She turned Cam toward the couch and bent her over the back.
“I hope you’re ready,” she said as she felt between Cam’s legs.
“I’m always ready for you,” Cam replied,
“Good,” Michael said as her other hand started up under Cam’s shirt and massaged down her back. Both hands continued slowly, around Cam’s hips until they reached the edge of hair between Cam’s legs.
“Yes, this is what I want,” she said softly.
“Are you sure the bed wouldn’t be more comfortable?”
“Mais non, cherie. Standing on your feet, leaning over the back of the couch will be much better. Wait and see.” Her hands continued around Cam’s hips as she rubbed and rubbed her pelvis and bottom. Her hands came close to the one spot she wanted and around and around closely to it. The heat increased as the wetness grew. She held back until she could feel Cam’s body signaling her need.
“Lean a little more forward,” she said softly as Cam bent over the couch. Michael’s fingers entered her. “Yes, cherie, this is much better. I can reach much deeper.”
“Oh, God,” Cam moaned as Michael reached into and out of her. Michael started slowly at first and it wasn’t many minutes before Cam started pushing back into her. Michael tried to slow down as Cam tried to hold back, but it kept getting faster and faster. They were both frenzied. Michael’s other arm came around her as Michael held her tightly.
Michael entire hand slipped into Cam.
“Michael!” Cam wailed as Michael turned and twisted her hand around in the hot liquid.
As it got faster, Cam let out a cry of release, her body shaking violently. Michael finally withdrew and pulled Cam back into her arms.
“Je t’aime, cherie,” she whispered. “Don’t ever doubt that.” She kissed down Cam’s neck under her ear.
Cam sagged back into her as she tried to get her breath and clear her mind.
Several minutes later, Cam turned in her arms and brought Michael’s mouth to hers. Yes, this was what she’d wanted all day. Their tongues fought each other as the kiss got hotter and hotter. Cam at last pulled back.
“Now, let’s see how much I love you,” she said softly. She turned Michael around and, raising Michael’s thigh, forced her over the back of the couch. She ran around to where Michael had landed on the thick cushions and knelt down to bring her mouth to Michael’s stomach as her hands unbuttoned, unfastened, and unzipped the rest of Michael’s clothes.
Chapter 14
“What are you doing today?” Michael asked the next morning. She was ready to leave for work. Her first class was at ten. It would take her almost an hour to drive around the lake and get to the RCMP facility.
“I may stay in bed all day today,” Cam responded.
“Good,” Michael said as she leaned down to plant a kiss on Cam’s forehead. “When I get here tonight, I’ll look for you right here. It will save us a lot of time.” She smiled, slyly.
Michael waved as she hurried down the stairs. Cam heard the door close and a few minutes later heard the creak of the garage door and the Harley engine fire up. There was the sound of the garage door closing and the roar of the bike as Michael drove down the street.
Cam looked over at the clock. It was 9:08. It was a good thing Michael was working in Magog this week. If she were working in Montreal, she’d have to leave an hour earlier.
How did Michael do that every day? Not that she was complaining, but if Michael were at her own house, she’d be able to sleep until nine o’clock every day, maybe even nine-thirty. Michael swore that she’d give up sleep and living near her work, if she could spend a few hours a night with Cam. Actually, Cam liked that, too. Luckily, Michael only taught Monday through Thursday and only had an early class on Tuesdays. So, when Michael arrived on Thursday night, Cam had her to herself until eight o’clock Monday morning. Michael stayed at her own house in Montreal on Monday nights, but drove back here on Tuesday, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
“Oh, come on, Andrews,” she lectured herself, “You’ve got a job to do. Get your sorry ass out of bed.”
She threw off the covers and slid her legs over the side of the bed.
“Okay. Wake up. Take a shower and get dressed.” She pushed herself into the bathroom and turned the shower on. As soon as the temperature was right, she stepped inside.
