Chapter Twenty-Three 9 page

"It caters to the gay community, you know," the bartender said behind them.

Leah looked over and said, "You can't be in our picture."

He sulked.

Leah tucked herself against Sophia's side and gave Glick her celebrity smile. Sophia wrapped an arm around Leah in turn.

"Fabulous, girls," Glick said. "I can't promise you the cover, but at least a quarter page."

Leah kissed Sophia's cheek. "You'll be famous."

Glick snapped a few more as they sagged against each other, and then let his camera hang around his neck as he pulled out a notebook. "Sophia Medina," he spelled it out. "That's your stage name?"

"Yes," Sophia said.

"And Leah Fisher?"

Leah nodded.

"I'll grab your bios from the playbills," Glick said. "Thanks, ladies. Oh, there's the deputy mayor. Excuse me."

Sophia gave a little wave.

Leah cupped the back of Sophia's neck. "Where were we?"

"Not here," Sophia said, and twisted away, a little.

Leah slumped against the bar. "This is the worst party ever."

Sophia smiled and lifted her drink.

Leah clinked hers. "To us?"

Sophia nodded, and took a sip of the gin and tonic. Leah ran her fingertips down Sophia's arm. Sophia closed her eyes.

Leah said, "In three seconds, someone is going to call your name."

Sophia shook her head. Leah put her glass on the bar, and took Sophia's hand, and tugged.

"Where are we going?"

"The bathroom."

"I don't have to go to the bathroom."

"Neither do I."

Sophia bit her lip as Leah pulled her along. The sea-green-painted bathroom was cramped, and smelled of potpourri. The two tiny stalls were empty, and there was enough space for Leah to wedge herself against the door and pin Sophia against the sink.

"Leah," Sophia whispered.

"Just for a little bit," Leah said. "Or I'm going to go crazy."

She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her makeup was still intact and her hair, moussed and styled by the men in her life, had not strayed from the setting. She looked perfectly normal in her opinion and not like the sex-crazed maniac she felt like. She swallowed and looked at Sophia.

Sophia parted her lips, panting, and her eyes were wide.

"Too much?" Leah asked, her thigh already between Sophia's legs, and her hand around Sophia's waist, protecting her back from the sink edge. She brushed hair away from Sophia's face, the black strands giving way to smooth skin.

"I'll tell you when it's enough."

Leah leaned in and then hesitated, her mouth hovering just in front of Sophia's. She waited for the cell phone to ring or the knock to come at the door or Sophia to protest. There were no sounds beyond Sophia's breathing, no signals other than the tingling in her hands and the low ache that insisted she kiss Sophia. So she did. Sophia mewled against her lips, a faint cry of need that compelled her. Sophia's arms went around her neck. Leah braced herself with both hands against the sink, leaning into Sophia, offering her mouth for kisses. Already her heart was racing.

Sophia tugged on her lower lip. Leah snaked out her tongue to protect herself and met Sophia's. Warmth turned to heat, tongues met. Leah could only hold herself up by pressing herself against Sophia's body. Sophia squeezed her neck, tangling fingers in her hair and tugging as she enticed Leah's kiss. Leah abandoned the sink and held Sophia close. If she sank, she sank.

Something banged into the door, which only half-opened as it slammed into Leah's hip. She yelped. Sophia bit into her lip and she yelped again.

"Sorry," a woman's voice called.

Leah let go of Sophia and ducked into the passage beside the stalls, and Sophia gingerly opened the door. "It's okay," she said.

"Tiny bathroom."

"Yeah." Leah waved the woman into the stall and then met Sophia's eyes.

Sophia laughed.

Leah went back to the sink. Her hair was now tousled from being pulled, her eyes and lips were swollen, and her lipstick was smeared. But she mostly still looked like herself. Sophia, too, was wild-eyed but not indecent. "I'll see you at the bar?"

Sophia nodded.

Leah escaped. Her drink was gone. She ordered a new one, just water and lime, earning a scowl from the bartender. She put a dollar on the bar.

"When's cake?" she asked.

He went into the back to check. Sophia came out of the bathroom, waved at her, and went over to the Macbethians. Leah wanted to kiss her again so much that she clutched the bar to keep from running across the room. Having a taste, tempting her desire, had been worse than denying herself completely. She gulped her water and made herself not look at Sophia.

