Reece's Faith

by T J Vertigo

  "So, did she mention what pizza place she was going to? Was it in this state?"

  "Don't be silly, dear, we hit it off wonderfully." Marsha patted her daughter on the arm and smiled.

  "What did you do to her?"

  "ME? I think I should be asking what she did to you?"

  "She did nothing to me that I didn't want her to. Now, can we drop the subject and discuss why you're here?"

  "Do you feel that twirly thing inside of your stomach when she looks at you?"

  "Yeah, but why..."

  "Does it feel like your sinuses clear when she kisses you?"

  "Yeah, that too. But I don't see how this..."

  "Faith, humor your mother. Do you feel lonely when she leaves the room?"

  "Empty. Sad."

  "Oh well." The older woman sighed. "This is it then, isn't it?"

  "What are you talking about, Mom?"

  "You are head over heels in love with that woman, aren't you?"

  More like heels over head.. "Yeah, I am."

  "So, are you going to get married? Can you do that?"

  "Mom, why are you so interested in my relationship? Maybe you should be thinking about yours."

  "I haven't felt that way about your father since I was 22."

  "You married him when you were 23." Faith was confused.

  "Yes, I did." Marsha answered sadly.

  "Oh."

  Mother and daughter sat in silence. One woman thinking of how incredibly lucky she was, the other wishing she was 22 again.

  "Pizza's here!" Reece yelled from the doorway.

  Faith ran to the door and took the boxes away from her lover. Then she backed her into the kitchen for a strangling hug.

  "Hey, Faith? Is everything ok?" Reece grew concerned when she got no answer. She stooped down and wrapped her arms around Faith and lifted her up onto her lap. Faith latched into her lips like she was gone for days.

  "Your mother! Faith!" She was kissed again. "What's the matter? Honey?"

  "I just love you so much."

  "I love you too, babe. What happened?"

  Green eyes looked adoringly into blue. "I'm so lucky to have found you. That's all."

  Oh, is that all? Reece thought with confusion and stood to watch her lover go picking through the boxes of food.

  "Ooo, I'm starved, let's eat!"

  Marsha didn't miss the exchange between the two women and approached Reece carefuly.

  "I hope you feel just as lucky."

  "I do ma'am, I really do." The club owner offered up an honest smile and the older woman breathed a sigh of relief.

  "What's in the bag?" Mrs. Ashford wondered.

  "Oh, um.. nothing. A few of those horrible trashy magazines. You know the ones...gonna bring them to work.. " With the greeting she received, Reece forgot all about the tabloids.

  "Oh?" Marsha eyed the tall nervous woman curiously.

  "Heh.. better hurry before she eats all the pizza."

  * * *

  Reece was sitting on the couch flipping through the channels. Faith lay dozing with her head on her lover's lap, and Marsha was snoring from the recliner. The club owner looked down at Faith's face and smiled. She began tracing her features with eyes, then with her index finger. When she reached her lover's lips, they moved and caressed her fingertip so softly it tickled and Reece pulled her hand away.

  "Mmm, lets go up to bed, Reece." Faith mumbled sleepily.

  "What about your mom? Wouldn't she want to go to bed too?"

  "Kinky."

  Reece tickled Faith on her ribs and grinned when her lover squeaked.

  "Stop that, you'll wake mother." The actress scolded.

  "Well? Should we leave her there?"

  "Yeah, just leave her, she was exhausted anyway. She should be up to make her bathroom trip in about an hour or so." Faith stretched and then burrowed down into Reece's lap. "She can find her way to the guest room then. Leave the light on for her."

  "I'd have to get up from the couch to do that, babe. Come on.." Reece shook her legs trying to assist her lover.

  Faith whined. "I don't want to move."

  "Fine then. Let's go, sleepyhead." Reece flicked off the TV, lifted Faith up off of her lap, and carried her up to the bedroom. The actress cuddled up to her lover and smiled contentedly.

  "My big strong baby."

  "Your only baby."

  * * *

  Reece had been awake for a while, listening to the sounds of Marsha puttering around the kitchen.

