by Rachel Lacey
I scooted down so I could kiss my way over her belly, desperate to taste her. I’d been waiting thirteen years for this moment.
“Oh my God, Taylor,” she panted, burying her hands in my hair.
I positioned one of her legs to rest over my shoulder as I pressed my tongue against her. I tenderly kissed my way over her folds, acquainting myself with her body and which spots brought the loudest cries from her throat. I dipped my tongue inside her, drunk on the sharp taste of her and the way her muscles clamped down on me, seeking more.
Her hips moved rhythmically against me, her fingers tangled deeply in my hair. I moved up to flick my tongue against her clit, and she let out a sharp cry. I swirled my tongue there, empowered by her responsiveness and the knowledge that this was Phoebe. A few more strokes of my tongue, and she let out a breathy groan as she came against my mouth.
I held myself still as she rode out her release, and then I kissed my way up her body to her mouth. She clamped her arms around me, holding me close while she caught her breath.
“Jesus, Taylor,” she gasped, kissing me between rapid breaths. “You’re really freaking good at that.”
I just grinned at her, ridiculously pleased by her praise and also ridiculously aroused from getting her off. I could feel my own wetness slicking my thighs, and the ache in my core burned relentlessly beneath Phoebe’s heated gaze.
The next thing I knew, she’d flipped us. My back met the soft fabric of the quilt as she pressed her lithe body over me like a warm blanket. I closed my eyes, surrendering to her touch, desperate for it. She took her time at first, touching and kissing every inch of my chest until I was ready to beg for more.
When she sucked my nipple into the delicious heat of her mouth, my hips bucked off the bed and an embarrassingly loud moan escaped my lips. The thing was, I didn’t even care. Right now, I was putty beneath Phoebe’s talented fingers, and oh, her fingers were talented. After stroking her way down my belly, she slid her hand between my thighs. Her fingers moved deftly, exploring my body, and within minutes, she had me spiraling toward the point of no return.
She plunged two fingers inside me, curling them forward as her thumb caressed my clit, and I was flying. Release radiated out from my core and sizzled through my blood, leaving me boneless and breathless beneath her, sparks still pinging through my body.
“Wow,” I whispered when I could form words.
Phoebe grinned down at me, those chestnut curls hanging around her face in disarray, the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. “Wow doesn’t even begin to cover it.”
21
Phoebe
“Will you stay?” I whispered into the depths of Taylor’s hair. I had no idea what time it was, except that it was late. After several rounds of sweaty sex, we were tangled up together in my bed, exhausted in the very best way.
“I wish I could,” she murmured, trailing a hand up and down my spine. “But I need to get home to my dogs. They’ve been alone since about six.”
“I wish yours got along with mine so you could just bring them with you next time.”
“Next time?” Her eyes burned into mine in the moonlit bedroom.
“I hope there’s a next time,” I said. “Don’t you?”
“Yeah,” she admitted. “And it’s not that they wouldn’t get along. Violet’s good with other dogs. She just might get protective of her puppies, and I don’t want to stress her out while they’re small. Once they’re older, she’d probably be fine with Minnie coming over.”
“Just Minnie?” I asked.
“Well, Blue’s shy, but also hopefully he’ll be adopted soon.”
“Right.” I wasn’t as familiar with fostering as she was. The whole process seemed confusing and a little bit upsetting to me. The idea of giving up a dog after you’d helped them overcome whatever trauma had led them to the shelter seemed emotionally difficult, and Taylor did it over and over. “Can you stay a little while longer?”
“Yeah.” Her arms tightened around me. “I’d like that.”
“Want to raid my fridge?” I asked. “Because I seem to have worked up an appetite.”
She giggled, and the sound energized me, like someone had just put my battery on the charger. “Let’s do it.”
We disentangled ourselves and climbed out of bed. I gave her one of my T-shirts to wear, and she went into the guest bath across the hall to freshen up while I ducked into the master bath, pausing to check on Violet, who was fast asleep with her puppies.
