Audrey - New Beginnings

This is the first part of the conclusion to Audrey's story. I may someday find inspiration to write further, but I feel this will wrap up her story. The second part should follow not long after as I am editing it. A reminder to readers that I love to hear from you, whether comments or with ideas for other stories.

*****

"Audrey, over here ma'am." Audrey glanced around until she spotted Gwen. Upon spotting her employee she immediately walked over to her.

"How goes the shop?" Gwen shook her head as she took Audrey's suitcase and led her to the car.

"Nothing to report, all is going well." Audrey nodded. A quick glance told her Gwen was practically buzzing.

"Anything else?" Gwen hesitated until they reached the car and she had deposited the suitcase in the trunk. At this point she turned to Audrey and practically leapt into her arms in her excitement.

"He proposed, Drew asked me to marry him." Audrey smiled and embraced Gwen.

"Congratulations. Do you have any plans to celebrate?" Gwen hesitated as they climbed into the car. However she soon spoke.

"He wasn't sure when there would be a good evening as he wanted it to be a night devoted to me." Audrey grinned.

"How about I take you two out tonight? Afterwards he can go home early, if he needs to, and we can have a girls' night out." Gwen slowly smiled.

"That sounds like a plan. Okay, I'll call Drew when we reach your home." Audrey was relieved to be home, after almost a month of persuasion by Rochelle had finally convinced her to take a week away. She stretched out on her bed and might have dozed off if there hadn't been a knock at the door.

"He'll be over soon and then we can go to dinner." Audrey nodded as she slowly rose to change for dinner. She emerged a short time later to find Gwen on the couch and she joined her. Gwen turned to her and looked like she was going to speak, when she got a text. She looked up smiling.

"He's here. I'll go with him then we can go in your car." Audrey nodded and they rose to leave. The drive was short and they arrived at a good midlevel restaurant, good food, but no one would bat an eyebrow at them walking in wearing jeans. They were seated quickly as the place was only about half full. They sat and ordered drinks, nonalcoholic as both Drew and Audrey were driving. She turned to him.

"So Drew, how is the job going?" He set his drink down smiling.

"Oh, it's awesome, I'm learning a lot and my boss is great. In fact I have a trip coming up that should lead to a promotion that comes with a nice raise." Gwen abruptly stopped eating and swallowed before speaking.

"You didn't say anything about that. When do you leave?" Drew held up a placating hand.

"I just found out. I'll be leaving in a couple days. I'll be gone a couple weeks. We won't have a lot of prep time before or after, but this Saturday we can spend all day laying it out. Don't worry we'll make it work." Audrey looked from one to the other.

"So when's the wedding?" Gwen visibly relaxed as she turned back to Audrey.

"Basically five weeks, we'll have two when he gets back." This continued throughout the meal, with Drew politely asking about Audrey, but both knew he had no interest in dresses. The evening began winding down and Audrey essentially ordered three shots of champagne. When it arrived she raised her glass in a toast.

"To both of you, congratulations on finding one another and sticking it out long enough to settle down together." The glasses clinked and they drank. They were setting the glasses down when they heard Drew's phone chime. He frowned as he looked down checking it. He muttered something that sounded like "shit" and looked over to Gwen with an apologetic expression.

"I'm really sorry Gwen, but I'm going to have to go home early." He held up the phone for emphasis. "My boss. Apparently the customer wants to move up the time table. Which means I need to fly out at six-ten tomorrow." She stared for several moments before speaking.

"Will you be gone longer, then?" He shrugged.

"I don't know. I promise whatever happens I'll be back in time for the wedding. I'll call you when I can so we can keep planning." She shook her head.

"Go, I know it's important. I'll go with Audrey. It's okay." He hesitated before putting his phone in his pocket.

"Bye, Audrey. Call you tomorrow Gwen." Audrey turned to Gwen.

"Would you like dessert before we go?" Gwen slowly shook her head. "Okay I'll pay and we can go." The waiter brought the bill and Audrey paid before they left. Audrey thought about taking Gwen out, but realized that wasn't what she needed. So she chose to take her home instead. Gwen barely noticed, even when they stopped and Audrey led her to the living room.