  Faith was still fast asleep, flopped across Reece's body, her hand wrapped around her neck.

  The club owner was enjoying the feeling thoroughly and was perfectly happy to lie there until Faith woke up. Unfortunately, the smells of breakfast that were wafting into the room were making her mouth water. In another minute, her stomach was going to alert Faith that it was time to get up.

  "Faith.." she whispered.

  No answer. Not even a twitch. Reece tickled the back of her neck lightly, and Faith stirred.

  "Baby, your mom made food. Come on.." She ran her fingers down Faith's back. The smaller body shivered and Reece felt the nipples harden against her body.

  OK, that wasn't the effect I was looking for.

  "Mmm. Morning, sexy." Faith stretched and turned onto her back, kicking the blanket to the bottom of the bed. When she turned back to snuggle, Reece was laying there naked with her eyebrow raised in a question.

  "What?" the smaller woman asked.

  "You wanna put those away? Your mom is downstairs."

  Faith followed Reece's eyes to her nipples and raised her own eyebrow. "Would you have any idea how they got that way?"

  "Yes." The club owner smirked.

  "Then it's all your fault they're teasing you isn't it?" She cupped her breasts and arched her back with a smirk.

  "Oh, so you wanna play dirty?" Reece grabbed for Faith's leg but she got away and ran into the bathroom.

  "I let you get away, you know."

  "Sure you did."

  * * *

  "Mom, this is wonderful!" Faith dug into her omelet.

  "Thank you, dear. Theresa, is that all you're going to eat?" Marsha was disappointed that the tall woman only ate toast.

  "Reece, it's Reece. Yes, thank you, I have to get going."

  "She overslept. Reece is usually just getting back from the gym at this time." Faith replied around a mouthful of hash browns.

  "Yeah." The club owner agreed, and started to get up. "Save me a plate, ok?"

  "Baby, do you have to go today? You can miss a day, please?"

  Oh no, not the lip..

  "Yes, why don't you spend the day with us? We were going shopping." Marsha added.

  "Oh goody."

  "REECE, please?

  Oh shit..

  "For me?" Faith put on her best puppy dog face.

  "Oh alright." The club owner frowned.

  "Good!" Marsha rose excitedly and began making Reece a plate.

  "Thank you sweetheart. I'll make it up to you later." Faith whispered.

  The actress licked her lips and Reece melted to the chair.

  "I'm holding you to that one." Reece whispered back.

  "Here dear... eat." Mrs. Ashford patted the club owner on the arm and her eyes widened. "She sure is a strong one, isn't she, Faith?" Marsha felt around Reece's bicep.

  The actress noticed that Reece was trying very hard not to swat at her mother and snickered. She saw the woman's point, though; Faith often found herself awed at her lover's muscles too. The actress was enjoying the look on Reece's face. She's had worse.

  After all, Reece did grope Mother. She snickered.

  "You should feel her back, mom."

  Reece dropped her fork and stared at Faith in disbelief. The actress winked when her mom touched her lover's back. Blue eyes narrowed with a promise of revenge.

  "But her quads.. now there's a work of art." Faith kneaded said muscles.

  "Goodness! I didn't know you liked them so ...
gruff?

  GRUFF?! Reece's eyebrows shot up.

  "Butch would be more appropriate, Mom."

  Reece cleared her throat. Faith grinned.

  "If you don't mind, I feel like Charmin."

  Faith kissed her lover sweetly and smiled.

  "C'mon, Mom, lets leave her to eat in peace. She gets cranky when she's hungry."

  Oh, she will soo pay for this. Reece ate her breakfast with an evil grin.

  * * *

  The club owner sighed with relief as she flung herself onto her bed. She felt exhausted and edgy after enduring an Ashford shopping spree. The only thing that kept her going was her plan to get back at Faith for the whole groping thing at breakfast.

  Reaching under the bed, she pulled out the bag with all the newspapers in it. Smiling evilly, she sifted through them, picked out a few, and snuck downstairs.

  Hearing the two women chattering in the guest room, Reece slipped into the living room and neatly arranged the tabloids on the coffee table. Then she snuck back towards the stairs and made a noisy descent.

