Missing You, Missing Me Ch. 02

April woke up alone in Trish's bed. She heard voices outside the bedroom door, and assumed Trish and Jasmine were already up. Finding her clothes in a neat pile, on a chair near the bed, she jumped in the shower.

Fifteen minutes later, she walked into Trish's kitchen to find her and Jasmine finishing their brunch. Trish gave her a smile and handed her a plate of food. Jasmine didn't even look at her.

She took a seat at the end of the table, putting Jasmine between her and Trish. She ate in silence while Trish and Jasmine chatted away. Trish's eyes kept darting back and forth between her and Jasmine while they talked, but Jasmine acted like she wasn't even there. Halfway through her meal, Jasmine stood up and announced she was leaving. Trish walked her to the door, they hugged, and April stared at Jasmine's back as she disappeared down the hall. The sound of Trish's voice jerked her back to the present.

"I'm sorry April. She tried to leave this morning, while you were still sleeping. I finally talked her into staying; so I thought she was willing to talk to you, maybe work things out, but..." her voice trailed off.

No, Jasmine had decided to stay just long enough to bury a knife in her heart, and then give it a good twist. It hurt. It hurt like hell. She just sat there, staring at the door, feeling like she'd just been sucker punched. Eventually, though, her Irish temper kicked in, pushing out the pain.

"Fine, Jasmine," she thought. "We're even. Even and done."

Fueled by temper, she thanked Trish and said goodbye, drove back to her hotel, took another shower, changed clothes and checked out. She headed back to New Orleans, making the hour and a half trip in an hour flat. It was temper that had her practically kicking her own door in. She threw her bags on the bed and marched out to the balcony. Hands gripping the top of the railing, she stared out over her little piece of The Quarter, lost in thought.

First, she imagined knocking Jasmine on her arrogant little ass. Then her mind started replaying last night. After that, her mind drifted to the first time they had made love, and their first kiss in front of the drug store, over three months ago. She felt tears welling up in her eyes and marched back inside, shaking them off. She stood in the middle of her apartment trying to gain control of her emotions.

She needed a game plan. She always felt better if she mapped out a course of action. She stared at her bed, marshalling her thoughts into some kind of order. She needed to call John, give him an update. Maybe he would know why Jade had chosen the name Lee Anne. Then she needed to find Jade and haul her ass back home. She'd hog tie her and throw her in the trunk of her car, if she had to. After that, she was getting as far away from this city as humanly possible, and then forgetting she had ever heard the name Dupree. Feeling calmer, she snatched up her phone and put a call in to John.

##

April eased the phone back into its cradle, actually feeling a little optimistic. John had given her a last name, St. Clair. Apparently, Lee Anne St. Clair was the sisters' mother's maiden name. It made sense, knowing Jade as she did, for her to decide to take that as her new identity. Spurred on by this new piece of information, she found her laptop and went to work.

##

Two hours later, she had a headache, sore eyes and nothing new. She couldn't find any new listings, anywhere, for a Lee Anne St. Clair in Baton Rogue. She had tried to find some information about the private club Jade was now working at, and had come up empty there, as well.

She needed a hacker. Mason had done a fantastic job for her last time, but it was now fall, Halloween was just a few weeks away, and he was back in school. She was sure he'd be happy to help her, but his time would be limited, and April didn't want to wait around. Snatching the phone back up, she called her old friend Mike from back home, hoping he could recommend someone else.

It turned out Mike had several names for her. The best one, though, was going to be hard to find. Her name was Alyshia, no last name, and Mike swore she was the best hacker on the planet. That, in April's mind, was high praise. Unfortunately, this master hacker wasn't easy to locate. Whoever she was, she kept a very low profile, communicating only through e-mail, and was usually so busy, she turned down a lot of jobs. Mike had promised to contact this woman for her, hoping she might be more willing to accept a job offer from a fellow hacker, but there was no guarantee. April decided to give it 24 hours. After that, she was moving on to the next name on her list.

The following afternoon, Mike called April back. "You're in luck. She accepted."

"Great! Thanks Mike, I owe you one."

"Yes, you do, but I'll just add this one to your tab," Mike said, chuckling.

"Ha ha. Ok, so what do I do next?"

"Pick her up at the airport. She was already on the road and emailed me that she was headed to New Orleans."

"That works. When does her flight come in?"

"Four o'clock this afternoon."

