Lyon's Den

Mary wouldn't leave the backstage dressing room until Daniel made sure Jennifer and Bruce left the building. A soft knock on the door startled her.

"They're gone, Mary. You can come out now."

Her heart was still pounding and her face flushed from the unintentional public sex act, although she felt conflicted about the reasons why. Opening the door, she said, "Thank you for checking."

Daniel smiled, and said, "Well, now we've all seen each other naked. We're even-Steven."

"Seeing me naked, and seeing me have a huge orgasm are two totally different things," she said, trying to sound humiliated, but feeling more than a little titillated by their unplanned exposure. After all, she didn't know they were watching, and Jennifer said they were hot. Mary felt hot. The sex had been unbelievably hot.

"Don't be too hard on them. They didn't expect to see us like that. They came backstage because they were concerned about you." He laughed, and said, "Then they hung around for the show." He took her hand as they walked, "They'll be very discreet. You'll never hear another word about it unless you bring it up."

"Aren't you embarrassed?"

"Why?" He stopped, put his hands on her hips, and pulled her close. "I made passionate love to my beautiful friend. I feel ecstatic and totally smitten. If anything, they should be happy for us, maybe even envious." Daniel gently kissed her.

Mary couldn't help but smile in agreement when he broke away. "It felt so amazing. I lost all inhibitions... wild abandon, like nothing I've ever experienced."

'Wild abandon', she'd never used those words to describe anything she'd done before, and wondered if she'd ever feel that incredible again.

"I almost forgot," said Daniel, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a key. "This is to my apartment. Feel free to stay over if you work late, or if you want to raid my fridge. I'm away on business quiet often. There's plenty of closet space if you want to keep some things here."

The rest of the week flew by. Between painting Crystal and Sally's portrait, and working with the contractor on the gallery renovations, there weren't enough hours in the day. Visits with Daniel were fleeting, but always pleasant. He would stop in unannounced to check on progress and fit in some discreet fondling and smooching.

On Friday, Mary received an email from Bruce with a link to a new gallery website. It looked very professional, with easy navigation and detailed graphics. Her paintings were the only works on display, but that would change soon. She was glad that Bruce didn't come in person to show her. It would've felt awkward. But sooner or later, Mary would have to face them, and come to grips with her embarrassment.

Saturday morning, Mary checked her bank account to make sure the automatic payroll deposit went through as planned.

"Oh my god!" She called Daniel's cellphone, forgetting he had flown to San Diego the day before on business.

Groggy Daniel answered, "Hello... Mary? Is something wrong?"

"Did I wake you? I'm so sorry, Dan. But I just checked my bank account and there's been a mistake. Twice my salary was deposited."

"Wait... tell me exactly how much?"

She told him the amount, and heard his tired sigh.

"No, Mary. That's right. That's what I pay an executive assistant. You have a lot of responsibility, and doing a great job from what I hear. I'm going back to sleep now, hopefully I'll dream about you. Bye." She heard an air kiss before the line went dead.

It took a minute for the shock to wear off. She'd never dreamt of making so much money, enough money to have disposable income. But with great money comes great responsibility. Instead of goofing off on Saturday morning as usual, Mary got dressed and went to the gallery, like any conscientious executive assistant would.

The contractors' trucks were parked in front of the gallery, so Mary entered through the open front door and found herself in the middle of a shouting match.

"What's going on, Fred?"

Fred took a deep breath, and said, "Hi Mary. I was just about to call Daniel." He pointed at the man holding a spotlight fixture, and said, "This is Greg Lunsford. He's the electrician. I told him we want LED lights, but he didn't quote LED fixtures. They're more expensive, and he'll lose money if he switches them."

"Well you can't call Daniel. He's unreachable at the moment," said Mary, as she walked over to the men. "What's the difference between the two types of fixtures?"

Greg explained, "The LED's are expensive –"

"But the bulbs last longer and are far more efficient," interrupted Fred.

"But you didn't put that in your job specs. I can't afford to take a loss like that!" Angry, Greg shook the spotlight at Fred.

"Whoa, calm down both of you." She moved between them, saying, "Daniel put me in charge of this renovation, so here's my decision. Put in the LED fixtures and we will pay the difference. No one will lose money. We'll make up the difference in the long run by saving on the electric bill."

"If I return these fixtures I'll get hit with a restocking fee," complained Greg.

