The Birthday Gift

What started as curiosity heated quickly. One minute we were standing, kissing, exploring the taste of one another for the first time. Then her hands were caressing my back, moving down over the swell of my bottom. My breath was catching in my chest, then rushing from me almost painfully as I hungrily sought out her lips again and again. I opened my eyes to look up into those intoxicating hazel-green eyes...they were green, dark...hungry. We had crossed a line. Suddenly she was pulling off the tee shirt she'd just put on, quickly undoing her jeans and I was hastily following her lead.

I watched as her eyes combed over every curvy inch of me as I undressed, a smile hovering around her lips. She didn't have that same look I was used to. It wasn't a detached hunger, like a dog about to devour meat...there was something else in those eyes. Something that made me feel...safe? I know it was stupid, but that's the word that popped into my head.

But I didn't have much time to think about it. She reached for me, pulling me close to her again, molding our frames together, exploring me...soft...gentle. I was watching her face carefully and she smiled that smile again, making my heart skip a beat. I was waiting for some sign that she was hesitant or leery or something...there was nothing.

And then she wiped those thoughts from my head as she pressed her lips to mine. Less polite this time. I could feel it, that tightness in my tummy, the way my head started reeling. I returned her kiss, answering with my own enthusiasm. I suddenly felt the bed at the back of my knees as she eased me down, her body on top of mine, her knee parting my thighs. She was still kissing me, stealing my breath...I knew she could feel my heart racing. My fingers dug into her back as the feelings in my tummy intensified and spread. It was like a physical ache, the need to have her touch me. I felt her hands on my heated flesh, a little uncomfortable with the feelings she was creating, but longing for more. It was weird, I had been with so many...but this felt new. I was breathless...anxious...curious...wanting. Maybe she could sense the turmoil, because she stopped suddenly, shifting so that we were laying side by side, facing one another. She reached up to trace my cheek tenderly.

"You okay?" She asked huskily, her own body clearly prepped for more.

I nodded, not sure I could speak.

"Tell me, I need to hear you say you're okay with this," she begged softly.

I hesitated, "I'm okay Vic. I—" I stopped myself, embarrassed by what I was going to say.

She waited patiently, continuing to trace my face affectionately.

"What?" She prompted gently.

I rolled forward a little, hiding my face in her bare shoulder. "I don't want you to stop." I admitted softly, my body zinging as the words left my mouth.

I heard her laugh a little and then she pulled me close to her with a growl, her mouth on mine, hot, demanding, her hands exploring the length of me. She moved like a woman starved, kissing my cheeks, my forehead, sinking her teeth into a tender spot on my throat that made me gasp in response. Her hands were rough now, pulling me closer, enjoying the feel of my flesh as it surrendered to her demands. When her fingers closed over my breasts, massaging them, pulling at the hardened nipples without mercy, I bit my lip to stop from crying out. I felt the heat of her mouth on my sensitive skin, her tongue snaking out to tease a nipple, her lips sucking on the turgid flesh. Her hands moved downward, brutally manipulating my buttocks, her knee pressing against my center. My hips moved of their own accord, riding her knee, the smell and feel of my slick heat driving us both on. She gently bit into a nipple, savoring the feelings as my body arched upward, melding with her heated flesh. Suddenly she was parting my nether lips, her fingers entering, sliding into me, igniting my body like a match to gasoline. I could not comprehend how desperate I was for her. I urged her on, grinding my hips, meeting her thrusts, biting into her shoulder. I begged her, telling her I needed her, in me, deeper, harder, faster. She obliged, pumping into me, shifting her body to provide more leverage, moving to the other nipple, careful to leave her mark on it as well as my body climbed to even greater heights. I could feel her against me, sweating, trembling, staving off her own pleasure as she stroked me...fucked me...loved me.

