Being Free Together

Author's note: This story is an independent sequel to "Laura's Fire", published in the romance section.

All comments and ratings are greatly appreciated.

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Wanda was fun. She was like Gladys but younger, she had the same build, she was also short and chubby and even her face looked the same. Her hair was tied in small, tight braids and it was black opposed to Gladys's white, but her skin was the same beautiful, brown hue. She was lively and talkative and laughed a lot in her low, husky voice. She seemed to be aware of everything that happened around her despite being blind. She wore dark glasses, so her disability wasn't immediately obvious.

Tommy sat with Gladys in plastic chairs in her backyard and observed the garden party around them. The chair was a little small and rickety for his larger frame, but Gladys with her birdlike old woman physique seemed comfortable enough. Laura was talking with Wanda at the opposite side of the yard, near the table with refreshments. It was interesting to follow their body language, how they were checking each other out.

Laura was almost a full head taller than Wanda. She had her straight, brown hair in a ponytail like she always did, and her complexion looked almost pale next to Wanda's warm dark skin. She was sideways from where Tommy sat and he couldn't see the birthmark that covered half of her left cheek and her ear. She kept her gray eyes mostly fixed on Wanda even when they couldn't share eye contact. It was a deeply rooted custom to look at the one you're talking to.

Laura had agreed to try, of course. She was so interested in trying it out with a woman she hadn't needed much encouragement. She had always had a fondness of lesbian erotica and getting to try it in person was definitely on her bucket list, whether she had realized it or not. Tommy was glad for her. He genuinely believed she would like it, and opportunities like this seldom presented themselves. She was still nervous, that much was apparent from her demeanor. Wanda seemed wound up as well, maybe not so much nervous but sparkling with anticipation.

"Are you looking at them?" Gladys asked. "Do you think they'll go ahead with it?"

Wanda was Gladys's second cousin and they had the same hereditary condition that manifested in visual imparity. In Gladys's words she was blind as a bat and always had been. Tommy didn't know the specifics about Wanda's condition, he hadn't met her until today's garden party.

"I think they will," Tommy said. "I hope they will."

"You are quite a couple, you know that?" Gladys asked. "I don't think that many men would hope for their woman to get in bed with somebody else."

"Yes, suppose so," Tommy said. "I just really think she'll like it. So the question is why wouldn't I encourage her to try something she might enjoy immensely? I love her, you know."

"And you won't be jealous?" asked Gladys, a smile flickering on her face.

Gladys was the matchmaker in this unlikely reunion, she had proposed to Laura she could introduce her to her cousin for this specific purpose. Wanda was a lesbian with a special fondness for first timers, and being blind and middle aged didn't exactly widen her prospects, so she had been very susceptible. Gladys was eighty four years old and had never in her life imagined she would act as a procuress, but then she had never met anyone like Laura before.

"I don't think so," Tommy said. "I couldn't give her that experience but I'd like her to have it, so what am I to do? And I'm really not a jealous person. I mean, if she wants to be with me then I'm the happiest guy on earth, and if she doesn't she doesn't. I've been in jealous relationships before and I guess I'm still traumatized by all that. I really don't want to own her. Not that it would be even possible, of course."

He'd had a long discussion about exclusivity and jealousy in a relationship with Laura before she had decided to go on with this proposition. They seemed to have a similar approach, but life was never the same in practice as in theory. He didn't feel like going into too much detail with Gladys, though. Laura was on closer terms with her, Tom had a more formal, polite relationship with their old neighbor from across the street.

Laura and Wanda had progressed to small touches, they were standing close to each other and talking with their heads close together. Laura glanced across the yard and flashed him a dazzling smile. Oh, she was definitely turned on by whatever Wanda was saying to her. Tommy returned the smile and blew her a kiss. It was fun in a way to know that Wanda couldn't pick up on it.

"Laura is quite a remarkable person," Gladys said. "She's unlike anyone I've ever met. She's so refreshingly unassuming. Did you know she offered to read me erotic literature, just like that? She didn't assume I was too old or prissy or that it wasn't appropriate or anything, she just asked me if I wanted to hear. And then she did, she even read some of her short stories. I mean, you are nice, but you're really quite ordinary compared to her."

