Mike & Karen Ch. 21

"Perhaps," he allowed.

"And you must have hobbies," Tatyana reasoned. "You have time to devote to those, whatever they may be. The lady of the house mentioned you might write an autobiography, which would be quite fascinating, given your experiences. And we both know that you will doubtless receive visitors, with Mrs. DeBourne on the list every day."

Jordan smiled at the thought. Tea and cocoa, just like old times, with the young woman who had meant almost everything to him.

"And who knows," she ventured. "Maybe you will have the opportunity to find a significant other."

Jordan raised an eyebrow.

"You know, a girlfriend," Tatyana said. "Or a boyfriend, if that is your preference."

"And what, exactly, would an eighty-seven-year-old goat like myself have to offer a partner?"

Tatyana looked around the richly-appointed study for a moment and smirked. "Mr. Winson, there are no eighty-seven year-old goats like yourself, given your circumstances. If people as wonderful as the DeBournes are so very devoted to you, then you must be a seasoned catch. You own a wonderful little cottage, and the resources of the Blackwell empire are at your beck and call. If I asked Mrs. DeBourne what she owed you, she would say everything."

Jordan was silent.

"What if she's telling the truth?" Tatyana asked quietly.

She nodded respectfully, turned, and walked out of the study. Jordan sat quietly, thinking about everything that she'd said. Could there really be more than just rattling around? Even though he was surrounded by loved ones, was he really just meant to exist comfortably until his time had come?

A sweetheart?

Jordan smiled and nodded to himself. Well, why the Hell not? he mused cheerfully.

It felt good to be alive.

***

After dinner, a pub just off campus, 1987...

The girls were sitting around a table in a dark corner, laughing riotously as Jenny regaled them with tales of her escapades with Karen back in boarding school. Karen had her habitual absinthe drink, while Jenny was drinking a brown English beer. Mona was sipping her champagne, and Janet had a cosmopolitan. Lisa, ever finicky, simply had a glass of cabernet.

"No, I am not kidding," Jenny replied, her hand slapping lightly on the table, her brown eyes dancing. "No sooner had I run the principal's knickers up the flagpole than half the faculty came charging around the corner, looking for the culprit!"

"Omigod," Mona giggle-gasped, her hands on her face. "So you and Kar got caught?"

"Oh, no no no," Jenny said, shaking her head. "They somehow all managed to miss seeing Kat there and her involvement. I was due for a good stiff punishment, and even my dear Kat's intervention was not enough to prevent it."

"What did you do?" Janet asked, looking at Karen.

"I insisted that I had been a partner in the caper, but nobody believed me," Karen said, shrugging. "They thought I was just trying to stick up for my friend."

"So Jenny got punished and you didn't?" Janet queried. "Hardly seems fair."

"Oh, Kat got punished," Jenny answered, smirking at Karen. "She was punished for lying, got two day's solitary."

"Oh, Jesus," Mona laughed. "And you?"

"Oh, just the usual caning," Jenny said mildly, shrugging. "By then, it was almost a kink for me. You have no idea how hard it was after each crack across my bum not to say in a breathy voice 'Harder, mummy...', just to drive them crazy."

The three girls burst out laughing, and even Karen tittered behind her hand at the memory. They'd been here for almost an hour now, and they were having the time of their lives, just sitting and enjoying laughing and talking. It had always been like this when the two of them were together. They played off one another and made everything merry. She'd missed it.

"You must've gotten more beatings than just about anyone else from the sound of it," Lisa posited, holding up her empty glass for the waitress to see and indicating another.

"Possibly, except for maybe Kristen Pullman," Jenny mused, swirling her dark beer around in the mug she was holding. "But I was one of the more hated girls in school, and not merely because I was attached at the hip to étoile, here."

"Whassat mean, anyway?" Lisa asked, trading her empty glass for her new drink. She could have as many as she liked, since Karen was paying, according to Jenny.

"It means 'star', dopey," Mona said, giving the redhead a wry look. "It's French, how do you not know that?"

"I know it's French, and I know what the word means," Lisa shot back. "I was askin' how it was used in this context. Why did Kar get called étoile?"

"Because that's what the best student at St. Evangeline's Academy For Young Women was called," Jenny explained before Karen could somehow downplay it. "If you had the best marks, participated in extracurriculars, and were a model lady, then you were étoile, the pride and joy of the school. And the most hated, envied, and beloved girl on campus, all at once. Kat was étoile every single year she attended."