"Shit! Mike! It's 3:45. Jeez," April frantically looked around her apartment for a pen and paper. "Ok, what's the flight number?"

April scribbled the information down on the back of a pizza takeout menu and rushed out the door. She mentally crossed her fingers hoping Alyshia didn't get mad and leave before she made it to the airport.

##

Almost an hour later, April rushed into the airport, frantically checking the signs. She couldn't find the flight number posted anywhere and checked at the desk. The woman there pointed out a lounge area and explained that that was the most likely place for Alyshia to wait, unless she had gone into one of the restaurants. April sped off towards the lounge area and found a young, petite blonde woman sitting in a seat off in the corner, surrounded by several pieces of luggage. April hurried over to her.

"Alyshia?" She asked, uncertain. When the woman nodded yes, April let out a sigh of relief.

"I am so sorry for being late. By the time Mike got back to me with your flight information, your plane was probably already landing, and traffic was murder getting over here." Alyshia just nodded and started gathering her bags.

"Here, let me help you with those." April took the larger pieces. Alyshia didn't look like she'd weigh 100 pounds, soaking wet. They walked to April's illegally parked car in silence and April silently groaned. "Great," she thought, "she's angry that it took me so long to show up." She really needed this woman's help and was kicking herself for getting off on the wrong foot.

Finding the car, April loaded up the trunk while Alyshia climbed into the passenger seat. April jumped in behind the driver's wheel just as a traffic cop was about to write her a ticket. She waved, and made a show of pulling out and the cop was nice enough to wave her off, letting her go without a ticket.

April drove back towards the city. Alyshia was silent the whole time. As they neared town, April asked her were she was staying. Alyshia just shook her head no. April wasn't sure what that meant, but didn't want to push her luck, so she just drove back to her apartment.

Once there, she helped Alyshia carry her bags inside. Alyshia grabbed a couple of them, sat down on the couch while pushing April's laptop out of the way, and started setting up her own equipment. April just stood behind the couch and watched. When Alyshia seemed to have every thing ready, she looked over her shoulder at April with a questioning look on her face.

April wasn't sure what to do next. It was bugging her that Alyshia appeared to not want to talk to her. April walked around the end of the couch and sat down next to Alyshia, determined to patch things up.

"Listen, I'm really sorry about the screw up at the airport, but how are we going to work together if you refuse to speak to me?"

April watched as Alyshia leaned towards her laptop and opened a Word document and started typing.

"I'm mute," April read.

"Well why didn't you say so earlier." The minute the words were out of her mouth, April groaned and buried her face in her hands. "Great, Shaughnessy," she thought, "Why stop at sticking your foot in your mouth when you can just shove it down your own throat."

She looked up to find Alyshia looking at her with an amused look on her face. Ok, so maybe she wasn't mad.

"I'm sorry. I'm not usually such a bumbling idiot." April saw Alyshia's smile widen a little and felt relieved. Obviously, Alyshia could hear her just find, so that saved her from asking another stupid question. Deciding it was best to just go to work, she explained the case to Alyshia and what it was she needed help with. Alyshia nodded and went to work on her computer, her fingers flying over the keyboard, causing windows to fly open, code scrolling madly across the screens. April figured it was best to just let Alyshia do her thing, so she left her alone on the couch. Not sure what to do with herself, she started pacing around the apartment. After a few minutes, she looked up to find Alyshia giving her feet a pointed look. Her pacing was irritating Alyshia. Taking the hint, April sat back down on the opposite end of the couch.

"Are you hungry?"

Alyshia nodded yes.

"Pizza or Chinese?"

Alyshia held up one finger.

"Pizza?"

Alyshia nodded yes and April went in search of her collection of menus. She found one for a pizza shop that was quickly becoming her favorite place, and held the menu out to Alyshia. Taking a pen, Alyshia scanned the menu and then circled what she wanted. April found her phone and placed the order. Hovering near the door, she studied the woman sitting on her couch. She looked really young. April didn't think she was much more than 20, tops. She had an angular face with high cheekbones and full, blood red lips. Her straight blonde hair fell just a little bit past her shoulders and was cut in a layered, staggered style. Actually, Alyshia had a very exotic look about her, which April found very sexy. She quickly shook that thought off. She had enough problems in the romance department, and now wasn't the best time to create new ones.

