Summer and Fall

Jess seemed amused by the US-version of non-profit fund-raising, as she watched the deep pockets in the room vie for auction items donated by other deep pockets.

"Seems like they spent a lot of money to get this thing going, and they are raising money by having people pay more money for stuff. In the UK, organizers beg, borrow, or steal to put the event on as cheaply as possible. This seems to work just as well though!"

"Go big or go home, my cross-Atlantic friend," Mona responded, "Although your point is well taken. Excuse me while I check out our results on the night."

As the auction wound down, a DJ took the floor, pumping music through the multitude of speakers in the ballroom. Annie and a handful of others immediately bounced enthusiastically towards to the dancefloor, working off several hours' worth of alcohol.

Jess and I watched for a while, and then I noticed that she was staring at me with a smile on her face. Her gaze was like a warm embrace and I melted.

"I love it when you look at me like that," I admitted.

Jess brushed her fingers along my cheek, "I was just thinking about how very handsome you are."

My heart skipped a couple of beats. I moved closer and kissed her.

"GUYS! Get a room, or come join us!!!!" Annie shouted from the dance floor.

I stood and held out my hand, "May I have this dance, Jess Wainwright?" It was cheesy, but who cared?

ANNIE

They looked good together. Alex had her arms around Jess; they looked like they were in their own little world. I had to return to the table; my feet were destroyed by my heels.

"I remember that phase in my relationship with Liz," Mona said wistfully as she sat down next to me.

I grinned, "You mean it's not always rainbows and unicorns?"

Mona leaned back and crossed her arms, "Not when you have three kids under 6! Liz and I don't know what to do with ourselves this weekend -- the kids are with her parents in New Jersey. We spontaneously woke up at 5 this morning and were almost disappointed when we realised we had no diapers to change."

I scanned the room idly as Mona talked. I saw Olivia the same time Mona did.

"Uh-oh," Mona nodded towards Alex's ex.

"Has she been here the entire time?" I asked.

Mona shrugged, "No idea. I don't see Amy."

"Olivia without Amy equals trouble. I should warn Alex." I started to get up to head off Alex and Jess as they returned to the table.

Mona put a hand on my arm, "No, Alex is a big girl. She can handle herself."

I saw Olivia spot Alex from across the room. Like a cheetah prowling through the tall grass, Olivia threaded her way through the tables towards us.

"Yeah, ok, but I'm not missing this showdown."

Mona nodded, "Touché. Quick, grab that bottle of wine."

"For drinking? Or as a weapon?" I asked, half seriously.

Mona held out her wine glass, "Haven't decided yet."

Alex pulled out a chair for Jess before sitting down and undoing her tie.

I watched as Olivia approached and touched Alex on the shoulder. When she saw who it was, Alex almost choked on the water she was drinking.

Jess's eyes found mine. She cocked her head inquisitively.

"O-LIV-IA" I mouthed her. She raised her eyebrows and turned back towards Alex.

"Hi sweetie," Olivia leaned down and kissed Alex on the lips.

And now we can all see her boobs; what an effing shrew.

"Hey!" I shouted.

Alex leaned back from the kiss and wiped her mouth with a grimace, "Hi Olivia."

"Oh, Annie, you're here too. Of course." Olivia shot me a look of pure poison, "Alex, can I talk to you for a second? In private?"

And then, almost as an afterthought, she turned to Jess, "Don't mind, do you?"

Jess gave Alex's arm a subtle squeeze, "No, not at all."

Alex frowned, but leaned over and gave Jess a quick kiss and said something in her ear before steering Olivia away.

"Jess, I had NO idea she was going to be here." I started immediately once Olivia was out of earshot.

Jess smiled, "Alex told me she might be here. It'll be ok."

Mona watched Alex point Olivia towards the back of the ballroom, "Smart, Alex, fewer people back there."

"Wow, you guys are really worried!" Jess turned back to us.

"Well, I don't know how much Alex told you, but..."

Jess seemed totally calm.

I smiled, "What did Alex say to you just now?"

Jess took a sip of her water, "Enough to let me know that Olivia won't get any drama out of this."

ALEX

"What do you want?"

Olivia took my hands in hers. I retracted them and crossed my arms.

"No need to be unfriendly, Alex," Olivia pouted.

"What do you want?"

"Who was that at the table with you, anyway?" Olivia tossed a careless look in Jess's direction.

"Jess Wainwright. My girlfriend."

