Ducklings

"...Hey, Jamie?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks. For...taking me to the bathroom yesterday. Not that I wanna sound like I'm...y'know, four."

"Oh, not at all, hon. I've always been a helpful sort." And not just 'cause part of me hopes something special'll develop between me and the person...although that is an unignorable factor.

"And for this. Mike takes me out to do stuff now and then, but he's kinda busy. It's okay, though; he does way more than the call of duty to support and feed me. It's just really nice to get out with someone for some fresh air and fun."

"Wholeheartedly agree. Okay! Twenty-Z-Q, my turn. What was your best subject in school?"

"Ahhh...probably social studies. Although it wasn't till middle school they started calling it by its rightful name—to wit: history."

"Mm. Mine's probably language. Some math too. I did pretty well in all of 'em. 'Course, I'm Princess Nerd."

"Well, forgive me for trodding upon your sovereign soil, Your Highness, as I am a lowly nerd peasant."

They arrived. Jamie parked in the shopping center lot across Juniper Street and reclaimed Carinne's hand to cross the intersection.

"How should you care to proceed?" Jamie asked her, whimsical with her words. "Go on some rides first? Food? Midway games?"

"I say...rides first, on empty tummies. Then get something to eat...then some carny games. So...yeah. Same order you said."

They reached the entrance and Jamie purchased tickets. Ten seconds later, they set foot in. Carinne sniffed as they made way along.

"Ooh, I smell the food! I can even taste a little of it in the air."

"Oh, nice. Me, not so much, but, guess it makes sense the...senses you have'd be...stronger than my senses. Just my two cents...es."

"Yeah...it's made me a sensualist. I love stretching all of 'em I have to the limit. Including common and humor. 'S a wonderful thing. If the carnival let me, I'd go barefoot. But then something on the ground might harm my delicate little paws."

"Yeah, let's save that for the fields," decided Jamie, raising and kissing Carinne's hand. Carinne hugged her arm in return.

"A'right!" Jamie said. "Pick a ride! Any ride!"

She heard a chortle beside her. "Might need a little of your help with that."

Embarrassment once again clouded Jamie's face, which she covered with her free hand.

"God, Carinne, I am so sorry. I dunno why I keep forgetting!"

"Jamie, really, it's okay," Carinne insisted. "You can't be faulted for it; you're used to being around sighted people."

"I know, I know, I just..." Sigh. "Y-y'know what, never mind. I'll surprise you."

"Goody!"

Jamie was intrigued to see how much of a sensualist Carinne truly was, but didn't want to start her off with anything extreme. So she selected and took Carinne onto the Tilt-A-Whirl first. Then she upped the ante, and the Screamer rollercoaster came next. They calmed down and took it easy again with the Carousel-Go-Round and cascade slides. Then Jamie wanted to see how her companion enjoyed the Zipper, the Wipeout and the Kamikaze. They became so dizzy they could barely walk straight. They settled down again on the ferris wheel. Carinne was so happy to be surprised by the rides, she made Jamie keep mum about them until they started. The girl yelled with excited glee as loud as any of their fellow riders. She even exclaimed "Wheeeeee!" like a small child.

She amazed Jamie with how much fun she was having. Then she made her realize something. On such an exhilarating ride, Jamie tended to hold herself back a bit. This was because she never knew where on the ride they'd placed cameras, or exactly when she'd be photographed. Whomever she went with always wanted to see the photos. Which was fine. They also wanted Jamie to see the photos. Which was less than fine. She didn't even like looking at pictures of herself making normal faces. It was now she discovered an upside to being blind. Carinne was never made to look at pictures of herself...even though she was beautiful. But what was more...Carinne felt free to let totally loose. To be as expressive and enthusiastic as she could. She didn't seem to care if anyone thought she was being loud, or having "too much" fun. Jamie admired this. Carinne made her feel more encouraged to get out of her self-conscious shell, and have this much fun herself. After all was said and done...who really did care? It was the carnival, for heaven's sake! They were supposed to have a disproportionate amount of fun without being on any sort of drug!

Carinne wanted to go on one more wild ride. Jamie was quite glad she felt this way. Unsure how she'd missed this one, she placed them on the Round-Up. If no other ride landed them in a state of intense, euphoric vertigo, this one did. It was such an awesome rush. Though Carinne wouldn't voice this sensation out loud, the combo of velocity and centrifugal force felt almost orgasmic to her. Especially with an affectionate woman right beside her holding her hand. Once off the Round-Up, Jamie stumblingly led them to the back of a hot dog booth, just to have something to sit against so they didn't fall over. They giddily giggled and snickered.