Ward came up behind her. "Waiting for cake?"

"I am," Leah said.

"You think they'll let experimental-musical-sters like us partake?"

"You've been getting it, too?"

"Yes. Everyone loves theater as long as they've heard it before a thousand times."

"Works for Shakespeare," Leah said.

"Yeah."

"Sorry you took the part?"

Ward leaned on the bar and shook his head. "Everyone who comes to see me...They'll know. They'll feel it. They'll be the special ones."

Leah pressed her forehead against her glass. Waiters wheeled out the cake with blood-red icing.

"Apropos," Leah said.

"Cool," Ward said.

"It's like a wedding. As soon as we eat the cake, we can leave."

"To the happy couple," Ward said, raising his glass of water.

Leah clinked.

Glick was there taking photographs as the director, Macbeth's lead, and Sophia smiled and cut the cake, all three hands on the oversized knife. And then the waiter took over and Sophia took the first two pieces and struggled through the mass of people.

"I hope one of those is for me," Ward said.

"Go away," Leah said.

He slunk toward the cake and Sophia came to her side.

"No forks?" Leah asked.

"I thought we could eat back at the hotel," Sophia said and then looked away, as if avoiding the way Leah's expression changed.

"Do you need to say goodbye to anyone?" Leah asked.

"Nah."

Leah took the cake from Sophia. "Lead the way."

Sophia raised her eyebrows. "You have the keys."

"Oh, right."

They headed straight for the door, ignoring all cries of "Miss Medina!" and "Miss Fisher!" and refusing to talk to anyone.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Sophia drove to Adam's with Leah's hand resting on her thigh. When the car stopped, Leah looked longingly at the house. The lights were on in the living room.

"Would you...um," Sophia started.

"I was just thinking, a shower, maybe some more makeup... I'm fine. Right? I'm fine," Leah said, mostly to herself. She glanced at Sophia as they got out of the car.

Sophia tilted her head. She took the cake.

Leah turned away from the house and put her hand on Sophia's back. "Let's go," she said.

They walked together down the street, too enchanted by each other, too worked up, too expectant, to worry about muggers or drive-bys. The theater was dark as they strolled past. They held hands, walking together, listening to the crickets and frogs and the distant traffic. A block past the theater, just before the lights of the hotel became visible, Leah pulled Sophia to a stop. Sophia looked at her curiously. Leah hesitantly leaned in toward her mouth until she could feel Sophia's breath against her lips. She swallowed.

Sophia said, "Um."

"Yes?"

"Okay."

Sophia licked her lips reflexively. Leah kissed her gently enough to not spill the cake, firmly enough to taste those lips, to try and still the trembling in her own body. Sophia hugged her with one arm and kissed her back, letting Leah see her hunger too. She was surprisingly strong even one-armed. Leah broke the kiss when Sophia threatened to rob her of breath.

And the ability to stand.

She opened her mouth to say something, couldn't think of anything reasonable though a thousand mumblings were in her mind. She looked toward the hotel.

"Too much?" Sophia asked.

"I'll let you know when it's too much," Leah said.

Sophia grinned and squeezed Leah's side and resumed walking.

Leah stood nervously between the beds in Sophia's hotel room. Beige carpet, white sheets, cheap paintings on the wall. The motel didn't seem worthy of her moment. She glanced toward the exit, thinking of them going back home, to the house with the piano.

Sophia had closed the door and then kicked off her shoes.

"Right," Leah said. She sat on the bed and lifted up her foot, bending it onto her knee to undo the strap.

"Let me," Sophia said.

"Really?"

Sophia sat down on the opposite bed and gestured. Leah extended her foot. The touch of Sophia's fingers on her skin sent lightning up her calf. The dull ache that followed her wherever she was with Sophia became urgent, hot desire.

She gasped.

Sophia ran her thumb over Leah's toe.

Leah unwittingly remembered her first time with Grace; awkward, lustful, bad. They'd been drunk and had given into unspoken flirting of a month's duration. Only after several more attempts did they really look at each other and acknowledge what they wanted.

"I want you," Leah said.

Sophia smiled and got the strap undone and loosened Leah's shoe. She looked shyly at Leah, peeking out from under lidded eyes. Leah offered her other foot to Sophia.

