The Tchaikovsky Affair

by Swift, Marie

  “Yeah, uh, you don’t look so bad yourself,” Jackie replied, raking her eyes up Shannon’s body. Shannon wore a black dress with simple inch-wide straps, which connected to a plunging v-shaped neckline, leaving little to the imagination. The jersey material fell in a straight line to the ground with a dangerously high slit up Shannon’s right leg.

  “Can you, um, zip me up please?” Jackie asked hesitantly, placing her hands on her rib cage to push the material in the back of her dress together.

  “Yes, yes of course!” Shannon exclaimed, her voice breathy.

  As she walked towards Jackie, the brunette turned around to present the hard to reach zipper. Shannon gulped, noting how the open zipper started at the small of Jackie’s back and revealed a lot of her smooth skin. Shannon grazed her hand along Jackie’s spine, reveling in the feel her former lover. It was a completely gratuitous motion, but neither woman minded. Shannon stepped closer and grabbed the material of the dress attempting to close the gap so that she could zip it up more easily.

  “This really is a beautiful dress,” Shannon said, her breath hot on Jackie’s shoulder.

  “Thanks,” Jackie breathed. “We’ll see if I can play in it.”

  “Pretty sure people aren’t going to be focused on your playing when you’re wearing this,” Shannon replied with a laugh, while she raised the zipper tooth by tooth, wanting the moment to last.

  “People, or you?” Despite herself, Jackie couldn’t help but tease the blonde.

  Without answering, Shannon connected the clasp at the top of the zipper, before running her hands down Jackie’s shoulders and long arms and placing a gentle, chaste kiss on her shoulder blade.

  “Shannon,” Jackie whispered. Without any warning, Jackie spun on her heel and roughly shoved Shannon back into the nearest wall, assaulting her surprised lips immediately. Jackie’s tongue shot out and Shannon eagerly admitted entrance. As Shannon’s head fell back against the wall, she was briefly thankful that the material of her dress wouldn’t crease. Those thoughts left her head as quickly as they came, however, when Jackie began to place open-mouthed kisses along her neck and slide her hand along the slit in Shannon’s dress.

  “Jacinta,” Shannon moaned. “Jackie, we shouldn’t…we need to talk…” Shannon’s protests felt pretty pathetic even to her.

  “We’ll talk later,” Jackie mumbled, grazing her teeth along the exposed part of Shannon’s collarbone. “Right now, I want to fuck…you,” she added, punctuating her words with gentle bites. “And I think you want that, too. Right?” It was a rhetorical question.

  Shannon whimpered in affirmation as Jackie pushed her impossibly further into the wall and slipped her thigh in between her legs. Jackie continued her assault on Shannon’s mouth, but this time the blonde responded with equal ferocity, dragging her fingers through Jackie’s long brown tresses and pulling her face intolerably closer. Jackie scrunched the flimsy material of Shannon’s dress in her fist and raked her hand up the blonde’s smooth leg. Letting the material drop, she hooked two fingers through Shannon’s panties, yanking the fabric roughly down her legs. Without warning, she plunged two fingers into Shannon’s soaking wet core, her tongue mirroring the action in the blonde’s mouth. Shannon moaned loudly into Jackie’s mouth and wrapped a leg around Jackie’s body so that she had better access. Jackie continued with jagged strokes until Shannon’s legs began to tremble, the onslaught becoming too much for her. Reaching up to stroke Shannon’s cheek, Jackie felt slight wetness under her thumb and pulled back, stilling her hand.

  “Are you okay?” Jackie asked, concern etched in her features.

  “What? Yes!” Shannon replied, bemused and frustrated. She shifted her hips trying to reinstate the contact she so desperately craved.

  “Shannon, you were crying.” Shannon raised her hand to her cheek feeling the evidence of her tears and gasped. “I’m sorry, this was too much. I shouldn’t have…” Jackie continued.

  “No, no. I’m sorry. I guess it was just overwhelming,” Shannon replied. They both wondered whether they were apologizing for the sex or their respective hand in their breakup.

