by Amy DeMeritt
“Thank you.”
Lana nods and walks back into the work studio. Maggie and Hudson watch her with approving smiles while Lana searches for a thread to match the gray pants, then finds the button organizer holding the right size buttons to securely fit through the button hole. Lana sits down at her sewing station, and in only a few minutes, she has the button sewn on.
“Okay, you’re all set.” The woman hops up to check the work and smiles broadly. “That was really fast. Thank you. How much do I owe you?”
“Five dollars.”
“That’s it?” The woman pulls her wallet out and searches through the cash she has. “I only have tens and twenties. Here, take the ten and keep the change. You really saved me – I have an important meeting and just didn’t have time to go all the way home to change.”
“Thank you very much.”
“No, thank you.” She starts to walk towards the door, and as Lana is about to call after her, she laughs and slaps her forehead. “Right, it would be good if I put my pants back on and not walk outside in a robe.”
Lana stifles a laugh, and after the woman is in the bathroom to change, she types in the button repair in the register for ten-dollars, stows the cash in the drawer, then finishes the record in the day planner. After the woman gives her the robe and leaves, Lana puts the robe in a hamper to be washed for the next customer who may need it.
When she enters the work studio again, Maggie says, “You handled that like a pro. Nice work, dear.”
“Thank you. That was my first repair I’ve done on the spot. Elli normally does those because she can work faster than I can.”
“Your timing was perfect, dear.”
Lana glances up towards the front of the shop to see if Elli and Ms. Whitmore have emerged from the fitting room yet, and even though she doesn’t see them, she knows they could be within earshot, so she lowers her voice.
“But was it, Ms. Whitmore approved timing?”
“Ah, that is a whiplash inducing speed.” Maggie giggles and waves a dismissive hand in Ms. Whitmore fashion. “Don’t worry, dear, you’ll learn everything you need to for the ball. We’ll all make sure of it.”
“I hope so. I’m excited about it, but I don’t want to be the reason she’s displeased and Elli loses all of that business next year. A hundred alterations have to add up to be a pretty big sum of income.”
“Oh, it’s a very substantial amount, but don’t worry about that. Just focus on learning the skills and gaining confidence and you’ll be just fine.”
Lana bites her bottom lip nervously as she glances towards the front of the shop again. Her mathematically inclined mind races through multiple calculations, estimating the potential income from just the alterations. From what she remembers, alterations for wedding and formal gowns can range between fifty dollars to several hundred dollars, depending on how many changes need to be made. She doesn’t want to be the reason Elli loses out on that money next year.
“To make sure that happens, I think I need to work on as many clothing alterations as possible for the next two months.”
Chapter Twenty-One
After closing the security gate and locking up, Elli turns the lights off to the front of the shop and walks back into the work studio, where Lana is still working on one of the gowns for the debutante ball. As Elli steps up next to her to look at the dress, Lana takes a step back and looks at Elli with her bottom lip between her teeth.
“Am I doing it right?”
Elli leans in to get a closer look at the darts Lana is stitching around the cups of the bodice to bring it in tighter on the sides.
“Aye, this is coming along quite nicely.”
“Is it good enough to represent the esteemed Voss family name?”
Elli smiles as she turns and wraps her arms around Lana’s waist. She gives her a kiss on her lips and brushes a hand over her cheek.
“Aye, my darling, it’s perfect. You’ve come a long way this week and have been working very hard here. Have you reconsidered my offer to pay you wages for…?”
Lana presses her lips to Elli’s, cutting her off, and as she pulls away smiling, she says, “No, I’m not taking a single penny. My company is paying for the first month of my sabbatical. And next month…”
“Next month, you’ll allow me to properly compensate you.”
Lana laughs and shakes her head. “No, I have savings to…”
This time, Elli presses her lips to Lana’s, cutting her off. “Next month, I am paying you a fair wage.”
“But…”
“Lana, this is a business and you are doing a substantial amount of training and work.”
