199 Steps to Love

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199 Steps to Love Page 10

by Pauline George

She got Jamie on her side, just in case she actually was sick. She then undid her trainers and pulled them off and wrestled Jamie's jeans down her legs and finally off.

  All the time Jamie hadn’t moved or made a noise apart from a gentle snoring.

  “Well that’s it, my little inebriated friend. I’m not taking all your clothes off,” Selena said, and pulled the quilt gently over her.

  She went down to the kitchen and brought back a bucket and left it by the bed, along with a glass of water, which she left on the bedside table.

  “Just in case you get sick and can’t make it to the bathroom.”

  Selena switched off the light but left the door open and then made her way to the spare room. She stripped off her clothes, found a t-shirt in one of the drawers of the dresser—Jamie's clothes overflow—and put it on.

  Selena grabbed a new toothbrush from the bathroom cabinet and completed her night-time ritual. She made a final check on Jamie, who had not moved her position, went back to the spare room and crashed for the night.

  IT WAS VERY early when Lucy got up. She was restless, eager and reticent all at the same time. Lucy knew she had time to fill in until the gallery opened so she decided to walk there now, go up the steps to the church and enjoy the early morning. She was grateful it wasn’t raining, as she was sure she would wear a path in the lounge carpet if she couldn’t get outdoors.

  The sun was just coming out from behind the clouds when Lucy started the walk to the gallery. She wondered if she’d see another painting she liked. She thought about treating herself again, then realised that was how she got into this mess in the first place.

  Lucy had to grin at that.

  She got to the gallery and saw a sign that stated it wouldn’t be opening today and would now be closed every Sunday until April.

  “Damn it to hell!” Lucy looked around to see if she’d been heard, but she was alone.

  She stood looking in the window, not actually seeing anything just thinking. Then she remembered that Jamie had put her address on the note she’d left.

  She decided to go back to the cottage, get the address, and check the street map to see where it was.

  It didn’t take Lucy long to get back, and once she’d looked at the map she saw it was only about a ten minute walk.

  “Okay Lucy, it’s now or never, what’s it to be? No time like the present I guess.”

  IT WAS NEARLY ten-thirty by the time she left the cottage for the second time, and Lucy hoped Jamie didn’t have a long lie-in on her day off.

  When she got there, Lucy walked up to the door and knocked before she could change her mind. A few minutes went by so she knocked again and then she heard a voice shouting they were coming. A few seconds later the door opened and Selena, in a t-shirt and what appeared to be nothing else, stood looking bleary-eyed at Lucy.

  “Oh, hello, sorry, maybe I should come back later,” Lucy stammered and started to back away.

  “No, don’t go!” Selena shouted and grimaced at the noise and held her head. “Come in, I’ll see if JJ is awake yet. It’s not what you think by the way.”

  “What do I think?” Lucy asked, amused now at Selena who appeared to be hung-over.

  “I don’t know, but whatever it is, it isn’t.”

  “Okay I’ll decipher that comment later,” Lucy said, and followed Selena into the lounge.

  “I’ll be back in a tick,” Selena said, and left Lucy standing in the middle of the room.

  The lounge was a warm cosy feeling room, fully carpeted in a sage green with a brown leather sofa and two matching armchairs around an open fireplace. Lucy could imagine reading in front of crackling log fire. In one corner was a bookcase filled to the brim and almost overflowing with books of all descriptions. She took one of them off the shelf. It had a vibrant cover. She turned it over to read the synopsis and saw it was a lesbian novel. Lucy opened it at the middle and started to read. She quickly closed it as she realised she had started at a very intimate part in the story. Lucy felt her face was as hot as was another part of her body. She hoped her blushes would disappear before Jamie or Selena came into the room.

  “It’s a good read.”

  Lucy jumped and turned round to see Jamie standing there. No such luck getting rid of her red face then, twice now Jamie had caught her blushing. Lucy’s heart fluttered and her stomach clenched at the sight of Jamie. Even though she didn’t look quite as bad as Selena, and had obviously only just woken up, she still looked gorgeous to Lucy.

