Beautiful Pt. 03

And we're back with part three! I hope everyone is enjoying so far! As always, all characters in explicit scenes are over eighteen.

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Beautiful Pt. 3

It was light out when I woke. I wasn't on my normal side of the bed, and the sheets felt strange. Before the fog in my head cleared I felt someone move behind me, and an arm slid across my bare waist.

The realization that I was naked brought reality crashing in. I was with Sandy; I'd been with her last night. As the lovely memory surfaced, a warm body pressed against me from behind, and I let out a happy little noise.

"You awake?" Her voice was soft in my ear.

A grin spread across my face while I kept my eyes closed. "Nope, still dreaming."

"Really? Is it a good dream?"

Her breath on my neck made me shiver. "Yeah, the best ever."

I felt her nuzzle into my hair. "Am I in the dream?"

I put my arm over hers, tears suddenly stinging my eye. "You are the dream."

"Oh, Sweetheart." Her voice was thick with emotion, slipping her other arm under my head so she could pull me close, and I turned toward her, seeking the wonderful kiss I knew was waiting for me. It was, and I just let her hold me as our lips moved together in unison.

After a wonderful long moment we broke apart, and I let myself open my lids and gaze into Sandy's beautiful green eyes as I lay back on my pillow. She rolled toward me, saying nothing as she stared softly at me, her hand running down over my breast to my waist.

"So how did I do? Was it everything you imagined?"

I giggled at the playful nature of her voice. "Not too bad."

"Just 'not too bad'?" She dug her hand into my side and tickled me, making me break out laughing. "I love the way you laugh." She kissed me on the cheek. "It's adorable."

I couldn't help but do it again. "I feel like a teenager. I don't usually laugh like that. I don't usually laugh at all."

"Melanie." Her voice tinged with just a touch of remonstrance.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," Sandy ran her fingers through my hair, "I just hate to think of you as unhappy. It hurts my heart."

The pure, honest feeling in her voice made a tear slip from my eye, and I touched her waist under the covers. "I'm not unhappy now." She covered my body with hers, and our lips came together for several blissful moments.

Eventually she pulled away, her strong features now wearing a wry smile. "Are you sure you've never done this before?"

Her voice was playful, and I grinned. "Yeah, why?"

"You just, um, I've been a few women's first, and they're always a little stunned at where they are. And after you almost bolting on me at Bryan's concert, I just wasn't sure." She cocked her head. "You don't seem surprised."

"Oh, believe me, I can't believe I'm here. But wanting you, that doesn't shock me at all."

"Really, but you've never been with a woman?"

"Not like this." I bit my lip for a second, pondering whether to reveal something only one other person on the planet knew. "Actually, my first kiss was with a woman. Well, we were just girls, but still."

Sandy propped herself up her elbow. "Really? Do tell."

I blushed. "Not much to tell. It was a girl from down the street, Katie. It was nice. It was a nice summer."

"So what happened?"

I took a deep breath. "Do I have to say? I'm not proud of it."

"No, of course not. But I won't judge you. No one should be judged on things they did when they were teenagers." She grinned as she said it. Her hand found mine under the covers. She pulled it out and kissed the back. "But I'd like you to tell me. What happened?"

I closed my eyes. I was scared, but here with Sandy I felt safe. So I opened a corner of my mind, letting the shame that had occasionally bubbled out throughout my adult life flow forth. "Cheerleading tryouts started in August, and I made varsity as a freshman. It was stunning, especially to me. I remember the first Friday of school. All the football players were wearing their jerseys, and I was in my cheerleading outfit, with blue and red ribbons in my hair. My mother had helped me tie them that morning, and she'd told me how proud of me she was."

"I was walking between classes with a couple of the other girls on the squad. I could feel the envy, see the way other students made way for us, it was very heady, and I was walking a little taller than I should have been. Katie was coming the other way. She smiled and said hello, and I felt my cheeks flush, like they always did when she was nearby. I waved at her and smiled, and we passed each other. When I glanced up at Saralynn, one of the older girls I was walking with, she was staring down at me with this ugly look on her face. 'You're not friends with that dyke, are you?'

"I was stunned, I just stammered out that she was just my neighbor, and that I'd known her since I was little.

"'We don't allow dykes on the team, Melanie. Stay away from her.'