"Oh!" Olivia feigned surprise, "Does she know who I am?"

I nodded and asked again, "What do you want?"

Olivia leaned forward, "Well, Amy is on a work call, I saw you, and I just wanted to come say hello -- I'd forgotten how good you look in a tux."

I would have laughed if the situation hadn't been so absurd. "So you said hello. We're done."

Olivia slid her hands over the lapels of my jacket and pulled me towards her. "Remember how much fun we had at this gala last year? It's been ages, sweetie. I've missed you."

I shook my head, "It's definitely not mutual. You had fun at this gala last year -- sneaking off with Amy. Yes -- I knew you were fooling around with her, way before the gala."

I was about to push her away when I felt Jess's hand on my shoulder.

"I'm afraid I have to interrupt, darling, but the photographer just arrived and Mona wants a photo of all of us together." Jess turned up my collar, smoothly inserting herself between Olivia and me.

I could feel Olivia shooting daggers at Jess with her eyes.

I handed Jess my tie. We seemed to have wordlessly agreed to proceed as if Olivia wasn't there.

Olivia snarled, "Oh, how cute. Alex, do you need help getting dressed these days?"

I was about to snap at Olivia to mind her own business when Jess winked at me.

"Well, Olivia," she said over her shoulder, as she finished knotting my tie, "I actually prefer undressing her... but she does look rather dashing in this, doesn't she?"

She smoothed down my collar.

I looked at Jess in total awe.

Jess gave me a kiss, "Don't take too long, my love. Olivia, it's good to finally put a face to the name."

I never thought that having Jess involved in any ex-girlfriend melodrama could be arousing, but all I wanted to do at that moment was drag Jess somewhere private so I could make her come.

I was watching Jess walk back to the table when I realised Olivia was saying something.

"Sorry, Olivia, what?" I turned back to see Olivia with her arms tightly crossed around her chest.

"What happened to you loving me forever?"

I sighed, "First, I never said anything like that, and second, you cheating on me with Amy kind of put a damper on any plans to stay together, Olivia."

Olivia opened her mouth, but no words came out.

"And since we are talking about this -- I think we should both acknowledge the fact that you dated me to get Amy all riled up."

Olivia's mouth was a thin white line. I tried to remember how it was that I fell for her.

"It worked, too, given that you guys got back together," I saw Amy walking towards us and added, "and I'm not going to be a part of your games anymore."

"Livy," Amy came up, "That call took longer than I expected, sorry. Oh, hi Alex."

I raised my hand in greeting. Amy looked between me and Olivia and frowned. "What's going on?"

Olivia pouted, "You left, I got bored. And then I got even more bored." She looked at me pointedly.

I shrugged, "I'm boring, what can I say? On that note, I've got to get back to my boring table to take a boring photograph."

JESS

Alex came strolling back not long after I left her with Olivia. I planted the sloppiest kiss I could on her mouth.

"I'm sorry that happened," Alex whispered, pressing her forehead to mine.

"All sorted?" I asked.

Alex nodded, "Jess, I am sorry."

I stroked her cheek, "No need to apologise, honey, not your fault. Although it was incredibly hot watching some woman throw herself at you, inappropriate and awkward as it was."

Alex blushed, "I liked it when you said you preferred undressing me..."

I laughed, "Well, it's true. I rarely have the presence of mind to come up with zingers like that. I really enjoyed it. I think Olivia was a little sloshed, don't you think?"

Alex shrugged, "Yeah. Probably. Are we taking a photograph?"

I shook my head, laughing, "No, Annie sent me in with the photographer as a ploy to extract you."

The DJ started playing a ballade. "Come on, one more dance, then," she took my hand and led us to the dance floor.

As Alex gathered me in her arms, I felt a familiar fluttering in my stomach. As she easily led me through our dance, I allowed myself to be guided by those strong arms of hers. I felt like a teenager at my first ball, dancing joyously with Alex, resplendent in black tie.

As the song ended, she pulled me closer. I gasped as her thigh met my hips and I felt something hard press against my body. I quickly looked down, then back up at Alex, who had a sexy smirk on her face. Her hand was on the small of my back, pushing me gently into her body.

"You are packing?" I whispered.

Alex nodded, "Just brought along a little reminder of what's in store for later tonight. You like it?"

I buried my face in her neck and nipped her flesh with my teeth, "You are being very, very naughty, my love. And I love it so very, very much."

