Pride and Groom

by Gibson, Tannya

"So, why do you look so happy?"

  Lexi blushed deeply and could not look at them. "Before Brenda came back, I met someone."

  All four elders seemed pleased. Mrs. Benson reached out to her again. "This is wonderful, dear. It is another woman?"

  "Yes." Lexi thought it funny that they still thought her options in that regard were open.

  "At least she's consistent," Mr. Blackney chortled.

  "Do you love her?" Mrs. Standish asked.

  "Yes. I haven't known her very long, but I think sometimes you just know."

  "Does she love you?" Mr. Blackney asked.

  "She does."

  "So, tell us all about her," Mrs. Standish insisted.

  "Well, she's really strong and quite tall. She has short blond hair and she's an auto mechanic, but she has…"

  Mr. Blackney squinted at Nana. "Sounds like that girl who came to see you."

  "What was her name again?" Mrs. Standish asked.

  Lexi's mouth dropped open and she stared at her grandmother who was trying to shush the others. "Nana?"

  "It was someone else," her grandmother said. "Go on and finish."

  Lexi stared at her a moment longer. "Anyway, she was in the Army and she makes the most amazing dollhouses for her nieces." They were all staring at her and it made her nervous. "Her name is Zoe Hansen."

  "That was it?" Mrs. Standish crowed. "I had it on the tip of my tongue."

  "She was very sweet," Mrs. Benson said softly.

  "I thought she was a man," Mr. Blackney said, "until I saw her…" He mimed breasts and the women chastised him for it.

  "When was she here?" she asked with incredulity.

  "Last week sometime," Mrs. Standish guessed. "She even helped Mr. Murdock to fix the van's chair lift. Very nice of her."

  "Is she really a woman?" Mr. Blackney asked.

  Lexi ignored his question and focused on her grandmother's resigned face. "Do you want to tell me what's going on?"

  Nana reached out and patted her leg. "I didn't call her, Lexi. She showed up about a week ago and wanted to talk to me."

  "About what?"

  "You-her feelings for you-her intentions." Nana raised her coffee cup and took a drink. "It was refreshing and rather old fashioned."

  Lexi was shocked and didn't know what to feel. "Was she asking for you to intercede?"

  "No, no, no," Nana clucked. "She was worried about you and she seemed lonely, but I think she was just letting me know where she stood. She promised she would leave you alone if you didn't want her and that she would never mistreat you if you did."

  "And what did you tell her?"

  Nana grinned wickedly. "That you're stubborn when you're wrong, belligerent when you don't get your way and cranky when you're tired."

  "You didn't?" Lexi covered her face as the elders laughed at her. "Why didn't you tell me she had been here? Did she ask you not to tell me?"

  "On the contrary. I think she knew I would tell you. I just didn't see any point at the time. Besides," Nana soothed, "it's all worked out for the best now, hasn't it?"

  "How come she dresses like a man is what I want to know," Mr. Blackney persisted.

  Lexi rested her chin in her hand. "She is a woman," she said patiently, "and lots of women wear jeans and T-shirts. Zoe isn't trying to look like a man; she just looks like herself and I think she's beautiful. She has incredible skin and long, thick eyelashes. I've seen her in a dress and she looks more like a man in a dress than she does in jeans. There are all kinds of women out there and she's just one kind."

  Chapter Twelve

  Lexi stopped at the supermarket on her way back to Zoe's apartment to pick up food for Cricket. While she was there she picked up sodas, beer, fruit for a tropical salad and the makings for burritos. She was trying to decide what flavor of ice cream to buy when an arm fell over her shoulders. Startled, she tried to jump back and realized it was Cantina. "You scared me?"

  "Sorry about that," Cantina laughed. "I just wanted to surprise you."

  Lexi laughed at how pleased Cantina seemed to be with herself. "How are you?"

  "Not as good as you," Cantina leered. "Not that I got any details from Zoe, but she looks pretty good, too, so I'd say I'm right on the mark. I just saw you in here and decided to check what we're having for dinner."

  "We?"

  "Have you talked to her in the last hour?"

  Lexi shook her head and reached in for Mint Chip ice cream. As she set it in the cart, Cantina shook her head doubtfully. Lexi lifted it back out and returned it to the shelf. "What kind does she like?"

