French Kissing: Season One

by Harper Bliss

  “What?” Juliette turned to her. “Where’s that coming from?”

  “No offence, but out of the three of us, she’s the one happiest in love. Who are we to ask her to not enjoy that? This rare and precious thing called love. She’d be a fool to listen to us in the first place.” Claire grabbed her phone from the armrest of the sofa. “I’m going to text her so she can start making arrangements.”

  “Why don’t you sleep on that?” Juliette covered Claire’s hand with hers, palming the phone.

  “Sleep? I don’t think I’ll be sleeping tonight.” Claire yanked the phone from Juliette’s hand. “They’re in love. Steph never falls in love. Let her have it.”

  Claire started typing and showed the message to Juliette before sending it.

  Please, go on holiday with Dominique. If you love her, then be with her. Nothing is more important than love. Not politics, and especially not PR.

  “You’re the one who wanted to keep Dominique as a client,” Claire said while Juliette read the words on the screen of her phone.

  “Not so our staff could go to the south of France with her.”

  “Jules, come on. This is important.” Claire felt the tears sting behind her eyes again. “At least one of us miserable cunts at Barbier & Cyr deserves to be happy.” She shook her head. “You had to fire your bloody assistant this week because you slept with her, for crying out loud. With all that stupid business at work, the only thing that kept me sane was knowing that I’d see Margot at night. That’s what love is, what it does. Why we need it.” The tears broke through. Claire put her phone on the coffee table, the message unsent.

  Juliette reached for it and touched the screen a few times. “Sent,” she said. She inched closer and wrapped her arm around Claire’s shoulder. “Do you have any mixers for that vodka?”

  “It’s pure or nothing,” Claire sulked. “Thanks for coming.”

  Juliette chuckled. “You’re almost as stubborn as me.”

  “I’m glad you and Nadia are trying again.” The last wave of tears started to dry, but the sense of loss that had settled in Claire’s gut the instant Margot had walked out stayed. Too tired to hold the bottle, Claire set it on the coffee table.

  “It’s not easy, but we’ll see.”

  “Remember a few weeks ago when you and Nadia were fucking like rabbits and you unceremoniously told me that the sex was earth-shattering?” Claire could have sworn she felt something sting on the skin of her wrists. “Margot blew my mind… and to think she might be doing the exact same thing to Inez perhaps even as we speak. Maybe she was waiting on the back of her motorbike downstairs.”

  “You mustn’t think like that.” Juliette reached for the bottle. “And, yes, I know I sound like a hypocrite. Just like I know me saying that doesn’t make any difference to how you feel or think.”

  “Lovers come and go, but you’re always here, Jules.” Claire turned to her friend. “You can be a real bitch sometimes, but you’re the best friend I’ve ever had.”

  “Ditto, minus the bitch part.” Juliette took a large swig of the vodka, coughing loudly as she pushed the bottle away from her.

  Maybe their promiscuous friend Steph, while absolutely not looking for it, had found true love, while Claire, who had been much more receptive to the idea, and had had a taste of it briefly as well, was actually the one who wasn’t cut out for it.

  Maybe Claire should try going to Les Pêches on her own this weekend. The mere thought of it made her nauseous.

  STEPH

  Steph showed Dominique Claire’s message. She wondered what had triggered it, but she could either spend her time trying to find out why Claire had changed her mind, or planning a trip to the Côte d’Azur.

  “Permission from the boss lady,” Dominique said. “I feel so validated. A bit like winning an election.” She sat reading e-mails on her laptop, her back against the armrest of the sofa, her feet propped up on Steph’s lap.

  Of course, having Claire’s blessing didn’t change the fact that they would be taking a risk. Steph realised this all too well, which is why she had decided, well before Claire had asked her, not to go. But tonight was their last night together before Dominique left for two weeks, leaving behind a big well of nothingness for Steph to drown in.

  “Don’t look so excited.” Dominique drew up her leg and nudged Steph in the thigh with her big toe.

  “You know I want to go, but I still think it’s an insane idea.”

