A Little Slice of Heaven by Shea K.

11: Slow burn

Jaz sat on the back porch of her home, staring at her mother's small, colorful garden. Occasionally, she glanced down into her hand, looking at the pack of cigarettes that she was holding. She could not believe that she was seriously considering Georgia's request. The last person to ask her to stop smoking before Georgia was her mother and she actually gave her mother some bull-crap answer and continued on with the deadly habit.

"Hey, Jaz-butt, you got any extra smokes?" the voice of her brother filtered outside from somewhere the house.

"Plenty," she muttered, staring at the pack in her hand. It said nothing for the packs in her room.

"Yo, Jaz-fest!" he called again.

"I'm in the backyard, you little howler monkey!"

Even though she could hear his footsteps approaching, she did not turn around. He flopped down next to her, heavy boots stomping on the cement pathway. She cut him a glance, noticing he was eyeing her as if something was wrong with her. He had the worried eyes of their mother; it did not help that his eyes were blue. How the hell Mom managed to sneak all these recessive genes makes no sense!

"Lemme get a couple of cigarettes. I'm out," her brother requested, his slightly darker hand moving to take her pack since they bummed cigarettes off each other all of the time. Just as he was about to grab her cigarettes, she moved them from his reach.

"Nope. You can't have any, Flint," Jaz said, somewhat teasing, but her face was quite serious.

"C'mon, Jaz-butt, stop playing around. Lemme get a cigarette," Flint insisted, reaching out again to grab the pack. Jaz moved away, causing a frown to mar his smooth, oval face.

"I ain't playing. You can't have one," Jaz stated. She was tempted to stand up and hold them over her head. She thought it was hilarious to see him jump for things, knowing he would never reach. She was seven inches taller than he was and that was without extending her arm all the way over her head.

"What the hell? Why aren't you giving me a cigarette? This your last pack or something?" he inquired curiously, sitting back. He scratched his head, which was in dire need of a haircut.

"No, it's not my last pack. Well, actually, yes, it is my last pack. I'm quitting and so are you," Jaz informed her brother.

"The hell? Why are we quitting?" Flint asked, scratching his head again. "Shit, I need a haircut," he realized, pulling on his curly mop of hair.

"Hell, yeah, you do. Your roots are showing," she remarked, teasing him in regards to their mixed blood. He had a sandy blonde afro going on. Typically, he kept his hair short, almost bald much of the time.

"I need to do something. The last thing I want is Mom offering to braid it or something. Then I'll look real crazy. You would think a woman who knows she's going to end up with black kids would learn from one of her black in-laws how to deal with hair like this," he commented, tugging his hair again.

Jaz playfully punched him in the shoulder. "Don't talk about my mom that way, you shrimp."

He chuckled and grinned at her before focusing on her cigarettes again. "Now, once again, why the hell are we quitting?"

"Look, Georgie asked me to quit."

"Georgie? This the woman that Mom swears you're either having an affair with or about to have an affair with?"

Jaz nodded. "Yeah, that's her, but I'm not having an affair with her. She's a good friend of mine."

"Okay, she's a good friend and she asked you to quit?" he asked to be sure, his face scrunching up a little as he tried to take in the information.

"Yeah, she wants me to quit. I had an asthma attack in front her and she didn't like that. She pointed out that smoking isn't good for my asthma and she was pretty worried about me. She asked me to quit, so I am."

Flint nodded as if he understood, but his face showed that he was completely bewildered. "Are you dating Georgia by any chance?" he inquired. She was very aware that things would make much more sense to both of them if she were dating Georgia.

"No."

"And you're not fucking her?"

"No."

"So, this woman that you're not dating or even fucking asked you to stop smoking and you quit?" he asked in a curious voice with his eyebrows knitted together.

"Yes," she answered with a sound nod to drive home her point. "Is that so odd?" she countered since he did not seem to comprehend what was going on.

"I would say yes, but that's not really the thing bothering me," he answered.

"Then what's the goddamn problem?" she inquired, not being rude, but rather curious. He was making it seem like this was the most bizarre thing on the planet, but now claimed it was not what was bothering him.

"I wanna know, why the hell am I quitting too? I'm not dating or fucking this woman," he pointed out.

"Neither am I and we're quitting," she told him with quite the happy smile. His face remained bemused. She patted him on the back. "Come on, be a supportive little big brother. Besides, Mom would be really happy if we stopped smoking."

"No shit, but that hasn't gotten me to stop yet."

Jaz shrugged; he had a point. "It'll be better for our lungs. I know my asthma is worse than yours, but we're not helping out life span with the cigarettes. And, of course, you are a black man…" she trailed off, teasing him with that last bit.

Blue eyes rolled. "You're not going to outlive me by much. Mom is going to end up burying us all."

"A lot sooner than she'd like if we don't stop smoking."

Flint scratched his head and seemed to think everything over. "You think the smoking stunted my growth?" he asked curiously.

"Probably. You been smoking since you were like fifteen and haven't grown since as far as I can tell. It's the practical thing. Not like we can smoke anywhere on Earth anymore, not even in our own home," she pointed out.

"I'll give it a shot," he muttered with a sigh.

Jaz grinned and leaned over to hug her brother. She was not sure if he would make it, but she trusted that he would try his best, if only to support her decision. It helped that he felt a bit guilty because he was the one that got her into smoking. The guilt was mostly there from their mother. Maggie had gotten on his case so much when she found out that Jaz was smoking too that the siblings thought that Maggie would hit Flint. Of course, she had not hit him, but she had been so very upset.

"You think Mom will finally forgive me for getting you started?" he asked, glancing over at her.

"Hell, no!" she answered honestly with a laugh. "Mom is going to remember that forever and always. Hell, when we're all reincarnated, she's going to find your ass and kick it for influencing me."

Flint laughed too. "I don't think that's fair at all. You have your own mind. Hell, you're supposedly so smart. You should know that smoking is bad for you!" he argued.

"Did that work when you told her that?"

Flint snorted; of course it had not worked! Jaz was their mom's baby, after all. No, he did not think that Maggie played favorites, but with their mother's personality, it only made sense that she cuddled Jaz just a little more since Jaz was the baby. She also expected him to act more responsibly since he was the older one. He supposed she had a point, but he took to Jaz like their parents did. He enjoyed it when his big little sister mimicked him or showed signs of wanting to be like him. It was flattering.

"So, back to this quitting thing for a woman you're not dating or fucking. What's that about?" he inquired with an arched eyebrow.

"Georgie is just a good friend. I really freaked her out when I had an asthma attack in front of her and I didn't have my inhaler on me. You ever had that happen?"

He shook his head. "My asthma hasn't bothered me much in years, which is why I didn't think about it when I took up smoking, but I should've thought about it with you. Your asthma was always worse than mine. You don't usually have attacks, though, which is why I didn't think about it. A hit from your inhaler and you're good and you only use the inhaler on occasion. How'd you end up having an attack this time?"

"Mostly because I didn't have my inhaler. I was really anxious when it started coming on. I'm usually able to hold it off and you know I'm pretty mellow most of the time, except when I get really excited."

He laughed a bit. "You're almost always excited, so I don't know where you get this mellow stuff. I guess it would be a good idea for you to stop smoking."

Jaz nodded and they sat there in silence for a while. She was glad that he did not hound her about Georgia. But, then again, Flint always knew just how much to press her.

-8-8-8-8-

"Georgia, I'm stunned you had the time to host this little get-together," Georgia's friend and neighbor, Gina, commented. She and two other women were lounging in Georgia's living room.

"You do seem quite busy lately, Georgia," one of the other woman chimed in. She was sitting on the edge of the couch, opposite Gina. She was a short, blonde woman named Chrissy. Because of her name and hair along with an oddly high pitched giggle for a laugh, people did not take her seriously. It was a shame since she was brilliant in many different ways. Sometimes, Georgia found herself wishing that she could be more like Chrissy.

"I'm sure it has to do with that tall drink of water that comes over here all of the time," the other woman teased. She was a tall, elegant woman with wavy black hair and a tad too much make up. Her name was Melissa and she was another outspoken woman that Georgia wished she would be more like.

"You do know that tall drink of water is a woman, don't you?" Gina inquired with an arched eyebrow.

Melissa chuckled. "You did mention that, didn't you? Georgia, you certainly do spend a lot of time with that woman."

Georgia shrugged a bit. "I suppose so. She keeps me company when you three are with your families and I don't want to impose."

"You know you wouldn't be imposing," Chrissy insisted.

"So you say, but I feel like I would be imposing. I don't have that with her because she's single without children and also she comes over here," Georgia tried to explain.

"And what do you do?" Gina asked curiously.

"Watch movies mostly," Georgia answered honestly.

Chrissy nodded. "Does Allen know she comes over here?" Georgia glanced away and nodded. The blonde tilted her head to regard her friend. "Is he fine with that?" she inquired, sounding quite skeptical.

"Of course not. He's still not comfortable with you three over here," Georgia pointed out.

"You would think we were three strangers the way he acts. I swear, it's almost like he assumes we're going to rob him or something equally ridiculous," Melissa huffed.

"Really? I had always assumed it was because he likes keeping Georgia to himself," Chrissy said, sounding lighthearted, as if she was joking, but her face did not support the tone.

"It does seem that way," Gina surprisingly concurred. Her brow furrowed; apparently, she did not like that idea.

"What? Why would you say that?" Georgia inquired, sounding incredulous.

"Most of the time, you only come out when he comes out. You hang out mostly when he does. If he's in the house, you're in the house," Gina explained. "Sometimes, it seems like you need his permission to be out."

Chrissy turned her mouth up and nodded. "Now that I think about it, it's more than him trying to keep you to himself, but it's more like he's trying to isolate you. He's always very critical of your friends, even us, despite the fact that he hangs out with our husbands."

"He's not like that. Allen is just protective of me because he knows how shy I can be," Georgia argued. Ever since they met, Allen had always been her shield in social settings, coming to her rescue and defending her if she was caught in an uncomfortable situation. It was one of the aspects of his personality that made her fall in love with him. He was her brave knight.

"Well, if he let you off the leash a little while, you wouldn't be so shy. When you go out with us, as rare as it is, you get better little by little. Hell, I remember when you first went out with us, you tried to hide behind me and now sometimes you even introduce yourself," Gina declared.

Georgia blinked. "He hardly has me on a leash," she grumbled.

"Yes, that's why we never get to come over when he's home and you need permission to come out when he is home," Chrissy remarked, rolling her eyes.

"You all don't know what you're talking about. Allen is fine and I am not on a leash. Everything is fine," Georgia insisted, her fingers fidgeting just a bit.

"Okay, everything is fine," Melissa agreed. There was a beat of silence. "So, has Allen met your tall friend? If so, does he approve?" she asked curiously.

"He has met her and he doesn't like her. In fact, he doesn't want her in the house. I'm not sure why, but somehow within the five minutes that they interacted, he decided he didn't like her," Georgia explained, wishing that she could sugarcoat that a little more now that she knew her friends had such a poor view of her husband. Well, she had always known her friends and husband had mutual dislike of each other, but she did not know that they thought Allen basically trapped her in the house.

"Maybe it's just women in general that he has a problem with," Chrissy joked, snickering a little as she spoke.

"You would think he would be worried about men. After all, they're the ones likely to steal you away," Melissa chimed in.

Georgia rolled her eyes. She was going to chuckle, finding it ironic that they would think men would try to steal her away and her new friend was a lesbian. But, then again, Jaz was not like that. Jaz understood that she was married and she was too old for Jaz anyway. Not to mention, she was straight and Jaz was well aware that too.

"Can we stop talking about Allen? I could've sworn there was a purpose to us meeting up here," Georgia commented.

"Was there?" Chrissy teased. "Oh, but I really don't want to discuss the neighborhood bazaar. It'll be dull as always," she said, waving the whole matter off with deliberate frivolity.

The other ladies laughed a little, but they did get back on track. They were in charge of planning out the annual neighborhood bazaar. Basically, each house would set up a table with a specific set of treasures to sell. Generally what happened was that children wandered from table to table to buy things. The adults mostly looked down on the whole event and rarely bought anything, believing that if they saw something that they wanted, they would simply buy it from the store. The children took to the event with great enthusiasm and their happiness tended to make whoever planned the bazaar take it extremely serious.

"This plan seems simple enough. I guess we should call it quits before Allen comes home and finds us here," Chrissy commented.

"Don't start on Allen again," Georgia begged with a sigh.

"I'm sorry, but since we started in on him, I just feel like venting. I mean, he doesn't like you having friends over, but we all know he has company over," Chrissy pointed out.

"When he's home," Melissa added in with a slight sneer.

"He is away an awful lot and even when he's not away, he's often out with his own friends. Is that how you can put up with him?" Gina taunted her friend, going so far as bumping Georgia with her shoulder since they were sitting next to each other on the couch.

"I happen to love Allen, all right?" Georgia stated, holding her chin high, but not feeling the impact of her words like she thought she should.

"Might I ask why?" Chrissy said seriously. "From what I can tell, he's aloof to you more than anything else. The only time he shows an interest in you is when you're on his arm and he can show off what a hot wife he has and brag how you cater to his every whim, which you do."

Georgia shook her head. "He's very kind and protective of me," she insisted, but as the words left her mouth, she realized there was more to the statement. She could not tell her friends the rest of it, though. She refused to prove them right. There was nothing wrong with her husband or her marriage. They were just making assumptions about Allen because they did not know him well.

"Well, I guess that's why you're married to him," Gina said, as if attempting to save Georgia. Or so she hoped anyway.

"Yes, I happen to like him," Georgia said, sort of mumbling what should have been a heartfelt declaration.

The other ladies watched Georgia, causing her to squirm in her seat. She was all too happy to escort her friends to the door when they were ready to leave. Unfortunately, her day did not get any better because as they were walking out, Allen was walking in. He eyed her friends with contempt as they filed out of the house.

Allen snorted as he stepped inside, flinging Georgia his jacket as she shut the door behind him. She watched his tense back and knew that an argument was coming. All she had to do was wait for it… and she did not have to wait long.

"What were those three doing here?" Allen inquired, tugging at his tie to free himself of the troublesome thing.

"We're planning the neighborhood bazaar. I told you about it-three times," she replied, moving around him to hang his jacket in the closet.

"You should've met somewhere else. I hate when those busybodies are here," he practically grunted.

"I know you do, but it was my turn to host," she informed him, as she had told him several times before. "We take turns and it was my turn. It's a fair and equal system," she added. She did not understand what he did not like about her friends coming over and anytime she asked, he sidestepped it. Only once did he give something that sounded like a reason, saying something along the lines of "women like to snoop." Whatever the hell that meant.

"You could've gone to Gina's house. Her husband and the kids weren't there today," Allen stated.

"I know, but it was my turn to host. It wouldn't have been right to push my turn onto Gina."

"Why not?" He snorted and threw his hand back. "She's always pushing you around. Most of the time, I don't know how her husband can be married to such a bitch."

"Gina is not a bitch!" Georgia declared with indignation. While the redhead was somewhat snobbish, she was nowhere near a bitch. She was supportive to her daughters and helped out around the neighborhood whenever she could. She was a wonderful person all and all.

Allen turned and glared at her. "This is why I don't like having them over here. They always get you riled up and we can't just enjoy my time home. It's always an argument with you whenever they're around."

The statement made Georgia's head spin a bit. It's my friends' fault that we always argue when Allen comes in? That theory did not hold any water as far as she was concerned. Hell, it did not even make sense.

"That's not true," she insisted.

"You're arguing now over nothing because they got you all fired up over nothing. Had you gone to Gina's house, you'd have had time to calm down walking home," he pointed out.

"I would've had time to calm down? It seems like you're the one that needs to calm down. You're the one attacking my friends for no reason," Georgia informed him, folding her arms over her chest.

Allen laughed. "Your friends? The only reason they bother with you is because you're such a pushover and you'll do anything they ask. They're taking advantage of you and you're defending them. That's just like you," he commented in a patronizing tone, shaking his head and walking away.

Georgia sighed, not knowing what to do. Part of her wanted to continue arguing with him, but another part of her felt like he was right. She had just gone through reminding herself that "friends" were people that wanted things from her, and there were very few exceptions to that rule. The biggest, almost literally, was Jaz, who she would have loved to call her and rescue her as doubt started to eat away at her brain.

Alas, Jaz had work and Georgia had to endure Allen on her own. She tried to ignore him as he decided to make a night of snapping on her friends and reminding her that most people liked taking advantage of her because she made it so easy.

"That's why those women always come bothering you. They know you'll fold like a house of cards. It was like that in college too. Everybody that came around you knew you'd fold like paper and do damn near anything that they asked you to do, just like these women," Allen gripped, flopping down on the couch. He then sniffled the air. "Uh, it stinks in here with all that mix of perfume and body lotion and crap. That's another reason I hate when they come in here. They always leave behind this fruity stench," he huffed.

"Just like your friends leave behind beer cans and rings on the table," Georgia grumbled under her breath.

"My friends aren't busybodies, though. I don't have to worry about them going around the house, looking into all of our stuff, and trying to start rumors about us. Just remember that your so-called friends are always the first to talk about you and squeak to each other about what you're doing with your spare time," Allen reminded her.

Georgia would have liked to argue that point, but he was right as far as she was concerned. Gina had been trying to figure out whom Jaz was at first, more than likely looking for gossip and wanting something to talk about. But, once she found out, Gina was satisfied with that and she did not like thinking that she knew exactly what Gina was going to do with that information. Gina had not started any rumors about her, after all.

"God, this makes being home such a hassle. I just want to relax for the couple of days while I'm here and working on stuff in town. Is that too much to ask?" Allen huffed, hitting the sofa with the palm of his hand.

"Maybe if you calm down, you could relax," she retorted in a collected tone.

"How the hell can I relax when the damn living room smells like a damn garden? How the hell can I relax knowing you had those annoying airheads here, even though you know I don't like them being here? What kind of respect is that? We share this house and you just act like you can have whoever the hell you want here."

"Me?" she said in disbelief, pointing to herself. "I have my friends over maybe once a week and usually that's only for a couple of minutes. They rarely sit down and chat like your friends, who even stay to eat, sometimes having more than one serving. They mess up the house and just laugh it off," she informed him.

"But, they don't squawk around like birds, do they? And I'd like to have my friends over on the rare times I get to be home. You're home all the time, so if you want to see your friends, you need to get out more. But then again, you need to have better friends anyway," he declared.

"My friends happen to be the wives of your friends," she reminded him.

"Not all of them," he countered in a low, angry tone.

"Oh, no?"

"No. That tall woman you insist on hanging out with is not a wife of any of my friends and I know you bring her over, even though you know I dislike that. It's quite disrespectful," he pointed out, almost as if he was teasing her and reprimanding her at the same time.

"Jaz is my friend. I don't know why you don't want her over. She's very sweet," Georgia argued.

"I don't trust her or her kind, so I don't want her in my house. It's that simple! It's my house!" he proclaimed before storming off. Grabbing his coat, he marched out of the house, making sure to the slam the front door on his way out.

Georgia frowned, again wondering what the hell he meant by "her kind." Even though she did not know what he meant, it disgusted her and hurt her every time he said it. Since he was gone, she decided to go call Jaz, even though she thought that Jaz might still be working. Hopefully, speaking to Jaz would help her calm down and soothe her slightly wounded self-worth.

"Jazzy, please answer the phone," Georgia muttered as she paced in the kitchen. She started pulling out pans and other item that she would need to start baking.

"Hey, Georgie-girl, what's up?" Jaz answered the phone in an almost chipper tone.

Georgia blinked, surprised by the voice. "I just wanted to talk to you. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. I'm trying to think happy thoughts," Jaz replied.

"Why? Is everything all right?"

"Aside from the fact that I want to chew my own arm off because I want a cigarette so bad!" Jaz growled.

"You want a cigarette? Why not go smoke one then?"

"I quit a couple of days ago! It's killing me. I'm trying to be happy about it, but goddamn it, I need a cigarette so badly!" Jaz actually sounded like she was near gnawing off her own arm.

"You quit?"

"Yes, I quit smoking. It's grating on me now, but I'm taking it better than Flint. Poor guy was rolling around the floor, begging for just one. It doesn't help that Dad smells like cigarettes. But, on the plus side, my mom is very happy that we quit."

Georgia nodded. "Glad you decided to quit. May I make some brownies for you?" she proposed. She was starting to make them anyway and she had actually planned to save them for Jaz.

"Oh, brownies!" Jaz sounded genuinely upbeat about that idea. "I guess if I get brownies every time I want a cigarette, I might live." She paused for a second. "But, not Flint. Flint is certain that he's going to die."

Georgia laughed a little. "I think he has a better chance at living now that he's quit smoking."

"Maybe if he's a good boy, I'll share my brownies with him. When can I get said brownies?"

"Tomorrow. I'll call you when the coast is clear," Georgia remarked.

"Allen still home? That's two days in a row. Amazing," Jaz grunted.

"Jazzy, you leave my husband alone. I don't want to argue anymore," Georgia declared with a sigh.

"All right. You can call me when the coast is clear. Hopefully, that won't take too long," Jaz replied.

"You can come over soon, I'm sure. Whenever he's home, he tends to hang out with his friends for a long time after he tries to handle his business," Georgia explained.

"Business at home and abroad? Allen leads a pretty exciting life. When does he spend time with his wife in all of this?" Jaz wondered aloud.

Georgia puffed out her cheeks. "I just said I don't want to argue."

"Sorry about that, Georgie-girl! Not having tobacco is making me loony. And now I want brownies, which is making me even crazier. I want brownies!" Jaz whined.

The noise got a laugh out of Georgia. "You'll get them tomorrow. Calm down, please."

"Fine. Brownies, your company, add a movie to that and it sounds like the perfect afternoon."

"I'll have a movie or two ready for you tomorrow, which I hope we'll be able to watch. Do you have work?"

"It's at night, so I won't be around when your Prince Charming comes home. I have a class in the morning, though. How does twelve sound to you?"

"Sounds perfect," Georgia agreed, a smile working its way onto her face. An afternoon with Jaz would pick her spirits up, she was sure of that.

With that set, all Georgia had to do was make the brownies. She did that with glee while staying on the phone, trying to keep Jaz from thinking about how she really wanted a cigarette. By the time the friends got off the phone, the brownies were done and put away, the house was quiet, and Georgia was certain that it was her bedtime. She went to sleep feeling a little better and dared to consider it was because she knew that Jaz was going to be over tomorrow.

-8-8-8-8-

Georgia took a deep breath to get herself together as she heard the doorbell ringing. She rubbed her face and then marched toward the door, hoping that she appeared normal. As she opened the door and Jaz's usual smile dropped, she knew that she did not look normal at all.

"What happened? What's wrong?" Jaz inquired in a gentle tone as she stepped into the house.

Georgia shook her head. "I'll tell you later. Let's get you those brownies first, okay?"

Jaz nodded, craving the brownies almost as much as she needed to know what was wrong with Georgia. So, she would snack first and then find out what was causing her good friend such grief. The brownies were waiting in the kitchen and Jaz inhaled three of them along with a glass of milk while keeping an eye on Georgia.

Georgia did her best not to squirm, very aware that Jaz was watching her. She had awoken feeling good about the day, happy that Jaz would be coming over. Unfortunately, her joy was short lived because Allen arose not too long after she did. The morning had been loaded with drama.

"You ready yet?" Jaz asked as she finished her milk.

Georgia shook her head and then led Jaz into the living room. She put on one of the movies that she had picked. She hoped that she and Jaz would be able to watch more than one. She could use an escape for the moment, not wanting to think about the argument that she had with Allen.

"Oh, I've seen this one a long time ago. It's a really good movie," Jaz said. It was also an odd pick for Georgia. They usually watched comedies together or old movies, but the one they were watching now was current and pretty much a "feel good" film.

The younger woman tried to dismiss it and focus on the movie. Georgia was silent, but through out the movie, she moved a lot. Eventually, she was leaning on Jaz, almost clinging to her. Jaz felt like if Georgia could, she would have sucked out whatever glee and security she had in her. Not in a negative way, but for Georgia, it would somehow cure her of whatever was bothering her.

"Hey…" Jaz said.

"Shhh…" Georgia gently put her finger to Jaz's lip. "I like this part."

Jaz shrugged and decided to just go with the flow. It felt fantastic to have Georgia pressed against her and her arm moved around Georgia's shoulders without a thought. Georgia did not seem to be bothered by that and curled deeper into Jaz's body. Jaz held her tightly as if she was trying to will Georgia to feel better.

The movie continued and neither of them moved. On occasion, Jaz rubbed Georgia's shoulder to help her relax. Georgia began drawing circles on Jaz's bare arm, almost making her purr. Jaz glanced down and saw that Georgia probably was not even aware that she was doing anything as she seemed totally focused on the movie.

Jaz relaxed and focused on the movie too, but more and more she glanced down at Georgia. Whenever the older woman moved against her, Jaz had to look down, only seeing Georgia watching the movie. Thoughts were starting to dance through Jaz's mind that she tried her best to shake away, mostly involving how great Georgia felt when she moved against her and how much she enjoyed Georgia lightly drawing imaginary lines on her arm. Swallowing hard, she tried to focus on the movie and not do anything stupid.

