Fresh Tracks

by Georgia Beers

  “What a gorgeous drive it was today,” Sophie said as Amy helped her off with her coat and Jo took hold of the duffel bag at her feet. “I don’t know that I’ve ever paid as much attention before.”

  Molly studied the newcomer, trying to remember where she’d met her before. Sophie was of average height, which put her a few inches shorter than Jo and a few inches taller than Molly. Her black hair fell in corkscrew curls and just skimmed her shoulders, the ends tipped with blond highlighting in a very hip style. Her eyes were such a light brown, Molly suspected they changed color slightly depending on her outfit. Her skin was the rich and creamy brown of coffee with just a touch of milk and her figure was lean, but curvaceously feminine, with broad shoulders and rounded hips.

  “Molly?” Amy held her arm out and Molly stood. “You remember our friend, Sophie Wilson?”

  Sophie held out her hand. “The Memorial Day party, maybe?”

  As Molly took her hand, recognition clicked. Amy and Jo had thrown a party at their home in the city the previous May. “That’s it. You’re the graphic designer, right? I knew we’d met before. Molly DiPrima.”

  “And you’re a teacher?”

  Molly nodded, pleased.

  “Big kids or small?” Sophie asked.

  “Kindergarten.”

  “Yikes. So, really small. And how excited were they at the approaching vacation?”

  “Almost as excited as their teacher,” Molly said with a smirk.

  Sophie laughed warmly. “I’ll bet. Well, it’s good to see you again.”

  “Same here.”As Jo led Sophie away upstairs, Molly commented quietly to Amy, “She seems nice.”

  “Sophie’s great.” Lowering her voice, Amy added, “She’s had a recent breakup, about five or six months ago.”

  Molly grimaced. “Oh, that’s too bad. Were they together long?”

  “At least a few years, but I’m not sure exactly. I don’t really know a lot about their relationship. Kelly didn’t seem to go many places with Sophie. They each kind of did their own thing.” Amy wrinkled her nose. “I’ll never understand couples who live that way.”

  “I had a boss whose marriage was like that,” Molly said. “He and his wife always took separate vacations. She’d go with her friends to the Bahamas or something. He’d take a week in Myrtle Beach and play golf with his buddies. I don’t even think they shared a bed half the time. They had separate bathrooms. Call me old-fashioned, but I just think that’s weird. Why bother being married at all?”

  “People have their reasons, I guess.” Keeping an eye on the stairs, Amy lowered her voice to the barest of whispers. “Sophie almost always showed up at parties and get-togethers alone. I think Jo and I have met Kelly all of three times. I’m not even sure I could pick her out of a line-up, now that I think about it. How sad is that?”

  “It says a lot about their relationship, don’t you think? Not that I know a thing about them, but still… Maybe it’s better that they broke up.”

  “I suppose.” Amy looked dubious. “This was Sophie’s first holiday alone, so we thought it would be good for her to be around some new people. Plus, our friend Laura, who’s coming on Wednesday, is also alone after several years.”

  Molly grinned and poked her friend playfully. “Are you playing matchmaker?”

  “No! Absolutely not.”

  “Because Jo told you that you weren’t allowed?”

  Amy smirked. “There is that.” They both laughed. “Seriously, though, I’m simply trying to help out a couple of friends. I just thought that this way, neither of them will be the only singles on New Year’s Eve. We all know how much fun that is.”

  “Ugh. Been there, done that. It sucks.”

  “Sure does.”

  Amy

  Steam was filling the master bath with a thick, warm fog that smelled of vanilla and brown sugar. Amy slipped her fingers under the faucet, testing the temperature. She made a minor adjustment to the cold and then searched the drawer under the sink for a box of matches. The simple ritual of lighting each of the eight fat, scented candles that surrounded the oversized tub comforted her.

  Soaking in a hot bath was Amy’s idea of bliss. She didn’t get to do it nearly often enough, but there were nights that Jo insisted, going so far as to fill the tub for her, light the candles, and deliver a soothing glass of red wine or brandy. “It’s good for your body and it’s good for your head,” she would say, and Amy tended to agree.

