California Girl

Samuel came upstairs carrying the rest of his glass of bourbon that was his nightcap. He saw his wife sitting in a wingback chair, lost in thought.

Emily wanted to be held. Samuel sensed it as well. He finished the last of his bourbon and helped his wife out of her chair. He was a big guy, and Emily's head fit comfortably against his armpit. She looked up at him with soulful eyes.

"Do you love me?" she asked, now unsure of the answer.

"Of course I do," he answered, sounding surprised. "Why would you ask me that?"

"Something happened today."

"I figured that."

They sat on the bed next to each other.

"Now tell me what happened today."

Emily told him everything ... about Marnie and Kelly ... and then after overcoming his surprise ... she told him about her fears that she'd lost her best friend. He listened patiently while she poured her heart out. She may have felt like she lost her best friend, but she never felt closer to her husband.

* * *

Chapter Four

Finding Love

"Where are we going?" Marnie asked. They had just pulled out of Kelly's driveway in her late model convertible. It was still a balmy eighty degrees, and there was still a faint glow from the setting sun.

"One of my favorite places," the blonde replied. "You'll like it ... promise."

The late evening traffic was flowing well. Marnie tilted her head back on her headrest to see the evening sky. It was clear, and even under the bright city lights she could see stars appearing in the moonless and cloudless sky. A cool breeze washed across her face, making her curly red hair flutter behind her. She rolled her head to face left, watching Kelly paying attention to the traffic as she drove north on the 405.

She had the same feeling she had when she was with Lauren. The irresistible physical attraction. The desire to be close to a strong, intelligent and dynamic woman. She travelled thousands of miles to get away from a romance with an American, only to start falling for another. "Why?" she asked herself as they barreled down the freeway on their way to another adventure. She snaked her hand across to the driver's seat and rubbed Kelly's thigh through her skin tight jeans. "Why not?" she told herself.

They exited at Los Feliz Boulevard and started to wind their way up a mountain road. There was a magnificent observatory at the top. "Griffith Observatory," Kelly told her. She parked in front of the impressive structure. They both got out. The building looked strangely familiar to Marnie.

Kelly could see her expression. "Ever see Terminator ... or La La Land? There were famous scenes in those movie shot up here."

"Yes ... both ... I see now." Marnie's eyes swept across the high dome in the middle and the art deco exterior. In the fading light, Kelly went back to the trunk and opened it. Inside was a hamper with a bottle of wine, cheese, and crackers. She laid out a blanket on an expanse of lawn so they could admire the panoramic view of Los Angeles far below, with the streetlights starting to cast an eerie orange glow. They enjoyed their repast as the twilight transitioned to darkness, and the stars were now prominent in the sky on the clear night.

Kelly pointed up to the heavens. "See that bright blue star? That's Sirius. And over to the right is the constellation Orion. The three stars across are his belt. Do you see it?"

Marnie's eyes went to where Kelly was pointing. "Yes ... yes ... I see Sirius ... and yes ... I see the belt."

"Now look to the left of the belt. Do you see three stars on a diagonal? That's Orion's sword."

"I see it."

Kelly gave Marnie a pair of binoculars. "Now look at the sword. The second star is actually a nebula."

Marnie focused the binoculars to see a hazy, feathery cloud." "I see it!" she said excitedly.

"That's the Orion nebula."

"It's gorgeous. I didn't realize it wasn't a star."

"Maybe it was at one time. It reminds me of the fleeting nature of life. In comparison to the life of a star, our lives are a mere fraction of a nanosecond. When I come up here, it gives me perspective on what's important and what isn't." Still staring up at the sky, she grasped Marnie's hand in hers. "I wanted to tell you that you're important to me."

They both turned their heads to face each other. They only saw the stars in the other's eyes.

"I realized I was too worried about what other people thought of me," Kelly continued. "Especially Emily. But she has to be adult enough to realize that I have to live my own life ... and so do you. I realized I'm falling in love with you and I don't want to screw it up like all the other relationships in my life."

Her voice trembled and her eyes starting filming over with tears. Marnie squeezed her hand harder.

"You know how I feel about you Kelly. I've been doing a lot of soul searching as well. My relationship with Lauren taught me that love is complicated, and that you have to fight for it. In that situation, there were too many obstacles to overcome. But this is different. Tasha is grown up and in college. We've told Emily. Your divorce with Brian will be final soon. I want to finish up my doctorate and look for a job here. I've already talked with Blaine and Aidan, and they both understand. They've got the pub well in hand. Fiona will come to visit soon. So I guess I've gone down the same path as you have."

