Jodie's Story Pt. 03

"It's difficult to say," she murmured, "I've been on the edge for a while now, just skirting around the pond but not willing to dip my toes in. I guess, like you, it was a fantasy thing but I was only really aware of it when I started a ceramics course. It was a few months after my marriage ended and I was just looking for something else to do besides fighting with my ex or the usual mothering duties."

"And?" Jodie glanced at her.

"Ellen was the instructor and I was just one of the students but she had this, what do you call it? A freshness and vitality, she was one of those women who just let it all out. She'd come out of a very violent relationship, she'd been tied up with some outlaw bikie who liked to lift his hands to her and I guess that was what drew me in first," she dipped the bread into her soup.

"I thought my marriage was bad because my ex put a hole in the wall but she'd been hospitalised with broken ribs, black eyes and all the rest. We'd sit on the back porch of this community centre and just have a fag together," she paused to eat a piece of soup-soaked bread.

"Is she gay?"

"Kind of but with Ellen I think that was just the safest path for her, she'd had a colourful history with men that usually revolved around bad boys, but women were different. She didn't have to walk on eggshells with a woman, it was the violence that bothered her. She always said that when she went out with a man for the first time she was always wondering how long it would take before he lifted his hands to her but she never had that concern with women."

"Not all men are bastards," Jodie replied, "sounds to me like she had self esteem issues."

"Most likely although Ellen was quite insistent that it had more to do with safety, but she also liked the excitement and maybe going out with women was her way of living on the edge without the risk of violence. She never flirted with me though, she has her rules about getting involved with students in her courses."

"Sounds like an interesting woman, do you still see her?"

"Not as much as I'd like, I kind of had to quit my weekly sessions because of work but ever since I moved into Julie's joint I've thought of restarting them. It's not so much a course as a place where like minded people can hang out and just paint ceramics."

"Maybe you should do it again," Jodie replied, "I've started going to the gym again and there are other things I'd like to pursue. Frankie was always hovering over me like some mother hen, at first it was kind of sweet but then it got constricting. I'm a woman who is attracted to women sexually but I'm also attracted to women for simple friendship, it was something Frankie could never really get her head around."

"She sounds mixed up."

"That's putting it bluntly," Jodie smiled, "although I would add fucked up and paranoid."

"I wasn't going to go that far," Elaine blushed.

"Feel free," Jodie's eyes shifted, "we have little to do with each other these days."

"You and me both, I only see my ex when he picks up Keira."

Jodie said nothing for a few moments whilst she considered her next question but then the next course arrived and it hovered around the edges of her mind for the better part of an hour until the coffees were served.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Elaine glanced at her, "what do you want to know? My monthly cycle?"

"Why me?" Jodie replied, "I admit that I liked your sister first but then you started showing more interest and you threw me with this date tonight. I'm not the one who makes the first move, it's a part of my personality that I'm trying to change."

"Well, don't make too many changes," Elaine nudged Jodie's leg with her foot, "it's your quiet unhurried nature that found a chink in my armour."

"In what way?"

"You included Keira in your after school sessions. I'm like a lot of single mothers, I use my child as a barometer to assess potential partners," her eyes shifted, "which sounds a little mercenary."

"I get it, you need to see how Keira connects with your friends," she glanced at the coffee, "my mum was a bit like that although her affairs were usually discreet."

"So, you never went through to your mum's bedroom and found a man there in the morning?"

"No, and it's not like she was a prude. She did eventually but by then I was in teacher's college and I guess she just got sick and tired of booking hotel rooms or going to some guy's place and us kids were just shit stirring her about it," she smirked, "it was the worst kept secret in our family."

"We do it protect our children," Elaine remarked casually, "I've gone out with a couple of guys but I don't take them home, it's too hard to integrate another man into the picture when you've still got a biological father on the scene and he's definitely a part of Keira's life," she looked past her for a few seconds.

"And that's something I have no problem with right now. Just because he and I don't talk it doesn't give me the right to deny Keira a father, and Gary does pay his child support regularly. In that way I'm probably more fortunate than some of my friends who're forever phoning child support to tell them that he's missed another payment."

"That's cool, I'm not her mum, that's your job," Jodie replied.

