Under the Mistletoe

"If I knew you were already here, I would've said hi." CJ said apologetically. "I didn't see you when I came in."

CJ set her drink down. She removed her glasses now and held them at arm's length towards the ceiling light. Then she brought them back to her lap, and after grabbing a napkin off the nearby side table, she gently rubbed at the lenses.

"I didn't see you in the building after 7th hour." Birgitta said. "I started to look for you, but Karen stopped me to discuss that note Coach put out about the schedule changes happening in January." She was referring to their other colleague, Mrs. McBride.

CJ put her glasses back on and looked around the living room. Somebody swapped the Dean Martin record out for Nat King Cole. Some of the women who previously camped near the refreshment table paired up and started dancing, drifting clumsily around an open space in the living room in small swaying circles. Velma Blount was sitting there with her date, snuggling up to her. She saw Velma whispering something in the woman's ear, and she'd reply with a shy giggle.

"Who is that?" CJ asked. "I've never seen her here before. Is she a new friend of Velma's or something?"

Birgitta chuckled softly in response.

"Her name is Hayley Rundle. Vel introduced her to me earlier. She works at that book store on Market Street downtown. She seems like a nice young lady...doesn't know what she's getting herself into though."

Just as Birgitta finished her sentence, CJ saw Jude approaching the couple. She held the object she'd been clutching in her hand over their heads. She was right. It was mistletoe. A couple of women standing nearby started whistling at them as Velma and her companion exchanged a very slow, very intense kiss.

CJ could barely keep her eyes off the lewd scene unfolding in front of her. She really expected the new woman to slap the old dyke, maybe jump up and run out the door. But that didn't happen. Instead Velma Blount's date giggled drunkenly and returned the kiss! Before long, both women were slumped on the loveseat together making out while a few of the other party guests cheered them on.

"Go on, Jude, do someone else now!" Someone shouted.

"Oh—bring that mistletoe over here!" Another woman chided. "I wanna get lucky!"

For a moment, CJ tried to shake off what she'd just witnessed. She turned to Birgitta.

"Well...that was different." She said rather flatly. She really didn't expect Velma Blount to luck out like that—and so soon! When she looked back up at the loveseat again, it was empty. Velma Blount and her date were nowhere to be seen. "So...got any other plans for the holidays?"

"Oh, you know; the usual." Birgitta said. "Visiting mother and dad for dinner on Christmas day, that's all."

Birgitta's folks were over in Mt. Percy about 30 miles or so out of Thatcher Blake. She grew up on a farm there. Her parents still live there too, although they don't do much farming these days. Nice people too. Church-going, God fearing folk. CJ used to go along with Birgitta to visit once in a while.

"You seem kind of stressed out." CJ said, taking note of the look on her friend's face.

"No, just the usual stuff." Birgitta said. "It's nice to have some time off though. After a while, the students start to wear me out."

"Isn't that the truth?" CJ chortled.

She began to describe an incident that took place earlier in the day during her 6th hour class. They were wrapping up a unit on ballroom dancing in the main gymnasium. Even though it was the last day of the unit, CJ still had to endure the loud groans and protests of 34 sophomore girls who were forced to pair up and practice basic moves like the box step, side sway, and promenade. It didn't help either that her student assistant, Amanda Phelps, was absent today. This would make classroom management much more difficult. It was not impossible though for a veteran teacher like Miss Treadway, just...taxing.

Almost 30 minutes into the class period, some of the girls noticed that their teacher was really getting into watching Kara Harkness and Peggy Bell performing what CJ thought was the prefect box step. Everyone could tell that Peggy and Kara hated this bit of unexpected attention. Their scarlet faces betrayed how thoroughly embarrassed they both were, but they kept on dancing. Everyone stopped what they were doing now to stare and make loud kissy face noises at Peggy and Kara.

"When's the wedding?" Carol Wetzel asked sarcastically. "Looks like you two dummies ought to get a room!"

Miss Treadway rolled her eyes in disgust before giving Peggy an encouraging pat on the shoulder. Poor Peggy looked like she wanted to die. Kara didn't look any better.

"Ignore your classmates, Peggy." CJ said. "Jealousy is the rage of man: therefore HE will not spare in the day of vengeance!"

