Mike & Karen Ch. 30

***

Downtown...

"Y'don't think he's gonna crack and tell 'em, do you?" Jeanie asked, watching the screen, mostly from Mike and Karen's cameras, occasionally Jordan's. Alex's camera was more or less just a dark blur with voices happening, since his aunts Janet and Mona were almost sitting on top of him.

Alexa giggled and shook her head. "That boy, crack? He beat all three of us at anal roulette, remember? I don't care if they start tag-team blowin' him, he won't give in."

"They're not gonna, right?" Jeanie mused, watching the screen. "I mean, that'd be hot, but kinda unfair since you're not there."

"Yndling, I am doubtings they would do this while his mother and father were in the room," Freja pointed out. Her wife wasn't wrong, however, watching that would indeed be hot.

"Huh, yeah, good point," Jeanie agreed, nodding. "Lady Prof kinda doesn't like it when she sees us riding his hog, so she probs doesn't wanna see his aunts do it."

Alexa had her head against her knees, body trembling as she snickered.

"God, I love you, Jeanie," she sighed, sitting up finally and wiping the tears of mirth from her eyes.

***

A quiet bedroom suite on the third floor...

Lisa slipped into the room and closed the door, turning on the lights and sighing heavily. As excited, thrilled, and elated she had been about everything thus far this morning, she felt a dull dread about what she had to do now. She'd told Karen that she didn't need more than ten minutes for the call, and then another few just to go pee, and then she'd be ready to head downtown.

She pulled her little, battered brick of a cellphone out of her pocket and hit a speed dial number before putting it to her ear, leaning back against the wall and taking a breath.

The call was answered almost instantly.

"Hiya, D-bear," she said, trying to put a smile in her voice. "Just wanted to let you know I made it, I'm here now, and... I... well, yes, I tried earlier."

She listened to what the person on the other end of the line was saying. "You checked to make sure that my flight landed, and that was four hours ago. Yeah, that sounds right. I told you, I tried calling, but the signal wasn't all that- no, I doubt think the cellphone reception here in Canada is decrepit and poor. It's this phone, but we've been over this. This phone is a single generation past analog, whatever that is, and Toronto is very much a 5G city..."

She listened some more before answering. "I... I don't know if you can check cellphone records on the account, D, to see if unsuccessful calls were made, just so that you can verify I tried calling immediately. Why would I want you to be worrying?"

Lisa restrained a sigh. "I'm sorry your chest was hurting. Are you sure you're okay? Oh, Margaret checked to make sure you were fine. Good, I'm glad you have her to rely on. Was her wife Christine okay with- no, I'm not implying anything, D, for real. I just don't know if their relationship is as secure as ours, that's all. I'm glad she was able to make sure you didn't need to go to the hospital again..."

More listening, and she was getting a familiar ache in her stomach, almost like a gas pain.

"What... what if at some point we all called you, like put everyone on speakerphone so that you could hear- oh, okay, no. No, I understand, you'd feel like you'd been left out and I was taunting you. That was never my intent, I'm sorry. I hear the drumming in the background, so does that mean you made it to the ceremony okay? Good. What was the theme of this gathering?"

She nodded as she listened. "Communing with the goddess. I remember you telling me about those ones. That's where everyone is unusually in a state of undress and kinda free and easy with their bods, right? No, I trust you, why wouldn't I?"

Lisa squeezed her eyes shut. "I don't think you've ever given me a reason to distrust you, no. I asked about the nudity to make sure that I was accurately remembering which type of event it was. I didn't want to seem disrespectful by not remembering, because I know these things are important to you."

She thunked her head back against the wall, looking at the ceiling. "Yeah, I can hear them calling for the sacred circle, so you've gotta go, I know. Who went with you? Just Margaret? I'm sorry Christine couldn't go. Should I try to call you and- oh, you'll call me? Okay, I'll have my phone handy and waiting for your call at all times. Yep. Yep. Yes, have a good time, and of course I trust you. Love you, D-Bear. Bye..."

A push of a plastic button and the call was ended. Lisa almost sagged in on herself and sighed loudly. Well, at least that was taken care of, and she didn't get in too much shit. But the day was still young, and there might be plenty of inbound calls before the night was out. That was usually the way of it if she was ever more than twenty feet out of her wife's sight.

