Drifting

"She won't stay."

"Are you sure?"

"I keep asking her to move in with me, but she won't do it. She has such an awful little place in the East Village."

"Maybe she doesn't want to crowd you."

"No, it's not that."

"She likes being alone."

"I'm sure she won't stay in New York, and I can't bear the idea of her leaving me."

"Poor baby."

"Yes, that's what I am. I'm a poor baby."

"You could go live with her upstate. If it doesn't work out, you can always have your job back."

Beth was gratified at Rita's offer, but she shook her head. "No, I couldn't live up there. Not ever."

Meanwhile Marlo controlled their relationship completely. She saw Marlo when Marlo was in the mood; she went where Marlo wanted to go; she dressed the way Marlo wanted her to dress.

One day Marlo called Beth at the gallery and said she'd pick her up in a taxi in an hour. Beth had to beg Rita for the afternoon off. She waited at the gallery for Marlo, but to Beth's embarrassment, Marlo showed up an hour late. Rather than apologize, Marlo hurried Beth into a taxi.

"We'll have dinner in the Village," Marlo said.

"I really thought you weren't coming."

"Sorry, baby, I was delayed."

Beth was afraid to ask for details, afraid Marlo would be annoyed with her.

They had dinner in an Italian restaurant on 10th Street, and before long Beth forgot how hurt she'd been by Marlo's late arrival at the gallery. When she looked at Marlo, all she could think of was how much she adored her. She loved Marlo's almost sinister looks. She looked hard and strong. Masterful, Beth thought. She quivered as she remembered Marlo making love to her. They did a good deal of anal sex now, more than Beth had ever done with any other lover. Marlo obviously favored taking her that way, and Beth had grown to enjoy it as much as anything else because Marlo liked it so much. Beth's greatest need was to have Marlo show an intense passion during their fucking, and when Marlo had her cock in Beth's ass her passion was indeed intense.

I belong to her, Beth thought; I truly belong to her.

After they left the restaurant, they walked awhile in Washington Square Park. When evening finally came, Marlo suggested they go to a bar. "I know a place in the East Village."

She took Beth to a dyke leather bar, a place crowded even though it was still early, crowded with tough looking women of all shapes and sizes and reeking with a smell of female sweat and stale beer.

Beth felt out of place, much too uptownish, nervously aware of the way some of the leather-clad butches leered at her.

The music was loud and the lighting weird. Marlo found a booth and they ordered drinks, but even as they sat in the booth Beth felt the eyes on her.

It seemed many of the women knew Marlo, and at intervals one brawny woman or another would stop by to chat with Marlo, looking Beth over with a glance that said Beth belonged to Marlo, Beth was Marlo's property, Marlo's woman.

Marlo seemed amused at the interest Beth generated, and after a while, when a woman was at the table talking to Marlo and eyeing Beth at the same time, Marlo told Beth to dance with the woman. "Go on," Marlo said. "I'm too tired. Get up there and dance with her."

It was definitely an order, an order punctuated by a stare from Marlo that said she wanted Beth to obey her.

Beth rose, and the burly woman led her out to the dance floor.

"You're a dish," the woman said. "What's your name, honey? I'm Georgie."

They danced facing each other, their bodies weaving to the beat of the music, Georgie smiling as her eyes roved over Beth's breasts and hips.

"Nice tits, baby."

Beth blushed under the woman's gaze. Georgie put her hands on Beth's waist as they danced, but she never did more than that and Beth was thankful for it.

After a while another woman broke in, said it was okay with Marlo, and started dancing with Beth. This one was younger, a bit punky, with hair dyed purple on one side. She said her name was Coco, and during a break in the music she asked if Beth wanted to go downstairs with her.

"What's downstairs?"

"It's a recreation room," Coco said. "There's usually somebody fucking and we could watch them."

At that moment Marlo appeared, and Beth was relieved as Marlo took her away. They danced a slow number, Marlo gripping Beth's waist with her hands, sometimes pulling her close enough to graze the front of her shirt across Beth's breasts. The heavy sexual atmosphere in the place had made Beth hot and she wondered if Marlo could sense it.

When they finished dancing, Beth left Marlo and went to the washroom. There was only one woman inside and it was Coco. The purple-haired girl laughed and immediately pulled Beth into a stall and locked the door.

"You're a fucking doll," Coco said. She kissed Beth, her hands all over Beth's ass, and then one hand sliding around front to rub Beth's cunt through her dress. "Need to piss, baby? Come on, I'll help you."