Carol shouted back at Miss Treadway:

"What's that supposed to mean? You know, my mom told Mr. Oleson that the last she checked, North Haskell isn't a friggin' Sunday school! You could get in a lot of trouble!"

"That's enough, Miss Wetzel!" CJ said firmly. "Maybe you'd rather run laps all hour when we return from vacation. It'll certainly give your mouth a much needed rest!"

Carol started to say something in rebuttal, but her friend, Penny Grant, pulled her friend away and gave Miss Treadway a meek apology. She knew better than to sass back at her teacher like that.

"You handled that better than I would have." Birgitta said.

For several seconds the two gym teachers sat there on the sofa not talking. Then CJ turned to her friend once again and placed her strong hands on Birgitta's slender shoulders.

"Goodness, Birgitta...you're so tense!"

CJ slowly and deliberately began to massage her friend's shoulders while Birgitta closed her eyes and sighed. They sometimes did this for each other during planning period in the PE office. Other times it was during bible study as the other members debated scripture around a table in the church basement.

"How's that feel?" CJ asked.

"Mmm...hit's the spot after a rough day of dealing with rebellious teenagers!"

"Well, you know me. I give pretty good backrubs."

This went on for several minutes before Birgitta's cold blue eyes flew open in astonishment the second she felt CJ's hot breath on her neck. Perhaps it was the atmosphere, the music, or plain old liquid courage that compelled CJ to kiss her friend's slender neck.

Before she could gage her friend's reaction, something hovering overhead caught CJ's attention. She could just see it out of the corner of her eye. She pulled away from Birgitta and saw that Jude was standing there. She was dangling that little bunch of mistletoe over the two of them, jiggling it like she would a keyring at an infant. CJ rolled her eyes and scowled.

"Aww—Jude, not now!" She snapped.

But Jude wouldn't budge. A few party guests were starting to gather behind the hostess, staring at the two gym teachers on the couch. This time, Birgitta pulled her friend in and they exchanged a soft, sweet kiss. When they pulled away, CJ looked positively stunned; like a literal victim of cupid's arrow.

An off-key symphony of whistles came from behind Jude who was still dangling that stupid mistletoe. It was accompanied by a drunken chorus of catcalls and lewd observations.

"Wowee—kiss her again, Birgitta! What are you waiting for?"

"Let's see a little tongue action, ladies!"

"Get a room you two!"

Jude turned toward the pressing crowd of women and shoved her free arm straight out into Karen Swick's chest. This caused the social studies' teacher to stumble a little, sending another woman backward like a domino effect. Jude stooped over now and whispered something to Birgitta which CJ could not hear. The blond gym teacher leaned in once more to exchange another kiss with her friend. This kiss was longer; deeper, and more insistent. CJ gasped the second she felt her friend's tongue push inside her mouth, and for a fleeting moment, she thought of Ciara. A faceless voice lobbed another catcall, derailing her present train of thought.

"Get 'er, CJ!"

As CJ and Birgitta kissed, her hand started wandering, the obvious effects of the champagne spiked punch. Birgitta's eyes were closed. Her blond eyelashes were almost imperceptible. She could hear her friend's breaths become increasingly forced and ragged. Just as CJ was about to cup her breast, Birgitta snatched her wrist and pulled it away.

"No, CJ. Not here." She said softly.

But when the blond gym teacher whispered her intentions into her friend's ear, a calculating grin spread across her thin lips and her body became animated. She nodded her assent to Birgitta and took her by the hand. They rose up from the sofa and dashed through the dwindling crowd of women like Moses parting the Red Sea. CJ could just make out Jude's parting words as they reached the staircase and started heading upwards.

"Have fun, girls! Don't wear yourselves out!"

A volley of drunken chuckles followed them upstairs. Jude was so full of it and CJ knew it. Of course they'd wear each other out. The melody from "Silent Night" wafted up the stairs and filled the space of the upstairs hallway. Tonight would be far from silent if CJ had any say.

"Jude said the last spare room is open." Birgitta said. "It's that door at the end of the hall next to the bathroom."

The house was quite large—too large for a single woman like Jude Horst. She inherited the house from her parents though. There were four bedrooms total, one being the master bedroom. Normally these parties were unable to accommodate so many guests. Most of them either had to be content to stay in the common areas like the living room or the basement rec room (if there was one). Otherwise they had to settle for leaving the party and find someplace else for privacy.

