You Can Ring My Bell

"Ladies and gentleman," the woman who had officiated announced, "may I present Ruth and Eliza Nichols."

The pronouncement was met with thunderous applause as the now wed couple made their way down the aisle between the rows of folding chairs. The newlyweds then went off to have a few more photographs taken in another part of the garden, while the guests moved back into the hall for the reception.

Once back in the banquet hall, Audrey and Rachel found their seats, right next to the couple who had first inquired about them earlier. Rachel was impressed at how quickly the caterers had transformed the room, laying out rows of tables around the perimeter, with a dozen table settings at each.

The other guests at their table proved to be as friendly as she could have hoped for, and it wasn't long before Rachel began to view the wedding as just like any other. The broad mix of couples fascinated her, as they ranged from women just about her own age to some who appeared to be older then her parents. And there were even a few couples who seemed to be a mix of the two extremes.

The bride and bride soon made their reappearance, and were immediately ushered onto the dance floor so that the traditional first dance could start off the festivities. After a minute or two, the mistress of ceremonies called for anyone else who cared to, to join in. All around the hall you could hear the sound of chairs being pulled out as most of the guests left their table and did so.

"Shall we?" Audrey asked, reaching out her hand to Rachel.

"Of course," she answered as she offered her own in turn. "After all, you did tell me it would be expected." she added with a broad smile.

As she moved across the floor, with Audrey's arms tightly wrapped around her, Rachel felt a strong sense of the familiar. At just about every wedding she'd attended, at least a quarter of the quests on the dance floor turned out to be girls dancing with other girls. She also discovered soon that Audrey was an exceptional dancer, making it a genuine pleasure to dance with her.

In fact, it had been so much fun that Rachel was eager to get back out on the floor after dinner as well. It didn't matter if the dance was fast or slow, traditional or modern, the brunette seemed inexhaustible. It wasn't until they'd danced their third set in a row that Audrey suggested they take a little break. As they started to walk off the floor, a much older woman with white hair came up to the two of them and asked if she could have a few minutes of Audrey's time.

"I have to make a visit to the little girls' room anyway," Rachel said, as Audrey turned to her with an expression that seemed to ask if she minded.

Leaving the two women behind in conversation, Rachel headed toward the other end of the hall, where a wall sign indicated the rest rooms could be found. She was dismayed to find, after stepping into the outer corridor, that there were more than a dozen women already online in front of her. For some reason she'd never understood, the mere fact that she had to wait always made her need to go seem much more urgent than it had only a few moments before.

'Well, nothing I can do about it,' she thought with a shrug as she took her place at the end of the line.

Two very long minutes passed, during which the line barely moved. Rachel felt someone tap her on her shoulder, and turned to find Alice from the bar standing next to the queue. The smiling bartender didn't say a word, but motioned with her hand for Rachel to follow her.

Hesitant at first to lose her place on line, since two more people were already behind her, Rachel finally responded to a more urgent hand signal from Alice and followed her back down the hall and then around the bend to a second corridor.

"The second banquet room is still being worked on," Alice said, "but the bathrooms are just fine. Just make another left when you get to the end here and you're right there."

"Wow, thank you," Rachel said, truly appreciative of the gesture.

"My pleasure," Alice again smiled, reaching out as she did with an outstretched hand to gently run her fingers down the length of Rachel's arm. "I have to get back to work, but like I said, if you need anything else, I'm your girl."

As she returned the smile, Rachel couldn't help but think that simple touch, along with the words that had accompanied it, held a wealth of possibilities - if of course she was interested in that sort of thing...

Reaching the unused bathroom, Rachel found it as empty as its counterpart was full. She stepped into the closest stall, made sure it was fully stocked, and closed the door behind her. The sense of relief that followed was nearly overwhelming.

Rachel had just finished her business when she heard two voices outside the stall door. Evidently, someone else had also discovered that there was a second bathroom available.

The conversation seemed quite animated, but the voices were too low for Rachel to really make out what was being said. It was only when she heard the unmistakable sound of laughter that she allowed her curiosity to get the better of her. Quietly opening the stall door just enough to look out, Rachel got the surprise of her life. As it was,

she barely managed to suppress a gasp.

