by Ali Vali
Taped to the top were directions written in Alma’s hand. Tully put a little butter in the bottom of the pan, along with some minced garlic, and added the brown shrimp. When they turned pink she added the sauce her mother had made and stirred until everything was hot. The other bowl Alma had included went into the microwave, and when the buzzer sounded, she was finished.
“Lunch is served.” She handed Libby a plate and laughed at the accusatory glare she received. “I haven’t been holding out on you, honey. I had a little help from my mother.”
“We might have to spend more time here so I can learn to make this Creole sauce. She’s a miracle worker.”
After they washed the plates together, they settled into the back of the boat in the chairs the boys had set out for them. In the distance was a small barrier island with a few gulls on shore, but aside from that they were alone.
“Did you spend a lot of days out here like this?” Libby asked.
“Not like this, no. I experienced a lot of days doing what we did earlier, only we started at dawn and worked until sunset. This is a working boat, and we only made money when we were trawling. Pop used to joke he had a built-in crew, and growing up we spent our summers out here learning what he liked to call ‘earning a good living.’”
Libby moved from her chair into Tully’s lap. “It sounds like you didn’t agree.”
“No, he was right about that. I love my father and my brothers, but this wasn’t the life I wanted. I earn a good living too, and while my family likes to hear about some of our more interesting cases, I don’t think they really understand what I do.”
“You might be wrong on that one, baby. My afternoon with Alma last weekend after we had that nice time on the swing makes me think they not only understand, but they’re extremely proud of you.” She took Tully’s baseball cap off and ran her fingers through her hair until they landed on the nape of her neck.
“That I do know. Funny thing is, for as much as I tried to outrun this life, I love being out here now. That’s why I wanted to share it with you. This is where I came from, love, and you’re where I’m going.”
Libby moved so that she was straddling Tully’s legs and pulled her into a kiss. “I love you.”
“Say it again.”
Libby put her lips right by Tully’s ear. “I love you, and I want very much to have a future with you. I want to be the one who comforts you.” She placed a kiss just below her ear. “I want to be the one you turn to when you need anything.” She moved to Tully’s jaw. “And the one you want to make love to.” She ended at Tully’s lips and gave her a kiss that drove Tully’s passion to the point of no return.
Libby’s T-shirt felt soft in Tully’s hands, but she was more interested in what it covered. Without losing eye contact, she lifted it slowly until it cleared her head and dropped it to the deck. She scanned the area one more time, not wanting to share this view with anyone else. Libby leaned back, keeping her hands on Tully’s shoulders as an obvious encouragement for her to touch her.
Every other woman Tully had ever been with melted from her mind when she dropped her eyes to the pink, very alert nipples. She had figured Libby wasn’t wearing anything under the T-shirt, but this was proof. The last thing she was expecting was a finger to the forehead when she moved to wrap her lips around the closer nipple.
“You don’t want me to?” Tully asked, figuring she had a long swim in her future.
“I want you to in the worst way, but you have to take your shirt off first. In the interest of time, why don’t you just stand up and take everything off, because once we start, we aren’t stopping.”
Tully stood and placed Libby on her feet before removing her own shirt. “Do you want to go inside?”
Libby helped her take her sports bra off and popped the button to her shorts. “I fell in love with a fisherman who happens to be an attorney, so I want my first time to be out here on the water and under the sun that make up a big part of who you became.” She unzipped her own shorts and let them drop to the deck with the rest of the clothing and stood before Tully, not making another move.
“My God,” said Tully in awe.
“What?”
“You’re beautiful.”
Libby laughed before pushing her back into the chair. “Yeah, yeah, you can slap yourself on the back later. The way you’re looking at me makes me believe you, though.”
They both moaned when they touched for the first time with nothing between them, and Tully just put her hands on Libby’s back and held her. Libby was so close Tully could feel how wet she was getting since her sex was pressed up against her lower abdomen. Wanting to go slow and savor the moment, she leaned Libby back a little and headed back to the hard left nipple. When she sucked just hard enough to feel it on the roof of her mouth, Libby moved her hips closer.
After that nipple turned deep pink, Tully moved to the other one and gave it equal treatment until Libby grabbed her hand and pushed it toward her center.
“Let’s take our time, baby,” Tully said, but Libby didn’t let go of her hand.
“Just not too much time, okay?” Libby’s skin felt like it was on fire, which was caused not by the sun but by the calluses on Tully’s hands that made her hyperaware of where she was being touched, accentuated by how maddeningly slow Tully was going.
Libby tugged on her hand, and for a second Tully gave in and ran her fingers through the wet heat, but only for a second. She moved from there to Libby’s butt, then down her thighs to behind her knees. Just when Libby thought Tully would quell some of the throbbing between her legs, she headed back up to the undersides of her breasts.
Libby felt worshipped and devoured all at once, and her senses were shifting into overdrive. She sank her fingers into Tully’s hair and pulled hard when she sucked on her nipple again, wanting to keep her in place. The pressure was building, and as much as Libby wanted to turn the release valve, she waited. The only way she could think to describe it was a delicious torture.