  They locked eyes, both searching for some indication of what the other was truly feeling. Despite the roughness of Jackie’s actions just a few minutes prior, her eyes now only contained love and concern. As Shannon dropped her leg to the ground, Jackie removed her hand and rested it on Shannon’s hip.

  They both took a breath to speak at the same time.

  “You go first,” Shannon smiled.

  “Shannon, I think…no, I know that I lo – ”

  “Five minutes, ladies!” a stagehand bellowed from the hallway.

  Flustered by the announcement, Jackie lost her nerve and stepped away from Shannon, rushing to get her cello.

  “Wait, what were you going to say?” Shannon asked, desperately needing to hear what she thought Jackie had been about to say.

  “Oh, nothing. Just that…you look really good. I love that dress on you.”

  Shannon narrowed her eyes, not believing a word of what the uncomfortable woman was saying.

  “I’ll see you out there!” Jackie finished, before picking up her cello and racing out of the room.

  When they saw each other again on stage, they shared a small smile, taking in each other’s disheveled appearance, but neither could hold eye contact for very long.

  Their duet was easily the best it had ever been. Still reeling from their frantic and unresolved tryst just minutes earlier, the passion and sensuality Gallo had always been looking for literally flowed seamlessly back and forth between them. As they neared the end of the piece, Shannon looked up to find Jackie already staring at her. The two locked eyes as they entered the final climax, sharing the moment together and indulging in each other’s gazes of unadulterated lust and love.

  When the piece finished, the two dropped their bows, both breathless from exerting so much energy. The rest of the ensemble jumped to their feet in unison, clapping and whistling their approval. Gallo was practically doing a jig in front of them, secretly thrilled with the success of his idea to put them in the same dressing room.

  As they packed up their bags to leave, Carlton strode onto the stage. Jackie finished putting away her cello and brushed past Shannon towards the door.

  “Wait, I want to talk – ” Shannon started.

  “Shannon, do you have a minute?” Carlton interrupted.

  Shannon looked at Jackie, silently pleading with her.

  Jackie sighed, before saying, “I’ll wait.”

  * * *

  “I just wanted to let you know,” Carlton began, when they had reached an empty room, “that whatever you did to make the Thompsons reconsider must have worked.”

  “Seriously?” Shannon balked. “I did not see that coming.”

  “I don’t care what you said, but thank you. The Hendersons, on the other hand, are a lost cause.”

  Shannon nodded, not about to reveal what she’d said at dinner that night. “Is that everything?” she asked after a moment of silence.

  “No, there’s one other thing. We’ve received three substantial donations from anonymous individuals on behalf of some gay rights advocacy groups in the area.”

  Shannon’s head snapped up. “Anonymous?” she asked, skepticism lining her tone.

  “Yes, anonymous. Look, Shannon, I need to apologize. Asking you and Jackie to break up was out of line.”

  “Yes, it was.”

  “Well, I know my apology is probably too little, too late, but I am very sorry for any trouble it may have caused between you and Jackie. I hope that you two will be able to reconcile your differences…only maybe this time, you could keep it a little quieter.”

  Shannon wasn’t sure what to do with Carlton’s half-hearted apology. She wanted to cry or scream or kick something when she thought about the amount of unnecessary pain this entire fiasco had caused.

  She needed to find Jackie.

  Rushing out of the room, she searche
d for Jackie where she’d left her on stage, only to find her in the sitting in her chair in the dimmed theater, playing her part of the duet.

  “Jacinta,” she spoke softly, coming up behind her.

  Jackie immediately stopped and laid her cello in its case.

  “Thank you for waiting,” Shannon said, sitting down in the chair next to Jackie’s.

  “What did Carlton want?”

  “Apparently I managed to talk some sense into one of the formerly bigoted donors,” Shannon smiled. “And evidently we received some large anonymous donations on behalf of some gay rights groups. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

  “Hey, don’t look at me. That was all my dad’s idea,” Jackie replied sheepishly.

  “Well thank you,” Shannon said sincerely, trying to convey the level of her gratitude. “And thank your dad for me.”

  Jackie nodded and the two fell into a comfortable silence. “So where does that leave us?” Jackie asked hesitantly.

