Crimson Night Ch 03

Chapter 3 - Lady Crimson

Paige struggles to get through the work day. She feels like a kid waiting for Christmas again. Sarah is supposed to return from her trip today sometime, and Paige just can't wait. Sure they've been texting almost constantly, but it's not the same.

Sitting right beside the anticipation is the nervousness, the fear, the doubt. They'd only had one night together before Sarah left. There was so much uncertainty still. Would reality even match up to the visions in her head? Paige considers talking to Sarah about taking things slow. Maybe doing a real date or something. Something where they can start to form the foundations of a real relationship on.

The upside to all of Paige's nervous over-thinking is the day started to pass quicker. She hurries to put away all her equipment, but takes the time to make sure it gets done right. If she's in a hurry now, she'll be in an even bigger hurry if she has to redo it. When everything is perfect she heads to her car, eager to get home.

During the drive home Paige gets a text from Sarah. "Hey Paige! I'm home now. Come by as soon as you can OK? I've got a surprise of my own for you."

It takes all of Paige's willpower to not speed home as fast as possible. The remainder of the drive is simply agonizing. Her head filled with pictures of Sarah, laid out on the bed, dressed in a sexy outfit. Maybe even just naked with a bow wrapped around her. Every possibility she can think of has her smiling bigger than the last one.

Quickly parking her car, she runs downstairs. Flying into her apartment Paige throws down her bag and quickly freshens up. Sarah said come by as soon as she could, but she had to be her best. Quickly pulling off her work clothes, she steps into the bathroom and gives herself a quick wipe-down. She looks at herself in the mirror, fixing her hair, her makeup. She rubs on a little perfume, a nice citrus scent. She brushes her teeth. Finally she runs to her bedroom to get dressed. A cute t-shirt and jeans. Nothing fancy today. Not yet at least.

Paige takes a few deep breaths before knocking on Sarah's door. She can feel herself trembling. She wills herself to focus, to calm down. Then knocks on the door. Paige can hear Sarah talking as she walks to the door. As soon as Sarah opens it, Paige gives her a huge hug.

"Sarah! Oh I missed you so much" Paige says as she buries her face in Sarah's brilliant red hair. Sarah returns the hug and the two of them just stand there in the hallway holding each other. Savoring the moment. Allowing time to momentarily stand still. Paige can feel the doubts she had start to melt away. Everything about this moment feels right. She feels like she's finally found a home.

Sarah leads the way into the living room, taking her seat on the couch. She tucks her feet under herself and picks up her drink from the side table. Paige relaxes into the couch beside her as Sarah sips her drink.

Sarah fidgets with her necklace. An elegant golden chain. A ring with a dark red stone hanging from it. She slowly works the ring between her fingers as she sits in silence. Eventually she downs the rest of her drink, sighs deeply, and turns to Paige.

"I need to be honest with you. I want to tell you things I should have told you before," Sarah says finally. She seems nervous. Scared. Far from anything Paige has seen from Sarah before. Setting her empty glass back on the table, Sarah continues.

"Years ago, I was in a band. We were good. We were successful. It was one of the best times of my life," Sarah says. Resuming her fidgeting with the ring. "Liz was... everything to me.", she continues.

"Liz?" Paige asks, not following.

"Liz," Sarah says. Her voice is soft, completely missing her usual confidence. "Elizabeth Knightley. She went by Lizzy Night on stage. We started the band together," Sarah finishes. She continues to fidget with her necklace, her eyes focused on the ground.

"Liz is my oldest, dearest friend. My first lover," Sarah explains. She hesitates for moment before adding, "My former finance. The woman I thought I'd spend my life with."

Paige gently puts a hand on Sarah's shoulder, seeing the sadness in her eyes. Sarah shakes her head and lets out another heavy sigh.

"There's more. This is where I really hope you can understand. That you can forgive me Paige," Sarah says desperately. She looks at Paige, begging her to understand. Paige's heart falls. Did Sarah cheat? That doesn't make sense, her and Paige aren't really together. Not anything official like that. Paige wouldn't be upset. But something about Sarah's words, something in her expression has Paige on edge.

"Liz. It's time," Sarah calls out, a bit louder than before. Moments later a tall, beautiful blond woman steps into the kitchen doorway. Paige stares at her, shocked. This woman, presumably Liz, is gorgeous. She looks to be roughly Sarah's age. In contrast to Sarah's modest t-shirt and jeans, Liz's outfit is much more refined. Her button up blouse and high waisted pants are perfectly altered to her size. A total lack of logos or brands visible. Her elegant high-heels the complete opposite of Sarah's well worn runners.