"Okay," Elaine eyed her, "so, where do you see yourself fitting into our lives?"

"That depends on how things work out between us," Jodie replied, "I'm not asking for you to come out, it's just not something I feel comfortable with, you're a mother and you've got your own life, I might be a passing footnote or something more," she fidgeted with her phone.

"Maybe I should get down on my knees or try to talk you into something but I can't, it's just not me, Frankie and I could have carried on in a relationship without moving in, and it might have been a better way of doing things. But she wanted the happy ever after scenario, and that played in well with my fantasy world, but fantasy is not reality."

"Too right," Elaine straightened up, "shall we?"

Jodie shifted in her seat as Elaine rose.

***

Jodie stopped in the doorway of Julie's living room. The enormous sofabed had been transformed into a large blanket fort with the cushions arranged around it to form the battlements. Imogen sat at one end of the 'fort' with Keira and Paula at the other end, they were both fast asleep and Elaine moved forward for a closer inspection.

"Julie and Ilona buggered off to the movies at Knox City," she murmured, "they're staying the night at Ilona's joint."

"Oh," their eyes met.

"The fort was their idea," she continued.

"Okay," Elaine knelt on the edge of the sofabed, "so you're crashing down here?"

"Looks like it," she glanced at Paula, "they're both exhausted.

"Thanks," she nodded at Imogen.

"You're welcome," her sister smirked, "but you owe me next time."

"She's always saying that," Elaine said some five minutes later as they stepped into the kitchen, "it's her way of doing something without making me feel guilty. God knows, she's got enough on her plate without babysitting for me."

"Okay," Jodie smoothed out her trousers, "still, it's a generous gesture."

"Yeah, I know," Elaine glanced over her shoulder as she took a bottle of wine out of the fridge, "you fancy a glass or are you going to head home?"

"Okay," Jodie blinked.

"Okay to what? Having a glass of wine or going home?"

"The first one," Jodie propped against the bench.

After Julie had poured the wine she handed her a glass and then picking up her own glass and the bottle, she nodded at her living room.

"Come on, let's make use of the couch."

Elaine's couch actually belonged to Julie. Most of her furniture had stayed behind at her old unit and was now being used by Ilona, something Jodie found out that night.

"That's unusual," she mused, "I would have thought," she sipped her wine.

"Yeah, me too, but Ilona can be quite convincing. I'd always thought of her as some distant person who technically owned the unit even though I was making the payments. I had a lot to do with the estate agents managing the place but I was just a number to them," she leaned over to put her glass on the coffee table.

"So, when she turned up that day just out of the blue I thought that maybe she'd be moving in and I'd have to find a new place on my own. What I didn't expect was that she'd already picked out a place for me. No landlord I've ever known has done that," she settled back into the couch.

"Most of them buy these places through second mortgages and because they've got limited cash to fork out on repairs and maintenance, the places are always run on a shoestring budget. You're just paying off their second home, you can't hang pictures on the wall because you're putting holes in their investment portfolio. Ilona impressed me because that was one of the first things she asked me about that day she just dropped in."

"Ilona would never do that," Jodie patted her leg, "she bought that place for herself and she only moved in there after Nick fell on hard times and she decided to move into his joint and rent the unit out. She told me that in the week before she broke up with Nick officially, the only thing that held her back was the thought she'd have to ask you to move out."

"I know, she told me the same thing," Elaine glanced down at her hand, "that's why I just left most of my stuff there instead of moving it all here, and Julie would have struggled to find places to put half this stuff."

"I like Julie," she replied, "but I admit that I was a bit nervous about meeting her but that's down to the way it was with Frankie."

"Yeah," she glanced down at her leg again, "so," she patted her hand lightly, "so here we are talking about other women while you've got your hand on my leg."

Jodie glanced down at that moment and Elaine exerted a little more pressure, meaning she'd have to make a concerted effort to move her hand. Instead, she reached over with her other hand to pluck at Elaine's cuff.

"It's a pretty shirt."

"Thank you," Elaine felt the cuff as well, "it's hard to believe I actually helped make this blouse, I was standing in front of the mirror a few hours ago trying to take it all in. It was just a bolt of satin on a roll downstairs."

