Canela y Clavo Ch. 05-08

"Well, why do you think she's like that?"

Reyna looks up from an inspection of her fingernails (short and un-lacquered as always). She places the fingers one by one onto her chin.

"Hmm," Reyna hums. "Personally, I think that some part of her is still convinced that going down on another woman...enjoying it. That is what will make her really, truly a lesbian. You understand...not marrying a lesbian woman, or carrying her children, or seducing other women behind her back," she says. "I think it is a remnant of the conservative, Christian, little girl inside of her. That is what I think."

Tessa cuts through Reyna's sarcastic tone and sarcastic words to the meaning underneath them. Is it possible that Angie would feel that way? That she would be revolted at the thought of going down on another woman, despite her stronger revulsion at doing the same to a man?

But Reyna's lips on Tessa's distract her from her internal debate. Reyna has no inhibitions about going down on Tessa, and Reyna will not wait any longer for Tessa to deliberate, it seems. Diligently, Reyna sucks Tessa's bottom lip into her mouth. Her hands slither up Tessa's back until her fingers are nestled in Tessa's blond hair. Reyna groans, pulling Tessa closer by the back of her head.

Pulling away from Reyna's mouth briefly, Tessa asks, "Are you sure? About Angie?"

"Please don't talk to me about my wife, now," Reyna frowns. "I'm trying to have sex."

In a few moments, Reyna is holding back Tessa's legs. Her mouth is questing down the long of Tessa's left thigh, Reyna's teeth pulling at Tessa's soft flesh. Reyna rests her left hand on the hill above Tessa's valley and her thumb travels down to the gushing stream of Tessa's desire, dipping in to gauge the flow. And then, Reyna's eyes look up into her mistress's. Reyna's head tilts to the side and she smiles under her hooded eyes. Still watching, Reyna brings her lips to Tessa's center. She breathes over Tessa (admiring her quivering like she always does) before she leans in to kiss her.

It is a heavy kiss, beginning with tongue and ending with lips. It sparks a violent tremble in Tessa's hips. And then, Reyna has tilted her head and begun to fuck Tessa's pussy with her tongue. Groaning at the taste, Reyna digs her nails deep into the flesh of Tessa's inner thigh. She has begun to devour Tessa with very scant warning. Tessa's body convulses with screams and shakes and Reyna only holds her down tighter. One of her hands comes up Tessa's body to cover her wide-open mouth, the thumb curling under her chin.

"Quiet," Reyna husks. "We have neighbors."

Reyna presses two of her fingers into Tessa's mouth. She digs them deep down, far back on Tessa's tongue until she gags. Until the fingers are wet and sloppy, and Tessa is grasping at her wrist. Finally, Reyna relents and brings the fingers down to the opening of Tessa's spit-slick pussy. She presses them tight together until they form one large digit poised at Tessa's entrance.

"If you make one noise, Tessa. One noise and I stop."

The girl nods her head frantically. She reaches down to try and move Reyna's hand by herself, and Reyna allows her to. And at once, Reyna fills Tessa. At first contact with the pink inside of her, Tessa begins to shake. At the next thrust she is coming, but this is when Reyna begins. Reaching down to suck Tessa's pink clit into her mouth, Reyna begins a relentless pace with her forearm. (Through her blissful, orgasmic haze, Tessa notices it is Reyna's left forearm, not her right.) Reyna moans into Tessa's clit, beginning to tease her with her teeth. And somehow, Tessa manages to force a pillow over her face before she begins to scream, another orgasm overtaking her body. Reyna's arm clamps down hard over her like a vice, making sure that she does not escape.

And once Tessa has finished screaming. Once she is gasping for air through the thick pillow above her nose, Reyna removes the pillow from over Tessa's mouth. With her wet hand, she wipes Tessa's juices across her face, careful to reach as many pores as she can. (Tessa is helpless to this, still gasping to regain her breath.) Reyna crawls up the bed until she is laying at Tessa's side. Until two women are laying enveloped in each other on the bed, both with equal amounts of Tessa's essence on their faces.

"Would you like to get something to eat before I take you home?" Reyna asks, stroking Tessa's hair.

"Mkay," Tessa says.

"Mkay," Reyna repeats. "How about if we went to a diner?"

"Really? A diner?" Tessa asks, a bit excited. It is summer, so none of her friends will be near campus--should be near campus. A diner sounds like fun.

"Why are you so excited?" Reyna chuckles. "Diners will always be the same. On TV or in person."

"Did you see them on TV first?" Tessa asks innocently.