ALEX

We said our goodnights soon enough. Mona and her wife Lizzy were still tearing up the dance floor, but Jess and I had driven each other to the outer edges of desire with our prolonged session of subtle foreplay in the ballroom.

I stood behind her in the lift, pressing into her body as I wrapped my arms around her stomach. I rested my lips on the pulsing blood vessel on her neck. There were three other people in the lift with us, none seemed aware of the energy that we were throwing off.

Jess had her hands up my shirt by the time we got to our room door. I fumbled for the room key as her lips found mine, which made activating the key card much more difficult than it had to be. Finally, the door yielded and I pushed us into the room. Jess grabbed my tie and pulled me towards the bed.

I unbuckled my trousers and eased my boxers off. I reached under Jess's dress and pulled off her underwear, which was damp with her arousal. She gasped with anticipation. I tightened my strap-on and pushed her onto the bed.

Jess stretched her legs out and lifted her dress. I positioned myself on top and guided the strap-on into her dripping opening.

"YES! OH AH AH AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Jess shrieked as I started fucking her.

Jess panted, pulling her knees higher towards her shoulders.

I quickly adjusted so I could push the cock deeper inside her. I love how she swallowed me up as I thrusted into her. I felt a quickening in my clit -- the result of the alchemy between the visual and physical stimulation assaulting my senses.

"Come on, baby," I grunted, "come for me..."

I reached between us and started rubbing her clit.

"Unh. UNH. MMMM. FUCK! Alex, I'm close, baby, oh shit!" Jess shouted. I kept thrusting, feeling beads of sweat bloom on my chest. I felt her clit swell and pulse and I started gently pinching it with my thumb and forefinger.

I stroked in and out several more times and we managed to come together.

"Alex, my darling, oh..." Jess mumbled as I fell onto the bed next to her.

"That was worth waiting for..."

"I don't know if I can keep up with you, Ms. Mak," she teased, running her hand under my shirt.

I kissed her, "This is what you get, dating a younger woman," I teased back.

"Oh, you cheeky monkey," Jess exclaimed, nipping me on the shoulder with her teeth.

I laughed, "You really need to stop this habit of biting me, sweetheart. I'll have to go around with scarves and shit to hide the evidence."

"You know you love it, darling," Jess nipped me again, this time on my neck.

I chuckled, "Yes, you're right. I do love it. I love all of it. All of you."

--Chapter 5: End of Summer--

JESS

I heard the gentle clinking of plates and glasses from the kitchen downstairs as I woke up in my parents' house. Alex was wrapped around me, all smooth and warm.

We'd spent a wonderful six days in the Lakes with my family and planned to leave later that afternoon for London. Two more nights before I would have to wake up alone. I didn't like that thought one bit.

I couldn't believe our two months together were coming to an end. The rest of our time in the US was free from drama, and Alex and I fell into an easy rhythm of living together. It scared me how effortless it was: living with James had been a study in compromise -- he left dirty dishes and mugs all over the place, I didn't; he played a narrow set of music repeatedly, I had a broader playlist; he used every pot and pan in the kitchen just to cook pasta, I didn't; I left my bras everywhere, which drove him bonkers.

When he left, the absence of his messes helped mitigate the pain. With Alex, I could well imagine that there would just be an abyss with no redeeming factor if I lost her for any reason.

I watched her sleep, envious that she did not share my sporadic episodes of uncertainty about our relationship. Not trusting myself to keep those demons at bay, I left her sleeping and plodded downstairs to the kitchen for some distraction.

"Morning," I said to no-one in particular.

My mother placed a mug of hot coffee on the table for me, "Hello poppet. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, mum, thanks."

My brother snickered. I kicked him as I sat down.

"Shut it, Nick." I hissed at him.

He giggled maddeningly. "Sis, all I can say is, you guys have stamina."

I stared at him, horrified.

"Don't worry, I put my headphones on when it was clear you guys were going in for the long haul. Didn't hear a thing after that."

"Hear what, darling?" My mother asked, sitting down with her breakfast.

I glared at Nick, who was clearly enjoying this much more than he should.

Nick almost choked on his cereal as he quickly said, "House. Really.... uh... creaky."

"We didn't notice anything in the master bedroom down here Nick. Maybe it's just your room," my mother earnestly responded, causing Nick to dissolve into a fit of laughter.

She shook her head, "there's always something funny for you, Nicholas. Finish your breakfast darling, Dad needs you to help out in the back when you are done."

Nick downed the rest of his cereal and loped off to the backyard.

