by Diana Kane
“Wait,” she pants, halting me mere inches from where I’d gladly drown, my hands freezing in the middle of fondling her breasts.
“Did I do something wrong?” I ask, my brow wrinkled in confusion as I watch the flames from the fire dancing in her eyes.
“No,” she assures me as she releases a fistful of the blanket to reach up and stroke my cheek. “We’ve been through so much to get back here. We have all night for everything else, but right now, I want to come with you.”
“Oh,” I foolishly mumble as relief hurdles through my body.
“We don’t have to—.”
“Stop,” I say before quickly lunging forward to silence any further argument with my lips. “I love you,” I whisper before giving her another brief kiss. “The fact that it’s us is the only important thing to me. The rest is just semantics.”
“I love you too,” she quickly replies before burying her fingers in the back of my hair and pulling my lips back to hers. I slip my thigh between Olivia’s legs as we make out, her slick heat immediately lubricating my flesh as she begins grinding herself against me. I swallow her first moan as her fingers slip between us and immediately part my pulsing lips. She moans again when she discovers how ready I am for her, quickly earning an echo from me when she slips her first two fingers inside. Back and forth our hips rock as we meet each other thrust for thrust, our breaths finally running short enough that our lips fall away from one another’s as we continue building momentum, that sweet friction sending us both closer to the ecstasy we’ve denied for too long.
“Liv,” I pant as her palm slaps against my clit, sending pleasant little jolts through my body.
“God you feel so good,” she shares as she supports her hand with her thigh. Each gyration of my hips sends my thigh against Olivia’s inviting center, but that doesn’t stop her from reaching down and clasping the left side of my ass to pull me more firmly against her. “More,” she begs before I reclaim her mouth. Her fingers continue pumping inside me as I give her what she asked for and nestle my hand between her middle and my thigh, immediately plunging two of my fingers inside to their full depth. “Yes,” she hisses after pulling out of our kiss. I can feel the sheen of sweat that’s coating my body as we continue working in sync, each of us careening towards that sweet oblivion with our release.
“Liv,” I gasp as my forehead falls against hers and her fingers curl against my g-spot.
“Anytime,” she manages as I feel her walls twitch. I pull back just far enough to watch her, both of us fighting the compulsion to close our eyes and give into our pleasure. Two thrusts later, Olivia loses that battle, her eyes rolling back as her walls contract around my digits, sending me into the abyss with her. My head falls onto Olivia’s shoulder as I start to come down, the euphoria from my orgasm still firmly in place when I lose myself to a fit of giggles.
“Why are you laughing?”
“All that sexual tension and pent-up frustration…I didn’t expect our first time to be a quickie,” I share before I start laughing anew.
“Feel better?” she asks through her laughter as I roll onto my side.
“So much better,” I answer as Olivia rolls onto her side to face me. “I wonder how Kira’s feeling,” I add as I brush a stray lock of hair behind Olivia’s ear.
“Don’t tell me she’s been hounding you too,” Olivia says before kissing the tip of my nose.
“She told me to get my pussy licked before we suffocated the town with all of our sexual tension,” I share with another laugh.
“Sounds like Kira,” Olivia agrees through a chuckle. We quietly gaze at one another as our breathing returns to normal, Olivia’s fingertips tracing my face as mine gently glide up and down her side.
“Do you want to plant another tree?” I eventually break the silence to ask.
“I’d love to,” she says as she pushes me onto my back and climbs on top of me, “ but not right now,” she adds as she playfully gazes down at me. “Now,” she begins before kissing her way down my neck. “I,” she adds before taking my left nipple between her lips. “Need,” she continues before assailing the other. “To make sure,” she eventually resumes as she circles my navel with her tongue. “Jupiter Falls,” she carries on as she kisses her way down to my left thigh. “Is safe,” she finishes as her lips caress the inside of my right thigh as she gazes up the plane of my body at me.
“Yes, you do,” I gasp as her tongue parts my lips and my head falls back. “Yes, you do.”
Epilogue
“Thanks again for inviting us to join you,” Kira says as she snuggles against Gavin in the back of our limo.
“Of course. We had a great time in Chicago. Why not do it again in Paris?” Addison asks.
Paris, the city whose name once made me taste bile, has returned to my good graces. Now it’s a place Olivia and I enjoy visiting, especially now that the only thing I ever wanted from Paris is seated next to me, her arm wrapped protectively around my shoulders as she presses a kiss to my temple.
“I love you,” she whispers.
“I love you too,” I quietly reply.
