Her Lesson in Love

by Heidi Lowe

  "Will you come this evening? Just for a couple of hours if that's all you can manage?"

  I didn't even need to think about it. "Yes."

  The door opened then and our hands quickly separated. One of the fathers, come to do his routine flirting, oblivious to the fact that he was not only barking up the wrong tree, but was in the wrong forest entirely!

  I said goodbye to her then left the room, grinning from ear to ear. He could flirt outrageously till the cows came home, but I was still the one she wanted.

  "Did you brush your teeth, honey?" I asked Chester, when I came to tuck him in that evening.

  He nodded, and when I sat on his bed, he provided the proof by breathing his minty breath in my face. I chuckled, ruffled his hair, then tucked him in.

  "You look nice, Mom," he said, yawning, his eyes heavy.

  "Thank you, baby. Always such a gentleman." He certainly didn't get that from his father.

  "Are you going out?"

  "I am. To see Miss Petal."

  "Why?"

  "Because she's my friend, and I want to hear all about her trip to Bolivia." Among other things.

  "Are you going to her house?"

  "I think so." Where was this questioning going?

  "Can I come?"

  I laughed, kissed him on the cheek. "Not tonight, honey. Maybe another time, if Miss Petal is all right with that." I watched him yawn again, barely able to keep his eyes open. "But I think you've had enough for one day. Goodnight, sweet dreams."

  I switched off the light, and bumped into Dominic on my way out of Chester's room. He was like a pimple – unwanted, infuriating, hard to get rid of.

  "So yet another night you're spending out with that woman? What exactly is it that you do together?" I heard the insinuation in his voice, and it frightened me. He wasn't stupid; sooner or later he would join the dots.

  I decided not to fuel the speculation and said, "We do what women do, sit around bitching about how worthless the men in our lives are. What else?" Yeah, you wish! He was hardly even a passing thought, and certainly the last thing on my mind, when she was inside me, when her tongue was down my throat. If he knew how little he mattered when Ava and I were together, it would have depressed him.

  "She'll get bored soon, Danielle. Everyone does with you, I should know."

  "So you keep saying. Goodnight, Dominic." I laughed to myself. Nope, he couldn't get to me no matter how hard he tried. Not tonight. Tonight was about Ava and me. I was mere minutes away from making love to a beautiful woman again; none of the junk that he spewed could hurt me.

  The second her door closed, I pounced on her like a tigress devouring a deer. Up against the wall, I kissed her hungrily, skipping the hellos. I could say hello any time; this was far more important.

  And inevitably, the kissing, for me at least, didn't suffice. I tore her clothes off frantically, right there in the hallway, and she did nothing to stop me.

  I stripped her down to her panties, frilly, expensive-looking things. Pretty, but right then simply an obstruction.

  I kissed down her body, gobbling at her breasts the way I had before. But they were just a stop on my ultimate destination. And the panties had to go.

  I slid them down her thighs, not taking my time. I sank to my knees as she stepped out of the thong and kicked it away. I put one leg over my shoulder and buried my face in her crotch. Her scent drove me wild. She smelled like paradise, and I imagined she tasted that way too. Time to find out.

  I had no idea what I was doing, but did what I liked myself. I also utilized some of her own moves, the ones she'd used on me. She was already wet. I didn't know how long she'd been like that, or if that was my doing. But I lapped up her sap, maneuvering my tongue all around her sex, bottom to top, top to bottom, side to side. Leaving no area untouched. That was more for my enjoyment than hers, as her taste, as predicted, was delicious and addictive. Far better than the male equivalent, which I had never liked. This I could eat for supper, every night, for the rest of my life.

  She moaned a little while I worked, her hand touching my head lightly. "That's it, sweetie."

  Hearing her moan because of my tongue made me proud. Encouraged me to go ahead. I hit her bean next, and kept hitting, striking with my tongue, doing gymnastics against it.

  Her new, louder whimpers coincided with the assault. Her grip on my hair tightened. I felt her fingers digging into my scalp. If someone walked past her house they would have surely heard her, and probably me too, lapping away like a thirsty animal to water.

