Lost in Texas Ch. 03

"Yeah. I thought Heather might have told you when you all were down in Dallas. Halloween this year . . . I was still having some . . . trust issues. After what happened with . . ."

"Don't say her name girl," said Michelle with some grit in her teeth. "Otherwise, I might not be able to stay in a good mood."

Alice smiled, wondering what would have happened if Michelle had been there after what had happened with Jamie. "Well, Heather and Laurie decided I needed to be able to relate sex and trust again. They knew I trusted them, so . . . well, you can guess the rest."

Michelle looked pleased. She had worried about how the impressionable young Alice was going to get over what had happened, and apparently her young friends had figured something out.

Alice continued. "It felt so good and it helped a lot, and everything was fine for a while. Then . . . I was the only one who didn't come visit Jane. I'm the only one who doesn't have someone in her life. And with you and Freddie and Jane getting exclusive, I keep feeling more like an outsider. Whether anyone means to or not, that's how I'm feeling. I want what you have, and the waiting is killing me."

The big woman took Alice in a big hug. "I think you're a little stronger than you give yourself credit for. You'll find someone . . ."

"But how?" Alice almost whimpered. "The only time I went out on my own, things turned out like poop."

Michelle took the young woman's face in her hands. "Darn you're hard to reach sometimes," she said smiling. "You are NINETEEN years old. Some people spend decades findin' that special someone. I'm almost a decade older than you, and I still make mistakes. I still break down and cry, though Lord I try and stop anyone from seein' it. I'm not perfect. None of us is. Think about Jane. You know I think the world of her, but she had a king-sized stick up her pretty little ass when I first met her, and she was about what . . . thirty back then? So the next time you think you need to have all the answers, remember that the smartest gal I've ever met still didn't have those answers when she was over ten years your senior. And she'll be the first to admit she still don't got all the answers."

Whether it was the logic of it or just the fact she'd finally gotten to say some of that stuff out loud, Alice was feeling better. Michelle gave the young woman a moment to compose herself before, with no warning, she threw the young woman over her should again and carried her into the house. Alice was feeling good enough that she was even able to crack a small joke.

"You know, you've done this so often now I could almost draw an upside-down picture of your butt from memory."

Michelle carried her into the living room where everyone else had gathered. Jane looked up and scolded Michelle for carrying one of their guests around like a sack of potatoes, then when back to debating the finer points of feminist literature with Heather. Jane's mother still had Laurie cornered, showing her scrapbook after scrapbook of pictures of her daughter. Apparently Laurie felt obligated to say "She was so CUTE," for every picture of Jane until she was at least nine, at which point word changed from "cute" to "beautiful." Marvin was trying to convince Freddie that "such nice young ladies" really should have some guard dogs on the property, and that he knew a Rottweiller breeder of good repute. Freddie assured him they would think about it when they didn't have to take off for Jane's medical appointments quite so often. Michelle deposited Alice in one of the loungers before sitting at her feet and inquiring as to the possibility of a shoulder rub. Alice smiled, more than happy to accommodate. They talked about how school was going and about the band. Once the subject of the band came up, Heather and Laurie quickly became distracted, heaping praise on Alice's songwriting ability. Alice decided that one of the best ways of getting over a little depression was to have people you care about cater to your ego with gratuitous praise.

Finally the night wound down and everyone headed off to bed. Since the heating hadn't been worked out in the saloon, everyone had to stay in the main house this trip. Jane, Michelle and Freddie went off to their bedroom and Marvin and Pamela went to the most comfortable guestroom. Alice found herself the recipient of one of Laurie's foot rubs while Heather discussed some song ideas. Eventually, the shy, brown-haired girl fell asleep in the chair. Heather and Laurie smiled at their sleeping friend, covering her with a couple of blankets before they each gave her a kiss on the cheek. Finally, they headed off to bed themselves.

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Christmas Eve . . .

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Alice had regained her composure by the time Christmas was approaching. Strangely, it was Heather who seemed a bit out of sorts. The dark-haired girl had few good memories of that jolly holiday. For her, Christmas was just another day to peel her drunken father off the floor or roll her mother out of bed. If Heather was lucky, she got something her father had picked up at the convenience store on the way home from the bar the previous evening. More than likely, she got a punch upside the head.