Kelly leaned closer and kissed Marnie on the lips. "Will you move in with me now that Tasha's gone to college?"

"Yes," Marnie said without hesitation.

Kelly slipped her hand inside Marnie's shirt, cupping her breast. "Let's get back in the car. I'm getting cold and I think a hot bath and a warm bed are in order."

* * *

Kelly was in the buff, raising her arms up high, her body glistening with fine water droplets. Marnie had already dried off and was watching Kelly skim a towel over her ample breasts. "I haven't had such a refreshing bath in years. Let's just get in bed together and see what happens. We don't have to rush things."

Marnie was unsure how far Kelly wanted to go, or if she wanted to have sex at all.

They cuddled next to each other on the king size bed, under a fluffy down quilt. Kelly still had her nightgown on, as did Marnie. They got used to the feeling of their bodies pressed against each other. They were on their sides, with Marnie behind in a spoon fashion. She draped her arm over Kelly's midriff, with Kelly's breasts resting heavy against her wrist and hand. She could smell the fresh scent of Kelly's just washed hair, still slightly damp.

Kelly sighed and rolled over on her back, which Marnie took as a signal to go further, her hand wandering down to pull up Kelly's silky nightie and expose her pubic patch, light brown curly hairs shielding her sex. She went to touch her, when Kelly's hand went down and touched Marnie's.

"Not yet honey," she said. She wanted to take it slow and savor this lovemaking.

Marnie brought her hand back up, bolder in touching Kelly's breast, fingering the soft flesh, ultrasoft on the underside, and eliciting a long sigh from the older blonde.

"Ummm," Kelly hummed. Brian was never this tender or attentive to her. He pawed at her tits and mounted her, more like a rutting than passionate sex. Marnie was more than willing to take it slow, and let it build.

Marnie's touches circled around the pebbly flesh next to the nipple, and then lightly pinched the nipple between two fingers. Another contented sigh. Marnie dipped her head down, covering Kelly's chest with her tangle of red curls and her lips securing the erect nipple between them.

"Ohhh ... that's it sweetheart," Kelly cooed as Marnie's tongue swirled around the hardened nub.

Marnie made love to each breast, until Kelly could take no more and guided Marnie's hand between her legs, spreading them apart, her lips now slick and begging to be touched.

Marnie dragged her fingers across them, causing Kelly to shudder, her legs squeezing together and trapping Marnie's hand inside. Kelly pumped her legs to push Marnie's fingers against her clit, her eyes tightly shut as sparks of fire ignited inside her.

After the feeling subsided, she relaxed her legs open again, inviting the fingers to plunder her sex.

Kelly laid back with her head on her pillow. Her blonde hair fanned out behind her head and her eyes were closed. Marnie returned to Kelly's breasts, running her fingers across the underside of Kelly's breast. The supple texture of the skin made Marnie purr as she rubbed the velvety flesh. She pushed her hand upwards to feel the weight of the blonde's breast, and then pinched the hard nipple between her forefinger and thumb.

"Ohhhh," Kelly sighed at the pinch, her eyes rolling upwards inside tightly shut lids.

Marnie's free hand returned down Kelly's taunt belly as she teased the hairs of her pubic patch. Her fingers were drawn to the source of heat between Kelly's legs, hot and wet. Animal instincts took over, and Marnie seized a nipple in her mouth and thrust two fingers inside the maw of Kelly's cunt, taking the blonde to a place driven by lust and primal desires. Marnie felt the wetness and knew how much Kelly wanted her. Kelly's chest heaved when Marnie pushed her fingers inside until she found the soft tissue of the G-spot.

Kelly covered her nipple with her hand, the stimulation too intense for her to stand. Marnie began again the dance of kissing her nipple and fingering her, this time until Kelly's legs became rigid and pulses of pleasure surged through her. Her hand reached out as she was in the throes of her first orgasm, clutching at Marnie's breast.

