Unrequited Pt. 03

Hello! This is part three of five. If you haven't read the first two parts, you really should do that first. All characters involved in explicit scenes are over eighteen. Enjoy!

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Unrequited, Part Three

I slept long and deep, and Kayleigh's bedroom was bright with sunshine when I finally opened my eyes. She was still asleep, lying on her side facing me, and I rolled towards her. She looked amazing, so innocent and adorable. Her dark hair splayed out on her pillow, and I could see her eyes moving under their lids. I wondered what she was dreaming about

I didn't remember my dreams, but I think they'd been good. I reached out under the covers and slid my hand over her waist, loving the warmth of her. Kayleigh stirred and stretched.

Her green eyes opened. "Mmm, good morning." I let my nails scratch over the skin on her back, and she rolled toward me onto her stomach. "You can keep doing that. "

I grinned, redoubling my efforts and enjoying the little happy coos she was making.

"Meow!" The sound of paws on the bedroom doorknob interrupted our intimate moment.

"She's hungry." Kayleigh pushed herself up onto her elbows. "And lonely."

"Poor thing."

Kayleigh gave me a quick peck. "I'll take care of her." She slipped out of bed and walked across the room, letting me admire her cute, round little tush and trim waist.

She opened the door, "All right, go on," and followed her mewling kitty out into the hall.

I reclined back into the pillows, thinking a little about last night, both the party and our amorous activities afterwards. Being on Kayleigh's arm had been amazing. I'd felt like a grown-up, with a real partner, not just a stupid schoolgirl with a hopeless crush. And I liked that feeling.

Kayleigh slipped back into the room and situated herself between the sheets just as she had been, lying on her stomach. "So, where were we?"

"I believe," I ran my nails gently from her neck down to the swell of her butt, "that I was scratching your back."

"Mmm, oh, yeah. I remember now."

I watched as my gorgeous girlfriend melted into the soft mattress as I touched her, issuing fourth a steady stream of adorable coos and sighs.

After a few minutes or so I heard the bedroom door crack open, and Patches joined us on the mattress with an attention getting 'meow'. I held out my unoccupied hand, which she butted her head against before climbing onto Kayleigh's back, purring and meowing directly into her mommy's ear. She nuzzled against Kayleigh's face, causing her mistress to giggle and scratch her neck. The cat flopped down between us, her motor going at full throttle.

Kayleigh turned onto her side so she could pet her furry friend, before looking at me with innocent, kitten-like eyes. "Do you need to go home?"

Maybe I should. Last night had been intense, all of it. Maybe I needed some perspective. It's what I'd usually do, but I didn't think I wanted to.

"No." I reached out and brushed away a strand of her hair, tucking it behind her ear. "No plans today."

"You want to, um," her hand found mine, our fingers intertwining, "I don't know, spend it together?"

"Yeah," I kissed the back of her hand, "sounds perfect."

Kayleigh's face split into a dazzling smile, and I leaned in and kissed her, making Patches jump away.

I rolled her onto her back, loving how she gave herself over to our kiss. Unfortunately our deepening lip lock was interrupted by Kayleigh's rumbling tummy. I broke away laughing as she turned beet red.

"I take it you're hungry?"

"Maybe a little." God, she was cute.

"So, what does one eat after a night of amazing sex?"

"Mmm, waffles. With whipped cream and chocolate sauce." Kayleigh popped her eyebrows at me, grinning ear to ear.

"That sounds perfect."

Kayleigh slid out of bed, and I enjoyed the sight of her lithe body as she pulled on a pair of panties and wrapped herself in a white lace robe that fell to mid thigh.

She turned back to me, hands on her hips, her nipples standing out against the garment.

"You coming, Missy?"

Grinning, I responded. "Yeah. Mind if I hop in the shower first? Never feel quite human before I do."

"Sure." She crossed the room and crawled onto the bed, and her kiss was just long enough to get my toes tingling when she broke away. "But don't be too long."

Kayleigh moved away, heading out the door and shooing along a whining Patches as she did. My bag, unfortunately, was still sitting by the front door, so I had to give Kayleigh a little show as I walked out to get it, and she whistled appreciatively when I did.

Kayleigh's bathroom was bigger than the one in my apartment. There was a freestanding, claw foot tub and a decent sized shower alcove in the corner. It sported two showerheads, one standard, and the other one of those overhead ones. I turned on the latter and waited for the water to warm before stepping inside.