It didn't take very long, that first orgasm. But it had been so long, so very long...it stunned me. I froze, forgetting how to breathe, my head growing light as colors flashed behind my tightly closed lids. I could feel her slow down, giving me a chance to regroup. I heard her husky voice beside my ear, whispering tenderly, "breathe, Rayn." When I was finally able to open my eyes, and I saw those intensely ravenous hazel green eyes watching me, I pressed my lips to hers brutally, my hands digging into the flesh of her back, down to her buttocks, parting the cheeks. I entered her slick channel from behind, watching with pleasure as she gasped, her mouth gaping open for a moment before her body arched and she responded to my administrations, bucking wildly as she came.

I think she'd forgotten who I was for a moment, forgotten what I'd been doing for so many years, but I didn't let her forget a second time. I switched us into a 69 and latched onto her center, my mouth ratcheting her body up another notch, forcing her into yet another powerful orgasm within moments. She bit her lip to stop from calling out. I could feel the tremendous effort it took. But before I could gloat, I felt the heat of her tongue manipulating my pearl, drawing it into her mouth, her tongue lashing at it brutally. My hips jerked violently and I could feel another surge of sensations about to spread through me. A second before it did, I felt her slide a finger into my bottom...my senses shifted into a higher gear and I exploded.

It went on and on like that. We feasted on one another as if this was the first time the need had ever been met. We couldn't even talk when we rested, just continued to stroke each other's bodies, exploring, curious, intrigued...until we attacked one another again...and again. I'm not sure how many times I came that night. I'm not sure how many times she came. I'm not even sure how long we'd been at it before my body simply gave out and I tumbled into a deep sleep.

That night changed the nature of our relationship. We went from holding hands and sleeping beside one another fully clothed to skipping meals and arriving to work late most days. We seemed to be insatiable. And for me, it was new, this kind of sexual hunger. I wasn't detached, I wasn't in control...she used me as much as I used her. She explored my body leisurely, the same way I explored hers. She was as concerned about my pleasure as I was about hers. It didn't feel cheap or scripted...it didn't feel monitored or mandated. It felt...wonderful. It felt open and honest...and it felt like she had as much to lose as I did.

When I asked her once again, weeks later, what had taken her so long, she admitted she'd been waiting for me to make the first move. Trying to pretend she was watching television as she avoided my gaze, she said, "every relationship you've had for years has been based on sex. I didn't want you to think that's why I was here."

Just like her. Such a simple, forthright answer. It touched me. I snuggled against her side as we continued to watch some idiot sitcom. I would admit to myself later on that evening that I was the happiest I'd been in my life at the moment.

But it couldn't last. I should have known that.

I was scooping up popcorn for one of our rare after 9pm customers when Jessie, the store manager, made her way over to my area. I could see she was trying to be casual, but I wasn't buying it. As soon as I handed the person his change, I turned to Jessie.

"What's wrong?"

She licked her lips nervously, "uh, you should probably come with me."

Curious, and a little nervous since she was my boss, I locked my register and followed her to the office. Once there, she pointed in the direction of the television.

"...-was found in his Stroudsburg home, unconscious, by his wife, Mayor Regina Saunders. Again, U.S. Senator Christopher Saunders was rushed to the hospital this evening for what is suspected to be a heart attack..."

My heart plummeted down to my toes. On the screen I could see Vic, holding her mother close as they followed the stretcher from their home into a waiting ambulance. Her mother stepped inside and then the cameras followed Vic as she made her way to her Mercedes. Her driver didn't really wait for the members of the press to move out of the way, taking off after the ambulance with little regard for their welfare. The coverage continued, but my head was swimming. I had no idea what to do. Would Vic want me there? I hadn't spent any time with her family...in fact, lately, we hadn't spent much time outside of the basement. People didn't really know about "us." Should I brave being with her? Now, with the media waiting to see who visited the Senator? Would Vic want me to make our relationship known to the world? Would they even let me in to see a U.S. Senator? Surely the Secret Service would stop anyone trying to gain entrance. My thoughts were tumbling over one another. Suddenly Jessie tapped me on the shoulder.

"Uh, why are you still standing here? Get going."

I hesitated, "but, uh...I'm not sure..."

"About what?"

"This is a family thing. And the press is there. I'm not sure—"

Jessie was shaking her head, "I've known Vic all her life. Go. She'd want you there, trust me."