Unfortunately, Jaz lived her life by doing stupid things, even when she tried to fight the impulses. Everything was just so perfect that she moved on automatic, leaning down as Georgia's lips slightly parted, mostly due to anticipation of the next part of the movie. Jaz licked her own lips as she continued on her downward spiral. In the back of her mind, she swore that her next move was about to be so sweet.

When she got close enough, Georgia noticed her and yelped in surprise. She was about to pull back, but she was not fast enough. Jaz's mouth was on Georgia's and placing a soft kiss to Georgia's lips. Oh, yeah, definitely sweet, Jaz decided as she tasted the wonder that was Georgia's mouth. And making things so much sweeter, Georgia kissed her back!

Jaz pulled Georgia a little closer since her arm was around the smaller woman. Georgia actually leaned in and their lips moved against each other for the briefest of moments. And then, suddenly, Georgia gasped and retreated. Jaz let her go and pulled back too. She gulped, hoping that Georgia was not too furious of her.

"Um…" Georgia tried to speak, but she could not. She put her hand over her mouth, not sure what to say. Her eyes began to fill with tears.

Jaz bit her lip. "Please don't cry, Georgie," she begged and she reached out, wanting to comfort her friend.

Georgia reeled back, almost throwing herself off of the sofa. Jaz felt like her chest was going to implode, thinking that she saw horror in Georgia's eyes. Jaz used all of her self-control to avoid busting into tears herself.

"I should go, right?" Jaz guessed, her voice sounding like a shadow of its usual self. She prayed for a "no," but was all too aware that would not be the response.

"Please," she squeaked as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Jaz did not argue and quietly left the house, feeling like it was probably the right thing to do. Georgia did not remove her hand from her mouth. Underneath her hand, though, she licked her lips.

"Wow…" Georgia muttered in disbelief.

-8-8-8-8-

12: Cloudy

"Dumb, dumb, dumb!" Jaz screamed as she slammed her head into the steering wheel of her small car. By the time she was done, she had a headache, more due to her emotional trouble than her careless abuse. "Why the fuck did I do that?!" she screamed. The silence of the car was her only answer.

Yes, she knew that she had a problem with controlling her impulses sometimes, but usually it just led to her befriending a stranger or doing benign actions. It never led her to actually kiss someone without permission! A friend especially! Even thinking about it made her feel like she had committed a sin, invading someone's space, and taking from the friend. Taking from Georgia.

"Shit! What the fuck was I thinking? Well, obviously, I wasn't thinking! Georgie is my friend! Friend! Since when do I fucking kiss friends?!" Jaz hollered, pulling at her hair, not caring that she would look utterly insane to anyone who walked by. She was parked around the corner from her job, needing to go there in about an hour, but she was not up to going home at the moment.

Yes, said friend was attractive in so many ways, but that did not excuse the fact that she did not kiss friends! She did not kiss anyone without her consent. Although, she had to admit that Georgia gave some assent when she kissed back. But, Jaz figured that was probably a moment of sheer insanity or muscle reflex since Georgia was undoubtedly accustomed to kissing back if her husband kissed her. The response was probably so short because Georgia quickly realized that she was not kissing her husband.

"Her stupid husband, who isn't even smart enough to spend time with her. But, then again, I doubt he's stupid enough to make her cry like I did. Fuck!" Her head met with the steering wheel yet again.

Those tear-filled brown eyes would haunt her forever; Jaz was all too sure of that. She might never sleep again because she would see Georgia's crying face whenever she closed her eyes. She would feel like a jackass for the rest of eternity thanks to her mental slip.

"But, damn, what a slip. Her lips were so soft and her mouth was so sweet. Her body against mine… I can only wonder what the hell her tongue would've felt like against mine, her mouth moving with mine, her wanting me as much as I want her…" Jaz said and then she realized her words. "I want her…? NO! Georgie is married and straight and married! And STRAIGHT! Shit, I am so goddamn fucked!"

Jaz would bet her life that she had ruined her friendship with Georgia. She had not too long ago swore that just because she was a lesbian did not mean she wanted Georgia in a sexual way and now she was kissing her. Kissing her at a moment in her life when she seemed to be depressed or at least upset over something.

"Goddamn it! I'm a fucking predator too!" Jaz shuddered at the word. She was not sure what kissing her upset, straight, married friend could lead to, but her mind was going all over the place from taking advantage of all adult women to prowling around places for straight, married women to ruin them.

Her head met the steering wheel again before she just rested her head there, wanting to gather herself. Moving her hands, she gripped the wheel and wrung it in her hands. Taking a few breaths, she thought she had herself under control until she realized that she was crying.

"I don't wanna lose Georgie…" she whimpered. She truly enjoyed Georgia's company and did not want Georgia's last memory of her to be seen as a pervert.

Taking a deep breath, she began to realize how much her chest was hurting. At first she assumed it was emotional pain, but it was her asthma. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her inhaler and took a couple of puffs, figuring no one would like it if she died in her car. She definitely would not like it.

"Why did things have to go this way? Why did I do that?" Jaz pondered, but she never did come up with a logical answer.

-8-8-8-8-

Georgia was still sitting on the couch, even though Jaz had left a couple of hours ago and she should have probably gotten up to do something a long time ago. But, her mind was occupied completely with the fact that Jaz had kissed her. Well, there was more to it than just the kiss, but her reaction.

Yes, she freaked out when it happened. She pushed Jaz away and cried. Hell, she even felt like crying now and freaking out some more, but it was not the same as before. Before, she had been almost shocked and scared of Jaz, but now her mind was focused on the feel of the kiss.

She wanted to be disgusted over it and truly believed that she should, but she knew that she was not. The kiss was so gentle and soft. She had never been kissed like that in her life and never felt so good after a kiss. It was unnerving that such a simple peck from a woman could feel so wonderful.

"A woman… Not just any woman, but Jazzy! What the hell does that mean? I'm straight and I love Allen! I am devoted to my husband, completely. Jazzy is just my friend. Only my friend and a woman, so what the hell does any of this mean?" Georgia lamented, tears pouring down her face again.

The pale woman was confused to the point of having a headache. Nothing that happened made sense. She had enjoyed a kiss with a friend, her female friend.

"Does that mean I'm gay? Does that mean I don't love my husband? Does that mean I'm actually attracted to someone six years younger than I am, who couldn't even legally drink and still lives at home with her mom and dad?" Georgia asked herself. The only answer she could come up with was that she did not know.

Making matters worse, she also did not know where to turn for answers. It was not like she could talk about the problem with any of her friends… except maybe Jaz and right now Jaz was the last person she wanted to see. In fact, she might never want to see Jaz again.

"I don't need this kind of insanity in my life. Everything was fine until Jazzy came along. Now, I feel lonelier than ever whenever she's not around and I'm all confused because of her. I wish I never met her!" Georgia declared.

Of course, she knew that was a lie. She now could not imagine her life without Jaz and even continuously went behind her husband's back to spend time with Jaz. Jaz was possibly the most important person in her life. But, that doesn't mean I'm attracted to her or anything, right? I'm not gay!

She had never been attracted to women and just because she enjoyed that small kiss with Jaz did not mean she was attracted to women, she tried to assure herself. Although, she was not sure if that was how it worked. She never had to deal with the idea that she might not be heterosexual. In fact, up until that kiss, she had never considered being anything but straight. To her, being attracted to men was a given, like being a woman or being half-Chinese and half-white. Something that was there and she did not think about… until now anyway.

"I am straight. I'm married. I love my husband. I love my husband. I love my husband," Georgia chanted, rocking back and forth on the sofa, seeming to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

To avoid having a complete mental malfunction in the living room, Georgia got up and moved on autopilot, doing normal things around the house. She cleaned the kitchen, even though it did not need it. She put away the brownies she made for Jaz without thinking on why they were sitting on the counter. She vacuumed the carpet and then swept and mopped the tile floors. By the time Allen came in, she had a large meal cooking.

"What's all this about?" Allen wondered aloud as he came up behind Georgia and tugged her toward him.

"I just thought we'd have a nice dinner," Georgia replied. Well, if she were thinking at all, that would have been the thought, but most of the meal was made with her mind a hundred miles away.

"Oh, that is nice. It'll be good to have a homemade meal before I go out on the road again," he informed her.

"You're leaving again?" Georgia tried to keep the disappointment out of her voice. Now was not a good time for him to leave, not when she was questioning her own sexuality and her relationship with not just Jaz, but her husband as well.

"Yeah, I'm going to head south again. There are a few businesses that called me back and sounded really interested in the software," he explained.

"Are you sure you have to go?" she asked in a small voice.

Allen's forehead wrinkled as he turned Georgia around. "What's wrong, Georgia? You know I have to go. I need to get this software circulating and get this business off the ground," he pointed out.

"I wish you would stay a little longer."

He gave a look as if declaring how cute she was and then leaned down to kiss her. The act did not make her feel any better and she tensed a bit, but he did not seem to notice as he continued on with the kiss. His mouth against hers felt… lacking. It was like a touch, nothing more. He might as well have patted her on the back. There was nothing emotional or intimate about his kiss. She wondered if his kisses had always been like that, but tried her best to dismiss the idea as he pulled away.

"Let's just enjoy tonight," he said and Georgia nodded, not sure what else to do.

Georgia was fairly quiet that night, but Allen did not comment on it at all. He filled the air with enough of his own musings, which she did not pay much mind too. Her thoughts were stuck on the fact that Allen's kiss was nothing like the simple kiss she shared with Jaz. It only made her further think that she might actually be gay and just never knew, which seemed utterly absurd to her. She had gone her whole life being attracted to men. She had never given women a thought beyond being friends. So, she could not be gay, she reasoned. But, if that was the case, why had she liked Jaz's kiss more than her own husband's?

Georgia could not answer any of her questions, even after thinking on them for a couple of days. She was too nervous and scared to call the one person that she thought could explain some of it to her-Jaz. In a brief moment of insanity, she had even considered that Jaz "gave" her homosexuality. She knew that she could not and probably should not talk to Jaz until she could at least think in clear, rational lines for more than ten minutes without some utterly ridiculous idea clouding her mind.

Jaz did not have the same plans, having called Georgia a couple of times already. Georgia had not answered, but when she heard her cell phone going off again, she grabbed it. It was not surprising that it was Jaz again. She sighed and decided to answer. She needed to talk to someone before going out of her mind.

"Hello," Georgia mumbled.

"Hey, Georgie…" Jaz greeted her, sounding rather dejected.

Georgia was not sure what to say, so she settled on just about the lamest thing that came to mind. "Hey."

"Um… are you… not talking to me?" Jaz inquired.

"What? Why would you even ask that?" Georgia countered. That sounded fairly immature, even though she had already done it once before. But, then again, she was angry then and she felt it was better to say nothing than to say something mean.

"Cuz… I called… and you didn't answer…" Jaz answered like a frightened little girl. Her voice was bordering on insecure, which Georgia was not used to from the almost overconfident artist.

"I'm sorry. I've just been thinking. Jazzy, I'm so puzzled and I wasn't sure if I should talk to you yet. I mean, I am just so… bewildered." Georgia's free hand then pressed against her forehead, as if that would somehow set everything straight again.

"Bewildered? What's confusing? Because of the kiss?" Jaz asked, voice trembling ever so slightly on the tail end of that question. Her usual sangfroid seemed so lost, mostly because she was certain that she had royally screwed up and needed to make things better somehow.

"Yes."

"Georgie, don't think about the kiss. I'm sorry I did that. You know sometimes I do stupid stuff! I'm just really impulsive. Usually, it works out well, but then sometimes I blunder. I totally goofed with you! I don't know what came over me, but I am so sorry! That was totally out of line and completely stupid!"

"Jazzy, can you stop berating yourself for a second?" Georgia requested.

"Oh, sorry. I'm just really sorry about that. I totally screwed up-" The self-scolding was immediately cut off.

"Jaz, you're still berating yourself."

The teenager yelped. "Oh, sorry! I just figured I needed to apologize and since you're talking to me, I figured I should get to apologizing first."

"Well, you've apologized plenty enough," Georgia hoped to assure her friend. "But… um… Jaz… do you think you could come over?"

"Come over? You want me to come over? Are you sure?" Jaz sounded bemused and suspicious at the same time.

"Yes. I need to talk and I need it to be face to face."

"Uh… okay. I'll be there in a little while," Jaz replied.

"Thank you."

The call was disconnected and Jaz arrived shortly afterward. Georgia had trouble looking Jaz in the eye, but then again, Jaz seemed very interested in anything over Georgia. They did not even touch when Jaz came through the door.

"Um… so, how have you been, Georgie?" Jaz inquired, shoving her hands into her pockets. She was not even sure if she should take off her jacket.

"Confused," Georgia answered honestly.

Jaz nodded. "Look, again, I am so sorry for what I did. I don't know what came over me! I don't make it a habit to kiss my friends… or any woman who doesn't want me to!" she explained, clearly panicking.

"Jaz, calm down before you work yourself into an asthma attack, please!" Georgia requested, holding her hands up to signal that Jaz needed to stop.

The tall teen nodded again. She did need to calm down, she knew that. Over the past couple of days, she had worked herself into several close calls. Thankfully, she carried her inhaler religiously.

"I really am sorry, Georgie. I really don't know what came over me. Please, stay my friend," Jaz begged, her eyes burning with building tears.

"Jazzy, I had no plans on no longer being your friend, especially now that I know just how sorry you are." Georgia wanted to reach out and touch the artist, but she was not sure if that was a good idea right now. She was not sure how Jaz might react to anything unexpected.

"I don't want you to think I'm some lesbian predator or anything. I don't just jump on women, okay?" Jaz insisted.

"I never thought that, Jaz! Well… maybe not never…" Georgia admitted. In some of her darker moments, she did consider that Jaz had just forced that kiss on her and that everything was Jaz's fault. But, she easily conceded that was all bullshit when she was able to get herself together.

Jaz gulped. "You don't think I'm like that, do you?" she asked with that little girl voice of hers.

Georgia realized that she found the "scolded child" voice adorable on Jaz and then she shook that thought away. "I don't think you're like that. I still consider you my friend. I just don't know what to think about other things, but like I said, I'm very confused. That's why I wanted to talk to you in person," she explained.

"Oh…" Jaz replied, even though she had no idea what Georgia meant. "Um… can we sit down and talk?"

"Please," Georgia replied, motioning toward the living room. Jaz walked off and Georgia followed behind her. They sat down on the sofa, choosing opposite ends.

"So… what do we need to talk about?" the taller woman inquired, scratching her head.

"Um… Jaz, when did you figure out you were a lesbian?" Georgia asked, as if totally disregarding the other question. She was trying her best not to tangle her fingers together, but she could not help it. Her hands just seemed to fidget automatically whenever she was out of her comfort zone, which was very often.

Jaz scratched her head again and then rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Uh… around junior high, I guess. While all the other girls went boy crazy, I was thinking more along the lines of the guys and going girl crazy. I didn't get to act on it until high school, though. But, from about sixth grade, I always knew I wanted a girlfriend. Why?"

Georgia again ignored the question asked to her and made her own inquiry. "Have you ever kissed a guy?"

Jaz shrugged. "A couple of times. It was nothing to write home about. I'm sure you know what I mean after kissing me."

Georgia ducked her head. "Um… I don't think I would describe it like that," she admitted, although she was not sure how she could confess such a thing.

Blue eyes went wide. "Oh. Um… It could be different since you know me and we're friends," she reasoned. Of course, that was not a decent excuse. She had kissed a male friend and it remained nothing to write home about.

"Is that it? I wondered why I kissed you back…" Georgia said, glancing down at her fingers. Her hands seemed to be working faster than usual, fingers twiddling against each other. Briefly, she feared her digits would tie themselves into knots.

"Well…" Jaz rubbed the bridge her nose again, as if the action helped her think better, trying to figure out how to explain it away. Georgia was straight, after all, so there had to be some reason for it. "It was probably just an involuntary reaction. I mean, you're often kissed by Allen and you kiss him back, so your body just does it on instinct when you're kissed. I mean, it's not like your body is expecting other people to kiss you, so obviously it's just an instant response. Completely involuntary."

Georgia nodded, as if that made sense, but her fingers did not stop moving. "It doesn't explain everything, though."

"What doesn't it explain?"

"I think I might be gay," Georgia blurted out.

Jaz's eyes went wide again. "Gay?! What the hell makes you think you might be gay? Just because you kissed me back for like half-a-second?" she practically shouted. Georgia gave a short nod and Jaz laughed. "Trust me, it takes a little more than that to turn you into a lesbian. I'm not that good and I'm sure I didn't give you those cooties," the teen remarked.

"I didn't think you did!" Georgia squeaked. "I mean…" She blushed and glanced away. "Okay, it crossed my mind for a second…" she confessed.

Jaz laughed again. "I promise you, Georgie-girl, it doesn't work that way. There are no gay cooties."

"I know. I know. It's just…" Georgia swallowed hard. "… I think I really enjoyed…"

Again, blue eyes looked like they were ready to fall out of Jaz's skull. "You enjoyed it?" her voice actually squeaked there.

"Yes." Georgia's voice was low, but the answer was very clear.

"Um… well, liking one kiss doesn't make you a lesbian," the younger woman tried to assure her friend. "It was probably just a little of your loneliness showing up. I mean, you probably were just thinking of Allen or something."

Georgia nodded, even though she knew that was not the case. She could see that Jaz was just going to sit there and rationalize everything that happened, which she was thankful for. That was much more than she was capable of doing, after all. She appreciated the effort too. Jaz obviously cared about her and her peace of mind. She could not say that about many other people.

"I kept thinking that I might be a lesbian," Georgia confessed, glancing away.

"Don't worry, Georgie-girl. It takes more than one kiss with a lesbian to turn you into a lesbian. Look at it this way, have you ever had romantic feelings for a woman?"

Georgia shook her head. "I'm pretty sure I haven't."

"Have you always wanted to be with men?"

"I am pretty sure that I have."

"Have you ever had any urges to be with a woman?"

"I am pretty sure that I have not."

"Then I don't think you're a lesbian."

Georgia nodded, even though she still was a little conflicted on things. No, she never had romantic feelings for a woman, but she felt something when kissing Jaz. She decided to dismiss all of that, though. If Jaz, a lesbian, told her that she was not a lesbian, she figured that the smart thing to do would be to listen to Jaz. Jaz was the expert on the subject amongst them, after all.

"So… are we all right?" Jaz inquired, glancing down at her hands and then over at Georgia's hands, which she noted were not going a mile-a-minute anymore.

"I like to think we are. I'm still your friend," Georgia answered, figuring that was the right thing to say.

Jaz smiled brightly. "That's great. I'm still your friend too." There was an awkward silence between them, but Jaz thought of the right thing to say. "So, are my brownies still here?" she inquired with another big smile.

Georgia laughed. "They're still here. Let me take your jacket and then I'll get them for you."

Jaz smiled again. Georgia hung up Jaz's jacket and then they went to the kitchen for snacks. After that, they hung out as they always did. Things seemed to be back to normal, which was fine by Jaz. Of course, Georgia still had a few things on her mind, but she kept those to herself.

Eventually, Jaz had to leave for work and Georgia was left alone with her thoughts. Okay, so, she might not be a lesbian just because she enjoyed her kiss with Jaz, but she had enjoyed that kiss with Jaz.

"What does it all mean?" Georgia asked herself. Just like before, she had no answers.

-8-8-8-8-

Jaz had never been more happy to just deliver pizzas. It was not so much doing her job that was making her happy, but what she had learned from Georgia from their time hanging out. Something about knowing that Georgia liked their kiss made her feel light and almost giddy. She tried to shake the feeling away, reminding herself that nothing would ever come of it since Georgia was married and straight, but she could not get rid of the little bliss coursing through her veins.

Her ebullience came through while she was working and helped earn her some big tips. She was surprised that so many people were pleased with receiving their pizzas with a smile. She made a mental note to go to work in a good mood more often.

Jaz went home whistling… well, doing something that could be thought of as whistling. She really did not know how to whistle, but that never stopped her from trying. Her mother heard the noise and the front door open, so she poked her head out of the living room.

"Hey, Jaz, it looks like you have…" Maggie had to pause to remember the expression. "A real pep in your step."

Jaz chuckled. "I don't know if I would call it that."

"No, you definitely look like you've had a good day. Did you go out and meet a girl?" her mother asked with a teasing smile.

Another laugh. "I assure you, Mom, nothing like that happened. I just spent some time with Georgie and then I went to work. I got a bunch of tips at work, though."

"I'll bet you did with a smile like that. It must have been a very good day for you to look so jubilant, though."

"I guess it was the tips. I should be able to get new art supplies now because of them," Jaz explained with a big grin as she realized just how true that was. New markers and color pencils! Yay!

"Oh, I can just imagine your elation," Maggie said, quite serious. She knew how Jaz was when it came to new art supplies. "I continue to wonder where you got this artsy side of you."

Jaz arched an eyebrow. "Do you? Mormor is always the one telling me how I'm just like her with a pencil."

Maggie laughed and shook her head. "Have you seen your grandmother draw? She's the only one that thinks she can. If you're hungry, I made dinner."

"If I'm hungry?" Jaz echoed, forehead wrinkled. "Who are you and what have you done with the mother that knows every detail about me?" she jokingly demanded.

"Well, I assume I am her since I know that attitude didn't come from great tips," Maggie commented with a devilish smirk.

Jaz yelped and quickly made her way to the kitchen, not wanting to clue her mother in on anything else that happened in her day. After eating her fill of dinner, she decided to go take a shower. As she went to the bathroom, she poked her head into the living room to check on her mother. Maggie was sitting on the couch with a pile of papers on the coffee table.

"You need any help grading tests, Ma?" Jaz asked. She often helped her mother grade tests that could not be done on scan-trons.

"No, these are written papers, so I don't think you'll be much help here. Thanks for the offer, though," Maggie answered.

"I guess you're right." Jaz was about to walk off, but her mother stopped her.

"You know, you've been so petulant the last couple of days and then you come in after hanging out with Georgia totally fine," Maggie noted.

Jaz arched an eyebrow. "Is that a problem?"

"Of course not. I'm always happy when you're happy. I was just making an observation. The curse of a scientist, I suppose." Maggie shrugged.

"Ma, it's nothing," Jaz promised, knowing her mother was going beyond "making an observation."

"I didn't say it was anything. It was just an observation that assumes that your happiness is linked to Georgia is all. Am I wrong?"

Jaz glanced at her feet. "Well, no, I suppose you're not wrong. But, it's nothing. I just had fun with Georgie."

"I'm sure you did. You typically do have a good time with her. With most of your friends."

"Then why make an observation about it?" Jaz asked curiously.

"I don't know. I suppose it comes from the fact that not too long ago you were so sullen that you had a dark cloud over your head and now you're practically beaming. This isn't something that is typical."

Jaz nodded. "Me being sullen, as you put it, isn't typical."

"No, it isn't. But, then again, you were sullen after a night with Georgia. This woman draws out odd reactions from you," Maggie commented.

Jaz decided not to respond to that observation. She felt like somehow she was being baited. Not going for the bait, she went to take her shower. She could have sworn she heard her mother snickering as she walked off. Why the hell do I feel like a fish all of a sudden?

-8-8-8-8-

Georgia sighed as she tried to figure out what was going on with her emotions. She had enjoyed that kiss with Jaz. There was no doubt about that, but there was more to it than that. She liked being around Jaz in a way that she thought might be beyond friendship. She truly felt like she might be a lesbian.

"I feel things for Jaz… But, she did say that kissing her and enjoying it did not make me a lesbian. After all, she's kissed men before and she's gay. I've never felt like this for women. But, then again, I've never felt like this point blank. There's something about her that's entirely different from anyone else to me and I don't know how to classify her," Georgia grumbled to herself.

So, she conceded the idea that maybe she was not a lesbian. It was possible that she did not have romantic feelings for Jaz at all. She had feelings and she did not know what they were. She just knew that she thoroughly enjoyed being around Jaz. There was something about the way Jaz treated her that made her utterly blissful. She was always happy when Jaz called her and felt even better when Jaz came around. Then, there was the icing on the cake, she liked it when Jaz kissed her.

"What does it all mean?" she wondered.

She was not sure what it all meant. She thought that she knew, but then again, she thought that she was probably wrong. She decided to settle on being wrong. She was straight and happily married to Allen.

So, Georgia decided to cease thinking about all of those baffling feelings. She just focused her energy on spending time with her friends and trying not to get into arguments with her husband. The former was much easier to achieve than the latter. Allen liked to find fault and problems in many aspects of her life. But, Jaz always made things better.

-8-8-8-8-

Georgia giggled as she moved around Jaz in the kitchen of her home. Jaz was sitting at the island, watching her, like a patient child, waiting for hot, fresh cookies. While the cookies were in the oven, Georgia was gathering items to make cupcakes. She wanted to give Jaz some to take home because they were a big hit in the Hall household apparently.

"Hey, Georgie," Jaz said as Georgia slid by her another time. She was trying to ignore how much she liked to feel the press of her friend's breasts or butt as she went by.

"Yes?" Georgia replied, mixing the ingredients together.

"You know you have flour on your nose, right?" Jaz then grinned mischievously.

"I do not!" Georgia then made an attempt to look at her nose. The action caused her young companion to burst out laughing.

"I hope your face doesn't stay like that!" Jaz pointed to her friend.

"Like what?"

"You were just crossing your eyes."

"I was not!" Georgia objected and she took a gentle swat at Jaz, hitting her in the shoulder.

