Permission

"He's lucky to be married to you," Jade said, buttoning her shorts, then walking over to wash her hands.

Rebecca could hear her through the door, and now had to go pee as well.

"Of course he is," Rebecca said, laughing. "In so many ways."

That had Jade laughing.

They traded places, and kept talking. Jade just outside the door, waiting and talking as Rebecca went pee, washed her hands and primped herself in the mirror. She tried to fix her messy hair and wash her face.

"You didn't need to clean up just for me," Jade said, jokingly.

"Oh, no," Rebecca said. "I'm just self conscious of how I look. I mean, I just met you, and it happens to be after I have been working all day."

"You look fine," Jade said reassuringly.

"Thank you," Rebecca said, "but my hair is a mess and my face is dirty."

"You still look fine, Jade said.

"Thank you. Rebecca said.

"You're welcome," Jade said back.

"Do you want something to drink while we wait for the food?" Rebecca asked, changing the subject. "We have water, milk, hot tea and sun tea."

"Sun tea sounds great!" Jade said.

They sat on the front porch swing and drank sun tea and talked some more. Jade seemed to sit a little close to Rebecca, not touching her, and not right beside her either. But if Rebecca moved a few inches they would touch, so she tried not to shift around. Rebecca had a feeling about Jade. It wasn't something that she could prove or disprove, just that something was there. Nothing bad or weird, just that Jade was hinting at the edges of something, but trying to be respectful at the same time.

Supper was served. Rebecca made up the quick salads and the chicken was great, cooked just right and juicy. Jade talked about South Dakota and some of her family drama while they ate. Rebecca had a lot of questions while Eric remained nearly silent, just watching the two of them talk, as he often did. Jade helped Rebecca with the dishes while Eric cleaned the grill. Once things were cleaned up, Jade said that it was late and she had to get home. Rebecca offered to walk her home, which Jade happily took her up on.

The walk to Jade's house was comfortable, Jade thanked Rebecca for walking her home and Rebecca thanked Jade for her company and for offering to help clean. Rebecca was also grateful for a new friend, as was Jade. Jade smiled at Rebecca and gave her a quick, thankful, friendly hug. When she got back home, Rebecca knew by the look on his face that Eric had wanted to ask her all sorts of questions, but refrained himself from doing so, and she didn't offer up any details. She liked to see him squirm.

...

The next day, Rebecca woke up to find Eric already out of bed. She went downstairs to find him already dressed and eating breakfast. He offered to cook her up some eggs while she got herself ready for the day. She went to the bathroom, washed her hands, brushed her teeth, combed her hair and put it up in a braid since she was going to be working in the garage today. She changed clothes and then tied a blue handkerchief on her head before leaving the bathroom.

The kitchen smelled of cooked omelet, reminding her of how hungry she was. Eric treated her with an omelet made with fresh mushrooms, onions and green peppers. It took a while for him to do, but he liked to treat her. It was light, fluffy and delicious. Rebecca had finished eating and was sipping her morning tea when the doorbell rang. Eric didn't move to answer the door, since he knew that it was Jade, so he kept washing the morning dishes. Rebecca reminded him to dry and season the frying pan as she went to answer the door.

"Hi Rebecca!" Jade said, smiling when Rebecca opened the door.

She was dressed in jeans, a tee shirt with an orange plaid button up shirt and boots. She had her hair pulled up in a bun and covered with a pink handkerchief.

"Hey Jade!" Rebecca said. "Thank you again for coming over!"

"It's my pleasure," Jade said.

Rebecca invited her in and offered her some hot tea. Rebecca kissed Eric, who was seasoning the frying pan like a good boy, and then her and Jade walked out to the garage.

"Oh, my..." Jade said, looking at the boxes and piles, equipment and tools.

"Yeah, I know," Rebecca said. "It's not too late to back out."

"No," Jade said. "You definitely need my help. Besides, it'll be fun."

"You haven't even seen the upstairs yet," Rebecca said.

"There's an upstairs?" Jade asked.

"Oh yeah." Rebecca said, flatly.

"Is it as bad as this?" Jade asked, gesturing to the stacks of stuff around her.

"Nope." Rebecca said.

"Worse?" Jade asked tentatively.

"It's quite a bit better, and more organized," Rebecca said laughing.

"I wasn't worried," Jade said laughing with her. "I was going to help no matter what. Anyhow, this isn't that bad. It just needs sorted and organized."

"I was hoping you were going to say that," Rebecca said, laughing.