"There's a big surprise," Janet muttered. "So basically nothin's changed."

"Seemingly not," Jenny laughed. "Oh, I yearned to be as popular as Kat, but alas, she was the best at everything. Academics, dance, sport, etiquette... I think only I ever loved her without also hating her."

"Don't let Jen fool you," Karen interjected, pointing with her absinthe glass. "She was a very close second in just about every subject. Had I not been there, she would have been étoile, without question."

"So despite all the misbehaviour, you still excelled," Mona mused.

"Well, I couldn't let Mary Poppins here be hated all on her own now, could I?" Jenny giggled. "Yes, I was rather hated too. The girls all knew of my background of course, and in the manner of privileged young women everywhere, twisted my title into a horrible moniker. They called me 'the Cuntess'."

Lisa spasmed and spit her wine on the table as she began laughing hysterically, which led to Janet, Mona, and Jenny laughing at her. Karen just smiled, rolled her eyes, and shook her head. She couldn't imagine not treasuring these memories so very far in the future, and hoped to have many, many more like them.

"They stuck me with Kat, of course, hoping that her excellence and good behaviour would rub off on me," Jenny continued, putting a dainty finger in the air and ordering another brown beer. "And while she often enabled my wayward actions, she did have a somewhat moderating effect on my vices."

"Here we go with this again," Karen sighed, shaking her head.

"Do you know what she did? What I gave up for her?" Jenny said, leaning forward. "When we were in grade ten, I decided to take up smoking. I thought it would be cool. But Kat put a stop to that instantly."

"Oh my God, you too?!" Janet blurted, her eyes widening.

"Just so," Jenny confirmed, nodding. "She told me to cease and desist at once, or she would never kiss me again. If I intended to taste like some Devonian ashtray, she would not find out."

"Did you tell her to get lost?" Janet asked rather intently, looking for validation.

"No, I folded like a house of cards," the blonde admitted. "I may have wanted to smoke, but I would have died without those kisses, ladies."

"Dammit," Janet muttered, folding her arms and scowling at the table before looking at Karen, her hopes dashed. "Princess, you're such a control freak. Seriously, can't you let someone smoke?"

"By all means, just not around me," Karen said simply. "I didn't make her stop, I simply gave her a choice. I happen to think she made the right one."

"Oh, I know I did that, lovey," Jenny purred as she sidled into Karen and kissed her, the two girls closing their eyes. Janet, Lisa, and Mona waited for several seconds, watching quietly before Mona cleared her throat, which cause the two girls to break apart reluctantly.

"Could you two save some of that for when I have my sketch pad handy?" Mona said, her chin resting on her hand. "It'd make good source material for my Frank Frazetta-style art... or maybe Wally Wood."

"She has a point," Karen sighed. "We may be in a dark corner, but roving eyes can still-"

"Awriiiiight!" said a rather drunken male student, leering as he staggered up to the table. "Li'l lezzie action is awesome! How 'bout we-"

He didn't finish the sentence before Jenny had stood up and slapped him across the face, a loud crack that caused everyone nearby to look suddenly. Mona, Janet, and Lisa all looked shocked at what their new friend had done. Only Karen didn't seem surprised.

"Insolent boy!" Jenny said harshly, her brown eyes flashing. "How dare you?!"

"Whu-? wha-?" the guy stammered, his cheek turning red and his confusion growing. What had just happened?

"I am the Countess of Greymoor, and you have insulted me!" Jenny hissed, glaring daggers at him. Except for the music over the speakers, everything had gone silent across the pub. "Give me one reason to not hang your head from the walls of Heatherly Hall! Or on a pike!"

The boy's mouth was moving, but no sound came out.

"Speak, you wretched peasant!" Jenny almost shouted.

Before he could say anything, Jenny had grabbed him by the shirt, bunching it in her fist, and pulled him close, almost nose-to-nose with him.

"Let me be clear, little boy," she said in a quiet but deadly tone. "You have exactly three seconds to exit this pub and never darken my life again, or I will knee you in the clankers so hard that you'll be tasting them for a month. Am I achieving clarity?"

Pale with fright, the student nodded.

Jenny shoved him away roughly, sending him spinning toward the door. "Get thee gone and take due thy place!"