  Dominique put her laptop on the floor and folded her legs underneath her bottom, facing Steph. “It’s perfectly containable. I wouldn’t have proposed it if it were to put me at risk. We just won’t be able to leave the grounds together, but frankly, I see no need for that.” She shot Steph her sexy smirk. “The children and I fly out on Saturday, so you should book a flight for Sunday. Rent a car at the airport and drive down. Easy.”

  “How many times will I be hiding in your bathroom though?”

  “You worry too much, Stéphanie. Lisa and Didier get so excited when we go to Juan-les-Pins, they’ll barely even notice you’re there.”

  “That makes me feel so much better. Thanks.” Because, if she was really honest with herself, Steph knew that if they played it smart and were careful, no one would find out that Dominique Laroche had brought her lesbian lover to her family’s summer house. It was mainly the secretive aspect of it that didn’t sit well with her, once again—the constant reminder of the impossibility of their affair.

  “They do sleepovers at other people’s houses… so we’ll have the whole place to ourselves. Swimming pool. Jacuzzi. No clothes…” Dominique inched closer, her mouth hovering over Steph’s ear. “Just you and me and the stars in the sky.”

  “If you put it like that.” Steph was melting again, her entire core turning into gooey liquid for this woman with whom, when she thought about it, she had nothing in common.

  “We’ll have time to chat, endless hours in the sun, excellent wine… and I’ll get to see you in a bikini.” Dominique’s lips all but touched Steph’s ear now. “Or without.”

  “Fine.” Steph turned, looking Dominique straight in the eyes. “But if you think you’re going to top me every night, you’re terribly mistaken.”

  Dominique stretched her lips into a wide smile. “I have no idea what that means, but it sounds kinky.”

  “Don’t play dumb with me.” Steph rose from her seat and started pushing Dominique down. “I’m about done bottoming for you.” She wasn’t though, not by a long shot.

  “About that box under your bed.” Dominique wrapped her arms around Steph’s neck. “Does it contain… what’s it called… a strap-on? I’d love to try that.”

  “I bet,” Steph said before shutting Dominique up by kissing her, while the mere thought of it made her go dizzy. In her imagination, she wasn’t the one strapping it on either.

  She’d book her flight first thing tomorrow.

  EPISODE FIVE

  STEPH

  “You’re not using it on me,” Steph said in a low voice. She looked at Dominique who held the toy in her hand, eyeing it quizzically. “That’s just not something I do.”

  “Then why did you bring it?” Dominique glanced at her.

  Steph was bone-tired and feeling out of place. They sat in Dominique’s bedroom, connected to Steph’s room for the week by a bathroom. The house was big and white and stunning, about twenty times the size of Steph’s studio near Père Lachaise. The view, although already obscured by darkness by the time Steph had arrived in her rental car, was spectacular and all it did was reinforce the feeling that she shouldn’t have come.

  “To, you know—” She tilted her head and arched up her eyebrows, unsure of which words were allowed to be used in the house. Dominique had assured her the children were out like lights in the garden bedrooms—so they could jump into the pool as soon as they woke up—and fully briefed that there would be a guest for breakfast.

  Dominique chuckled. “If you think you’re going to fuck me wit
h this thing, you’ve come a long way for nothing.” She cast the dildo aside and shuffled closer to Steph.

  “Your loss.” Steph kept a brave face. “I’ll have you know I’m quite the expert and I’ve never had any complaints.”

  “Oh, I’m sure.” Dominique painted a coy grin on her face. “But I simply have no desire for a fake penis inside of me.” She grabbed hold of Steph’s hand and lifted it to her mouth. “I’ll make do with these.” She kissed the tips of Steph’s index and middle finger.

  “That’s what you think it is? A fake penis?” Steph was not ready to surrender just yet.

  “Come on, sweetie, you know what I mean.” Dominique wrapped her lips around Steph’s index finger and sucked it deep into her mouth.

  As much as Steph wanted to flop down onto the bed with Dominique and engage in the activities she’d been dreaming of all the way over here—the promises that had enticed her to take this trip—it all felt off.

