Skyclad

by Max Ellendale

  "I've seen a few things similar. Studying cultures and ritual and all." I smirked as Mae dragged her fingertips over my forearm.

  "No wonder."

  "No wonder what?"

  "That I didn't surprise you."

  "You didn't surprise me." I surprised myself. Lots of symbolism filled the clearing and, as the noises that accompanied it kicked up a notch, my discomfort grew. It's one thing to witness ritual. It's another to be voyeuristic. Demetri and Kane ducked off into the woods somewhere and several others followed suit.

  "Let's get out of here," Mae said, nudging me to stand. She picked up the blanket and linked her elbow with mine before snatching one of the lanterns off a tree.

  We walked back toward the stream where I had found her earlier, passing a couple clearly enjoying themselves as the woman rode the man with reckless abandon. My stomach gave a lurch and I bit my lip.

  "Did you read about this part?" Mae glanced at me.

  "The people having sex in the woods part? Yeah. I expected it to be everyone though. The articles made it seem that way."

  "Not everyone does. It just seems like it. Most people eat a ton, drink a ton, and sleep a ton. Then dance the maypole again." We settled away from the celebration. Only a faint glow from the distant fire peeked through the trees behind us. Mae set the blanket on the ground and placed the lantern beside it. "The stars are really clear here." She pointed to the sky as we sat down together.

  "I never noticed." Tonight I did. The constellations nestled beside the silver glow of an almost full moon lit up the sky in a cosmic light show. When I dropped my gaze away, I noticed Mae wasn't looking up at all but at me. "What?"

  "You're still my favorite," she said as she drew in a slow breath, her hand falling to rest on my knee. I watched the words tumble from her mouth, remembering how her lips felt against mine. Why did I think this way? I had never—

  Before I could respond, Mae closed the space between us and relief flooded me. For a moment, I feared she wouldn't. Immediately, I cupped her face, finding it easier to reciprocate now that I knew I wanted to, at least partially. Mae urged me toward her, both of us moving so that our legs tangled and our breasts grazed each other. She guided my free hand toward her, placing it on her hip as the kiss continued. I want this. Her tongue delved between my lips. I want her. She nudged my arm upward until she effectively positioned my hand upon her breast. Only then did I realize that, through the thin fabric of the robe, she wore nothing beneath it. Her passion heated my core, settling between my thighs and setting aflame a foreign desire.

  Mae's hands caressed my thighs, pressing my shirt up like she had the last time she captured me in a kiss. Her hesitation dwindled as she cupped my breasts, fingers wrestling slightly with my bra. She reached behind me and, just like last time, the sharp pain of reality hit me like a bucket of ice water.

  "Wait," I said, breaking the kiss and grabbing her arms. Breathless, Mae rested her forehead against mine, as she seemed to fight for composure. "I have to...tell you something."

  "I'm sorry, I didn't ask—"

  "No, it's not that." I gripped her wrists, tugging them down from my back to rest on my waist. Her brows narrowed as if she somehow connected the pieces on her own. She wiggled her hand, breaking free of my grasp, and reached around me until her fingertips met my back. When her overheated palm pressed against my rigid flesh, I made a noise, which seemed to draw her attention even more so to what lingered beneath her digits.

  Mae's brows flicked upward and, in one quick motion, she leaned me forward to pull up my shirt. History crashed down on me, again, as another person bore witness to my deformity. In my mind's eye, I saw what Mae saw. Scars from lashes, decades old. Slender, pink aberrations tainted my torso along my spine. Mae placed her hand on the center of my back as breath escaped her in a soft gasp. I looked up to see tears brimming her eyes, her mouth slightly ajar. She seemed far away for a moment before drawing her gaze back to me.

  "Why?" she said, rubbing her hand in slow circles over the scars.

  "Why what?"

  "Why did he do this to you?"

  "Who?" I narrowed my eyes and tugged my shirt down. What was she playing at? Did she think Billy did this to me?

  "The black-haired man in the church." Her words came out pressured, as she seemed to be fighting the urge to console me. Except I wasn't the one upset. Disgusted but not upset. How could she possibly know that?

  "How did… how could…"

  "Who was it, Ella?" she pressed.

  "My father. Well, who I thought was my father. Who all of us thought was our father." I shook my head. This wasn't what I wanted to be talking about after...