"Was too!" Jaz then reached out and rubbed the tip of her friend's nose.

Georgia giggled again; she had been giggling plenty during the day. Jaz took it a step further and pretended to wipe the flour on Georgia's cheek. The action only got more giggles out of Georgia. The artist laughed too, enjoying the gleeful sound coming from her friend.

"I'm never going to get these cupcakes done if you're going to keep playing around," Georgia stated, trying her best to sound scolding, but it was hard to do when she was grinning.

"I'm playing around? I'm not the one with flour on her nose!" Jaz replied with a smile.

"No, but you're the one trying to spread the flour all over the place!" Georgia commented.

The pair was interrupted as they heard the front door open. Georgia gasped and Jaz turned to her friend with wide eyes. It was clear that Jaz wanted to know if it was all right that she was at the house, but it was clear from Georgia's expression that it was not okay for her to be there.

"Georgia, whose car is that in front of the house?" Allen called out.

"No, 'hi, honey, I'm home' or nothing," Jaz grumbled to herself, shaking her head and frowning.

"Jazzy," Georgia said, sort of pleading with her friend to not start anything.

"What the hell are you baking yet again?" Allen huffed as he came to the kitchen entrance. He was already frowning, but his entire face hardened when he laid eyes on Jaz.

Jaz had the nerve to wave. "Hey, Al, how's it going?" she asked with a cheerful smile. All of that combined to get her a reprimanding tap to the elbow from Georgia.

"What is she doing in here?' Allen demanded to know, glaring at Georgia and directing the question to her.

"Calm down. Don't get your panties in a twist. I'm just here to pick up some baked goodies and I'll be out of your hair," Jaz informed him, hoping to calm him down some.

Allen growled and then stormed out of the kitchen, stomping his way upstairs. Jaz rolled her eyes to his behavior before turning her attention to Georgia. The pale woman shook her head and sighed.

"Everything okay, Georgie?" Jaz asked.

"As okay as they'll ever be. He's probably cranky because the trip didn't go well. He gets very irrational and irritable when that happens. How about you take the cookies and go home? I'll finish the cupcakes and you can pick them up tomorrow," Georgia proposed.

Jaz thought on it for a moment. She did not like the idea of leaving Georgia in the house with Allen in such a mood, but she really did not have a choice. It was not her house and Georgia was just her friend.

"Call me later if you get a chance, okay?" Jaz said.

"So sweet," Georgia cooed and gave the taller woman a brief hug. "I'll call you later."

Jaz smiled as Georgia pulled the ready cookies from the oven. She grabbed a container to put them in and walked Jaz to the door. The friends exchanged another hug before Georgia passed the cookies to Jaz and Jaz was out the door. Georgia sighed as she heard the car peel off and she turned her focus to the stairs.

"No, I'm not going to run after him anymore. If he has a problem, he knows where to find me," Georgia decided and she marched back into the kitchen to finish her cupcakes.

The pale woman was left baking in peace for almost a half-hour. After that, Allen marched into the kitchen, still wearing his business suit, and just sat there. He stared at Georgia as she continued on with her cakes. He then sighed and snorted as if trying to get her attention, but she ignored him. Her day had been too good, spending so much time with Jaz, that she refused to let him ruin it.

"So, what the hell was she doing here?" Allen finally spoke, sounding beyond acrid and mad at the world.

"She?" Georgia echoed.

"That tall bitch that I told you I didn't want in my house anymore," he snarled.

Georgia gasped. "Why would you call my friend that?"

"She's not your friend! She's using you like everyone fucking does and you're too fucking stupid to see! You're in here baking shit for her and giving her free food! You'll never get rid of her at this rate and then the next thing you know you'll be giving her money! Not to mention, she's probably been walking out of our house with shit anyway.

That's probably why I couldn't find my lucky watch!" he barked, pounding the island counter top with his fist.

"Oh, please. I took your lucky watch to get fixed. You ruined it when you took it in a pool, remember?" she pointed out.

"That's beside the point! You don't know what she could be walking out of here with while you're playing Queen Baker in kitchen!" he shouted.

"She's not stealing anything from us, so stop assuming that she is. She's here to see me and that's all," Georgia countered.

Allen scoffed and rolled his eyes, as if what she was saying was utterly impossible. "Oh, and what the hell is all the baking about then? I'm sure that has nothing to do with it!" He rolled his eyes again.

"You're just angry that I had a friend over."

"That's another thing! What is with you and having people over when I told you I'm not comfortable with that? When the hell did you get so inconsiderate?" he demanded to know, glaring at her.

"I'm inconsiderate? The man who doesn't want any of my friends over here because he doesn't like them thinks I'm inconsiderate?" Brown eyes rolled hard.

"Yes! This is my house! I pay the bills here, so I expect my rules to be followed!"

Georgia frowned and folded her arms over her chest. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know this was only your domain. And what am I, your royal highness? The cook perhaps? The maid? The service girl?" she growled before removing her apron and throwing it at Allen. She then stormed out of the kitchen, done with him and his horrible, mood-killing arguments.

She went upstairs and took a hot shower, figuring that would help relax her. After that, she considered calling Jaz, if only to lift her spirits again, but found Allen in the bedroom waiting for her. He did not appear particularly apologetic, but his features were not as hostile anymore.

"I'm not in the mood to argue any more, Allen," Georgia informed him.

"I'm not trying to argue. Look, it's been a rough few days. I couldn't push my software at all this trip for some reason. I'm just tired," Allen said.

Georgia nodded, even though those words did not sound like an apology. It sounded like an excuse for him to vent all of his frustrations and try to make her feel like she was three inches tall, which was something that he often did. Well, this time around she was not going to give him the satisfaction.

"Then you should get some sleep," she told him and she walked out of the room.

Georgia retreated to what was basically their sitting room. She had books in there that she enjoyed reading and figured she would read for the night… after she called Jaz. She waited a while to make sure Allen had not followed her or would not come and bug her before she made the call. The college student picked up before the phone made it through it's first ring.

"Hey, George, how are things going?" Jaz asked, even though she knew the answer to that one already.

"A lot better now that I've gotten away from Allen. His business trip didn't go as expected," Georgia replied.

"It happens, but that doesn't give him the right to chew you out like I know he did," Jaz argued. She had gotten these types of calls before, learning more about how Allen often treated Georgia when he got home after being away for days on end, doing God-knew-what. She abhored it and that was very clear.

"He's just upset with himself and taking it out on me."

"Well, I'd like to take it out on his ass. You haven't done anything but love him and he's trying to bite your head off before he even says hello?"

Georgia sighed. "I think seeing you here made it worse. He really has this problem with my friends being in the house."

"Yeah, but I'm sure he doesn't mind his friends being in the house. But, that's another strange matter all on its own. So, how long did you argue this time?"

"Not long. He griped and moaned and then I walked out. I really didn't want to hear him after having a great day with you. I wasn't going to let him bring my mood down just because he was unhappy."

"Good move, Georgie-girl," Jaz declared and a smile could be heard in her voice.

Georgia never did get around to reading a book. She stayed on the phone with Jaz, explaining the argument with Allen and also how much his words hurt. He seemed to think her judgment was poor and that no one wanted to be around her without wanting something from her. Jaz assured her that was far from the truth and concluded that Allen was just a miserable man that wanted others to be miserable with him. Georgia did not defend him since it seemed true.

She spent the night on the phone with Jaz. When she started yawning into the mouthpiece, Jaz bid her goodnight and their phone call was ended. Georgia went back to her bedroom to find Allen lying down. When she settled onto the bed, he turned his back to her. That used to offend her and make her feel punished, but had it had not had that effect lately. She ignored him and had a peaceful sleep.

-8-8-8-8-

Jaz watched as Georgia moved closer to her as they lounged on the sofa at Georgia's house. Lately, Georgia had been more touchy with her, not that she was complaining. She figured that they were back to the comfort level of before; before Georgia found out that she had been hiding the fact that she was a lesbian.

Jaz liked closeness, but especially with Georgia. So, when Georgia ended up resting against her as they had a movie marathon, Jaz put her arms around Georgia and accepted the contact. Georgia sighed contently and snuggled in as close as possible. Before long, the television was watching them and they were sleeping soundly against each other. They were shocked awake by a loud scream.

"What the hell is going on here?" Allen hollered at the top of his lungs, glaring down at the two women on the couch. Georgia jumped up as she realized her husband had caught her pretty much sleeping in Jaz's lap.

"Allen, it's not what it looks like!" Georgia declared, not believing that she had to utter that phrase in regards to her sleeping on a woman, but since it was Jaz, things were different.

"I want you out of my house now!" Allen bellowed, pointing a threatening finger at Jaz.

Jaz yawned and waved him off. "All right, all right. I'm going," she muttered, taking her dear, sweet time.

"Get the hell out now, you fucking pervert! I don't know what the fuck your freeloading ass thinks you're doing, but I'm not having it! I don't want your fucking kind in my house, ever!" Allen's face was now turning bright red from his fury and from screaming at the top of his lungs.

"My kind?" Jaz echoed with an arched eyebrow, but he ignored that.

"You think you can come in here and just take advantage of Georgia because she's trusting and doesn't know what you're up to? Well, you can't so get the fuck out of my house now!"

Jaz glanced at Georgia, who appeared ready to burst into tears from embarrassment and fright. Jaz reached out, ready to comfort her friend, but thought the better of it. If he thought she was trying to do something with Georgia just from sleeping on the couch curled up together, she doubted it would help if she caressed Georgia in any way. Georgia actually reached out for her, though.

"You should just go home," Georgia told the younger woman, taking a tan hand in her own for a moment.

Jaz nodded to show that she understood and gave Georgia a tender look, which was enough for the older woman. Jaz showed herself out while Georgia turned to face down the irritate Allen.

"What the fuck was that all about? I come home and find you two cuddling on the fucking couch? That big bitch is probably trying to fuck you! I wouldn't be surprised if she's a fucking carpet-eating dyke!" Allen proclaimed, throwing his arms up as if trying to touch the ceiling.

Georgia was about to inform him that Jaz was a lesbian, but that did not make her a bad person as he seemed to think it did. But, she had a feeling him knowing for a fact that Jaz was a lesbian would only make matters worse, so she kept that information to herself. Instead, she defended Jaz as her friend.

"Calm down! We were just watching a lot of movies and we dozed off during one. It is not that serious," Georgia huffed. Her almond-shaped eyes glared at him, but the stern look did not have any effect on him.

"It is that serious! She was probably fondling you in your damn sleep! You're too fucking trusting, Georgia. You don't know what the hell this woman wants from you!"

"She wants to be my friend!" Georgia shouted, wanting him to get that idea through his skull.

"No, she doesn't! She's like everyone else! She's just using you for whatever sick purposes she has! She's probably already robbed us a bunch of times and you didn't notice because you were too busy being fucking silly and making her goddamn cookies while she was doing it!"

"I am not silly," Georgia growled, frowning at the insult.

"No?" He sounded skeptical and the fact that he reared back in mock-shock did not help. He then arched an eyebrow. "You think all of this baking bullshit isn't silly? Let me tell you something, Georgia, I've been out there in the business world, pounding the pavement and it's hard. This stupid fucking dream you have of owning a bakery is just that-a dream!"

Georgia gasped, too stunned to speak. He had ventured into forbidden territory and trampled all over it. Her dream was to own her own bakery, which had been an ambition since she was a toddler, traveling with her father to his restaurants. She had put it on hold so that Allen could get his business off the ground and now he was calling it stupid and telling her that she would never achieve it. He did not stop there either, especially since she was too dumbfounded to interrupt.

"You let everyone fill your head with all this bullshit about your baking, but all it really is is a stupid fucking hobby that you have and others use to take advantage of you! But, you're too stupid to see that too! You make all of these stupid cakes for people that pretend to be your fucking friends, but you don't get it! They're just using you! They don't like you! No one likes you!"

Allen's rant was ended with a hard slap to his right cheek. His head snapped to the side as his hand came up immediately to cradle the injured area. He glared at Georgia, seemingly in disbelief that she had struck him. Her own eyes were filled with tears and indignation.

"Get out!" Georgia ordered.

"You're going to kick me out of my own house? HA!" he declared, mocking her to make up for the fact that she had seriously hurt his cheek with that hit.

"Fine!"

Georgia bolted for their bedroom, throwing some clothing into a suitcase. She grabbed her purse and cell phone, leaving the house in a huff while Allen watched her go, still holding his cheek. She marched off down the street, determination in her stride and a tornado of emotions in her eyes. To hell with him!

-8-8-8-8-

13: A Greek tragedy

Jaz was home and fretting over leaving Georgia alone with Allen when she thankfully got the phone call that she had been waiting for. "Hey, Georgie, you all right?" she inquired, answering her phone on the first ring.

Georgia sniffled. "Not really. Jazzy, do you think you can come back out tonight?"

"Of course, for you, anything. I'll put my shoes on and be at your house in like thirty minutes."

"No, I'm not at home."

"Not at home?" Jaz echoed in a baffled tone.

"He said so many horrible things to me and I tried to kick him out, but he wouldn't leave," Georgia began crying as she tried to explain.

"Oh, so you left. Tell me where you are and I'll be there as soon as I can."

Georgia quickly said the name of the hotel and Jaz was on the move. She stayed on the line as Georgia mostly wept while again attempting to explain what happened. Jaz really was not getting the story because of all of the crying, but she knew that she was getting all of the gut-wrenching pain. She hurt because Georgia hurt.

Jaz was not sure how she made it to the hotel without crashing considering how angered she was getting as she drove. She was boiling over with rage that Allen would dare harm one of the sweetest women in the world, in her opinion, of course. Making matters worse, Jaz felt like no matter what Allen did, Georgia probably could not properly defend herself because she was just not that sort of person. She clearly forgot how argumentative Georgia once was with her. But, then again, even if she remembered, she knew that the older woman would back down if both parties agreed that the argument was pointless.

Jaz banged her head on the roof of her car as she got out in a bit of a panic, not liking the idea of Georgia staying in a hotel. She never felt good with Georgia being by herself, but her being by herself in a strange place was a bit much for her. She wished that she could do something, but she knew if she brought Georgia home, she would never hear the end of it. Although, she was not sure if Georgia would agree with that in the first place.

"Georgia's probably got a little too much pride to stay with me, even if she needs somewhere to stay," the teen considered.

Jaz barely took in the sight of the hotel, just happy that it was not some dive. In fact, it seemed like a very decent hotel, but it still engendered pain and worry in Jaz. She went to the room that Georgia said she was in and knocked on the door. She could hear someone come to the door on the other side and suspected the person was taking a moment to look through the peep-hole on the door.

"Oh, Jazzy!" Georgia cried, flinging the door open, revealing her tear-stained face.

"Hey, Georgie-girl," Jaz cooed and then her eyes happened to fall to Georgia's hand, noticing something strange. "George, you're drinking?"

"Huh?" Georgia made a perplexed face and then looked down at her glass. "This is my first one."

"Hmm…" Jaz took the glass. "Let's try to stay sober for a while, so you can explain what happened and then you can drink all of the expensive hotel liquor that you want to."

"Will you hold me while I do?" the pale woman inquired in a small voice.

"Of course I will. Now, tell me what happened."

Georgia nodded and stepped deeper into the room, followed by Jaz. The tan teen put the drink down before sitting next to Georgia on the bed. As soon as she was close, Georgia threw herself onto Jaz and began bawling her eyes out. Jaz wrapped her up into a protective, tight embrace while gently caressing her shoulder to help make her feel better.

"What happened, Georgie?" Jaz asked in a low tone.

"He was so cruel! I understand that he was angry because his last few business trips weren't productive, but he was still so cruel! He called me stupid and mocked my dream to own a bakery! He even said no one liked me and all my friends just wanted to use me!" Georgia wailed, one hand clutching Jaz's bicep.

"Oh, Georgie, you know that's not true. I more than like spending time with you and I'm sure your other friends do too. You're a wonderful person and I'm sure everyone delights in being around you just like me," Jaz hoped to assure her friend.

"What if he's right? My other friends are always asking me for things…" Georgia whimpered as she trailed off and clung to the taller woman just a little tighter.

Jaz frowned for a moment, angry that Allen would actually prey on Georgia's insecurities during a little argument. "Hey, he is not right! You're a wonderful person, Georgie-girl! There's nothing in the world wrong with you and your friends love you to death! He sounds like he's just being bitter and mad at the world and taking his frustration out on you."

"I know he is, but what if he really means those things? What if he believes those things that he said?" Georgia's fingers were about to start up, twiddling as they often did, but Jaz put her hand over Georgia's just when her fingers came together.

"Then he's an ass! A dumb-ass at that! You're a wonderful, talented, beautiful woman and all of your friends probably adore you as much as I do! I don't know what would make him lie to you besides the fact that he's a fucking asshole, but I promise you that you are liked by everyone who is graced with your presence," Jaz declared with fire in her tone and passion in her eyes.

Georgia pulled away a little, wanting to look into Jaz's eyes. She could see the conviction there. Jaz truly believed in her. Jaz honestly adored her like she said. Georgia felt more tears in her eyes, but it was not from sorrow or hurt. It was like something inside of her turned on, made her feel whole, and brought tears with it.

"Jazzy…" Georgia breathed the nickname.

"Yes?" Jaz asked.

"I adore you too," Georgia confessed and before Jaz had time to contemplate what that meant, soft lips were on hers.

Jaz yelped in surprise, but quickly surrendered to the feeling, loving Georgia's lips against hers. Her mind tried to point out how ignoble her actions were, but she just could not stop. Georgia was just too tempting and she gave in to the sweet feeling all too easily.

Jaz was not the only one giving into her baser instincts. Now that Georgia was kissing Jaz for the second time, she realized just how much she enjoyed this action with Jaz. There was a softness, a tenderness to Jaz that Georgia was not used to in a partner, but she definitely liked it. She never realized how beautiful and beatific a kiss could be until now.

Once they both accepted that they were not going to pull away, the kiss transformed into raw passionate. Their mouths opened and their tongues met. Even then, their tongues eagerly caressed each other more than anything else, which was something Georgia was not accustomed to. Georgia was used to feeling like she was going to be devoured, as if Allen was trying to eat her face. But, not with Jaz.

Kissing Jaz was moving, both emotionally and spiritually, almost as if it transcended all worldly delight. It also remained gentle through out the whole experience. Georgia ended up moving and practically sitting in Jaz's lap. The younger woman's hands moved of their own accord, going from Georgia's back to her front. Georgia moaned into Jaz's mouth as she felt strong hands massaging her breasts. Even a move that Georgia would have thought perverse for someone else was gentle and highly emotive when done by Jaz.

As the kissing and touching continued, the older woman again compared it to her husband. Allen never kneaded her breasts with such care and made it feel something like a soft pleasure. Often, he just groped her, squeezed her, or even bit her. Sometimes, it hurt and she would cry out, but it would take many protests for him to cease the harsh treatment of her body. It was not something that he did all of the time, but he did it and it stood out in her mind at the moment. The way that Jaz touched her was infinitely better than Allen and they had barely done anything yet.

As they pulled away for air, Jaz leveled a glazed look down at Georgia. "Is this all right?" the artist whispered, doubting that she would be able to stop her hands if it was not all right. Damn it, Georgia felt so good!

"Please," Georgia replied in a breathy tone. "Please, touch me."

Jaz groaned at the words, sure that she would not be able to stop herself now. Georgia further encouraged her by going in for another kiss, seemingly deeper than the first one. As soon as Jaz felt the lips on her own, her hands started moving, kneading the cushioned flesh of Georgia's chest.

Georgia was the one that progressed things further, retreating to the head of the bed. Jaz was so entranced that she followed without even realizing it, just wanting to keep kissing and touching. Georgia wrapped her arms around Jaz's neck, just in case the younger woman decided to make her escape. But, it was clear that Jaz was not thinking beyond the lips against her own and the feel of the body she was invited to touch.

Jaz's mind was swimming in sensation and disbelief. She had dreamed of being with Georgia, but she never thought something like this would happen in real life. She was about to question her sanity when Georgia arched against her and caused her to groan loudly. Okay, she concluded, this was no dream. Nothing ever felt that good in a dream.

Jaz pulled away a little. "Georgia…" She kissed the older woman's lips again before pulling away to continue. "I don't think…" Another kiss, deeper than before. "I can stop…" she finally confessed.

"Then don't," Georgia implored her, rubbing against Jaz's back, feeling the tall woman's muscles move in response to her attention.

Jaz groaned, but had to follow that command. It was all just too much. Diving in, she started another heated kiss, feeling Georgia moan into her mouth and she swallowed it down like it was delicious food. Georgia writhed underneath her as she plundered Georgia's mouth; the smaller woman did her best to give as good as she got.

Before long, Jaz's hands were moving, going under Georgia's shirt to discover how her skin felt. Jaz hissed in delight when she felt the flat plane of Georgia's abdomen. Going onward and upward, she almost collapsed onto Georgia when she felt the lace of her bra and then the swells of her breasts.

Georgia cried out and arched her back again, seeking to become friendlier with Jaz's hands. The touch was so adoring and amorous, like nothing Georgia had experienced before. The simple movement made it seem like Jaz was revering her. Grabbing handfuls of Jaz's shirt, she tried to pull the artist closer to her, feeling as if she desired for them to become one entity, infinitely close.

Jaz ended their kiss, needing to tell Georgia what she intended to do next. "I'm going to unbutton your shirt, okay?" she informed the usually shy woman. She was shocked to see how flushed Georgia was and how eagerly she nodded to answer the question.

The college student made short work of Georgia's shirt and began kissing her way to newly exposed flesh. Georgia tried to keep her eyes open, to watch what Jaz did, but when Jaz began lightly nipping at her neck, her eyes slid close of their own accord. They shot open again, though, when Jaz's hands started molding her breasts. The older woman concluded that Allen had been doing something very wrong all of the years that he touched her cleavage.

Georgia let out a yelp of pure pleasure as she felt Jaz's hands cupping and shaping her breasts. Jaz did not seem to hear, completely enthralled with her task. Her kisses floated down Georgia's neck and then her mouth ended up with her hands. Georgia was not sure what to expect because so far the encounter was nothing like any of her other sexual experiences.

Jaz nibbled on each of Georgia's breasts, not spending too much time on either and happily switching between. Georgia was certain that she was going to melt from the ministrations; a part of her was melting anyway. She was used to her breasts being treated a bit more roughly; Allen tended to bite more than nibble.

"Oh, god," Georgia moaned as Jaz's tongue lightly flicked her right nipple.

"Oh, that's nothing," Jaz muttered. After all, Georgia was still wearing her bra. The younger woman quickly rectified that problem.

Georgia felt like she might jump out of her skin when she felt Jaz's tongue against her now naked nipple. She shuddered and moaned loudly as Jaz's tongue and fingers toyed with two particularly sensitive areas of her body. She clutched onto Jaz's shoulders to make sure Jaz did not move, but also to make sure she did not fly off of the bed.

"More…" Georgia found herself pleading. "More…" It quickly became a chant.

Jaz groaned and the noise rumbled against Georgia's breast. Soon Jaz was sliding down Georgia's quivering body and Georgia was still clinging to her, so she basically took Jaz's shirt as the artist moved. Jaz noticed that she was losing her top, so she sat up to fling the tee-shirt away. Without missing a beat, she was back on Georgia, grabbing for her pants and pulling them down. Georgia did not realize that her panties had gone with her pants until she felt Jaz caressing her naked thighs.

Georgia let loose a long, throaty moan. "Jazzy, off," she implored, reaching for Jaz's pants.

Jaz growled. "You're getting bossy," she stated and then shot Georgia a feral grin. "I like you bossy. You want 'em off, you get 'em off," she replied.

The taller woman was surprised when Georgia's hands went right to her waist, unbuttoning her jeans. Georgia was able to push her pants and underwear to her hips and after that Jaz took over. A whimper escaped Georgia as Jaz had to leave the bed for a moment to get out of her pants completely, but Georgia was not alone for long.

Jaz leaned her nude body against Georgia's naked form and a loud, almost guttural moan echoed through the room. Neither of them was sure who made the sound and they did not care. Jaz went in for another deep kiss to Georgia's mouth, which Georgia returned with just as much fervor. As the kiss progressed, Jaz parted Georgia's legs by pressing her thigh against Georgia's center. Georgia shuddered at the sensation.

"I'm gonna make you feel so good, baby," Jaz vowed with verve lacing her voice.

Georgia only nodded, her voice stuck in her throat. If she could have replied, she would have assured Jaz that she already made her feel so good. But, then she learned what Jaz was talking about. She gasped, feeling Jaz's fingers exploring her most intimate area.

"Oh, god," Georgia muttered, arms wrapping themselves around Jaz once more, anchoring herself to artist.

Jaz smiled and lightly traced the new treasure underneath her fingertips. "You want this so badly. I can feel it and I love it," she commented.

Georgia nodded again, bucking against the teasing digits. Jaz was tempted to make the older woman beg a little, but she did not want to spoil her moment. The last thing she needed was for everything to be ceased now. So, she upped the ante and caused Georgia to practically convulse as she touched the sweetest spot of all.

"Right there," Georgia groaned, moving to try to press herself against Jaz's hand even more.

"Right there? But, what about here?" Jaz asked, slipping a finger inside. A soft moan escaped her as she felt the fiery, soft passion that was Georgia.

Georgia cried out. "There too!" Her fingers dug into the tan flesh hovering over her.