"I was so scared. I mean, I had no idea what a dyke was. Of course, this was before Google, so when I got home after the football game I asked my brother. He was a senior, and he just laughed. I almost cried, but eventually he told me what I wanted to know, in the crude way of seventeen-year-old boys. If I was scared before, now I was absolutely terrified.

"I mean, I was a girl who liked kissing other girls. I had no concept how two girls could have sex, but the kissing, yeah." I lay back, trying to keep my voice calm, as the shame of what was coming in the story filled me. I'm not sure if I'd have kept going if Sandy hadn't asked.

"So what happened?"

"Um, I avoided Katie all weekend, and when I saw her at school I completely ignored her. She finally cornered me the next weekend and asked me what was going on." A tear slipped out of my eye, my voice breaking with emotion. "And I told her we weren't friends, that I wasn't a dyke like her. She looked so hurt.

"After she left a terrible thought occurred to me; she could tell everyone what we'd done. I spent the rest of that weekend almost in a panic. But when I got to school no one knew anything, and it stayed that way. She kept my secret when she didn't have to, even though I was so horrible to her."

Sandy's finger trailed through my hair. "And you never tried with a woman again?"

"I buried it as deep as I could. Whenever I'd get that flush around another girl, I'd run. I got asked to Homecoming by a sophomore boy, and, again, what if I didn't like boys? I thought I did, and I really liked it when I danced with him, and when he stole a kiss I got all those fluttery tingles like I had with Katie. Not exactly the same, but close enough. I knew then I could pretend to be normal, and that my whole life depended on keeping up the pretense that I was. It wasn't too hard, I always had guys interested, so I had my pick. And when I finally worked up the nerve to have sex, I really did like it a lot.

"After college I met Bill. He was so handsome and confident, but still tender and kind, and I was so in love. It was real, what we had. At least it was for me. And then it was over."

"Why?"

The words kept tumbling from my mouth. I'd gone over all this in my head so many times, but I can't remember the last time I talked to a real person about it. Maybe I never had. "I wore a size six wedding dress, I was a perfect 36-24-36. I was marrying a gorgeous, successful man from an important, wealthy family, and in less than a year and a half I had a beautiful baby girl. Paige was such an easy pregnancy. Will was harder, I had more trouble keeping my weight down. My doctor told me I was close to having gestational diabetes, and I had to work really hard to get my figure back afterwards. Then, with Charlie, there was no 'close to'. I gained more than seventy pounds. After he was born I couldn't lose it. I was miserable, depressed and overwhelmed, and losing my husband. He was having an affair, and I wasn't even mad at him about it. Who wouldn't have cheated on a disgusting pig like me?" I dissolved into tears as the horrible memories resurfaced. Sandy pulled me into her arms and I cried on her shoulder, clinging to her.

She whispered into my ear as she held me. "It was no excuse. You didn't deserve to be left. You deserved to be loved, adored, and desired. You still do."

"No, I don't." I sobbed.

"Yes, you do. You do!" She repeated herself with more gusto when I shook my head. She took me in her arms and rocked me as I cried. I let the warmth of her body and peace of her presence soothe me, and after a few long minutes I was simply resting quietly against her.

"I'm sorry."

"You're forgiven." The playfulness in her voice made me smile, and that smile turned into a giggle as she nuzzled into my neck. "But I may still have to punish you."

"Really?" I hunched my shoulders against her continued, delicious assault on the most sensitive parts of my neck. "What did you have in mind?"

"You're going to lay there," she rolled me onto my back, "and not interfere while I enjoy you." Her mouth closed over my left breast and I moaned into the morning air.

"If, ooh, god, if I have to."

"You do. Now relax, I assure you, resistance is futile."

My laugh turned into a sigh as her lips moved down over my belly, and my back arched in ecstasy as she settled between my legs. Moments later I was floating away into blissful insensibility.

When she had finished with my 'punishment' I was resting my head on her shoulder as she twiddled my dark hair. "So what comes next?"

She grinned at me. "Well I don't know about you, but I've worked up an appetite. You want to go out for breakfast?"

"Oh, god," I covered my eyes.

"What?"

"The only clothing I have here is that stupid dress."

"First," Sandy booped my nose, "there was nothing stupid about that dress. You looked amazing. But we can just run past your house and you can get dressed, and we can spend the day together." I met her request with a nod, and Sandy kissed my forehead. "But first, a shower."