  I knew that she'd climaxed because I felt the tremble against my mouth, and her final whine was louder, deeper and lasted longer than the rest.

  "You weren't lying when you said you missed me too," she said with a breathless laugh.

  "Sorry, I just really needed to do that."

  She took me to bed after, and we drank wine.

  "Are we going to have to talk about what this is at some point?" I said. We were sitting up in the bed, naked, me in her arms.

  She kissed at my neck and the side of my face. "I thought it was pretty clear what this is," she whispered against my cheek.

  Her breath tickled, and I giggled. "What is it?"

  "Two women who can't get enough of each other. Wouldn't you agree?"

  "Yes...but...can anything ever be that simple?"

  "I suppose not. But we could make it as simple as possible."

  "How can it be if I have a husband?" I wanted her to tell me to leave him, to force me into action in order for our affair to continue. It was unreasonable to expect that request from her so early on in our relationship. Our second time together, hardly enough of a preview to be sure she wanted more from me than a few rolls in the hay.

  "I don't like that this is the only way to be with you, and it will be difficult to look your husband in the eye from now on, but...well, Mrs. Thomas, you're just too damn irresistible."

  I kissed her, and when that one ended, I kissed her again. I had never been, and didn't know I could ever be, irresistible to anyone. The self-confidence my husband had spent years trying to insult out of me had been officially restored by her.

  "Does he know where you are?"

  "Yes, he overheard me telling Chester. I think he was insinuating something, about us. Or maybe I was being paranoid."

  "He won't come to that conclusion, don't worry. Men never do. They think they're imperative to our happiness, and can't really fathom a world in which they don't factor. He probably thinks we're doing each other's makeup or something!"

  I burst into a laugh. "At nine in the night? Yeah right."

  She didn't laugh though, and when I turned to look at her, she looked slightly agitated. "What's wrong?"

  "I don't want to laugh about it. I feel bad. I respect the sanctity of marriage, I really do, and–"

  I kissed her, cutting her off. "My husband has been cheating on me since we started dating. In fact, he was still seeing his ex-girlfriend when I fell pregnant with Chester. Two wrongs don't make a right, I know that, but it's a bit too late for anyone to gain a conscience in this marriage."

  She looked like she wanted to say something, but she didn't, just smiled sadly. "He probably doesn't deserve you, but I still don't like sleeping with someone else's wife."

  It annoyed me that she saw me as that. It ruined the paradise I was trying to maintain, where here, with her, was the only place Dominic didn't feature.

  "I know he spoke to you about our marriage a while back," I said. "Told you we were as good as done."

  She looked away. "That was just because he..."

  "You can say it. It doesn't bother me. He wanted to get into your pants. Wanted to convince you that you weren't breaking up a happy home if you slept with him. Well, he wasn't lying. We haven't slept together in almost two years."

  "If that really is true, why do you stay together?" The million dollar question.

  "Convenience. Chester." I shrugged. Terrible reasons to stay in an unhappy marriage.
"I don't know. But you have to know that it isn't for love. It hasn't been about that for a long time."

  She wanted to say something else, but yet again kept it to herself and just wrapped her arms around me tighter.

  "Let's not talk about him anymore," I said.

  "Deal."

  THIRTEEN

  "Mom, can I take this too?" Chester jumped up and down beside me, holding up a Frisbee.

  "Honey, you already have the bucket, the spade, the football and the kite. How many things do you think you'll have time to play with there?" I chuckled as I loaded the food into the cooler bag. Sandwiches, fruit, jello, cookies, chips, soda... It was as if I'd packed for a month in a bunker instead of a few hours at the beach!

  "But I need this," he said. He obviously thought that adding stress on the word “need” would get him whatever he wanted. I wasn't convinced that taking a Frisbee with us was a matter of grave urgency.

  "You need oxygen to breathe, honey, but you don't need the Frisbee."

  "Please. Pretty please."