It hurt that Donna had expressed no interest whatsoever in coming, that she couldn't have cared less about Lisa's life before they'd married. She only tolerated Lisa being in contact with her own mother because she was her mother. Aside from that, none of it was of any consequence according to Donna. Best left behind, and Lisa had the feeling that her wife expected this visit to be the last one. Ever.

Unless, perhaps, it was for a funeral.

She grunted and then made her way into the suite's bathroom. Those calls always made her have to pee.

***

Somewhere else downtown...

"How are things going back at Blackshack?" Millie queried, sipping at her cappuccino before eating a strawberry with clotted cream.

Jenny smiled over her mimosa. "The lord of the manor last informed me that they have reunited, everyone is ecstatic to be together, they were delighted to see Jordan again, they have been fawning all of the young prince, and that thanks to Alex's sense of humour, Lisa has already accidentally rickrolled them all."

"God save me, I hate that gag," the younger sister muttered, shaking her head. "Is Karen doing as she predicted and bringing Lisa downtown for wardrobe shopping?"

"Just so," the blonde woman confirmed with a nod, tearing off a corner of her croissant now. "With that in mind, I simply have to keep her appraised of our movements, and she shall avoid the general vicinity. After this, we have massages and mani-pedis scheduled, so I daresay we are in no danger of running into them. We will make our way back tonight, after dinner. If we wait until her stomach is full, Lisa is less likely to 'micturate in excitement,' to quote Kat."

"Count on that woman to know how to make humping the cat loin sound classy," Millie sighed, making Jenny snicker. "Still, I am looking forward to seeing their reaction to your reappearance in their life after just over thirty years."

"I am feeling more than a few butterflies about it, admittedly," Jenny agreed. "Perhaps nearly as many as I felt when I came to see Kat."

"I somehow doubt that," the brunette countered, shaking her head. "I have never seen you so nervous as when you'd resolved to accept Kat's invite and come back here. You practically forgot how to speak, Jen. You, the girl who never shuts up and always has something to say about everything."

Jenny blushed. "Okay, that is true. But I am indeed excited to see them again. I've missed them, I felt so very close to them, even though I'd only known them for what amounted to a week. And as much fun as this will be, this weekend belongs to Alli, so I shall reacquaint myself with the ladies quickly and thoroughly tonight."

"As only you can," Millie sighed. "And here I'll be, feeling like a fifth wheel, yet again."

"Tosh, Mill," Jenny said with a charming and genuine smile. "They'll love you, especially Janet. She's something of a snark, not unlike yourself."

"Thank you for that personality endorsement," grunted the younger woman before biting into her croissant again. They were very good; this place had been an excellent recommendation from Karen. "I guess I'm still just stunned that they care to have me here at all. Let's face it, Jen, I wasn't exactly part of your social circle with Kat."

"I was wrong to exclude you when I did, Mill, and I am sorry for that," Jenny said, her voice tinged with regret. "It was never punitive, I was just caught up."

"I guess I don't blame you, given who you were in love with," Millie allowed before allowing herself a bratty smirk. "And if you don't make it up to me, your darling Kat no doubt will."

"Oi, now!" Jenny laughed gaily, excited for the rest of the day but very much enjoying just spending time with her wonderful kid sister.

***

Blackwell Manor...

"So, that's me and my aunts," Alex said as he strolled around the lawn in the back of the lot, an enormous green space that was in the middle of transformation. He was walking near the back of the property, observing the area where the apiaries were going to be kept. There were winding swathes of wild greenery between the oldest and largest properties, and they were held in trust by the Blackwell Foundation to keep developers from getting their grubby little mitts on the land. Said swathes would be burgeoning with flowers soon enough, and the apiaries were perfectly placed to take advantage. "Pretty much what I told you would happen?"

"You called it, stud," Alexa replied over the phone and in his earbuds. "That was amazeballs, no doubt."

"Hey, the best part of the weekend is still to happen, for sure," he added, looking at a demarcated area where an art studio would be built in due course. Only his father, mother, Tatyana, and he knew it was being built, and it was would be named after Miranda, his grandmother. It was a secret surprise for Alexa. "Just wait until they see you."

"Mona and Janet seem okay, but I feel bad for Aunt Li," his wife mused. "Havin' to come without her wife, who didn't seem all that interested. That's gotta be a blow. Those four women and your dad were largely responsible for who each of them became."