  "She likes anything chocolate," she said as she searched for the right one, "but she likes this one that's got orange sherbet and vanilla mixed with chocolate pieces in it the best." She located the right one and tossed it in the basket. "I stopped by Zoe's earlier and your little puppy was there so I made her fill me in on the highlights. I tried to invite myself to dinner, but she said she had to discuss it with you first. I thought that's what you were doing here."

  "I just got off work and I'm on my way back to her place, but it's fine with me if you come. What time and how many extra people?"

  "It's my husband's day to play mommy, so it'll just be me and I can come now."

  "Well," Lexi said reluctantly. "I need to talk to her about something first so why don't you come at five?"

  Cantina broke into a smile. "Okay?"

  "Is there anything else I should get?"

  Zoe's friend sifted through her basket. "Looks good to me. If I think of anything else, I'll bring it myself."

  ~***~

  Halfway up the steps, Zoe was there, taking the bags from her hands. "Thanks, babe."

  "What all did you buy?"

  "I only stopped to get food for Cricket, but then I got carried away." She closed the front door and leaned over to pet Cricket as Zoe set the groceries down on the dining table.

  "How was your day?" Zoe asked as she kissed her forehead.

  Lexi carefully sat down at the table and looked into her lover's eyes. "Why did you go to see my grandmother?"

  Zoe sat down, too. "I know I shouldn't have, but I was lonely and scared. I just wanted to tell someone how I felt. Cantina would have teased me even more. And my folks-well, they care about me too much to just let things work themselves out. They would have been trying to fix things. Mrs. Archer was the only one left."

  "So you weren't trying to use Nana to get…"

  Zoe's face was horrified. "No? Don't even think that? I told her that she could tell you-that there were no secrets…"

  Lexi took Zoe's hand and brought it to her lips. "I just wanted to be sure." She stood up to put the groceries away and Zoe anxiously took her arm.

  "Are you mad at me?"

  Lexi could see genuine concern in Zoe's eyes. Using both hands she tipped Zoe's face up and kissed her lightly, then spread kisses all over her face. She stopped, high on Zoe's long neck, and sucked skin hard between her teeth. She heard Zoe grunt and kept up the pressure for a moment, then let go and looked to make sure there would be a mark. Pleased with the small bruise, she patted Zoe's cheek and smiled. "I'm over it now."

  "What am I going to tell the guys at work?" she asked as she fingered her throat.

  "Tell them you were a bad girl," Lexi laughed.

  Zoe shook her head in amusement and reached into a bag to pull out the ice cream. "Whoa. This is so weird."

  Lexi kept her grin under wraps. "I hope you like that kind."

  Zoe looked at her in disbelief. "Cantina loves this stuff."

  "What?" Lexi couldn't believe it. "But she said it was your favorite?"

  Zoe started to laugh. "You have to watch out for her. She's tricky."

  Understanding came over Lexi. "Did you invite her for dinner?"

  "No? I told her that you and I had other plans."

  Lexi dropped back into her chair with a groan. "She'll be here at five. Does she always do this sort of thing?"

  Zoe got up and put the ice cream i
n the freezer. "Usually she doesn't get away with it, but you didn't know about her dark side and I think she was counting on it. I can call her and cancel."

  "No, that's okay. I don't mind. You spent time with my friends and I want to get to know yours better." Lexi fished a beer out of a bag and opened it. "What were our other plans?" Her pulse raced as Zoe gave her the look. "Oh." Lexi swallowed hard. "What time did you get up?"

  "Cricket woke me up at 7:30 to take him out for a walk."

  "What did you do the rest of the time?"

  "I showered. Watched the news. Cantina came over. Not much really."

  "Did you miss me?"

  "Completely." Zoe joined her at the table with her own beer and Lexi studied her hands. "I don't know if I can stand it."

  "What?"

  "Your hands." She reached out and ran her fingers over them. "I don't think I can stand other people seeing them."

  Zoe looked confused. "What's wrong with them?"

  Lexi hitched her chair closer and held Zoe's hands to her face. "How would you feel if I walked down Main Street topless?"

  Zoe grinned, but it gradually faded as she thought about it. "I don't think I'd like it much, but everyone has hands. It's not the same."

  "No one has hands like yours," Lexi murmured against them. "They are as much a part of your sex as your breasts and your…You know."