"What part did you make?"

"I helped pin the seams back and I cut the filling out for the cuffs and collar," she fingered the cuff, "it's got cotton inside to stiffen the cuff but it was fascinating how it all fits together, it's just panels sewn together."

"So, you might have a new hobby?"

"Maybe," she smiled crookedly, "maybe not, but I'd probably be a liability to Julie."

"Don't say that," she slapped her her hand lightly, "you're not supposed to be an expert but it's an option for you if that's what you want."

Elaine said nothing as she kept her hand on top of Jodie's but then she shifted slightly and turned towards her.

"Yours is nice too," she reached up to finger her collar.

"I bought it at Myer," she replied, "but it's not as nice as yours."

"Thank you," she smiled again, "you should check out her designs though."

"I did the other night," she also turned to face her, "she's got some amazing designs."

Jodie raised her hand higher until it was resting on Elaine's shoulder. The two women stared at each other for what felt like an eternity and then Jodie leaned forward and brushed her lips lightly across Elaine's. The older woman flinched slightly but when Jodie pulled back a little Elaine moved with her and when Elaine kissed her a few moments later, she opened her mouth, forcing Jodie's mouth open at the same time. The two parted company a few seconds later and Elaine looked past her for a moment.

"What?" Jodie asked her.

"It's better than I imagined," she murmured.

"And what did you imagine?"

"That's a long story," she slid her hand around to the back of Jodie's neck.

They kissed again and this time Jodie felt more pressure as Elaine pushed hard against her, she felt the familiar urges rising within her as Elaine kept pushing and then the other woman pulled back and exhaled.

"It's been awhile since I've done that," Elaine murmured.

"Me too," Jodie straightened up, pushing her breasts up and over Elaine's breasts.

Elaine's eyes widened significantly at that and sensing her reaction, Jodie moved back down again, repeating the action. Elaine looked down at her breasts and smiled.

"Now that's different."

Jodie rubbed her breasts against Elaine's once more and leaning forward, brushed her lips over her mouth, relishing the atmosphere of anticipation. Elaine's lips parted a moment or two later and she dropped her hands to Jodie's buttocks and grabbed her cheeks. Jodie winced at that and then she pulled back slightly and grabbed Elaine's breasts, feeling their plumpness.

They kissed again and Jodie pushed hard against her, allowing the moment to take her and for the briefest of moments she saw Frankie's face and then it was gone and there was only Elaine's lips pressed hard against hers.

They broke free again and Elaine looked past her to her bedroom door. She almost looked bemused at that point in time, as if she was considering her options. Jodie hooked her elbow over the top of the couch and traced her way down the front of Elaine's blouse, following the buttons. She reached her belt and hooked her fingers behind her jeans and pulled the material towards her. Elaine looked down at that point and brought her hand around to rest on Jodie's wrist. It was almost as if she was about to resist but there was little pressure on her wrist and then Elaine leaned forward to kiss her again on the mouth. This kiss was a lot more passionate as Elaine worked her mouth slowly and methodically and Jodie just let herself go.

When they finally broke free their breathing had become shallow and measured, but Jodie didn't feel the need to take things further just yet as she moved her other hand along the top of the couch to touch her hair. She felt the silky softness flowing over her hand and she adjusted her grip on the belt, feeling the hardness of the buckle. Their lips met again in another long drawn out kiss and she felt Elaine's hand sliding along her arm and then moving to her belt buckle but when she reached it, Elaine slid her hand down her zipper to rest in between her legs. She felt the first tentative strokes against her lips as Elaine rubbed her and then it became firmer.

They broke free a few seconds later and Elaine looked down briefly as she kept rubbing Jodie and then their eyes met. She had a slight smile on her face and then Jodie brought her hand down to rub Elaine's pussy. The older woman parted her legs and pushed hard against her.

It soon turned into a mutual masturbation session, albeit without skin on skin contact and indeed that seemed to excite Elaine because her movements became firmer and her breathing shallower but finally Jodie took a chance and unzipped Elaine's jeans. The stroking stopped, Elaine looked down as Jodie's hand slipped inside her jeans to her panties. Jodie felt the slight dampness through the cotton panties, along with the shape of her lips. A low moan escaped Elaine's throat as the fingering became more erotic and now that she could feel her lips, Jodie slid her finger down between her lips to the opening.

