Laughter in the Wind

by SL Harris

  “Mom, I’m fine.” Gotta end this now before it gets worse! “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Love you both. ’Bye.” Eager to break the link to her mother, she barely waited for her mother’s good-bye before she ended the call and slipped the phone into her coat pocket.

  “What was that about? Is she worried I won’t take good care of you?” Olivia teased as she ran her fingernails lightly up and down Rebecca’s thigh.

  “No,” Rebecca replied hastily, grabbing Olivia’s hand to still it and stop the wild sensations threatening to overcome her. “It’s nothing. Just Mom being Mom.” She hoped Olivia would let it drop and mercifully she did.

  When they reached the apartment, Rebecca entered behind Olivia and was suddenly shy. Her mother’s words had reminded her of the potential the evening held. She realized she had mostly given her desire the reins, following her instincts when she was with Olivia. Now she had no reason to stop, no parents coming home, no closing of the park gate. Was she ready for the next step?

  While Olivia put their coats on the coat rack, she moved Pooh out of the easy chair and onto the couch. She sat stiffly in the chair, trying to calm her nerves. Pooh had remembered her and left her new spot on the couch to climb into Rebecca’s lap. The purring feline found it necessary to move around a lot to keep her ministrations in the best locations under her chin and around her ears as Rebecca absentmindedly petted her. Rebecca’s mind was spinning furiously through her dilemma. Throughout high school she had no desire to have sex, so she had felt no qualms about supporting abstinence. In her mind it solved a lot of problems—no unwanted pregnancies, less risk of STD, less chance of a guy only going out with her for one reason if he knew the rules ahead of time. But now, her longings for Olivia left her wanting to break all her own rules. Olivia had been moving about the apartment chatting lightly when she noticed the lack of response from Rebecca. “Are you okay?” she asked.

  Rebecca nodded distractedly.

  Olivia walked in front of her and studied her closely. “Are you worried?” she lightly teased. “Do you think I brought you to my lair and now I’m going to take advantage of you?” She plucked Pooh from Rebecca’s lap and placed her unceremoniously onto the couch. Obviously insulted by the lack of proper attention she was receiving from the two, Pooh immediately hopped down and ran from the room.

  Olivia straddled Rebecca’s lap, a knee on either side of her hips. She leaned back on Rebecca’s knees so she could look directly into her eyes. Olivia smiled impishly. “I promise I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to do.”

  Rebecca blushed and tried to drop her eyes, but Olivia placed a finger under her chin and kept their eyes locked. She leaned forward and gently kissed Rebecca. Rebecca, shy at first, soon recovered as passion swept through her, fanned by the soft lips pressing against her own. Olivia allowed her to deepen the kiss initially, then slowly eased away to look again into Rebecca’s eyes. “I love you, Bec. I promise I’ll do my best to never cause you pain.”

  Rebecca’s eyes were wet as she replied, “I love you, Olivia. I may be shy and a little scared about…about…you know, but I trust you completely or I wouldn’t be here. Can we just take our time, though?”

  “Of course we can, my love. If you want, I’ll sleep on the couch tonight and you can have my bed.” Before she could answer, Olivia kissed her gently again then stood and pulled her to her feet.

  “How about we just wait and see?” Rebecca said, unsure of herself but unwilling to rule out letting things go further with Olivia.

  “That sounds like a good plan.” Olivia led her over to a chair at the table and poured each of them a glass of cherry Coke. She placed the glasses on the table then ducked quickly into the bedroom, returning with her notebook and a pen.

  “I’d put this away when we thought we wouldn’t be able to find more answers to our questions,” she explained.

  She sat down beside Rebecca and turned to the page of questions they had compiled. After her surprise visit to Rebecca’s house for lunch, she had answered questions three and four about her mother’s conversation with Uncle Steve and about Mary’s grave being disturbed. Now she added to the notation after question two, about Ralph: Ralph Dunlop, raped MJ Farthing in May, 1932, resulting in pregnancy and, ultimately, in MJ’s death. For question five, about the father to MJ’s child, she wrote simply: See question #2.

  “I wonder if Mom and my uncles will tell Grandmama about burying Gran’s ashes at MJ’s grave?” Olivia queried. “She might really let them have it for deceiving her, you know.”