The two women took soft sort of mincing steps down the darkened hall. The muffled sounds of groans and cries emanated from behind one of the spare bedroom doors. One of the voices sounded a lot like Velma's.

"Sounds like somebody's having a good time." CJ muttered.

She reached for the knob of the door next to the bathroom. As she slowly turned it and pushed the door in, she hoped that the room was unoccupied. Lucky for them, it was.

CJ closed the door behind them and used the skeleton key that was sticking in the keyhole to lock themselves in. She heaved a gusty sigh. She was frustrated that there weren't any stray pieces of paper lying around in the room that she could use to tear up and stuff inside the keyhole. Birgitta Larsson and Carol Jean Treadway were both very discrete, private people. It was for that reason Jude Horst told Birgitta that they could take one of the spare rooms. CJ definitely didn't want some drunken party guest, or God forbid, Velma Blount perched outside their door squinting at them through the keyhole. CJ's cheeks grew flushed at the mortifying thought of someone witnessing what she was about to do with her friend.

A quiet click caught CJ's attention now. Birgitta went over to a small lamp on the nightstand next to the bed and turned it on. Next she crossed the room and switched the main light off so that the two of them were bathed in a soft golden glow. CJ's dark eyes narrowed behind those horn rimmed glasses. She pulled them off now and set them on top of the dresser and rubbed the bridge of her nose for a second or two before her expression turned deadly. She stepped in front of Birgitta now. She was menacing over the blond woman, positively leering over her. She pointed off to her side in the general direction of the bed.

"Get over there before I decide to slam you up against the wall."

Birgitta and CJ had a strange sort of arrangement going since college. Both of them are as butch as one could get; no-nonsense and aggressive, go-getter types. But anytime the two were together, Birgitta always assumed a more passive, more reserved role. That suited CJ just fine. Birgitta's relinquishment of power felt incredibly sexy to her. Just the same, CJ would prefer it if she had someone even more submissive. A frightened little femme, a much younger partner so her dominance could be absolute. Another vision of the beautiful Ciara Ackerman passed through her mind, driving the dark haired gym teacher to action.

She clutched Birgitta in her arms, engulfing the blond woman in her embrace. An angry, low sort of growl rose from the depths of CJ's throat, and for a split second, she feigned a cough in an effort to suppress the noise. Keep it together, she thought. She kissed the blond woman once more. Her body was starting to tremble. The room felt like a sauna.

"The wages of sin is death..." She whispered.

"...but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ our Lord." Birgitta finished her lover's thoughts.

The two women came together, bodies mashed tightly, and they began kissing in earnest. With shaking hands, they tore at each other's clothes, pulling them off until they were both completely naked. For a spilt second, CJ cast a furtive glance around the room. She imagined the invisible specters of the other women downstairs watching them. She wished they would have just left the party and gone to her house instead. But CJ knew it was too late. She couldn't stop what was started now even if Birgitta had wanted her to. They sank onto the mattress of the bed, kissing and feeling each other up. When they finally pulled away, Birgitta whispered breathlessly to her lover:

"Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin."

CJ pushed Birgitta backward onto the mattress, not caring at the moment that the blond woman's head wasn't quite on the pillows. She sucked in a sharp, trembling breath of air before her mouth began kissing Birgitta's smooth alabaster skin. Her skin was so fair, so creamy for a roughshod tomboy. CJ loved it. It made it all the more easier to imagine that it was some nervous young virgin squirming underneath her instead.

Her mouth moved over the blond woman's jutting collarbone and travelled down to the almost imperceptible swell of her breasts. She reached up, determined to finish what she'd started downstairs, and squeezed first one breast, then the other. Instantly the flesh began to swell under the palm of CJ's hand. The soft pink puffy nipples shrank to crinkled, hardened little rose-quartz pebbles. The sound of loud, sharp gasps prickled the skin around CJ's ear.

"Mmm, CJ, suck my nipples, uhnnnn, CJ, yes, lick my little pussy, so wet for you honey, so hot. I've been thinking about you all day."

That was music to CJ's ears. The dark haired woman obliged her friend's request. She took first one nipple, then the other in her hot mouth. She suckled that lovely pink flesh, thoroughly enjoying the way Birgitta squirmed underneath her. She continued this for a few minutes more before pulling away and sliding down. Breast play was exciting, but CJ wanted to strike while the iron was still hot. She kissed her way over the blond woman's rigid, flat stomach. She reached down and grabbed her lean, toned thighs, spreading them open.