  Jo had remodeled the master bath just for her, and done it as a surprise, making sure the tub was large and deep, with whirlpool jets and a skylight above. It was a haven for Amy and she adored it.

  She twisted her auburn red hair back into a knot and clipped it at the base of her neck, doing one last mental check to make sure her guests had everything they needed. They’d had a terrific dinner and were enjoying some pleasant conversation, but when three of the four of them yawned simultaneously around ten o’clock, Jo had taken the bull by the horns and suggested they call it a night. Everybody had laughed, and comments about age were tossed about, but nobody had argued. The day had been busy and all four of them were still coming down from the chaos of the Christmas holiday.

  Amy had double-checked the upstairs bathroom for towels, made sure the guest bedrooms were warm enough, and was asking about extra pillows when Sophie had threatened to toss her bodily down the stairs if she didn’t leave them alone and get herself some rest.

  “God, you’re beautiful.”

  Amy looked up, startled, and caught Jo’s admiring glance in the mirror. Leaning against the door frame in her panties and a Buffalo Bills T-shirt, arms folded over her chest, Jo let her rich brown eyes travel slowly down Amy’s body, causing goose bumps to break out despite the silken warmth of her ivory-colored robe. Her expression was so full of affection that Amy felt her eyes well.

  “Care to join me?” she asked, cocking her head toward the tub.

  “Don’t mind if I do.”

  They disrobed together, neither taking their eyes off the other. Amy admired the lean, firm body of her partner. She knew it so well, every inch, every dimple, every curve and plane and dip, and yet it always felt new. The long limbs, the high, small breasts, the surprisingly shapely legs. Each time Jo’s naked body was revealed, Amy felt as though she was watching for the first time, and she knew how lucky that made her.

  She took Jo’s hand for support as she stepped into the tub and sank slowly into the scented liquid heat. Jo stepped in behind her carefully and hissed as she lowered herself gingerly into the bath.

  “God damn, you like your water hot.” She always spoke the same line in the same circumstance.

  “Sitting in a tub of cold water doesn’t help me relax, love.” Amy gave her stock answer.

  They settled down together, tandem sighs of relief escaping their mouths and causing them both to chuckle. Jo leaned back and tugged Amy against her chest, wrapping her arms around her midsection.

  “Today went well,” Jo stated, her lips close to Amy’s ear.

  Amy nodded against Jo’s shoulder, loving the feeling of being surrounded by Jo’s body.

  “Sophie looks good,” Jo continued. “She seems to be doing okay.”

  “I imagine Christmas was really hard for her,” Amy said. “She told me she’s always spent it with Kelly’s family and though I’m sure her brother and his wife did their best to keep her entertained, it probably wasn’t the same for her.”

  “She laughed a lot tonight. That was good.”

  “That’s because you’re a witty woman.”

  “That’s very true.” Jo smirked. “But I mean she didn’t look like she was about to burst into tears at any given moment like she did a few months ago.”

  “Time heals all wounds, or so they tell me.” Amy picked up one of Jo’s hands and examined it, touching and feeling each individual finger, watching the water run down the palm and across the wrist. She loved Jo’s hands. Feminine but strong, they could caress skin gently or wield
a power tool with vicious precision.

  Jo placed a soft kiss on her temple. “The first two guests seemed to get along very well.”

  “They did, didn’t they?”

  “And you were worried.”

  “Not about those two,” Amy said. “Not really. I mean, how do you not immediately fall in love with Molly?”

  “It’s impossible.”

  Amy pressed her lips together as her thoughts turned to her dear friend. “I don’t think things are good for her right now.”

  Jo inhaled deeply and Amy could feel her nodding. “I know. I feel the same way.”

  “Maybe when Kristin gets here, you could take her out behind the garage and rough her up a little bit? Beat some sense into her?”

  Jo grinned. “Think that’ll help?”

  “I don’t know. It might.”

  “Kristin’s not a bad person, honey. You and I both know that. A blind person, maybe…”

  Amy snorted. “Do you think she has any idea what she has in Molly? How many women would give their right arm to be with her?”