  “I would guess they’ll keep it a secret,” Rebecca said, thinking of how intimidating Grandmama had looked when she first saw her.

  “You’re probably right,” Olivia laughed. “Now, only one question remains unanswered,” she pointed out. “Is Peacock Cemetery really haunted? How do you think we could go about answering that question?”

  “I think only time will tell us the answer to that one,” Rebecca stated. “I’m glad we know all the other answers now, but I’m sure sorry it happened the way it did all those years ago.”

  “Yeah. Me, too.”

  Rebecca changed the subject, not wanting to start any tears again. “You know, I told Dad how I felt about you.”

  “Really?” Olivia seemed constantly surprised at how open Rebecca was able to be with her family.

  “Yeah. It’s kind of odd, because he warned me this lifestyle was a tough row to hoe. I know things have changed a lot in the last two or three decades, but there is still hatred, prejudice and fear out there. It’s not going to be easy for either of us at times.”

  “No, it won’t. I’ve already felt some of that in the few years since I’ve been out. Is that something that worries you, Bec?”

  “Maybe a little. I got my first taste of it this morning before we went to see Ralph.”

  “Before we went to see him?” Olivia looked puzzled.

  “Yeah. On the way to meet you, I stopped to ask Kate about Ralph. She works at the nursing home so I asked her a few questions about him. She asked me why I wanted to know then she started asking questions about who you were. The opportunity was there and I’d wanted to tell her about me, so I did. She didn’t exactly take it well.”

  “Oh, Bec. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. It’s really okay. I mean, I should have expected someone would be upset about it. Besides, Kate’s kind of crazy anyway. She has the role of the family drama queen all sewed up. She’ll be upset until the next thing comes along for her to get in a tizzy about then she’ll get over it.”

  “I wish I could tell you that will be the worst you’ll experience but it probably won’t be,” Olivia told her honestly. “Are you sure this isn’t going to be too much for you?”

  “I’m sure I won’t try to live a life as someone I’m not,” she said, confidence in her decision evident in her tone. “Meeting you was the best thing that could have happened to me.”

  Olivia smiled her funny smile which Rebecca was learning to love. She stood and walked around the corner of the table, closing the notebook on the table between them. She straddled Rebecca’s legs and sat on her lap again then wrapped her arms around her neck. “My love, meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me.” This time when she kissed Rebecca, there was no hesitation or shyness in Rebecca’s response. She returned the kiss eagerly, burning from the heat of Olivia’s lips caressing her own, thrilling to the dance of her tongue with Olivia’s.

  Rebecca stood and pulled Olivia over to the sofa, never breaking contact between their lips during the brief journey across the room. Olivia sat down on the edge of the sofa and Rebecca slid down to her knees in front of her. She pulled Olivia hard up against her, needing to feel her body against her own. She slid her hands over Olivia’s soft curves, hesitating at her hips then sliding up the side of her body to the swell of her breasts.

  Olivia moaned as Rebecca cupped one breast. Rebecca was amazed at the flash of heat that shot through her own body whe
n she gently curled her hand under Olivia’s breast, then slid her thumb over the nipple, teasing it to hardness under the soft fabric of her lacy bra.

  Olivia traced her jawline with her lips, then moved down to her neck, kissing the hollows at the base of her neck, then tracing a path of fire up to her ear with her tongue. Rebecca was beginning to feel disoriented from the overwhelming sensations coursing through her body and Olivia held her tighter when she felt her begin to sway. She leaned her head back, releasing Rebecca’s earlobe from between her teeth and laughed lightly.

  “Rebecca, my dear Rebecca,” she whispered, seeing the fire raging in her eyes. “I want to make sweet love to you. I want to touch every inch of you with my hands and my lips. But only if you’re ready, darling, only if you’re ready. There’s no reason for us to rush this. I’ll wait as long as you want.”

  Rebecca was nearly lost in the flood of desire coursing through her being, but she recognized the sincerity of Olivia’s words and searched for the right words to show Olivia her heart. “If I’m scared, it’s because I want this to be perfect for you. I want to make you feel everything that I feel when you look at me, when you touch me, when you kiss me. I’m scared…”

  “Shhh,” Olivia placed a finger softly against Rebecca’s lips then softly cradled her face in her hands. “Oh, Bec. Don’t you know you do? You make me feel like…like my heart might explode with joy, like I can’t get enough of you.”