Beth was paralyzed with astonishment as Coco got her skirt up and her panties down. Coco forced her to sit on the toilet, squatting to get her hand on Beth's cunt. "Come on, baby, piss on my hand."

More astonished than ever, unable to hold back, Beth let go and shuddered as she felt the stream gush out of her and into the girl's waiting hand.

Coco loved it. She moaned and kissed Beth as the piss flowed. She pushed her fingers inside Beth's cunt and worked Beth's clit with her thumb until Beth came on her hand.

Afterward, when they were out of the stall and at the sinks, Beth blushed as Coco sniffed her fingers and smiled at her.

In a daze, Beth quickly repaired her makeup and left the washroom.

When she was in the booth beside Marlo again, Marlo slid a hand under Beth's skirt and petted her through her panties.

"Want another drink?"

"Yes, why not?" She felt guilty about what had happened in the washroom, guilty that she hadn't prevented it. As if to make up for it, she opened her legs to encourage Marlo's hand.

Marlo said nothing, but her fingers immediately became more firm against Beth's sex. Then after a while Marlo said, "You're dripping, lover. Go on, get one off."

Beth came as Marlo pinched and rubbed her clit through her panties.

Marlo seemed pleased and told her to touch herself. "Feel the wet," Marlo said.

Beth hesitated, and then she slipped her own hand under her skirt to touch the wet crotch of her panties. She remembered the girl in the washroom, remembered how she'd pissed in the girl's hand. But she was more turned on by Marlo.

She panicked when Marlo told her to masturbate.

"Marlo, please... not here."

But Marlo insisted. "Especially here. It's what I want."

Beth did it. She closed her eyes and rubbed her cunt as Marlo watched her. Her panties were soaked, her fingers slimy with her juices. She felt helpless, completely in Marlo's control. And excited by it. When the orgasm finally arrived, she had to clench her teeth to prevent herself from crying out.

After that Marlo was bored with the music and the crowd and she said they could go to her place. "You can meet a friend of mine. Maybe you can whip up something to eat for us."

Beth wondered who the friend was, but she was too excited at the idea of going to Marlo's place to give it any thought. Marlo had never invited her before, she'd been there only once when Marlo had moved in, and Beth hoped it meant something. Marlo was such a private person, so closed about herself, never really telling Beth anything, always seeming to be in a state of high tension. Maybe at home Marlo would be more relaxed.

When they arrived at Marlo's small studio near Astor Place, Beth saw a blonde girl sitting on the sofa.

"This is Lucy," Marlo said. "She just came down from upstate yesterday and she's staying with me awhile."

PART FOUR

With a lazy yawn, Lucy sat up on the sofa. She was dressed in a tank top, an extremely short skirt, and black high-heeled pumps. She looked at Beth without emotion, as if she knew all about Beth and had expected her to arrive with Marlo. Beth, on the other hand, felt an intense jealousy as she realized she and this blonde girl were in competition for Marlo's attention.

"Are you from Milson Corners?" Beth asked.

"Sure," Lucy said.

Beth remembered the blonde girl she'd seen leaving Marlo's house that first day.

Marlo told Lucy to get her a beer. "Make sure it's cold," Marlo said. Her tone was matter-of-fact, as if ordering Lucy to do things was not unusual. And Lucy's response was the same: without a word, she rose and left them to walk into the kitchen.

"She's a sweet girl," Marlo said to Beth, not looking at Beth, but walking to a table to glance through the day's mail.

"Is she an artist?"

Marlo chuckled. "No, she's just a girl. She's looking for a job in New York."

When Lucy returned with Marlo's beer, Marlo fondled the girl's ass and Beth was shocked to see that Lucy was naked under the short skirt.

Marlo stroked the girl's buttocks as she sipped her beer, and then she put the beer down and she took Lucy in her arms and palmed the cheeks of her ass. Lucy's back was toward Beth, and Beth hated the girl as she watched Marlo's strong hands clutch the girl's bare flesh. Lucy tottered on her high heels as Marlo kissed her and worked her tongue in her mouth. The girl appeared to shudder with pleasure at being in Marlo's arms.

"Maybe I'd better go," Beth said.

Marlo broke the kiss and looked at her with steady eyes. "Just sit down, okay?"

Beth sat down on the sofa. She felt a great conflict, not knowing whether she ought to leave. No, she did not want to leave. If she left now she'd be surrendering, accepting defeat. She told herself she had no exclusive claim to Marlo. Not yet, anyhow. She watched Marlo and Lucy. Marlo was now hunching her pelvis at Lucy's belly, pushing her cock against Lucy's body. Beth remembered how Marlo's kisses always ravished her. Now it was Lucy who was being ravished. Beth's heart pounded as the blonde girl opened Marlo's pants and tugged the cock free.