“But…” Elli narrows her eyes in a look of mock-authority. Lana smiles and lightly grabs the sides of her face as she kisses her forehead. “Hear me out, please?”
“Aye, I’ll listen.”
“I took this sabbatical of my own free will, knowing I would go one month without pay. If I spend that month in this shop learning a new trade and helping you with projects, that is also my choice. You have supported my whims completely, and even if you have your own personal reasons for doing so, they are still my whims, my choices. I want to take full responsibility for the choice I made to take a sabbatical.”
Before she continues, Lana takes a deep breath as her heart starts to race. She looks deep into Elli’s patient, loving ocean blue eyes and takes a half a step closer, pressing their torsos flush together.
“Elli, if I decide not to return to work and I want to continue working in the shop with you, would that be possible?”
Elli’s eyes tear up and she nods as she swallows her emotions and clears her throat. “Aye, we could be well supported with you working in the shop, even if you choose to stay in your apartment. Living above the shop has the perk of not paying rent, so my personal expenses are low.”
Elli winks in an effort to add some levity to the moment because Lana’s question has turned her stomach in knots. She would love for Lana to come to the decision to fully embrace the family trade, but she doesn’t want to influence the decision. She wants Lana to decide on her own.
In the past few weeks of Lana working in the shop, the women have grown closer to each other than Lana has ever been to a partner, and closer than Elli has been with a partner since Isabell died. Even though they have only been dating for a month, they feel like they have known each other for years. They complement each other so well that they often find themselves confused by the time – confused that more time hasn’t passed since they met.
“And if I want to change our living arrangement?”
Elli inhales deeply through her nose with her closed lips curled in contentment. “Aye, I am open to your thoughts on this as well. Are you ready to call it a night?”
“I want to finish this dress, then I’ll be ready. You don’t have to wait for me though if you want to go relax. I’ll come up when I’m done.”
Elli’s chest warms from the confidence Lana has gained this week. Since Ms. Whitmore came in a few days ago, Lana has been eagerly training side by side with Elli and her parents and accepting every alteration task she can. This is her second gown she has made basic modification to on her own and the work is perfect – Elli and her parents haven’t found any flaws in her technique. Only a couple of weeks ago, Lana would cease work if Elli just went to the front of the shop, out of terror of doing something wrong with Elli out of sight. Now, she’s basically asking to be left alone to finish her work. To show she believes in her and trusts her to work unsupervised, Elli gives Lana a kiss on the lips and takes a step back.
“Okay, Sunshine. I’ll see you upstairs when you’re ready.”
While Lana picks up her threaded needle, Elli walks up the spiral staircase to her apartment. She peers inside the fridge with the intention to start on dinner, but after a few minutes, the cold on her thighs causes her to snap into focus and realize she has zoned out. She exhales hard and closes the door.
“I’m too damn tire
d to cook.”
She runs her hands over her face and digs the heels of her palms into her eyes, trying to push the tired heaviness out of them. She turns the electric percolator on, then grabs a bottle of Irish whiskey and a bottle of Irish cream out of the cabinet. While the percolator makes espresso, Elli pours a generous measure of both bottles into two mugs, then searches her cabinets for a sweet treat to pair with the Irish coffees. She smiles when she finds a box of chocolate dipped sugar cookies that she forgot she bought recently.
While she waits for the espresso to brew, she goes to her bedroom and changes out of her day clothes and into a pair of lounge pants and a tee shirt. After tossing the dirty clothes in the hamper, she goes to the bathroom and washes her face with cold water in an effort to splash some shock into her to help wake herself up. She pats her face dry, and while she stares at herself in the mirror, her lips curl upwards. She tousles her hair and tugs it out between her fingers, looking at the length that has grown in. She has been keeping up with the short pixie cut for over a year, going to the salon every three weeks to keep her locks at only a few inches. But it has been almost six weeks since her last appointment so her hair is starting to grow in quite a bit. While she measures the hair with her fingers and tousles it a bit, she tries to decide if she should get it cut or let it grow out.