Tully moved to the other breast, and when she sucked, Libby felt as if a live wire ran from her nipple to her clitoris. The sensation made her moan so loudly that Tully let go with a pop.
When Tully leaned back, she watched Libby take some deep breaths as if trying to regain control. But that was the last thing Tully wanted her to do. She wanted Libby wild and desperate for her touch, to lose some of that control that had helped her survive the deaths of her parents and the loneliness that followed. She also wanted Libby to crave this experience and the commitment it implied as much as she did.
This time Libby didn’t have to guide her hand. Tully put just her middle and index fingers between Libby’s breasts and dragged them down her body until she dipped them into Libby’s wetness. She smiled at not only how turned on Libby was, but also how hard her clitoris had gotten. If Libby got any relief from the touch, it was fleeting.
“Please, baby, don’t go,” Libby said when Tully took her hand away again.
“Just one…little…taste.” Tully pinched Libby’s right nipple between her fingers before she painted it with the wetness she’d collected. “I just want a little taste, but I like having you this close to me and don’t want to let go.”
She finished by taking her prize, and this time she moaned when the sweetness that was so purely Libby exploded against her tongue.
In that moment her resolve to go slow shattered, and she slid her hand back down to make love to Libby. She felt Libby’s fingers wrap around her wrist, but this time it wasn’t to encourage her to keep going; she was making her stop.
“Did I do something wrong?”
Libby shook her head and seemed a little shy despite what they’d just been doing. “I just—”
“Honey, you can tell me, even if you want to stop. It’ll be okay.” She swept back Libby’s hair and tried to get her to raise her eyes.
“I don’t want to stop, but could we trade spots? I’ve thought about this for so long, and I just want you over me, making me
feel safe and like I’m yours.” Libby laughed when she finished, her blush adorable. “It’s stupid, I know, but…”
Tully slid down to the end of the lounge chair and very lovingly lowered Libby. “How you want me to touch you will never be stupid, love. Because you’re mine, I’ll always take it very seriously.” The feeling of desire sprang back instantly when she stretched out over Libby, careful to keep her weight off her. “I love you.”
“I love you too, and I’ve waited all my life for you.”
Libby spread her legs and took Tully’s hand, not resisting when she moved it down. To rebuild their passion, Tully wet her fingers again and rubbed from the opening of Libby’s sex up and gently over her clitoris. The sweep from bottom to top was so soft that Libby seemed to be chasing her fingers by tilting her hips up with every pass.
“I love you,” Tully whispered in Libby’s ear again. She sped up just slightly and felt Libby dig her fingers into her shoulders.
“Please go inside.” Libby had tensed every muscle in her body and appeared to be willing to beg for release.
Holding herself up with one hand, Tully looked down as she eased her fingers in, only to whip her eyes back up when she felt a barrier she didn’t expect. “Honey?”
“Don’t stop—I want it to be you. I meant what I said. I’ve waited all my life for you.” Libby laid her hand on Tully’s cheek and kissed her. “I wanted our first time to be special, and because it’s you, it’s going to be.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’ve had some opportunity if all I wanted was sex, but I wanted to hold off.”
Tully just gazed at her and smiled.
“I wanted it to be with someone who cared about me, and who meant something to me.” Libby kissed Tully. “I waited for you.”
Tully resumed her sensual massage, wanting Libby to be as aroused and open as possible. Slowly, never taking her thumb off Libby’s clitoris, she slid a finger in just enough to feel the top of Libby’s sex, then pulled out again. When she went back she pushed a little deeper until she had broken through the last of Libby’s innocence.
They stopped moving as if by mutual consent to allow Libby to grow accustomed to the fullness. When Tully pressed her thumb down, their dance began again. She sped up, feeling Libby clutch her fingers in the most intimate of ways, all the while continuing her stimulation.
“That’s it, baby. Let go for me,” she said, not knowing if Libby heard her over her moaning.
Libby felt like she was falling, but she wasn’t afraid. Tully was there for her to hang on to, so she opened herself up and gave in to the overwhelming sensation of her orgasm. It came in one life-changing moment, and she welcomed it by tightening her body in an arc before slumping like a rag doll. She had no doubt because it forever bound her to Tully in a way no one could ever share.
“You okay?”
Libby nodded against Tully’s shoulder, still grasping her until Tully moved and held her close. The boat drifted around the anchor, with only the sound of the water lapping at the hull and the cry of gulls in the distance.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Tully asked again some time later.
“I’m fabulous, actually. I was just wondering about something.”
Tully stopped running her fingers along Libby’s spine and made eye contact with her.
“When can we do that again?”
“In about two minutes, sweetheart.”
“Then what?” Libby propped herself up so she could see Tully’s face. “This isn’t a fling for you, right?” She tried to sound like she was joking, but even she could hear the slight desperation in her voice.
“I have to marry you now, huh?”
“It hasn’t been that long—” Libby didn’t know how to finish.