  Amy had known Molly for nearly thirty years and there was barely a moment that she hadn’t adored her. When they were young, their parents were friends and twelve-year-old Amy had often babysat four-year-old Molly. Despite the odds their age difference stacked against them, they remained friends, drifting apart for a few formative years during high school and college, but getting back in touch when Molly was coming to terms with her sexuality.

  “I’ll say it again. Kristin’s not a bad person. I like her very much. So do you.”

  “I don’t like what she’s doing to Molly.”

  Jo pressed her nose into Amy’s hair. “Don’t take this the wrong way, okay? But it takes two to tango.”

  Amy ran her hand along Jo’s thigh, accepting the statement for what it was: the truth. “I know. I wish I knew how to help.”

  “Maybe you can’t. Couples go through stuff, baby,” Jo said, her voice gentle as a light breeze. “It happens.”

  “It’s never happened to us.” Amy felt Jo’s arms tighten around her and squeeze, tender fingertips skimming across her stomach in lazy, circular patterns.

  “We’re lucky.”

  “I’m still worried about Molly.”

  “I know you are.”

  “I think she’s worried and I don’t know how to help her. She loves Kristin so much and I think she has this dread setting in. Like she knows something has to be done, but she has no idea what. And she’s afraid. I hate that she’s afraid.”

  “You are such a sweet woman. You know that?”

  Amy turned so she could look into Jo’s eyes. “Tell me I’ll never have to worry about us falling apart.”

  Jo’s gaze never wavered. “You will never have to worry about us falling apart. Ever.”

  “Promise?”

  “I promise.”

  “I love you, Joanna.” Amy’s voice was just above a whisper and she barely got the words out before Jo’s mouth covered hers.

  They kissed slowly, deeply, with little urgency but with a complete, comfortable knowledge of one another’s bodies. Amy was always amazed by how well they knew each other. Their lovemaking could be primal and raw, but more often than not, it seemed almost an extension or continuation of a hug, a conversation, a simple touch. It was common for an intimate exchange of dialogue to blend into foreplay, then blend into lovemaking without any clear lines between the three. It was a by-product of their years together, their knowledge of one another, and Amy loved it. Like now.

  She couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment when Jo’s fingers had moved between her thighs, but then…there they were, pressing, softly exploring, creating a wetness that was thicker and hotter than the bathwater, spreading it over and around Amy’s suddenly swollen flesh. Amy opened her legs willingly, as much as she could in the large tub. The feeling of safety she had when Jo was behind her, surrounding her, was palpable. Nobody could ever love her like this. She reached back and hooked her hand behind Jo’s neck, breaking their kiss to arch into Jo’s shoulder as she felt her alarmingly sensitive nipples caressed.

  She was unaware of her own groaning until Jo smiled against her ear and teased, “We have houseguests, baby. You might want to keep it down.”

  Amy clenched her teeth and growled, frustration and arousal battling with one another as Jo’s fingers continued to work her body mercilessly. She would never refer to herself as a screamer, but she wasn’t silent in bed either and Jo knew it. She tangled her fingers into the curls at the back of Jo’s neck and tugged firmly.

  “You’re evil,” she hissed, then gasped as a spasm took her by surprise.

  “You owe me, remember?” Desire colored Jo’s voice. “If you’d have let me have my way this morning, you could have been as loud as you wanted. Now, I’m afraid you have to pay the price.”

  Amy jerked in her lover’s arms again. Jo’s voice in her ear, possessive and dominating, was all she ever really needed. Their relationship was one based on mutual love and equality, but in the bedroom, Amy was more than pleased to let Jo have the upper hand, something that seemed to make her wife inordinately happy. Amy’s legs began to tense and she tightened her grip on Jo’s hair once more. She was so close…

  Jo groaned softly as her fingers slipped into Amy’s core. “God, I’ve wanted to fuck you all day long,” she said in a hoarse whisper.