Marlo turned to look at Beth. "Pay attention, honey. You can learn a few things from Lucy."

The blonde girl worked Marlo's cock with her hands. Beth looked at them transfixed. She felt more insecure than ever, her jealousy of Lucy burning in her vitals. But she was aroused by what was happening, definitely excited by it, captivated by the intensity of Marlo's lovemaking as she kissed Lucy again. The insides of Lucy's thighs glistened with her juices and Beth was turned on by it.

Marlo told Lucy to get her top off, and the girl obediently stripped to the waist.

Beth was immediately shocked by the girl's pierced nipples.

When Marlo saw Beth's reaction, she beckoned to Beth with her hand. "Come over here."

Filled with uncertainty, Beth walked to where they were standing, came close enough to have her shoulder clutched by Marlo's hand---and then she gasped as Marlo pushed her down to her knees.

Leaning against Marlo, Lucy watched it and said nothing.

"Teach her how to suck," Marlo said to Lucy. "Show her how to do it."

Lucy snickered. "Yeah."

Beth felt her heart pounding at her humiliation. She gazed with fascination at Lucy's ringed pink nipples and jutting young tits.

With an amused smirk, Lucy squatted beside Beth and said: "I'll show you how."

Lucy fondled the cock, her hand running up and down its length. Then she leaned forward to lick the tip, kissing it, getting it wet. Marlo made a sound of approval and moved her hips. Now Lucy opened her mouth to take the knob. Her lips rounded as she took more and more of the shaft between them.

Beth trembled with excitement as she watched it.

Then Lucy pulled back and told Beth to take the cock in her mouth. "Go on, it's your turn."

Marlo swayed her hips as Beth leaned forward to take the knob of the cock in her mouth.

"That's it," Marlo said. "Suck it, doll."

Beth took more and more of the shaft. Her lips spread around the thickness of the latex organ.

"Relax your throat," Lucy said. She coaxed Beth. "Marlo likes it all the way, so just relax your throat and take it."

Almost all of the cock vanished into Beth's mouth. She felt the tip pushing at the back of her throat. Her face was filled with Marlo's cock, her mind numbed by it. She gagged; she recovered; she went on with it.

Lucy rose to lean against Marlo and be kissed. Marlo pinched the girl's nipples and fondled her ass as Beth continued to suck the dildo.

Beth was enthralled by it now, swept away with pleasure as she moved her rounded lips back and forth on the long instrument. Marlo's cock. The tool that Marlo used to pleasure her women.

Marlo fondled Beth's head, thrusting with her pelvis, fucking Beth's mouth. The tall woman now had her fingers in Lucy's cunt, working the girl as she pistoned her cock in and out of Beth's willing mouth.

Marlo started coming. The event was cataclysmic for all of them. She groaned and shook and shuddered, and Beth had to back off a bit in order to avoid being hurt by the slamming cock.

But Beth kept the cock in her mouth, sucking it, loving every inch of it because it belonged to Marlo.

After that Marlo took the two women to bed with her. She had Lucy and Beth straddle her facing each other, Lucy taking Marlo's cock in her cunt while Beth settled her sex down on Marlo's mouth.

When Lucy leaned forward to kiss Beth mouth, Beth accepted it, and finally she put her hands on Lucy's breasts, holding them, feeling the ringed nipples against her palms.

Beth knew that nothing would ever be the same for her again. Marlo had changed everything.

* * *

Inevitably, Rita confronted Jul about Jul's affairs with other women. Jul seemed unsurprised, cool, quiet, so cool that Rita became infuriated and wanted to scream. They talked for hours and agreed to split. Jul would leave as soon as she found a place to live. Rita was happy it was over, then depressed as once more she realized her relationships never lasted.

After Jul moved out, Rita had days and nights alone, nothing but the gallery, her maid, the walls of the house to remind her she was part of the world. She envied Beth her passion for Marlo. Rita understood what it was; she understood the power Marlo had, the force that mesmerized Beth. Rita was certain she herself could never fall in love with a woman like that. But still she envied the passion Beth felt. A passion such as that wiped out a great deal of misery. But not with someone like Marlo, Rita thought; Marlo was too much. Rita adored strong women, but not if they were too dominant. She needed her own voice in her life; she needed her own territory.

She started visiting the girl bars again, the old places, the new places that had come into existence since the beginning of her affair with Jul. All that time without visiting a girl bar. She felt awkward in them. She hated them.