But Christmas on the ranch was an entirely different experience. Everyone seemed to be in a state of breathless anticipation. The tree was up and decorated and presents lay in wait underneath. Everyone had agreed to keep gifts under a certain dollar amount so the younger people wouldn't feel financially inadequate. Heather had been eternally grateful for that. The money she had saved up over the summer, even when combined with her student loans, wouldn't last forever, and she already planned on looking for a part-time job in the spring to help out.

Heather had struggled to buy gifts for people. Shopping was Laurie's forte, not hers. She had bought a pen set for Alice, since the girl was constantly writing song ideas. They looked nice and had her name engraved on them. She'd gotten a couple of CD's by local bands for Freddie and a painting from Art Department's student exhibit for Jane. She'd found a neat book on restoring antique furniture which she thought Michelle might find useful, and she'd picked up chocolates for Jane's mother and cinnamon-roasted almonds for Jane's father. The gift she had picked out for Laurie was so ‘girly' that Heather almost couldn't bring herself to give it. She had taken a picture of the two of them together and had it sealed in a locket she had found at a pawnshop. The locket itself wasn't particularly ornate, but it polished up nicely. Heather was still a bit unused to the idea of sentimental gifts, but for some reason she thought Laurie would like it.

Apparently, Christmas Eve dinner was a big deal in Jane's family. Jane was actually ejected from her own kitchen by Pamela, who proceeded to cook enough food to feed the entire population of Western Europe. Jane sat out in the den, fuming at being usurped. Michelle and Freddie both enjoyed teasing their lover about the whole situation, particularly when Alice got called in to help out. Mr. Voorhees just watched football, wanting nothing to do with the other proceedings. Heather really wished she could join him, particularly since it looked like the Cowboys were going to get spanked, but she had decided to give Laurie her present that evening rather than waiting for the morning. It seemed the longer she dwelt on the issue, the sillier she felt, so she wanted to just get it over with. When everyone else was distracted, she told Laurie to grab her coat before leading the young woman outside. Laurie snuck her hand into Heather's as the wandered through the chill of December Texas air.

"I'm so glad we got out of there," Laurie said. "Those smells were making me so hungry! I could swear someone was making gingerbread cookies or something or maybe sugar cookies . . ."

Heather listened with no small amount of delight to the blonde girl talk for a few minutes about anything that came to her mind without apparently needing to breathe. She was discussing the finer points of green versus red frosting on cupcakes when Heather just cupped the girl's chin and planted a slow kiss on Laurie's lips. It was her preferred method for getting her girlfriend to quiet down for a moment.

"Listen," Heather said, "I was hoping to do something now rather than wait until tomorrow."

"Cool," was Laurie's reply as she unbuttoned her jacket and reached to pull her shirt out of her pants. Then something crossed her mind. "Wait. You weren't talking about sex were you?"

Heather had to hide a smile behind her hand. "Not this time. Though we might want to discuss that later." Laurie sighed and buttoned her coat back up as Heather continued. "I'm not really good at this gift stuff, so I kind of wanted to give you yours now." She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out the small, neatly wrapped package. "You know, so you can be disappointed in private and everything . . ."

Laurie had stopped paying attention and had greedily snatched the parcel from Heather's hand. "I'm sure I'll love it," she said in that voice that indicated that she would at least pretend to like it. She ripped the paper off and opened the little box. "It's beautiful," she murmured, and she didn't even sound facetious. "Is this a clasp? What's in . .?" Laurie's eyes opened wide and started to glisten. Then she started shifting her weight rapidly from foot to foot while fanning her face with one hand. "It's us! It's a picture of us combined with jewelry! It's ‘us' jewelry!"

Heather wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but Laurie seemed to be inordinately pleased with this particular bauble. "I wish I could have gotten you something a little more upscale but . . ."

"It's perfect," Laurie squealed as she finally stopped bouncing long enough to cover Heather's face with kisses. Then she started bouncing again. "Oh my god, oh my god! You bought ‘us' jewelry." She grabbed Heather by the hand and drug her back towards the main house, apparently intending on making a big display, which was the one thing that Heather had wanted to avoid. Laurie rushed inside to show everyone while Heather inconspicuously sat down on the bench out on the porch with her reddening face buried in her hands. She heard Laurie chattering away, and it sounded like everyone else gathered around to gawk.