The student staggered out the door in a hurry. Everything was still silent as the entire population of the pub stared at Jenny. She didn't seem bothered by it. She simply shrugged. "Sorry for the disturbance, folks. I am indeed the Countess of Greymoor, and to make up for my outburst, my friend Kat here will buy everyone's next round. Have at it!"

A general cheer went up from the patrons as Jenny sat back down, looking very pleased with herself.

"And that, ladies, is how you deal with cretins when you do not have piercing golden eyes in your arsenal," she said as she resumed drinking her beer. "Not so bad, what?"

"Holy shit, Jen," Janet breathed. "You're nearly as scary as Princess when you're pissed off."

"And now you know why we were such a force to be reckoned with at school," Jenny agreed. "I can think of maybe three occasions during my time at Saint Evangeline where Kat resorted to physical force to solve an issue. I was more of the 'three times a week' sort of girl."

"And despite this, you somehow always managed to bribe people using my money," Karen sighed. "Like your own family isn't loaded."

"Oh, but wire transfers are such a hassle, Kat," Jenny pretended to whine. "Your money was so much closer..."

"And I can see things haven't changed," replied the bronze-haired goddess, poking her friend on the nose and making Jenny giggle and try to bite the finger.

"I may die from saccharine overdose," Janet muttered, shaking her head as she watched them before looking at Lisa, sitting quietly next to her. "You okay, Red?"

"I'll be fine," Lisa said, nodding and taking deep breaths while keeping her eyes closed. "I just... y'know how I get when boys are being icky."

"Oh dear," Jenny said, looking at Lisa curiously. "Do we have to rub jam on her nose to calm her down?"

"Beats knockin' her out with a matzo ball," Janet replied, shrugging. "Who knows, she may like it."

"I gotta remember how that looked so I can sketch it when I get back to my room," Mona said, frowning at the table and committing Jenny's outburst to memory.

"So you were basically number one and number two are Saint Eve's?" Lisa asked, having recovered from her close encounter with an icky boy. "Were you ever competition for one another? Like rivals?"

Karen and Jenny looked at one another and then shook their heads. "No, we were far too compatible to be at odds that way," Karen replied. "We fit together so seamlessly that it began to scare the faculty."

"Wow, a time in Princess' life where she didn't have a rival," Janet laughed. "Must've been terrible for her!"

"It's hard to imagine my brilliant Kat having any meaningful kind of rival," the blonde girl said, clasping Karen's hand in hers and smiling. "Am I to understand that there are those at this learned institution who would dare to-"

"It's March Break, ladies, I would prefer to not think on the pedestrian matters of school, and instead focus on showing Miss Penrose the best of times," Karen interrupted. "Hopefully, that is not too much to ask."

"Don't worry, we'll give you two plenty of alone time to 'catch up,'" Janet quipped, smirking and making both Lisa and Mona giggle.

"Not the least of which is explaining how on earth you have managed to survive Australia without becoming psychotic," Karen added, looking at the table and shaking her head. "I told my parents your family moved to Perth, and they thought it was somewhat bizarre as well. The prestigious Jenny Penrose, trapped in a penal colony."

"They did always like me, as opposed to all those trollops and hussies you normally paraded around," Jenny teased, winking at Karen. "They were no doubt delighted when you made friends with a classy trollop like my own self."

"Ecstatic, I assure, you," Karen said, rolling her eyes. "I've managed to keep my nude modeling for the art department a secret from my father so far, not to mention my personal modeling for Mona and her courses."

"Yes, Kat mentioned that you are also practicing erotic art, as well as your primary field of animation," Jenny mentioned, giving Mona a wicked smile. "I've no doubt that over the course of the week, Kat and I can provide you with endless source material."

"I shudder to think how my dear father would react if he saw those pictures," Karen sighed, shaking her head. "Jordan would be trying frantically to resuscitate him."

"I always did have a soft spot for that man, your seneschal," Jenny said wistfully. "So much more personality than my own father's mutton-head, Reginald. The man has all the warmth of a Coke machine. But Jordan was always such a dear."

"Yeah, we all love Smithers too," Janet added, causing another round of snickering among her friends, barring Karen. "He's so devoted to Princess here. Have you ever seen him completely trashed?"

Jenny's eyes widened slightly. "Oh, my goodness, no!"

"Well we have," Janet said almost proudly. "He was convinced the end of the world had happened and got absolutely hammered, like, sloppy, falling-down drunk. I had to carry him to bed so that Veronica Lodge here didn't kill him."