  "Fine! All right, you can bring it. But that's the last thing. We have to get going in a minute."

  I was in a giving in mood. It was a pleasant Sunday, and we were about to have a family day on the beach. At least, my idea of a family day.

  Dominic pulled into the driveway as Chester and I were leaving. He hadn't come home the night before, and was still wearing yesterday's clothes. You can probably guess how little I cared about that.

  "Hey, champ. Where are you off to?" he said, giving Chester a playful punch to the stomach.

  "We're going to the beach," Chester said excitedly. "I'm gonna build the biggest sand castle ever, with a moat and everything. And right beside it I'm going to build pyramids, like they have in Egypt."

  "Sounds like fun. Why wasn't I invited?" He said it to Chester, but I knew it was directed at me.

  "Because I want to enjoy the day," I muttered.

  "You can come, Dad. Then you can help me."

  "No, he can't," I broke in quickly. "He's busy. Get in the car, Chester."

  Dominic looked as though he wanted to argue, wanted to make my life that much harder by tagging along. I prayed he didn't insist on coming, because that would have been dire. The family day I had in mind didn't include him.

  "Another time, bud. I've got a lot to do today."

  Chester slumped into the passenger seat dejectedly. "You always have a lot to do."

  I didn't want to feel bad for depriving them of time together, but nevertheless the guilt hit me as I strapped myself in. Dominic had all the time in the world to spend with his son, but he chose to sleep around instead. I shouldn't have felt bad.

  "And there I thought you only ever went out these days with your new bosom buddy," Dominic said, leaning through the driver's seat window as I started the engine.

  I pressed the button to close the window, and he quickly jumped away before he got trapped in it.

  "Real mature, Danielle," he grumbled as I pulled out of the driveway.

  I spotted her immediately when the car pulled to a stop in the parking lot. She was standing by her car, big shades on, sarong wrapped around her torso. Her hair was tied up. I grinned to myself when I looked at her. Men and women of all ages strolled by on their way to the beach, marveling at her flawless beauty. She paid no attention, just kept her head buried in her magazine. Without seeing I knew it was a manga comic. She had piles of them at her house. Hoarded them, by her own admission.

  She looked like an incongruous joke someone was playing on the whole beach: this beautiful woman, more stunning than a supermodel, reading a comic, and paying no one any attention.

  But I knew better. This was the woman I'd been spending my evenings with for the past three months. My lover and best friend.

  "There's Miss Petal, Mom," Chester shouted, pointing excitedly. I hadn't informed him that she would be joining us. And I was glad, too. He would have told Dominic, and Dominic, in turn, knowing that he could destroy the day for me, would have insisted on coming.

  "Is she waiting for us?"

  "She might be," I said coyly.

  He unbuckled himself hastily, in a hurry to get to the woman he saw five days a week, several hours a day. He spent more time with her than I did, yet he still wanted more. I certainly knew how that felt.

  "Well hello there, you two," she said when she looked up and saw us.

  "Hi Miss Petal," Chester said in that singsong voice all kids seem to have when they address their teachers.

  "What have you got there? Is someone going to make a sandcastle today?"

  He nodded shyly. He got like this around her still. It was hilarious. My son was crushing on my girlfriend!

  She bent down to his level. "Can I let you in on a secret? I love building sandcastles. Do you think maybe we can pool our resources and build one together, to make the biggest, baddest sandcastle anyone has ever seen?"

  He nodded emphatically, grinning. He didn't know what pooling one's resources entailed, but I guessed he would have gone along with anything she said. She spoke like that to her pupils often, using big words and foreign words to enrich minds.

  "I thought I would surprise him, so I didn't tell him that you were coming," I said as we made our way down to the beach to find a good spot. Surprisingly it wasn't nearly as full as I'd expected. Likely because the sun wasn't out, though there was a sweltering heat.

  Chester chased his ball, playing a one-man game of soccer. As Ava and I walked, our arms rubbed. I needed that contact, however fleeting and innocent it was.

  "I so want to hold your hand right now," she whispered.

