Behind the Pine Curtain

by Gerri Hill

  “Did you think about me touching you?” Kay whispered.

  “Kay—”

  “Tell me. Did you, Jackie?”

  Jacqueline could stand it no more. She grasped Kay’s arms, moving her against the wall, pressing her body flush against Kay, holding her there. Their eyes locked together, fire on fire. She felt Kay trembling in her arms.

  “I fantasized about you, too, Jackie.”

  Jacqueline couldn’t wait. Without another word, she took the lips that were so close, the lips that she’d dreamed of as a teenager, the lips that had haunted her as an adult. Her moan mingled with Kay’s as their mouths mated for the first time. Her tongue shyly traced Kay’s lower lip, finally slipping inside at Kay’s beckoning. Frantic hands pulled her closer, and Jacqueline grasped Kay’s hips, molding their bodies together.

  It was a sensation unlike anything Kay had ever experienced. Her body simply melted into Jackie. All of her senses came alive at once, and she knew she had never really been kissed before. Not like this. Not with such passion, such desire that had her feeling faint. She finally pulled away, breathing hard.

  “Oh, good God, Jackie,” she gasped. “I’m going to fall down.”

  “I’ve got you.”

  “Please, Jackie,” Kay whispered. She moved her hands to Jackie’s waist, urgently pulling the T-shirt from Jackie’s jeans. “Don’t make us wait any longer.”

  It was Jacqueline who thought she was going to fall down when she let Kay’s bra slip from her fingers to the floor. The shadows did nothing to hide the rise and fall of Kay’s chest, nothing to hide the small breasts from Jacqueline’s greedy eyes. It was a body she used to know so well, a body she’d watched change from adolescent to teen. A body that had matured into the lovely woman standing naked before her now.

  Then it hit her. She and Kay were about to make love.

  “I’m scared, Kay,” she whispered.

  Kay smiled. She should have known. So, she took one of Jackie’s hands and drew it to her, surprised that it trembled when she placed it over her breast. She couldn’t contain the quiet moan that escaped at Jackie’s tentative touch. She closed her eyes as her own hands moved across Jackie’s naked flesh.

  “Make love to me, Jackie,” she breathed.

  It was then, when she felt Jackie’s body cover her own, that the rightness of it all hit her. She’d only had one sexual partner before, and Jackie’s gentle touch upon her body was so different from the brutal hands she remembered. She opened her eyes when she felt Jackie’s warm mouth cover her breast, and she arched into her as Jackie’s tongue swirled over her nipple. Her body came alive, sensations that were foreign to her traveled through her system— vibrating from every nerve ending—and she moaned from the pleasure of it all. Y e s , it was so right to have Jackie loving her.

  Jacqueline was trembling as her hand moved along Kay’s waist to her hip—warm, soft skin greeting her at every turn. Kay’s quiet moans aroused her even more, and she had to force herself to go slow when all she wanted was to be inside Kay, to feel her wetness, to taste her wetness.

  She groaned, moving from Kay’s breast back to her mouth, finding soft lips that opened to her, for her. Kay’s arms pulled her close, hands moving lightly across her back, sliding to her hips. She felt Kay’s thighs part, felt Kay arch to reach her. Jacqueline lowered her hips, meeting Kay forcefully as their tongues dueled. Their hips danced in an ancient rhythm, then Jacqueline could stand it no longer. With her knees, she urged Kay’s thighs farther apart, moving her hand between them.

  Kay felt delirious as she waited for Jackie’s hand to touch her, to take her, to claim her finally after all these years. She never knew her body could be so aroused by another’s touch, never knew she could be transported to another level of ecstasy just by Jackie’s hands, her mouth. But, God, she was about to explode, and Jackie’s hand had yet to reach her, had yet to move into her wetness, move into her.

  “Jackie … oh, Jackie,” she murmured, eyes sliding closed again as she felt Jackie’s hand move over her hips, across her thigh, achingly close to her throbbing center.