There were indeed two other women in the bathroom, a tall brunette and a slightly shorter blonde, neither much older than she was. Both also had on dresses not much different than the one Audrey had admired on her, the only real different being that the brunette's was blue and the blonde's emerald green. It was immediately obvious that they hadn't come to the unused facility for the same reason Rachel had.

The brunette had the blonde up on the vanity counter, with the top of her dress undone. Like Rachel's outfit, the dress had its own built-in bra, so that when it came loose the girl's breasts came free as well. From where she sat, Rachel got a brief glimpse of the nipple of her left breast, brief because almost as soon as it was exposed, the brunette shifted her mouth from her companion's lips down to the center of the mound, even as her left hand closed around the other. The soft moan that came from the blonde as her friend closed her mouth around her nipple was loud enough to be heard across the room.

Rachel watched in fascination as the brunette moved her other hand beneath the folds of the emerald dress, lifting it up high enough to expose the charms beneath. It was clear that the blonde had gone without undergarments this afternoon, and that she had also taken the time to shave herself smooth.

A longer cry of delight reached Rachel's ears as the brunette slipped her fingers into the blonde, the ease with which she found the other woman's most sensitive spots indicating that this was hardly the first time she'd reached for them. For what seemed like an incredibly long time, the taller woman glided her hand in and out of the other, shifting her mouth's attentions to her other breast at the same time.

Afraid almost to breathe, least she be heard, Rachel slowly closed the door and eased back on her seat. Two long minutes passed as she listened to the sounds coming from only a dozen feet away. Then, when the cries of the woman being pleasured suddenly became more intense, Rachel couldn't resist taking another look.

She found the blonde was now leaning back against the large mirrored wall behind the vanity, her legs bent and resting atop the counter. The brunette was on bended knees as well, her head now pressed tightly between the other woman's thighs, her mouth tight against her pussy. The acoustics of the bathroom carried the sounds of her tongue against soft flesh across the room, filling Rachel with enthrallment and perhaps a touch of envy.

So absorbed had she become that she barely had time to pull back into her hiding place after the blonde reached what had to be, from the volume of her cries, a most satisfying climax. Then hiding behind her door, with her own legs lifted high lest they be spotted from the outside, Rachel waited as they cleaned themselves up and then exited the bathroom.

'Omigod, I can't believe that I sat here and watched all that,' Rachel thought as, after waiting another long minute to be sure she was indeed alone, she exited the stall and looked at herself in the mirror.

What she didn't want to admit, even to herself, was how strong a reaction she'd had to the Sapphic display. Her panties, if she had been wearing them at the time, would've been soaked, given her level of arousal.

There had been times when she'd seen girls kiss in a bar or at a party, but that was usually to turn on some guy. In fact, she'd done it a few times herself, the recollection bringing a further one of the time Dotty Morgan had actually slipped her tongue into her mouth. But never had she seen anything like this.

Worried that someone else might appear to make use of the restroom, for whatever reason, Rachel pulled a few paper towels from the dispenser and cleaned herself up at the sink. Then, after tossing the wet cloths into the trash, she retraced her path back to the wedding reception and stood at the entranceway as she searched for Audrey.

Looking around the room, she didn't find Audrey, at least not at first, but she did find the two women from the bathroom. They were sitting at one of the tables chatting away with another couple as nonchalantly as could be, as if the previous quarter hour had never occurred. Just looking at them caused a rush of warmth to flash across Rachel's body.

"Oh, there you are," Rachel heard Audrey say from behind her, turning around at the sound of her voice. "You were gone so long that I was beginning to become worried."

"The line was a bit long," Rachel replied, thinking that was indeed the truth, if not the reason.

"Yeah, that sometimes happens at things like this," Audrey commented.

Without really realizing that she was doing it, Rachel glanced back again towards the table where the two women from the bathroom were sitting. Audrey caught the motion and asked her if she had spotted someone she knew.

