Gardenias And Starlight Ch 01

Julia hated waking up. Falling asleep was beautifully blissful, unconsciousness serving as a reward for having successfully endured a day in its entirety. Waking up was a call of duty that couldn't be ignored, an order to leave comfort and safety behind and return to life's trenches. Before she could regain enough of her senses to restrain or distract herself, memories of the events that took place since the last time she awoke flooded into her conscious thoughts that, hindered by nothing more than fatigue, always found themselves under review. It was a survival instinct, a habit born of indoctrination compelling her to consider the consequences of her actions during a rare moment of relative clarity. It was her subconscious at work, toiling desperately to ensure her survival in the absence of conscious interest.

How long had it been since she'd last eaten? Was she in any pain that couldn't be explained? Who had she met? Had she brought anyone home? Was she sure that she was alone? Was she sure that she was at home? Her nights out over the last several years had created a checklist of sorts, a series of questions to ask herself to ensure that she wasn't in any danger, immediate or otherwise. Though she loathed to admit it, the habit had gotten her out of trouble more than once. As she struggled to push her duvet away and chose to ignore the wand that was still humming madly and bouncing around on her mattress, her feet found the floor beneath her bed and the daily list of questions continued to cycle through her head.

How much did I drink? Did I drink enough water? Did I use anything else? Did I use protection? How many were there? Did they all use protection?

Stumbling toward the bathroom, it was the final few questions that caused a pain to manifest somewhere deep in Julia's chest. It was a dull ache, a throbbing that she couldn't immediately place. Her conscious thoughts still addled by sleep, it took her a moment to force her mind into gear. As the pieces fell into place and she recalled the evening before, the relief of having the mystery partially solved was immediately followed by the regret of having asked. She wasn't in any danger, at least, immediate or otherwise. More than that, a quick survey of her apartment made it clear that she was certainly at home and alone. That, however, was where her problems began.

Taking a look at herself in the mirror, Julia realized for the first time that she was still wearing the form fitting blue silk dress she'd worn out the previous evening. Quickly assessing her appearance, it seemed that she'd come home and only managed to slide out of her shoes before falling into bed. Her hair looked like a bird's nest, but that was to be expected after a night of doubtless tossing and turning. An uncomfortable moment of panic triggered by an old memory led her to quickly check her dress to make certain it was still in one piece, and a sigh of relief followed seeing that some deep wrinkles were the worst it had suffered. There was no harm done that wouldn't fall out on a hanger. Another look at the mirror showed smudged makeup that she was still wearing, something that caused another sigh as she pushed aside thoughts of what she'd done to her skin. The one thing that was out of place was a smudge of what looked like pale pink lipstick that didn't look like any shade she owned. She couldn't place why, but she felt her heart flutter when she saw it.

Feeling confident that there was nothing else about her appearance worth noting, Julia made her way back to her bedroom to continue piecing together what she'd done the night before. She found her phone near her pillows, plugged in and endlessly repeating a minute long video. Before she could wonder what was playing, the sound of soft moans and panting reached her ears the moment she picked up the phone and its speakers were no longer muffled by her sheets. A close shot showed the back of a pair of long, elegant legs wrapped in thigh-high socks, slightly parted and lying face down on a bed while someone on their knees gently lowered themselves onto the curvy body beneath them. A soft moan reached Julia's ears as the elegant legs spread more and their gently curved ass was slowly penetrated. A vague hint of a smile took shape on Julia's lips as the thrusting began and the soft moan became a series of them that occasionally interrupted increasingly desperate panting. After a subtle jump cut, the motions of the body above became stiff and stuttering at the same time as the moaning went from bordering on frantic desperation to long, drawn out satisfaction.

