Ella sat on her balcony with her head hung low. A breeze swayed the tangled tresses shrouding her face. It was dark underneath, the fading sunlight blocked out by the curtain of hair. She lifted her head and took a swig from the glass of whiskey dangling from her left hand, grimacing as the alcohol burned inside her chest. She hated the stuff. What's another poison, Ella thought humourlessly.
She had calmly driven home after leaving Dee's apartment. Ella had never driven so carefully since she was eighteen. Every traffic light, junction and change of gear on the way home seemed profoundly important. When she arrived at her apartment, she took the phone off the hook, bolted her door and opened the bottle of whiskey which now stood half empty by her foot.
As she swirled the tea-coloured liquid in the glass, her mind focused in on the ripples.
Shit.
******************
4 years earlier
Ella coiffed her hair with an eye on Sally's image in the mirror. The thinner woman was flipping through her clothes on the bed. "You don't have to do this, Sal." Ella tried to give her friend a last chance to back out.
"I said I would go with you. Besides, we had a great time the last time we went." Sally held up a see-through over blouse. "Are you wearing this tonight?"
"No, I was going to wear my silk undies and nothing else. Don't you think that will work better than a sheer top?" Ella said tongue-in-cheek as she applied rouge on her face.
"Hah! I'd dare you if I wasn't going as your date. It's bad enough that you have better breasts that I do, you don't have to show off." Sally flung the blouse back onto the bed. It floated down slowly, like gossamer wings in the breeze. "I bet you that blouse won't stay closed by the end of the evening." She bitched playfully.
Ella laughed, "Why, Sally, I didn't know you cared."
Feigning interest in her nails, Sally said, "Who says I care? It's not like I'm trying to vicariously live a single life through you. After all, we all know lesbians don't really have sex."
Laughing even harder, Ella had to sit on the bed to strap on her heels. She said, "Of course, we don't. That's why you keep pushing me onto every single lesbian you see, regardless of their interest." Sally was ignoring her by playing with the perfume bottles. Ella ran home her point. "Why do you keep asking me for details about my dates then?"
Sally smirked. "A cheap thrill?" At Ella's wry look, she relented, "Oh, come on. I'm a married woman. Either you supply me the juicy stuff or I have to get you hitched. You're my only lesbian friend, I'm going for a perfect score here." She flounced on the bed in a huff.
Checking herself once more in the mirror, Ella said, "Well, let's not disappoint you, then." Turning around, she spread her arms. "How do I look?"
Sally critically evaluated her friend. Ella wore one of her customary long skirts, which was matched by a lacy maroon top tonight. Her hair was a thick and wild auburn mane. Combined with her ample curves and smoky makeup, Ella was the picture of a sexy, passionate, mysterious woman.
"You didn't tell me it was dress up night. How the hell am I going to compete with that!" Sally shook her head.
"You look gorgeous. I hate you." She groused as she followed Ella into the lesbian club.
"You've said that already. Make up your mind." Ella quickly checked out the venue. "I noticed you're in your dyke get up." She turned brilliant grey eyes, and a cocked eyebrow, on her companion.
"Shhh. That's 'cause I'm looking for an ego boost." Sally whispered conspiratorially. "Speaking of ego boosters, look out. We have a bogey at nine o'clock." She nudged Ella with her elbow. For the rest of the evening, Sally kept drawing her attention to potential suitors, she had become quite adept at choosing those that fit Ella's preference.
The next day, they were in Sally's house preparing for a small group of Brian's colleagues who would be coming over for a party to celebrate Brian's new job. As the doorbell rang to admit them one by one, Ella was happy to stay in the kitchen. This was Brian's moment and she was merely there for support.
Occasionally, someone would take a wrong turn and end up in the kitchen. Ella was quite used to guiding them out that she didn't think much about doing the same for Debra. However, when Debra kept coming back, Ella thought she was either directionally challenged or being cheeky.
Debra, or Dee as she preferred to be called, ended up spending most of the evening in the kitchen because she had discovered the most alluring woman hiding in the back room. Although Ella was dressed casually in jeans and a loose knit top, they didn't succeed in hiding her curvaceous body. Her pinned up hair made her features stand out and her gentle, earthy manner was hugely appealing. Unbidden, Dee's eyes lingered on Ella often as they talked and flirted.
Ella was extremely attracted to Dee. The butch was spruced up in a pressed red shirt, comfortable khakis and well-worn shoes. Her carefree smile was enhanced by the devilish sparkle in her eyes. Their conversation may have been polite but their glances were not. Dee's confident prowess and body language made her intentions clear and Ella felt her pussy throb from the looks Dee threw her way. Before long, they had gravitated closer and closer to each other and Dee left that night with her phone number.
