About Face

by V. K. Powell

  “Thank you.” The sadness in Leigh’s eyes gouged a raw spot in her soul, and she wanted desperately to revive the life she’d once seen there.

  “And these are definitely new.” She walked toward a wall of her most recent work. “Absolutely beautiful, lighter and more alive. When did you do all these?”

  “This week.” A blush started deep inside Macy and heated her body as it sprang forward. “Thanks to you. I’d never have had the courage to do this without your support.”

  “I’m glad you’ve gone back to what you love, Macy. It suits you. You look happier, but I suppose Jesse has something to do with that as well.”

  “She has, but probably not in the way you think. Thank you so much for bringing her back home. You have no idea how much that means to both of us.” She motioned for her to sit on the small sofa that now faced the lake.

  “I didn’t do it, exactly. It was a team effort.”

  “Say what you want, but to us, you’ll always be the one who reunited us.” Leigh stared out at the lake, avoiding her gaze. The vitality and enthusiasm she’d always associated with Leigh was missing. She started to ask how she’d been, but Leigh spoke.

  “I’d like to say something, if you don’t mind, about Jesse’s case.”

  “I know why you didn’t tell me. I talked with Captain Howard. She’d ordered you not to discuss it. I jumped to conclusions, again. I’m sorry.”

  “You don’t owe me an apology. But something else has puzzled me since I read your statement. You were listed as Macy Reynolds, and I wasn’t sure for a while if that was you.”

  “After graduation from high school, I took my mother’s maiden name, Sheridan. I didn’t want any preferential treatment at college because of my family’s money.”

  “That makes sense, but I didn’t know at the time. You have to understand how important this case was to me, even before I met you. It’s the reason I became a youth detective. I guess Jesse’s case has haunted both of us, but I was going to tell you about my involvement in spite of Captain Howard’s advice. I just hadn’t found the right time.”

  “You were going to disobey your boss?”

  “Some things are more important than rules. You were to me.”

  “Right.” Leigh’s use of the past tense disappointed her. She’d hoped Leigh cared enough to give them a chance, because she’d need more than her own courage to get through this conversation. “I guess you heard Brewster died from liver cancer in prison three years ago. And Francisco is on death watch.”

  “Yes. Captain Howard told me. Guess that’s why his son was so anxious to settle the score. The gunman the marshals arrested in Windsor gave him up. And the marshals also located the leak that’d been selling Jesse’s location all these years—a records clerk. Also in jail now.”

  All business, Leigh wasn’t going to make this easy, but Macy couldn’t blame her. She’d fought her every step of the way when Leigh tried so hard to engage, and she’d given her so little hope of a future. “The danger to Jesse and Jack is over. She’s free for the first time in years.”

  “I’m happy for them. Everybody deserves an authentic life. Things would’ve been a lot easier if Jesse had been honest with Jack about her past, but I guess that’s hard to do when you’re on the run from organized crime.”

  “Yeah, he’s a headstrong kid, but I think they’ll be fine now,” Macy said.

  “Any idea what they plan to do?”

  “They’ve gone back to Windsor to settle their affairs, and then she wants to move back to Greensboro, where she grew up and has the happiest memories. Your handsome partner, Nate, has been helping them arrange things with the marshals. He said they owed them a free plane ticket and moving expenses when they’re ready. I think he might have a crush on my BFF.”

  For the first time since she arrived, Leigh stopped worrying the side of her finger with her thumbnail and looked at her. “Your BFF? You mean…you’re not…”

  She took Leigh’s hands. “We were never lovers. She’s always been straight. That fantasy was only in my mind. We’ve spent this week talking, crying, purging our guilt, and rebuilding our friendship. She’s always been a huge part of my life and will continue to be. You need to accept that, if we’re going to be together.”

  “Together?”

  A fist of nerves bunched in Macy’s stomach. Leigh doesn’t want me anymore. She forced the negative thought from her mind and dug deep for courage and her true feelings. “I’m in love with you, Leigh Monroe, and I want to spend my life with you…or at least give it a try.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yes, my darling. And if you need confirmation, ask your captain, Pam, or Jesse. She saw it the first day we were together at Susan’s.”

  “Really?”

  “Are you in shock? I’ve never known you to resort to one-word answers about anything.”

  “Probably a little.” Leigh’s smile was tentative.