Following several more short thrusts, the body above raised and pulled out, producing a final spurt of white that splashed the quivering opening it had just left. Julia unconsciously bit her lip as she watched the white drops roll down the smooth and trembling skin to the sheets below. Her hand was beginning to slide down her stomach when the person kneeling on the bed lowered themselves back onto the curvy body. The wand, still humming away on her bed, suddenly made more sense as her thoughts began to drift toward it again. The arms in the video gently wrapped around their partner's waist, and a series of faint giggles from both of them manifested as they began trying to catch their breath. Julia's fingertips froze in place just as they reached the hemline of her dress and had started pulling it upward, realization dawning on her and bringing her train of thought to a screeching halt.

Watching the two bodies tangled together and filling the air around them with contented laughter flooded Julia's body with warmth, but the memory of how she'd found herself watching it unfold caused an icy hand to cut through it all and wrap itself around her heart before crushing the life out of it. There was a vague memory of a series of gentle kisses in a trail from her ear and along her jaw, and strong arms holding her from behind as she gently swayed to music and was grinding against something firm pressing into her lower back. The memory was exciting, leaving her feeling warm and with another emotion slowly coming to the surface that she couldn't clearly define. It only lasted for a moment before the icy grip on her heart tightly closed around it again. Another moment from the previous evening suddenly crashed into her mind and washed over it like a flood, forcing aside all else beyond finally remembering what she'd been attempting to recall.

Julia had definitely gone out for the evening and, in most respects, it had been worth it. It was an evening spent in a haze of smoke and bliss, draining amber liquor from glasses nearly as quickly as it was poured and grinding her curves against the nearest willing recipient on the dance floor. In one moment, soft, yielding curves found her own, the gentle touches sending tingles along her skin the scent of gardenias reached her nose. In the next, firm muscles pressed against her, the scent of sandalwood and iris overwhelming her as strong hands gripped her hips and a conspicuous bulge pressed into the small of her back. Her senses were overtaken, liquor dulling her conscious thoughts and leaving her capable of translating sensations into emotions.

Playful, delicate whispers reached her ears and flooded her with warmth. A firm touch strengthened by desire slid from her waist and up her body until she felt a breast locked in a grip she had no desire to escape. Instinct moved her hips and pushed her up onto her toes as she reached back and wrapped her fingertips around someone's neck above her. Holding on tightly for balance disguised as sensuality, she began grinding against the bulge pressed against her back and moaning softly as her new height brought it tantalizingly lower, now finding new curves and stretching the delicate fabric of her dress to dangerous extremes as it found a crevice in which it could nestle itself. The hand on her breast squeezed tighter and started to free it from her dress as desperate, ragged breath reached her ears and tickled her neck. Overwhelmed by the need for more and knowing that she was pushing the venue's barely enforced public decency rules to their breaking point, Julia reached the decision to move the dance to the nearest semblance of privacy that she could find.

And then...nothing.

As she'd started to turn, the music faded and a voice announced last call. By the time she'd fully turned around and her eyes had managed to focus through the haze of smoke, whoever had been standing behind her moments earlier was gone. Even with her thoughts as hazy as the air around her, it wasn't difficult to understand what had just happened. The next song to play was slow and calm, entirely removed from the bass-heavy beats that had driven her earlier urgency. The dance floor was slowly clearing, with everyone leaving in pairs or groups that had surely been decided long ago. A quick glance at a nearby window confirmed the time more than the announcement, the inky sky beginning to lighten with pink along the horizon. It was time for everyone to do exactly what she'd been intending herself and extend the night for as long as possible, only elsewhere. The front doors opened and seemed to never close, a steady stream of patrons making their way out to the street to drivers waiting to take them on to the next phase of the endless evening...and leaving her behind.

The inevitable time of morning had finally arrived, the shift from uncovering memories to attempting to bury them again. Julia found that coping with the burden of clear thoughts most often meant keeping busy. Showering and changing her clothes were a mercy in more ways than one, but they couldn't keep her occupied for nearly as long as she needed. Breakfast was the next distraction, but necessity kept it limited to taking a bottle of cranberry juice from the refrigerator and grabbing the vodka bottle that she'd pulled out at some point after returning home. It was a relief, both keeping her hands busy and promising the return of the blissful haze that typically kept her functioning throughout the day. Feeling as if she was putting some distance between herself and the thoughts looming over her, it was finally possible to turn her thoughts forward.