Liz wears a single earing with a dark red stone. Her immaculately styled hair and makeup would make most women envious. Her lipstick a shade of red that perfectly matches Sarah's hair.

"NightSiren?" Paige asks. The single name is all she's able to focus her thoughts enough to say.

Paige starts to say something else when Liz catches the edge of the low single stair up into the living-room. The elegant woman slams to the ground, shouting a few choice expletives. Her chest hits hard, the sound of the breath being knocked out her making the others wince. Her wine glass explodes against the ground, the force of the fall causing it to be thrown against the wood flooring. Shards of glass clatter across the room as the wine forms a large splatter. The scene resembling the middle aged, suburban housewife version of a fallen soldier laying next to an detonated grenade. Quickly Paige and Sarah jump to their feet and rush to help Liz up. No one is getting left behind today.

Liz kicks her shoes off as she drops heavily onto the couch. She sits back, closing her eyes. Taking shallow, rapid breaths until finally her body lets her breath normally again. A sound Paige remembers vividly from childhood. One that usually meant the fun was over.

"Fuck," Liz says finally. She rubs her face and lets out a groan. When she takes her hand away theres a small smear of blood from where she bit her lip.

Paige picks up the big pieces of glass as Sarah quickly sweeps up the rest. Once the mess is cleaned up, they get new drinks for everyone. Drinks in hand, they return to the living room. Taking her seat again Paige has so many questions. She looks between the two older women for a moment.

"So.... A band?" Paige finally asks.

"You've heard of Crimson Night?" Liz asks Paige. Quickly regaining her usual elegance.

"Yeah, a bit. I know I've heard them, but couldn't name anything from them," Paige admits. Liz gives a bit a laugh and turns to Sarah.

"She's a baby Sarah! You absolute cougar," Liz says teasingly. Sarah blushes and swats at Liz, her eyes locked onto the bottom of her glass as Liz turns back to Paige. Liz begins to sing a few lines of a song that feels immediately familiar to Paige. She couldn't say where she's heard it before. Maybe it showed up on a play-list, or on a show or something. But she knows she's heard it before, heard this exact voice before. Paige sits in stunned as Liz finishes singing. Liz tenderly holds up a length of Sarah's hair.

"Crimson," Liz says as she points at the brilliant red hair slipping through her fingers. She point's at her self and finishes, "Night." Holding out her hand in greeting to Paige, "Elizabeth Knightley. Lizzy Night. Pleasure to meet you properly."

"Paige Foster," Paige replies, shaking the offered hand. "You guys were big right?"

"Should we give her a show?" Sarah asks, blushing furiously. A wide grin breaks out on Liz's face as she quickly gets to her feet, and begins to undo her pants. Earning another swat from Sarah.

"You KNOW that's not the kind of show I meant," Sarah scolds. Despite her words everyone is now smiling. Sarah tenderly strokes Liz's arm before walking over to put her arms around Paige. "Come on Liz, for old time's sake."

Sarah leads the group to a room Paige hadn't been in yet, the only door that had been locked when she tried it. Sarah opens the door to reveal an incredible studio space. Paige stands in the middle of the room just taking it all in. Racks of complicated looking recording equipment. Row after row of incredible guitars hanging on the walls. Amplifiers and cabinets of every size. Just standing in the room felt otherworldly, the acoustic treatment swallowing the edges of every sound they made.

Sarah sets her drink on the desk, and begins to click away at the computer. As soon as she is satisfied with whatever it is she's doing, she plugs in a mic and a guitar. The guitar is well worn. Covered in dings and scratches. Even some rushed, on the spot looking repairs. Some short setup later and Sarah starts a countdown, activating a drum track.

The two women perform beautifully. Sarah playing a blend of what should be two guitar parts, and making it look easy. Liz singing with range and intensity, shifting between gentle verses and gravely chorus. Sarah has a smile on her face that Paige hasn't seen before. She seems happy, at peace, totally in her element.

Paige knows she's seeing something special. Something few have gotten to see. But part of her just feels inadequate. Like no matter how hard she tries she'll never be as talented as these women. Her mind tells her she's not good enough to be friends with them. That she's completely unworthy of Sarah's affection. Paige sets her wine glass down, knowing she's had enough. Trying to shake off the negative thoughts.

As the night goes on Sarah and Liz continue to perform. The activity reigniting old passions. Between songs Sarah refills their drinks, Paige silently declining the offer. After a few more songs, Liz calls for a break.