Without thinking it through beforehand, Elli goes to her bedroom and pulls the photo album off of the shelf – the album with pictures of her and Isabell. She opens the closet door to look in the full-length mirror on the inside of the door and opens the album. She studies her face in the mirror and her face in the picture of her standing in a field of wildflowers with Isabell wrapped around her from behind. Her hair is long, just past her shoulders, and blowing in the wind freely with Isabell’s. Her smile is uncontained, baring completely her happiness and joy. She looks in the mirror and smiles, really smiles with the full depth of her soul.
Though she’s a bit older, the smile is unmistakably the smile of a woman madly in love – a smile she hasn’t expressed since before Isabell died. A wash of emotions suddenly hits her hard and she sways on the spot. She grips the door to steady herself, then returns the album to the bookcase. She sits on the foot of her bed and stares at the floor while she takes a few deep breaths, trying not to cry. An invisible thread jerks her attention to the album, beckoning her to take it off of the shelf and dive into it. A twinge of guilt causes yearning and wonderment to cloud the affections and love she has for Lana.
As if her mother is in her head, she hears a quiet whisper in her mind telling her, “You have to take a step if you want to walk.”
Elli quickly stands up and walks out of the room and back to the kitchen. The past month has been wonderful. She doesn’t regret it. Although, she knows deep down, had Isabell never died, Elli never would have looked twice at Lana. She didn’t need to; she was madly in love with Isabell. Does that mean she loves Lana any less? No, this is just an alternate reality to the one she thought she would live, an alternate reality she is fond of and makes her feel the most complete she has felt in over six years.
With a sudden spike of energy and drive, Elli starts pulling ingredients from the fridge to prepare dinner. She turns the oven on to preheat for homemade pizzas, then turns back to the electric percolator to turn it off. She doesn’t want Lana’s coffee to get cold, so she leaves it in the percolator to keep warm and makes her own coffee. As she takes a sip and the hot bite of the slightly sweet liquor and coffee slides down her throat, she closes her eyes and savors the warm calm that immediately spreads through her.
As she’s taking and savoring another sip, the door opens and closes, then a small laugh pries her eyes open. She looks to the side and her content smile widens. Lana walks into the kitchen and leans against the counter next to her, peeking into the mug. Before she can ask, Elli offers her the mug to try it. She takes a sip, and Lana releases a small moan.
“Oh, this is good. You’re not getting this back.”
Elli laughs and shrugs a shoulder as she turns to the counter to prepare another mug. “You can keep it. Finish the gown?”
“As long as nothing new is needed when the girl comes back in to try it on again. Did you already start dinner? I was hoping to get a shower before we eat.”
“No, I only turned the oven on.”
Lana takes a few gulps of the coffee, then sets hers and Elli’s mugs on the counter. With a loving smile and a bit of naughty intention twinkling in her eyes, Lana takes Elli’s hand and leads her out of the kitchen, turning the oven off as they walk past it. After flicking on the lights and turning the shower on, Lana wraps her arms around Elli, pulling her in close.
“Today was fun.”
Elli kisses Lana’s lips. “Aye, today was a good day. You did wonderful, my darling.”
“I love when you call me that.”
Lana presses her lips against Elli’s and traces her tongue across Elli’s lips, gently teasing and tempting her lips apart. Elli inhales deeply through her nose as Lana’s soft, warm mouth ignites arousal in her core. While their lips and tongues bathe each other’s nerves in passion, they run their hands over each other, pulling clothing from each other’s bodies till their sensitive skin is pressed together, tingling with desire.
Elli pulls away from the kiss just long enough to tug Lana forward, stepping over the side of the tub and positioning them under the showerhead. With the hot water showering over them, their mouths meet again and their hands push beads of water over arms, backs, bottoms, and breasts. A gentle squeeze followed by a sigh of delight spurs a firmer touch till they are moaning deeply and panting for air.