"Why would you ask that?" Rachel inquired.

"The look on your face," she said.

"I just thought that couple over there looked familiar for a moment," Rachel answered. "But on a second look, I was wrong."

"Oh, that's Serena and Anna Marie," Audrey said, identifying the brunette and blonde. "I don't think you'd know them; they came down from Vermont for the wedding."

"But you do," Rachel queried out of curiosity.

"A bit," she answered. "I think they've been together even longer than Ruth and Eliza."

At that moment, some memory caused Audrey's face to fill with a broad smile. One wide enough for Rachel to ask what had caused it.

"Nothing really," she offered. "I just remember hearing earlier that the two of them had some kind of bet about whether Ruth and Eliza would actually go through with the ceremony. They had called it off twice before."

"What did they bet?" Rachel asked.

"No idea," Audrey replied, "but I did hear Anna Maria say earlier to Serena that she lost and it was time to pay up."

Now it was Rachel whose face formed a wide grin.

The band then started up again, playing Anita Ward's "Ring My Bell," prompting Audrey to remark that she really loved that song.

"Then by all means," Rachel said, motioning to the dance floor which was again filling with people.

As they moved in time to the music, Rachel listened to the lyrics, thinking how appropriate they seemed at the moment. Especially the part about the night being young and full of possibilities.

No sooner had the last echoes of the song faded than sound of an actual bell filled the air. It was something that Rachel had heard at a few other weddings, a call for all the attendees to share a kiss in honor of the newly married couple.

"You don't have to," Audrey said in a low whisper.

"Hey, when in Rome..." Rachel replied, pressing forward as she wrapped her arms around the taller woman.

The kiss was soft, as she knew from her own limited experience that it would be. It was more than that you would give a friend, but far less than you would a lover. Feeling the mood around her, Rachel pressed her tongue just far enough forward to meet the tip of Audrey's, then pulled it quickly back.

"That ... was nice," a visibly surprised Audrey said once the kiss was over.

Rachel didn't reply, at least not with words. Instead she just smiled as warmly as she knew how to.

Afterwards, they just concentrated on having a good time, both on the dance floor and interacting with other couples. When, later in the night, it came time for the newlyweds to make the rounds and thank their guests for coming, Audrey introduced Rachel to the two brides.

"God, you are lovely," Eliza had gushed after being introduced. "Audrey, I think you'd better hold on to this one," she added before moving off to thank someone else.

"I hope that didn't embarrass you," Audrey said to Rachel after the newlyweds walked away, "but she' s right, you are lovely."

Rachel again smiled.

Soon after, the cake was cut and served with coffee or tea. Then Eliza and Ruth again came to the stage and thanked everyone one more time for coming, wishing everyone a safe trip home as well. Then they said goodnight, bringing the occasion to a close.

-=-=-=-

"That was one hell of a party," Audrey said as they stepped back into their room at the Inn.

"It was," Rachel agreed as she followed her in and closed the door behind her. "Thank you so very much for inviting me."

"You really enjoyed it?" Audrey asked.

"Absolutely," Rachel beamed. "I can't remember the last time I had so much fun at a wedding."

Actually, that wasn't true, but Rachel didn't really think this was the time to mention how she had gotten really drunk at her cousins wedding and fucked the brother of the groom. She had been maid of honor and he had been best man, so it had just seemed to be the thing to do - at least at the time.

"I'm glad," Audrey replied, not realizing that the smile on Rachel's face had a double cause. "I really did appreciate your coming, even though I know it's not exactly your scene," she added as she dropped her pocketbook on the dresser. "It wasn't until we actually got here and I saw everyone that I realized how out of place I would've felt if I'd come alone."

"Like I said, I was happy to do it," Rachel smiled again, "especially after the help you gave me and..."

"And one had nothing to do with the other," Audrey interrupted her, "I hope you understand that. Helping you with your problem was simply the right thing to do and I would've done it regardless of anything else."

"I know," Rachel said, remembering that the wedding invitation had indeed come after Audrey had promised to help.

