Concerto in Chroma Major

by Naomi Tajedler

  “Uh-huh.”

  Alexandra pinches the soft skin of Halina’s stomach. “Are you doubting my ability to show you some new hot spots?”

  Halina turns her head just a bit, so her profile is turned toward Alexandra. “Never.”

  Alexandra presses a soft kiss to the corner of Halina’s mouth just as she slides her hand farther south, covering Halina’s mound. “Thank you for your trust,” she says against Halina’s lips, her free hand on Halina’s hip. “Now, where were we?”

  Halina thrusts her hips in the air in a barely veiled attempt to make Alexandra’s hand move. Alexandra chuckles at how easily Halina responds to her touch. It was the point of the whole evening, but she never envisioned such success.

  “Right,” she purrs. “Now, if I used one of my toys, I wouldn’t go straight for your pussy, babe.”

  “No?”

  “No.”

  “But why?” Halina’s voice takes on a slightly desperate quality. Her skin reveals more than her voice as her blush spreads to her chest. Alexandra has yet to find out if it’s a response to the term of endearment or to the suggestion.

  “Because it’s not fun to go straight for the grand finale.”

  “Hmph.”

  “Trust me, babe,” Alexandra says; the words ring between them.

  Halina freezes. And then her hand covers Alexandra’s, which is still on her hip. “I do.”

  Alexandra lets out a breath she hadn’t consciously held and caresses Halina’s leg.

  “As I was saying,” she says, “I wouldn’t go straight for the obvious. First, I would make sure your whole body is aroused.”

  “Oh, I am.”

  “More aroused, in that case.”

  Halina groans, and her head drops against Alexandra’s shoulder, but she never lets go of Alexandra’s hand.

  “So, yes, I would caress your legs,” she says, demonstrating with different touches, “and your knees, so…”

  Halina holds up one leg, almost straight, and Alexandra giggles. “Sure, and your calf, like this.”

  Her hand cups the round muscle of Halina’s calf. She savors the weight and strength of it in her palm before guiding Halina’s leg back down to the bed. Tracing to the crease of Halina’s thigh, Alexandra presses another kiss to her neck and arranges a strand of hair behind her ear. Her fingers trail over the shell of Halina’s ear, if only to make her shudder delightfully. “And now I would push against your lips,” she says, voice barely above a whisper.

  Her fingers move around Halina’s outer lips, more lightly as she gets closer to her clitoris before circling back. Halina whines every time Alexandra gets closer to where she wants her the most.

  “I would turn the vibration higher,” Alexandra says, increasing the pressure she applies and the speed of her strokes, “and I would also want to test how wet you’re getting.”

  It’s affecting her, too, this whole fantasy she paints for Halina, and she presses her legs together to get a little friction.

  She dips her fingers between Halina’s folds and she is delighted to feel how slick Halina is.

  “Then I would lower the vibration and pay some attention to your clit. You want me to?”

  Halina’s answer is immediate. “Yes, yes, please, please, you’re so good,” she babbles, and Alexandra is only too happy to oblige.

  Wetting her thumb, she massages the nub of nerves, making sure to go to the sides randomly. Halina’s breath is labored now; her hips move in short, aborted thrusts. Her hands, blindly searching for Alexandra, grasp the sheets, and she closes her fingers around Alexandra’s knees as she howls.

  Alexandra tries to go on with her narration, but she can’t deny how much this affects her. She clamps her mouth on Halina’s neck in a bruising kiss as she slides her fingers inside Halina’s body. Halina cries out and starts fucking Alexandra’s fingers in earnest.

  “So impatient,” Alexandra murmurs, sucking hard on Halina’s shoulder, letting her move the way she wants. “Come on, babe,” she says, lifting her hand from Halina’s hip to cup a breast and massage it, “come on, come, you’ve been so good, I want to see you come…”

  Halina cries out Alexandra’s name; her body arches against Alexandra’s chest as she comes, and Alexandra’s fingers are covered in fluid. Just as suddenly as she tensed, Halina relaxes against her, limp as a rag doll. Alexandra strokes her hair and brushes strands away from her sweaty forehead with her non-sticky hand, and presses a trail of small kisses against her cheeks. She particularly enjoys how hot they are, red as fire trucks against her lips.