“Shit, Andrews,” she said as she started to lose her balance. She had to balance herself and put her hand on the wall. As the water cascaded over her, she though back to the beginning of the week.
“What are you doing?” she asked herself. You almost cheated on Michael Thursday night, and it was only a kid. I seriously doubt she is twenty-three, probably not even twenty-one. You’ve never worried about the people who got arrested because of you. Why is Laurie different? Because I was tempted? No, it never stopped me before. Of course, that was before she and Michael had taken their relationship to the next level.
She reached for the shampoo and started lathering.
Come on Andrews. Get over it. She’s a young druggie…but it will ruin her life. No young kid should start her life in jail. Maybe I can steer her away when I know a bust is going to go down.
Cam continued with her shower, turning the heat up on the water.
Let me get hot, and then I’ll turn it to cold and shock myself out of this pity party. Cam considered her situation as she lathered her body
The thing is: you didn’t cheat. You kissed her once, and then we sat and talked for an hour. Nothing happened. You have nothing to feel guilty about. Michael knows what you have to do when you’re on a case. It’s never bothered you before. It never bothered you when she had a night out and you knew she’s out fucking some sweet young thing that she picked up in a bar. Get over it.
She lathered the rest of her body. Why now? Because we’d talked about going to the next level and getting married? Yes, I love Michael with all my heart. Is that why I felt I’d cheated?
Why is it different
Cam rinsed off and then put her hand on the faucet. Should she risk the cold or go do her job? After a few seconds thinking about it, she switched the water off. Stepping out of the tub, she grabbed her towel and started to dry off. She looked in the mirror.
What is your problem? she asked her reflection. No, you don’t sleep with someone on every case you do, and you did not touch Laurie. You wanted to, but you didn’t. Michael would have said why didn’t you?
Laurie is only twenty-one or two, she is just a kid! Where was I at that age?
Then she remembered that weekend. It was a week before her twenty-second birthday, at the very same time of the year as this…
Chapter 15
Cam had been on Crew Team A at Radcliffe. Their crew placed first in a major competition; the Head of the Charles Regatta. It was the major meet for the year and emotions were running high. The whole school was excited about their win and the trophy it added to the Radcliffe Wall of Fame. They were hot stuff around campus.
The team captain, Barbara, decided to throw a party for the team on the second Friday night in April. It would probably be one of the last times they’d all be together. There were a couple small meets later in the month and one other regatta in early May and then three of them would graduate the next week. The apartment Barbara shared with her friend, Cindy, who was also on the team, was just outside Harvard Square. Barbara had rented a whole keg of beer and it was flowing liberally. Not one of them was worrying about anything. They’d think about finals when they recovered from their hangovers.
Suddenly, Debby stood up in the middle of the room and announced, “I’m so proud of this team! I’m going to give each one of you a big kiss!” Debby, the coxswain, was a sophomore but she had the skill and the endurance for the varsity team. She was a pretty young woman from the Midwest, with long, light brown hair and sparkling eyes.
The entire team laughed as she went from one to the other and planted a big wet kiss on each mouth. The alcohol had loosened their inhibi
tions.
When she got to Cam and kissed her, Cam kissed her back. She didn’t mean to, in fact, she never really thought about it. It just happened.
As Debby drew back from her, a strange look crossed her face.
“I’m sorry,” Cam whispered when she realized what she’d just done.
Debby stared at her for a moment, then turned and bounced away to continue her sweep of the room.
“I wondered when she was going to get you to do that,” said a voice behind Cam.
She turned to see Barbara standing behind her.
“What?” Cam was good at being succinct.
Barbara just laughed. She gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder and walked away.
Cam downed another mug of beer.
She didn’t really remember what happened the rest of the night, but she did remember it was daybreak before she managed to make it back to her apartment. Cam couldn’t even remember how she’d gotten home. Her clothes littered the hall of her apartment, each piece left on the floor just as she’d shed them. She’d never had a hangover like that before, either.