Sophia worked off the shoe. Then she dropped her hands to her lap, looking down, and said, "I want you, too."

Leah stood up and took Sophia's hands. Sophia stood with her. Leah tried to control her heartbeat. Standing should be easier than this. They kissed, only lightly.

Then Leah asked, "How does the dress come off?"

"The same way it got on."

"Ripping and tearing?"

"I've never had anyone rip off my clothes before."

"Is it an expensive dress?"

"I..." Sophia halted. She breathed audibly, and quickly, and looked down at her dress. "I can afford a new dress."

Leah sat on the bed and pulled Sophia down beside her. She pressed a quick kiss to Sophia's lips. Sophia kissed her back, coquettishly, but made no move. Leah gathered enough boldness to urge her back on the bed. Sophia smiled. Her longing for what Leah had to give was palpable and Leah wanted to surge forward. She hesitated, considering. Heat pooled. Her chest constricted. Desire was taking her over, making her yield to need.

She knelt over Sophia and captured her lips. The kiss became hard and passionate. Sophia whimpered as Leah's tongue plundered her mouth. She breathed hard between kisses, and then urged Leah back if they paused for breath too long.

Leah grabbed the neckline of Sophia's dress, right above her breast, and yanked.

"Ow!"

Leah ducked Sophia's involuntary kick and tugged again, more gently. The fabric didn't budge. Disappointment warred with frustration as Leah considered. She decided not to try again.

"This always works in the movies."

Sophia brought her down for another kiss. "I think they use a different fabric."

"I think they use Velcro." She resigned herself to kissing and accepting that she lacked the barbarianism her fevered imagination had suggested lurked inside her. She'd had animalistic sex before, but with Sophia she...She buried her face in Sophia's neck and sucked at her throat, and kissed her collarbone and at the underside of her chin.

Sophia squirmed. She tugged at Leah's dress, leaving nail marks on her skin. Leah found her mouth again. Sophia arched back, giving more of herself to Leah's kiss. Leah settled against shifting body, wanting to pin Sophia down and keep her still enough to kiss each part of her face.

She hadn't expected Sophia to be like this; to yearn for her touch. To pull her close with strength that could not be undone. To make such high-pitched, keening sounds Leah could feel vibrating in her throat. She kissed Sophia's neck, trying to provoke more of Sophia's desire.

Doubts pressed Leah's mind. Only one night of this might tear her to pieces. And trying to build a life from it might be worse. She couldn't tell what was in her own heart beyond lust. She was afraid to look past herself to Sophia. She assessed. Sophia was lying on her back. Her eyes were closed and her lips were parted.

Leah's heart told her it would be stupid to turn away. Stupid to ask questions or to pretend, as she had with Grace, that it wasn't really happening; stupid to try and get it over with. There were moments on stage in Poe when she'd felt a rush of arousal go through her. That heat carried thoughts of Sophia and she'd let Ward touch her, caress her and brush kisses along the curve of her ear. She'd sought to extend the moment into something real. But she'd feel nothing from him. The embers of arousal would diminish and gust away.

Sophia cupped her cheek, urging her up, trying to meet her eyes.

Leah blinked, and focused on her face.

"Hey," Sophia said. "Stop thinking."

"I'm not thinking." She was feeling everything at once, unsure which instinct to follow; to mate, to fight, to flee. She said, "I'm afraid..."

"I'm not afraid." Sophia playfully rotated her hips under Leah's.

Leah grasped her wrist and nipped at Sophia's thumb. At Sophia's intake of breath, at the widening of her eyes, Leah drew it into her mouth and sucked.

Sophia stopped breathing. Her lips remained parted, her eyes focused on Leah's face. Leah met her eyes and felt for the first time, they were linked. They were together in this. She ran her tongue along the underside of Sophia's thumb.

Sophia twitched.

Leah moved Sophia's wrist and nuzzled along fine blue veins.

Sophia shuddered. Leah moved to the hollow of Sophia's elbow and Sophia let out a shuddering breath. So responsive, and they were just beginning. "Just beginning," she said out loud. Sophia closed her eyes.