She climbed out of bed and walked into her bathroom, me watching her cute, firm backside as she did. I heard the water come on, and I only had a moment to reflect on what had happened in the last twelve hours before Sandy's voice rolled in with the steam from the shower.

"The water's hot. You coming?"

Ooh, yes, yes I was.

***

"So this is mi casa. And those were my cats." Both Sampson and Delilah had taken off as soon as they realized there was a stranger with me. "Don't worry, Sampson will be back soon, he's pretty brave, but you probably won't see Delilah the whole time you're here."

Sandy laughed. "I love cats. And dogs."

"Why don't you have one?"

"Because I work a very demanding job and I coach. I'd never see them. It just doesn't feel fair to leave a pet alone all the time."

"I get that." I hesitated a second. "Well, I'm going to head upstairs and change. Make yourself at home."

Sandy smiled, and my brain went fuzzy like it always seems to when that happens, but I managed to get up the stairs without tripping and falling down. As soon as I closed my bedroom door behind me I stripped off my dress. It didn't look nearly as good without the infrastructure of my shapewear smoothing things out, and I was glad to have it off again. We'd driven separately, so I wasn't sure what Sandy was planning for the rest of the day, or even if she had a plan. But I was definitely both excited and terrified of spending time with her.

I sat down at my vanity, running a brush through my dark brown hair. The reflection in the mirror was smiling, and I took a long look at her. She'd had great sex last night. Incredible, passionate, lesbian sex, and her body, my body, was still buzzing from the experience.

Of course, part of that was the knowledge that my partner from that life changing experience hadn't gone running off wondering what the hell she'd been thinking. She was downstairs, waiting to spend the day with me. Like, really with me. Maybe it was finally sinking in that she actually likes me. I gave myself a shake. Let's not get ahead of ourselves, just get dressed.

I had picked up a couple of new pairs of jeans in the last few weeks, and I tried to ignore the '18' on the inside tab. It was far more important that they fit properly than the number. It wasn't easy to accept, but it was true. At least, that's what I kept telling myself.

I spent a hurried few minutes thumbing through the blouses hanging in the closet, picking out one that I liked, an orange, tunic style with a modest V-neck, and slipped it on. It was still flow-y and roomy, and it fell down to the top of my thighs, helping to hide my butt.

I tied the built in waist sash, defining my figure a bit. I actually took a moment to look at the curve of my hips, thinking for the barest moment that it wasn't that bad. I did remember the way Sandy had run her hands over my waist last night, the way she'd looked at me. Oh! Sandy! She was waiting downstairs.

I pulled on a pair of ankle socks and headed in that direction, blushing as Sandy stood up, taking me in with wide eyes.

"Just ordinary, everyday me." I rotated my shoulders, hands behind my back, looking down.

"You look beautiful." She stepped close to me, taking my hands.

"Yeah?" I looked up into her eyes, my knees going weak as she gazed down at me.

"Yeah." She lowered her mouth to mine as my eyes fluttered closed. I think I made a little happy noise as we kissed, and by time she pulled away my heart was tripping merrily along as I grinned like a schoolgirl.

Sandy laughed, pressing her lips to my forehead. "You are so adorable."

"I know." I know? What was that? But the way she was looking at me, mm, maybe I was, just a little. "So what are we doing today?"

"Well, I know I'm hungry, so I definitely still want, well, I guess it's brunch by now. See, I got a pretty good work out last night."

My grin widened and my blush deepened. "Really? Me too. Best work out I've had in a really long time."

Her hands slipped around my waist, her body pressed against me. "Yeah?"

I gasped as her breath tickled my ear. "Yeah."

"Do the kids come home tonight?"

Her lips caressed my ear, and I husked out my response. "No, their, ooh, their dad will get them to school tomorrow."

"Then you're going to get another workout tonight, if you want. I have something special planned."

"Okay, ahh." She sucked my earlobe into her mouth for a moment before letting it go.

"But first I need to eat." She gave me a quick peck on the lips before letting me go and grabbing her purse. "You ready?"

"Yeah, soon as I catch my breath." I grabbed my own bag from the table in the entryway, and we were out the door.

Sandy handed me up into the side of her Jeep Wrangler, and I fastened my seatbelt as she went around to the driver's side and climbed in. We backed down the driveway, pulling out onto the road. As we started to drive, I noticed the Coopers' climbing out of their sedan, dressed in their church clothes, just getting back from the early service, most likely.