There was another center of gravity ... lower ... that drew Marnie like a moth to a flame. Brian had never paid attention to Kelly's ass before. She didn't appreciate that it was an erogenous zone until Marnie licked her there at the pool. She didn't know how she would react to penetration, but Marnie was gentle, just like Lauren was with her, using lube and spit to open the rear passage. The sensations were new, to feel something inside her ass, stretching her open. Her anal ring constricted around the invader, clenching down on Marnie's finger. Marnie knew the stimulation was pleasing, and continued pushing further inside. Kelly's asshole spasmed as Marnie's finger inched inside. Marnie felt the muscles inside her back channel twitching with life at the stimulation.

"Oh God yes ... Marnie ... it's so good ..." Kelly panted.

Marnie lowered her head to capture Kelly's clit in her mouth, gentling nibbling at it with her teeth while finger fucking her ass. Kelly was flexing her hips upward and then pushing down, maximizing the penetration.

"That's it ... fuck me ... fuck me ... fuck meeeeeeee," the blonde wailed as a more powerful orgasm crested. She was taking short, quick breaths, almost to the point of hyperventilating. Then, as quickly as she ascended, her hips relaxed to the bed and she suddenly felt an irresistible urge to fall asleep.

They lay there, content, drifting off to a dreamless sleep, not caring that they were sticky with sex.

* * *

Marnie's move-in to Kelly's house was seamless, but the rift between Emily and Kelly was now a yawning divide. Morgan's room was vacant again, and Emily and Samuel were true empty nesters again. Emily missed the daily banter with Marnie, and of course the frequent visits from Kelly. Emily had taken a temporary leave from her job at Kelly's gallery, ostensibly to rest, but the two of them knew that their time together had gotten awkward -- to the point that they were avoiding each other at work. Emily was unhappy at home, and Samuel took the brunt of her discontent.

Marnie spent a late night at school, interviewing for a post-graduate research position in the UCLA English department, with the promise of a teaching assistant position at the start of the next quarter. Kelly had already had dinner, and was working on the gallery's accounts in the kitchen, with her laptop and a pile of unpaid vendor invoices. The doorbell rang, startling her. She wasn't expecting anybody. She popped up her door cam app on her phone and saw it was Samuel. Samuel never paid a visit to her, especially alone. She shut her laptop and hurried to the front door.

"Samuel. This is a pleasant surprise."

Kelly wasn't particularly self-conscious around Emily and Samuel and answered the door in an old, faded t-shirt and shorts. Samuel couldn't help but notice that Kelly wasn't wearing a bra, and her nipples were poking against the threadbare top. Her shorts covered only the top of her thighs, exposing most of her legs to Samuel's gaze.

"K ... K ... Kelly. H ... H ... How are you?"

Kelly blushed at his greeting. She knew that Samuel stuttered in the presence of attractive women, and realized she was wearing a rather skimpy outfit.

"I'm good Samuel. Sorry for the casual dress. Come on in."

Kelly held the door open and Samuel entered the grand foyer, admiring his design work.

"N ... N ... No apology necessary. I'm barging in and Emily doesn't know I'm here."

"Well come on in. I was just about to have a glass of wine. Would you care to join me?"

"S ... Sure," he replied, trying to get his excitement under control. Samuel always had a secret fantasy about Kelly, and masturbated more than once to his imagined picture of her nude body. He followed Kelly into the kitchen and took a seat at the table.

Kelly went into the refrigerator and pulled out a half full bottle of chardonnay. She poured a glass for each of them.

"Here you go," she said, handing him one of the glasses. "So what's up?"

Samuel swirled the wine in his glass and took his first sip. "You know ... that incident with Stephanie." He was referring to his brief affair with his office intern, an affair that almost ended his marriage, but for Kelly's intervention.

"Of course." Kelly would never forget. Emily was a wreck for months and it took every spare moment of Kelly's time to talk her best friend off the ledge.

He took another sip of his chardonnay and put the glass back down on the table. "I'm forever grateful to you. You know that. Believe it or not I feel like I'm closer to her than I've ever been. She's been confiding in me, and she's really torn about Marnie moving in with you. For some reason she views this as a zero sum game. Marnie wins. She loses. I've tried to tell her that's not the case but she won't take my word for it. I think she needs to hear it from you."

Kelly sighed. "I've tried to talk to her, but it's never the right moment, and she's pretty much avoided me. You know she took that administrative leave just so she wouldn't have to go to the gallery."

Samuel shrugged his shoulders. "You're right about that. She avoids conflict whenever possible."

"I appreciate you coming here."

"Don't mention it. I'd just like the two of you to be best friends again."

