QUIET!

Note: This story contains references to BDSM and not-completely-consensual sexual submission. The story also includes one character's growing interest in lesbian sex. All characters are at least 18 years of age. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

***

CHRISTMAS

As parents, we've all experienced the non-stop chatter of our children. We hope they grow out of it, but with the advent of social media and smartphones we realized that the noise wasn't going to go away until our wonderful children blessedly went off to college.

"It's back to school season!"

An ongoing joke for all parents. But like all good jokes, there's a kernel of truth to it. And that truth is: the return of silence.

After 18 years of devoting myself to Margie, working, preparing meals, driving her to every imaginable activity, sneaking in time for myself at the gym, and occasionally getting some sleep, I was ready for a change.

"Mom, have you seen my..." was going to give way to: Quiet.

I know what you're thinking.

I'm overstating how important having quiet time is, but for all of us single moms out there, you understand.

All that changed during Christmas.

OASIS

"Mom, I just can't do it!"

"Have you tried getting a higher paying job?"

"Yes! But they want me to work so many hours that I'm going to fail college."

In the back of my mind, I already knew the answer, but I persisted.

"How about loans or grants from your college. Anything?" Margie looked at me quizzically. I was trying to suppress my desperation, but she was sensing something was wrong.

"All I'm asking for is to live at home! Is that too much?!"

"Can you just tone it down? Please." I didn't want this but I already had that sinking feeling that the next 4 years of my life were about to be written.

"Of course it's not too much to ask." I lied.

"I'm so relieved! I'll start unpacking my car." Now I was mad. She had assumed, just as always, that I would break and say 'yes'." Honestly, not a bad assumption on her part considering my track record, but I was still mad.

"I'm going out to the pool." No response from Margie, which was fine by me.

After hastily pouring myself a glass of my favorite chardonnay I went back to the one place in my home that was my oasis of quiet: the pool in my backyard. In December.

Let me explain.

I'm a Chicago girl, so any temperature in Southern California is warm to me. With sunshine, the tall fences, a few palm trees, my glass of wine, wearing my white bikini, I marched out of my house and into my outdoor home.

Although I'm 34, all my neighbors are elderly, which makes me the odd-one-out. But, it also means that they are quiet and leave me alone; giving my small outdoor area a feeling of being much larger.

It's glorious!  

THE BRAZILIAN

"Olá?" came the soft voice. Then a little more urgently, it was repeated.

The word sounded Spanish so I recognized it, but it had a different tone then the usual Spanish heard in California. Sensual. Seductive.

Regardless, I wasn't pleased with being disturbed.

There was a gentle knocking on the wooden side gate that leads to my background sanctuary.

"You've got to be kidding." I murmured as I stood up from the comforts of my soft chaise to find out who was barging in on my Saturday.

Before the tall gate was completely open I heard "Olá? Eu sou seu novo vizinho."

Definitely not Spanish.

Then time simply stopped. She was absolutely stunning, in that model way that most women secretly aspire to.

Pitch black short tussled curls, medium complexion, tall, and slim. And her lips. The perfect amount of pout.

"Olá? Eu sou seu novo vizinho."

I just stood there staring.

"Posso voltar mais tarde?"

Say something. Anything. "I'm sorry...do you know English. ¿Sabes Inglés?"

I knew she wasn't speaking Spanish, but that was the best that I could do.

"Yes! I'm so sorry. After talking all day with my daughters in Portuguese I sometimes forget that we're in America!" she laughed.

She had daughters? I was getting mad again.

One of the few things that I took pride in was looking like my 25-year-old self after having Margie. It had taken a lot of sweat at the gym. But within a year I could again turn heads.

This girl looked like she had just walked off a runway and she must have been nearly 6 feet tall, a good half foot taller than me.

"Hi, my name is Juliana," she smiled. "I love your long hair."

Ok, maybe we could be friends. "Welcome to my home, I'm Annette."

"Oh, I brought these Biscoitos de Maizena for you, Annette. It's our way of introducing ourselves when we've just moved into a new neighborhood. The recipe has been in my..."

They were delicious. Just melting in my mouth. Definitely friends.

"Welcome to our neighborhood." I'd been worried when my next-door neighbors to me told me they were moving. A decade of quiet might change with new neighbors.

"Oh, I see you have a pool?!"