  “Well, I’d like to try again. We just can’t – ” Shannon began.

  “Can’t what? Be too obvious? Isn’t that where we were two weeks ago?” Jackie’s voice rose as she slammed the lid of her case down and began buckling the latches.

  “No, that’s not what I meant,” Shannon stated calmly.

  “You’re only willing to jump back into this relationship, because your precious career is no longer on the line. That’s it, isn’t it?”

  “No! I wanted to before this, but I just didn’t get the chance to talk to you, and – ”

  “Save it. I will not come second to your career, Shannon. Sure, it’s convenient right now, but what if something like this happens again? What will you choose?”

  Jackie stood and threw her cello case over her shoulder, before marching out of the building. Shannon sat back in her chair and sighed, wondering how she’d managed to mess this up for the second time. Her pout was soon replaced with a smile, followed by a large, toothy grin as she realized the perfect way to win back Jackie’s heart.

  Eleven

  Shannon grinned as she walked through the halls in the bowels of the Lincoln Center to her dressing room. The energy among the cast and crew was tangible and infectious. The walls were literally buzzing with pre-show jitters and excitement. The blonde delighted in the cacophony of frantic last-minute individual rehearsals emanating from every room she passed. She stopped at a table to pick up a program before continuing to her shared dressing room. Flipping through the booklet, she pushed open the door to find Jackie already warming up in her concert black attire.

  “Hey,” Shannon said softly. Jackie just grunted in response and kept playing. Shannon frowned, but decided not to take it too personally; she knew that most people had fairly regimented pre-show rituals and she didn’t want to disturb Jackie.

  Her own pre-show ritual usually consisted of a lot of relaxation and meditation. She would much rather think about her part than play it, not wanting to tire out her arms before the concert had even started. After surreptitiously changing into her concert black in the corner, she relaxed into the more comfortable chair in the room and laid her head back. She continued to quietly skim the program, stopping when she saw Jackie’s beautiful face staring back at her under a picture of her own. She read through Jackie’s bio, her heart warming at how Jackie had managed to convey such passion and enthusiasm for the cello and music in general in just one small paragraph.

  Shannon’s head rolled almost involuntarily to the side when she subconsciously realized that Jackie had abandoned her music and was practicing her part of the duet. Though Shannon had been caught staring a few times too often during rehearsals, she relished this opportunity to unabashedly watch Jackie play. She sighed in contentment, thinking that she could be perfectly happy just watching the cellist play all day long. She hoped that this could once again become her reality and not a dream after tonight.

  Hearing Shannon’s sigh, Jackie turned at the noise. Shannon didn’t attempt to look away and didn’t even have the decency to blush. Jackie rolled her eyes and turned around so that her back was facing Shannon. She knew she was being a bit childish, but she just didn’t want to deal with that drama right before opening night.

  Once again, Shannon tried not to take Jackie’s actions personally, and instead moved over to the counter to begin drawing her hair back in meticulous twists and curls. She was about to push the last of about thirty bobby pins into her elegant hair do when she felt Jackie’s presence behind her. She looked into the mirror and smiled at Jackie’s reflection. Jackie smiled back softly before taking the bobby pin and fastening down a lock of Shannon’s hair, before straightening out some unruly frizzy pieces. Shannon shut her eyes, reveling in the sensation. She’d always loved people playing with or brushing her hair. It made her feel so taken care of and loved. Jackie placed her hands on the blonde’s shoulders to indicate that she was done and Shannon opened her eyes. She smiled contentedly at Jackie before murmuring “thanks”.

  “You’re welcome,” Jackie spoke back gently. The two found each other’s eyes in the mirror and allowed themselves to stare for just a moment. Shannon tried to convey as much love as she could in that brief moment. When she noticed a shift in Jackie’s line of vision, she mistook it for a sudden bout of nerves.

  Crossing her right arm over her body, Shannon rested her hand on top of Jackie’s left and squeezed slightly. “You aren’t nervous, are you?” she asked quietly.