"That was so much fun," Liz says. She sits in chair at the desk next to Paige. Sarah sits on the edge of the desk.

"Makes me kind of wish I'd kept up with it," Sarah agrees. Both women sweaty, breathing harder than usual.

"Gwen still plays," Liz says. "Last I heard at least. Touring with some no name, going nowhere group that's way beneath her."

"Thats how she always was," Sarah says. "She does what she wants, and does it for the love of it. She could be in whatever band she wanted, so there must be something special there for her."

"Gwen?" Paige asks, not wanting to interrupt but wanting to know who they're talking about.

"Gwen was the drummer for Crimson Night," Liz explains. "She was the youngest of us, 17 when she joined. Just a baby really, but so talented. The only person in the band Sarah was never better than."

"Liz," Sarah cautions, a slight edge in her voice.

"No. It's true, and you fucking know it," Liz replies, downing the last of her wine. "You were better at damn near any instrument we could need. You wrote the songs. You could even sing them so much better than me, lord knows why you never would. But you couldn't write the drums the way Gwen could. She had that creative spark for it you never could match, even if you could play what she wrote just fine. So much of what ended up the albums is you. Hell, you even recorded the drums that day Gwen was..."

"LIZ! Enough!" Sarah cuts her off. Her voice louder, angrier than before. Not a playful scolding. Genuine anger behind the words.

"I'm getting another drink," Sarah says giving a furious glance at Liz. Liz nods slightly, watching as Sarah comes close to storming out of the room.

"Sarah was really that talented? She could play all those instruments?" Paige asks Liz when they're alone. It sounds hard to believe, but the talent she's seen so far does seem impressive.

"She's incredible," Liz sighs. "I truly loved that woman. So talented, so pretty. She has this... this... energy that makes it so easy to get wrapped up in whatever she's passionate about."

Paige nods in agreement, knowing exactly what Liz means. Finally able to put words to how she felt these last few weeks as she became hopelessly obsessed with Sarah. She hadn't expected NightSiren to turn out to be like this. She hadn't expected NightSiren to be someone Sarah knew at all. She starts to ask about it but as soon as she opens her mouth Liz cuts her off.

"Ask her to sing for you," Liz whispers urgently. She leans in close, keeping an eye on the door. "I think I've pretty much worn out my welcome here, but once I'm gone ask her to sing. We can talk more later," Liz adds in a hurry as Sarah's footsteps get closer.

Sarah opens the door, a new bottle of whiskey in her hands. She pours another drink for herself as Liz gets to her feet and says her goodbyes. Sarah takes her seat, sitting silently with her drink. Paige ends up walking Liz to the door.

"Here, let me give you my number," Liz says. They exchange numbers, farewells, and a quick kiss. Paige returns to the studio room, her face blushing slightly. Sarah is still sitting in her chair. Her back reclined, her feet up on the desk.

"That was nice. I had a good time," Paige says as she takes her seat again. Sarah nods sleepily. "Hey Sarah? Was that true? About you being the better singer?"

Sarah doesn't answer, just continues to look at the drink in her hands. They sit in the silence for a few minutes before Paige finally works up her courage.

"Could you sing for me? I'd love to hear you," Paige asks shyly. The blush on her face growing. This was clearly a tender subject for Sarah, she didn't want to upset her. But she really wanted to hear her. Sarah slowly finished her drink, setting the glass on the table with a loud clack.

"Turn around," Sarah says finally. Making a little circular motion with her finger. "I can't sing if you watch me."

Paige quickly rotates her chair around as Sarah gets to her feet. Sarah clicks on the computer and queues up one of the backing tracks they played to earlier. As the song begins Paige sits in awe. She thought Liz sang it beautifully, but Sarah was incredible. The emotion of the song hitting her in a way it just didn't the first time. By the end of the song she's having to wipe tears from her eyes. Paige turns back as Sarah takes her seat again.

"That was incredible Sarah," Paige says, her voice barely above a whisper. "I mean it. Incredible. The emotion was so much more... Intense. Impacful. It's like... If the music was a photo, this would have been the original. Earlier would have been a sun faded copy."

"Maybe it's because the words are mine," Sarah says. "More of it comes though when It means more to the singer."

"You should sing more. I loved it," Paige says. Continuing to gush over Sarah. Feeling an incredible amount of love for her in this moment.

"I just don't like to. It makes me feel nervous in a way playing an instrument never did," Sarah answers with a shrug. "But maybe, maybe for you. Sometimes I could," Sarah says softly.