Initially, it felt like a curse as much as it was a blessing. Finally remembering the day, it quickly became apparent that she was trapped in the center of the weekend. There was no work to be done, no pressing appointments to keep. There was only Julia, the thoughts that were beginning to close the gap again and whatever distractions she could find to prevent that from happening. It was a sign of how dire the situation had become that she was willing to work just for something to do with herself; under normal circumstances, she was so desperate for time to indulge that she burned through responsibilities as if they might spoil.

After quickly draining and refilling her glass, Julia wandered aimlessly through her apartment as she tried to find anything worth her focus. Every attempt to distract herself only reminded her of the fact that she had other thoughts that she was trying to outrun, and each failure lifted her glass to her lips again. There was a moment in which she had a thought that was almost pleasant; walking past her phone and seeing the video clip still repeating, she finally reached out to turn it off. Instead, she found herself taking the phone into her hands and sitting on the edge of her bed while watching it play out several more times. It was with good reason that it was a favorite of hers. Unlike the endless alternatives at her disposal that were nothing more than a fast track to an orgasm, this one offered a sense of warmth. The embrace was passionate, and the moans and panting carried a sense of urgency that suggested need every bit as much as want. It made Julia wonder if that was how it felt to be loved. As the thought took shape, the icy grip on her heart followed closely behind and served as a reminder of why she'd been watching that video the previous evening. Just as with the wand, she'd gone to it to fill a void. Suddenly in need of another distraction, she turned the phone off and, tossing it onto her bed, made her way to the kitchen to refill her glass.

In the end, the best that Julia managed for a means of filling her time was her purse. After an uncomfortable moment of realizing that she hadn't seen it since waking up, she took to searching her apartment from end to end. Finally finding it behind her couch near where she'd stepped out of her shoes, another habit sent her digging through her purse's contents to ensure that she hadn't left behind anything of importance the night before. Her wallet was present, and shifting it to one side revealed other various necessities, most important among them a string of foil-wrapped condoms and a small bottle of lube. There was another sigh of relief as everything appeared to be in order, but it faded quickly when it became apparent that she'd just ticked the last box on her morning after checklist. Feeling simultaneously victorious and defeated, she made her way back into her bedroom and collapsed onto her bed in frustration. In an instant, she jumped up again when something hard jabbed her in the back. Lifting her duvet, she again found the wand she'd held onto for dear life the night before and the remnants of the mess that had come of it. With a heavy sigh, she began pulling sheets from the bed to add to the laundry, begrudgingly grateful for something else to do.

Remembering how it happened wasn't any more pleasant than any other thought she'd had since waking up, but it occurred to her that it was only because it had been an option of last resort. It certainly wasn't what she'd wanted from the evening but, the more she thought about it, the more she was willing to admit that there was a good reason that it had become her backup plan. Her heart had been aching when she stumbled across her bedroom the night before and pulled open the drawer containing her various backup plans, but anticipation had slowly begun to push sorrow to the side.

After sliding her panties down over her hips and kicking them away as they fell to the floor, she hadn't wasted any time in crawling under her duvet and reaching out for her wand. In a single motion, she'd turned it on and pulled it into bed with her as she parted her legs. There was a vague memory of starting the clip of the familiar video of someone who, if she allowed the liquor to overwhelm her thoughts enough, she could imagine was her. For a single precious moment, she was the one being lovingly held and penetrated by someone desperate enough for her to hold her tight and fill her body with their seed. She'd intended to finish quickly, eager for the rush of a feeling entirely removed from any she had been experiencing up to that point. As the wand had begun to vibrate her skin, however, her thoughts drifted back to the dance floor, current and previous anticipation coming together and building the fantasy that had begun as she was dancing.