  Halina sighs and sits up, away from Alexandra, and fear takes hold of Alexandra’s heart, its claws sharpened by the idea that Halina will leave as soon as she gets what she wanted, revert to her old self, and shatter everything Alexandra thought they’d achieved.

  “Now, what would I do if I had a toy to use on you,” Halina purrs, her body turned toward Alexandra.

  She sits on her haunches, contemplating her with dark eyes. Alexandra has never been happier to be the object of such scrutiny.

  Halina’s body glints with sweat in the streetlamp’s light. She becomes an incarnation of an ancient divinity of debauchery. “I have the perfect idea of what to use on you,” she continues in the same infuriating, sexy tone.

  “Oh, really?” Alexandra asks, her hands around Halina’s thighs to bring her closer. “Pray tell?”

  Halina scoots closer, until Alexandra could just take her nipple between her lips.

  “I would love to use a strap-on on you.” Halina’s voice is dark pink with subtle purple accents as she rolls the R. “I would want to fuck you any way possible, make you come as many times as you have managed to make me come.”

  Alexandra is captivated by the vision Halina’s words are painting. Halina in a strap-on making love to her for hours—that’s a plan she would happily follow.

  “And how would you want me?” Alexandra says, moving away from Halina. “On my back, legs spread for you to take me?” she asks as innocently as possible as she spreads her legs as wide as she can without hurting herself.

  Halina’s eyes drop, and she squeezes Alexandra’s thighs with her fingers.

  “Or on my stomach maybe, so I wouldn’t be able to do a goddamn thing; it would be all yours,” Alexandra continues while she rolls over and shakes her ass. She peers over her shoulder.

  Halina’s blush is back in full force, all over her torso, and her fingers slide around Alexandra’s waist to pull her closer.

  “Or,” Alexandra says, delivering the pièce de résistance, “on my hands and knees?”

  The moment she raises her ass in the air, Halina’s fingers are in her. Her free hand squeezes Alexandra’s ass. Alexandra clutches the sheets in one hand; her pillow is clutched between her teeth to smother her shouts of pleasure. Alexandra pushes back against Halina’s touch and arches her body to get more friction. Halina slides her free hand higher, up to the small of Alexandra’s back. She pushes, gently but firmly, until the angle is more to her satisfaction.

  “Fuck,” Alexandra groans between gritted teeth. “Oh, yeah, just like that, babe…”

  Halina keeps her hand moving, adding a finger as she drapes herself over Alexandra’s body. “I love how you call me babe,” she whispers, tracing Alexandra’s spinal column with her tongue. “It… works for me.”

  “It does?”

  “Mm hmm.”

  “Oh, baby,” Alexandra moans, stretching the word almost comically, and it makes Halina laugh.

  Her next reaction couldn’t be further from comedy as she pulls her fingers out and moves behind Alexandra to use her lips.

  “Oh, wow,” Alexandra moans, her whole body tensing as her orgasm builds. “Yeah, fuck me…”

  Halina chuckles, the vibration of it seemingly attached to Alexandra’s guts and the heat pooling there, be
fore pressing the pad of her tongue against Alexandra’s folds. Alexandra didn’t notice Halina take the dental dam out of her bag, a proof of Alexandra’s excitement or of Halina’s discretion. Halina doesn’t waste any time. She laps at and pushes her tongue inside of Alexandra with a hunger only matched by Alexandra’s need.

  When Halina’s finger slides back inside of her, Alexandra is gone, shouting into the pillow and holding onto the sheet for dear life. When she starts to comes down, Halina uses both hands to roll her onto her back. Then she traces circles on Alexandra’s soft stomach while Alexandra recovers from such an incredible orgasm.

  “Okay,” she says, respiration heavy, “You have a point.”

  “And you have one too,” Halina replies, pressing a kiss to Alexandra’s bicep. “Slow is good.”

  “Fast is pretty good.”

  “We’re pretty good.” Halina, with a satisfied smile, moves closer for a proper kiss.

  “Indeed, we are,” Alexandra confirms, her hand on Halina’s cheek.

  Just as they’re about to settle in for the night with the blankets warm and soft around them, Alexandra can’t resist the temptation to tease Halina. She giggles lazily. “It’s such a shame, my toys are just right here.”