"That felt pretty crazy," Carinne commented.

"That's because it was," Jamie laughed.

They rested. Jamie shut her eyes to enjoy just the things Carinne did: the fresh mild Midwestern summer air brushing their hair and clothes. The sounds of crowd chatter, excited screaming, backing soundtracks to rides and carny games alike. The scents of hot dogs, popcorn, fried dough and more scrummy yummies scattered about. And after enough rest, finally feeling steady and re-balanced, they got back to their feet. It was time to indulge the last remaining sense.

They agreed to treat themselves, and splurge their bellies as well as money. Sniffing it out like a bloodhound, Carinne was dying for a funnel cake doused with powdered sugar. So Jamie got her one, adjourning next to a neighboring stand to buy herself some cotton candy. It was a few hours into the afternoon, bringing the sun westward, shifting patterns of shade. Grub in tow, Jamie took Carinne a short distance into a more secluded, shaded patch of soft lawn. They sat side by side to graze on the snacks.

"Ahhh..." Carinne heard Jamie say. "What a nice day."

"Mm," Carinne concurred, burrowing hands-free into the funnel cake. "'S one of the nicest days I've had in a long time."

Jamie turned to her with only growing affection. Especially as the girl licked sugar off her lips, a bit of it having found way elsewhere.

"Oh—Carinne, hold still, hon. You got some sugar on your nose," Jamie told her, brushing it away with the back of her hand.

"Oh, did I? Oops," sniggled Carinne. "Actually, um..."

She blushed, coquettishly looking down, batting her lashes. She wanted to tell Jamie the truth, though while utterly silly and adorable, it could also have seemed a bit forward.

"Actually...I-I did that on purpose. I was...kinda hoping maybe you'd, um..." Chuckle. "...Lick or kiss it off."

Jamie put a paw over her mouth, taken aback, yet also charmed and tickled inside. Now that Carinne'd shared this little secret, Jamie felt a little sad she'd missed the opportunity. And yet, a perfect, immediate solution lay in plain sight. So to speak.

"Oh. Okay. Well, do it again and I will."

It was Carinne's turn to go pink in the face and conceal her grinning mouth. But she repeated the action, turned to Jamie, and Jamie gingerly Frenched the powdered sugar from the tip of her nose. She heard Carinne titter.

"That feels funny. I like it."

"It is what you wanted, isn't it?" Jamie flirted through honey lips, her voice dripping like syrup.

Carinne tittered again, coyly turning away. Jamie watched her face in a shut-eyed smile, as if in slow motion. Her silky hair swished from the breeze, and her cute—now slightly wet—nose scrunched. Jamie's heart swooned. It was just a little, to the shortest extent, but...she fell in love. She could neither help nor deny it. It seemed inconceivable. She'd known the girl a single day. How could she be in love? She wasn't a teenager anymore; she knew a few things about emotion, devotion, the inner workings of the heart and mind. 24-hour bona fide enamorment defied logic. Infatuation was one thing. Full-blown love, even to this tiny degree...confounded her.

On the other paw...she didn't necessarily believe in love at first sight, but she'd be the first to concede this belief proven wrong at any point. Especially if there was a chance of true happiness for her. And love played by its own rules—or lack thereof. It was one of the world's great unexplainables. Could she be in legitimate love with Carinne Fineman? Might the girl feel similarly toward her, sooner or later (preferably sooner)? She supposed that...anything was possible. Maybe, just maybe...

Love really was blind. Figuratively and literally.

*****

Breeze And Quackers

Saturday, July 22nd, 2017, 7:14 p.m.

The sun had begun to set, but just a month after the solstice, there was still plenty of daylight left. Jamie and Carinne let their energy replenish in the former's car as she drove the latter. Carinne happily hugged the LARGE stuffed animal she'd won.

"Thank you for my koala," she said to Jamie. "I love him. He's super-soft and cuddly."

"You don't have to thank me, hon; you won him. It was all you. Blew my mind too. You were like a ball-rolling, horse-racing savant."

"Yeah, but you treated us to the carnival. And the best part is, no one could accuse me of cheating," giggled Carinne.

"That's very true. A'right, T.Z.Q., my turn. Le'ssee...if you could be any animal you wanted, what would it be?"