  “I’m sorry to come round so early, I didn’t realise you had company,” Lucy said, putting the book back on the shelf and trying to compose herself.

  “Selena brought me home as I was a little drunk.”

  “A little, JJ, you were really gone, my friend.” Selena joined them, now dressed in her clothes from the previous evening.

  “Okay, I was more than a little drunk, then. Look I really need a shower and to brush the birdcage that purports to be my mouth. Can you wait while I get myself back in the land of the living?”

  “Sure I can. Shall I make some coffee and maybe breakfast?” Lucy asked.

  “Oh yeah to the coffee please,” Jamie and Selena replied in unison. Then they held their heads.

  “Could you just do some toast? I don’t think I can face anything else yet,” Selena said.

  “Toast for me too.”

  Lucy laughed. “Where’s the kitchen?”

  “Back into the hallway and it’s the next door on your right. Shall I show you?” Jamie asked.

  “I’m sure I won’t get lost. You two get cleaned up and leave the rest to me.”

  Jamie and Selena looked at each other, and then went off to shower.

  Lucy went into quite a large airy kitchen. There were lots of units for storage and a range cooker that ran on gas and not wood or coal. At the end of the kitchen were a table and four chairs. A door led out into the garden, which looked to be at least a hundred feet long.

  Remembering why she was there, she opened the fridge and got out the milk and butter. She found the bread in the container on the work top alongside the toaster.

  By the time the toast was ready, Jamie and Selena reappeared looking a lot better than they had ten minutes before. Selena had obviously borrowed some of Jamie’s clothes, as the sweatshirt and jogging bottoms were a little too long for her shorter frame.

  Jamie grabbed a bottle of aspirin from one of the kitchen drawers. She shook three out and handed the bottle to Selena who did the same.

  “I take it you two are feeling the effects of last night?”

  “I’m not too bad,” Jamie said. “I take after my granddad. He could drink for England, his medicine as he called it, and the next morning he was as right as rain.”

  “It’s true and it pisses me off, no pun intended,” Selena said.

  “Don’t get me wrong, I do feel a little bummed this morning but nothing time can’t cure,” Jamie said.

  “Sit at the table, it’s ready,” Lucy said.

  She put the toast on a plate and put it on the table with the butter and a knife.

  “Lucy, this is great, thanks,” Jamie said.

  “It’s only coffee and toast.”

  “Maybe, but I know Jamie and I wouldn’t have bothered.” Selena started eating the toast she’d just buttered.

  The three of them chatted about Jamie and Selena's drunken evening and journey home. By the time they finished they were laughing their heads off at Selena's description of how well Jamie couldn’t walk.

  Selena got up and cleared the table, putting the dishes in the sink.

  “Okay, I’m going to my own home now,” Selena said. “I have a ton of washing I need to do.” She kissed Jamie on the cheek.

  “No, you just want to get out of doing the washing up,” Jamie said.

  “Well, there is that I suppose, but I think Lucy came round to see you,” Selena said. “So ’bye, Lucy, and thanks. I’m sure I’ll see you soon.”

  “Yeah, see you soon,
Selena, and you’re welcome.”

  “I’ll walk you out.” Jamie got up and they walked out together, leaving Lucy to finish her coffee.

  “I like Lucy, she’s a lovely person.”

  “She is, Selena, and I like her too, a lot.”

  “Well don’t blow it by pushing her, okay?”

  “Yes, boss.”

  Selena slapped Jamie's arm and started off down the path.

  “See you tomorrow, JJ, be good.”

  Jamie could hear Selena's laughter as she walked down the path. Jamie went back into the house and closed the door. She made her way slowly back into the kitchen, to Lucy and the talk she was sure Lucy wanted, and they both needed to have.

  LUCY LOOKED UP as she heard Jamie come back into the kitchen.

  “Is there any coffee left?”

  “Yes, I’ve just made some more.” Lucy poured two mugs for them.

  Jamie sat at the table and Lucy joined her. They sat quietly for a few minutes. The air was filled with expectancy before Lucy started the conversation off with what she wanted to say.