"I guess so," Tommy said and smiled at Gladys even when she couldn't see it. "I know what you mean. I was really surprised the first time we discussed sex with her. She was so open and unashamed, so matter-of-factly about it. She said, how was it again, she said, 'I'm an old maid but I'm not prudish'. Her attitude towards many things is just not what one would expect."

"I agree. It makes her delightful. Why do you think that is?"

"Well I think it's because she's been alone for so much of her life. She was a lonely child, living almost out in the countryside, and all through school she just got teased and shunned for her birthmark. You're the first real friend she's ever had, now that she's thirty five. She told you that, didn't she?

"So she's never belonged to any group tightly enough to absorb their conceptions as her own. There's some preconceptions that stem from society at large but I don't think she's really invested in them either. Because if you're just by yourself, who's gonna know what you do? Who's gonna care? Who are you going to disappoint or disgrace? And spending that much time all alone, I think she really knows herself."

"I think you're right," Gladys said. "I think it makes her free. It's like she's outside of all the petty little games most people play. Her parents have died as well, haven't they? And she doesn't have any siblings?"

"That's right," Tommy said. His family status was exactly the same, so in a way he was just as loose in the world as she was. He had had more of a normal life with numerous friends, acquaintances and girlfriends, though, and knew well enough he was nothing like Laura, despite the superficial similarities. Laura was magnificent, she was like a rough diamond.

Gladys thought about it and they sat in silence. Not that it could really be called a silence with her nieces' and nephews' kids running around the backyard, making a ruckus. Tommy waited, he was a patient man, he was seldom in a hurry.

"It has to have been lonely, though," Gladys said eventually. "I'm glad the two of you have found each other. Now you can be free together."

"That's a really nice way to describe our relationship," Tommy said. "You want more punch?"

"Don't mind if I do," Gladys said and offered him her glass. Tommy went to get refills.

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Later that evening it was just Laura and Wanda. The rest of the relatives had left, Wanda's bed was made in Gladys's guest room, and Tommy had taken Gladys over to their place for dinner. And to wait out her and Wanda's rendezvous, even when none of them verbalized it.

They stood in the guest bedroom. Laura glanced around, the bed seemed big enough, and she felt delight and nervous anticipation.

"So, what do we do?" Laura asked. "You know I've never done this before, so I'm sorry if I'm clumsy or something."

"Honey, I think you'll do just fine," Wanda said. Her voice was marvelous, smokey and dark. She searched for the nightstand and set her dark glasses on it. "You can turn the lights on or off, as you wish," she said. "You know it doesn't affect me."

"Oh, right," Laura said. "Let me think."

She turned the main light off, but turned on the bedside lamp. The light was nicer this way, a little dimmer and warmer.

"Can I look at you?" Wanda asked. "And just tell me if I make you uncomfortable, okay?"

"Okay," Laura said. She took Wanda by the hand and they sat at the edge of the bed, turned slightly towards one another. Their legs touched. Wanda reached for her face and slowly, tenderly, carefully went through her facial features. When her fingers went over her lips Laura kissed them, making her smile. Wanda touched her birthmark and she managed not to flinch, then congratulated herself for it. She still wasn't used to anyone touching it, not even Tommy.

Wanda reached for Laura's perpetual ponytail and pulled off the loop keeping her hair up. She stroked through her hair slowly, feeling its length, and then her touch moved down her neck on her shoulders. It was a wonderful touch, it was like Gladys's had been the day they'd met, and fleetingly Laura thought that being touched by a blind person was something special. Like they could touch more meaningfully than anyone blessed with sight.

Wanda traced the outline of her shoulders. She discovered she had a button-up shirt and started to open it slowly. Laura thought she was probably offering her a chance to back off, but she didn't, she sat and watched her fingers open her buttons. Wanda's expression was difficult to interpret, but she was definitely focused. She got the shirt open and spread it to Laura's sides, brushing her skin lightly. Laura moved her shoulders to let it slide off and pushed a little closer so that Wanda's hands hit her flanks.

