Her mouth grew bone dry as she stammered, "M... M... Me what?"
"Do you have an interest in my baby sister?" he asked in the same seductive growl.
"W... W... Why would I have an interest?" she stuttered weakly.
"I asked first," he reminded her. "Come on now, you can tell Uncle Conor," he crooned. "I promise I won't tell."
"I... I... I um..." she muttered, annoyed at her own inarticulateness.
"Um hmm," he murmured, "Just as I thought." Her rapidly blushing face and weakening knees caused him to pat her shoulder comfortingly and hold on a bit tighter. "There, there," he assured her. "You could do worse than to fall for my sister, you know. And personally, I think she'd be a fool to let you get away." He tilted his dark head down and rested it against Jamie's for a moment. "You're quite a woman, Jamie."
She closed her eyes tightly and accepted the truth of his statement. But a relatively soft object hurled at her head at close range broke the moment. Turning faster than her slightly blurry eyes appreciated she whirled around to find a grinning Ryan tossing peanuts at her head from a dish on the bar. "Don't encourage him, Jamie," she warned. "He'll follow you home like a lost puppy."
"No problem," she replied with a grin of her own. "I've always wanted a puppy," she said affectionately as she teasingly petted Conor's dark head.
"Well, don't blame me if he starts humpin' your leg," she warned, accent firmly in place as she dashed down the bar to pour another pint.
Even though she had tried valiantly to leave several times Jamie found herself still in place as Ryan called out, "Last call, lads! Final pints!"
She lifted her arm to gaze in amazement at her watch which did, in fact, read 1:45 a.m. "My God," she muttered. "How did it get to be so late!"
"And how did I get to be so drunk?" Brendan moaned, dropping his head into his hands.
"You are drunk," Frank agreed, shaking his head and clucking in disdain.
"Can't hold his liquor," agreed Kieran, who was clearly as drunk as the rest of the boys.
"I've only had two and I can hardly talk!" Jamie moaned. "How will I get home?"
"Yer comin' wit us," Conor insisted in his own Irish accent. "As soon as we help the wee one wit her chores."
Jamie watched in awe as the drunken O'Flaherty's got to their wobbly feet and gamely bussed the small tables around the still crowded bar. "Drink up, drink up," Niall insisted as he walked from patron to patron trying to retrieve their still full glasses.
She hopped to her feet and went behind the bar to aid Ryan and the other two women in their daunting task of washing each glass that was returned. But many hands made short work of it and by the time Frank and Brendan rather forcibly ushered the last patron out at 2:15 the bar was clean enough for the professional cleaning crew that arrived every morning to clean the floors and the bathrooms.
Ryan walked and the others stumbled the few short blocks first to Frank's home, then another few to Kieran and Niall's. They arrived at the O'Flaherty house at 2:45, grateful for the fact that Martin was at work. Ryan guided Brendan to her father's room and gave him a kiss on the cheek as he fell to the bed. Conor was able to make it all the way up to his room but he accomplished the feat by holding on to the banister for dear life.
Ryan tossed an arm around Jamie and guided her down to her bedroom. "So, did ya have fun?" she asked, back in her Gaelic persona.
"Yeah, very much so," she admitted. "Your family is really a blast to hang out with, Ryan. And it was worth the trip to see you playing the coquettish straight girl," she teased as she playfully backhanded her in the belly.
Ryan looked thoughtful as they reached the lower floor. "It's fun for me to act like that once in a while," she mused. "But I can't imagine having to do that every day! I don't know how some straight women keep that act up!" She held out her hands as Jamie started unburdening her pockets of the plethora of bills she carried. "Like you," Ryan said as she started to sort the money. "You're a straight girl and you don't hardly ever seem like you're putting on that 'Oh you're so cool and I'm such a helpless creature' routine." She looked up at Jamie who was choosing a t-shirt from the massive selection in Ryan's neatly labeled drawers.
"Hardly ever?" Jamie asked.
"Well, I saw you do it with Jack that time I was in Palo Alto," she mused. "But that's the only time."