They started the dating ritual with Dee wining and dining Ella, thinking to ply her with enough attention for a turn in the sheets. Ella wasn't adverse to the strategy, after all, they were both aware of the inevitable conclusion they were aiming for. The perfunctory dates were quickly dispensed with before they finally gave in to their desire to have each other.
The smouldering looks and sexual tension between them was heading to a fever pitch. One evening, Dee brought Ella to listen to a home grown jazz band. In the dark and smoky room, the singer crooned a sultry song for the lovers in the house. Dee rubbed their entwined hands where they lay on the Ella's thigh. Leaning closer, she breathed hotly. "If this song gets any hotter, I'm going to burst into flames."
Ella turned her face to Dee's ear and said, "Too late, I'm already on fire." She moved their hands under her skirt to press against her soaked pantyhose. Through the single layer, Dee could feel Ella's swollen nether lips clearly. Dee's fingers traced the thick labial lips and partially succeeded in widening them, but were limited by the skin tight cover. Very slowly, she exerted pressure on the slit. Ella quietly gasped and spread her legs as far as she could within the confines of her skirt. "I've been waiting for you to touch me." Her breath hitched on the words
Dee could feel the tip of Ella's clit straining to peek out. She flicked her nail over it and Ella had to hold onto her chair tightly, her face forced into Dee's shoulder when she started mewling at the teasing sensation. Dee kept up her steady strumming, encouraged by Ella's thighs clenching rhythmically for her pelvis to jerk into Dee's fingers. After a few minutes of the increasingly speedy cadence, Ella came in a warm gush. She gripped her chair with effort even as Dee continued to press on her pulsating clit.
"Oh wow!" Ella panted lightly. She was glad for the shadows hiding her flushed face.
"You're so sexy when you come." Dee peppered her face with kisses. "I can't wait to get you home so I can see it again." She said before nibbling on Ella's neck.
"Whoa, you'll have to give me a minute here." Ella giggled in between a long drink of water and fanning her overheated face.
Dee brought her hand to her crotch, "Feel what you do to me." Ella's eyebrows hiked up when she felt the firm length under Dee's pants. "Feel what's going to do you, tonight." Dee promised in a low voice.
"Let's go." Ella said, signalling the waiter. They settled the bill and made quick of the trip back to Dee's apartment.
They were barely inside before Dee trapped Ella against the closed door. During the drive, Ella had been playing with Dee's dick, pulling and pushing it so her clit felt every movement until Dee was achingly excited. For the first time that evening, they could kiss hungrily uninterrupted. Dee rolled her tongue deep into Ella's receptive mouth where it met its counterpart. The agile members licked, stroked and rasped nubbed surfaces together while their hands tore at each other's clothing.
Impatient, Dee brusquely bunched up Ella's skirt around her waist and spread her thighs. She unzipped her fly and adjusted the silicon cock against her own clit. Ella felt strong fingers claw at her wet pantyhose, finally tearing through the material. As soon as the way was clear, Dee plunged her cock smoothly into Ella's sluiced passage. The musky scent of their arousal rose to further charge the heated air around them. With hard movements, Dee fucked her urging lover.
Ella's free hands pinched Dee's nipples, wanting to hurry her over the edge. Dee gasped and moved her thumb to rub Ella's clit in time with her thrusts. Their unsteady bucking was ruled by the urgency of their need. Suspended in position, Ella welcomed the fullness of the phallus deep in her core when gravity brought her down to meet Dee's driving tool again and again. The surging waves of pleasure caused by the friction of the dildo sliding into her tight centre made her grip Dee's rock hard forearms for balance. Dee looked down at her cock ploughing into the soft, red mass of Ella's pussy, she felt so good making Ella hot. The open view and wet, mashing sounds soon sent the keyed-up butch over and she came with a cry, quivering and still pumping deep into her lover.
Through her lust addled brain, Dee was aware that Ella was close to release. She lowered them down to the floor, and when Ella was on her back, Dee's hands finally got to enjoy Ella's full breasts. She leaned forward, forcing Ella's knees against her shoulders to allow for deeper penetration, and then she moved her hips steadily until Ella's inner muscles clamped around her cock when she flew, gasping, over the edge.