The two got to work, pulling things out of the first floor and into the yard and driveway, sorting on the fly as they did. Rebecca turned on the radio to a station that they both liked, a station that played new pop music.

While they worked in the garage, they talked about their lives, where they came from, who they were, and what it was like for them growing up. They both enjoyed each other's stories and asked lots of questions. They both had such good organization skills that they worked well together, hardly needing to talk about the items they were moving around, they just moved items into categories: tools, parts, toys, get-rid-of, large items, etc. Rebecca would start a pile and Jade would start another.

It was so much fun having someone to help her, Rebecca didn't keep track of the time until she saw Eric out there asking what they wanted for lunch.

"It's lunch time already?" Jade asked, voicing exactly how Rebecca felt.

"Yup," Eric said. "I can make something or go pick something up."

"You made supper last night and breakfast this morning," Rebecca said. "Why don't you go pick up a bucket of chicken?"

"Mmmm." Jade said. "Chicken sounds good! And Cole slaw and green beans! I'll help pay."

"Oh no you won't," Rebecca said. "Think of it as 'thank you' for helping out today."

"Okay," Jade said.

Rebecca went to Eric and wiped some drywall mud off of his face before kissing him. When he drove away, they walked to the house for a bathroom and water break. They cleaned up, grabbed their water, and relaxed on the porch swing as they waited for Eric to get back with the food. It would be at least half an hour or so.

"You know Rebecca," Jade said. "I want to let you know the real reason that I left South Dakota."

"Real reason?" Rebecca asked.

"Yeah," Jade said.

Jade told her that she had an abusive ex boyfriend, Marcos. When they were dating he was very jealous and used to try to control every minute of her life. If she didn't check in with him every hour while they were apart, he would get upset. It got so bad that her other relationships were being effected by it. Her friends and family noticed and tried to intervene, but she thought that she was in love, and wouldn't let them. Later, he started hitting her when he was drunk, and that is when she broke it off and put a restraining order on him. He showed up to her house with flowers and empty apologies. When she threaten to call the police, he forced his way in and started hitting her again. She was saved by a passerby who just happened to see the whole thing and called the police before intervening himself. Marcos was arrested for violating a restraining order, assault and battery of two people, (both her and the passerby), and was put in prison for a few years. Rebecca was silent the whole time as Jade was telling the story.

"Oh my god Jade," Rebecca said. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, that was a few years ago." Jade said. "I'm over it now. It took a while, but I'm over it."

Jade told her how she used to wake up at night, panicked, and that it took many, many months for her to stop. But now, Marcos is up for parole, having served his time. He has already threatened her family, friends and even an old girlfriend. He had said, before he was taken away, that he would find her and either make her love him again, or kill her trying. She didn't want to put anyone in danger, so she put in for an transfer and moved as far away as she could. Now, she lives near the police station in a rental, in a small town, where everyone knows everybody. She has applied for a concealed carry license, which will take a while to clear, but irregardless, she feels much safer.

"So," Jade said, "I'm glad I'm here and I'm glad that I met you, Rebecca."

"I'm glad I met you, too." Rebecca said, honestly.

Rebecca really didn't know what to say to her, so the two just sat in silence, quietly rocking on the porch swing until they saw Eric drive up with the food.

"Mmmm, Chicken, biscuits, cole slaw, and green beans! I'm hungry!" Rebecca said, moving to the car to help Eric.

"Me too!" Jade said, following.

Rebecca gave Eric a quick, thankful kiss and took a few of bags from him. One had a pre-made pan of lasagna for supper. He didn't let Jade take anything, since only the bucket of chicken was left, so Jade followed Rebecca into the house while Eric held the door for the two of them.

...

Lunch was good, just what the hard workers needed to rejuvenate their energy. The talking was light, the strawberry pie Eric picked up delicious, and Rebecca and Jade had some more of the sun tea, almost finishing it off. Eric cleaned up while Rebecca and Jade went back to work on the garage. He was going to finish up in the house, mudding the drywall, then clean up there as well. The walls were almost finished.

During a bathroom break, Rebecca divided up the rest of the sun tea, washed her container and asked Jade what kind of tea should go in next. Jade picked out the tropical green tea, and the container was set out in the sun to make for later.

Rebecca and Jade were able to finish sorting and organizing the downstairs garage. They hung tools on the walls, put things away in the work bench, and had a neat stack of get-rid-of items. Once, when Rebecca handed Jade a handful of screws and washers, she noticed that Jade let her hand linger against Rebecca's for a half a second too long. It seemed purposeful, but possibly harmless at the same time. Rebecca looked at Jade's face, but Jade was only looking down at the handful of stuff, so she dismissed it .