“Now I see what you mean about them being almost insufferable,” Addison jokes with Kira.
“Nah. I’m happy for them,” she beams in return.
“Here, here,” Gavin adds, lifting his beer in salute.
“To another successful blockbuster,” Chloe chimes in.
“To the final film in the franchise,” I add.
“May they live on forever,” Olivia continues.
“May I get to drink this whiskey before we get there,” Kira jokingly contributes, earning a laugh from everyone before we clink our various drinking vessels together and return to sitting properly in our seats.
“Ladies, I must say we make a nice looking bunch,” Gavin observes as he scans each of us. Addison in her scarlet gown and Chloe in her dark emerald dress almost seem to be secretly celebrating Christmas. Gavin in his tuxedo and Kira in her standard black gown do indeed make quite the stunning pair. But it’s the woman on my right in her sapphire blue suit and silver tie that makes my heart flutter every time she looks at me.
“We’re here,” Addison announces, disrupting my thoughts of Olivia. “Who’s going first?” Everyone knows it won’t be Addison and Chloe. One can hardly expect the star of the movie and one of Hollywood’s most prominent power couples to get out of the limo first.
“Ladies?” Gavin asks us.
“Sure,” I answer as the door opens and the cacophony of noise and lights makes its way into the limo. Olivia slips out and offers her hand to help me out, the crowd growing louder when I make my first appearance. Flashbulbs start lighting up the area around us, as voices pile on top of one another in an effort to draw our attention.
“This is insane,” Olivia whispers in my ear.
“Relax. This is the hardest part. Everything after this is a breeze,” I assure her as I wrap my arm around hers and start walking the red carpet. I make sure we stop every few paces to allow for pictures as we approach the sea of reporters, each trying to out-scoop the other.
“Is that a ring?” I hear someone shout. I turn to look at Olivia, both of us recognizing that the cat is officially out of the bag. We share a laugh before I reach up with my left hand and caress Olivia’s cheek before kissing her. The crowd screams in excitement when word spreads and the press closes in a little more.
“Jordan,” I hear Colette call out and wave her over. Of all the reporters I’ve dealt with over the years, Colette is my favorite. She’s always shown a great deal of respect for my privacy and refuses to continue prying when I’ve drawn the line on a topic. “Looks like the premiere isn’t your only big news tonight,” she dives right in.
“I suppose it isn’t,” I share as a huge smile blossoms on my lips. The crowd roars again and I briefly glance over my shoulder to spot Gavin and Kira exiting the limo.
“Have you set a date yet?”
“We have,” I confirm without spi
lling any details.
“I’m the best man, and Kira is going to officiate,” Gavin blabs before giving us each a kiss on the cheek. Olivia playfully smacks his abs before he moves on, leaving us alone with Colette again.
“Sounds like it’ll be quite the Hollywood Hills affair,” Colette subtly directs at Olivia.
“Not at all. Just the love of my life and a few close friends and family,” she expertly answers with the glint in her eye that makes my knees wobble. It’s true that Kira is going to officiate because she didn’t want to pick a side and Gavin will be my best person. Kirsten has agreed to be Olivia’s person, and next summer we’ll find ourselves on the beach outside the O’Connor family cottage, making things official.
“Who popped the question?”
“I did,” Olivia answers as a deafening roar rips through the crowd as Addison and Chloe make their entrance.
“She did,” I agree. “I mean, you see how sexy she looks in that Armani suit, right? How could I say no?” I half joke. “Seriously though, we’ve been through so much together. There isn’t anyone I love or trust more than Olivia,” I share, earning a kiss from the object of my affection.
“Speaking of,” Colette segues, “there has been a lot of speculation that your latest novel is more than loosely based on your relationships with Olivia and Addison Foster. Care to elaborate?”
“Well, it doesn’t look like we’re suffering under the weight of an apocalypse,” I joke as I look around. “Honestly, I’m a writer. I think any writer will tell you that little crumbs of their personal lives or experiences sneak into their work every now and again. Did I use my relationship with the two women in question to craft a story? No. People are welcome to draw any conclusions they want to though.” I realize that it’s a lie, but if I reveal that some of the details in the book were experiences Olivia went through, the press would never leave her alone.
“Were you nervous about featuring the first openly lesbian protagonist in one of your stories?”
“A little, but I thought it was long overdue,” I answer as I see Gavin and Kira motioning for us to hurry up. “I’m being told that we’re loitering too long,” I inform Colette.
“Thanks for your time. Best of luck with the nuptials,” Colette says as we begin to walk away.