"We'll pay that too. How soon before you can replace them?"

A pacified Greg, answered, "I can come back on Monday."

"You okay with that Fred?"

Fred nodded. "I can use a Saturday off."

"It's settled. See you guys on Monday."

Both men picked up their tools and walked out the front door smiling. Mary was about to lock the door behind them when she saw Jennifer get out of a car and head her way. Mary's stomach did a somersault. It felt too soon to face her after what she witnessed in the dressing room. Mary wanted to lock the door and run before Jennifer saw her, but even from this distance Mary could see the tears running down her cheeks.

So Mary acted like she was inspecting the renovation's progress when Jennifer stormed in, and shouted, "Where's Dan?"

"Uh... he's in San Diego on business. What's wrong, Jen?"

"Fuck! Fuck it all!"

She turned to leave, but Mary grabbed her sleeve. "Wait! Don't go. You're too upset to be driving. What's going on?"

Turning back, she hugged Mary like a needy child and sobbed on her shoulder, "I'm leaving Bruce."

"What? Why, what happened?" Mary put one arm around Jennifer's back and stroked her hair with the other, trying to console the distraught woman.

Finally composed enough to speak, Jennifer said, "Bruce lied to me. We don't have a website. We don't have subscribers. I'm not making any money. It's all been a fake." She broke free in an angry mood-swing and began to pace. "I want to know if Dan was in on it -- taking pictures, coming up with porn scenes... I can't believe I've been such an idiot!" She kicked over a box, scattering electrical fittings.

Mary, fearing the consequences, softly said, "I don't think he knew, but I did."

Glaring at Mary, Jennifer growled, "What did you just say?"

"Bruce told me a few days ago, in confidence."

"Why? Why would he tell you that?"

"I don't know. I think he was secretly worried about what would happen if you found out, and was trying to justify it in his head. He only made it all up to keep you happy."

Jennifer flopped down on a step stool and covered her face. "Guess what, I'm not happy about it at all."

"Well... I'm not surprised." Mary sat down on a nearby crate, and asked, "How did you find out?"

She looked up at Mary, obviously conflicted. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Fine." Mary stood, and said, "Then come and hangout in my studio. I want to get some work done." She held out her hand, and Jennifer took it. Mary helped her up, and then tried to let go, but Jennifer held on. They walked hand-in-hand to the studio.

When they entered the room, Jennifer let go and stood in front of the partially completed portrait of Crystal and Sally. "You are so talented, Mary. You've captured their expressions of love for each other perfectly."

"Thank you. I'm very pleased with it. Painting portraits makes it difficult to use artistic license. They have to be an exact likeness of the individuals, or else it fails its purpose."

"Well it looks just like them, except for Sally's legs. They look great. I'm sure she will be very happy to see herself with good legs again."

Mary moved up beside Jennifer. "She'll probably feel happy and sad. Tragedy never goes away completely."

"Don't I know it," said Jennifer, without looking away from the painting. "Crystal looks gorgeous, even pregnant."

"Yes, she does."

"Her breasts are huge!"

"That happens when they're preparing for 'little mouth on the dairy'."

Jennifer laughed, then was silent a moment, before asking, "How does it feel to paint someone? It must be an intimate experience."

"It is. I've painted landscapes for so long; I'd forgotten the connection I feel with the people I paint."

Jennifer turned to look at Mary. "How did it feel to draw me naked?"

The heat rose in Mary's face. Unable to come up with a spontaneous lie, she walked away saying, "Honestly? Unsettling." Then, to change the subject, she asked, "Now that you're calm, tell me what happened between you and Bruce."

No response. Jennifer began to stroll around the studio, picking up items from the shelves to inspect.

Mary pulled off her heavy sweater and put on her painter's smock. She rolled the cart full of acrylics and brushes over to the canvas, and patiently went to work. "I'm going to start on the garden area, less demand for accuracy. I can listen and paint at the same time you know."

The futon where Jennifer reclined for her portrait sat folded against the wall. She pulled it out, lay down, and closed her eyes. After a while, she said, "Well, you're to blame."

Mary's brush stopped halfway between palette and canvas. "Me? How am I to blame?"

Jennifer let out an annoyed sigh, before saying, "Because Bruce said that if you still looked that good and had sex that hot after having a baby then I shouldn't be worried about it. So we argued about me having a baby, again. When I tried to make the point that it would hurt our online business, he said it wouldn't hurt business because there wasn't any... You can guess how it went downhill from there."