"I really need to remember to remember I'm dating a very girly young woman," she said to herself, or at least she thought it was to herself.

"She is indeed girly," came a smooth, eloquent voice. "But do you really mind?"

Heather peeked between two of her fingers as Jane sat down next to her. "I don't think I'll ever quite figure her out."

"I certainly hope not," said Jane, draping a finger over the young woman's shoulders. "It would make things frighteningly dull for you. Would you prefer that?"

"Nah," said Heather, pulling her still blushing cheeks out from behind her hands. She looked at Jane, and the older woman seemed a little tired. "How about you?" Heather asked. "How are things with you?"

"I'm a tad weary these days."

"Maybe you should slow down a bit. Give yourself a chance to recover."

"I've had a chance to recover," Jane said, actually looking a little petulant. She glanced over her shoulder towards the voices coming from the house. "Michelle, Freddie, my parents . . . everyone walks on eggshells when I'm around. They treat me like I'm breakable. And . . . and damn it, I want sex!" She actually stamped her feet a little, like a child throwing a tantrum. Heather started to chuckle, which got worse when Jane shot her a disapproving glare.

"Not much action recently?"

"None since the surgery. For the first few weeks it made sense. But when the doctor's decided it was acceptable for me to return home, I was somewhat hoping for a slight return to normalcy." She took a deep breath. "I know they mean well, but I was rather hoping that averting a potentially disastrous medical situation would help me enjoy life a little more, but my lovers aren't cooperating."

It was odd for Heather to be on the comforting end of a conversation with Jane. She glanced at the light wrap the older woman had around her head. "Can I see it?" she asked. "I haven't seen it since you were in the hospital." Jane removed the garment, exposing her lightly fuzzed skull. Heather could still see the dark scar where they had temporarily removed a section of skull. She had always wondered how they put things like skulls back together. "All the king's horses . . ." she muttered. "Do you always wear something over it?"

"Yes," Jane replied. "I thought it might make them forget about the scar if they couldn't see it."

Heather thought that sounded so . . . well, silly. "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain."

"Explain," said Jane quizzically.

"Wizard of Oz. The first thing that everyone did when they were told not to look behind the curtain was to actually look. Sometimes, trying to hide something makes everyone think about it more. Maybe Michelle and Freddie still see you as injured BECAUSE you look like you're protecting something."

Jane's gaze softened and seemed to be staring straight through Heather. The dark-haired young woman began to feel overwhelmed by that gaze. "So, when did you become a grown-up sweetness?"

"Since I had to start keeping up with a girlfriend who seems to have the energy of five-year old." Just then, Laurie came out on the porch, showed her new locket to Jane (again), bounced up and down and then headed back inside. "It's not fair," moaned Heather as she once again rested her face in her hands.

"Of course it isn't," said Jane, drawing Heather to her feet so that they could go in for dinner.

"She made me go shopping!"

"How absolutely dreadful. We'll get you some coffee and you'll forget all about it."

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Later that evening . . .

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"I never want to eat another bite again as long as I live," groaned Laurie as she collapsed onto the bed. Jane's mother had proven to be an even more over-the-top cook than Jane was. Laurie knew she should have drawn the line at the pudding-on-a-cloud desert, but she just couldn't say "no" to that kindly old woman. "You know she's going to want to send leftovers home with us."

"How the hell are we going to fit anything else into that car of yours? We'll be lucky if we can fit ourselves in after this week." Heather started to disrobe. Once she was stripped down to her underwear, she started to reach for her sleeping shirt, but then decided against it. She glanced over at Laurie, who had managed to sit up and remove her shirt. Heather still wanted to jump her girlfriend's bones, but there was something else happening. She had grown comfortable with Laurie, as if she had known her for seven years rather than seven months. The blonde girl was wearing the locket that Heather gave her, and it was nestled just above those warm, inviting breasts. Laurie opened the locket and looked at the picture inside one more time. Heather wondered her girlfriend was realizing the same thing that Heather was. ‘Could this really be forever?' Heather thought. ‘Is that what that locket means? Making something temporary into something permanent?' Laurie stood up and pulled her pants down, giving Heather a good few of her scantily clad ass. Heather began to think forever might not be long enough to do everything she wanted to with Laurie. As the blonde girl sat back down on the bed, Heather knelt behind her and helped undo her bra.