I let the warm stream run over my neck and down my back. I couldn't help smiling, again. Every morning after I spent the night with Kayleigh I ended up smiling. That's a real good sign, right? What I was sure about was that I wanted to be out there with Kayleigh right now, so I finished up what I needed to do and headed out to the kitchen, wearing just a T-shirt and panties

Kayleigh was standing at the counter with her back to me, stirring something in a bowl and singing to herself, her cute tush wiggling around under her short robe.

I wrapped my arms around her waist from behind, resting my chin on her shoulder. "Hey."

She leaned back into me with a sigh. "Hi, nice shower?"

"Not bad. Can I help?"

She motioned towards the stove. "You could start the sausages."

"Aye, aye, Captain."

I poured a little water into a pan and fired up the stovetop. I pulled out the package of thick links. "These are fancy. Haven't seen them before."

"No, I get it from the farm where my brother sources his pork for his restaurants. It has an amazing, very unique flavor."

"Is he all local, then?"

"As much as he can be." She walked up behind me and ran her hand over my butt. "You know, I spend so much time staring at those incredible boobs of yours that I'm not sure I've ever given proper attention to how incredible your ass and legs are."

"Oh, please. You're terrible."

"And you're beautiful."

The sincerity of her voice took my breath away, and I couldn't help smiling. Eventually I managed to stammer something out. "No, I'm not, not really. "

"Says who?"

"Wait till Monday when you get to meet Sally." I felt the day darken as soon as I mentioned her name, and I was afraid Kayleigh would get angry. The waffle maker chose that moment to chirp, and Kayleigh scampered over, spraying the iron down and pouring on a ladle full of batter.

I turned the sausages, and the cloud in my mind passed we started tossing around ideas about what to do today, which continued over a very decadent breakfast. We finished getting dressed and sat down on the couch together.

Kayleigh leaned back against me as I ran my fingers through her long dark hair.

"Mmm, you can do that forever."

I kissed the top of her head. "Just like this?"

She snuggled against me, which felt wonderful. "Oh yeah." She took my other hand, lacing her fingers through mine. "So we need to make a decision, what do you want to do today?"

"Just hanging with you."

"Sounds good." She was quiet for a moment before speaking again. "Actually, they're doing Shakespeare in the park. One of my patients is performing. I promised them I'd try to catch it."

"Really? What are they playing?"

"Othello. Just, I won't be able to tell you which one my patient is, unless they initiate."

"I understand. That's this evening, right? Why don't we pack a picnic dinner, make an afternoon of it?" Kayleigh beamed at me and nodded.

I still look back on that day as one of the best days of my life. Clear blue skies, but not too hot, with the faintest hint of autumn starting to touch summer's greenery. Kayleigh and I walked through woods and along shady groves hand-in-hand, and by some miracle I didn't notice a single harsh stare or unkind word. Or maybe I was just too wrapped up in Kayleigh to notice.

We stopped and petted dogs out for a walk and watched children playing on playgrounds. We even brought a Frisbee we threw around for a while. And it was so easy being with her. In fact, other than family, there was only one other person I'd ever felt this easy around.

We arrived at the amphitheater where they were putting on the play twenty minutes early. It was already bustling and we started looking for seats. Almost as soon as we settled in a middle-aged couple approached us, the gentleman slightly heavyset with his tall, willow thin wife at his side.

The gentleman smiled at my girlfriend. "Dr. O'Malley. It's good of you to be here."

"I'm looking forward to it. Is he enjoying being on stage?"

"Oh, yeah. This is the third time we've been, and he's getting better each time. I think so, at least." There was real pride in his voice. He looked past Kayleigh and nodded to me. "Hello."

"Oh, sorry. Bethany, this is Mr. and Mrs. Brownfield. John, Dawn, this is my girlfriend, Bethany Houser. "

I said hello and shook their hands.

Mr. Brownfield greeted me warmly before speaking. "Our son, really our whole family, has worked with Dr. O'Malley for over a year."

Dawn nodded and took her husband's hand. "She's a miracle worker. She saved our family."

Kayleigh blushed. "All I did was get you all to talk to each other. Nothing miraculous about it. "

The couple's smiles told me that admission hadn't changed their opinion at all. They moved away to find seats, and I took Kayleigh 's hand.

"Does that happen a lot?"

"Not really. Most of the time when my patients see me in public they ignore me. And I never initiate. If they hadn't come up I wouldn't have said anything, though I'm not surprised they did. People are funny enough about needing therapy. Throw my specialty into the mix, and any public meeting could end in disaster. "

"Are a lot of your patient still closeted?"