  "Baby? Come in here, I want to show you something." Faith called out from the room.

  "Yeah?" The club owner stopped in her tracks and stood in the doorway in shock. God, she's breathtaking!

  "Well? What do you think?" Faith twirled around, modeling this slinky black cocktail dress for her lover.

  "I told you, it's stunning, dear." Marsha replied. "I still can't believe you didn't have at least one little black dress. Every woman should have one."

  "Reece?" Faith felt weak in the knees when she saw the way her lover was looking at her.

  "Oh, it's great. It looks great." She managed to answer.

  "By the look in her eyes, honey, I'd say it's a keeper." The older woman teased. "She seems er, hungry."

  Reece blushed. This woman was too much. Is everyone's mother this unusual?

  "Mom!" Faith scolded.

  "What? I'd be willing to bet that if I wasn't here that dress would be long gone."

  "She's right, you know." Reece replied before making a hasty exit.

  Let them chew on that..

  * * *

  The club owner finished the payroll and wondered why she hadn't gotten a call from home yet.

  I'm sure they found those rags by now.

  She pulled out the rest of them and stared at the pictures of her lover that all of America was seeing. Carefully cutting out the images, she began placing them on her office walls. She was surprised that she didn't want to kill the person responsible for exposing Faith's attributes to the nation. Instead, she was feeling a mite prideful that all of it belonged to her.

  Still.. I have to at least act pissed.

  Reece decided that she would make whoever it was slightly miserable.

  Sandy and Faith are positive it's Charles. I think it's Michele. Something about that girl..

  "Hey boss? Can I come in?"

  "Yeah Cor. Hey, did you see?"

  Taking a look around, the dancer folded her arms across her chest and shook her head. "You know, I don't think she's going to be pleased with this."

  "What? I like them. I think she's hot."

  "Yeah but now so does half of the country."

  "Half? What's wrong with the other half?"

  "You can't be serious." Cori was shocked at Reece's attitude.

  "Yes, I am." The tall woman sat down, satisfied with the new decorations.

  "OK, so you're not going to break somebody's legs?"

  "Oh, I didn't say that, I just didn't understand why only half of the country found Faith appealing."

  "So you're going to hurt Charles? But what about Michele? I was very disappointed to find out she was behind this." Cori sat on Reece's desk facing her.

  The club owner frowned. Why didn't Faith tell me if she knew who it was?

  "Hey, earth to Reece."

  "Yeah, I'm gonna take care of the both of them." I just don't know how.

  "Why'd ya wait so long? It's going to be kinda hard since they were fired."

  FIRED?! What the...

  "Cori, I have things to do, if you'll excuse me."

  "Sure bosslady, I was thinking of coming over and taking Mom Ashford off your hands tomorrow."

  "Whatever."

  "Yeah, you're welcome." The dancer replied to the empty room.

  * * *

  Mrs. Ashford put down the last of the tabloids and laughed out loud.

  "Oh my!" she continued laughing.

  Faith shut off the blow dryer to investigate the sound.

  Is Mother laughing? She wondered. I don't think I ever heard her laugh like that in my life!

  "Oh dear!" The older woman held her stomach and laughed.

  That is Mother! What the hell is she so hysterical about?

  Faith suddenly became nervous. Her mother could have gotten into anything.

  Shit! Why did I leave her alone down there? I let her talk me into a bath. I should have known it was a plan for her to snoop!

  She started dressing, grabbing clothing from the floor.

  Oh God.. I hope she didn't go through the video cabinet. Not only does Lucky live there, but Reece's video collection could kill her! She ran down the stairs in fear.

  Marsha tried to collect herself, but she couldn't stop laughing.

  "Mom? Are you alright?" The actress edged closer to her mother.

  Marsha held up a tabloid and shook it around.

  Faith felt her legs go numb when she saw the cover picture.

  "This is some...oh my...interesting coffee table ...oooh...reading, dear." The older woman continued to pull herself together.

  "You find this funny?" The actress furrowed her brows in confusion.

  "Oh, Faith dear. I haven't laughed like that in ages!"