  “What do you want, Leigh? You asked me that the last time we made love. Tell me.”

  She watched the emotional struggle on Leigh’s face—the doubt, pain, fear, and hope. Her eyes drilled into Macy’s until she apparently found the answer she was looking for. “I want someone who loves me as much as I love her. I want to be the number-one priority in my lover’s life, as she’ll be in mine. I want a true partnership, sharing the good and the bad. I want honesty, real communication, and intimacy. I want a stable home with my partner where we experience the ordinary and the extraordinary parts of life. I want a witness to my life, because the best bits aren’t always the most exciting. They often happen when we least expect them, in a sunset, a quiet moment, or a deep conversation. I want someone who understands the quirkiness that makes me unique and loves me because of it, not in spite of it. Aristotle said love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies. That’s what I want. Am I asking too much? Is that even possible?”

  “I hope so, because I want those things too. Will you give us a chance?”

  “Are you certain about Jesse? She’s been the center of your life for years.”

  “I’m certain. I’d decided to move on before she came back, but now that we’ve cleared the air, I’m definitely ready…if you’ll have me.”

  “Oh, I’m going to have you all right.” The renewed sparkle in Leigh’s eyes dissolved the tension between them and replaced it with playfulness. “You’ll have to pass one little itsy-bitsy test.”

  “Really, and what would that be?”

  “Let’s go to bed.”

  She rose, took Leigh’s hand, and led her into the small bedroom they’d never shared. The sun cast muted shadows through the trees into the room, which felt intimate and romantic. She ached for Leigh, had craved her all week, but with her so close, the need became urgent. She reached for the tail of Leigh’s polo and started to peel it over her head.

  Leigh stopped her and returned her hands to her sides. “Not so fast.”

  “But I need you, really bad.”

  “Good. Then you’ll do as you’re told for a change.” Leigh’s green eyes had turned the color of moss in a deep wood, dangerous and exciting. “Let’s see if the décor is the only thing that’s loosened up around here.”

  Before she had a chance to respond, Leigh shucked Macy’s T-shirt off and she stood bare-breasted. She felt slightly uncomfortable, but the cool air dimpled her nipples and the sensation trickled down. “Oh.” Leigh feathered her face with light kisses, avoiding her not-so-subtle attempts to capture her lips. “Kiss me, Leigh.”

  “Patience.”

  Leigh trailed kisses down her neck, across her collarbone, and to her left breast, sparking a burn that threatened to consume her. Leigh teased her flesh with her fingers and tongue and scraped the tip of her nipple with her teeth. She watched Leigh’s mouth work at one breast and then the other. “That’s so good.” Leigh stared up at her as she knelt, slowly unbuttoned her jeans, and slid them to the floor, exposing her completely.

  “Lie down on the be
d and watch me undress.”

  She’d never allowed another woman to take charge of their lovemaking and was more frustrated and aroused than she’d imagined possible. Leigh pulled her polo off and slid her hands under her breasts, squeezing until she pinched her nipple between her thumb and forefinger.

  Macy’s clit twitched and she started to get up. “Let me do that for you.”

  “Stay put.” Leigh kicked her jeans off and slid her finger through her slick folds. “I am so wet for you.”

  Macy reached between her own legs, unable to bear the prickly heat gathering there.

  “Don’t. That’s my job.”

  “You better hurry. I’m about to lose it just watching you.”

  Leigh stepped closer to the bed, her eyes blazing a path over Macy’s body, her hand still working between her legs. “You want this, don’t you?”

  “Oh, yes, I need you, Leigh. Come here.”

  The steely resolve in Leigh’s eyes weakened and she lay down beside her. She gathered Leigh in her arms and pulled her on top, desperate for the contact that would ease her pain. Leigh resisted. She reached between them and tried to urge Leigh’s leg between hers.

  “Slow down, Macy.”

  “I can’t. I want you.”

  Leigh straddled her thigh and worked her soaked center against her leg. Macy urged her higher so she could reciprocate, but Leigh remained just out of reach. “Would you do something for me, Macy?” She nodded. “Touch me, just here, and rub very slowly.” Leigh guided Macy’s hand to her clit.

  The tone of her voice and the pleading look told Macy that Leigh needed her to do exactly as she said. She closed her hand over Leigh’s center and firmly stroked, taking her lead from Leigh’s responses.