Jaz smiled again before leaning down to kiss Georgia's throat as she built a rhythm, easily sliding two fingers into her lover. She marveled at how responsive Georgia was and how she felt like she was almost making a pilgrimage. Her thumb continued massaging Georgia's sweet spot, revering the older woman. Georgia felt honored beyond belief as Jaz sought out her very soul, or so it felt like anyway.

The moaned, cries, and the way Georgia clung to her was getting to be too much for Jaz, who felt exalted in her own way. She could not imagine Georgia clutching anyone in the way that Georgia was holding onto her. Before long, Jaz was rubbing herself on Georgia's thigh and building her own wave of ecstasy while making sure Georgia was still riding high. They both lost themselves in the sensation, unable to believe how fantastic the whole session was.

"You feel so good, so sweet, so heavenly," Jaz whispered to her lover and was rewarded with husky whimpers as she delivered sheer bliss to the older woman.

Georgia could not focus and did not know how to response. She thought that her head might fly off of her shoulders as she came closer and closer to the edge. When she crested, she clutched Jaz's back, her nails biting into tan flesh with more fervor than before.

"Oh, god, oh, god, oh, god," Georgia panted the whole time.

Jaz did not seem to notice the scratches, pressing on. Soon, Georgia was scratching Jaz's back as she peaked for a second time. Jaz still did not stop; it was like she was possessed. By the third time, Georgia screamed, scratched Jaz back even more, and then collapsed against the pillows, feeling spent, but not wanting to admit it. That still did not stop Jaz, who finally fell off the edge after bringing Georgia there for a fourth time.

"You're wonderful," Jaz whispered before kissing Georgia's sweat-soaked forehead.

Jaz dropped over to the side, not wanting to crush Georgia with her weight. Georgia curled up against her side as soon as she was settled on a pillow. Unsurprisingly, they both fell asleep within seconds without thinking about what just happened.

-8-8-8-8-

Jaz yawned and woke up, noticing that nothing around her looked familiar. For a moment, she was bemused and thought that she had just had the most amazing dream. After that thought, she realized that there was a weight pressed against her. She glanced down and her eyes almost popped out of her skull.

"Oh, god, no, no, no, no," Jaz muttered to herself, praying that things were not as they seemed. Maybe I'm still asleep or maybe I'm really fucking drunk and that's not Georgie. I'm so drunk that I hooked up with some hottie and I'm hallucinating that she looks like Georgie. Neither sounded very plausible.

Taking a deep breath, Jaz tried to remain calm. She liked to think that nothing happened… they just fell asleep in the same bed… cuddled up… and naked. Perfectly normal, she wished she could assure herself. Of course it was not perfectly normal! She was naked in bed with her MARRIED STRAIGHT FRIEND! There were so many things wrong with that!

"Shit, what the fuck was I thinking? She didn't talk to me after I kissed her like a fucking idiot and now I did this? Shit, she's going to beat my fucking ass!" Jaz hissed, slapping herself in the forehead.

In a moment of stupidity, Jaz considered that she might be able to ease out of bed and sneak out of the room. Of course that would not erase what happened. Maybe Georgia will think it was some weird dream… she had while sleeping naked… The hell is wrong with me?!

"Okay, okay, okay, obviously I took a shit load of stupid pills and I need to get the fuck out of here to salvage whatever-the-hell can still exist between me and Georgie-girl," Jaz decided.

She barely moved when Georgia shifted against her and whined a bit in her sleep. Jaz turned to make sure that the smaller woman was still resting and then she tried to move again. Brown eyes fluttered open as Georgia held onto Jaz just a little tighter.

"Where're you going?" Georgia asked in a low voice, rough with sleep and from screaming earlier.

"Um… Look, Georgie, I am so sorry," Jaz apologized. She was pretty sure that this was the first time in her life that she apologized for giving someone multiple orgasms.

Georgia blinked in confusion. "Sorry?"

"For this! I mean, I should know better! I don't want to lose you as a friend and I do something stupid like this!"

"Jazzy, calm down. You didn't do anything wrong," Georgia tried to assure the obviously freaked out artist.

"I didn't do anything wrong?! I had sex with my married, straight friend! There are so many things wrong with that!" Jaz shouted.

"Jazzy, you're not calming down," Georgia pointed out and began rubbing Jaz's shoulder. She had learned several of Jaz's weak spots from when they snuggled on the sofa, so she figured the shoulder rub would be enough. If not, there was always the tummy rub.

"Of course I'm not calming down!" she hollered and her chest started to tighten up. Okay, maybe I do need to calm down or this is gonna go beyond awkward.

"Do you have your inhaler with you?" Georgia asked, hearing how Jaz's breathing was quickening.

"In my pocket, but I don't need it. Like you said, I need to calm down. I should be fine as long as I remain calm," Jaz said, speaking more to herself than to Georgia. They were both silent for a moment, letting the taller woman mellow out.

"You okay?" Georgia asked, turning to focus on Jaz better, looking her in the eye.

Jaz nodded. "I think so."

"Good. Now, before you start apologizing again, you didn't do anything wrong. I asked for this, begged for it a few times if I remember correctly and I do not regret this," Georgia proclaimed in a strong voice.

"But, you're married… and STRAIGHT!"

Georgia gave her friend a leveled gaze. "Jaz, first of all, you're not being calm like you said. Second, you can't tell me what I am. I don't even know anymore. I've been thinking about it ever since you kissed me."

An eyebrow went up. "You've been thinking it over?"

"I've never been in a position before where being with a woman seemed plausible, but honestly, when you kissed me, it felt beyond wonderful. Divine even. Granted, not many people have kissed me in my life for me to speak of having other magical kisses, but yours was definitely special. Yours is what I expected my first kiss to be like. Ever since then, I've been wondering if maybe the reason that my other kisses haven't been close is because I might be attracted to women," Georgia explained.

"Georgie, I think you might be jumping the gun here. I mean, you're married," Jaz pointed out.

"I know. I know." Georgia sighed. She did not want to think about that at the moment. It seemed like she was married to someone who was very emotionally abusive and she would rather focus on the fact that she was currently with someone who was supportive, kind, and caring. "But, I never explored this side of myself. I never knew it might exist until you came along. Being with you felt right." It was almost frightening how right it felt.

Jaz nodded as if she understood, but she barely had a grip on what was going on. Did that mean that Georgia wanted to be with her? Well, that would be great. She was very attached and attracted to Georgia. She would love for her Georgie to be her girlfriend, but there was one little problem-Allen Blake, Georgia's husband.

Jaz did not want to sound naïve, foolish, or just "young, dumb, and full of come" so to speak, so she did not want to assume that what she and Georgia did meant anything beyond comforting Georgia after a trying night. It would be stupid to assume that anything would happen with them after tonight, she figured. She just hoped that they were still friends.

"So… you're not angry with me?" Jaz inquired, just to be sure.

"No, Jazzy, I am not angry with you. Now, may we go back to sleep? You really wore me out," Georgia commented with an impish smile.

Jaz was conflicted and she really just wanted to go home, maybe bang her head against the wall a few times to cure her of her rampant stupidity. But, she could not pass up the opportunity to cuddle with a naked Georgia! She felt like leaving could have been more idiotic than staying, so she settled down onto her pillow and wrapped her arms around Georgia. They were both sleeping again within seconds.

The pair was taken from their sleep by the sound of a cell phone going off. By the ringtone, Jaz knew it was her mother. Georgia groaned and moved against the taller woman. Jaz hissed from the contact and then moved to find her cell phone.

"No," Georgia muttered, clinging to the younger woman.

"I need to get that. It's my mom," Jaz said.

Georgia whined a bit, but she released Jaz from her grip. The artist climbed out of bed and searched for her pants. She found them by the door and located her phone. She hesitated on answering for a moment, feeling a heavy weight on her shoulders suddenly.

"Hey, Mom," Jaz said.

"Where are you?! I've been calling and calling! And your friends don't know where you are either!" Maggie hollered into the phone. She was definitely more worried than upset, which made Jaz feel guilty. My mother, the worrywart.

"Sorry, Mom, I'm with Georgie," Jaz explained in a low tone. She was a bit embarrassed. How many people got a call from their mother-that they answered!-right after making love to a woman they dreamed about, after all?

"What? This late?" Maggie asked, sounding perplexed.

Jaz checked her watch and grimaced; it was beyond midnight and then some. "Yeah…" she replied, unwilling to explain further. She would like to avoid lying to her mother after undoubtedly worrying the woman half to death by rushing out of the house without saying where she was going and missing numerous calls from her mother too.

"Jaz, you have class tomorrow really early. When do you plan on coming in?" Maggie inquired in a stern tone that told Jaz if her answer was not "right now," she would regret it.

"I'll be in soon. I'm leaving now," Jaz answered.

"Good. Please, don't do this again. Answering a phone call from your poor mother isn't too difficult, after all."

"I know, Ma. I'm sorry. Bye."

Jaz quickly ended the call, figuring the longer her mother held her on the line, the more likely she was to lie eventually. She then turned her attention to Georgia, who was sitting up in bed and staring at her. Jaz scratched the back of her, feeling extremely discomfited and bordering on childish.

"Um… My mom wants me to come home…" Jaz informed the older woman, glancing off to the side as she spoke. She had never had to utter such a phase after being with a woman before… not even when she was in high school. Of course the most embarrassing moment of my whole sex life has to come in front of Georgie! Goddamn it!

"Oh…" Georgia looked away awkwardly.

"I'm so sorry, Georgie. I would stay, but my mom's really worried about me and I got class tomorrow…"

Georgia nodded slowly, but Jaz could see tears gathering in those beautiful cocoa eyes already. Jaz rushed over, still naked as the day she was born, and sat down next to Georgia. Slowly, she pulled Georgia into unsure hug.

"Georgie, you know I would stay with you, but…" Jaz was not sure how to finish that. Her mother would have questions if she stayed, questions that she knew she would have no desire to answer.

"No, no, you should go home. I'll be fine. I'll go back to sleep," Georgia stated, trying her best to sound believable.

"You sure?" She was all too aware of the true answer to that question.

"Yes, I'm sure. Go ahead home," Georgia insisted.

"Okay…" Jaz sounded quite anxious. "… I'll see you later?" she asked hopefully and was given a short nod in return. That did not ease her apprehension in leaving.

The tall woman moved to get dressed and was certain that as she left with no kiss and a little wave from Georgia that she was making the wrong decision. But, she left anyway. All the way home, she wondered when she had become so stupid.

"Jaz, is that you?" Maggie called from the living room as the front door opened.

"Yeah, Ma," Jaz answered, sounding tired and drained. She pretty much dragged her body into the house.

"Oh, god, Jaz! I was going crazy! Your friends think I'm out of my mind! Even Robbie was trying to talk me down!" Maggie cried, coming out to meet Jaz. She stopped in her tracks when she came face to face with her daughter. "Jaz, you look… haggard…" she commented.

Jaz rolled her eyes. "Oh, thanks, Mom. Busting out the big vocab to tell me I look like crap," she remarked, forcing out a teasing smile. The last thing she wanted was for her mother to even suspect that she did anything with Georgia other than their usual hanging out.

"Were you out drinking with Georgia or something?" Maggie guessed.

"Nah, Georgie had an argument with her husband and she just needed someone to be there for her," Jaz replied.

"She didn't have any married lady friends to be there for her?" Maggie inquired with an arched eyebrow.

"Not at this time of night," Jaz remarked.

"Well, you don't need to be out at this time of night either. You have class in the morning. But, it's nice that you were trying to help your friend out," Maggie said.

Jaz smiled a bit. "Thanks, Mom. I'm gonna go to bed now."

The teen started for the stairs, thinking that she was off the hook. Unfortunately, her mother had one more thing to say and it would leave her a little unsettled.

"Married life is rough. You're always trying to turn two lives into one while keeping it two at the same time. There are always rough patches, but if you're earnest, you fight and make it to calmer waters," Maggie informed her daughter.

Jaz hesitated in her step, but decided to keep moving and hope like hell that her mother did not notice. After taking a shower, she collapsed into bed, trying not to think about what happened that night. After all, she had to get up for class in four hours.

-8-8-8-8-

Exiting the shower, Georgia heard her cell phone going off. She rushed over to the nightstand, thinking that it might be Jaz. A frown settled on her face when she saw that it was Allen. She stood there in a towel for a moment, trying to figure out what she should do. She was a little surprised when she found herself reaching for the phone.

"Hello," she answered the call.

"Georgia, thank God you picked up. Where are you?" Allen begged to know.

"What does it matter? No one cares about me, after all," she snapped, paraphrasing his words from last night. She hated to think that he might be right with his opinion about how everyone felt about her. She possibly chased away the one person to care when she slept with Jaz last night.

The idea of ruining her friendship with Jaz caused butterflies to appear in her stomach and she actually felt nauseous over it. The fear of being completely alone in the world made her chest hurt. What am I going to do now?

"Georgia, I am so sorry I said all of that stuff! I've just been so stressed! The business isn't taking off as quickly as planned and my last couple of trips have been fruitless. Not to mention, all of these trips take me away from you and when I saw you on the couch with that girl, I just lost it. I want to be able to cuddle you on the couch!" he proclaimed.

Georgia blinked and was speechless for a few seconds. "Really? You want to cuddle with me on the couch?" She was not sure if he had ever done that with her; at least, not while they were married.

"Of course! You sound so surprised," he commented.

"What you said last night, it makes much of what you say today surprising," she countered.

He made a noise. "I was very cruel last night. I do apologize for that. I was hoping I could take you to breakfast to begin making it up to you."

She was rather tempted to tell him to go to hell, but she swallowed those words down. They did need to talk. She was not sure what she was going to say to him, but she knew that she needed to say something. Plus, he obviously had things to say.

"Where do you want to meet?" she asked.

"Tell me where you are. I'll come get you," he replied.

She thought it over it. Knowing Allen like she did, she was sure there was an angle to why he offered to come pick her up. But, she was honestly too exhausted and bothered to care. She told him where she was and he let her know he would be there in about fifteen minutes. They then ended the call.

Georgia slowly dressed while staring at her phone, trying to will Jaz to call her. Nothing came of that and all too soon Allen was standing in front of her. He had a boyish smile on his face and a large bouquet of red roses in his hands. He presented the flowers to his confused and withdrawn wife.

"You didn't have to buy me flowers," Georgia informed him. It made her feel guilty that he would give her such beautiful things after what he said… and after what she did.

"Beautiful flowers for a beautiful lady," he replied, still smiling.

Georgia was not sure what to say. She was tempted to snap at him, but it was hard to do when he was holding roses. Instead of saying anything, she accepted the flowers.

"Thank you…" Georgia said in a low voice.

"I figured we could go to the club for breakfast. How does that sound?"

Georgia only nodded, shocked by how contrite he was. Collecting her things, she left with her husband. He drove them to his country club. She was surprised that he would want to eat there since if any of their friends were around then they would never be able to have a private conversation. But, then again, most of their friends were at work or taking children to school.

They were silent for while, sitting and pretending to contemplate what they wanted to have for breakfast. She glanced up at him, wondering if she should just tell him about last night. She knew that if she did, she would lose him. She hated to think that he might be all she had left, if she had in fact run off Jaz, but still she could not stay silent, she told herself.

"Georgia, first and foremost, I want to apologize to you again. Everything I said was uncalled for. I was just so angry," he opened up.

"Angry over your business and trips?" she asked.

Allen was quiet for just a moment too long to Georgia. It seemed like there was something else, but she was not quite sure what it was. She dismissed it; she was probably just overtired. Yet, for some reason, she knew that it would continue to stand out in the back of her mind.

"Angry over a lot of things," he admitted, which sounded strange to her ears from some reason.

It was almost as if he could not lie fast enough, so decided against lying, but was still not telling the truth. She could not figure out what there was to lie about, though. Typically, when he claimed that he was upset, it was because of his business not doing as well as he wanted or trips not going right. There seemed to be more to this, though. She did not interject, figuring he might explain what the problem was as he spoke.

"Mostly angry because we aren't where I thought we'd be in life. I always imagined my business would have taken off immediately. The software is sound, after all. It's the best protection out there, so why don't people buy it for their systems?" he wondered aloud with a deep frown.

"I don't know," Georgia replied. She did not know what else to tell him. Honestly, she agreed with him. She knew about his software and thought it was fantastic. People probably were not buying it, though, because it was a new product and people liked to stick with what they knew.

Allen shook his head. "Never mind that. The point is, I was way out of line with what I said to you. I was just out of my mind over this and then coming in and seeing that girl in the house, but anyway, I'm just sorry. I hate when we argue. I can't believe I actually drove you out of the house. Things have never been that bad before," he pointed out, eyes imploring her to believe him. Reaching across the table, he gently took her hand in his.

Georgia thought it over. No, things had been close, but this was definitely the worst. After all, she had actually hit him! Was it Allen's one temper tantrum that brought them to this? She felt like the answer was "no," but she was not sure why. She was not sure what to make of anything.

"Georgia, I love you. I love you more than you could possibly imagine and I wish I could just have you all to myself all the time. I think one of the problems I have is sharing you. So, I suppose that's why I got upset when I saw you with that girl on the couch," Allen continued on.

Georgia wanted to wince every time he referred to Jaz as "that girl." It reminded her that he disliked her and it also reminded her of Jaz's age. Jaz was only nineteen. She had slept with a nineteen-year-old girl.

"But, I suppose I haven't been doing a good job in showing you how much I care," he said, smiling a bit and squeezing her hand. "So, I thought I would start with the flowers and breakfast."

Georgia nodded to show that she was listening. She could not believe what she was hearing, though. He was looking to salvage their relationship? After she had just basically ruined their trust? Oh, how the universe loves a joke!

"I need to start romancing you again, Georgia, like when we were in college," Allen said, drawing circles around the top of her palm with his thumb.

Again, she nodded. The word "college" reminded her of Jaz again. Jaz was a college student. She had her life ahead of her. She had hopes and dreams that were in the future. She would probably move on soon, forgetting all about Georgia. It made sense to Georgia; it happened with her other friends. The thought made her heart pound in her chest and it took everything in her keep tears from rising in her almond-shaped eyes.

"Do you think we can do that? Go back to how it used to be when we were first dating?" he proposed.

"What do you mean?" she asked, trying to remember the better times, way back in the early stages of their relationship.

"We need to be together more, go out, talk all night, things like that." His smile transformed from a normal expression into one full of boyish charm.

Georgia sighed, mostly in disappointment with herself for actually considering his idea. She should just tell him about what happened, but then she thought that it was probably just a one-time thing. After all, she was overwrought and she had all but gotten on her hands and knees, begging Jaz for last night. It would never happen again.

Besides, listening to Allen, it made her think that he honestly wanted them to work. There had been times in the past when she thought all he wanted to do was make her miserable and like he did not want their marriage to last. If he was going to try, she thought that she might be able to make an effort. They might be able to make it, so she could not just give up.

"I think I would like that," she found her mouth saying, even though her brain did not approve.

Allen grinned; there was even a sparkle in his eyes. "Then it's settled. We'll go out on a date tomorrow."

Georgia only stared, even though she knew that she would go with whatever he had planned. She dared to wonder what the hell she was doing, though. Mentally, she insisted that she was trying to save her marriage. A little voice in the back of her head that she tried to drown out, started asking "what about Jaz?" She assured herself that Jaz was only a friend, if that anymore. After all, she might have ruined even that and that would make Allen all she had left too. Why does that depress me? She had no answers for that, so she tried not to think on it and just enjoy her time with her husband. It was hard to do, though.

-8-8-8-8-

14: By any other name

Jaz was hunched over her desk, trying to get some work done, but it was arduous. She was distracted to say the least. She had not heard from Georgia in the past few days. Of course, she had not tried to contact Georgia either. She was not sure what to say. It did not help matters that she was embarrassed by how she had to leave the last time that she saw Georgia. A knock off on her door drew her from her troubled thoughts.

"Yo," she called to whoever was at the door.

"Since when you say 'yo'?" Flint inquired with a teasing grin as he entered. Knocking was a new thing for him. For the first sixteen years of Jaz's life, he used to just walk in her room and it was never a problem. Then one day he almost went blind as he walked into the room when she was in the middle of changing clothes. After that moment, he knocked all the time.

"Since forever," she replied with a smart-aleck smile.

"Whatever. You act like they don't teach you how to speak properly at your fancy college," he taunted her.

"You act like Ma didn't teach you to speak properly. If you talked like that to her, she'd twist your ear off until you said it properly in both English and Greek and tell you that you're not allowed to play with your hoodlum friends anymore," she pointed out with a smile of her own.

He chuckled. "Can't call you a liar on that, which is why I don't speak with Ma like that. It'd make her poor head explode. Now, what're you up here working on?" he inquired, flopping down on her bed since she did not have another chair in her small room. Jaz liked to argue that it was unfair that she got the smaller room when she was the taller sibling. Of course, they had not known she would be the taller one and to that day everyone in the house was certain Flint did something that actually stunted his growth.

"Final papers and shit like that."

"Whoa, since when you say shit?" he remarked with a teasing smile. His eyes sparkled with boyish mischief, informing her just how much he enjoyed bugging her.

"Shut up. What do you want? I'm not giving you cigarettes," she told him, a smirk on her lips.

"Fuck you, Jaz-butt. I'm on the patch. I know not to support you on your next smart idea, though," he commented, scratching his sleeve-covered bicep. She suspected that was where he was wearing the patch.

"I thought about doing the patch, but I want to try cold turkey first."

Flint shrugged. "How's that working?"

"I've got enough crap going on in my life to make me want to take a cigarette, but keeps me busy enough to not have time to smoke one," she answered with a shrug. "Now, again, what do you want?"

"You want to hit up a party tonight? I figured it's about time I get you some action." He then playfully winked at her while pointing at her several times.

She snorted. "It'll be a cold day in hell when I need your help in getting laid. I'm fine. I need to get this stuff out of the way. It's the end of the semester and everything. This is why I'm not hanging out with my own friends."

It was Flint's turn to snort. "That's bullshit. I'm a bit worried about you, Jaz-butt. I think you need to go out and meet some chicks."

A dark blonde eyebrow arched. "And why do you think that?"

"I dunno, maybe because someone was out until three in the morning with a woman that she's not fucking," he pointed out.

Jaz almost winced, but was able to keep the reaction in. "And what does that matter? It was one night."

"You spend most of your time with that woman you're not fucking."

"Georgie-girl is cool," the response was composed, almost dismissive.

"She could be the coolest damn woman on the planet, but you still need other company. Company that isn't married and willing to spend some time with you that could be considered a date," he countered.

"Is Mom forcing you to take me out or is this another one of your schemes to get me to distract someone's friend so you can hook up?" She and her brother often played wing-man to each other, but had not done it lately.

"Can't be both?" he asked with a giant grin.

Jaz groaned. "Mom still worried?"

"I think the three in the morning thing without a phone call ensures that she'll be worried and mad for at least a month. You know she immediately assumes we've both been raped, beaten, and then left for dead in the middle of a lake when we miss a call," he quipped. The disquieting thing was it was close to being the truth.

"How did we not kill this woman growing up?" she wondered aloud, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"Dad has to keep her sane. If it was just her and us, she'd have moved back to Greece and we'd be driving the grandparents crazy," he said.

She rolled her eyes and snickered. "Oh, yeah, Mormor would be just as crazy as Mom."

Flint shrugged. "This is true. So, just to be sure, you're not down for this party?" he asked, eyes almost begging her to come.

"No, I seriously have work to do. The semester is over in a week and I have a bunch of shit that I owe."

He nodded. "You need to watch your language, young lady. What is with you and the crazy deadlines too? Every time I talk to you about school, you're burning yourself out because a paper is due in the next ten seconds?" he inquired, mostly teasing her. He was all too aware that she was always like that.

Jaz shrugged. "I work best under pressure." It was the truth as far as she could tell. Of course, she rarely gave herself a chance to work any other way than under pressure.

"Well, carry on there, giant little sister. I've got work to do and I can tell Mom I talked to you and nothing came of it," he chuckled.

She groaned and knocked her head on her desk. "Why can't she just let it go?" It would not bother her so much if she had not slept with Georgia a couple of days ago and just felt like her mother knew and was judging her harshly for it.

"Uh… cuz it's Mom. Where the hell have you been?" he teased, flicking her locks.

"Yeah, my fault. I don't know what I was thinking. Is Dad okay? I haven't seen him much over the past couple of days."

"Dad's been working overtime and you've obviously been working overtime too," he quipped, nodding toward her schoolwork.

Jaz snickered and then her brother left the room. Thanks to his visit, she was certain that her mother knew something was up. It was not strange that Flint would try to get her to go to a party, but he had admitted that he was offering partially because of their mother. Jaz sighed and hung her head. While she hoped her mother did not figure out what she had done, she still wanted to hear from and see Georgia again. At least as friends… maybe… well, that was what she told herself anyway.

"We can only be friends. Georgie is married and straight. That night was just a fluke. She was distraught and I was there," Jaz muttered to herself. She was not helping her self-esteem much, but she needed to believe that nothing would ever come from that night. Georgia was not girlfriend material because she was married and straight, Jaz told herself.

She tried to put Georgia out of her head and continue on with her work. She had not heard from Georgia in the past couple of days, but it sort of worked out. She needed the time to finish up some schoolwork and she would not have been able to hang out anyway, but she really wanted to find out where she and Georgia stood. It took a few more days to gather the courage to call Georgia.