  The actress had no idea why her mother was reacting with such hilarity to her half-naked body. The clothing choice alone should have given her a mild arrhythmia. The fact that it was all over the coffee table should have at least caused her to stroke.

  "Again, you find this funny?" She put her hands on her hips.

  "Oh my yes!"

  Faith stood there tapping her foot as her mother continued to titter.

  "That outfit doesn't help any.." she giggled.

  The younger woman looked down at her clothes and smiled. In her haste she'd thrown on Reece's inside-out sweatpants and a T-shirt that read: 'Remember my name, you'll be screaming it later.'

  "Well I'd rather be on the cover of a magazine in this get up than that one."

  "Oh honey, the pictures aren't bad. In fact, they're flattering. Remind me to show you my pictures some day."

  The actress sat down next to her mother and stared at her in shock.

  "Mom...who?" Faith was speechless.

  "I had racy pictures taken for your father when we were engaged. A promise of what was to come if you will."

  Faith blushed. My mother the pinup girl.

  "Oh, stop looking at me like that, honey."

  "But Mom?" she whined.

  "How did she take to these?"

  "A lot better than I thought. She put them there."

  "Oh? She must be very proud of you, then. If anyone ever got a hold of my pictures, your father would kill them."

  "Proud?" The actress questioned.

  "Well why else would she put them on display like this? Who took these?"

  "My ex-producer and co-star. They were both fired."

  "I bet Theresa had something to do with that."

  "Well..." Faith looked down at her hands guiltily.

  "What is that all about, Faith?"

  "I haven't told her yet." she winced.

  "Faith! You mustn't keep secrets like that!" Marsha scolded her daughter.

  "I just thought she'd react a bit differently. I guess I should have told her, cuz, man, am I wrong about that."

  "Oh, I'm not so sure she'll let them go that easily, she seems very protective toward you. But I'm certain if you ask her to, she'll play nice.
" Marsha smiled.

  "I hope she'll go easy on me for keeping this from her."

  "She better or she'll have me to answer to. Besides, you have that woman wrapped around your pinkie. I watched her today, she worships you."

  "Trust is very important to her, Mom." Faith scowled at her mistake.

  "Then you should have known better, dear."

  The key in the door startled them both. Reece wasn't due home so early.

  "Oh no...what am I going to do, Mom? She knows." Faith panicked.

  "You don't know that, honey." Marsha tried to reassure her daughter.

  The expression on Reece's face confirmed Faith's fears.

  "Baby, let me explain." The actress began.

  "Why didn't you tell me who it was?" Blue eyes narrowed.

  "I think I better get a drink" Mrs. Ashford escaped into the kitchen.

  "I'm sorry, Reece. I didn't mean to keep secrets! I know I promised...I was just..." Faith sobbed.

  "Hey, don't cry." The club owner felt her anger float away when she saw how upset Faith was. She knelt down, grasped the smaller hand, and held it to her face.

  "I just feel so shitty about this."

  "I'm not mad at you for keeping it from me. I kinda feel stupid now, really." Reece pursed her lips in thought.

  "Stupid? How?" Faith sniffed.

  "Well, you were afraid to tell me, weren't you?"

  The actress nodded and looked away.

  "I don't want you to ever be afraid of me. I guess I don't now how to prove to you that you can trust me." Reece sighed in sadness and dropped Faith's hand.

  "Oh no! I'm not afraid of you! Baby, please don't think that. I was afraid of how you'd react and what you might do to them." Faith leaned over and kissed her lover on the lips. "You have to admit, you can be dangerous when you're angry."

  "I'd never hurt you. I'd rather die." Reece swore.

  "I know that, Reece, and I trust you with my life." She kissed her lover again.

  "I don't think I know how to hurt you."

  "Well," Faith smirked, "if I asked real nice..."

  The club owner's eyes opened wide.

  "Why, Faith Ashford, you naughty little girl." Reece teased.

  "I thought I was your dirty little girl." The actress pulled the kneeling woman between her legs and kissed her hard.

  "You keep that up and you'll be an embarrassed little girl." Reece warned.