  That was it. Why does the F word always send me into oblivion? Amy wondered absently, just as she plunged over the edge, and her flesh clamped down on Jo’s hand, holding it in place. She turned her face into Jo’s neck in the hopes of muffling her own cries, grinding her teeth with the effort to remain quiet and riding out the orgasm cradled in the arms of the woman she loved most in the world. There was no other position, physically or emotionally, that she’d rather be in than the one she occupied at that moment.

  She was unsure how much time passed before her heart rate slowed down to a speed that was near normal. “Wow.”

  “You always say that,” Jo teased.

  “I always mean it.”

  “Good.” There was a beat of silence before Jo stated simply, “I’m pruning.”

  Amy laughed. “Is that your not-so-subtle way of saying you want to get out?”

  “Yes.” Jo kissed her temple.

  Amy sat up with a groan, but her eyes twinkled. “Fine. Get the hell out of my bath. I don’t appreciate you coming in here and interrupting me like that.”

  Jo grabbed a nearby towel and grinned. “Oh, yes you do.”

  Amy was still smiling helplessly as Jo left the room. She sat back and allowed herself to relax in the still-warm water for a bit longer, waiting for the feeling to return to her legs, the pleasant afterglow of lovemaking enveloping her like a fine mist. Her thoughts turned again to how lucky she was to have the partner she did. It wasn’t like there had never been rough patches. It wasn’t like her relationship with Jo was perfect, but they were good communicators and that was key as far as Amy was concerned. As long as she felt like she could talk to Jo about anything, they’d be fine.

  She glanced at the ceiling, thinking of Molly upstairs alone in the big bed, and her heart ached. Speak up, my friend. It’s the only way. You have to open your mouth. It was an easy piece of advice to give, but what seemed like a simple thing to do was very difficult for somebody like Molly. Being raised by a very dominant father and a sweet, kind mother with low self-esteem wasn’t terribly conducive to teaching a young woman to speak her mind when she should. More likely, Molly would allow somebody to walk all over her like she was some cheap throw rug, and would probably smile politely while it was happening. Amy had seen it occur more than once and it was painful to watch, especially as a friend who cared.

  Taking a deep breath, she shook the thoughts from her head. She could ponder the situation all night long; she had done so in the past. Molly was like a little sister to her and she wanted nothing more than to help her. Jo’s words of wisdom from a few months a
go echoed in Amy’s head. Molly’s a big girl. She’s going to have to stand on her own two feet sooner or later. It was true and Amy knew it. Still…

  She got out of the bath, dried herself quickly, and smoothed on some lotion, all the while intensely aware that she had a naked woman waiting for her in bed. As she clicked off the light, the sight before her stopped her in her tracks. Jo was curled up on her side under the comforter sound asleep, facing the bathroom. Moonlight shone through the open curtains and across her smooth face, relaxed in repose, her tousled curls dark against the white of the pillowcase. Amy just stared, her heart swelling with love. Dropping the towel, she scooted under the covers naked and backed gently against Jo’s front. Jo’s arm immediately draped across her waist and she was drawn closer. Without ever waking fully, Jo buried her face in Amy’s hair, her breathing barely changing.

  Amy breathed in deeply, contentedly, and then let it out. Thoughts of her dear friend gradually left her alone as she relaxed completely, reveling in the warmth that was her life and finally surrendering to sleep spooned tightly in Jo’s arms.

  Tuesday, December 27

  Darby

  “It’s very simple, Julie. As far as you’re concerned, you haven’t seen me. That’s it. End of discussion. Okay? Just…tell her I usually go away to my family’s cabin over break and you’re not sure when I’ll be back. She’s got to head back down to Pennsylvania next week to go back to work anyway. I just have to disappear until then.”

  Darby Cooper eased her ten-year-old Toyota to a halt at a four-way stop and looked both ways, rolling her eyes as her best friend scolded her from the other end of the cell phone illegally pressed to her ear. “I know. I know,” she said when Julie paused for breath. “But by then her classes will be starting up again at Penn State and she’ll forget all about me.” Lowering her voice to the barest of whispers, she added, “I hope.”

  “God, you’re acting like a guy,” Julie admonished. “No, you’re worse. Worse than a guy. You’re being a pig.”