Leah wondered how many others had made love to Sophia. Were they gentle? Rough? Did they take or give? Had Sophia had enough experience to know what she wanted from Leah? Did she have enough boldness to tell her? Leah draped Sophia's arm behind her neck and kissed her. Sophia responded eagerly, squirming to get a better connection with her mouth, using her arm like a weight to hold Leah against her.

Leigh wanted to ravish her, but found herself constricted by clothes. She could take Sophia and complete their passion in a matter of seconds, but not fully clothed.

Not even partially clothed. They were meant to be naked.

She left the bed. Sophia reached out for her blindly and then opened her eyes. Leah winked.

"Is it over?" Sophia asked. Her lips twitched into a smile. She tucked her hands behind her head.

"Oh, you'll know."

Sophia smiled with teeth.

Leah reached behind herself to work the zipper.

"I could..." Sophia offered.

"No," Leah said. Sophia raised her eyebrows. "No, lie just like that."

Sophia blushed but settled back on the pillows, the gown riding up to reveal her calf and her ankle and the high-heeled pump she still wore. She kicked it off. Leah lost all focus on the zipper. Her hands trembled. She turned away from Sophia, needing a moment to concentrate. She wanted so badly that she was tangling herself up. She got the zipper down below her waist.

Sophia exhaled audibly.

Leah looked back. Sophia was lying in the same position. Smiling. Leah met her eyes. Sophia licked her lips and dipped her head to give Leah a practiced sexy, smoldering look, which nearly undid her. She turned around again. She pulled the straps off. Her bare back, slightly sore and already marked with Sophia's fingernails, was still guarded by the thin white band of her bra.

"You can do that part," She said, and then held her breath.

Fingers danced down her arms. She shivered. "Tickles." The fingers dug into her arms instead, massaging.

"Better?"

Leah nodded.

Sophia kissed her neck. Leah hissed. When Sophia was on the bed, a few feet away from her, it had been possible to keep her thoughts in order. Now Sophia's fingers and tickling lips robbed her of thoughts and order both. Mercifully, Sophia unclasped the bra and let it fall. Then she pressed herself against Leah's back, slipping her arms around Leah's stomach.

Leah pushed her away. "Not done yet." She felt like she was on fire.

"Clearly." Fingertips stroked Leah's abdomen.

Exposed to the air, Leah's nipples felt as hard as diamonds, tight and demanding more direct stimulation. Leah wanted Sophia's touch on her breast. The slightest brush would be a relief, and it would undo her.

"When I turn around," Leah said, "I want to see you on the bed."

Sophia's caress left her. The bed creaked. Leah bit her lip until it hurt to hold back a squeak from the sound alone. She turned around, baring herself to Sophia, whose dress rode up even further, exposing a knee.

Sophia gave a lingering look to her chest, and then her gaze traveled to Leah's face, not changing expression, taking her in. Leah ached to be closer to her. She pushed her dress off her hips. The thong went with it, pooling on the floor. Her face burned with the shame of the wetness on her thighs. She let Sophia look at her, at the trimmed patch of hair at the crux of her hips, at her belly, at her breasts, which felt swollen. Her nipples were straining for contact and were connected to the pulse between her legs.

She knelt on the bed, and took the hem of Sophia's dress in her hand. "I think I gave up on the tearing too soon."

Sophia slid her foot along Leah's arm. Leah grabbed the arch and kissed Sophia's ankle, reveling as Sophia twitched. Her legs were open and Leah could see the shadowed promise beyond her knees.

She bit into Sophia's calf. Sophia yelped. Leah looked up at her face, worried. But Sophia's expression only showed lust. No shock, no fear.

Leah was naked, but she didn't feel exposed. She felt powerful and limber, crawling up between Sophia's legs, pushing the dress up. Sophia, languid, teasing, stayed mostly still. Leah pressed a kiss to Sophia's knee, and said, "If we had scissors, I could cut it off."

Sophia trembled but didn't break her gaze.

"Would you trust me? Pressing the blade against your skin?"

"Yes," Sophia said, and inhaled sharply.

"Tearing," Leah said.

Sophia didn't speak, just swallowed, her throat rising and falling.

