Mine

by Georgia Beers

  Her chest heaving, Courtney reached out her hand and cupped one of Rachel’s bare breasts, sliding her thumb over its very erect nipple. Her quick glance up was just in time to see Rachel bite down on her own bottom lip.

  “Do you have any idea what you’re doing to me?” Rachel said, her voice barely a whisper.

  “Do you have any idea how freaking sexy you are?” Courtney countered.

  Rachel reached around Courtney’s torso and grasped the back of her bra. “This needs to come off. Now.”

  “Ooh, sexy and bossy. Who knew?”

  Rachel chuckled. “I’m not sure about the sexy part, but lots of people would agree with you on bossy.”

  Gooseflesh broke out on Courtney’s arms as Rachel slid her bra along them and dropped it on the floor. “Well, I’m sure about the sexy part. Not a doubt in my mind about the sexy part…” Her voice trailed off as she pulled Rachel’s face toward her and devoured her mouth with her own.

  The world faded away for Rachel. There was nothing, nobody other than Courtney. And the fact that Courtney seemed somehow different tonight didn’t escape Rachel’s attention. She seemed relaxed, more open, more at ease than the last time they’d ended up in a similar position. As she eased Courtney back onto the bed and slowly slid her panties down her thighs, it suddenly occurred to Rachel: there was nowhere in the world she’d rather be and nothing else in the universe she’d rather be doing than what she was involved in right that moment. Courtney was everything. Nothing else mattered. She divested herself of her own pants and then crawled across the bed, pushing her knee between Courtney’s legs, feeling the hot wetness coat her skin.

  Courtney moaned and pushed her head back into the pillows, a handful of Rachel’s hair twisted in her fingers. When Rachel used her teeth to tug at Courtney’s swollen nipple, the grip on her hair tightened and Courtney gasped.

  The warm and silky wetness that met Rachel’s fingers as she slid them between Courtney’s legs was simultaneously not surprising and completely shocking. Not surprising because Rachel knew she was just as wet as Courtney, if not more so. Completely shocking because it was hard to believe she was able to cause such arousal in this incredible woman. She was in awe, complete wonder as she looked at Courtney’s body beneath her. She was fit, built like an athlete, all the muscle and smooth skin laid bare before her and glowing with excitement. But she was also round, curvy, and feminine, and the combination made Rachel’s mouth water. Courtney’s head was thrown back, exposing her elegant throat. Her eyes were closed.

  Beginning a slow, lazy rhythm with her fingers, Rachel shifted to her knees, so she was braced above Courtney on one hand, her legs keeping Courtney’s spread wide. She looked down at Courtney’s face as she moved through the slickness covering her fingertips.

  “Courtney.” She said the name softly, waited. “Courtney. Look at me.”

  Courtney swallowed as she opened her eyes, her breathing continuing in ragged gasps. Rachel gazed at her as she quickened the pace of her hand.

  “Say my name.”

  If Courtney thought it an odd request, she hid it well. She cocked her head slightly to the right, as if wondering if she’d heard correctly. But the half-grin she tossed at Rachel hovering over her made any trepidation disappear.

  “Rachel.” She whispered the name, elongating it, stretching it out, making it sound a hundred times sexier than it actually was. Rachel felt a spurt of her own wetness and whimpered.

  “Oh, my God. Again. Say it again.” Her heart rate, her hips, and the pace of her hand were now one and the same, moving all in the same rhythm.

  “Rachel.”

  “Again. Please.”

  “Rachel.” This time, the pitch of Courtney’s voice increased and she inhaled sharply. “Oh…oh, Rachel…oh, please…” She dug the tips of her fingers into Rachel’s side as she came, her muscles tensing so hard, her body spasming so roughly, Rachel was surprised she didn’t simply snap in half. Murmuring encouragement, Rachel coaxed the climax out of her, adjusting her speed and her touch to make it last as long as possible. A glittering sheen of sweat covered both their bodies as they rocked as one.