  “Firstly, Jamie, I want to say I’m really sorry for running out on you. To say I’m confused about what’s happening to me would be an understatement. I just panicked. What I was feeling, it was so much, too much. I needed time to think it all through. I know I couldn’t do that up here, so I went to see Alexi. I needed to get some distance and perspective and seeing my daughter helped.”

  “Lucy, I understand what you’re saying, but I have to tell you I was more than a little hurt when I woke up to find you’d gone. I’m not saying it’s never happened before, but maybe it’s because it never mattered before,” Jamie said.

  “It mattered to me too, Jamie, that’s why I left. I was so affected by what I was feeling.”

  “And what were you feeling?”

  “It was so intense all my senses were heightened. It seemed that for the first time in my life I knew what it was all about—passion. I don’t think I’ve ever really felt such passion before. And I’ve certainly never—erm—you know—” Lucy stopped, her blushes saying what she couldn’t.

  “You’ve never what, Lucy?”

  “Jamie don’t be so obtuse, you know what I’m talking about.”

  “Oh wow, are you telling me you’ve never had an orgasm before?”

  “Of course I’ve had orgasms, but never as strong and never more than one.”

  “I don’t know what to say to that, except I hope you enjoyed it, or should I say them.”

  “You’re such a guy, Jamie, of course I enjoyed them. God I was so turned on and so ready for you, it frightened me.”

  “Lucy you don’t need to be frightened of having those feelings, it’s perfectly natural.”

  “Maybe it is for you, but not for me. And there’s the fact that I left you, well you know—”

  “That’s okay, it’s not the end of the world. I’ll let you make it up to me.”

  “I’m sure you will,” Lucy said quietly, her eyes downcast. “And that’s what scares me.”

  “Making love to me scares you?”

  “No—yes—well it’s more that I have no idea what to do, and I don’t want to let you down—again.”

  “Ah, I see what you’re getting at. Well first off, it’s not rocket science.”

  “That’s good because I failed science at school.”

  Jamie laughed and they both relaxed. She stood up and took hold of Lucy’s hand, pulling her up so they were face to face. Jamie pulled Lucy into her and held her close. With Jamie's arms around her she felt safe and—

  Oh my god I can’t be aroused with Jamie just holding me—can I?

  Lucy moved closer to Jamie and rubbed her hands up and down her back. Jamie’s breathing hitched and became faster.

  “Lucy, let’s take things a little slower.”

  Lucy looked crestfallen.

  “Don’t get me wrong, I really want to make love with you, but I wouldn’t be giving my best, if you know what I mean?”

  “Oh, yes, of course. I’m sorry, Jamie, I wasn’t thinking. You must feel quite grotty at the moment.”

  “I’m not too bad, thanks to Granddad’s genes. But I would like to blow the cobwebs away,” Jamie said. “How about we take a walk along the seafront?”

  “Oh, that sounds lovely, Jamie. It’s such a beautiful sunny day and I can’t think of anything I’d rather do. Other than—well you know.”

  “All in good time, and think how much better it’ll be when I’m back to my normal self.”

  THEY WALKED FOR a couple of hours with Jamie telling Lucy some of the history of Whitby.

  “You can still see the remains of the old Jet mines along the coast from Staithes to Robin Hood’s Bay.”

  “Is it possible to pick any up when you walk along there?” Lucy was intrigued by the thought of picking up a piece of this beautiful stone. She was sure she hadn’t seen any when Jamie had taken her to Robin Hood’s Bay.

  “You could if you spend a bit of time looking. Do you know how it’s made?”

  “I read a leaflet in one of the shops that told me it was from the Jurassic period.”

  “That’s right. It’s from a tree similar to the modern monkey-puzzle tree. Over the one hundred and eighty million years since the Jurassic period, it was compressed into the stone that we call Jet.”

  “It’s really fascinating. I’m going to get a couple of pieces for Alexi and her fiancé David.”

  They walked in silence for a while before Lucy broke it.

  “Whitby is a really interesting place.”

  “I think so,” Jamie said. “I love living here. I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be. It has everything I want.”

  “I can see the allure. The history, along with the sea, the harbour and of course the Abbey with its steps.”

  “Without which we might never have met.”