"Hmm, I guess I don't do it much," she admitted. "But Cassie does it constantly," she observed as she considered her circle of friends. "She acts like she's got a brain stem injury when her boyfriend is around."
"Well it's nice that you don't do it much," Ryan observed. "It must be demeaning."
"Well, you do some manipulative things to get women too, Ryan, don't act like you don't."
Ryan looked up at her with a completely guileless look on her handsome face. "I don't think I do," she said. "Oh, I flirt and act a little more forceful than normal, but I don't think I try to alter who I am or what my capabilities are," she mused. "I just try to show my assets to the best of my ability," she said with a wicked glare as she shook her shoulders and jiggled her breasts in an entirely provocative manner. "That kind of stuff is too easy," she muttered disdainfully. "Women just don't go for it."
Some women do, Jamie thought as she quickly scrambled to the bed to avoid falling down.
After Ryan had methodically counted her booty they got ready for bed and hopped in together. "What's up?" Jamie finally said after she felt Ryan toss and turn for long minutes.
"I don't know. I guess I'm just a little worked up after tonight. I've having a hard time relaxing," she admitted.
"Let me help you out for a change," Jamie said as she reached down on her side of the bed and found the massage lotion.
Ryan smiled in the darkness and willingly rolled over onto her stomach. Jamie began to push her t-shirt up, but Ryan just reached down and yanked it off. There was no moon and the light in the room was too dim to make out anything but rough shapes, but Jamie was still a bit excited at the thought of Ryan's half naked form lying right before her.
When Ryan rubbed Jamie's back she usually straddled her waist. But she had always had sweats on. Jamie was only wearing a long t-shirt and her underwear. She considered her options; get up and put sweats on, sit next to Ryan on the bed, or jump on and hope for the best. She threw caution to the wind and hopped on. Thankfully, Ryan was still wearing her sweatpants, so when Jamie straddled her hips there was an adequate layer of fabric between them. Nonetheless, she found herself feeling a bit weak at the sensation of sitting on those softly muscled buttocks.
She hadn't given many massages, but she had received hundreds during their travels in Europe. She knew what she liked and she assumed that Ryan would like a similar touch. She did her best to rub the strong back in a clinical, professional manner. But she failed miserably. She found that her hands were guided by an unseen force. They lightly and gently touched and rubbed and prodded the tense muscles. Her hands began to dig deeper into the tissue, eliciting a hiss of pleasure from Ryan. After that sensuous verbal cue she really got into the experience. After a while she had a difficult time feeling where her hands ended and Ryan's back began. She felt so connected and close to her friend.
She was rewarded with occasional grunts of satisfaction when she hit a particularly tense spot, but her toes nearly curled when she touched a spot low on her back and Ryan let out a low, pleasure filled moan. Focus, damn it, she shouted to herself. After working for a long while the muscles felt smooth and pliable under her fingers. Ryan hadn't made a sound for several minutes and her body was still and loose. Jamie finished up by touching her entire back lightly with just the tips of her fingers. She slid off the strong hips and was surprised when she felt no movement from her friend. She leaned over and heard rhythmic deep breathing and realized that she was sound asleep.
Oh, this is not good. Definitely not good. I don't want to wake her to get dressed, but I can't sleep next to her naked chest.
She fretted about the situation f
or a few minutes, finally deciding to be brave and try to get to sleep. She lay right next to her deeply sleeping friend, occasionally trailing her fingers down her lovely bare back. When her fingers strayed too far to the side she could make out a very sexy bulge where Ryan's generous breasts had compressed. Try as she might she had a very tough time keeping that hand away from that gentle curve. Every nerve in her hand itched in anticipation but she clamped down on her raging impulses and forced herself to close her eyes. Eventually she succeeded and she fell into a deep, sound sleep.