  Rebecca turned her head to kiss Olivia’s palm. She traced the fine creases with her tongue, chuckling slightly when Olivia jerked her hand away. Suddenly decisive, she said firmly, “Follow me.”

  “Why? Where are you taking me?” Olivia’s eyes met Rebecca’s eyes and dared her.

  “You’ll see. You trust me, don’t you?” She lightly pulled on Olivia’s arms and she stood then Rebecca backed her way to the bedroom, never dropping their linked gaze. She saw the desire growing in Olivia as she backed her way toward the bed. When she was only inches from it she stopped.

  “May I?” Rebecca whispered, reaching for the top button on Olivia’s blouse. She found her fingers nearly useless as she tried to unfasten the buttons by feel, watching Olivia’s face intently, enchanted by the changes she saw as her color heightened and her eyes became hazy. After an interminable time, the blouse finally fell open. Rebecca reached behind Olivia and after several seconds of fumbling unfastened her bra.

  After a deep breath, she reached for Olivia’s blouse and finally moved her eyes lower as she slipped the blouse from her shoulders, looking with wonder at her breasts as she gently pulled the bra down, dropping it on the floor beside her.

  Resisting the temptation to lose herself in Olivia’s full breasts, she unbuttoned Olivia’s jeans, slowly pulled the zipper down, slid them over her hips. Olivia put a hand on her shoulders while she kicked off her shoes and socks then stepped out of her jeans. She stood shyly before Rebecca wearing only lacy white panties. Slowly she slid the panties down over her hips, bending to remove them. When she stood again, Rebecca’s eyes were irresistibly drawn to the triangle of tight curls beckoning at the vee of her thighs.

  Rebecca’s mouth was suddenly dry and she licked her lips before trying to speak. “You are so beautiful,” she said with wonder.

  “Your turn,” Olivia whispered. She pulled the snaps apart on Rebecca’s shirt, one loud pop at a time, pausing between each one to smile mischievously at her. Rebecca’s excitement was mounting with each one and she shrugged the shirt back off her shoulders as soon as the last snap popped. Olivia reached for the bottom of the T-shirt Rebecca had chosen that morning instead of a bra and slid it slowly over her head, dropping it onto the mounting pile of clothes beside them.

  “Beautiful.” Olivia gently stroked her tight stomach and up around each breast, running her nails lightly along her skin, making her nipples reach out tautly, begging for contact. She traced a path from her breasts to her navel then reached to unfasten Rebecca’s jeans. She had barely begun to unzip them when Rebecca hastily shoved jeans and underwear down over her narrow hips, below her knees. Olivia helped her balance long enough to kick free of all her clothing until Rebecca stood beside her, exposed and vulnerable but unafraid.

  “Touch me.”

  Olivia was pleading with her and she heeded her plea, wrapping her long fingers under both breasts and swirling her thumbs around the soft brown of her nipples, watching in amazement as they tightened under her ministrations, loving the sound of Olivia’s low moan of pleasure. The gasp that followed when she encircled a nipple with her lips sent a jolt of excitement to her groin. Oh, God, I could do this forever. She moved from one breast to the other, showing no favoritism, thrilling with each moan and gasp of pleasure she created, aware of the growing pressure and wetness between her own legs.

  Olivia backed Rebecca slowly toward the bed, not stopping until Rebecca was lying on the plush comforter with Olivia above her. Rebecca marveled at the feel of her soft body moving so sensuously across her own. Her breasts were fuller than Rebecca’s and her nipples were larger, calling to Rebecca to touch them as Olivia slid them across her own, teasing her nipples. Olivia brought them to Rebecca’s lips briefly, only to move them away again as soon as she touched them with her tongue. Olivia moved randomly over her, tasting Rebecca’s cheek, her neck, the work-hardened muscles of her arm, the smooth white skin of her stomach.