"I'm not sure my reality could handle a drunk Jordan," Jenny laughed. "That would upset my sense of all that is right with the universe, akin to Kat getting a tattoo!"

"I think it's time we three made our way back to the dorms," Mona announced, standing up, smirking. "Those two just keep inching closer and closer together, ladies. I think they need some time alone."

"But I was just getting to know you," Jenny protested as the three girls all stood.

"There's always tomorrow," Janet said, shrugging. "And how much attention are you gonna be paying to what we say when you have your hands wedged against the crotch of each other's pants?"

Karen and Jenny both withdrew their hands, blushing and looking slightly chastened.

"C'mon, Red, you can stay with me tonight," Mona said to Lisa, smiling. "At least you'll get some sleep this way."

Lisa looked at her roomie and her old 'acquaintance'. "Any idea when we can expect to see you two tomorrow?"

Karen and Jenny looked at each other and then shook their heads.

"See ya when we see ya, then!" Janet announced, waving at them as she turned and headed toward the door, followed by her two friends, laughing gaily. It had been a great night. They were still laughing when they crossed the road and headed back through campus toward the women's dorm.

"Gawd, I hope they're not loud," Janet sighed as they walked into the dorm, shedding their coats. "It'd really suck to be across the entire length of the building and down a floor and still hear them lezzing it up."

"Dunno what the big deal is," Mona said, shaking her head. "Everyone hears you screaming yourself hoarse every time DeBourne visits your room, or you visit his."

"That's different," Janet sniffed. "He's literally forcing the air out of my lungs by battering them from below."

"Where is our brainy Nephilim, anyway?" Lisa asked, frowning suddenly. "I don't think I've seen him since the day before yesterday."

"Back up in the Great White North, of course," Janet answered, shrugging. "Y'know he goes home every chance he gets."

"I'm kinda surprised that you didn't ask to go with him," Mona teased. "Just so you didn't have to do without."

"Not a chance," snorted Janet. "Not even for his dick. They haven't even heard of Madonna or Duran Duran up there yet. They still think the Bee Gees are in vogue."

"Oh, yuck," Mona laughed. "Count me out if they're not even past disco yet! But he hates disco. How does he survive it?"

"Search me," Janet said, shrugging. "Probably by eating the person stupid enough to play it in his presence."

"What about his little brother, Josh?" Lisa asked. "Doesn't Mike think he's gay?"

"Gay as a bag of popcorn," said her friend. "And so the whole family's lobbying to get gay rights and marriage legalized. Hard to imagine it happening up in Kapuskasing, of all places."

"Maybe you should go fight for gay rights," Mona suggested, smirking. "That'd be a big win on your résumé."

"Gay marriage is probably a lot easier to get public support for if both chicks are hot," Janet sighed.

***

Back at the pub...

They'd slipped inside the little washroom with the 'Out of Order' sign on it, thinking they were very likely to be left alone. They both ignored the rank smell as they kissed feverishly, pressed into one another, tongues plunging and snaking around hungrily. They'd unbuttoned each other's pants and slid a hand down inside, shivering and moaning in delight to find that neither of them was wearing panties.

Both girls paused as they felt something they hadn't initially expected. Slowly, they withdrew their hands, each of them holding a small, folded note of delicate paper between their fingers. They gazed at the paper for a few moments and began giggling. Of course they'd both done that! When had they ever not prepared little love notes for one another?

But they would be read later. The notes were inserted in pockets. Then the taller, stronger Karen had Jenny pressed up against the wall, her one fist bunched in the blonde's hair as she massaged Jenny's tonsils with her tongue. Jenny whimpered in pleasure, her free hand squeezing Karen's ass cheek through her snug jeans as the first slipped back inside her lover's jeans. It had been so long...

The girls moaned into each other's mouths as slender fingers found and teased clits before sliding inside the moist folds of each other's pussies. Karen pushed against Jenny harder, humping her hips against Jenny's hand, trapping it. Her fingernails grazed along Jenny's scalp, knowing her English lover was helpless against the sensation. She was so glad that hadn't changed about her.

That Jenny hadn't.

They pushed their fingers deep inside one another while their tongues wrestled wetly, the open-mouthed kiss glistening on their lips and lower faces. It was like no time at all had passed between them. Hips squirmed and humped as they kissed heatedly.