She curled up on her sofa, wrapped in a bathrobe, and nursed a glass of milk. She eyed the Advanced Economics textbook on the floor next to the TV. She wasn’t at all sure she could even lift it, never mind study it.
It was beginning to get dark again when the phone woke her.
Cam looked around. She hadn’t moved an inch since she’d come in here; neither had the textbook.
Cam picked up the phone and heard laughter.
“Are you hung over?” It was Barbara. Cam could hear other voices in the background.
“I don’t really know,” she answered. “Is it still today?”
More laughter. They’d talked for a minute and Barbara invited her to go out with them for a drink.
* * * *
Cam was dressed and sitting on the front stoop when Barbara’s car pulled up. She hadn’t asked who was going but she wasn’t at all surprised to see Barbara, Cindy, and Debby in the car.
“You look better than you did this morning!” Barbara greeted her. “Did you get any sleep?”
“I must have. I don’t remember where the time went,” she admitted. “What have you been up to?”
“A little of this, a little of that,” Cindy equivocated. “Debby slept on our couch all day.”
They laughed and joked as Barbara wove her way through the downtown streets of Boston. They were nearing the Boston Aquarium when she pulled over and parked the car. This was a strange place for a bar, Cam thought. Office buildings lined the streets and the few stores that were there were closed. The block looked deserted.
“All a-shore that’s going a-shore,” Debby chirped as she sprang from the car.
Only one place had a light on out front. It was a small lunch/breakfast restaurant that served the businesspeople in the area. Cam checked her watch. It was much too late for it to be open. Especially on a Saturday. It looked like it should be closed by now.
As they opened the door of The Saint, music assaulted them. Inside, Cam gawked at the clientele. It was all women. Even the bartenders were women. A heavy-set manly-looking woman sat near the door. She seemed to know Cam’s friends. Cam assumed that she was the bouncer.
“Nice race last week,” she greeted Barbara. “You’ve got one helluva team.”
“Yup!” Barbara crowed. Then she turned and put a hand on Cam’s shoulder. “Rosie, do you know Cameron?”
“Haven’t had the pleasure,” Rosie said as she reached out to shake her hand. “I recognize you, though. You sit third.”
“That’s me,” Cam admitted. The handshake was strong and forceful.
“Yup,” Barbara bragged, “Cam’s the head of the engine room.”
Rose nodded as she looked at Cam’s shoulders. She smiled and patted her on the back.
The engine room was the technical term for the four of rowers who sat in the middle. They didn’t need to worry about checking the balance or setting the stroke rate. They just rowed. They were the strength: the heartbeat of the team.
Details! Cam didn’t know why that even mattered. Maybe she was looking for something to take her mind off the scene in front of them.
“Tell Starr that you’ve got a victory drink coming,” Rosie told Barbara.
“Thank you very much, Miz Rose.” Barbara smiled with sort of a bow. “We appreciate your support.”
“Hell, you Radcliffe girls are the best!” Rosie said as she turned to greet another woman who was entering the bar.
Barbara threw her arm around Cindy’s shoulders and walked over to the bar. Cam turned to scan the room. This was a lesbian bar! There were women dancing with each other, playing pool and darts together and talking, some softly, others boisterously. There was even a couple at the back of the bar who were kissing passionately. There wasn’t a thought of testosterone in the whole place.
“You ever been in here before?” She’d forgotten that Debby was still standing beside her until she spoke.
Cam shook her head. She wasn’t sure if she could trust herself to speak.
“Yeah, I didn’t used to come down here, either, but it’s a lot nicer than the other one over in Back Bay.”
Cam merely nodded.
The next thing she knew, Barbara was placing a mug of beer in her hand.
“Cindy and I are going to the back room. The music’s better to dance to back there,” she told them. “Come on back when you get bored.”
Cam took a large gulp from the beer and wiped the foam from her upper lip.
“Do you dance?” Debby asked.
