Reece's Faith

by T J Vertigo

  The bartender moaned and licked Reece's chin, trailing her tongue across the shaking woman's lips. Reece's hips bucked and she knew if she didn't do something quickly, she'd have the bartender on her back in seconds, but her hands wouldn't do anything but claw at the wall.

  "Yes, Reece, take me... fuck me... I want you..."

  Reece felt the hands stop their assault on her breasts and slide back down to her belt buckle. Oh, god... I'm fucking toast...

  "You need this, Reece...

  "I need this..." the club owner groaned hoarsely.

  "That's right... there you go." Christina soothed, silently cheering her victory.

  Reece squeezed her eyes closed so hard she saw spots. She had to make it stop. She rooted around inside her cloudy mind until she found what she needed, just as Christina was opening her pants.

  "Ohhh, Reece... I know what you want."

  "Faith."

  The hands stilled.

  "I want Faith..." Reece's hands moved and grasped the bartender's wrists painfully.

  "Ow... Reece... you're hurting me."

  The club owner sneered wildly, baring all her teeth. "But I thought you knew what I wanted? You know what I need," she taunted wickedly. "Right, Christina?" she snarled.

  "OW! STOP!"

  Reece turned them around and slammed Christina against the wall. She pressed her body into the bartender and lowered her head to her mouth. "Am I hurting you?" she sucked Chris's bottom lip into her mouth, then bit. Hard. Reece chuckled at her gasp.

  "Reece!"

  "Yeah, baby, scream my name..." Reece snickered and shoved her knee between Chris's legs forcefully. "But I thought you wanted this. Isn't that right?" Reece lifted her hand and toyed with the blood that dripped from the bartender's mouth. Chris flinched hard.

  "NO! I'm sorry... I don't..."

  "You're pathetic," she laughed. The club owner roughly threw the bartender at the open door. "Get the fuck out of my club. If I ever see you again, Christina... I'll let Faith have at ya."

  After the woman left, Reece sat down bonelessly on the floor. She needed to get home now more than ever. She needed Faith... NOW.

  * * *

  Faith navigated through the dark living room and threw herself on the couch. The actress was a bit taken aback with the events of the last few hours. The last thing she thought she'd be doing at this moment was sitting alone on the couch in the shadowy empty house.

  Well, so much for celebrations, Faith sighed heavily and shrugged off her coat. What now?

  Green eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness and spotted the blinking alert on the answering machine. Sliding closer to the device, she paused with her finger over the play button. Do I even want to know? Sighing again, she kicked off her shoes and wiggled her toes, then pressed the button.

  "HAPPY NEW YEAR LOUISE!"

  Faith snickered; John was definitely feeling his champagne.

  "Oh, you too, Butch. Are you listening to Johnny, you big scary hunk of muscly woman flesh? Oh, no... more therapy for me. Aaaanyway, try not to get too caught up in the festivities... K? I don't think Cover Girl has enough flesh tone. Tootles!"

  Faith hit the fast forward button with a frown. Yeah, festivities... She threw herself back against the cushions as her mother's voice filled the room.

  "Hello, sweetheart... you too, Theresa! Wee! Happy New Year to the both of you! I love you! Kiss, kiss...."

  Faith shook her head in embarrassment. Mom sounded pretty schnockered too. Looks like I'm the only one who's not enjoying the evening.

  The actress peeled off her stockings and crumpled them into a ball, tossing them at nothing in particular. She retrieved the bottle of champagne she had in the fridge and, after cocking her head in thought, shook the bottle a little. As an afterthought, she shook it again. "Why the hell not?" she mused as she let the cork fly. She squealed as the cold liquid poured down her forearms, and backed up a bit as it spilled onto her bare toes.

  "Cheers!" Faith attempted to drink from the bottle and the foam poured out of the sides of her mouth and down her neck. "Yikes that's cold!" she shivered.

  Looking down at herself she laughed. Her arms were sticky, her dress was pretty wet and her nipples were telling her just how chilled that champagne was. "Oh, Reece... you have no idea what you're missing," she smirked and then tilted the bottle up to her lips again as she headed into the living room. The red head wandered to the recliner and sat. She began replaying the events of tonight in her head. "God I was bad tonight," she giggled, "but who could blame me? With my big, scary hunk of muscly woman flesh... oooo... yep," she nodded. "She's mine alright."

