Thursday Afternoons

by Tracey Richardson

  Amy takes her hand and lets herself be led. “I thought you’d never ask, darling. But are you sure?”

  “More than sure. I’m going to die if we don’t.”

  “You do know I possess advanced lifesaving skills?”

  “Come here, you.” Ellis stops, turns, and kisses Amy hard on the mouth.

  In the bedroom, Ellis is impatient, but she lets Amy undress her. It’s killing her that Amy is unwrapping her like a long-awaited gift, but she’s delighted to see Amy’s face light up with each article of clothing removed.

  They’re on the bed, both of them naked now. Amy is circling Ellis’s nipple with a fingertip, and Ellis feels her gaze every bit as much as she feels her touch. She runs her hands through Amy’s hair, pulls gently when Amy’s tongue traces the same pattern on her nipple. She alternates to the other nipple, and something dislodges in Ellis. Something so much bigger than any of her inhibitions or fears or imagined obstacles. She wants a life with this woman, and if they have to wait a few more months until she completes her report, then she’ll do it. She’ll do whatever it takes, because her work means nothing compared to what’s filling her heart. Putting something ahead of her career, putting love ahead of her career, is brand new territory for her, but Ellis is going to let her heart lead her for once. And oh, what a ride it’s going to be.

  Amy’s finger glides down her belly, to her thigh and back up until it finds her pulsing need. She moves it around the wetness. Slick now, her finger traces patterns around Ellis’s clit, down to her opening, back up again. Ellis’s gasp is followed by an urgent moan, and she gently pushes Amy’s head down, lower lower lower. She needs Amy’s mouth on her, and Amy doesn’t waste time getting the message. She slides down her body, her hot breath warming Ellis’s skin. She loses herself completely when Amy’s mouth finds her. Expertly Amy licks and sucks, changing up the pace, her finger doing a dance inside her. Ellis can’t hold it in anymore. She is in full surrender, and she has never felt so complete with this exquisite coming together of everything—her heart, her mind, her body. She arches her hips into Amy one last time, for one last capture of her mouth and her finger before the explosion obliterates everything. Trembling, she rides it for as long as she can, wanting to hold onto every last strand of pleasure for as long as she can.

  “Sweetheart,” she urges. “Come here. Let me hold you.”

  Desire echoes in every cell of Amy’s body as Ellis makes love to her. Each touch sends a tiny jolt of electricity skittering along her skin, and Amy embraces it. All she wants is to love this woman, to be loved by her. She’s trusting Ellis not to break her heart, and while the thought of something going wrong between them terrifies her, it terrifies her more to think of her life without Ellis. Because without Ellis, her life is little more than work and helping out her parents when she can. She sees now how detached from her own feelings she’d become. She let the damage from her failed relationship with Lisa hollow her out for way too long.

  Ellis is teasing her with her fingers, thrusting them in and out, and the sheer ecstasy blinds her. She rises to meet each thrust, groans from deep in her throat to urge Ellis on. When Ellis’s mouth finds her, Amy can’t hold on. She clutches the bedsheet like a lifeline, bracing herself as her orgasm washes over her, leaving her boneless. Leaving her more in love with Ellis than ever.

  “You’re a wonderful lover,” she whispers to Ellis as she nestles against her.

  “Not half as good as you, my love. Did you miss me these last few weeks?”

  “Miss you? Jesus, I was so miserable. I couldn’t stand us being apart like that. That was a very bad idea you had, that cooling-off thing.”

  “I know. Not the smartest decision I’ve ever made. I promise, no more bad ideas again where you’re concerned.”

  “Ooh, now I feel spoiled.”

  “Good. Because I want to spoil you like crazy.” Ellis turns her back to Amy so they can spoon together. Her skin is warm, and Amy plants a kiss on her shoulder. She feels sheltered with her whole body touching Ellis’s. How long has she craved a lover’s touch like this? Never, it occurs to her.

  “Well, I’m not going to say no to that. But please tell me we don’t have to keep sneaking around forever.”

  Ellis sighs. “We won’t, but we shouldn’t be obvious around each other until I wrap up the rest of my research. No PDAs, no announcements. We’re just friends.”

