes widen. Damn, I wish I never told her about that.

  “Wait, what?” Bethany smiles deviously while I give her the look.

  “She has a crush on Xiomara,” I suck in a breath and shrug. It hasn’t been a problem thankfully. And Saskia’s seems to have moved on. At least she hasn’t broached the topic again.

  “Don’t they all know that you two are dating?” We haven’t actually introduced ourselves as a couple to everyone. But of course they know. We reach to work at the same time, and most days Bethany waits for me so that we can leave together. She even drives me most times, especially since she recently got a new, sexy car to compliment her sexy self.

  “Yeah, but this hot piece of ass has the panties dropping wherever she turns,” I find that unlikely, and a gigantic exaggeration. If she noticed the way people look at her when we enter a room, she’d realize how much attention she receives.

  I scoff, “you’re the young, hot one. Why would anyone look at me when they can look at you instead?”

  She shakes her head and pinches my side, “you’re beautiful. Don’t sell yourself short.”

  “Shut up you two. The show’s back on,” I sink into her arms, as she plays with my hair and looks intently at the screen. I’m feeling extremely contented, if only my kids could understand how happy she makes me.

  * * *

  It’s one of those nights when it’s difficult to open my eyes. Even when there’s loud banging coming from outside of the house. Maybe it’s just some dogs fighting, or… I’m too tired to even think.

&nb
sp; My eyes shoot open, and I’m startled awake. I jump up and grab my baseball bat, “who the fuck is that?” I look through the window, only to see darkness. I squint my eyes and notice a vehicle parked in my driveway, but can’t make out who’s it is.

  “Xiomara?” I hear Bethany’s voice and immediately turn, baseball bat in hand, and my eyes wider than the amazon river, “uh—“

  I place it back beside my nightstand and crawl into bed, “you scared me,” she closes the door and turns on the light. That’s when I nearly have a heart attack.

  “What happened to your hair?” She cut it all off! I grab my sheet and pull it against my chest. It’s shorter than Christopher’s now!