"I had PLANNED on leaving that on," joked Laurie, "but if you insist." Then she felt Heather pulling her under the covers. The two girls wound up face to face and body to body under mounds of blankets. Heather stroked the side of Laurie's face with one hand then kissed her on the lips. Laurie started stroking Heather too, but not on the face.

"Hey you," started Heather as she felt fingers tracing the outline of her pussy through her panties. "I thought we weren't going to do that while we were here, seeing as Jane's parents are right next door."

"I thought we could play around a little. We don't have to get all loud and noisy like we usually do . . ."

Heather was actually more than up to it, but she had felt obligated to put up a minor protest. She didn't want her girlfriend thinking she was easy. She slid her hand under Laurie's panties and stuck one finger inside paradise. Laurie's lips parted slightly as she gasped. It was a beautiful sight to behold. Heather had often wondered if there was really a difference between fucking and making love. There was. Not that she minded fucking. But then there were moments like this. The only thing they were using were their fingers as the lay facing each other, kissing each other on the face and neck or sometimes just staring at each other. Sometimes, when Heather's fingers hit just the right spot on the front of Laurie's vaginal wall, all the breath seemed to leave the blonde girl's body and she lightly chewed on her bottom lip.

For her part Laurie, could tell how aroused Heather was by her stare as much as by how swollen her pussy lips were. Heather had this way of catching Laurie's eyes and holding them in place, much like the mythical power of a snake charmer. The only time Heather broke that gaze was so that she could sneak her head under the covers and latch her lips onto one of Laurie's incredibly soft nipples. But neither girl's fingers ever stopped moving. Laurie kissed her lover on the top of the head as she suckled at Laurie's breast. She felt Heather's thumb massaging her clit while the two of the girl's fingers probed her insides, and Laurie pressed Heather's head more tightly against her chest. She started slowly grinding her hips against Heather's hand, trying to get more and more of those delightful fingers inside her moist sex.

Heather's lips worked their way back up to Laurie's neck as she rolled the blonde girl gently onto her back as Heather positioned herself between Laurie's legs. Both girls' fingers were trapped in the other's body as Heather started humping her girlfriend. There was no hurry to experience orgasm for either of them, as they both knew that time would arrive. For twenty minutes they kept things at a nice slow pace, occasionally switching who was on top.

Heather was the first to cum. Laurie was on top and Heather's legs were slightly spread to accommodate her lover's narrow hips. The blonde girl had a lip-lock on Heather's earlobe as the dark-haired girl gasped and moaned ever so lightly as her body began to shake. Her muscles tightened and her pussy pulsed and she came onto Laurie's fingers.

After she recovered, she turned a smiling Laurie back onto her back then started kissing her way down Laurie's body. The blonde girl though her lover was just heading towards the breasts she loved so much, but Heather's mouth kept going until she was scrunched up under the covers, completely out of sight, pushing Laurie's panties out of the way and then planted a kiss on Laurie's lower lips. Then her tongue started gentled prodding and licking every part of Laurie's pussy. Laurie knew she was already close to orgasm, but she hoped she could hold on a bit longer, as Heather's studded and talented tongue's masterful manipulations had Laurie in a state of euphoria. And once again, Heather was in no rush. But Laurie was only human, and finally she submitted to the will of her body and came. Heather licked at and savored the blonde girl's juices. Laurie's body was locked in place for a good minute before she was able to relax and release the death grip her legs had on Heather's shoulders.

Heather reached out of bed and grabbed an old tee shirt from her bag and used it to clean both girls up a little after their romantic tryst. She tossed her now soaked panties, as well as Laurie's, into their laundry bag before curling up again under the covers, safe and sound with a beautiful blonde girl. Their legs became quickly entwined and each lay an arm across the other as they fell asleep in each other's embrace.