Gwen sat on the couch and Audrey went to the kitchen to get some ice cream and two spoons. Gwen smiled when she returned and Audrey set the ice cream on the coffee table while she picked up a remote to turn on the TV. Audrey began scrolling through Netflix as Gwen began dipping the spoon into the ice cream. Audrey found a fairly unobtrusive romcom and they settled down to watch and eat the ice cream. The ice cream was finished about fifteen minutes into the movie and Audrey saw that Gwen wasn't really watching. She paused the movie and turned to Gwen.

"Do you want to talk?" Gwen shook her head and Audrey turned to deal with the empty ice cream carton and the spoons, when Gwen spoke.

"Is it really worth it? Marriage to someone who's career requires extra hours of work?" Audrey shrugged while leaning back.

"I'm not really the one to ask. I was married to...someone like that for five years and it didn't exactly end well." Gwen nodded as she pulled her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around herself. Audrey stood to deal with the ice cream and spoons. Once in the kitchen she looked around and found a bottle of wine, it was about a third empty. She grabbed two glasses and the bottle before heading back to the living room. Gwen eagerly took the offered glass and drained it in one go. Audrey refilled Gwen's glass. This time she drank a lot slower. When the glass was about half empty she spoke.

"Audrey what happened? I don't buy that you cheated on Susan. I've know you too long, whatever your frustrations you wouldn't have an affair." Audrey sighed as she drained her own glass and poured the last of the bottle into her glass.

"I run an escort service." Gwen finished her glass and set it on the coffee table.

"That's how you kept the shop going?" A nod. "What does that have to do with your divorce?" Audrey finished her own glass before speaking.

"Sex between me and Susan was rare and passionless. One night one of the clients wanted someone older. I manage three girls from nineteen to twenty-two, but the woman wanted someone with maturity. At first I refused, after another night of feeling lonely, even with Susan, I changed my mind. So I started seeing the clients who wanted someone, older. I was in a hotel with one when Susan came in, I had thought she was going to work all weekend. I was angry and careless. However Susan had changed her mind. She had decided that she didn't need to do anything until Monday so she wanted to devote the weekend to me. As soon as she saw me with the other woman she ran off and the divorce was concluded speedily."

Gwen returned to resting her chin on her knees and staring straight ahead. Audrey stood to deal with the bottle and glasses. Once in the kitchen she turned her attention to straightening things up. By the time she returned to the living room Gwen had fallen asleep in a fetal position on the couch. Shaking her head with a small smile she removed Gwen's shoes and covered her in a blanket. She quickly readied for bed deciding to turn in.

The next morning Audrey was making breakfast when Gwen came in, wrapped in the blanket and looking haggard. Audrey pointed to the coffee pot, which already had a mug next to it. Gwen quickly filled the mug and added milk and sugar before she sat to begin drinking. Audrey finished her preparations and laid eggs, toast and juice in front of Gwen. The younger woman eagerly began digging into the food in front of her. Audrey finished making some more food and joined Gwen at the table.

They ate in silence as Audrey saw Gwen did not want to interact at that time. When they finished Audrey took care of the dishes and got Gwen some clothes before directing her to the bathroom. Gwen showered and dressed. When she emerged Audrey was waiting in the living room checking her phone.

"So boss, will you be in at the shop?" Audrey considered a moment before shaking her head.

"No, I'm going to spend the day working on my dress design. So, honestly how are you?" Gwen shrugged.

"I'm not happy, but I'm getting married and guess that's all that really matters." Audrey smiled and they embraced before Gwen left for the shop. Audrey went to the room that she had set aside for her design work. She had been working for about an hour before her phone buzzed. It was Rochelle.

-Your mystery client wants to meet again, different hotel. Interested?

Audrey did not hesitate.

-Details

They arrived a short time later. They indicated which hotel and what time. It also reiterated the instructions ensuring anonymity. The date was two days off so she returned to her design work. She would essentially spend the rest of the day and part of the next working on designs.

She was just considering that she wanted to stop for the day when she got a text from Gwen.

-Closing the shop. Can I come over?

-Of course.

Audrey looked over the kitchen for ideas. She found the chicken she had thawed and decided to season it and put it in the oven and start some rice going. She was just prepping some salad when the doorbell rang. She opened the door and as expected found Gwen in the doorway.

"Hi Gwen, care to stay for dinner?" Gwen hesitated briefly before smiling.