  Faith started thinking about how it must have been to be with Reece when she was working at The Lounge. She wondered what would have happened if she had met her then, whether she would have felt the same when facing the woman she saw tonight. Could I have been as attracted to her then as I am now, if I didn't know her like I do? Would I have been frightened by her larger-than-life attitude? God, she was so fucking casual... yet so irritatingly cocky. The actress knit her brows in thought.

  "God, I want her," she breathed out loud.

  Her head filled with her own perception of a younger Reece, every inch The Animal... and all sorts of "what if" scenarios. She replayed that scene by the stage tonight with different ending; one where Reece didn't control herself and took what Faith was offering, regardless of everyone around them. Though blushing at her vivid imagination, a violent shudder ran through the actress's body. She shook her head to dispel the arousing images that played through her mind. This action created a pleasant sort of vertigo and Faith grabbed the armrest for support.

  "Whoo... now THAT'S champagne!" she snickered as she tried to refocus her eyes. However, it didn't stop her from slugging back another gulp. Green eyes fell on the video cabinet. A small yet evil smile graced Faith's lips. "Well, if I can't have the real thing..." She struggled out of the chair and opened the cabinet doors.

  "Hmmm... decisions... decisions..." she giggled, fingering the cassettes. "This calls for extreme measures."

  Faith closed her eyes and dragged her finger back and forth over the edge of the tapes. "Eenie, meanie, miney... mo! Okay!" she pulled out the winning tape. "Tag, you're it," she told it and pushed it into the VCR.

  Reclining once again, the drunken actress fumbled with the remote control before finally hitting Play. "Now, this is my kind of celebration!" she smirked as the object of her undying lust appeared on the screen naked, except for her boxer briefs. "A toast! To the guy who invented big screen TV's!" she tossed back another mouthful.

  Faith watched the television with narrowed eyes, concentrating on her lover's image. Reece was so different, all snarl and bravado. "I want that Reece, too. Why does she have to come with a price?" The actress frowned in thought, That Reece is gone, Faith. You should be pleased. Look at her. Do you think she knows that woman's name? Do you think she even cares?

  Faith watched the video with a sad eye now. She felt bad for Reece. This woman she was watching was not the one who she knew at all. "Yeah, I rather do like my Reece," she smiled to herself.

  Faith sat there glued to the screen a while longer, only getting up when she finished the bottle. "Maybe that wasn't so smart, after all. I'm lonely, drunk and horny as all hell," she groaned.

  The small woman flipped off the television and tottered up the stairs. Once in the bedroom, she grabbed Reece's pillow and smelled it. With a huge smile, Faith fell backwards on the bed, hugging the pillow to her face. "I miss you, baby," she mumbled, willing herself to not cry.

  After getting her fill of the pillow, Faith stripped out of her rumpled dress and decided a shower was necessary. She felt dirty and sweaty from the club and sticky from the champagne. She didn't want to get into bed like that.

  Pretty tipsy, she had to sit on the floor to peel off her bra. Though fuzzy, she knew that something was under her side of the bed that hadn't been there before. Dropping down to all fours, she pulled out the
brightly wrapped box and stared at it in confusion. "Where did you come from?" After receiving no answer from the package, Faith shook it. Various things shifted around. "Stuff," she concluded proudly and brought it up to the bed. "Whoa! Heavy stuff."

  Finding no card, she opened the paper carefully, looking at it suspiciously as if it were going to jump open by itself at any second.

  Once it was open, the inebriated actress found it safe to go on and she opened the lid and found a note on top of the tissue paper: Faith, dear, this is your mother. There are some items in here I thought you and Theresa may enjoy, so go on, open it! I'm so excited!

  "Do I want to do this?" she wondered as she unwrapped the first small bundle.

  "God, no! Mother!"

  Several small plastic pillows of lubricant fell out onto the bed. The actress jumped back like they were on fire. There was another note: These are not only hypoallergenic, but they are unflavored and clearly marked. I don't know that you should put all that flavored sugary nonsense in your potato.