"Yes, would you like to join me?" The words just came out of my mouth.

"Sim! I'll be back in a few minutes."

UNZIP

I should have known.

"That's lovely swimwear." And by swimwear, I meant that there was little of it at all. Black bikini, zippers in the front, thong in the back, all made of shiny latex. She wasn't shy.

"Obrigado! Thank you! My childhood friend in Brazil makes these."

"Would you like some wine?"

"Yes, please. You're such a wonderful hostess. May I unzip?"

More Portuguese? I had no idea what she was asking and didn't care at that point.

"As you wish. I'll be back in a minute."

--

"Mom. I need help moving some of my books into my room."

"Later," pouring myself another drink to go along with Juliana's.

"But Mom, how am I supposed to..."

Glancing at my daughter, I grabbed the whole bottle and hurried back outside.

--

I could see movement but wasn't sure what Juliana was doing. As I rounded my chaise it became abundantly clear.

"I'll just put our drinks on the side table," nearly letting the drinks and bottle drop to the ground.

"Oh, I love white wine. People always think that Brazilians drink Caipirinha cocktails, but I think it's one of those tales perpetuated by our alcohol industry. Thank you!"

I couldn't take my eyes off her hand. The one gently stroking what looked to be a fairly large dildo in and out of her pussy. Now I understood the "unzip" question.

She wasn't shy.

The whole time, Juliana kept up her conversation with me and sipped her wine with her free hand as if this was all perfectly normal. Maybe it was for her but I was blushing as she continued her unrushed tempo with her dildo. Slowly in. Slowly out.

"Are you ok?"

"Um, yes of course. It's just that..."

"If this is uncomfortable for you, I can put it away."

"Yes, well maybe for a while. I'm just not used to Brazilian customs."

Juliana set her drink down, pressed a recessed button on the end of her dildo which started it buzzing. Then, in one smooth motion, she plunged the whole thing deep into her pussy. And with a final flourish, she zipped up the front of her thong.

"There. All gone." She smiled.

All gone?! Churning away inside of her was a large vibrator, one that had earlier masqueraded as a dildo.

Taking a sip from her wine, "do you have children?"

How was I supposed to continue my part of our conversations? "Yes, a daughter. Margie" I stammered.

Still smiling, "oh, how lovely. Mine are 18 and 19, both attending USC, although I insisted that they live at home."

"Mine's 18, at USC too...you insisted that they live at home?" For a second I forgot about Juliana's vibrator. Sort of.

"Yes, of course. College and housing these days is just too expensive. And then there are other reasons too. Same for you?"

She had amazing control. If it weren't for the loud buzzing, I wouldn't know what was happening deep inside of her. "My daughter lives at home too for some of those same reasons."

"Ahhhh. See, we have much in common."

I wasn't sure if we did because I continued to blush as I spoke.

"Ahhhh," Julianne sighed again.

The first time I thought it was just part of her normal conversational cadence but now she was closing her eyes and slowly licking her pouty lips.

"Ahhhh." Her hips started bucking, so she placed her drink on the side table and began to rub her perky breasts through her latex top.

"Oh God, I'm going to climax soon! I need to unzip." Her hips were bucking much faster now.

I bit my lip and said nothing.

Reaching down she unzipped the front of her thong, grabbed hold of the end of the vibrator with both hands, and began plunging it in and out of her pussy, matching each downstroke by bucking her hips up to meet it.

"Ahhhh, yessssss. I'm climaxing! Uhhhhh..."

She held her churning vibrator deep inside of her while her hips spasmed.

My heart was pounding in my chest and all I wanted to do was reach down underneath my thin bikini and grind against my hand. But instead, all I did was stare at her beautiful face.

Finally, Juliana opened her eyes and smiled. "That was a lovely way to begin an afternoon. Your turn?"

My face was bright red, "maybe next time."

"Of course, you don't have the right swimwear..."

"Well, it's not just that..."

"I'll take you on a shopping date tomorrow!"

"Thank you," was all that I could say although every instinct in me wanted to say "no."

NOISE

"I really don't need the help; it's just a couple of glasses." In reality, I was mortified to have Juliana meet my daughter.

"Not at all, I'm only being polite."

I tiptoed quietly into my house hoping that Margie wouldn't hear us. Ridiculous, I know.

"Mom?!"