Wanda smiled and touched her slowly, sliding her smooth, warm hands up her sides. She traced the band of her bra, cupping her breasts lightly. Laura sighed when she felt her palms against her nipples. She slid up and around slowly, reaching to unclasp her bra on her back. She pulled the bra off and set it beside her on the bed, and in a quick flash of understanding Laura realized Wanda had to always keep stock of where things were, that being blind it wasn't a good idea to just toss clothes around, no matter how passionate the occasion.

Laura took hold of Wanda's hands and stood up. Wanda got up with her and they stood facing each other. She was shorter than Laura, the top of her head was level to her cheek. Laura thought she might be just the right height to hug and decided to try. She pulled her closer, guiding her arms around her back, pressing her head against her neck and resting her own chin on the top of her head.

"I thought so," she said. "You're just the huggable height."

Wanda chortled. She turned her head and kissed Laura's neck again, small wet kisses, keeping her still with one arm around her and letting the other explore her side and her shoulder. She circled in on Laura's breast slowly and by the time she got to her nipple it was hard in anticipation. She cupped her breast gently, lifted it up a little, let her mouth travel down to kiss it. She flicked her tongue on it and somehow it was different from what Tommy did, or any man for that matter. There was just some hint of knowing just how it felt, it was difficult to put it to words but it was there.

Wanda moved to kiss her other breast just as gently. She kept her breasts in her hands and waited for a moment, and when she didn't say anything she let her hands slide down and touch her sides, abdomen, hips. She searched for the button of her jeans and opened them, then started to slowly push them down. She took her time, touching Laura's skin as it was exposed, kneeling down to guide the jeans and panties off from around her ankles.

Wanda touched back up her legs, getting up slowly. She didn't touch her crotch but did trace the upper edge of her pubic hair. Her sensitive palms and long, nimble fingers traveled on every inch of her skin and it felt wonderful, like being touched with a smoothest suave. Laura's nipples hardened even more in anticipation and Wanda did touch them, her touch traveled over them and she gave each a light but noticeable squeeze. She ended her touch on her cheeks and pulled her head down to kiss her.

Her lips were soft and hot. They were bigger and lusher and more sensual than any man she'd ever been with. They kissed slowly, tracing each other's lips, trying it out. Laura thought this must be how it must feel for Tommy, to bend down for a kiss like this, and she wondered if her mouth felt anything like Wanda's.

"You're beautiful," Wanda said. "A real doll."

Laura took it as a cue to start undressing her. She started with her head, like she had done, touching her hair gently. She touched her temples and cheek, and then she realized once again Wanda couldn't see her expression.

"I love your skin," she said quietly. "It's such a wonderful shade of warm chocolate. Have you ever been able to see, Wanda? Do you know about colors?"

"No, I've been blind from birth," Wanda said. "It's hereditary."

"Okay," Laura said. "Well your skin is like what eating chocolate feels like. Sweet, full, warm. Mine is more like...ice cream. Smooth but cool. I love how my hand looks against your skin, and yours against mine."

Laura stroked her cheeks and kissed her forehead, kissed along her brow to her temple, down her cheek to her mouth. She kissed her slowly, pressed her forehead against hers and whispered, "And your lips are so soft it's like love wrapped in velvet."

"I've never been with a poet before," Wanda said, but she didn't laugh, her voice was full of unrecognizable emotion.

Laura let her hands flow down her shoulders and back, standing close to her so that they could feel the warmth of each other's bodies. Wanda had a dress on and she touched along her back to make sure there wasn't a zipper. She let her hands caress her curves, there were lots of curves to caress. Wanda was plump, possibly she could even be called fat, and she had a round, big booty. Laura bent down until she found the hem of her dress and slid her hands under it, lifting the dress up.

Her skin was smooth and almost hot. Tommy wasn't an excessively hairy man, but even the smooth parts of his skin weren't this soft, like the finest suede. Wanda lifted her arms up for her to take the dress off, and she did, setting it on the back of a nearby chair. She looked at Wanda for a moment, touching her shoulders and arms, she didn't want to break the skin contact. Once again she tried to explain to her what she saw.

"You're beautiful," she said. "So round and soft and luscious. I love the curve of your hips and how heavy your breasts are. Can I touch them?"

"Sure, love," she said.