The soft hum of the wand had slowly faded away, and the vibrations it had sent through her body became the velvet-soft tongue attached to the fragrance of gardenias and gentle touch she'd felt. Her free hand had slid up her stomach to one of her breasts and gripped it fiercely, gradually becoming the firm touch gripping silk and skin that she'd felt behind her. She'd rolled her hips as she spread her legs further, almost able to feel soft blonde hair tickling her thighs as the tip of a tongue worked in circles. She'd reached into her dress and pinched her nipple between her fingertips, mimicking what she could only feel through the fabric of her dress hours earlier. The sound of the video caused her to glance at her phone again and realize that there was only one thing missing. Her legs had parted further as she'd begun pressing the wand harder against her body until the vibrating tip began to part her lips. Fully lost in a fantasy, she'd been ready to turn to face the strong body behind her when her memory faded, lost to sleep before satisfaction could find her.

Julia was startled out of her memory by the sound of an incoming message on her phone. Pushing down the inexplicable sense of unease that always followed the sound of a notification, she dropped the sheets and walked back to her bed. Picking up the phone, she saw that it was a text message from a number that she didn't recognize. Curiously, the number was saved in her phone under the name Liv. She realized that there must be more to the previous evening to piece together than she'd realized, but curiosity compelled her to put the new mystery aside for the moment and open the message.

Julia gasped at an inexplicable sense of familiarity as she saw a picture of a woman with short blonde hair looking back at her. She was lying on her back on a bed and, with shimmering pink lips, smiling mischievously up at the camera she was holding. Her other hand gripped the hemline of her cream colored sweater dress and pulled it up past her hips. Her legs were spread wide, leaving enough room for a dark-haired woman in a form fitting red dress who had her face buried between the blonde woman's thighs. It couldn't be clearly seen from the angle of the picture, but there was definitely a large, powerful looking hand on the dark-haired woman's hip as it pulled her dress up to expose her.

It took Julia a full minute of staring to realize why the woman looked so familiar. For just a moment, she was on the dance floor again and being kissed on the cheek as a sweet, floral fragrance tickled her nose. Forcing her mind into gear, she tried to recall exactly what happened the night before but could only vaguely recall a brief conversation. She had no idea what it was about, her hazy mind focused on soft skin against hers as a hand slid up her thigh and worked its way beneath her dress. As she struggled to remember what had been said, her concentration was again shattered as another message came through from the same number.

I wish it had been you instead.

Julia's heart began thumping as though it was trying to escape her body. Her hands trembling, she searched desperately for the words to respond.

Yeah. I woke up thinking the same thing, actually.

Staring in horror at her admission and cursing herself for her habit of defaulting to unfiltered honesty when flustered, she quickly added,

Not that I was thinking about it that much or anything. Sorry. I'm not trying to make it weird.

Just as she was about to turn her phone off and resign herself to spending the rest of the day in bed and trying to forget the last five minutes, another message came through.

Don't worry about it. I sure as fuck don't. I'm the one that just sent you a picture of herself getting eaten out, remember?

Julia's mind raced to process what she was seeing. Was she offended? Maybe, but it still seemed like she was interested in talking. It didn't look as though there was an intent to end the conversation. If that was the case, though, then surely she was expecting a response. What does someone even say in a situation like this? Julia wanted to be charming and alluring, or at least mildly interesting. Whatever kept the conversation going would suffice.

Before she could think of anything, another message came through.

By the way, what did you think of the photo? Look good?

It was as though a prayer had been answered. Julia's eyes ran over the words several more times to be sure she was reading it correctly, but it was as plain as day. It was a clear invitation to keep talking. Suddenly feeling the pressure of the seconds ticking by without a response, her thumbs flew into a frenzy as they tapped the phone's screen.

Absolutely! You look amazing! That's a cute dress, the color works with your skin tone and hair and the lipstick really pulls it all together. I like the expression, too. That and the way you're pulling up your dress makes it look like you're into it and having fun.