  "What do you mean?" Mae blinked back her tears as she gathered my hands in her lap. "Who were those people?"

  "Did you see something or… something?"

  She nodded. "Sometimes it just happens if I'm connected to someone. It's unclear though usually."

  "Remember when I told you I was raised in a community?"

  "Yeah." The heat of her skin sent tingles up my arms, ending somewhere in my core. Instead of recoiling, I squeezed her hand.

  "It was a cult. About sixty of us in Idaho. The leader, my alleged father, would whip us into compliance. It didn't work on me. Most obeyed after a few experiences." I laughed a bit uncomfortably. I had no real connection to this story anymore. In a way, it bothered me more to have to share it repeatedly than to have the memories. Every relationship, every friendship, every time I had sex with someone new, I had to tell the story. "Anyway, my sister got me out when I was twelve and set to be married to a fifty-year-old man just like she was. One night, she dragged me out to the woods where some people waited for me. They whisked me away to a reprogramming treatment center and a year later, I was in foster care. My foster parents adopted me sometime after that. And here I am." I shrugged, half disappointed and half appalled.

  "That's terrible. Why didn't you tell me?" Mae seemed to relax as best she could with the divulging of the story.

  "It's not the best conversation starter, is it?"

  "Is that the real reason you chose to study what you do?"

  "Yeah. I wanted to know why sixty people would willfully follow an idiot around like he was the new messiah. And marry off children."

  "Did you find your answer?" Mae tilted her head.

  "I haven't. I'm sorry you have to deal with this. It's been a decade or more since I've had to talk about it," I said as Mae squeezed my hand again.

  "Don't apologize, Ella. I'm sorry that happened to you," she said, brushing a strand of hair from my face.

  "I didn't think you were really an intuitive," I confessed. "Did you really see something?"

  "Yeah. I did." She caressed my back, from shoulder to hip as if soothing something deeper than just a scar. I allowed her to as my pulse slowed. I hadn't let anyone this close to me in years. What was I doing? "It doesn't happen often," she continued. "Only when it matters. Is that why you stopped me the other night?"

  I nodded. "And I meant it. About…not ever kissing a girl."

  "You have now." She smiled softly, tucking my hair behind my ears and leaning her forehead against mine. I nodded against her, closing my eyes and letting her keep me in this position. "Do you want to keep kissing a girl?" she whispered.

  "Yes."

  Chapter Six

  "You're quiet. And not even snarky? Why aren't you snarky?" Delia asked as we sipped our coffee in the school cafe.

  "Thinking about stuff. Why? Did I miss something?"

  "Nope. Just our whole conversation." Delia scowled at me.

  "Oh good— No wait, I'm sorry." I shook my head. "I'm distracted."

  "No shit. So…who's got your attention? Is it your new man? Where'd you meet him?"

  "I'm not, I mean, there's no man. Relax your questioning for a minute, would you?"

  "There's the snark. The world is back to normal." Delia dropped back in her seat and pretended to wipe sweat from her brow.

>   "Incorrigible."

  "Yes, you are." She grinned. "But really, are you okay?"

  "Yeah. I'm…confused," I said, gathering up my bag and mug. "Just confused."

  "About what? Where are you going?"

  "Home. I'll see you tomorrow." I glanced at her and stood.

  "Ella?"

  I turned back to face her as the pressure of emotions rose in my throat. Tears threatened to fall but I wouldn't let them.

  "What is it?" Delia suddenly softened, making to rise.

  I shook my head, turned on my heel and rushed out. I half expected her to follow me but she didn't. In three years teaching there, I'd never been upset at work or in front of my friend.

  I tossed my keys on the counter as Monkey greeted me with a nuzzle. A gentle brush of my lips over her head soothed me a bit. Everything changed so quickly. Mae and I knew each other for just a few weeks before…

  Over the weekend, we exchanged a few texts but not much else. Half of me wanted desperately to be close to her. The other half was terribly confused about everything. I'd spent my entire life surrounded by people of all different persuasions. Why had my sudden desires shocked me so? In Mae's presence, confidence gripped me. I knew what I wanted. On my own, my thoughts ran wild, filled with what ifs. I picked up my phone to find a text from Mae that had been there for quite a while.