"So would I."

Samuel got up, as did Kelly. They walked to the front door together and then hugged.

"Don't forget ... call her."

"I will."

Kelly poured the rest of his wine into her glass and sat there, wondering if her pride or vanity had kept her from confronting the issue head on. Her Emily felt hurt, rightly or wrongly, and it was up to her to fix it.

* * *

It took a couple of days for Kelly to call. She wasn't sure what to say. She finally decided to just call and let it happen. She stared at the screen of her phone and then hit Emily's number. Her best friend answered on the second ring.

"Emily," she said. "I think it's time we talked."

The line was silent for a moment. "Why don't you come over and let's talk in person? Can you be here in ten minutes?"

"I'll be there in five."

* * *

Kelly's car pulled into Emily's driveway four minutes later. She was wearing a t-shirt, shorts, flip flops and no make-up. She didn't care.

Emily was relieved to see her arrive. Their rift had been eating at her, and she wanted this visit to overcome her hesitancy in dealing with her own insecurities.

Kelly cracked open the kitchen door, softly knocking and peeking in.

"Come on in. You know you don't need to knock."

Kelly and entered hugged her friend. Emily felt herself being squeezed tightly against the blonde, and her arms, resting at her side, came up to embrace her friend around her waist.

"I'm sorry I didn't call you earlier," Emily said. "I don't know if it was the right thing to feel, but I felt betrayed. I know it doesn't make sense ..."

"There's no right or wrong when it comes to how you feel," Kelly assured her. "I can see how you could feel that way."

Emily was relieved to hear that Kelly wasn't angry. She also felt embarrassed.

"I really miss you," Emily confessed, hoping to extend her own olive branch. "Did Tasha put you up to this?"

"No ... actually it was Samuel."

"Samuel? He went to see you?" Emily was incredulous. Samuel never let on that he was tempted to intervene. She thought he was just a shoulder to cry on. He went up another notch in her book.

"Yes ... he came to see me last night."

"That dog. He told me he was going out for a walk."

"That was true. He walked to my house."

"You know what I mean," said Emily. "I'm glad he went to see you. I know I've been avoiding you. I'm realizing that I've been a fool. You deserve to be happy. I need to get over my irrational fear..."

"That I'm leaving you forever?"

"Yeah. I think that's it."

"Emily ... I'm not going anywhere. You'll always be my best friend."

"Promise?"

"Of course, you silly goose. I can love you and Marnie. There's room for both of you."

"You really surprised me ... ," Emily started to say, elated that her friendship was still intact.

"I really surprised myself," Kelly confessed. She didn't think she would have the courage to confront Emily directly, yet it went exactly as she told herself it would.

Kelly hugged Emily again, and then said, "Got any tomato juice?"

"What? Uhh ... yes, I think there's some in the pantry."

"Vodka?"

"Yes. We should have a full bottle of that someplace. Why?"

"I'm going to make a pitcher of Bloody Marys and we're going to get drunk."

"Right now?"

"No time like the present."

Emily threw her arms around her best friend. "I love you Kelly."

"I love you Emily, and that's not going to change. Now, do you have any Grey Poupon?"

* * *

Kelly woke up excited (and hung over) after her candid conversation followed by a drunken restart to her friendship with Emily. Marnie went to the school early to meet with one of her professors before class started and was long gone by the time Kelly woke up. Three Advil and a squirt of Visine later, Kelly was refreshed and ready to begin her day at the gallery. She posted Emily's name on next week's schedule and felt pleased with herself that they were square once again. She couldn't wait to tell Marnie the good news.

Marnie too had a red letter day. She successfully defended her dissertation, which completed her doctoral program. She was on a video chat with Fiona to share the good news, and was of course asked by her best mate when she'd be returning to Dalkey. The last few weeks with Kelly helped set her mind with the answer.

"I'm not," she replied to Fiona. "I've decided to stay in California with Kelly."

There was a long pause on the line. "She must be pretty special," Fiona finally said, feeling a bit sad that her best friend wasn't returning. She wasn't surprised.

"She is," Marnie assured her best friend. "And best of all, we don't have to deal with Pamela Wentworth. By the way, did you ever hear what happened to her?"

"I read in the paper that she was sentenced to five years in prison."

Marnie stopped in her tracks. "Prison?"

"Oh yes. There was a picture of her in the paper being handcuffed and taken away. I saved it for you."