  Faith moaned in mortification. The only thing worse than this was if Reece found the package. Unsure if she should proceed to the other three items, Faith weighed each thing in her hands while humming the theme from Jeopardy.

  "What is a book, Alex."

  Deciding that whatever it was, a mother should probably never give it to her daughter and she put it aside for last.

  Taking a medium sized item, she unwrapped it cautiously and slumped down against the headboard with a painful groan. You simply must try this, Faith! I'm telling you, it's even more realistic than the one in the guest room! I also made sure it's a one-size-fits-all (you can never be too careful).

  Faith felt a little nauseous. The image of her mother and a dildo just didn't sit right. However, further inspection of this particular dildo proved very interesting. This was a sleeve that fit over any existing toy that they had. Faith tore open the package and felt it. Her eyes widened a bit. "Okay, Mom, you're right... I'll give you that, sickening as the thought may be."

  * * *

  Reece left the keys to The Lounge with Sarge and left the club. She stood on the sidewalk for a while; sorting through all the feelings that she was experiencing. She was very uncomfortable. Reece never gave a rat's ass about consequences before Faith. Mere months had changed the tall woman in ways she never knew she was capable.

  Hell, Christina would still be screaming my name... That thought made the club owner scrunch up her nose in disgust. Shit.

  Reece wandered towards the corner to hail a cab, all the while trying to figure out what just caused her to suddenly feel nauseous.

  Realizing this was possibly the worst time of the entire year to find a cab, the tall woman sighed heavily and started walking downtown. Passing by the front of The Lounge once again, Reece paused. Maybe I should have a drink... something has to stop my heart from pounding like this. Again, the club owner stopped to think. I bet Faith's probably pissed at me. Maybe I should go home.

  One of the off duty cops burst out of the club with a stuffed trash bag. "Whoa! You scared the piss outta me!" he chuckled. "What the hell are you still standing here for? Go get yourself drunk, woman and bring in the New Year with a bang!" he winked and laughed, hefting the big bag on his shoulder and disappearing into the alley.

  A tiny part of Reece shivered with the thought of partaking, wondering if anyone would be the wiser if she did just go and fuck some woman senseless. After all, it would be saving Faith from having to face the Animal... she tried to reason with herself.

  Yet, that was only a tiny part, the rest of her felt sick again. What is that? She knit her brows and held her stomach.

  "Hey, Boss!?"

  Reece snapped out of her daze and noticed Cori.

  "Want company, gorgeous?"

  "I'm not in the mood, Cor," Reece snapped. "Careful, I need my head," the dancer gave her boss an exaggerated scowl. "What's wrong with you?"

  Cori knew exactly what was wrong with Reece. She'd had a little chat with a certain bleeding bartender. She just wanted to know how Reece was working this out. The dancer figured her friend was in need of some safe companionship.

  "I don't know. I feel sorta sick... I think," the tall woman started to walk with the dancer right besides her.

  "Oh, that helps."

  "Fuck, Cori! Didn't you hear me? I'm not in the mood for chitchat. Okay?"

  "It's guilt, Reece," Cori stated confidently.

  "What?" the club owner stopped walking and stood in front of the dancer.

  "Guilt. It's what you're feeling now."

  "Guilt? Why? I'm not guilty of anything..."The tall woman closed her eyes and stopped walking again. "That's it?" she wondered out loud.

  "Reece, I spoke to Chris. I know what happened... nothing. But if I know you, you're beating yourself up over it anyway. When it comes down to it, Reece, you did good. If it means anything, I'm really proud of you," the dancer smiled.

  It was true. Immediately assuming the worst upon seeing the bartender stumble out of the office, Cori was stunned to find out Christina was turned down. She felt guilty for not having faith in her friend and was incredibly impressed with her.

  Meanwhile, Reece had buried her face in her hands. She had an ache deep in the bottom of her stomach, her heart was beating frantically, her mouth was dry, her head was pounding... and she couldn't stop any of it. This was way outta control. She didn't like it one bit.

  Cori jumped out of her skin as Reece suddenly picked up a sidewalk trashcan and threw it. It struck the closed gates of a store and bounced down the street.