  Jacqueline’s restraint faded at Kay’s whispered words. Without another thought, her fingers slid into wetness, disappearing deep inside Kay. She felt Kay close around her, felt Kay arch against her, heard the moans—not knowing if they were Kay’s or her own. Her eyes closed as her fingers moved with Kay, bringing her close to orgasm. Incoherent sounds came from Kay as her hips jerked against Jacqueline’s hand. Jacqueline’s breathing was labored, and she opened her eyes, seeing the glistening wetness on her hand. She licked her lips, moaning loudly, knowing she had to have her mouth there.

  Kay was only slightly aware of the mouth that covered her intimately, of the tongue that raked only once against her swollen clit. That was all it took to send her over the edge. She screamed out immediately, her body no longer hers to control. Her orgasm shook her head to toe and she trembled fervently as the convulsions slowly subsided. She blindly pulled Jackie to her, needing her closeness, needing her strength.

  “I have no words, Jackie,” she whispered against her neck.

  Jacqueline had no coherent thoughts as she wound her naked body around Kay. Oh my God… you just made love to her. Panic was about to set in. A part of her was afraid that Kay would regret this, that Kay would pull away from her. She rolled to her back, pulling Kay with her, holding her close. Her lips moved softly across Kay’s face. Then she gasped as she felt Kay’s hand caress her breast.

  “You have such beautiful breasts,” Kay murmured. “I used to love looking at your body.” She looked up, meeting Jackie’s eyes in the shadows. “I just never knew why.”

  “Kay, you’re not… you’re not sorry, are you?”

  “Oh, God, no. Not sorry, Jackie. It was… it was so beautiful.” She looked away, her hand again moving between Jackie’s breasts, touching first one, then the other, watching in fascination as the nipples hardened. “I want to make love to you. I want… I want to touch you that way.” She looked up again. “You want that, don’t you?”

  “Kay, I’ve wanted that forever.”

  She watched as Kay’s eyes darkened before pulling away from her own. Then her heart nearly stopped before drumming back to life again as her teenage dreams began to come true, beginning with Kay’s mouth covering her breast.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  Kay woke first, the unfamiliar weight of another’s arm across her waist. Unfamiliar, yet so very familiar. Even if the events of last night weren’t still fresh in her mind, she’d know it was Jackie holding her. She would know Jackie’s touch, her scent, anywhere.

  She slowly closed her eyes, trying to ward off the panic attack that she knew was about to hit. Last night, she’d not had time to think. All she wanted was Jackie’s hands on her, and her own hands on Jackie’s skin. Nothing else mattered. But now, now as the sunlight crept through the blinds, reality hit. She was lying naked with another woman. A woman who had made love to her—a woman she had made love to—for hours on end.

  Oh God.

  She had to escape. She just couldn’t face Jackie now. What would she say? Was it a mistake? No, it had felt too right for it to be a mistake. To o right and too perfect. But now what?

  Oh my God. I’m a lesbian. Am I?

  She shook her head. She wasn’t ready to deal with it now. She wasn’t ready to talk about it. So she did the only sensible thing she could think of.

  She ran.

  Jacqueline rolled over, her body pleasantly sore. She knew she was alone before she opened her eyes. Disappointed at first, she realized how late it must be. Kay would already be at work. So she tossed the covers off and stretched, a satisfied moan escaping as visions of last night flooded her mind.

  Made love.

  Damn, but did she ever think this day would come? She smiled. Only in her dreams. But last night, Kay, with her inexperience, had taken her places no woman had before. Kay knew exactly how to touch her. It was as if… as if Kay had
dreamed it a thousand times.

  She showered and pulled on yesterday’s jeans, reminding herself that she needed to do laundry again. There was no coffee… and no note. In fact, little evidence Kay had been there.

  As she spooned coffee from the can, she looked around thoughtfully, wondering what Kay was thinking, how she was feeling. She wished Kay had woken her so they could talk. Kay would, no doubt, need to talk.

  While the coffee made, she dug through drawers in Kay’s desk, looking for the phonebook. She found Kay’s Hallmark, and dialed. An involuntary smile lit up her face when she heard Kay’s voice.

  “Good morning,” she murmured.

  Silence. Then, “Hello.”