"I watched a lot of TV growing up," Reyna shrugs, lying on her back. (It is rare-if-ever that Reyna talks about 'growing up.') "And yes, a diner is a staple of American television. That and busty blondes like my wife."

"Did you want the full American experience?"

"You could say that," Reyna chuckles.

A shower and a car ride later, Tessa and Reyna stand in front of a one-story building with large fluorescent lights. It is lined with mirror-like metal and bright reds and blues: a diner out of any choice of Reyna's childhood movies. The sight of it makes both she and Tessa just a little giddy.

"Table for two?" the host asks inside.

"Yes. The booth in the corner, please," Reyna says.

"Sure thing, ma'am," the boy says, walking Reyna and Tessa and two menus over to Reyna's chosen table. Once he has slapped the menus on the table, he turns around to smile. "Your server will be right with you."

Reyna waits for Tessa to choose a side of the table before sliding into the booth across from her. She stares into Tessa's brown eyes for a moment before smiling. (Maybe diners are as exciting as Tessa has made them seem.)

"What will you order?" Reyna asks, finally glancing down at her menu.

"Hmm," Tessa hums deliberatively. "A burger, I think. How about you?"

"I think I'm in the mood for breakfast for dinner."

Tessa smiles, then frowns. Tessa wonders when Reyna last received a home-cooked breakfast. (After all, she is gone every morning when Tessa receives hers.)

"Were you and Angie always like this?" she inflects softly.

"Like what?" Reyna frowns. "Distant and cold? No, we weren't. But I've already told you that I don't want to think about her today. Do not make me repeat myself."

Tessa nods, pouting cutely. She feels reprimanded in the way only Reyna can make her feel. She looks down into her lap at her folded hands. Then, she looks around to the jukebox next to their table and the white Converse All-Stars entering her line of vision. Upon further examination, the shoes belong to a happy-looking, aproned brunette.

"Hi, y'all!" the bubbly waitress smiles, her hand on her hip. (So much for not thinking about Angie.) "Welcome to Diner 29! My name is Mia, and I'll be your waitress tonight. Can I get y'all started with some drinks?"

Reyna looks unfazed. "I think we're ready to order," she says.

"Alright. What can I get started for y'all?"

Reyna glances down at the menu before speaking. "We will have one burger and fries and one country breakfast," she enunciates.

"And how would you like your eggs, ma'am?" the waitress smiles.

"Scrambled, with wheat toast."

The waitress nods, scribbling down Reyna's order on her notepad. "And for drinks?"

"I will have a water, and..."

"Can I have a strawberry milkshake, please?" Tessa says in her kindest customer service voice.

"You sure can," the waitress smiles. "Would you like to make it a malt?"

Tessa's eyes light up at this question. "Yes, please," she says, smiling wide. (Reyna finds herself smiling too.)

"I'll have that out for y'all as soon as I can," Mia smiles, scurrying away.

Reyna is quiet, so Tessa gives her time to think. Meanwhile, Tessa wonders about their waitress--she is probably an out-of-state student at Tessa's school--and what she thinks of Tessa there with Reyna. Reyna is not nearly old enough to be Tessa's mother, but she is older than a friend. Perhaps she is a mentor or sibling to Tessa. Tessa wonders if their real relationship would have ever crossed Mia's mind. There is an underlying thrill in the uncertainty.

"Here's that malt shake and the water," Mia's voice interrupts. It is either that this diner has sinfully fast service or that Tessa was even more enveloped in her thoughts than she thought she was. (It is probably the latter.) Tessa takes a sip of her malted milkshake while Mia walks away. The flavor compels her to moan.

And once Mia is out of sight, Reyna leans over the table to place a drawn-out kiss on her mistress's lips.

"Mmm," Reyna hums, tasting strawberry. She licks her lip before continuing, "I'm not sure about you, but I'm enjoying my affair."

"I am, too," Tessa muses. "I don't really know why."

Reyna chuckles. "I do," she states, tracing her thumb over Tessa's lips. And then, she slips the tip of it in between them, watching as Tessa sucks the digit into her mouth. Her eyes are hooded, and her freckled cheeks are beginning to flush. Her nose is only inches from Reyna's.

Reyna hears footsteps and retracts her thumb from Tessa's mouth. She takes a sharp breath in and sits back on her side of the booth.

"That's not fair."

"What's not? That I ate your pussy until our new neighbors knew my name and then took you out to eat afterward? Tessa, you really should be more grateful."

Tessa rolls her eyes. "No, that wasn't fair either. But you didn't want me to eat you out."