“You survived,” Gavin jokes when Olivia and I join him.
“No thanks to you. What are you thinking, giving away details about our wedding? Maybe I should march back out there and tell the world you and Kira already got married,” I jokingly threaten.
“You wouldn’t,” Kira practically pleads.
“Please do,” Gavin urges. Somehow he convinced Kira to marry him, but her condition was not to let the world know just yet. How word hasn’t gotten out, I’m not sure. But eventually it will, and a million hearts around the world will collectively break when it does. That’s if they believe it because Olivia and I thought they were joking when they called to tell us the news.
“Maybe we should’ve let you two go last,” Addison shares when she and Chloe catch up to us. “Upstaged at my premiere by your engagement,” she feigns being upset.
“You can laugh now, but according to my math, you’re next,” Olivia informs her, causing Addison’s already pale complexion to turn a shade or two whiter.
Author’s Note
First, thank you for taking the time to read Separate Like Stars. If you enjoyed this story, I hope you’ll consider leaving a review. For independent authors such as myself, reviews are critical in helping to spread the word about our work.
This was not an easy story for me to write, for many reasons. The character and story of Rene O’Connor…unfortunately, this is an instance where art imitates life. I’ve changed the name to protect her loved ones, but a lot of the remaining details are true. She was one of my teachers, and she did save me from my own poor choices. We shared a love of music, literature, and writing. When I was forced to change schools, she asked her daughter to look out for me, and a friendship was formed that survives to this day. Sadly, we all missed the signs and she took her own life a few years later. It’s something that haunts me to this day and I’m convinced that it always will.
It was nearing the anniversary of her death, and I was standing in a friend’s kitchen, helping her paint it when the inspiration struck. How do you pay homage to someone who quite possibly saved you from making what could have been some of the worst decisions of your young life? She would argue that she did no such thing, but I believe that she did, so I decided to include her tragic fate in a story. Yes, I shed plenty of tears writing certain scenes and even found it difficult to accurately convey the depth of the sorrow I felt at her loss, but I tried, which I learned in some instances, it just isn’t possible.
Sadly, reliving Rene O’Connor’s death was just the tip of the iceberg. Little did I know what 2018 had in store for me. From having my heart toyed with (which I’ll address in another story down the line) to the loss of two more friends, 2018 has not been a kind year, which resulted in my own case of writer’s block (which ironically started after I had already written Jordan’s).
You may have noticed the name Scott in my dedication. Scott and his wife essentially adopted me when I was 18 and had come out to my family. I was a freshman at college, and my mother did not take it well. Halfway into my first semester, I developed pneumonia. Scott and his wife basically adopted me, and from that point on, I was a member of their family. I was there as they struggled through years of IVF, was one of the first to know when it was finally successful, and (as I’ve been told) am the one responsible for them having twins (still working on the math on that one). Sadly, Scott was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. You don’t spend much time in my line of work without knowing that a pancreatic cancer diagnosis is pretty much a death sentence. So Scott underwent surgery, and just when they were hopeful that they had gotten it, his cancer came back. Scott left us a message, which was read by his best friend at the funeral. Part of that message was the concept of the dash on the headstones, and needing to make sure that you’re life was filled with as many dash worth moments as possible. It was never a part of the plan, but once I started dealing with my grief, it resonated with me, and I realized I could apply it to Jordan’s story, spreading Scott’s message to anyone who takes the time to read this story. I think he would have liked that.
So all of that leads me to the people I need to thank. As always, I need to thank AJ, who is always there when I need her, checks in when she knows I’m struggling, calls me on my shit when she needs to, keeps me sane when she can, and kicks me in the ass to keep writing (which I think you all appreciate her for). Seriously, you’ll encounter few rocks in your life that are as dependable as she is, even when she is drowning in a sea of her own problems.
To M, thanks for always listening and reminding me that it’s okay if I need to take a break or take some time for myself. Also thanks for the fantastic cover art (which I still love) and for helping me write the dreaded blurb.
To everyone else who took the time to check on me last summer or send a kind word, thank you! I’m sorry to lump you all together, but much like the Oscars, we have time/space constraints.
Finally, a note on housekeeping. I currently have two works that I’ve started. One is another stand alone and the other is the next (and likely final) book in the Velvet Series. My current plan is to work on closing out the Velvet Series next, which Catherine and Alex have been pushing me to do. It’s plotted out (which in itself is unusual for me), so we shall see how it goes. Hopefully she won’t give me the same grief that Separate Like Stars did.
Contacting
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