They consummated their relationship in fashion and it was an activity that overtook their senses each time. It could have ended there but one date kept leading to another and they were more frequently being introduced as a couple by their friends. The evolution of their relationship came about naturally, there were no grand declarations of love or dramatic epiphanies. Ella and Dee embraced the routine of their ordinary life even as they reinforced it. Before long, Dee was spending more nights at Ella's apartment than her own. They found themselves sharing domestic functions and enjoying each other's company outside the bedroom. In the flush of newness, they adjusted to each other's quirks and boundaries, compromises eased the way and practicalities accepted.
The older woman was happy to care for Dee, she had the opportunity to practice her homemaking skills for an appreciative girlfriend, bolster her home with items validating their relationship and she had someone to hold at night who didn't mind her weight issues. Dee felt relieved for Ella's undemanding and nurturing presence in her life. Her girlfriend played the housewife dutifully - open arms greeted Dee each time -, she always had a warm place to go to and a companion who understood her need for space.
What else could they ask for?
****************
18 months earlier
The hot ardour that brought them together gradually receded into the background of their growing relationship. Ella and Dee were still passionately involved but the comfort of their stable relationship was something Ella cherished, and she thought Dee was just as happy, until the day Dee confessed that on a night out with her clients, she had had sex with another woman.
Through her tears and apologies, Dee explained that they had gone to a strip club upon the client's insistence. After hours of looking at nude women dancing suggestively, over-friendly topless waitresses and a lap dance, Dee was ready. When the group moved on to a penthouse for a private party, complete with accommodating women, she was too horny to resist the sirens. Dee regained her stud status that night, and guiltily, she admitted to herself that it felt good.
Ella didn't know which was more shocking, that Dee would go to those places to conduct business or that she slept with an escort. What she didn't know was that Dee had kept it a secret for months.
These things happen, right? I mean, she's only human and she didn't set out to have sex. It was just a business call gone way out of hand. Ella justified Dee's actions. If anyone's to blame, it's her boss for putting her in that situation.
Those babes were sweet! But no, I was wrong. Wrong! It won't happen again. It's not worth hurting El. That was a business meeting that shouldn't have gotten out of hand. Dee was determined to make up for her mistake. El's the only one for me, she's my lady and I'll never let her forget that.
Against Sally's disapproval, Ella forgave her lover. It was an episode the friends rarely spoke of, especially when Dee went all out to restore Ella's shaken confidence. She wooed her like it was their first year together. The grief of the incident gave way to a rebirth and reaffirmation of their relationship and they emerged from the crisis stronger than ever.
**********************
Astonished by the abruptness of Ella and Dee's departure from the party, Sally made a discrete beeline for her husband. "Brian, what did you say to El?" Standing with her arms akimbo, she squinted at her husband.
He shrugged and pouted, "Nothing." He wouldn't look at her as he played with the barbeque.
Grabbing hold of the pipeline running from the grill to the gas tank, she demanded, "Tell me."
"Sal, please! Not here." He shushed at her, hoping she wouldn't actually pull on the line.
"Alright, but you'd better spill the beans tonight." She said before she walked off.
"You told her what?!" Brian cringed. He had confessed when Sally was elbow deep in the sink, washing up after the party. That way, he knew he was safe because she could not stand a wet kitchen.
Before he could explain, she brained him with a dirty sponge. " I can't believe you broke it to her like that." She said in an incredulous tone. Sally looked like she was ready to whip him with the towel next.
"Wait a second!" He hollered. "Did you think I wanted to tell her at all? It's not my fault, dammit! If Dee had kept her hands to herself, I wouldn't be in trouble."
Sally almost smirked at the pained look on Brian's face. He was a wonderful husband but sometimes, he could be such an idiot.
"First of all, why didn't you tell me?" Sally started on him. "Second of all, did you talk to Dee first? And thirdly, what the hell made you tell El at our party? Didn't you think about how she might have reacted? You and I both know she wouldn't make a scene but what were her options? The poor dear." Shaking her head, Sally went back to scrubbing the dishes, this time furiously. "This isn't the first time she's had to deal with something like this."
"But she asked." He whined.
"You mean she suspected?"
"No, she asked why Dee was taking so long with her work. She was planning a getaway and a holiday for them. What was I supposed to do?" Brian threw up his hands in exasperation. "Dee doesn't deserve her. And frankly, I'm glad it's now out in the open so we can stop pretending about how good Dee is at client relations." He slammed a cup on the counter and it cracked.
"I'm sorry." He hung his head. The loud smash had stopped his outburst and deflated his rant.
His wife walked over and hugged him, "It's ok, honey. I'm sorry too." She rubbed his back as he leaned his chin on her shoulder. "What do we do for them now?" Was her mournful question.
Continued in part 10