Taylor and I met up in the kitchen, where we poured fresh glasses of water and went through my fridge, looking for a midnight snack. I pulled out a bag of carrot sticks and a bottle of dip while Taylor reached for a jar of pickles. We munched on veggies and chased them with a handful of Oreos, because why not?
Then we snuggled under my grandma’s quilt in the master bed, watching Violet and the puppies. My legs were entwined with hers, and I wondered how something could feel so comfortable, so familiar, when we’d only been together, really together, for a few hours.
“Remember when we were little and we’d go wading in the stream out back?” she asked, one hand playing idly with my hair. She twirled one of my curls around her finger, watching as it sprang free in a tight ringlet.
“You told me there were crayfish in the water, and I was terrified the whole time that one was going to bite my toes.”
She laughed. “Yep. You bumped your foot on a rock and shrieked like you were being attacked by a bear. Margery came running out of the house expecting something awful.”
“Totally your fault,” I told her. “You made me paranoid.”
“We had a lot of fun during our summer vacations together.”
“We sure did.” I pinched her ass beneath the blankets. “I never saw it leading here.”
“Neither did I,” she said. “Or at least, certainly not back when we were splashing in the stream together.”
“When did you?” I hadn’t seen Taylor as anything but a friend until shortly before our first kiss, after she’d come out and awakened in me the idea that I might not be straight either.
“Do you really want to know?” she asked, suddenly serious.
“Yes,” I answered immediately, and then I had a moment of panic wondering how long she’d had feelings for me. Was it much longer than my own?
“The summer we were fourteen,” she answered quietly.
“Oh,” I blurted. “Really?”
“Yep.” She looked away, her body tensing slightly beneath my fingers.
“Tell me,” I implored. Fourteen? I’d been particularly miserable that summer. My parents were fighting nonstop, and they’d each called me repeatedly, asking uncomfortable questions about the other. Apparently, I’d been too caught up in my family drama to notice what was happening with Taylor.
“You were my first crush,” she whispered. “You were my best friend, and suddenly, I was fantasizing about kissing you. It was a very confusing summer.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” I asked, dumbfounded.
“I was terrified of ruining our friendship. At the time, the idea that you might be gay too seemed inconceivable. I didn’t even know for sure yet that I was gay. I thought it might just be a phase. Maybe all girls fantasized about kissing their best friend.”
Now it was my turn to laugh. “That’s exactly how I felt two summers later, after you came out to me. I started to fantasize about kissing you and wondered all the same things.”
“And here we are.” She brushed a hand through my hair.
“I know you need to go home soon, but will you come back tomorrow?” I asked. “I’d love to spend some of our Saturday together.”
“I can do that,” she said, but there was something hesitant in her tone, like she wasn’t sure how to approach a relationship with me. I knew she was afraid of getting hurt, because I was too.
“Well, I’ll be around all day, just hanging out with Violet and getting some things done around the house. I’m going t
o try to get all the trim painted this weekend.”
“Okay. Would you mind if I bring Minnie and Blue and we go for a hike together? Violet should be fine by herself for a few hours.”
“Sure. Bring them,” I agreed. Unspoken between us was the fact that we needed to talk. We needed to sit down in the light of day and figure out what happened next. Were we going to try to make a real go of this, or were we just having some fun together while I was in Vermont?
“It’s a date, then.” She rolled toward me, giving me a kiss. “And I need to get going, before I get too tired to drive home.”
“Right.” I was pretty damn tired myself. The urge to stay right here beside her and sleep was strong. Instead, I tossed the quilt back and crawled out of bed.
Taylor went into the guest bedroom to gather her clothes, reappearing a minute later to kiss me good night. “I’ll give you a call in the morning.”
I nodded. “Or just show up if you want. I’m not going anywhere tomorrow.”
“Okay.” And with that, she was gone.