  Dominique didn’t seem to notice, though. She looked relaxed and glorious, her casual white top contrasting already with the deeper colour of her skin, seemingly having tanned overnight. She rose and stood in front of Steph, slipping Steph’s fingers from her mouth and sliding them under the elasticated waistband of her linen shorts. Wet heat radiated on Steph’s fingers and, just like that—again—she acquiesced. It wasn’t as if she had anywhere to run, except to her own room, which wasn’t even hers, on the other side of the bathroom.

  Dominique bent at the waist until her lips found Steph’s ear. “Fuck me with your fingers, Stéphanie.” Her tongue flicked over Steph’s earlobe for an instant, her fingers still curled around Steph’s wrist. “I’ve been wet all day, waiting for you.”

  Then it stopped being a matter of acquiescing altogether. With her free hand, Steph tugged Dominique’s shorts down, panties included.

  Dominique smiled at her while wrestling her legs out of her shorts and spreading wide. She scooted forward a bit, pushing Steph on the bed, so she could plant her knees next to Steph’s thighs.

  Barely unpacked and still wearing her travel clothes—although, she suspected, not for much longer—Steph slid two fingers inside of Dominique’s moist pussy, and it all fell away. Steph curved her free arm around Dominique’s waist for support, and fucked her the way she’d asked her to. She hadn’t lied about being sufficiently lubricated either.

  If this is the only woman I ever sink my fingers into again, Steph caught herself thinking, while digging deep inside of Dominique, curling her fingers, finding that spot, she might actually be able to live with that. Dominique crawled further onto the bed, pushing Steph onto her back in the process, until her pussy was positioned right above Steph’s mouth. Steph knew what to do.

  Dominique lowered herself until Steph’s tongue connected with her clit, while Steph’s fingers kept on thrusting inside. Steph looked up through her eyelashes, at this woman who had changed everything about her. Not just the fact that she rarely came back for seconds, let alone thirds and trips to the Côte d’Azur, but also that, apparently, she now enjoyed this sort of lovemaking—the kind where she wasn’t solely in charge. Dominique had her by the heart and by the crotch. And Steph knew full well that, before her holiday was over, Dominique would have used the toy on her. It was why she’d brought it.

  “Oh, babe,” Dominique moaned, and it was the use of pet names that, quite possibly, got to Steph the most. The intimacy it implied. How it deepened their connection.

  “I’m—” Dominique collapsed on top of her and Steph’s fingers slipped out with the forward movement of Dominique’s pelvis. “See,” Dominique said, her hair a tangled mess across Steph’s face, her limbs sprawled across her body. “Your fingers are more than enough.”

  NADIA

  “Let’s go to bed,” Juliette said, freeing herself from Nadia’s embrace.

  “Okay.” Nadia’s heart started thundering in her chest. Margot and Claire’s break-up had changed the course of her and Juliette’s reunion considerably. Juliette had stayed late at Claire’s every evening, not making it home at all on two occasions. It had bought Nadia some time, given her a clearer view on what had happened.

  She refused to sleep in their bed—the thought of Juliette and Sybille being together in it too much of a reminder of everything that had gone wrong. With Juliette barely coming home, it hadn’t been an issue. They had seemed to fall into a mellower version of the routine they’d perfected before everything had crumbled. No sex. Only running into each other for brief moments. Hardly taking the time to talk—simply because there was none.

  Nadia had accompanied Juliette to Claire’s a few times, and she’d seen with her own eyes how unfit their friend was to be alone at night. Nadia had never seen Claire, who looked like she’d taken up the habit of emptying a bottle of vodka every evening, in such a state.

  They sat up and Nadia switched off the TV. It was only nine o’clock, not their usual time for bed, but she knew what Juliette was saying. It was time.

  “Will she be all right?” The only ‘she’ Nadia and Juliette referred to lately was Claire, so there was no room for confusion. “All alone on the road like that?”

  “I can hardly hold her hand through her holiday.” Juliette looked at Nadia. “Or is that selfish of me?”

  “God no, babe.” Nadia had been impressed with Juliette’s incessant care for her best friend. “You’ve done plenty.”