  Jacqueline raised her eyebrows. “If you’d hung around a bit, we could have talked about it, Kay,” she said quietly. “Are you all right?” She heard a long sigh and the slight clearing of Kay’s throat.

  “I’m not sure, Jackie.”

  Jacqueline closed her eyes. “Should I say I’m sorry?”

  “Sorry? I think last night was my doing,” Kay whispered. Then she cleared her throat again. “Now’s not a good time to talk.”

  “I understand.” Damn.

  “I’ll… I’ll see you later.”

  Jacqueline nodded, listening to the dial tone for a few seconds before hanging up. “I guess she freaked out,” she murmured. Damn.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Kay hung up the phone, angry with herself for being so short with Jackie. It wasn’t Jackie’s fault. She had done nothing wrong. Kay was the one who had practically attacked her in the hallway last night. Kay went to her first. Kay was the one who had pulled Jackie into her bedroom. No, if left up to Jackie, they would never have crossed over that line from friends to lovers.

  Lovers.

  Just the thought of it made Kay weak, and she grabbed the countertop for support as every kiss, every touch, came flooding back. She closed her eyes, still able to feel Jackie’s mouth on her skin, still taste and smell Jackie as her own mouth moved across Jackie’s body.

  Lovers. Yes.

  “Kay? Are you all right?”

  Kay blinked several times, finding herself face to face with Rene Wells. Why in the world would Rene Wells stoop so low as to enter her little store? It wasn’t even Christmas.

  “Hello, Rene.” Kay stood up straight. “I’m fine. What brings you here?”

  “Why, can’t I shop at your lovely little store?”

  Kay shook her head. “You normally don’t.”

  Rene had the good grace to blush, but she covered it nicely with a charming smile.

  “We were talking about you yesterday,” she said. “The in-laws always have us over for brunch after Sunday service. John and Mary Lawrence were there, too,” Rene said.

  “How nice,” Kay murmured politely.

  “They mentioned that Jackie Keys was staying with you. We knew, of course, that she was in town, what with the funeral and all,” Rene said with a toss of her hand. “Rumor has it that she was mentioned in her father’s will. Can you believe the nerve of some people? Crawling back into town to lay claim to the family fortune? And after all the shame she brought to her poor mother.”

  Kay opened her mouth to defend Jackie, then decided against it. She owed Rene no explanation. Rene would find out soon enough.

  “And Kay, do you think it’s safe for her to stay with you?”

  “Safe?”

  “Rumors are already spreading across town.”

  “What rumors?”

  “That the two of you are more than friends, if you know what I mean.”

  Kay laughed. “I know what you mean, Rene. What I’m wondering is why you felt the need to come down here to tell me this?”

  “I’m just looking out for your well-being, Kay.”

  “We both know that’s bullshit, Rene,” Kay said with the best smile she could muster. “We’re not friends, and we don’t socialize. If fact, you seldom patronize my store.” Kay moved around the counter and faced Rene. “My guess is, you want to be first in line at the gossip mill. But you know what, Rene, none of this is your business. So why don’t you go on back to the country club and tell them you struck out with me.”

  Rene took a step backward, hand at her chest. “Why Kay Garland, I can’t believe you speak to me like this.” Her voice lowered. “I do believe it was a loan from our bank that set you up in this… business, wasn’t it?”

  Kay smiled. Oh, she couldn’t wait for Rene to find out Jackie controlled the bank now. “Yes, it was. Although I don’t recall your name being anywhere on my loan application.”

  “I doubt they would have approved you for the loan had we not gone to school together, Kay. You might want to keep that in mind.” She turned quickly and fled from the store.

  Kay’s smile turned into an outright laugh. God, Rene had no idea how the real world functioned. But then her smile faded as her thoughts went back to Jackie. She had been so short with her, so distant. All because she was… what? Embarrassed? Embarrassed that they’d made love so thoroughly?

  She was no longer certain why she ran from Jackie this morning. Guilt? She could think of a hundred excuses, and one of them would be what the town would think, her family, her friends. It was the thing she hated most about living in a small town. Everyone knew your business. And this would be a secret she doubted they could keep. Why, even now, Rene Wells was probably on her cell phone, relaying her visit to her country club friends.