  “Ha. Friends with benefits who secretly confess their love to one another. And exactly how long is this charade supposed to take?”

  “A couple more months, now that I’m switching gears with my approach.”

  “In that case, take all the time you need.”

  “Really?” Ellis purrs, teasing.

  “Wait, no! I can’t go on with hardly ever seeing you, with barely touching you. It’s torture.”

  “Well, I do recall that you have a pair of my underwear stashed somewhere. Perhaps it can keep you company on the lonely nights.”

  “Believe me, it already has.”

  Ellis laughs, her voice like melted honey. “A few more weeks of torture, sweetheart, then I’ll be able to finish my report at home before I hand it in after Christmas.”

  “And what about Mia? What is she going to think of…us?”

  “Are you kidding? Mia thinks we should be a couple. She’s baffled that we’re not dating.”

  “I always knew that kid was smart. Are you going to tell her?”

  “Yes, but not yet. I think we should tell her together.”

  “All right. But I have to warn you, I have very little experience at this parenting thing.”

  “And you think I do?”

  “Good point.” Amy kisses Ellis’s shoulder again. “Hey, her birthday is in a couple more weeks, right?”

  “Yup. Sweet sixteen. At which point she won’t technically need a guardian. Or she can petition the court to be emancipated. I don’t expect her grandparents to give her a hassle if she wants to keep living with me.”

  “Does she? Want to keep living with you?”

  “She does. And I’m happy to have her. I think we’ve made some real strides in reconciling. I was such a jerk, Amy, all those years ago when—”

  “Hey, shhh. Let’s make a promise right now not to beat ourselves up anymore about the past, okay? I want a fresh start, Ellis. For both of us, right now. Deal?”

  Ellis moans in pleasure. “Deal.”

  “Hey, I have one more suggestion. Well, a couple. Why don’t you let me host Mia’s birthday party at my place? I mean, you haven’t even been to my place yet and this would be a perfect excuse for a visit.”

  “I’d love to see your place. And yes, I think Mia would be thrilled to have the party at your house.”

  “All right. That’s what we’ll do, then.”

  “Wait, you said you had a couple of suggestions.”

  “Oh, right.” Amy’s desire for Ellis rampages through her again, turning her blood into fire. She strokes Ellis’s hip before reaching around and cupping her between her legs.

  Ellis grins. “You read my mind.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Ellis falls immediately in love with Amy’s house. It’s a large, older Craftsman that’s been completely updated inside and out, with an open concept kitchen, two gas fireplaces, refinished oak floors. The front porch is to die for with its antique loveseat swing, and so is the property. It encompasses an acre, stretching out across ninety meters of waterfront. There are trees on the property, plenty of room for flower gardens and vegetable gardens or even a pool, though she imagines Amy has no time for gardens and pools. There’s a big patio with a built-in fire pit that the birthday guests have gathered around to keep the chill at bay. Ellis loves late autumn, with its scent of dying leaves and the clean crispness of winter in the air.

  Ed and Marjorie are here and they’re showing none of the stress and worry about their granddaughter that was wearing them down months ago. Amy’s parents are here too, and so are Kate and
Erin and Erin’s little girl. Mia’s new friend, a girl named Susie, has shyly joined the celebration, and Mia sticks to her like she’s afraid she’ll bolt at the least goofy thing that might happen.

  “You doing okay?” Ellis asks in the kitchen as she pours coffee into cups for Mia to take outside for the guests.

  “Sure.” She shrugs as if to ask why wouldn’t she be okay.

  “And Susie’s doing okay?”

  Mia blushes furiously. “She’s fine.”

  “Good. I’m glad you have a friend you really like.”

  Mia smiles but doesn’t say more. She hoists the loaded tray of coffee cups and carries it outside with expert precision, another surprising thing that impresses Ellis. Every day she’s discovering new things about Mia. Or perhaps, she thinks, it’s really Mia who’s discovering new things about herself—new talents, new abilities, new confidence. Mia is turning into a woman right before Ellis’s eyes.

  Amy scoots past Mia at the door, gives her a pretend high-five, but Mia, with her hands full, doesn’t fall for it.