  “You bitch,” Halina mumbles, scooting back into Alexandra’s embrace, in the position of the smaller spoon. “Next…” She is interrupted by a yawn. “Next time.”

  “Next time,” Alexandra repeats, her nose buried in Halina’s hair.

  * * *

  A couple of days later, Odile stops Halina after rehearsal. “You have a minute?”

  “Sure.”

  They sit in the front row of the auditorium. Before long, the decorating crew will finish up with the paints, the wallpapers, lamps, and all, and the inaugural concert will be upon them. Before long, it will be showtime.

  “How do you feel, Piotrowski?”

  “Beg your pardon?”

  Odile seems uncomfortable, almost awkward. “Are you happy here? Working with us?”

  “I am. The Philharmonie is a good ensemble, very energetic.”

  “Thank you, I appreciate it.” Odile pulls an electronic cigarette from her breast pocket. She twirls it around just long enough to choose her words.

  Halina almost gets dizzy with the motion of the little glass and plastic device.

  “And your girlfriend, you’re happy with her?”

  The question takes Halina by surprise, and she can only blink at Odile.

  “Sorry if this is not my business,” Odile adds, her French accent heavier with her discomfort. “It’s just—oh, how can I put it…”

  “Come on, Moineau, just spit it out.”

  “We all appreciate you, Piotrowski, and we want you to feel good here, good enough for you to stay past June.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah, oh.”

  “Th-thank you, Odile,” Halina babbles, a watermelon-sized lump in her throat. “That means a lot to me, more than I can tell.”

  Odile pats her shoulder as she stands. Smoke curls around the temples of her glasses. “Trust me, Halina, I never say something I don’t mean.”

  “Even as spokesperson for the orchestra?”

  “When am I not speaking for them?”

  They both laugh at the truth in her statement.

  “Whatever you do,” Odile says with a sigh, “keep the long-term in mind, will you?”

  “Beyond the season, at least?”

  “Precisely.”

  “I promise. Good evening, Odile.”

  “Good evening, Halina.”

  Halina can taste the cold and the coming snow, and that puts a bounce to her step. In true Polish fashion, the cold doesn’t affect her. Warmth runs through her body that has nothing to do with how many layers she has on or the cup of white mocha in her hands.

  After spending most of her life on the road, going from country to country without paying attention to where she landed and where she took off, following her Sagittarian wanderlust, Halina’s thirtieth birthday had been a wake-up call to her deeply repressed desire for some sense of balance. Halina’s life needed stability, hence the decision to find a semipermanent contract, the choice of Paris Philharmonie to be with the orchestra for the season. But she hadn’t expected Paris to bring this sense of rightness, the sensation of finally being woven into the fabric of the world.

  Tonight, Alexandra is supposed to be in Halina’s hotel room when she gets there. Asking for a second keycard to her room for Alexandra was a gigantic step, yet it created more excitement than anxiety. Halina knows she’s changed since she landed in Paris, but this is the biggest proof of all.

  Opening the door, Halina bites back the clichéd greeting on the tip of her tongue, the old-fashioned “Honey, I’m home” she wants to use when it comes to Alexandra.

  “Why are you wrapped in so many layers?” she asks, unable to keep a smile from growing on her lips as she takes off her coat and scarf.

  Alexandra is on the plush couch, enveloped in a silvery fleece blanket with the hotel’s coat of arms embroidered in the corner. Her chin and mouth are obscured by the blanket, giving her a much younger and more fragile appearance. Her feet rest on the edge of the coffee table, and Halina fakes a cough to cover her laugh: As warm as they may be, her socks are mood-killers for sure; the cutesy faces of pink reindeer are not on Halina’s sexy list. The ridiculousness of it all only doubles Halina’s affection for Alexandra.

  “I’m cold,” Alexandra replies. Her voice is muffled by the blanket until she shakes her head so the blanket falls around her shoulders. “I’m from California. I can’t help it! Winter doesn’t agree with me.”

  Halina hums in sympathy, then sits with Alexandra and puts her arm on the back of the couch to invite her in. Alexandra scoots closer; the blanket follows her. The image is just too much, and Halina pulls her into a hug with a chuckle. “My poor, sunny girl,” she coos, one arm wrapped around Alexandra’s back, rubbing her upper arms to warm her.