Cam nodded. At least she thought she did. She was well on her way to culture shock overload.
“Do you talk?” was her next question.
Cam looked at her as though she was an alien being. She gulped more of her beer.
“You haven’t said a word since we walked in here,” she told her. There was a sly smile on her face.
“I—uh—I guess I didn’t have anything to say.” Cam bantered.
“Then let’s go dance. You won’t need to say a thing. In fact, even if you did say something, I probably wouldn’t be able to hear you over the music.” She grabbed Cam’s hand and pulled her toward the back room. Cam left her mug on the bar as she was dragged away.
Cam realized as they walked in there that the music that they’d heard out front was coming from the speakers in the back room. The decibel level in there was almost deafening. No one seemed to mind, though. The whole room pulsed with energy…female energy.
They found a space on the crowded dance floor and danced.
Somewhere during the next hour it dawned on Cam. She was comfortable. She felt at home. She enjoyed being with women. She liked watching them dance together. She was enjoying the way Debby looked at her. Was she a lesbian? That might explain why it never bothered her that she didn’t date. Go figure.
The music turned to a slow dance. Without a second thought, Debby slipped into her arms and they swayed to the softer music.
From across the room, Cam saw Barbara and Cindy looking over at them. Cindy whispered something into Barbara’s ear and Barbara looked back at Cam. She gave her a big thumbs-up. Cam smiled back at her as Debby’s body pressed into hers.
“Isn’t there something you started last night that you want to continue?” Debby whispered into her ear.
Cam looked at her, not remembering what she was referring to.
“I think you started to kiss me,” she reminded her.
Cam thought back. “Yes, I think I did.” She looked into Debby’s eyes.
“Well, this is as good a place as any.” She smiled she placed her lips on Cam’s.
Bells and whistles started to ring. Buzzers went off in her head. She was standing in the middle of a dance floor in a lesbian bar, kissing another woman! It felt good. It felt right.
Cam didn’t care who was watching. It didn’t matter who knew. She pressed her lips into Debby’s passionately. She cou
ld feel her body beginning to shift into overdrive as she pressed her torso into Debby’s. Her tongue developed a mind of its own as she delved into Debby’s mouth. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t hear the music. She was drowning and she loved it.
“Hey, you two!” Cam heard the voice but it took her a minute to respond. “Come up for air, girl!”
Debby took a step back as Barbara and Cindy appeared beside them.
“I knew you were too quiet,” Barbara said as she patted Cam’s shoulder. “It’s always the quiet ones that you have to watch out for! Buy this woman another beer!” she shouted.
And so they drank, and danced, and kissed some more, and drank a few more beers until her head was spinning. Debby was at her side and didn’t seem inclined to move away. Their hands must have been glued together.
They ended up sitting at a table against the side wall. Neither of them could have stood up without the other’s help. They had both had a little too much to drink. Cam couldn’t stop kissing her and it felt like Debby didn’t want her to stop. Finally, Cam realized that Barbara and Cindy were standing in front of them.
“We’d better get them home before they get this place shut down,” Cindy chuckled.
“Damn, Andrews!” Barbara laughed. “You really are a rower! You float around for a while, but when you get the starting buzzer, zoom! You’re off.”
Debby chuckled and leaned into Cam.
“I wish I’d known that months ago. I would have triggered the buzzer earlier.”
As usual, Cam couldn’t think of anything to say.
“Uh…I live in a dorm. Your place?” she whispered.
Cam must have nodded.
* * * *
Cam took a deep breath as she brushed her hair. But I didn’t fuck Laurie. I guess moving up here has changed both of us. Now that we’re practically living together there isn’t any need for either of us to look elsewhere, not that there ever was, but at least when we’re presented with the possibility, there’s no need to accept it.
Yes, they’d even talked about getting married. How serious was that?
After drying her hair, Cam went back into the bedroom to look for clothes. She grabbed a pair of jeans and a clean polo shirt.
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