Leah slid her hand under Sophia's dress. She found heat and pressed harder. Being this close to Sophia was intoxicating. She needed to kiss her. She needed to feel more. Sophia's hand covered hers and squeezed. Leah moved up Sophia's body to kiss her. Sophia kissed her back, making keening sounds against her mouth. Leah kept her hand still. Sophia moved against it urgently.

"You're not naked," Leah said.

"Are you a fucking nudist?"

Leah withdrew her hand. She slipped her arms under Sophia and managed to unbutton the four buttons holding Sophia's dress together. Sophia met her eyes and smiled.

"Am I heavy?" Leah asked.

"Hardly."

Leah peeled the dress off Sophia's upper torso. Sophia's breasts made her nearly lose her resolve. She sank down and took Sophia's mouth in a crushing, hungry kiss. Her breasts rubbed against Sophia's. Her nipples tingled as they pressed into skin.

"God," Sophia said.

Leah kissed Sophia's neck sucking, wanting the taste of Sophia in her mouth. Sophia's harsh panting filled her ears. Becoming words.

She lifted her head. "What?"

"Mercy."

Leah brushed hair out of her face.

"I need..." Sophia said, and lost her breath again.

"What?"

"To be naked."

Leah grinned. "Told you."

"Mercy," Sophia pleaded.

Though she was so aroused she felt heavy, saturated with desire that compelled her to push into Sophia, to forget about elegant form, to take her, Sophia had asked for mercy. Leah sat up and pulled Sophia up with her to sit side-by-side. Leah held her hands. Sophia squeezed them, and then lifted them to her mouth and kissed each knuckle. Sophia's dress, half-off, was not torn, but rumpled and twisted around her waist. Leah studied the remnants of the black fabric instead of Sophia's breasts. Sophia sucked at her skin between the first finger knuckle and the thumb. Leah met her eyes. Sophia bit her hand.

Leah stopped breathing.

Sophia bit harder. A surge of fear went through Leah, cancelling and then stoking her arousal. She couldn't wrest her hand away without Sophia mangling her. Sophia's teeth weren't hurting but they transmitted the promise of pain. Leah leaned forward, careful not to push too hard against Sophia's lips, and whispered in her ear, "Mercy."

Sophia held her in her grip. Leah kissed her ear, and then whispered again. Sophia released her. Leah covered Sophia's mouth with her whole hand. She stroked Sophia's cheeks with her fingertips, and then on her jaw and her neck. Sophia arched her neck.

Leah reluctantly pulled back and stood up. Another twinge of fear went through her at being naked. But she was beginning to like the prickling, shivering feeling. She urged Sophia to her feet. The dress, bunched at her waist, did not slide invitingly to the floor as Sophia stepped into her embrace. Leah sighed, hugged her close, and then knelt to pull the dress down.

She kissed Sophia's hip. Sophia touched her hair. They stayed like that, Leah soaking in the intimacy, and then she helped Sophia step out of her dress. She looked up to drink Sophia in. Sophia had smooth and richly tanned skin. Naked, her hips were wider than Leah had noticed in the dress, and her waist was petite. Leah stood carefully, sliding up the side of Sophia's body. Her apple-shaped breasts ended in dark areola and jutting nipples. Leah covered them with her hands.

Sophia's dark and watery eyes met Leah's. Leah couldn't remember why she'd thought Sophia wrong for the classic stage. She was born for Macbeth, for tragedy. Leah wrapped her arms around Sophia and held her close, tucking herself into Sophia's neck and closing her eyes. Sophia settled against her back, and they were together, pushing against each other, toes curling, arches rubbing, as close as they could get and still stand. Sexual energy smoldered and filled the room. There was no space for old lovers. This was neutral territory, a gap between universes, Leah's in New York, and Sophia's in North Carolina. Everything beyond them evaporated. Leah, filled with wondrous joy, wanted to laugh. Her throat closed. Her jaw tightened. She gripped Sophia more tightly.

"I'm not sure where to begin," Leah said.

"Haven't you done this before?"

"It kind of feels like 'no.'"

"Yeah."

Leah rubbed her back and worked her thigh between Sophia's. "Any suggestions?"

"Think of it like a new show. Start at the end, and work backwards." There was something in her voice that revealed to Leah, along with the way Sophia was moving against her thigh, Sophia's desperation. There would be no more pleas for mercy. Leah could have what she wanted. But it wasn't a show. There was no director, no cast. No worrying about compromise. No need to negotiate, to modulate her voice to the seconds someone ticked off for her, no need to change her expression based on command.