Paige walks over and gives Sarah a long, tender kiss. Straddling Sarah's lap, Paige pulls Sarah's shirt up. Gently she kisses Sarah's nipples. Her hands roaming. It doesn't take long for Sarah to start to push Paige off her. Sarah takes Paige by the hand, and leads her to the bedroom. When they finally sleep, Paige is wrapped in Sarah's arms again. The happiest woman in the world.

The next few days are simply magical. Paige spends all her free time with Sarah. They have dinners, movie nights, and lots of time just snuggling together. Sarah takes Paige on a detailed tour of her garden. Showing her each plant, explaining what they are and how she cares for them. It's clearly a huge passion for her. The majority of the backyard is raised beds. The sides are beds of flowers or attractive ground cover. She even has a small greenhouse with automated hydroponics.

While in the garden Sarah treats Paige to another show. Sneaking off to the far side of the yard for a quick pee. Just like when Paige spied on her from the basement windows. Except this time she has front row seats. Paige lays on the grass in front of Sarah, eye level with her furry mound. Paige stares, entranced by the golden stream.

Sarah lets Paige look for as long as she wants before shaking off and pulling her pants back up. Giving Paige a soft kiss. Holding her in her arms in the mid day sun. A tender moment broken swiftly by Sarah's hand smacking Paige's ass.

"Bedroom. Now," Sarah commands. Pulling Paige back into the house, and into the bedroom. Sarah quickly pulls her pants off, pushing Paige hard onto the bed. Paige's heart races as Sarah climbs on top of her. She grabs Paige's wrists, pinning her to the bed.

Sarah takes her time, slowly kissing Paige. Giving her gentle bites. Paige sharply draws in breath as Sarah's teeth bite harder. Things were quickly going from playful to painful.

"That hurts," Paige says softly, not wanting to ruin the moment. Sarah says nothing, but stops biting. Instead Sarah climbs higher, sitting hard on Paige's face. At first Paige is in heaven, filled with Sarah's smell, her taste. Quickly she starts to run out of air however. She struggles, again and again, until Sarah finally lets her breath.

"Sarah, stop," Paige pants. Sarah ignores her, returning her intimate areas to Paige's face. Paige can't resist and resumes eagerly lapping at Sarah. She feels lightheaded, dizzy, but still so horny.

"Stop, please!" Paige begs the next time Sarah let's her have a breath.

"Shhh, It's OK Paige," Sarah says dismissively. The cycle keeps going until Sarah finally orgasms. After the first few attempts Paige quits trying to plead with Sarah. Deciding to save use what little air she had to keep her going till the next breath. When Sarah finally rolls off her, Paige is sweaty and panting hard. Desperately gasping for air. Tears in her eyes. She feels sick. She feels betrayed. But as the air comes back to her, she can't help but admit she kind of liked it. Slowly she scoots closer to Sarah, wrapping her arms around her. Snuggling into her red hair as she falls into a post sex nap.

When Sarah wakes up, Paige can tell she's feeling remorseful. As she shifts around Paige gently strokes her. Gives her soft kisses on her neck.

"I got a little carried away," Sarah says. Her face flushed, her tone sheepish. "Can I make it up to you?"

"It's OK. I'm fine," Paige insists. Part of her still a bit unsure herself.

"No, it's not OK. Come on, get dressed," Sarah replies. Quickly getting out of bed and getting dressed again. She leads Paige out to the garage. Inside is a nice, but fairly modest car. Paige can't help but explore all the features and comforts as they drive to their mystery destination. When they arrive Paige is surprised to see Sarah has brought her to a spa.

Sarah treats Paige to a wonderful spa experience. They get massages together. Have a lovely lunch. Soak in a hot mineral bath. Finally ending with a nice long relaxing stay in a private steam room. The two women sit on the bench, fully nude, slowly breathing the hot steamy air. Sarah snuggles up close to Paige holding her arm gently, laying her head on her shoulder. Slowly Sarah moves lower until her head is resting on Paige's lap.

Paige looks down at Sarah, at her beautiful emerald eyes. Gently stroking her cheek as she falls asleep in her lap.

"Hey Paige?" Sarah says softly, sleep setting in. The dense air of the room pressing down on them like a weighted blanket. Paige strokes her face letting her know she's still awake, listening.

"I love you," Sarah says. Finishing her thought, just barely awake. Paige's heart flutters, she feels her throat go dry. By the time she gets the courage together to say the words back, Sarah has already fallen asleep. Drooling slightly on Paige's leg in her sleep. Paige marvels at how vulnerable the normally hard woman looks.