After the two were finished downstairs to their complete satisfaction, clean, swept and organized, it was already getting dark. They headed upstairs to see what they would need to do. It was enough that it would take another day. Rebecca sighed, but Jade was positive.

"Hey! I looks like I get an excuse to come hang out with you tomorrow!" Jade said, cheerfully.

"You have helped me enough today." Rebecca said. "You don't have to feel like you have to help me all the time."

"What do you mean?" Jade asked. "I think we make a great team."

"We do make a great team," Rebecca said. "But I don't want you to feel like you are obliged to help me, if you don't want to."

"Rebecca," Jade said, seriously. "I wouldn't even be here today, if I didn't want to be."

"Really?" Rebecca asked.

"Really, really." Jade said cheerful again.

"I can only pay you in food and company," Rebecca said, jokingly.

"Both are very good, that's why I'm here," Jade said. "That and to feed my need to organize."

Rebecca laughed at that. Jade smiled at her.

...

Eric already had the lasagna pan in the oven, along with a bag of garlic bread, by the time the two women headed inside. They took turns cleaning up before sitting down to supper. It was a heavy enough meal that no one wanted the ice cream that Eric had bought. He seemed a little disappointed, so he didn't eat any either.

"If you want some, go ahead and get some," Rebecca said to Eric.

"No," Eric said. "I just need to let my food settle."

"I know how much you like ice cream," Rebecca said.

"I do," Eric said, "but I have self control."

"Since when?" Rebecca asked, joking.

"Since always," Eric said, smiling.

"That's news to me," Rebecca said, laughing.

"Yeah, well," Eric said, "it's a new thing I'm trying out, okay?"

"If you say so," Rebecca said, laughing some more.

Jade just stayed quiet, laughing and enjoying watching their friendly banter.

...

Rebecca walked Jade home again while Eric cleaned up. She gave him a quick good bye kiss before she left and she gave her a smile as he scrubbed serving utensils.

Jade was quiet, so Rebecca talked about some things she knew about their town from things she read. How it was historically a mill town, and some of the old places around town that were turned into what they are now. How one bank used to be a gas station, and the historic society close to where Jade lived used to be the library. How Carnegie even donated a building to the local college and how the Abraham Lincoln's body was stopped at the old train station. Jade was interested and asked a few questions, but was still kind of quiet. Rebecca figured she was tired. It had been a long day and she was tired as well.

Once they arrived at Jade's house, Jade looked at Rebecca.

"Thank you for everything," Jade said.

"Shouldn't it be me who needs to be thanking you?" Rebecca asked.

"Nope," Jade said. "You have been so nice to me, and for being a good ear to talk to, and you weren't afraid when I told you...well, what I told you."

"You don't need to worry," Rebecca said. "You are always welcome at our house. Besides, my husband is trained in hand-to hand and can shoot a target over three football fields away."

"Thank you, Rebecca. That means a lot to me," Jade said and gave Rebecca a hug.

"I'm glad you feel comfortable with us," Rebecca said, hugging her back.

They hugged for about half a minute before Jade broke away and smiled at Rebecca before heading to the door.

"Same time tomorrow?" Jade asked.

"You can come earlier if you want breakfast," Rebecca said.

"Sounds better than eating alone," Jade said, smiling.

"I'll be glad to have you over," Rebecca said, honestly

"But..." Jade said, a little serious sounding.

"But what?" Rebecca asked, concerned.

"But, if you want to walk around in just your underwear, to motivate your husband," Jade said, laughing. "I won't stop you."

"You heard me say that on the trail?!" Rebecca asked, laughing.

"It was the first thing that I heard you saying," Jade said, laughing.

"Well, Thank you, but I think I'll pass," Rebecca said, "He would probably work slower anyway."

"Or, fall over himself trying to watch you," Jade said.

"I know, right?" Rebecca said.

"The way he looks at you with all of your clothes on is enough." Jade said. "Smacking your butt when you walk away."

"Yes, he does that quite a bit," Rebecca said, laughing.

...

By the time Rebecca got home, she found a note on the door that said: "Babe, I tried texting you but your phone is charging here at the house. I went to get some groceries and will be home soon. Love, Eric."

Rebecca took her time getting cleaned up. She shaved her pits, legs and bikini area. She was almost tempted to touch herself, but only did so to scrub herself clean, which still felt good by slightly stimulating her clitoris.