  It was always agony to be out with her in public, hence why most of the time we stayed at her place, away from prying eyes.

  "And I'm fighting the urge to kiss you," I whispered back. No one would have batted an eyelid if she had been Dominic, a man I despised but still a man all the same. It wasn't fair that I couldn't show my affection for her in public.

  We found a spot not too far from the sea, and set down our blanket and baskets. Ava and I didn't get a chance to speak much, because Chester pulled her back up and demanded that she make good on her promise to build a super sandcastle with him.

  "Chester, let Miss Petal have a rest before you put her to work," I pleaded.

  "It's fine," she laughed. And they were off.

  I could have gone home and left the two of them there. That was how much I was ignored while they amused themselves. When they realized that their super sandcastle wasn't working out, they abandoned it and set off for the sea instead.

  "Is this really happening to me? I'm actually in competition with my son for your attention?" I joked, as Ava stripped off her sarong and prepared to catch up with Chester. Although she'd dressed appropriately – a top and shorts swimsuit combo – and I'd seen her far more naked than this, her body always stunned me.

  "'Fraid so, sweetie. Sorry."

  "You're going to have some serious making up to do later."

  She laughed. "I can't wait." It would have been the optimum time to lock lips, but as it were, no kiss came.

  I rested back on my elbow and watched them frolic in the sea. I'd never been so happy. And I'd never felt like a family unit more than I did then. The perfect image: two parents who didn't hate each other, a son they both adored, and who loved them back.

  I laughed as they splashed each other. She was such a big kid when it came to Chester, but more mature than I'd been at her age when we were alone. I still couldn't believe how seamlessly we all fit together.

  "Dani, is that you?"

  I spun around, startled, and saw Miranda, her husband and daughter approaching.

  "Great," I muttered under my breath. What perfect timing. Not! Of all the days to come to the beach, they had to pick today.

  "Hi guys." I forced a smile. "I guess you had the same idea."

  She set up her blanket right beside mine.

  "Look, Mama, Miss Petal is playing with Chester in t
he sea," Emma pointed out, and I cringed a little.

  Miranda squinted in the distance. "You're right, Em', it is Miss Petal. You came here together?" She turned to me with a curious expression.

  I shrugged. "She was going and I thought it might be good if we tagged along, that's all."

  "Hmm." She grinned mischievously. "You sure ditched us, didn't you? For a younger model. We're not good enough for you now that sexy Miss Mississippi is on the scene?"

  I didn't bother telling her that Ava was from Savannah, Georgia, and not from Mississippi. To her, the Deep South only consisted of that one place.

  "It's not like that at all," I said miserably.

  "For God's sake, Fred, pull your tongue in! Have you never seen a woman in a swimsuit before?" Miranda snapped at her husband, who hadn't taken his eyes off Ava since discovering she was here.

  "Don't be so crude, Miranda," he grumbled, embarrassed, his cheeks turning red.

  They settled down, and their daughter eventually joined Chester and Ava in the sea.

  "It's actually really good having our children's teacher as a friend. It's like having a babysitter on tap," Miranda commented, lounging back and watching the three of them splashing around. "And Emma loves Miss Petal. Maybe I should go everywhere with her too. Could be an investment in my daughter's future."

  This bothered me more than it should have, her intimating that my friendship with Ava was tactical. Beth had said something similar.

  "I'm not friends with her for any reason other than that she's a really nice person, and we have a lot in common." I hated having to defend myself. Her ogling husband would have annoyed me more if I hadn't been used to most men gawking at Ava like that. It went with the territory of dating a beautiful woman. And even before Ava, it had happened with Dominic. Would I ever learn my lesson about dating great-looking people?

  "Hi Miss Petal," Miranda said when Ava joined us, soaking wet all over. "Good to see you."

  "You too, Mrs. Hawthorne." She reached for her towel and dried herself off, unaware that she had an admirer, and it wasn't me. Miranda's husband was having a hard time keeping his eyes off her. I didn't blame him.