"I'm sorry you found out during an argument, but I'm glad you know the truth. Now I think you should go back home and talk to him. Ask him why he did it."

"I can't go back. I can't live the life he wants. It's too confining, too conforming."

Mary began to outline a daffodil. "He loves you. What he did was out of concern for you. He's sensitive about your past."

With a suspicious tone, Jennifer asked, "What do you know about my past?"

"Not much. I know you were abused as a child, ran away, and survived by doing porn."

"That's me in a nut sack. I'm a damaged human being." Jennifer rolled onto her side, facing away from Mary.

"Only if you let your past define you. It's up to you to decide who you are today and tomorrow." Mary took a deep breath and sighed. "Listen to me. I sound like a bumper sticker." She put down her brush to mix a dark green for the flower stem. "At least you have someone that loves you, who will stand by you. I was an unwed mother back when it still had the stigma of shame. I'm proud of myself for raising such a good kid alone. He's my pride and joy. But I would've liked to have a husband to share the journey."

Jennifer laughed. "How quaint."

"Do you love Bruce?"

After a prolonged silence, Jennifer mumbled, "I'm not sure I know what true love feels like. Do you?"

"Well, I know I love my son. I would die for him. I'm happy when he's happy, doesn't matter what's going on in my life at the time."

Jennifer rolled over and sat up to look at Mary. "You sacrificed for him, centered your life on him. What's left for you now that he's gone?"

Recent feelings of a purposeless future and loneliness began to well up inside Mary. She fought back threatening tears. "I'm figuring that out. But I have the satisfaction of a job well done. I tried to do my best as a mother. Now I'm enjoying life one day at a time. It's been a wild couple of weeks, but things seem to be going well."

"I need a hobby to keep my mind off my problems." Jennifer walked over and stood close behind Mary. "Maybe I should take up painting."

Mary tried to ignore the warm breath on her neck. "It's very therapeutic."

Picking up a brush from the cart, Jennifer dabbed it in the stem green paint. "I bet I'd be good at painting people."

"It would take practice, but I'd help you learn if you want."

"Great! You can be my first subject."

Mary jerked her head away from a cold wet touch on her cheek.

She turned to see Jennifer holding the green tipped sable brush, evilly grinning. "Yup, you look better already."

Mary touched the wet spot on her cheek and then looked at her green fingertip. She laughed, "Why you brat!" and reached over to load her fan brush with green paint as Jennifer slowly backed away. "Let me show you how it's done."

Jennifer squealed and turned to run, but Mary grabbed a fistful of tee-shirt and pulled her back, swiping the brush across the side of her neck.

Jennifer wiped her neck and then stared at her green palm. Instead of appearing mad, she smiled. "This is war!" She marched over to the pallet and pressed her open palm on all the available colors.

"No! Peace, peace!" But Mary wasn't fast enough to escape from the studio.

The younger woman caught her from behind, and with one arm holding her around the waist, she pressed the painted palm firmly over her left breast. "How's that feel, Mom!" Instead of stopping, she shoved Mary roughly against the wall and spun her around, pinning her shoulders to the sheetrock.

She leaned in until their noses touched. "Let me tell you something, Mary. I loved being drawn naked by you. I kept thinking about your eyes wandering over my skin, seeing every freckle, every hill and valley. It turned me on more than I can remember. I think it turned you on too."

Mary couldn't speak because she couldn't lie well enough. She just stared into Jennifer's eyes while gulping deep breaths.

"I think it turned you on last week when I put your hand on my boob. You didn't pull away. I felt you squeeze it. I think you want to know what it's like to be with another woman. Tell me I'm wrong. Tell me to stop."

The old, stick-in-the-mud Mary wanted to deny it, wanted to say stop, but the new free spirit Mary wanted to say, 'yes, I admit it. I liked seeing you naked. I liked touching your firm young breast. I want to know. I want to experience wild abandon again.'

But when she remained silent, Jennifer smiled knowingly, then tipped her head, closed her eyes, and moved her lips in against Mary's. The soft kiss was a momentary feathery touch, brushing back and forth. Jennifer pulled back to see what effect it had. Mary's eyes stayed closed and she made no effort to get away. The pulse on Mary's neck throbbed visibly.