"That said, I guess I also owe you a second thank you for the way you let my friends think you were something more than I introduced you as," Audrey added. "It's hard enough to watch a woman you once loved marry someone else, without having everyone around you feel sorry for you because you couldn't even get a real date for the occasion."

"I just hope I didn't overdo it," Rachel said, thinking that she had been so determined that no one should fail to draw the inference, she'd done everything but grope Audrey on the dance floor.

"No, you did just fine," Audrey again grinned, "worthy of an Academy Award at least."

"That's funny, 'cause acting class was one of the few things I actually applied myself to back in school," Rachel replied. "Being someone else, even if only for a few hours, was always one of my favorite things to do."

"Well, like I said, I did appreciate it," Audrey said as she began to undress.

"Did your friends really think we were lovers?" Rachel asked, as if she was seeking a further validation of her performance.

"Honey, I'd bet twice the money that you misplaced that there's not a one of them that doesn't think, right now we're in bed doing it," Audrey commented with a little laugh.

"Good thing none of them knew that I'm not your type," Rachel pointed out.

"Excuse me," Audrey asked, pausing in what she was doing. "Whatever gave you that idea?"

"Yesterday, when we were in Clarence's office," Rachel answered, her tone wavering just a bit with the thought that she might have been wrong in her assumption, "you could have had me in any way you wanted - I was that desperate. But you turned me down."

Audrey laughed, but did so at what she thought was the humor in the situation and not at Rachel.

"Sweetheart, trust me, not taking you to my bed had nothing to do with any lack of attraction," she explained, remembering the feeling between her legs the girl had produced when she had only considered the idea. "I don't know how you could even look in a mirror and ever think that."

She went on to say that while she enjoyed a casual roll in the sack as much as the next girl, she had never forced anyone into her bed in her life. It just wasn't in her nature. She might play the bitch at times, but that was really just a bit of amusement.

"So if I had been interested?" Rachel asked.

"I find it better not to dwell on what might have beens," Audrey laughed as she folded her dress and laid it on the bed. "So let's just appreciate that we both had a good time today and leave it at that."

With that, she picked up the small toiletry bag that she had left on the night table earlier and headed off to the shower.

Rachel sat down on the side of her bed and found herself staring at the now closed bathroom door. The thoughts that filled her head would've been inconceivable only forty-eight hours before.

Up until today, the idea of sex that didn't involve a hard cock seemed unimaginable. Yet, in just the last few hours, she had been hit on by a beautiful woman, highly aroused by the actions of two others, and passed herself off as the lover of a fourth. Also, even more disconcerting, if that was the right word to use, was the fact that no matter how she tried, she found it impossible not to think about how that woman, now in the shower just a few feet away, had looked naked.

It would be easy, Rachel thought, to put what she was feeling down to the number of drinks she'd had at the wedding. Lord knows some of the things she'd done under the influence over the years! But being honest with herself, she knew that, at least in this case, that wasn't the answer. She might have a bit of a buzz on, but she was certainly far from drunk. No, whatever she decided to do about the images in her head, she would have to accept full responsibility for it come the dawn.

"Oh hell," she finally said after a few more long moments of reflection, "why the fuck not?"

-=-=-=-

With the rush of water from the overhead fixture filling her ears, Audrey didn't hear the bathroom door open, nor did she notice the shower curtain being partially pulled back. In fact, her first inkling that she was no longer alone came when Rachel stepped naked into the small cubicle and placed her hand on the brunette's shoulder.

"Rachel!" Audrey cried out in surprise, the unexpected touch making her lose her balance on the wet floor.

"Careful," Rachel said, quickly reaching out to steady the woman in front of her, wondering as she did so if perhaps she should've waited until Audrey got out of the shower. Then she decided that no, if she had done that she might very well have lost her nerve.

"What are you doing?" Audrey asked as she turned around, as if the answer wasn't obvious.

"Well, I could say that I wanted to see if you needed help washing your back," the redhead said as they came face to face, "but we both know that would be a lie."

"I see," Audrey asked, pausing a moment to glance down at the body of the woman before her. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"