I stood in the living room, watching the lights from her SUV as she backed out of my driveway and drove away. And then I stood there for another minute, just replaying our evening together in my mind, because holy shit. It had all been so amazingly perfect, and now I wasn’t sure what to think or how to feel. Could we find a way to make this work?
The telltale click of toenails against the laminate floors announced Violet’s arrival. She wandered into the kitchen, licked my leg, and walked to her water bowl for a drink.
“You probably need to go out again before I go to bed, don’t you?” I asked her.
She looked up with that solemn face, but her tail was wagging. I clipped her leash to her collar, and she led the way down the stairs into the backyard. It was cooler outside now, cold enough to make me shiver as I stood at the bottom of the stairs. While I waited for Violet, I looked up at the canopy of stars overhead. It never ceased to amaze me how many stars you could see here in Vermont.
Violet was always quick about her business late at night. She peed and headed right back up the steps. I followed her in, locking the door behind me before bending to unclip her leash. I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash up, and by the time I came back out, she was asleep in her pen with the puppies. Since they were still annoyingly noisy during the night, I went into the guest room and curled up in the bed I’d so recently shared with Taylor. Smiling, I closed my eyes and slipped into a deep, peaceful sleep.
When I woke, sunlight streamed through the thin lacy curtains over my window. I stretched, smiling as I remembered last night. My body was sore in all the right places, satisfaction still swimming in my veins. As I climbed out of bed, I saw that Violet wasn’t up yet, so I took the opportunity to step into a quick shower.
From there, I fixed breakfast and weighed the puppies. They were all growing nicely, even little Cherry. She wriggled in my hands, so warm and soft. Her eyes were still closed, but even so, she looked much more puppy-ish than she had when she was born. They all did. They’d be running all over the place in no time, and while that was exhausting and annoying to think about, I couldn’t really be upset about it either, because they were so cute.
Actually, I was looking forward to seeing what their little faces looked like once their eyes were open and all the mayhem they caused when they started running around. It was only for a few weeks.
I held Cherry up in front of me. Her head was almost entirely white, which meant the skin on her nose and around her ears was as pink as the rose she was named after. But maybe my favorite part of her—and all the puppies—was her belly. She was so round, like she’d swallowed an orange, except this particular belly was full of milk.
I stroked her for a minute, talking gently to her. Taylor said I should be holding and talking to them every day to get them used to being handled and to keep Violet from getting overprotective. She’d been great so far, though. She was completely chill about me holding her babies. I liked to think we’d developed a mutual trust.
Once I was finished with the puppies, I changed into an old T-shirt and jean cutoffs and tied my hair back to get to work. The new baseboards I’d installed needed painting. Even though Violet’s arrival had slowed me down, I’d still gotten a lot done in the two and a half weeks I’d been here. The renovations were almost finished, which meant I could start shopping for décor and knickknacks to turn this place into a vacation retreat. And since my dad was footing the bill, I was really, really looking forward to going shopping.
I finished painting the trim in the living room and had started working my way down the hall toward the bedrooms when I heard a knock at the door. Violet hopped out of her bed, dislodging several puppies who had been nursing. They howled their displeasure as she trotted down the hall, barking.
“It’s just Taylor,” I told her as I followed her.
Violet raced to the front door and stood there, her body tense and alert as she barked, waiting to see if friend or foe was on the other side of the door. I was on high alert too, but for different reasons. A happy thrill raced through me at the prospect of seeing Taylor again, along with a healthy dose of nerves, because what if it was awkward?
What if she regretted last night? There was plenty of room for regret since I was only here temporarily, and neither of us wanted to get hurt. Maybe I was still basking in the adrenaline rush of last night, but I didn’t regret a single moment. I opened the door to reveal Taylor standing there wearing a black backpack.
“I packed lunch,” she said. “But do you mind if we take it to go? I’ve got my dogs, so I thought we could make a picnic in the woods, if that sounds good.”