  “That’s it. Good. Look at me.” Their gazes locked and Leigh’s breathing increased. She matched her pace. “Slow-ly. I want you to stretch it out as long as possible.”

  Teasing she could do, though she was desperate to be touched. She slowed her pace, stroked from the bottom of the shaft to the tip of Leigh’s clit, paused, and started again. Leigh arched toward her, but she withheld her next touch until Leigh’s moans filled the room. Then she started over, slowly but firmly coaxing Leigh’s orgasm from deep inside.

  “Oh, God, sooo good.” Leigh raised Macy’s other hand from her breast and sucked a finger into her mouth. Macy felt like she was deep inside the hot wetness between Leigh’s legs, and she quickened her pace.

  “Yes, Macy, faster now.”

  She wanted to keep teasing Leigh but sensed it was more important that she obey. She removed her finger slowly from Leigh’s mouth and kissed her, matching the pace of her stroking with the in-and-out penetration of her tongue. Leigh humped her hand, her urgency driving Macy closer with each thrust. Leigh moaned deep in the throat, her entire body stiffened, and she collapsed against Macy.

  “Ahhh…perfect.”

  She held Leigh as their bodies rocked and her lover stilled beside her. She’d given Leigh exactly what she wanted—slow, intimate, and intentional lovemaking. Macy had orchestrated their previous two sessions, desperate for the sex but unaware of the feelings underneath. Now her heart was so full of Leigh she couldn’t imagine making love to her any other way than totally involved—mind, body, and soul.

  She pressed her leg between Leigh’s and attempted to top her, desperate to release her throbbing ache. “I need you, Leigh.”

  “Oh, no, you don’t.” Leigh pinned her against the bed and raised her arms above her head. “Hold on.” She wrapped Macy’s fingers around the metal headboard railings and pushed her legs apart.

  “What are you doing? I can’t do this.”

  “Do what, my darling?”

  “Come…like this…” She nodded toward her body spread-eagled across the bed. How could she possibly climax when she felt so uncomfortable?

  “But you’ll try, for me, right?”

  When Leigh smiled, Macy knew she’d do anything this woman asked as long as she kept that up. “Of course I will, but hurry.”

  Leigh trailed her fingers lightly down Macy’s chest, around her nipples, toward the dark patch of hair between her legs, and back up. The touch was feather soft, but her nerves magnified the sensation. She tensed, then arched to meet Leigh’s hands, to encourage a firmer touch, but the sweet torture continued.

  Lowering herself along Macy’s body, Leigh rubbed her breasts against Macy’s rigid clit, gently back and forth and then up and down, but never with enough force to allow satisfaction.

  “Please, Leigh.” She released the headboard and reached for her clit.

  “Stop.”

  “Touch me, really touch me, Leigh. I need to come.”

  “Put your hands back, please.” When she did, Leigh lowered her head and captured Macy’s clit between her lips.

  “Awww…yes…more.” She clenched the headboard rails so tight she thought they’d bend. Using the leverage they provided, she rocked against Leigh’s mouth, quickening the pace, urging her climax toward the surface. “That’s it, my darling. Make me come.”

  The pressure coalesced in her core as Leigh expertly sucked and flicked her clit. “Inside me.” Leigh penetrated her slowly, withdrawing with equally agonizing speed. She pushed harder, digging her heels into the bed and locking her arms against the railing. “Faster. Oh, God, faster.”

  Leigh finally complied, her hand and mouth in exquisitely rapid sync. “Yes, baby, that’s it. That’s it.” Macy looked down into Leigh’s eyes, ablaze with passion, and as her orgasm rushed out, Leigh slid along her lower leg and, with one slow stroke, joined her. She had no doubt that Leigh Monroe was the perfect woman for her, now and always. “I love you.”

  “I love you too. The hard part is over, finding the love of your life. Everything else is just an exercise.”

  “Stop with the bumper stickers and come here.” She pulled Leigh closer and they began again.

  THE END

  About the Author

  A thirty-year veteran of a midsized police department, VK Powell was a police officer by necessity (it paid the bills) and a writer by desire (it didn’t). Her career spanned numerous positions including beat officer, homicide detective, vice/narcotics lieutenant, and assistant chief of police. Now retired, she devotes her time to writing, traveling, home decorating, and volunteer work.

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