Their hands dip between thighs, gliding easily over their arousal slicked folds. Their mouths break apart with a shared gasp. They smile at each other and tighten their arm around each other’s backs as their other hands continue to dip, swirl, pinch, and pull, massaging their nerves into bliss.
“Elli… I love you.”
Elli sucks and nips Lana’s bottom lip, and with her parted lips brushing against Lana’s, Elli quietly gasps and answers, “I love you too, darling.”
Elli’s body begins to tremble as her breaths quicken. Her head falls forward to rest on Lana’s shoulder, and Lana glides her hand up Elli’s strong back, up through her short blonde hair, and firmly holds Elli’s head against her while she concentrates her other hand on Elli’s swollen bundle of nerves. Elli moans against Lana’s neck, and as the passion floods her veins, her teeth gently bite into Lana’s skin for a moment, then her tongue pokes out to taste the beads of hot water and sweat dew on Lana’s slender neck. Elli climaxes with a shuddering quake and a sharp gasping moan.
After the waves of passion turn into a spasm of sensitivity, Elli pulls Lana’s hand out from between her thighs, then renews the vigor of her own hand, quickly escalating Lana’s moans and breaths, sending currents of ecstasy racing through Lana’s nerves. As Lana’s head falls back with a loud scream of pleasure, her knees shake and Elli tightens her arm around Lana’s slender back, holding her steady. After a few moments, Lana pulls Elli’s hand from between her thighs and kisses Elli’s lips.
“Thank you for trusting me to finish that gown alone. It was a huge rush to be down there working by myself, knowing you believe in me.”
Elli brushes a hand over Lana’s cheek and begins tracing the pad of her thumb over her slightly defined cheekbone.
“I do trust you and believe in you, in more ways than just your growing abilities in the family trade. I nearly lost all hope in meeting someone like you.” Lana’s eyes tear up and she glides her hands up Elli’s back to grip the back of her shoulders, pulling her in tighter. “I love you, my darling.”
“I love you too, more than I’ve ever loved anyone. Elli…” Lana trails off as she bites her bottom lip and her flushed cheeks redden with her nerves. “You’re not getting sick of me, right? I mean, we’ve been together nearly all day and night for weeks, with just a few breaks from each other every few days.”<
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Elli kisses Lana’s lips very tenderly, holding it for several moments with their eyes closed. A tingling starts at the swell of the curve of their united supple lips and spreads down their bodies, stirring yearning and heat in their chests. A spark of ecstasy bursts in Lana’s chest, causing her to release a small sound of pleasure and to swoon into Elli. After a few more moments, Elli slowly pulls away a few inches. Lana’s eyes are still closed and she looks like she’s in bliss. Elli smiles and caresses her cheek.
With her voice hushed from her passion, Elli reassures Lana, saying, “I have loved every minute of our time together. I think it precarious to think otherwise. Have I not convinced you yet that I love you and I love being with you?”
Lana opens her eyes and looks searchingly into Elli’s ocean blue eyes, studying the beautiful sincerity glowing between the mesmerizing icy blue fissures of her irises.
“Yes, you have. I guess because I know myself, I just keep expecting you to get tired of me.”
“Perhaps you judge yourself too harshly, aye? I assure you, I’m in love with the life we’re living together and I know it will only continue to get better. I have not been confident on these matters in a very long time. I do not become dazzled quiet so easily. You have earned my heart and respect. You can rest easy, my darling. I do not believe I will ever tire of you.”
As tears break over the rims of her bottom lids and streak her cheeks, Lana’s lips crash into Elli’s, pulling her into a fervent kiss. Lana guides Elli down to her knees and lays back in the tub, pulling Elli down on top of herself. They pant and moan and rock their bodies and hands against each other, allowing their passion and arousal to take total control of the moment and their senses in a beautifully carnal act of the love they hold deeply for each other.
Chapter Twenty-Two
With agitation in her tone, Lana leans over Elli’s shoulder, and whispers, “Elli, will you please come help me with this fitting. This girl and her mother are impossible.”