"But—"

"Rayn, just go. I'll close down your station. Go."

So I went.

I parked far from the entrance, hoping to avoid the crowd of reporters...and I did. Until I arrived on the fourth floor and they pounced on me. I was surprised they'd told me which floor...but it didn't matter. There were four Secret Service agents standing "guard" by the nurse's station. I pushed my way through the cameras and approached them.

"Family only ma'am."

"I'm a friend of the family." I insisted.

"Whose friend?" They prodded.

I swallowed, here goes nothing. "Victoria Saunders. Tell her it's Raynata."

"Wait here ma'am."

I barely heard the command as the press began pressuring me with questions.

"How do you know Victoria? Did you go to Harvard with her?...Are you her lover?...Is it true she's gay?...How long have you been dating?...Do you know anything about the Senator? Was he using drugs?...Will he be able to vote for the health care reform bill next month?"

I ignored them as best I could, but there were bright lights, huge cameras and...well, suffice it to say it didn't matter if I ignored them or not. I would be on the news. I sighed, biting my lip as I waited, wondering if I had done the right thing for the hundredth time.

Moments later one of the agents returned and let me pass. He pointed toward the end of the hall and told me to turn left. I walked quickly, hoping Vic wouldn't be angry, hoping her father was okay, hoping her mother wouldn't mind...

I almost bumped right into her. That dark chocolate face that slept beside me most nights was tight and pinched. Her normally hazel-green eyes were more green, but not with desire. She was worried. More worried, more stressed, than I'd ever seen her. I reached out to take her hand.

"I wasn't sure if I should come. I'm sorry about your dad. Are you okay?"

She was silent for a moment, just looking at me blankly. And then she folded me into her arms. Her body was tense, I could feel the difference in her muscles. I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her close.

"It's bad?" I asked gently.

She nodded and I could hear her ragged breath catch. Oh God, it was bad. It took me a moment to remember, but I had not made it around the corner and the press was probably watching our tender moment. I led her back down the corridor and away from the cameras. Then I forced her to look at me, watching her face carefully.

"Tell me."

She shook her head. So I just pulled her back into my arms and held her for a long time. Until she calmed down a bit. Until she could talk. And then she told me they were operating on him, and her mother was in shock, and if he died...she trailed off at that point. When she and I finally entered the waiting room, I saw her mother, some of the same people I saw hovering around her at the ball, a few people who clearly looked like Secret Service or private security...and that was it. There were no other family members and no one there for Vic. I wondered about all those people who had followed behind her so loyally in school...and it began to make sense. I'd wondered how she could spend so much time with me. But there didn't seem to be anyone else other than her parents. She was almost as alone as I was.

We sat there for hours and hours. It was horrible, the waiting. I tried to get her to eat something, offered to get her mother something, but others were running those errands. So I just sat beside Vic, holding her hand, glad I had come to support her. Sometimes a Secret Service agent would enter the room and lean in to whisper into her ear, or her mother's ear, but each time they shook their heads. Others trying to visit? I wasn't sure. Her mother glanced at me a few times out of curiosity, but otherwise she sat pretty still, numb.

When a doctor finally entered the room, her mother stood to meet him near the door. Her entourage, thankfully, didn't follow. She spoke with the doctor for a moment and then called Vic over. Vic grabbed my hand and dragged me with her. I was surprised, to say the least. But her mother didn't protest, she just grabbed her daughter's other hand and held her breath. But it was good news, sort of. He'd survived the surgery, he was relatively stable, the next 24 hours would be the real test...but the doctor was relaxing as he spoke, and there was a bit of a smile on his face. I could feel both women relax slowly as he answered their questions. And then he was gone, and they were hugging. Her mother rejoined the collection of people waiting to hear and Vic turned to me, snatching me up into a bear hug and squeezing until I almost suffocated. Then she pressed her lips to mine in a long, hungry kiss that took my breath away. I probably would have worried about what the others in the room thought had the kiss not emptied my brain for more than a moment. When we parted, she was smiling, her lashes wet with tears.

"He's strong, he'll make it."