  It seemed like hours before Courtney reached between them and grasped Rachel’s wrist, stilling her movements and easing her fingers out. Rachel let the hand bracing her slide up so that she slid down to the bed, half on and half off Courtney. Their bodies already beginning to cool, Rachel reached down and grabbed the corner of the black fleece throw that was folded neatly at the foot of the bed. She pulled it up over them, tucking it around Courtney and pulling her closer.

  “My God, that was incredible,” Courtney said, her voice low and husky.

  Rachel grinned. “That was only the beginning,” she said, drawing a fingertip down the side of Courtney’s face, under her chin, and back again. “I have many, many more acts in my repertoire.”

  “Really. Many, many?”

  “Oh, yes. Many, many.”

  “And I suppose there’s a big finale, too?”

  “There is. But it could take months or even years before we get to that. And you’d be lucky if you could even stand up, let alone walk, by then.” Rachel winked.

  Courtney cleared her throat. “That sounds like quite a time commitment. Are you sure you’re up for that?”

  Rachel’s face became suddenly, deadly serious. “Yes. I am.” She swallowed audibly. “I am if you are.”

  Courtney’s eyes never left Rachel’s as she nodded slowly in the darkness. “I am, too.”

  *

  “I should get home.”

  The sun was shining brightly through Rachel’s bedroom window when Courtney said the words for the fourth time. They were naked, spooning, with Rachel behind Courtney, her arm wrapped around and fingers drawing lazy circles on Courtney’s bare belly. The bedding was a tangled muddle, the decorative pillows with the expensive Laura Ashley shams were mostly on the floor, and the air in the room was thick with the scent of sex.

  “I don’t want you to go.” Rachel answered with the same response she’d given the other three times. Courtney could feel the smile against her hair and she couldn’t help but grin.

  “You’re nothing if not predictable.”

  “No, you’re supposed to say, ‘maybe you should show me how much you want me to stay,’ like you did the last time.”

  “And the time before that? And the time before that?” Courtney laughed outright and Rachel joined her. “I’m sorry, sweetie, but I don’t think I can survive another orgasm. My head will explode.” She rolled onto her back so she could look into Rachel’s face. She looked tired. Her eyes were bloodshot, her lips were swollen, and her hair was a disaster. But the expression on her face was one of radiance and contentment. Courtney had a sudden flash of that same face, tense with desire, bottom lip caught between teeth, whispered pleading. Throwing off the covers, she gave Rachel a quick, chaste kiss on the mouth and was suddenly up and out of the bed, knowing if she stayed, she’d be there for another hour at least and the threat of an inability to walk would become all too real. She found her clothes scattered about and began to dress.

  Rachel sighed dramatically and stretched like a lazy cat in the sunshine. “Okay, she’s serious this time.”

  “Afraid so.” Courtney stopped midmotion and her mouth watered at the sight of the lithe body on the bed. It took all her strength to keep from pouncing on her like a cobra on its prey. She glared in accusation. “And stop trying to tempt me.”

  Rachel gave a smug smile. “Hmm. You’re reading me too well already. That’s not good.”

  “You must be out of practice,” Courtney teased. “Maybe a little rusty? Hmm?”

  Rachel slithered out of the bed and across the room in all her naked glory, and Courtney was unable to pull her eyes away. “Rusty?” She kissed Courtney fully, slowly and thoroughly, possessively. When she pulled away, she held Courtney’s bottom lip in her teeth, tugged, then let it go. “I don’t think so.”

  “No,” Courtney w
hispered. “Me, neither. Jesus.”

  They walked into the living room together—Courtney dressed, Rachel completely naked—holding hands.

  “Will I see you again soon?” Rachel asked, sounding almost childlike.

  “What?” Courtney blinked and shook her head as if pulled from a trance, then rolled her eyes playfully. “Seriously, how do you expect me to be able to concentrate on words when you’re walking around like that? Put something on, for Christ’s sake. Aren’t you cold?”