“When my parents met, my dad said it took him one afternoon to know how long he’d be with my mother. True love doesn’t need time to grow. It just needs a heart to take root in.” Tully wiped the tears from Libby’s face. “And it needs its other half to flourish.” She tapped over her heart. “You’ve taken root in here,” she tapped Libby’s chest, “and in here is where it will flourish.”
“I love you so much.”
“Enough to want to make this permanent?”
“Are you asking because I need reassurance, or because you want to?”
“Remember how I told you the first of the three cardinal rules of being a good attorney is never ask questions unless you know the answer?” she asked, making Libby nod. “The second rule is that we sometimes ask blindly because we really want to know something that we don’t. Libby, will you marry me?”
“Over and over again.”
Tully rolled them over slowly, never letting go of her. “Just once is all I’m asking. I love you so much that once is all it’ll take.”
“Do you think the kids will be okay with this?”
“Bailey and Ralph wanted to make sure I didn’t screw this up, so they gave me a good grilling on how much thought I’d put into our first date. I’m sure they didn’t think a first date would turn into a proposal, but I’m sure they’ll be happy for both of us.”
Libby laughed as she started to run her hands up and down Tully’s back. “Didn’t want to go back to Pop-Tarts, huh?”
“There was that and the reality they’d have to go back to crabby Tully, who was more than happy to hand out groundings.” Tully stopped her teasing to kiss Libby until they had to pull apart for lack of oxygen. “And I should’ve mentioned there was an additional clause to my proposal.”
“If you want a prenup , that’s all right, baby.”
“I don’t believe in those, so no. My terms are that you never mention to our grandchildren that I proposed to you naked.”
“But I accepted when I was naked too. What’s wrong with that?”
“Because when it’s Bailey, Ralph, or any Badeaux’s turn, I don’t want to have to listen to how they were naked when the big question was popped. There are just some things I don’t want to know about our kids.”
They laughed, but Libby locked away exactly what she’d said. Ralph and Bailey were already in her heart, but the mention of future children won her over completely. As an only child she had often wondered what it would be like to have someone to turn to like the Badeaux kids did when they experienced heartache.
“The other thing I should’ve done—” Tully said.
“You did everything perfectly, honey.”
“Was get a ring before I asked.”
“There’s always time for that.” Libby tried to bring her head down close enough for another kiss. “Where are you going?”
Tully had not only not met her lips but had gotten up and was headed into the cabin.
“I’m going to teach you the third and final rule to what makes a successful attorney. Care to review?” She stood just out of Libby’s reach with her hands behind her back.
“Never ask a question you don’t know the answer to.” Libby held up one finger.
“Very important number one rule.”
Another finger went up. “Ask even when you don’t know the answer when it’s important enough to you.”
“Number two should be used sparingly, but can be rather effective.” Tully dropped to her knees and put her fists on the edge of the cushion. “The third is the most important, though. Three is what will guarantee your success every time.”
“Does it have to do with questions?”
“It’s more of a statement than a question, love. Prepare for everything. I asked you, not knowing what your answer would be, but the hopeful soul in me remembered the third rule.”
Libby sat up and framed Tully’s face with her hands. “What do you mean?”
“I asked myself, what if my girl says yes?” She opened her right hand and in her palm sat a ring. “So I came prepared. Are you willing to say yes again?”
“You can ask all day long and my answer’s always going to be yes.”
Tully took Libby’s left ha
nd and slipped a ring, a large sapphire flanked by two equally sizable diamonds, onto Libby’s ring finger. When it was in place she lifted Libby’s hand and kissed it.
“There’s just one thing left to do,” Libby said.
Before Tully could think of an answer, Libby’s hands were between her legs, and still turned on from their afternoon, she never made it off her knees before a strong orgasm shot through her.
“If I lose my mind and tell the story to our grandchildren, I wanted to make sure they didn’t think it was all one-sided,” Libby said as she bit down gently on Tully’s earlobe.
After a swim Tully started the engines and moved them closer to the island where she planned to anchor for the night. She brought out a few rods from the cabin and baited the hooks with some leftover shrimp.
“What are you doing now?” Libby asked. She had rinsed off in the small bathroom and thrown on a fresh pair of shorts and a T-shirt. Her hair was slicked back and starting to dry at the ends in the warm breeze blowing from the south.
“I was planning to fish for dinner, but I got a little sidetracked.” Tully’s first cast landed well away from the boat, and she settled the rod in a holder in the rail before casting the second line.
“You call it sidetracked and I call it wonderful. Whatever you decide is fine, as long as you know that we’ll be doing it often.”
Tully had to laugh at Libby’s infectious giddiness. They’d been pretty much glued to each other since the first item of clothing had come off, and their closeness hadn’t changed now that they were dressed again. Libby was so different from Jessica. Not that Tully wanted to compare, but it was difficult not to. She could feel the genuineness of Libby’s feelings in every touch.
“Are you happy with our first official date so far?” She took her eyes off the fishing lines and concentrated on Libby’s face.
“I’m comparing it to my first first official date.”
“My competition, huh?” The cork bob she’d put on the line sank suddenly, so she turned Libby around just in time to see the other one follow. “Start reeling in slowly.”