Ryan woke just before 7. She was puzzled by several sensations. One was that she was in exactly the same position that she had been in for her massage. I never sleep on my stomach, she thought. Secondly, she was naked from the waist up. Did I take off my shirt? Oh, yeah, I took it off for my massage. Oooh, what a massage. I had no idea Jamie was that good. Thirdly was the warm hand of her masseuse resting low on her back, with a couple of fingers slid under the waistband of her sweats. God, this is a pleasant way to wake up. She wanted to just lie there and feel the connection. Why does it feel so good to have her touch me in such an innocent way? Geez! I don't know if I can keep my wits about me this morning. Finally her good sense got in the way and she slowly extricated herself from the contact. As she rolled over she pulled the shirt on over her head.
Jamie was still just inches away. Ryan lay back and regarded her sleeping face in the morning light. The sun was just beginning to touch the pillow where her head rested. Her golden hair was mussed from sleep and tumbled in an attractive fashion around her face. The tips of her long dark blonde eyelashes were lightly brushed by the sun's rays. Her smooth skin was beginning to take on a golden tone from all of the outdoor activity, and a few freckles dusted her nose. It was all that Ryan could do not to lean over and kiss each of those cute little freckles.
God, I wish she were a lesbian! It's so frustrating to feel this way about her but not be able to do anything about it. But she knew that she could never do anything about it. It was one thing to take a lesbian friend and try to make her into a lover. But it was quite another to take a straight friend and try to turn her into a lesbian. Thanks Conor, thanks a lot! I've never thought of the possibility, but you had to put the idea in my head! She shifted a bit in frustration as she gazed at the peaceful face resting so close to her. God, I would love to touch her. She just looks so delectable lying there, all soft and smooth. And she smells so good, she thought. It can't hurt to take a little sniff can it? she thought as she leaned over to inhale.
And was greeted by sleepy green eyes, smiling up at her sweetly. "Is it time to get up?" she asked through a yawn as she stretched slowly and thoroughly.
Ryan was having a hard time ordering her thoughts, but she finally replied, "Only if you want to. We're not in a rush today." With that she tousled the golden hair a bit and hopped out of bed. Definitely time for a cold shower thanks to you, Conor, she muttered to herself as she closed the bathroom door.
After going for a brisk run with Duffy she stopped at her favorite coffee shop, 'Martha & Brothers', for a pair of giant lattés. She didn't expect Jamie to be up for a while but knew that her friend would be in a much better mood if she had a big cup of coffee waiting for her.
As expected, the house was completely still when she entered. Since the morning was cool and her pace had been slower than usual she didn't really need another shower. Sneaking back down to her room she grabbed a pair of sweat pants and a hooded sweatshirt and tiptoed back upstairs. She had to get dressed in the kitchen since every room was occupied but when she was finished she briskly towel dried her hair and went out to the front deck.
The fog showed no sign of dissipating but that fact didn't bother her in the least. She actually had to admit that she preferred a cool, gray morning, a nice soft day as her Granny would say, to a bright, sunny dawn. Given her habit of running nearly every morning she welcomed the heavy damp air that the fog brought, and she always found that her times were better and she was more rested after a run in the fog. Her coffee was nearly finished and her perusal of the 'Comical', San Francisco's daily joke of a newspaper was just about complete when a still sleepy tousled blonde head poked out of the front door.
"It's freezing out here!" the grumpy little mole face groused.
Oh, oh, Ryan privately thought. Somebody's hung over. "It's not too bad," Ryan said as she rose to greet her friend. "Sit down and I'll bring you a nice cup of latté and a blanket."
Jamie didn't reply to this thoughtful offer, she merely flopped down on Ryan's now empty chair and waited for her delivery.
Well, I've become pretty adept at getting Caitlin out of her cranky moods. Now I'll see how my skills work with a bigger baby. She dashed into the linen closet next to her father's room and got out a soft cotton quilt that her grandmother's sewing circle had made for her when she was a baby. Even though she was tiny the women had let practicality dictate and they had made the quilt fit a full sized bed so it was plenty big to wrap her grumpy friend up in. Trotting back to her charge she gently tucked the blanket around the shivering woman, receiving only a grunt of thanks.
Next came the coffee which she warmed in the microwave while she took out a big earthenware mug and ran some hot water through it so it wouldn't chill the coffee. By the time she returned Jamie looked warmer but even grumpier as she waited for her caffeine boost. Hmm, this calls for drastic action, she decided.