"Nnn, ohhh, CJ, lick me. I want you so bad!"

CJ stared for a second at the turgid flesh of her friend's vulva. Much of it was covered modestly with a thick downy jungle of blond hair, and she had to use her fingers to push some of it out of the way. She was so beautiful—perfect! The slippery pink folds of her labia were already weeping, and a couple patches of wetness shined the flesh of her inner thighs. CJ sucked another sharp, deep breath in through her nostrils. She caught Birgitta's scent now. It was strong, earthy, pungent...intoxicating!

CJ pressed her mouth now to the eager pink flesh. Gracious, Birgitta was so wet! Instantly, a slimy sort of wetness and intense heat mingling with a sour tang invaded her tongue the second it disappeared between those swollen outer lips. Oh, my God, CJ thought...she tastes amazing!

CJ opted to tease her friend with fluttering butterfly flicks of her tongue as the tip sought out her forbidden pearl. Birgitta wasn't very loud, thank goodness. She'd let loose a soft moan occasionally, but mostly she just bit her lip, arched her back away from the mattress, and winced. Once CJ found the clitoris, she nudged it gently with the tip of her tongue before plunging it deep inside her lover's vagina. With each stab of her tongue, she tried to slurp up every drop of Birgitta's precious musky nectar. She held a bit of it on the end of her tongue for a second or two to savor the sharpness of it. CJ wanted nothing more at this moment in time than to please her friend. She wanted to give Birgitta the same pleasure and relief she had given her countless times in the past. These feelings she experienced were indescribable. It was neither satisfaction nor pride, but a feeling of complete fulfillment over the ability to share something very sacred with someone she'd been close to for so long.

"Oh...my...gracious!"

Birgitta gasped loudly. Her chest was heaving deeply as she sucked in quick little gulps of air. As CJ's tongue continued to tease her clitoris, she could hear her lover respond with hard delighted gasps until suddenly she was sobbing loudly. Birgitta covered her mouth with her hands now to suppress the cries that were forthcoming. When CJ was sure her friend was spent, she slowly pulled away and moved up the mattress until she was lying beside her. Birgitta turned to CJ. She slowly wiped her lover's mouth with her fingers before they came together to exchange another deep kiss. When they pulled away, Birgitta pulled herself up onto her hands and knees. She reached towards the headboard and grabbed one of the pillows, intending to pull it forward.

By now, CJ sat up a little, gazing at Birgitta's backside when she turned it to her for a second to grab the pillow. Perhaps the punch was still working its mysterious magic. Lord knows she never ever dreamed of going this far, but for some reason, CJ wanted Birgitta's ass. When the blond woman went to her hands and knees again, turning to fluff up the pillow she'd pulled towards herself, CJ's eye was drawn to her friend's ass crack and that tiny little corrugated hole of flesh. This is insane, CJ thought. She's never considered anything like this before in her entire life! Any other time, the notion of touching another human being's asshole was revolting—sinful! Why, that's where—you know—comes out!

But now the besotted pull of her intoxicated desires conjured up the strangest longing—craving—to lick her colleague's ass. She wondered for a split second what Birgitta would think, what she might do. Would she turn around and slap her? What would the other teachers think if any of them accidentally witnessed this depravity? Birgitta was just about to lay back down when CJ's brusque command halted her.

"FREEZE, Birgitta...stay...just like that, honey...let me..."

Another sharp gasp escaped Birgitta as she felt CJ palming the smooth globes of her ass cheeks before gently skinning them back. The dark haired woman paused for a second or two as she stared at her lover's asshole admiringly. The hole itself was tight, almost imperceptible. CJ moved her thumbs carefully to the crinkled outer flesh, pressing down before trying to spread it. The asshole opened now, just barely, and CJ felt a stabbing surge of erotic sensation tear through her. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the sight.

"CJ, what are you doing...OH MY GAWWWD!"

The shocking sensation of CJ's hot wet tongue invaded what Birgitta thought was her most private place. It was a place that until now, had only felt the touch of toilet paper each time she had to do her business—and it was, mind, something she tried her best to avoid ever doing in the faculty toilets at school. She preferred the privacy of home for such indelicate acts.