"Hush," Reyna chides. "It's time that you learn reciprocation. It is how decent, normal people behave. They give what they take."

The appearance of two hot plates of food encourages Reyna and her mistress to silence. The food is good enough, but moreover serves its purpose of comfort. So engrossed are Tessa and Reyna in their meals that Reyna is down to her toast by the time either one of them says anything. And even then, it is only Mia's question that prompts Reyna to speak.

"Anything else I can get for y'all?"

"Some tea, please," Reyna says dismissively. (She has been very dismissive to Mia all day.) "Just hot water is fine."

"Seriously?" Tessa chuckles as Mia scurries away. Reyna raises an eyebrow. "You brought your own tea?"

"I am not a fan of Lipton tea, Tessa. I want my tea or no tea," Reyna says, crossing her arms over her chest. Tessa can't believe she just let this woman fuck her.

"Tell me what it's called again? I don't think you ever told me last...time."

"Canela y clavo," Reyna says, her face neutral.

"I took French in high school."

Reyna rolls her eyes. "Cinnamon and clove," she says as Mia arrives with her pot of water. The only acknowledgment Reyna gives her is a nod. "I brought it to the hotel, too. Maybe you were too distracted to notice."

Tessa tilts her head, saturates her eyes with an ocean of emotion. Reyna frowns. This cannot mean anything good.

"Reyna?" Tessa asks. "I don't want you to think that...I mean...you've been spending a lot of time away from home."

"I know that."

Tessa gestures at the table, at the diner. She tries to convey her meaning with only her eyes. When it doesn't work (when Reyna has ignored Tessa to focus on steeping her tea), Tessa clears her throat to speak.

"Isn't this time you'd rather spend with your children?" Tessa asks, a bit forward. Reyna, if she notices, is largely unmoved.

"No, it's not. Unlike my wife, I would like to keep my affair away from my children. They may be very young, but this isn't good for them to see."

"What isn't?"

"Mama kissing the nanny, Mama fucking the nanny. These are things Mama would like to keep from her children. They're not for them."

Guilt-tainted memories flood Tessa's mind. Memories of Angie kissing her unabashedly in front of her babies who were too young to process the meaning behind it. And now, how the babies are older and certainly understand a bit more. None of these things have kept Angie 's hands off of her mistress whenever she is in Angie's general vicinity.

"Some of Angie's choices with you are questionable, to say the least. I can't be upset with her for bringing her mistress around my children, but I can be upset about her involving them in her affair. You were incredibly convenient, too convenient for my wife, and that does not please me." Reyna takes a sip of her tea.

"I'm sorry," Tessa frowns. "I'm sure she didn't mean it like that." (Tessa ignores the urge to bring up how Reyna has mentioned her wife.)

"What is done is done. And soon, it will be done for good."

"What do you mean?" Tessa asks. It's not that Reyna has mentioned that she will divorce her wife...that much was clear. It's more of that 'soon' is her timeline.

"Eat your food," Reyna replies. "Your drink is probably all milk and no shake now."

Tessa smiles, taking another sip of her malt. "You know, you never took me to your office, Reyna," she says.

Reyna hums, sipping her tea.

8

"It's shopping time!" Angie sings into the living room, twirling one of the twins around in a circle. "Who wants to go to the grocer's with Mommy?"

"Me, Mommy!" the baby giggles, and then the other echoes the words from the floor.

"You ready, Tess?" Angie asks, smiling at Tessa who is playing Legos with the other toddler.

"Yeah, after we clean up," she says. And the opportunity to clean up is met with two excited gasps. The baby in Angie's arms wriggles until let down and rushes over to Tessa to participate in clean-up time.

Excitedly, the twins drop Lego after Lego into their designated drawer of the toy bin. Tessa and Angie watch them, shaking their heads in accustomed awe. It is unclear whether the twins are more excited to play, to clean up, or to go to the grocery store. Regardless, their enthusiasm is welcome. And once the last Lego is put away, the twins look up to Angie with big, expectant eyes.

"Good job, little chickens!" Angie exclaims. Wide smiles spread across her children's faces. "Y'all have been so very good for me today that I think you deserve a reward. What would you like for Mommy to get at the getting place?" The twins' faces light up exponentially with this revelation. (It seems now that their motivation is clear.)

"Mommy get syrup and pancakes?" a toddler asks with hands clasped together.

"Okay, okay, fine," Angie rolls her eyes. "I give them cereal one day and they think the world is ending. Can you believe that, Tess?"