  "REECE!" The dancer screamed more out of fright than concern. She half expected Reece to flip out sometime tonight, but was caught off guard by this. Cori knew her friend was going to go through one hell of a time understanding her emotions. She was sure it was going to confuse the shit out of her. Reece and confusion usually equaled destruction in one way or another. After Faith voiced her fear of the tall woman hurting herself, Cori had to make sure that she'd be okay. She just wondered if she'd survive.

  Cori ran after the tall woman as she went to pick up the empty trashcan again. Unfortunately for her, when she grabbed Reece's arm, the club owner lifted Cori and the can off the ground and over her head. "Reece! Drop it! Please... this area is crawling with cops! It's Times-fucking-Square on New Years!" she panicked.

  Reece took a huge gulp of air and dropped both Cori and the garbage can. She felt like she may hyperventilate. She leaned her head on a nearby lamppost. Reece trembled. She was breathing heavily and still felt a need to lash out. Though she physically exerted herself, neither the effort nor the loud noise made her feel any better. "Cor?"

  "Reece?" the dancer put her hand on the tall woman's back.

  "I'm fucked."

  "No, you're not. Go home."

  "Home? Faith's there!?" Reece shot up to her full height and her face shone with fear.

  "Your point is?"

  "I can't see Faith. Not like this," she said rather quietly.

  "Sure you can. I'll walk with you. You'll go home and you'll tell Faith how much you love her. She must miss you something awful at this moment."

  "Cori? You know me... why are you acting like I can walk in there like nothing happened?" Reece was very frustrated with her friend.

  "Well, first of all... nothing did happen. If you told Faith about it, she'd be very proud that you didn't act on the temptation. Second of all, you need to talk to your woman, Reece. You can't keep running away anymore. She worries about you too much. You owe it to her."

  "Faith doesn't deserve this. I don't now that I can control my stupid fucking self. I'll wind up hurting her... God, I'm such an asshole!"

  "She knows you're an asshole. She loves you anyway and the only way you'll hurt her is if you don't go home and talk to her. Don't sell her short, Reece."

  The tall woman began walking again, lost in thought. Every so often, she would frown, bite her lip or shake her head. The dancer rooted for her
. She wanted Reece to feel secure with Faith. She wanted the tall woman to run to Faith, not away. Cori stayed by her side waiting, hoping what she said was going to sink in, but from the looks passing over the tall woman's face, the dancer was doubtful of the outcome.

  Reece's mind was working a mile a minute. Usually one to work off of pure impulse, this was a strange experience. Thoughts crowded in her head, disjointed and loud. Faith worries? About me? Why? I'm a big girl... maybe she's afraid I'll... or maybe she knew I'd... fuck. Why is this so hard? I'm a shit... I almost let Christina... but wait... I didn't let her, did I? Can Faith understand? Will she still love me? What the hell am I saying? You know you're going to take one look at her in that little black dress and... can she handle it? She did say that she loves all of me... she said she loves The Animal didn't she? So? Wait a minute... all I have to do is talk to her. Tell her I need her, but I... what? I'm afraid? Oh yeah, Reece Corbett... The Animal, is afraid of Faith Ashford. It's not like I have to fuck her, is it? I mean, I can control myself. I refuse to hurt her because I'm weak... WEAK? Did I say WEAK? Oh, god... weak, needy and afraid. Shoot me now. I may as well learn to swoon while I'm at it. Jesus... Hmm... I don't have to tell her exactly, I really only have to tell her I love her. After all, there's nothing but truth in that and if I still need to ravage her, well, then I'll go downstairs and hump a pillow or something. Maybe I'll get drunk. There's that bottle of Champagne...

  Eventually Reece reached over and rested her hand on Cori's shoulder. The dancer let out a sigh of relief to feel that hand. It was steady and strong. "You okay?"

  "Yeah, thanks, Cori. I'm gonna go home and tell Faith I love her. Maybe hump a pillow," she added with a sly grin.

  "Don't take this the wrong way, boss, but I love you for that."

  "Cor, I never thought I'd say this, but I think I know what you mean."

  The dancer squeezed Reece's hand on her shoulder and smiled knowingly. "Oh, my god... a cab! You okay to go the rest of the way?" Cori hardly waited for an answer before she practically threw herself in front of the vehicle. Reece chuckled and waved.