The pizza arrived and they both dug in. After dinner, April let Alyshia go back to work. She decided to camp out with her laptop on the bed, and started reviewing her notes, trying to fill in the blanks. Privately, she was praying she hadn't spooked Jade the other night at the club, if that was indeed Jade, which she thought it was. Ultimately, Jade had a very large head start on her and, if she took off again, by the time she found out, Jade would be that much further beyond her. Her other problem was, once she did find Jade, how was she going to get her home. Jade wasn't some little kid she could throw over her shoulder and drag back to New Orleans. And if the sisters had been fighting as badly as April was with Jasmine...well, she couldn't blame Jade for not wanting to return for more of the same. She needed to be sure that Jasmine wasn't going to do anything to chase Jade off again, and she had no idea how to do that. Jasmine's temper was volatile, at best, and she and Jasmine weren't on the best of terms right now.

Frustrated, April leaned back against the headboard, rubbing her hands over her face. Noticing how dark it was outside, April glanced at the clock. It was almost midnight. Alyshia was still working away. April got up and walked over to sit beside her. She gently laid a hand on Alyshia's arm. When Alyshia looked up, April pointed to the windows, indicating how late it was.

"Do you have a hotel room booked?"

Alyshia shook her head no.

"You're welcomed to stay here, if you want. You can crash on the couch, or share the bed with me."

Alyshia looked back at the bed, and then returned her gaze to April. April could tell Alyshia wasn't sure about sharing the bed. "I swear, I don't bite," April said, hoping she sounded reassuring.

Alyshia opened another Word document and typed, "I don't know about that. You look like you might."

Surprised, April's eyes flew to Alyshia's face and found her grinning back at her. April started to laugh.

"Ok, I don't bite unless you want me to," April teased back. Her smile faded a little as she caught the look of interest Alyshia was giving her. She felt the beginning of that familiar sweet tension deep in the pit of her stomach. "Get a grip," she ordered herself.

April decided it was best to just pretend she hadn't noticed the look on Alyshia's face. Playing dumb, April gestured towards the bed.

"Which side do you want?" Alyshia looked a little crest fallen and April started mentally kicking herself. Alyshia took her response as a rejection and April felt like a heel. The little blonde seemed really sweet and April didn't want to hurt her feelings.

"Hey, I'm sorry." April automatically reached out and laid her hand on Alyshia's knee. "It's been a rough couple of days, that's all. I guess I'm a little punchy. I didn't mean to take it out on you. Besides, I bet you're pretty tired; you're flight and all. Let's just try and get some sleep. Ok?"

"I'm not that tired," Alyshia typed.

Oh man! April could feel herself sinking deeper into trouble here. Then again, what was the problem? Jasmine had essentially cut her off at the knees yesterday, so there was nothing going on there. She had this really sexy woman flirting with her. Why shouldn't she flirt back? Throwing caution to the wind, April looked Alyshia straight in the eye.

"Truth be told, I'm not that tired either," April said with a smile. Alyshia's eyes lit up and she reached out to shut the lid on her laptop, scooting a little closer to April as she did so. April groaned. "Here we go again," she thought. She leaned down and just brushed her lips over Alyshia's. To her surprise, Alyshia grabbed her by the back of her head and roughly recaptured her mouth, wasting no time in delving her tongue inside April's mouth.

Alyshia had been quietly watching April all day. When she made April stop pacing earlier, it wasn't because it was interrupting her work; it was because watching April's lean, lithe body prowl around the apartment was getting her all stirred up. April reminded her of a panther who was just about to pounce, and Alyshia found it incredibly sexy. Plus, April's well-worn jeans hugged every curve, and just made the room feel that much hotter. Alyshia pulled out of the kiss, before she lost all control.

April watched, a little stunned, as Alyshia reopened her computer and started typing.

"I don't mind it if you bite," she typed.

"What else do you like?"

Grinning, Alyshia began clicking away on her laptop. April slid in behind Alyshia on the couch so they were both sitting in front of Alyshia's laptop, Alyshia sitting between April's legs. April began reading over Alyshia's shoulder.

"I don't mind if you get a little rough. In fact, I'd love it if you tied me up and swallowed me whole. I'll be your midnight snack. ;)" Alyshia typed. She heard April growl, felt her hands tighten their hold on her hips, and a mixture of nervousness and excitement rolled through her. Alyshia had only had a few lovers and didn't consider herself very experienced. April, she thought, was another story. Alyshia just hoped she wasn't biting off more than she could chew, but all day she had sat here wondering what it would be like to just let April take her and do whatever she wanted.