  “I can’t believe how different she is since you guys moved here,” Amy says.

  “Me too. Honestly, if she hadn’t matured, I don’t think I would have offered for her to keep living with me. She was a handful before. Sullen, rebellious. I’m so pleased that little phase seems to be over for good now. Jeez, I better knock on wood or something.”

  “She’ll be fine. She’s got you.” Amy puts her arms around Ellis’s waist, pulls her in for a kiss that’s more mischievous than tender. “And I’ve got you too, babe.”

  Ellis kisses her back with her own brand of playfulness.

  “Whoa!” It’s Mia, staring at them with her mouth wide open. They didn’t hear her return. “Cool!”

  “Oh, um, we ah…” Ellis extricates herself from Amy as quickly as she can, tries really hard not to show that this isn’t how she wanted Mia to find out about them.

  Amy gently nudges Ellis with her elbow. “I think Mia is okay with this.”

  “Like, yeah! I thought you two were never going to get together.”

  “I’m sorry we didn’t tell you sooner,” Ellis says. She and Amy planned to take Mia out to dinner this week and tell her. Except Amy can’t keep her hands or her lips to herself. But then again, Ellis doesn’t want her keeping her lips and her hands to herself. It’s killing her that they have to sneak kisses behind closed doors, chance a few gropes here and there. They haven’t made love in almost two weeks, and if that carries on much longer, Ellis is going to march Amy into her bedroom no matter how many people they’re entertaining, and have her way with her. “We were going to tell you this week. It’s…we’re trying to keep it on the down low for now.”

  “Sure, but how come? Why can’t we tell everyone? You’re not ashamed, are you?”

  “No,” Amy says forcefully. “Never. It’s because of work. Ellis, in case you haven’t figured it out, is a bloody genius and she’s working on saving all our butts at the hospital right now. We don’t want anyone thinking I’ve been, er, influencing her in any way. Or forcing her to do something she doesn’t want to do.”

  “That sucks. Why would anybody think that?”

  Ellis rolls her eyes. “Trust me, kiddo, there’s a lot of politics involved. If my final report is to be viewed as credible and objective, we can’t have people thinking that my relationship with Amy has factored into any of my work and made me, well, less objective than I might otherwise have been.”

  “Well, I’m glad you’re saving the hospital, Mo—” Mia’s hand flies to her mouth and her eyes threaten to swallow her face.

  Ellis doesn’t dare move. “Did you…were you going to call me Mom?”

  Mia nods, an expression of surprise frozen on her face. “Sorry.”

  “No! Don’t be. I’d…really like it if you called me Mom. I mean, if you want to. It’s not like I’m trying to take the place of…” Amy’s hand slips into hers, and her rapidly beating heart settles. “Your real mom.”

  “You won’t be, but I think I’d like to call you Mom. It kinda feels like I should, weirdly enough.”

  Amy goes to Mia and hugs her, whispers, “You’ve made Ellis a very happy woman. Thank you, Mia.”

  Mia brushes off the compliment, lets Ellis hug her too before she quips, “If we’re done all this mushy stuff, I need to bring some cream and sugar outside.”

  “All right,” Ellis says. “Operation Mushy is complete for now.” After Mia departs, she says to Amy, “What the hell just happened?”

  “I think you became a mom.”

  “Well, if I became a mom, you became a…stepmom?”

  Amy gathers Ellis into her arms again. “I think we can tackle anything together, including raising a teenager.” She leans her forehead against Ellis’s and laughs. “Wait. What did I just get us into?”

  Outside Amy gives a tiny fist bump to Erin’s daughter, who’s come to the party in her witch’s costume because she simply can’t contain her enthusiasm for Halloween, which is two days away. “How’s our very scary little witch doing?”

  “Fine. Can I come to your house for candy on Halloween?”

  “I’ll be extremely disappointed if you don’t.”

  “Hey, stranger!” Kate slips her arm through Amy’s. “Care to walk down to the water with me?”

  “Sure. That’ll take us all of about three minutes.”

  “We’ll take our time.”

  Away from the warmth of the large fire pit, Amy zips up her jacket. “Everything okay?”