  Alexandra rests her head on Halina’s shoulder and buries the bottom half of her face in the blanket again, but not quickly enough to prevent Halina from catching the fondness in her eyes.

  She tilts Alexandra’s chin up before she can bury herself even deeper in her layers. “Got something to say?”

  The fondness grows in Alexandra’s eyes, and she wiggles closer, so warm Halina wants her to stay close. Like her very own sun.

  “What you just called me,” Alexandra replies with a toothy smile.

  Halina grins back, her embrace tighter around Alexandra. “My. Poor. Sunny. Girl,” she repeats; small kisses on Alexandra’s face mark each word.

  Alexandra scrunches up her nose and sits back to face Halina. “And what should I call you, huh?” she asks, poking at Halina’s chest with her hand still under the blanket. “My Ice Girl?” she continues with a kiss to Halina’s left cheek. “My Snow Queen?” She kisses Halina’s right cheek.

  Halina stiffens and shakes her head. “Anything but that,” she says harshly, softening her words and tone with a whispered “please.”

  Alexandra’s face softens. “Fine,” she says, not dwelling on Halina’s reaction. “I’ve got it: my eastern babe?”

  Halina snorts and bows her head. “God, shut up.”

  Alexandra somehow manages to cup Halina’s cheeks; her hands, wrapped in the blanket, are two big fuzzy paws. “Make. Me.”

  Halina doesn’t need a more official invitation. She pulls Alexandra into a deep kiss; her hand is near Alexandra’s waist or hip. Alexandra tilts her head, licking at the seam of Halina’s lips, and Halina parts them to let her in. Even though their tongues are now involved, the kiss remains soft and unhurried. Halina loses herself in it, smiling when Alexandra wiggles in her arms.

  Alexandra’s fingers appear from under the heavy blanket as she caresses H
alina’s face. The tender gesture creates a path through Alexandra’s many layers: under the blanket, she wears a knitted cardigan in addition to a heavy plaid shirt and an undershirt. Halina blindly finds Alexandra’s elbow to pull her closer.

  Instead of turning their kisses into something more, Alexandra shrieks and shrinks down into her cocoon. “I can’t believe you almost made me come out in this cold!” Her pout is visible, though her face is once again half-buried in the blanket. “Keep your icicles to yourself.”

  Halina chuckles, pulling her into a tight embrace and practically lifting Alexandra until she’s in her lap. When she’s satisfied with their position, she tucks Alexandra’s head under her chin and rubs her back to convey more warmth to her sunny girl.

  Alexandra nuzzles her neck, loving and affectionate as a cat, or as a dog, given the furry companion Halina has yet to meet; as a pet, in any case, and her warm breath sends tingles all over Halina’s body.

  “You’re really hot,” Alexandra mumbles, eyes closed from what Halina can glimpse of her face.

  “Why, thank you.”

  “You’re a big dork,” Alexandra says with a kiss to a tendon in Halina’s neck. “But I love… it.”

  Alexandra’s pause and change of heart doesn’t go unnoticed; Halina knows she stopped herself from saying those three words because of the way she freezes when they might come up.

  A part of Halina wants nothing more than to embrace the relationship, to let her heart beat to the rhythm of Alexandra’s. It would be easier if she could just, simply, love Alexandra back. But the bigger part of her is scared shitless to lower, even fractionally, the walls she has built around her heart, brick by brick, over the years. For now, she’ll cuddle her słoneczna girl and share her warmth here in this room and keep the rest of the world at bay.

  “Did I mention my sister and my nephew are coming to town next week?” Alexandra whispers, still nuzzling Halina’s neck.

  So much for keeping the world away.

  Ch 11

  A-flat Major

  Malachite, Turquoise, and Orange

  Alexandra is jittery as a June bug as she waits for her sister and her nephew to walk through the doors at the airport. They couldn’t leave California until her husband finally agreed to the religious divorce. Elisabeth booked her plane tickets, along with Zachary’s, before the ink could dry on the official document. Now the plane has landed, and they’ll spend Hanukkah and Christmas and New Year’s together, the three of them—maybe four if things between Halina and Alexandra continue to progress in the right direction, beyond the tentative balance they’ve found.