Tessa smiles, shaking her head. Then, she lifts a twin to bring outside to the car. Angie kisses Tessa's cheek and then excuses herself to change her top (or pants, Tessa isn't quite sure). Taking the keys from the hook, Tessa heads outside.

One after the other, Tessa buckles the twins into their car seats. It has been five to ten minutes, and the three of them are still waiting for Angie to finish her last-minute chores around the house. Sighing, Tessa turns the radio to something the twins will like to hear (a pop song that they can scream along to).

"Tessa!" one yells over the music. "Where's Mommy?"

"She'll be out in a second," Tessa rolls her eyes. "Mommy's soooo slow, right?"

"Mommy's slow!" they giggle.

"Why don't we tell her when she gets in the car?"

The first thing Angie does when she enters the car is change the station to pop-country, her favorite genre. She does this with a cheeky smile, removing a pack of gum from the center console.

"You want some?" she asks. Tessa shakes her head no. "Okay," Angie frowns before taking Tessa's face in her hand. She kisses her nanny before putting the car into reverse.

The grocery store is weekday-morning quiet, the only other customers being other housewives and high schoolers searching for air-conditioning. The only sounds in the store are the squeal of shopping carts and two boisterous twins. Tessa pushes the shopping cart slowly through the produce displays as her mind wanders elsewhere. She is grateful that the twins have one another to speak to. (Otherwise, just one of them would have talked both of Tessa's ears off.)

"Tess?" Angie inflects. "Could you run and grab me a dozen eggs? I think I'm going to take the twins down the snack aisle and see what they want for the next couple of weeks."

"Yeah, sure," Tessa says, happy to take a break from pointed fingers and curious questions from the babies for at least a little while.

Twin shelves of canned soup frame Tessa's amble to the far end of the store. She chooses a random carton from the wall of eggs, checking briefly to see if they are intact. Sighing, Tessa ambles back across the store to the snack aisle.

"There you are, Tess," Angie smiles at Tessa. She leans close for a kiss before shaking her head and stepping back. Angie smiles softly, gesturing to the shelf behind her. "Thank you. You can get whatever you want, babydoll. My treat."

"Thanks," Tessa smiles, rolling her eyes. Angie is always so sweet.

"I think that's all I needed," Angie says after a moment of reflection. "Wait, no. Shit, I forgot the dish detergent."

Tessa chuckles. "Just go get some."

"Okay. I'll be right back," Angie smiles, running off. She is stopped by another woman who knows her, though, and begins talking to her before she has even left the aisle. Tessa sighs.

"Up?" a toddler asks Tessa, arms outstretched. They have been rather quiet during Angie's and her conversation.

"Okay," Tessa concedes, lifting the baby into her arms from the double shopping cart.

"Where Mommy?" The baby asks close to Tessa's face. Long lashes tickle Tessa's nose. (Damn them.)

"Um, I think Mommy's looking for dish detergent. Okay?"

The baby's nose scrunches up in a frown. And then, the baby's head is on Tessa's shoulder, arms wrapped around Tessa's neck.

Tessa rocks the toddler back and forth. "What's wrong?" she coos into the baby's soft hair.

"Sleepy." (This is a first.)

"I guess it is around your naptime isn't it?" Tessa questions emphatically.

"Uh-huh," the child hums into Tessa's neck.

Back in the shopping cart, Tessa's other assignment's eyes are half-closed. Breathing out her umpteenth sigh, Tessa wills Angie to come back to the cart. (As soon as she mentions a nap, it will be sure to catch Angie's attention.) And like clockwork, the woman appears.

"Hey, Tess," Angie breathes out. "I swear, every time I come back to this damn store, they've moved stuff around. I mean, honestly, I--"

Angie gasps dramatically at her half-prostrate child in the shopping cart, quickly throwing the dish detergent in with the rest of the groceries.

"Oh my lord, sweetie pie," she frowns, scooping the child into her arms. "Where's my talkative little babies? Hmm? I thought y'all would love to stay up during naptime."

The baby has melted into Angie's shoulder, breathing softly. Angie gives Tessa a sympathetic look before gesturing toward the cart. Tessa takes the hint and uses her free arm to steer it to the checkout line.

The middle-aged cashier mutters out a greeting before her eyes raise to land on the two blondes and their two sleeping babies. Suddenly, her expression takes a one-eighty, her thin lips stretching into a wide smile. This is not an uncommon reaction to Angie's children.

"Oh my god!" the woman gasps, hands over her mouth. "Are they twins? How old?"

"Yes ma'am," Angie smiles, ever polite. "Very sleepy twins," she qualifies in a whisper, making a show of rocking her baby back and forth.