"Yes, we're in the living room."

"Can you come here and help me now!"

"Margie, please come out and say 'hi' to our new neighbor."

"Mom, I'm trying to get my room in order!"

All the while, Juliana sat quietly on our couch with a slight smile on her face.

Finally, my loud daughter had enough and stomped out of her room.

"Yes, you must be Margie. I'm Juliana. It's a pleasure to meet you."

For the first time, Margie hadn't said a word in 10 seconds, which made me snicker.

"You must come over and meet my daughters Charlotte and Kara. We live next door."

"You're our new neighbors? Mom, what happened to our old neighbors?!"

Without pausing, Juliana continued, "my daughters are also students at USC."

Margie was taken aback; she wasn't used to being interrupted at home. "Why, what are they studying?"

"They're both studying psychology in preparation for medical school. Just as I did."

"You're a doctor?!" Margie and I both blurted out.

"Yes. I was recruited to join a private practice here in California."

"Are you a psychologist?" even more impressed with Juliana, if that were possible.

"Something like that," she said with a smile.

"Well, I'm going to be a veterinarian!" Margie retorted.

"Very good. We had horses on our farm in Brazil where I grew up. Of course, animals require quiet care, don't you think?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Margie was beginning to get into Juliana's face. But Juliana simply smiled and sat placidly on our sofa.

"I'm going back to work on my room. Mom."

"It was a pleasure meeting you."

Margie just glared at her as she stomped back to her room.

--

After a few more glasses of wine, Juliana asked the inevitable question, but in a gentle way. "How old is your daughter?"

"She's 18 and I know what you're thinking."

"It's just a question. But perhaps she needs some help. She seems a bit...high strung."

"It's was hard to raise her as a single mom." I was hoping to get some sympathy, but I was wrong.

"I appreciate that, being a single mom as well."

"You have two daughters and you're a single mom?" I was running out of words to express what was becoming real admiration, bordering on disbelief, of my new friend.

"It simply takes relentless training and discipline," was all she said.

"I think it's too late for Margie."

"That's not true. I've had excellent results in my practice with women up to age 25. Why don't we set up an appointment?"

It wasn't so much a question. I was quickly learning that Juliana was a force to be reckoned with. She made me feel ashamed and inadequate.

As if she had read my mind, "part of the training includes you." Then she smiled and said, "but first we must go on our retail therapy date!"

"Yes! Can we go now?" I'm not sure where that came from.

Juliana gave me a strange smile. "Give me an hour and then come on over to my home. We'll drive from there."

"It's a date!"

WHISPERS

At 6:00 pm I walked next door to Juliana's house.

It hadn't been easy. Margie was in rare form. But after I made her dinner and helped her realize that she could talk all night to her friends she was a little calmer. At least calm enough for me to leave.

I'd been in her house many times over the years to visit with my former neighbors. Even so, I felt strangely nervous knocking on the door.

"Olá! Please come in."

I was just as stunned, but this time there was no way I should have known. My heart was thundering as I just took a long slow look up and down Juliana

Her Versace dress-high neck, cropped at the shoulders-stopped well above her knees. All of it made of black latex with pointy chrome studs accentuating her elegant neck and narrow waist. Obviously the back of the dress was nonexistent. Oversized Cartier watch hanging from her right wrist. And if I had felt short before, her matching Christian Louboutin pumps with three-inch stiletto heels made me feel especially small. Or was it because, comparatively, I was dressed frumpy in my simple sundress?

"Come in, come in! You have a gorgeous figure! I'm so jealous."

"Oh, please."

"No truthfully." I've always wished for an hourglass figure with big beautiful breasts."

I was beginning to blush again. "Ummm, thank you..." as I stepped into her home.

"These are my daughters, Charlotte and Kara."

I think I jumped, because I hadn't seen or heard a thing. Not even a breath from either one of them. But there they were, just as stunning as their mother.

"Nice to meet you," I stammered.

Both of them stood up and gave me sweet kisses on both cheeks but remained silent.

"Ok you two, back to taking care of Marion."

"Who is Marion? I thought you said you had two daughters?"

"I'm a grandmother! Isn't that wonderful! Marion, Charlotte's daughter, is my granddaughter. In Brazil we all wish for grandchildren as soon as possible, it's part of our national..."