  Dinner tonight? It read.

  My heart gave a leap and I tapped the screen to reply with an immediate yes, then second-guessed myself. I pocketed the phone and opted for a shower instead. Having dinner with Mae while looking a mess wasn't the kind of impression I wanted to make. She didn't need to know that I had spent the day in varied degrees of upset.

  Monkey sprawled on the rug in the bathroom, grooming her front paws. She had the right idea. Instead of a shower, I turned the lights off and filled the bathtub. The dim lighting from the hall cast long shadows on the marble tile. When the water reached halfway, I poured in some lavender bath soap then undressed. I turned the faucet off and stepped in.

  The hot water swallowed me, consumed me in soothing heat. I sat back, sighing in relief as the bubbles tickled my stomach. My thoughts wandered, though slowed eventually until I could close my eyes and relax.

  "Meow." Buzzz. "Meow." Buzzz.

  A loud thunk fractured the serene moment and I splashed a bit when I awoke. Monkey swatted my vibrating phone around the bathroom floor like a hockey puck.

  "Hey, stop that," I scolded, reaching for the phone, but the cat smacked it so hard it sailed into the hallway. I grumbled, pulled the plug, and snatched a towel from the rack.

  Monkey fled when water droplets plunked on her back, making sure to offer me a hiss of distaste. With the towel tucked under my arms, I snatched the fur ball covered phone from the corner of the hall at the same time a firm knock sounded. I dusted the phone off on the towel and headed for the living room where I was sure Monkey knocked something off the counter in revenge for the accidental shower. Instead, I found her waiting by the front door, mewling with annoyance as she glared at me.

  "You've got quite the attitude today," I told the cat as another knock sounded this one louder than the first.

  "Ella? It's Mae." I released the chain and pulled open the door. Mae's furrowed brow eased the second she saw me. "Why didn't you answer?"

  "I fell asleep in the bath. Sorry." I had a difficult time making eye contact but I gestured for her to come in.

  She did, closing the door behind her. Mae wasn't her usual playful self at the moment. I must've really spooked her.

  "I'm sorry. I've just been… I um..." I shook my head, keenly aware that I was about to spill my guts to the woman I had feelings for while wearing nothing but a towel.

  "I know," Mae said, biting her lip as she moved toward me. "I know."

  She tugged the phone from my hand, then set it down on the table beside the door. My body quaked when her skin brushed mine. I focused on the wooden beads that dangled from the fabric belt she wore over her skirt.

  "We don't have…" She paused mid-whisper, shaking her head faintly. "Have to do this." Her words cut me deeper than any whip or chain ever could. No, we didn't have to do this. We didn't have to do anything. The problem wasn't having to, it was wanting to.

  I didn't have the words to respond, instead, I reached up and ran the back of my fingers down her cheek, the way she did to me in the woods. She turned her head and placed a delicate kiss on my knuckles. My eyes welled up as I watched her. The soft curve of her jaw, delicately strewn freckles across the bridge of her nose, and the way her hair cradled her face sent me reeling. I couldn't do it anymore, couldn't hold myself back. As fumbly and inept as my pursuit was, I kissed her. Mae's immediate response told me I did something right. She cupped my face, prolonging the kiss. At first, slow, then passionate like lovers reuniting after a decade apart. Her body urged me backward until my back pressed against the wall. She gripped my hips, pulling my lower half toward her as she snaked her hand up my towel. The moment her fingertips brushed my mound, my gasp broke our kiss. She froze, though this time, she didn't recoil.

  "Been awhile?" she asked on the tails of breathlessness. I nodded, biting my lip in a mix of embarrassment and desire. "Good." She whispered the word against my lips.

  I half-believed she would stop there and let me go, but she didn't. She brushed her fingers, as gentle as the touch of a feather, up and down my core. My legs trembled, trying desperately to hold me in place. If she stopped now I would certainly die. After a final stroke, she brought her glistening fingers to her lips, her eyes burning into mine. She held her hand out to me and I took it.

  Mae led me through the kitchen, past the bathroom and into my bedroom. Beside the fluffy brown quilt of my neatly made bed, she released me to stand before me. I watched as she tugged the string at the center of her shirt, loosening the shoulders enough to lift it over her head. Perfectly round breasts perked with the exposure. Her tiny pink nipples begged for attention. How I knew that, I couldn't be sure, though the yearning between my legs seemed to fuel my thoughts. Another tug on the string of her skirt and it tumbled from her hips, pooling on the carpet around her feet.