It was about then that Elaine went back to rubbing Jodie but then her eyes widened as Jodie bent her finger and rubbed the knuckle against her opening. Another low moan escaped her throat and Jodie kept going, working her opening slowly but methodically. Elaine's stroking slowed dramatically as the younger woman kept rubbing her opening, her breathing became shallower and ragged. Jodie paused for a moment to adjust her position and then it began again but this time she got her hand behind Elaine's panties to the patch of hair and her moistening labia. She reached her opening yet again and slid a digit inside.

It was only then that Elaine finally let out an extra loud groan and arching her back, raised herself up and looked down at her.

"What?" Jodie asked her.

"Nothing," Elaine panted, "that is the best finger fuck I've had in years."

"And that's your nothing?" Jodie's eyes narrowed slightly.

Elaine giggled at that and finally unzipped Jodie's jeans. Her hand slipped inside her jeans and Jodie felt Elaine's fingertips against her pussy. It appeared a little hesitant but perhaps that was an illusion she thought, even so she kept sliding her finger in and out of Elaine's vaginal passage, she was wet and eager for more. When Jodie bent her finger to rub the front of her passage there was a sharp intake of breath and her eyes rolled back in her head. Jodie kept rubbing, back and forth for the better part of five minutes, or so she thought.

Elaine's mouth was open and her eyes were closed as Jodie kept sliding her finger in and out, and then she winced and grabbed Jodie's wrist firmly.

"What's wrong?"

"Not here," Elaine panted.

"The bed?"

Elaine slid off the couch and stood up, Jodie rose at the same time and she rested her hands on her shoulders as they kissed several times in succession as they made their way to the bedroom door. Jodie put her back against the door and then it opened and Elaine pushed her inside. They broke free a few seconds later and Elaine looked past her.

"I've got to go for a piss."

Whilst Elaine went to the toilet Jodie grabbed her handbag and returned to the bedroom. Her phone rang just as she sat down on the bed and she answered it on the second ring.

"Hiya, mum."

"I've had a few too many," her mother giggled, "so, I'm going to get an early night."

"No worries," Jodie smiled crookedly, "you can turn the porch light off."

"So, you're staying away tonight, good for you, is it happening?"

"Um, yeah, maybe, probably."

"Sounds confusing," Margaret chuckled, "shit, shit, shit."

"What's wrong?"

"Bastard," her mother swore, "I just spilled wine on the carpet."

"Get some white vinegar on it, mum," she stared at the door as she heard the toilet flushing.

"I haven't got any white vinegar."

"Yes you have, I found half a bottle in the laundry cupboard. You must have forgotten you had it when you bought a new bottle."

"Hang on," Margaret replied, "going through now, but tell me. Is it going well?"

"Yes, it's going well," she stared at the door as she heard running water.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I? Because if I am then I'm sorry, just tell me and I'll hang up," she paused, "I've been drinking since dinner time."

"You're not," she straightened up, "she's gone to the toilet."

"Oh, don't mention the toilet," her mother replied, "I'll be praying to the porcelain god in a few hours, I just know it. Okay, I'm in the laundry."

"It's at the back of the cupboard," Jodie replied as Elaine stepped into the room, "I've gotta go, mum, have you found it?"

"Yes, I have. How did I miss that?"

"I don't know, I grabbed some bleach the other week and it was hidden behind the bleach."

"Okay, love you lots."

"Love you too," she smiled, "see you later alligator."

"In a while, crocodile," Margaret chuckled.

Jodie stared at the phone as Elaine settled down beside her.

"Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, everything's fine," she dropped the phone into her handbag, "mum's spilled wine on the carpet and thought she'd run out of vinegar."

"Ah the wine problem, vinegar, dish washing liquid and warm water, I spilled wine on Ilona's carpet when I first moved in there, it was Keira's fault," she fell back onto the bed.

"I didn't have the heart to yell at her because she was only trying to show me she'd done a new drawing," she grinned, "she learned a new word that day, fuck. She said fuck the next day when she was sitting on mum's knee much to my embarrassment."