  Lucy heard the wistfulness in Jamie's voice, and wished she knew what she was thinking.

  “Can we go back now, it’s starting to get a little chilly. I should have put a fleece on.”

  “It’s always cooler by the sea, and this breeze is making it worse,” Jamie said. “Come on, we can walk briskly and have a hot chocolate to warm us up when we get back.”

  THEY ARRIVED BACK at Jamie's house in no time and she was right, they were nice and warm.

  “Do you want a hot chocolate?” Jamie asked.

  “No, I’m warm. I would like you to hold me though,” Lucy said. She was feeling a little nervous again.

  Jamie held Lucy and they stood like that for a few moments, enjoying the warmth of each other. Their cheeks touched and they both laughed as the coldness made them jump.

  “I guess we’re not as warm as we thought,” Jamie said.

  Lucy pulled back slightly, looked into Jamie's eyes and saw them darken with arousal. “Mmm, but we can remedy that.” She reached up and put her hands on Jamie's face and pulled her into a kiss. As soon as their lips touched Lucy was ready for Jamie. But this was not for her. She wanted to make love to Jamie, wanted to give her as much pleasure as she’d received.

  I can do this.

  “Let’s go to your bedroom,” Lucy said, her voice almost inaudible with need.

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’ve never been more sure of anything.”

  Jamie held Lucy’s hand, their fingers intertwined, and led the way upstairs to her bedroom.

  As soon as they were inside the room Lucy stood there unsure of her next move. She knew what she wanted, but wasn’t quite sure how to go about it without seeming too desperate.

  Jamie came to her and kissed her deeply, making Lucy go weak at the knees. She gently pulled Lucy’s sweater over her head and kissed the hollow at her throat. Lucy’s head rolled back, exposing her neck to more kisses as Jamie made short work of her bra. Lucy’s hands went to Jamie's t-shirt, which she pulled off revealing naked breasts. They kissed again and the feeling of skin on skin was very erotic and their bre
ath was coming faster. Jamie undid the button at Lucy’s waistband and unzipped her jeans. She slowly pulled them down, catching Lucy’s panties with them. She knelt before Lucy and placed a gentle kiss on Lucy’s centre. Lucy gasped, stepped out of her jeans and pulled Jamie to her feet.

  “You have too many clothes on.” Lucy proceeded to remove Jamie’s sweats and panties. Lucy looked at Jamie, still unable to believe how lovely she looked and how lucky she was to be with her.

  Jamie drew Lucy onto the bed with her where they started kissing and touching. They went slowly with Lucy setting the pace. At every touch Lucy became more emboldened, especially with the non-verbal encouragement from Jamie.

  Lucy palmed one of Jamie’s breasts and rolled the nipple between her thumb and fingers and loved the way it instantly pebbled. Jamie writhed and groaned when Lucy took the other nipple into her mouth. Rolling it between her tongue and teeth and biting down gently on it.

  Lucy loved how Jamie reacted to her touches, and how Jamie tasted. She continued sucking Jamie’s breast, teasing her nipple while she trailed her hand down Jamie’s stomach, feeling the muscles tense under her fingers. Lucy caressed her way down to the apex between her legs, and Jamie’s hips rose to guide Lucy’s hand where she wanted it. Needing no more encouragement, her fingers found their way into Jamie’s wetness. Feeling Jamie’s arousal was so much more than she could ever have imagined. Jamie moaned and her hips writhed under Lucy’s hand. She felt how hard and wet Jamie was, and knew she was responsible for it. How had she gone all her life without ever knowing this softness and the absolute pleasure she was giving and feeling?

  “Oh yes, Lucy, please, I need to feel you inside me, now.”

  Lucy obliged as Jamie’s breathing became huskier and she moaned loudly. Lucy matched her rhythm to that of Jamie’s hips, and then pulled all the way out. She heard Jamie’s protesting groan and silenced it when her fingers played over Jamie’s clit. It was already hard, and with Lucy’s touch became more distended. Lucy sucked Jamie’s nipple into her mouth and bit it gently. Jamie arched into Lucy’s mouth, her moans getting louder.

 

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