  Naked and bare, she stood before me. My eyes wandered over her sharp hips, slender waist, avoiding peering too closely at her center. All I wanted to do was touch her. She nudged my chin upward at the same time that she gripped my towel. I tensed at first but she didn't give in. A yank later and it joined her skirt on the floor.

  Mae rushed me, capturing me in a kiss as we dropped down on the bed. She climbed over me, nudging my legs apart with her knee, and pressing it against my heat. My fingers dug into her hips as she thrust once against me, mirroring a gesture I was more familiar with. She broke the kiss, gazing down at me. Her gray eyes twinkled with desire.

  "Touch me," she said, bringing awareness to my stiff posture.

  I searched her expression, looking for some hint of a game lost in the words. There wasn't a game, she meant it. My hands shook as I stroked her cheeks, over her jaw and down her neck until my knuckles grazed her firm nipples. She bit her lip and began rubbing her knee against my center. For the first time in my life, I found my hands cupping a pair of luscious breasts. Light freckles drew my focus as I caressed her nipples with my thumb. She let out a soft moan and my stomach gave a lurching flutter. I had pleased her and nothing provoked me more than knowing that.

  She leaned down, taking one of my nipples in her mouth. I gasped when her teeth grazed me and she chuckled softly.

  "Like that?" she asked, repeating the gesture. I nodded as rapid breaths escaped me. "Good." She didn't continue though. This time, she kissed between my breasts, then moved down my body, licking and kissing a trail toward my core. Kneeling between my parted legs, she paused, just above my mound, to peek up at me. "Did you know I was coming over?" Her hot breath tickling my aching folds. I shook my head no, looking down at her over my own heaving chest. "I love that you're bare. Everywhere. I was hoping it was for me."
>
  I meant to say something but at that moment, she flicked her tongue over my clit and I cried out, covering my face with my hands. Mae didn't stop. She placed her hands on my thighs, keeping them apart as she continued to stroke me with a firm, practiced tongue. How could I tell her that this had never happened to me before? I gripped the blanket, my mouth falling open in a silent scream when her tongue probed between my folds and followed with soft sucking. My hips rolled toward her as she took me. Mae had all of me. I was hers as she bent my body to her will. She wrapped her lips around my clit, sucking and flicking at the same time that she stroked me. My body shot into overdrive, desperate for a long-owed release. Mae seemed to know this. She seemed to know exactly what to do and how to do it. The buildup wracked my body and had me writhing beneath her, desperately wanting. I cried out as my hips lifted from the bed. Pleasure caught me, rushed me in a power so furious I thought I might die from the intensity.

  My God, what has she done to me? Don't stop, please don't. The eruption lasted longer than I'd ever thought it could, sending me along a riptide of bliss.

  I was a panting mess by the time my hips dropped back on the bed. Every inch of me trembled as she placed a soft kiss on my clit before reversing the trail upward. Her tongue circled each of my sensitive nipples, making my belly jump a bit. A soft chuckle escaped her while she perched herself above me. After what she'd just done to me, I had a hard time looking at her. Heat rushed my cheeks when a wave of embarrassment hit me. I laughed through my discomfort and hid my face again. Mae gripped my wrists, attempting to tug them away.

  "Don't hide from me," she said with a delicate grin. "I'm not done with you yet."

  I let her unmask me and she pressed my arms over my head, her nipples grazing mine. She kissed me, briefly and softly before leaning back again. I watched her while panting and, even after the most intense orgasm I'd had in years, still yearned for her. I smiled when she nibbled my bottom lip, her fingers laced with mine as she pinned my arms to the bed. Eventually she released me and moved so that she straddled my hips. The moment I felt her saturated heat against my skin, I looked to where we were connected. Faded brownish markings snaked from her knee around her upper thigh, over her lower abdomen and ended on either side of her folds. The intricate, flowery pattern looked like it belonged to a finely trained hand. Clearly, I hadn't looked at her closely when she undressed in front of me a few minutes ago. I reached out, tracing my finger along the outer marking.