  When Olivia began concentrating her attention around her breasts, Rebecca arched her back to reach her nipples skyward, aching for Olivia to touch them, not knowing until now how such a need could consume her. When Olivia did touch her teasingly with the tip of her tongue, she groaned in ecstasy. She wove her fingers through Olivia’s hair, holding her closer to her breast. “Please,” was all she could manage.

  Olivia answered her call and caught her nipple lightly between her teeth before sucking it into her mouth. She moved to the other breast and the sensations were even more intense. Shock waves of pleasure shooting from her nipples directly to her groin made it hard to breathe and Rebecca no longer could distinguish one pleasure point from the other, only knowing she wanted…no, needed more.

  When Olivia suddenly released her swollen nipple, she would have cried out but her attention was immediately drawn to the feel of Olivia’s fingertips sliding up her thigh and brushing briefly across coarse curls before moving down the other thigh, then back again. Each time her touch became bolder and Rebecca strained toward her more, knowing instinctively she sought that touch. When at last Olivia’s fingers found her, she inhaled sharply and held her breath, nearly unable to bear the sweet agony of her touch.

  As she stroked her slowly, Rebecca became lost in sensation. Her soft moans of pleasure quickened and Rebecca’s body tightened as she rose up to meet her. Olivia slid two fingers into the beckoning wetness and gasped as her lover clamped onto her. “Oh, God. So wonderful.” She matched the thrusts of Rebecca’s hips. “Rebecca, come for me,” she whispered softly, watching her reach that peak, taking her over the edge with a roll of her thumb over her already engorged clitoris, drinking in her cries as she brought her lips to meet Rebecca’s.

  * * *

  Rebecca’s arms and limbs felt like they would no longer respond to her commands. She lay unmoving in Olivia’s arms, aware that it had been several seconds since she had last breathed, she felt no need to breathe. “You’re magic,” she whispered in Olivia’s ear.

  Olivia chuckled. “I don’t think it was magic, silly.”

  Rebecca turned her head to look at Olivia. The relaxed smile, the hair slightly mussed from her hands, that perfect nose, those sparkling green eyes, had to be magic. Even though she had believed her body to be paralyzed after her orgasm swept through her, she felt a streak of excitement shoot straight to her center when her gaze settled on Olivia’s soft, lovely lips. She tentatively lifted a hand, pleased to see that her arm did still function properly, and traced those beautiful lips with her index finger. Olivia gently took her finger between her teeth, teasing the
tip with her tongue.

  The need to touch Olivia, to feel her skin, to explore her body grew stronger as her strength returned. She rolled to her side, content at first to trace her features then caress the planes and valleys of her body, slowly and lightly. She heard the quickening of Olivia’s breath as she brushed across her breasts, noticed the twitch of her hips as she crossed her lower abdomen. She wanted to give Olivia the same pleasure she had so unselfishly given her.

  “Do you know how sexy you are?” she asked Olivia.

  “Thought you said it was magic,” Olivia teased, her voice slightly breathless as Rebecca caressed again just above the curls at the vee of her thighs.

  “Hmm. Sexy magic,” Rebecca agreed. One hand was no longer enough. She pushed herself up from the bed and swung a leg over Olivia, kneeling over her hips. Now she could use both hands to explore. Much better. She ran her hands around and under Olivia’s breasts, cupping them so she could tease first one then the other nipple with her tongue. When she gently sucked a nipple into her mouth she felt Olivia’s pleasure as sharply as if it were her own, as she arched toward her and ran a hand through her hair, pulling her closer. Heavenly.

  She moved up to kiss those fabulous lips and was surprised by the hunger Olivia could no longer hide from her. Olivia returned her kiss fiercely, devouring her lips and dipping her tongue inside to entice Rebecca’s to engage in a frantic dance of desire. Remembering Olivia’s excitement earlier, she realized Olivia had put her own desires, her own fulfillment on hold to give her pleasure, to make her first time perfect. Her heart swelled with love for Olivia and she vowed she would never take her for granted.

  Rebecca ran her hands down Olivia’s body as she moved her lips along the line of her jaw to her ear, down along her neck and biting lightly the sensitive skin she had found along her pulse. When her hand reached the bend of Olivia’s thigh, she traced the line inward slowly, feeling Olivia moving her hips in search of her touch. She heard herself gasp when her fingers encountered the wet satin heat between Olivia’s legs.