"Of course." Audrey led Gwen to the living room and went to check on dinner. She quickly finished prepping the salad and returned to the living room with two water bottles.

"So Gwen, what brings you here?" Gwen slowly lowered the water bottle.

"Drew's out of town for at least another two weeks. We've talked some about the wedding, but it's hard with him so far away." Audrey nodded.

"I understand. I know how nerve wracking it can be in preparation for your wedding, no matter how well things are going. Anything else?" Gwen seemed to be staring at Audrey and initially didn't speak, but quickly shook herself, making a slight laugh.

"No, just want the perspective of someone who's been through it." Gwen looked like she might say more, but didn't and Audrey didn't push it. She simply stood and went to check on dinner, satisfied she returned to the living room.

"Dinner should only be a few more minutes, so come to the table." Gwen followed and the two sat at the table to eat the salad that Audrey had prepared. A short time after they had finished the timer on the stove went off. Audrey rose to retrieve the chicken and added some to two plates with rice and brought these to the table. Gwen grinned and eagerly dug in. Partway into the meal Gwen lowered her fork and looked up, so Audrey followed suit, giving Gwen her full attention.

"Audrey when did you realize you weren't interested in men?" Audrey smiled.

"Of course I like men, a long-time friend of mine is a guy, sadly he lives in Japan though." Gwen frowned, but Audrey held up a hand. "Sorry, I just think it's a bit silly to put it that way. But seriously I think I always knew I was interested in women. I had a huge crush on Pat Benatar, but in high school I had a boyfriend. We dated for junior and senior years, however for the second half of senior year I started hanging out with this somewhat nerdy girl whose family had come from Japan and she was completely open with her interest in me. We actually shared an interest in anime, but in time I allowed her to seduce me. She was never forceful or anything but respectful. She just made it clear how she felt and to some extent what she could offer emotionally. I broke up with my boyfriend just after Christmas break and dated her for about a week before my parents found out." Gwen's eyes widened.

"How did they react?" Audrey smiled, waving a hand reassuringly.

"Actually they were pretty cool. I think they supposed it was a phase, but trying to dissuade me would make me cling to it and if not than nothing they could do would change me. I dated her into college. We broke up after she transferred to another school and the distance didn't work. After that was a series of girlfriends that I liked well enough, but it never got real serious until I met Susan." Gwen smiled faintly.

"So how did you two meet?" Audrey smiled as she stared off into space, no longer seeing Gwen or the kitchen.

"I was actually interning with her company. She had been working there about two years. In fact she was the one showing me around on my first day. At the time I assumed she was straight. We had known each other just over a year when she told me. I asked her out a week later. She was very serious about the relationship and we dated for two years before she asked me to marry her, after having turned me down

twice

."

Gwen failed to suppress a laugh at the last bit. Audrey decided she didn't want to think any further on this and returned to eating, which Gwen quickly imitated. They soon finished and they returned to the living room, after Gwen insisted on helping to clear up the dishes. Throughout the cleaning up Gwen seemed on the verge of speaking, but didn't. After they sat she decided to address it.

"Gwen, what is it? You have been on the verge of saying something, but you keep stopping yourself. If you really don't want to say, fine, but I think you might feel better if you do." Gwen looked at her feet and seemed as if she would remain silent, but after several minutes she changed her mind.

"How can I say? You're my boss and I...couldn't say...it wouldn't be right." Audrey shook her head.

"I know being your boss makes things difficult, but I hope that my absence from the shop will make it somewhat easier to see me as your friend. So please just say it, you're clearly ready to burst." Gwen continued to struggle internally for a time before speaking.

"I've had time to think, since Drew left and there's so much I want to try before I settle down." Audrey nodded.

"Well I'm sure most people fear that being married means you have to be more responsible and it means you can't do these things. Besides what does any of this have to with things you can't talk to me about?" Gwen sighed, her shoulders slumping as she spoke.

"Because there is one thing I want to try that is questionable enough now that I'm engaged. It certainly wouldn't be acceptable

after

I'm married." Audrey arched an eyebrow, but waited patiently for Gwen to continue. "I've never been with a woman. That is why I didn't think it would be right, after all to assume that your orientation would mean that..." She was cut off from further speaking by Audrey's lips. This didn't last long before Audrey broke it.