  “No, no I’m not nervous. I’m…I’m excited, anxious, but also a little sad. And I’m disappointed that I’m sad,” Jackie replied honestly.

  “Why are you sad?” Shannon asked, trying to be as blissfully ignorant as possible.

  Jackie gave her a look that indicated that Shannon should know why she was sad and then promptly removed her hands from the blonde’s shoulders. Picking up her cello, she said, “We only have 15 minutes. I’ll see you on stage.”

  “You certainly will,” Shannon replied as Jackie retreated from the room. Once the door shut, Shannon gave herself a once over in the mirror, scrunching her nose. You certainly will? What a lame response. She had wanted to say so much more, but she knew that words were useless in this situation and she really need to stick to her plan.

  Shannon smiled at her reflection in the mirror, before grabbing her violin, tuning it, and leaving the dressing room to wait backstage for her cue. A stagehand gave her the cue and she walked gracefully onto the brightly lit stage. She gave a polite smile to the audience before turning to the orchestra to play the concert A.

  The first half went well with not one mistake or hiccup as was to be expected. The orchestra knew those songs backwards and forwards and they were really just the warm-up to the main event that would take place in the second half. Nevertheless, they performed brilliantly and the audience clapped uproariously when the ensemble stood for recognition at the end.

  Jackie made her way back to their dressing room quickly. She was genuinely excited for the second half, having almost forgotten the state of her love life during the first half. The memories came flooding back, however, when Shannon came rushing into the room. The blonde gave her a quick, but genuine smile, before bustling around the room to change into her dress and fix her make up and hair in the short amount of time they were allotted. She didn’t even care about modesty or propriety as she threw off her clothes and shrugged on her dress. Jackie caught herself staring more than once, before realizing that she had just as little time to get ready herself.

  After applying an extra coat of mascara, Shannon smiled over at Jackie, who was smearing on a delicious shade of red lipstick. The tension was thick, both of them a bit nervous for their big debut and neither knowing what exactly to say to the other.

  Together they made their way to the backstage wing from which they would enter the stage. Finding the silence too awkward, Shannon finally broke it.

  “As you know I really wasn’t happy about having to share the spotlight at f
irst, but now I can’t imagine it any other way. No matter what happens out there, I’m really glad to have known you and shared this experience with you,” Shannon said sincerely.

  Jackie smiled gratefully before a look of confusion washed over her face. “Wait, what do you mean by what happens out there?”

  Shannon’s brain was now in conflict with itself. One half was berating the impetuous half for not sticking to the plan, while the impetuous half was reminding the regimented half that it wasn’t so much a plan, but a whimsically thought out grand gesture.

  A stagehand broke Shannon out of her inner turmoil telling them that it was time. Not wanting Jackie to walk out on stage with that last thought, she blurted out, “I love you.”

  Clearly the impetuous half of her brain had won this battle.

  “What?” Jackie asked breathily, a mixture of hope and uncertainty lining her voice.

  “Break a leg,” Shannon replied with an impish grin.

  Before Jackie was able to respond, she was unceremoniously pushed out into the lights by the frustrated stagehand whose only job it was to keep things running on time. Shannon was cued to enter just moments later.

  This was it.

  * * *

  The second to last movement ended and Shannon suddenly had cold feet. It had nothing to do with the duet, but the grand gesture the romantic side of her had thought would be the perfect way to win over Jackie’s heart and prove her love. Now it seemed like it could just be an embarrassment for both of them. But no pain, no gain, right? Although this could result in a lot of pain and absolutely no gain for Shannon, looking over at the breathtaking woman in front of her, she knew it was worth it no matter the outcome.

  She took a breath and stood on shaky legs, watching as Jackie situated herself in the chair facing the audience. They found each other’s eyes and smiled in silent support. Shannon’s breath hitched in anticipation as she watched Gallo’s arms rise and Jackie’s bow hand get into position. As soon as Jackie’s bow began to slide effortlessly across the string, Shannon let out the breath she was holding and found herself being overcome by the moment. Though she couldn’t see the audience due to the oppressively bright lights, she could feel them collectively stiffen and lean forward, probably never having heard the cello played so magnificently.