"Hey, Georgie-girl," Jaz said, smiling when Georgia answered the call immediately.

"Hey, Jazzy," Georgia replied, sounding a bit bashful about talking.

"How you doing? Sorry I haven't gotten in touch with you, but I've been getting some schoolwork done."

"I figured as much. I didn't want to call you and disturb you. I was spending time with Allen."

"Oh?" Jaz made a curious noise, sounding quite like she did not believe it. Honestly, she did not believe it. Something was up, but she was not totally sure. "So, are you hanging out with him today?"

"I believe so. He's been taking me out everyday. I'm sure eventually he's going to leave to go on a business trip. Those have been stressing him out lately, so I think he's taking a break from them. Most of the time, his phone rings and he doesn't even answer it, which is just shocking. I never thought I would see the day that he ignored that phone."

Jaz nodded, even though her friend could not see. "Has he been treating you well?" she asked, although she was sure that was none of her business. She could not help herself.

"Lately, yes, he has."

"Did he apologize for his words?" the taller woman inquired.

"Yes, he did."

"That's good." There was a beat of silence between them. "Um… Georgie, are we good?" she asked curiously, needing to know.

Another beat of silence. "I hope we are."

"Still friends?" Jaz inquired to be sure.

"I hope we are."

Jaz grinned. Her whole face lit up and she could guess that she looked somewhat ridiculous, but she honestly did not care. "Good. I'm done with schoolwork, so anytime you want to hang out, I'm here," she reported.

"That's good."

They engaged in a little small talk before ending their call. While Jaz's voice remained pleased with hearing from her friend, her jubilation was short-lived. By the time they disconnected, Jaz found that she did not feel much better. She was not sure what it was. Shaking it off, she tried to ignore the feeling, telling herself that she was still friends with Georgia and that was the best thing.

-8-8-8-8-

Georgia sighed as she ended the call with Jaz. She realized that she missed Jaz, but she tried to shake it off and get ready to spend time with her husband. She convinced herself that things were better that way. She needed to work things out with Allen and it seemed like he was trying. It was nice to have him around for a few days and they were not arguing. Best of all, he was ignoring his phone instead of letting it rule his day and he was paying attention to her. She hoped it lasted a good long while. Of course, it did not.

"Allen, why are your bags packed? I thought we were going out today," Georgia commented as she walked into the bedroom, seeing Allen pulling out one of his favorite business suits.

"Emergency trip. I got a call from a company that really wants to see the anti-virus software," Allen answered in a rush.

"What? And when were you going to say anything about this?" she inquired, looking down at his duffel bag as well as a garment bag that held his spare suit.

"I was going to tell you," he huffed, frowning at her as if she was in the wrong for daring to question him.

"When? As you drove off to the airport?"

Allen scowled. "I was going to," he insisted, glaring at her.

"When were you going to, Allen? I thought we were trying to get better. You say you're taking me out today and I come up here to find you packing bags," she pointed out.

His scowl hardened into something bordering on outraged. "Is that what this is about? How I was supposed to take you out today? Look, this is my job! If you want to keep this house and everything that we have, I need to do my job and get this business up and running!" he countered, snarling at her.

"This isn't about the date that we had planned. It's about you telling me that you're leaving out of the blue!"

"I was going to tell you!"

"When?" she demanded once more, stomping her foot that time.

"It doesn't matter now," he stated. "Now, I don't have time to stand here and have this foolish argument with you. I need to get going."

Allen did not stick around to argue, grabbing his bags and marching down the stairs. Georgia frowned briefly and then noticed Allen's cell phone sitting on the dresser. She was tempted to just let him forget it, but that was his lifeline to his business contacts. Grabbing the phone, she walked after Allen. The phone vibrated in her hand and she looked down at it, wondering if Allen might be calling his phone to try to locate it. It was not a number that she recognized and it was a text message instead of a call. She thought that was bit odd; after all, business people tended to call each other in order to hammer out details, not text.

It was so strange that she considered looking at the text. It was the first time that she had ever thought to check her husband's phone. The way that he was leaving, so out of the blue, and then he had a text message on his business phone just seemed weird. Temptation and her curiosity on the matter were great.

"Allen, your phone!" Georgia called as she reached outside, holding up her bounty for him.

Allen was at his car and he turned to her. "My phone? Damn," he muttered as he checked his pockets to see that he had in fact left his phone behind. He trotted back over to her. "Thanks for that," he said with a small smile.

"No problem," she replied, handing him the cell. "Oh, you got a text message." She searched his face to see if he thought it was biazrre that he was being texted when the phone was for business purposes.

"A text message?" His brow wrinkled in confusion. He glanced down at the phone and hit a button to see who sent him a text him. His face tensed a little, but he did not say anything.

"Bad news?" she asked because of the tight expression on his face. Or is just more confusion? It should be perplexing to get a text on a business phone, correct?

"Huh?" Allen glanced up at her concerned brown eyes. "Oh, no, nothing like that. It was just a message telling me to hurry because they don't have time to waste. I need to get going," he replied, rushing into his car. He did not even wave goodbye to his wife.

Brown eyes watched his departure, not sure what to make of what just happened. Georgia sighed and went back into the house before Allen's car was even off their street. Throwing herself onto the couch, she tried to put the argument and horrible behavior behind her. She figured that she and Allen were back at square one that quickly and she could not figure out why. What changed him from trying to work things out to going back to the way things were? A simple phone call? Is that all it takes? A phone and a text message? Is he so easy? She did not want to believe that.

"His attitude probably just came from the couple of setbacks he had in his business and now that things seem to be in swing again, I guess he's just going right back to business as usual," she muttered with a sigh.

She did not have much time to dwell on it because Jaz called her. The college student seemed to have some free time on her hands and was hoping to spend that time with Georgia apparently. Georgia was happy to hear that because that would serve as a distraction to keep her from thinking about the way Allen treated her. It also showed that despite what happened, she and Jaz were still friends.

Jaz arrived with pizza, soda, and movies, which instantly put a smile on Georgia's face. In fact, she was so grateful to see Jaz that she hugged the taller woman as soon as she stepped into the house. That action put an immediate smile on Jaz's face.

"Geez, I might have to show up with junk food more often," the younger woman remarked with a grin.

"No, you just showing up is enough," Georgia assured her with a gentle smile.

Those words made Jaz's grin larger. They ended up in the living room, on the couch. They fell into their usual routine. They were both shocked at how natural and rather comfortable they were with each other. They had been so certain that things would be awkward when they finally got together again, but everything seemed like it was before they crossed the line.

"I can't believe you brought out this many movies," Georgia commented, looking at the stack of films.

"I've got a lot of time on my hands now that school is done. I was going to take some summer classes, but I think my brain needs a break," Jaz answered, massaging her temples for comedic effect. It earned her a small smile.

"Your classes are over?"

"For the moment, yes. Now, I can focus on relaxing and maybe taking some more time at work to earn some extra money. Hang out with my friends as much as time allows too."

Georgia nodded. "Oh, school is over for all of you now?"

"Yeah, it is. But, we're all probably going to be on different schedules this summer. We always do that. It gives us a reason to look forward to school, knowing we'll all see each other then. Mitch is going to be taking classes over the summer, I have work, Robbie has work along with helping her mother with her little brothers, Cocoa usually gets a summer job, and Peach will probably spend most of his time at the skate park with his cousins and stuff."

Georgia smiled. "And where do I fit into this schedule?" she asked as a tease.

"Anywhere you like," Jaz replied and it would not have been so bad if she had not purred at the end. She cleared her throat with the hope that things would not seem difficult now. But, in the back of her mind, she was thinking about how she had made Georgia purr that faithful night and how she longed to do it again.

Georgia swallowed hard and tried her best to ignore the sound that came out of Jaz's voice. There was something about that low purr that made her melt and her stomach tremble. Shaking it off, she forced out a smile.

"Good to know you don't mind babysitting me," Georgia remarked with a sparkle in her chocolate eyes.

Jaz chuckled. "I don't think of it as babysitting. I think of it more as charity work," she joked.

"Oh, you!" The ebony-haired woman swatted at the college student, both of them laughing.

They settled back down to pay attention to the movie that was playing. Before long, the pizza was gone, the movie was over, and they were watching another. Somehow, they seemed to be drawing closer to each other on the couch too. Jaz wondered if gravity had anything to do with it; she would remember to thank gravity later if that was the case.

Eventually, Georgia was resting against Jaz and the teenager had her arms around Georgia. They were not too sure when or how it happened. Neither of them said anything about it, though.

"So, where's Allen?" Jaz inquired, hoping he was not going to burst in on them again and ruin the moment.

"He left on a business trip right before you came over. You know he didn't even tell me he was leaving. He actually made plans with me today and then went upstairs to pack without saying a word to me," Georgia replied.

"Wow, that's a bit inconsiderate."

"I know! It was very sudden and everything. I understand he has to travel for his business, but all I'm asking for is a little heads' up before he leaves. Is that too much to ask for?" She turned to face Jaz as she posed the question.

"Not at all in my opinion," Jaz answered truthfully. Her father told her mother when he was just walking to the mailbox, so she could understand why Georgia would be a little upset. Hell, when she had girlfriends, she would at least explain to them why a date was canceled.

"He's such a slave to his phone. Every second it goes off, so does he," Georgia grumbled. "Not to mention, he's getting texts now too. What kind of businessman gets a text from a company interested in his product?" she huffed, frowning as she thought about it.

Jaz arched an eyebrow to that, but shook off the suspicious thoughts creeping into her mind. She considered that she probably just wanted to believe the worst of Allen because she was attracted to his wife and was looking for any excuse to act on the attraction. Just because he left every time his cell phone went off did not have to mean anything more than him trying to drum up some business for himself. Also, just because he was getting text messages that he claimed were business-related did not have to mean anything.

"Have you ever checked his cell phone?" Jaz found herself asking. Goddamn it, mouth, who gave you permission to speak?! You know you're supposed to let the brain do all of the talking!

Georgia's brow furrowed. "Why would I?" she asked curiously.

Jaz shrugged. "No reason. Never mind." She then turned her attention back to the television before she said something worse.

Georgia gave her friend a skeptical look, but went back to watching the movie too. Once again, somehow their positions became more and more comfortable as time went on. Soon, Georgia was practically lying on Jaz, who had her arms around Georgia's waist now. Jaz's hands were not idle either, drawing small circles on the Georgia's back, very close to her ass. Georgia was not much better with her hands at Jaz's sides and her thumbs making tiny circles in the areas.

Jaz glanced down at Georgia, wondering if the older woman had any clue what she was doing. Beautiful brown eyes looked up from long lashes and Jaz felt herself dissolve under the gaze. She could not control herself, leaning down and pecking Georgia on the mouth. She pulled away slightly, as if wanting to know if that was a good idea.

Georgia exhaled slowly, not believing that Jaz had kissed her yet again. She wanted to tell Jaz that they could not do that anymore, but damn it, she craved those sweet, gentle kisses. So, instead of putting a halt to everything like she knew she should, she pushed herself up and kissed Jaz back.

Jaz moaned in delight when she felt Georgia's lips on hers. Her hands strayed lower, pressing against Georgia's ass before the caresses changed and she was clutching Georgia's rump. It was Georgia's turn to moan and that seemed to bring her back to her senses. She pulled away.

"Jazzy…" the ebony-haired woman breathed.

"We shouldn't be doing this, right?" Jaz asked.

"Right."

"But, I want you so much," the taller woman said quite honestly. Again, her mouth was acting without her brain, but she was happy for it that time. She needed Georgia to know how she felt and there possibly was no room for friendship for them anymore. She craved the woman on top of her.

Georgia groaned from the admission. Ducking her head, she tried to come up with a reasonable explanation as to why things would not work, but that actually backfired. Finding herself close to Jaz's neck, all she could think about was kissing the warm flesh there and sucking on Jaz's pulse point. The thought itself made her blush; she had never had such thoughts before. Jaz noticed the color painting her friend's face and caressed Georgia's cheek.

"What're you thinking about, Georgie-girl?" Jaz asked in a low tone.

"I… I…" Georgia gulped. "I want you too," she whispered, blushing deeply, partly from embarrassment and partly in shame.

That was all Jaz needed to hear, going at Georgia for more. Kissing began anew with much more fervor on both ends. Jaz's hands slowly burrowed into Georgia's pants, kneading the firm skin found there. They broke away for air and Georgia moaned again, unable to contain herself as Jaz drew Georgia's svelte body against her own.

"Can I?" Jaz asked, hoping that Georgia understood that short request. Her right hand glided to the front of Georgia's body.

"Please…" Though it was only a whisper, it made her need extremely clear.

Jaz did not need anymore persuasion than that. Not bothering to think about what was happening, she used one hand to unfasten Georgia's slacks and proceeded to push them just off of Georgia's hips. Unable to wait, her fingers went right for the prize. Georgia cried out as Jaz stroked her.

"Oh, god!" the pale woman moaned as her skin quickly grew flush from desire and pleasure.

A long exhale escaped Jaz as Georgia started moving in rhythm with her. "Fuck…" the college student growled as she pushed deeper into hot velvet. "You feel so fucking good…" she muttered, almost in disbelief.

"You too…" Georgia whimpered, moving to press her face against Jaz's neck to block out her moans. She nipped and licked at Jaz's neck without realizing it, but she was not getting any complaints about her actions.

It was Jaz's turn to let out blissful noises. The feel of Georgia's lips on her throat seemed to drive her fingers faster and deeper. She felt almost possessed, wanting to experience as much of the soft, sweetness that was Georgia.

"Goddamn it, I would live in you if I could," Jaz growled, desiring nothing more than to do just that as she pumped into the most divine space she had ever felt.

A strangled moan escaped Georgia's mouth as the quick pace pushed her closer and closer to the edge. Pressing herself closer, she tried to feel as much of the taller woman as she could, which seemed to just heighten the whole intense experience. She was certain that if things continued to build, her head would pop off of her shoulders.

"Oh, sweet, merciful…" Georgia's breath hitched before she could finish that thought.

Jaz could tell that Georgia was almost there and that spurred her on harder. Georgia suddenly growled against her throat and she felt the older woman's body clamping down on her. The growl went on continuously for almost ten seconds.

"More?" Jaz asked as Georgia collapsed against her. Not really waiting for an answer, her fingers continued moving, going much gentler and slower now.

Georgia was not sure how to respond to that. She was certain that she should turn Jaz down and feel ashamed of their actions. But, it was very hard to think properly with those long, strong fingers stroking her.

"What about… the movie?" Georgia breathed the question out, clinging to the younger woman.

"Movie?" Jaz echoed, wondering what the hell Georgia was talking about. And then she remembered they had been watching a movie before they got sidetracked. "It's a DVD. We can rewind it," she pointed out.

Georgia was going to bring up something else, but Jaz quieted her with a heated kiss. The show of affection was almost scandalous to Georgia, but she reveled in it. The simple presence of Jaz brought her bliss and a mere touch brought her ecstasy. More than that was pure rapture and what they were doing now was sheer paradise. It took seconds for her to be a moaning body moving on top of Jaz until the tremors returned. She fell onto Jaz for a second time, attempting to catch her breath.

"God, Jazzy, that was amazing," Georgia sighed, feeling completely spent and equally satisfied.

"Yeah, it was," Jaz agreed. She was certain that she could feel and watch Georgia climax all day, everyday and never tire of it.

They were quiet for a while and then Jaz noticed that Georgia was asleep. A smile slid on Jaz's face as she withdrew her fingers and then held Georgia tight. She decided to take a nap too, if only to avoid thinking about what just happened again.

When they awoke, Georgia slipped away to take a shower and to change. Before disappearing upstairs, she suggested that she and Jaz go out for dinner. It sounded like a date to Jaz, who found her mouth speaking without her brain's permission again. She accepted the invitation. She decided to go home and get cleaned up too. She tried her best not to think about what was going on, but on the drive home, her mind was going a mile-a-minute.

"Shit, I'm going on a date with Georgia," Jaz muttered to herself and then she glanced at her hand. She could not help herself, bringing her hand to her lips and licking her fore and middle fingers. "Oh, god," she moaned and shuddered. "I need more of that," she decided. She knew it was wrong, but wrong felt and tasted so good!

Pulling up to her house, she rushed in and charged for the shower. She did not even have time to wonder if someone was home. By the time she got out of the shower, she found out that she was not alone.

"Showering so early?" Flint inquired with a teasing grin on his face.

"Bro!" Jaz gasped in shock and cursed inside of her head.

"Yeah, me. Now, you, Jaz-butt, where are you rushing off to?" he asked, smiling even more so.

"Damn it, Flint, I don't have time for this," she stated, pushing by him.

"I wonder why that is. What's going on, Jaz-butt?" Flint asked and the response was the slamming of Jaz's bedroom door.

Jaz sighed and hoped her brother did not guess what she was doing. Quickly, she changed into some decent clothing, black slacks and a deep blue shirt. She checked herself out in the mirror and thought she looked nice enough for a date with Georgia, but wished that she had better clothes for the occasion. She had no doubt that Georgia was going to look stunning, so she wanted to at least look worthy of standing next to the older woman.

"This'll have to do. I'm not going to change outfits a million times like some infatuated schoolgirl," she decided.

She bolted from the house, not wanting to see her brother again. She could feel his eyes on her, though, as she charged out to her car. Jumping behind the wheel, she was back at Georgia's house as quickly as possible. When Georgia let her in, Jaz saw that she was correct in assuming that Georgia would look amazing.

"Oh, god, you look…" Jaz could only exhale to explain how Georgia looked as she circled around the older woman.

Creamy cheeks were invaded by a pink tint. "… Thanks…" the petite woman mumbled, unused to the flattering attention. "It's nothing much…" she added. She was wearing tan pants with a short-sleeve white shirt that left little to the imagination. On her feet were expensive, tan leather boots that added some inches to her height, but still left her shorter than Jaz.

"You're so beautiful," Jaz commented, wrapping her arms around Georgia's waist and pulling the smaller woman to her. Her hands drifted to Georgia's hips and glided over the area.

Georgia whimpered and shuddered from the contact. She was tempted to propose that they skip dinner, but she could not bring herself to do it. She reminded herself that what they did earlier was wrong. They could not do that again, she mentally insisted.

"I could just eat you," Jaz whispered, her intent clear from her tone.

"Oh, god," Georgia moaned. Words like that definitely were not going to help and she again reminded herself that they could not do what they did that afternoon again.

Jaz smiled. "You want me to, don't you?" she asked before taking a light nip at Georgia's ear.

Georgia whimpered again and it took her a long moment to find her voice. "… We need to get going. I made the reservations for an half hour from now."

"You're right. Where are we going anyway?" Jaz asked.

"It's a surprise. I'll tell you how to get there."

Jaz nodded, going with the flow. Georgia delighted in that and delighted in being in charge for once. She did not share it, but whenever Allen took her out, she had to follow his lead or there would always be a fight. It was annoying to have to do that all of the time. She liked planning and surprising and was happy that Jaz would allow her that opportunity.

Jaz was surprised that they made it to the restaurant in time for the reservations because they had to go almost clear across town. Georgia smiled brightly as they got out of the car and a valet took the keys. Jaz hesitated for a moment, not wanting to hand over her keys to someone else, but relented eventually to avoid causing a scene.

"I've always wanted to come here," Georgia said, taking Jaz by the hand to pull her toward the restaurant.

"Why haven't you?" Jaz asked, looking around for some sign that would explain why her friend had not been to the place before.

"Most of my friends aren't very good with spicy foods. Allen has a particularly weak constitution, but you have the cast iron stomach," Georgia remarked with a teasing grin, patting the aforementioned body part on her companion.

Jaz was confused momentarily until she found out that it was an Indian restaurant. She had never had Indian food before, but she was always up to food adventures. She had to let Georgia order for her, but after that, she was off.

"It's so good," Jaz mumbled as she finished her meal. Georgia was only halfway done by then.

Georgia smiled. "I'm glad you liked it. I'm surprised that you ate it all so quickly."

"It does have a kick to it," Jaz admitted as she fanned herself. She was sweating somewhat, eating faster than she should have in retrospect.

"This is why no one would come here with me. I hope you're not in that boat now."

"What? I'll come here whenever you want to. The food was delicious. A little hot, but delicious just the same," Jaz answered before grabbing her beverage and taking a long drink. Her mouth and throat were slightly soothed by the gulp.

"Would you like some of mine or are you full?"

"You sure?"

Georgia nodded and pushed her platter to the middle of the table. Jaz began to dig in, eating more slowly than before. They shared the meal and light conversation, talking over summer plans. They were interrupted once by Jaz's cell phone.

"Hey, Robbie," Jaz answered the call after seeing it that was just her friend. "Nah, I'm hanging out with Georgie-girl right now. Tomorrow? Lemme ask," she said and she turned her attention to Georgia. "You wanna go to the movies with me and my mine tomorrow?"

Georgia smiled and shrugged as a response. She would like that rather than being home alone. Of course, the idea of spending more time with Jaz was always a plus for her too.

"Yeah, we'll go. See you then," Jaz said, disconnecting the call afterwards. She slid the phone back into her pocket. "Just to let you know, we'll probably go to the movies late, so you don't have to worry about getting ready too early."

"You all seem to do everything late," the older woman commented lightly.

"Yeah, that's just how we are. Also, it doesn't get in the way of any plans that anyone might have. You have any plans for tomorrow?"

"Aside from the movies with you, no."

Jaz nodded. "No? You want me to come over?"

"I'd like that. We could finish the movies," Georgia proposed.

"Sounds good. I'm going to be working in the morning, but I'll come after work. Should I bring pizza again or something else for lunch?"

"Hmm… perhaps I could make you lunch," Georgia suggested. They ate far too much junk food when they were together.

Jaz smiled at the idea. With the plans made, they finished out their meal and Georgia insisted on picking up the check. Jaz argued, even when she saw the price. Georgia won out, though, pointing out that just once she would like to treat Jaz. The younger woman relented, causing Georgia to smile. With that out of the way, Jaz drove Georgia home. She was not totally sure if that meant the night was over since it was not that late, but she decided not to push her luck.

"This was fun," Jaz commented with a smile. They were standing inside the house right in the foyer.

"Very much so. It makes me look forward to tomorrow," Georgia replied.

"I'm glad you are looking forward to it," Jaz said, her arm going automatically around Georgia's waist.

"I always look forward to time with you," Georgia said in a whisper.

Jaz could not hold back after that, leaning down to capture Georgia's mouth in a heated kiss. Georgia accepted the show of affection, even though she kept thinking about how wrong it was. It did not matter that it was wrong. It felt so right.

"See you tomorrow," Jaz mumbled, millimeters from Georgia's mouth.

"Again, I look forward to it."

Jaz left after that, feeling like the luckiest woman on Earth. When she got home, she practically floated up to her room. She did not even bother to take in the looks from her parents and brother. Maggie looked at the two males.

"I'm not talking to her anymore," Jeremy said, throwing his hands up. "Some mistakes you just have to make on your own."

"What kind of philosophy is that to have toward your own child?" Maggie huffed, folding her arms across her chest while ice blue eyes glared at her husband.

"The kind I have to take if talking to her doesn't seem to work. This is something that she's going to have to see through to find out that we were right," Jeremy pointed out. It saddened him to realize that was the truth, but sometimes experience was needed to learn a lesson, which he believed his geology-teaching wife should know.

"But, she's going to end up hurt," Maggie countered.

"I think that's what it'll take. I don't want her to get hurt either, but we can't protect her from all of the world. Besides, this is obviously something that she wants to do. We've spoken to her and it's not getting anywhere. She has to make this mistake on her own. Besides, it might just be an infatuation on her end. You don't know for a fact if it's anything more than that," Jeremy stated.

Maggie could not argue that. Flint glanced up the stairs, but did not voice any thoughts. It was more than an infatuation, he knew, but he thought that his father might be right. Jaz might just have to make that mistake on her own. She seemed quite happy to do it.

-8-8-8-8-

Jaz and Georgia showed up to the movie theater to meet up with Jaz's friends. Everything seemed normal, but Jaz noticed almost immediately that Robbie was staring at her. She did not say anything about it and it skipped her mind as she noticed Georgia moving to pay for the tickets.

"Whoa, hold up there," Jaz said, putting her hand on Georgia's wrist.

"What?" Georgia asked.

"You're not paying for the tickets."

"Why not? It's just movie tickets, Jazzy. It's not that serious," Georgia argued.

"Yeah, Jazzy," Mitch chimed in, smirking.

"I got this one, Georgie-girl," Jaz insisted, glaring at Mitch with the hope it would get her to shut up. Of course, she had no such luck.

"Yeah, Georgie, don't you know it's the butch that pays," the blonde remarked.

Jaz growled and Georgia stiffened briefly. The taller woman then whipped out the money for the movie. She gently pulled Georgia away while the group of friends was left a little baffled. No one said anything and just followed behind the pair.

In the theater, things settled down after they all found seats. Jaz and Georgia shared popcorn and everything was calm. Sometime during the movie, Jaz's hand found Georgia's hand and they held hands through the whole movie. When the movie was over, the friends went to eat at an all-night diner.

"That shit was scary!" Peach declared, talking about the movie that they just watched.

"Considering the fact that you were damn near sitting in Mitch's lap by the end of it, yeah, we know you thought it was scary," Robbie quipped.