They smiled and waved, and I made myself return the gesture, although my spirit was shrinking inside. Stop it, Melanie, they didn't see anything, they have no idea where I'd spent the night. And they'd have no clue as to who the woman driving was. And even if they did, whom would they tell? No, I was fine, safe. I took a deep breath.

"You okay?" Sandy glanced over at me, as I put on what I hoped was a reassuring smile.

"Yeah, fine."

She grinned at me, placing her hand on my leg, giving my thigh a squeeze. I put my palm on her arm, and our fingers found each other and intertwined. Okay, relax, just enjoy this.

***

"So, what are you going to get?"

"Probably just an egg white omelet, the veggie one."

Sandy cocked her head at me. "Is that really what you want?"

"It is if I ever want to fit into my smaller jeans again."

Sandy set her menu down. "Let's make a deal. Today we're not going to think about that. We'll stay active, treat ourselves a little, and have a nice day where we don't worry about it."

I sat back, a little embarrassed. "You, a doctor, are actually going to tell me not to eat healthy?" There was a bite in my voice I hadn't intended.

"Melanie, if I knew you were on a sustainable diet and exercise program that you were pursuing because you want to be healthier, not just skinnier, then I wouldn't say anything. But you're just ordering that to not feel embarrassed, right?"

I bowed my head, conceding the point and trying to keep the tears out of my eyes.

Sandy picked up her menu. "So, I'm doing the biscuits and gravy, with a side of home fries and a scrambled egg. What about you?"

I looked down at the menu. An omelet really did sound good. "I think I want the Mexican omelet, chorizo, with peppers and onions. And salsa. I love salsa."

"Perfect, and good to know." She set her menu down and signaled our waitress.

My omelet was delicious, and I laughed my way through Sandy's numerous stories of playing abroad. And with each giggle and laugh she pulled from me, Sandy's smile shone a little brighter, and my insides got a little warmer.

After our plates were delivered, and a few minutes later, were decidedly bare, I sat back and tried not to belch like a sailor. "That was really good."

"Yeah." Sandy ran a finger through the last bits of sausage gravy in her plate before licking it off. Lucky finger. "You know, I am of the considered opinion that the only reason God invented biscuits was to hold gravy."

I giggled again. "You're weird."

"Guilty as charged." She folded her hands into her lap. "So what are we going to do for the rest of the day?"

"I have no idea?" I grimaced playfully.

"Well, let me ask you this, how do you usually spend Sunday afternoons? At least when you don't have the kids."

"Well, sometimes I watch T.V. I like, well, love to read. So I do that a lot when I'm alone."

"Like what? Romance, crime thrillers?"

I shrugged. "Sometimes. I really like the classics. Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, George Elliot (who was a woman, by the way). I also like the Russians, like Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. 'War and Peace' is amazing."

"You've read 'War and Peace'?"

"Yeah, twice. It's excellent." I cocked my head. "How about you, what do you like to read?"

Sandy grimaced. "Nothing that dense. I'm more the dime store novel type. I like medical mysteries, thrillers, things like that."

"C'mon, there's a great little used book shop over there, I'll see if we can't find something for you."

When we got there I headed straight for the classics. "Here, you should try this one." I pulled a book off the shelf and showed it to her.

She looked at the green jacket. "'Jane Eyre'? Really? Isn't this, like, some sappy romance?"

"It's a gothic romance, which means there's mystery woven in. Read it."

She grinned at me, stepping closer. "So does this mean I can give you homework, too?"

"I guess," my pulse shot up as she got closer, "if you're nice to me."

"I can be nice."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." She lifted my chin for a kiss, and as our lips made contact I totally forgot I was still holding the book, which tumbled out of my hand onto the floor.

"Oh damn." I pulled away, blushing and bending down to pick it up. When I straightened up Sandy's arms went around my waist.

"You are so adorable." She leaned in.

"Wait." She paused and I set the book down. "Okay, I'm ready now." She chuckled, and I could feel the grin stretching my cheeks for a moment as Sandy closed the distance, and I wrapped my arms around her neck as our lips met. I sank into the kiss, our tongues dancing together, my body starting to hum like it always did when she was this close to me. She broke away, looking into my eyes, and I giggled stupidly. God, what was it about Sandra Dalton that turned me into a moon-eyed teenager?