One evening, in a dyke hangout on Third Avenue, Rita noticed a blonde alone in a booth. Their eyes met, an electric meeting, the long cruising stare that always gave Rita the shivers. She sat at the bar and played the game, flirting with the blonde, imagining them together, imagining herself with the woman, imagining what the woman was like, her attitudes. Imagining things between long glances across the room. Rita told herself the blonde was the sort of woman who could make her forget Jul. But then who knew? You never could tell what you met in a bar. Hot in a bar and a stupid bore in a bedroom. The blonde looked sleek, strong, sure of herself. After a while the blonde rose, but not to approach Rita, merely to get a napkin from the bar. What a sleek looking butch, Rita thought. Maybe thirty, narrow hips, no breasts, long legs in tight jeans. Swaggering. Butch but not too butch. Just my type, Rita thought. Another ten minutes and Rita grabbed her purse and left the end of the bar to walk to the blonde.

The blonde looked her over.

Rita felt the alcohol in her brain as she slipped into the booth.

"You're alone," Rita said. She touched the blonde's arm.

The blonde nodded. "Yes." She sipped her martini. Cool as ice.

"You're beautiful," Rita said.

A smile. "Thank you."

"I hope you're gay."

A quiet laugh. "I was thinking the same about you. But then look where we are."

They talked. The blonde's name was Gayle and she was an attorney.

"I don't know anything about art," Gayle said.

Turned on by Gayle's hands, Rita stared at them. Strong hands, the nails without polish and clipped short. The hands of a lanky body. Hands that could do things. Rita felt a clutching response to the idea of Gayle's hands between her legs.

"I can make better martinis at home," Rita said.

Gayle nodded, her eyes unflinching. "I think I'd like that."

They walked out slowly, Rita feeling the eyes of everyone on them, even if no one appeared to be looking at them.

In the taxi they managed to steal a short kiss while the driver seemed distracted.

"You taste sweet," Gayle whispered. "Are you sweet everywhere?"

"I hope so."

Gayle's hand stroked Rita's knee.

When they finally arrived at Rita's address, Gayle was impressed by the townhouse. "It's lovely."

The maid was off and the house was all theirs. Rita said: "Do you really want another drink?"

Gayle smiled and kissed her as they stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror in the large living-room. Then Gayle slipped behind Rita and kissed her neck as they faced the mirror together. "I like mirrors," Gayle said.

She started undressing Rita, undoing the buttons of her blouse as they watched themselves in the mirror. Rita moaned as Gayle kissed her neck again. Gayle unbuttoned her blouse completely, and then unhooked her bra to get Rita's breasts exposed to the mirror.

Rita felt a great excitement. Gayle was much better than Jul, more adept, more aggressive.

She was thrilled at the sight of her breasts in the mirror, at the way Gayle's hands caressed them, at the movements of Gayle's fingers as they explored her thick nipples. Gayle lifted Rita's breasts, held them in her hands as her fingertips pinched the nipples.

Rita moaned.

Gayle continued undressing her. Skirt down. Shoes off. Pantyhose down. Kneeling behind her, Gayle gently bit one buttock. Rita stared at her own image in the mirror, her nakedness, her flushed face. Now Gayle slid around in front of Rita, still kneeling, kissing Rita's thighs as Rita looked at them both in the mirror over Gayle's head. She moved her thighs apart, an invitation to the hungry butch attorney now staring at her cunt like a wolf about to devour a meal.

Gayle dived in.

Her mouth pressed against Rita's wet garden, her face partially covered by Rita's bush.

Rita adored it.

She arched her pelvis forward, humping against Gayle's face, thrilled at the way Gayle worked her.

Good riddance to Jul.

* * *

The gallery was crowded, maybe a hundred buzzing people, milling, weaving, cocktail glasses tinkling. This was Marlo's one-woman show, her coming out in the New York art world. Chattering dilettantes wandered from one wall to another, peering at the paintings, nodding, tossing an asinine comment and then moving on. But more than enough bought what they liked, one painting after another marked sold. Sold. Sold. A great success for Marlo.

But she never lost her cool. She wore a western shirt, leather vest, jeans and boots. More than one woman drooled over the tall stunning butch artist. Beth made an effort not to be jealous, but she wasn't too successful. She hated it. All these women ogling Marlo made her feel so vulnerable.

Afterward they had a celebration party at Rita's townhouse, a hundred people again in Rita's rooms. The New York glitterati. Many of them had been at the gallery show, but others were people who managed to get invited to every party Rita had in her house. Did they like Rita? Did they like the house? They certainly didn't know anything about art.