"I was not!" Peach objected with outrage tearing through his rich sienna features.

"Yeah, you were. You had to climb over me to get there," Cocoa pointed out.

"Must've took a lot out of the poor little guy," Jaz joked.

"He did tire out halfway through and just clung to me," Cocoa said, eyes shining with amusement.

There were laughs all around. The whole meal was spent in jest. It only got serious when Jaz and Robbie went to the bathroom at the end. Robbie pulled Jaz off, wanting to talk, but claiming they both had to use the restroom.

"What's up?" Jaz asked.

"Jaz, I'm saying this to you as a friend and because I know your mother is going to gut you and decorate the house with your entrails if she finds out, you're playing with fire here," Robbie replied.

"What do you mean?"

"A blind man could see the dynamic shift with you and Georgie. You were holding hands in the movies like two kids. You kept leaning down as if you were trying to protect her. You were whispering in her ear and everything. Hell, I even saw you kiss her head a couple of times," Robbie informed her friend.

"And?"

"And not to mention you have a huge fucking hickey on your collar bone and you don't have a fucking girlfriend. What the fuck? Don't try to stand here and act like you have no fucking clue what I'm talking about. Jaz, I'm not judging you. I knew from the beginning you had a crush on this woman. Just be careful, okay? She's married."

"To an asshole," Jaz declared.

"Be that as it may, she is married. You could get hurt. Hell, it's probably a given."

Jaz shook her head. "I don't think so. Georgie likes me and I like her."

Robbie shrugged. "Okay, just making sure. Remember, your mom is going to kill you."

"Not if a certain blabber-mouth doesn't tell her," Jaz said, shaking a playful fist at her friend.

"I won't say anything. I doubt any of us will, but your mom is a hound. She's going to find out."

Jaz shrugged. "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."

"And fall through and drown more than likely, but if that's how you feel…" Robbie shrugged as if it was all no big deal.

Jaz nodded and the matter was dropped. They returned to the group and the crew split up for the night. Jaz returned Georgia home where they exchanged several passionate kisses and fervent caresses. Jaz started to pull away as she noticed Georgia was tugging her deeper into the house.

"Georgie, I…" Jaz paused for a kiss. "Really need…" Another kiss. "To go…"

"Why?" Georgia inquired, hands wandering underneath Jaz's tee-shirt.

"Because…" Jaz had to think hard why she needed to go. "I have work tomorrow. Shit, that's what it is. I have work."

"Oh. Have you changed hours again?" Georgia asked.

"For a few days. I'm trying to get morning hours during the summer. This way, I can be free to hang out with you during the afternoon and night."

Georgia pouted. "How early is work? Will you never be able to be out late?"

"Oh, yeah. I can. Just not tonight. Okay?"

"Okay. Will you come over after work?"

"I'll come whenever you want me to," Jaz answered with a smirk before leaning down for yet another kiss.

"Promises, promises," Georgia remarked.

"You bet."

"All right. I'll have lunch waiting for you when you come in. How's that sound?"

"Wonderful," Jaz answered with a grin on her face. Everything seemed completely and utterly wonderful.

-8-8-8-8-

15: Both sides of the coin

The month of May went by like some wonderful fantasy for Jaz. She was actually dating Georgia, the woman of her dreams. They went out often, especially since Allen had picked up his hectic travel schedule again. Jaz would have been suspicious of how often he was gone, but she did not care. He could be out screwing the whole world as far as she was concerned. If he was not home, then that meant she had Georgia all to herself, as she did at the moment.

"You know, we're never going to get out if you keep this up," Jaz pointed out as Georgia leaned in and placed a light peck to her lips for what had to be the millionth time. Georgia was comfortably parked on Jaz's lap with Jaz's hands around her waist and camped out on her rump.

"It's only a play. There'll be others," Georgia commented before going in for another kiss, much deeper than the previous ones.

Jaz moaned before opening her mouth and letting Georgia in. Jaz's hands gripped and kneaded Georgia's ass as the kiss continued. Georgia's own hands went around Jaz's neck. She toyed with Jaz's locks, loving the way that they felt.

"I thought you really wanted to see this play. Isn't that why you made me dress up?" Jaz asked with a smile as she pulled away for some air. She was wearing a black pin-strip suit with a white blouse for the affair that they were supposed to be headed too, but now her lover seemed intent on staying in and wrinkling both of their outfits.

The ebony-haired woman smiled too. "No, I made you dress up because it makes me really hot to see you wearing nice clothes." I can't believe I just said that! Even crazier is that it's true!

"Is that why you keep buying me nice clothes?" Ever since it was decided that they were dating, Georgia had been buying her clothes. It started with one shopping outing where Georgia needed her just for the sizes, but once Georgia learned her size, her going along on the trip was optional. Georgia claimed the clothing was for when they went somewhere nice and they had gone to several restaurants, shows, and museums where she was thankful for the semi-formal garments.

The older woman nodded and leaned in for another, shorter kiss. "As I said, it makes me hot. I also like that you take care of me when I get all hot," she remarked, whispering the words to lessen her embarrassment. She could not believe how audacious she was with Jaz, but she liked it.

"It gets me hot when you blush like that," Jaz commented, her hands moving to burrow deeper into Georgia's pants.

The blush intensified. "I don't know why…" she muttered.

"Georgie-girl, you're the most affectionate, gorgeous, and sexiest woman I have had the pleasure to know. You're smart, you're funny, you'll try just about anything once. Hell, sometimes twice to make sure you don't like it," Jaz teased a bit, a lewd smirk on her face.

Georgia felt like she was going to burst a blood vessel. She hid her face in Jaz's neck, causing the younger woman to laugh. Jaz moved one hand to rub Georgia's back to comfort her.

"I can't believe some of the things I do with you," Georgia muttered, shaking her head a little and rubbing her nose into the taller woman's skin.

"You like most of them," Jaz point out, voice trembling slightly thanks to the sensation that Georgia was causing on her neck.

A groan was the only admission that Georgia would make. Jaz smiled, enjoying the bashful side of Georgia as much as she enjoyed the adventurous side. She held Georgia tightly to her, as if trying to convey her feelings through the embrace.

"You spent a lot of money on these tickets. Are you sure you don't want to get up and go to this play now?" Jaz asked.

"If it'll get you to stop teasing me, then yes," Georgia answered.

An amused and delightful laugh escaped the taller woman. "I'm not teasing you. Just stating facts and telling you about all of your good qualities."

Another groan made its way out of Georgia's mouth. "Come on you. Let's get going before you get anymore sappy."

Jaz chuckled some more, but that was all. She stood up, taking Georgia with her and they left for the play. Jaz really had never been interested in theater, but Georgia wanted to go and had already purchased two tickets, so Jaz was stuck with it. But, then again, she really did not care where they were going as long as she was with Georgia.

The play was not so bad, though. Jaz knew she would not make a habit of going to plays on her own, but she would not have any problem with escorting Georgia to shows. Georgia seemed to like the show too, which made it better for Jaz.

After the show, they went to dinner. By the end of the meal, Georgia asked for the check. After only a month, Jaz was trained to not reach for the bill when it came. It bothered her, but she stopped bringing it up because Georgia pointed out that she never argued when Jaz paid for things.

"Are you staying for a while?" Georgia asked as Jaz pulled her car up to Georgia's house.

"Make me an offer I can't refuse," Jaz answered with a smirk.

"When we get into the house," Georgia promised with a blush staining her cheeks.

Jaz growled and faithfully followed Georgia into the house. Kicking the door shut, she practically leaped on the older woman. Georgia moaned as Jaz grabbed her from behind and attacked her neck with kisses while her hands massaged Georgia's cleavage. The smaller woman reached up and wrapped one arm around Jaz, trying to keep her in place.

"Jazzy…" Georgia muttered the name in a low breath.

"Hmmm?" Jaz hummed against her throat.

"You make me feel so alive…"

"Uh-huh." Jaz's mouth remained focused on the task for tasting Georgia.

"You make me feel comfortable being myself…"

"Uh-huh."

"You make me so happy…"

"Uh-huh."

"Are you even listening to me or just thinking about how you can devour me?" Georgia inquired, even though she was holding Jaz close, thus encouraging her.

"I can multi-task rather well. But, you make me feel alive too and you make me very happy. I hope you keep being yourself with me," Jaz answered, her hands not being idle, even though her mouth was not keeping up with the task it desired.

"I think you make me too comfortable," Georgia purred.

"No such thing. Now, can we cut out all of the talking and can I carry you upstairs?" Jaz proposed before running her tongue along Georgia's neck. The pale woman moaned and Jaz smiled. "I'm going to take that as a yes," she commented and then swept Georgia off of her feet.

"Jazzy!" Georgia yelped, throwing her arms around the taller woman. "I'm not too heavy?" she asked in almost a panic.

"Hell, no. You're perfect," Jaz declared. "Just perfect."

"You're too sweet," Georgia said, smiling. "Now, are you taking me upstairs or what?"

Jaz blinked, as if coming to her senses. "Are you sure?" They had actually never done anything upstairs. Usually, whenever they were together it started out as normal, hanging out on the couch watching television. Out of the blue, something would set them off and they would make out on the couch.

"Positive. Take me upstairs, Jazzy. Take me upstairs and show me just how much I mean to you," Georgia implored the younger woman. Her chocolate eyes were glazed over with desire, which made Jaz's heart leap into her throat.

Jaz did not need to be told twice. She marched to the stairs and made her way up, holding Georgia all the way there. Georgia was a little surprised by that; she obviously did not know how light she actually was. Jaz slowed down as her steps took her closer to Georgia's bedroom. Gulping, she glanced down at the woman in her arms. Georgia could see the nervousness in those caring blue eyes and guessed what was wrong.

"If you go to the end of the hall, there's a guestroom. The bed's made and waiting," Georgia informed the younger woman.

Jaz nodded and did as she was told. Sure enough, there was a full-size bed waiting for some company. Jaz gently eased Georgia onto the bed before starting a new kiss. Georgia busied herself by removing Jaz's suit jacket and then unbuttoning Jaz's shirt, freeing her from the garments. Once the jacket was gone and the shirt was off, she reached for the pants and unfastened the slacks.

"Slow down, baby," Jaz said as she felt Georgia tugging at her pants.

"But, I want you now," Georgia empathically declared.

"I want you too and we'll get there, but slow down. We have time."

"So, you'll stay for a while?"

Jaz nodded. "I'll stay for a while."

That answer got a smile from the older woman. Georgia slowed down after that, no longer tearing at Jaz's trousers. Lips met in a tender kiss and tongues fondly massaged each other while Jaz released Georgia from her shirt and bra. Georgia moaned into Jaz's mouth as large hands kneaded her breasts, paying close attention to the center of the gems. More passionate moans filled the room, followed by heavy breathing.

"Pants, off," Georgia ordered, pushing Jaz's slacks down her hips.

"Your wish is my command," Jaz replied.

Quickly, the artist stepped out of her pants and underwear. Georgia groaned as she took in the sight of her naked lover. Jaz was fit, not muscular, but she still looked very powerful. They both exhaled as Jaz crawled over Georgia's body. That in itself was enough to make Georgia melt in ways that she never imagined. She was certain that she would never see a more erotic display than Jaz hovering over her. Leaning down for another kiss, hands roamed both bodies freely, loving all that was touched in ways that almost seemed like worship. Again, the room was filled with throaty, almost booming moans and smelled of passion and sweat.

As the kisses grew deeper and more fervent, Jaz's tongue acted out what fingers were itching to do… if they could only stop pinching and rolling Georgia's nipple. It took an abundance of willpower to get the digits to move lower. Her mouth remained glued to Georgia's lips, though.

"Oh, god," Georgia groaned and arched into Jaz's long body as tantalizing fingers found her. Drawn out strokes and a thumb gently circling her most sensitive area made her eyes roll up in the back of her head as pleasurable jolts blazed through her body.

"You feel so good, sweetheart," Jaz whispered into a flushed ear before running her tongue along the side of Georgia's glistening face. She then nibbled on Georgia's earlobe, making her cry out even more. "You taste good too. So good." Proving her point, she lapped at Georgia's cheek again. "You are just too good, too perfect."

Curling her fingers, Jaz got more delightful reactions from her lover until Georgia was holding her for dear life. A pale leg hooked itself around Jaz's waist and brushed up against the back of her thigh with every magnificent move she made. The sensation seemed to take control of Georgia's body and she writhed, wiggling, trying her best to move with Jaz. Those long fingers quested further, stroking all that she could. The older woman cried out as her body clamped down on Jaz's fingers as if trying to swallow them whole. Jaz certainly did not mind, trying to milk Georgia's climax for all it was worth, dragging out several smaller peaks.

"Oh, god. I didn't know my body could do that until you came along," Georgia said, trying to catch her breath.

"I don't think I'll ever see a better sight then you going over that finish line," Jaz remarked with a smile.

"I can think of a better sight," Georgia quipped, fingers creeping up Jaz's slim thigh.

As if needing to check it out, Jaz looked down to see if what she felt was true. Yup, those definitely were Georgia's fingers gliding along her most intimate parts. The sight alone caused her to quiver and she could feel her essence practically dripping down her thighs. Silently, she opened her legs wider, giving Georgia better access. From the movement of those delicate digits, Jaz was certain that Georgia appreciated the room to work.

"Good move," the younger woman whimpered in pleasure as her lover slipped inside of her.

Georgia barely moved, teasing Jaz and drawing out the cutest sounds from the amazon. Jaz slowly moved with those graceful digits. Groans and deep breaths escaped her as delight seeped through her like water pouring through her. Her arms shook and she knew that she would soon have trouble holding herself up.

"How does that feel?" Georgia asked in a whisper. She had learned with Jaz that she enjoyed talking while making love. It was not something she had ever thought to do before.

"Sooooo gooood," Jaz hissed, hips moving to keep up with Georgia's fingers. Her head dipped a little, bringing her mouth temptingly close to Georgia's lips.

A kiss was necessary with their mouths so close. It was almost as if they were trying to devour and yet savor one another. Georgia's hands continued to busy themselves, one making sure that Jaz continued to ride that wave of bliss that she was on and the other seeking out one of Jaz's other treasures. Soon, Georgia was rolling and pinching a caramel-colored nipple and Jaz was moaning into her mouth. Georgia swallowed all of the sounds as if she were drinking her lover in.

"Holy moley, woman," Jaz muttered as she broke the kiss. "I don't even talk like that," she murmured in disbelief.

"Focus, Jazzy," Georgia purred, giving the nipple in her grip a slight tug.

"Aw!" Jaz cried out as ecstasy burned every inch of her body. "Believe me, I am. Fuck me, baby," she begged.

Georgia actually blushed at those words, but it was hard to tell since her whole body was flushed a dark pink. She found new ambition from them, though. Wanting to hear more dirty words from Jaz, she pressed on with more vigor.

"Goddamn," Jaz growled, burying her face in Georgia's neck. Her hips were moving with such force that they were slamming into Georgia's thigh while the older woman continued to plunge in and out Jaz with two fingers. "Fuck!"

Before Jaz knew what was going on, she was seeing stars and ended up collapsing on Georgia. It took her almost a minute to realize that she was on top of the smaller woman and rolled over to the side. As she moved, she whimpered, feeling Georgia withdraw from her body.

"That was amazing," Georgia commented as she turned over onto her side, now facing her lover.

"It was," Jaz agreed and then an almost frightening grin took over her face. "Ready to go again?" she inquired.

Georgia was surprised to find that Jaz was serious. The artist yanked Georgia over onto her and started a fresh kiss, which Georgia immediately responded to. Soon, hands seemed to be everywhere and moans were filling the air again.

The two fell asleep after making love several times. Georgia cuddled up to Jaz's body and Jaz wrapped her arms around Georgia. A couple of hours later, Jaz's cell phone went off. It was the alarm.

"Georgie…" Jaz groaned as she regained consciousness.

"Hmm?" Georgia murmured in her sleep.

"Baby," Jaz said, shaking Georgia a bit to rouse her.

"Sleep…" Georgia replied, somewhat whining.

"I gotta go home, baby," Jaz reported, which got Georgia to open her eyes.

"Home? Already?" Georgia asked, opening her eyes and focusing on Jaz's face.

"Already? It's two in the morning, Georgie-girl," the artist remarked with a smile.

"Two? Really?" Georgia blinked and then looked at the alarm clock by the bed. She was stunned to see that it was past two. "Where did the time go?" she wondered aloud.

"It probably got scared away with all of that growling you did," Jaz joked.

Georgia laughed a little. "You're the growler. It's very sexy." With those words, her hands glided up and down Jaz's side.

"Oh, god," Jaz moaned and then she caught her lover's hands. "No, don't start, Georgie-girl. You know I don't have time for this."

A sigh escaped the smaller woman. "I know. I'm sorry. Will I see you tomorrow?"

"I'll try to come over, but I can't promise anything. I've got to go up to my school tomorrow," Jaz answered. Well, really she had to go up to her school today.

Georgia frowned enough that it wrinkled her forehead. "Why do you have to go up to your school? You're on summer break."

"Yes, I am, but I need to go up to school and speak to my advisor. I might be able to get an internship and I really want one, so I have to go up there and find out," Jaz explained.

"Oh, okay. Well, you won't be up there all day, right?"

"Of course not, but then I have work. If you don't see me tomorrow, you know I'll be over the next day," Jaz assured Georgia and then she leaned down, tenderly kissing the older woman.

Georgia accepted the kiss and then nodded. After that, Jaz eased out of the bed and got dressed, absently thinking that Georgia had good taste when it came to picking out clothing for her. Once she was dressed, she went back to the bed and kissed Georgia farewell.

"Go back to sleep, babe. I'll call you later today," Jaz said.

"No, call me when you get home and let me know you made it safely," Georgia ordered.

"Yes, ma'am. You don't mind me waking you up?"

"I won't be able to sleep until I get that phone call. Do you want me to walk you to the door?"

"No, that's all right. I want you to stay in bed. Are you all right?"

Georgia smiled. "Of course I am. Are you all right?"

Jaz nodded and offered Georgia another kiss before leaving the room. Georgia remained awake until she got a call from Jaz about thirty minutes later. Georgia actually tried to stay on the phone, but Jaz explained that she needed to get some sleep, so she told Georgia goodbye. With the call out of the way, Georgia settled in for sleep, staying in the guest bed that was covered in the soothing scent of Jaz and their passion.

-8-8-8-8-

Jaz called Georgia the day after spending more time up at her school than she cared. She found out that Allen was back home, so there was nothing for her to do with her time. Her friends were all busy, so she stayed in the house and decided to do some drawing. She hoped no one in her family noticed or there would be questions and discussions.

For most of the day, Jaz was by herself and when her family started coming in, she just acted like she had just got in too. No one seemed to notice and she was able to make it through a day like that. She was not sure if she would be able to do that for the next few days, though. She was going to have to find something to do aside from work.

Filling her time was not too difficult. Between work and drawing, she was able to hang out with at least one friend each day that she could not go and see Georgia. They teased her, but it was still fun to be out with them.

"I'm shocked you're not out here in your fancy duds," Peach taunted Jaz as the group of friends played a round of mini-golf. They were more interested in bugging the amazon, but they were managing to play through while doing plenty of conversing.

"Georgie probably won't buy her any new ones if she gets those dirty," Mitch chimed in.

"Oh, please, Jaz is just a really big doll now," Robbie teased.

"Yeah, she'll get new clothes as long as she's a good little girl," Cocoa finished it off.

Jaz rolled her eyes and scoffed. "You guys are just upset that I have a girlfriend that likes me enough to buy me stuff."

"She just buys you stuff to keep you on a short leash," Mitch said, patting the taller woman on the back.

"I ain't on a damn leash," Jaz objected, holding her head up high. "Like I said, you guys are just jealous that I got a girlfriend. When was the last time any of you had a date that didn't involve each other?"

The friends laughed. "She's got us there," Peach admitted.

"I'd like a girlfriend that bought me damn near anything I asked for," Robbie conceded with a shrug.

"I think all of us would like that," Cocoa remarked.

"She doesn't buy me anything I ask for. Just clothes. She goes shopping when she gets bored and she thinks I need some better clothes for when we go out to more formal places," Jaz explained.

"Just clothes? Oh, and those shoes I saw you wearing one day was a figment of my imagination?" Robbie asked.

"It was one pair of shoes! She said I needed some shoes to go with the outfits," Jaz pointed out.

"Next she'll be giving you money to get your hair done more often," Cocoa said and then he rubbed Jaz's head, flinging her locks all over the place.

"Hell, I would pay for that sometimes. Her head scares me when she waits like two months between getting them done. I always think I'll turn to stone just looking at you," Mitch joked.

"Your head does start to get a Medusa vibe if you wait too long to get your locks done," Peach concurred.

Jaz rolled her eyes. "Leave my locks alone. My head is fly," she remarked with a proud smile.

"Fly or not, you are quickly turning into a kept woman," Mitch stated bluntly.

"I am not!" Jaz objected. "It's just a few outfits. It's not a big deal."

The friends did not seem to agree and continued making fun of Jaz for the rest of the day. She took it all in stride, even though it lasted for hours. She was used to that from her friends, though. Hell, had one of them been in her position, she would have been making fun of them too.

-8-8-8-8-

"It seems like forever since we last saw each other," Georgia commented as she pulled Jaz into her house. It had not been forever, of course, but it had been almost a week.

"I know. I was tempted to call Allen and pretend to be a client if only to get him out of the house, so I could see you," Jaz replied before leaning down to give Georgia a deep kiss. It was like they were trying to quench a thirst that they had for each other. By the time they pulled apart, they were panting and smiling softly at each other.

"Well, I'm glad things didn't come to that. I'm sure he would've recognized your voice and just started a big fight," Georgia commented.

"That's true. How was he while he was here? Did he start any fights with you? I got a little nervous because you didn't call."

"We had the usual arguments, but he was mostly trying to go out and drum up new business, dragging me along to his country club to have some arm candy and stuff like that."

Jaz nodded. "He uses you like that?" she asked, frowning somewhat. How dare he use my Georgie as a damn accessory!

"Sometimes. It's the nature of business. He says that he looks much more successful showing up with his beautiful wife on his arm and from what I can tell, he's right. But, let's not talk about that. I'm here with you and I just want to enjoy that. Come, I have something for you," Georgia said, taking her lover by the hand and tugging her toward the kitchen.

"Is it cupcakes? I want cupcakes!" Jaz grinned and clapped.

"I knew you'd appreciate some sweets."

There were a dozen cupcakes hot and waiting. Jaz dove right in while Georgia just sat and watched. Jaz smiled all the way through.

"You make the best cakes, Georgie," Jaz said with her mouth full of her third cupcake.

"I like making them for you. You make me feel honestly appreciated," Georgia replied. "Sometimes, I don't think I return the feeling, so I got you a gift to show you that I do appreciate you," she added, glancing at the floor.

"A gift? You mean beyond the pile of delicious cupcakes?" the artist inquired with a confused expression.

"Yes, beyond the delicious cupcakes. I just want you to know that I appreciate you and I'm sorry we were apart for a week because of me," Georgia replied.

"Hey." Jaz reached over and took Georgia's hand. "It wasn't your fault. Remember I was busy too. I had school stuff and work."

Georgia forced out a smile. "Those are normal things, though. Thanks for trying to make me feel better. But, here's to being together for a month and it being the best month of my life," she announced, going into her pocket. She pulled out a small, slender box, which was gift-wrapped. She handed it to the taller woman.

"Oh, thank you, Georgie. You really didn't have to, though," Jaz insisted as she accepted the present.

"I know I didn't, but I did. So, please, accept it and open it," Georgia requested with a cherubic smile.

Jaz smiled too and peeled away the wrapping with gentle care. Once the wrapping was gone, a jewelry box was revealed. Popping the box open, a thin, silver watch was resting in the case. Jaz gasped.

"Oh, god, Georgie, this is too much," the younger woman muttered, shaking her head.

"No." Georgia got up and walked over to Jaz, pulling her into an embrace. "Nothing is too much for you, sweetheart. I told you, I want you to know how much I appreciate you. This is just a small token of that appreciation," she commented in a low tone before placing a kiss to Jaz's shoulder.

"Small token? This watch probably cost a small fortune," the giantess said.

"Nothing of the sort. I thought a watch would be more your speed, but there was a beautiful necklace that I thought would look nice on you. You don't seem to wear much jewelry, though," the brown-eyed woman commented as she reached over for the watch, wanting to put it around her lover's wrist.

"I don't own much jewelry. Just some earrings. The few pieces I do own, I don't wear that much because I'm always afraid of losing them," Jaz explained.

"Well, please, wear this watch and try not to lose it," Georgia implored.

Jaz nodded. "I'll wear it with love and pride," she murmured before leaning down for a kiss.

Georgia accepted and returned the kiss. They ended up in the guestroom upstairs and exhausted each other. They fell asleep nude and wrapped in each other's arms. The sound of Jaz's alarm woke them up.

"Gotta go?" Georgia asked in low mumble.

"Yeah. If I don't get home soon, my mom will be calling," Jaz answered.

"I wish you could stay," Georgia said, clutching onto the taller woman.

"I wish I could too, but my mom would probably run over here and drag me home eventually. That's just the way she is," Jaz pointed out. Never mind the fact that if her car sat out in front for the whole day, then the neighbors would be talking all week.