  “Come on.” Juliette pushed herself out of the sofa and extended her hand. “Time for us now. At last.”

  Nadia allowed Juliette to pull her out of the sofa and lead her to the hallway. She halted when they reached their bedroom door, tugging at Juliette’s wrist.

  “Right, sorry.” Shame crossed Juliette’s face. “Guest room it is.”

  Not the best sensation to start the rekindling of their love life with. All these things that stood between them now. Could they just fuck them away?

  Maybe they should start by getting a new bed. Every time Nadia ventured into the room to fetch some clothes or jewellery, the current one stood there like a giant reminder of their failure. Ironically, it was after waking up in that same bed that Nadia had proposed to bury the hatchet. A hangover will do that to you—will make you forget temporarily only to slap you in the face with it ten times harder later. Not that she regretted the decision she had made that day, but that bed, that would have to go, no matter the memories they’d made in it themselves.

  “It’s okay.” Nadia pulled Juliette closer, coaxing her towards the guest room. “It’s not important where it happens.” Nadia could say that all she wanted, straight face and everything, but she knew it was a lie. And in unguarded moments, she did compare grief. She’d had a one-night-stand that Juliette hadn’t even noticed, while Juliette had let Sybille fuck her in their bed. Perhaps Nadia wouldn’t even have known if she hadn’t come home early that day, but she had come to the flat for a good reason. And she did know.

  “I’m sorry,” Juliette said, again, waiting for Nadia to make the next move—also, again.

  “Take your clothes off.” Nadia stood back and watched Juliette. “Slowly.”

  She looked just as beautiful doing it as the first time Nadia had asked her. Ten years older, with shorter hair and a few more wrinkles, but just as gorgeous and ready to surrender as then. But if Juliette expected this to be a copy of their first night together, she’d quickly have to modify her expectations. Try as they might, it would never be the same again.

  Nadia waited until Juliette stood naked in front of her. She eyed her from underneath her lashes. Juliette always looked so pale next to her own nut-brown skin, so delicate. “Now undress me.” Noticing the surprise in Juliette’s eyes, she shot her the beginning of a smile. Perhaps Nadia was overcompensating, throwing Juliette off to keep her attention at all times, to make a point. Unlike Sybille, she was not a girl in her early twenties, either. Not just because she hardly still had the body of one, but because she knew what she was doing.

  Juliette’s
hands reached for the buttons of her blouse. Looking into Nadia’s eyes, she undid them one by one, her fingers brushing against Nadia’s skin.

  “Faster,” Nadia whispered, surprised by the raggedness of her own breath. She was usually able to control herself much better. By the time she stepped out of her underwear, Juliette freeing it from around her ankles, her exposed clit was throbbing wildly and her nipples couldn’t point upwards more.

  “Come here.” She beckoned Juliette. Wrapping her arms around her, their breasts meeting, she said, “You’re going to make me come twice before I even touch you. Tongue only the first time. You can use your fingers the second time around.”

  This scenario couldn’t be further removed from their first time, when Nadia had coaxed several orgasms from Juliette, one from barely even looking at her the way she knew how, before she’d even allowed Juliette to touch her.

  Juliette looked her in the eyes, biting her bottom lip, and nodded. She grabbed Nadia by the wrists and yanked her towards the bed, swivelling them around so she could push Nadia down onto the covers.

  “I love you,” Juliette said after laying her warm body on top of Nadia’s. She pressed her lips to Nadia’s and kissed her. The way heat crashed through her flesh at the mere touch of Juliette’s lips, Nadia figured the first orgasm wouldn’t take very long. Especially if she kept envisioning what she’d make Juliette do to reach her own first climax.

  “Lick me,” Nadia whispered in her partner’s ear. “Now.” It wasn’t as much a command as the sheer need coursing through Nadia’s body finding a way out.

  Juliette smiled down at her with that lopsided grin of hers. God, those lips. If there was one body part of Juliette that was irreplaceable it was her upper lip. The curve of it. The way one side was fuller than the other and how it made her look so irresistible even when she pouted.