  Rachel grinned. “I haven’t been cold since you walked in that door last night.”

  Courtney felt her own blush and looked down at her feet. Rachel reached out and stroked her cheek, bringing her face back up.

  “Call me later?” Courtney asked.

  “Absolutely.”

  They kissed softly and sweetly. Courtney pulled free before things could get heavier. “Okay. I’m going.” She snagged her jacket off the arm of the couch and slipped out the door with a quick wave. “Later, babe.”

  “Count on it.”

  When the door clicked shut, Courtney stood in the hallway and brought her fingers to her lips, certain she could still feel heat radiating from them, positive she could still smell Rachel’s tangy scent. Unbelievable, this turn of events. It was the only accurate description. Last night had been a whirlwind, and totally surprising; she’d never seen it coming. She certainly hadn’t shown up with the intention of spending the entire night making mad, passionate love with Rachel, but that’s exactly what had happened. And this morning? The surprising thing about this morning was that she actually felt all right about it. No, not all right. Good. She felt good. Happy, even.

  Happy? Was that possible? Maybe it was… Of course, she also felt utterly dizzy, as if her life was suddenly tipped sideways and spun around in circles like a child’s toy top.

  And most surprising of all was how much she was enjoying it.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Hi there.”

  “Hey.” Rachel took a seat on the stool at the corner of the mahogany bar and propped her feet up on the brass rail near the bottom. Her right knee immediately started bouncing and she resented it, resented any outward showing of being anxious.

  “Getcha a drink?” Ted asked. He didn’t look as nervous as Rachel felt, but his eye contact was sporadic and darting.

  “Just a Coke would be great.”

  She studied him as he flagged down the bartender to get her soda. In all of the times she’d run into him—at Emily’s, in the hospital when Adrianna was born, or wherever—she’d avoided looking at him too carefully. Realizing recently that it had been a defense mechanism, at the time she didn’t want him to think she cared at all, not even enough to rest her eyes on him for longer than a second or two. Now she found herself looking carefully, unable to pull her gaze away. His hair had never been thick, but he was almost completely bald on top now. What remained of his light hair circled his head like a donut and he kept it trimmed neatly around his ears and along his neck. Age was catching up to him. The laugh lines around his mouth and the crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes had deepened tremendously since the last time she’d noticed them and despite all her anger, irritation, and pain over the last two decades, she still found herself experiencing a feeling of melancholy. Her father was getting old.

  “Thanks for agreeing to meet with me,” he said as her Coke arrived.

  She fondled the little mixing straw, absently poking at the ice cubes in the glass, and nodded.

  “I know it was probably Courtney’s prodding that got you here.” His tone held enough mirth in it to take out anything that might be construed as accusatory, and she couldn’t help but smile.

  “She had an opinion, yes.”

  “I’ll bet.”

  It had only been a month since the day Rachel had run into her father and Courtney conversing on the street, but after their heart-to-heart in Rachel’s apartment, there had occurred an almost unspoken pact to reunite Rachel and Ted—or at least get them on speaking terms once again. Rachel suspected Courtney and Marie, Ted’s current girlfriend, of conniving to make things happen. She could pretend to be mad about that all she wanted, but the truth was, she found it somewhat heartwarming to know Courtney was taking care of her in this way. Even if it was kind of meddling.

  “How about your mom? Does she know you’re here?”

  A snort escaped Rachel’s nose before she could catch it and Ted smiled at the sound. “Uh, no.”

  “Yeah, I didn’t think so.” He took a healthy slug from his bottle of Heineken.

  The sportscaster calling the golf tournament in a stage whisper was the only sound in the bar for a long time. After all, it was late afternoon on a Thursday and there were only three other patrons this early. Rachel sipped from her Coke and heard Courtney’s voice in the back of her mind.