Eric was home by the time she was out of the shower. He looked already cleaned up and changed. He also had whatever groceries he had bought put away. Rebecca forgot to grab clothes before she showered, so she went upstairs in her robe, and Eric, of course, followed her.

He watched her as she picked out her clothes for sleeping in and then as she took off her robe. When she stooped over to put on her panties, she felt him grab her and then lift her up and put her on the bed.

"Hey now!" Rebecca said, surprised.

"Hey now, nothing," Eric said, smiling. "I'm just doing what you told me to do."

He spread her legs apart and began kissing his way from her ankles to her knees.

"I didn't tell you anything," Rebecca said, "especially attack me."

"Oh, yes you did," Eric said, pausing inside her thigh. "You said 'If you want some, go ahead and get some'."

"When did I say that?" Rebecca asked, looking down at him getting closer and closer to her crotch.

"After lunch," Eric said between kisses just below her pussy.

"I was talking about dessert," Rebecca said.

"This is my dessert," Eric said smiling.

"Oh, god..." was all Rebecca could say, right before Eric dipped his tongue deep into the middle of her pussy. He pressed his tongue in and out of her a few times before flicking her clit. She spread her legs further apart, allowing him complete access to do what he wanted with her, and he didn't disappoint.

Rebecca's inner lips were slick and pink, her outer lips were swollen with her desire. Her hands gripped the bed sheets, she shoved her hips up to Eric's teasing mouth, impatient for more. When he made contact again, she tried to grind against his face, making him pull back again.

"Please..." Rebecca begged.

"Please what?" Eric asked.

"Please keep going," Rebecca almost whispered.

"Do you want this..." Eric asked, sucking and teasing Rebecca's erect clit.

"Oh, yes..." Rebecca sighed.

"Or, this?" Eric asked, taking his mouth away and putting two fingers into Rebecca's wet pussy. He found the right spot inside her, rubbing and shoving his fingers deep into her, making her back arch.

"Oh, fuck yeah..." Rebecca groaned, humping his fingers.

"Or, maybe this?" Eric asked. He lowered his mouth, capturing her clit while still pushing his fingers in and out of her. Rebecca's whole body felt like it was electric. She felt like she was losing control of her body as she thrust against his mouth and fingers. She was shoving hips off the bed while she ground her pussy into Eric's face, she could no longer see clearly, but only felt the pleasure that her body was soaking up as she thrust herself to the edge of a huge orgasm.

"Oh fuck... your face... I'm gonna come!" Rebecca yelled.

Eric shook his head "yes," while still sucking on her clit and hummed "um-hum." He wanted her to come on his face.

Then she felt his tongue, licking her tingling clit, faster and harder, and exactly how she wanted it. How she needed it. She also felt his fingers thrust faster into her, making wet, sex sounds. Her whole body was now thrumming, vibrating with charged sexual energy. Then she felt her climax reach its pinnacle.

Pleasure exploded in her pussy, radiating from her clit and insides, shooting up and down her legs, making her nipples stand up taut and hard. She shoved her hips high into the air, pressing her pussy hard into Eric's sucking, fucking face. He matched his licks with each wave of her orgasm, reading her hip thrusting with a deep, hard lick, making her come over and over again with his mouth.

As her body calmed down, her climax slowly ebbing away from her like a receding tide, she lowered her hips back to the bed. Eric took the hint and stopped his assault on her pussy. He just looked up at her, smiling.

"What?" Rebecca asked, feigning annoyance.

"That must have been a good one," Eric said, his face shimmering in the light.

"What makes you think that?" Rebecca asked, feigning annoyance.

"Well, for one, your hands are tight fists in the bed sheets," Eric said.

"Yeah, so?" Rebecca said, unfurling her hands.

"And also, your toes are curled as tight as your fists," Eric said, smiling even bigger.

"Yes, yes." Rebecca said, pretending to brush his comments away. "That was a good one. You happy now?"

"Almost," Eric said.

"Almost?" Rebecca asked.

Eric didn't respond,at least in words. He quickly climbed up the bed, lined up his cock with her pussy and pushed into her opening. He didn't shove all the way in, he didn't want to hurt her, but barely just into her. She moaned as she felt him go into her tight, post climax pussy. He felt big and hard, like he was going to tear into her. But he didn't. He would never intentionally hurt her or make her uncomfortable sexually. No matter how much he wanted to just pound away at her pussy, to thrust into her until he got what he wanted, he always seemed to have enormous self control.