"She's not very different from mothers in general. My mother used to constantly check on me too," Georgia said. She did not bother adding that her mother finally stopped daily checks when she got married.

"I'll have to remember that if I ever become a mom. I'll just tell my kids, 'hey, being worried and a watch dog is in the mom handbook,'" Jaz remarked.

Georgia chuckled a bit. They exchanged some tender kisses before Jaz made her great escape into the warm night. She made it home and tried her best not to make any noise as she made her way to her room.

"Jaz, that you?" Maggie called from her bedroom.

"Yeah, Mom!" Jaz replied loudly.

"Did you lock the door up completely? Your brother's already here."

"Okay."

Jaz went back to the door made sure she locked up both locks on it since she was the last one in. With that done, she went to take a shower and fell into bed. The morning came all too soon for her.

"Jaz, there are pancakes down here for you if you want to get up!" Maggie informed her daughter, poking her head into the younger woman's room.

"Pancakes?" Jaz groaned, smacking her lips to that idea.

"Yes, a nice large stack. A cheese omelet too."

"Must… get… up…" Jaz muttered with tired determination.

Maggie chuckled as Jaz slowly climbed out of bed, looking more than disheveled. They both went downstairs and Jaz flung herself into a seat next to her brother. Flint did not look much better than his younger sibling. Maggie laughed at the state of her children.

"You two, I don't know what I'm going to do with you," Maggie commented as she put their breakfast down in front of them.

"You're only young once, Mom," Flint remarked in a groggy tone, scratching his cleanly shaved head as if that would help keep his eyes open.

"I know, but I wasn't nearly as wild as you two when I was young. I can't wait for you two to settle down," Maggie said honestly.

"Uh-huh. We'll live here with our wives, right?" Jaz remarked with a laugh.

Maggie chuckled too. "I'm sure we can accommodate two more people and then when you two start families, we'll find homes nearby."

The siblings had to laugh, especially since they knew their mother was actually serious. They knew she had inherited the mentality from her parents, who to that day still seemed to slightly resent the fact that Maggie moved to the United States to be with her husband. Now, Jaz would not say that her grandparents' resentment came out in any negative way; they adored her and her brother and treated Jeremy like a member of the family. It was just that every time they saw their grandparents, the aging couple always mentioned places the family could live nearby.

"Mom, if we could shrink you down about seven inches, you know you'd be Mormor, right?" Flint teased.

"I don't take that as an insult," Maggie declared proudly.

Again, the siblings laughed before turning their attention to their food. As they ate, a flash caught Flint's eye. He suddenly reached out and grabbed Jaz's wrist. Jaz yelped while he inspected her arm.

"This is a nice watch, Jaz-butt. Where'd you get it from?" Flint inquired with an arched eyebrow and half-smirk, as if he did not know.

Jaz froze and hoped that lightning struck her or a car drove through the living room. Anything would be fine as long as it distracted her brother and her now interested mother from what was going on with her wrist. She had no such luck, though.

"That is a nice watch. It looks expensive," Maggie noted, eyeing her daughter suspiciously.

"Uh…" Jaz gnawed on her lip and then rubbed the bridge of her nose with her free hand. She always hated lying, especially to her parents. She was not very good at lying either. "Somebody gave it to me…"

Pale blue eyes narrowed. "Would this somebody be named Georgia?" her mother demanded.

"And if it is?" Jaz asked, staring down at her plate.

"Damn, Jaz-butt, you're kept a woman now?" Flint asked with a teasing grin.

"No! She just bought it as a gift," Jaz protested.

"Why would she buy you a watch as a gift? This is an expensive gift, little gem. Why would she do this?" Maggie pressed.

Jaz remained silent and tried to go on eating her breakfast. Flint let his sister go and went back to his meal too. Jaz knew that she was not off of the hook, even though silence reigned over the room. She finished eating first and retreated back to her room, which would not save her.

"Jaz," Maggie said, knocking lightly before opening the door.

"Mom…" Jaz was not sure what to do, so she decided to just have the talk that she knew would come sooner or later. "C'mon in. Have a seat," she said, motioning to her bed since she was sitting at her desk.

Maggie did so and Jaz turned her chair to face the bed. For a long moment, they just stared at each other. Maggie then leaned forward and rubbed her daughter's knee.

"Mom… please… don't be disappointed…" Jaz said, feeling in her bones that her mother already knew.

"Jasper, little gem, you know this woman isn't going to leave her husband for you. I know you care deeply for her, but she's not going to leave her husband for you," Maggie stated bluntly.

"She might…" Jaz replied. She had faith that one day that would happen. She just needed Georgia to see that she was the better choice and then Georgia would make the right decision.

"She's not, Jaz. She's buying you these things to distract you because she's not going to leave him."

"How'd you know…?"

Maggie laughed. "I've seen the clothes you've been leaving in when you go to hang out with Georgia. They're definitely not your style and they're way too fancy for a night of movies and pizza."

"I guess I never thought of that…" Well, really, she never thought anyone noticed since she tried to run out of the house as fast as possible whenever she was dressed formally.

"Little gem, honestly, you need to accept that you're just a bit of fun to a bored housewife. She's buying you all this stuff just to distract you. She's not going to leave her husband," Maggie pointed out yet again, sounding a bit more stern than before, as if that would help drill the idea into Jaz's head.

"You don't know that, Mom. I just need to give her time and let her know how much I care about her. I don't expect her to leave him right away, but I'm sure if I just show her how great a girlfriend I am," Jaz insisted.

"Jasper…" Maggie sighed, shaking her head. "I can tell you feel strongly for her, but she's a married woman. You're not this gullible, Jaz."

"I'm not gullible at all, Mom. I just know if I give this time, it'll turn out okay."

"Jaz…" Maggie sighed again and glanced away, as if trying to gather her thoughts. "Nothing I can say is going to change your mind, is it, little gem?" she asked curiously.

"Mom, I know what I'm doing. I understand she's married, but I really think if I treat her right, she'll see that I'm the better choice."

"Jaz, it's not just that."

"I know, Mom, and I'm so sorry to disappoint you. I know you feel like I'm messing with a marriage and everything, but it's not like that. If he knew how to treat Georgie like the great woman she is, I wouldn't stand a chance, but he's not like that. He's neglectful and thinks of his business before anything else. When things don't go his way, he berates Georgie to make himself feel better. It's also possible that he's having an affair," Jaz defended herself.

"And that justifies your affair with his wife?" Maggie demanded with an arched eyebrow, dying to hear that explanation.

"No, of course not. I'm just saying, I wouldn't have stood a chance if he was doing what he was supposed to do. I can't help that I care about George and I want her to have everything she deserves, okay? She's special and deserves to be treated that way."

Maggie nodded to show that she understood, even though it was clear from the frown on her face that she did not agree. "Okay, Jaz, I understand that nothing I can say will change your mind. You need to see this through to the end."

"I do."

"I just don't want you to get hurt," Maggie said.

"I won't. Like I said, I know this'll turn out okay."

Maggie sighed for what felt like the umpteenth time, but she did not object. She rubbed Jaz's knee again before standing up. She walked over to the door and glanced back at her daughter.

"Jaz, I think you need to prepare mentally, just in case," the mother said.

The artist flashed Maggie a confident grin. It was obvious that the younger woman was head over heels already and could not see anything going wrong. She had a plan and all she needed to do was follow the plan.

Maggie left on that note and Jaz went back to her artwork. Eventually, she put that away and went to spend time with Georgia. They went out that night, going to another restaurant that Georgia wanted to try.

"Oh, Greek. I love Greek," Jaz cooed as they entered the restaurant.

Georgia made a curious face. "You like Greek cuisine?"

"Oh, yeah! Love it," Jaz declared. "I never told you my mom is from Greece, have I?"

"I thought you said your mom as Swedish."

"She is, but she's from Greece. Her parents moved to Greece when they were younger and my mom was born in Greece. My grandparents still live in Greece and we usually go see them in the summer and over certain holidays. In fact, we should be going to Greece in August. We always go around that time," Jaz explained.

"In August, huh? How long will you be gone?" Georgia asked as the host seated them.

"A week. That's the most time my dad and brother will take off. I usually stay longer, but…" Jaz trailed off, not sure if she wanted to continue that statement.

"Why aren't you going to stay longer?" Georgia asked innocently.

"I don't want to leave you alone for too long," Jaz commented, grabbing her lover's hand. Georgia quickly blushed, but smiled too.

Their discussion was interrupted as a waitress came over with menus and to take their drink orders. The waitress' gaze lingered a bit on Jaz, but she was gone quickly to bring back their drinks. Georgia watched her go, but did not say anything to Jaz about the look. The waitress returned with their drinks and was ready to take their orders. Jaz already knew what she wanted and quickly rattled it off.

The waitress blinked hard. "You said that pretty well. You speak Greek by any chance?" All of the food items on the menu were named in Greek and usually customers who did not speak the language had a tougher time ordering.

"Fluently," Jaz answered.

Before Jaz knew it, she was having a conversion in Greek with the waitress. Georgia watched the exchange, frowning as it continued on for several minutes. It was not until another table started calling for the waitress that she remembered she was on her job and turned her attention to the other customers.

"Hey, Lena, don't forget to come back. You forgot to take one order," Jaz reminded her, motioning to Georgia. It was then she turned her attention back to Georgia and noticed her date was frowning. "What's wrong, Georgie?" she asked.

"That waitress was flirting with you!" Georgia hissed in anger.

"A little… I guess…" Jaz admitted with a small shrug.

"And you were flirting back!" Georgia pointed out.

"Uh… not really," Jaz answered. She was just being friendly, as she always was. Plus, it was always fun to find someone to speak Greek with. It was not something she got to do too often when she was not in Greece.

"Yes, you were," Georgia insisted.

"No, I wasn't. I was just being nice."

"You sat here and had a full conversation in a foreign language while smiling and laughing with her. That's flirting," Georgia stated.

"No, it wasn't. It was a friendly conversation in a foreign language. Nothing more than that. Why are you making a big deal out of this?"

"Because you're flirting with someone right in front of me."

"What? That's not even what happened. It was just a conversation."

Dinner was not the least bit fun after that. Georgia was quiet and glared at Jaz for the entire time, especially when their waitress came back to the table several times that night. When Jaz drove Georgia home, the older woman slammed the car door shut and made a beeline for the house. She slammed that door shut too. Jaz sighed and went home, not sure what to make of things that night.

In the morning, Jaz revised her plans for the day, figuring seeing Georgia was not the best of ideas. Well, she needed to see her advisor at school again, so decided to see if that was an option. Turned out that it was, so that was going to be her day, she figured. She got dressed and was off to school. Her phone rang before she made it to her car and she was surprised to see it was Georgia.

"Hey, Georgie," Jaz answered.

"Um… Hi, Jazzy," Georgia said, sounding unsure of herself. "Are you… coming over today?"

"I doubt it. I'm going to school right now to see my adviser."

There was a moment of silence. "I thought you were on vacation. Why do you have to go up to school so much?"

"Because I want an internship. Is this going to be an interrogation?" Jaz countered, not in the mood for arguing.

"No, I'm just saying, you keep going up to your school."

"Because that's where my adviser's office is. Georgie, I don't have time for this. Call me back when you're not in such a combative mood. I don't like fighting for no good reason," Jaz stated.

"It's not no good reason. You were flirting with that waitress last night."

"Bye, George." Jaz hung up.

Trying to put Georgia out of her mind, Jaz went about her day, ignoring her phone. It was not until she came home for the night that she checked on her phone to see just how many calls she missed. There were text messages from Georgia, all of them variations of pleas for her to answer her phone. The voice mail messages were pretty much the same thing. Jaz ignored those too.

In the morning, the phone ringing disturbed Jaz's sleep. Her anger had pretty much run its course, so she answered. Her greeting was barely audible and she knew that was because she had her face buried in her pillow.

"Hello, Jazzy," Georgia said, her voice small and humble.

"Hey, Georgie," she replied, smiling a bit as she rolled over onto her back.

"Did I wake you up?"

"Uh-huh. Don't worry about it, though. My mom'll be in here in a little while to offer me breakfast."

"Oh, that's what I was going to offer. Allen's still not home and I'd really like to make you breakfast and we can talk."

Jaz smacked her lips together. "Breakfast and talking. I can be there in an hour. How's that?"

"Sounds good. I'll have things done by the time you get here."

Farewells were said and then Jaz crawled out of bed. She went to take a shower, got dressed, and was on her way. She called out to her mother that she was going to see Georgia, knowing that her mother was awake. Maggie acknowledged that with a loud "okay!" from the kitchen.

-8-8-8-8-

Georgia rushed around the kitchen, wanting to make sure everything was perfect. Homemade waffles were stacked on a plate, scrambled eggs were waiting in the pan, buttered toast with jam, and diced fruit. Everything was ready by the time Jaz rang the bell. Georgia took a deep breath before she answered, running her fingers through her hair to make sure it was still done.

"Hey," Jaz greeted Georgia as the door opened.

"Hey," Georgia replied. "Breakfast is all set up in the dining room. I hope you like it."

"You know I love to eat," Jaz said with a smile.

The pair went to the dining room and Jaz's mouth dropped open in surprise. She could not believe the bounty before her. Georgia pointed to a plate and let Jaz know that it was for her. Jaz sat down and dug in. Georgia sat down across from Jaz and watched her eat for a moment.

"So, how were things with your adviser?" Georgia asked.

"Not as I hoped. He thinks I've got too much going on to take on an internship too. He suggests I either wait for spring term or just wait for next summer, so I'm not taking on too much stuff and can give my all to the internship," Jaz explained.

"Maybe he has a point," Georgia said.

"Probably, but I don't care. I really wanted that internship!" Jaz whined.

"Well, you shouldn't burn yourself out," Georgia said and then she paused briefly. "Jazzy, I'm sorry for the way I've been acting," she apologized.

"Okay…" Jaz said, her tone indicating that she was waiting for more.

"I bought you something…" Georgia leaned over to the end of the table to grab a waiting box.

"Georgie, you don't need to keep buying me things, even if you're trying to apologize. I don't want our relationship to be like that. You don't need to buy me to keep me around," Jaz stated.

"I'm not trying to buy you," Georgia objected.

"Georgie, you've bought me a bunch of clothes, a watch, and whatever this is and we've only been together for a month. You don't need to buy me. I'm here. I like being here," Jaz informed her lover.

Georgia nodded. "I suppose that goes double for my jealous tirade," she commented.

"Yeah, it does. I might talk to other women and be friendly, but I am where I want to be. I'm not going anywhere. It's that simple," Jaz said.

Georgia nodded again. "I suppose this would be a bad time for me to suggest I would pay for you to get a dorm room at your school, so you don't have to worry about going home to your mom," she joked.

"My mom wouldn't let me live in a dorm anyway," Jaz laughed.

"I figured as much. Jazzy, I'm really sorry. I just… I don't want to lose you," Georgia said.

"You won't. Just remember that I'm happy where I am, no matter what. But, you shouldn't be scared to kick me in the ass too. I do stupid stuff sometimes," Jaz admitted with a smile.

"I'll be sure to remember that."

"Then come over here and keep me company," Jaz remarked with a smile.

Georgia smiled too and got out of her seat, making sure to take her gift with her. She walked over to Jaz, who pulled the older woman down into her lap. Georgia giggled and then made herself comfortable. Jaz went back to eating, sharing her food with Georgia, going so far as to feed the smaller woman. Georgia accepted and smiled all the way through, finally feeling at ease again.

-8-8-8-8-

16: Get away

For Jaz, the summer went well, even though she did not get her internship. Her relationship with Georgia was going smoothly for the most part, even though she still had to remind Georgia to stop buying her things. Things were going so well that she did not even feel any anxiety about leaving Georgia for a week at the beginning of August. She and her family went to Greece to visit Maggie's parents, but she and Georgia exchanged emails and a couple of phone calls.

She expected the good times to keep rolling in. By mid-September, she was in for a wake up call. She made plans for her and Georgia, but found out those plans meant nothing when she called Georgia up to let her know about them.

"Hey, Jazzy," Georgia answered her phone.

"Hey, George. I was wondering if you want to do dinner and a movie today or tomorrow? I know it's nothing fancy, but I really want to take you out," Jaz informed her lover.

"Oh, Jazzy, I would love to."

"Great!" Jaz grinned at the news. She and her girl had not been out on a date in couple of weeks and she was eager to show Georgia a good time.

"But, I can't," Georgia continued, sounding a bit sorrowful.

Jaz made a noise. "You can't?" she said as if she did not understand what those words even meant.

"Unfortunately, I cannot."

"What? Why?" Jaz begged to know. She missed her girlfriend and wanted to spend time with her. Is that such a crazy freaking idea?

"Well, baby, I'm sorry, but Allen purchased tickets for us to go on a vacation to celebrate landing a very big client," Georgia explained.

"Allen?" Jaz echoed, again sounding confused, like she had never heard of the man.

"Yes, Allen got tickets for a vacation. Everything is all planned out. We'll be away for a week. I'm sorry, Jazzy. I couldn't just tell him no. He would want to know why and we'd get into an argument. Plus, it would discourage him."

"Discourage him? Who gives a shit! He doesn't care when he discourages you!" Jaz pointed out. "He shits on your dream every chance he gets and you're trying to spare his feelings?" she inquired in disbelief.

"Jazzy, I'm not trying to spare his feelings. You don't need to get so bent out of shape about it."

"My girlfriend is leaving for who-knows-how-long with an asshole and she didn't tell me and you think I don't need to get bent out of shape?" Jaz asked incredulously. It sounded like pure madness to her!

"I didn't know until today. He said he wanted to surprise me. I thought it was sweet," Georgia replied.

Jaz frowned, not liking the idea that someone else was romancing her girlfriend, even if that person happened to be her girlfriend's husband. "It's not sweet! He's probably just trying to bribe you to get you to forget all of the horrible things he's said to you," she pointed out.

"He's not trying to bribe me for anything. He just wants to celebrate. What's your problem?" Georgia huffed. She was upset to the point that Jaz could hear her pacing the floor through the phone.

"My problem is that you're falling for his crap! I mean, come on, not even a week ago you two were fighting as usual and he even had you in tears! Now, all of sudden, he has these tickets and a vacation planned out?" Jaz scoffed. "Please! He's just trying to get back onto your good side. He's playing you!"

"He is not. Stop thinking so negatively. For once, I'm getting along with Allen and he's in a good mood. Hopefully, it will stay that way for the whole vacation."

Jaz's frown turned into a scowl and her face was as hard as stone. Georgia was not acting like a girlfriend in her opinion. The words she was using seemed to be as if she was just telling a friend about the great vacation that her husband had planned for them. Well, Jaz mentally growled, she was no friend and she did not give a damn about the vacation!

"He's in a good mood, huh?" Jaz huffed. "The hell does that matter? He's still playing you more than likely and you just don't want to believe it."

"Are you saying I'm gullible?" Georgia inquired with indignation in her voice.

"I'm saying you're falling for his crap. What did he do to you before springing this vacation on you?" Of course, for her, what he did last week when Georgia was weeping in her arms was enough and it was possible he was trying to make up for that.

"Nothing! I told you it's to celebrate. He just landed a big client and he's happy and he wants to take me on a vacation. What's your problem?"

"Honestly?" Jaz asked. Blue eyes rolled on their own.

"Yes, honestly. I thought we were being honest with each other."

"I don't like the idea of my girlfriend going off on a vacation with someone that's not me," Jaz stated bluntly.

Georgia was quiet for a moment. "He's my husband, Jazzy. I can't exactly tell him no," she pointed out.

"Why not? He tells you no all the time. He tells you who you can and can't have at the house. He tells you where you can and can't go. He tells you what you can and can't make for dinner. Hell, he tells you no when you mention your business ideas to him. He's constantly telling you no, but you can't do it in return. His feelings are that important to you?" Jaz demanded.

"He's my husband."

"And I'm your girlfriend, but obviously that doesn't mean a goddamn thing if you're practically bragging to me how you're going on vacation with that asshole!" Jaz roared. She was pacing now, stomping loudly on the floor as she moved.

"Jazzy, calm down. Remember your asthma," Georgia said.

"Fuck my asthma! You don't get it, do you?"

"I do get it. You're throwing a tantrum because I can't go out with you," the older woman replied.

Jaz snarled at the insult. "A tantrum? Excuse the fuck out of me for wanting to spend time with my girlfriend! And for trying to spare you the let down that Allen more than likely will hit you with."

"You know, you don't know everything about him. He's not the total asshole you seem to think he is. We've had vacations before and they were fine, thank you very much. Why don't you call me back when you get over this attitude of yours? It's rather ugly," Georgia declared and then she disconnected the call.

Jaz stared at the phone in disbelief. Georgia had really hung up on her! Growling, she tossed the phone down onto her bed. Not knowing what else to do with herself, she kicked a nearby wall. Had she been in her right mind, she would have remembered that hitting a wall in the house was never a good reaction and almost always got her into trouble.

"Jaz, what's all that damn noise?" Jeremy demanded to know, calling up the stairs to her room.

"Nothing, Dad!" Jaz answered with a whelp.

"It's a pretty loud nothing! Sounds like you're about to fall through the floor."

"Sorry!" Jaz decided to vent her anger in another way since she did not want anyone to come and inquire what was wrong with her. She tossed herself into her chair and sat at her desk, starting some new sketches.

Jaz muttered angrily to herself as she quickly put down dark lines. She could not believe that Georgia accused her of throwing a tantrum. Was it too much to ask that her girlfriend not go on vacation with someone else? It would be like if she called Georgia and told her that she was going to the movies with some random girl, she thought.

"Shit, if I took some girl to the movies, she'd pitch a fucking fit, yet I'm supposed to just accept her going off doing who knows what with that fuck-head?" Jaz snorted. "To hell with that!" A bold semi-circle made its way onto her paper. "Why the hell am I the one that has to sit back and take it? Why the hell is it okay for her? How dare she say I'm throwing a tantrum! She acted like I was some punk kid!"

Insulted and wounded, Jaz continued to mumble as she worked. Her hand moved as if she was possessed, but her eyes were not taking in what she was drawing. She was too busy thinking about the way Georgia treated her and the way Georgia acted like it was the most natural thing in the world for her to disappear to some island paradise with Allen for a whole week.

"He gets to spend a week with her, looking at her in a bikini and getting a tan and drinking out of a fucking coconut and shit while I have to sit here and resent it. What the hell is that? It's bullshit is what it is!" she declared with a snarl. "So what he's her fucking husband? I'm her girlfriend! Don't my feelings matter at all? Doesn't my opinion count?" Jaz wondered with a hurt pout.

Feeling like the answer to her question was "no," she paused and sniffled. While Georgia might not be able to say "no" to Allen, Jaz felt like she had been told "no" along with being slapped in the face by her girlfriend. She was the one that was good to Georgia, so why would Georgia deny her? Why was Georgia treating her in such a manner?

"Why is she acting like I don't matter?" Jaz asked the air.

Not having an answer, she finally took in what she had drawn. She chuckled, seeing that she drew Allen's head on a donkey's body. It was an accurate representation as far as she was concerned. Snorting out of her nose, she started drawing another; this one of Georgia. It helped her feel better.

-8-8-8-8-

Georgia stared at her phone after hanging up Jaz. She wondered why the college student was acting so difficult. Allen had done something sweet for once and Jaz was just trying to tear him down. Making matters worse, the younger woman seemed to be trying to tear her down. In other words, Jaz was doing just what she accused Allen of doing.

"She berates me just for doing something that she dislikes, just like him. How childish!" Georgia grumbled as she marched back into her closet, looking for items to pack. She was going on vacation and she was going to have a good time, no matter what Jaz said or thought!

Scowling, Georgia wondered what the hell right Jaz had to question about the vacation anyway. She had not questioned Jaz when she went to Greece over the summer. She had bitten back the impulse to ask why Jaz called so late a couple of times during that trip, doing her best to curb her jealousy and suspicion of any female that might be around Jaz. All she had done for that whole week in August was smile and tell Jaz to have a good time. Now it was time for Jaz to return the favor and all she was getting was the Spanish Inquisition from the younger woman.

"I don't need all of this stress. Allen's being a good man for once and I just want to enjoy that. Is that so wrong?" Georgia pondered aloud.

While wondering that, she yanked out clothing for her trip. She was going to have a good time just to spite Jaz! That would show her!

"I'll go lie on the beach and get a nice tan… with no lines even!" Georgia decided. Of course, she doubted that she would have the courage to do such a thing, but it was a nice idea to entertain. She would then come back home and tease Jaz, who she was certain would want to know if she had tan lines. Well, she would not let Jaz find out since Jaz wanted to have such childish tantrums!

Georgia searched around for her bathing suits, wanting to take the most provocative ones. Just as she was pulling out a bikini that she had never worn, Allen entered the room. He whistled his approval of the swimsuit. Georgia jumped in surprise.

"Allen!" she squeaked. "When did you get back in?"

"A few minutes ago. I like what you're doing," he commented with a happy smile as he walked over to her, wrapping her in a loose embrace.

"Is everything in order?" she asked, doing her best to not squirm in his arms. For some reason, whenever he hugged her lately, she found herself always trying to wiggle away or end the embrace quickly. She was not sure why that was, but she always seemed to be trying to escape him.

"Everything is ready. We leave tomorrow," he informed her. "See, this is why you should just focus on staying home. We can go on vacations like this whenever I land a large account and you don't have to worry about closing a shop or taking days off or leaving someone in charge," he added.