"None of them'd argue that point, I'm thinkin'," Alex agreed readily. He'd have to keep an eye on his aunt Lisa. She was the one on the schedule, after all. As soon as all this housewarming stuff was over, she was apparently supposed to hightail it straight back to Idaho at the behest of her wife.

But Lisa didn't know about Alexa. And she had no clue whatsoever about him and Alexa. How on earth would she feel turning her back on that and going home? He knew she wouldn't like it, so at the very least she'd have some internal conflict going on. She hadn't changed, and he knew her. This would be difficult for her, to say the least.

"I'm kinda givin' Kar and Li a break," Alex continued. "They're gone shopping, and they might have Old Guard stuff to discuss. Not to mention that the cameras might not work so well away from Ari's rig, you know?"

Alex nodded, even if she couldn't see him. "Aunts Janet and Mona might hang out with Jordan and dad for a while longer, but we'll see. I mean, they haven't even seen each other in four years now..."

***

Back inside...

Janet was walking down the familiar third floor hall, humming to herself. It was interesting to her, how if felt different now. She's always been a guest here, when the place was in the hands of Jonathon Blackwell. A very welcome guest, to be sure, but a guest nonetheless. And now that Mike and Karen were the owners and stewards of the Manor, she felt like it had a different feel and air to it. And interestingly, she didn't feel like a guest, she felt like a family member coming home. Blackwell Manor was somehow a home to her. It just felt homey.

She smiled as someone stepped out of one of the rooms and closed the door behind her. Mona glanced up and returned the smile warmly as she waited for Janet to reach her.

"Well hey, you," Janet said as she sauntered up to her dear friend. "And what were you just up to?"

"It's a bathroom, girl, what did you think I was up to?" quipped Mona, smirking. "You in need of proof?"

"Never have been, but the day ain't over yet," the brunette replied, stopping and standing close to her friend. "Day's been so busy I haven't really had a chance to say hello, have I?"

"Neither of us has," Mona admitted, both girls blushing slightly, their bodies almost touching. "I mean, yeah, hello in the driveway, same as ever, but... a hello between just the two of us? I've been lookin' forward to it."

"Me too," Janet agreed, nodding slightly. There was silence for some seconds before they both broke down giggling and snickering. Some things never seemed to change.

"Jesus, are we still bad at this after over thirty years?" Mona said, taking Janet's hands in hers and looking at one of the women she adored so. "We both know we wanna kiss hello, but we get all weird."

"I don't mind it, it's always been fun, hasn't it?" Janet reasoned, lacing her fingers with Mona's. "But yeah, getting you alone somewhere and trying to kiss you up has been somewhere in the back of my mind, I admit."

"Uh-huh, somewhere in the back of your mind, am I?" the black woman asked, raising an eyebrow and smirking. "Something of an afterthought?"

"Oh, shut it, you wench," Janet said as she pulled Mona to her. They wrapped their arms around one another and pressed their lips together, kissing each other. Neither of them could explain it, of course, since they weren't in love, and they'd kissed both Lisa and Karen before. They were all dearest friends, and very affectionate with one another, but there was a bit of a bond between Janet and Mona they didn't know how to describe. Lisa and Karen had been a couple and lovers back in the first two years of them all going to university together, and even after Karen had fallen in love with Mike, they'd still been casual lovers. They had been until Lisa got married to some woman named Donna some five years ago.

Mona and Janet had been casually dating Mike at the same time and even had many threesomes with him. But they'd never become full-on lovers, at least not with one another. They always janked the moment by cracking up laughing or being silly. They'd tried, Heavens knew, but it had never quite completed. Oddly, the times they had managed to come closest to acting like real lovers were when they were having sex with Mike together.

It didn't matter. Here they were kissing one another in the hallway of Blackwell Manor, as they had countless times before, and there was a flood of contentment and relief through them to be able to show the affection. They sighed through the kiss, holding one another's cheeks gently. No tongue, of course, they weren't making out. But kissing was absolutely necessary.

"Mmmmm," Mona whispered through the kiss, loving the taste of her friend's lips. "Why d'you think we keep hidin' to do this? Not like anyone'd care, right? Most of 'em know anyway."