"Oh, good one!...Well, be honest—albeit unoriginal—I really would have to go with a dog. Can't overestimate my love for 'em."

"I wouldn't necessarily call that unoriginal. Though my choice might be a little less unoriginal..."

She let the end of her sentence trail off, but said nothing more for a few seconds. Carinne eventually turned in her direction.

"...And what might your choice be?"

"Well, believe it or not...I'd be a duckling."

"Oh, that's sweet. May I ask pourquoi?"

Chuckle. I'd kinda prefer you didn't, but luckily I have a backup reason. "Well, I love ducks. And their baby counterparts. And...Donald, Daisy, Daffy, Darkwing, Scrooge, Huey, Dewey and Louie...Disney movies about hockey...the team in Anaheim—you get the idea. I also love that one minute I could get in the water, tuck in my wings and paddle around with my cute little webbed feet, and the next minute I'd spread the wings and take off. You know what they say: fish gotta swim, and birds gotta fly. Ducks do both! They're great. And they quack. Who doesn't like that??" They shared a laugh.

"That's some good conviction. Almost makes me wanna change my answer."

"Can I add a side comment? I like this game we've been playing, 'cause it's about questions. I love the word 'question.' It has 'quest' in it. I may or may not've mentioned, I'm a big role-playing gamer chick. I'm crazy about quests. Including the quest for knowledge." And romance. "You already know I'm princess of the nerds."

"Hee hee...are you perchance in the mood for a quest for dinner? Nowhere fancy, we could just drive through someplace. I'm just craving a nice burger and fries. My treat."

"Oh, that's not necessary; I've got more than enough cash."

"But you see, here's the thing: I...insist."

"You're highly persuasive. All right, you treat us to dinner."

"Outstanding. Okay, T.Z.Q., my turn. ...Are you ticklish?"

"Mm, yeah...but I'm not really crazy about being tickled. You?"

Carinne shivered with tingles. "All over. And I love it. Legitimately. Most people don't really love it, like you. But I get such a rush. It really gets my endorphins going. And 'cause I have so many tickle spots, no single one of 'em's the 'worst.' I just enjoy being touched. Hugged. Held. All that stuff. Told ya," she reiterated, pointing to herself, "Sensualist. And if it makes me laugh, that's just a bonus."

"Fascinating. Does it make you laugh more if it's like a light tickle? Or a rougher, more aggressive one?"

"Both. It drives me nuts, but in a good way. Maybe I'm reckless to bare a weakness like that, but it's just so exhilarating. If you, like, pin me, or sit on me, hold me down and just go crazy, you own me. You can get anything outta me. And I'll love you for it anyway."

Jamie abruptly felt her pussy quiver. She forgot Carinne couldn't see, and pressed her hand betwixt her thighs. Her nipples quivered in the stead. Just like last night on her balcony naked. Before Little Jamie began to leak excitement, Big Jamie told her to cool it.

Just calm, down, girl, she ordered herself. It seems like she's flirting with us—and aggro—and practically begging us to tickle the hell outta her, but we can't jump to those conclusions. They're too far away, and there's a pit of fire in between. In other words, we've been burned before. What're the odds we'll meet someone like this again?? Just let the chips fall wherever they're gonna.

So Jamie thanked Carinne for sharing such a secret with her, and moved on to her next of 20 Zillion Questions. She found out Carinne's middle name was Luna, and shared that hers was Sue. In due course, she took them into a drive-thru, then to the nearby Juniper harbor, where they could sit by the water and eat. Carinne slipped off her shoes, letting her feet enjoy the smooth wooden dock. Her prize koala sat atop the hexagonal table as their supper companion. The water gave off a pleasant salt breeze that whistled gently under the girls' clothes and through their hair. With a mouthful of burger, Carinne inhaled deeply, and let it out with an—

"Mmm...this feels great, Jamie. Thank you so much for today. I've been having the best time ever."

"So'm I," Jamie garbled through a huge bite of honey mustard-smothered salad. Gulp. "'Kay, T.Z.Q.: favorite singer? Or band?"

"Hmm. Well, my favorite group's the Barenaked Ladies. And not just 'cause of their name. And my favorite singer?...Might have to think awhile about that one, but I do like Adele a lot."

"That is a helluva voice on her. Well, that's interesting: you have a favorite girl singer and guy group. I have a favorite guy singer and girl group. John Legend and Little Mix. And even though they haven't been around for awhile, I also always liked the Pussy Dolls."

Carinne almost choked on her drink and had to keep it from spurting out of her nostrils.