Laura opened her bra and took it off. She set it on the same chair as her dress, again keeping one hand on her body to let her know where she was.

Laura's breasts weren't the smallest, but Wanda's were a lot bigger than her own. They hung down, heavy and round, and she cupped them from below and lifted them up and together.

"Oh, wow," she said with genuine admiration. She loved their warm, smooth weight in her hands. She looked at her nipples, so dark they were nearly black, all puckered up in excitement. Her areolas were very large and darker than the rest of her wonderful warm brown skin. Laura leaned closer, Wanda felt her breath on her skin and sighed. Laura could see her nipples getting harder, small bumps appearing around them. She reached out with her tongue and touched one very carefully, feeling its shape, circling it. Wanda gasped.

Laura pulled away a little and flicked the wet nipple with her thumb. She approached the other one, licking it just as slowly, sucking it into her mouth and adding more pressure. Wanda moaned this time and Laura smiled, she could tell she was doing something right.

She let go of Wanda's breasts somewhat reluctantly and resumed undressing her. She felt the curve of her hips, the round shape of her stomach, and slowly pushed down her pantyhose and panties. She took her time, rolling them down slowly, stroking the exposing lengths of smooth, brown skin. When she got them all the way off she stood up again, setting them on the back of the chair with the rest of her clothes, and guided her hand to touch them so she'd know where they went.

Wanda smiled. It was an amazing smile, so open, so very warm and positive. She understood her gesture and received it with surprised appreciation. Laura understood that being blind she had no way of censoring her expressions, she just let her emotion out, and she wondered what she would look like when she had an orgasm. She realized she really wanted to find out.

Laura had continued to keep the skin contact. She was still holding Wanda's hand after showing her the clothes, and now she stepped closer. She let her hands travel her curves, the soft and yielding, wobbling curves of her. Laura wasn't ripped herself, she was soft in all the right places as Tommy used to say, but Wanda had this adorable chubby quality she didn't and she was fascinated by it. She stepped closer, pressing against her soft, warm body, and kissed her again. She wanted to immerse herself in her softness.

They moved slowly towards the bed, Laura fumbled for the comforter and pulled it aside. She guided Wanda to lay down and realized she had forgotten to talk to her.

"Wanda, you're so beautiful," she said softly. "I love how your side curves from your shoulder to your hip, just like this." And she let her hand show her what she meant.

"You're so sweet," Wanda said. "How come you talk like that?"

"Because you're blind," Laura said, stating the obvious. "You can't see how I look at you, so I thought I'd tell you."

"That's so sweet," Wanda said again, clearly affected now. "Want me to tell you, too?"

"I can feel it in how you touch me," Laura said. "I just thought I can't touch you like that."

"You're too good to be true," Wanda said and pulled her closer for a kiss.

They spent some time kissing and touching each other. Wanda's hands on her body were so smooth and small compared to Tommy's, her touch so different. She wondered if it was about Wanda as a person or the fact that she was female. Wanda pushed her over to her back and started to trace down her body, massaging her dizzying softness of her body on her as she went. Her vulva touched Laura's thigh for long enough for her to feel how hot and moist it was before moving away again. She longed to touch it, but it seemed Wanda wanted to go down on her first.

Wanda traveled down her body with her hot, wet tongue, leaving a trail of cooling skin behind. Her warm, smooth hands touched her everywhere her mouth didn't, and Laura felt her breath catch in her throat every time she found a new spot that really turned her on. She seemed to know, she found all of them, and her touch was exactly right.

Wanda pressed her nose on Laura's mons and inhaled deeply. Laura felt her breath on her and the thought of her sniffing her scent made her moan. She opened her legs wider and shivered in anticipation. Wanda caressed her buttocks, spreading her wider, and nuzzled the base of her left thigh with her nose and lips. She was on her knees, and the part of Laura's mind that wasn't going crazy waiting for that first touch took in the slope of her back, how it rose from her shoulders to those wonderful, full, round globes of her ass.

Wanda's tongue poked Laura's perineum and she gasped and shivered. Wanda licked it slowly, finding the edge of her entrance and licking around it, pushing in but only with the tip of her tongue. She flattened her tongue and licked her open with one agonizingly slow stroke, stopping just short of her clitoris.