  Jacqueline snatched up her cell when it rang, hoping it would be Kay. But Greg’s voice greeted her.

  “You busy?”

  “No.” Jacqueline looked at her laptop, the screen saver flashing across. “Just working on some edits,” she lied. “What’s up?”

  “Well, Mr. Lawrence came by. He said you were leaving soon. Is that true?”

  Jacqueline twirled her glasses in her hand, nodding. “Yes, soon, Greg. I’m just not certain of the date. I was actually going to call you today and see if there’s anything you want to go over before I leave.”

  Greg laughed. “There are a thousand things I could go over. But I was looking at your wish list you forwarded to me. Mostly employee benefits and the like. If you’re serious about implementing these, I can get with Ms. Scott and get you a timeline.”

  “Yes, I think we’re sorely lacking in the benefits we provide to our employees. Some are simple and inexpensive, others I realize will cut into profit. It’s just something I think needs to be done. We may be more productive in the long run.”

  “I agree. I’ll get on it right away.”

  Jacqueline paused, remembering the way Kay had left that morning. Perhaps it would be better all the way around if Jacqueline left now. No sense in prolonging the inevitable.

  “Greg, why don’t you work something up today. Perhaps we can go over it tonight. If I feel like we’re on the same page, I may head on out tomorrow, then.”

  “Okay. Sure.” Greg cleared his throat, then paused. “Does Kay know you’re planning on leaving?”

  “No.” She paused too. “But it won’t be a surprise, Greg.” She tossed her glasses on the table. “I’ll come over to your place. Meet you there after work?”

  “Sure.”

  Jacqueline spent the rest of the day doing laundry and making arrangements for a flight out. She figured if she left early enough, she could be in Dallas by noon, so she booked a two o’clock flight to San Francisco. A quick e-mail to Ingrid ensured her that someone would pick her up. She even promised to go back with Ingrid and visit for a few days. That would be better than going alone to her condo, where there would be nothing to distract her.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  Kay was disappointed that Jackie’s car wasn’t in her driveway when she got home. Disappointed, but not necessarily surprised. Jackie was most likely avoiding the confrontation that she assumed would occur when Kay got home. Confrontation? No. But they needed to talk. She needed to talk.

  Kay admitted she was over the initial
shock that she’d actually made love with Jackie. Yesterday, last night, it had all been so clear to her. But in the light of day, she’d panicked. Now, well, now she’d had a day to get used to it, to accept it. And what she and Jackie had done last night was simply express—physically—what they felt for one another, what they felt years ago, and certainly what they feel now, as adults.

  When Jackie touched her, when Jackie made love to her, everything she’d ever felt for Jackie suddenly made sense. How, as a kid, she’d been willing to follow Jackie anywhere, just to be with her. And later, as a teen, how she’d craved Jackie’s touch. The two of them had been so affectionate with each other, it was nearly second nature for them to touch when they talked. And now, as adults, that need to touch—and be touched—was as strong as ever.

  And last night, they didn’t fight it any longer. They couldn’t fight it. What happens next, however, Kay had no clue. Which is why she wished Jackie was home.

  She found a note instead. Apparently, Rose was making spaghetti for the group.

  “Please don’t let Josh be there,” she murmured.

  But she needn’t have worried. Jackie’s car was the only one in the driveway. Kay pulled in behind her, walking quickly through the light drizzle that had been falling all afternoon. The spring storms that had been forecast stayed to the north. She didn’t bother with the doorbell. After two quick knocks, she walked in.

  “In the kitchen,” Rose called.

  Lee Ann and Denny were at the table, coloring. Lee Ann looked up long enough to smile at her. Rose met her with a spoon extended.

  “Taste.”

  Kay obliged, nodding. “Good. Needs more basil.”

  Rose laughed. “As if I’d take cooking advice from you!” She covered the pot, adjusting the temperature to simmer.

  “Where is everyone?”

  “I put the twins down for a nap a couple of hours ago.”

  Kay waited patiently. “And?”

  Rose smiled. “And you mean Jackie?”