"Oh, yeah. For most it's a long process. People are social animals, and being rejected by our families and society is one of our deepest fears. And the fastest way to get yourself ostracized is by being different."

"Yeah. I guess we learn that in middle school, don't we? "

Kayleigh nodded, and we settled back as the play started. The playbill showed one actor with the last name Brownfield, Jeremy, who was playing Casio. He made his appearance in the second scene, and I could see the family resemblance. Kayleigh was beaming as he confidently and artfully spoke his lines, her hand slipping into mine. She smiled up at me for a moment, and we settled back to enjoy the show.

*****

"He was wonderful!"

Jeremy's father nodded, a proud smile on his face. "He's getting better every time. He'll be out in a few minutes. I know he'd love to see you, Dr. O'Malley."

Kayleigh looked up at me. "You don't mind staying for a bit?"

"Of course. I'll get us some water."

Mrs. Brownfield indicated she'd like one as well, so her husband and I left our partners chatting together and made our way over to the small concession table.

"You've got a good one there, young lady. How long have you been dating?"

I chuckled. "Just a few weeks, but I'm starting to figure that out." Looking back, Jeremy had made his appearance, and was talking animatedly to Kayleigh and his mother, a huge smile on his face.

"We almost lost him." Mr. Brownfield's voice wavered as he spoke, a tear forming in his eye. "He tried to kill himself when he was only sixteen."

"Oh my god, I'm sorry."

"It was my fault. His older brother, Michael, was the perfect all American boy. Handsome, athletic, a total charmer. And then there was Jeremy. Quieter, shyer, more sensitive. I thought it was my job to toughen him up. I pushed him into sports he didn't want to play, tried to beat the sissy out of him. Metaphorically, that is.

"And bless him he tried. He tried so hard to make me proud. Dawn told me something was wrong, so did Michael. But I didn't listen. No son of mine was going to be some Nancy boy weakling."

There were tears rolling down his face now. "After he, um, after he got out of the hospital he started seeing Dr. O'Malley. Eventually Dawn dragged me to see this new therapist of his. I was so stubborn about it, mostly because I was scared she'd blame me for everything, which, of course, part of me thought I deserved.

"But she didn't offer judgment, just direction, and a forum to talk about what we wanted. Listening to my son tell me all he'd ever wanted was my love, for me to be proud of him. It broke me. And I had to think about what it was I wanted. Just for him to be happy, and to be able to stand on his own two feet. I had a picture in my head of what that meant, but it was the wrong picture.

"My son is smart, and talented. He's kind and generous, and through everything I've done he still likes going to Cardinals games with me. And I would've thrown all that away. Why? Because he'd rather be with a man than a woman?" Mr. Brownfield shook his head. "I'm sorry. I unloaded a little bit there."

"It's OK, I didn't mind." Intellectually, of course, I'd known what Kayleigh did, and how important it was, but seeing it right there, the raw human emotion, took it to a whole 'nother level.

*****

"Oh God!" Kayleigh seized as her most recent orgasm claimed her, and I held on, sucking hard on her clit as she silently bucked beneath me. We'd been at it for over an hour, and I'd made sure it was almost exclusively about her tonight.

I kissed my way back over her body, spending a few moments on each of her pert, sensitive nipples, before kissing her soundly and pulling her close.

Kayleigh sighed and snuggled into my embrace. "Oh, Bethany." She looked up into my eyes, blushing at my grinning expression. "What? What's that look for?"

I shook my head. "Nothing. I just love the way you say my name."

Her eyes were shining, her face wearing an indescribable look of innocent sexuality. She put her hand to the side of my head and stroked my hair. "Mmm, my Bethany."

The intensity of her stare, the emotion in her voice, calling me hers, they made something snap inside me, and I was overwhelmed with how much I wanted to fall in love with this woman. I warred inside myself for a moment before Kayleigh put me out of my misery by pulling me down into a long, languid kiss.

Eventually we did what we needed to do to get into sleeping positions, with Kayleigh spooned against me, tracing her fingers over my arms. "So what got into you tonight? Not that I'm complaining, mind you."

"Just hearing a lot about how awesome you are."

Kayleigh blushed. "Yeah, the Brownfields are one of my real successes. It's not often that smooth or dramatic."

"Still, what you do is really important. It puts me to shame."