  “Just be honest. Say what you feel, what’s in your heart. He’s going to be just as nervous as you are. Remember that. Just talk to him.”

  “I’m sorry about Kathy.” She said it so quietly that for a moment, she was unsure if she’d actually spoken out loud or had just thought it.

  Her father looked at her, his lips pressed together in a straight line. The pale blue of his eyes was identical to Rachel’s, and she felt like she saw them for the very first time. “Thank you.”

  “I was really angry with you then.”

  He nodded slowly, turning the beer bottle in his hands.

  “But that’s no excuse. I should have at least paid my respects. I’m sorry I was selfish.”

  “It’s okay. I understand.” He cleared his throat. “Thanks for that.”

  “Sure.” She sipped again, feeling like she’d made progress, but uncertain which way to go next.

  “I’m sorry, too.” Studying his beer, he didn’t meet her gaze.

  “For?”

  “For doing things the way I did. Back then. With your mother.”

  There it was. That didn’t take long, she thought with surprise. Marie must have prepped him as well as Courtney prepped me. The lump that suddenly blocked her throat was completely unexpected, and Rachel swallowed several times in an attempt to keep control of things. “It was hard,” she managed to say.

  “I know. And I was young and your mother was young and young people do stupid things. They don’t always handle things well.”

  Rachel listened, feeling almost as if she was in some surreal moment. She’d been waiting for more than twenty years to hear her father apologize, and now that he was doing just that, she had no idea what to say.

  “We had problems, me and your mom. Lots of problems. The marriage died because of both of us, not just because of me. It takes two to tango.” He swigged, his gaze on the television mounted high behind the bar. “But I didn’t handle things well.”

  Rachel found her voice at the same time she felt her resentment building. Courtney had warned her that this would probably happen and that she should go with it, that it was the only way to clear the air. “I was a kid, Dad. You know that, right?”

  “Yeah, I know that.”

  “You and Mom were so wrapped up in your own shit that neither of you seemed to remember you had two children.”

  Ted’s face reddened at that and Rachel wondered at his embarrassment, wondered if he sensed her anger and whether he thought he deserved it.

  “Do you know who kept things together after you ran away like a coward?” she went on. “Who cooked? Who cleaned? Who bathed Emily? Who kept the household running? Me, that’s who. Me.”

  Ted nodded, still unable to look her in the face.

  Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I was a child.”

  “I know. I’m sorry.” He did look at her then, and the unshed tears welling in his eyes matched hers. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m so very sorry.”

  She took a deep breath and used the napkin from under her glass to wipe her nose, both relieved to have finally said the words that she’d kept locked up for so long and embarra
ssed that she’d shown any emotion at all. What was the matter with her, anyway? Courtney was turning her into a sap. She almost laughed when that thought crossed her mind and she realized that she didn’t mind sap status as much as she’d assumed she would.

  Ted gestured to the bartender and ordered himself another beer.

  “Can I get some rum added to this?” Rachel asked, pointing to her Coke as the bartender grinned at her.

  They sat in more silence, sipping their drinks, like father, like daughter.

  Ted finally spoke up. “Well, that was fun.”

  “Loads.”

  His face turning serious again, he said, “Look, Rachel, I don’t expect everything to be all fine and dandy now. I’m not that stupid. I’m not naïve. But…I’m an old man.” He punctuated that line with a sort of guffaw, like it would be a ridiculous statement to make if it wasn’t true. “I’m at that age where you start looking back at your life and at the things you did perfectly as well as the things you screwed up. More than anything, you want to fix those things, make them right somehow. I don’t know that I can ever expect you to forgive me for being such a shitty father when you were a kid, but…” His voice trailed off. Wiping the sweat from his fresh bottle, he plunged ahead. “I’m glad we talked, no matter what happens. Even if we leave here and go back to the way we’ve been—hardly ever seeing each other and barely speaking—I’m still glad we had this conversation.”