  “More than okay.” Kate’s grin hasn’t left her face all afternoon, and Amy has a funny feeling in her stomach that her best friend is about to confess something important.

  “Hmm, why do I have a feeling a certain woman and her young daughter might have something to do with you dragging me away?”

  “Because you have good instincts.”

  “I’m so happy for you, Kate. I’ve been waiting for this day to come.”

  “You’re not going to get all sappy on me, are you?”

  “I might.”

  They stop at the lake’s edge and stare at the muddy water churned up from yesterday’s rainstorm. The tang of rain remains in the air but thankfully has held off for Mia’s party.

  “So,” Amy says. “What’s up?”

  “I’m in love with her, Ames. I want to be with her. And Eliana is such a great kid. I want them in my life…” She glances hesitantly at Amy, waiting for her reaction. “For the duration.”

  “Wow. That’s fantastic!” She reaches an arm around her best friend and gives her shoulders a squeeze. She’d always wanted this for Kate, but the rapid pace at which it’s happened still shocks her a little.

  “Is it?” Kate looks uncertain, as though she doesn’t quite believe Amy. “I mean, do you think it’s rushing things? That…Anne would be okay with this? Because it’s a hell of a lot more than dating.”

  “Are you kidding me right now?”

  Kate’s chin is trembling, the telltale sign that she’s close to tears.

  “If it’s right, it’s right, no matter what the timing is. And to hell with anybody who doesn’t agree, don’t listen to them. Erin’s a great gal and I can see how happy she makes you. And as for Anne, how can you even ask that? She loved you more than anything, and when you love someone, you want nothing more than for them to be happy. She would want this for you. Trust me.”

  “You think so?”

  “I know so, so stop worrying about it. And I’m going to be brutally honest with you.” They’ve been friends too long to hold anything back. “It’s time to start leaving Anne out of the conversation and out of your relationship with Erin. Three’s a crowd. All right?”

  Kate nods. She looks so nervous, so scared, that all Amy wants to do is squeeze her tight. “I’ve asked Erin and Eliana to move in with me.”

  Amy gasps her surprise. Surprise but also joy. “Well, I hope they were smart enough to say yes.”

  Kate laughs. “T
hey were.”

  Amy hugs her friend. “You’ve surprised me, Hendy. And I could not be happier for you. For Erin too. You’re doing the right thing.”

  “Thanks, hon. It means the world to me that you’re okay with this.”

  “Okay? Hell, I’m going to throw you a party.”

  Kate laughs. “I think we’ve had enough parties for a while, though Erin and I are going to throw a big Christmas bash at my—” She rolls her eyes playfully. “Our place. And if you don’t ask Ellis Hall to come as your date, I will be asking her on your behalf.”

  Amy could play dumb, but she doesn’t want to, not anymore, and especially not since Kate has confided in her. She needs—wants—to tell Kate the truth. “I’m pretty sure I can handle that part myself. And I’m pretty sure she’ll say yes.”

  “Well, I have noticed you two are pretty friendly these days.”

  “Actually, a little more than friendly.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yes. And yes, it’s serious.”

  Kate blanches as though she’s seen a ghost. “Holy crap, I had no idea.”

  “That’s kind of the way it has to be. A secret, I mean. Until she’s finished her report, some time around Christmas, I expect. I’m a shit for not telling you sooner, and I’m sorry. I…we can’t have anyone finding out at the hospital or it could compromise the job she’s doing.”

  “If you’re happy, Ames, I could give a shit when you decide to confide in me.”

  “I am. Happy. Very happy. I love her.”

  “Good. You’re forgiven.” Kate links her arm with Amy’s again. “Look at us. Guess we can drop our contingency plan now, huh?”

  “What? Oh… God, I hope so. I mean, nothing against you or our master plan, but…” They’d joked a year ago about shacking up together as a couple of old, platonic spinsters if they were both single by the time they turned sixty-five.

  “No offense taken. It was our Plan B, after all.” Kate suddenly halts their progress. “Wait, maybe it would be a good thing if word got out about you and Ellis and her report got compromised. Then they’d have to start the review all over again.”