April felt Alyshia's body quiver, and she scooted closer, pressing herself into Alyshia's back.

"How old are you?" she whispered.

"18," Alyshia typed.

"Thank God! At least she's legal," April thought. Alyshia looked so young, she hadn't been entirely sure. Getting into the spirit of things, April rubbed her hands over the top of Alyshia's legs, leaving her hands to rest on the top of Alyshia's thighs. Alyshia trembled again, and April nipped at her neck.

"So, that's your fantasy? Having someone tie you up in bed?"

"No. My fantasy is to have you tie me up in bed."

April smiled against Alyshia's neck. "Have you ever been tied up before?"

Alyshia shook her head no, then quickly typed the word.

Alyshia just confirmed what April suspected. While she was certainly daring, she wasn't very experienced, and April knew she should tread carefully. "I've been. Tied up in bed that is. Would you like to do that to me?"

Alyshia sucked in a breath and, with shaky fingers, typed, "Yes."

"And what would you do to me?"

"Eat you out."

April laughed. "Is that all? Baby, you'll have to get me wet first. Tell me how you'd do that." April slipped a hand up to cup one of Alyshia's small, but perky breasts. She felt Alyshia's body jerk and kept still, just holding her breast in her hand. When Alyshia leaned over to type, she inadvertently pushed her breast further into April's hand, flattening her nipple against it, and decided she really liked the way that felt.

"I'd kiss you all over and suck on your breasts."

"Show me," April whispered, her lips right against Alyshia's ear, her hand gently rubbing Alyshia's breast through her clothes.

Alyshia didn't need any more encouragement, and she quickly twisted around, shifting so she was straddling April on the couch. She grabbed the hem of April's shirt and whipped it off, April laughing as she did so.

"You're an eager one, aren't you, Alyshia?"

Alyshia vigorously nodded her head yes as she undid April's front hooked bra. April leaned forward so Alyshia could get the bra completely off, and then sighed as Alyshia's mouth claimed one breast, lathering it with her tongue. While Alyshia worshipped her breasts, April slipped one hand underneath Alyshia's shirt, gently stroking her back. She thought she heard Alyshia moan. Encouraged, she slipped her other hand into the back pocket of Alyshia's jeans. She couldn't help but smirk a little when she felt Alyshia's body jump.

She squeezed Alyshia's ass through the jeans, still stroking her back, and felt Alyshia heap even more attention on her breasts. "Oh man," April thought, "I could stay like this all night." She always loved having her breasts sucked and teased, and Alyshia appeared to be very talented in that department. She let her head fall back against the couch, giving Alyshia free rein.

Alyshia could hear April purr, felt the vibrations. Hearing how much April was enjoying what she was doing to her breasts, added to Alyshia's excitement. She could feel how wet she was and briefly hoped she wasn't soaked through to the front of her jeans, as well. Using her body weight, she guided April onto her back so they were both stretched out on the couch.

A few minutes later, Alyshia urged her to roll over so she was lying on her stomach. April felt Alyshia grab her wrists and gently pull her arms back. She could feel Alyshia straddling her ass and she pushed back a little, bumping against Alyshia's crotch. Suddenly, she felt something cold and hard circling here wrists. Seconds later she heard clicking, then realized Alyshia had just handcuffed her with a real pair of cuffs.

"Oh, baby. You came prepared," April moaned. She felt Alyshia leave the couch and twisted her head around. She was just able to look over her shoulder in time to watch Alyshia strip naked. Alyshia returned to the couch and started trailing soft kisses all along the length of April's spine.

April trembled, moaning a little. Then she felt Alyshia's teeth nip her shoulder. "Now who bites," she chuckled. She went silent, though, as she felt Alyshia's hands on her stomach, then slide down to unfasten her jeans. Moments later, she was naked, face down on the couch with her hands cuffed behind her.

Alyshia tossed April's jeans and panties aside and stopped to admire the view. Reaching out a hand, she traced April's phoenix tattoo, then leaned down to plant a kiss at the heart shape the vines formed at the small of her back. Alyshia marveled at how much of a rush it was to have a strong woman like April, tied up and completely at her mercy. She straddled April's ass and leaned down so her chest was pressing into April's back.