As Juliana went on about the wonders of being a grandmother in her 30s, I just stared opened-mouthed. She acted if everything about her was completely normal. It couldn't be. Actually, I didn't want it to be, because then I'd have to understand that I was a complete slacker and I knew, had to believe, that I was a hard worker. It was part of my self-identity.

"...so I didn't have to apply much pressure because Charlotte wanted a child too!"

I had missed most of Juliana's story, but I couldn't appreciate the wonder of having a granddaughter since I was still struggling with Margie.

"Are you ready to go, Annette?"

"Yes."

RETAIL THERAPY

I was happy that Juliana was driving since I felt a little out-of-it with everything I had experienced with her today.

The drive from Irvine to Beverly Hills in her Porsche Cayman Turbo was reasonably fast. For California. But it seemed to fly by as we chatted the whole way there. Although we were the same age, Juliana had the presence of a more knowledgeable sister and was full of insightful questions.

"During the day I work as an artificial intelligence (AI) software engineer at..."

"That's wonderful! I was just talking last week with one of the other doctors about hiring a team of AI software engineers to work on several of our new projects. We'd like to have the team in place at our practice in the next six months. Perhaps you'd consider a job with us?"

"Well, I don't know, I mean you seem like a very nice person, but honestly, we just met and my current job pays me quite a bit of..."

"I have every confidence that we can provide a better salary and a much more creative environment for you to work in."

I was admittedly intrigued by Juliana's offer.

"Here we are!" She eased her Cayman into a reserved parking spot on Rodeo Drive.

"I've only been here a few times since moving to California but there are store names I don't even recognize."

"Yes, Annette, they are very exclusive. It's just a short walk from here."

Burberry. Dior. Prada. I was in awe. Turning onto Brighton Way, we then took another turn into a service alley behind the stores.

"Here we go."

This store didn't even have a name on the door, just a polished metal door. Juliana pushed the buzzer and a female voice came over the intercom: "Boa noite Juliana, bem vindo de volta."

"Good evening Balei, are you ready for us."

There was a click and the door opened smoothly. We were in a long, narrow hallway in which someone had gone to a lot of trouble to build between two adjacent buildings. At the end was an elevator.

"After you, Annette." The doors closed and I felt the small jolt of the hydraulics kick in as we descended.

When the doors opened a few minutes later, the showroom we entered was subtly lit with the most wonderful plush carpet covering the floor and the smell of what I'd later learn was Cattleya Labiata, an orchid that's the national flower of Brazil. Beethoven's 'Cello Sonata No. 3 was playing over Martin Logan Classic ESL 9's scattered throughout the showroom.

But that wasn't the point. Or, perhaps it was. This was a space unlike any other. Something that created the sense of calm needed to appreciate the clothing collection we were about to witness.

"Welcome, welcome! My name is Balei." She gave both of us soft kisses on our cheeks and then motioned for us to sit on the plush couch located in the center of the showroom. Glasses of Champaign were on the low table in front of us.

"Saúde!" Juliana exclaimed as she touched my glass with hers.

Apparently Juliana had managed to arrange all this with Balei during the hour between our time at my pool. How efficient.

"Juliana has taken the time to brief me about your background and we've assembled a small fashion show for you." When had she had time to do that?

"It's generous of you to go to all this trouble, but I doubt I can afford anything here."

Juliana turned to me and smiled, which just melted my heart. "Annette, we are here to enjoy, experience, and learn. Place all other thoughts out of your mind."

With that, the ambient lights dimmed and the soundtrack changed to a more urgent late-night beat. Not the sledgehammer bass of a nightclub. But urgent. Something that The Weeknd would have sung with the simplicity of a classic Nine Inch Nails beat.

Clever lighting came online which cast the runway in a deep blue darkness interspersed with bright white light.

SHOWTIME

I'll admit that I'm beginning to run out of superlatives to describe what I've experienced today. Should I describe the first model as the "stunning blond?" Or that she was wearing a white latex catsuit that covered everything except her face and hands? Or her graceful, unrushed movements across the catwalk, while never once taking her eyes off of me?

That was really the part that unnerved me. Juliana and I were sitting in relative darkness. But the blond looked right into my eyes as if we were in broad daylight.

I know I was fidgeting because Juliana casually draped her arm around my shoulders, whispering in my ear, "Don't be shocked, she's going to be with us in a moment."