  "My 'you know'?" Zoe chuckled. "Is that what you call it?"

  Lexi was embarrassed. "I don't call it anything. I don't like any of the words for it. They're either inaccurate or dirty." Zoe's hands began to stroke her face.

  "Men make the words dirty. I think they're secretly ashamed of their own genitals. Not just how they look, but how inadequate they really are. It makes them feel better about themselves to make ours seem inferior. No matter what we call our own genitals, men will use it against us. They'll make it nasty and obscene. Our only option is to take back the names and be proud of them. If we do that they won't be able to use the words as weapons anymore."

  Lexi's breath caught as Zoe lifted her easily onto her lap. She offered no resistance as her blouse and bra were removed. "What do you call it?"

  "In defiance, I chose to love the most hated word of all: cunt."

  Lexi was shocked. "Why?" Zoe lifted Lexi's arms and folded them on top of her head. Holding them there with one hand, she used the other to stroke and tease her. Icy fire raced under her skin and Lexi couldn't quite catch her breath.

  "Vagina, clitoris and labia define individual parts of the whole."

  Lexi lowered her eyes to watch Zoe's rough hands trailing softly over her breasts and belly, the words echoing pleasurably in her head.

  "Pussy, beaver, peach and the like are frivolous and dehumanizing."

  Zoe's quiet, matter of fact voice was as arousing as her touch and Lexi thrilled at them both.

  "Pudenda means 'shame' and I refuse to be ashamed of such an incredible part of our bodies."

  Lexi gasped as Zoe slid her hand down to cup between her legs. Zoe's eyes were somehow hard and liquid at the same time.

  "This is a serious thing. It deserves a strong and serious name. This is your cunt, Lexi. Say it for me."

  Embarrassed, she braced herself to speak. "Cunt." She had meant to say it with force and confidence, but it came out as a squeak.

  Zoe smiled. "It's hard to say at first." Her hand moved back to Lexi's breasts. "It used to be that calling a woman a bitch was cruel and hurtful. But women have taken the word back. Women stand up straight and proud and announce that they are bitches. It gives them power and it takes power from those who want to hurt them. Cunt is a magical word. The more you say it and think it, the more you come to love it. When you love it, it will make you feel strong and powerful."

  Zoe let go of her arms and both hands roamed over Lexi's skin. She wanted to wrap her arms around Zoe and hold her tight, but instead she laced her fingers behind her neck and spread her elbows out like wings. This thrust her breasts forward and she closed her eyes as they were taken in Zoe's hands.

  "You are so beautiful," Zoe whispered ruggedly. "The way you look, the softness of your skin, the smell of your excitement, the taste…"

  Lexi groaned and arched into Zoe's mouth as it came to her nipples.

  "The sounds of you…" Zoe murmured. "You overwhelm me."

  Lexi grasped Zoe's head and held it to her. She wanted Zoe to be relentless and unstoppable, but didn't know how to ask. Zoe was so tall and so strong that it made her feel small and helpless. She knew she was perfectly safe, but there was something about the passion Zoe evoked in her that made her aware of her vulnerability. No one else had ever made her feel that way and if asked she would have denied any desire to experience it. The fact that she wanted more of it now made her uncomfortable, but when Zoe was setting fires under her skin she didn't care if it was wrong or bad. She only knew that she wanted it.

  "Make me," she pleaded in Zoe's ear.

  Zoe pulled back and looked into her eyes. "So soon?"

  Lexi grasped the short blond hair in her fingers and growled. "Be strong with me."

  Her eyes held uncertainty and regret. "I don't think I can hurt you, Lexi."

  "No? Not that?" She pushed her breasts harder into Zoe's hands as she searched for the right words. "Make me defenseless. Control me. I want to feel…" She yelped as Zoe stood up abruptly and threw her over her shoulder. Scared she would slide down the broad back to fall on the floor, she clutched at Zoe's waist. Her shoes and socks were peeled off and she noted them with surprise as they dropped to the floor in a trail down the hallway.

  In one dizzy move she was on her back on the bed with her jeans around her knees. Feeling a little frightened she tried to back away on her elbows, but Zoe placed a knee on her jeans and she was trapped. She reached out with both hands to slow her down and they were captured in one of Zoe's larger ones and forced over her head.

  "Zoe?"