Georgia frowned a bit. "So, I should put my dream on a shelf for spontaneous vacations?" No amount of beach and sun would ever convince her to do that!

"That's not what I'm saying. I'm just saying you should wait a while, so we can do things like this while we're still young. A bakery is always going to be there."

"And the islands are sinking next week?" she remarked with a half-smile.

Allen laughed. "No, but they damn sure won't be the same after we leave if you walk around in that bikini you're holding," he quipped, still chuckling.

Georgia smiled a bit. "I doubt I'm going to have the courage to wear it," she admitted, glancing at the garment. A small blush crept onto her cheeks just from holding it up in front of Allen.

"Oh? How about you wear it just for me then?" he requested and then he leaned down to give her a quick kiss.

Georgia returned the kiss rather than answer him. Suddenly, she was much less keen on wearing the outfit. She tried not to think of why that was and just reminded herself that she and Allen were finally getting along. She hoped he continued to do well with his business, if only for the sake of her sanity and their marriage.

"So, what do you think you want to do when we get there? We might be able to go to that little cafe we went to before," Allen commented as he moved away, going into the closet to more than likely start packing his own things.

"Before?" she echoed in a very curious tone. "Allen, we've never been there before," she pointed out.

Allen was quiet for a second. "No? Are you sure? I thought we did."

"No, you might be confusing this with our vacation three years ago."

"It wasn't this island?" he asked, sounding a bit puzzled, but also something else that Georgia was not able to a name to. It almost seemed like he was trying to cover his tracks, which she could not figure out. It was just strange.

"No, it's a completely different set of islands."

Allen laughed. "I guess I'm not smarter than a fifth grader when it comes to geography. I could've sworn it was the same place!" he laughed some more. Even the laughter seemed odd, like he was forcing it out.

"No," she said absently. She shrugged off the slip as a mistake, but in the back of her mind, it remained. Assuring herself that it was just a minor mistake and she was thinking too hard on it, she went back to packing.

Her anger with Jaz was forgotten thanks to the other thoughts now occupying Georgia's mind. To avoid thinking too heavily on something that she was sure was trivial, her attention returned to her swimsuits. She now considered what she felt comfortable with being outside and also what she was willing to let Allen see her in. She was not sure why, but the thought of him staring at her in a tiny bikini was not an appealing idea at all.

The next day when they were set to leave, Georgia tried to call Jaz, at least wanting to talk to her a moment before takeoff. She waited until Allen stepped away, needing to use the restroom. Unfortunately, Jaz did not answer, which made Georgia rather upset. She was both outraged and saddened by Jaz's childish behavior. Yes, they had a small fight yesterday, but that was not reason to ignore her calls, especially when she was about to be 30,000 feet in the air. Instead of trying again, Georgia left Jaz both a voice mail and a text message, basically just saying that she hoped everything was all right and hopefully they could talk when she landed.

"You ready?" Allen asked with a charming grin as he returned and it was announced that their flight was now boarding.

Georgia smiled. "I am. I'm so happy we could actually take a trip together like we used to and always planned on doing when we got married."

Allen smiled too. "We're going to be doing a lot more of what we planned on as long as I keep getting more clients. I really feel like this was the tipping point and now everything is going to go fine."

"I hope so too," she concurred. It was pleasant to be with Allen when he was trying to be kind and considerate for the most part, like when they were in college. He was like a totally different person when they were in college; sometimes, she even forgot that he was ever polite. Their relationship seemed so brilliant while they were getting along. It made her remember why she had married him in the first place. She boarded the plane feeling rather good about their marriage. She hoped that it lasted.

-8-8-8-8-

Jaz frowned as she heard her ring tone that alerted her Georgia was calling her yet again. She did not want to talk to the woman that betrayed her. She was still fuming over how Georgia went on a vacation with Allen and seemed to totally disregard her emotions in general. She had locked herself in her room for the day, not ready to face the world. She knew if she spoke with anyone while she was in her current mood, she would verbally annihilate them for no reason at all.

So, she remained tied to her desk. She had come up with a lot of caricatures in that time, most of Allen and his untimely death. Her favorite involved a great white shark, a speedboat, and some jagged rocks. Running an extremely close second was a picture that was inspired by an octopus and some Japanese comics that she read online.

Her frown deepened as she thought about that picture because it led her to think about what Allen could possibly be doing to her girlfriend. She had already imagined a million and one things that could happen that she did not want to happen, but the idea of Allen intimately touching Georgia was truly turning her stomach.

"Why would she even let him touch her? Is it the penis? If so, I can go buy one of those," Jaz grumbled to herself.

Surprisingly enough, that one little huff took her mind off of things for a little while. She got lost in some fantasies that she wanted a chance to explore one day. Too bad for her the daydreams did not last long and she went back to what she was worried about in the first place.

"Is she fucking him right now?" Jaz growled, leaning down and banging her head against her table, hoping to get those thoughts and images out of her mind. A knock at the door distracted her. "Huh?" she called.

"You okay in there, Jaz?" Jeremy called.

"I'm okay," she lied. What else could she say, though? Her father did not know about her relationship and she was certain he would not approve. At least her mother would try to help her out. She was sure that her father would just disapprove and urge her to end the relationship, even though he was typically the one that thought she should make her own mistakes. It was just that usually her own mistakes were not against his beliefs or general tastes.

"Your mom made some food. You want some lunch?" he asked, sounding very concerned, even though he was trying to sound normal.

"Nah, I'm good," she replied. She was not hungry, not for food anyway. She was itching for a cigarette, though. "I bet Flint has some. No way he actually quit," she figured.

Tearing herself from her self-imposed prison, she marched to the other side of the hallway and barged into Flint's room. He was not home, so it was all right to just go in; they both acted as if the other's room belonged to them and only respected private space when they were scared that they would see something that would leave them mentally scarred. She checked all of his usual spaces for cigarettes and could not find a single one, not even a filter.

"Damn it, the little mouse is seriously quitting!" she huffed, scowling deeply.

Jaz was ready to kick the wall again in frustration, but was not as upset as she was before and recalled that it was not good to hit the walls of the house. She had learned that lesson when she was about ten years old and still vividly remembered how unamused her father had been with her actions. So, instead of letting the wall feel her fury, she returned to her room and continued to draw hate-fueled cartoons. I'll probably have a book of this shit by the time she gets back. She knew that she would not answer her phone while she was drawing because the pictures were helping to feed her fury.

Another knock at the door eventually gained her attention. "Yeah?" the artist called.

"Are you going to come eat dinner?" Maggie inquired as she stepped into the room. She looked around, noting that Jaz was in the same place she had been since yesterday. That was enough to make her worry, but the fact that Jaz was basically sitting in the dark, only having her desk lamp on, added to things being a bit creepy.

"Dinner? Didn't you just make lunch?" Jaz asked, her forehead wrinkled and her eyebrows kneaded together.

Maggie chuckled and smiled at her child. "My little gem, that was seven hours ago. What's going on in here, Jaz? Why are you cloistered away?"

Jaz had to laugh a little; she loved her mother's vocabulary. "I've decided to become a nun," she replied.

"If only I could be so lucky," Maggie remarked.

"Oh?"

"You know I've always questioned your taste in women. This is only another prime example of why I do. Next time we go home, I'm going to let your Mormor introduce you to a nice Greek or Swedish girl," Maggie answered, teasing only slightly.

"How do you know this is about a woman?"

The mother laughed again. "Because, in life, when you are attracted to women, aren't all things about women?" she quipped.

Jaz frowned. "Women suck."

"And why is that?" Maggie asked.

"George went on vacation."

"Uh-huh," Maggie pressed.

"With her husband."

"Well, I would assume so," the older woman commented.

Jaz growled, feeling patronized by her mother. "C'mon, Ma! She could be doing anything with him right now! It's not right!" she huffed.

Maggie was silent for a moment, undoubtedly trying to think of something to spare her daughter's feelings. "Little gem, they're married," she simply pointed out.

"I know! But, that doesn't mean she should excuse the fact that he's an asshole and he only gave her this trip because he's been pissing her off a lot lately! He's just scamming her and she's letting him!" Jaz declared, throwing her hands up in defeat.

"Or he's trying to make things up to her and that's what you're really afraid of, isn't it? He'll make things up to her and you won't be there to distract her and then you lose her, right?"

Jaz snorted. "He's not smart enough for that," she proclaimed, scowling as she spoke.

"Well, then, there's nothing to worry about, right?" Maggie pointed out.

"That's not the point, Mom. The point is that she went with him. I know he's going to screw it up, but she went along with it in the first place. She would have a fit if I did that!"

Maggie arched an eyebrow. "Oh, you have a spouse to take on vacations?"

Jaz was not amused. "You know what I mean, Ma."

"I don't know what you mean, Jaz. Georgia is married and you are not. What would she say to decline her husband's offer of going on vacation?" Maggie inquired.

The caramel brow furrowed further as the teenager thought on it. "I don't know. Something like she doesn't want to go."

"Well, that would be a little suspicious. Does she have a reason to decline a free vacation and a chance to spend time with her husband who is never home?"

A groan escaped the artist. "I don't know. I think she does."

"You think she could tell Allen that she doesn't want to go with him on vacation because she wants to spend time with you?" Maggie asked.

"Well, it's the truth! I treat her better than he does, so she should want to go out with me. She should just tell him she doesn't want to be with him anymore," Jaz declared with feeling.

The blonde smiled a little. "You're such a romantic, little gem. Do you really think it's going to work like that?"

Jaz frowned and stared at the floor briefly. "It'll happen eventually. I know it, Mom. This is going to work out."

"If it's going to work out, Jaz, don't you think you need to understand her situation a bit?" Maggie inquired.

"What's to understand? She's married to a douche and she has me. She should leave him and be with me," Jaz reasoned.

Maggie smiled again and then patted her daughter on the head. Jaz was aware that she was being patronized, but she was not sure why. It all made sense to her. She was the better choice, so Georgia should leave Allen and they could be a proper couple. What the hell was so hard about that?

"Mom, am I wrong?" the teenager begged to know in a somewhat tearful voice. Am I kidding myself?

Maggie sighed. "Little gem, you're dating a married woman. There are going to be some complications. You should understand that. You are quite intelligent, aren't you? You are the one with the full academic scholarship and we were flashing that impressive 4.0 report card to your grandparents this summer, after all," she remarked.

"I just don't like it, Mom. I don't like this."

"You are aware that this is just going to get worse, correct? She is going to stay married, Jaz," Maggie pointed out.

"She won't, Mom. I know she won't. She's going to see that I'm the better choice and she'll pick me," Jaz insisted.

"If that's the case, why are you sitting here all mopey then? Everything is going to work out, right?" Maggie reasoned.

Blue eyes narrowed as Jaz looked up at her mother. "You're just going to logic me to death, eh, woman?" she remarked with a half-smile.

"I'm just here to make you feel better, baby. It's my job, after all. Did it work?"

"A little."

"Well, what if I told you there are lamb chops downstairs waiting for you?" Maggie asked with a smile.

Not surprising, the mention of food was enough to motivate the semi-cheered up artist. Jaz charged downstairs, needing something in her stomach after being locked away in her room for the better part of two days. Maggie followed behind Jaz, not bothering to hide the smug expression on her face.

A full tummy put a real smile on Jaz's face for the first time since arguing with Georgia yesterday. Feeling better, when her phone rang again not too long after dinner, Jaz answered it, even though it was Georgia. As she answered, she silently admitted to herself that she missed Georgia after only a day.

"Hey," Jaz answered the phone.

"Oh, thank you for answering, baby!" Georgia practically cried for joy.

"Well, you keep calling me," Jaz replied, trying her best to sound cool and collected. She thought it was a little weird that Georgia would call her "baby" while on vacation with Allen. Surely he was nearby. If she went on vacation with Georgia, they would be joined at the hip… so to speak.

"I don't want you to be upset with me," Georgia informed her lover, sounding shy and small.

Jaz sighed and was about to blow up, but found her anger had run its course for the moment. "Of course I'm upset with you, Georgie. I'm not there and you're with him. I want to be with you."

"That's sweet," Georgia commented.

"Not on this end it isn't! It's painful. I want to be with you. I want to hold you, kiss you, make love to you! And I don't want him doing that!" Jaz huffed, admitting those things to herself as much as Georgia.

"He's not doing that," Georgia replied, sounding an odd mixture of anger, sorrow, and relief.

Jaz's face scrunched up. "What do you mean 'he's not doing that'? He's your husband."

"He seems to be more interested in lying on the beach and drinking more than anything else."

"But, eventually, he's going to want to be with you and I don't want that."

"You're right, but he is my husband, Jazzy. Of course, he's going to want that," Georgia pointed out, sounding almost as if she was talking to a child as far as Jaz was concerned.

"Do you want that?" Jaz asked in a low tone, whimpering just a little bit.

Georgia was quiet for a moment, like she did not know what to say. "I want you, Jazzy."

"Then why'd you go away with him? Why'd you leave with him and leave me here?" Jaz demanded.

"Because he's my husband. I can't just blow off a huge vacation with him, especially when this was actually something I used to bother him about when he first started being away so much. He actually wants to spend time with me and I can't just let that go."

"So, you would rather be with him than with me?"

"I didn't say that! You know I'd rather be with you, but I like spending time with Allen and once upon a time he liked spending time with me. I can't just throw everything away without trying."

"Without trying what?" Jaz inquired, her voice practically a snarl now.

"Without trying to reconnect in someway. You don't understand."

"You're damn right I don't understand! Why the hell does my girlfriend need to connect in a way that involves you flying off thousands of miles with just him, a beach, and a private hotel room?"

"You know what, Jazzy, I was calling because I had hopes that we could talk this out, but it's clear that you have no intention of talking this out. All you're doing is trying to lay claim to me. I'm not some piece of property you know!"

Jaz reeled back, those words catching her by surprise. "I… I'm not saying you are," she stammered.

"That's what it sounds like on my end. You're not even bothering to understand my position. All I hear is about why you think this is so wrong and why it's such an affront to you. You're upset that I didn't drop everything just to be with little Jazzy. You're acting like a baby," Georgia declared.

Jaz almost countered with the lame "am not," but caught herself in time. "I'm just worried, Georgie. I don't want to lose you."

"You're not going to lose me just because I'm on vacation. Did I lose you when you went on vacation?"

"That's different. I was with my family, visiting family. You're off on this romantic getaway with a man who eventually is going to realize that being with you is better than some fruity drink on the beach," Jaz explained.

"Jaz, he's my husband," was all Georgia could say.

Jaz got the feeling that that phrase was supposed to somehow explain everything, but it explained nothing to her. All those words did was wound her further and remind her that she was sharing Georgia with someone who did not deserve her. It was painful, like her guts were being pulled out.

"Georgie…" Jaz felt like there were rather important words on the tip of her tongue, but she could not get them out. She did not know what they were.

"Jazzy, try to understand, he is my husband."

"And he comes before me?" the college student inquired. Was that it? Was that what she was missing?

"No, sweetheart, I'm not saying that at all. I'm only saying that there are some things that are expected of me as his wife and I don't think these things are unreasonable. I wish you weren't so grumpy over it. I understand your end of things, but I am married to Allen," Georgia pointed out, attempting to soothe Jaz's emotional injuries from the sound of her voice.

Jaz sighed and scratched her head, not sure what else she could do. It was not like she could leap through the phone and suddenly be at Georgia's side. What was done was done, her mind pointed out. But, it still hurt.

"Jazzy, I wish you were here with me," Georgia confessed.

"But, I'm not."

"I know you're not."

"You don't prefer being with him?" Jaz asked in a small voice.

"No, I don't. You know I would rather be with you. I couldn't tell him no, though. For once, Jazzy, he was being thoughtful. I know you don't want to hear that, but he's not bad all of the time. It would have hurt him if I turned him down and he would have just become more distant and abrasive than he already is. I shouldn't punish a good deed."

"What about my good deeds?"

"Do I ever punish your good deeds?" Georgia inquired.

Jaz sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose rather hard with two fingers. "This feels like a punishment for something very, very bad."

"It's not a punishment, Jazzy. It's not and I know you know that. Baby, I don't know what else to tell you. I really wish you wouldn't get so upset, though," the older woman stated.

"Maybe there's nothing to tell me right now," Jaz conceded. Nothing short of Georgia appearing before her, naked preferably, would ease her suffering right now.

"Should I go?" Georgia asked, her voice small now.

"I think it would be best."

Georgia sniffled a bit, hurting Jaz even more. She could not understand how this woman could affect her to where she was upset with Georgia, but cared that she was also wounding Georgia. She was certain that she had never been in a relationship so baffling.

"Georgie, don't cry," Jaz implored.

"I'm not. I'm just sorry you're so angry with me. I don't want us to fight. I don't like fighting with you," Georgia said.

"I don't like fighting with you either. I'm just cranky," Jaz admitted. Nothing was going to change that fact until Georgia was with her.

"Okay. Bye, baby."

"Bye."

The call was disconnected and Jaz sighed again. Leaning against her desk, she wondered if she had just ruined things with Georgia. After all, she was upsetting the older woman and there was a chance that Allen might actually get his act together. If Allen showed Georgia a good time, would she think that he was the better choice? Would she end up staying with him and ending things with Jaz? The artist did not know.

"Maybe she'll call back…" Jaz hoped.

-8-8-8-8-

Georgia stared at her cell phone, wishing that call had gone better with Jaz. She really could understand Jaz's anxiety over the sudden vacation, but she could not back out. Besides, she did not want to. She wanted to see if Allen was really starting to change since his business was going better. So far, she was not seeing much of a change.

He had been acting much like he did when they were home. He was commanding and possessive, almost making her feel like an expensive toy that he could show off. Most of the time, she never said anything about it because she was sure it was all in her mind. He was not like that when they dating, so she did not see why he would be that way since they were married. But, drinking seemed to make his behavior worse and she always considered that it might not all be in her mind.

"Allen, maybe you should take it easier on the drinks," Georgia suggested. She and her husband had gone out for dinner and Allen was already on his third drink. Their meals had not even gotten to the table yet.

"What? It's a vacation, baby. Lighten up. Here, you drink this one and I'll get another one," Allen proposed, sliding his beverage across the table to her.

"Allen, you know I don't drink." Not with you anyway.

"Like I said, baby, lighten up. This is a celebration. I landed a huge account. Celebrate with me. Stop trying to spoil my moment being uptight as usual," he commented.

"I am not uptight."

"Yes, you are. You've always been uptight. It's cute most of the time," he remarked with a drunken smile.

Georgia frowned. She was not uptight. She just did not like the way drinking made her forget things or how it made Allen act.

"There are other ways to have fun rather than getting drunk, you know," she pointed out.

He chuckled a bit. "You're too uptight for the fun stuff, baby. Drink the drink. It'll loosen you up and then we can get to the fun stuff." He gave her a rather lewd smile after that, which made her feel a bit uncomfortable.

Georgia blushed, more from embarrassment by the way he was acting than anything else. She could not help wondering what "fun stuff" they had done the last time she was drunk. She was not looking forward to a repeat of it, so she pushed his drink away. She also decided to ignore him for the rest of the night.

"Baby, why are you upset? I don't mean anything by it. I like you all uptight most of the time. Like I said, you're very cute, but every now and then you need to loosen up. There's a time to be serious and a time to relax," he argued.

"I don't relax with liquor," she reminded him in a sharp tone.

Allen shrugged. "More for me. But, we're going to have to do something to loosen you up."

"I think lying on the beach will do that for me," she answered. She realized when they got there, there was not much she wanted to do, especially by herself. She offered a few suggestions, like snorkeling, but Allen did not want to try anything she proposed. She did not want to do those things on her own, though. I really wish Jazzy were here with me.

"That's it? We should hit some clubs and do some partying. We're still young," he stated.

"I know we are, but you know how I feel about clubs," she replied.

Allen sighed. "I told you, you're uptight. You want to swim with sharks or some bullshit like that," he snorted.

She frowned deeply. They were on a beautiful island. She wanted to do things that she could not do at home. There were clubs at home, not that she wanted to go to them. There were no pearly white beaches or liquid turquoise water back at home, though. There were no exotic wildlife or water sports back home. Drinking and partying definitely were not exclusive to the island, though.

"Allen, I hear there's a nice aquarium here with one of those underwater tunnels. How would you like to go to that?" she suggested.

"I'm not a child, woman. I don't give a shit about an aquarium," he answered, giving her a look as if she were mentally challenged and then he waved her off. It was almost like he was completely dismissing her.

Georgia decided to give up. She figured she would enjoy the vacation on her own and he could enjoy it his way. For the next four days, she laid on the beach and went to a few shops that she desired to see. Allen bugged her about going out, but it was always to places she did not care for. He then always went without her and the only time they saw each other was if she happened to come into the hotel room in the afternoon to find him passed out in the bed looking like death warmed over.

If nothing else, Georgia was able to see that she and Allen shared very few interests. She was flattered that he invited her places, but would rather that he go somewhere that she wanted to go. Of course, she mentally conceded that could go both ways, but she could not bring herself to go anywhere he wanted. She had no desire to put up with rowdy crowds or deal with drunken idiots.

"You used to love going places with me," Allen stated, scowling at her as he got dressed for another night of partying.

She did not reply. It was not that she used to love going to such places with him. She would go because she felt it was expected of her as his girlfriend and later as his wife. It was hard to enjoy herself, especially when he tried to put her on display.

"I do like going places with you, Allen. I dislike clubs and parties, though, and you know that. I don't like the smoking, drinking, or random groping," she reminded him. He ignored her and left, as he had done the past few days. She found herself not caring about being left behind and went in search of something to fill her time.

All in all, she supposed it was an all right trip. She had gifts for Jaz, hopefully to make up for leaving for the week. She also bought Allen a gift, just a "thank you" for a nice vacation. She gave him credit for trying, even though he fell short in the end.

-8-8-8-8-

Georgia watched from the window as Jaz sat in her car. Jaz was parked in front of the house and had been sitting there for almost ten minutes. Georgia did not take that as a good sign. Her brain started to consider that Jaz might be practicing how she was going to break up with Georgia.

"I might need more than cupcakes and a few novelty gifts to get her to forgive me," Georgia sighed.

She went to the living room, waiting to hear Jaz walking up to the house. It took another five minutes before Jaz shuffled to the door. The knocks were weak, but Georgia was anticipating it, so she heard it. The door opened seconds after the first knock. Georgia forced out a smile when she laid eyes on Jaz.

"… Hi…" Georgia muttered, unsure what else to say.

"Hi…" Jaz replied, shifting from one foot to another.

"Come in." Georgia motioned to the inside of the house.

Jaz stepped in and Georgia shut the door. For a moment, Jaz just stood there and then there was a weight on her back; Georgia hugged the amazon. Georgia then buried her face into Jaz's shoulder. A sigh of relief escaped her as she felt Jaz's hands rest on her own.

"I missed you so much," Georgia commented in a low, tearful tone. She had been so lonely for the past week.

"I missed you too," Jaz admitted.

"I made you cupcakes," the ebony-haired woman announced for lack of a better thing to say.

"Thanks. I smelled 'em outside."

"Are you still angry with me?" Georgia asked. She had not called Jaz while she was on vacation after that first day. She figured Jaz would get in contact with her when she was ready to talk. It seemed that Jaz was not ready for the whole week. In fact, she had to call Jaz when she got back home to let the artist know that she was back.

"Do you care about me, Georgie?" Jaz inquired.

"You know I do!" Georgia answered vehemently.

Jaz turned around and looked down at the older woman. Sighing, she put her hand up and caressed Georgia's cheek. Leaning down, she placed a gentle kiss to Georgia's lips. By the time Georgia realized what was happening, Jaz was already pulling away.

"That's not a goodbye kiss, right?" Georgia asked sorrowfully. Her eyes shining from gathering tears.

"I was angry, Georgie, but not that angry. I wish you didn't leave me to go on a trip with him, but I'm not going to leave you over it. I care about you too. I care about you a lot. The reason I didn't call was just because I was upset and I kept making myself upset by imagining all kinds of crazy things that you'd be doing with him," Jaz explained.

Georgia smiled a bit. "Nothing crazy happened. If you want, I can tell you all about it over cupcakes."

"As long as it's nothing crazy," Jaz compromised.

"I promise, it's nothing crazy. It mostly involves me shopping. You'll be very angry to know, I purchased several gifts for you," Georgia commented with a teasing smile.

Jaz chuckled and they disappeared into the kitchen. Georgia gave Jaz the gifts and discussed the vacation with her. The short, shopping-related tales got a few smiles out of the younger woman.

"There were a lot of nice shops, but there were so many interesting things to do. Unfortunately, I didn't want to do them by myself. I suppose next time, I'll have to let you accompany me to the islands." Chocolate eyes shimmered with hope as she said those words and blue eyes went wide.

"I would like that…" Jaz concurred, talking despite having half a cupcake in her mouth.

"I'm sure we would have a lot of fun together," Georgia said with a smile.

By the end of the day, Georgia was glad to see Jaz grinning as usual. It seemed that Jaz was not infuriated anymore, which Georgia thought was great. She never wanted Jaz to be upset with her. But, she knew it would be hard for them to maintain a wonderful relationship if Jaz was going to throw a tantrum whenever she did something with Allen. Still, she would try, though. She would definitely try because Jaz was to precious to her.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: problems continue.