Kayleigh snuggled closer. "Don't think like that. There are a lot of people who count on you."

"You're saying we all can't be heroes?"

She kissed my neck. "You're my hero."

"Really?" I let playful disbelief color my voice.

"Yeah. You save me from going to parties alone, and you keep me warm. Everything's brighter when you're around. My sunshine." She started to sing in a soft, girlish voice, looking deep into my eyes.

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.

You make me happy, when skies are gray.

You'll never know, dear, how much...

Kayleigh paused and blushed, making me giggle.

I kissed her cheek. "Forgot what that song said, didn't you?"

Kayleigh pressed her lips to my neck. "I just don't want to scare you."

Scare me? This girl terrified me on so many levels. But that doesn't mean I wanted out. The thought of losing her made me slightly sick inside.

I kissed her forehead. "I don't scare easy." Ha! What a crock.

"That's good, because I might be singing it again soon. The whole thing."

"I can't wait."

*****

Kayleigh was gripping my hand a little tightly as we walked up to Tim and Sally's front door on Monday. Or was I the one doing the gripping? I wasn't sure, but I knew I was nervous about so many things.

I pressed the doorbell, listening to the chimes sound inside. Feet sounded in the entryway and the door opened, revealing the beaming face of my best friend.

"Hi! So glad you could come!" Sally glanced at Kayleigh, practically bouncing up and down waiting for me to introduce her.

I gave her a dry smile. "Sally, this is my girlfriend, Kayleigh O'Malley. Kayleigh, this is Sally Andersen, my best friend since we were nine.

Sally almost jumped forward to wrap Kayleigh in a hug, which my smaller girlfriend returned shyly.

"We brought this." Kayleigh's voice was nervous as she held out the carrier she was holding.

"Ooh, what is it?"

"Irish soda bread pudding. Old family recipe. "

"I'm sure it's going to be amazing. Come in, come in!"

Sally's smile was as bright as I'd ever seen it, but Kayleigh, she was more muted. And not just nervous. I mean, meeting people important to your significant other is always a tad stress inducing, but I could see a little bit of her clinician's mask in her eyes, like she was studying Sally. Which worried me, by which I mean it filled me with soul-crushing terror.

We followed our hostess through the living room to the kitchen. There were a lot more splashes of color around than there'd been when Sally had first moved in. Some throw pillows, a few plants, and artsy pieces on the walls. Little bits of Sally all over. This was really becoming her home.

"Kayleigh, does this need to go in the fridge, or oven? Do you serve it hot or cold?"

"Since it's summer I chilled it, so it can go in the fridge if you have room."

"We can make space."

Seeing the two of them interact was bizarre. The two most important people in my life, the two women I loved. At least one I loved, and one I was trying to love, desperately. I loved being with Kayleigh. She was exciting, sexy, and fun. She made me happy, and she truly wanted to be with me. But my heart still melted when Sally laughed or smiled. Oh shit, what was I going to do?

Well for now I was going to just keep my mouth shut and try not to ruin things with either one. I followed along behind as Sally led Kayleigh out onto the back patio, where Tim was fiddling with his grill. Brian sat nearby, sipping a beer, with cute, redheaded Amber sitting in his lap.

Sally called out to get everyone's attention. "Hey everyone, Beth and Kayleigh are here. Come say 'hi'."

Amber bounced up and gave Kayleigh a hug, with Brian and Tim opting for a more sedate handshake.

Kayleigh retreated back to my side, smiling. "It's nice to meet everyone. That's an impressive grill you have there, Timothy."

Tim's eyes brightened. I confirmed with Sally that Tim was indeed a Timothy beforehand, and Sally had warned her beau to expect it. "Yeah, I love it. It's a pellet burner. Do you grill?"

"No, but my brother owns a barbecue restaurant in Kansas City, where I'm from."

Brian spoke up. "So, like Korean BBQ or regular?" I saw Sally wince, which matched my spike of fear that Kayleigh had just been offended, but if she had it didn't show.

"Actually it's a fusion. He uses traditional southern slow smoking techniques, with Asian spices. So, like, if you ordered a pulled pork sandwich it would still be a pork shoulder smoked low and slow for fourteen hours on hickory and applewood, but the rub is distinctly Asian and it's served with homemade kimchi instead of coleslaw."

Tim nodded, "That sounds amazing."

"It is. And you can get wet ribs with a hoisin-based glaze, and even try smoked duck or seafood. It's really good."