Ryan sat down on the roomy padded chaise lounge and said, "If you come sit by me I can make your headache go away."
"Who said I have a headache?" she muttered, staring into her cup.
"No one," Ryan hastened to agree. "But sometimes I get one when I'm up late at night." Especially when I've had too much Guinness, she silently added.
"Where do you want me?" she replied, none too happily as she tried to hold on to her coffee and her blanket.
Ryan spread her legs wide, placing her feet on the floor. She patted the seat in front of her crotch and said, "Come sit between my legs. I'll hold your coffee until you're settled."
Jamie handed her the cup and climbed onto the chaise with her back to her friend. She settled the comforter over her body and held her hand out silently, indicating that she wished the return of her beverage. When Ryan was sure she was settled she brought her hands up and began a very light massage of her shoulders. "Tell me where it hurts," she cooed into the nearby pink ear. "Here?" she asked as her fingers climbed the throbbing head and settled just above the neck. "Here?" she asked again as her hands moved to the area just behind her ears. "Or here?" as they moved to her temples.
"Yes," her patient replied with a sigh. "Everywhere."
"Okay," Ryan soothed. "First I'm going to massage your shoulders and neck to get the blood flowing. Then, when you're nice and loose I'm going to apply some acupressure points on your head. I guarantee that you'll feel better in no time," she announced confidently.
"Prove it," the grouchy skeptic demanded.
Wow, tough crowd, Ryan mused with a smirk as she set to work. But she enjoyed few things more than a good challenge and she was determined to make her friend happy before the morning was up. She started off nice and slow and gentle, allowing time for deep sips of the steaming latté. When she could see that the cup was nearly drained she got a bit more aggressive and within minutes Jamie's head was rolling around on her shoulders like a limp rag doll's. When she had thoroughly relaxed her she started on the acupressure points. Working gently but firmly she applied pressure to all of the spots that she knew might be causing her friend pain. She compressed each of the major blood vessels for a few seconds and smiled to herself as the limp woman in her lap sighed with each release.
It took almost a half hour of determined work but she was amply rewarded when a very satisfied voice purred, "God, that felt divine. Thank you, Ryan. You're the best." She replied by beginning a very gentle head rub of the adorably mussed golden hair and within minutes Jamie was curled up against her chest, purring audibly. Watching
her friend relax so thoroughly brought a wave of sleepiness over Ryan and before she knew it she felt her eyes begin to slowly close.
At 10 o'clock Conor stumbled onto the deck, stopping dead in his tracks at the sight before him. His sister and Jamie were sharing the same chaise; Ryan in the back with Jamie nestled between her legs. The smaller woman was slightly on her side with her knees drawn up and her head pillowed nicely on a plump breast. Ryan's baby quilt covered them both and Ryan's arms were loosely draped around her body in a protective embrace. Sweet smiles graced both sets of lips. That is about the cutest damn thing I've ever seen, he mused through his own splitting headache. But call me narrow minded...I'd be out of my mind if my straight girlfriend was curled up like that on her best friends lap.
Chapter 15
On the next Friday night Ryan pulled Martin's truck up a fire road on Mt. Tam and parked. She and Jamie hopped out and began to unload their mountain bikes. Jamie had to admit to a little apprehension about this ride. A group of women met every Friday to ride and she had heard that the rides were pretty intense. But she had been riding her mountain bike around Berkeley for months now and felt pretty comfortable with it.
In February Ryan had spent long hours showing her how to shift her weight to climb curbs and small rocks and tree stumps. She had spent quite some time learning how to position herself in the saddle to go down a steep incline and was beginning to feel pretty confident. But she knew she was a rank amateur compared to these women.
Since it still got dark early they each had halogen lamps on their bikes. As an extra precaution Ryan had insisted that she wear a light on her helmet also. She wore long bike pants, heavy, off road bike shoes and a light nylon jacket over her jersey. Ryan had on similar attire plus a pair of clear polycarbonate wraparound glasses. When Jamie had inquired about their purpose Ryan had mysteriously answered, "mud."
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