  Her underwear was pulled down roughly and gentle fingers slid inside of her. Eroticism gripped her in an iron fist and she cried out. "Yes?" Zoe's mouth moved hungrily over her breasts and Lexi writhed with need. All too soon she was coming and lights flashed behind her eyes. Zoe's hands released her and still she couldn't move.

  "Did I hurt you?" Zoe asked with genuine concern.

  Still trying to quiet the pounding of her heart, Lexi shook her head.

  Zoe's fingers brushed hair and tears from her face. "Are you okay?"

  Lexi nodded silently, unsure how to feel about what had just happened.

  "I love you so much. I tried not to hurt you." Zoe stretched out next to her and lay her head on Lexi's shoulder. "That was a little scary."

  Lexi lifted one hand and stroked Zoe's head. "For me, too. But…I liked it."

  "Me, too," Zoe said quietly. "Was it what you wanted?"

  "Yes." Lexi pulled her feet out of her jeans and kicked them to the floor. She pushed Zoe to her back and sat astride her hips. That Zoe was still fully dressed made desire flare up again. "I always feel some of that with you."

  "Some of what?"

  "Helpless. Vulnerable. Out of control." She ground her hips against Zoe and smiled at her gasp. "Do you ever feel like that with me?"

  Zoe's hands eased over her thighs. "Every time I look at you I feel weak. When you touch me, I can't think straight."

  Lexi eased her hands under Zoe's shirt and held her breasts. "Do you ever feel overpowered by me?"

  "Not physically, no." Zoe licked her lips. "But I feel like my heart is on the outside of my body. When I'm with you it feels like my life is on the line. I guess I feel emotionally vulnerable."

  Lexi pushed the T-shirt out of the way and placed her lips over Zoe's heart. "I will try not to ever hurt you," she promised.

  She took her time with Zoe: undressing her inches at a time and using her own pleasure as a lure until Zoe was breathless and frantic. Her mindless chant, "please please please…" made Lexi grateful to be alive. Feeling the powerful body helples
s in orgasm brought tears to her eyes.

  Familiar now with Zoe's post-coital torpor, Lexi picked up her T-shirt and used it to wipe sweat from her lover's neck and between her breasts. A slight noise from the hallway drew her attention and she spotted Cricket waiting for permission to join them.

  "Come on, boy." She patted Zoe's leg and the little dog ran towards her with a flying leap to the bed. He ran up Zoe's stomach and she began to laugh. Lexi let him kiss her face and smiled when he gave kisses to Zoe as well. "He feels a little left out," she explained.

  "Do you suppose he watched all of that?"

  "I'm sure he did," Lexi laughed. "Next time we'll close the door."

  Zoe scratched under his chin. "As long as he doesn't try to participate, I don't mind. My old dog, Reba, used to wait until you were getting busy and then lick your butt. It was very distracting."

  Lexi laughed helplessly at the image in her head. Cricket responded to her laughter with a happy dance on Zoe's chest and she scooped him up under one arm as she sat up. Lexi watched Zoe walk down the hallway, Cricket's stubby little tail pumping madly, and enjoyed the view even more when she came back holding their bottles of beer.

  "You're a beautiful woman, Zoe."

  Zoe tossed Cricket to the bed and handed her a beer. "Hardly."

  Lexi took a drink while she worked out how to go on. "I love you."

  Zoe's smile was almost painful. "I love you, too."

  Lexi sat up and folded her legs. "If you can believe that I love you, why is it so hard to believe that you are beautiful?"

  Zoe collected her cast off clothing and tossed it towards a laundry basket. "It must be love if you think I'm pretty."

  "I didn't say pretty. I said beautiful." Zoe looked as if she were tolerating Lexi's words. "Don't you think a strong woman can be beautiful?"

  "Yes. But strength doesn't automatically equate with beauty."

  "It does in your case." Lexi set her beer on the nightstand and reached for Zoe's arm. "Make a muscle." Zoe laughed nervously and stepped back. Lexi followed her and wrapped her hands around an upper arm. "Please?" Zoe blushed, but she raised her arm to a classic position and flexed.

  Lexi hummed with pleasure at the large knot of muscle in her hands and she explored the shape of it. Reaching for the other arm, Zoe obliged with another flex. She dipped under her arm and laid her hands on her back. "Show me."