I nodded, I believed it also. I'd only heard about her father, but he seemed like a very strong-willed man. I felt confident that if he had any say in the matter, he would make it. She left me to go to her mother's side for another moment, then returned and pulled me out of the room.

"I'm starving, let's go get something to eat. They won't let us see him for a few hours anyway."

She started back the way I had come, but I pulled on her arm to stop her.

"Vic, you don't want to go that way."

She nodded, remembering the press, "oh yeah, right. Someone should make a statement though. Might as well be me. Come on."

And before I could protest that I'd had enough media coverage, we were in the middle of what felt like a nightmare. People pressing in on us, questions thrown from every direction...but Vic handled it like a pro, sharing with them that her father was out of surgery and the doctors were optimistic. She answered a few questions, ignored the ones about me or drugs or anything else touchy, and then she ushered me into an elevator and blocked them from entering, allowing the doors to close between us and the chaos. She sighed when the elevator started its descent. But I was staring at her, a little amazed, a little in awe, and very much impressed. She raised a brow.

"What?"

But how did you tell someone that they handled that kind of attention well. It seemed an absurd comment, especially right now. So I just shook my head and pressed for the first floor again. We were lucky that the elevator didn't stop on any floors, and so no one was there to interrupt us when she pulled me into her arms again and kissed me until my head was spinning. And then she said the words I'd been so desperate to hear.

"Thanks for coming. I really needed you."

And all was well.

A week later, the Senator was sitting up in bed, barking commands at his staff, teasing his wife and daughter, and referring to me as his daughter-in-law. Every time he introduced me as such, I could feel my cheeks warm. Vic would simply look over at me and wink.

It was weird, being around a family that actually liked one another. They spoke to each other as if they intended to listen to the responses...as if they cared. And they touched each other, sometimes secretly, sometimes unconsciously...a physical reminder of their love. I felt like the odd woman out, uncomfortable with such expressions of genuine affection. It was like visiting a different world.

And when we were alone, spending time in my tiny, dark part of the world, Vic's appetite for me was without limit. The fear of losing someone she cared about had cranked it up significantly. Now she made love to me as if it was the last time she'd see me...as if our lives depended on it. And she proved herself to be a remarkably attentive, wonderfully creative lover over and over and over again.

So, it should come as no surprise that I was unprepared to deal with my past during such an amazing time in the present, right? When my hopes were so high for the future? But things do have a way of reminding you about the real world, don't they?

The navy blue Escalade parked outside of my mother's house should have registered when I pulled in after work that evening, but it didn't. I wasn't thinking, wasn't really paying attention...it was stupid on my part. And when I started down the stairs, surprised by the darkness considering I usually left the lights on, it should have dawned on me then. But, no. No. I didn't get it until I walked past the washer and dryer...and then something struck me on the back of my head. I saw a bright light as my head exploded with pain and then there was an abrupt blackness.

My head was throbbing when I began to come around. And there was a wetness seeping down my back. Blood I assumed. It's not the first time I'd bled, so I wasn't particularly concerned about it. But I will admit, later on, that I was particularly obtuse. I thought it might have something to do with Vic. Someone trying to use me to get to her? A kidnapping maybe? Or some person trying to pressure her father's vote regarding a bill...something "normal"? I didn't think about me. I didn't think about New York. I didn't think about Darnell and the $2,500 I'd stolen from him. I didn't think about any of that until my vision cleared and sitting before me, waiting patiently for me to wake, was Darnell.

I shut down. I had to keep my head about me if I wanted to get out of this alive. If I worried about whether or not the gash on my had was still bleeding, about whether or not he knew about Vic or her family, about whether or not Vic would arrive before he left...if I worried about any of that right now, I might panic. So I shut down, like I had done for so many years of my life, and assumed my role as "Candy."

"Can you imagine my surprise?" He stared. "I'm watching t.v., chillin', and I suddenly see the bitch that stole money from me?"

He punched me then, right in my middle, and my breath whooshed from me, my chest burning as I desperately tried to suck in air. I stumbled and fell backwards, hitting my head against the bed frame as I landed on the floor.