"Now Jess," she said, turning to me, "What time will you and Alex be setting off?"

I shrugged, "Probably sometime after tea."

"Why don't you stay longer, dear? Drive back on Sunday?"

"Alex's flight is on Sunday afternoon, we want to have some time in London before she leaves."

My mother sighed, "What a pity -- it's been so nice having you both here."

"It means a lot that you invited her to be here with us," I said sincerely. It was true: my parents had unreservedly welcomed Alex as a member of the family.

My mother patted my hand, "It is just so good to see you so happy. When will you see each other next?"

"She'll be back a couple of times in September for meetings. I'll fly over for half term in October, and then we'll be here for Christmas for a little bit, but we might want to go somewhere warm as well -- we haven't quite decided."

"You must stop by and spend some time with us over Christmas. What about Alex's family? Will you be seeing them?"

I shook my head, "Her siblings stop by New York every so often, but her parents have stated that she can't bring me with her if she visits, I'm afraid, so she's not going to see them."

My mother frowned, "That is just such nonsense, Jessica. Why would they choose to be so narrow-minded?"

"It's not an easy thing to accept mum. I'm just so grateful that you and dad have been so amazing." I gave her squeeze.

"Now I feel very cross for you, and especially for Alex. Tom, did you know that Alex won't be seeing her family for Christmas because they don't want to see her and Jess together?" My mother glared at my dad as he tramped in from the back yard.

"Morning Jess," my father said as he ruffled my hair. "What is it, Maggie?"

My mother sighed, "Alex's parents. They don't accept the relationship."

"Hm. Their loss, I suppose." My father started in on the newspaper. "Where is Alex?"

"She's still sleeping. Why?"

"Oh, I promised I would take her round Grasmere today before you two left -- I said she couldn't leave without seeing it."

I gave him a huge hug.

"What was that for?" He asked, hugging me back.

"For being you, dad," I said, "I'll go see if I can rouse Alex. She'd sleep half the day away if she could."

ALEX

I felt Jess's weight on the bed and then her hand on my thigh.

"Hiya," I mumbled. I stretched happily.

"Come down for breakfast -- Dad's raring to go -- something about taking you to see Grasmere." Jess bent down and kissed me.

I nodded and grabbed her by her shirt. "Come snuggle for a little bit."

Jess fell on top of me, laughing, "no darling. Dad's waiting, and they know I came up here to get you. Nick heard us last night, by the way. Mortifying."

"Shit, really?"

Jess nodded, "I'm going to be very happy for us to be back in my place tonight. Come on love, off you go."

I quickly pulled on some clothes and stopped by the bathroom before trooping downstairs. Maggie and Tom were in the kitchen, finishing up breakfast. Nick was carelessly attacking the backyard with a rake.

"Hello sleepy head," Maggie said, "what'll it be?"

"Uh, some tea and toast?" I lowered myself into a chair.

Tom put his paper down, "Alex, we should get going if we want to avoid the crowds -- starts getting noisy around 11."

I nodded, quickly finishing up what Maggie put in front of me.

All four Wainwrights and I piled into the car and headed off.

"Welcome to 'the loveliest spot that man hath ever found,'" Tom said as we approached the lake. We'd parked in the village and strolled to the lake.

It really was a breath-taking vista.

Tom and I had worked our way a little ahead of the others.

"Alex, where do you think this relationship with Jessica is going?"

I stopped and looked him, surprised by the bluntness of his question. Tom's eyes were gentle, but I heard the concern in his voice.

"It's only going to go where Jess wants it to go," I said.

Tom sighed, "She's told you about James, I suppose?"

I nodded.

"I still don't really understand what happened," Tom continued, "afterwards she didn't bring anyone home, didn't seem to really want to find anyone after that. Then you came along and it all changed."

"I don't know where this is going, but I know that I don't want it to end," I looked into his eyes, which were exact replicas of Jess's. "I still feel like I'm dreaming sometimes when I wake up next to her."

Tom chuckled, "I didn't need that mental image. No offense."

I laughed, "Sorry. Tom, I --"

"Ech," Tom said as he clapped me on the back, "Forgive a father for overstepping. You are adults. You don't need me barging in like this. Jess is as happy as I've ever seen her, and that's good enough for me."

Not long after, Jess caught up with me, "What were you talking about with my dad just now?"

"He asked if I knew what happened between you and James," I said. "I said yes, and he wanted to know what my intentions were..."