Leah stepped back. Her body protested leaving the embrace, wanting her to fall back into Sophia's arms. For a moment she could only walk backward, one step at a time, until she was sufficiently free from Sophia's aura. She was still trembling but she walked around the bed, knowing Sophia watched. She tried not to be self-conscious about how her ass looked, or her breasts, dangling as she bent down and pulled back the covers on the bed. Sophia helped her on the other side. Once the comforter was dumped on the floor, Sophia quirked a brow at her.

"What?"

"I can't help but notice this seems to be starting at the beginning," Sophia said.

"Technicalities." Leah knelt on the bed and extended her hand. Sophia knelt, too, matching her posture. They came together and kissed. No more waiting. Leah's desire flooded through her, warming her, seeking out Sophia. She ached almost wantonly as she covered Sophia's body with her own, pushing her into the bed. Her knee settled between Sophia's legs. This was just the beginning. Her heart pounded. She kissed Sophia, letting Sophia's need for her wash through her, until Sophia's grip on her started to hurt. Leah felt a step behind as Sophia writhed under her, seeking completion. She untangled herself from Sophia's legs, which prompted a cry of protest.

"Don't stop now," Sophia said, just as Leah's mouth settled over her breast. Sophia said no more, just cradled Leah's head in her hands and pushed herself against Leah's lips, trying to find the contact she'd so briefly, satisfyingly had. Leah suckled and the nipple, already swollen, firmed against her flicking tongue. She left it, angry and glistening with saliva, and captured the other one.

Sophia's head arched back. Her eyes closed. She breathed hard, almost panting. Her chest heaved. Leah knew she felt the same way. Ready. Too ready.

She scooted down the bed and pushed Sophia's legs farther apart. They fell open easily, revealing slick folds. Leah stared dumbly and pressed a kiss to the lowest part of Sophia's stomach.

"You shave everything," Leah said.

"For the play," Sophia mumbled, opening her eyes just enough to gaze through the slits at Leah.

"Did I miss something?"

"To make me feel more vulnerable. More bald and connected to my own infertility. My own womanhood and how it defines me."

"Amazing."

Sophia worked her fingers into Leah's hair.

"You don't want to talk about acting?"

"I'm not acting," Sophia said, half-angry, half-breathless.

Leah lowered her head to kiss what beckoned her, what echoed and pulsed in her own body and led her to Sophia's. Sophia held her there. Pressed her closer. Leah licked. Sophia cried out. She licked again, and the resulting cry was more incoherent. The third one, more guttural.

"Here?"

"Higher."

Leah rubbed her lips against Sophia's clitoris and felt Sophia's answering shudder around her, her thighs tightening. Leah settled in to kiss and tease and lap.

Sophia no longer vocalized, just shivered, lifting herself to Leah's mouth. Leah tasted Sophia, all that Sophia was offering, unabashed, licking until Sophia strained under her. Leah stopped moving and simply held her tongue against Sophia.

Sophia cried out and pulled harder. Leah licked, bringing her to a second, slower trembling, and then kissed her thighs and stomach through the aftershocks. Sophia twisted away, but didn't let go of her hair. Leah grasped her wrist. She rubbed until Sophia released her with a long sigh.

"It's been a long time," Sophia said.

Leah waited to see if Sophia would say more, or would grab her hair again, but Sophia merely smiled up at the ceiling. Leah continued to plant kisses on her abdomen, still deeply aroused, sensitized to every touch between them.

"I knew you were a tease," Sophia said, pulling on Leah until Leah crawled up beside her and kissed her.

"I protest."

"I'm sure."

"What about you?" Leah asked, wriggling closer, stroking Sophia's side, becoming more aggressive in her kisses.

Sophia's answer was muffled by her lips until Sophia put her hand on Leah's breast, turning slightly from the kiss, "I'm no tease."

Leah smiled and kissed Sophia's cheek. Sophia squeezed her breast. Leah closed her eyes. She couldn't breathe. Her ability to continue had been predicated on Sophia not touching her, not like that. When Sophia's thumb brushed her nipple, Leah let out a voiceless squeak.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 652