"This is probably wrong, but where we go from here is up to you Gwen." Gwen paused staring into Audrey's eyes. She didn't speak as she leaned forward to kiss Audrey. Audrey closed her eyes as their tongues danced from mouth to mouth. She took Gwen in her arms and put all thoughts out of her mind that didn't involve the woman in her arms and what they would be doing together. Gwen moaned softly and Audrey allowed a quick grin to cross her face. This time it was Gwen who broke the kiss. She spoke when she saw Audrey's frown.

"Don't look like that, I don't want to stop. That was the most amazing kiss I've ever had." Audrey's face broke into a huge grin.

"Good. However if you want to take this any further, we should move to the bed." Gwen matched her grin and nodded. Audrey eagerly led Gwen to her room, where she pulled off her t-shirt revealing her bra, which soon joined the shirt on the floor. She smirked impishly at Gwen. Gwen was soon topless as well. The two sat on the bed and resumed kissing.

Gwen's arms circled Audrey with her hands on Audrey's shoulders, but failed to move any further. Audrey instinctively moved a hand to Gwen's left breast. Gwen exhaled sharply and tensed but it soon passed, turning into a brief moan.

Taking a chance on scaring Gwen off Audrey moved it to her own breast. Gwen readily complied, and in fact turned her attention to using both hands. They moaned into each other's mouths as they continued to grope each other's breasts. Audrey continued to move forward, now pinching one of Gwen's nipples. Gwen moaned and followed her example. Audrey could feel Gwen's nipples hardening and once she was certain they were fully erect she broke the kiss. She spoke forestalling any word from Gwen.

"Hold on a moment." Audrey stood to finish undressing. Gwen smiled and did the same. Once they were seated again on the bed Audrey took Gwen in her arms with Gwen facing out and she briefly returned to touching Gwen's breasts. She did not linger long before her hand began moving down, across the younger woman's stomach. Gwen's breath came sharply and she leaned back into Audrey. Soon Audrey's hand reached between Gwen's legs. Gwen moaned and turned her head allowing Audrey to kiss her. Audrey felt Gwen's wetness, soon spreading the lips so that she could slide a finger between.

Gwen moaned louder and Audrey strove to maintain the kiss as she continued to move her finger in and out of Gwen's pussy. She felt the wetness increase with Gwen moaning louder into her mouth. Gwen writhed and shook as Audrey continued thrusting. Soon Gwen tensed up for a moment then began making several erratic thrusts on to Audrey's fingers before finally collapsing back into Audrey, who broke the kiss and held the younger woman until she lay still and her breathing slowly returned to normal. Gwen gingerly turned and shifted her position so that she could sit apart from Audrey. She looked into Audrey's eyes a moment before speaking.

"That was...incredible. Do you think I could try on you?" Audrey smiled and shifted so that she could lean back against the headboard. She spread her legs and nodded. Gwen grinned and crawled between Audrey's legs. Gwen tentatively reached forward to explore Audrey's pussy and Audrey thought Gwen would content herself with the use of her fingers until she came.

However Gwen spread her lips and Audrey closed her eyes and rested her head, waiting for Gwen's finger to penetrate. Suddenly her eyes shot open as she felt Gwen's tongue licking up her pussy. She looked down into Gwen's eyes. Gwen was looking up as she licked as if seeking approval. Audrey smiled as she patted Gwen's head. As she continued to lick Gwen experimented with different techniques. She switched to clamping her lips over Audrey's pussy as she thrust her tongue between the lips. Audrey was amazed as she was quite certain that Gwen's only same-sex experience was kissing a friend in college.

Gwen switched to sucking Audrey's lips, one then the other. Audrey moaned as she placed both hands on Gwen's head and stared intently into the younger woman's eyes. The licking then concentrated on Audrey's clit and her moaning became louder. Gwen switched to clamping her lips on Audrey's clit and sucking as hard as she could.

However what finally pushed Audrey over the edge was when Gwen added the fingers from one hand probing the hole. Audrey practically screamed as she thrust her hips hard into Gwen's face. She thrust twice more before collapsing back into the bed, hands still on Gwen's head. She released Gwen, but the younger woman continued to explore with her tongue, until Audrey feebly pushed her away. When Audrey opened her eyes she saw Gwen sitting cross-legged, waiting patiently. Audrey smiled and pulled Gwen into a kiss. When they broke several moments later she spoke.