“I’d love that. Give me just a minute to put my shoes on and get Violet squared away.”
At the sound of her name, she poked her head around my legs, tail wagging as she caught sight of Taylor. Taylor stooped to pet her, and Violet licked her face enthusiastically.
“I’ve got everything we need in my backpack,” Taylor told me. “Just bring yourself.”
“Easy enough. Thank you.” I wanted to give her a quick kiss, but I wasn’t sure yet what the new parameters of our relationship would be, so I held myself back. Instead, I went inside to close the can of trim paint and change out of my paint-spattered T-shirt. A few minutes later, I headed out back to meet Taylor.
She was already down by the stream with Minnie and Blue. I felt myself smiling as I walked toward them, and Minnie came bounding in my direction, tongue out and filled with that effervescent enthusiasm she seemed to have in endless supply.
“Hey, Minnie,” I said as she reached me. “I missed you too.”
Minnie sniffed my legs as her tail swished, probably checking out the competition since she and Violet hadn’t met yet. I rubbed behind her ears, and my fingers snagged in her thick, fluffy fur. I’d forgotten just how shaggy she was, having gotten used to Violet’s sleek coat. After greeting her, I crossed the wooden bridge toward the hiking trail, where Taylor stood waiting with Blue at her side.
He reminded me a little bit of Violet with that quiet personality, but she was starting to come out of her shell now. She barked and spun in happy circles in the kitchen while I was making her food. I wondered if Blue would always be this solemn or if he came out of his shell too when he was at home with Taylor.
“A picnic lunch is an unexpected treat,” I said as I joined her, leaning in for a quick kiss before I could stop myself.
She kissed me back, reaching up to tug at a curl of my hair before she led the way onto the path. “I thought it would be fun, and these guys really need a hike.”
I laughed as Minnie dropped a stick at my feet. I really had created a monster where she was concerned. “Where are we headed? The gazebo?”
Taylor looked over her shoulder at me. “Actually, I thought we could spread out a blanket in our field.”
22
Taylor
I opened my backpack and took out the large plaid blanke
t I’d packed. Phoebe grabbed one side of it, helping me unfold it, but as we held it between us, Minnie dashed underneath, nipping at the fabric from below. “Minnie,” I chastised. “We aren’t playing a game. Go on.”
She darted out from under the blanket and grabbed her stick. We spread the blanket on the ground, and Minnie promptly leaped onto it, still carrying her stick.
“She’s enthusiastic. I’ll give her that,” Phoebe said as she sat on the blanket and gave Minnie a rub.
“She sure is.” I sat beside her.
Phoebe picked up Minnie’s stick and tossed it with a smile. The sun caught in her hair, making it glisten. Around us, the field was a dappled mixture of green and brown, with a smattering of red, purple, and yellow from the wildflowers that bloomed here.
This had always been one of my favorite places. I brought my dogs here often, but it felt so different today with Phoebe. Memories hung heavy in the air. When we’d laid on a blanket here together as teenagers, daydreaming about what our futures held, I doubted either of us had imagined this moment.
“Hungry?” I asked.
Phoebe nodded, turning her gaze on me. I’d thought she was gorgeous last night in her purple dress at V and V, but right now, in her tank top and shorts with no makeup and bathed in sunshine, she was the most beautiful woman in the world.
I opened the backpack and started pulling out containers of food. I’d packed us a snack lunch, my favorite kind of picnic. We had cheese, crackers, pepperoni, grapes, olives, and some chocolate chip cookies I’d bought at the store.
“This looks amazing,” Phoebe said.
I produced paper plates and bottles of water, and we started to eat. She sat cross-legged across from me, rolling a pepperoni around a piece of cheese like a funny little burrito. “I’ve never seen anyone eat it that way before,” I said as I stacked a piece of cheese and a pepperoni on top of a cracker.
“It’s good. You should try it.”