"I, um...ahem! I think you left out a syllable."

"Did I?" Jamie innocently asked, grateful Carinne couldn't read the look in her face. "Whoopsie."

Carinne felt under the table with her foot, found Jamie's, and stroked it with her naked sole. "You're a silly banana."

Jamie felt the bottom of Carinne's ped caress the top of her own in her sandal. The girl was playing footsie. Jamie felt utterly swept off both feet. She liked Carinne so much by now, and it was getting more and more obvious Carinne liked her too. A part of Jamie was happy and excited. Another wondered if this was all happening too fast. Too easily. Even if Carinne was one hundred percent sightless, and developed a crush based on voice, touch and pheromones alone...Jamie was so not used to being crushed on. And in her experience, anything that seemed too good to be true was. But her mind was drawn back to Carinne as she looked up to her face.

"Oh, Carinne, you've...um...got a little ketchup on the corner of your lips."

"Oh, do I?...Oops..."

Jamie abruptly found herself overwhelmed as she realized... Oh god, she's doing it again. But now she's upping the ante. She's either accidentally or intentionally—whose money's on intentionally?—smudged another part of her face (her lips, no less) with a condiment. The impulsive side of Jamie grew zealous. So what the hell're you waiting for?! it wanted to know. Kiss her, dummy!

I...I can't! her cautious side argued. I'm afraid of what might happen!

Don't be such a pussy! said her pussy.

She wants you, her libido agreed. And you want her. Admit it and own it, girl. It's meant to be.

Make it happen, Jamie, breathed her heart. This is your emotional boss speaking. I give you the official okay.

Um, I don't usually weigh in on such matters, her tushie volunteered. But I'm feeling a little numb from being sat on like this. I wouldn't mind if we kissed her, but just so I can get a little feeling back. If we shift up and slip a leg under me, that works too.

You don't have to listen to them, Jamie, her brain told her. We should handle this rationally. There's a stack of napkins right there. Just pick one up and wipe off her...beautiful...pouting, beckoning lips with it...

The argument was settled hastily. Cooler heads prevailed. Jamie did as her brain said. Carinne looked surprised at the sensation.

"Oh," she said. "Well, thank you."

Jamie patted her hand. "Hey! Y'know what? I love this particular salad I got, but they always gimme these soft croutons with it—they're essentially bread crumbs—and honestly, I'm not too crazy about 'em. But how 'bout we go feed 'em to the ducks?"

"Ohhh, how niyff!" Carinne approved, through another mouthful of cheeseburger. "Zhure, lewwe jukh finizh up."

So both dollies polished off their meals, and Jamie collected the refuse. The next she collected was Carinne's hand, guiding her by it to the guard gate, and depositing half her croutons.

"Here we go...now just go ahead and toss 'em right out in front of you, one at a time."

And so they proceeded. Carinne heard quacking as the croutons captured their attention and they deviated paths to enjoy them.

Jamie gasped. "Oh look, there're ducklings!" she pointed. She caught herself, even though the words were out of her mouth.

"Oops, I...I-I mean, don't, uh, look...but there are; there's a family of cute little baby ducklings right there with the rest of 'em."

"Aw, that's sweet," said Carinne. Their remarks were nary more for another brief spell. Jamie watched the offerings pull the waterfowl in aimless directions, wishing her companion could take in the visual beauty. Then, she was reminded of something else.

"I learned the truth at seventeen, that love was meant for beauty queens..." she whisper-sang. "And high school girls with clear-skinned smiles, who married young and then retired..."

Carinne's keen ears picked up on what Jamie was murmuring. Midway through the second verse, she began to mouth along.

"Valentines I never knew...Friday night charades of youth...were spent on one more beautiful...at seventeen I learned the truth..."

To her surprise, Carinne sang the next segment of the song, out loud.
"And those of us with ravaged faces, lacking in the social graces, desperately remained at home, inventing lovers on the phone..."

Having turned her way with aback-taken eyes, Jamie gazed at Carinne. "...You know that song?"

"I love that song!" replied Carinne, smiling towards her. "I mean, I, uh...dunno whose song it is, mind ya."

"Oh, who sings it? Janis Ian. From the '70s."

"...Jani—...wasn't that the name of the one girl in...?"

"In Mean Girls, yeah. They named her after the singer. And they made us think that girl in the movie was a lesbian 'cause the singer's a lesbian. They even had the song in one part of it. You just have to listen really close to hear it."