"Your heart's racing, Mary," whispered Jennifer. She kissed the pulse, and then tickled it with the tip of her tongue. "You want to know something else? I've wanted to seduce you from the first day we met. Did you know that?"

"No," said Mary softly, but then confessed, "Well... maybe a little."

Kissing her way up Mary's neck, Jennifer whispered back, "Now I'm going to take my time getting to know every inch of you, like I'm painting you with my fingers... my lips... my tongue." Covering Mary's mouth with her own, Jennifer plied her tongue between her lips.

At first Mary tensed, but then moaned and let her in. A few passive seconds later, she began to kiss back. Wild abandon seemed close, close enough to touch. The hands pinning her shoulders to the wall slipped down her chest. She felt fingers grabbing the fabric of her smock and pull in opposite directions. The snaps gave up their hold slowly, one at a time. Mary's body twitched with every release, as Jennifer continued kissing her.

Jennifer broke off the kiss, but kept lip to lip contact, and said, "Mary, you're going to be my MILK."

In a husky, distracted voice, Mary asked, "Your what?"

"Mother I like to kiss."

The last snap popped, and Mary's knees buckled for a moment.

Jennifer pushed the shirt open and dropped her head to kiss Mary's sternum. "You're going to be my MILL, too. Mother I like to lick."

Mary's face burned hot, as the aggressive woman kissed down to her heaving chest, playing along the top edge of her bra. Mary's hands automatically moved to tangle in Jennifer's hair, not to stop her, but to encourage.

When lip clamped down on her bra covered nipple Mary groaned, "Oh my."

So distracted were both woman, neither heard the little bell over the gallery front door. Bruce stepped inside and looked at the GPS locator on his phone. A muffled sound from somewhere further inside caught his attention.

"Jen!"

There was a startled shriek and sudden commotion.

Bruce moved down the hall toward the noise. "Jen, is that you?"

No answer came. Concerned, he strode through the only open door, into Mary's studio, and stopped abruptly to take in the room. Jennifer stood with her hands behind her back, a red face, and green paint on her neck, glaring at him. Mary's back was turned, but it looked like she was fastening her smock.

"What are you doing here?" demanded Jennifer.

"I tracked your phone. I want to talk--"

"I'm done talking to you," said Jennifer, as she tried to walk out. But Bruce grabbed her arm. "Ow, you're hurting me."

Alarmed, Mary turned around to see what was happening. Bruce's eyes immediately spotted the multicolored hand print over her breast and the green spot on her cheek.

He pulled Jennifer's hand up. It was clean. "Let me see the other one."

"No! Go away!"

They struggled, but she was no match for his size and strength. He looked down at Jennifer's paint covered palm. Anger clouded his face. "Really? We have an argument and the first thing you do is run away and find someone for sex! We had an agreement. No sex with other people without mutual consent."

Jennifer pulled her arm free, and said, "Well you lied to me first. That made our agreement null and void." She backed away, saying, "I can't trust you anymore."

The comment seemed to gut punch Bruce. He winched and his posture softened. The anger drained from his face. "Honey, you can absolutely trust me. I was trying to protect you. The problem I had... even if only subscribers had access to our photos doesn't mean they won't be downloaded and end up god knows where. I was hoping you'd get bored with posting to a website and wouldn't find out about it being faked."

Jennifer sighed, and looked down at the floor. "But it was exciting for me. I love pretending with you."

Bruce moved close to Jennifer and gently put his arms around her. "I know. I love it to. You've opened my life up to so many new, exciting things. I don't want to lose that with you."

As the couple kissed and made up, Mary's thoughts were in turmoil. A minute ago she was at the height of arousal, on the brink of wild abandon, and now just a fly on the wall, the third wheel. Her mind, still aroused, wandered back to when the three of them sat side by side on the stage bed while Daniel took photographs. He told Bruce to unbutton her dress. She remembered how unexpectedly turned on she felt as each button was undone, but didn't want to reveal it. She wondered if Bruce, being a virgin when he married Jennifer and never having another woman since, felt the same emotional conflict. How far would he have gone? Was he as nervous about the experience as she? Would Jennifer be jealous?

The couple broke their embrace when Mary tapped their shoulders. Turning to look, she put a hand behind each of their heads. First she pulled Jennifer's lips to hers, and then Bruce's. "Never go to bed angry," she said, and, taking a step back, she waited.