"More fun this way," Janet murmured back, her hands now sliding down Mona's neck, over her shoulders, and down to her waist, where they came to rest. Mona did likewise, the two women holding one another close. Their breasts were squashed together through their blouses, their hips pressed. "Feels naughtier, and if we just do it anywhere, people can never 'catch us in the act', right?"

"Ooh, good point," Mona agreed, kissing Janet a little more eagerly. "I love how you think, Remington."

"Just how I think?" Janet breathed, her hands now gently flexing on Mona's waist.

"Okay, you horny slut, I love you too," the black girl said, her hands now going down to Janet's skirt-encased butt and taking hold of it. "Izzat what you wanna hear?"

"At moments like this, yeah, I can get behind that," Janet replied, pressing Mona back against the wall and leaning into her while they kissed.

"Mmm, lookit you, gettin' all assertive," purred Mona still kissing her friend. "Where'd this come from, white girl?"

"I don't hear you objecting," said the brunette while her hands came up to rest on Mona's breasts, clad in a light sweater. She gave a gentle squeeze, eliciting a moan from her friend. The kiss continued as she fondled Mona, also loving the feel of her friend's hands groping her butt. She pushed forward with her hips, nestling one of her legs over Mona's thigh, her skirt riding up until her hose-and panty-encased pussy was resting on it. Mona squirmed around until she was straddling Janet's exposed thigh, her jeans-clad ass resting on it.

"Mmm, this whole clothing thing used to be the reverse, a million years ago," Mona mumbled through the kiss. "I used to be the one always wearing the skirt suit, tryin' to look competent and professional while getting companies to hire me, and you were the shirt and jeans girl. Now I'm a veteran in the industry and can wear whatever I want, an' you're the high-powered lawyer in the expensive suits..."

She pulled Janet's expensive business skirt up farther, exposing her behind and making it easier to fondle. Janet responded by squeezing and groping her friend's breasts a little harder. They pressed further into the kiss. Still no tongue, though, they weren't lesbians, after all. But the kiss was getting wetter, certainly, as they lost themselves in it.

Mona moved in a circle and now had Janet pinned to the wall, as she had been moments before. Janet let out a small gasp as Mona's hands found hers and pinned them over their heads. Pressed together, looking into one another's eyes, their breasts were squashed and they were still sitting on each other's thighs. Their foreheads met as they whispered against one another's lips.

"Ooh, there's a move I haven't seen for a while," Janet breathed, smirking. "We gonna have us a li'l dominance match, slut?"

"Those were always fun, weren't they?" Mona agreed, her lips meeting Janet's again. "We never figured anything out, since it just became a tickle fight."

"I always just figured whoever made the other piss first from laughing too hard won," Janet said, beginning to slide her crotch on Mona's thigh, shivering at she felt her friend do the same. "Never got past that stage."

"Y'got another stage in mind, you horny thing?" Mona asked through the kiss. "We've got over thirty years of this nonsense between us, y'know."

"Maybe I'll up the ante and fuck you finally, huh?" Janet rasped as she felt her pussy brushing along the jeans below. "Always room for progress, right?"

"Izzat it?" Mona almost hissed, kissing Janet again. "We gonna finally fuck?"

They were panting and grinding their crotches on each other's thigh, nothing else being said. They kissed and stared into one another's eyes, heedless of the sweat forming and dampening their clothes. They always had more.

Then they hugged tight, holding one another as they sighed loudly and calmed themselves, before they reached a point of no return. They stayed that way for some time, faces buried in each other's shoulder as they wrestled for control. Once they were more centered, they looked up, staring into one another's eyes, seeing a dear, lifelong friend they'd do anything for. The kiss that followed was deep, and affectionate, even loving.

No tongue, though. They weren't making out, and they weren't lesbians.

"There you two are," said a deep, sonorous voice that sent shivers through them both and made them end the kiss. Mike was standing at the end of the hallway they were in, smirking at them. Despite the distance, he was still managing to tower over them. It had been a thing for over thirty years now, and it was unlikely to change any time soon. "And why am I not surprised? We leave you alone for two minutes, and you sneak off like children to play doctor."

"Hush, we're not playing doctor, we're playing dentist," Mona chided, giving him a petulant look. "If we were playing doctor, we'd have our clothes off, wouldn't we?"